Assessment of glucosinolate-derived isothiocyanates as potential natural antifungal compounds against citrus sour rot disease agent Geotrichum citri-aurantii

In this study, the antifungal effects of six different isothiocyanate (ITCs) compounds (methyl, allyl, butyl, ethyl, benzyl and 2-phenylethyl ITCs) were investigated to be use against the citrus sour rot disease caused by Geotrichum citri-aurantii in vitro and semi-commercial (in vivo) conditions. Antifungal activities of the vapour phases of different ITC compounds were examined on the arthroconidia germination and mycelial growth of G. citri-aurantii. Mycelial growth of G. citri-aurantii was inhibited in a concentration-dependent way. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of benzyl, methyl, allyl and ethyl ITCs on mycelial growth were 0.06, 0.08, 0.10 and 0.10 µl/L, respectively. Arthroconidia germination of G. citri-aurantii was completely inhibited by benzyl, methyl, allyl and ethyl ITCs at concentrations of 0.05, 0.07, 0.07 and 0.07 µl/L, respectively. Light microscopy observations revealed that the ITC compounds, at completely inhibiting concentrations, caused considerable morphological changes in the fungal hyphae. Under in vivo conditions, the average rotting area caused by G. citri-arantii was inhibited 100% by ethyl, methyl and allyl ITC compounds at concentrations of 8.0, 12.0 and 12.0 µl/L, respectively. Results suggest that ITC’s may be useful and effective natural antifungal compounds to control the citrus sour rot disease agent.     

The effect of sleep hygiene training applied to hemodialysis patients on sleep quality and quality of life: randomized controlled trial

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - This study was carried out to reveal the effect of sleep hygiene training applied to individuals taking hemodialysis treatment on patients' sleep quality and...     

Temporal modulation of calcium sensing in hematopoietic stem cells is crucial for proper stem cell expansion and engraftment

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are known to reside in a bone marrow (BM) niche, which is associated with relatively higher calcium content. HSCs sense and respond to calcium changes. However, how calcium-sensing components modulate HSC function and expansion is largely unknown. We investigated temporal modulation of calcium sensing and Ca²⁺ homeostasis during ex vivo HSC culture and in vivo. Murine BM-HSCs, human BM, and umbilical cord blood (UCB) mononuclear cells (MNCs) were treated with store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) inhibitors SKF 96365 hydrochloride (abbreviated as SKF) and 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate (2-APB). Besides, K⁺ channel inhibitor TEA chloride (abbreviated as TEA) was used to compare the relationship between calcium-activated potassium channel activities. Seven days of SKF treatment induced mouse and human ex vivo BM-HSC expansion as well as UCB-derived primitive HSC expansion. SKF treatment induced the surface expression of CaSR, CXCR4, and adhesion molecules on human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. HSCs expanded with SKF successfully differentiated into blood lineages in recipient animals and demonstrated a higher repopulation capability. Furthermore, modulation of SOCE in the BM-induced HSC content and differentially altered niche-related gene expression profile in vivo. Intriguingly, treatments with SOCE inhibitors SKF and 2-APB boosted the mouse BM mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) and human adipose-derived MSCs proliferation, whereas they did not affect the endothelial cell proliferation. These findings suggest that temporal modulation of calcium sensing is crucial in expansion and maintenance of murine HSCs, human HSCs, and mouse BM-MSCs function.     

Dynamic flux balance analysis for pharmaceutical protein production by Pichia pastoris: human growth hormone

The influence of methanol feeding rate on intracellular reaction network of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) producing Pichia pastoris was investigated at three different specific growth rates, namely, 0.02 (MS-0.02), 0.03 (MS-0.03), and 0.04 h(-1) (MS-0.04) where Period-I (33 ≤ t <42 h) includes the early exponential growth phase; Period-II (42 ≤ t<48 h) is the exponential growth phase where the specific cell growth rate decreases; Period-III (48 ≤ t ≤51 h) is the exponential growth phase where rhGH concentration was the highest; and Period-IV (t>51 h) is the diminution phase for rhGH and cell synthesis. In Period-I, almost all of the formaldehyde entered the assimilatory pathway, at MS-0.02 and MS-0.03, whereas, at MS-0.04 high methanol feeding rate resulted in an adaptation problem. In Period-III, only at MS-0.02 co-carbon source sorbitol uptake-flux was active showing that sorbitol uptake does not affected from the predetermined feeding rate of methanol at μ(0)>0.02 h(-1). The biomass synthesis flux value was the highest in Period-I, -II and -III, respectively at MS-0.03 & MS-0.04, MS-0.04 and MS-0.02; whereas, rhGH flux was the highest in Period-I, -II, and -III, respectively at MS-0.03, MS-0.02 and MS-0.03. Based on the fluxes, Period-I should start with MS-0.03 methanol feeding rate and starting from the middle of Period-II methanol feeding rate should be shifted to MS-0.02.     

Bioaccumulation of thallium by the wild plants grown in soils of mining area

Gümüsköy Ag (As, Pb, and Tl) deposits are one of the largest silver deposits in the country and located about 25 km west of Kütahya, Turkey. This study investigated the accumulation and transport of thallium into 11 wild plants in soil of the mining area. Plant samples and their associated soils were collected from the field and Tl contents were measured with inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The mean concentrations in the soil, roots, and shoots of the studied plants were, respectively, 170, 318, and 315 mg kg^?1 for Tl. The plants analyzed and collected from the studied area were separated into different groups based on enrichment coefficients of roots and shoots (ECR and ECS). The results showed that because of their higher ECR and ECS, the following could be good bioaccumulators: CY, IS, SL, and VR for Tl. Therefore, these plants can be useful for remediation or phytoremediation of soils polluted by Tl.     

Controlling filamentous fungi morphology with microparticles to enhanced β-mannanase production

β-mannanase was produced mainly by Aspergillus species and can degrade the β-1,4-mannose linkages of galactomannans. This study was undertaken to enhance mannanase production using talcum and aluminum oxide as the microparticles, which control cell morphology of recombinant Aspergillus sojae in glucose and carob extract medium. Both microparticles improved fungal growth in glucose and carob pod extract medium. Aluminum oxide (1 g/L) was the best agent for glucose medium which resulted in 514.0 U/ml. However, the highest mannanase activity was found as 568.7 U/ml with 5 g/L of talcum in carob extract medium. Increase in microparticle concentration resulted in decreasing the pellet size diameter. Furthermore, more than 10 g/L of talcum addition changed the filamentous fungi growth type from pellet to pellet/mycelium mixture. Results showed that right type and concentration of microparticle in fermentation media improved the mannanase activity and production rate by controlling the growth morphology.     

Identification of medically important yeasts by sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer and D1/D2 region of the large ribosomal subunit

BackgroundThe prevalence of opportunistic yeast infections has increased in recent decades as the result of an increasing immunocompromised patient population.AimsTo evaluate ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence to identify medically important yeast species, to investigate the performance of both the rRNA gene internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and D1/D2 region in identifying clinically relevant yeasts, and to compare these results with those of a standard phenotypic method.MethodsBoth regions from 50 yeast strains, comprising 45 clinical isolates and 5 reference strains, were amplified using PCR and then sequenced. The sequences were compared to reference data available from the GenBank database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information using the BLASTn tool.ResultsUsing ID32C, 88% (44/50) of all strains were identified accurately at the species level, although 6% were misidentified; two Candida eremophila isolates were identified as Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis, and one Saprochaete clavata isolate was identified as Saprochaete capitata. Two of the four isolates identified by phenotypic methods as Trichosporon asahii were defined so by analyzing the ITS region, but the remaining two were not distinguishable from closely related species. Based on the D1/D2 region, these four isolates had 100% sequence identity with T. asahii, Trichosporon japonicum, and Trichosporon asteroides. The isolate identified as Trichosporon inkin using ID32C could not be distinguished from Trichosporon ovoides by analyzing the ITS and D1/D2 regions.ConclusionsIdentifying medically important yeasts by sequencing the ITS and D1/D2 region is a rapid and reliable alternative to conventional identification methods. For a diagnostic algorithm, we suggest a two-step procedure integrating conventional methods (e.g. microscopic morphology on corn meal agar with Tween® 80 and API ID32C®) and sequence analysis of the ITS and D1/D2 region.     

Chemical Analysis and in Vitro Antiviral Effects of Northeast Türkiye Propolis Samples against HSV-1

Propolis is one of the mixtures with the widest biological activity among natural products used in complementary medicine. HSV-1 is a highly contagious and endemic virus. Available drugs are insufficient for recurrent HSV-1 infections. Therefore, new approaches to treat HSV-1 infections are still being developed. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the inhibition effect of ethanolic Anatolian propolis extracts obtained from the Eastern Black Sea Region (Pazar, Ardahan, and Uzungöl) on HSV-1. In addition to the total phenolic (TPC) and the total flavonoid content (TFC), the phenolic profiles of the extracts were analyzed by HPLC-UV. The antiviral activity of the extracts were tested by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), and plaque reduction tests, and the results were evaluated statistically. It was determined that the total amount of phenolic substances varied between 44.12 and 166.91 mg GAE/g, and the total flavonoid content of the samples varied between 12.50 and 41.58 (mg QUE/g). It was shown that all propolis samples used in the current study were effective against HSV-1, but the higher phenolic compounds contained in the samples showed the higher activity. The results show that ethanolic propolis extracts are promising candidates for HSV-1 treatment.     

Mapping of the Mod-1 locus on mouse Chromosome 9

A new method for typing the Mod-1 locus on mouse Chromosome (Chr) 9 was developed, based on restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) within a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified fragment. The new method led us to revise the strain distribution pattern (SDP) of Mod-1 in the BXD (C57BL/6JxDBA/2J) and AKXD (AKR/J x DBA/2J) recombinant inbred (RI) strains. The new SDP eliminates several previously reported examples of double recombination events between Mod-1 and the closest flanking loci in the BXD and AKXD strains. In the BXD strains, the revised SDP of Mod-1 was identical to that of the Mod-1-related D9Rtil locus. Thus, the identity of D9Rtil as a Mod-1-related locus rather than Mod-1 itself is in question. The method was also applied to an interspecific backcross panel between an inbred strain of Mus musculus molossinus (MSM/Ms) and C57BL/6J to map Mod-1 with respect to surrounding microsatellite loci, defining the proximal localization of Mod-1 with respect to D9Mit10 with a genetic distance of 0.6±0.6 cM.