Simple and efficient cell disruption of extremely small quantities of mycelium of phytopathogenic mycotoxin-producing moulds for quantitative extraction of genomic DNA

DNA was efficiently and quantitatively isolated from extremely small quantities of mycelia (0.1–10 mg) of different phytopathogenic moulds by grinding freeze-dried mycelia with glass beads and then using a commercial DNA extraction kit. The efficiency of disruption of the mycelia and the quantitative DNA extraction was proved by microscopy and the quantification of isolated DNA by real time PCR. Presented at the 27^th Mykotoxin-Workshop, Dortmund, Germany, June 13–15, 2005 Financial support: German Research Foundation (DFG grant Pr 708/2). J.M. thanks the Cusanuswerk for a doctoral scholarship     

An approach to improve methanogenesis through the use of mixed cultures isolated from biogas digester

Biogas production has been shown to be inhibited by branched chain fatty acids (isobutyric, isovaleric) produced in the digester by cellulolytic organisms. Performance of these mixed cellulolytic cultures isolated at 25°C (C₂₅) and at 35° (C₃₅) in a batch digester using cattle manure confirmed that C₃₅, which forms mainly straight chain fatty acids from cellulose was more suitable for use as an inoculum than C₂₅ which formed predominantly branched chain fatty acids. Reconstitution of cellulolytic culture C₃₅ and mixed methanogens M₃₅ almost doubled both the amount and rate of methane production. Cellulolytic culture was useful in pretreatment of water hyacinth prior to its use as a substrate for methane generation A method for preservation and transportation of mixed cellulolytic culture for use as an inoculum in the digester is described.     

Selection method of pH conditions to establish Pseudomonas taetrolens physiological states and lactobionic acid production

Microbial physiological responses resulting from inappropriate bioprocessing conditions may have a marked impact on process performance within any fermentation system. The influence of different pH-control strategies on physiological status, microbial growth and lactobionic acid production from whey by Pseudomonas taetrolens during bioreactor cultivations has been investigated for the first time in this work. Both cellular behaviour and bioconversion efficiency from P. taetrolens were found to be negatively influenced by pH-control modes carried out at values lower than 6.0 and higher than 7.0. Production schemes were also influenced by the operational pH employed, with asynchronous production from damaged and metabolically active subpopulations at pH values lower than 6.0. Moreover, P. taetrolens showed reduced cellular proliferation and a subsequent delay in the onset of the production phase under acidic conditions (pH?<?6.0). Unlike cultivations performed at 6.5, both pH-shift and pH-stat cultivation strategies performed at pH values lower than 6.0 resulted in decreased lactobionic acid production. Whereas the cellular response showed a stress-induced physiological response under acidic conditions, healthy functional cells were predominant at medium operational pH values (6.5–7.0). P. taetrolens thus displayed a robust physiological status at initial pH value of 6.5, resulting in an enhanced bioconversion yield and lactobionic acid productivity (7- and 4-fold higher compared to those attained at initial pH values of 4.5 and 5.0, respectively). These results have shown that pH-control modes strongly affected both the physiological response of cells and the biological performance of P. taetrolens, providing key information for bio-production of lactobionic acid on an industrial scale.     

1H, 13C and 15N resonance assignment of phage T4 endoribonuclease RegB

RegB is involved in the control of the phage T4 life cycle. It inactivates the phage early mRNAs when their translation is no more required. We determined its structure and identified residues involved in substrate binding. For this, all backbone and 90% of side-chain resonance frequencies were assigned.     

Groundfish assemblages diversity in upwelling ecosystems: insights from the Mauritanian Exclusive Economic Zone

Upwelling ecosystems exhibit strong spatio-temporal variations of environmental conditions that drive the dynamics of marine diversity and ressources. Yet little is known in these ecosystems concerning the diversity of groundfishes. We studied the effects of environment (sea surface temperature, chlorophyll a concentration and bathymetric strata) and fishing pressure on this variability in the Mauritanian Exclusive Economic Zone (MEEZ), based on abundance data collected from 2158 hauls from scientific surveys performed on the continental shelf (15–200 m) between 1997 and 2010. First, for each haul (i.e. alpha-diversity), Species richness S and Berger Parker dominance D_bp were used as proxies of two complementary groups of nine indices, belonging to three main components of diversity (species number, evenness and taxonomic diversity), identified by a principal component analysis based on Spearman correlation coefficient. Thus the set of diversity indices used in this work suggests that a single component of diversity cannot represent the biodiversity of MEEZ groundfish. Second, generalized linear models (GLM) highlighted the stability of both indices for environmental variables, fishing effort and time, while, as shown by a previous study in the MEEZ, these variables influence species composition (i.e. beta-diversity). A longitudinal gradient of S and D_bp was highlighted, with coastal strata being richer in species and abundances more evenly distributed among species than offshore strata. Overall, this study provides a baseline of groundfish diversity in the MEEZ, that is also useful for comparison to other upwelling ecosystems, and essential for monitoring its potential shifts faced to climate change.

     

脱落酸引发对夜香紫罗兰种子萌发的效应

研究脱落酸引发及其与植物生长调节剂的复合处理对夜香紫罗兰(Matthiola bicornis)种子萌发的效应.结果表明,将夜香紫罗兰种子于20℃下在2.5×10-5 mol/L脱落酸(ABA)溶液中引发7 d,能显著缩短种子平均萌发时间,增加种子萌发指数.在ABA溶液中加入吲哚乙酸(NAA)未能进一步改善夜香紫罗兰种子萌发,但其他复合处理均显著提高正常幼苗百分率.ABA和细胞分裂素(KT)及NAA复合处理进一步增加种子萌发指数,不仅比单独用ABA引发的效果好,而且也比用聚乙二醇(PEG)引发的效果好.ABA引发和PEG引发的夜香紫罗兰种子相对吸水量显著不同.对ABA引发机理和应用潜力进行了讨论.     

海马神经元新连接结构的初步原子力显微观察

目的:利用原子力显微技术(AFM)观察原代培养的海马神经元超微结构及其相互间的连接结构。方法:选择生长良好的海马神经元,用戊二醛固定30min后,固定于AFM基底上进行扫描和观测。结果:正常海马神经元表面光滑,起伏均匀、规律,突起及细胞之间的超微结构清晰,神经元胞体间存在膜性连接及长程非突触性突起连接。结论:神经元间存在直接膜性连接和长程非突触性突起连接结构。     

Temperature and host plant effects on development and fecundity of Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) (Homoptera: Aphididae)

The development, survival and reproduction of the cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) were evaluated at three constant temperatures (20, 25 and 30°C) on cabbage, cauliflower, red cabbage, turnip and radish. The development periods of immature stages ranged from 10.7 d at 20°C to 7.60 d at 30°C for red cabbage. Total percentages of survivorship of immature stages varied from 39.40 and 82.50 within the temperature range of 25–30°C on radish. The average progeny per female was 31.15, 28.95 and 23.77 at 20, 25 and 30°C on cabbage.