Biochemical Studies of Piricularia oryzae

It has been shown that Piricularia oryzae could grow in the presence of amino acid, even in the absence of a proper carbon source and that the first step of utilization was the formation of the corresponding α-keto acid by deamination in the medium. For further confirmation of this process, DL-valine was used as the amino acid to be tested in the current experiment. In each of the three cases, that is, DL-valine alone, DL-valine plus arsenite and DL-valine plus sucrose, the dimethlpyruvic acid formed was identified as its 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazone. Even in the presence of a sufficient amount of sucrose, some parts of DL-valine added were found to be utilized as a carbon source through the conversion to its α-keto analog.     

Synchronous Conidiation of Piricularia oryzae by the Replacement Culture

For the purpose of studying the mechanism of conidiogenesis in Piricularia oryzae, methods were developed to separate the phase of mycelial growth from that of conidiation and also to evaluate them quantitatively.

When P. oryzae was grown on media with low carbon : nitrogen ratio and high nitrogen concentration, conidiation did not take place, in spite of its vegetative growth. Conidiation occurred in a very short period of time when the above mycelia were replaced on nutritionally poor media. Cellophane membrane was overlaid on solid medium and conidia were spread uniformly. Evenly grown mycelial mat which could be easily transferred onto the post-culture medium was obtained. As the preculture medium, MSA medium with carbon: nitrogen ratio of 6.3 and nitrogen concentration of 1.5 g/liter was used. The evenly grown mycelial mat was cut into small square mats of 1.44 cm² each and the small square mycelial mats were transferred onto the post-culture medium together with the cellophane membrane. The conidiation took place in the post-culture and the vegetative growth in the preculture and the conidiation in the post-culture could be observed separately and quantitatively.

Conidiation did not occur at all in the preculture and the degree of conidiation which took place in the post-culture varied according to the precultural conditions. This means that it is a certain state of physiological condition in the preculture which determines the degree of conidiation in the post-culture. The authers designated this state of physiological condition as the “latent activity of conidiation” (LAC). For the purpose of the quantitative estimation of this activity, we expressed LAC in terms of the degree of conidiation in the post-culture under a defined cultural condition. The LAC was subject to change very easily, declined rapidly and disappeared upon prolonged preculture. Only young mycelia showed to have this activity.

The influences of the precultural condition on the development of the LAC and vegetative growth were generally parallel. However, the LAC was generally more sensitive to the environmental condition than the vegetative growth, especially to the temperature change.

The conidia formed were uniform in size and had high rate of germination. Several strains of P. oryzae tested showed very similar behavior.     

A cell wall proteo-heteroglycan from Piricularia oryzae: further studies of the structure.

The carbohydrate part of a proteo-heteroglycan from Piricularia oryzae was further studied by chemical and immunological methods. Acetolysis studies of the proteo-heteroglycan and exo-alpha-D-mannanase resistant core showed a (1 leads to 6) mannan back-bone structure with side chains composed of one to four mannose units, and some of which are terminated by D-glucose or D-galactofuranose. The mode of attachment of the terminal glucose was characterized to be alphaGlc(1 leads to 6)Man by inhibition reaction with oligosaccharides. Rabbit anti-serum formed against P. oryzae cells had three specificities, the first one for alphaGlc(1 leads to 6)alphamannosyl, the second one for alphaMan(1 leads to 3)alphamannosyl, and the last one for alphaGal-f(1 leads to 2)alphamannosyl residues. The most immunodominant side chain structure of the P. oryzae heteroglycan was shown to be alphaGlc(1 leads to 6)alphaMan(1 leads to 2)alphaMan(1 leads to 2)Man.     

Synthesis of a model of an inner chain of cell-wall proteoheteroglycan isolated from Piricularia oryzae: Branched d-mannopentaosides

Efficient syntheses are described of the branched d-mannopentaosides methyl 2,6-di-O-(2-O-α-d-mannopyranosyl-α-d-mannopyranosyl)α-d-mannopyranoside and methyl 2,4-di-O-(2-O-α-d-mannopyranosyl-α-d-mannopyranosyl)-α-d-mannopyranoside, starting from the glycosyl acceptors methyl 3,4-di-O-benzyl-α-d-mannopyranoside and methyl 3,6-di-O-benzyl-α-d-mannopyranoside, and employing the protected d-mannotriosides methyl 3,4-di-O-benzyl-2,6-di-O-(3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-α-d-mannopyranosyl)-α-d-mannopyranoside, and methyl 3,6-di-O-benzyl-2,4-di-O-(3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-α-d-mannopyranosyl)-α-d-mannopyranoside as key intermediates.     

木荷及其与无患子皂甙抽提物单复配体外抗稻瘟病活性(英文)

来自木荷叶和无患子中果皮的皂甙抽提物对抗稻瘟病原活性被试验。皂甙抽提物体外抑制活性显示了皂甙剂量与抗真菌效果高度相关性。它们的抗稻瘟有效中浓度EC50:木荷叶乙醇抽提物为42.95μg/mL,木荷叶水抽提物为452.91μg/mL,无患子中果皮的甲醇抽提物为95.65μg/mL。一个重要的结果是当上述木荷叶和无患子中果皮醇抽提物以3∶4到15∶8的质量配比时产生了显著的增效抗稻瘟作用,而在其它配比时有相加作用。通过乙醚/丙酮沉析、硅胶柱色谱分离,以及酸水解和薄层过程,检测出木荷抽提物皂甙中含有2种三萜类皂甙元和5种单糖。纯化后的皂甙在150μg/mL时显示了98.28%的抑制率。此研究结果表明:木荷叶抽提物,或木荷叶和无患子中果皮抽提复配物对毁灭性的稻瘟病害具有重要地抗病效果。     

Reducing by-product formation in L-lactic acid fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae

During L-lactic acid fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae, increasing the phosphate level in the fermentation medium from 0.1 g l^–1 to 0.6 g l^–1 KH₂PO₄ reduced the maximal concentration of L-lactic acid and fumaric acid from 85 g l^–1 to 71 g l^–1 and from 1.36 g l^–1 to 0.18 g l^–1, respectively; and it decreased the fermentation time from 72 h to 52 h. Phosphate at 0.40 g l^–1 KH₂PO₄ was suitable for both minimizing fumaric acid accumulation and benefiting L-lactic acid production.     

Promotion of conidial head formation in Aspergillus oryzae by a salt

Addition of KCl to medium at 0.1 M or higher promoted the formation of conidial heads in Aspergillus oryzae. When higher concentrations of KCl were added, a larger number of conidial heads were formed. NaCl and MgCl₂ were slightly less effective than KCl. The effect of salt on the formation of conidial heads on a minimal medium was as high as on a potato/dextrose medium but slightly higher than that on a complex medium when 1 M KCl was added.     

Participation of Oryza sativa leaf wax in appressorium formation by Pyricularia oryzae

Appressorium formation of Pyricularia oryzae P2 on cover-glass coated with each of the components of rice leaf wax was examined. Wax esters, aldehydes and alcohols, having polar groups and low contact angles, promoted appressorium formation, but alkanes, non-polar molecules having high contact angles, had no effects. Germination of conidia, however, was not aftected with those constituents.     

Mannitol Uptake by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The uptake of mannitol, a nonmetabolized hexitol, by Saccharomyces cerevisiae was measured. Various characteristics examined include: effects of temperature on uptake, inhibition of uptake by uranyl nitrate, competition for uptake by glucose, counterflow of mannitol by glucose, and the affinity of mannitol for a carrier system as measured by a Michaelis constant. That energy is required for uptake was shown by a decreased uptake in the presence of energy inhibitors, by an increased uptake upon addition of energy sources, and by the absence of uptake under anaerobic conditions with no fermentable energy sources available. That mannitol is bound to some cellular constituent after it enters the cell was shown by its attachment to non-dialyzable cell fragments and by the lack of an osmotic response, both of which are consistent with a minimal efflux.     

Mannitol Production by Pyrenochaeta terrestris

Pyrenochaeta terrestris (Hansen) Gorenz, J. C. Walker and Larson produces D-mannitol in the mycelium but not in the cutture filtrates when grown in a sucrose salts liquid medium. In the present study, P. terrestris was grown in stilt culture on a synthetic salts medium containing 30 g of sucrose per liter. After inoculation with a myceliat suspension, the mycelial mats were harvested and the dry weight and the amount of mannitol were determined. Maximum mycelial mat production occurred at 15 days after inoculation while the amount of mannitol was greatest at about 7 days after inoculation. The percentage of mannitot on a dry weight basis was maximal (20–25 per cent) within a few days after inoculation and decreased rapidly to 3–4 per cent at the time mycelial mat production was greatest. The same percentage of mannitot was produced when the fungus was grown in shake culture or when the sucrose was replaced by equivalent amounts of D-fructose, D-glucose, D-mannose, maltose, trehalose, and raffinose. Increasing the amount of sucrose or decreasing the amount of sodium nitrate increased the amount of mycelium produced but the percentage of mannitol in the mycelium remained about the same. Mannitot was reutilized when mycelial mats were transferred to a mineral medium without a carbon source. It was concluded that mannitot probably serves as a reserve carbohydrate in P. terrestris.     

Mannitol

Mannitol may be useful clinically both as a diuretic and as an obligate extracellular solute. As a diuretic it can be used to treat patients with intractable edema states, to increase urine flow and flush out debris from the renal tubules in patients with acute tubular necrosis, and to increase toxin excretion in patients with barbiturate, salicylate or bromide intoxication. As an obligate extracellular solute it may be useful to ameliorate symptoms of the dialysis disequilibrium syndrome, to decrease cerebral edema following trauma or cerebrovascular accident, and to prevent cell swelling related to renal ischemia following cross-clamping of the aorta. Largely unexplored uses for mannitol include its use as an osmotic agent in place of dextrose in peritoneal dialysis solutions, its use to maintain urine output in patients newly begun on hemodialysis, and its use to limit infarct size following acute myocardial infarction.     

Detection of Mannitol Formation by Bacteria

A test is described by means of which formation of mannitol from fructose by lactic acid bacteria can be readily detected. The test is based on removal of interference of residual fructose by dehydration with hydrochloric acid followed by thin-layer chromatography.     

Mannitol Protects against Oxidation by Hydroxyl Radicals

Hydroxyl radicals may be responsible for oxidative damage during drought or chilling stress. We have shown that the presence of mannitol in chloroplasts can protect plants against oxidative damage by hydroxyl radicals (B. Shen, R.G. Jensen, H.J. Bohnert [1997] Plant Physiol 113: 1177-1183). Here we identify one of the target enzymes that may be protected by mannitol. Isolated thylakoids in the presence of physiological concentrations of Fe2+ generated hydroxyl radicals that were detected by the conversion of phenylalanine into tyrosine. The activity of phosphoribulokinase (PRK), a thiol-regulated enzyme of the Calvin cycle, was reduced by 65% in illuminated thylakoids producing hydroxyl radicals. Mannitol (125 mM) and sodium formate (15 mM), both hydroxyl radical scavengers, and catalase (3000 units mL-1) prevented loss of PRK activity. In contrast, superoxide dismutase (300 units mL-1) and glycine betaine (125 mM) were not effective in protecting PRK against oxidative inactivation. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activity was not affected by hydroxyl radicals. We suggest that the stress-protective role of mannitol may be to shield susceptible thiol-regulated enzymes like PRK plus thioredoxin, ferredoxin, and glutathione from inactivation by hydroxyl radicals in plants.     

Mannitol sensitivity

The addition of mannitol to cultures of Salmonella typhimurium mutants missing mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase causes stasis or lysis. Mannitol-1-phosphate accumulates intracellularly to concentrations of 20 mm. The incorporation of acetate into lipid is inhibited before cell wall, protein, or nucleic acid synthesis.