P-factor,a developmental hormone of Penicillium cyclopium?

From the mycelium of Penicillium cyclopium a biologically active fraction (P-factor) was isolated, which increases conidiation and the formation of the benzodiazepine alkaloids cyclopenin and cyclopenol. Its activity was determined by measuring the increase of alkaloid formation in strain SM 72. On a preparative scale P-factor preparations were obtained from fermenter-grown hyphae of mutant dev 63 by extraction with water at 120°. P-factor is strongly hydrophilic but it is not a protein. It was active if added during conidiospore germination and early growth phase, causing an acceleration of protein biosynthesis. The action on alkaloid biosynthesis and sporulation is indirect and resembles that of a developmental hormone.     

Glucofructosan biosynthesis in Fusarium oxysporum: Regulation and substrate specificity of fructosyl transferase and invertase

Mycelium of Fusarium oxysporum grown on a glucose-containing medium lacked fructosyl transferase and invertase activities. Synthesis of fructosyl t     

Correlation of cotylenol with the aglycone of fusicoccin

The stereostructure of cotylenol, the aglycone of the cotylenins, has been confirmed by chemical correlation with the aglycone of fusicoccin A.     

Activities in vitro and in vivo of enzymes of benzodiazepine alkaloid biosynthesis during development of Penicillium cyclopium

In the hyphae of Penicillium cyclopium the in vitro measurable activities of 3 enzymes of alkaloid biosynthesis are induced endogenously during     

Lignicolous freshwater fungi along a north–south latitudinal gradient in the Asian/Australian region; can we predict the impact of global warming on biodiversity and function?

Fungi play a key role in decomposition of submerged wood in streams, breaking down lignocelluloses and releasing nutrients, and are important in ecosystem functioning. These wood decay fungi are known as freshwater lignicolous fungi and are usually studied by collecting submerged woody litter, followed by incubation in a moist chamber. This review explains what are freshwater lignicolous fungi, their decay mechanisms, roles and physiological attributes. Asian/Australasian lignicolous freshwater fungi have been relatively well-surveyed and enable an account of their distribution along a latitudinal transect. Unlike freshwater leaf-dwelling fungi their diversity in water bodies is greater towards the Equator which suggests they are important for decaying submerged wood in the tropics. Riparian vegetation, disturbances such as pollution, streams drying and study methods, may all affect the diversity of freshwater lignicolous fungi, however, the overall trend is a higher diversity in the tropics and subtropics. Climate changes together with increasing deposition of woody debris from human activities, and alteration of environmental factors (such as water pollution, and dam building) will impact freshwater lignicolous fungi. Changing diversity, structure and activities of freshwater fungal communities can be expected, which will significantly impact on aquatic ecosystems, particularly on nutrient and carbon cycles. There is a great opportunity to monitor changes in freshwater fungi communities along latitudinal (north to south) and habitat gradients (from human disturbed to natural habitats), and study ecological thresholds and consequences of such changes, particularly its feedback on nutrient and carbon cycles in freshwater systems.     

Microbial responses to a changing environment: implications for the future functioning of terrestrial ecosystems

In this review, we present a conceptual model which links plant communities and saprotrophic microbial communities through the reciprocal exchange of growth-limiting resources. We discuss the numerous ways human-induced environmental change has directly and indirectly impacted this relationship, and review microbial responses that have occurred to date. We argue that compositional shifts in saprotrophic microbial communities underlie functional responses to environmental change that have ecosystem-level implications. Drawing on a long-term, large-scale, field experiment, we illustrate how and why chronic atmospheric N deposition can alter saprotrophic communities in the soil of a wide-spread sugar maple (Acer saccharum) ecosystem in northeastern North America, resulting in the slowing of plant litter decay, the rapid accumulation of soil organic matter, and the accelerated production and loss of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Compositional shifts in soil microbial communities, mediated by ecological interactions among soil saprotrophs, appear to lie at the biogeochemical heart of ecosystem response to environmental change.     

Diversity of non-reducing polyketide synthase genes in the Pertusariales (lichenized Ascomycota): a phylogenetic perspective

Lichenized fungi synthesize a great variety of secondary metabolites. These are typically crystalline compounds, which are deposited extracellularly on the fungal hyphae. While we know a lot about the chemical properties and structures of these substances, we have very little information on the molecular background of their biosynthesis. In the current study we analyze the diversity of non-reducing polyketide synthase (PKS) genes in members of the lichenized Pertusariales. This order primarily contains fully oxidized secondary metabolites from different substance classes, and is chemically and phylogenetically well studied. Using a degenerate primer approach with subsequent cloning we detected up to five non-reducing PKS sequences in a single PCR product. Eighty-five new KS sequence fragments were obtained for this study. Analysis of the 157 currently available fungal KS sequence fragments in a Bayesian phylogenetic framework revealed 18 highly supported clades that included only lichenized taxa, only non-lichenized taxa, or both. Some Pertusarialean groupings of PKS sequences corresponded partly to phylogenetic groupings based on ribosomal DNA. This is reasonable, because a correlation between well-supported phylogenetic lineages and the occurrence of secondary metabolites in the Pertusariales has been observed before. However, no clear linkage was found between the PKS genes analyzed and the ability to produce a particular secondary substance. Several PKS clades did not reveal obvious patterns of secondary compound distribution or phylogenetic association. Compared with earlier phylogenetic analyses of KS sequences the increased sampling in the current study allowed us to detect many new groupings within the fungal non-reducing PKSs.     

Phylogenetic analysis of manganese-oxidizing fungi isolated from manganese-rich aquatic environments in Hokkaido, Japan

Three strains of Mn-oxidizing fungi were isolated from manganese-rich aquatic environments: sediment in a stream (Komanoyu) in Mori-machi and inflow to an artificial wetland in Kaminokuni-cho, Hokkaido, Japan. The characteristics of each strain were then established. Genetic analysis based on the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was performed to clarify their classification. The sequences of the 18S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS1)-5.8S rRNA-ITS2 genes showed that all three strains are Ascomycetes. Based on its morphology, it seems probable that the KY-1 strain from Mori-machi belongs to the genus Phoma or Ampelomyces. The phylogenetic analysis indicates that this strain belongs to Phoma rather than Ampelomyces. Morphological identification of WL-1 and WL-2 strains from Kaminokuni-cho was impossible because of the lack of a sexual stage and specific organs. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequence in the ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2 gene suggests that the WL-1 strain corresponds to Paraconyothyrium sporulosum and that WL-2 also belongs to the genus Paraconiothyrium. Because the ability to oxidize Mn has not been evaluated for most species of Phoma or Paraconiothyrium (Coniothyrium), further study is needed to confirm the status of these three strains.     

Characterization of nine polymorphic microsatellite loci in the fungus Botrytis cinerea (Ascomycota)

Nine microsatellite markers were characterized in the fungus Botrytis cinerea. Genomic DNA sequences from the partial sequencing of 12 000 bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones, were screened by BLAST for various microsatellite motives, and primer pairs were designed. Cross‐amplification and polymorphism were assessed on 49 isolates from B. cinerea and two related species, collected from natural populations on several plants and locations.