Studies on the Glucanase of Sclerotinia libertiana

The digestion of yeast cells with the glucanase of Sclerotinia was found to be significantly increased by pretreating the cells with papaya lysozyme, as well as by pretreating with dilute sodium hydroxide solution. Defatted chlorella cells were digested to a certain extent with the glucanase alone. Pretreatment with lipolytic enzyme slightly stimulated the digestion of yeast cells by glucanase, but this effect was not found with the yeast cells treated by soaps or the defatted chlorella cells. Egg white lysozyme had no effect on digestion of yeast cells. The effect of papaya lysozyme seemed to have relation with the liberation of hexosamine compounds from the yeast-cell walls. It is suggested that, in normal cells, the glucan is present to form a further complex structure with certain other component, becoming insusceptible to the action of glucanase.     

Studies on the Structure of Gluco-oligosaccharides Obtained from the Partial Acid Hydrolyzate of Sclerotia of Sclerotinia libertiana

The defatted sclerotia powder was partially hydrolyzed with dilute acid, and the material obtained was fractionated by carbon column chromatography, separated into two disaccharides, three trisaccharides and three tetrasaccharides, respectively. In these hydrolyzates α, α-trehalose, Iaminaribiose, and gentiobiose were identified.     

Trehalase from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Summary Cell-free extracts of mycelia and sclerotia of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) D By. grown on synthetic liquid medium with various carbon sources contained trehalase (,-glucoside 1-glucohydrolase; EC3.2.1.28) activity. The enzyme was not usually detected in the culture filtrate. Treatment with ammonium sulfate or MnSO₄ and alumina resulted in a 2- to 3-fold purification. The optimum pH (5.0), K _m with trehalose (1.7×10^-3 M) and other properties are within the range reported for trehalase from other fungi.     

Synthesis of a branched d-glucotetraose,the repeating unit of the extracellular polysaccharides of Grifola umbellate,Sclerotinia libertiana,Porodisculus pendulus,and Schizophyllum commune fries

The synthesis of d-glucotetraose, 3-O-[3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-β-d-glucopyranosyl]-6-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-α (and β)-d-glucopyranose, the repeating unit of the extracellular polysaccharides of Grifora umbellata, Sclerotinia libertiana, Porodisculus pendulus, and Schizophyllum commune Fries, is described.     

Cyclosporine A from a nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum suppressing Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

AIMS: To evaluate the antagonistic activity of Fusarium oxysporum nonpathogenic fungal strain S6 against the phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and to identify the antifungal compounds involved. METHODS AND RESULTS: The antagonistic activity of Fusarium oxysporum strain S6 was determined in vitro by dual cultures. The metabolite responsible for the activity was isolated by chromatographic techniques, purified and identified by spectroscopic methods as cyclosporine A. The antifungal activity against the pathogen was correlated with the presence of this metabolite by a dilution assay and then quantified. Cyclosporine A caused both growth inhibition and suppression of sclerotia formation. In a greenhouse assay, a significant increase in the number of surviving soybean (Glycine max) plants was observed when S. sclerotiorum and F. oxysporum (S6) were inoculated together when compared with plants inoculated with S. sclerotiorum alone. CONCLUSION: Fusarium oxysporum (S6) may be a good fungal biological control agent for S. sclerotiorum and cyclosporine A is the responsible metabolite involved in its antagonistic activity in vitro. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Cyclosporine A has not been previously described as an inhibitor of S. sclerotiorum. Its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.1 microg disc(-1) makes it suitable to use as a biofungicide. In vivo experiments showed that F. oxysporum (S6) is a good candidate for the biocontrol of S. sclerotiorum in soybean.     

Potato Tuber UDP-Glucose:Protein Transglucosylase Catalyzes Its Own Glucosylation

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tuber UDP-glucose:protein transglucosylase (UPTG) (EC 2.4.1.112) is involved in the first of a two-step mechanism proposed for protein-bound α-glucan synthesis by catalyzing the covalent attachment of a single glucose residue to an acceptor protein. The resulting glucosylated 38-kilodalton polypeptide would then serve as a primer for enzymic glucan chain elongation during the second step. In the present report, we describe the fast protein liquid chromatography purification of UPTG from a membrane pellet of potato tuber. An apparently close association of UPTG, phosphorylase, and starch synthase was observed under native conditions during different purification steps. Enrichment of a 38-kilodalton polypeptide was found throughout enzyme purification. It is now shown that the purified UPTG, with an apparent molecular mass of 38 kilodaltons, undergoes self-glucosylation in a UDP-glucose- and Mn²⁺-dependent reaction. Therefore, it is concluded that UPTG is the enzyme and at the same time the priming protein required for the biogenesis of protein-bound α-glucan in potato tuber.     

Purification of the beta-glucosidase from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

A beta-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) has been isolated from culture filtrates of the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The protein was purified by gel filtration on a column of Bio-Gel P-300 and by ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-Bio-Gel A. The molecular weight, determined by gel filtration, was 240,000. Km values for the enzyme towards p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucoside and cellobiose were respectively 0.10 mM and 1.23 mM. The beta-glucosidase activity was found to be strongly associated with a beta-xylosidase (EC 3.2.1.37) activity, suggesting that both activities could be represented in a single protein complex.     

黑龙江省大豆菌核病菌核盘菌遗传多样性分析

了解黑龙江省不同地区侵染大豆核盘菌菌株分离物间的主要特性差异,利用PDA培养基对核盘菌进行分离和纯化,同时利用RAPD和rDNA-ITS标记方法对核盘菌进行遗传多样性分析,获得了50株纯化的核盘菌,用RAPD标记确定的遗传相似系数范围为0.54-0.98,平均相似系数为0.76,说明供试的核盘菌菌株的基因型具有一定的差异。对50个测定序列有差异的32个核盘菌ITS和5.8S rDNA片段的多序列对位分析,在ITS1区域的1-40bp种间变化较大,主要以碱基颠换和转换为进化形式。ITS2区域非常保守没有变异位点。黑龙江省核盘菌菌株在DNA水平上和ITS间隔区上具有较显著的遗传变异,显示出丰富的遗传多样性。     

Mode of Action of the Phospholipase from Sclerotinia Fungus

By using the purified phospholipase A and B of Sclerotinia Libertiana Fcl., enzymic degradation of soy-lecithin was investigated. From the paperchromatography experiments, it was concluded that the phospholipase A specifically hydrolyzes the ester linkage of unsaturated fatty acid of soy-lecithin whereas the phospholipase B hydrolyzes the linkage of saturated acid of soy-lysolecithin. Phospholipase B also could hydrolyze the two fatty acids from the soy-lecithin, however, the hydrolysis rate was rather inhibited by combination with the phospholipase A. Moreover, the phospholipase B activity on soy-lecithin and soy-lysolecithin was found to be increased by the presence of soy-lecithin and soy-lysolecithin in the reaction mixture, and to be inhibited by the addition of Tween 20.     

Purification and Properties of the Adenosine Diphosphoglucose:Glycogen Transglucosylase of Pasteurella pseudotuberculosis

The enzyme which catalyzes the transfer of glucosyl residues from adenosine diphospho(ADP)-glucose to glycogen has been partially purified from extracts of Pasteurella pseudotuberculosis. In contrast to other glycogen synthetases of this type, guanosine diphospho-glucose had about 5% of the activity of ADP-glucose as a glucosyl donor. Some other properties of the enzyme are described and compared to other bacterial glycogen synthetases.     

核盘菌AROM蛋白的三级结构分析

核盘菌编码AROM蛋白的arom基因已经被克隆测序,本文根据该基因翻译的氨基酸序列用同源模建方法和从头模建方法分析了AROM蛋白各结构域的三级结构和功能位点,以及该蛋白二聚体可能的组装方式。结果表明,核盘菌AROM蛋白的脱氢奎尼酸合酶结构域进一步由N-端含有一个Rossmann折叠的α/β结构域和C-端的α螺旋结构域组成;5-烯醇丙酮酰莽草酸-3-磷酸合酶结构域则由两个相似结构域组成,每个结构域含有不同拷贝数的β折叠和α螺旋;莽草酸激酶结构域的N-端由三个β折叠组成;脱氢奎尼酸酶结构域为(α2β2)3多肽,在N-端有一对反平行的β链,在C-端有loop环;莽草酸脱氢酶结构域含有一个由α/β组成的催化结构域和一个含有Rossmann折叠的NADPH结合结构域。     

核盘菌5-烯醇丙酮酰莽草酸-3-磷酸合酶的酶学性质

核盘菌5-烯醇丙酮酰莽草酸-3-磷酸合酶（EPSP合酶）是AROM多功能酶的活性之一.该酶催化莽草酸磷酸（S3P）和磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸（PEP）产生5-烯醇丙酮酰莽草酸-3-磷酸和无机磷酸的可逆反应,受除草剂草甘膦（N-（膦羧甲基）甘氨酸）抑制.纯化了核盘菌AROM蛋白并对EPSP合酶进行了酶学特征研究.结果显示,该酶反应的最适pH值为7.2,最适温度为30℃.热失活反应活化能是69.62 kJ/mol.底物S3P和PEP浓度分别高于1 mmol/L和2 mmol/L时,对EPSP合酶反应产生抑制作用.用双底物反应恒态动力学Dalziel方程求得的Km(PEP)为140.98 μmol/L,K _m(S3P)为139.58 μmol/L.酶动力学模型遵循顺序反应机制.草甘膦是该酶反应底物PEP的竞争性抑制剂（Ki为0.32 μmol/L）和S3P的非竞争性抑制剂.正向反应受K⁺激活.当［K⁺］增加时,K _m(PEP)随之降低,Km(S3P)不规律变化,而K _i(PEP)随［K⁺］增加而提高.     

A novel protein elicitor (SsCut) from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum induces multiple defense responses in plants

In this study, we report the cloning of the SsCut gene encoding cutinase from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. We isolated a 609-bp cDNA encoding a polypeptide of 202 amino acids with a molecular weight of 20.4 kDa. Heterologous expression of SsCut in Escherichia coli (His-SsCut) caused the formation of lesions in tobacco that closely resembled hypersensitive response lesions. Mutational analysis identified the C-terminal-half peptide and the same amino acids indispensable for both enzyme and elicitor activity. His-SsCut was caused cell death in Arabidopsis, soybean (Glycine max), oilseed rape (Brassica napus), rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), and wheat (Triticum aestivum), indicating that both dicot and monocot species are responsive to the elicitor. Furthermore, the elicitation of tobacco was effective in the induction of the activities of hydrogen peroxide, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, peroxides, and polyphenol oxidase. His-SsCut-treated plants exhibited enhanced resistance as indicated by a significant reduction in the number and size of S. sclerotiorum, Phytophthora sojae, and P. nicotianae lesions on leaves relative to controls. Real-time PCR results indicated that the expression of defense-related genes and genes involved in signal transduction were induced by His-SsCut. Our results demonstrate that SsCut is an elicitor that triggers defense responses in plants and will help to clarify its relationship to downstream signaling pathways that induce defense responses.     

A sunflower leaf antifungal peptide active against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

A 5-kDa antifungal peptide (APS) was isolated from Helianthus annum L. (line HA89) leaves infected with a virulent isolate of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary. AP5 was purified by gel filtration, cation exchange chromatography and reverse phase FPLC and HPLC. This peptide in vitro inhibits ascospores germination of the fungal pathogen S. sclerotiorum or produces mycelial growth inhibition, depending on its concentration. The effective concentration of AP5 giving 50% growth inhibition (IC₅₀) against S. sclerotiorum was 0.4 μM. The antifungal efficacy of AP5 is higher than that of other antimicrobial proteins already described that have no appreciable effect on S. sclemtiorum below 4 μM. The relevance of this finding with regard to the function of AP5 in sunflower resistance to pathogens is discussed.     

A Simple Method for the Mating of Sclerotinia trifoliorum

Rehnstrom, A. L., and Free, S. J. 1993. A simple method for the mating of Sclerotinia trifoliorum. Experimental Mycology 17, 236-239. A simple method which allows for the controlled mating of L and S mating type strains of Sclerotinia trifoliorum is described. Using the method, we have been able to mate L and S strains and have demonstrated the segregation of the genetic markers involved in mycelial incompatibility into the progeny.     

Isolation of Sclerosporin,a Sporogenic Substance,from Sclerotinia fructicola

The folate-hydrolyzing enzyme was purified 49-fold from the crude extract of Crithidia fasciculata ATCC 12857 by heat treatment, column chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-200, and preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The final preparation was electrophoretically homogeneous. The enzyme had a molecular weight of 200,000 daltons and consisted of 4 identical subunits of which the molecular weight was about 51,000 daltons. The enzyme hydrolyzed aminopterin, methotrexate, and pABG more effectively than folate. The enzyme hydrolyzed the reduced folates, dihydrofolate and 10-formyltetrahydrofolate, more weakly than folate. The enzyme did not act on pteroly-γ,γ-diglutamylglutamate. The optimum pH for the reaction with each substrate described above was 7.0. Km values for folate, methotrexate, aminopterin, and pABG were 0.13, 0.46, 0.40, and 0.43 mM, respectively. The enzyme activity was inhibited by 2-mercaptoethanol, pCMB, chelating reagents such as α,α′α′′-tripyridyl and bathophenanthroline, divalent cations such as Hg²⁺, Cu^{2 +}, Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Zn²⁺, and by pyrophosphate and orthophosphate.     

Purification and characterization of a β-galactosidase from Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

The DNA coding for the eight structural genes and uncI of the sodium dependent ATPase of Propionigenium modestum has been cloned and sequenced. Based on sequence homology, the genes were determined to appear in the order uncBEFHAGDC as in several other bacterial species. Minicell experiments revealed that plasmids containing the P. modestum DNA expressed those ATPase polypeptides in Escherichia coli. These were very similar in molecular mass to those obtained from the purified ATPase of P. modestum. No membrane-bound ATPase activity was observed in E. coli unc deletion strains containing the P. modestum ATPase genes. Amino acid alignments which were done with the Fo subunits revealed only a few conservative changes in the highly conserved regions of the polypeptides.