Characterization of elicitin-like phospholipases isolated from Phytophthora capsici culture filtrate.

The phytopathogenic oomycete Phytophthora capsici secretes in culture a phospholipase activity. Two enzyme isoforms exhibiting a high phospholipase B activity were isolated by chromatography and electrophoresis. They differ in their apparent molar masses (22 and 32 kDa). Both proteins are glycosylated and share the same N-terminal amino acid sequence up to the 39th residue with a high homology with capsicein, the P. capsici elicitin. Although devoid of phospholipase activity, capsicein was shown by circular dichroism to specifically interact with negatively charged phospholipids, suggesting that the membrane lipids could be a potential target for elicitins.     

Phytotoxic Metabolites of Phyllosticta sp.

The additional new metabolites, named phyllostine (II) and 3-chloro-2,5-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol (III) from the cultural filtrates of Phyllosticta sp. have been isolated. The chemical structure of II have been established by spectral studies and chemical conversion from the known I, and the chlorine-containing metabolite (III) by spectral and synthetic studies. The metabolite (II) exhibits the similar phytotoxic effects as I, but the metabolite III does less phytotoxicity than I and II on the leaf test.     

Two butylated aminooligosaccharides isolated from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces luteogriseus

Two novel aminooligosaccharides, butytatins M03 and M13 were isolated and purified from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces luteogriseus. Analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry indicated their resemblance to isovalertatin, with a four-carbon acyl group. Their structures were established by NMR as aminooligosaccharide derivatives possessing a butylated side chain.     

Phyllostine,a New Phytotoxic Compound Produced by Phyllosticta sp.

Ethionine-resistant mutants derived from Corynebacterium glutamicum KY 9276 (Thr^?) were found to accumulate l-methionine in culture media. One of the mutants, ER-107-4, which produced 250 μg/ml of l-methionine was subjected to further mutagenesis to obtain better l-methionine producers. l-Methionine production increased stepwise by successive endowing such markers as selenomethionine, 1,2,4-triazole, trifluoromethionine and methionine hydroxamate resistance. Thus, a mutant multi-resistant to ethionine, selenomethionine and methionine hydroxamate, ESLMR-724, produced 2 mg/ml of l-methionine in a medium containing 10% glucose.

Increase of l-methionine production was accompanied by increased levels and reduced repressibility of methionine-forming enzymes. The levels of methionine enzymes in ESLMR-724 increased to 2.5~4.2 fold of those in KY9276, In addition, homoserine-O-trans-acetylase and cystathionine γ-synthase which were strongly repressed by l-methionine in KY 9276 were stimulated by exogenous l-methionine in ESLMR-724. Implications of these results were discussed in relation to the productivity of l-methionine and the regulation of l-methionine biosynthesis.     

Phyllosticta sp. nov., a New Pathogenic Species from Buxus sincia

In a study of pathogenic fungi infecting Buxus sincia , an interesting Phyllosticta species was isolated. The morphological characteristics of this species, such as slow growing mycelia, large conidia each with a long flagellum tag on diagnostic media, plus phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA ITS sequences indicated that the fungus is a distinct new species which is described.     

Kosinostatin, a major secondary metabolite isolated from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces violaceusniger strain HAL64

During a screening program, an actinomycete strain isolated from the Egyptian soil was investigated for its potential to show antimicrobial activity. The identification of this isolate was performed according to spore morphology and cell wall chemo-type, which suggested that this strain is a streptomycete. Further cultural, physiological characteristics and the analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene (1480 bp) of this isolate indicated that this strain is identical to Streptomyces violaceusniger (accession number EF063682) and then designated S. violaceusniger strain HAL64. In its culture supernatant, this organism could produce one major compound strongly inhibits the growth of Gram-positive but the inhibition of Gram-negative indicator bacteria was lower. The antibiotic was separated by silica gel column chromatography and then purified on a sephadex LH-20 column and finally the purity was checked by HPLC. The chemical structure of the purified compound was determined using spectroscopic analyses (molecular formula of C33H32N2O10 and molecular weight of 617.21) and found to be identical to the kosinostatin, a quinocycline antibiotic which is known to be produced by Micromonspora sp. TP-A0468 (Igarashi et al., 2002) and to quinocycline B isolated from Streptomyces aureofaciens (Celmer et al., 1958). Although the antibiotic is known, the newly isolated strain was able to produce the antibiotic as a major product providing an important biotechnological downstream advantage.     

Biological activity of phenylpropionic acid isolated from a terrestrial Streptomycetes.

The strain ANU 6277 was isolated from laterite soil and identified as Streptomyces sp. closely related to Streptomyces albidoflavus cluster by 16S rRNA analysis. The cultural, morphological and physiological characters of the strain were recorded. The strain exhibited resistance to chloramphenicol, penicillin and streptomycin. It had the ability to produce enzymes such as amylase and chitinase. A bioactive compound was isolated from the strain at stationary phase of culture and identified as 3-phenylpropionic acid (3-PPA) by FT-IR, EI-MS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR spectral studies. It exhibited antimicrobial activity against different bacteria like Bacillus cereus, B. subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, P. flourescens, Staphylococcus aureus and some fungi including Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, Candida albicans, Fusarium oxysporum, F. udum and Penicillium citrinum. The antifungal activity of 3-PPA of the strain was evaluated in in vivo and in vitro conditions against Fusarium udum causing wilt disease in pigeon pea. The compound 3-PPA is an effective antifungal agent when compared to tricyclozole (fungicide) to control wilt caused by F. udum, but it exhibited less antifungal activity than carbendazim.     

Antifungal activity of Bacillus sp. isolated from compost

Four strains ofBacillus isolated from lupine compost exhibited an antifungal activity against six plant fungal pathogens (Rhizoctonia solani, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Trichothecium roseum, Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum). It was significantly influenced by the composition of the cultivation media.     

Production of Taxol from Phyllosticta spinarum,an endophytic fungus of Cupressus sp.

Taxol production during the cultivation on a modified liquid and potato dextrose broth medium was indicated for the first time to occur in Phyllosticta spinarum, an endophytic fungus isolated from the needles of Cupressus sp. The presence of taxol in the fungal culture filtrate was confirmed by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods of analysis. The amount of taxol produced by this fungus was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. The maximum amount of taxol production was obtained in this fungus when grown on M1D medium (235 μg/L) followed by PDB medium (125 μg/L). The results indicate that P. spinarum is an excellent candidate for taxol production . The production rate was 4.7 × 10³‐fold higher than that found in the culture broth of an earlier reported fungus, Taxomyces andreanae. The fungal taxol extracted also showed a strong cytotoxic activity in the in vitro culture of human cancer cells tested in an apoptotic assay.     

乳杆菌DM9811发酵液提取物中RNA组分对水泡性口炎病毒抑制作用研究

目的通过乳杆菌DM9811发酵液提取物中RNA组分对水泡性口炎病毒(VSV)抑制作用研究,探讨其在抵抗肠道病毒性感染性疾病方面的作用。方法应用50%细胞感染计量法(TCID50)、免疫荧光法、ELISA和MTT法探讨不同浓度的RNA组分对VSV的抑制作用。结果 RNA组分200μg/mL浓度时与对照比较,RNA组分具有竞争性抑制VSV感染作用,细胞存活率为(90.9±3.67)%,并具有阻断VSV侵入细胞作用,细胞存活率为(96.6±1.47)%。但RNA组分对病毒生物合成的抑制作用不明显。此外RNA组分具有诱导BALB/c小鼠脾细胞产生IFN-α作用,并呈现一定的剂量依赖关系。结论乳杆菌DM9811发酵液提取物中RNA组分对VSV具有明显抑制作用。     

Phyllosticta ophiopogonis sp. nov. from Ophiopogon japonicus (Liliaceae)

A leaf spotting disease of an ornamental variety of Ophiopogon japonicus was discovered at several locations in northern Thailand. In all cases a species of Phyllosticta was associated with the lesions. Phyllosticta ophiopogonis sp. nov. is distinguished from Phyllosticta species from Liliaceae in conidia size, mucilaginous sheath and appendage thus the species is introduced as new in this paper. The new species which causes unsightly lesions on this ornamental plant is described, illustrated and compared with other similar Phyllosticta species.     

Rheinheimera aquatica sp. nov., an antimicrobial activity producing bacterium isolated from freshwater culture pond

A bacterial strain designated GR5(T) was isolated from freshwater culture pond in Taiwan during the screening of bacteria for antimicrobial compounds and characterized using the polyphasic taxonomic approach. Strain GR5(T) was Gram-negative, aerobic, greenish-yellow colored, rod-shaped, and motile by means of a polar single flagellum. Growth occurred at 10-40 degrees C (optimum, 35 degrees C), at pH 7.0-8.0 (optimum pH 8.0) and with 0-2.0% NaCl (optimum, 0.5-1.0%). The major fatty acids were C(16:1) omega7c (36.3%), C(16:0) (16.6%), C(12:0) 3-OH (12.5%) and C(18:1) omega7c (9.1%). The major respiratory quinone was Q-8. The DNA G+C content of the genomic DNA was 51.9 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain GR5(T) belonged to the genus Rheinheimera and its most closely neighbours were Rheinheimera texasensis A62-14B(T) and Rheinheimera tangshanensis JA3-B52(T) with sequence similarities of 98.1 and 97.5%, respectively. The sequence similarities to any other recognized species within Gammaproteobacteria were less than 96.5%. The mean level of DNA-DNA relatedness between strain GR5(T) and R. texasensis A62-14B(T), the strain most closely related to the isolate, was 26.5 +/- 7.6 %. On the basis of the phylogenetic and phenotypic data, strain GR5(T) should be classified as representing a novel species, for which the name Rheinheimera aquatica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is GR5(T) (= BCRC 80081(T) = LMG 25379(T)).     

A novel phytotoxic nonenolide from Phomopsis sp. HCCB03520

A novel phytotoxic nonenolide, (6S,7R,9R)-6,7-dihydroxy-9-propylnon-4-eno-9-lactone (1), was isolated from solid cultures of the endophytic fungus Phomopsis sp. HCCB03520, together with three known compounds, cytochalasin H (2), cytochalasin N (3), and epoxycytochalasin H (4). The structures of these compounds were elucidated through spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configurations were determined by CD spectroscopy. Phytotoxic activities of compounds 1-4 were also investigated. Compound 1 showed phytotoxic activity on germination and radicle growth of Medicago sativa, Trifolium hybridum, and Buchloe dactyloides.     

Antibacterial activity of a disaccharide isolated from Streptomyces sp. strain JJ45 against Xanthomonas sp.

Of the 316 actinomycetes strains isolated from various habitats, Streptomyces sp. strain JJ45 showed the strongest antibiotic activity against the plant pathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris and was thus chosen for further study. The 16S rRNA gene sequence (1500 bp) and rpoB gene partial sequence (306 bp) of Streptomyces strains JJ45A and JJ45B were determined. The respective strain JJ45B sequences exhibited 96.8% identity with the Streptococcus gelaticus 16S rRNA gene sequence and 98.4% identity with the Streptococcus vinaceus ATCC 27478 rpoB partial sequence. The fermentation broth of the JJ45B strain was extracted to find an inhibitor of bacterial growth. The distilled water extract showed the highest activity against pathogenic bacteria. The active molecule was isolated by column chromatography on polyacrylamide or silica gel, thin-layer chromatography, and HPLC. It showed growth inhibition activity only toward phytopathogenic Xanthomonas sp. The structure of the compound was identified as α- l -sorbofuranose (3→2)-β- d -altrofuranose based on the interpretation of the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra.