Chitinolytic Microorganisms and Their Possible Application in Environmental Protection

This paper provides a review of the latest research findings on the applications of microbial chitinases to biological control. Microorganisms producing these enzymes can inhibit the growth of many fungal diseases that pose a serious threat to global crop production. Currently, efforts are being made to discover producers of chitinolytic enzymes. The potential exists that natural biofungicides will replace chemical fungicides or will be used to supplement currently used fungicides, which would reduce the negative impact of chemicals on the environment and support the sustainable development of agriculture and forestry.     

Antagonistic interactions between Aureobasidium pullulans and Fusarium culmorum,a fungal pathogen of winter wheat

The effect of the biological control agent Aureobasidium pullulans (de Bary) G. Arnaud on the development of Fusarium head blight (FHB) on winter wheat and kernel contamination with fungi of the genera Fusarium, Acremonium, Cladosporium and Penicillium was analyzed in a greenhouse experiment. Scanning electron microscopy was used to evaluate the distribution of A. pullulans cells and aggregates on wheat kernels, infection structures of Fusarium culmorum (W.G. Smith) Sacc and the antagonist-pathogen interactions. Biological control with A. pullulans reduced FHB severity by 21.67 % and improved grain filling by 5.02 %, compared with the control treatment. The survival of A. pullulans was good (to 31 cells per kernel), in particular on the surface and in the crease of kernels, including in pathogen-inoculated wheat plants. A. pullulans cells firmly adhered to F. culmorum hyphae, and damaged them. In most cases, autochthonous communities of filamentous fungi of the genera Acremonium and Penicillium developed at a slower rate after kernel inoculation with the pathogen.     

Phenotypes and Genotypes of Old and Contemporary Porcine Strains Indicate a Temporal Change in the S. aureus Population Structure in Pigs

Introduction

Staphylococcus aureus sequence type ST398 has recently gained attention due to the spread of methicillin-resistant strains among people exposed to livestock. The aim of this study was to explore temporal changes in the population structure of S. aureus in pigs over the last 40 years with particular reference to the occurrence of ST398.

Methods

We analysed a unique collection of 91 porcine strains isolated in six countries between 1973 and 2009 using a biotyping scheme described in the 1970''s in combination with spa typing and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). The collection comprised 32 historical isolates from 1973–1974 (n = 19) and from 1991–2003 (n = 13), and 59 contemporary isolates from 2004–2009. The latter isolates represented the most common MLST types (ST1, ST9, ST97 and ST433) and spa types isolated from pigs in Europe.

Results and Discussion

S. aureus sequence type ST398 was not found among old isolates from the 1970''s or from 1991–2003, suggesting that this lineage was absent or present at low frequencies in pigs in the past. This hypothesis is supported by the observed association of ST398 with the ovine ecovar, which was not described in pigs by studies carried out in the 1970''s. In addition, various phenotypic and genotypic differences were observed between old and contemporary isolates. Some biotypes commonly reported in pigs in the 1970''s were either absent (human ecovar) or rare (biotype A) among contemporary isolates. Nine clonal lineages found among old porcine isolates are occasionally reported in pigs today (ST8, ST30, ST97, ST387, ST1092, ST2468) or have never been described in this animal host (ST12, ST133, ST1343). These results indicate that the population structure of porcine S. aureus has changed over the last 40 years and confirm the current theory that S. aureus ST398 does not originate from pigs.     

Appraisal of Artificial Screening Techniques of Tomato to Accurately Reflect Field Performance of the Late Blight Resistance

Late blight (LB) caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans continues to thwart global tomato production, while only few resistant cultivars have been introduced locally. In order to gain from the released tomato germplasm with LB resistance, we compared the 5-year field performance of LB resistance in several tomato cultigens, with the results of controlled conditions testing (i.e., detached leaflet/leaf, whole plant). In case of these artificial screening techniques, the effects of plant age and inoculum concentration were additionally considered. In the field trials, LA 1033, L 3707, L 3708 displayed the highest LB resistance, and could be used for cultivar development under Polish conditions. Of the three methods using controlled conditions, the detached leaf and the whole plant tests had the highest correlation with thefield experiments. The plant age effect on LB resistance in tomato reported here, irrespective of the cultigen tested or inoculum concentration used, makes it important to standardize the test parameters when screening for resistance. Our results help show why other reports disagree on LB resistance in tomato.     

The DC-module of doublecortin: dynamics, domain boundaries, and functional implications

The doublecortin-like (DC) domains, which usually occur in tandem, constitute novel microtubule-binding modules. They were first identified in doublecortin (DCX), a protein expressed in migrating neurons, and in the doublecortin-like kinase (DCLK). They are also found in other proteins, including the RP1 gene product which-when mutated-causes a form of inherited blindness. We previously reported an X-ray structure of the N-terminal DC domain of DCLK (N-DCLK), and a solution structure of an analogous module of human doublecortin (N-DCX). These studies showed that the DC domain has a tertiary fold closely reminiscent of ubiquitin and similar to several GTPase-binding domains. We now report an X-ray structure of a mutant of N-DCX, in which the C-terminal fragment (residues 139-147) unexpectedly shows an altered, "open" conformation. However, heteronuclear NMR data show that this C-terminal fragment is only transiently open in solution, and assumes a predominantly "closed" conformation. While the "open" conformation may be artificially stabilized by crystal packing interactions, the observed switching between the "open" and "closed" conformations, which shortens the linker between the two DC-domains by approximately 20 A, is likely to be of functional importance in the control of tubulin polymerization and microtubule bundling by doublecortin.     

B. subtilis ykuD protein at 2.0 A resolution: insights into the structure and function of a novel, ubiquitous family of bacterial enzymes

The crystal structure of the product of the Bacillus subtilis ykuD gene was solved by the multiwavelength anomalous dispersion (MAD) method and refined using data to 2.0 A resolution. The ykuD protein is a representative of a distinctly prokaryotic and ubiquitous family found among both pathogenic and nonpathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The deduced amino acid sequence reveals the presence of an N-terminal LysM domain, which occurs among enzymes involved in cell wall metabolism, and a novel, putative catalytic domain with a highly conserved His/Cys-containing motif of hitherto unknown structure. As the wild-type protein did not crystallize, a double mutant was designed (Lys117Ala/Gln118Ala) to reduce excess surface conformational entropy. As expected, the structure of the LysM domain is similar to the NMR structure reported for an analogous domain from Escherichia coli murein transglycosylase MltD. The molecular model also shows that the 112-residue-long C-terminal domain has a novel tertiary fold consisting of a beta-sandwich with two mixed sheets, one containing five strands and the other, six strands. The two beta-sheets form a cradle capped by an alpha-helix. This domain contains a putative catalytic site with a tetrad of invariant His123, Gly124, Cys139, and Arg141. The stereochemistry of this active site shows similarities to peptidotransferases and sortases, and suggests that the enzymes of the ykuD family may play an important role in cell wall biology.     

Predicting a relapse of Graves' hyperthyroidism in adults during the early phase of treatment with anti-thyroid drugs

INTRODUCTION: The long-term effectiveness of anti-thyroid drugs (ATD) in the treatment of Graves' hyperthyroidism (GH) is still unsatisfactory and difficult to predict. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a determination of serum level of thyrotropin-binding inhibiting immunoglobulins (second generation TBII assay) in predicting the possibility of relapse in the early phase of pharmacological treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We investigated 37 patients within the 20-60 age range with the first occurrence of GH. All patients were treated with thiamazole for 12 months. Clinical assessment, ultrasound estimation of thyroid volume and determination of serum thyrotropin, free thyroxine, free triiodothyronine, thyroid autoantibodies and TBII levels were carried out at the onset and after 1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of ATD treatment. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period after ATD withdrawal was 27.24 +/- 5.81 months. Of 37 patients 12 (32%) had a relapse of hyperthyroidism (mean time 8.17 +/- 6.91 months after drug withdrawal). The difference in TBII levels between the relapse and the remission group was found to be significant after the first month of therapy until the end of ATD treatment. We observed that patients with TBII above 14 IU/L after 3 months and above 8 IU/L after 6 months of therapy relapsed more frequently than patients with lower levels (sensitivity 50% and specificity 92 and 96%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The study confirmed that TBII estimation in the early phase of ATD could be useful in the proper planning of GH therapy and early qualification to more radical treatment (radioiodine or surgery).     

Nitric oxide,hydrogen cyanide and ethylene are required in the control of germination and undisturbed development of young apple seedlings

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are emerging as important regulators of plant development (germination, flowering, senescence), acting as secondary messengers in cooperation with classical phytohormones. Apple seeds are dormant, unless they undergo a 3 month long cold stratification. Deep dormancy of isolated apple embryos can also be broken by short pre-treatment with HCN or NO with the effect associated with enhanced ethylene synthesis. Non-dormant embryos germinate well and young seedlings grown from non-dormant embryos do not exhibit any morphological anomalies, such as asymmetric growth and greening of cotyledons. One of the aims of this work was to investigate the correlation between RNS- mediated (HCN- and NO-dependent) dormancy removal and ROS (H₂O₂ and O₂^−•) accumulation in the embryos. The beneficial effect of NO and HCN on germination of dormant apple embryos has been associated with marked increases in H₂O₂ and O₂^−• concentration in the embryos at early germination stages. We also analyzed growth of young seedlings developed from embryos pre-treatment with HCN or NO or exposed to ethylene (ethephone) and its precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). ACC and ethephone removed all morphological anomalies of the seedlings (asymmetric growth and greening of cotyledons) but the radicle growth was rather slight. We propose that accumulation of ROS provoked by HCN and NO pre-treatment is required for embryo germination “sensu stricto”, while ethylene is required for post-germination seedling growth.