Synthetic Racemate and Enantiomers of Cytosporone E,a Metabolite of an Endophytic Fungus,Show Indistinguishably Weak Antimicrobial Activity

The racemate and the enantiomers of cytosporone E [3-heptyl-4,5,6-trihydroxyphthalide (1)], a metabolite of the endophytic fungus, CR200 (Cytospora sp.), were synthesized. The key steps were (i) Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation of an alkene (8) and (ii) HPLC separation of the enantiomers of tert-butyldimethylsilyl ether (12) on a chiral stationary phase. The racemate and enantiomers of cytosporone E showed only weak antimicrobial activity with no difference among them.     

HPLC法检测蛇足石杉内生真菌胶胞炭疽发酵液中石杉碱甲和石杉碱乙的含量

建立了高效液相色谱(HPLC)测定蛇足石杉(Huperzia serrate)内生真菌胶胞炭疽发酵液中石杉碱甲(Huperzina A)和石杉碱乙(Huperzine B)含量的方法,并以此方法检测胶胞炭疽发酵液中石杉碱甲和石杉碱乙含量的积累。内生真菌发酵液经氯仿萃取、甲醇溶解、过滤后进行高效液相检测分析,选用Agilent Eclipse plus-C18色谱柱(250 mm×4.6 mm,5μm),以0.015 mol/L乙酸铵(p H 6.8)和甲醇溶液(70∶30)为流动相进行等度洗脱,流速1 mL/min,检测波长为308 nm,连续检测内生真菌胶胞炭疽发酵液中第6–15天石杉碱甲和石杉碱乙的含量积累。结果表明,发酵提取液中的石杉碱甲和石杉碱乙可在25 min内进行很好的分离和分析,石杉碱甲在1.50-48.00μg/mL范围内线性关系良好(相关系数r为0.999 5),石杉碱乙在0.25-7.50μg/mL范围内线性关系良好(相关系数r为0.999 7),石杉碱甲和石杉碱乙的平均加标回收率分别为106.83%、108.06%,相对标准偏差(RSD)分别为3.34%、3.60%。该方法简便、快速、精密度高、结果准确,适用于内生真菌发酵液中石杉碱甲和石杉碱乙含量检测。在发酵过程中,内生真菌发酵液中石杉碱甲和石杉碱乙的含量呈现先增后减,随后有所增加继而又减少的趋势。石杉碱甲和石杉碱乙的含量分别在内生真菌发酵第14天、第8天达到最高,分别为12.417 0μg/mL、4.660 3μg/mL。该方法学的建立为内生真菌胶胞炭疽合成石杉碱甲与石杉碱乙的机制研究提供了检测手段,从而有利于药物新资源的开发。     

Isolation of endophytic diazotrophic bacteria from wetland rice

Endophytic nitrogen-fixing bacteria are believed to contribute substantial amounts of N to certain gramineous crops. We have been interested to find (a) a diazotroph(s) in rice which can aggressively and stably persist and fix nitrogen in interior tissues and (b) unique rice-diazotrophic endophyte combinations. To achieve these objectives, it has been essential to find an efficient method to surface sterilize rice tissues. The method described here consists of exposing tissues to 1% Chloramine T for 15 min followed by shaking with glass beads. It has proven very efficient since (a) surface bacterial populations on the root and culm were found to be reduced by more than 90%, (b) the number of the internal colonizers was found to be significantly higher than the number of surface bacteria, and (c) colonization of root but not subepidermal tissue by gusA-marked Herbaspirillum seropedicae Z67 bacteria was found to be virtually eliminated. Nitrogen-fixing putative endophytic populations (MPN g dry wt) in the root (7.94 × 10) and culm (2.57 × 10) on field-grown IR72 plants grown in the absence of N fertilizer was found to be significantly higher near heading stage. The corresponding total putative endophyte populations in the tissues of 25 highly diverse genotypes of rice and their relatives was found to range from 10–10and 10–10, in the roots and culms, respectively. Generally, the resident bacteria were found to be non-diazotrophic, although in isolated cases diazotrophs were found, for example in the roots and culm of IR72 rice plants, or the culm of Zizaniopsis villanensis plants. The size of populations of diazotrophic bacteria in different rice genotypes was found to be 10–10 for the roots and 10–10 for the culms, respectively. The rice genera-related plants Potamophila pariffora and Rhynchoryza subulata showed the highest levels.     

烟草赤星病菌拮抗性大豆根瘤内生菌的筛选及抑制作用

以烟草赤星病菌为供试病原菌,采用对峙法、代谢液培养法对分离自大豆根瘤的内生细菌进行抑菌筛选,对筛选菌株作用的病原菌菌丝进行显微观察,研究筛选菌株细胞培养特征及生理生化特性、16S rDNA测序序列、系统发育,以及进行温室接种防病试验.结果表明: 大豆根瘤内生菌经初筛、复筛,对烟草赤星病菌抑菌率42%以上的有7株菌,分别属于芽孢杆菌属、假单胞菌属、中华根瘤菌属和寡养单胞菌属.显微观察表明,在拮抗性内生菌作用下病原菌菌丝末端出现明显畸形,呈珊瑚状分枝、球状膨大等;代谢液试验表明,内生菌对病原菌的抑制作用主要是内生菌代谢产生的胞外物质在发挥作用;对峙试验表明,芽孢杆菌可迅速形成生物薄膜,有效阻碍病原菌丝生长和延伸.盆栽防病试验表明,拮抗性内生菌处理下烟草病情指数显著低于对照,表明筛选菌株可作为烟草赤星病的生防菌株资源.     

Purification and characterization of a highly active chromate reductase from endophytic Bacillus sp. DGV19 of Albizzia lebbeck (L.) Benth. actively involved in phytoremediation of tannery effluent-contaminated sites

Phytoremediation using timber-yielding tree species is considered to be the most efficient method for chromium/tannery effluent-contaminated sites. In this study, we have chosen Albizzia lebbeck, a chromium hyperaccumulator plant, and studied one of its chromium detoxification processes operated by its endophytic bacterial assemblage. Out of the four different groups of endophytic bacteria comprising Pseudomonas, Rhizobium, Bacillus, and Salinicoccus identified from A. lebbeck employed in phytoremediation of tannery effluent-contaminated soil, Bacillus predominated with three species, which exhibited not only remarkable chromium accumulation ability but also high chromium reductase activity. A chromate reductase was purified to homogeneity from the most efficient chromium accumulator, Bacillus sp. DGV 019, and the purified 34.2-kD enzyme was observed to be stable at temperatures from 20°C to 60°C. The enzyme was active over a wide range of pH values (4.0–9.0). Furthermore, the enzyme activity was enhanced with the electron donors NADH, followed by NADPH, not affected by glutathione and ascorbic acid. Cu²⁺ enhanced the activity of the purified enzyme but was inhibited by Zn²⁺ and etheylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). In conclusion, due to its versatile adaptability the chromate reductase can be used for chromium remediation.     

High expression level of antioxidants and pharmaceutical bioactivities of endophytic fungus Chaetomium globosum JN711454

In order to maximize antioxidant activity of pharmaceutical bioactive endophytic fungus Chaetomium globosum JN711454 during fermentation process, designed fermentation experiments of culture media for three levels of eight culture factors were performed using a Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) design with layout L18 (2¹ × 3⁷). The agitation and the potato extract were the most significant affecting factors, and their interaction contributed significantly to fungus activity. The production of antioxidants was more favorable for static condition with 25 g potato extract/100 m. The remaining factors had no strong impact when considered individually. The validation of statistically optimized medium indicated the improvement of antioxidant activity to a level of twofold with approximately overall 40% enhancement in activity. The extract of optimized medium was investigated for various pharmaceutical bioactivities; it revealed a moderate antimicrobial activity, strong anticancer activity against HepG-2, UACC62 cell lines, an antiviral activity against HSV-2 virus, and strong inhibitory activity to butyrylcholinesterase enzyme, one of the neurohydrolase enzymes that play a major role in development of Alzheimer’s disease. As a result of applying statistical fermentation designs, the optimized conditions of endophytic fungus C. globosum JN711454 developed a cost-effective production medium by using inexpensive commercial potato extracts statically, which can lower the energy requirement and could become an efficient, economic, and viable fermentation process for production of pharmaceutical secondary metabolites.     

Technical approaches to inoculate micropropagated sugar cane plants were Acetobacter diazotrophicus

Micropropagated plantlets of sugar cane were inoculated with the N2-fixing bacterium Acetobacter diazotrophicus. Various modifications on the basic plant culture medium MS were made for the plant/bacteria association. The protocol required the inoculation of the bacteria at the end of the rooting period in a medium without hormones or vitamins, and with the concentration of sugar and mineral nutrients reduced by a factor of 10. Individual plants were inoculated with A. diazotrophicus and maintained under the appropriate light and temperature condition used for micropropagation up to 7 days. The system favored the infection and the establishment of the bacteria within the plant tissue. Bacteria colonized the plant tissue and accumulated in inter-cellular cavities and the region of lateral root emergence and also colonizes the xylem vessels. The inoculated plantlets were subsequently transferred to the acclimatization phase and after 30 days it was possible to isolate the bacteria from plant tissue. This protocol permitted studies of infection and comparison among strains.     

Microbial population dynamics on Golden Delicious apples from bud to harvest and effect of fungicide applications

The microbial population dynamics on apples cv. Golden Delicious were analysed every 15 days between bud and harvest in a fully replicated experiment in northern Spain in 1994 and 1995. The total microbial populations varied with developmental stage, and with prevailing climatic conditions. The predominant mycroflora were the filamentous fungi Cladosporium and Alternaria spp. and white and pink yeasts. Other genera isolated included mainly species of Epicoccum, Fusarium and Acremonium. However, the most important post-harvest pathogens Penicillium expansum and Botrytis cinerea were seldom isolated from ripening apples. Maximum total filamentous fungal populations occurred after fruit set and during early ripening [2 × 10⁴cfu (colony-forming units) g^-1 approximately] while those of bacteria were maximum at bud stage (3.5 × 10⁵and 3.0 × 10⁴ cfu g^-1 in 1994 and 1995 respectively). White yeasts were more numerous than pink yeasts. Endophytic infection of apple buds by Alternaria spp., responsible for core rot, was found in almost all bud tissue. By contrast, Cladosporium spp. were initially isolated later from 12.5–50% of tissue samples during blooming and fruit set. The impact of a four-spray fungicide regime during apple development significantly decreased the total filamentous fungal populations in both years, and that of Cladosporium spp. in 1994. However, bacterial populations were often higher on apples from fungicide-treated plots. Fungicide sprays decreased populations of Cladosporium, Alternaria and white yeasts for a maximum of up to 15–30 days after application. Fungicide application had little effect on endophytic infection of apples by Alternaria spp. between bud and harvest.