Cultivable Fungal Diversity in Deep-Sea Sediment of the East Pacific Ocean

The diversity of fungi in the marine environment has been extensively studied, but their denitrification activity has rarely been reported to date. In the present study, we used six different media to isolate fungi from 10 sediment samples collected at five different locations of the East Pacific Ocean with water depths ranging from 4545 to 7068?m. Fungal identification and phylogenetic diversity analysis were conducted based on morphological characteristics and internal transcribed spacers of ribosomal DNA (ITS-rRNA) sequencing. A total of 106 fungal isolates, belonging to 12 genera, including Aspergillus (five strains), Aureobasidium (three strains), Candida (two strains), Cladosporium (56 strains), Cystobasidium (one strain), Devriesia (nine strains), Knufia (one strain), Nigrospora (three strains), Penicillium (18 strains), Rhodotorula (four strains), Sarocladium (three strains), and unclassified Xylariales (one strain) were obtained. The most dominant culturable genus was Cladosporium. One possible novel fungal strains showed less than 97% similarity to their closest matches of unclassified Xylariales in the Genbank. In addition, we used nirK gene as the molecular marker to detect denitrifying fungi among the cultivable fungal isolates. The nirK gene was detected in Aspergillus niger and Penicillium chrysogenum. Our research indicated that diverse fungi from the deep sea sediments of the East Pacific Ocean and highlighted the involvement of these fungi in denitrification process.     

Interaction of microbial pathogens with host exocytic pathways

Many microbial pathogens co‐opt or perturb host membrane trafficking pathways. This review covers recent examples in which microbes interact with host exocytosis, the fusion of intracellular vesicles with the plasma membrane. The bacterial pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus subvert recycling endosomal pathways of exocytosis in order to induce their entry into human cells. By contrast, entry of the protozoan pathogen Trypanosoma cruzi or the virus adenovirus into host cells involves exploitation of lysosomal exocytosis. Toxins produced by Bacillus anthracis or Vibrio cholerae interfere with exocytosis pathways mediated by the GTPase Rab11 and the exocyst complex. By doing so, anthrax or cholera toxins impair recycling of cadherins to cell–cell junctions and disrupt the barrier properties of endothelial cells or intestinal epithelial cells, respectively. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is expelled from bladder epithelial cells through two different exocytic routes that involve sensing of bacteria in vacuoles by host Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) or monitoring of the pH of lysosomes harbouring UPEC. The TLR4 pathway is mediated by multiple Rab GTPases and the exocyst, whereas the other pathway involves exocytosis of lysosomes. Expulsion of UPEC through these pathways is thought to benefit the host.     

根癌农杆菌介导的Pr1基因在贵阳腐霉的组成性表达

【目的】构建组成性表达贵阳腐霉Pr1基因的载体pCambia-hph-Pr1,转化贵阳腐霉,以获得高毒力的基因工程转化菌株。【方法】以双元载体pCambia-Pnos-PNN-hph为基本骨架,将Pr1基因置于组成型启动子PgpdA和终止子TtrpC之间,获得含Pr1基因的表达元件。以贵阳腐霉菌丝体为受体材料,利用根癌农杆菌介导的遗传转化法转化贵阳腐霉,观察转化株的生物学特征和灭蚊毒力。【结果】转化株的菌丝生长速度和游动孢子产量与野生株无显著性差异。生物测定表明转化株对蚊幼虫平均致死率达到32.9%,比野生株提高了约一倍,并且使受试蚊幼虫生长速度明显减缓。【结论】利用根癌农杆菌介导的遗传转化获得了遗传稳定的高毒力菌株。     

Aphid populations showing differential levels of virulence on Capsicum accessions

The green peach aphid,Myzus persicae,is one of the most threatening pests in pepper cultivation and growers would benefit from resistant varietices.Previously,we identified two Capsicum acessions as susceptible and three as resistant to M.persicae using an aphid population originating from the Netherlands(NL).Later on we identified an aphid population originating from a diferent gcographical region(Switserland,SW)that was virulent on all tested Capsicum acessions.The objeetive of the current work is to describe in detail diferent aspects of the interaction between two aphid populations and two sclected Capsicum acessions(one that was susceptible[PB2013046]and one that was resistant[PB2013071]to population NL),including biochemical processes involved.Electrical penetration graph(EPG)recordings showed similar feeding activities for both aphid populations on PB2013046.On acession PB2013071 the aphid population sw was able to devote significantly more time to phloem ingestion than population NL.We also studied plant defense response and found that plants of acession PB2013046 could not induce an accumulation of reactive oxygen species and callose formation after infestation with either aphid population.However,plants of PB2013071 induced a stronger defense response after infestation by population NL than after infestation by population SW.Based on these results,population SW of M.persicae seems to have overcome the resistance of PB2013071 that prevented feeding of aphids from NL population.The potential mechanism by which SW population overcomes the resistance is discussed.     

Dose effects and density-dependent regulation of two microparasites of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Daphnia magna</Emphasis>

Individual hosts constitute a limited resource for parasites, suggesting that density-dependent effects may play a role in within-host growth and parasite regulation. This hypothesis has been tested for several helminth parasites, but not for microparasites. We therefore examined dose-response patterns for the microparasitic bacterium Pasteuria ramosa and the fungus Metschnikowiella biscuspidata infecting the planktonic crustacean Daphnia magna. With increasing numbers of transmission stages administered to the host we found that host fecundity and survival and parasite transmission-stage production declined. Using a k-value analysis, a method that quantifies the strength of density dependence, we found for both parasites that density dependence acted at all doses, indicating the absence of a minimum density below which parasite fitness is density- independent. At low doses density was exactly compensated, but it was overcompensated at high doses. Overcompensation at high doses was weak for P. ramosa, but high for M. biscuspidata. At the two highest doses M. biscuspidata killed its hosts before any transmission stages were produced. Our data indicate that density dependence is expressed through retarded spore development in P. ramosa, but through both host mortality and reduced parasite fecundity in M. biscuspidata. A further experiment (P. ramosa only) revealed that in well-fed hosts more parasite transmission stages are produced than in poorly fed hosts, suggesting that competition for host resources retards P. ramosa development. Our data for P. ramosa, but not for M. biscuspidata, are largely consistent with assumptions made in models on microparasite epidemiology. We draw attention to the relevance of dose effects and within-host competition for the evolution of virulence. Received: 15 July 1999 / Accepted: 14 September 1999     

Evolution of virulence driven by predator-prey interaction: Possible consequences for population dynamics

The evolution of pathogen virulence in natural populations has conventionally been considered as a result of selection caused by the interactions of the host with its pathogen(s). The host population, however, is generally embedded in complex trophic interactions with other populations in the community, in particular, intensive predation on the infected host can increase its mortality, and this can affect the course of virulence evolution. Reciprocally, in the long run, the evolution of virulence within an infected host can affect the patterns of population dynamics of a predator consuming the host (e.g. resulting in large amplitude oscillations, causing a severe drop in the population size, etc.). Surprisingly, neither the effect of predation on the evolution of virulence within a host, nor the influence of the evolution of virulence upon the consumer's dynamics has been addressed in the literature yet. In this paper, we consider a classical S-I ecoepidemiological model in which the infected host is consumed by a predator. We are particularly interested in the evolutionarily stable virulence of the pathogen in the model and its dependence upon ecologically relevant parameters. We show that predation can prominently shift the evolutionarily stable virulence towards more severe strains as compared to the same system without predation. We demonstrate that the evolution of virulence can result in a succession of dynamical regimes and can even lead to the extinction of the predator in the long run. The presence of a predator can indirectly affect the evolution within its prey since the evolutionarily stable virulence becomes a function of the prey growth rate, which would not be the case in a predator-free system. We find that the evolutionarily stable virulence largely depends on the carrying capacity K of the prey in a non-monotonous way. The model also predicts that in an eutrophic environment the shift of virulence towards evolutionarily stable benign strains can cause demographically stochastic evolutionary suicide, resulting in the extinction of both species, thus artificially maintaining severe strains of pathogen can enhance the persistence of both species.     

肠出血性大肠杆菌毒力因子Z1444的原核表达及其丝/苏氨酸激酶活性验证

目的:在大肠杆菌中表达肠出血性大肠杆菌(EHEC)毒力岛上的毒力因子Z1444并纯化,对其丝/苏氨酸激酶活性进行初步检测。方法:根据GenBank中Z1444基因序列及pET-28a(+)载体的多克隆位点设计引物,以EHECO157∶H7全菌裂解液为模板,经PCR钓取1047 bp的目的片段,与表达载体pET-28a(+)连接,构建重组表达质粒pET-28a(+)-Z1444,将其转化至大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中,IPTG诱导蛋白表达并经SDS-PAGE鉴定,利用体外反应体系鉴定重组蛋白的丝/苏氨酸激酶活性。结果:双酶切和测序鉴定表明,pET-28a(+)-Z1444原核表达质粒构建正确;诱导表达后经纯化,获得纯度在90%以上的可溶性重组Z1444,相对分子量约为38×103;体外酶活实验验证了Z1444的丝/苏氨酸激酶活性。结论:Z1444在大肠杆菌中获得高效可溶性表达,为后续功能验证奠定了基础。     

Within-host competition in genetically diverse malaria infections: parasite virulence and competitive success

Humans and animals often become coinfected with pathogen strains that differ in virulence. The ensuing interaction between these strains can, in theory, be a major determinant of the direction of selection on virulence genes in pathogen populations. Many mathematical analyses of this assume that virulent pathogen lineages have a competitive advantage within coinfected hosts and thus predict that pathogens will evolve to become more virulent where genetically diverse infections are common. Although the implications of these studies are relevant to both fundamental biology and medical science, direct empirical tests for relationships between virulence and competitive ability are lacking. Here we use newly developed strain-specific real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction protocols to determine the pairwise competitiveness of genetically divergent Plasmodium chabaudi clones that represent a wide range of innate virulences in their rodent host. We found that even against their background of widely varying genotypic and antigenic properties, virulent clones had a competitive advantage in the acute phase of mixed infections. The more virulent a clone was relative to its competitor, the less it suffered from competition. This result confirms our earlier work with parasite lines derived from a single clonal lineage by serial passage and supports the virulence-competitive ability assumption of many theoretical models. To the extent that our rodent model captures the essence of the natural history of malaria parasites, public health interventions which reduce the incidence of mixed malaria infections should have beneficial consequences by reducing the selection for high virulence.     

Fungal pathogens for arthropod pest control in orchard systems: mycoinsecticidal approach for pear psylla control

This paper reviews the research on entomopathogenic fungi in orchard systems and presents research on a mycoinsecticidal approach to an important pest of pear, the pear psylla. The review identifies the host-pathogen relationships that have been examined to date, the microbial formulation and application strategies that have been used, and the results that were obtained. The mycoinsecticides used in the pear psylla research were based on conidia of Beauveria bassiana (ARSEF #2860) and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (ARSEF #2658). These were formulated into sprayable solutions containing water, 0.1% or 0.5% Ultrafine Sunspray oil (paraffinic oil) in water, or 0.1% acrylic polymer (Stressguard^TM) in water. Final spray solutions that contained 6 × 10⁶ conidiospores/ml were applied to psylla nymph infested trees at a rate of 5.39 × 10¹³ conidiospores/ha during the 1993--1995 seasons. In addition, two commercial formulations of B. bassiana, GHA from Mycotech and Naturalis L from Fermone Corp., were mixed in water at the same conidiospore application rates as the other fungal isolates. Single applications of the ARSEF fungal strain/formulation combinations produced psylla nymphal mortalities that ranged from 18.2--37.1%, but the results varied with formulation. Conidia formulated with acrylic polymers in water caused significantly higher mortalities several days earlier than either the water or water and oil combination in 1993. However, no significant differences among pathogen/formulation combinations occurred in 1994 or 1995. The performance of Naturalis L was comparable to the ARSEF fungal strain/formulation combinations with peak nymphal mortalities of 34.1%, while GHA produced a significantly lower peak mortality of only 10.8%. However, because of the low conidiospore concentrations in the Naturalis L formulation, final spray solutions contained nearly 25% of the oil-like carrier. Thus, psylla mortalities may not have been entirely attributed to mycosis. Based on the results from the ARSEF fungal formulations, a mycoinsecticidal approach to pear psylla management could be a useful component in an integrated pest management program for pear.