The isolation of tissue culture ofPopulus alba L. ‘Pyramidalis’

Tissue culture was isolated from the stem ofPopulus alba L. ‘pyramidalis’. Callus formation was observed since November till March (1974),i.e. till the formation of calluses suitable for further subeultivation. The most vigorous growth was obtained with the callus culture cultivated on the nutrient medium of DIAZ-COLONet al. (1972) on which more than 11 g of fresh matter was produced after 30 d at the end of the first year of cultivation in darkness, with inoculum weight 1.5-1.8 g. A mild decrease in growth rate of the tissue culture was observed after the first year of cultivation. When illuminated, the originally yellow calluses turned green. The morphological and anatomical structure of the callus culture is also described and cell shape and cell size evaluated.     

Starter culture for the production of ‘soyiru’

Bacillus subtilis or licheniformis facilitated production of soyiru with the best results being given by using both together. Fermentation employing Streptococcus enterococcus was unsuccessful.H.A. Suberu is with the Department of Biological Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria. J.A. Akinyanju is with the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Ilorin, P.M.B. 1515, Ilorin, Nigeria.     

Production of active human interferon-β inE. coli I. Preferential production by lower culture temperature

Summary Unusually low culture temperature, such as 20°C, was shown to be preferable for the synthesis of active human interferon- (IFN-) inE. coli harboring a recombinant plasmid. TheE. coli cells cultured at 20°C gave 8.6-fold higher IFN- activity than those cultured at 37°C. However, almost the equal amounts of IFN- protein were accumulated in both cells cultured at 20°C and at temperature higher than 20°C, suggesting that IFN- might exist as an active form in the cells cultured at 20°C, while as a rather denatured form in the cells cultured at higher temperature.     

Dry-matter production and recovery of fertilizer nitrogen by rice as affected by nitrification retarders ‘N-Serve’ and ‘AM’

Summary In a pot-culture experiment simulating semi low-land rice field conditions 5 to 11 per cent increase in dry matter yield and 27 to 43 per cent increase in recovery of applied N was obtained by the use of N-Serve and AM nitrification retarders.Although the term frequently used is 'nitrification inhibitors, the term nitrification retarders is proposed since under field conditions these chemicals only partially control the nitrification.Trade name of The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan, U.S.A. for 2-chloro-6-(trichloromethyl) pyridine.Trade name of Toyo Koatsu Industries, Inc., Tokyo, Japan for 2-amino-4chloro-6methyl pirimidine.     

Tissue culture of forest trees—Clonal propagation of mature trees of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook,by tissue culture

Multiple shoots were obtained from terminal buds of 20-year-old trees of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook on Murashige and Skoog's medium supplemented with calcium pantothenate, biotin, benzylaminopurine and kinetin. Rooting could be induced by naphthalene-acetic acid in shoot cultures only after they had undergone three subcultures. Incubation at 15°C with continuous illumination followed by growth in agitated liquid cultures was essential for inducing shoot development in the primary terminal buds. These treatments were not necessary in later subcultures or with explants from seedlings obtained from seeds. Fifteen subcultures have so far been carried out and healthy viable plantlets obtained in each subculture. It is estimated that over 100 000 plants can be obtained by this method in a year from a single bud of mature Eucalyptus citriodora trees.     

A new method of quantitative determination of contamination of baker’s yeast by wild yeasts or by dissociation forms of the production culture

ПроизBодстBEнной КулBтурB? Л. АSлBeанКкeа Oписан ноBb?й Мeтод OпрEпEл?ния ЗАрАжEния коооEрчEскиx ПEкАрскиx ДрожжEй И ДрожжEBb?x ЗАтороB ДиКими щтАммАми ДрожжEй Или ДиссоциируЮщим-и формАми ПроиЗBодстBEнного щтАмоА. мEтод OсноBАн нА ПодАBлEний ПроизВодстBEнного штАммА 1 . 10–³ М— 3 . . 10–³ М КонцEнтрАциEй Монойодуксусной Кислеты и ПозBоляEт КоличEстBEнноE OцрEдEлEниE КонтАминАции (BырАжEнной OтношEниEм ЧислА СлучАEB ЗАражeния К Ч0438;слу Клeток ПроизBодстBeнного Штам043C;а) B Прeдeлex Пр Крайнeй Мeрe 1%     

Fungal culture of musculoskeletal tissue: what’s the point?

There have not been any studies that review the prevalence of fungal isolates using selective media from samples of banked musculoskeletal tissue retrieved from living and cadaveric donors. A total of 2,036 swab and 2,621 biopsy samples of musculoskeletal tissue from tissue banks were received from the 1st August 2008 till 31st December 2010. Routine culture for fungi using selective media with a prolonged incubation period failed to demonstrate a greater prevalence of fungal isolates than by using non-selective culture media alone. Using selective culture fungi were recovered from only two Sabouraud agar plates (0.1%) but not from non-selective media. During the same period fungi were isolated from three graft samples cultured in non-selective broth media only (0.1%). There was no correlation of fungal isolates from selective or non-selective media inoculated at the same time nor from multiple graft samples collected from the same donor supporting the possibility of an exogenous source for fungal isolates rather than an endogenous source.     

Micropropagation of juvenile tissue of Eucalyptus erythronema × eucalyptus stricklandii cv. ‘urrbrae gem’

Summary Micropropagation via enhanced axillary shoot proliferation was investigated in the ornamental Eucalyptus cv. ‘Urrbrae Gem’ using in vitro germinated seedlings and was successfully achieved using woody plant medium (WPM) supplemented with 2.2 μM benzylaminopurine, 1.0 μM α-naphthaleneacetic acid, and 1.5 μM gibberellic acid (GA₃), gelled with 5 g l⁻¹ Phytagel^?. Shoot proliferation was greater on WPM and QL media with GA₃ compared to B5, AP, and TK media with or without GA₃. GA₃ was required for shoot elongation as the internodes were otherwise very short and unsuitable for multiplication or root initiation. Root initiation was improved using (1/2) WPM supplemented with 20 μM indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) over a 7 d pulse, followed by subculture to IBA-free medium, compared to placing shoots on low levels of IBA for 4–6 wk. Plantlets were successfully hardened off to the natural environment via a fogger at 67% relative, humidity at 21°C for 3 d and continued to thrive as potted plants. This is the first report of successful, micropropagation in an ornamental eucalypt (subgenus Symphyomyrtus) from seedling explants.     

Influence of nitrogen on the production of hypericins by St. John’s wort

The effect of nitrogen supply on the production of ‘hypericins’ (hypericin and pseudohypericin) in leaves of St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) was examined with plants grown in sand culture and soil. In sand culture, 56-d growth of St. John’s wort plants with decreased nitrogen levels resulted in increased production of hypericins in leaves. A short-term low nitrogen stress in sand culture also resulted in increased production of leaf hypericins. While growth in a low nitrogen-containing soil resulted in elevated levels of hypericins, their production was decreased by supplementation of the soil with additional nitrogen. Increased production of hypericins in St. John’s wort leaves did not require the nitrogen supply to be decreased to levels that resulted in nitrogen deficiency symptoms. Moreover, alteration in the production of leaf hypericins occurring with changes in nitrogen supply did not alter the concentration ratio of pseudohypericin and hypericin. Increased production of leaf hypericins was not associated with any significant changes in the number of dark glands on the leaves and only a weak correlation was observed between leaf dark gland number and levels of leaf hypericins. These results are discussed in terms of the biochemistry of naphthodianthrone production by St. John’s wort plants and implications for growth environment effects during cultivated growth of this medicinal plant.     

Culturalizing politics,hyper-politicizing ‘culture’: ‘White’ vs. ‘Black Turks’ and the making of authoritarian populism in Turkey

This paper focuses on the uses and abuses of two terms, ‘White’ and ‘Black Turk’, which have been significant in the ways modern Turkish society and national identity have been defined and contested in recent decades. Initially emerging in social analysis in the 1990s, ‘White Turk’ was a metaphor for and critique of the class culture, subjectivity and worldviews of the ‘new middle classes’ in a period of rapid integration to neoliberalism and globalized capitalism. Over time, both White and Black Turks have come to be used as part of a politics of identity and a politics of authenticity to characterize who are seen as the ‘authentic self’ and inauthentic others of national identity and to assert different visions for the future of Turkish society. White Turk has been adopted as an identity by outspoken members of the media and business elite, whereas its binary opposite, Black Turk, has been appropriated by Islamist politicians of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as a metaphor to characterize the marginalization and purported oppression of their conservative Muslim constituency. As White and Black Turks were adopted as self-proclaimed identities, they provided a basis for a culturalist depiction of Turkish society, contributing over time to an increasingly divisive politics. Even though the AKP initially used the reference to White and Black Turks to appeal to specific demands for inclusion, as it increased its grip on power, it also (hyper)politicized the terms to articulate nativist claims to authenticity. In recent years, this nativist populism has been used to justify increasing authoritarianism and to delegitimize belonging and political participation of those deemed inauthentic others of the body politics.     

Mass production of poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid by fully automatic fed-batch culture of methylotroph

Summary Fifty-one methylotrophs were checked with respect to their ability of poly--hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) production from methanol. One of them, Pseudomonas sp. K, was chosen from its good growth on a minimum synthetic medium. Optimal temperature and pH for its growth were 30° C and 7.0, respectively. Concentrations of PO ₄ ^3- and NH ₄ ⁺ in the medium should be kept at low levels. PHB formation was stimulated by deficiency of nutrient such as NH ₄ ⁺ , SO ₄ ^2- , Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺ or Mn²⁺. Among them, nitrogen deficiency was chosen from its effectiveness and easiness for PHB accumulation.The microorganism was cultivated to produce a large amount of poly--hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) from methanol by means of microcomputer-aided fully automatic fed-batch culture technique. During the cultivation, temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration (DO), and methanol concentration in the culture broth were maintained at 30° C 2.5±0.5 ppm and 0.5±0.2 g/l, respectively. Other nutrients, nitrogen source and mineral ions, were also controlled to maintain their initial concentrations in the medium during cell growth phase. When the high cell concentration was achieved (160 g/l), feedings of ammonia and minerals were stopped and only methanol was supplied successively to accumulate PHB. At 175 h, high concentration of PHB (136 g/l) was obtained and total cell concentration became 206 g/l. DO must be maintained above the critical level during the PHB formation phase, too. PHB yield from methanol (g PHB/g methanol) was 0.18 and the maximum PHB content reached 66% of dry weight. Solid PHB produced by the strain had the melting point of 176° C and the average molecular weight of 3.0x10⁵.     

Experiences with the use of a starter culture in the fermentation of maize for ‘kenkey’ production in Ghana

Controlled fermentation of maize was carried out using six strains of Lactobacillus fermentum and one strain of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, isolated from traditionally fermented maize dough as starter cultures for inoculum enrichement. The fermentations were monitored by pH, acidity, microbiological analysis and taste panel evaluation of two products, kenkey and koko, prepared from the fermented doughs. The strains of L. fermentum used as starter culture dominated the microflora during fermentation and in most inoculated doughs the required pH was attained by 24 h instead of 48 h of dough fermentation. Higher contents of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts were observed in inoculated doughs at the initial stages of fermentation but the spontaneously fermented doughs attained similar lactic acid bacteria and yeasts counts by 24 h of dough fermentation. The organoleptic quality of kenkey and koko prepared from doughs fermented with starter culture for 48 h was not significantly different from the traditional products. Kenkey prepared from doughs fermented for 24 h with starter culture were found to be unacceptable by the taste panel although similarly produced koko was acceptable.The authors are with the Food Research Institute, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, P.O Box M 20. Accra, Ghana.     

The production of α-amylase in batch and chemostat culture by Bacillus stearothermophilus

The production of -amylase (-1,4-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase; EC. 3.2.1.1) by a strain of Bacillus stearothermophilus isolated from leaf litter was investigated in a tryptone-maltose medium at 55°C in batch and chemostat culture. Amylase production was growth-limited and restricted to the exponential phase in batch culture. The enzyme yield was reduced by 40% when the culture pH was maintained at pH 7.2. Amylase production in chemostat culture was influenced by the growth rate throughout the dilution rate range used.     

Influence of culture conditions on the production of heterologous interleukin 1β by Kluyveromyces lactis

Summary Under the control of the repressible PHO5 promoter, the expression of gene encoding interleukin 1 (Il1) was derepressed when the medium was depleted of free inorganic phosphate (Pi). Maximum heterologous protein synthesis was obtained in the presence of 75 mg KH₂PO₄/1 (for 20 g glucose/l). The successful heterologous protein production greatly depends on nutritional culture conditions as Il1 production efficiency was increased by 83% through optimization of the growth medium. Comparison of different phosphate-limited cultivation strategies led to the development of a batch culture procedure with nutrient pulses to delay induced oxido-fermentative glucose metabolism and increase the Il1 production to 135 mg/l.