THE PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTICS IN SOIL V. BREAKDOWN OF GRISEOFULVIN IN SOIL

When griseofulvin (I; R = Cl, R '= OCH₃), a chlorine-containing antibiotic produced by Penicillium nigricans , was added to fresh garden loam, after an initial lag it disappeared rapidly. When further griseofulvin was added it was inactivated from the start and at rates which increased with each successive addition, suggesting that it was degraded biologically. The numbers of one organism, a Pseudomonas sp., increased in the soil steadily after adding griseofulvin.
When a little soil was added to a solution (pH 7·0) containing inorganic salts and griseofulvin as the sole carbon source, bioassays showed that the griseofulvin disappeared within 5 days. An organism isolated from the broth was identified as the Pseudomonas sp. thought to break down griseofulvin in soil. Griseofulvin also disappeared from a broth at pH 5·0 inoculated with soil, but at this lower pH value a dematiaceous fungus was responsible for its breakdown.
The Pseudomonas sp. also degraded two derivatives of griseofulvin, dechlorogriseofulvin (I; R = H, R'= OCH₃) and the amine (I; R = Cl, R '= NH₂). Cl^– was detected in the solutions after breakdown of griseofulvin by the Pseudomonas ; the amount present agreed well with that calculated on the assumption that all the chlorine in the griseofulvin supplied was liberated as Cl^–. Spectrophotometric examination of the solutions showed no metabolites with the aromatic ring intact, and confirmed the complete breakdown of griseofulvin suggested by the liberation of Cl-.     

羊草草原土壤微生物的分布及其与土壤因子间的关系

 本文较系统地研究了东北羊草草原土壤微生物的分布规律和环境因子对微生物分布的制约作用。结果表明：微生物的数量、生理群的数量及微生物总生物量在羊草和杂草群落土壤生境中均最高,而碱茅和碱蓬群落生境中最低,隐子草群落生境居中。土壤全磷、全氮、全钾、pH和活性有机质对微生物有较大的直接作用,通径系数为6.15—2.02。全氮—全磷、活性有机质-全磷、pH-全磷、pH-全钾、全钾—全磷、活性有机质—全氮、活性有机质—全钾和有机质—全氮之间的间接作用对微生物影响最明显,作用系数为5.94—2.90,其余因素的作用相对不显著。     

THE PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTICS IN SOIL

Extracts of the coats of seeds inoculated with Trichoderma viride, Penicillium frequentans or P. gladioli and sown in soil contained antibiotics, identified by paper chromatography as gliotoxin, frequentin and gladiolic acid respectively. Three actinomycetes, Streptoniyces griseus, S. venezuelae and S. nureofaciens failed to produce an antibiotic in the coats of seeds sown in either John Innes potting compost or a calcareous soil.
When uninoculated pea seeds were sown in a soil in which an unintroduced gliotoxin-producing strain of Trichoderma viride was growing vigorously, gliotoxin was detected in the seed coats.     

THE PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTICS IN SOIL

Conditions affecting the production of gliotoxin by a strain of Trichoderma viride , known to produce this antibiotic in synthetic culture media, were studied in two types of soil, a highly acid, sandy podsol from Wareham Heath and a less acid garden soil. High yields of an antibiotic substance, which results from bioassays showed to be similar to gliotoxin, were obtained from both inoculated soils when autoclaved and supplemented with organic material. The autoclaved soils behaved differently when unsupplemented; Wareham soil supported production of the antibiotic but little or none was produced in the garden soil. No antibiotic activity could be demonstrated in soil which had not been inoculated with T. viride.
Acidification of unsupplemented garden soil by addition of sulphuric acid had a favourable effect on production of the antibiotic, but raising the pH of Wareham soil by addition of calcium hydroxide also increased the yield. These effects, therefore, cannot be due simply to the change in pH of the soil.
The beneficial effect of autoclaving the soil on production of the antibiotic assumed to be gliotoxin was analysed and separated into three distinct effects, elimination of the microflora, increase in availability of nitrogen compounds and increase in available carbon compounds. The last effect was considered to be of greatest significance.
The antibiotic was produced in normal Wareham soil if supplemented with additional carbon compounds, but not in garden soil unless this had also been acidified before inoculation. A chromatographic method of bioassay used in the later work gave more substantial evidence that the antibiotic produced in the soil was, in fact, gliotoxin.     

THE PRODUCTION OF ANTIBIOTICS IN SOIL

Antibiotic production in and around particles of plant debris in soil was studied. High yields of an antibiotic, shown by bioassay methods to be similar to gliotoxin, were obtained from wheat straws buried in a normal, unautoclaved; acid podsoc from Wareham Heath which had been inoculated with a strain of Trichoderma viride known to produce gliotoxin in culture media. Only a little of the antibiotic was produced in the soil immediately surrounding the straws. Much less was produced in straws buried in John Innes potting compost and none at all in straws buried in a Kettering loam. In no case was an antibiotic detected in straws from un-inoculated soils.
If, however, the Kettering loam was acidified or, alternatively, the straws themselves were acidified and then buried in untreated Kettering loam, good yields of the antibiotic were obtained from straw extracts. Conversely, when the pH of Wareham Heath soil was raised by addition of calcium hydroxide to the soil no antibiotic activity could be detected in the straws. This suggests that the pH of the soil and of the food substrate has a profound effect on production of an antibiotic, assumed to be gliotoxin, by T. viride. The results obtained suggested that increased production of gliotoxin after autoclaving the straws was due to a decrease in the pH of the straws rather than to a release of nutrients.     

土壤中含EB病毒诱导物的检测

从广西壮族自治区梧州市、苍梧县、罗城县和北京市收集的土壤标本中发现有EB病毒诱导物。梧州市和苍梧县沿公路和江河两旁桐油树下的土壤标本,对EB病毒早期抗原诱导的阳性率为40～58％。在其他大戟科植物下的土壤标本中,也发现有EB病毒诱导物。对桐油树下土壤中EB病毒诱导物与鼻咽癌发生的可能关系进行了讨论。     

锡林河流域一个放牧草原群落中根系呼吸占土壤总呼吸比例的初步估计

 采取根系生物量梯度上土壤呼吸变化趋势线外推法对锡林河流域一个放牧羊草(Leymus chinensis)群落中根系呼吸占土壤总呼吸的比例进行了估计。结果表明：在测定年度整个生长季的不同月份,该群落中根系呼吸量占土壤呼吸总量的比例在15%～37%之间,平均为24%;根系呼吸所占比例较高的月份与根系生长的高峰期基本一致,均出现在6月中旬和8月上旬;上述结果与国外同类研究结果相比,具有很好的一致性。