Effects of Nutrition on Desiccation Tolerance and Virulence of Colletotrichum truncatum and Alternaria alternata Conidia

The promising mycoherbicides Colletotrichum truncatum and Alternaria alternata were grown respectively in liquid and solid semi-defined media. C. truncatum conidia produced in a medium with a C:N ratio of 5:1 showed higher desiccation tolerance (survival during storage) at 15% relative humidity and 25°C, greater germination on the host leaf and greater disease expression on Sesbania exaltata than those produced in media with C:N ratios of 15:1 or 40:1. Similar results were obtained with conidia of A. alternata produced on a medium with a C:N ratio of 15:1. Conidia washed with 0.9% (w/v) NaCl produced higher tolerance to desiccation, and greater disease incitement, than unwashed conidia of C. truncatum or conidia washed with water. In contrast, washing had no positive effect on desiccation tolerance in A. alternata .     

Biocontrol of broomrape using Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. orthoceras in tomato crops under field conditions

The effects of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. orthoceras as a mycoherbicide on broomrape, a weedy parasite of tomato crops, were examined during two growing seasons under field conditions. In contrast to emerged broomrapes in treated plots, none of the tomato plants inoculated with fungal pathogen showed Fusarium-wilt symptoms. In 2008, both suspension concentrations, 1?×?10⁶ and 1?×?10⁷ spore/ml, used via either root-dip or soil-inoculation three weeks after transplanting, and high-concentration-soil-inoculation one week after transplanting, reduced the number of broomrape plant and shoots per plant compared to the control. In 2009, single-point-low-dose and twice-high-dose applications of sulfosulfuron had significantly fewer broomrape plants than high-concentration-soil-inoculation three weeks after transplanting. High-concentration-root-dip inoculation decreased broomrape biomass weight significantly by 58% compared to the control in 2008. In 2009, mean biomass for single-point-application of sulfosulfuron at 50 and 75?g levels was lower than control. The highest yield was detected in high-concentration-soil-inoculation at transplanting in 2008 and in low-dose-twice-application of sulfosulfuron in 2009. Tomato yield was associated with the number of broomrape shoots per plant. There is promise that these field-scale findings will improve attempts to use mycoherbicides for biocontrol of broomrapes in tomato cropping systems.     

Kinetic analysis of nanoparticle‐protein interactions using a plasmon waveguide resonance

A plasmon waveguide resonance (PWR) sensor is proposed for studying the interaction between gold nanoparticles and proteins. The ability of the PWR sensor to operate in both TM and TE Polarizations, i.e. its polarization diversity, facilitates the simultaneous spectroscopy of the nanoparticles surface reactions using both polarizations. The response of each polarization to streptavidin‐biotin binding at the surface of gold nanoparticles is investigated in real time. Finally, using the principles of multimode spectroscopy, the nanoparticle's surface reactions are decoupled from the bulk solution refractive index variations.

Schematic diagram of the NP‐modified PWR sensor     

The effects of BmNPV on biochemical changes in primary cultures of Bombyx mori embryonic tissue

The effect of Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) on biochemical changes of TC-100 medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) in embryonic primary cultures of silkworm was investigated. The primary cultures that reached 60% confluence were infected by 0.5, 1, and 2-ml viral inoculums (diluted with TC-100 medium representing multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 0.25, 0.5, and 1). Glucose, uric acid, urea, total protein, cholesterol, and alkaline phosphatase were measured in the medium of BmNPV-infected primary cultures. All biochemical compounds showed significant changes. Glucose decreased considerably by about 55 mg/ml, while different concentrations of the virus inoculums did not demonstrate significant differences among them. Total protein had only increased in 2 ml concentration and there were no changes in other concentrations. Uric acid as a by-product accumulated dramatically in all concentrations, while the amount of urea reduced in all treatments and this reduction was more evident in lower concentrations. Cholesterol consumption was high in cultures postinfection, while alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity decreased in infected cells.     

Co-delivery of miRNA-15a and miRNA-16–1 using cationic PEGylated niosomes downregulates Bcl-2 and induces apoptosis in prostate cancer cells

Biotechnology Letters - Tumor suppressor miRNAs, miR-15a and miR-16–1, with high-specificity and oncogenic targeting of Bcl-2, can target tumor tissues. Disadvantages of the clinical...     

Effect of Chemical Chaperones on Glucose-Induced Lysozyme Modifications

Nonenzymatic glycation of biomacromolecules occurs due to the diabetes mellitus and ageing. A number of small molecules, known as chemical chaperones, stabilize protein conformation against thermal and chemically induced denaturation. These compounds are including: polyamines (e.g. spermine and spermidine), amino acids (e.g. lysine) and polyols (e.g. glycerol). In this study the effect of spermidine (Spd), spermine (Spm), and glycerol on glycation, structure and function of lysozyme (LZ), as an extra-cellular protein, by different techniques is investigated. LZ is incubated with or without glucose (50 or 100 mM) in the absence or presence of Spd/Spm/glycerol at 37 °C up to 16 weeks. All the observed changes of glycated-LZ in comparison with the native protein, including: increased fluorescence emission, alteration in the secondary and tertiary structure, and reduced electrophoretic mobility- indicate its structural changes that are accompanied with its reduced activity. Glucose in the presence or absence of Spd induces the protein dimerization, but glucose plus Spm induces its trimmerization. In contrast, glycerol inhibits the LZ glycation and prevents the large changes on its structure and function. Glucose binds lysine residues, decreases the protein positive charges and induces some alterations in its structure and activity. Polyamines also directly bind to LZ, increase its positive charges and hence induce more glycation; more conformational changes, oligomerization and its inactivation in the presence of glucose, but glycerol affect the protein environment and preserve protein from these harmful effects.     

Hypersensitivity to Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven) pollen: identification of a major IgE-binding component

Ailanthus altissima or Ailanthus glandulosa (Simaroubaceae) is known as tree of heaven. It is a dioecious plant with staminate and pistillate flowers that grow on separate trees. In recent years, A. altissima has been frequently planted in numerous areas, especially in arid and semiarid lands of Iran and also used as an ornamental tree in several Iran cities including Kerman. The aim of this research was to identify IgE-binding proteins responsible for type I hypersensitivities of A. altissima pollen extract. In this study, pollen’s proteins were extracted and analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Total protein content of pollen extracts was measured by Bradford assay. Allergenicity of pollen extract was evaluated by skin test and immunoblotting. Results showed that total protein concentration of A. altissima pollen was found to be 1.34 μg μl^?1. In A. altissima pollen extract, different protein fractions were identified by SDS-PAGE mostly at 42, 53.7, 63, 87.7, 100 and 120 kDa. Skin tests showed a delayed hypersensitivity. Immunoblotting of A. altissima pollen extract with pooled subject’s sera detected a major IgE-binding component of 42 kDa. Moreover, these results will provide a platform for cloning cDNA encoding allergenic protein from A. altissima pollen.