First report of anthracnose on noni caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in India

Noni, an important medicinal plant grown in southern India suffered heavy loss due to anthracnose disease in 2008–2009. Based on their pathogenicity, morphological and cultural characters and ribosomal DNA spacer sequences, the pathogen was identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. This is the first report of anthracnose on noni in India.     

伞房决明白粉病的初次报道(英文)

伞房决明是长江三角洲地区的园林绿化木本植物,在每年8月下旬至11月中旬会发生严重的白粉病,造成提前落叶,导致次年部分植株死亡。该病由Oidium cassiae-siameae引起。经过3年多的野外观察,未发现有性世代。初次报道伞房决明为Oidium cassiae-siameae白粉菌的新寄主。此真菌为中国大陆的初次记载。     

First report of anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides on Boehravia diffusa in India

Leaf spot symptoms were observed on the leaves of Boehravia diffusa L. plants from different regions of Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, India. The symptoms initially appeared as a small light-pale coloured, circular spots enlarge gradually and ultimately leading to drying of the leaves. The disease was found to be caused by a fungus. The fungus was cultured on potato dextrose agar medium and identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. According to the literature, this is thefirst report of anthracnose disease of B. diffusa caused by C. gloeosporioides in India.     

First report of Albizia lebbeck dieback caused by Scytalidium dimidiatum in Oman

Over 200 Albizia lebbeck trees at Sultan Qaboos University campus wilted and died. The symptoms were dieback of large branches due to infection by Scytalidium dimidiatum. The fungus has also infected Ficus benghalensis, F. carica, F. retusa, Thespesia populnea, Delonix regia and Peltophorum petrocarpum. This is the first report of the fungus in Oman and on A. lebbeck, T. populnea, D. regia and P. petrocarpum. The strain of this fungus has not been found to cause human disease in Oman. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

First report of white stain of apple caused by Trichothecium kashmeriana in India

White stain symptoms were observed on the 05 apple varieties during the harvest season in India. The white stain appearance is due to the predominance of dense bunches of conidiophores and conidia. In samples collected from the 39 infected plants, a new pathogenic fungal species, Trichothecium kashmeriana sp.nov. has been isolated. The morphological and molecular mycotaxonomic characterisation revealed by double beam scanning electron microscopy followed by rDNA barcoding sequence analysis of Internal Transcribed Spacer region followed by the phylogenetic interpretations, marks the evolution of T. kashmeriana sp.nov. with genetic variance of 0.06 from the closely related species under the geographically distinct conditions. The pathogen is having a dramatic lethal effect on the natural populations of apple in India.     

首次报道一点红青枯病由茄青枯菌引起

一点红青枯病在广西种植区严重发生。通过柯赫氏法则证实病原菌为细菌。用16srDNA通用引物进行PCR鉴定,测序结果表明,PCR产物与茄青枯菌有99%的同源性。首次报道一点红青枯病由茄青枯菌引起。     

First report of powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera xanthii on Luffa acutangula in Odisha State,India

Abstract

Ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula) is an herbaceous perennial twining vine cultivated globally as vegetable and medicinal plant. During October to January in 2014 and 2015, 40% powdery mildew disease incidence was observed in different areas of Odisha state, India. The pathogenicity experiments confirmed the powdery mildew disease symptoms on artificially inoculated L. acutangula seedlings. Causal organism was identified as Podosphaera xanthii on the basis of morphological and molecular studies. This is the first report of powdery mildew disease on L. acutangula caused by P. xanthii.     

First report of leaf spot disease caused by Corynespora torulosa MCC-1368 on cotton plant from India

In present study, the leaf spot disease of cotton plant emerged in the North Maharashtra region of India was reported. The fungal phytopathogen associated with inducing the leaf spot disease symptoms was isolated and characterised. The isolated fungus was identified as Corynespora torulosa (Deposition accession number, MCC-1368; Genbank accession no. MF462072) based on morphological and cultural characteristics and molecular analysis of ITS region. The pathogenicity of fungal phytopathogen was verified by Koch’s postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of incidence of leaf spot disease caused by Corynespora torulosa on cotton plant.     

First report of secondary infection on Senna alata (L.) Roxb caused by two Aspergillus species

The present note is on secondary fungal infection in pods and flower buds of Senna alata (L.) Roxb caused by Aspergillus niger and A. flavus from the Puducherry region, India. Aspergillus niger was isolated more frequently from affected pods and flowers than A. flavus. Senna alata is a medicinally important plant and this is the first report of on fungal infection on this species.     

Two forms of secreted and thermostable luciferases from the marine copepod crustacean, Metridia pacifica

We cloned two forms of the secreted and thermostable luciferase genes, MpLuc1 and MpLuc2, from the marine copepod, Metridia pacifica. The 840-bp MpLuc1 cDNA comprised a 630-bp open reading frame encoding a 210-amino acid polypeptide (22.7 kDa). MpLuc1 had the closest homology with Metridia longa luciferase. The 753-bp MpLuc2 cDNA consisted of a 567-bp open reading frame (20.3 kDa), and it had the closest homology with Gaussia princeps luciferase. Single-specimen genomic PCR confirmed the presence of two luciferase genes in M. pacifica, and single-specimen RT-PCR revealed that both luciferase mRNAs were expressed. Both MpLuc1 and MpLuc2 (MpLucs) specifically reacted with the substrate coelenterazine producing identical bioluminescent spectra (lambdamax, 485 nm), but with different kinetics. Adding salt such as MgCl2 and CaCl2 to the reaction mixture significantly enhanced MpLuc1 and MpLuc2 activities. Wild-type MpLucs were remarkably thermostable; MpLuc1 retained about 60% of the original activity even after incubation at 90 degrees C for 30 min. MpLucs expressed in NIH-3T3 and HeLa cells were largely secreted into the culture medium. Continuous monitoring of secreted MpLuc1 driven by the c-fos promoter demonstrated the potential usefulness of MpLuc1 in nondisruptive reporter assays.     

利福平导致严重血小板减少1例

利福平主要用于结核病的治疗,能引起血小板减少等不良反应。本病例使用利福平后出现严重血小板减少,血小板下降至4×10⁹/L,立即停用利福平并输注血小板后血小板恢复正常。因此,在利福平使用过程中应密切观察病情,监测血常规、肝肾功能等,及时发现不良反应,必要时立即停药,并对血小板明显下降者(<30×10⁹/L)给予补充血小板等治疗。对明确由利福平引起血小板减少者,治疗时应不再使用该药,以避免药物不良事件的发生。     

Liver abscess caused by Candida haemulonii var. vulnera. First case report in Peru

BackgroundLiver abscesses caused by Candida species are mainly found in immunocompromised hosts, associated with conditions (such as neutropenia and mucositis) that facilitate the spreading of microorganisms from the gastrointestinal tract.Case reportWe present the case of a non-immunocompromised 72-year-old woman with a liver abscess caused by Candida haemulonii var. vulnera, in whom potential associated conditions could be polycystic kidney disease and renal replacement therapy. The patient experienced clinical resolution after percutaneous drainage and treatment with caspofungin.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first case reported in Peru of a liver abscess due to Candida haemulonii var. vulnera, a clinical presentation that has not been described previously. This finding should prompt us to establish active surveillance of causal agents of systemic candidiasis.     

Relative helminth size in crustacean hosts: in vivo determination, and effects of host gender and within-host competition in a copepod infected by a cestode

Crustaceans are important hosts for a number of helminth parasites, and they are increasingly used as models for studying the physiology, ecology and evolution of parasite-host interactions. In ecological studies, this interaction is commonly described only in terms of prevalence and number of larvae per infected host. However, the volume of helminth parasites can vary greatly, and this variation can potentially give important insights into the nature of a parasite-host relationship. It may influence and be influenced, for example, by within-host competition, host size, growth, and life history. Here we present a simple method that allows rapid approximation of the absolute and relative volumes of cestode larvae within copepod hosts of various developmental stages (nauplii, copepodites and adults). The measurements are taken in vivo without much disturbance of the animals, i.e. the technique allows study of growth and development of the parasites in relation to that of their hosts. The principles of this technique can be adopted to other helminth parasites and other crustacean hosts. Using this method in the copepod Macrocyclops albidus infected with the cestode Schistocephalus solidus, we found that the relative parasite size (= `parasite index') ranged from 0.5% to 6.5% of host size 14 days after infection. It was greater in male than in female hosts. With increasing number of parasites per host, the total parasite volume increased while the mean volume of the individual parasites decreased. The magnitude of the observed parasite indices, the large variation that was found within a sample of 46 infected adult copepods, and the observed correlates suggest that this new index can indeed be an important measure of parasite success and its pathogenecity.     

须癣毛癣菌肉芽肿1例

1 临床资料 患者男,31岁,因右小腿皮损伴痒痛2年 ,于1997年6月23日就诊。2年前患者无明显诱因于右小腿屈侧出现一处铜钱大小环形红斑,外用中药治疗无效。皮损逐渐向外扩大,伴剧烈瘙痒。之后皮损表面出现硬结,破溃及化脓,有时疼痛。患者既往病史不详,查体：一般情况可,浅表淋巴结未触及肿大,皮肤科检查：右小腿外侧,屈侧可见隆起的环形红斑,边界清楚,表面有丘疹,脓疱及脱屑。     

Geographically structured host specificity is caused by the range expansions and host shifts of a symbiotic fungus

The inability to associate with local species may constrain the spread of mutualists arriving to new habitats, but the fates of introduced, microbial mutualists are largely unknown. The deadly poisonous ectomycorrhizal fungus Amanita phalloides (the death cap) is native to Europe and introduced to the East and West Coasts of North America. By cataloging host associations across the two continents, we record dramatic changes in specificity among the three ranges. On the East Coast, where the fungus is restricted in its distribution, it associates almost exclusively with pines, which are rarely hosts of A. phalloides in its native range. In California, where the fungus is widespread and locally abundant, it associates almost exclusively with oaks, mirroring the host associations observed in Europe. The most common host of the death cap in California is the endemic coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), and the current distribution of A. phalloides appears constrained within the distribution of Q. agrifolia. In California, host shifts to native plants are also associated with a near doubling in the resources allocated to sexual reproduction and a prolonged fruiting period; mushrooms are twice as large as they are elsewhere and mushrooms are found throughout the year. Host and niche shifts are likely to shape the continuing range expansion of A. phalloides and other ectomycorrhizal fungi introduced across the world.     

阴囊黄癣痂样石膏样小孢子菌感染1例

报道1例石膏样小孢子菌感染引起阴囊黄癣痂样皮损。患者,男,20岁,阴囊黄色痂皮3周。皮损取材真菌镜检可见分隔菌丝,培养为石膏样小孢子菌。口服伊曲康唑200mg/d,连续2周。停药时皮损消退,真菌学检查阴性。     

First report of leaf spot disease caused by Phoma eupyrena Sacc. on Aloe vera from Madhya Pradesh,India

A leaf spot disease caused by Phoma eupyrena Sacc. on Aloe vera was reported from Madhya Pradesh, India. Disease symptoms were observed as irregular to elongated, sunken lesion on both leaf surfaces which later turns creamish brown with maroon margin. The fungal colonies were whitish or light pale to dark grey colour. The pycnidia were glabrous and solitary, papillate, and indistinctly uniostiolate averages 100–260 μm in diameter. Conidia were ellipsoidal, 4.5–7.5 × 2.5–3.75 μm in size, with two large guttules. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. eupyrena causing leaf spot disease on A. vera in India.     

Infective endocarditis caused by Arcanobacterium haemolyticum: a case report

Typhoid fever is a very common infectious disease, particularly in developing countries such as Sri Lanka. Although multiple organs are known to be affected by the disease, hepatic involvement could be considered the most important as studies have showed that it is associated with a higher relapse rate. We report a young patient who presented with fever and jaundice and found to have cholestatic hepatitis secondary to typhoid fever.     

Partitioning of a brackish water habitat by copepod species

1. The succesful species of copepods in a brackish water habitat show a separation in time with regard to the date of maximum occurrence and the date of maximum reproductive activity. The succession of the five species examined is: Mesochra lilljeborgi, Paronychocamptus nanus, Tachidius discipes, Halicyclops magniceps and Canuella perplexa.
2. These species and others show moreover a separation in space: C. perplexa is an endopsammic, P. nanus a mesopsammic and T. discipes an epipsammic species. Three cyclopoid species are planktonic. Two other species (Nitocra typica and Mesochra lilljeborgi) are more numerous in the perophyton than in the benthos.
3. It seems that redundancy exists in the ways these species avoid competition, and the habitat could probably support more species.