Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Tricholoma matsutake that produces commercially valuable fruit bodies, matsutake

Using agroinfection with a T-DNA vector carrying a hygromycin resistance marker, the recombinants were generated for the first time from the ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete Tricholoma matsutake, which produces commercially valuable fruit bodies, matsutake, during association with Pinus sp. plants. The transformation system may be useful in the genetic analysis of T. matsutake.     

Polysaccharides from the fruit bodies of the basidiomycete Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull.: Fr.) Murr

The two main polysaccharides from the basidiomycetous fungus Laetiporus sulphureus were isolated, purified and characterized. The structural assignments were carried out using (13)C, (1)H, and (1)H,(13) HSQC nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, methylation analysis, and Smith degradation. One was a linear beta-glucan having a (1-->3)-linked main chain, namely laminaran. The other was a fucomannogalactan, which consisted of a main chain of (1-->6)-linked alpha-D-galactopyranosyl residues, a part of them being substituted at O-2 by 3-O-D-mannopyranosyl-L-fucopyranosyl, alpha-D-mannopyranosyl and in a minor proportion, alpha-L-fucopyranosyl groups. This heteropolysaccharide is related to those of other Basidiomycetes heterogalactans, although it differs distinctly in its side-chain structures. Whereas part of the single-unit L-fucopyranosyl and/or 3-O-alpha-mannopyranosyl-L-fucopyranosyl residues are present as side chains of the other heterogalactans, additional alpha-D-mannopyranosyl units are present in our fucomannogalactan of L. sulphureus.     

灵芝子实体中三萜类物质抗肿瘤活性的谱效关系

通过HPLC指纹图谱结合多元线性回归分析对不同产地灵芝子实体的功效性特征进行评价,为寻找灵芝中活性三萜提供理论依据。利用高效液相分析方法,结合样品对肿瘤细胞L1210的增殖抑制率,运用“中药色谱指纹图谱相似度评价系统2004A版”软件和多元线性回归分析11批不同品种灵芝子实体中的三萜活性成分。样品与标准指纹图谱的相似度均在0.9以上,共标定了12个共有物质峰,其中与抗L1210肿瘤细胞活性关系密切的三萜物质有灵芝酸C₂、灵芝酸G、灵芝烯酸B、灵芝烯酸A、灵芝酸K、灵芝酸A、灵芝酸F和灵芝醛A。     

Lanostane triterpenoids from cultivated fruiting bodies of the basidiomycete Ganoderma orbiforme

A new 3,4-seco-27-norlanostane triterpene, ganoboninketal D (1), a new lanostane, (24S)-3-oxo-7α,24,25-trihydroxylanosta-8-ene (2), together with six known lanostanes (3–8), were isolated from cultivated fruiting bodies of the basidiomycete Ganoderma orbiforme. The structures were elucidated on the basis of NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometry data, and the structures 1 and 2 were further confirmed by chemical correlations to ganoboninketal C and ganodermanondiol, respectively. All isolated compounds were inactive in the antitubercular and antimalarial activity assays against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra and Plasmodium falciparum K1, respectively, except that compound 8 exhibited weak antitubercular activity (MIC 50 μg/ml).     

Protein activity in bacterial inclusion bodies correlates with predicted aggregation rates

Recent data show that protein aggregation as bacterial inclusion bodies does not necessarily imply loss of biological activity. Here, we investigate the effect of a large set of single-point mutants of an aggregation-prone protein on its specific activity once deposited in inclusion bodies. The activity of such aggregates significantly correlates with the predicted aggregation rates for each mutant, suggesting that rationally tuning the kinetic competition between folding and aggregation might result in highly active, inclusion bodies. The exploration of this technology during recombinant protein production would have a significant biotechnological value.     

Antibiotic inhibitors of the bacterial ribosome

[This corrects the article on p. 493 in vol. 32.].     

蒙古口蘑子实体石油醚提取物的化学成分及抑菌活性

<正>蒙古口蘑Tricholoma mongolicum,又称白蘑、草原白蘑、珍珠蘑、查干蘑菇等。隶属于担子菌门Basidiomycota,伞菌目Agaricales,口蘑科Tricholomataceae,口蘑属Tricholoma。夏秋季在草原上群生并形成蘑菇圈,尤其在立秋前后大量生长     

Radionuclide accumulation in fruit bodies of macromycetes

Coefficients of 137Cs accumulation and 90Sr were determined in macromycetes of different trophic groups (137Cs in 43 species and 90Sr in 19 species) in the conditions of droughty year (1992). Their variability in forest formations was determined in the period from 1992 to 1998. In the year with increased atmospheric humidity (1998), two-fold rise of 137Cs accumulation in fruit bodies was registered on average. The pollution of Boletus edulis correlates with photosynthetically active part of Betula pendula and Pinus silvestris closer than with soil pollution. This shows the possibility to indicate the pollution of short-living fruit bodies of fungi by the pollution of plants-symbiotrophs.     

Protease inhibitors clitocypin and macrocypin are differentially expressed within basidiomycete fruiting bodies

Clitocypin and macrocypin are cysteine protease inhibitors of the mycocypin family which is unique to basidiomycetes. We have established that Clitocybe nebularis and Macrolepiota procera each contain genes for both macrocypin and clitocypin. Both are expressed in M. procera but only clitocypin in C. nebularis. Further analysis of mycocypin expression at the mRNA and protein levels in mature fruiting bodies of M. procera revealed that clitocypin is expressed evenly throughout the fruiting body, while the level of expression of macrocypins varies, and, at the protein level, is much higher in the veil fragments and the ring. The expression patterns of various mycocypins were determined in Coprinopsis cinerea, using promoters linked to a reporter gene. The expression profile of the clitocypin promoter was similar to that of the constitutive promoter gpdII from Agaricus bisporus, while that of the macrocypin 4 promoter was limited to the outer edges of the fruiting body throughout development. In addition, the activity of the macrocypin 3 promoter was different, indicating different regulation of expression for different macrocypin genes. The complex, tissue specific expression patterns for mycocypin genes suggest different biological roles for the products, either in regulation of endogenous proteases or in defense against pathogens or predators.     

Antibiotic production by bacterial biocontrol agents

Interest in biological control of plant pathogens has been stimulated in recent years by trends in agriculture towards greater sustainability and public concern about the use of hazardous pesticides. There is now unequivocal evidence that antibiotics play a key role in the suppression of various soilborne plant pathogens by antagonistic microorganisms. The significance of antibiotics in biocontrol, and more generally in microbial interactions, often has been questioned because of the indirect nature of the supporting evidence and the perceived constraints to antibiotic production in rhizosphere environments. Reporter gene systems and bio-analytical techniques have clearly demonstrated that antibiotics are produced in the spermosphere and rhizosphere of a variety of host plants. Several abiotic factors such as oxygen, temperature, specific carbon and nitrogen sources, and microelements have been identified to influence antibiotic production by bacteria biocontrol agents. Among the biotic factors that may play a determinative role in antibiotic production are the plant host, the pathogen, the indigenous microflora, and the cell density of the producing strain. This review presents recent advances in our understanding of antibiotic production by bacterial biocontrol agents and their role in microbial interactions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Antibiotic activity of pteridophytes

The occurrence of antibiotic activity in the extracts of 114 species of pteridophytes (27 families, 61 genera) has been surveyed. The plants were extracted in water, methanol, 70% ethanol, acetone and ether and assayed against 3 gram-positive, I acid-fast and 5 gram-negative bacteria and 3 fungal plant pathogens. Sixty-seven ferns and 6 fern allies, representing 64% of the samples examined, were antibiotic ally active. The active substances were in most cases antibacterial and only 3 possessed antifungal activity. Thirty-three species were inhibitory to gram-positive bacteria alone, 9 exclusively against gram-negative bacteria and 15 to both. Twenty species were inhibitory to penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, 16 against Mycobacterium phlei, 24 against Salmonella typhi, 16 against Vibrio cholerae and 3 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Only Dryopteris coch-leata was active against both bacteria and fungi. Five other species of Dryopteris showed remarkable antibacterial activity. The ferns of “Adiantum group” were found to be particularly active against gram-positive bacteria. The polypodiaceous ferns constitute a rich group of which Microsorium alternifolium, Leptochillus decurrens, Polypodium irioides, Pyrrosia mannii and Phymatodes ebenipes deserve special mention. Several thelypteroid, davalloid and athyroid ferns were also fairly active.     

Conditions for fruit body formation in the white rot basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium

In Phanerochaete chrysosporium fruit body formations is subject to strong catabolite repression by glucose in the presence of physiological levels of nitrogen. Walseth cellulose was found to be the best source of carbon for the induction of fruit body and consequent basidiospore synthesis. Ejected basidiospores collected from cultures grown under these conditions for two weeks are contaminated with neither conidia nor mycelial fragments and are therefore suitable for genetic analysis of recombination. Under conditions of nitrogen limitation, the glucose catabolite repression of fruit body synthesis was relieved. Exogenous adenosine 3,5-monophosphate but not other related nucleotides, also relieved glucose catabolite repression of fruit body formation.     

Isolation of cell-free bacterial inclusion bodies

Background  

Bacterial inclusion bodies are submicron protein clusters usually found in recombinant bacteria that have been traditionally considered as undesirable products from protein production processes. However, being fully biocompatible, they have been recently characterized as nanoparticulate inert materials useful as scaffolds for tissue engineering, with potentially wider applicability in biomedicine and material sciences. Current protocols for inclusion body isolation from Escherichia coli usually offer between 95 to 99% of protein recovery, what in practical terms, might imply extensive bacterial cell contamination, not compatible with the use of inclusion bodies in biological interfaces.     

Amyloid-like properties of bacterial inclusion bodies

Bacterial inclusion bodies are major bottlenecks in protein production, narrowing the spectrum of relevant polypeptides obtained by recombinant DNA. While regarded as amorphous deposits formed by passive and rather unspecific precipitation of unfolded chains, we prove here that they are instead organized aggregates sharing important structural and biological features with amyloids. By using an Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase variant, we show that aggregation does not necessarily require unfolded polypeptide chains but rather depends on specific interactions between solvent-exposed hydrophobic stretches in partially structured species. In addition, purified inclusion bodies are efficient and highly selective nucleation seeds, promoting deposition of soluble homologous but not heterologous polypeptides in a dose-dependent manner. Finally, inclusion bodies bind amyloid-diagnostic dyes, which, jointly with Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy data, indicates a high level of organized intermolecular beta-sheet structure. The evidences of amyloid-like structure of bacterial inclusion bodies, irrespective of potential applications in bioprocess engineering, prompts the use of bacterial models to explore the molecular determinants of protein aggregation by means of simple biological systems.     

Antibiotic targeting of the bacterial secretory pathway

Finding new, effective antibiotics is a challenging research area driven by novel approaches required to tackle unconventional targets. In this review we focus on the bacterial protein secretion pathway as a target for eliminating or disarming pathogens. We discuss the latest developments in targeting the Sec-pathway for novel antibiotics focusing on two key components: SecA, the ATP-driven motor protein responsible for driving preproteins across the cytoplasmic membrane and the Type I signal peptidase that is responsible for the removal of the signal peptide allowing the release of the mature protein from the membrane. We take a bird's-eye view of other potential targets in the Sec-pathway as well as other Sec-dependent or Sec-independent protein secretion pathways as targets for the development of novel antibiotics. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Protein trafficking and secretion in bacteria. Guest Editors: Anastassios Economou and Ross Dalbey.     

Antiviral activity of aqueous extracts and polysaccharide fractions from mycelium and fruit bodies of higher fungi

Sixty preparations of basidiomycetes (Ganoderma, Lentinus, Pleurotus, Laetiporus, Polyporus, Inonotus, Flammulina, Grifola, Trametes) were investigated with respect to their toxicity for Vero cells and antiviral activity. The antiviral activity was estimated with the use of the West Nile virus and type 2 Herpes simplex. It was shown that 11 preparations of Ganoderma, Lentinus and Pleurotus completely inhibited the infective activity in doses not lower than 1000 TCD50 (the West Nile virus) and 100 PPU (type 2 Herpes simplex). The antiviral activity of the preparations was likely due to the content of polysaccharides or their derivatives in the composition. It increased with increasing of the quantity of the total polysaccharide fraction or its concentration.