Verticillium lecanii spore production in solid-state and liquid-state fermentations

Verticillium lecanii has been recognized as an entomopathogen with high potential in biological control of pests. Two types of cultivation methods, the solid-state fermentation (SSF) and the liquid-state fermentation (LSF), were examined for V. lecanii. In SSF, the substrate types including rice, rice bran, rice husk, and the mixtures of these components were tested. The results showed that both cooked rice with appropriate water addition and rice bran gave significantly higher spore production of 1.5 2 10⁹ spores/g substrate and 1.4 2 10⁹ spores/g substrate, respectively. In LSF, SMAY liquid medium was used as a base, and the effects of environmental conditions on the spore production of V. lecanii were investigated. From the time course study, on the 9th day the spore yield reached 1.2 2 10⁹ spores/ml of broth at 24v°C, 150 rpm for this strain. A series of medium volumes in the shaker-flask have been tested for the requirement of aeration. The largest surface aeration test, one tenth of the medium volume in the shaker-flask for cultivation, gave the highest spore count. The optimal pH value was tested and the initial pH 5 in the SMAY medium produced a high spore density. Finally, V. lecanii spores from SSF and LSF were different in size, shape, and size distribution; while mean spore length from SSF was 6.1 7m, and mean spore length from LSF was 5.0 7m.     

Aspects of penicillin production in Aspergillus hybrids

Hybrids have been obtained by protoplast fusion of penicillin-producing strains of Aspergillus nidulans with strains of A. rugulosus which do not produce the antibiotic at detectable levels. Induced haploidization of the hybrids allowed the recovery of stable segregants, which were screened for penicillin production. Approximately half of the segregants from each cross produced penicillin, indicating segregation of one or several linked genes which are essential for penicillin biosynthesis. These essential genes were found to be located on linkage-group VI of A. nidulans by observing segregation in multi-marked strains. The penicillin-producing segregants showed a wide range of titres. Some segregants, which had recombinant phenotypes, produced significantly more penicillin than the A. nidulans parent.     

Acid phosphatase activity during spore differentiation of the red algaeGigartina teedii andChondria tenuissima

The acid phosphatase activity during carposporogenesis inGigartina and tetrasporogenesis inChondria was studied using the Gomori technique. During the first steps of gonimoblast maturation ofGigartina, portions of cytoplasm are ensheathed by ER cisternae with acid phosphatase activity, giving rise to autolysosomal concentric membrane bodies. In a similar way large mucilage sacs are severed. They extrude their contents in a kind of exocytosis. Multivesicular bodies, concentrically arranged cisternae and extracytoplasmic compartments, each with acid phosphatase activity, remain in young carpospores for some time, probably as remnants of the autophagocytotic and exocytotic events. The Golgi apparatus is poorly developed in gonimoblast cells and young carpospores. It becomes a prominent cell component in maturing carpospores and then participates in cell wall formation. Only some of the dictyosomal cisternae contain acid phosphatase; these are irregularly distributed in the dictyosome. — In pre- and postmeiotic tetraspore mother cells ofChondria massive lead deposits are found in the dictyosomes and in adjacent Golgi vesicles. Finer lead precipitates occur in ER cisternae, especially in those which are sequestering starch-grain-containing portions of the cytoplasm to give rise to autolysosomes. During cell cleavage, the dictyosomes aggregate. They become devoid of acid phosphatase activity with the exception of vesicles at the trans face. Later, Golgi stacks associate and have common, Gomori positively reacting, narrow cisternae at the cis face. The Golgi apparatus derived cored vesicles do not contain lead precipitates whereas the Golgi cisternae in the final stage of tetrasporogenesis show acid phosphatase activity. Variations in acid phosphatase distribution are explained in the light of current models of membrane flow.Dedicated to Univ.-Prof. DrO. Härtel on the occasion of his 80th birthday.     

Enhanced spore production ofBacillus thuringiensis by fed-batch culture

Summary Fed-batch culture was carried out to increase cell mass followed by batch culture for spore production ofbacillus thuringiensis. High cell mass obtained by increasing the feeding glucose concentration in constant fed-batch culture which supported fast cell growth resulted in good sporulation during subsequent batch culture, and the maximum cell mass of 72.6 g/L and spore concentration of 1.25×10¹⁰ spores/mL could be obtained.     

温度对茄病镰刀菌生长情况及产孢量的影响

目的 探讨不同孵育温度对茄病镰刀菌生长状态的影响,为获得大量饱子寻找较好方案.方法 茄病镰刀菌按孵育温度不同分为6组,A组、B组、C组、D组、E组分别于20℃,25℃,30℃,35℃,37℃温箱黑暗孵育7d,F组于35℃温箱黑暗孵育3d再于25℃温箱黑暗孵育至7d,各组在培养24h,3d,5d,7d时分别用游标卡尺测量...     

A procedure for high-yield spore production by Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis spores have a number of potential applications, which include their use as probiotics and competitive exclusion agents to control zoonotic pathogens in animal production. The effect of cultivation conditions on Bacillus subtilis growth and sporulation was investigated in batch bioreactions performed at a 2-L scale. Studies of the cultivation conditions (pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, and media composition) led to an increase of the maximum concentration of vegetative cell from 2.6 x 10(9) to 2.2 x 10(10) cells mL(-)(1) and the spore concentration from 4.2 x 10(8) to 5.6 x 10(9) spores mL(-)(1). A fed-batch bioprocess was developed with the addition of a nutrient feeding solution using an exponential feeding profile obtained from the mass balance equations. Using the developed feeding profile, starting at the middle of the exponential growth phase and finishing in the late exponential phase, an increase of the maximum vegetative cell concentration and spore concentration up to 3.6 x 10(10) cells mL(-)(1) and 7.4 x 10(9) spores mL(-)(1), respectively, was obtained. Using the developed fed-batch bioreaction a 14-fold increase in the concentration of the vegetative cells was achieved. Moreover, the efficiency of sporulation under fed-batch bioreaction was 21%, which permitted a 19-fold increase in the final spore concentration, to a final value of 7.4 x 10(9) spores mL(-)(1). This represents a 3-fold increase relative to the highest reported value for Bacillus subtilis spore production.     

Effect of soybean plant growth on spore production byGlomus mosseae

Plants of two soybean cultivars infected withGlomus mosseae were physiologically stressed by top removal and were harvested at seven bi-weekly intervals. Removing tops stopped root growth, stimulated branching, delayed plant growth stages by approximately two weeks, but did not affect spore production. Spore numbers were significantly related only to time of harvest. Pot variation in spore number was not significantly correlated with infection percentage or root dry weight. Harvest, cultivar, and cutting effects were highly significant for root and shoot weights and root/shoot ratios.Approved by the Director as a contribution from the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station (Journal Series No. 8123).     

Aspects of winter primary production in the upstream section of Saguenay Fjord

From August 1985 to May 1986, experiments on primary production were carried out bi-weekly in the superficial waters (1–10 m) at one representative station (maximum depth of 260 m) located at the head of the Saguenay Fjord. During the winter season (January–March), the microalgal cells are abundant but their productivity is low. At the beginning of the snow-ice cover (January) the cells are mainly concentrated in the ice-cover interface and in the surface waters whereas in February–March, the cells are much more abundant in the ice. Results showed that the physico-chemical conditions are unfavourable for high productivity. The quantity and the quality of light under the ice cover are not the only factors limiting the photosynthetic activity of epontic community. The ice interior and epontic communities during the winter are mostly composed of the two euryhaline speciesAsterionella formosa andTabellaria fenestrata.     

Leucine interference in the production of water-soluble red Monascus pigments

The formation of soluble Monascus red pigments is strongly positively and negatively regulated by different amino acids. Leucine, valine, lysine, and methionine had strong negative effects on pigment formation. Leucine supported poor pigment formation when used as sole nitrogen source in fermentations, yet it neither repressed pigment synthase(s) nor inhibited its action. The new pigments derived from the hydrophobic leucine were more hydrophilic than the conventional red pigments (lacking an amino acid side-chain) and were extracellularly produced. Therefore, the low level of red pigments produced when leucine was the nitrogen source was not due to feed-back regulation by cell-bound leucine pigments. The negative effect of leucine was caused by enhanced decay of pigment synthase(s). The enhanced decay was not due simply to de novo synthesis of a leucine-induced protease.Abbreviations mSG Monosodium glutamate - MOPS 3-(N-morpholine)propane sulfonic acid - DCW dry cell weight     

Effect of ozone on spore germination,spore production and biomass production in two <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aspergillus</Emphasis> species

The ability of ozone gas to reduce food spoilage is relatively well documented, but the developmental effects of the gas on food spoilage fungi are not well known. In this study two model aspergilli, Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus ochraceus were used to study the effects of ozone on spore germination, sporulation and biomass production. These effects were examined under three levels of ozone; two high level ozone exposures (200 and 300 μmol mol⁻¹) and one low level exposure (0.2 μmol mol⁻¹). The two species behaved noticeably different to each other. Ozone was more effective in reducing growth from spore inocula than mycelia. No spore production could be detected in A. nidulans exposed to continuous low level O₃, whereas the same treatment reduced spores produced in A. ochraceus by 94%. Overall the work suggests that ozone exposure is an effective method to prevent spread of fungal spores in a food storage situation.     

Aspects of microbial heterotrophic production in a highly turbid estuary

The uptake of ¹⁴C glucose by natural microbial populations has been studied in the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel, U.K.; the turbidity (suspended solids) in the estuary varied between < 5 mg · 1^?1 at the seaward extremity to >800 mg · 1^?1 in the estuary proper. The heterotrophic potential, V_m, was found to correlate with turbidity and particulate organic carbon but there was no correlation between microbial biomass, as assessed by plate counts, and turbidity or V_m; measurement of V_m ranged from 0.9 × 10^?4 to 288 × 10^?4μgC·1^?1·h^?1 and turnover time from <2 to >100 h. In 17 out of 42 experiments, the uptake of ¹⁴C glucose did not conform to Michaelis kinetics and in five of these experiments the data suggested that there may be a threshold of glucose concentration below which there is no uptake.     

Density-dependent insect-mold interactions: effects on fungal growth and spore production

Larvae of saprophagous insects often have been suspected of being competitors of filamentous fungi on decaying organic matter, which negatively influence mold development. Of interest, the role of insects in determining fungal growth and the onset of sporulation largely has been ignored. I used Aspergillus niger and the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster as an ecological model system to analyze the influence of insect larvae on daily fungal growth and the start of conidiospore production. I used an artificial substrate to test whether the effect of larval density (one, five and 10 larvae) and inoculation date of the mold (2 and 3 d ahead of the addition of larvae) significantly altered fungal growth. Fungal growth (area covered by hyphal tissue of the artificial patch) was affected negatively by the number of larvae and by the time that elapsed between inoculation with fungal spores and transfer of larvae to the patches. Whereas one larva had only a minor effect on fungal growth, five or 10 larvae strongly hampered mold development. As time between inoculation with spores and introduction of fly larvae increased, mold increased, indicating a priority effect for the fungus. When 10 larvae were transferred at the same time as the patches were inoculated with spores, almost no mold was visible within the period of observation (after 12 d). In comparison with control treatment (no insect larvae), an increase in larval density caused an increasing delay of several days in the start of spore production. Thus only minor changes in the density of insect larvae and the time that larvae entered the patches after inoculation with spores had an enormous effect on fungal growth and spore production. Therefore insects co-occurring with mold on ephemeral resources might constitute an important biotic factor driving local fungal population dynamics. The mechanisms leading to the suppression of fungal growth and the evolutionary implications of insect-mold interactions are discussed.     

Effect of medium components and culture conditions in Bacillus subtilis EA-CB0575 spore production

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - Bacillus subtilis spores have important biotechnological applications; however, achieving both, high spore cell densities and sporulation efficiencies in...