The diversity of rhizobia nodulating the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Medicago</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melilotus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trigonella</Emphasis> inoculation group in Egypt is marked by the dominance of two genetic types

Twenty four rhizobial strains were isolated from root nodules of Melilotus, Medicago and Trigonella plants growing wild in soils throughout Egypt. The nearly complete 16S rRNA gene sequence from each strain showed that 12 strains (50 %) were closely related to the Ensifer meliloti LMG6133^T type strain with identity values higher than 99.0 %, that 9 (37.5 %) strains were more than 99 % identical to the E. medicae WSM419^T type strain, and that 3 (12.5 %) strains showed 100 % identity with the type strain of N. huautlense S02^T. Accordingly, the diversity of rhizobial strains nodulating wild Melilotus, Medicago and Trigonella species in Egypt is marked by predominance of two genetic types, E. meliloti and E. medicae, although the frequency of isolation was slightly higher in E. meliloti. Sequencing of the symbiotic nodC gene from selected Medicago and Melilotus strains revealed that they were all similar to those of the E. meliloti LMG6133^T and E. medicae WSM419^T type strains, respectively. Similarly, nodC sequences of strains identified as members of the genus Neorhizobium were more than 99 % identical to that of N. galegae symbiovar officinalis HAMBI 114.     

Endophytic yeasts in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Malus domestica</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pyrus communis</Emphasis> fruits under anthropogenic impact

Yeast abundance and species diversity on the surface and in inner tissues of Malus domestica and Pyrus communis fruits under high anthropogenic impact in the city of Moscow (Russia) were studied. Results demonstrated that abundance of epiphytic yeasts on the fruits increased gradually, reaching the maximum of 3.2 × 10⁴ CFU/g on mature fruits. During summer, abundance of endophytes did not change significantly (variation near 2.5 × 10³ CFU/g) until complete maturation, while in September their numbers increased to 10⁴ CFU/g. Basidiomycetous yeasts (Filobasidium wieringae, F. magnum, Rhodotorula glutinis, and Rhodosporidiobolus colostri) predominated on the fruit surface. Ascomycetous species were the most diverse group inside the fruits, which quantitatively increased through maturation. It was found that the share of opportunistic species Candida parapsilosis in internal tissues was significant during the entire period of fruit formation and development under anthropogenic impact in the city. Specific properties of epiphytic and endophytic yeast communities developing in natural ecological niches under synanthropic conditions and anthropogenic impact are discussed.     

Isolation and characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paenibacillus polymyxa</Emphasis> LY214, a camptothecin-producing endophytic bacterium from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Camptotheca acuminata</Emphasis>

Camptothecin (CPT) is mainly produced and extracted from Camptotheca acuminata and Nothapodytes foetida for pharmaceutical use, i.e., the starting material for chemical conversion to the clinical CPT-type drugs. As the third largest plant anticancer drug, the heavy demand on CPT from global market leads to many research efforts to identify new sources for CPT production. Herein we report the isolation and characterization of a CPT-producing endophytic bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa LY214 from Camptotheca acuminata. A 10.7 μg l^?1 of CPT was presented in the fermentation broth of P. polymyxa LY214. Its CPT production decreased sharply when the strain of the 2nd generation of P. polymyxa LY214 was cultured and fermented. However, the CPT production remained relatively constant from 2.8 μg l^?1 of the 2nd generation to 0.8 μg l^?1 of the 8th generation of P. polymyxa LY214 under optimized fermentation conditions. A 15- to 30-fold increase of CPT yield was observed when the optimized fermentation conditions, together with the addition of putative biosynthetic precursors of CPT and adsorbent resin XAD16, were applied to ferment the strains of the 7th and 8th generation of P. polymyxa LY214. Bioinformatics analysis of the relative species of P. polymyxa LY214 indicates its potential to produce CPT, which will be helpful to decipher the mysteries of CPT biosynthesis.     

Toxin Gene Contents and Activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus thuringiensis</Emphasis> Strains Against Two Sugarcane Borer Species, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diatraea saccharalis</Emphasis> (F.) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">D. flavipennella</Emphasis> (Box)

Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) bears essential characteristics in the control of insect pests, such as its unique mode of action, which confers specificity and selectivity. This study assessed cry gene contents from Bt strains and their entomotoxicity against Diatraea saccharalis (F.) and Diatraea flavipennella (Box) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). Bioassays with Bt strains were performed against neonates to evaluate their lethal and sublethal activities and were further analyzed by PCR, using primers to identify toxin genes. For D. saccharalis and D. flavipennella, 16 and 18 strains showed over 30% larval mortality in the 7th day, respectively. The LC₅₀ values of strains for D. saccharalis varied from 0.08 × 10⁵ (LIIT-0105) to 4104 × 10⁵ (LIIT-2707) spores + crystals mL^?1. For D. flavipennella, the LC₅₀ values of strains varied from 0.40 × 10⁵ (LIIT-2707) to 542 × 10⁵ (LIIT-2109) spores + crystals mL^?1. For the LIIT-0105 strain, which was the most toxic to D. saccharalis, the genes cry1Aa, cry1Ab, cry1Ac, cry1B, cry1C, cry1D, cry1F, cry1I, cry2Aa, cry2Ab, cry8, and cry9C were detected, whereas for the strain LIIT-2707, which was the most toxic to D. flavipennella, detected genes were cry1Aa, cry1Ab, cry1Ac, cry1B, cry1D, cry1F, cry1I, cry2Aa, cry2Ab, and cry9. The toxicity data and toxin gene content in these strains of Bt suggest a great variability of activity with potential to be used in the development of novel biopesticides or as source of resistance genes that can be expressed in plants to control pests.     

Laboratory and simulated-field bioassays for assessing mixed cultures of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lysinibacillus sphaericus</Emphasis> against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aedes aegypti</Emphasis> (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae resistant to temephos

Aedes aegypti (L.) is the main vector of tropical diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Due to the overuse of insecticides, Ae. aegypti resistant populations have increased. Biological control with Lysinibacillus sphaericus (Ahmed) has been used against Culex sp. and Anopheles sp. Although Ae. aegypti is refractory to the binary toxin of L. sphaericus spores, vegetative cells have been shown to be effective against Ae. aegypti larvae. In this work, the effect of L. sphaericus vegetative cells on Ae. aegypti temephos-resistant larvae was assessed under lab and simulated field conditions. L. sphaericus caused about 90% mortality of insecticide-resistant Ae. aegypti larvae under simulated field conditions. Likewise, Ae. aegypti larvae were more sensitive to mixed cultures of L. sphaericus than to individual strains; then, the most effective mixed culture exhibited an LC₅₀ of 1.21 × 10⁵ CFU/mL with Rockefeller larvae and 8.04 × 10⁴ CFU/mL with field-collected larvae. Additionally, we found that mixed cultures composed of two L. sphaericus strains were more effective than a culture formed by the three strains. Our results suggest that mixed cultures comprising L. sphaericus vegetative cells could be useful for controlling temephos-resistant populations of Ae. aegypti, as evidenced by the effectiveness demonstrated under laboratory and simulated field conditions.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas</Emphasis> spp. increases root biomass and tropane alkaloid yields in transgenic hairy roots of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Datura</Emphasis> spp.

Transgenic hairy roots of Datura spp., established using strain A4 of Agrobacterium rhizogenes, are genetically stable and produce high levels of tropane alkaloids. To increase biomass and tropane alkaloid content of this plant tissue, four Pseudomonas strains, Pseudomonas fluorescens P64, P66, C7R12, and Pseudomonas putida PP01 were assayed as biotic elicitors on transgenic hairy roots of Datura stramonium, Datura tatula, and Datura innoxia. Alkaloids were extracted from dried biomass, and hyoscyamine and scopolamine were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. D. stramonium and D. innoxia biomass production was stimulated by all Pseudomonas spp. strains after a 5-d treatment. All strains of P. fluorescens increased hyoscyamine yields compared to untreated cultures after both 5 and 10 d of treatment. Hyoscyamine yields were highest in D. tatula cultures exposed to a 5-d treatment with C7R12 (16.633 + 0.456 mg g^?1 dry weight, a 431% increase) although the highest yield increases compared to the control were observed in D. stramonium cultures exposed to strains P64 (511% increase) and C7R12 (583% increase) for 10 d. D. innoxia showed the highest scopolamine yields after elicitation with P. fluorescens strains P64 for 5 d (0.653 + 0.021 mg g^?1 dry weight, a 265% increase) and P66 for 5 and 10 d (5 d, 0.754 + 0.0.031 mg g^?1 dry weight, a 321% increase; 10 d 0.634 + 0.046 mg g^?1 dry weight, a 277% increase). These results show that the Pseudomonas strains studied here can positively and significantly affect biomass and the yields of hyoscyamine and scopolamine from transgenic roots of the three Datura species.     

The Potential of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactobacillus casei</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Entercoccus faecium</Emphasis> Combination as a Preventive Probiotic Against <Emphasis Type="Italic">Entamoeba</Emphasis>

Travellers’ diarrhoea caused by enteric protozoa like Entamoeba histolytica is among the most common protozoan diseases in developing countries. In developing countries, amoebiasis is the second most prevalent protozoan disease. This protozoan parasite is often known to coexist as a part of the normal gut microbiota. It is estimated that around 50–60 % of population in developing countries might be harbouring Entamoeba in an asymptomatic manner. Due to physiological perturbation or upon immuno-compromise, it can become virulent and then cause diarrhoea, bloody stools and may invade other organs if left untreated. Nitroimidazole drugs, namely metronidazole and tinidazole, are widely used to treat protozoan infections. These drugs often show dose-dependent side effects. With emerging antibiotic resistance, novel therapeutics to prevent parasitic infections is required. This study aims to study effect of probiotics on prevention of Amoebiasis. In this study, we have investigated the effect of selected probiotics on the growth of Entamoeba. From the list of probiotics being currently used, five bacterial strains were selected for testing. These probiotic strains were co-cultured with Entamoeba, and their effect on Entamoeba proliferation was checked. Of the five probiotics chosen, individual treatments of Lactobacillus casei and Enterococcus faecium showed a significant reduction of up to 71 % in parasite survival only at higher CFUs. When the two probiotics were used in combination, the percentage of survival reduced gradually further to 80 % at a total CFU of 10⁹ cells/ml of bacteria. The study lays the foundation for providing cost-effective prophylactic treatment for amoebiasis without the overuse of antibiotics.     

Conjugative plasmid transfer from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> is a versatile approach for genetic transformation of thermophilic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Geobacillus</Emphasis> species

We previously demonstrated efficient transformation of the thermophile Geobacillus kaustophilus HTA426 using conjugative plasmid transfer from Escherichia coli BR408. To evaluate the versatility of this approach to thermophile transformation, this study examined genetic transformation of various thermophilic Bacillus and Geobacillus spp. using conjugative plasmid transfer from E. coli strains. E. coli BR408 successfully transferred the E. coli–Geobacillus shuttle plasmid pUCG18T to 16 of 18 thermophiles with transformation efficiencies between 4.1 × 10^?7 and 3.8 × 10^?2/recipient. Other E. coli strains that are different from E. coli BR408 in intracellular DNA methylation also generated transformants from 9 to 15 of the 18 thermophiles, including one that E. coli BR408 could not transform, although the transformation efficiencies of these strains were generally lower than those of E. coli BR408. The conjugation was performed by simple incubation of an E. coli donor and a thermophile recipient without optimization of experimental conditions. Moreover, thermophile transformants were distinguished from abundant E. coli donor only by high temperature incubation. These observations suggest that conjugative plasmid transfer, particularly using E. coli BR408, is a facile and versatile approach for plasmid introduction into thermophilic Bacillus and Geobacillus spp., and potentially a variety of other thermophiles.     

Cadmium and Nickel Toxicity for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sinapis alba</Emphasis> Plants Inoculated with Endophytic Strains of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis>

We studied the effect of cadmium and nickel on Sinapis alba L. plants inoculated with endophytic strains of Bacillus subtilis. It was shown that treatment of S. alba seeds with endophytic strains of bacteria B. subtilis improves plant resistance to the toxic effect of cadmium and nickel and reduces manifestation of oxidative stress in the presence of higher levels of metal ions in the above-ground part of plants. Anti-stress effect and the ability of endophytic strains of B. subtilis to intensify uptake of cadmium and nickel ions by S. alba plants may be used for phytoextraction of heavy metals and stimulation of plant growth in contaminated areas.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Kribbella podocarpi</Emphasis> sp. nov., isolated from the leaves of a yellowwood tree (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Podocarpus latifolius</Emphasis>)

An endophytic actinobacterial strain was isolated from a yellowwood tree growing on the slope of Devil’s Peak, Cape Town, South Africa. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the strain belongs to the genus Kribbella. Phylogenetic analyses using the 16S rRNA gene and multilocus sequence analysis using the concatenated gene sequences of the gyrB, rpoB, relA, recA and atpD genes showed that strain YPL1^T is closely related to the type strains of Kribbella karoonensis and Kribbella shirazensis. DDH experiments showed that strain YPL1^T is a distinct genomic species from its close phylogenetic relative, K. karoonensis Q41^T. Physiological comparisons further showed that strain YPL1^T is phenotypically distinct from the type strains of Kribbella jejuensis, Kribbella aluminosa, K. karoonensis, K. shirazensis and Kribbella swartbergensis. Strain YPL1^T is thus presented as the type strain of a novel species, for which the name Kribbella podocarpi sp. nov. (= DSM 29424^T = NRRL B-65063^T), is proposed.     

Association between <Emphasis Type="Italic">cagA</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">vacAi</Emphasis>, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">dupA</Emphasis> genes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Helicobacter pylori</Emphasis> and gastroduodenal pathologies in Chilean patients

In addition to the already known cagA gene, novel genetic markers have been associated with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) virulence: the dupA and vacAi genes. These genes might play an important role as specific markers to determine the clinical outcome of the disease, especially the vacAi gene, which has been expected to be a good marker of severe pathologies like gastric adenocarcinoma. In the present study, the association of cagA, dupA, and vacAi genes with gastroduodenal pathologies in Chilean patients was studied. One hundred and thirty-two patients positive for H. pylori were divided into two groups—non-severe and severe gastric pathologies—and investigated for the presence of cagA, dupA, and vacAi H. pylori virulence genes by PCR. The cagA gene was detected in 20/132 patients (15.2%), the vacAi1 gene was detected in 54/132 patients (40.9%), the vacAi2 gene was detected in 26/132 patients (19.7%), and the dupA gene was detected in 50/132 (37.9%) patients. Logistic regression model analysis showed that the vacAi1 isoform gene in the infected strains and the severity of the diseases outcome were highly associated, causing severe gastric damage that may lead to gastric cancer (p < 0.0001; OR = 8.75; 95% CI 3.54–21.64). Conversely, cagA (p = 0.3507; OR = 1.62; 95% CI 0.59–4.45) and vacAi2 (p = 0.0114; OR = 3.09; 95% CI 1.26–7.60) genes were not associated with damage, while the dupA gene was associated significantly with non-severe clinical outcome (p = 0.0032; OR = 0.25; 95% CI 0.09–0.65). In addition, dupA gene exerts protection against severe gastric pathologies induced by vacAi1 by delaying the outcome of the disease by approximately 20 years.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizobium</Emphasis> strains in the biological control of the phytopathogenic fungi <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sclerotium</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Athelia</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">rolfsii</Emphasis> on the common bean

Aims

To identify Rhizobium strains’ ability to biocontrol Sclerotium rolfsii, a fungus that causes serious damage to the common bean and other important crops, 78 previously isolated rhizobia from common bean were assessed.

Methods

Dual cultures, volatiles, indole-acetic acid (IAA), siderophore production and 16S rRNA sequencing were employed to select strains for pot and field experiments.

Results

Thirty-three antagonistic strains were detected in dual cultures, 16 of which were able to inhibit ≥84% fungus mycelial growth. Antagonistic strains produced up to 36.5 μg mL^?1 of IAA, and a direct correlation was verified between IAA production and mycelium inhibition. SEMIA 460 inhibited 45% of mycelial growth through volatile compounds. 16S rRNA sequences confirmed strains as Rhizobium species. In pot condition, common bean plants grown on S. rolfsii-infested soil and inoculated with SEMIA 4032, 4077, 4088, 4080, 4085, or 439 presented less or no disease symptoms. The most efficient strains under field conditions, SEMIA 439 and 4088, decreased disease incidence by 18.3 and 14.5% of the S. rolfsii-infested control.

Conclusions

Rhizobium strains could be strong antagonists towards S. rolfsii growth. SEMIA 4032, 4077, 4088, 4080, 4085, and 439 are effective in the biological control of the collar rot of the common bean.

     

Raw starch conversion by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> expressing <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus tubingensis</Emphasis> amylases

Background

Starch is one of the most abundant organic polysaccharides available for the production of bio-ethanol as an alternative transport fuel. Cost-effective utilisation of starch requires consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) where a single microorganism can produce the enzymes required for hydrolysis of starch, and also convert the glucose monomers to ethanol.

Results

The Aspergillus tubingensis T8.4 α-amylase (amyA) and glucoamylase (glaA) genes were cloned and expressed in the laboratory strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y294 and the semi-industrial strain, S. cerevisiae Mnuα1. The recombinant AmyA and GlaA displayed protein sizes of 110–150 kDa and 90 kDa, respectively, suggesting significant glycosylation in S. cerevisiae. The Mnuα1[AmyA-GlaA] and Y294[AmyA-GlaA] strains were able to utilise 20 g l^-1 raw corn starch as sole carbohydrate source, with ethanol titers of 9.03 and 6.67 g l^-1 (0.038 and 0.028 g l^-1 h^-1), respectively, after 10 days. With a substrate load of 200 g l^-1 raw corn starch, Mnuα1[AmyA-GlaA] yielded 70.07 g l^-1 ethanol (0.58 g l^-1 h^-1) after 120 h of fermentation, whereas Y294[AmyA-GlaA] was less efficient at 43.33 g l^-1 ethanol (0.36 g l^-1 h^-1).

Conclusions

In a semi-industrial amylolytic S. cerevisiae strain expressing the A. tubingensis α-amylase and glucoamylase genes, 200 g l^-1 raw starch was completely hydrolysed (saccharified) in 120 hours with 74% converted to released sugars plus fermentation products and the remainder presumably to biomass. The single-step conversion of raw starch represents significant progress towards the realisation of CBP without the need for any heat pretreatment. Furthermore, the amylases were produced and secreted by the host strain, thus circumventing the need for exogenous amylases.

     

Assessment of the antifungal activity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactobacillus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pediococcus</Emphasis> spp. for use as bioprotective cultures in dairy products

Fungi are commonly involved in dairy product spoilage and the use of bioprotective cultures can be a complementary approach to reduce food waste and economic losses. In this study, the antifungal activity of 89 Lactobacillus and 23 Pediococcus spp. isolates against three spoilage species, e.g., Yarrowia lipolytica, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Penicillium brevicompactum, was first evaluated in milk agar. None of the tested pediococci showed antifungal activity while 3, 23 and 43 lactobacilli isolates showed strong antifungal activity or total inhibition against Y. lipolytica, R. mucilaginosa and P. brevicompactum, respectively. Then, the three most promising strains, Lactobacillus paracasei SYR90, Lactobacillus plantarum O_VI9 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus BIO_III28 at initial concentrations of 10⁵ and 10⁷ CFU/ml were tested as bioprotective cultures against the same fungal targets in a yogurt model during a 5-week storage period at 10 °C. While limited effects were observed at 10⁵ CFU/ml inoculum level, L. paracasei SYR90 and L. rhamnosus BIO_III28 at 10⁷ CFU/ml respectively retarded the growth of R. mucilaginosa and P. brevicompactum as compared to a control without selected cultures. In contrast, growth of Y. lipolytica was only slightly affected. In conclusion, these selected strains may be good candidates for bioprotection of fermented dairy products.     

Production of <Emphasis Type="Italic">trans</Emphasis>-10,<Emphasis Type="Italic">cis</Emphasis>-12-conjugated linoleic acid using permeabilized whole-cell biocatalyst of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yarrowia lipolytica</Emphasis>

Objective

To improve the production of trans-10,cis-12-conjugated linoleic acid (t10,c12-CLA) from linoleic acid in recombinant Yarrowia lipolytica.

Results

Cells of the yeast were permeabilized by freeze/thawing. The optimal conditions for t10,c12-CLA production by the permeabilized cells were at 28 °C, pH 7, 200 rpm with 1.5 g sodium acetate l^?1, 100 g wet cells l^?1, and 25 g LA l^?1. Under these conditions, the permeabilized cells produced 15.6 g t10,c12-CLA l^?1 after 40 h, with a conversion yield of 62 %. The permeabilized cells could be used repeatedly for three cycles, with the t10,c12-CLA extracellular production remaining above 10 g l^?1.

Conclusion

Synthesis of t10,c12-CLA was achieved using a novel method, and the production reported in this work is the highest value reported to date.

     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Piriformospora indica</Emphasis>-mediated salinity tolerance in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aloe vera</Emphasis> plantlets

Piriformospora indica, a root endophytic fungus, has been reported to promote growth of many plants under normal condition and allow the plants to survive under stress conditions. However, its impact on an important medicinal plant Aloe vera L. has not been well studied. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the effect of P. indica on salinity stress tolerance of A. vera plant. P. indica inoculated and non-inoculated A. vera plantlets were subjected to four levels of salinity treatment- 0, 100, 200 and 300 mM NaCl. The salinity stress decreased the ability of the fungus to colonize roots of A. vera but the interaction of A. vera with P. indica resulted in an overall increase in plant biomass and greater shoot and root length as well as number of shoots and roots. The photosynthetic pigment (Chl a, Chl b and total Chl) and gel content were significantly higher for the fungus inoculated A. vera plantlets, at respective salinity concentrations. Furthermore, the inoculated plantlets had higher phenol, flavonoid, flavonol, aloin contents and radical scavenging activity at all salinity concentrations. The higher phenolic and flavonoid content may help the plants ameliorate oxidative stress resulting from high salinity.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphingorhabdus buctiana</Emphasis> sp. nov., isolated from fresh water,and reclassification of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphingopyxis contaminans</Emphasis> as <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphingorhabdus contaminans</Emphasis> comb. nov.

A Gram-stain-negative, strictly aerobic, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated T5^T, was isolated from the Chishui River in Maotai town, Guizhou Province, Southwest of China. Strain T5^T was found to grow optimally at pH 9.0 and 25 °C. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain T5^T belongs to the family Sphingomonadaceae within the phylum Proteobacteria; the strain T5^T clustered with the type strains of Sphingopyxis contaminans, Sphingorhabdus wooponensis and Sphingorhabdus rigui, with which it exhibits 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values of 96.2–96.9%. The DNA G+C content was 58.5 mol%. The major respiratory quinone was Q-10 and the major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine. The major polyamine was homospermidine and the major fatty acids were C_18:1 ω7c (37.5%) and C_16:1 ω7c (30.1%). On the basis of phylogenetic, phenotypic and genetic data, strain T5^T represents a novel species of the genus Sphingorhabdus, for which the name Sphingorhabdus buctiana sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is T5^T (= CGMCC 1.12929^T = JCM 30114^T). It is also proposed that Sphingopyxis contaminans should be reclassified as a member of the genus Sphingorhabdus.     

Growth and phosphorus removal by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Synechococcus elongatus</Emphasis> co-immobilized in alginate beads with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Azospirillum brasilense</Emphasis>

This study examined the co-immobilization of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus with the plant growth-promoting bacterium Azospirillum brasilense in alginate beads and its potential application for the removal of phosphorus from aquaculture wastewater. Co-immobilization of both microorganisms significantly increased the cell density of S. elongatus (2852.5?×?10⁴ cells mL^?1) compared with that of immobilization of cyanobacteria alone (1325.2?×?10⁴ cells mL^?1). Chlorophyll a content was similar in co-immobilized (11.1?±?3.5 pg cell^?1) and immobilized S. elongatus (14.5?±?4.9 pg cell^?1). Azospirillum brasilense showed continuous growth until day 2, after which its cell concentration declined until the end of the assay. Co-immobilized S. elongatus removed more phosphorus (44.8 %) than immobilized cyanobacteria cells alone (32.0 %). In conclusion, phosphate removal was greater with free cells of S. elongatus but overlapped with the values that were obtained with the treatment of co-immobilization of cells. Our results demonstrate that A. brasilense enhances the growth of S. elongatus and improves its removal of phosphorus when they are co-immobilized in alginate beads compared with only immobilization of cyanobacteria cells alone.     

Fecundity of the tropical catadromous eels <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anguilla bicolor bicolor</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">A. bengalensis bengalensis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">A. marmorata</Emphasis>

Maturation is one of the most important ontogenetic transitions in an individual’s life. However, the reproductive ecology of the tropical anguillid eel genus Anguilla at the onset of oceanic spawning migration is poorly understood. To understand the reproductive ecology, the fecundity of the tropical eels Anguilla bicolor bicolor, A. bengalensis bengalensis and A. marmorata was examined using advanced migrating silver eels (Stage IV and V). A close linear relationship was found between total length and fecundity in A. bengalensis bengalensis. The fecundities of A. bicolor bicolor (0.55 to 4.96 × 10⁶), A. bengalensis bengalensis (0.33–1.72 × 10⁶) and A. marmorata (0.99 × 10⁶) were within the range of those observed in temperate eels.     

Effect of microalgae hydrolysate foliar application (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arthrospira platensis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scenedesmus</Emphasis> sp.) on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Petunia x hybrida</Emphasis> growth

In horticultural practice accelerated plant development and particularly earlier flowering, has been reported with microalgae applications. Therefore, the objective of this work was to study the effects of foliar spraying with Scenedesmus sp. and Arthrospira platensis hydrolysates on Petunia x hybrida plant development and leaf nutrient status. Three treatments were tested: T1 (foliar application with water, the control), T2 (foliar application with Arthrospira), and T3 (foliar application with Scenedesmus). Foliar spraying was applied five times (0, 14, 28, 35, and 42 days after transplanting). The concentration of both microalgae was 10 g L^?1. At the end of the trial biometric parameters and nutrient concentration in photosynthetic organs (the leaves) were measured. The results of this assay show that foliar application of Scenedesmus accelerated plant development in terms of higher rates of root growth, leaf and shoot development, and earliness of flowering. Arthrospira enhanced the root dry matter, the number of flowers per plant, and the water content. Nevertheless, a reduction was found in the conductive tissue (stem + petiole) dry weight with Arthrospira compared with Scenedesmus and the control. The results also show that microalgae hydrolysate supply can improve the plant nutrient status. Based on these results, it is advisable to use Scenedesmus hydrolysates in foliar applications to increase the blooming of Petunia x hybrida.