8种贵州药用植物内生放线菌的分离及多样性研究

【背景】药用植物内生菌能产生多种活性较好的次级代谢产物,是新抗生素发现的重要来源。目前,药用植物内生菌的研究主要集中在内生真菌,内生放线菌研究相对较少,是一个尚未充分开发的新领域。【目的】研究贵州药用植物内生放线菌多样性,以期发现新种放线菌或产新活性物质的放线菌,为微生物药物研究奠定基础。【方法】药用植物样品表面消毒后用粉碎机粉碎,采用9种不同分离培养基分离放线菌;通过提取放线菌基因组DNA,PCR扩增16S rRNA基因序列,测定序列并提交EzBioCloud数据库进行序列比对,构建系统进化树,进行内生放线菌多样性分析。【结果】通过形态特征初步排重,从8种药用植物样品中共分离得到内生菌62株,测定其16S rRNA基因序列,序列比对结果表明其中的57株菌分布于放线菌域的5目8科16属,分别是短小杆菌属(Curtobacterium)、链霉菌属(Streptomyces)、微杆菌属(Microbacterium)、纤维单胞菌属(Cellulomonas)、植物杆菌属(Plantibacter)、原小单孢菌属(Promicromonospora)、动球菌属(Kineococcus)、壤球菌属(Agrococcus)、沼杆菌属(Patulibacter)、气微菌属(Aeromicrobium)、拉贝达氏菌属(Labedella)、叶居菌属(Frondihabitans)、冷杆菌属(Frigoribacterium)、节杆菌属(Arthrobacter)、动孢菌属(Kineosporia)、Amnibacterium属,其中短小杆菌属(Curtobacterium)为优势菌属,菌株M8JJ-5和M2KJ-4的16S rRNA基因序列分别与有效发表菌株AmnibacteriumkyonggienseKSL51201-037T(FJ527819)和Aeromicrobiumfastidiosum DSM10552T (Z78209)的相似性最高,相似性分别为97.29%和98.95%,可能为潜在新物种。【结论】贵州药用植物中蕴藏着多样性丰富的放线菌且具有从中发现新放线菌的潜力,能为新抗生素的发现提供菌种储备,也为今后对该地区放线菌资源的认识和开发利用提供理论依据。     

药用植物内生真菌及活性物质多样性研究进展

药用植物具有丰富的物种多样性,是人类生存与发展的重要自然资源。内生真菌广泛存在于健康植物组织内部,是植物微生态系统的重要组成部分,各种药用植物中蕴藏着非常丰富的内生真菌。通过与药用植物的“协同进化”,某些内生真菌具有了产生与宿主植物相同或相似的生物活性物质的能力。内生真菌产生的各种活性物质,在生物制药、农业生产、工业发酵等方面都表现出美好的应用前景,受到世界各国专家的广泛关注。利用内生真菌发酵实现生物活性物质的工业化生产,可以提高产量、降低产品成本,满足人们日益增长的需求;同时有利于珍稀、濒危药用植物资源的保护,对减少野生药用植物多样性的破坏具有重要意义。本文从药用植物内生真菌物种多样性与产生生物活性物质多样性等方面总结近年最新的研究进展,提出了内生真菌及活性物质研究的未来发展方向。     

Isolation,Diversity, and Antimicrobial Activity of Rare Actinobacteria from Medicinal Plants of Tropical Rain Forests in Xishuangbanna,China

Endophytic actinobacteria are relatively unexplored as potential sources of novel species and novel natural products for medical and commercial exploitation. Xishuangbanna is recognized throughout the world for its diverse flora, especially the rain forest plants, many of which have indigenous pharmaceutical histories. However, little is known about the endophytic actinobacteria of this tropical area. In this work, we studied the diversity of actinobacteria isolated from medicinal plants collected from tropical rain forests in Xishuangbanna. By the use of different selective isolation media and methods, a total of 2,174 actinobacteria were isolated. Forty-six isolates were selected on the basis of their morphologies on different media and were further characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed an unexpected level of diversity, with 32 different genera. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the isolation of Saccharopolyspora, Dietzia, Blastococcus, Dactylosporangium, Promicromonospora, Oerskovia, Actinocorallia, and Jiangella species from endophytic environments. At least 19 isolates are considered novel taxa by our current research. In addition, all 46 isolates were tested for antimicrobial activity and were screened for the presence of genes encoding polyketide synthetases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases. The results confirm that the medicinal plants of Xishuangbanna represent an extremely rich reservoir for the isolation of a significant diversity of actinobacteria, including novel species, that are potential sources for the discovery of biologically active compounds.The class Actinobacteria accounts for a high proportion of soil microbial biomass and contains the most economically significant prokaryotes, producing more than half of the bioactive compounds in a literature survey (46), including antibiotics (6), immunosuppressive agents (55), antitumor agents (18), and enzymes (64). Actinobacteria belonging to the genus Streptomyces, in particular, are excellent producers. The emergence of drug resistance in many bacterial pathogens and the current increase in the number of fungal infections has caused a resurgence of interest in finding new reserves of biologically active compounds (63). As the search for novel natural products continues, it becomes apparent that the rate of discovery of new compounds from soil streptomycetes has decreased, whereas the rate of reisolation of known compounds has increased (28). Recently, evidence has accumulated that rare actinomycete species, which are often very difficult to isolate and cultivate, might represent a unique source of novel biologically active compounds (4). On the other hand, new microbial habitats need to be examined in the search for novel bioactive compounds. One biologically important but relatively overlooked niche is the inner tissues of higher plants. Early studies have demonstrated that some actinobacteria can form intimate associations with plants and colonize their inner tissues. Frankia species and Streptomyces scabies can penetrate their hosts and establish either pathogenic or endophytic associations (5, 24). The actinomycetes that reside in the tissues of living plants and do not visibly harm the plants are known as endophytic actinobacteria (37). These actinobacteria are relatively unstudied and are potential sources of novel natural products for exploitation in medicine, agriculture, and industry (73).Endophytic actinobacteria have attracted attention in recent years, with increasing reports of isolates from a range of plant types, including crop plants (cereals, such as wheat and rice, as well as potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, and citrus) (2, 16, 62, 71, 74, 80) and medicinal plants (75, 88). The culturable endophytic actinobacteria from these plants were found to fall within a narrow species distribution: Streptomyces spp. were the predominant species, and Microbispora, Micromonospora, Nocardioides, Nocardia, and Streptosporangium were the common genera. Endophytic actinobacteria have been demonstrated to improve and promote the growth of host plants as well as to reduce disease symptoms caused by plant pathogens through various mechanisms, including the production of secondary metabolites, which are used in direct antagonism against pests and diseases (9, 10, 12), changes in host physiology (42), and the induction of systemic acquired resistance in plants (15). Another significant function found for these actinobacteria was antibiotic activity, suggesting that endophytic actinobacteria can be an interesting source for bioprospecting. New antibiotics from endophytic Streptomyces spp.—alnumycin, munumbicins A to D, and coronamycins—have been reported (7, 11). Recently, two novel antitumor anthraquinones, lupinacidins A and B, were isolated from a new endophytic Micromonospora sp. (43). Moreover, new species of endophytic actinobacteria have been increasingly reported (25, 35). Thus, endophytic actinobacteria are expected to be potential sources of new species and new bioactive agents.Of the myriad ecosystems on earth, those with the greatest general biodiversity seem also to have the greatest number and the greatest diversity of endophytes (73). Tropical and temperate rain forests are the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on earth and thus the greatest possible resource for the acquisition of novel microorganisms and their products (73). One area of enormous plant biodiversity is Xishuangbanna, located in the People''s Republic of China at the border with Myanmar. This area lies at the ecotone between the Asian tropics and subtropics and is dominated by tropical seasonal rain forests (87). Xishuangbanna contains more than 5,000 species of vascular plants, comprising 16% of China''s total plant diversity, and more than 3,000 are endemic species (53, 60), many of which have ethnobotanical histories. Until the present, little research was carried out to isolate endophytic actinobacteria and their secondary metabolites from Xishuangbanna (36, 86). In our long-term study of endophytic actinobacterial diversity and bioactive metabolites from tropical rain forest medicinal plants in Xishuangbanna, many bioactive endophytic Streptomyces spp. have been isolated (49). However, the work to date is insufficient to provide a general understanding of the diversity, distribution, and ecology of tropical rain forest endophytic actinobacteria and to facilitate further exploitation of the diverse functions of this novel microbial source.In the present study, the diversity of rare endophytic actinobacteria associated with medicinal plants from the tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna was investigated by combining special culturing techniques. The selected isolates were also identified by 16S rRNA gene analysis. The overall aims of this study were (i) to analyze the actinobacterial community and reveal whether the rain forest investigated in Xishuangbanna represents a valuable source for abundant endophytic actinobacteria and new species, (ii) to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of these actinobacteria and the biosynthetic potential of related secondary metabolites, and (iii) to study the relationships between the taxa of these endophytic actinobacteria and the isolation methods applied.     

Biodiversity,bioactive natural products and biotechnological potential of plant-associated endophytic actinobacteria

Endophytic actinobacteria, which exist in the inner tissues of living plants, have attracted increasing attention among taxonomists, ecologists, agronomists, chemists and evolutionary biologists. Numerous studies have indicated that these prolific actinobacteria appear to have a capacity to produce an impressive array of secondary metabolites exhibiting a wide variety of biological activity, such as antibiotics, antitumor and anti-infection agents, plant growth promoters and enzymes, and may contribute to their host plants by promoting growth and enhancing their ability of withstanding the environmental stresses. These microorganisms may represent an underexplored reservoir of novel species of potential interest in the discovery of novel lead compounds and for exploitation in pharmaceutical, agriculture and industry. This review focuses on new findings in the isolation methods, bio- and chemical diversity of endophytic actinobacteria and reveals the potential biotechnological application. The facing problems and strategies for biodiversity research and bioactive natural products producing are also discussed.     

A potential antioxidant resource: Endophytic fungi from medicinal plants

Medicinal plants and their endophytes are important resources for discovery of natural products. Several previous studies have found a positive correlation between total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total phenolic content (TPC) of many medicinal plant extracts. However, no information is available on whether such a relationship also exists in their endophytic fungal metabolites. We investigated the relationship between TAC and TPC for 292 morphologically distinct endophytic fungi isolated from 29 traditional Chinese medicinal plants. The antioxidant capacities of the endophytic fungal cultures were significantly correlated with their total phenolic contents, suggesting that phenolics were also the major antioxidant constituents of the endophytes. Some of the endophytes were found to produce metabolites possessing strong antioxidant activities. Several bioactive constituents from the fungal cultures and host plant extracts were identified. This investigation reveals that the metabolites produced by a wide diversity of endophytic fungi in culture can be a potential source of novel natural antioxidants.     

川楝内生放线菌多样性及抗菌活性筛选

【目的】探究药用植物川楝内生放线菌多样性,从中挖掘出新的放线菌菌株,发现新的潜在农业生防和医药先导化合物。【方法】从四川境内的资阳、遂宁以及重庆万州采集川楝的根、茎、叶、果、皮,采用纯培养方法,用4种培养基共分离获得148株放线菌。通过形态学观察筛选出60株放线菌进行RFLP分析,选出代表菌株进行16S r RNA基因序列分析。以3株细菌和6株病原真菌作为指示菌株,检测初筛出的60株菌株的抗菌活性以及聚酮合酶(PKSⅠ、PKSⅡ)基因、非核糖体多肽合成酶(NRPS)基因和卤化酶(Halo)基因。【结果】基于16S r RNA-RFLP分析,60株放线菌被分成10簇,筛选出25株代表菌株分别属于7个属,包括Streptomyces、Micromonospora、Planotetraspora、Streptosporangium、Nocardiopsis、Prauseria、Microbispora,其中链霉菌占73.3%。供试的川楝内生放线菌对细菌、真菌有不同程度的抗菌活性;其中含有4类化合物合成基因的菌株占10%-55%。【结论】药用植物川楝内生放线菌具有丰富的多样性,且不同地区不同部位川楝组织中放线菌的种群存在差异;分离菌株广谱的抗菌活性证明,川楝内生放线菌在次生代谢产物合成方面具有巨大潜力,这为进一步的药物开发提供了丰富的菌种资源。     

蜘蛛抱蛋属植物内生细菌的多样性及其抗菌活性筛选

【背景】药用植物中蕴含多样性丰富的内生菌资源,这些微生物产生的多种新型物质在制药领域表现出较好的应用前景。【目的】研究蜘蛛抱蛋属(Aspidistra Ker-Gawl.)植物内生细菌的多样性,探索药用植物内生细菌在药用活性产物方面的开发潜力,以期发现具有抗菌活性的次级代谢产物。【方法】对9种13株新鲜的蜘蛛抱蛋植物进行表面消毒,采用5种分离培养基分离内生细菌;根据菌落形态特征排除重复菌株,并测定其16S rRNA基因序列,构建系统进化树分析内生细菌多样性;将菌株分别用2种培养基发酵,使用耻垢分枝杆菌(Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC 700044)、水稻白叶枯菌(Xanthomonas oryzae PXO99A)、白色念珠菌(Candidaalbicans ATCC 10231)、肺炎雷伯菌(Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 700603)和耐药粪肠球菌HH22(Enterococcus faecalis HH22)5种检定菌对分离菌株的发酵液进行抑菌活性筛选。【结果】从植物组织中分离得到了234株内生细菌,根据形态初步排重得到156株植物内生细菌;基于16S rRNA基因序列构建的系统进化树显示它们分属于3门10目22科29属,其中链霉菌属(Streptomyces)、芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus)、微杆菌属(Microbacterium)、类芽孢杆菌属(Paenibacillus)和根瘤菌属(Rhizobium)的菌株广泛地分布在不同种的蜘蛛抱蛋植株中,且占据一定优势;发现可能的潜在新分类单元6个;156株内生细菌中38株菌的发酵液具有抑菌活性,初筛阳性率为23.7%。【结论】蜘蛛抱蛋植物组织中含有种类多样的内生细菌,它们可能是抗菌生物活性次级代谢产物的有效来源。     

Indole-3-Acetic Acid Production by Endophytic Streptomyces sp. En-1 Isolated from Medicinal Plants

Plant-associated actinobacteria are rich sources of bioactive compounds including indole-derived molecules such as phytohormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). In view of few investigations concerning the biosynthesis of IAA by endophytic actinobacteria, this study evaluated the potential of IAA production in endophytic streptomycete isolates sourced from medicinal plant species Taxus chinensis and Artemisia annua. By HPLC analysis of IAA combined with molecular screening approach of iaaM, a genetic determinant of streptomycete IAA synthesis via indole-3-acetamide (IAM), our data showed the putative operation of IAM-mediated IAA biosynthesis in Streptomyces sp. En-1 endophytic to Taxus chinensis. Furthermore, using the co-cultivation system of model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and streptomycete, En-1 was found to be colonized intercellularly in the tissues of Arabidopsis, an alternative host, and the effects of endophytic En-1 inoculation on the model plant were also assayed. The phytostimulatory effects of En-1 inoculation suggest that IAA-producing Streptomyces sp. En-1 of endophytic origin could be a promising candidate for utilization in growth improvement of plants of economic and agricultural value.     

药用植物内生真菌的多样性及生物功能研究进展

药用植物内生真菌资源丰富,其代谢产物常具有抗肿瘤、抗氧化、抑菌等作用,能产生药用植物生长调节物质及与宿主相同或类似的次生代谢产物,从而成为近年来的研究热点。本文对药用植物内生真菌的分离鉴定、多样性、生物活性及生物学功能等方面进行综述,以期为今后筛选及利用有效的药用植物内生真菌奠定基础。     

塔里木盆地胀果甘草内生放线菌多样性及抗菌活性分析

【目的】发掘具有开发前景的放线菌资源,对分离自新疆胀果甘草的内生放线菌的多样性、抗菌活性和次级代谢产物合成相关基因进行研究。【方法】采用5种培养基和3种前处理方法,从胀果甘草中分离获得80株放线菌。基于菌株形态学特征,对36株代表菌株进行抗菌活性检测,通过特异性引物扩增方法,检测了PKS I、PKS II、NPRS和卤化酶基因,探究其合成天然产物的潜在能力。结合筛选结果,选取其中20株代表菌,经16S r RNA基因测序,对其进行系统发育分析。【结果】培养基E2和E3结合热处理的分离效果较好;86.1%的代表菌株对供试的细菌、病原真菌表现出了不同程度的抗菌活性,PKS I、PKS II、NRPS基因和卤化酶基因阳性检出率分别为16.7%、72.2%、25.0%和11.1%。具有活性功能的代表菌株经16S r RNA基因测序分析,分别属于链霉菌属(Streptomyces)、小单胞菌属(Micromonospora)、红球菌属(Rhodococcus)和游动放线菌属(Actinoplanes)4个属,其中链霉菌属(Streptomyces)为优势菌属,占60%以上。【结论】胀果甘草是我国传统的药用植物,其植株内部蕴藏着丰富的放线菌资源,并在次生代谢产物合成方面拥有巨大潜力,具有进一步开发的价值。     

人参内生菌的多样性及其次生代谢产物

人参是传统的名贵中药材,在医学上有很高的药用价值,同时也是宝贵的自然资源。内生菌广泛存在于健康植物组织内部,是植物微生态系统的重要组成部分,某些内生菌甚至能够产生同原植物相同或相似的活性物质。本文综述了从人参中分离得到内生菌的物种多样性,着重介绍从其内生真菌中发现并得到的次生代谢产物的丰富性并阐述了其在医药及生产生活中的应用前景。     

海南西海岸真红树内生放线菌多样性及其延缓衰老活性初筛

为了发掘红树林内生放线菌资源和进行新型海洋药物研究,该文选择海南西海岸14种真红树的根、茎、叶、花、胚轴为研究对象,采用9种不同分离培养基[改良的高氏培养基(AGG)、海藻糖-天冬酰胺培养基(M4)、海藻糖-脯氨酸培养基(M5)、改良ISP5培养基(M7)、精氨酸-天冬酰胺培养基(M9)、改良淀粉-水解酪素培养基(M10)、酪氨酸-天冬酰胺培养基(P7)、燕麦培养基(P3)、棉籽糖-组氨酸培养基(M11)],结合稀释涂布法和三线划线法从真红树组织中分离菌株,基于菌株16S rRNA基因序列信息等分子生物学鉴定方法对获得的海洋放线菌进行多样性分析,并使用模式生物秀丽隐杆线虫对所得内生放线菌的延缓衰老活性进行研究。结果表明:(1)从46份真红树组织中共获得24株放线菌,隶属于7科11属,其中9株菌株为链霉菌属(Streptomyces),且IMDGX 6270、IMDGX 6137和IMDGX 6173为3株疑似潜在新菌株。(2)秀丽隐杆线虫模型筛选发现4株放线菌(IMDGX 6157、IMDGX 6182、IMDGX 6248、IMDGX 6360)具有延缓衰老的活性,与空白组比较,生存时间分别延长17.16%、28.11%、29.05%、27.10%。综上结果说明海南西海岸区域真红树植物中可能含有较丰富的放线菌资源,能够为延缓衰老药物的研发提供新来源。     

Endophytic fungi from medicinal plants: a treasure hunt for bioactive metabolites

Endophytic fungi are ubiquitous organisms found in the plants, residing intercellular or intracellular, at least for a portion of their lives without causing apparent symptoms of infection. Almost all plants are known to harbor endophytes. The choice of the plant to be used for exploring endophytes for bioactives is important. Therefore, medicinal plants which are known to be used since centuries as an alternative source of medicine, are a valuable source for bioprospecting endophytes. Nevertheless, due to many reasons there is a dire need for novel resources for novel drugs which can be an answer to many deadly diseases. It is in this context that the present review was envisaged. The review reveals the importance of endophytic fungi from medicinal plants as a source of bioactive and chemically novel compounds. The bioactive metabolites produced by endophytic fungi originate from different biosynthetic pathways and belong to diverse structural groups such as terpenoids, steroids, quinones, phenols, coumarins etc. Endophytes therefore, represent a chemical reservoir for new compounds such as, anticancer, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antiparasitic, antiviral, antitubercular, insecticidal etc. for use in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Although, efforts have been made to accommodate as many examples as possible but the depth of the subject is so vast that it cannot be covered in one single review. This in itself speaks of the fact that endophytic fungi from medicinal plants is indeed a treasure worth searching. In the present review only some selected examples have been covered.     

植物内生放线菌多样性研究进展

植物内生放线菌作为植物内生菌资源的一大类,具有丰富的多样性,其次级代谢产物也十分丰富,而且还具有各种生物学活性。通过了解植物内生放线菌资源的多样性,可以对其产生的生物活性物质进行筛选和分析,从而筛选出具有良好药理活性的物质应用于临床。从植物内生放线菌宿主植物、组织分布、种类和数量以及活性基因4个方面综述了植物内生放线菌的多样性资源,介绍植物内生放线菌新的微生物物种,总结了植物内生放线菌目前研究中存在的问题及展望。     

应用LH-PCR研究党参、麻黄和独一味内生细菌多样性

通过直接提取药用植物样品的总DNA,采用长度多态片段PCR (length heterogeneity PCR, LH-PCR)技术研究四川省甘孜藏族自治州的党参、麻黄和独一味3种药用植物内生细菌多样性.结果表明： 同种植物根、茎、叶的LH-PCR图谱相似度很高,条带丰富度差别不大;但不同植物样品之间的差异较大.党参的植物样品条带丰富度最大,麻黄次之,独一味最低.3种药用植物中474 bp长度的细菌是绝对的优势菌群.植物内生细菌多样性与土壤速效磷呈负相关,而与土壤pH值呈正相关.海拔和土壤总氮是影响植物样品内生细菌多样性分布的两个重要环境因子.LH-PCR所得的种群信息能较直观地反映不同植物样品间细菌多样性的差异.因此LH-PCR适用于分析药用植物内生菌多样性.     

The rhizospheres of traditional medicinal plants in Panxi, China, host a diverse selection of actinobacteria with antimicrobial properties

Actinobacteria are a prolific source of antibiotics. Since the rate of discovery of novel antibiotics is decreasing, actinobacteria from unique environments need to be explored. In particular, actinobacterial biocontrol strains from medicinal plants need to be studied as they can be a source of potent antibiotics. We combined culture-dependent and culture-independent methods in analyzing the actinobacterial diversity in the rhizosphere of seven traditional medicinal plant species from Panxi, China, and assessed the antimicrobial activity of the isolates. Each of the plant species hosted a unique set of actinobacterial strains. Out of the 64 morphologically distinct isolates, half were Streptomyces sp., eight were Micromonospora sp., and the rest were members of 18 actinobacterial genera. In particular, Ainsliaea henryi Diels. hosted a diverse selection of actinobacteria, although the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequence identity ranges of the isolates and of the 16S rRNA gene clone library were not congruent. In the clone library, 40% of the sequences were related to uncultured actinobacteria, emphasizing the need to develop isolation methods to assess the full potential of the actinobacteria. All Streptomyces isolates showed antimicrobial activity. While the antimicrobial activities of the rare actinobacteria were limited, the growth of Escherichia coli, Verticillium dahliae, and Fusarium oxysporum were inhibited only by rare actinobacteria, and strains related to Saccharopolyspora shandongensis and Streptosporangium roseum showed broad antimicrobial activity.     

An ethnobotanical study of the indigenous knowledge by the Rajbangshi community of Raiganj Block,Uttar Dinajpur district,West Bengal,India

BackgroundThe present study deals with documentation of medicinal importance of plants and traditional knowledge set harboring among the ethnic communities to utilize various plant parts for various health care practices. Twelve villages were surveyed primarily targeting the Rajbangshi communities of Raiganj Block, Uttar Dinajpur district, West Bengal, India.MethodsThe ethnomedicinal information was gathered through interviews using semi- structured questionnaires among the traditional healers (Kabiraj) of the Rajbangshi community. Identification and documentation of all the plants species have been completed following standard taxonomic procedure. The collected data were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed through different ethnobotanical indices like, use report, informant consensus factor and relative importance.ResultsA total of 76 plant species belonging to 40 families and 72 genera were reported to have been utilized for the treatment of a total of 42 types of ailments. Herbs (43%) were the major source of medicine while roots (31%) were most frequently used plant parts. Preparation of juice (55%) from plant parts accounted as most preferred method. Achyranthes aspera L. has the highest calculated relative importance (100) value. The average informant consensus factor value for all ailments categories was 0.75, indicating a high level of consensus among the interviewed informants.ConclusionThe present study clearly demonstrates that huge diversity of medicinal plants reported in the study area may immensely help in the development of novel drugs of natural origin if the traditional knowledge set of the Rajbangshi community is adequately nurtured.     

The Diversity and Anti-Microbial Activity of Endophytic Actinomycetes Isolated from Medicinal Plants in Panxi Plateau,China

Traditional Chinese medicinal plants are sources of biologically active compounds, providing raw material for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and fragrance industries. The endophytes of medicinal plants participate in biochemical pathways and produce analogous or novel bioactive compounds. Panxi plateau in South-west Sichuan in China with its unique geographical and climatological characteristics is a habitat of a great variety of medicinal plants. In this study, 560 endophytic actinomycetes were isolated from 26 medicinal plant species in Panxi plateau. 60 isolates were selected for 16S rDNA-RFLP analysis and 14 representative strains were chosen for 16S rDNA sequencing. According to the phylogenetic analysis, seven isolates were Streptomyces sp., while the remainder belonged to genera Micromonospora, Oerskovia, Nonomuraea, Promicromonospora and Rhodococcus. Antimicrobial activity analysis combined with the results of amplifying genes coding for polyketide synthetase (PKS-I, PKS-II) and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) showed that endophytic actinomycetes isolated from medicinal plants in Panxi plateau had broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and potential natural product diversity, which further proved that endophytic actinomycetes are valuable reservoirs of novel bioactive compounds.     

药用植物内生真菌研究现状和发展趋势

药用植物内生真菌普遍存在于健康植物组织和器官中,种类繁多,分布广泛。到目前为止,人们已从大量药用植物中分离出不同类型的内生真菌,这些植物广泛分布于除南极洲以外的各种陆地生态系统中。随着现代科学技术的迅速发展,药用植物内生真菌的研究也取得了长足的进步。由于内生真菌对于药用植物的重要性,其相关研究也受到了世界各国学者的高度关注。本文总结现阶段药用植物内生真菌相关研究,并对未来研究的发展趋势做出展望。     

Diversity of endophytic fungal community associated with Piper hispidum (Piperaceae) leaves

Tropical and subtropical plants are rich in endophytic community diversity. Endophytes, mainly fungi and bacteria, inhabit the healthy plant tissues without causing any damage to the hosts. These fungi can be useful for biological control of pathogens and plant growth promotion. Some plants of the genus Piper are hosts of endophytic microorganisms; however, there is little information about endophytes on Piper hispidum, a medicinal shrub used as an insecticide, astringent, diuretic, stimulant, liver treatment, and for stopping hemorrhages. We isolated the fungal endophyte community associated with P. hispidum leaves from plants in a Brazilian forest remnant. The endophytic diversity was examined based on sequencing of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region of rDNA. A high colonization frequency was obtained, as expected for tropical angiosperms. Isolated endophytes were divided into 66 morphogroups, demonstrating considerable diversity. We identified 21 isolates, belonging to 11 genera (Alternaria, Bipolaris, Colletotrichum, Glomerella, Guignardia, Lasiodiplodia, Marasmius, Phlebia, Phoma, Phomopsis, and Schizophyllum); one isolate was identified only to the order level (Diaporthales). Bipolaris was the most frequent genus among the identified endophytes. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the molecular identification of some isolates to genus level while for others it was confirmed at the species level.