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Sample records for alternaria alternata pathogenic

  1. Comparative Genomics of Pathogens Causing Brown Spot Disease of Tobacco: Alternaria longipes and Alternaria alternata.

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    Yujie Hou

    Full Text Available The genus Alternaria is a group of infectious/contagious pathogenic fungi that not only invade a wide range of crops but also induce severe allergic reactions in a part of the human population. In this study, two strains Alternaria longipes cx1 and Alternaria alternata cx2 were isolated from different brown spot lesions on infected tobacco leaves. Their complete genomes were sequenced, de novo assembled, and comparatively analyzed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that A. longipes cx1 and A. alternata cx2 diverged 3.3 million years ago, indicating a recent event of speciation. Seventeen non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS genes and 13 polyketide synthase (PKS genes in A. longipes cx1 and 13 NRPS genes and 12 PKS genes in A. alternata cx2 were identified in these two strains. Some of these genes were predicted to participate in the synthesis of non-host specific toxins (non-HSTs, such as tenuazonic acid (TeA, alternariol (AOH and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME. By comparative genome analysis, we uncovered that A. longipes cx1 had more genes putatively involved in pathogen-plant interaction, more carbohydrate-degrading enzymes and more secreted proteins than A. alternata cx2. In summary, our results demonstrate the genomic distinction between A. longipes cx1 and A. altenata cx2. They will not only improve the understanding of the phylogenetic relationship among genus Alternaria, but more importantly provide valuable genomic resources for the investigation of plant-pathogen interaction.

  2. Induced resistance in tomato fruit by γ-aminobutyric acid for the control of alternaria rot caused by Alternaria alternata.

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    Yang, Jiali; Sun, Cui; Zhang, Yangyang; Fu, Da; Zheng, Xiaodong; Yu, Ting

    2017-04-15

    The study investigated the effect of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) on the control of alternaria rot in tomato fruit and the possible mechanism involved. Our results showed exogenous GABA could stimulate remarkable resistance to the alternaria rot, while it had no direct antifungal activity against Alternaria alternata. Moreover, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, including peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase, along with the expression of these corresponding genes, were significantly induced in the GABA treatment. The obtained data suggested GABA induced resistance against the necrotrophic pathogen A. alternata, at least in part by activating antioxidant enzymes, restricting the levels of cell death caused by reactive oxygen species. Meanwhile, the key enzyme genes of GABA shunt, GABA transaminase and succinic-semialdehyde dehydrogenase, were found up-regulated in the GABA treatment. The activation of the GABA shunt might play a vital role in the resistance mechanism underpinning GABA-induced plant immunity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Fungitoxic potential of tagetes erectus for the management of alternaria alternata strains of tomato

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mehmood, T.; Shafique, S.; Shafique, S.; Zaheer, Z.

    2014-01-01

    Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) is economically the most vital vegetable crops of this world but diseases reduce tomato production to a greater extent worldwide. Plants exudates contribute a lot in fight against pathogens. The current study indicates the pathogenic potential of Alternaria alternata FCBP-573 against tomato. RAPD analysis confirmed that A. alternata FCBP-573 had variability in its genetic constitution with other two isolates; this disparity in genetic constitution might be a cause to stir up more pathogenicity in this isolate. Therefore, it was selected as the most pathogenic isolate and subjected to biological control through Tagetes erectus L. In antifungal bioassays different plant parts of T. erectus with 1-4% concentrations of aqueous, and organic extracts of each part were evaluated against A. alternata FCBP- 573. Results revealed that the growth of A. alternata FCBP-573 was greatly inhibited at 4% concentration of methanol extract followed by aqueous and n-hexane extract. Among different plant parts tested, root extract exhibited more promising results by causing 81-92% reduction in biomass. The research concludes that aqueous and organic extracts of ornamentals have potential to obstruct dreadful effect of pathogenic fungi by suppressing their growth. T. erectus conferred vital and surprisingly stable compounds having inhibitory potential against A. alternata FCBP-573. (author)

  4. The major Alternaria alternata allergen, Alt a 1: A reliable and specific marker of fungal contamination in citrus fruits.

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    Gabriel, M F; Uriel, N; Teifoori, F; Postigo, I; Suñén, E; Martínez, J

    2017-09-18

    The ubiquitously present spores of Alternaria alternata can spoil a wide variety of foodstuffs, including a variety of fruits belonging to the Citrus genus. The major allergenic protein of A. alternata, Alt a 1, is a species-specific molecular marker that has been strongly associated with allergenicity and phytopathogenicity of this fungal species. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of the detection of Alt a 1 as a reliable indicator of A. alternata contamination in citrus fruits. To accomplish this aim, sixty oranges were artificially infected with a spore suspension of A. alternata. Internal fruit material was collected at different incubation times (one, two and three weeks after the fungal inoculation) and used for both total RNA extraction and protein extraction. Alt a 1 detection was then performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using Alt a 1 specific primers and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The experimental model presented in this work was effective to simulate the typical Alternaria black rot phenotype and its progression. Although both PCR and ELISA techniques have been successfully carried out for detecting Alt a 1 allergen in A. alternata infected oranges, the PCR method was found to be more sensitive than ELISA. Nevertheless, ELISA results were highly valuable to demonstrate that considerable amounts of Alt a 1 are produced during A. alternata fruit infection process, corroborating the recently proposed hypothesis that this protein plays a role in the pathogenicity and virulence of Alternaria species. Such evidence suggests that the detection of Alt a 1 by PCR-based assay may be used as a specific indicator of the presence of pathogenic and allergenic fungal species, A. alternata, in fruits. This knowledge can be employed to control the fungal infection and mitigate agricultural losses as well as human exposure to A. alternata allergens and toxins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Toxigenic profile and AFLP variability of Alternaria alternata and Alternaria infectoria occurring on wheat

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    María Silvina Oviedo

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this study were to evaluate the ability to produce alternariol (AOH, alternariol monomethyl ether (AME and tenuazonic acid (TA by A. alternata and A. infectoria strains recovered from wheat kernels obtained from one of the main production area in Argentina; to confirm using AFLPs molecular markers the identify of the isolates up to species level, and to evaluate the intra and inter-specific genetic diversity of these two Alternaria species. Among all the Alternaria strains tested (254, 84% of them were able to produce mycotoxins. The most frequent profile of toxin production found was the co-production of AOH and AME in both species tested. TA was only produced by strains of A. alternata. Amplified fragment polymorphism (AFLPs analysis was applied to a set of 89 isolates of Alternaria spp (40 were A. infectoria and 49 were A. alternata in order to confirm the morphological identification. The results showed that AFLPs are powerful diagnostic tool for differentiating between A. alternata and A. infectoria. Indeed, in the current study the outgroup strains, A. tenuissima was consistently classified. Characteristic polymorphic bands separated these two species regardless of the primer combination used. Related to intraspecific variability, A. alternata and A. infectoria isolates evaluated seemed to form and homogeneous group with a high degree of similarity among the isolates within each species. However, there was more scoreable polymorphism within A. alternata than within A. infectoria isolates. There was a concordance between morphological identification and separation up to species level using molecular markers. Clear polymorphism both within and between species showed that AFLP can be used to asses genetic variation in A. alternata and A. infectoria. The most important finding of the present study was the report on AOH and AME production by A. infectoria strains isolated from wheat kernels in Argentina on a semisynthetic

  6. Rapid Molecular detection of citrus brown spot disease using ACT gene in Alternaria alternata

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    Hamid Moghimi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction:Using rapid detection methods is important for detection of plant pathogens and also prevention through spreading pests in agriculture. Citrus brown spot disease caused by pathogenic isolates of Alternaria alternata is a common disease in Iran. Materials and methods: In this study, for the first time a PCR based molecular method was used for rapid diagnosis of brown spot disease. Nine isolates of A. Alternata were isolated in PDA medium from different citrus gardens. The plant pathogenic activity was examined in tangerine leaves for isolates. Results showed that these isolates are the agents of brown spot disease. PCR amplification of specific ACT-toxin gene was performed for DNA extracted from A. alternata isolates, with 11 different fungal isolates as negative controls and 5 DNA samples extracted from soil. Results: Results showed that A. alternata, the causal agent of brown spot disease, can be carefully distinguished from other pathogenic agents by performing PCR amplification with specific primers for ACT toxin gene. Also, the results from Nested-PCR method confirmed the primary reaction and the specificity of A. alternata for brown spot disease. PCR results to control samples of the other standard fungal isolates, showed no amplification band. In addition, PCR with the DNA extracted from contaminated soils confirmed the presence of ACT toxin gene. Discussion and conclusion: Molecular procedure presented here can be used in rapid identification and prevention of brown spot infection in citrus gardens all over the country.

  7. Phylogenetic, Morphological, and Pathogenic Characterization of Alternaria Species Associated with Fruit Rot of Blueberry in California.

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    Zhu, X Q; Xiao, C L

    2015-12-01

    Fruit rot caused by Alternaria spp. is one of the most important factors affecting the postharvest quality and shelf life of blueberry fruit. The aims of this study were to characterize Alternaria isolates using morphological and molecular approaches and test their pathogenicity to blueberry fruit. Alternaria spp. isolates were collected from decayed blueberry fruit in the Central Valley of California during 2012 and 2013. In total, 283 isolates were obtained and five species of Alternaria, including Alternaria alternata, A. tenuissima, A. arborescens, A. infectoria, and A. rosae, were identified based on DNA sequences of the plasma membrane ATPase, Alt a1 and Calmodulin gene regions in combination with morphological characters of the culture and sporulation. Of the 283 isolates, 61.5% were identified as A. alternata, 32.9% were A. arborescens, 5.0% were A. tenuissima, and only one isolate of A. infectoria and one isolate of A. rosae were found. These fungi were able to grow at temperatures from 0 to 35°C, and mycelial growth was arrested at 40°C. Optimal radial growth occurred between 20 to 30°C. Pathogenicity tests showed that all five Alternaria spp. were pathogenic on blueberry fruit at 0, 4, and 20°C, with A. alternata, A. arborescens, and A. tenuissima being the most virulent species, followed by A. infectoria and A. rosae. Previously A. tenuissima has been reported to be the primary cause of Alternaria fruit rot of blueberry worldwide. Our results indicated that the species composition of Alternaria responsible for Alternaria fruit rot in blueberry can be dependent on geographical region. A. alternata, A. arborescens, A. infectoria, and A. rosae are reported for the first time on blueberry in California. This is also the first report of A. infectoria and A. rosae infecting blueberry fruit.

  8. Marginal scorch caused by Alternaria alternata on Purple-Caitai ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Marginal scorch caused by Alternaria alternata on Purple-Caitai (Brassia campestris L. ssp. chinensis L.var. utilis Tsen et Lee) in China. Qijun Nie, Zhongjiu Jiao, Fengjuan Zhu, Zhenbiao Jiao, Xiaohui Deng, Zhengming Qiu, Jinping Wu ...

  9. Maculosin, a host-specific phytotoxin for spotted knapweed from Alternaria alternata

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    Stierle, Andrea C.; Cardellina, John H.; Strobel, Gary A.

    1988-01-01

    Several diketopiperazines have been isolated from liquid cultures of Alternaria alternata, the causal agent of black leaf blight of spotted knapweed, Centaurea maculosa Lam. One of these compounds, maculosin [the diketopiperazine cyclo(-L-Pro-L-Tyr-)], was active in the nicked-leaf bioassay at 10-5 M; synthetic maculosin possessed chemical and biological activities identical to those of the natural product. Other diketopiperazines isolated from the fungus possessed either less activity or none at all. In tests against 19 plant species, maculosin was phytotoxic only to spotted knapweed. Thus maculosin is a host-specific phytotoxin from a weed pathogen. PMID:16593989

  10. Ethyl p-coumarate exerts antifungal activity in vitro and in vivo against fruit Alternaria alternata via membrane-targeted mechanism.

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    Li, Wusun; Yuan, Shuzhi; Sun, Jing; Li, Qianqian; Jiang, Weibo; Cao, Jiankang

    2018-08-02

    The fungus Alternaria alternata can cause food contamination by black spot rot and food safety issues due to the production of mycotoxins. In particular, A. alternata can infect many fresh fruits and vegetables and lead to considerable postharvest decay during storage and processing. The use of plant-derived products in postharvest disease management may be an acceptable alternative to traditional chemical fungicides. The aim of this study was to assess the antifungal activity of ethyl p-coumarate (EpCA) against Alternaria alternata in vitro and in vivo, and to determine the underlying mechanism. Results indicated that EpCA exhibited pronounced antifungal activity against in vitro mycelial growth of A. alternata, with half-inhibition concentration of 176.8 μg/mL. Spore germination of the pathogen was inhibited by EpCA in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, in vivo test confirmed that both 100 and 800 μg/mL EpCA significantly reduced disease development of black spot rot in jujube fruit caused by A. alternata. The EpCA treatments increased plasma membrane permeability as great leakage of intercellular electrolytes, soluble proteins and sugars of A. alternata occurred during incubation. The EpCA treatments also caused increase of the influx of propidium iodide, a fluorescence dye binding nucleus DNA, into the affected spores, indicating the disrupted plasma membrane integrity. Observations of ultrastructure further evidenced the damage to plasma membrane and morphology of A. alternata caused by EpCA, which resulted in distortion, sunken and shrivelled of spores and mycelia of the pathogen. In addition, fluorometric assay by confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed that the EpCA treatments induced endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation in the spores of A. alternata, with stronger and more stable accumulation of ROS at higher concentration of EpCA. Therefore, heavy oxidative damage to cellular membranes and organelles might happen as demonstrated

  11. Effects of Alternaria alternata f.sp. lycopersici toxins on pollen

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    Bino, R.J.; Franken, J.; Witsenboer, H.M.A.; Hille, J.; Dons, J.J.M.

    1988-01-01

    Effects of the phytotoxic compounds (AAL-toxins) isolated from cell-free culture filtrates of Alternaria alternata f.sp. lycopersici on in vitro pollen development were studied. AAL-toxins inhibited both germination and tube growth of pollen from several Lycopersicon genotypes. Pollen from

  12. Regulation of gene expression for defensins and lipid transfer protein in Scots pine seedlings by necrotrophic pathogen Alternaria alternata (Fr.

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    Hrunyk Nataliya

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Damping-off disease in pine seedling, caused by fungi and oomycetes (Fusarium, Alternaria, Botrytis, Phytophthora and other species, is one of the most dangerous diseases in conifer nurseries and greenhouses worldwide. Alternaria alternata is a necrotrophic pathogen, which causes early blight in higher plants and results in massive economic losses in agro-industry as well as in forestry. Pine seedlings that lack strong lignificated and suberized cell walls at early stages of their growth are vulnerable to damping-off disease. So, triggering the synthesis of antimicrobial compounds, such as phytoalexins, anticipins and pathogenesis-related (PR proteins, is the main defense strategy to confine pathogens at early stages of pine ontogenesis. Defensins and lipid transfer proteins are members of two PR-protein families (PR-12 and PR-14 respectively and possess antimicrobial activities in vitro through contact toxicity, and the involvement in defense signalling. In this work, we describe the changes in the expression levels of four defensin genes and lipid transfer protein in Scots pine seedlings infected with A. alternata. The expression levels of PsDef1 and PsDef2 increased at 48 h.p.i. (hours post inoculation. The levels of PsDef4 transcripts have increased after 6 and 24 hours. Notably, at 48 h.p.i., the level of PsDef4 transcripts was decreased by 1.2 times compared to control. The level of PsDef3 transcripts was reduced at all three time points. On the other hand, the level of PsLTP1 transcripts increased at 6 h and 48 h.p.i.; while at 24 h.p.i., it decreased by 20% when compared to the control sample. Our results suggest that defensins and lipid transfer protein are involved in the defense response of young Scots pine to necrotrophic pathogen. Thus, those genes can be used as the molecular markers in forestry selection and development of the ecologically friendly remedies for coniferous seedlings cultivation in greenhouses and nurseries.

  13. A rare case of allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis caused by Alternaria alternata.

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    Chowdhary, A.; Agarwal, K.; Randhawa, H.S.; Kathuria, S.; Gaur, S.N.; Najafzadeh, M.J.; Roy, P.; Arora, N.; Khanna, G.; Meis, J.F.G.M.

    2012-01-01

    A rare case of allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM), caused by Alternaria alternata, is reported in an immunocompetent resident of Delhi. Her complaints included a generalized, urticarial skin rash and occasional pain in the right lower chest. Her differential count showed eosinophils, 22%;

  14. Alternaria alternata peritonitis in a patient undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

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    Yosra Guedri

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Fungal peritonitis is a serious complication of peritoneal dialysis (PD leading to loss of ultrafiltration and discontinuation of PD treatment. The most frequently isolated fungi are Candida albicans and, filamentous fungi such Alternaria alternata species are found only rarely. We report the case of a 75-year-old woman who developed peritonitis due to this black fungus.

  15. Cholinesterase inhibitor (Altenuene) from an endophytic fungus Alternaria alternata: optimization, purification and characterization.

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    Bhagat, J; Kaur, A; Kaur, R; Yadav, A K; Sharma, V; Chadha, B S

    2016-10-01

    The aim of this study was to screen endophytic fungi isolated from Vinca rosea for their potential to produce acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. Endophytic fungi isolated from V. rosea (Catharanthus roseus), were screened for AChE inhibitor production using Ellman's method. Maximum inhibition against AChE (78%) was observed in an isolate VS-10, identified to be Alternaria alternata on morphological and molecular basis. The isolate also inhibited butyrylcholinesterase (73%). Significant increase (1·3 fold) was achieved after optimization of process parameters using one variable at time approach. The inhibitor was purified using chromatographic techniques. The structure elucidation of the inhibitor was carried out using spectroscopic techniques and was identified to be 'altenuene'. The purified inhibitor possessed antioxidant potential as revealed by dot blot assay. The insecticidal potential of purified inhibitor was evaluated by feeding Spodoptora litura on diet amended with inhibitor. It evinced significant larval mortality. Endophytic A. alternata can serve as a source of dual cholinesterase inhibitor 'altenuene' with significant antioxidant and insecticidal activity. This is the first report on acetylcholinestearse inhibitory activity of altenuene. Alternaria alternata has the potential to produce a dual ChE inhibitor with antioxidant activity useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and in agriculture as biocontrol agent. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  16. Participation of the phosphoinositide metabolism in the hypersensitive response of Citrus limon against Alternaria alternata

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    XIMENA ORTEGA

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Lemon seedlings inoculated with Alternaria alternata develop a hypersensitive response (HR that includes the induction of Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, E. C. 4.3.1.5 and the synthesis of scoparone. The signal transduction pathway involved in the development of this response is unknown. We used several inhibitors of the Phosphoinositide (PI animal system to study a possible role of Inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3 in the transduction of the fungal conidia signal in Citrus limon. The HR was only partially inhibited by EGTA, suggesting that not only external but internal calcium as well are necessary for a complete development of the HR. In this plant system, Alternaria alternata induced an early accumulation of the second messenger IP3. When lemon seedlings were watered long term with LiCl, an inhibitor of the phosphoinositide cycle, the IP3 production was reduced, and the LiCl-watered plants could neither induce PAL nor synthesize scoparone in response to fungal conidia. Furthermore, neomycin, a Phospholipase C (PLC, E. C. 3.1.4.3 inhibitor, also inhibited PAL induction and scoparone synthesis in response to A. alternata. These results suggest that IP3 could be involved in the signal transduction pathway for the development of the HR of Citrus limon against A. alternata

  17. Biocontrol of Alternaria alternata on cherry tomato fruit by use of marine yeast Rhodosporidium paludigenum Fell & Tallman.

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    Wang, Yifei; Bao, Yihong; Shen, Danhong; Feng, Wu; Yu, Ting; Zhang, Jia; Zheng, Xiao Dong

    2008-04-30

    The basidiomycetous yeast Rhodosporidium paludigenum Fell & Tallman isolated from the south of East China Sea was evaluated for its activity in reducing postharvest decay of cherry tomatoes caused by Alternaria alternata in vitro and in vivo tests. The results showed that washed cell suspension of R. paludigenum provided better control of A. alternata than any other treatment, while the autoclaved cell culture failed to provide protection against the pathogen. The concentration of antagonist had significant effect on biocontrol effectiveness in vivo: when the concentration of the washed yeast cell suspension was used at 1 x 10(9)cells/ml, the percentage rate of black rot of cherry tomato fruit was only 37%, which was remarkably lower than that treated with water (the control) after 5days of incubation at 25 degrees C. Furthermore, a great biocontrol efficacy of R. paludigenum was observed when it was applied prior to inoculation with A. alternata: the longer the incubation time of R. paludigenum, the lower disease incidence would be. However, there was little efficacy when R. paludigenum was applied after A. alternata inoculation. In addition, on the wounds of cherry tomato, it was observed that R. paludigenum grew rapidly increasing 50-fold during the first 12h at 25 degrees C. To the best of our knowledge, this is a first report concerning that the marine yeast R. paludigenum could be used as a biocontrol agent of postharvest fungal disease.

  18. The presence of Alternaria spp. on the seed of Apiaceae plants and their influence on seed emergence

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    Bulajić Aleksandra

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Considerable damping-off of the seedlings of several commercial Apiaceae plant species was observed in Serbia. The infection of a total of 48 seed samples of nine vegetable and spice plants with phytopathogenic Alternaria spp. was established using the deep-freeze-blotter method. Identification of Alternaria species was performed using both conventional methods and PCR. Four different plant-pathogenic Alternaria species were detected in Serbia: A. dauci, A. radicina, A. petroselini, and A. alternata, all of which caused reduction of carrot, parsley, parsnip, and celery seed emergence. Alternaria dauci, A. radicina, and A. petroselini were relatively more aggressive compared to A. alternata. Substantial seed infection levels and strong influence of Alternaria spp. on seed emergence indicated that production of Apiaceae seed needs to be improved in order to obtain pathogen-free seed.

  19. An association of Alternaria alternata and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis in cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis

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    Anandan V

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Rare molds are increasingly emerging as a cause of deep and invasive fungal infections. We report here a rare case of cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis of the lower limbs due to Alternaria alternata associated with extra-ungual localization of Scopulariopsis brevicaulis. Diagnosis was made based on repeated, direct, microscopic mycological and histological examinations. The study revealed hyphae and fungal cells in a granulomatous dermal infiltrate. Identification of the molds was based on macroscopic appearance on culture of samples from the lesions on Sabouraud′s dextrose agar and microscopic appearance on Lactophenol cotton blue following slide culture.

  20. Sensitivities of baseline isolates and boscalid-resistant mutants of Alternaria alternata from pistachio to fluopyram, penthiopyrad, and fluxapyroxad

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    Avenot, H.F.; Biggelaar, van den H.; Morgan, D.P.; Moral, J.; Joosten, M.H.A.J.; Michailides, T.J.

    2014-01-01

    Resistance of Alternaria alternata to boscalid, the first succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicide labeled on pistachio, has become a common occurrence in California pistachio orchards and affects the performance of this fungicide. In this study, we established the baseline sensitivities

  1. Effects of {gamma}-radiation on the fungus Alternaria alternata in artificially inoculated cereal samples

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    Braghini, R. [Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas II, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 1374, CEP 05508-900 Sao Paulo (Brazil)], E-mail: raquelbraghini@yahoo.com.br; Pozzi, C.R. [Instituto de Zootecnia, Rua Heitor Penteado 56, CEP 13460-000, Nova Odessa, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Aquino, S. [Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 355 , CEP 01246-902, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Rocha, L.O.; Correa, B. [Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciencias Biomedicas II, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 1374, CEP 05508-900 Sao Paulo (Brazil)

    2009-09-15

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different {gamma}-radiation doses on the growth of Alternaria alternata in artificially inoculated cereal samples. Seeds and grains were divided into four groups: Control Group (not irradiated), and Groups 1, 2 and 3, inoculated with an A. alternata spore suspension (1x10{sup 6} spores/mL) and exposed to 2, 5 and 10 kGy, respectively. Serial dilutions of the samples were prepared and seeded on DRBC (dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol agar) and DCMA (dichloran chloramphenicol malt extract agar) media, after which the number of colony-forming units per gram was determined in each group. In addition, fungal morphology after irradiation was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that ionizing radiation at a dose of 5 kGy was effective in reducing the growth of A. alternata. However, a dose of 10 kGy was necessary to inhibit fungal growth completely. SEM made it possible to visualize structural alterations induced by the different {gamma}-radiation doses used.

  2. Effects of γ-radiation on the fungus Alternaria alternata in artificially inoculated cereal samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braghini, R.; Pozzi, C.R.; Aquino, S.; Rocha, L.O.; Correa, B.

    2009-01-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different γ-radiation doses on the growth of Alternaria alternata in artificially inoculated cereal samples. Seeds and grains were divided into four groups: Control Group (not irradiated), and Groups 1, 2 and 3, inoculated with an A. alternata spore suspension (1x10 6 spores/mL) and exposed to 2, 5 and 10 kGy, respectively. Serial dilutions of the samples were prepared and seeded on DRBC (dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol agar) and DCMA (dichloran chloramphenicol malt extract agar) media, after which the number of colony-forming units per gram was determined in each group. In addition, fungal morphology after irradiation was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that ionizing radiation at a dose of 5 kGy was effective in reducing the growth of A. alternata. However, a dose of 10 kGy was necessary to inhibit fungal growth completely. SEM made it possible to visualize structural alterations induced by the different γ-radiation doses used.

  3. Phylogeny of Alternaria fungi known to produce host-specific toxins on the basis of variation in internal transcribed spacers of ribosomal DNA.

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    Kusaba, M; Tsuge, T

    1995-10-01

    The internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) of ribosomal DNA from Alternaria species, including seven fungi known to produce host-specific toxins, were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-amplification and direct sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequence data by the Neighbor-joining method showed that the seven toxin-producing fungi belong to a monophyletic group together with A. alternata. In contract, A. dianthi, A. panax, A. dauci, A. bataticola, A. porri, A. sesami and A. solani, species that can be morphologically distinguished from A. alternata, could be clearly separated from A. alternata by phylogenetic of the ITS variation. These results suggest that Alternaria pathogens which produce host-specific toxins are pathogenic variants within a single variable species, A. alternata.

  4. BIOUTILIZATION OF GRAPE WASTE FOR EXOPOLYSACCHARIDE PRODUCTION USING ALTERNARIA ALTERNATA NON-PIGMENT STRAIN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MELEIGY, S.A.

    2009-01-01

    In the present investigation, five mutant strains from A. alternate were isolated after exposure to gamma irradiation at dose level 8 kGy. The mutant isolated strains (MIS) were non-producing dark pigment and producing polysaccharide. The mutant isolated strain (MIS) belong to the Alternaria alternata MIS (1-5). In shake flask experiments, the exopolysaccharide (EPS) production was 2.90-5.24 g/l and biomass 5.8-8.31g/l. The effect of some fermentation conditions on grape wastes by A. alternata were investigated to produce EPS using gamma irradiation and non-pigment strain. The economical optimum fermentation condition for the highest EPS production by MIS4 when grown on grape waste containing 150 g/l sugar, incubation temperature 28 o C, pH 7 with addition of both 2 % yeast extract and 1.5 % surfactant triton x-100 achieved 14.68 g/l EPS and 6.22 g/l biomass

  5. Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals that Ethylene/H2O2-mediated hypersensitive response and program cell death determine the compatible interaction of Sand pear and Alternaria Alternata

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    A major production restriction on sand pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) is black spot disease caused by the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria alternata. However, pear response mechanism to A. alternata is unknown at molecular level. Here, host responses of a resistant cultivar Cuiguan (CG) and a susceptible cult...

  6. Fungi of genus Alternaria occurring on tomato

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    Joanna Marcinkowska

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Tomato early blight in central Poland was caused by Alternaria solani (A. porri f. sp., solani and A. alernata (A. tenuis. A. alternata was isolated more often than A. solani. All isolates of A. solani in controlled conditions killed tomato seedlings, while pathogenic isolates of A. alternata caused only slight seedling blight. In greenhouse tests A. solani proved to be strongly pathogenic for leaves and stems of tomato but A. alternata was weakly pathogenic. The latter species attacked only injured fruits while, A. solanicould penetrate through undamaged peel of fruits. Both of these species caused the same type of symptoms; the differences consisted only in intensification of disease symptoms. During 1974 and 1975 field tomatoes were moderately attacked by early blight. Thebest development of this disease occurred by the turn of August and September. Determinate variety 'New Yorker' was distinguished by more severe infection of stem parts of tomato whereas the fruits of a stock variety 'Apollo' were more strongly attacked.

  7. Identificação de híbridos de citros resistentes à mancha-marrom-de-alternária por meio de fAFLP e testes de patogenicidade Alternaria brown spot resistant citrus hybrid identification by means of fAFLP and pathogenicity tests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edvan Alves Chagas

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar híbridos, oriundos de hibridações controladas entre 'Folha Murcha' x 'Ponkan' e testá-los quanto à resistência a Alternaria alternata f. sp. citri. As plântulas foram obtidas via cultura in vitro de embriões. Utilizou-se o marcador molecular fAFLP para identificação dos híbridos e, em seguida, realizou-se o teste de patogenicidade nos híbridos com isolados de Alternaria alternata f. sp. citri, em condições de laboratório. Os pares de primers EcoRI AAG - MseI CAG e EcoRI ACC - MseI CAA foram os mais eficientes na identificação dos híbridos, os quais identificaram 48,5% de híbridos. Os híbridos F64, F108, F111, F113, F131 e F139 são potencialmente resistentes a Alternaria alternata f. sp. citri.The objective of this work was to identify hybrids obtained from controlled crossings between 'Folha Murcha' x 'Ponkan', and to check their resistance to Alternaria alternata f. sp. citri. The seedlings were obtained by in vitro embryo culture. The fAFLP marker technique was used to identify the hybrids, then laboratory pathogenicity test of the hybrids was accomplished with Alternaria alternata f. sp. citri isolates. The pairs of primers EcoRI AAG - Msel CAG and EcoRI ACC - Msel CAA were the most efficient for hybrids identification, and distinguished 48.5% of hybrids. Hybrids F64, F108, F111, F113, F131 and F139 showed potential resistance to the Alternaria alternata f. sp. citri.

  8. Antifungal activity of aloe vera gel against plant pathogenic fungi

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sitara, U.; Hassan, N.; Naseem, J.

    2011-01-01

    Aloe vera gel extracted from the Aloe vera leaves was evaluated for their antifungal activity at the rate of 0.15%, 0.25% and 0.35% concentration against five plants pathogenic fungi viz., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternata, Drechslera hawaiensis and Penicillum digitatum 0.35% concentration Aloe vera gel completely inhibited the growth of Drechslera hawaiensis and Alternaria alternata. (author)

  9. Role of the pathotype-specific ACRTS1 gene encoding a hydroxylase involved in the biosynthesis of host-selective ACR-toxin in the rough lemon pathotype of Alternaria alternata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izumi, Yuriko; Kamei, Eri; Miyamoto, Yoko; Ohtani, Kouhei; Masunaka, Akira; Fukumoto, Takeshi; Gomi, Kenji; Tada, Yasuomi; Ichimura, Kazuya; Peever, Tobin L; Akimitsu, Kazuya

    2012-08-01

    The rough lemon pathotype of Alternaria alternata produces host-selective ACR-toxin and causes Alternaria leaf spot disease of the rootstock species rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri) and Rangpur lime (C. limonia). Genes controlling toxin production were localized to a 1.5-Mb chromosome carrying the ACR-toxin biosynthesis gene cluster (ACRT) in the genome of the rough lemon pathotype. A genomic BAC clone containing a portion of the ACRT cluster was sequenced which allowed identification of three open reading frames present only in the genomes of ACR-toxin producing isolates. We studied the functional role of one of these open reading frames, ACRTS1 encoding a putative hydroxylase, in ACR-toxin production by homologous recombination-mediated gene disruption. There are at least three copies of ACRTS1 gene in the genome and disruption of two copies of this gene significantly reduced ACR-toxin production as well as pathogenicity; however, transcription of ACRTS1 and production of ACR-toxin were not completely eliminated due to remaining functional copies of the gene. RNA-silencing was used to knock down the remaining ACRTS1 transcripts to levels undetectable by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The silenced transformants did not produce detectable ACR-toxin and were not pathogenic. These results indicate that ACRTS1 is an essential gene in ACR-toxin biosynthesis in the rough lemon pathotype of A. alternata and is required for full virulence of this fungus.

  10. Exploring polyamine metabolism of Alternaria alternata to target new substances to control the fungal infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estiarte, N; Crespo-Sempere, A; Marín, S; Sanchis, V; Ramos, A J

    2017-08-01

    Polyamines are essential for all living organisms as they are involved in several vital cell functions. The biosynthetic pathway of polyamines and its regulation is well established and, in this sense, the ornithine descarboxylase (ODC) enzyme acts as one of the controlling factors of the entire pathway. In this work we assessed the inhibition of the ODC with D, l-α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) on Alternaria alternata and we observed that fungal growth and mycotoxin production were reduced. This inhibition was not completely restored by the addition of exogenous putrescine. Actually, increasing concentrations of putrescine on the growth media negatively affected mycotoxin production, which was corroborated by the downregulation of pksJ and altR, both genes involved in mycotoxin biosynthesis. We also studied the polyamine metabolism of A. alternata with the goal of finding new targets that compromise its growth and its mycotoxin production capacity. In this sense, we tested two different polyamine analogs, AMXT-2455 and AMXT-3016, and we observed that they partially controlled A. alternata's viability in vitro and in vivo using tomato plants. Finding strategies to design new fungicide substances is becoming a matter of interest as resistance problems are emerging. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. HOG MAP kinase regulation of alternariol biosynthesis in Alternaria alternata is important for substrate colonization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graf, Eva; Schmidt-Heydt, Markus; Geisen, Rolf

    2012-07-16

    Strains of the genus Alternaria are ubiquitously present and frequently found on fruits, vegetables and cereals. One of the most commonly found species from this genus is A. alternata which is able to produce the mycotoxin alternariol among others. To date only limited knowledge is available about the regulation of the biosynthesis of alternariol, especially under conditions relevant to food. Tomatoes are a typical substrate of A. alternata and have a high water activity. On the other hand cereals with moderate water activity are also frequently colonized by A. alternata. In the current analysis it was demonstrated that even minor changes in the osmotic status of the substrate affect the alternariol biosynthesis of strains from vegetables resulting in nearly complete inhibition. High osmolarity in the environment is usually transmitted to the transcriptional level of downstream regulated genes by the HOG signal cascade (high osmolarity glycerol cascade) which is a MAP kinase transduction pathway. The phosphorylation status of the A. alternata HOG (AaHOG) was determined. Various concentrations of NaCl induce the phosphorylation of AaHOG in a concentration, time and strain dependent manner. A strain with a genetically inactivated aahog gene was no longer able to produce alternariol indicating that the activity of the aahog gene is required for alternariol biosynthesis. Further experiments revealed that the biosynthesis of alternariol is important for the fungus to colonize tomato tissue. The tight water activity dependent regulation of alternariol biosynthesis ensures alternariol biosynthesis at conditions which indicate an optimal colonization substrate for the fungus. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. [Antifungal effect of phenolic and carotenoids extracts from chiltepin (Capsicum annum var. glabriusculum) on Alternaria alternata and Fusarium oxysporum].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Maturino, Alfonso; Troncoso-Rojas, Rosalba; Sánchez-Estrada, Alberto; González-Mendoza, Daniel; Ruiz-Sanchez, Esau; Zamora-Bustillos, Roberto; Ceceña-Duran, Carlos; Grimaldo-Juarez, Onecimo; Aviles-Marin, Mónica

    2015-01-01

    The effect of phenolic and carotenoid extracts from chiltepin fruits on mycelial growth and the inhibition of conidial germination of Alternaria alternata and Fusarium oxysporum were investigated in the present work. Phenolic extracts inhibited mycelial growth of A.alternata by 38.46%, and significantly reduced conidial germination on the fifth day after treatment to 92% in relation to control. No significant changes were observed in the inhibition of mycelial growth in Fusarium oxysporum; however, the number of germinated conidia was reduced, showing 85% inhibition five days after treatment in relation to control. Moreover, carotenoid extracts showed 38.5% inhibition of mycelial growth and 85.3% inhibition of conidial germination of A.alternata, five days after treatment. Carotenoid extracts showed less inhibition of mycelial growth (20.3%) in F.oxysporum, with respect to A.alternata; while there was greater inhibition of conidial germination (96%) on the fifth day after treatment. Phenolic and carotenoid extracts from chiltepin may be a promising alternative as a natural fungicide against fungi of agricultural importance. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  13. LaeA and VeA are involved in growth morphology, asexual development, and mycotoxin production in Alternaria alternata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estiarte, N; Lawrence, C B; Sanchis, V; Ramos, A J; Crespo-Sempere, A

    2016-12-05

    Alternaria alternata is a common filamentous fungus that contaminates various fruits, grains and vegetables causing important economic losses to farmers and the food industry. A. alternata is a mycotoxigenic mould, which may jeopardize human and animal health. Two of the most common A. alternata mycotoxins found in food and feed are alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether. In this study we examined the role of LaeA and VeA, two regulatory proteins belonging to the velvet family, which have been described to be involved in several functions in many fungi including secondary metabolism. We found that deletion of laeA and veA genes, respectively, greatly reduced sporulation and strongly compromised mycotoxin production, both in vitro or during pathogenesis of tomato fruits. We have also studied how the loss of laeA and veA may affect expression of genes related to alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether biosynthesis (pksJ and altR), and to melanin biosynthesis (cmrA, pksA). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Genetic Diversity of Alternaria alternata Causal Agent of Early Blight of Tomato in Khuzestan Province Using SSRs Marker

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    Khoshnood Nourollahi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The early blight of tomato caused by Alternaria alternata is one of the most important and destructive diseases in Khuzestan province. Study genetic structure of A. alternata populations provides different levels of information in the management of early blight disease in tomato farms. Short sequence repeat (SSR markers were used to determine the genetic structure and estimate genetic diversity in A. alternata isolates in Khuzestan province. Materials and Methods: In this study to evaluate the genetic diversity and genetic populations of A. alternata pathogen, sampling was randomly carried out on aerial parts of tomato plants with leaf brown lesions in farms and glasshouses from five different regions in Khuzestan province such as: Shoshtar, Omidiyeh, Dashte azadagan, Ahvaz, and Dezful. Each sample was cut into 2–5-mm long pieces, were surface-sterilized with 1% sodium hypochlorite for 3 min and rinsed three times with sterile distilled water and air-dried with sterile filter paper. The sterilized samples were placed onto a general medium potato dextrose agar (PDA. A total of 64 A. alternata isolates were obtained from infected samples. Pathogenicity test was carried out on local susceptible cultivar under an artificial condition in the greenhouse. For obtaining the mycelia mass, liquid cultures were initiated by adding 2–4 mm 2 pieces of filter paper to 250-mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing 100 mL PDB medium (potato dextrose broth. Mycelium was collected by filtration through sterile filter paper with a vacuum funnel. Mycelia were harvested, frozen and stored at -20°C. DNA was extracted using a modified hexadecyl trimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB procedure. A set of five paired sequence repeat primers (SSR were used to determine the genetic diversity of A. alternata isolates. PCR amplification was performed in a 25 μl reaction volume. The bands generated by SSR primers that were repeatable and clearly visible with a high

  15. Toxigenic Alternaria species from Argentinean blueberries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greco, M; Patriarca, A; Terminiello, L; Fernández Pinto, V; Pose, G

    2012-03-15

    Blueberries are traditionally consumed in North America, some European countries and Japan. In Argentina, the blueberry crop is profitable because production starts in November, when the northern hemisphere lacks fresh fruit. Fungal contaminants can grow and produce mycotoxins in fresh fruit. The aims of this work were to identify the main genera of the mycobiota of blueberries grown in Argentina and to determine the toxicogenic potential, pathogenicity and host specificity of the species isolated. The genus Alternaria was the main component of the blueberry mycobiota (95%); minor proportions of Phoma spp. (4%) and Penicillium spp. (1%) were also isolated. According to their sporulation patterns, 127 Alternaria isolates belonged to the Alternaria tenuissima species-group, 5 to the Alternaria alternata species-group and 2 to the Alternaria arborescens species-group. The last mentioned species-group was not isolated at 5°C. Of the 134 isolates, 61% were toxicogenic in autoclaved rice; 97% of these produced alternariol (AOH) in a range from 0.14 to 119.18 mg/kg, 95% produced alternariol methylether (AME) in a range from 1.23 to 901.74 mg/kg and 65% produced tenuazonic acid (TA) in a range from 0.13 to 2778 mg/kg. Fifty two isolates co-produced the three mycotoxins. According to the size of the lesion that they caused on blueberries, the isolates were classified as slightly pathogenic, moderately pathogenic and very pathogenic. No significant differences in pathogenicity were found on different blueberry varieties. In this work, high incidence and toxicogenic potential of the Alternaria isolates from blueberries were demonstrated. Thus, more studies should be done to evaluate the health risk posed by the presence of the Alternaria toxins in blueberries and in the manufactured by-products. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Characterization of the programmed cell death induced by metabolic products of Alternaria alternata in tobacco BY-2 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Dan-Dan; Jia, Yu-Jiao; Gao, Hui-Yuan; Zhang, Li-Tao; Zhang, Zi-Shan; Xue, Zhong-Cai; Meng, Qing-Wei

    2011-02-01

    Alternaria alternata has received considerable attention in current literature and most of the studies are focused on its pathogenic effects on plant chloroplasts, but little is known about the characteristics of programmed cell death (PCD) induced by metabolic products (MP) of A. alternata, the effects of the MP on mitochondrial respiration and its relation to PCD. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism of MP-induced PCD in non-green tobacco BY-2 cells and to explore the role of mitochondrial inhibitory processes in the PCD of tobacco BY-2 cells. MP treatment led to significant cell death that was proven to be PCD by the concurrent cytoplasm shrinkage, chromatin condensation and DNA laddering observed in the cells. Moreover, MP treatment resulted in the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), rapid ATP depletion and a respiratory decline in the tobacco BY-2 cells. It was concluded that the direct inhibition of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC), alternative pathway (AOX) capacity and catalase (CAT) activity by the MP might be the main contributors to the MP-induced ROS burst observed in tobacco BY-2 cells. The addition of adenosine together with the MP significantly inhibited ATP depletion without preventing PCD; however, when the cells were treated with the MP plus CAT, ROS overproduction was blocked and PCD did not occur. The data presented here demonstrate that the ROS burst played an important role in MP-induced PCD in the tobacco BY-2 cells.

  17. Large-spored Alternaria pathogens in section Porri disentangled.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woudenberg, J H C; Truter, M; Groenewald, J Z; Crous, P W

    2014-09-01

    The omnipresent fungal genus Alternaria was recently divided into 24 sections based on molecular and morphological data. Alternaria sect. Porri is the largest section, containing almost all Alternaria species with medium to large conidia and long beaks, some of which are important plant pathogens (e.g. Alternaria porri, A. solani and A. tomatophila). We constructed a multi-gene phylogeny on parts of the ITS, GAPDH, RPB2, TEF1 and Alt a 1 gene regions, which, supplemented with morphological and cultural studies, forms the basis for species recognition in sect. Porri. Our data reveal 63 species, of which 10 are newly described in sect. Porri, and 27 species names are synonymised. The three known Alternaria pathogens causing early blight on tomato all cluster in one clade, and are synonymised under the older name, A. linariae. Alternaria protenta, a species formerly only known as pathogen on Helianthus annuus, is also reported to cause early blight of potato, together with A. solani and A. grandis. Two clades with isolates causing purple blotch of onion are confirmed as A. allii and A. porri, but the two species cannot adequately be distinguished based on the number of beaks and branches as suggested previously. This is also found among the pathogens of Passifloraceae, which are reduced from four to three species. In addition to the known pathogen of sweet potato, A. bataticola, three more species are delineated of which two are newly described. A new Alternaria section is also described, comprising two large-spored Alternaria species with concatenate conidia.

  18. Alternaria alternata challenge at the nasal mucosa results in eosinophilic inflammation and increased susceptibility to influenza virus infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, M; Redes, J L; Percopo, C M; Druey, K M; Rosenberg, H F

    2018-06-01

    Eosinophils in the nasal mucosa are an elemental feature of allergic rhinitis. Our objective was to explore eosinophilic inflammation and its impact on respiratory virus infection at the nasal mucosa. Inflammation in the nasal mucosae of mice was evaluated in response to repetitive stimulation with strict intranasal volumes of a filtrate of Alternaria alternata. Mice were then challenged with influenza virus. Repetitive stimulation with A. alternata resulted in eosinophil recruitment to the nasal passages in association with elevated levels of IL-5, IL-13 and eotaxin-1; eosinophil recruitment was diminished in eotaxin-1 -/- mice, and abolished in Rag1 -/- mice. A. alternata also resulted in elevated levels of nasal wash IgA in both wild-type and eosinophil-deficient ∆dblGATA mice. Interestingly, A. alternata-treated mice responded to an influenza virus infection with profound weight loss and mortality compared to mice that received diluent alone (0% vs 100% survival, ***P < .001); the lethal response was blunted when A. alternata was heat-inactivated. Minimal differences in virus titre were detected, and eosinophils present in the nasal passages at the time of virus inoculation provided no protection against the lethal sequelae. Interestingly, nasal wash fluids from mice treated with A. alternata included more neutrophils and higher levels of pro-inflammatory mediators in response to virus challenge, among these, IL-6, a biomarker for disease severity in human influenza. Repetitive administration of A. alternata resulted in inflammation of the nasal mucosae and unanticipated morbidity and mortality in response to subsequent challenge with influenza virus. Interestingly, and in contrast to findings in the lower airways, eosinophils recruited to the nasal passages provided no protection against lethal infection. As increased susceptibility to influenza virus among individuals with rhinitis has been the subject of several clinical reports, this model may be

  19. [Peculiarities of linear growth of the melanin-containing fungi Cladosporium sphaerospermum Penz. and Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vember, V V; Zhdanova, N N

    2001-01-01

    Results on determination of radial (linear) growth rate of melanin-containing fungi Cladosporium sphaerospermum Penz. and Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler concerning place of their isolation and ecologic peculiarities are presented in the paper. Essential differences, as to all studied indices of the strains of C. sphaerospermum strains, isolated from premices of the ChNPP 4th unit from the control strains of this species have been established. Only strain 34 of C. sphaerospermum, isolated from the cable driving region of the "Shelter" object, which did not differ from the control strains as to all the studied indices, made the exception. The radial growth rate was 2-4 times as low and variability amplitude 10-30 times as high in strains 60 and 5-1 of C. sphaerospermum, (which suffered high radiation load), as in the control strains of this species. The radial growth rate of C. sphaerospermum studied strains was an order lower as a whole than that of A. alternata strains. All the above said evidence for implementation of K-type vital strategy by C. sphaerospermum species and in this connection one can suppose its active growth on the surface of walls and ferroconcrete structures of the ChNPP 4th unit. Absence of differences, as to the studied radial growth indices, between A. alternata strains isolated from the ChNPP 4th unit premices and control strains of the species can evidence for the existence of A. alternata species under the conditions of high radioactivity in the surviving state.

  20. Antigenic characteristics as taxonomic criterion of differentiation of Alternaria spp., pathogenic for carrot and parsley

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bulajić Aleksandra R.

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Identification of Alternaria genus species is a very complicated process which demands broadly designed investigations and studying of great number of properties which together can be considered as satisfying taxonomic criteria. The main objective of these investigations was examining the possibilities of applying the antigenic characteristics of Alternaria spp. phytopathogenic fungi as a taxonomic criterion, as well as introducing the serological methods for their identification. Conducting the examination of Alternaria spp., pathogenic for Apiaceae plants in Serbia, several isolates were obtained and identified as Alternaria radicina, A. petroselini, A. dauci and A. alternata, based on the conventional mycological methods and host range, as well as on molecular detection and partial characterization. The investigation included 12 isolates from plant leaves, seeds and soil which were pathogenic mainly to carrot and parsley and were identified as A. radicina, A. petroselini, A. dauci and A. alternate. Investigated isolates were compared with each other, as well as with standard isolates for the mentioned species (a total of 5 isolates, originating from USA and EU. During the investigation of serological characteristics of Alternaria spp. firstly a polyclonal antiserum was prepared against one isolate from Serbia identified as A. dauci. This antiserum was specific to Alternaria genus while there was no reaction with antigens from other phytopathogenic fungi genera (Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Agaricus. Antiserum titer, determined by slide agglutination test, was 1/32. Antigenic characteristics of Alternaria genus fungi were examined by Electro-Blot-Immunoassay serological method (EBIA, Western blot, i.e. their protein profiles were compared. Investigated Alternaria spp. isolates showed different protein band profiles in gel and on nitrocellulose paper, and the observed differences were in complete correlation with the results of the previous

  1. Antifungal activity of food additives in vitro and as ingredients of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-lipid edible coatings against Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata on cherry tomato fruit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagundes, Cristiane; Pérez-Gago, María B; Monteiro, Alcilene R; Palou, Lluís

    2013-09-16

    The antifungal activity of food additives or 'generally recognized as safe' (GRAS) compounds was tested in vitro against Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata. Radial mycelial growth of each pathogen was measured in PDA Petri dishes amended with food preservatives at 0.2, 1.0, or 2.0% (v/v) after 3, 5, and 7 days of incubation at 25 °C. Selected additives and concentrations were tested as antifungal ingredients of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)-lipid edible coatings. The curative activity of stable coatings was tested in in vivo experiments. Cherry tomatoes were artificially inoculated with the pathogens, coated by immersion about 24 h later, and incubated at 20 °C and 90% RH. Disease incidence and severity (lesion diameter) were determined after 6, 10, and 15 days of incubation and the 'area under the disease progress stairs' (AUDPS) was calculated. In general, HPMC-lipid antifungal coatings controlled black spot caused by A. alternata more effectively than gray mold caused by B. cinerea. Overall, the best results for reduction of gray mold on cherry tomato fruit were obtained with coatings containing 2.0% of potassium carbonate, ammonium phosphate, potassium bicarbonate, or ammonium carbonate, while 2.0% sodium methylparaben, sodium ethylparaben, and sodium propylparaben were the best ingredients for coatings against black rot. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Large-spored Alternaria pathogens in section Porri disentangled

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woudenberg, J H C; Truter, M; Groenewald, J Z; Crous, P W

    The omnipresent fungal genus Alternaria was recently divided into 24 sections based on molecular and morphological data. Alternaria sect. Porri is the largest section, containing almost all Alternaria species with medium to large conidia and long beaks, some of which are important plant pathogens

  3. Large-spored Alternaria pathogens in section Porri disentangled

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woudenberg, J.H.C.; Truter, M.; Groenewald, J.Z.; Crous, P.W.

    2014-01-01

    The omnipresent fungal genus Alternaria was recently divided into 24 sections based on molecular and morphological data. Alternaria sect. Porri is the largest section, containing almost all Alternaria species with medium to large conidia and long beaks, some of which are important plant pathogens

  4. A Major Facilitator Superfamily Transporter-Mediated Resistance to Oxidative Stress and Fungicides Requires Yap1, Skn7, and MAP Kinases in the Citrus Fungal Pathogen Alternaria alternata.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-Hung Chen

    Full Text Available Major Facilitator Superfamily (MFS transporters play an important role in multidrug resistance in fungi. We report an AaMFS19 gene encoding a MFS transporter required for cellular resistance to oxidative stress and fungicides in the phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria alternata. AaMFS19, containing 12 transmembrane domains, displays activity toward a broad range of substrates. Fungal mutants lacking AaMFS19 display profound hypersensitivities to cumyl hydroperoxide, potassium superoxide, many singlet oxygen-generating compounds (eosin Y, rose Bengal, hematoporphyrin, methylene blue, and cercosporin, and the cell wall biosynthesis inhibitor, Congo red. AaMFS19 mutants also increase sensitivity to copper ions, clotrimazole, fludioxonil, and kocide fungicides, 2-chloro-5-hydroxypyridine (CHP, and 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA. AaMFS19 mutants induce smaller necrotic lesions on leaves of a susceptible citrus cultivar. All observed phenotypes in the mutant are restored by introducing and expressing a wild-type copy of AaMFS19. The wild-type strain of A. alternata treated with either CHP or TIBA reduces radial growth and formation and germination of conidia, increases hyphal branching, and results in decreased expression of the AaMFS19 gene. The expression of AaMFS19 is regulated by the Yap1 transcription activator, the Hog1 and Fus3 mitogen-activated protein (MAP kinases, the 'two component' histidine kinase, and the Skn7 response regulator. Our results demonstrate that A. alternata confers resistance to different chemicals via a membrane-bound MFS transporter.

  5. Effects of gamma irradiation on the fungus Alternaria alternata and on mycotoxins Alternariol and Alternariol monomethyl ether in artificially contaminated cereal samples;Efeitos da radiacao gama no fungo Alternaria alternata e nas micotoxinas Alternariol e Alternariol monometil eter em amostras de cereais artificialmente contaminadas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Braghini, Raquel

    2009-07-01

    The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of different gamma irradiation doses on the growth of Alternaria alternata and on production of mycotoxins Alternariol (AOH) and Alternariol Monomethyl Ether (AME) in cereal samples. The results showed a significant reduction in the number of CFU/g in rice grains and sunflower seeds, which were proportional to radiation dose used. However, in corn and wheat grains was observed an increase in the number of CFU/g with the increase of gamma irradiation. The radiation doses used resulted in a reduction of AOH levels. In rice and corn grains, the production of AOH was highest in the group irradiated with 5 kGy. Similar result was obtained with relation to AME. Scanning electron microscopy made it possible to visualize structural alterations on A. alternata induced by the different g-radiation doses used. Analysis of irradiated AOH and AME toxins standards did not show any alteration comparing to the control group. (author)

  6. Large-spored Alternaria pathogens in section Porri disentangled

    OpenAIRE

    Woudenberg, J.H.C.; Truter, M.; Groenewald, J.Z.; Crous, P.W.

    2014-01-01

    The omnipresent fungal genus Alternaria was recently divided into 24 sections based on molecular and morphological data. Alternaria sect. Porri is the largest section, containing almost all Alternaria species with medium to large conidia and long beaks, some of which are important plant pathogens (e.g. Alternaria porri, A. solani and A. tomatophila). We constructed a multi-gene phylogeny on parts of the ITS, GAPDH, RPB2, TEF1 and Alt a 1 gene regions, which, supplemented with morphological an...

  7. Identification of Alternaria alternata Mycotoxins by LC-SPE-NMR and Their Cytotoxic Effects to Soybean (Glycine max Cell Suspension Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edson Rodrigues-Filho

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This present work describes the application of liquid chromatograpy-solid phase extraction-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to analyse Alternaria alternata crude extracts. Altenusin (1, alternariol (2, 3'-hydroxyalternariol monomethyl ether (3, and alternariol monomethyl ether (4, were separated and identified. High-resolution mass spectrometry confirmed the proposed structures. The cytotoxic effects of these compounds towards plants were determined using soybean (Glycine max cell cultures as a model. EC50 values which range from 0.11 (±0.02 to 4.69 (±0.47 μM showed the high cytotoxicity of these compounds.

  8. Csn5 Is Required for the Conidiogenesis and Pathogenesis of the Alternaria alternata Tangerine Pathotype

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingshuang Wang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The COP9 signalosome (CSN is a highly conserved protein complex involved in the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Its metalloisopeptidase activity resides in subunit 5 (CSN5. Functions of csn5 in phytopathogenic fungi are poorly understood. Here, we knocked out the csn5 ortholog (Aacsn5 in the tangerine pathotype of Alternaria alternata. The ΔAacsn5 mutant showed a moderately reduced growth rate compared to the wildtype strain and was unable to produce conidia. The growth of ΔAacsn5 mutant was not affected in response to oxidative and osmotic stresses. Virulence assays revealed that ΔAacsn5 induced no or significantly reduced necrotic lesions on detached citrus leaves. The defects in hyphal growth, conidial sporulation, and pathogenicity of ΔAacsn5 were restored by genetic complementation of the mutant with wildtype Aacsn5. To explore the molecular mechanisms of conidiation and pathogenesis underlying Aacsn5 regulation, we systematically examined the transcriptomes of both ΔAacsn5 and the wildtype. Generally, 881 genes were overexpressed and 777 were underexpressed in the ΔAacsn5 mutant during conidiation while 694 overexpressed and 993 underexpressed during infection. During asexual development, genes related to the transport processes and nitrogen metabolism were significantly downregulated; the expression of csn1–4 and csn7 in ΔAacsn5 was significantly elevated; secondary metabolism gene clusters were broadly affected; especially, the transcript level of the whole of cluster 28 and 30 was strongly induced. During infection, the expression of the host-specific ACT toxin gene cluster which controls the biosynthesis of the citrus specific toxin was significantly repressed; many other SM clusters with unknown products were also regulated; 86 out of 373 carbohydrate-active enzymes responsible for breaking down the plant dead tissues showed uniquely decreased expression. Taken together, our results expand our understanding of the roles of csn5

  9. Comparative Evaluation of Biochemical Changes in Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) Infected by Alternaria alternata and Its Toxic Metabolites (TeA, AOH, and AME).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meena, Mukesh; Zehra, Andleeb; Dubey, Manish K; Aamir, Mohd; Gupta, Vijai K; Upadhyay, Ram S

    2016-01-01

    In the present study, we have evaluated the comparative biochemical defense response generated against Alternaria alternata and its purified toxins viz. alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), and tenuazonic acid (TeA). The necrotic lesions developed due to treatment with toxins were almost similar as those produced by the pathogen, indicating the crucial role of these toxins in plant pathogenesis. An oxidative burst reaction characterized by the rapid and transient production of a large amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) occurs following the pathogen infection/toxin exposure. The maximum concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) produced was reported in the pathogen infected samples (22.2-fold) at 24 h post inoculation followed by TeA (18.2-fold), AOH (15.9-fold), and AME (14.1-fold) in treated tissues. 3,3'- Diaminobenzidine staining predicted the possible sites of H 2 O 2 accumulation while the extent of cell death was measured by Evans blue dye. The extent of lipid peroxidation and malondialdehyde (MDA) content was higher (15.8-fold) at 48 h in the sample of inoculated leaves of the pathogen when compared to control. The cellular damages were observed as increased MDA content and reduced chlorophyll. The activities of antioxidative defense enzymes increased in both the pathogen infected as well as toxin treated samples. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was 5.9-fold higher at 24 h post inoculation in leaves followed by TeA (5.0-fold), AOH (4.1-fold) and AME (2.3-fold) treated leaves than control. Catalase (CAT) activity was found to be increased upto 48 h post inoculation and maximum in the pathogen challenged samples followed by other toxins. The native PAGE results showed the variations in the intensities of isozyme (SOD and CAT) bands in the pathogen infected and toxin treated samples. Ascorbate peroxidase (APx) and glutathione reductase (GR) activities followed the similar trend to scavenge the excess H 2 O 2 . The reduction in CAT

  10. Pathogenic mycoflora on carrot seeds

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    Bogdan Nowicki

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Altogether 300 seed samples were collected during 9 years in 8 regions of Poland and the fungi Were isolated and their pathogenicity to carrot seedlings was examined. Alternaria rudicina provcd to be the most important pathogen although. A. alternata was more common. The other important pathogens were Fusarium spp., Phoma spp. and Botrytis cinerea. The infection of carrot seeds by A. radicina should be used as an important criterium in seed quality evaluation.

  11. Characterization and Pathogenicity of Alternaria burnsii from Seeds of Cucurbita maxima (Cucurbitaceae) in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Narayan Chandra; Deng, Jian Xin; Lee, Hyang Burm; Yu, Seung-Hun

    2015-12-01

    In the course of survey of endophytic fungi from Bangladesh pumpkin seeds in 2011~2012, two strains (CNU111042 and CNU111043) with similar colony characteristics were isolated and characterized by their morphology and by molecular phylogenetic analysis of the internal transcribed spacer, glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd), and Alternaria allergen a1 (Alt a1) sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of all three sequences and their combined dataset revealed that the fungus formed a subclade within the A. alternata clade, matching A. burnsi and showing differences with its other closely related Alternaria species, such as A. longipes, A. tomato, and A. tomaticola. Long ellipsoid, obclavate or ovoid beakless conidia, shorter and thinner conidial size (16~60 [90] × 6.5~14 [~16] µm) distinguish this fungus from other related species. These isolates showed more transverse septation (2~11) and less longitudinal septation (0~3) than did other related species. Moreover, the isolate did not produce any diffusible pigment on media. Therefore, our results reveal that the newly recorded fungus from a new host, Cucurbita maxima, is Alternaria burnsii Uppal, Patel & Kamat.

  12. Fungi isolated from Stewartia pseudocamellia Max. seeds and their pathogenesis

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    Halina Kurzawińska

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of studies was to determine typical composition of fungi occurring on seeds of Stewartia pseudocamellia.The studies conducted on 100 disinfected and 100 nondisinfected seeds of these plants.Isolates of Alternaria alternata, Fusarium oxysporum, Cylindrocarpon radicicola and Rhizoctonia solani were characterized by pathogenicity towards the investigated Stewartia pseudocamellia. In the laboratory experiment, 204 isolations of microorganisms were obtained that belonged to 20 species and form of fungi and bacteria. Among fungi there were both of parasite (Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium spp., Rhizoctonia solani and typical saprophytic (Cladosporium spp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp., Epicoccum spp., Mucor spp.. The dominant fungus on seeds was Alternaria alternata. Among the investigated isolates only one isolate (R4 Rhizoctonia solani, was strongly pathogenic, isolates (A1 Alternaria alternata were weakly pathogenic to seedlings of Stewartia pseudocamellia.

  13. [Determination of the profiles of secondary metabolites characteristic of Alternaria strains isolated from tomato].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benavidez Rozo, Martha Elizabeth; Patriarca, Andrea; Cabrera, Gabriela; Fernández Pinto, Virginia E

    2014-01-01

    Many Alternaria species have been studied for their ability to produce bioactive secondary metabolites, such as tentoxin (TEN), some of which have toxic properties. The main food contaminant toxins are tenuazonic acid, alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), altenuene, and altertoxins i, ii and iii. To determine the profiles of secondary metabolites characteristic of Alternaria strains isolated from tomato for their chemotaxonomic classification. The profiles of secondary metabolites were determined by HPLC MS. The Alternaria isolates obtained from spoiled tomatoes belong, according to their morphological characteristics, to the species groups Alternaria alternata, Alternaria tenuissima and Alternaria arborescens, with A. tenuissima being the most frequent. The most frequent profiles of secondary metabolites belonging to the species groups A. alternata (AOH, AME, TEN), A. tenuissima (AOH, AME, TEN, tenuazonic acid) and A. arborescens (AOH, AME, TEN, tenuazonic acid) were determined, with some isolates of the latter being able to synthesize AAL toxins. Secondary metabolite profiles are a useful tool for the differentiation of small spored Alternaria isolates not easily identifiable by their morphological characteristics. Copyright © 2013 Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  14. Report and characterization of alternaria alternata (fr.) keissler on avicennia marina (forsk.) vierh forests of industrial yanb'a city, saudi arabia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abeer, H.; Huqail, A.A.; Allah, E.F.A.; Alqarawi, A.A.

    2014-01-01

    The present study was carried out to investigate the leaf spot disease of Avicennia marina (Forski) Vierh in Saudi Arabia. The leaf spot disease is reported for the first time in mangrove plants of SA. The symptoms of leaf spot disease and the morphological characters of the causal organism are also described. The radial growth and sporulation of A. alternata were variable with obvious trend on the different growth media. The optimum pH range for maximum growth was 6.0 to 6.5 and any fluctuation in pH caused significant decrease in linear growth of the mold. The chromatographic (TLC) analysis of chloroform extract of fungal culture broth indicated clearly that the mold was able to produce both alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether. The gas liquid chromatographic analysis of mycelial fatty acids demonstrated the presence of caproic, caprylic, lauric, myristic, palmitic, margaric, stearic, arachidic, myristoleic, palmitoleic, oleic, linoleic, ? linolenic, Cis-11 eicosenoic, eicosatrienoic and arachidonic fatty acids in the mycelia of the causal organism. The analysis of free amino acids in the mycelia of causal organism indicated the presence of 13 amino acids namely, alanine, threonine, valine, proline, methionine, tryptophan, tyrosine, lysin, cystin, glycine, asparatic acid, tyrosine, and phenyl alanine. The PCR product amplified with A. alternata DNA indicates that the 370-bp PCR product is a useful diagnostic tool to identify the causal organism in mangrove leaves. This study demonstrated that the causal organism of leaf spot disease of A. marina was typically similar to Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler via classical, biochemical and molecular characterization. (author)

  15. Identification of a polyketide synthase required for alternariol (AOH and alternariol-9-methyl ether (AME formation in Alternaria alternata.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Debjani Saha

    Full Text Available Alternaria alternata produces more than 60 secondary metabolites, among which alternariol (AOH and alternariol-9-methyl ether (AME are important mycotoxins. Whereas the toxicology of these two polyketide-based compounds has been studied, nothing is known about the genetics of their biosynthesis. One of the postulated core enzymes in the biosynthesis of AOH and AME is polyketide synthase (PKS. In a draft genome sequence of A. alternata we identified 10 putative PKS-encoding genes. The timing of the expression of two PKS genes, pksJ and pksH, correlated with the production of AOH and AME. The PksJ and PksH proteins are predicted to be 2222 and 2821 amino acids in length, respectively. They are both iterative type I reducing polyketide synthases. PksJ harbors a peroxisomal targeting sequence at the C-terminus, suggesting that the biosynthesis occurs at least partly in these organelles. In the vicinity of pksJ we found a transcriptional regulator, altR, involved in pksJ induction and a putative methyl transferase, possibly responsible for AME formation. Downregulation of pksJ and altR caused a large decrease of alternariol formation, suggesting that PksJ is the polyketide synthase required for the postulated Claisen condensations during the biosynthesis. No other enzymes appeared to be required. PksH downregulation affected pksJ expression and thus caused an indirect effect on AOH production.

  16. Characterisation of Alternaria species-groups associated with core rot of apples in South Africa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Serdani, M.; Kang, J.C.; Andersen, Birgitte

    2002-01-01

    Alternaria core rot of red apple cultivars is a serious post-harvest disease in South Africa. Thirty isolates of Alternaria spp. previously isolated from apple, together with reference isolates of A. alternata and A. infectoria, were characterised and grouped according to their sporulation patter...

  17. The influence of different nitrogen and carbon sources on mycotoxin production in Alternaria alternata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brzonkalik, Katrin; Herrling, Tanja; Syldatk, Christoph; Neumann, Anke

    2011-05-27

    The aim of this study was to determine the influence of different carbon and nitrogen sources on the production of the mycotoxins alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) and tenuazonic acid (TA) by Alternaria alternata at 28°C using a semi-synthetic medium (modified Czapek-Dox broth) supplemented with nitrogen and carbon sources. Additionally the effect of shaken and static cultivation on mycotoxin production was tested. Initial experiments showed a clear dependency between nitrogen depletion and mycotoxin production. To assess whether nitrogen limitation in general or the type of nitrogen source triggers the production, various nitrogen sources including several ammonium/nitrate salts and amino acids were tested. In static culture the production of AOH/AME can be enhanced greatly with phenylalanine whereas some nitrogen sources seem to inhibit the AOH/AME production completely. TA was not significantly affected by the choice of nitrogen source. In shaken culture the overall production of all mycotoxins was lower compared to static cultivation. Furthermore tests with a wide variety of carbon sources including monosaccharides, disaccharides, complex saccharides such as starch as well as glycerol and acetate were performed. In shaken culture AOH was produced when glucose, fructose, sucrose, acetate or mixtures of glucose/sucrose and glucose/acetate were used as carbon sources. AME production was not detected. The use of sodium acetate resulted in the highest AOH production. In static culture AOH production was also stimulated by acetate and the amount is comparable to shaken conditions. Under static conditions production of AOH was lower except when cultivated with acetate. In static cultivation 9 of 14 tested carbon sources induced mycotoxin production compared to 4 in shaken culture. This is the first study which analyses the influence of carbon and nitrogen sources in a semi-synthetic medium and assesses the effects of culture conditions on

  18. Alternaria section Alternaria: Species, formae speciales or pathotypes'

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woudenberg, J.H.C.; Seidl, M.F.; Groenewald, J.Z.; de Vries, M .; Stielow, B.; Thomma, B.P.H.J.; Crous, P.W.

    2015-01-01

    The cosmopolitan fungal genus Alternaria consists of multiple saprophytic and pathogenic species. Based on phylogenetic and morphological studies, the genus is currently divided into 26 sections. Alternaria sect. Alternaria contains most of the small-spored Alternaria species with concatenated

  19. Alternaria section Alternaria: Species, formae speciales or pathotypes?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woudenberg, J.H.C.; Seidl, M.F.; Groenewald, J.Z.; Vries, de M.; Stielow, J.B.; Thomma, B.; Crous, P.W.

    2015-01-01

    The cosmopolitan fungal genus Alternaria consists of multiple saprophytic and pathogenic species. Based on phylogenetic and morphological studies, the genus is currently divided into 26 sections. Alternaria sect. Alternaria contains most of the small-spored Alternaria species with concatenated

  20. Modelling the effect of temperature, water activity and carbon dioxide on the growth of Aspergillus niger and Alternaria alternata isolated from fresh date fruit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belbahi, A; Leguerinel, I; Méot, J-M; Loiseau, G; Madani, K; Bohuon, P

    2016-12-01

    To quantify and model the combined effects of temperature (T) (10-40°C), water activity (a w ) (0·993-0·818) and CO 2 concentration (9·4-55·1%, v/v) on the growth rate of Aspergillus niger and Alternaria alternata that cause spoilage during the storage and packaging of dates. The effects of environmental factors were studied using the γ-concept. Cardinal models were used to quantify the effect of studied environmental factors on the growth rates. Firstly, the cardinal parameters were estimated independently from experiments carried out on potato dextrose agar using a monofactorial design. Secondly, model performance evaluation was conducted on pasteurized date paste. The boundary between growth and no-growth was predicted using a deterministic approach. Aspergillus niger displayed a faster growth rate and higher tolerance to low a w than Al. alternata, which in turn proved more resistant to CO 2 concentration. Minimal cardinal parameters of T and a w were lower than those reported in the literature. The combination of the a w and CO 2 effects significantly affected As. niger and Al. alternata growth. The γ-concept model overestimated growth rates, however, it is optimistic and provides somewhat conservative predictions. The developed model provides a decision support tool for the choice of the date fruit conservation mode (refrigeration, drying, modified atmospheric packaging or their combination) using T, a w and CO 2 as environmental factors. © 2016 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  1. Hyperspectral and thermal imaging of oilseed rape (Brassica napus response to fungal species of the genus Alternaria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piotr Baranowski

    Full Text Available In this paper, thermal (8-13 µm and hyperspectral imaging in visible and near infrared (VNIR and short wavelength infrared (SWIR ranges were used to elaborate a method of early detection of biotic stresses caused by fungal species belonging to the genus Alternaria that were host (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicae, and Alternaria brassicicola and non-host (Alternaria dauci pathogens to oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.. The measurements of disease severity for chosen dates after inoculation were compared to temperature distributions on infected leaves and to averaged reflectance characteristics. Statistical analysis revealed that leaf temperature distributions on particular days after inoculation and respective spectral characteristics, especially in the SWIR range (1000-2500 nm, significantly differed for the leaves inoculated with A. dauci from the other species of Alternaria as well as from leaves of non-treated plants. The significant differences in leaf temperature of the studied Alternaria species were observed in various stages of infection development. The classification experiments were performed on the hyperspectral data of the leaf surfaces to distinguish days after inoculation and Alternaria species. The second-derivative transformation of the spectral data together with back-propagation neural networks (BNNs appeared to be the best combination for classification of days after inoculation (prediction accuracy 90.5% and Alternaria species (prediction accuracy 80.5%.

  2. Pathogenic, morphological and molecular characteristics of Alternaria Tenuissima from soybean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasnić Stevan M.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available During 2008 and 2009 phytopathological isolations were done from soybean plants and seed samples from several localities in Serbia. A total of 19 isolates of Alternaria spp. were isolated, 13 from the seed and 3 from both leaf and stem. In order to determine and characterize isolates, cultural, morphological, molecular and pathogenic characteristics were thoroughly investigated. The slowest growth of the examined isolates was noted on Malt agar (MA with average colony diameter of 42.9 mm after 7 days of incubation. On other two media (V8 and PCA, colony growth was uniform and faster, with average diameter of 66.8 mm and 66.1 mm, respectively. Isolates of fungi form unbranched or poorly branched conidial chains on short unbranched conidiophores. Conidia are dark in colour, multicellular with transverse and longitudinal septae. They are of different size regarding the place of formation in the chain. Based on these characteristics, the tested isolates were determined as Alternaria tenuissima. Molecular identification with sequencing of ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 rDNA verified that investigated isolates belong to Alternaria tenuissima group. Pathogenicity test proved that all isolates were more or less virulent to soybean seed (12.5% to 40% of rotten seeds, while pathogenicity on plants was poorly expressed.

  3. Efecto antifúngico de extractos fenólicos y de carotenoides de chiltepín (Capsicum annum var. glabriusculum en Alternaria alternata y Fusarium oxysporum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfonso Rodriguez-Maturino

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available En el presente estudio se evaluó el efecto de extractos fenólicos y de carotenoides procedentes de frutos de chiltepín sobre el crecimiento micelial y la germinación de conidios de Alternaria alternata y Fusarium oxysporum, 2 importantes hongos causantes de podredumbres en frutas y hortalizas. Los extractos fenólicos presentaron una inhibición en el crecimiento micelial de A. alternata del 38,46 %, y redujeron significativamente la germinación de conidios al quinto día después del tratamiento al 92 % en relación al control. No se observaron cambios significativos en el crecimiento micelial de F. oxysporum, pero sí se redujo significativamente al 85 % en relación al control, el número de conidios germinados a los 5 días de tratamiento. Los extractos de carotenoides mostraron una inhibición del 38,5 % en el crecimiento micelial y del 85,3 % en la germinación de conidios de A. alternata, 5 días después del tratamiento. Frente a F. oxysporum, dichos extractos presentaron menor inhibición del crecimiento micelial (20,3 %, mientras que hubo una mayor inhibición en la germinación de conidios (96 %. Los extractos fenólicos y de carotenoides de chiltepín pueden ser una alternativa promisoria de importancia agrícola como fungicidas naturales.

  4. Alternaria redefined

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woudenberg, J.H.C.; Groenewald, J.Z.; Binder, M.; Crous, P.W.

    2013-01-01

    Alternaria is a ubiquitous fungal genus that includes saprobic, endophytic and pathogenic species associated with a wide variety of substrates. In recent years, DNA-based studies revealed multiple non-monophyletic genera within the Alternaria complex, and Alternaria species clades that do not always

  5. Variety of plant pathogens of ornamental shrubs of the genus Rosa L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marchenko Alla Borisovna

    2015-12-01

    In the Ukraine’s forest-steppe environment, over the years of research, the most common disease among different representatives of the genus Rosa L. is Diplocarpon rosae FA Wolf, about 52.7%. Diseases caused by Sphaerotheca pannosa var. rosae Woron account for 28.3%: Coniothyrium wernsdorffiae Laubert―19.2%; Botrytis cinerea Pers.―16.9%; Phragmidium mucronatum (Pers. Schltdl., Phragmidium tuberculatum Müll. Hal., Nectria cinnabarina (Tode Fr.―from 7.2 to 6.7%. Pathogens Alternaria alternata (Fr. Keissl., Alternaria tenuissima (Kunze Wiltshire, Fusarium oxysporum Schltdl., Fusarium solani (Mart. Sacc., Phytophthora cactorum J. Schröt., Verticillium dahliae Kleb., Verticillium albo-atrum Reinke Berthold are less common―5%.

  6. Effect of Different Growth Stages and Dew Period Length on Disease Development of Alternaria alternata as a Biological Control Agent for Convolvulus arvensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E Zeidali

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Field bindweed is an important perinial weed of agricultural crops word-wide. There are plant pathogen fungus which could cause necrotic spots on the leaves and stems of convolvulus arvensis under natural coditions. In order to evaluate the effects of weed growth stage and length of dew period on disease development causes by Aletrnaria alternata and Fusarium sp. two expriments were performed in the greenhouse based on a completely randomized design in factorial arrangement with four replications during 2006-2007. Spore concentration for both experiments was 107 spores per ml of distilled water. In the first experiment, treatments were different growth stages of field bindweed (cotyledon, 4-leaf, 6-leaf, 9-11-leaf stages. Results showed that disease development in the fungus of A. alternata was higher than Fusarium sp. The most susceptable growth stage of field bindweed plants to A. alternata was 2-4-leave stage. The second expriment was performed in order to study the effect of dew period length (6, 12, 24 and 48 hour dew periods on disease development at 4-leaf growth stage of field bindweed. The maximum disease development and minimum weed dry weight were observed with application of the fungus of A. alternata at dew periods of 24 and 48 hour, however, plant damage was also observed with a length of 6 hours dew period.

  7. IP3 production in the hypersensitive response of lemon seedlings against Alternaria alternata involves active protein tyrosine kinases but not a G-protein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    XIMENA ORTEGA

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available IP3 increase and de novo synthesis of scoparone are produced in the hypersensitive response (HR of lemon seedlings against the fungus Alternaria alternata. To elucidate whether a G-protein and/or a protein tyrosine kinase (PTK are involved in signal transduction leading to the production of such a defensive response, we studied the HR in this plant system after treatment with G-protein activators alone and PTK inhibitors in the presence of fungal conidia. No changes in the level of IP3 were detected in response to the treatment with the G-protein activators cholera toxin or mastoparan, although the HR was observed in response to these compounds as determined by the scoparone synthesis. On the contrary, the PTK inhibitors lavendustin A and 2,5-dihidroxy methyl cinnamate (DHMC not only prevented the IP3 changes observed in response to the fungal inoculation of lemon seedlings but also blocked the development of the HR. These results suggest that the IP3 changes observed in response to A. alternata require a PTK activity and are the result of a G-protein independent Phospholipase C activity, even though the activation of a G-protein can also lead to the development of a HR. Therefore, it appears that more than one signaling pathway may be activated for the development of HR in lemon seedlings: one involving a G-protein and the other involving a PTK-dependent PLC.

  8. Differentiation of Alternaria infectoria and Alternaria alternata based on morphology, metabolite profiles, and cultural characteristics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Birgitte; Thrane, Ulf

    1996-01-01

    Some small-spored species belonging to the genus Alternaria Nees have been studied according to their chemical, morphological, and cultural characteristics. A data matrix was constructed based on a combination of characters. Cluster analysis of the combined data set showed good resolution of two...

  9. Chemical and morphological segregation of Alternaria alternata, A-gaisen and A-longipes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Birgitte; Krøger, Elisabeth; Roberts, R.G.

    2001-01-01

    and the diameter measurements were subjected to principal component analysis. Analysis of chemical and physiological data showed that the 39 isolates segregated into the same distinct groups that are morphologically identifiable as A. alternata, A. longipes or A. gaisen. The results showed that A. longipes. A...

  10. Multilocus phylogeny and MALDI-TOF analysis of the plant pathogenic species Alternaria dauci and relatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brun, Sophie; Madrid, Hugo; Gerrits Van Den Ende, Bert; Andersen, Birgitte; Marinach-Patrice, Carine; Mazier, Dominique; De Hoog, G Sybren

    2013-01-01

    The genus Alternaria includes numerous phytopathogenic species, many of which are economically relevant. Traditionally, identification has been based on morphology, but is often hampered by the tendency of some strains to become sterile in culture and by the existence of species-complexes of morphologically similar taxa. This study aimed to assess if strains of four closely-related plant pathogens, i.e., accurately Alternaria dauci (ten strains), Alternaria porri (six), Alternaria solani (ten), and Alternaria tomatophila (ten) could be identified using multilocus phylogenetic analysis and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Time of Flight (MALDI-TOF) profiling of proteins. Phylogenetic analyses were performed on three loci, i.e., the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rRNA, and the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd) and Alternaria major antigen (Alt a 1) genes. Phylogenetic trees based on ITS sequences did not differentiate strains of A. solani, A. tomatophila, and A. porri, but these three species formed a clade separate from strains of A. dauci. The resolution improved in trees based on gpd and Alt a 1, which distinguished strains of the four species as separate clades. However, none provided significant bootstrap support for all four species, which could only be achieved when results for the three loci were combined. MALDI-TOF-based dendrograms showed three major clusters. The first comprised all A. dauci strains, the second included five strains of A. porri and one of A. solani, and the third included all strains of A. tomatophila, as well as all but one strain of A. solani, and one strain of A. porri. Thus, this study shows the usefulness of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a promising tool for identification of these four species of Alternaria which are closely-related plant pathogens. Copyright © 2012 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Ex Vivo Application of Secreted Metabolites Produced by Soil-Inhabiting Bacillus spp. Efficiently Controls Foliar Diseases Caused by Alternaria spp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Gul Shad; El-Sayed, Ashraf S A; Patel, Jaimin S; Green, Kari B; Ali, Mohammad; Brennan, Mary; Norman, David

    2016-01-15

    Bacterial biological control agents (BCAs) are largely used as live products to control plant pathogens. However, due to variable environmental and ecological factors, live BCAs usually fail to produce desirable results against foliar pathogens. In this study, we investigated the potential of cell-free culture filtrates of 12 different bacterial BCAs isolated from flower beds for controlling foliar diseases caused by Alternaria spp. In vitro studies showed that culture filtrates from two isolates belonging to Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens displayed strong efficacy and potencies against Alternaria spp. The antimicrobial activity of the culture filtrate of these two biological control agents was effective over a wider range of pH (3.0 to 9.0) and was not affected by autoclaving or proteolysis. Comparative liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses showed that a complex mixture of cyclic lipopeptides, primarily of the fengycin A and fengycin B families, was significantly higher in these two BCAs than inactive Bacillus spp. Interaction studies with mixtures of culture filtrates of these two species revealed additive activity, suggesting that they produce similar products, which was confirmed by LC-tandem MS analyses. In in planta pre- and postinoculation trials, foliar application of culture filtrates of B. subtilis reduced lesion sizes and lesion frequencies caused by Alternaria alternata by 68 to 81%. Taken together, our studies suggest that instead of live bacteria, culture filtrates of B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens can be applied either individually or in combination for controlling foliar diseases caused by Alternaria species. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  12. Alternaria Leaf Spot on Mealycup Sage (Salvia farinacea Benth.) Caused by Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler

    OpenAIRE

    Hiromitsu, NEGISHI; Kazuo, SUYAMA; Faculty of Agriculture,Tokyo University of Agriculture; Faculty of Agriculture,Tokyo University of Agriculture

    2002-01-01

    In June 1995, a disease causing round to irregular-shaped, water-soaked, brown to blackish brown spots on mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea Benth.) was found in Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The symptoms were seen only on leaves, not on neither flower petals or stems. The disease was also found in Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Memambetsu-cho, Hokkaido and Shimoda-shi and Matsuzaki-cho, Shizuoka. An Alternaria sp. was frequently isolated from these diseased plants. The isolates were severely pat...

  13. Natural occurrence of mycotoxins and toxigenic capacity of Alternaria strains from mouldy peppers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    da Cruz Cabral, Lucía; Terminiello, Laura; Fernández Pinto, Virginia

    2016-01-01

    Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) is an important crop cultivated worldwide, with Argentina being one of the major producers in South America. The fruit is susceptible to several fungal diseases, leading to severe economic losses for producers. In this study, Alternaria was found as the prevalent...... genus in mouldy peppers (50% fruits infected). Morphological identification revealed that all 64 Alternaria isolates belonged to small-spored species, most of them corresponding to A. tenuissima, A. arborescens and A. alternata species-groups. Their secondary metabolite profile was evaluated in vitro......; alternariols were synthesized by most of the isolates (91% for alternariol and 92% for alternariol monomethyl ether). A high number of Alternaria spp. also produced tenuazonic acid (64%), altenuene (84%) and tentoxin (72%). In addition, damaged pepper fruits were analysed for the presence of tenuazonic acid...

  14. Genetic and physical analysis of a YAC contig spanning the fungal disease resistance locus Asc of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mesbah, L.A.; Kneppers, T.J.A.; Takken, F.L.W.; Laurent, P.; Hille, J.; Nijkamp, H.J.J.

    1998-01-01

    The Alternaria stem canker disease of tomato is caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici (AAL). The fungus produces AAL toxins that kill the plant tissue. Resistance to the fungus segregates as a single locus, called Asc, and has been genetically mapped on

  15. Genetic and physical analysis of a YAC contig spannig the fungal disease resistance locus Asc of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mesbah, L.A.; Kneppers, T.J.A.; Takken, F.L.W.; Laurent, P.J.F.; Hille, J.; Nijkamp, H.J.J.

    1999-01-01

    The Alternaria in stem canker disease of tomato is caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici (AAL). The fungus produces AAL toxins that kill the plant tissue. Resistance to the fungus segregates as a single locus, called Asc, and has been genetically mapped

  16. Efeito do óleo essencial de pimenta longa (Piper hispidinervum C. DC e do emulsificante Tween® 80 sobre o crescimento micelial de Alternaria alternata (Fungi: Hyphomycetes The effect of Long-pepper essential oil (Piper hispidinervum C. DC. and of Tween®; 80 emulsifier on the mycelial growth of Alternaria alternate (Fungi: Hyphomycetes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabiane Reis Nascimento

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Este trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito do óleo essencial de folhas de pimenta longa (Piper hispidinervum C. DC, sobre o crescimento micelial de Alternaria alternata e a análise da influência da concentração do emulsificante Tween® 80 no controle deste fitopatógeno. O óleo essencial foi obtido pela técnica "arraste a vapor d'água", utilizando-se aparelho de Clevenger modificado, e posteriormente submetido, à análise por cromatografia em fase gasosa acoplada a espectrômetro de massas CG-EM a CG. Para os ensaios biológicos, o método foi o bioanalítico in vitro observando-se o crescimento ou inibição do micélio de A. alternata no meio de cultura BDA na presença de diferentes concentrações do óleo essencial (0, 100, 250, 500 e 1000 mgL-1 sob diferentes concentrações de Tween® 80. Adotou-se esquema fatorial com quatro repetições, em delineamento inteiramente casualizado (DIC. Observou-se que o óleo essencial de pimenta longa apresentou inibição sobre o crescimento micelial do fungo A. alternataem todas as concentrações analisadas, sendo que na concentração de 1000 mgL-1 esta inibição foi de 100% , e a porcentagem de emulsificante (Tween® 80, influenciou na atividade fungitóxica das concentrações de 250 mgL -1 e 500 mgL -1 do óleo essencial.The object of this work was to evaluate the effectof essential oils from Long-pepper leaves Piper hispidinervum on the mycelial growth of Alternaria alternata and to analyze the influence of emulsifier Tween® 80 concentration in the control of this phytopathogen. The essential oil was obtained by steam stream distillation, using a modified Clevenger apparatus, and the chemical composition was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy GC-MS and GC. For biological tests, the bioanalytical in vitro method was used, observing the growth or inhibition of such phytopathogen in BDA culture media, in the presence of different essential oil concentrations (0, 100

  17. Restyling Alternaria

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Woudenberg, J.H.C.

    2015-01-01

    The omnipresent dematiaceous hyphomycete genus Alternaria is associated with a wide variety of substrates including seeds, plants, agricultural products, humans, soil and even the atmosphere. It includes saprophytic, endophytic and pathogenic species, among which multiple plant

  18. Determination of mycotoxin profiles characteristic of Alternaria strains isolated from Malbec grapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vargas Trinidad Andrea

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The world grape production has increased, reaching 751 million quintals (Mql in 2013. Many Alternaria species have been studied for their ability to produce secondary metabolites in foods, some of which have toxic properties with tenu- azonic acid (TA, alternariol (AOH, alternariol methyl ether (AME being the most important ones. The aim was to determine the characteristic mycotoxin production profiles of Alternaria strains isolated from Malbec grapes in the Patagonian region of Argentina. Fifty Alternaria isolates (5 A. alternata, 5 A. arborescens and 40 A. tenuissima were analyzed for the produc- tion of mycotoxins (TA, AOH and AME in autoclaved rice media by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC. All isolates were found to be producers of mycotoxins; the 100% was producer of TA (0.016–21.031 mg/kg, 98% produced AOH (0.003–0.057 mg/kg and 36% produced AME (0.001–0.133 mg/kg. Thirty-three isolates co-produced the three mycotoxins. In this study, it was demonstrated a high toxigenic potential of Alternaria isolates. Although Alternaria growth on grapes has been amply demonstrated, there are few studies about the incidence their more characteristic mycotoxin sand their toxicogenic capac- ity determination in grapes, wines and derivatives. In addition, mycotoxins studied in this work are not regulated in oenology. Therefore, further studies should be conducted to assess the health risk due to the presence of Alternaria toxins in grapes, wine, grape juice and raisins.

  19. Eficiência e custo do controle químico da mancha de alternaria em tangor murcote Efficiency and cost of chemical control of alternaria brown spot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adimara Bentivoglio Colturato

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available A mancha de alternaria, causada por Alternaria alternata f. sp. citri, afeta tangelos Minneola, tangerinas Dancy, tangores Murcote e, menos freqüentemente, tangelos Orlando, tangerinas Novas, Lees e Sunburst. Esta doença causa desfolha grave, queda de frutos e manchas nas frutas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estabelecer o melhor fungicida e a melhor dose para o controle da mancha marrom de alternaria. O delineamento experimental foi de parcelas subdivididas em blocos, com 10 tratamentos principais e 3 doses (subparcelas, com 5 repetições. Foram feitas 5 aplicações, com intervalo de 15 dias. Os tratamentos foram: azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, trifloxystrobin, trifloxystrobin + tebuconazole (2 aplicações seguido de 3 aplicações de mancozeb, difenoconazole, trifloxystrobin + propiconazole, iprodione, trifloxystrobin + propineb (2 aplicações seguido de 3 aplicações de oxicloreto de cobre, oxicloreto de cobre + óleo e testemunha. Simultaneamente foram feitas avaliações de incidência e número de lesões por folha. Ao surgimento dos frutos foram avaliadas a incidência em frutos e a produtividade em Kg/ha. Todos os tratamentos foram superiores à testemunha quanto a produtividade. Entre os produtos utilizados o tratamento com trifloxystrobin + propiconazole foi rentável comparando-se custo e produtividade.Alternaria brown spot, caused by Alternaria alternata sp. citri, attacks with more intensity the Tangelos Minneola, tangerine Dancy, and Murcotts, and with less intensity the tangelos Orlando and the tangerinas Novas, Lees and Sunburst. This disease causes severe defoliation and drop or necrotic spots in the fruits. The aim of this work was to evaluated the chemical control of brown spot, and to define the most appropriate dosage of fungicide to control it. The experimental design was split-spot, with ten treatments and 3 doses of fungicides, with five replicates, the fungicides were: azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, trifloxystrobin

  20. Characterization and Pathogenicity of Alternaria vanuatuensis, a New Record from Allium Plants in Korea and China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Mei Jia; Deng, Jian Xin; Paul, Narayan Chandra; Lee, Hyang Burm; Yu, Seung Hun

    2014-12-01

    Alternaria from different Allium plants was characterized by multilocus sequence analysis. Based on sequences of the β-tubulin (BT2b), the Alternaria allergen a1 (Alt a1), and the RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) genes and phylogenetic data analysis, isolates were divided into two groups. The two groups were identical to representative isolates of A. porri (EGS48-147) and A. vanuatuensis (EGS45-018). The conidial characteristics and pathogenicity of A. vanuatuensis also well supported the molecular characteristics. This is the first record of A. vanuatuensis E. G. Simmons & C. F. Hill from Korea and China.

  1. Susceptibility of different parsley cultivars to infestation by pathogenic fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacek Nawrocki

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The experiments were carried out in the years 2002 and 2003 on parsley seeds of 6 cultivars: Alba, Berlińska, Cukrowa, Kinga, Lenka, and Vistula. Mycological analysis of parsley seeds showed that the most common inhabitans were fungi from genus Alternaria (mainly A. alternata and A. radicina and Fusarium, especially F. avenaceum and F. oxysporum. During the glasshouse investigations fungi Alternaria radicina, A. alternata and Fusarium avenaceum were the main reason for parsley damping-off. The highest number of infected seedlings was observed for Berlińska and Kinga, because in both years of experiments these cultivars had the lowest number of healthy seedlings. The highest number of healthy seedlings had cultivars Alba and Lenka, especially in the second year of experiments. In the field experiments not only fungi from genus Alternaria and Fusarium were the most often isolated from diseased parsley seedlings. Fusarium oxysporum was more often isolated from diseased field seedlings than from glasshouse parsley seedlings. Other fungies isolated often from parsley seedlings cultivated in the field were: Pythium spp., Rhizoctonia solani, Cylindrocarpon destructans and Stemphylium botryosum.

  2. Analysis of a suppressive subtractive hybridization library of Alternaria alternata resistant to 2-propenyl isothiocyanate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heriberto García-Coronado

    2015-07-01

    Conclusions: The fungal response showed that natural compounds could induce tolerance/resistance mechanisms in organisms in the same manner as synthetic chemical products. The response of A. alternata to the toxicity of 2-pITC is a sophisticated phenomenon including the induction of signaling cascades targeting a broad set of cellular processes. Whole-transcriptome approaches are needed to elucidate completely the fungal response to 2-pITC.

  3. Influence of water activity and temperature on growth and mycotoxin production by Alternaria alternata on irradiated soya beans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oviedo, Maria Silvina; Ramirez, Maria Laura; Barros, Germán Gustavo; Chulze, Sofia Noemi

    2011-09-15

    The aim of this study was to determine the effects of water activity (a(w)) (0.99-0.90), temperature (15, 25 and 30°C) and their interactions on growth and alternariol (AOH) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) production by Alternaria alternata on irradiated soya beans. Maximum growth rates were obtained at 0.980 a(w) and 25°C. Minimum a(w) level for growth was dependent on temperature. Both strains were able to grow at the lowest a(w) assayed (0.90). Maximum amount of AOH was produced at 0.98 a(w) but at different temperatures, 15 and 25°C, for the strains RC 21 and RC 39 respectively. Maximum AME production was obtained at 0.98 a(w) and 30°C for both strains. The concentration range of both toxins varied considerably depending on a(w) and temperature interactions. The two metabolites were produced over the temperature range 15 to 30°C and a(w) range 0.99 to 0.96. The limiting a(w) for detectable mycotoxin production is slightly greater than that for growth. Two-dimensional profiles of a(w)× temperature were developed from these data to identify areas where conditions indicate a significant risk from AOH and AME accumulation on soya bean. Knowledge of AOH and AME production under marginal or sub-optimal temperature and a(w) conditions for growth can be important since improper storage conditions accompanied by elevated temperature and moisture content in the grain can favour further mycotoxin production and lead to reduction in grain quality. This could present a hazard if the grain is used for human consumption or animal feedstuff. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Identification and antifungal activity of an actinomycete strain against Alternaria spp.

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    Fen Gao

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Alternaria alternata (Fries Keissler is a phytopathogenic fungus responsible for tobacco brown spot disease. This study aims to evaluate the antifungal activity of strain 163 against A. alternata and clarify its taxonomic status. The evaluation of the antifungal activity of strain 163 and its bacteria-free filtrate of fermentation broth was done through measuring the diameters of inhibition zones, and testing the antimicrobial spectrum and the inhibition effect on mycelial growth in vitro. The biocontrol activity of the bacteria-free filtrate in vivo was evaluated by using detached tobacco leaves method and assaying the inhibition rate to disease incidence in growth chamber. A polyphasic approach was taken in the identification of strain 163. The bacterial strain 163 showed inhibitory effect in vitro against A. alternata. The bacteria-free filtrate of the strain 163 fermentation broth showed a 56.7% inhibition rate in a detached leaf assay. In growth chamber conditions, it showed greater biocontrol activity when applied before plants being inoculated with A. alternata than after, the inhibition rate being 46.05%. Investigations into the morphological, cultural, physiological and biochemical properties of strain 163 found it to be most similar to Streptomyces microflavus. Its classification into cell wall type I and sugar type C further confirmed its Streptomyces characteristics. Construction of a phylogenetic tree based on 16S rDNA verified that strain 163 was most closely related to Streptomyces microflavus. From polyphasic taxonomical analysis, strain 163 was found to be identical to S. microflavus.

  5. Enhanced cellulase and β-glucosidase production by a mutant of Alternaria alternata

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macris, B.J.

    1984-01-01

    The cellulolytic activity of the wild type and a mutant strain of A. alternata was investigated. Mutants were induced by gamma radiation. A suspension of about 10 5 condidia/mL in 0.05M phosphate buffer pH 5 were irradiated in a gamma-cell-type (Cammacell 220, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Ottawa, Canada) 60 Co source with a dose rate of 2.5 krad/min. The amount of radiation given was 70 krad which resulted in about 10% survival level. The stock culture was maintained on a sterile growth medium supplemented with 1% cellulose 123 and 0.3% agar. Following the incubation period, the fungal biomass was harvested by centrifugation (5000g for 10 min) and the clarified supernatant was used as the source of cellulase and β-glucosidase

  6. Occurrence of Leaf Blight on Cosmos Caused by Alternaria cosmosa in Korea

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    Jian Xin Deng

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In 2011, a leaf blight disease was observed on cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus leaves in Nonsan, Korea. The causal pathogen was isolated and identified based on morphological and molecular approaches. Morphological characteristics of the pathogen matched well with the Alternaria cosmosa and also easily distinguishable from Alternaria zinniae reported from cosmos seeds by producing branched beak. Phylogenetically, the pathogen could not be distinguished from A. passiflorae based on the sequence analysis of a combined data set of Alt a1 and gpd genes. However, A. passiflorae was distinguished from the present species by having conidiophores with 4 to 5 conidiogenous loci. The results indicate that the present Alternaria species is A. cosmosa. Pathogenicity tests revealed that the isolate was pathogenic to the leaves of Cosmos bipinnatus. This is the first report of Alternaria blight disease caused by A. cosmosa on cosmos in Korea.

  7. Effects of postharvest salicylic acid dipping on Alternaria rot and disease resistance of jujube fruit during storage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Jiankang; Yan, Jiaqi; Zhao, Yumei; Jiang, Weibo

    2013-10-01

    Considerable postharvest losses caused by Alternaria alternata often occur in Chinese jujube fruit, and synthetic fungicides have been widely used to protect the fruit from Alternaria rot. However, the potential harmfulness of fungicide residues to human health and the environment cannot be ignored. This study was conducted to develop an alternative approach for controlling postharvest disease by inducing fruit resistance with salicylic acid (SA) dipping. Disease incidence and lesion area in the jujube fruit inoculated with A. alternata were significantly inhibited by 2 and 2.5 mmol L(-1) SA dipping. Naturally infected decay rate and index in jujubes were also significantly reduced by SA dipping during long-term storage at 0°C. SA enhanced activities of the main defense-related enzymes including phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, peroxidase, chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase in the fruit during storage. SA strongly decreased catalase activity but increased superoxide dismutase activity and ascorbic acid content in jujubes. The beneficial effects of SA on fruit protection may be due to its ability to activate several highly coordinated defence-related systems in jujubes, instead of its fungicidal activity. The findings indicated that application of SA would offer an alternative approach that helps to control postharvest disease and maintain storage quality in fruits. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. The effect of cytosolic extract of Alternaria aternata fungus on Monocyte-derived dendritic cell maturation and T-lymphocyte polarization in the presence of myelin basic protein

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loghmanni A

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Multiple Sclerosis (MS is an autoimmune disease with impairment in function of central nervous system. Macrophages and dendritic cells play important roles in alleviating or progression of the disease. These cells can cause inflammation and damage to the myelin of nerve cells by realizing of harmful substances when these cells get matured. We studied the effect of Alternaria alternata extract on maturation of monocyte- derived dendritic cell (modc and T-cell responses in the presence of Myelin Basic Protein (MBP as a laboratory model of multiple sclerosis (MS. The purpose of this study is suitable dendritic cells production for usage in MS immunotherapy.Methods: For this study plastic adherent monocytes were cultured with granulocyte/ macrophage- colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF and interleukin -4 for converting these cells to modc and pulsed with MBP and matured in the presence of monocyte-conditioned medium (MCM in control group and MCM + Alternaria alternata extract in treatment groups. Anti-CD14, anti-CD83, anti-human leukocyte antigen-DR (anti HLA-DR monoclonal antibody were carried out for phenotyping. Autologos T cell responses and cytokine production were evaluated.Results: The results showed that the expression of CD14 decreased and CD83, HLA-DR increased in treatment groups in comparison with control groups. The production amount of IL-10 overcame IL-12 and in T cell the production of cytokines, IL-17 and Interferon-γ (IFN-γ decreased and IL-4 was increased (P<0.05. These effects escalated with increasing of dosage from 50 to 100 (mg/ml (P<0.001.Conclusion: Alternaria alternata extract can cause maturation of MBP-pulsed modc and skewing of T- lymphocyte toward Th2 and thereby can evolve into a new strategy in immunotherapy of MS.

  9. Role of mannitol metabolism in the pathogenicity of the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria brassicicola

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    Benoit eCalmes

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the physiological functions of fungal mannitol metabolism in the pathogenicity and protection against environmental stresses were investigated in the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria brassicicola. Mannitol metabolism was examined during infection of Brassica oleracea leaves by sequential HPLC quantification of the major soluble carbohydrates and expression analysis of genes encoding two proteins of mannitol metabolism, i.e. a mannitol dehydrogenase (AbMdh, and a mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase (AbMpd. Knockout mutants deficient for AbMdh or AbMpd and a double mutant lacking both enzyme activities were constructed. Their capacity to cope with various oxidative and drought stresses and their pathogenic behaviour were evaluated. Metabolic and gene expression profiling indicated an increase in mannitol production during plant infection. Depending on the mutants, distinct pathogenic processes, such as leaf and silique colonization, sporulation, survival on seeds, were impaired by comparison to the wild-type. This pathogenic alteration could be partly explained by the differential susceptibilities of mutants to oxidative and drought stresses. These results highlight the importance of mannitol metabolism with respect to the ability of A. brassicicola to efficiently accomplish key steps of its pathogenic life cycle.

  10. Parasitic mycobiota of yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea L.

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    Pavlović Snežana Đ.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Mycopopulation of yellow gentian growing in plantations was studied in 2008 and 2009. Fourteen species of fungi were registered at seed, out of which five were pathogenic. The most common species was Alternaria alternata (72-74 %. Species of the genus Fusarium (F. oxysporum, F. solani and F. equiseti were present in a small percentage (2-6 %. These species, as well as F. verticillioides, were isolated from root, and Fusarium sp. was isolated from the flowers. Alternaria alternate, Epicoccum purpurescens, Phoma sp. and Alternaria sp. were regularly present on the leaves and stems.

  11. Etiology, effect of soil pH and sweetpotato varietal reaction to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Pathogenicity and virulence of different isolates of A. bataticola and A. alternata were investigated under greenhouse conditions. Within 4 - 6 days following artificial inoculation, and depending on sweetpotato cultivar, the fungus produced characteristic symptoms typical of Alternaria leaf petiole and stem blight. All the ...

  12. Alternaria spp.: from general saprophyte to specific parasite

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thomma, B.P.H.J.

    2003-01-01

    Alternaria species are mainly saprophytic fungi. However, some species have acquired pathogenic capacities collectively causing disease over a broad host range. This review summarizes the knowledge on pathogenic strategies employed by the fungus to plunder the host. Furthermore, strategies employed

  13. RESISTÊNCIA DE TOMATEIRO (Lycopersicon esculentum AO PATÓGENO Alternaria solani RESISTANCE OF TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum TO Alternaria solani PATHOGEN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilson Ferreira de Oliveira

    2007-09-01

    resistant were F1 hibrid Hawaii 7998 x Monense and Rotam 4. The genotypes Ohio 4013 and the F1 Hawaii 7998 x Monense hibrid were the ones that more stood out for resistance to these pathogen and could be suitable for future breeding programs.

    KEY-WORDS: Tomato; resistance; Alternaria solani.

  14. Alt a 1 allergen homologs from Alternaria and related taxa: analysis of phylogenetic content and secondary structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Soon Gyu; Cramer, Robert A; Lawrence, Christopher B; Pryor, Barry M

    2005-02-01

    A gene for the Alternaria major allergen, Alt a 1, was amplified from 52 species of Alternaria and related genera, and sequence information was used for phylogenetic study. Alt a 1 gene sequences evolved 3.8 times faster and contained 3.5 times more parsimony-informative sites than glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpd) sequences. Analyses of Alt a 1 gene and gpd exon sequences strongly supported grouping of Alternaria spp. and related taxa into several species-groups described in previous studies, especially the infectoria, alternata, porri, brassicicola, and radicina species-groups and the Embellisia group. The sonchi species-group was newly suggested in this study. Monophyly of the Nimbya group was moderately supported, and monophyly of the Ulocladium group was weakly supported. Relationships among species-groups and among closely related species of the same species-group were not fully resolved. However, higher resolution could be obtained using Alt a 1 sequences or a combined dataset than using gpd sequences alone. Despite high levels of variation in amino acid sequences, results of in silico prediction of protein secondary structure for Alt a 1 demonstrated a high degree of structural similarity for most of the species suggesting a conservation of function.

  15. Environmental, genetic and cellular toxicity of tenuazonic acid ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Alternaria alternata, an important pathogen of many plants, produces tenuazonic acid (TeA) with bioactivity to microbes, plants and animals. TeA is one of the main mycotoxin to humans and other organisms. Using Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Vicia faba root tip and three mammalian normal cell lines as target materials, ...

  16. Alternaria Toxins: Potential Virulence Factors and Genes Related to Pathogenesis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mukesh Meena

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Alternaria is an important fungus to study due to their different life style from saprophytes to endophytes and a very successful fungal pathogen that causes diseases to a number of economically important crops. Alternaria species have been well-characterized for the production of different host-specific toxins (HSTs and non-host specific toxins (nHSTs which depend upon their physiological and morphological stages. The pathogenicity of Alternaria species depends on host susceptibility or resistance as well as quantitative production of HSTs and nHSTs. These toxins are chemically low molecular weight secondary metabolites (SMs. The effects of toxins are mainly on different parts of cells like mitochondria, chloroplast, plasma membrane, Golgi complex, nucleus, etc. Alternaria species produce several nHSTs such as brefeldin A, tenuazonic acid, tentoxin, and zinniol. HSTs that act in very low concentrations affect only certain plant varieties or genotype and play a role in determining the host range of specificity of plant pathogens. The commonly known HSTs are AAL-, AK-, AM-, AF-, ACR-, and ACT-toxins which are named by their host specificity and these toxins are classified into different family groups. The HSTs are differentiated on the basis of bio-statistical and other molecular analyses. All these toxins have different mode of action, biochemical reactions and signaling mechanisms to cause diseases. Different species of Alternaria produced toxins which reveal its biochemical and genetic effects on itself as well as on its host cells tissues. The genes responsible for the production of HSTs are found on the conditionally dispensable chromosomes (CDCs which have been well characterized. Different bio-statistical methods like basic local alignment search tool (BLAST data analysis used for the annotation of gene prediction, pathogenicity-related genes may provide surprising knowledge in present and future.

  17. Mycoherbicidal potential of Alternaria alternata for management of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    hope&shola

    2010-12-06

    Dec 6, 2010 ... ramosaDevelopment of a PCR-based assay for the detection of. Fusarium oxysporum strain FT2, a potential mycoherbicide of. Orobanche ramosa. Biol. Control, 50: 78-84. Ellison CA, Barreto RW (2004). Prospects for the Management of. Invasive Alien Weeds Using Co-Evolved Fungal Pathogens: A Latin.

  18. Pathogens present on vegetative organs and seeds of white mustard (Sinapis alba L. and chinese mustad (Brassica juncea L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara Majchrzak

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The research was conducted in the years 1999-2001. The aim of the research was to determine the health condition of overground parts and seeds of white niuslard (Sinapis alba L. cv. Metex and chinese mustard (Brassica juncea L. cv. Małopolska. In all the years of the research alternaria blight was found on the leaves of white mustard which injury index ranged from 5,6% in 2001 to 17,6% in 200O. The most dangerous disease of chinese mustard also was alternaria blight and its symptoms were found on leaves and siliques. The strongest infection of leaves was in 2000 (50% and the weakest in 2001 (6,7%. In all the years of the research siliques were rather weak infected (50-8,89%. Besides powdery mildew was found on chinese mustard which injury index ranged from 0,3% in 1999 to 32,3% in 2000. Intensity of diseases was affected generally by the weather conditions. From the seeds of white mustard and chinese mustard were isolated respectively 263 and 137 colonies. Alternaria alternata was the most numerous species which makes respectively 60,9% and 42,3% isolates. Among the fungi pathogenic for white and chinese mustard were also isolated: A. brassicae, Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia solami.

  19. Characterization and Comparison of the CPK Gene Family in the Apple (Malus × domestica) and Other Rosaceae Species and Its Response to Alternaria alternata Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Menghan; Wang, Sanhong; Dong, Hui; Cai, Binhua; Tao, Jianmin

    2016-01-01

    As one of the Ca2+ sensors, calcium-dependent protein kinase (CPK) plays vital roles in immune and stress signaling, growth and development, and hormone responses, etc. Recently, the whole genome of apple (Malus × domestica), pear (Pyrus communis), peach (Prunus persica), plum (Prunus mume) and strawberry (Fragaria vesca) in Rosaceae family has been fully sequenced. However, little is known about the CPK gene family in these Rosaceae species. In this study, 123 CPK genes were identified from five Rosaceae species, including 37 apple CPKs, 37 pear CPKs, 17 peach CPKs, 16 strawberry CPKs, and 16 plum CPKs. Based on the phylogenetic tree topology and structural characteristics, we divided the CPK gene family into 4 distinct subfamilies: Group I, II, III, and IV. Whole-genome duplication (WGD) or segmental duplication played vital roles in the expansion of the CPK in these Rosaceae species. Most of segmental duplication pairs in peach and plum may have arisen from the γ triplication (~140 million years ago [MYA]), while in apple genome, many duplicated genes may have been derived from a recent WGD (30~45 MYA). Purifying selection also played a critical role in the function evolution of CPK family genes. Expression of apple CPK genes in response to apple pathotype of Alternaria alternata was verified by analysis of quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qPCR). Expression data demonstrated that CPK genes in apple might have evolved independently in different biological contexts. The analysis of evolution history and expression profile laid a foundation for further examining the function and complexity of the CPK gene family in Rosaceae.

  20. Characterization of rhizosphere bacteria for control of phytopathogenic fungi of tomato.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pastor, Nicolás; Carlier, Evelin; Andrés, Javier; Rosas, Susana B; Rovera, Marisa

    2012-03-01

    Fluorescent Pseudomonas spp., isolated from rhizosphere soil of tomato and pepper plants, were evaluated in vitro as potential antagonists of fungal pathogens. Strains were characterized using the API 20NE biochemical system, and tested against the causal agents of stem canker and leaf blight (Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici), southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.), and root rot (Fusarium solani). To this end, dual culture antagonism assays were carried out on 25% Tryptic Soy Agar, King B medium, and Potato Dextrose Agar to determine the effect of the strains on mycelial growth of the pathogens. The effect of two concentrations of FeCl(3) on antagonism against Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici was also tested. In addition, strains were screened for ability to produce exoenzymes and siderophores. Finally, the selected Pseudomonas strain, PCI2, was evaluated for effect on tomato seedling development and as a potential candidate for controlling tomato damping-off caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc., under growth chamber conditions. All strains significantly inhibited Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici, particularly in 25% TSA medium. Antagonistic effect on Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. and Fusarium solani was greater on King B medium. Protease was produced by 30% of the strains, but no strains produced cellulase or chitinase. Growth chamber studies resulted in significant increases in plant stand as well as in root dry weight. PCI2 was able to establish and survive in tomato plants rhizosphere after 40 days following planting of bacterized seeds. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Production of the Allergenic Protein Alt a 1 by Alternaria Isolates from Working Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justyna Skóra

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to evaluate the ability of Alternaria isolates from workplaces to produce Alt a 1 allergenic protein, and to analyze whether technical materials (cellulose, compost, leather present within the working environment stimulate or inhibit Alt a 1 production (ELISA test. Studies included identification of the isolated molds by nucleotide sequences analyzing of the ITS1/ITS2 regions, actin, calmodulin and Alt a 1 genes. It has been shown that Alternaria molds are significant part of microbiocenosis in the archive, museum, library, composting plant and tannery (14%–16% frequency in the air. The presence of the gene encoding the Alt a 1 protein has been detected for the strains: Alternaria alternata, A. lini, A. limoniasperae A. nobilis and A. tenuissima. Environmental strains produced Alt a 1 at higher concentrations (1.103–6.528 ng/mL than a ATCC strain (0.551–0.975 ng/mL. It has been shown that the homogenization of the mycelium and the use of ultrafiltration allow a considerable increase of Alt a 1 concentration. Variations in the production of Alt a 1 protein, depend on the strain and extraction methods. These studies revealed no impact of the technical material from the workplaces on the production of Alt a 1 protein.

  2. Furfural from Pine Needle Extract Inhibits the Growth of a Plant Pathogenic Fungus, Alternaria mali

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoo, Sun Kyun; Moon, Sung-Kwon; Lee, Ung-Soo

    2007-01-01

    The antifungal effect of pine needle extract prepared by a distinguishable extraction method and the dry distillation method, was examined. The effect of this extract itself was insignificant. The chemical components of pine needle extract were then investigated by gas chromatographic analysis, and four chemical components, acetol, furfural, 5-methyl furfural, and terpine-4-ol, were identified. The antifungal effects of those four chemical components against Alternaria mali (A. mali), an agent of Alternaria blotch of apple, were then examined. It was observed that the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were 6.25, 0.78, 0.78, and 12.5 (mg/ml) of acetol, furfural, 5-methyl furfural, and terpine-4-ol, respectively. MICs of furfural and 5-methyl furfural had the same order of magnitude as that of an antifungal agrochemical, chlorothalonil. Although furfural itself can not be completely substituted for an antifungal agrochemical, a partial mixture of furfural and antifungal agrochemical may be used as a substitute. The use of agrochemicals for the prevention of plant disease caused by pathogenic fungus such as A. mali could be partially reduced by the application of this mixture. PMID:24015067

  3. Study on Prevalence of Mycoflora in Wheat Seeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pratishtha Adhikari

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Forty seed sample of wheat (Triticum aestivum were collected from four locations viz. Chitwan, Kaski, Banke and Lalitpur and tested by blotter method at laboratory during 2013 for determining fungal pathogens associated with wheat seeds in Nepal. Eighteen species representing thirteen genera of fungi were recovered from the seed. Alternaria alternata and Bipolaris sorokiniana were predominant in all the varieties/genotypes from all the locations, where B. sorokiniana was strongly pathogenic in wheat crop. Percentage frequency and type of fungi detected varied with variety and locations. Bipolaris sorokiniana was highest (64.40% in Banke than remaining three locations. Seeds of Chitwan had lowest percentage (5.50% of seed infection as compared to other locations. Relative abundance of Alternaria alternata (55.10% was highest as it was the most prevalent component of seed borne mycoflora, followed by Bipolaris sorokiniana (34.69% and Cladosporium herbarum (7.19%. Differences in quantity of precipitation and relative humidity might be the possible reason for variation in frequency and type of fungi detected in wheat seeds of four locations.

  4. Combination of UV-C treatment and Metschnikowia pulcherrimas for controlling Alternaria rot in postharvest winter jujube fruit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Dongqi; Zhu, Lixia; Hou, Xujie

    2015-01-01

    The potential of using antagonistic yeast Metschnikowia pulcherrimas alone or in combination with ultraviolet-C (UV-C) treatment for controlling Alternaria rot of winter jujube, and its effects on postharvest quality of fruit was investigated. The results showed that spore germination of Alternaria alternata was significantly inhibited by each of the 3 doses (1, 5, and 10 kJ m(-2) ) in vitro. In vivo, UV-C treatment (5 kJ m(-2) ) or antagonist yeast was capable of reducing the percentage of infected wounds and lesion diameter in artificially inoculated jujube fruits, however, in fruit treated with combination of UV-C treatment and M. pulcherrima, the percentage of infected wounds and lesion diameter was only 16.0% and 0.60 cm, respectively. The decay incidence on winter jujube fruits treated with the combination of UV-C treatment and M. pulcherrima was 23% after storage at 0 ± 1 °C for 45 d followed by 22 °C for 7 d. None of the treatments impaired quality parameters of jujube fruit. Thus, the combination of UV-C radiation and M. pulcherrima could be an alternative to synthetic fungicides for controlling postharvest Alternaria rot of winter jujube. © 2014 Institute of Food Technologists®

  5. Characterization and Comparison of the CPK Gene Family in the Apple (Malus × domestica and Other Rosaceae Species and Its Response to Alternaria alternata Infection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Menghan Wei

    Full Text Available As one of the Ca2+ sensors, calcium-dependent protein kinase (CPK plays vital roles in immune and stress signaling, growth and development, and hormone responses, etc. Recently, the whole genome of apple (Malus × domestica, pear (Pyrus communis, peach (Prunus persica, plum (Prunus mume and strawberry (Fragaria vesca in Rosaceae family has been fully sequenced. However, little is known about the CPK gene family in these Rosaceae species. In this study, 123 CPK genes were identified from five Rosaceae species, including 37 apple CPKs, 37 pear CPKs, 17 peach CPKs, 16 strawberry CPKs, and 16 plum CPKs. Based on the phylogenetic tree topology and structural characteristics, we divided the CPK gene family into 4 distinct subfamilies: Group I, II, III, and IV. Whole-genome duplication (WGD or segmental duplication played vital roles in the expansion of the CPK in these Rosaceae species. Most of segmental duplication pairs in peach and plum may have arisen from the γ triplication (~140 million years ago [MYA], while in apple genome, many duplicated genes may have been derived from a recent WGD (30~45 MYA. Purifying selection also played a critical role in the function evolution of CPK family genes. Expression of apple CPK genes in response to apple pathotype of Alternaria alternata was verified by analysis of quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qPCR. Expression data demonstrated that CPK genes in apple might have evolved independently in different biological contexts. The analysis of evolution history and expression profile laid a foundation for further examining the function and complexity of the CPK gene family in Rosaceae.

  6. Evaluation of a triplex real-time PCR system to detect the plant-pathogenic molds Alternaria spp., Fusarium spp. and C. purpurea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grube, Sabrina; Schönling, Jutta; Prange, Alexander

    2015-12-01

    This article describes the development of a triplex real-time PCR system for the simultaneous detection of three major plant-pathogenic mold genera (Alternaria spp., Fusarium spp. and the species Claviceps purpurea). The designed genus-specific primer-probe systems were validated for sensitivity, specificity and amplification in the presence of background DNA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. ANTIFUNGAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL POTENTIALITY OF SIX ESSENTIAL OILS EXTRACTED FROM PLANT SOURCE

    OpenAIRE

    DR.LALITHA.V,; DR.KIRAN.B,; DR.RAVEESHA

    2011-01-01

    In vitro evaluation of six essential oils viz., Allium sativum, Capsicum annum Cassia fistula, Coriandrum sativum, Cuminum cyminum and Curcuma longa were tested against ten seed borne fungiof paddy viz., Pyricularia oryzae, Bipolaris oryzae, Alternaria alternata, Tricoconis padwickii, Drechslera tetramera, Drechslera halodes, Curvularia lunata, Fusarium moniliforme, F. oxysprorum andF. solani and five human pathogenic bacteria viz., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi ,...

  8. Genetically based location from triploid populations and gene ontology of a 3.3-mb genome region linked to Alternaria brown spot resistance in citrus reveal clusters of resistance genes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Cuenca

    Full Text Available Genetic analysis of phenotypical traits and marker-trait association in polyploid species is generally considered as a challenge. In the present work, different approaches were combined taking advantage of the particular genetic structures of 2n gametes resulting from second division restitution (SDR to map a genome region linked to Alternaria brown spot (ABS resistance in triploid citrus progeny. ABS in citrus is a serious disease caused by the tangerine pathotype of the fungus Alternaria alternata. This pathogen produces ACT-toxin, which induces necrotic lesions on fruit and young leaves, defoliation and fruit drop in susceptible genotypes. It is a strong concern for triploid breeding programs aiming to produce seedless mandarin cultivars. The monolocus dominant inheritance of susceptibility, proposed on the basis of diploid population studies, was corroborated in triploid progeny. Bulk segregant analysis coupled with genome scan using a large set of genetically mapped SNP markers and targeted genetic mapping by half tetrad analysis, using SSR and SNP markers, allowed locating a 3.3 Mb genomic region linked to ABS resistance near the centromere of chromosome III. Clusters of resistance genes were identified by gene ontology analysis of this genomic region. Some of these genes are good candidates to control the dominant susceptibility to the ACT-toxin. SSR and SNP markers were developed for efficient early marker-assisted selection of ABS resistant hybrids.

  9. Genetically based location from triploid populations and gene ontology of a 3.3-mb genome region linked to Alternaria brown spot resistance in citrus reveal clusters of resistance genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuenca, José; Aleza, Pablo; Vicent, Antonio; Brunel, Dominique; Ollitrault, Patrick; Navarro, Luis

    2013-01-01

    Genetic analysis of phenotypical traits and marker-trait association in polyploid species is generally considered as a challenge. In the present work, different approaches were combined taking advantage of the particular genetic structures of 2n gametes resulting from second division restitution (SDR) to map a genome region linked to Alternaria brown spot (ABS) resistance in triploid citrus progeny. ABS in citrus is a serious disease caused by the tangerine pathotype of the fungus Alternaria alternata. This pathogen produces ACT-toxin, which induces necrotic lesions on fruit and young leaves, defoliation and fruit drop in susceptible genotypes. It is a strong concern for triploid breeding programs aiming to produce seedless mandarin cultivars. The monolocus dominant inheritance of susceptibility, proposed on the basis of diploid population studies, was corroborated in triploid progeny. Bulk segregant analysis coupled with genome scan using a large set of genetically mapped SNP markers and targeted genetic mapping by half tetrad analysis, using SSR and SNP markers, allowed locating a 3.3 Mb genomic region linked to ABS resistance near the centromere of chromosome III. Clusters of resistance genes were identified by gene ontology analysis of this genomic region. Some of these genes are good candidates to control the dominant susceptibility to the ACT-toxin. SSR and SNP markers were developed for efficient early marker-assisted selection of ABS resistant hybrids.

  10. Monograph on alternaria diseases of crucifers. Technical bulletin No. 1994-6E

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Verma, P R

    1994-12-31

    The brassicas include an important group of oilseed crops such as canola and commercial vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli. Infection by species of the fungus Alternaria causes severe yield losses to those crops. This document compiles the most recent information on fundamental and applied knowledge of Alternaria species infecting Brassicaceae crops and weeds. It includes a review of the symptoms, geographical distribution, yield losses, and disease assessment methods of infections from the four most widely distributed species of Alternaria; information on the characteristics of the pathogen, its host range, disease cycle, process of infection, epidemiology, fine structures and electron microscopy, resistance, and phytotoxins; and techniques for disease infection and management. The document concludes with an evaluation of future strategies and priorities in the management of Alternaria diseases.

  11. Potencial de pseudomonas spp. fluorescentes para biocontrole de alternaria ricini em mamoneira Potential of fluorescent pseudomonas spp. For biological control of alternaria ricini on castorbean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco de A.G. da Silva

    1998-06-01

    Full Text Available The potential of fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. to control Alternaria leaf spot on castorbean, caused by Alternaria ricini, was studied under greenhouse conditions. Two periods for antagonist applications were tested: 48h before and simultaneously to the pathogen inoculation. Among the antagonists tested JA4 and BJ22 were the most effectives showing disease severity reduction of 20.9% and 17.8% respectively, when applied simultaneously. The effect of Pseudomonas spp. on the micelial growth and sporulation was also studied throughout three different methods (funel, streak and celophane. Inhibition of micelial growth and sporulation was observed. There was no correlation between in vitro and in vivo data. Antibiosis was showed as a mode of action for Pseudomonas spp. in relation to Alternaria ricini. Ultrastructural studies confirmed the inhibition of spore germination by the bacteria.

  12. Alternaria toxin-induced resistance in rose plants against rose aphid (Macrosiphum rosivorum): effect of tenuazonic acid.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fa-zhong; Yang, Bin; Li, Bei-bei; Xiao, Chun

    2015-04-01

    Many different types of toxins are produced by the fungus, Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler. Little is known, however, regarding the influence of these toxins on insects. In this study, we investigated the toxin-induced inhibitory effects of the toxin produced by A. alternata on the rose aphid, Macrosiphum rosivorum, when the toxin was applied to leaves of the rose, Rosa chinensis. The results demonstrated that the purified crude toxin was non-harmful to rose plants and rose aphids, but had an intensive inhibitory effect on the multiplication of aphids. The inhibitory index against rose aphids reached 87.99% when rose plants were sprayed with the toxin solution at a low concentration. Further results from bioassays with aphids and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses demonstrated that tenuazonic acid (TeA) was one of the most important resistance-related active components in the crude toxin. The content of TeA was 0.1199% in the crude toxin under the HPLC method. Similar to the crude toxin, the inhibitory index of pure TeA reached 83.60% 15 d after the rose plants were sprayed with pure TeA solution at the lower concentration of 0.060 μg/ml, while the contents of residual TeA on the surface and in the inner portion of the rose plants were only 0.04 and 0.00 ng/g fresh weight of TeA-treated rose twigs, respectively, 7 d after the treatment. Our results show that TeA, an active component in the A. alternata toxin, can induce the indirect plant-mediated responses in rose plants to intensively enhance the plant's resistances against rose aphids, and the results are very helpful to understand the plant-mediated interaction between fungi and insects on their shared host plants.

  13. Characterization of glutathione transferases involved in the pathogenicity of Alternaria brassicicola.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calmes, Benoit; Morel-Rouhier, Mélanie; Bataillé-Simoneau, Nelly; Gelhaye, Eric; Guillemette, Thomas; Simoneau, Philippe

    2015-06-18

    Glutathione transferases (GSTs) represent an extended family of multifunctional proteins involved in detoxification processes and tolerance to oxidative stress. We thus anticipated that some GSTs could play an essential role in the protection of fungal necrotrophs against plant-derived toxic metabolites and reactive oxygen species that accumulate at the host-pathogen interface during infection. Mining the genome of the necrotrophic Brassica pathogen Alternaria brassicicola for glutathione transferase revealed 23 sequences, 17 of which could be clustered into the main classes previously defined for fungal GSTs and six were 'orphans'. Five isothiocyanate-inducible GSTs from five different classes were more thoroughly investigated. Analysis of their catalytic properties revealed that two GSTs, belonging to the GSTFuA and GTT1 classes, exhibited GSH transferase activity with isothiocyanates (ITC) and peroxidase activity with cumene hydroperoxide, respectively. Mutant deficient for these two GSTs were however neither more susceptible to ITC nor less aggressive than the wild-type parental strain. By contrast mutants deficient for two other GSTs, belonging to the Ure2pB and GSTO classes, were distinguished by their hyper-susceptibility to ITC and low aggressiveness against Brassica oleracea. In particular AbGSTO1 could participate in cell tolerance to ITC due to its glutathione-dependent thioltransferase activity. The fifth ITC-inducible GST belonged to the MAPEG class and although it was not possible to produce the soluble active form of this protein in a bacterial expression system, the corresponding deficient mutant failed to develop normal symptoms on host plant tissues. Among the five ITC-inducible GSTs analyzed in this study, three were found essential for full aggressiveness of A. brassicicola on host plant. This, to our knowledge is the first evidence that GSTs might be essential virulence factors for fungal necrotrophs.

  14. A method for the determination of two Alternaria toxins, alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether, in tomato products Um método para determinação de duas toxinas de Alternaria, alternariol monometil éter e alternariol, em produtos de tomate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvana da Motta

    2000-10-01

    Full Text Available Tomatoes, as any soft skinned fruit, are easily susceptible to fungal rot. Alternaria is the genus most frequently encountered in tomatoes. A. alternata and other spp. have been shown to produce the toxins alternariol monomethyl ether (AME and alternariol (AOH in tomatoes. A method for determining AME and AOH in tomato products was developed and evaluated. The method involves extraction with methanol, clarification with ammonium sulfate, and partition to chloroform. Quantification was conducted by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (DAD. Average recoveries were 98.7% and 84.1% for AME and AOH, respectively. The quantification limits of the method, defined as the minimum amount that allowed quantification and confirmation by the DAD detector, were 2.0 ng/g for AME and 5.0 ng/g for AOH.Tomates são frutas de pele fina e assim facilmente susceptíveis a deterioração por fungos. Alternaria é o gênero que mais freqüentemente invade tomates. A. alternata e outras espécies deste gênero produzem as toxinas alternariol (AOH e alternariol monometil (AME. Um método analítico para determinação de AME e AOH em produtos de tomate foi desenvolvido e avaliado. O método consiste em uma extração com metanol, clarificação com sulfato de amônio e partição para clorofórmio. Quantificação foi executada por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com detetor de arranjo de diodos (DAD. Recuperações médias foram 98,7% e 84,1% para AME e AOH, respectivamente. Os limites de detecção do método, definidos como a menor quantidade das toxinas que permitiu quantificação e confirmação pelo DAD, foram 2,0 ng/g para AME e 5,0 ng/g para AOH.

  15. New antitumour fungal metabolites from Alternaria porri.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phuwapraisirisan, Preecha; Rangsan, Jakaphan; Siripong, Pongpan; Tip-Pyang, Santi

    2009-01-01

    Chemical investigation of the onion pathogenic fungus Alternaria porri resulted in the isolation of two new phthalides named zinnimide (2) and deprenylzinnimide (8), along with a new bianthraquinone, alterporriol F (10). The structures of the new metabolites were characterised by spectroscopic analysis and chemical degradation. Of the new compounds isolated, alterporriol F was highly cytotoxic towards HeLa and KB cells, with IC(50) values of 6.5 and 7.0 microg mL(-1).

  16. Induction of mutant resistant to alternaria blotch of apple by gamma-ray irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshioka, Toji; Ito, Yuji; Masuda, Tetsuo

    2000-01-01

    Apple cultivars resistant to Alternaria blotch disease have been produced by cross-breeding, but it is difficult to produce resistance by crossing without changing the properties of cultivar because the gene composition of the cultivar tree is almost heterozygous. This study aimed to investigate the resistant mutation in Alternaria blotch susceptible and semiresistant cultivars. The resistance to Alternaria blotch pathogen or AM toxin is classified into the following three groups: 1) highly sensitive group including Indo, Redgold and Starking delicious, 2) semi-resistant group including Fuji, Orin and Golden delicious and 3) resistant group including Gala and Tsugaru. After gamma ray exposure of 80 Gy (at 5 Gy/hour), AM-toxin insensitive clones were selected in the VM 6 generation. These selected mutants could be rooted and habituated under field conditions. The degree of disease resistance was assessed by AM toxin treatment and Alternaria blotch fungi spore inoculation test. The leaves of these mutants were changed to variegated at high temperature, suggesting that some mutation related to chloroplast might have occurred. Alternaria blotch resistant strains could be produced by exposing to γray and selecting with AM toxin in shoot-tip culture system, but the functional effects of the AM toxin in Alternaria blotch and also the mechanism in the mutant lines were still unclear. (M.N.)

  17. Specific PCR-based detection of Alternaria helianthi

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Udayashankar, A.C.; Nayaka, S. Chandra; Archana, B.

    2012-01-01

    Alternaria helianthi is an important seed-borne pathogenic fungus responsible for blight disease in sunflower. The current detection methods, which are based on culture and morphological identification, are time-consuming, laborious and are not always reliable. A PCR-based diagnostic method...... tested. The detection limit of the PCR method was of 10 pg from template DNA. The primers could also detect the pathogen in infected sunflower seed. This species-specific PCR method provides a quick, simple, powerful and reliable alternative to conventional methods in the detection and identification...

  18. Isolation and characterization of rhizosphere bacteria for the biocontrol of the damping-off disease of tomatoes in Tunisia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammami, Inés; Ben Hsouna, Anis; Hamdi, Naceur; Gdoura, Radhouane; Triki, Mohamed Ali

    2013-01-01

    Fluorescent Pseudomonas spp., isolated from tomato and pepper plants rhizosphere soil, was evaluated in vitro as a potential antagonist of fungal pathogens. Pseudomonas strains were tested against the causal agents of tomatoes damping-off (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum), root rot (Fusarium solani), and causal agents of stem canker and leaf blight (Alternaria alternata). For this purpose, dual culture antagonism assays were carried out on 25% tryptic soy agar, King B medium and potato dextrose agar to determine the effect of the strains on mycelial growth of the pathogens. In addition, strains were screened for their ability to produce exoenzymes and siderophores. All the strains significantly inhibited Alternaria alternata, particularly in 25% TSA medium. Antagonistic effect on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Fusarium solani was greater on King B medium. Protease was produced by 30% of the strains, but no strain produced cellulase or chitinase. Finally, the selected Pseudomonas strain, Psf5, was evaluated on tomato seedling development and as a potential candidate for controlling tomato damping-off caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, under growth chamber conditions. In vivo studies resulted in significant increases in plant stand as well as in root dry weight. Psf5 was able to establish and survive in tomato plants rhizosphere after 40days following the planting of bacterized seeds. © 2013 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

  19. Fungal-specific transcription factor AbPf2 activates pathogenicity in Alternaria brassicicola

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Yangrae; Ohm, Robin A. [US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA, 94598, USA; Grigoriev, Igor V. [US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA, 94598, USA; Srivastava, Akhil [Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 3190 Maile Way, St John 317, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    2013-05-24

    Alternaria brassicicola is a successful saprophyte and necrotrophic plant pathogen. To identify molecular determinants of pathogenicity, we created non-pathogenic mutants of a transcription factor-encoding gene, AbPf2. The frequency and timing of germination and appressorium formation on host plants were similar between the non-pathogenic abpf2 mutants and wild-type A. brassicicola. The mutants were also similar in vitro to wild-type A. brassicicola in terms of vegetative growth, conidium production, and responses to a phytoalexin, reactive oxygen species and osmolites. The hyphae of the mutants grew slowly but did not cause disease symptoms on the surface of host plants. Transcripts of the AbPf2 gene increased exponentially soon after wild-type conidia contacted their host plants . A small amount of AbPf2 protein, as monitored using GFP fusions, was present in young, mature conidia. The protein level decreased during saprophytic growth, but increased and was located primarily in fungal nuclei during pathogenesis. Levels of the proteins and transcripts sharply decreased following colonization of host tissues beyond the initial infection site. When expression of the transcription factor was induced in the wild-type during early pathogenesis, 106 fungal genes were also induced in the wild-type but not in the abpf2 mutants. Notably, 33 of the 106 genes encoded secreted proteins, including eight putative effector proteins. Plants inoculated with abpf2 mutants expressed higher levels of genes associated with photosynthesis, the pentose phosphate pathway and primary metabolism, but lower levels of defense-related genes. Our results suggest that AbPf2 is an important regulator of pathogenesis, but does not affect other cellular processes in A. brassicicola.

  20. Morphological, cultural, pathogenic and molecular variability ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Alternaria blight (Alternaria brassicae) causes severe foliar damage to Indian mustard in Uttarakhand. Ten (10) isolates of A. brassicae were collected from different hosts and characterized for cultural, morphological, pathogenic and molecular variations. A. brassicae colonies varied in their cultural behaviour ranging from ...

  1. Suitability of various plant derived gelling agents as agar substitute ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    USER

    2012-06-05

    Jun 5, 2012 ... of three test fungi (Trichoderma harzianum, Alternaria alternata and Alternaria solani) as good as agar. ... used for cell culture, derived from plants or animals and .... and used to jell various foods, drugs and cosmetics) and rice.

  2. Characterization of small-spored Alternaria from Argentinean crops through a polyphasic approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    da Cruz Cabral, Lucía; Rodriguero, Marcela; Stenglein, Sebastián

    2017-01-01

    exporter of agricultural products, so it is essential to thoroughly understand the physiological behaviour of this pathogen in a food safety context. Thus, the objective of this work was to characterize small-spored Alternaria spp. obtained from tomato fruits, pepper fruits, wheat grains and blueberries...

  3. Plasma-Based Degradation of Mycotoxins Produced by Fusarium, Aspergillus and Alternaria Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lars ten Bosch

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The efficacy of cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP with ambient air as working gas for the degradation of selected mycotoxins was studied. Deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, enniatins, fumonisin B1, and T2 toxin produced by Fusarium spp., sterigmatocystin produced by Aspergillus spp. and AAL toxin produced by Alternaria alternata were used. The kinetics of the decay of mycotoxins exposed to plasma discharge was monitored. All pure mycotoxins exposed to CAPP were degraded almost completely within 60 s. Degradation rates varied with mycotoxin structure: fumonisin B1 and structurally related AAL toxin were degraded most rapidly while sterigmatocystin exhibited the highest resistance to degradation. As compared to pure compounds, the degradation rates of mycotoxins embedded in extracts of fungal cultures on rice were reduced to a varying extent. Our results show that CAPP efficiently degrades pure mycotoxins, the degradation rates vary with mycotoxin structure, and the presence of matrix slows down yet does not prevent the degradation. CAPP appears promising for the decontamination of food commodities with mycotoxins confined to or enriched on surfaces such as cereal grains.

  4. Multispectral imaging as a potential tool for seed health testing of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olesen, M. Halkjaer; Carstensen, Jens Michael; Boelt, B.

    2011-01-01

    University. Our study demonstrates that multispectral imaging with wavelengths ranging from 395-970 nm can be used to distinguish between uninfected spinach seeds and seeds infected with Verticillium spp., Fusarium spp., Stemphylium botryosum, Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria alternata. Analytical separation...... using only NIR gave a separation of 26-88% between uninfected and Fusarium spp. infected seeds. Alternaria alternata and Fusarium spp. could be distinguished from each other and from Cladosporium spp., Verticillium spp. and Stemphylium spp. Separation of Cladosporium spp., Verticillium spp....... and Stemphylium spp. needs further development before practical application....

  5. Cultural, morphological, pathogenic and molecular characterization ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Alternaria blotch (Alternaria mali) causes severe foliar damage to apple trees in Kashmir. Twenty one (21) isolates of A. mali were collected from different locations and characterized for cultural, morphological, pathogenic and molecular variations. A. mali colonies varied in their cultural behaviour ranging from velvety to ...

  6. Multilocus phylogeny and MALDI-TOF analysis of the plant pathogenic species Alternaria dauci and relatives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brun, Sophie; Madrid, Hugo; Gerrits Van Den Ende, Bert

    2013-01-01

    The genus Alternaria includes numerous phytopathogenic species, many of which are economically relevant. Traditionally, identification has been based on morphology, but is often hampered by the tendency of some strains to become sterile in culture and by the existence of species-complexes of morp......The genus Alternaria includes numerous phytopathogenic species, many of which are economically relevant. Traditionally, identification has been based on morphology, but is often hampered by the tendency of some strains to become sterile in culture and by the existence of species...... trees based on ITS sequences did not differentiate strains of A. solani, A. tomatophila, and A. porri, but these three species formed a clade separate from strains of A. dauci. The resolution improved in trees based on gpd and Alt a 1, which distinguished strains of the four species as separate clades...... of A. solani, and the third included all strains of A. tomatophila, as well as all but one strain of A. solani, and one strain of A. porri. Thus, this study shows the usefulness of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry as a promising tool for identification of these four species of Alternaria which are closely...

  7. Genome Sequence of the Necrotrophic Plant Pathogen Alternaria brassicicola Abra43

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belmas, Elodie; Briand, Martial; Kwasiborski, Anthony; Colou, Justine; N’Guyen, Guillaume; Iacomi, Béatrice; Grappin, Philippe; Campion, Claire; Simoneau, Philippe; Barret, Matthieu

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT Alternaria brassicicola causes dark spot (or black spot) disease, which is one of the most common and destructive fungal diseases of Brassicaceae spp. worldwide. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of strain Abra43. The assembly comprises 29 scaffolds, with an N50 value of 2.1 Mb. The assembled genome was 31,036,461 bp in length, with a G+C content of 50.85%. PMID:29439047

  8. Effect of sulfur fertilization on the sanitary state of plants of the family Brassicaceae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz P. Kurowski

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The experiment was carried out in the years 2006-2008 in Bałcyny (N=53°35'49"; E=19°51'20". The aim of this study was to determine the effect of sulfur fertilization on the sanitary state of spring oilseed rape, winter oilseed rape, white mustard and Chinese mustard as well as on the species composition of fungi colonizing their seeds. Sulfur fertilization had a beneficial effect on the health of Brassicaceae plants infested by Alternaria blight, grey mould, Sclerotinia stem rot, Phoma stem canker and Verticillium wilt, but it had a varying effect on the occurrence of powdery mildew. Alternaria alternata and Penicillium spp. were isolated most frequently from Brassicaceae seeds. In general, more fungi (including pathogenic to Brassicaceae were isolated from the seeds of plants grown in non-sulfur fertilized plots. Pathogens occurred primarily on the seed surface, and their number decreased after surface disinfection of seeds.

  9. Occurrence, characterization and management of fruit rot of immature cucumber fruits under arid greenhouse conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ABDULLAH M AL-SADI

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A study was undertaken to characterize and manage pathogens associated with fruit rot of immature cucumber fruits in greenhouses in Oman. A survey over 5 growing seasons from 2008 to 2010 in 99 different greenhouses in Oman showed that the disease is prevalent in 91 (92% greenhouses and results in losses of 10 to 60% (avg. 33% of immature fruits per plant. Incidence of the disease was not found to be affected by growing seasons, which could be attributed to the limited fluctuations in ambient temperatures in greenhouses. Isolations from diseased cucumber fruits yielded Alternaria alternata (isolation frequency = 52%, Fusarium equiseti (40%, Cladosporium tenuissium (27%, Botrytis cinerea (6%, Fusarium solani (6%, Corynespora cassiicola (3%, Aspergillus spp. (2%, Curvularia sp. (1% and Bipolaris sp. (1%. With the exception of Curvularia and Bipolaris species, all other fungi were pathogenic on cucumber fruits, with Fusarium equiseti being the most aggressive, followed by Corynespora cassiicola, Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata. Cladosporium and Aspergillus spp. were found to be weakly pathogenic. Comparing the efficacy of foliar and soil applications of carbendazim fungicide on fruit rot of cucumber showed that foliar applications significantly reduced fruit rot and increased cucumber yield when compared to soil application or to control (P < 0.01. This appears to be the first report of the association of Corynespora cassiicola and Fusarium equiseti with fruit rot of immature greenhouse cucumbers. This is also the first report in Oman for the association of Cladosporium tenuissimum with fruit rot of immature cucumbers. Findings are discussed in terms of factors affecting disease control in greenhouses using carbendazim.

  10. Multilocus phylogeny and MALDI-TOF analysis of the plant-pathogenic species Alternaria dauci and relatives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brun, S.; Madrid, H.; Gerrits van den Ende, A.H.G.; Andersen, B.; Marinach-Patrice, C.; Mazier, D.; de Hoog, G.S.

    2013-01-01

    The genus Alternaria includes numerous phytopathogenic species, many of which are economically relevant. Traditionally, identification has been based on morphology, but is often hampered by the tendency of some strains to become sterile in culture and by the existence of species-complexes of

  11. Multilocus phylogeny and MALDI-TOF analysis of the plant pathogenic species Alternaria dauci and relatives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brun, S.; Madrid, H.; Gerritis van den Ende, B.; Andersen, B.; Marinach-Patrice, C.; Mazier, D.; de Hoog, G.S.

    2013-01-01

    The genus Alternaria includes numerous phytopathogenic species, many of which are economically relevant. Traditionally, identification has been based on morphology, but is often hampered by the tendency of some strains to become sterile in culture and by the existence of species-complexes of

  12. Identification, characterization and mycotoxigenic ability of Alternaria spp. causing core rot of apple fruit in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ntasiou, Panagiota; Myresiotis, Charalampos; Konstantinou, Sotiris; Papadopoulou-Mourkidou, Euphemia; Karaoglanidis, George S

    2015-03-16

    Alternaria core rot is a major postharvest disease of apple fruit in several countries of the world, including Greece. The study was conducted aiming to identify the disease causal agents at species level, investigate the aggressiveness of Alternaria spp. isolates and the susceptibility of different apple varieties and determine the mycotoxigenic potential of Alternaria spp. isolates from apple fruit. Seventy-five Alternaria spp. isolates obtained from apple fruit showing core rot symptoms were identified as either Alternaria tenuissima or Alternaria arborescens at frequencies of 89.3 and 11.7%, respectively, based on the sequence of endopolygalacturonase (EndoPG) gene. Artificial inoculations of fruit of 4 different varieties (Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Red Delicious) and incubation at two different temperatures (2 and 25°C) showed that fruit of Fuji variety were the most susceptible and fruit of Golden Delicious the most resistant to both pathogens. In addition, the production of 3 mycotoxins, alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) and tentoxin (TEN) was investigated in 30 isolates of both species. Mycotoxin determination was conducted both in vitro, on artificial nutrient medium and in vivo on artificially inoculated apple fruit, using a high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). The results showed that most of the isolates of both species were able to produce all the 3 metabolites both in vivo and in vitro. On apple fruit A. tenuissima isolates produced more AOH than A. arborescens isolates, whereas the latter produced more TEN than the former. Such results indicate that Alternaria core rot represents a major threat of apple fruit production not only due to quantitative yield losses but also for qualitative deterioration of apple by-products. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Bostrycin and 4-deoxybostrycin: two nonspecific phytotoxins produced by Alternaria eichhorniae.

    OpenAIRE

    Charudattan, R; Rao, K V

    1982-01-01

    Two crystalline red pigments with phytotoxic activity were isolated from culture filtrates of Alternaria eichhorniae, a pathogen of the water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes. The pigments were present in the ratio of 4:1 and were identified as bostrycin and 4-deoxybostrycin, respectively. This is the first isolation of 4-deoxybostrycin from a natural source. Bostrycin, 4-deoxybostrycin, and their isopropylidene derivatives induced necrosis on tested plant leaves comparable to the A. eichhorniae...

  14. ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF ROSA CANINA FLOWERS AGAINST SELECTED MICROORGANISMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarína Rovná

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Rosa canina flowers were screened against various plant pathogenic microbial strains to study the antimicrobial properties of the plant. Ethanolic and methanolic extracts of flowers were screened applying agar well diffusion method against two Gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli CCM 3988 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa CCM 1960 and three microscopic filamentous fungi strains Aspergillus niger, Fusarium culmorum and Alternaria alternata, respectively. The best antimicrobial effect of ethanolic extract of Rosa canina flowers was found against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the best antimicrobial effect of methanolic extract of Rosa canina flowers was found against Escherichia coli.

  15. Effect of agitation rate on the production of antifungal metabolites by Streptomyces hygroscopicus in a lab-scale bioreactor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mitrović Ivana Ž.

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The application of antifungal compounds produced by microorganisms in the control of plant diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi is a promising alternative to synthetic pesticides. Among phytopathogenic fungi, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium avenaceum are significant pathogens responsible for the storage rot of apple fruits. During storage, transport and marketing A. alternata and F. avenaceum can cause significant losses of apple fruits and their control is of great importance for the producers and consumers. In the present study, the effects of agitation rate on the production of antifungal methabolite( s by Streptomyces hygroscopicus in a 3-L lab-scale bioreactor (Biostat® Aplus, Sartorius AG, Germany against two isolates of A. alternata and two isolates of F. avenaceum were investigated. The cultivation of S. hygroscopicus was carried out at 27°C with agitation rates of 100 rpm and 200 rpm during 7 days. The aim was to analyze the bioprocess parameters of biofungicide production in a medium containing glycerol as a carbon source, and examine the effect of agitation rate on the production of antifungal metabolite(s. The in vitro antifungal activity of the produced metabolites against fungi from the genera Alternaria and Fusarium grown on potato dextrose agar medium was determined every 24 h using wells technique. In the experiments conducted in the bioreactor at different stirring speeds, it was found that the maximum production of antifungal metabolites occurred after 96 hours of cultivation. A higher consumption of nutrients and a larger inhibition zone diameter was registered in the experiment with an agitation rate of 200 rpm. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. TR-31002

  16. Volatilization of Selenium by Alternaria alternata

    OpenAIRE

    Thompson-Eagle, E. T.; Frankenberger, W. T.; Karlson, U.

    1989-01-01

    Seleniferous water continues to be a serious problem to wildlife in the central valley of California. Water samples collected from Kesterson Reservoir, Peck Ranch, and Lost Hills evaporation pond facilities contained between 0.005 and 5 mg of Se per liter. The objective of this study was to isolate Se-methylating organisms in evaporation pond water and to assess, through enrichment and manipulation of their optimal growth parameters, the environmental factors which govern microbial Se methyla...

  17. Susceptibility of Phelipanche and Orobanche species to AAL-toxin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Zélicourt, Axel; Montiel, Grégory; Pouvreau, Jean-Bernard; Thoiron, Séverine; Delgrange, Sabine; Simier, Philippe; Delavault, Philippe

    2009-10-01

    Fusarium and Alternaria spp. are phytopathogenic fungi which are known to be virulent on broomrapes and to produce sphinganine-analog mycotoxins (SAMs). AAL-toxin is a SAM produced by Alternaria alternata which causes the inhibition of sphinganine N-acyltransferase, a key enzyme in sphingolipid biosynthesis, leading to accumulation of sphingoid bases. These long chain bases (LCBs) are determinant in the occurrence of programmed cell death (PCD) in susceptible plants. We showed that broomrapes are sensitive to AAL-toxin, which is not common plant behavior, and that AAL-toxin triggers cell death at the apex of the radicle as well as LCB accumulation and DNA laddering. We also demonstrated that three Lag1 homologs, encoding components of sphinganine N-acyltransferase in yeast, are present in the Orobanche cumana genome and two of them are mutated leading to an enhanced susceptibility to AAL-toxin. We therefore propose a model for the molecular mechanism governing broomrape susceptibility to the fungus Alternaria alternata.

  18. Flow cytometry approach for studying the interaction between ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Flow cytometry approach for studying the interaction between Bacillus mojavensis and Alternaria alternata. Asma Milet, Noreddine Kacem Chaouche, Laid Dehimat, Asma Ait Kaki, Mounira Kara Ali, Philippe Thonart ...

  19. DINÂMICA DE INÓCULOS E DOENÇAS EM VIDEIRA SOB SISTEMA CONVENCIONAL E PROTEGIDO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DIÓGENES DA CRUZ BATISTA

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The effect of the covered and conventional cultivation of grapevine (cv. Superior Seedless on the aerial dispersion of pathogen inoculum and dynamic of diseases was investigated in two-year (2009 and 2010 and period similar to the year. The experiment was conducted at the experimental station of Embrapa semiarid. The traps were maintained at 0.5 meters above the canopy of the grapevine, and the samples taken every 24 hours with the exchange of slides 9:00 a.m. Greater dispersion of pathogens (Plasmopara viticola, Phakopsora euvitis, Alternaria alternata and intensity of diseases (downy mildew, rust, and bacterial canker were detected in grapevines under conventional cultivation. The aerial dispersal of the fungus Lasiodiplodia theobromae was similar under grapevine covered and uncovered.

  20. [Fungi isolated from diseased medicinal plants].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, T; Matsuhashi, M; Iida, O

    1992-01-01

    One hundred and forty-four fungal isolates were obtained from diseased Paeonia albiflora Pall. var. trichocarpa Bung., Astragalus membranaceus Bung., Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc., Ledebouriella seseloides Wolff and Bupleurum falcatum L. which were collected in the test field of Tsukuba Medicinal Plant Research Station, National Institute of Hygienic Sciences. Most of them were identified into 15 genera containing 8 species. Fungal species presumed to be pathogens of the host plants were as follows: Cladosporium paeoniae, Pestalotia paeoniicola, Glomerella cingulata, Hainesia lythri, Guignardia sp. and Alternaria sp. from P. albiflora, Fusarium spp., Rhizoctonia spp. and Neocosmospora vasinfecta from A. membranaceus, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides from L. erythrorhizon, Rhizoctonia sp., Fusarium spp., Phoma sp. and Pyrenochaeta sp. from L. seseloides, and Fusarium sp., Alternaria alternata, Phyllosticta sp., Phoma sp., Phomopsis sp. and C. gloeosporioides from B. falcatum. Roots of B. falcatum were found to be parasitized by Meloidogyne sp.

  1. Study of drinking water fungi and its pathogenic effects on human beings from district Bhimber, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, T.; Ishtiaq, M.; Hussain, A.; Sultana, K.

    2011-01-01

    Pathogenic fungi of drinking water have potentially prevailing effects on human beings. Myco floral study of drinking water of district Bhimber, Azad Kashmir was conducted through systematic sampling and temporally during the year 2009. Drinking water samples were collected from selected spots and fungal spores were grown on two different culture media viz: potato dextrose agar (PDA) and nutrient agar (NA) and identified by employing Direct Plate method (DPM) and Baiting Technique (BT). A total of 4 resources of drinking water of the area were analyzed i.e., well, spring, hand pump and tap water (water supply system). Sixteen different fungal species were frequently prevailing in the analyzed samples and among these five species were predominantly found human pathogenic. The density of identified fungal species in well's water samples (WWS) was 11 spp. spring's water samples (SWS) 6 spp. hand pump water samples (HWS) 8 spp. and tap water samples (TWS) 7 spp. This differential incidence in the samples might be due to variation in geography, edaphalogy, altitude, temperature, in fungal growth substrate variance and analytical difference of sampling and analysis methods. The prevalence values of mycolfora in different samples were variable with WWS Mucor fragilis (18a - LSD), SWS Brevilegnia sp. (20a - LSD), HWS Aspergillus flavus (14a- LSD) and TWS Alternaria alternata (12a - LSD). It was noted that WWS more frequently depicted mycoflora because land/well provides best environment and nourishment for growth and reproduction of fungi. The economic importance and pathogenic toxicity of various species is also measured and documented in the article. (author)

  2. Микромицеты рода Alternaria на однолетних цветочно-декоративных растениях

    OpenAIRE

    МАРЧЕНКО А.Б.

    2014-01-01

    На однолетних цветочно-декоративных растениях микромицеты рода Alternaria представлены 13 видами: A. alternata, A. brassicae, A. penicillata, A. calendulae, A. japonica, A. porri, A. solani, A. zinniae, A. celosiae, A. petalicolor, A. florigena, A. helianthi, A. brassicicola. В условиях Лесостепи Украины они представлены 6 видами: A. calendulae, A. zinniae, A. helianthi, A. alternata, A. brassicae, A. japonica. На однолетних цветочно-декоративных культурах виды A. zinniae, A. alternata, A.bra...

  3. Swainsonine biosynthesis genes in diverse symbiotic and pathogenic fungi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swainsonine, a cytotoxic fungal alkaloid and a potential cancer therapy drug, is produced by the insect pathogen and plant symbiont, Metarhizium robertsii, the clover pathogen Slafractonia leguminicola, locoweed symbionts belonging to Alternaria sect. Undifilum, and a recently discovered morning glo...

  4. Grain dust originating from organic and conventional farming as a potential source of biological agents causing respiratory diseases in farmers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zukiewicz-Sobczak, Wioletta A; Cholewa, Grażyna; Krasowska, Ewelina; Chmielewska-Badora, Jolanta; Zwoliński, Jacek; Sobczak, Paweł

    2013-12-01

    Agricultural producers are exposed to a number of different health risks associated with their work environment. The objective of the study was to assess the degree of colonization by fungi in terms of quantity and in terms of variety of species the samples taken from the settled dust from combine threshing of rye cultivation from organic and conventional farms in the Province of Lublin. This paper is a preliminary quantitative assessment of the species of fungi colonizing the samples of settled dust collected during combine threshing from organic and conventional farms in the Province of Lublin. One of the stages of the project was the classification of biosafety BSL (biosafety level) of selected isolates and API ZYM tests to evaluate the potential ability of isolates to cause adverse health effects. To determine the concentration and composition of fungi in collected samples plate dilution method was used with two media: Malt Agar and Potato Dextrose Agar. MOST COMMONLY ISOLATED FUNGI IN SETTLED DUST SAMPLES COLLECTED DURING COMBINE THRESHING FROM ORGANIC FARMS, ON PDA MEDIUM WERE: Alternaria alternata and Aureobasidium pullulans. Cultures on MA medium were dominated by Alternaria alternata, Mycelia sterilia and Fusarium poae. In samples of dust from conventional crops, the predominant species was Alternaria alternata on PDA medium and on MA medium. The obtained results show a potential risk of people involved in agricultural work.

  5. In vitro effects of copper nanoparticles on plant pathogens, beneficial microbes and crop plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Banik, S.; Pérez-de-Luque, A.

    2017-07-01

    Copper-based chemicals are effectively used as antimicrobials in agriculture. However, with respect to its nanoparticulate form there has been limited number of studies. In this investigation, in vitro tests on effect of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) against plant pathogenic fungi, oomycete, bacteria, beneficial microbes Trichoderma harzianum and Rhizobium spp., and wheat seeds were conducted. Integration of CuNPs with non-nano copper like copper oxychloride (CoC) at 50 mg/L concentration each recorded 76% growth inhibition of the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi in vitro compared to the control. CuNPs also showed synergistic inhibitory effect with CoC on mycelial growth and sporulation of A. alternata. Pseudomonas syringae was inhibited at 200 mg/L of CuNPs. CuNPs were not significantly biocidal against Rhizobium spp. and Trichoderma harzianum compared to CoC. Evaluation of the effect of CuNP on wheat revealed that rate of germination of wheat seeds was higher in presence of CuNPs and CoC compared to control. Germination vigor index, root length, shoot dry weight and seed metabolic efficiency of wheat were negatively affected. At low concentration, CuNPs promoted the growth of the plant pathogenic fungi Botrytis fabae, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris, F.oxysporum f.sp. melonis, Alternaria alternate and P. syringae, and sporulation of T. harzianum. Synergistic effect of CuNPs and CoC in inhibiting P. cinnamomi offers a possibility of developing new fungicide formulation for better control of the oomycetes. Non-biocidal effect of CuNPs against beneficial microbes indicates its potential use in the agri-ecosystem.

  6. In vitro effects of copper nanoparticles on plant pathogens, beneficial microbes and crop plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banik, S.; Pérez-de-Luque, A.

    2017-01-01

    Copper-based chemicals are effectively used as antimicrobials in agriculture. However, with respect to its nanoparticulate form there has been limited number of studies. In this investigation, in vitro tests on effect of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) against plant pathogenic fungi, oomycete, bacteria, beneficial microbes Trichoderma harzianum and Rhizobium spp., and wheat seeds were conducted. Integration of CuNPs with non-nano copper like copper oxychloride (CoC) at 50 mg/L concentration each recorded 76% growth inhibition of the oomycete Phytophthora cinnamomi in vitro compared to the control. CuNPs also showed synergistic inhibitory effect with CoC on mycelial growth and sporulation of A. alternata. Pseudomonas syringae was inhibited at 200 mg/L of CuNPs. CuNPs were not significantly biocidal against Rhizobium spp. and Trichoderma harzianum compared to CoC. Evaluation of the effect of CuNP on wheat revealed that rate of germination of wheat seeds was higher in presence of CuNPs and CoC compared to control. Germination vigor index, root length, shoot dry weight and seed metabolic efficiency of wheat were negatively affected. At low concentration, CuNPs promoted the growth of the plant pathogenic fungi Botrytis fabae, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. ciceris, F.oxysporum f.sp. melonis, Alternaria alternate and P. syringae, and sporulation of T. harzianum. Synergistic effect of CuNPs and CoC in inhibiting P. cinnamomi offers a possibility of developing new fungicide formulation for better control of the oomycetes. Non-biocidal effect of CuNPs against beneficial microbes indicates its potential use in the agri-ecosystem.

  7. Some new and noteworthy diseases of poplars in India. [Botryodiplodia sett-rot; Alternaria tip blight; Cladosporium leaf spot; Fusarium pink incrustation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, S.

    1983-09-01

    Four new diseases of poplars namely Botryodiplodia sett-rott, Alternaria tip blight, Cladosporium leaf spot and Fusarium pink incrustation are described in this paper. Botryodiplodia palmarum causes sett-rott of poplars both at pre-sprouting and post-sprouting stage. The pathogen also causes mortality of poplar plants in the field within 4-6 weeks after planting. Alternaria stage of Pleuspora infectoria has been found as the cause of blackening and dying of growing tips and young leaves of a Populus sp. and P. deltoides in nurseries. Cladosporium humile has been recorded as the cause of brown spot followed by crumpling and premature shedding of leaves in P. ciliata, P. nigra and P. alba. The cause of Fusarium incrustation disease on P. cilata has been identified as Fusarium sp. of Gibbosum group. Pathogenicity of Botryodiplodia palmarum and Alternaria stage of Pleospora infectoria was confirmed by artificial inoculations. Brief descriptions of Alternaria, Cladosporium and Fusarium are also given. The paper also gives a short account of some noteworthy diseases recorded on poplars namely Ganoderma root rot, foliage ruts and stem cankers. Ganoderma root-rot is found to reach alarming proportions in closely spaced poplar plantations. Melampsora ciliata, an indigenous rust, is found to attack mainly clones of P. deltoides, P. yunnanensis, P. trichocarpa, P. alba and some cultivars of P. x euramericana in nurseries. A brief account of three types of stem cankers i.e. cankers due to pink disease fungus, Corticium salmonicolor, sun-scaled cankers and cankers associated with slime flux on various clones of P. deltoides is also given.

  8. The effect of chitosan on limitation of growth and development of some pathogenic fungi for ornamental plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alicja Saniewska

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The inhibitory effect of crab-shell chitosan, medium (200-800 cps and high molecular weight ( 800-2000 cps (purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Chemicals toward Alternaria alternata, Botrytis tulipae, Fiisarium oxysporum f. sp. callistephi, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. tulipae, Phoma narcissi and Phoma poolensis was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. The chitosan evidently inhibited in vitro growth of all tested pathogens, with a marked effect at higher concentrations above 200 μg/cm3. Chitosan at a concentration of 1,25; 2,5 and 5,0 mg/cm3 didn't have inhibitory action in appearance of fungi growth on naturally contaminated Callistephus chinensis seeds. At the same concentrations, chitosan applied as bulb scales dressing of Hymenocallis narcissiflora bulbs, before inoculation or after inoculation with Phoma narcissi, inhibited the development of necrotic spots on scales. Chitosan used preventively or curatively at a concentrations of 1,25; 2,5 and 5,0 mg/cm3 indicated inhibitory effect on development of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. tulipae on tulip bulbs. Chitosan at a concentration of 10 mg/cm3 applied preventively (first spray 12th June was very effective in the control of Puccinia antirrhini on snapdragon in the field. The strongest inhibitory effect was observed on snapdragon treated 8 times at week intervals.

  9. Antifungal activity of indigenous bacillus sp. isolate Q3 against marshmallow mycobiota

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jošić Dragana Lj.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Marshmallow is a host of a number of saprophytic and parasitic fungi in Serbia. The seeds of marshmallow are contaminated with fungi from different genera, especially Alternaria and Fusarium, which significantly reduced seed germination and caused seedling decay. In this study we investigate antagnonism of indigenous Bacillus sp. isolate Q3 against marshmallow mycopopulation. Bacillus sp. Q3 was isolated from maize rhizosphere, characterized by polyphasic approch and tested for plant growth promoting treats. Bacillus sp. Q3 produced antifungal metabolites with growth inhibition activity against numerous fungi in dual culture: 61.8% of Alternaria alternata, 74.8% of Myrothecium verrucaria and 33.6% of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. That effect could be caused by different antifungal metabolites including siderophores, hydrolytic enzymes, organic acids and indole acetic acid (IAA. Suppression of natural marshmallow seed infection by Q3 isolate was observed. The seeds were immersed in different concentrations of bacterial suspension during 2h and their infections by phytopathogenic fungi were estimated. The results showed significant reduction of seed infection by Alternaria spp. The presented results indicate possible application of this isolate as promising biological agent for control of marshmallow seed pathogenic fungi.

  10. Antifungal Activity of Lactobacillus sp. Bacteria in the Presence of Xylitol and Galactosyl-Xylitol

    OpenAIRE

    Lipi?ska, Lidia; Klewicki, Robert; Klewicka, El?bieta; Ko?odziejczyk, Krzysztof; S?jka, Micha?; Nowak, Adriana

    2016-01-01

    Lactic acid fermentation is a natural method of antimicrobial food protection. Antagonistic activity of Lactobacillus sp. bacteria, taking part in this process, is directed mainly against the same or other microorganisms. In this work we determine the impact of the presence of xylitol and galactosyl-xylitol on the antagonistic activity of 60 Lactobacillus sp. strains against indicator molds (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicicola, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium latenicum, Geotrichum candi...

  11. Antifungal potential of thyme essential oil as a preservative for storage of wheat seeds

    OpenAIRE

    Anžlovar, Sabina; Likar, Matevž; Dolenc Koce, Jasna

    2017-01-01

    Plant essential oils are potential food preservatives due to their inhibitory effects on bacterial and fungal growth. Antifungal activities of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) essential oil were tested against endophytic fungi grown from wheat (Triticum aestivum) grain, molecularly identified as Alternaria alternata, Alternaria infectoria, Aspergillus fl avus, Epicoccum nigrum and Fusarium poae. Their susceptibility to thyme essential oil was tested in vitro, and ranged from fungicidal to fu...

  12. Incidence and distribution of seed-borne fungi associated with ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Isolation and identification of seed-borne fungi were conducted according to standard tests described by the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA). ... tritici, Ustilago tritici, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium culmorum, Microdochium nivale, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Alternaria alternata, Curvularia sp., Aspergillus niger, ...

  13. Secondary metabolite profiling of Alternaria dauci, A. porri, A. solani, and A. tomatophila

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Birgitte; Dongo, Anita; Pryor, Barry M.

    2008-01-01

    Chemotaxonomy (secondary metabolite profiling) has been shown to be of great value in the classification and differentiation in Ascomycota. However, few studies have investigated the use of metabolite production for classification and identification purposes of plant pathogenic Alternaria species....... The purpose of the present study was to describe the methodology behind metabolite profiling in chemotaxonomy using A. dauci, A. porri, A. solani, and A. tomatophila strains as examples of the group. The results confirmed that A. dauci, A. solani, and A. tomatophila are three distinct species each...

  14. Germination of fungal conidia after exposure to low concentration ozone atmospheres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    The germinability of conidia of Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium digitatum, Penicillium expansum, or Penicillium italicum was determined periodically during exposure for approximately 100 days to a humid atmosphere of air alone or air containing 150 ppb ozone ...

  15. Integrated Management of Causal Agents of Postharvest Fruit Rot of Apple

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mila Grahovac

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the major causes of poor quality and fruit loss (during storage and transportare diseases caused by phytopathogenic fungi. Economic losses which are the consequenceof the phytopathogenic fungus activity after harvest exceed the losses in the field.Themost important postharvest fungal pathogens of apple fruits are: Botrytis cinerea Pers. exFr., Penicillium expansum (Lk. Thom., Cryptosporiopsis curvispora (Peck. Grem., Colletotrichumgloeosporioides (Penz. Sacc., Monilinia sp., Gloeosporium album Osterw, Alternaria alternata(Fr. Keissler, Cladosporium herbarium Link., Cylindrocarpon mali (Alles. Wollenw., Stemphyliumbotryosum Wallr. The use of available protection technologies can significantly reducelosses caused by pathogens in storage. The concept of integrated pest management (IPMin apple fruits i.e. sustainable approach in control of causal agents of postharvest fruit rot,using cultural, physical, biological and chemical measures, to minimize economic, healthand risks to consumers and environment, is presented in the paper.

  16. [Expression of plant antimicrobial peptide pro-SmAMP2 gene increases resistance of transgenic potato plants to Alternaria and Fusarium pathogens].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vetchinkina, E M; Komakhina, V V; Vysotskii, D A; Zaitsev, D V; Smirnov, A N; Babakov, A V; Komakhin, R A

    2016-09-01

    The chickweed (Stellaria media L.) pro-SmAMP2 gene encodes the hevein-like peptides that have in vitro antimicrobial activity against certain harmful microorganisms. These peptides play an important role in protecting the chickweed plants from infection, and the pro-SmAMP2 gene was previously used to protect transgenic tobacco and Arabidopsis plants from phytopathogens. In this study, the pro-SmAMP2 gene under control of viral CaMV35S promoter or under control of its own pro-SmAMP2 promoter was transformed into cultivated potato plants of two cultivars, differing in the resistance to Alternaria: Yubiley Zhukova (resistant) and Skoroplodny (susceptible). With the help of quantitative real-time PCR, it was demonstrated that transgenic potato plants expressed the pro-SmAMP2 gene under control of both promoters at the level comparable to or exceeding the level of the potato actin gene. Assessment of the immune status of the transformants demonstrated that expression of antimicrobial peptide pro-SmAMP2 gene was able to increase the resistance to a complex of Alternaria sp. and Fusarium sp. phytopathogens only in potato plants of the Yubiley Zhukova cultivar. The possible role of the pro-SmAMP2 products in protecting potatoes from Alternaria sp. and Fusarium sp. is discussed.

  17. Essential Oils as Biocides for the Control of Fungal Infections and Devastating Pest (Tuta absoluta) of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouayad Alam, Samira; Dib, Mohammed El Amine; Djabou, Nassim; Tabti, Boufeldja; Gaouar Benyelles, Nassira; Costa, Jean; Muselli, Alain

    2017-07-01

    Thymus capitatus and Tetraclinis articulata essential oils as well their major components (carvacrol and α-pinene) were evaluated for their antifungal and insecticidal activities. Both oils showed good in vitro antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp., Alternaria alternata, and Botrytis cinerea, the fungi causing tomato rot. In vivo results indicate the efficacies of both essential oils and carvacrol of reduce postharvest fungal pathogens, such as B. cinerea and Al. alternata that are responsible of black and gray rot of tomato fruit. Disease incidence of Al. alternata and B. cinerea decreased on average from 55% to 80% with essential oil of Th. capitatus and pure carcvacrol, while Te. articulata essential oil exhibited inhibition of fungal growth of 55% and 25% against Al. alternata and B. cinerea, respectively, with concentration of 0.4 μl/l air. The insecticidal activity of Th. capitatus and Te. articulata essential oils exhibited also a good insecticidal activity. At the concentration of 0.2 μl/ml air, the oils caused mortality over 80% for all larval stages of Tuta absoluta and 100% mortality for the first-instar after 1.5 h only of exposure. α-Pinene presented lower insecticidal and antifungal activities compared to essential oils of Th. capitatus, Te. articulata and pure carvacrol. Thus, these essential oils can be used as a potential source to develop control agents to manage some of the main pests and fungal diseases of tomato crops. © 2017 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.

  18. Studies on the cost-effective management of Alternaria blight of rapeseed-mustard (Brassica spp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M.M. Khan

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Three systemic fungicides: Topsin-M (Thiophanate methyl, 70%WP, Ridomil MZ (Mancozeb, 64% + Metalaxyl, 8%WP, and Bavistin (Carbendazim, 50%WP alone and in combination with four non-systemic fungicides Captaf (Captan, 50%WP, Indofil M-45 (Mancozeb, 75%WP, Indofil Z-78 (Zineb, 75%WP, and Thiram (Thiram, 75%WP were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo for their effectiveness to manage Alternaria blight of rapeseedmustard caused by Alternaria brassicae. A pure culture of the pathogenic fungus was applied in the field at 2 g colonized sorghum seeds kg-1 soil. All the fungicides were evaluated for their efficacy at various concentrations, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 500 ppm, and were sprayed in the field at 0.2% a.i. l-1. All fungicides significantly reduced the severity of the disease but Ridomil MZ was most effective. Topsin-M at a concentration of 500 ppm was the most effective in reducing radial growth of the pathogenic fungi (74.2%. Ridomil MZ reduced disease severity by 32% and was followed in effectiveness by the combination Bavistin+Captaf (26.5%. Maximum yield was obtained in plots sprayed with Bavistin+Captaf (1198 kg ha-1 followed by Bavistin+Indofil Z-78 (1172 kg ha-1. It was worth noting that the highest net profit as well as the highest cost-benefit ratio was obtained with Bavistin+Indofil Z-78 (1:3.2, followed by Bavistin+Captaf (1:1.3.

  19. Antifungal potential of Bacillus vallismortis R2 against different phytopathogenic fungi

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaur, P.K.; Kaur, J.; Saini, H.S.

    2015-07-01

    The cash crops grown in an agro-climatic region are prone to infection by various fungal pathogens. The use of chemical fungicides over the years has resulted in emergence of resistant fungal strains, thereby necessitating the development of effective and environmental friendly alternatives. The natural antagonistic interactions among different microbial populations have been exploited as an eco-friendly approach for controlling fungal pathogens resistant to synthetic chemicals. Morphologically distinct bacterial cultures (150), isolated from rhizospheric soils of wheat, rice, onion and tomato plants were screened for their antifungal potential against seven phytopathogenic fungi prevalent in the State of Punjab (India). The bacterial isolate R2, identified as Bacillus vallismortis, supported more than 50% inhibition of different phytopathogenic fungi (Alternaria alternata, Rhizoctonia oryzae, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium moniliforme, Colletotrichum sp, Helminthosporium sp and Magnaporthe grisea) in dual culture plate assay. The thin layer chromatography based bio-autography of acid-precipitated biomolecules (APB) indicated the presence of more than one type of antifungal molecule, as evidenced from zones of inhibition against the respective fungal pathogen. The initial analytical studies indicated the presence of surfactin, iturin A and fengycin-like compounds in APB. The antifungal activity of whole cells and APB of isolate R2 was evaluated by light and scanning electron microscopy. The wheat grains treated with APB and exposed to spores of A. alternata showed resistance to the development of black point disease, thereby indicating the potential application of R2 and its biomolecules at field scale level. (Author)

  20. Fitness benefits of the fruit fly Rhagoletis alternata on a non-native rose host.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meijer, Kim; Smit, Christian; Schilthuizen, Menno; Beukeboom, Leo W

    2016-05-01

    Many species have been introduced worldwide into areas outside their natural range. Often these non-native species are introduced without their natural enemies, which sometimes leads to uncontrolled population growth. It is rarely reported that an introduced species provides a new resource for a native species. The rose hips of the Japanese rose, Rosa rugosa, which has been introduced in large parts of Europe, are infested by the native monophagous tephritid fruit fly Rhagoletis alternata. We studied differences in fitness benefits between R. alternata larvae using R. rugosa as well as native Rosa species in the Netherlands. R. alternata pupae were larger and heavier when the larvae fed on rose hips of R. rugosa. Larvae feeding on R. rugosa were parasitized less frequently by parasitic wasps than were larvae feeding on native roses. The differences in parasitization are probably due to morphological differences between the native and non-native rose hips: the hypanthium of a R. rugosa hip is thicker and provides the larvae with the possibility to feed deeper into the hip, meaning that the parasitoids cannot reach them with their ovipositor and the larvae escape parasitization. Our study shows that native species switching to a novel non-native host can experience fitness benefits compared to the original native host.

  1. Bostrycin and 4-deoxybostrycin: two nonspecific phytotoxins produced by Alternaria eichhorniae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charudattan, R; Rao, K V

    1982-04-01

    Two crystalline red pigments with phytotoxic activity were isolated from culture filtrates of Alternaria eichhorniae, a pathogen of the water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes. The pigments were present in the ratio of 4:1 and were identified as bostrycin and 4-deoxybostrycin, respectively. This is the first isolation of 4-deoxybostrycin from a natural source. Bostrycin, 4-deoxybostrycin, and their isopropylidene derivatives induced necrosis on tested plant leaves comparable to the A. eichhorniae-induced necrosis on water hyacinth. The lowest phytotoxic concentrations of crystalline bostrycin and 4-deoxybostrycin on water hyacinth leaves were about 7 and 30 microgram/ml, respectively. Both substances were inhibitory to Bacillus subtilis but were inactive against the fungus Geotrichum candidum.

  2. Antibacterial activity of secondary metabolites isolated from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aghomotsegin

    2015-10-28

    Oct 28, 2015 ... Alternaria spp. are cosmopolitan mould fungi and can be found in soils ... the secondary metabolites products from A. alternata and ..... Zone of inhibition (mm) of test bacterial strains to fungal products and standard antibiotics. Fungal ... marine actinomycetes from pulicat, Muttukadu, and Ennore estuaries.

  3. Oligo-DNA custom macroarray for monitoring major pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi and bacteria in the phyllosphere of apple trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Ying-Hong; Isono, Sayaka; Shibuya, Makoto; Tsuji, Masaharu; Adkar Purushothama, Charith-Raj; Tanaka, Kazuaki; Sano, Teruo

    2012-01-01

    To monitor the richness in microbial inhabitants in the phyllosphere of apple trees cultivated under various cultural and environmental conditions, we developed an oligo-DNA macroarray for major pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi and bacteria inhabiting the phyllosphere of apple trees. First, we isolated culturable fungi and bacteria from apple orchards by an agar-plate culture method, and detected 32 fungal and 34 bacterial species. Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Cladosporium, Rhodotorula, Cystofilobasidium, and Epicoccum genera were predominant among the fungi, and Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium, and Pantoea genera were predominant among the bacteria. Based on the data, we selected 29 major non-pathogenic and 12 phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria as the targets of macroarray. Forty-one species-specific 40-base pair long oligo-DNA sequences were selected from the nucleotide sequences of rDNA-internal transcribed spacer region for fungi and 16S rDNA for bacteria. The oligo-DNAs were fixed on nylon membrane and hybridized with digoxigenin-labeled cRNA probes prepared for each species. All arrays except those for Alternaria, Bacillus, and their related species, were specifically hybridized. The array was sensitive enough to detect 10(3) CFU for Aureobasidium pullulans and Bacillus cereus. Nucleotide sequencing of 100 each of independent fungal rDNA-ITS and bacterial 16S-rDNA sequences from apple tree was in agreement with the macroarray data obtained using the same sample. Finally, we analyzed the richness in the microbial inhabitants in the samples collected from apple trees in four orchards. Major apple pathogens that cause scab, Alternaria blotch, and Marssonina blotch were detected along with several non-phytopathogenic fungal and bacterial inhabitants. The macroarray technique presented here is a strong tool to monitor the major microbial species and the community structures in the phyllosphere of apple trees and identify key species

  4. Oligo-DNA custom macroarray for monitoring major pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi and bacteria in the phyllosphere of apple trees.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying-Hong He

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: To monitor the richness in microbial inhabitants in the phyllosphere of apple trees cultivated under various cultural and environmental conditions, we developed an oligo-DNA macroarray for major pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi and bacteria inhabiting the phyllosphere of apple trees. METHODS AND FINDINGS: First, we isolated culturable fungi and bacteria from apple orchards by an agar-plate culture method, and detected 32 fungal and 34 bacterial species. Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Cladosporium, Rhodotorula, Cystofilobasidium, and Epicoccum genera were predominant among the fungi, and Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium, and Pantoea genera were predominant among the bacteria. Based on the data, we selected 29 major non-pathogenic and 12 phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria as the targets of macroarray. Forty-one species-specific 40-base pair long oligo-DNA sequences were selected from the nucleotide sequences of rDNA-internal transcribed spacer region for fungi and 16S rDNA for bacteria. The oligo-DNAs were fixed on nylon membrane and hybridized with digoxigenin-labeled cRNA probes prepared for each species. All arrays except those for Alternaria, Bacillus, and their related species, were specifically hybridized. The array was sensitive enough to detect 10(3 CFU for Aureobasidium pullulans and Bacillus cereus. Nucleotide sequencing of 100 each of independent fungal rDNA-ITS and bacterial 16S-rDNA sequences from apple tree was in agreement with the macroarray data obtained using the same sample. Finally, we analyzed the richness in the microbial inhabitants in the samples collected from apple trees in four orchards. Major apple pathogens that cause scab, Alternaria blotch, and Marssonina blotch were detected along with several non-phytopathogenic fungal and bacterial inhabitants. CONCLUSIONS: The macroarray technique presented here is a strong tool to monitor the major microbial species and the community structures in

  5. Partial resistance of carrot to Alternaria dauci correlates with in vitro cultured carrot cell resistance to fungal exudates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mickaël Lecomte

    Full Text Available Although different mechanisms have been proposed in the recent years, plant pathogen partial resistance is still poorly understood. Components of the chemical warfare, including the production of plant defense compounds and plant resistance to pathogen-produced toxins, are likely to play a role. Toxins are indeed recognized as important determinants of pathogenicity in necrotrophic fungi. Partial resistance based on quantitative resistance loci and linked to a pathogen-produced toxin has never been fully described. We tested this hypothesis using the Alternaria dauci-carrot pathosystem. Alternaria dauci, causing carrot leaf blight, is a necrotrophic fungus known to produce zinniol, a compound described as a non-host selective toxin. Embryogenic cellular cultures from carrot genotypes varying in resistance against A. dauci were confronted with zinniol at different concentrations or to fungal exudates (raw, organic or aqueous extracts. The plant response was analyzed through the measurement of cytoplasmic esterase activity, as a marker of cell viability, and the differentiation of somatic embryos in cellular cultures. A differential response to toxicity was demonstrated between susceptible and partially resistant genotypes, with a good correlation noted between the resistance to the fungus at the whole plant level and resistance at the cellular level to fungal exudates from raw and organic extracts. No toxic reaction of embryogenic cultures was observed after treatment with the aqueous extract or zinniol used at physiological concentration. Moreover, we did not detect zinniol in toxic fungal extracts by UHPLC analysis. These results suggest that strong phytotoxic compounds are present in the organic extract and remain to be characterized. Our results clearly show that carrot tolerance to A. dauci toxins is one component of its partial resistance.

  6. The use of PCR assay for quality testing of grain of winter wheat cultivated in organic, integrated, conventional system and monoculture in phytopathological aspect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksander Łukanowski

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of experiments was to evaluate the occurrence of fungi on grain of winter wheat cv. Roma cultivated in four systems on the experimental fields owned by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation. Among pathogenic species, fungi from genus Fusarium dominated. Their number was the lowest on grain harvested in organic system and the highest in integrated one. Saprotrophic species were represented mainly by Alternaria alternata, which occurred the most often in organic system. Determination of F. avenaceum, F. culmorum and F. poae with microscope was confirmed with a PCR assay. All isolates of F. culmorum and F. poae gave an amplification product of Tri 5 gene coding the possibility of trichocene production, while none of isolates of F. avenaceum.

  7. Multispectral imaging as a potential tool for seed health testing of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olesen, M. Halkjaer; Carstensen, Jens Michael; Boelt, B.

    2011-01-01

    Seed health tests are time consuming and require substantial training for characterization of pathogenic fungi on seed. A new approach to use a multispectral vision system for identifying surface properties of different fungal infections has been tested in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) at Aarhus...... University. Our study demonstrates that multispectral imaging with wavelengths ranging from 395-970 nm can be used to distinguish between uninfected spinach seeds and seeds infected with Verticillium spp., Fusarium spp., Stemphylium botryosum, Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria alternata. Analytical separation...... based on mean pixel intensity, Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) and classification by Jeffries-Matusita (JM) distance illustrates that a combination of Near Infrared spectra (NIR) and Visual spectra (VIS) is able to identify uninfected seeds from infected seeds ranging from 80-100%. Classification...

  8. Effect of Gamma Radiation on Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Fennel and Geranium Volatile Oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abo-Seoud, M. A.; Helal, I. M. M.; Sarhan, M. M.; Galal, A. M. M.

    2004-01-01

    Essential oils of fennel and geranium were gamma irradiated with doses of 0,10,20,30 and 40 kGy. The studied oils were tested for their antimicrobial activities against some pathogenic microorganisms (Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, Fusarium oxysporium, Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas citri). Both oils were used in four concentrations of 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 ppm. The investigated oils showed different inhibition effects against the tested microorganisms. Gamma irradiated oils increased the antimicrobial activity with different magnitudes. Generally, increasing oil concentration increased antimicrobial activity of the used oils and that of 4000 ppm was the most effective one. The essential oils were analyzed by G.C. to evaluate the effect of gamma irradiation on the oil components. (authors)

  9. African Journal of Biotechnology - Vol 12, No 6 (2013)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Marginal scorch caused by Alternaria alternata on Purple-Caitai (Brassia campestris L. ssp. chinensis L.var. utilis Tsen et Lee) in China · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL ... S Elayabalan, K Kalaiponmani, Michael Pillay, A Chandrasekar, R Selvarajan, KK Kumar, P Balasubramanian ...

  10. Characterization of Alternaria strains from Argentinean blueberry, tomato, walnut and wheat

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Birgitte; Nielsen, Kristian Fog; Fernández Pinto, Virginia

    2015-01-01

    of the chemical potential. Four strains belonged to the Alternaria infectoria sp.-grp., 6 to the Alternaria arborescens sp.-grp., 6 showed a sporulation pattern similar to that of “M” according to Simmons, 1 to that of Alternaria vaccinii, and the remaining 70 constituted a diverse group belonging...... sporulation pattern “M” were only isolated from tomatoes. Otherwise, no clear association between substrate and identity could be found. The analyses in the study show that at least 75% of the Argentinean strains are able to produce potential mycotoxins....

  11. Effect of crude plant extracts from some Oaxacan flora on two deleterious fungal phytopathogens and extract compatibility with a biofertilizer strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lira-De León, Karla I; Ramírez-Mares, Marco V; Sánchez-López, Vladimir; Ramírez-Lepe, Mario; Salas-Coronado, Raúl; Santos-Sánchez, Norma F; Valadez-Blanco, Rogelio; Hernández-Carlos, Beatriz

    2014-01-01

    The antimicrobial activity of 12 plant extracts was tested against the phytopathogens Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani. In addition, the compatibility of the extracts toward Bacillus liqueniformis, a biofertilizer and a non-target microorganism, was assessed. Plants tested belong to the Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Crassulaceae, Rubiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Verbenaceae, Orchidaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Boraginaceae, and Tiliaceae families and were collected in the State of Oaxaca. The antifungal activity of the plant extracts (50-100 mg/mL) against A. alternata and F. solani, was determined by measuring the mycelium radial growth and obtaining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of fungal growth. In addition, with the aim of finding plant extracts which are compatible with a B. licheniformis biofertilizer strain and to test the non-toxic nature of the treatments, the toxicity of the extracts toward this strain was evaluated using the agar diffusion method. Azoxystrobin (12 μg) and chloramphenicol (30 μg) were used as positive controls for the pathogens and for the non-target bacteria, respectively. Plant extracts inhibited fungal growth in the ranges of 0.76-56.17% against F. solani and 2.02-69.07% against A. alternata. The extracts of Acalypha subviscida, Ipomoea murucoides, Tournefortia densiflora and Lantana achyranthifolia showed MIC values between 5.77-12.5 mg/mL for at least one of the fungal species. The best treatment, Adenophyllum aurantium, exhibited a maximum inhibition for both F. solani (56.17%, MIC = 7.78 mg/mL) and A. alternata (68.64% MIC = 7.78 mg/mL), and resulted innocuous toward B. licheniformis. Therefore, this plant has an outstanding potential for the agroecological control of fungal phytopathogens in industrial crops.

  12. Combining real-time PCR and next-generation DNA sequencing to provide quantitative comparisons of fungal aerosol populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dannemiller, Karen C.; Lang-Yona, Naama; Yamamoto, Naomichi; Rudich, Yinon; Peccia, Jordan

    2014-02-01

    We examined fungal communities associated with the PM10 mass of Rehovot, Israel outdoor air samples collected in the spring and fall seasons. Fungal communities were described by 454 pyrosequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the fungal ribosomal RNA encoding gene. To allow for a more quantitative comparison of fungal exposure in humans, the relative abundance values of specific taxa were transformed to absolute concentrations through multiplying these values by the sample's total fungal spore concentration (derived from universal fungal qPCR). Next, the sequencing-based absolute concentrations for Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum, and Penicillium/Aspergillus spp. were compared to taxon-specific qPCR concentrations for A. alternata, C. cladosporioides, E. nigrum, and Penicillium/Aspergillus spp. derived from the same spring and fall aerosol samples. Results of these comparisons showed that the absolute concentration values generated from pyrosequencing were strongly associated with the concentration values derived from taxon-specific qPCR (for all four species, p 0.70). The correlation coefficients were greater for species present in higher concentrations. Our microbial aerosol population analyses demonstrated that fungal diversity (number of fungal operational taxonomic units) was higher in the spring compared to the fall (p = 0.02), and principal coordinate analysis showed distinct seasonal differences in taxa distribution (ANOSIM p = 0.004). Among genera containing allergenic and/or pathogenic species, the absolute concentrations of Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Cladosporium were greater in the fall, while Cryptococcus, Penicillium, and Ulocladium concentrations were greater in the spring. The transformation of pyrosequencing fungal population relative abundance data to absolute concentrations can improve next-generation DNA sequencing-based quantitative aerosol exposure assessment.

  13. The Arabidopsis thaliana-Alternaria brassicicola pathosystem: A model interaction for investigating seed transmission of necrotrophic fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pochon Stephanie

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Seed transmission constitutes a major component of the parasitic cycle for several fungal pathogens. However, very little is known concerning fungal or plant genetic factors that impact seed transmission and mechanisms underlying this key biological trait have yet to be clarified. Such lack of available data could be probably explained by the absence of suitable model pathosystem to study plant-fungus interactions during the plant reproductive phase. Results Here we report on setting up a new pathosystem that could facilitate the study of fungal seed transmission. Reproductive organs of Arabidopsis thaliana were inoculated with Alternaria brassicicola conidia. Parameters (floral vs fruit route, seed collection date, plant and silique developmental stages that could influence the seed transmission efficiency were tested to define optimal seed infection conditions. Microscopic observations revealed that the fungus penetrates siliques through cellular junctions, replum and stomata, and into seed coats either directly or through cracks. The ability of the osmosensitive fungal mutant nik1Δ3 to transmit to A. thaliana seeds was analyzed. A significant decrease in seed transmission rate was observed compared to the wild-type parental strain, confirming that a functional osmoregulation pathway is required for efficient seed transmission of the fungus. Similarly, to test the role of flavonoids in seed coat protection against pathogens, a transparent testa Arabidopsis mutant (tt4-1 not producing any flavonoid was used as host plant. Unexpectedly, tt4-1 seeds were infected to a significantly lower extent than wild-type seeds, possibly due to over-accumulation of other antimicrobial metabolites. Conclusions The Arabidopsis thaliana-Alternaria brassicicola pathosystem, that have been widely used to study plant-pathogen interactions during the vegetative phase, also proved to constitute a suitable model pathosystem for detailed analysis

  14. Antifungal activity of rice straw extract on some phytopathogenic fungi

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The antifungal activity of allelochemicals extracted from rice straw on the radial growth rate and the activity of some hydrolyzing enzymes of Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternata and Botrytis cinerea were studied in vitro. Five different concentrations (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10%, w/v) of water, methanol and acetone extracts of rice ...

  15. Expression of chloroperoxidase from Pseudomonas pyrrocinia in tobacco plastids for fungal resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruhlman, Tracey A; Rajasekaran, Kanniah; Cary, Jeffrey W

    2014-11-01

    The chloroperoxidase (cpo) gene from Pseudomonas pyrrocinia was transformed into the plastid genome (plastome) of Nicotiana tabacum var. Petit Havana and transplastomic lines were compared with a nuclear transformant for the same gene. Southern analysis confirmed integration in the plastome and western blotting confirmed the presence of the chloroperoxidase protein (CPO) in higher abundance in transplastomic plants than in cpo nuclear transformants. Northern analysis of primary plastome transformants for cpo showed 15-fold higher transcript abundance than in the nuclear transformant, yet this extent of enhancement was not observed in western blot, enzyme or bioassay, indicating a bottleneck at the post-transcriptional level. Representative plants from the two transplastomic lines showed resistance to fungal pathogens in vitro (Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium verticillioides, and Verticillium dahliae) and in planta (Alternaria alternata). Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  16. ASPECTS OF THE ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATON OF ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A local isolate of Alternaria alternata isolated from soil under the decaying cassava peels heap was screened for the production of a-amylase and hydrolysis of starch. The maximal dextrinizing amylolytic activity of the partially purified enzyme was obtained at temperature of 600C and pH 7.0. Apart from glucose, sucrose and ...

  17. Visual, instrumental, mycological and mycotoxicological characterization of wheat inoculated with and protected against Alternaria spp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janić-Hajnal Elizabet P.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to characterize visual properties, instrumentally measured colour properties, field fungi presence and Alternaria toxins levels in wheat samples grown under conditions aimed at inhibition and stimulation of wheat infection with fungi from the Alternaria genus. Experiment was carried out on the wheat treated by fungicide and wheat inoculated by Alternaria spp., while non treated wheat was used as a control. Statistically significant difference was observed between all three treatments using visual scale. Protected wheat samples were significantly different from other samples in terms of all measured colour parameters while inoculated and control wheat samples were significantly different in terms of lightness and dominant wavelength. Identification of field fungi in the all examined wheat samples showed that the dominant mycotoxigenic fungus was Alternaria spp., followed by Fusarium spp. The content of Alternaria toxins in samples of wheat hulls and dehulled kernels point out at higher concentrations of Alternaria toxins in hulls than in dehulled kernels. [Projekat Ministarstvo nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 46001 i br. III 46005

  18. Phytochemical Analysis and Antifungal Activity of Extracts from Leaves and Fruit Residues of Brazilian Savanna Plants Aiming Its Use as Safe Fungicides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breda, Caroline Alves; Gasperini, Alessandra Marcon; Garcia, Vera Lucia; Monteiro, Karin Maia; Bataglion, Giovana Anceski; Eberlin, Marcos Nogueira; Duarte, Marta Cristina Teixeira

    2016-08-01

    The increasing demand for safe food without preservatives or pesticides residues has encouraged several studies on natural products with antifungal activity and low toxicity. In this study, ethanolic extracts from leaves and fruit residues (peel and seeds) of three Brazilian savanna species (Acrocomia aculeata, Campomanesia adamantium and Caryocar brasiliense) were evaluated against phytopathogenic fungi. Additionally, the most active extract was chemically characterized by ESI-MS and its oral acute toxicity was evaluated. Extracts from C. brasiliense (pequi) peel and leaves were active against Alternaria alternata, Alternaria solani and Venturia pirina with minimal inhibitory concentrations between 350 and 1000 µg/mL. When incorporated in solid media, these extracts extended the lag phase of A. alternata and A. solani and reduced the growth rate of A. solani. Pequi peel extract showed better antifungal activity and their ESI-MS analysis revealed the presence of substances widely reported as antifungal such as gallic acid, quinic acid, ellagic acid, glucogalin and corilagin. The oral acute toxicity was relatively low, being considered safe for use as a potential natural fungicide.

  19. Inhibitory activity of plant extracts on the early blight pathogen ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study evaluated the effect of two plant extracts, Ricinus communis and Chromolaena odorata on the control of the early blight pathogen, Alternaria solani (Ell. and Mart.). The study was conducted in the Laboratory of the Crop Production and Horticulture Department, Federal University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa ...

  20. Streptomycetes and micromycetes as perspective antagonists of fungal phytopathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Postolaky, O; Syrbu, T; Poiras, N; Baltsat, K; Maslobrod, S; Boortseva, S

    2012-01-01

    Among natural factors that permanently influence on the plants, the soil microorganisms play a special role for the growing of plants as habitants of their rhizosphere. Mainly they are the representatives of actinomycetes genus Streptomyces and fungal genus Penicillium and their metabolic products stimulate plant growth and inhibit the growth of pathogenic fungi and bacteria. The aim of our study was to determine the antagonism of actinomycetes and micromycetes isolated from soils of R. Moldova against the fungal pathogens of agricultural plants. The strains were isolated from 5 types of chernozem (black soil) from central zone of R. Moldova, with different concentration of humus. Most of micromycetes and streptomycetes were isolated from soil sample 1 (monoculture of maize) and soil sample 2 (Poltava road border) with similar humus content (2.4-2.6%). The antifungal activity of micromycetes strains was occurring mostly against Fusarium solani and Thelaviopsis basicola, at streptomycetes against Alternaria alternata and Botrytis cinerea. It was revealed the strains completely inhibit the growth of Alt. alternata (streptomycetes strains 23, 33, 37), B. cinerea (Streptomyces sp. 17), and F. solani (Penicillium sp. 104). Our results allow to consider the actinomycetes Streptomyces sp.9, Streptomyces sp. 12, Streptomyces sp. 17, Streptomyces sp. 37 Streptomyces sp. 66 and micromycetes Penicillium sp. 5, Penicillium sp. 65, Penicillium sp. 104 isolated from soils of R. Moldova, as prospective strains-antagonists against the phytopathogenic fungus, the causative agents of agricultural plants deseasis.

  1. Selection of mutants resistant to black spot disease by chronic irradiation of gamma-rays in Japanese pear 'Osanijisseiki'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masuda, Tetsuo; Yoshioka, Toji; Kotobuki, Kazuo; Sanada, Tetsuro; Inoue, Kosuke; Murata, Kenji; Kitagawa, Kenichi; Tabira, Hiroki; Yoshida, Akira

    1997-01-01

    'Osanijisseiki', a self-compatible, spontaneous bud sport of the Japanese pear 'Nijisseiki' is an excellent cultivar with a smooth skin. However, this cultivar is susceptible to Japanese pear black spot disease caused by Alternaria alternata Japanese pear pathotype. To obtain resistant mutants from 'Osanijisseiki', nursery plants of 'Osanijisseiki' have been irradiated chronically with gamma-rays in the Gamma Field of the Institute of Radiation Breeding, NAR, MAFF, since 1986. Screening tests using AK toxin, a host-specific toxin produced by A. alternata Japanese pear pathotype, were performed form 1988 to 1993. Four branches of young trees planted at a distance of 40 m from the 60 Co source were selected as being resistant mutants in 1991 (IRB 502-13T and IRB 502-14T) and 1993 (IRB 502-17T and IRB 502-18T). Sensitivity of the four resistant mutants to AK-toxin and susceptibility to the pathogen were compared with other of susceptible and resistant cultivars. The results showed that these four mutants possessed intermediate resistance. Furthermore, a mutant, IRB 502-13T, had the same characteristics as the original 'Osanijisseiki', except for the difference in toxin sensitivity. The characteristics of the other mutants, IRB 502 14-T, IRB 502-17T, and IRB 502-18T, care being examined. (author)

  2. Visual, instrumental, mycological and mycotoxicological characterization of wheat inoculated with and protected against Alternaria spp.

    OpenAIRE

    Janić-Hajnal Elizabet P.; Belović Miona M.; Plavšić Dragana V.; Mastilović Jasna S.; Bagi Ferenc F.; Budakov Dragana B.; Kos Jovana J.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this work was to characterize visual properties, instrumentally measured colour properties, field fungi presence and Alternaria toxins levels in wheat samples grown under conditions aimed at inhibition and stimulation of wheat infection with fungi from the Alternaria genus. Experiment was carried out on the wheat treated by fungicide and wheat inoculated by Alternaria spp., while non treated wheat was used as a control. Statistically significant ...

  3. Alternaria Mycotoxins in Food and Feed: An Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Escrivá

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Alternaria is one of the major mycotoxigenic fungal genera with more than 70 reported metabolites. Alternaria mycotoxins showed notably toxicity, such as mutagenicity, carcinogenicity, induction of DNA strand break, sphingolipid metabolism disruption, or inhibition of enzymes activity and photophosphorylation. This review reports on the toxicity, stability, metabolism, current analytical methods, and prevalence of Alternaria mycotoxins in food and feed through the most recent published research. Half of the publications were focused on fruits, vegetables, and derived products—mainly tomato and apples—while cereals and cereal by-products represented 38%. The most studied compounds were alternariol, alternariol methyl ether, tentoxin, and tenuazonic acid, but altenuene, altertoxins (I, II, and III, and macrosporin have been gaining importance in recent years. Solid-liquid extraction (50% with acetonitrile or ethyl acetate was the most common extraction methodology, followed by QuEChERS and dilution-direct injection (both 14%. High- and ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was the predominant determination technique (80%. The highest levels of alternariol and alternariol methyl ether were found in lentils, oilseeds, tomatoes, carrots, juices, wines, and cereals. Tenuazonic acid highest levels were detected in cereals followed by beer, while alternariol, alternariol methyl ether, tenuazonic acid, and tentoxin were found in legumes, nuts, and oilseeds.

  4. Priming by Hexanoic acid induce activation of mevalonic and linolenic pathways and promotes the emission of plant volatiles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eugenio eLlorens

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Hexanoic acid is a short natural monocarboxylic acid present in some fruits and plants. Previous studies reported that soil drench application of this acid induces effective resistance in tomato plants against Botrytis cinerea and Pseudomonas syringae and in citrus against Alternaria alternata and Xanthomonas citri. In this work, we performed an in deep study of the metabolic changes produced in citrus by the application of hexanoic acid in response to the challenge pathogen Alternaria alternata, focusing on the response of the plant. Moreover, we used 13C labeled hexanoic to analyze its behavior inside the plants. Finally, we studied the volatile emission of the treated plants after the challenge inoculation. Drench application of 13C labeled hexanoic demonstrated that this molecule stays in the roots and is not mobilized to the leaves, suggesting long distance induction of resistance. Moreover, the study of the metabolic profile showed an alteration of more than two hundred molecules differentially induced by the application of the compound and the inoculation with the fungus. Bioinformatics analysis of data showed that most of these altered molecules could be related with the mevalonic and linolenic pathways suggesting the implication of these pathways in the induced resistance mediated by hexanoic acid. Finally, the application of this compound showed an enhancement of the emission of 17 volatile metabolites. Taken together, this study indicates that after the application of hexanoic acid this compound remains in the roots, provoking molecular changes that may trigger the defensive response in the rest of the plant mediated by changes in the mevalonic and linolenic pathways and enhancing the emission of volatile compounds, suggesting for the first time the implication of mevalonic pathway in response to hexanoic application.

  5. Antagonistic studies and hyphal interactions of the new antagonist Aspergillus piperis against some phytopathogenic fungi in vitro in comparison with Trichoderma harzianum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Debaiky, Samah A

    2017-12-01

    The present study represents, for the first time, the detailed studies about the hyphal interactions of Aspergillus piperis, as a new antagonist, against some isolated plant pathogenic fungi (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria solani, Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotium cepivorum and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum) in vitro. The bio-controlling capability of A. piperis against the tested phytopathogens was tested using the dual culture method. This experiment revealed that A. piperis had antagonistic activity and reduced the growth of the tested phytopathogens and grew over their mycelia in the paired plates. Also, several antagonistic mechanisms were recorded, in this study, between A. piperis and the tested phytopathogens using the microscopic examination. The bio-controlling activity and the antagonistic mechanisms exhibited by the new antagonist, A. piperis were compared with those obtained by the common antagonist, Trichoderma harzianum against the same phytopathogens. The obtained results showed that, A. piperis was more effective than T. harzianum in inhibiting all the tested species in the dual culture plates. The best result was 81.85% inhibition percentage against S. sclerotiorum by A. piperis while, T. harzianum exhibits only 45.18%. Moreover, several antagonistic mechanisms and hyphal interactions were investigated among the hyphae of both A.piperis and T. harzianum and the hyphae of the tested phytopathogens. These mechanisms were summarized as; mycoparasitism (coiling and penetration of the hyphae) and antibiosis in the form of lysis of the hyphal cells and spores, denaturation and breaking of the hyphae. The indirect interaction (antibiosis) and the direct mycoparasitism were observed by A. piperis against all the tested phytopathogens, but it attacked the hyphae and conidiophores of A. alternata by only the antibiosis interaction. The microscopic examination revealed also that T. harzianum attacked the tested phytopathogens by both antibiosis and mycoparasitism

  6. Epidemiology of dark leaf spot caused by Alternaria brassicicola and Alternaria brassicae in organic seed production of cauliflower

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Köhl, J.; Tongeren, van C.A.M.; Groenenboom-de Haas, B.H.; Hoof, van R.A.; Driessen, R.; Heijden, van der L.

    2010-01-01

    In organic seed production of Brassica vegetables, infections by Alternaria brassicicola and A. brassicae can cause severe losses of yield and seed quality. Four field experiments with or without artificial inoculation with A. brassicicola were conducted in organically managed seed-production crops

  7. Recombinant Promoter (MUASCsV8CP) Driven Totiviral Killer Protein 4 (KP4) Imparts Resistance Against Fungal Pathogens in Transgenic Tobacco

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deb, Debasish; Shrestha, Ankita; Maiti, Indu B.; Dey, Nrisingha

    2018-01-01

    Development of disease-resistant plant varieties achieved by engineering anti-microbial transgenes under the control of strong promoters can suffice the inhibition of pathogen growth and simultaneously ensure enhanced crop production. For evaluating the prospect of such strong promoters, we comprehensively characterized the full-length transcript promoter of Cassava Vein Mosaic Virus (CsVMV; -565 to +166) and identified CsVMV8 (-215 to +166) as the highest expressing fragment in both transient and transgenic assays. Further, we designed a new chimeric promoter ‘MUASCsV8CP’ through inter-molecular hybridization among the upstream activation sequence (UAS) of Mirabilis Mosaic Virus (MMV; -297 to -38) and CsVMV8, as the core promoter (CP). The MUASCsV8CP was found to be ∼2.2 and ∼2.4 times stronger than the CsVMV8 and CaMV35S promoters, respectively, while its activity was found to be equivalent to that of the CaMV35S2 promoter. Furthermore, we generated transgenic tobacco plants expressing the totiviral ‘Killer protein KP4’ (KP4) under the control of the MUASCsV8CP promoter. Recombinant KP4 was found to accumulate both in the cytoplasm and apoplast of plant cells. The agar-based killing zone assays revealed enhanced resistance of plant-derived KP4 against two deuteromycetous foliar pathogenic fungi viz. Alternaria alternata and Phoma exigua var. exigua. Also, transgenic plants expressing KP4 inhibited the growth progression of these fungi and conferred significant fungal resistance in detached-leaf and whole plant assays. Taken together, we establish the potential of engineering “in-built” fungal stress-tolerance in plants by expressing KP4 under a novel chimeric caulimoviral promoter in a transgenic approach. PMID:29556246

  8. Fungi pathogenic on wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L. in northern Tunisia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Djebali

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The distribution and life cycle of wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L. and a survey of the pathogens of this plant are reported for the northern regions of Tunisia. Wild radish is a common weed of cereal crops and legumes. It germinates in early autumn (October, develops a rosette stage in November to December after which stem growth, fl owering and pod production occur through to May, with pod maturity completed in June. Fungus isolation from the foliar tissues exhibiting disease symptoms showed that wild radish was infected with the fungi Albugo candida, Alternaria spp. including A. brassicicola, and A. raphani, Erysiphe cruciferarum, Stemphylium herbarum, Peronospora parasitica and Phoma lingam. Ascochyta spp., Cercospora armoraciae, Cladosporium cladosporioides and Colletotrichum higginsianum are here reported from wild radish for the first time. Inoculation tests of pathogens on wild radish plants showed that the most injurious fungi were Alternaria raphani and Phoma lingam. The remaining pathogens were weakly to moderately aggressive on this weed. To access the pathogenic effect of fungi spontaneously infecting natural populations of wild radish, the weed was grown in a field experiment with and without the broad-spectrum systemic fungicide Carbendazim. Results showed a statistically significant two-fold decrease in the number and weight of seed pods in the non-treated plants, indicating that the reproductive potential of wild radish was naturally reduced by fungal infection. Foliar pathogenic fungi have a potential in the integrated weed management of wild radish, this role merits further investigations.

  9. JPRS Report Science & Technology USSR: Life Sciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-06-18

    Fractionated Irradiation [V. N. Malakhovskiy, M. I. Bokk; RADIOBIOLOGIYA, Vol 29 No 3, May-Jun 89] 41 Melanin Acts as Radioprotector [A. Patyko...Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans, Tricho- derma viride; but Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium her- barum, Stemphylium ilicis, and Ulocladium atrum...of the above. Melanin -producing micromycetes predominated on materials subjected to storage both in open fields and sheds. Determinations of

  10. Reconocimiento y dispersión de hongos causantes del "picamento" (Rayspeck en crisantemo (Chrysanthemum morifolium ram en condiciones de invernadero

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Arturo Baquero

    1992-01-01

    Full Text Available The recongnition of the fungi causing ray speck and their dispersion in chrysantemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium RAM cv. Polaris, was carried out under greenhouse conditions. Three speciea were identified: Alternaria alternata (FR Keiasler, Alternaria zinniae Ellis, Stemphylium botryosum, Wallroth lPleospora herbarum Raben Horst. The analysis ofthe disease dispersion was based on a random deaign with three repetitions. The number of coloniea, the temperature and relative humidity were evaluated in four different placea of the culture. The temperature was found to be the most important factor afecting the production and releaSe of conidia. The sporulation reached ita peak at noon (21°C.

  11. Identification of Novel Source of Resistance and Differential Response of Allium Genotypes to Purple Blotch Pathogen, Alternaria porri (Ellis) Ciferri

    OpenAIRE

    Satyabrata Nanda; Subodh Kumar Chand; Purander Mandal; Pradyumna Tripathy; Raj Kumar Joshi

    2016-01-01

    Purple blotch, caused by Alternaria porri (Ellis) Cifferi, is a serious disease incurring heavy yield losses in the bulb and seed crop of onion and garlic worldwide. There is an immediate need for identification of effective resistance sources for use in host resistance breeding. A total of 43 Allium genotypes were screened for purple blotch resistance under field conditions. Allium cepa accession ?CBT-Ac77? and cultivar ?Arka Kalyan? were observed to be highly resistant. In vitro inoculation...

  12. Effect of eosinophils activated with Alternaria on the production of extracellular matrix from nasal fibroblasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Seung-Heon; Ye, Mi-Kyung; Choi, Sung-Yong; Kim, Yee-Hyuk

    2016-06-01

    Eosinophils and fibroblasts are known to play major roles in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps. Fungi are commonly found in nasal secretion and are associated with airway inflammation. To investigate whether activated eosinophils by airborne fungi can influence the production of extracellular matrix (ECM) from nasal fibroblasts. Inferior turbinate and nasal polyp fibroblasts were stimulated with Alternaria or Aspergillus, respectively, for 24 hours and ECM messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expressions were measured. Eosinophils isolated from healthy volunteers were stimulated with Alternaria or Aspergillus for 4 hours then superoxide, eosinophil peroxidase, and transforming growth factor β1 were measured. Then activated eosinophils were cocultured with nasal fibroblasts for 24 hours, and ECM mRNA expressions were measured. Alternaria strongly enhanced ECM mRNA expression and protein production from nasal fibroblasts. Alternaria also induced the production of superoxide, eosinophil peroxidase, and transforming growth factor β1 from eosinophils, and activated eosinophils enhanced ECM mRNA expression when they were cocultured without the Transwell insert system. Eosinophils activated with Alternaria enhanced ECM mRNA expression from nasal polyp fibroblasts. Alternaria plays an important role in tissue fibrosis in the pathogenesis of nasal polyps by directly or indirectly influencing the production of ECM from nasal fibroblasts. Copyright © 2016 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Mycosynthesis of iron nanoparticles by Alternaria alternata and its ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    aghomotsegin

    2015-04-08

    Apr 8, 2015 ... Full Length Research Paper. Mycosynthesis of ... Iron nanoparticles show more antimicrobial activity to ... has gained much attention due to their unique size- dependent ... Nanoparticles with antifungal effects are of great interest in ... The preliminary detection of Fe-NPs was carried out by visual observation ...

  14. Influence of Culturing Conditions on Bioprospecting and the Antimicrobial Potential of Endophytic Fungi from Schinus terebinthifolius.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tonial, Fabiana; Maia, Beatriz H L N S; Gomes-Figueiredo, Josiane A; Sobottka, Andrea M; Bertol, Charise D; Nepel, Angelita; Savi, Daiani C; Vicente, Vânia A; Gomes, Renata R; Glienke, Chirlei

    2016-02-01

    In this study, we analyzed the antimicrobial activity of extracts harvested from 17 endophytic fungi isolated from the medicinal plant Schinus terebinthifolius. Morphological and molecular analyses indicated that these fungal species belonged to the genera Alternaria, Bjerkandera, Colletotrichum, Diaporthe, Penicillium, and Xylaria. Of the endophytes analyzed, 64.7 % produced antimicrobial compounds under at least one of the fermentation conditions tested. Nine isolates produced compounds that inhibited growth of Staphylococcus aureus, four produced compounds that inhibited Candida albicans, and two that inhibited Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The fermentation conditions of the following endophytes were optimized: Alternaria sp. Sect. Alternata-LGMF626, Xylaria sp.-LGMF673, and Bjerkandera sp.-LGMF713. Specifically, the carbon and nitrogen sources, initial pH, temperature, and length of incubation were varied. In general, production of antimicrobial compounds was greatest when galactose was used as a carbon source, and acidification of the growth medium enhanced the production of compounds that inhibited C. albicans. Upon large-scale fermentation, Alternaria sp. Sect. Alternata-LGMF626 produced an extract containing two fractions that were active against methicillin-resistant S. aureus. One of the extracts exhibited high activity (minimum inhibitory concentration of 18.52 µg/mL), and the other exhibited moderate activity (minimum inhibitory concentration of 55.55 µg/mL). The compounds E-2-hexyl-cinnamaldehyde and two compounds of the pyrrolopyrazine alkaloids class were identified in the active fractions by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

  15. Effect of Post-Harvest Acetic Acid and Plant Essential Oils on Shelf-Life Extension of Tomato Fruits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salem, E.A.; Naweto, M.; Mostafa, M.

    2013-01-01

    In vitro effect of different concentrations of acetic acid on linear growth of Alternaria alternate was studied. The causal agent of tomato black rots in contact and fumigation showed that acetic acid inhibit A. alternata growth at 2 ml/L and on 0.8 ml/L in contact and fumigation, respectively. In vivo effect showed that acetic acid at 6 ml/L reduced severity of infection of tomato fruits from 53.5% to 4.8% after 3 weeks of storage in dipping method but at the strongest fumigation methods, acetic acid inhibit tomato fruits rot at 0.4 ml/L after 3 weeks of storage. In vitro effect of camphore (Eucalyptus globulus Labill), caraway (Carium carvum L.) and peppermint oil (Mentha piperita L.) at different concentrations were tested against Alternaria alternata, since caraway oil is the strongest oil effect on fungal growth followed by peppermint and camphore respectively. Similarly in in vivo caraway oil inhibit tomato fruits rots at 6 ml/L followed by peppermint that inhibited tomato rots at 8 ml / L but camphore reduced tomato rots at 8 ml/L from 40% to 8.1%. Accepted April 2013

  16. Infectopyrone, a potential mycotoxin from Alternaria infectoria

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Thomas Ostenfeld; Perry, N.B.; Andersen, Birgitte

    2003-01-01

    A new metabolite, infectopyrone (1), has been isolated from the filamentous fungus Alternaria infectoria. The structure of 1 was elucidated by analysis of 2D NMR spectroscopic data. Compound 1 is an alpha-pyrone resembling known toxins, and is a useful phenotaxonomic marker for the A. infectoria ...

  17. The diversity of fungi colonizing necrotic inflorescence buds of rhododendron (Rhododendron L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Małgorzata Żołna

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The infection of rhododendron (Rhododendron L. inflorescence buds caused by pathogenic fungi induces its browning, withering, and dieback. The identification of fungi causing the infection of rhododendron inflorescence buds can be a reason for creating new improved cultivars with genetically determined resistance to pathogens. The investigations were carried out in 2010–2011 on the collection of ornamental plants of the Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agriculture in Kraków. The material comprised infected inflorescence buds collected from nine newly bred taxa and one botanical species of rhododendron. 596 colonies of fungi belonging to 31 species were isolated from infected rhododendron inflorescence buds. The dominant species were: Pestalotiopsis sydowiana, Truncatella truncata, Alternaria alternata, Phialophora asteris, and Trichoderma viride, which constituted almost 74% of the isolated fungi population. Boeremia exigua var. exigua, Epicoccum nigrum, Fusarium poae, Mammaria echinobotryoides, Paraphoma chrysanthemicola, Phialophora cyclaminis, Phoma eupyrena, Talaromyces wortmannii, Umbelopsis isabellina, and other fungi were isolated in a lower number. The results of mycological analysis confirm the diversity of species colonizing necrotic inflorescence buds of rhododendron. .

  18. Evaluation of Fungal Growth on Olive-Mill Wastewaters Treated at High Temperature and by High-Pressure Homogenization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesca Cibelli

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Reuse of olive mill wastewaters (OMWWs in agriculture represents a significant challenge for health and safety of our planet. Phytotoxic compounds in OMWW generally prohibit use of untreated OMWWs for agricultural irrigation or direct discharge into surface waters. However, pretreated OMWW can have positive effects on chemical and microbiological soil characteristics, to fight against fungal soil-borne pathogens. Low amounts of OMWW following thermal (TT-OMWW and high-pressure homogenization (HPH-OMWW pretreatments counteracted growth of some of 12 soil-borne and/or pathogenic fungi examined. With fungal growth measured as standardized change in time to half maximum colony diameter, Δτ, overall, HPH-OMWW showed increased bioactivity, as increased mean Δτ from 3.0 to 4.8 days. Principal component analysis highlighted two fungal groups: Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Alternaria alternata, Sclerotium rolfsii, and Rosellinia necatrix, with growth strongly inhibited by the treated OMWWs; and Aspergillus ochraceus and Phaeoacremonium parasiticum, with stimulated growth by the treated OMWWs. As a non-thermal treatment, HPH-OMWW generally shows improved positive effects, which potentially arise from preservation of the phenols.

  19. The sentinel tree nursery as an early warning system for pathway risk assessment: Fungal pathogens associated with Chinese woody plants commonly shipped to Europe.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Maria Vettraino

    Full Text Available Introduction of and invasion by alien plant pathogens represents the main cause of emerging infectious diseases affecting domesticated and wild plant species worldwide. The trade in living plants is the most common pathway of introduction. Many of the alien tree pathogens recently introduced into Europe were not previously included on any quarantine lists. To help determine the potential risk of pest introduction through trading of ornamental plants, a sentinel nursery was established in Beijing, China in 2008. The sentinel nursery planting included four of the most common ornamental woody species shipped to Europe including Ilex cornuta var. fortunae, Zelkova schneideriana, Fraxinus chinensis and Buxus microphylla. Symptoms developing on these species within the sentinel nursery were detected in 2013 and consisted of necrotic spots on leaves, canker and stem necrosis, shoot blight and shoot necrosis. Fungi associated with the trees and their symptoms included Alternaria alternata detected from all hosts; Diaporthe liquidambaris and Diaporthe capsici from bark and leaf necrosis of Zelkova schneideriana; Botryosphaeria dothidea and Nothophoma quercina from stem cankers on Fraxinus chinensis and leaf necrosis on Ilex cornuta; and Pseudonectria foliicola from leaf necrosis on Buxus microphylla. Next generation sequencing analysis from asymptomatic tissues detected eighteen OTU's at species level among which some taxa had not been previously recorded in Europe. These results clearly demonstrate that looking at trees of internationally traded species in the region of origin can reveal the presence of potentially harmful organisms of major forestry, landscape or crop trees. Results of this study also provide an indication as to how some disease agents can be introduced using pathways other than the co-generic hosts. Hence, sentinel nurseries represent one potential mechanism to address the current lack of knowledge about pests in the countries from

  20. Alternaria and Fusarium in Norwegian grains of reduced quality - a matched pair sample study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kosiak, B.; Torp, M.; Skjerve, E.

    2004-01-01

    The occurrence and geographic distribution of species belonging to the genera Alternaria and Fusarium in grains of reduced and of acceptable quality were studied post-harvest in 1997 and 1998. A total of 260 grain samples of wheat, barley and oats was analysed. The distribution of Alternaria and ...

  1. Survey and prevalence of species causing Alternaria leaf spots on brassica species in Pernambuco Levantamento e prevalência de espécies causadoras da alternariose em brássicas em Pernambuco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sami J Michereff

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Brassicaceae family comprises plant species that are very important as vegetable crops, such as the species complex Brassica oleracea and Brassica rapa. Alternaria brassicicola and A. brassicae are among the most important pathogens of Brassicaceae causing Alternaria leaf spot disease. The occurrence and prevalence of Alternaria species causing leaf spots in brassica crops in Pernambuco was acessed, as well as the existence of a possible preference by vegetable host for these pathogens. Twenty-eight fields were surveyed in the Agreste region of Pernambuco state, in the 2005 and 2006 growing seasons. In each year, 10 Chinese cabbage, six cabbage, six cauliflower and six broccoli fields were visited. In each field, 50 leaves showing at least five lesions were randomly collected. Species identification was performed taking into account morphology of the conidia that was compared with literature data. Among the two Alternaria species found, A. brassicae was found in all Chinese cabbage fields while A. brassicicola was found in all fields of cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. Overall, A. brassicicola was more prevalent than A. brassicae. In Chinese cabbage there was predominance of A. brassicae, with mean prevalence of 91.0% and 96.5% in 2005 and 2006. On the other hand, in broccoli and cabbage there was high predominance of A. brassicicola, with mean prevalence between 95.1% and 99.8%. In cauliflower, although the prevalence has been of A. brassicicola, high frequency of A. brassicae was noted. The frequency of co-occurrence of both Alternaria species was very low. The results of this study reinforce the hypothesis of existence of host preference within species of Alternaria that cause leaf spots in brassica crops, especially when Chinese cabbage, broccoli and cabbage are considered. This information is critical to developing strategies for managing Alternaria leaf spots in Brassicaceae species.A família Brassicaceae possui espécies importantes

  2. Emerging Fusarium and Alternaria Mycotoxins: Occurrence, Toxicity and Toxicokinetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sophie Fraeyman

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Emerging Fusarium and Alternaria mycotoxins gain more and more interest due to their frequent contamination of food and feed, although in vivo toxicity and toxicokinetic data are limited. Whereas the Fusarium mycotoxins beauvericin, moniliformin and enniatins particularly contaminate grain and grain-based products, Alternaria mycotoxins are also detected in fruits, vegetables and wines. Although contamination levels are usually low (µg/kg range, higher contamination levels of enniatins and tenuazonic acid may occasionally occur. In vitro studies suggest genotoxic effects of enniatins A, A1 and B1, beauvericin, moniliformin, alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, altertoxins and stemphyltoxin-III. Furthermore, in vitro studies suggest immunomodulating effects of most emerging toxins and a reproductive health hazard of alternariol, beauvericin and enniatin B. More in vivo toxicity data on the individual and combined effects of these contaminants on reproductive and immune system in both humans and animals is needed to update the risk evaluation by the European Food Safety Authority. Taking into account new occurrence data for tenuazonic acid, the complete oral bioavailability, the low total body clearance in pigs and broiler chickens and the limited toxicity data, a health risk cannot be completely excluded. Besides, some less known Alternaria toxins, especially the genotoxic altertoxins and stemphyltoxin III, should be incorporated in risk evaluation as well.

  3. Discovering novel Alternaria solani succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors by in silico modeling and virtual screening strategies to combat early blight

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Iftikhar, Sehrish; Shahid, Ahmad A.; Halim, Sobia A.; Wolters, Pieter J.; Vleeshouwers, Vivianne G.A.A.; Khan, Ajmal; Al-Harrasi, Ahmed; Ahmad, Shahbaz

    2017-01-01

    Alternaria blight is an important foliage disease caused by Alternaria solani. The enzyme Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) is a potential drug target because of its role in tricarboxylic acid cycle. Hence targeting Alternaria solani SDH enzyme could be efficient tool to design novel fungicides against

  4. Biochemical properties of Hemigraphis alternata incorporated chitosan hydrogel scaffold.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annapoorna, M; Sudheesh Kumar, P T; Lakshman, Lakshmi R; Lakshmanan, Vinoth-Kumar; Nair, Shantikumar V; Jayakumar, R

    2013-02-15

    In this work, Hemigraphis alternata extract incorporated chitosan scaffold was synthesized and characterized for wound healing. The antibacterial activity of Hemigraphis incorporated chitosan scaffold (HIC) against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated which showed a reduction in total colony forming units by 45-folds toward E. coli and 25-fold against S. aureus respectively. Cell viability studies using Human Dermal Fibroblast cells (HDF) showed 90% viability even at 48 h when compared to the chitosan control. The herbal scaffold made from chitosan was highly haemostatic and antibacterial. The obtained results were in support that the herbal scaffold can be effectively applied for infectious wounds. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Inhibitory activity of Indian spice plant Cinnamomum zeylanicum extracts against Alternaria solani and Curvularia lunata, the pathogenic dematiaceous moulds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharma Bechan

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dematiaceous moulds are pathogenic microorganisms and act as etiological agents of mycoses with different degrees of severity in humans and animals. These moulds also cause loss of food crops and storage food products. The information regarding antimicrobial efficacy of the plant preparations on these moulds is scanty. The present study reveals phytochemical characterization and the effect of bark and leaf extracts of Indian spice plant, Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Cz, against the growth of two species of dematiaceous moulds, Alternaria solani and Curvularia lunata. Methods Cz bark and leaf samples were sequentially extracted in different solvents using Soxhlet apparatus. Phytochemical analyses of extracts were done as per standard protocols. The antifungal bioassay of extracts was done by hanging drop technique. The inhibition of fungal spore germination was monitored under influence of three different concentrations of extracts. Results The lowest test concentration (50 μg/ml of extracts of Cz bark prepared into acetone and that of Cz leaf into petroleum ether and ethanol exhibited complete inhibition (100% of spore germination in both the moulds. At 100 μg/ml concentration all the extracts showed about 50 to 100% inhibition. However, the treatment of the spores of the two fungal species with highest concentration (500 μg/ml of bark and leaf extracts in all the solvents showed 100% fungicidal activity as it completely arrested the germination of spores. Relatively lower activity of aqueous extracts at 50 and 100 μg/ml concentrations suggests that the antifungal ingredients present in Cz bark and leaf are more soluble in organic solvents than water. Conclusion The results demonstrated that the Cz bark and leaves contain certain fungicidal constituents exhibiting potential antimould activity against A. solani and C. lunata.

  6. Secondary metabolite profiling of Alternaria dauci, A. porri, A. solani, and A. tomatophila.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Birgitte; Dongo, Anita; Pryor, Barry M

    2008-02-01

    Chemotaxonomy (secondary metabolite profiling) has been shown to be of great value in the classification and differentiation in Ascomycota. However, few studies have investigated the use of metabolite production for classification and identification purposes of plant pathogenic Alternaria species. The purpose of the present study was to describe the methodology behind metabolite profiling in chemotaxonomy using A. dauci, A. porri, A. solani, and A. tomatophila strains as examples of the group. The results confirmed that A. dauci, A. solani, and A. tomatophila are three distinct species each with their own specific metabolite profiles, and that A. solani and A. tomatophila both produce altersolanol A, altertoxin I, and macrosporin. By using automated chemical image analysis and other multivariate statistic analyses, three sets of species-specific metabolites could be selected, one each for A. dauci, A. solani, and A. tomatophila.

  7. Antioxidant and antifungal potential of methanol extracts of Phellinus spp. from Sonora, Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayala-Zavala, Jesús Fernando; Silva-Espinoza, Brenda Adriana; Cruz-Valenzuela, Manuel Reynaldo; Villegas-Ochoa, Mónica Alejandra; Esqueda, Martín; González-Aguilar, Gustavo Adolfo; Calderón-López, Yazaric

    2012-01-01

    Among the potential natural sources of bioactive compounds, those of the macroscopic fungi Phellinus spp. have been identified by previous researches. Phenolic compounds are among the major antioxidant and antimicrobial contributors due to their bioactive properties. The goal of this study was to determine the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and its relation with the antioxidant and antifungal activity of methanolic extracts of Phellinus gilvus, Phellinus rimosus and Phellinus badius, respectively. The collected and identified organisms of Phellinus spp. were treated with methanol and the generated aqueous extract was analyzed to quantified total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, radical scavenging activity against DPPH, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, and oxygen absorbance capacity. The antifungal property of the extracts was evaluated against Alternaria alternata. The content of phenolic compounds was of 49.31, 46.51 and 44.7 mg of gallic acid equivalents/g, for P. gilvus, P. rimosus and P. badius, respectively. The total flavonoid content followed the same pattern with values of 30.58, 28, and 26.48 mg of quercetin equivalents/g for P. gilvus, P. rimosus and P. badius, respectively. The variation on the content of phenolic components was reflected on the antioxidant activity of every organism. The antioxidant activity ranked as follows: P. gilvus>P. rimosus>P. badius. The antifungal effect of the different extracts against A. alternata showed a significant effect, all of them, inhibiting the growth of this pathogen. P. gilvus showed the best potential to inactivate free radicals, being all the tested fungi effective to inhibit A. alternata growth. Copyright © 2011 Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  8. Phytochemicals Boost Anti-inflammatory Effect Against Gamma Radiation: Activities of Ginger and Coriander Extracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abd El-Salam, H.S.; Hassan, A.A.

    2017-01-01

    Phytochemicals are known to modulate immune function, and possess antitumor and antimicrobial properties. The present study is conducted to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of ginger and coriander extracts against tumor cells (MTT), anti-fungal and antioxidant activities of Ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale) and Coriander ( Coriandrum sativum) seed were evaluated. Essential oil of both plants showed 100% inhibition against Alternaria Alternata pathogen. The antioxidant activity showed the highest activities for ginger ( methanol extract), where as the lowest activity was for Coriander (water extract). To study the antioxidant and radio-protective effect of Ginger and Coriander, Swiss albino mice were exposed to shot dose 4 Gy γ radiation after 14 days oral administration of ginger (100 mg/Kg b.wt) and coriander extracts ( 600 mg/kg b.wt). After irradiation, anti-inflammatory mediators and phospholipase A2 were examined. In conclusion, Ginger and Coriander showed significant antioxidant and radio-protective effects

  9. Alternaria infectoria phaeohyphomycosis in a renal transplant patient.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nulens, E.; Laere, E. De; Vandevelde, H.; Hilbrands, L.B.; Rijs, A.J.M.M.; Melchers, W.J.G.; Verweij, P.E.

    2006-01-01

    A male renal transplant patient developed a tumor on the dorsum of his right hand. After excision, histological examination of the tumor showed hyphal structures, but growth developed very slowly. Therapy consisted of surgery alone. A definitive identification of Alternaria infectoria was only

  10. Interactions between fungi colonizing the stem base of winter wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urszula Wachowska

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available In vitro conditions, the interactions betecen the fungi most frequently isolated from the stem base of winter wheat were determined. These were the species from genus Fusarium (F. culmorum, F. avenaceum and F. poae and Rhizoctonia cerealis, Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides, Alternaria alternata and Aureobasidium bolleyi. Some saprotrophes showed stimulating effect on R. cerealis, P. herpotrichoides and F. poae. Certain species in combined cultures showed exceptionally favourable relationships.

  11. Mycopopulation of marshmallow (Althaea officinalis L)

    OpenAIRE

    Pavlović Snežana Đ.; Stojšin Vera B.; Stojanović Saša D.

    2007-01-01

    Marshmallow is an important medicinal plant in Serbia. Because of increasing demands on the market, cultivation has been started. Through regular quality control of commercial seeds and plantations, mycopopulation of marshmallow was recorded in the period 2000-2006. Seeds of marshmallow were dominated by Alternaria alternata and species from the genus Fusarium (Fusarium verticillioides, F. proliferatum, F. semitectum, F. oxysporum and F. solani). Species belonging to Fusarium genus are the ca...

  12. Antifungal Activity of Leaf and Latex Extracts of Calotropis procera (Ait.) against Dominant Seed-Borne Storage Fungi of Some Oil Seeds

    OpenAIRE

    Manoorkar V B; Mandge S V; B D Gachande

    2015-01-01

    In present study, aqueous and ethanol extracts of leaf & latex of Calotropis procera (Ait.) was tested for their antifungal activity against dominant storage seed-borne fungi of some oil seeds such as groundnut, soybean, sunflower and mustard. The antifungal effect of ethanol and aqueous extracts of leaf & latex of Calotropis procera (Ait.) against ten seed-borne dominant fungi viz., Cuvularia lunata, Alternaria alternata, Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium solani, Penicillium chrysogenum, Asperg...

  13. Control of ergosterol producer fungi contaminating cereal grains by certain environmental conditions and gamma rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shahin, A.A.M.

    2007-01-01

    Existence of ergosterol in grains usually gives an indication that these grains are contaminated by ergosterol producing fungi. So, ergosterol concentration could be a suitable marker for estimation of fungal contamination range in cereal grains. Thirty eight fungal isolates were isolated from maize, sorghum and barley grains. Alternaria, Cladosporium and Aspergillus were the most common fungal genera among these isolates and they were tested for ergosterol production. The highest ergosterol producing fungi were identified as Alternaria alternaria, Cladosporium herbarum and Aspergillus niger var.niger. The present results indicate that the most suitable conditions for producing ergosterol by these strains in maize grains were found to be at 25 degree C for 30 days. Exposing the artificially contaminated maize grains by the above three strains (10 7 CFU/ml) to increasing dose levels of gamma rays up to 10 kGy and storing for 30 days, gradually decreased the production of ergosterol to 7.9, 6.2 and 1.5 mg/g dry weight of grains by A. alternata and C.herbarum and A. niger var. niger, respectively. D 10 values of the tested three isolates in maize grains were found to be 2, 1.61, and 1.2 kGy, respectively. The results showed that cold storage (10 degree C) clearly decreased the activity of the tested fungi for producing ergosterol during the storage periods, and a dose level of 15 kGy was quite enough to free the grains from A. alternata, Cladosporium herbarum and A. niger var. niger, regardless the contamination level of grains with these ergosterol producer fungus

  14. Aislamiento, identificación y pruebas in vitro de cepas autóctonas de Bacillus subtilis como agente de biocontrol de Alternaria spp en Brassica oleracea var.italica.

    OpenAIRE

    Ñacato Suntaxi, Carolina Aracely; Valencia Gordón, María Fernanda

    2016-01-01

    There is an increasing consumer demand for quality food, a concept which mainly involves the availability of disease-free products and harmful to human health chemical waste, which is why the need for new options for sustainable management arises broccoli crop against the causative pathogen damage in inflorescence. The disease caused by the phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria spp is a major cause of damage to broccoli cultivars. Field sampling and laboratory investigations w...

  15. Research on Volatile Organic Compounds From Bacillus subtilis CF-3: Biocontrol Effects on Fruit Fungal Pathogens and Dynamic Changes During Fermentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haiyan Gao

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The dynamic changes of the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs produced by Bacillus subtilis CF-3 and their biocontrol effects on common fungal pathogens were researched in this study. The results showed that the VOCs in 24-h fermentation liquid (24hFL of B. subtilis CF-3 inhibited mycelial growth of Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Penicillium expansum, Monilinia fructicola, and Alternaria alternata, with a mean inhibition rate of 59.97%. The inhibitory effect on M. fructicola and C. gloeosporioides was the highest; they were therefore selected as target fungal pathogens for further experiments. Based on headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS, 74 potential VOCs were identified during the fermentation: 15 alcohols, 18 ketones, 4 pyrazines, 4 esters, 10 acids, 5 phenols, 3 hydrocarbons, 3 amines, 2 aldehydes, 5 ethers, and 5 other components. At different fermentation times, the type and content of VOCs were different. Most of the potential VOCs (62 VOCs were identified in the 48hFL. The inhibition rates of all VOCs reached their peaks (73.46% on M. fructicola and 63.63% on C. gloeosporioides in the 24hFL. Among the identified VOCs, 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol, 1-octanol, and benzothiazole showed significant positive correlations with the rates of M. fructicola and C. gloeosporioides inhibition. Benzoic acid and benzaldehyde showed a significant positive correlation with the rates of M. fructicola inhibition, and anisole and 3-methylbutanal showed a significant positive correlation with the rates of C. gloeosporioides inhibition. In vitro, 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol showed a strong inhibitory effect on both M. fructicola and C. gloeosporioides. In vivo, benzothiazole showed the strongest inhibitory effect on the mycelial extensions of both M. fructicola and C. gloeosporioides, which also led to an increased rate of healthy fruit. The results of the present study

  16. Evaluation of Antimicrobial Activity of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Essential Oil Treated by Gamma Radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdeldaiem, M.H.; Helal, I.M.

    2009-01-01

    The essential oil of ginger (Zingiber officinale) was irradiated at doses of 0,5, 10 and 15 kGy. The irradiated as well as non-irradiated oil were tested for their antibacterial activity against one strain of food poisoning bacteria (Bacillus cereus), one strain of the indicator microorganisms (Escherichia coli), two strains of human pathogenic bacteria (Klebsiella pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), one strain of food spoilage bacteria (Bacillus subtilis) and one strain of plant pathogenic bacteria(Pseudomonas citri). In addition, the studied oils were tested for their antifungal activities against five strains of plant pathogenic fungi (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporium, Trichoderma viride and Alternaria alternata) to investigate the effect of gamma irradiation on the antimicrobial activity of the tested oil. The obtained results showed that all tested oils exhibited an inhibition effect for the growth of the microorganisms under investigation. While, Trichoderma viride appeared to be the most resistant fungus with non-irradiated and irradiated ginger essential oil treatments. The ginger essential oil irradiated at dose of 10 kGy appeared to be the best one for inhibition the growth of most tested bacteria and fungi under investigation. Also, changes in chemical constituents of ginger essential oil as affected by gamma radiation were investigated by Gas Chromatography

  17. Biochemical studies on antibiotic production from Streptomyces sp.: Taxonomy, fermentation, isolation and biological properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Houssam M. Atta

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Tunicamycin is a nucleotide antibiotic which was isolated from the fermentation broth of a Streptomyces strain No. T-4. According to the morphological, cultural, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, strain T-4 was identified as Streptomyces torulosus. It is active in vitro against some microbial pathogenic viz: Staphylococcus aureus, NCTC 7447; Micrococcus lutea, ATCC 9341; Bacillus subtilis, NCTC 10400; B. pumilus, NCTC; Klebsiella pneumonia, NCIMB 9111; Escherichia coli, NCTC 10416; Pseudomonas aeruginosa, ATCC 10145; Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 9763; Candida albicans, IMRU 3669; Aspergillus flavus, IMI 111023; Aspergillus niger IMI 31276; Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC 16424; Fusarium oxysporum; Rhizoctonia solani; Alternaria alternata; Botrytis fabae and Penicillium chrysogenium. The production media were optimized for maximum yield of secondary metabolites. The metabolites were extracted using n-butanol (1:1, v/v at pH 7.0. The chemical structural analysis with UV, IR, and MS spectral analyses confirmed that the compound produced by Streptomyces torulosus, T-4 is tunicamycin antibiotic.

  18. Isolamento de fungos degradadores de carbendazim Isolation of carbendazim degrading fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Célia Maria Maganhotto de Souza Silva

    1999-07-01

    Full Text Available Os fungicidas sistêmicos do grupo dos benzimidazóis são amplamente utilizados no controle de muitas doenças de plantas, tanto no solo como na parte aérea, e isso tem sido causa de contaminação ambiental. A ação de alguns microorganismos contribui para degradação e perda da atividade biológica desses fungicidas, podendo reduzir, dessa forma, o risco de impactos negativos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi selecionar fungos com potencial para degradar benomil e seu produto de hidrólise, carbendazim, e quantificar o potencial de degradação. Fungos foram isolados de três diferentes solos da região de agricultura irrigada do município de Guaíra, SP, com histórico de aplicação intensiva de fungicidas benzimidazóis. Dentre os fungos isolados, Alternaria alternata foi a linhagem menos afetada pelo aumento na concentração de benomil no meio de cultura. Na concentração máxima (100 mig mL-1 a inibição da taxa de crescimento de A. alternata foi 22%, enquanto nas demais linhagens foi superior a 45%. Em meio de cultura líquido suplementado com carbendazim, a taxa de crescimento em biomassa de A. alternata foi 43% maior do que a no meio sem carbendazim, o que indica o consumo do fungicida como fonte de carbono. A. alternata degradou rapidamente o fungicida, chegando a 66,21% de desaparecimento do produto em dois dias. A meia-vida de carbendazim nessas condições foi de 1,16 dias.The systemic fungicides belonging to the benzimidazoles group are widely used in agricultural practice and its indiscriminate use has been cause of environmental contamination. The dissipation and the loss of the pesticide biological activity depends, most of the time, on the microorganisms action. The present research was carried out with the objective to select fungi with potential to degrades benomyl and its hydrolysis product, carbendazim, and to quantify its degradation potential. The fungi were isolated from three different kinds of soils collected in

  19. THE USE OF AZADIRACHTA INDICA EXTRACT TO DECREASE OF ALTERNARIA PORRI DISEASE ON ONION

    OpenAIRE

    Loso Winarto; Novia Chairuman

    2013-01-01

    Purple spot caused by Alternaria porri a major disease in the onion crop in the world. The disease is also widespread in the onion crop in Indonesia. This research aim was to know the effect of mimba leaf (Azadirachta indica) extract concentration to decrease of Alternaria porri on onion (Allium ascalonicum L).This research conducted at Research Garden of the Center of Agricultural Technology Assessment of North Sumatra Province, from October 2010 until January 2011.The researc...

  20. First report of alternaria leaf spot of banana caused by Alternaria alternata in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Research efforts were initiated in 2003 to identify and introduce banana (Musa spp.) cultivars suitable for production in Georgia. In spring and summer 2012, seven of the cultivars (Veinte Cohol, Novaria, Cacambou, Chinese Cavendish, Raja Puri, Blue Torres Island, and African Red) grown in the field...

  1. Occurrence of root parsley pathogens inhabiting seeds

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    Bogdan Nowicki

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The studies on root parsley pathogens inhabiting seeds were conducted during 1981-1988 and in 1993. Filter paper method with prefreezing and keeping under light was used. Each test sample comprised 500 seeds. Pathogenicity of collected fungal isolates was tested following two laboratory methods. 238 seed samples were studied. 18 fungal species were found but only 7 proved to be important pathogens of root parsley. The most common inhabitants of root parsley seeds were Alternaria spp. A.allernata occurred on 74,8% of seeds but only a few isolates showed to be slightly pathogenic while A.petroselini and A.radicina were higly pathogenic and inhabited 11,4 and 4,2% of seeds, respectively. The second group of important pathogens were species of Fusarium found on 3,9% of seeds. F.avenaceum dominated as it comprised 48% of Fusarium isolates, the next were as follow: F.culmorum - 20%, F.equiseti - 15%, F.solani - 8%, F.oxysporum - 7% and F.dimerum -2%. Some fungi like Botrytis cinerea, Septoria petroselini and Phoma spp. inhabited low number of seeds, respectively O,4; 0,5 and 0,8%, but they were highly pathogenic to root parsley. The fungi: Bipolaris sorokiniana, Drechslera biseptata, Stemphylium botryosum and Ulocludium consortiale showed slight pathogenicity. They were isolated from 3,8% of seeds.

  2. Chemical constituents of marine mangrove-derived endophytic fungus Alternaria tenuissima EN-192

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Hong; Gao, Shushan; Li, Xiaoming; Li, Chunshun; Wang, Bingui

    2013-03-01

    A chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of the fermentation broth of Alternaria tenuissima EN-192, an endophytic fungus obtained from the stems of the marine mangrove plant Rhizophora stylosa, resulted in the isolation of nine known secondary metabolites, including four indole-diterpenoids: penijanthine A ( 1), paspaline ( 2), paspalinine ( 3), and penitrem A ( 4); three tricycloalternarene derivatives: tricycloalternarene 3a ( 5), tricycloalternarene 1b ( 6), and tricycloalternarene 2b ( 7); and two alternariol congeners: djalonensone ( 8) and alternariol ( 9). The chemical structures of these metabolites were characterized through a combination of detailed spectroscopic analyses and their comparison with reports from the literature. The inhibitory activities of each isolated compound against four bacteria were evaluated and compounds 5 and 8 displayed moderate activity against the aquaculture pathogenic bacterium Vibrio anguillarum, with inhibition zone diameters of 8 and 9 mm, respectively, at 100 μg/disk. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the secondary metabolites of mangrove-derived A lternaria tenuissima and also the first report of the isolation of indole-diterpenoids from fungal genus A lternaria.

  3. In vitro control of Alternaria citri using antifungal potentials of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In vitro control of Alternaria citri using antifungal potentials of Trichoderma species. Asma Murtaza, Shazia Shafique, Tehmina Anjum, Sobiya Shafique. Abstract. The antifungal potential of five species of Trichoderma viz., Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma aureoviride, Trichoderma reesei, Trichoderma koningii and ...

  4. Alternaria leaf spot in Michigan and fungicide sensitivity issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Since 2010 there has been an increase in identification of Alternaria leaf spot on sugar beet in Michigan and other growing regions in the US and Canada. In 2016, the disease was severe enough to cause economic losses in the Michigan growing region. Michigan isolates from sugar beet were examined ...

  5. Sunflower seed for human consumption as a substrate for the growth of mycopopulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Škrinjar Marija M.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available These mycological investigations are implicating samples of protein sunflower seed from regular cultivation in the Vojvodina Province. Samples are examined in different stages of production: reception in the silo, separation of massive fraction on peeler and then peeling, kernel after peeling, hull, final product, i.e. kernels separated from visible impurities on conveyor bel, that are later manually divided in two fractions - a seemingly whole, undamaged kernels, without change of colour, and b seemingly damaged kernels, broken, with change of colour. For the determination of viable count of moulds and their isolation, two different media are used in parallel: Sabouraud maltose agar (SMA and malt/yeast extract with 50% of glucose (MY50G, favourable for growth of xerophilic moulds. All samples tested were contaminated with fungi. Total viable mould count per seed varied from 1.6 (SMA respecting 1.3 (MY50G on reception, to 5.6 (SMA and 7.5 (MY50G cfu/seed in visually damaged sunflower kernels (final product. From seeds, kernels and hull, numerous moulds were isolated, belonging to 8 genera and 13 species (Alternaria alternata, Arthrinium phaeospermum, Aspergillus candidus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. ochraceus, A. versicolor, A. wentii, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Eurotium herbariorum, Penicillium aurantiogriseum, Rhizopus stolonifer and Trichoderma harzianum. Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, A.ochraceus, A. versicolor and Eurotium herbariorum were isolated on both media. Aspergillus candidus, A. versicolor, C. Cladosporioides, P. aurantiogriseum and T. harzianum were isolated only on SMA, while A. niger, A. wentii and R. stolonifer were exclusively isolated on MY50G. Most ubiquitous species is A. alternata, which is isolated from all tested samples, while A. candidus, C. cladosporioides and T. harzianum were isolated from sunflower seed on reception in silo, using SMA medium.

  6. Anti-infective potential of a medicinal plant pimpenella stewartii used traditionally in hazara

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gul, F.; Hassan, M.

    2016-01-01

    Medicinal plants have been used since long as folk medicines and also in Ayuvedic and Unani systems of treatment. They have importance to save human and animal lives because of their utilization in the herbal medicines. In all over the word plants are in constant use for curing of various kinds of diseases. The herbal medicines are effective due to presence of bioactive compounds along with vitamins and minerals in them. Moreover, plants produce photo-chemicals mainly secondary metabolites which have significant pharmaceutical activities like antioxidant, antimicrobial, pesticidal and anti-tumour activity. They are very effective and have little or no side effects. Methods: Five microbial strains including three fungal and two bacterial species were tested for the efficacy of plant materials by Agar diffusion method. The fungal species were Aspergilus flavus, Aspergilus niger and Alternaria alternata while bacterial species included Arvenia caratovora and Xanthomans spp. Results: Results obtained for methanolic extracts of Pimpenella stewartii against Aspergilus flavus, Aspergilus niger and Alternaria alternata showed significant antifungal activity. The antibacterial screening of Methanolic extracts of Pimpenella stewartii were evaluated against Arvenia caratovora and Xanthomans spp. The best zone of inhibition was found against Xanthomans spp (97.33 ± 2 mm) at 250 ppm concentration followed by Arvenia caratovora (49.7 ± 14 mm) at same concentration. (author)

  7. A compatible interaction of Alternaria brassicicola with Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype DiG: evidence for a specific transcriptional signature

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    Gepstein Shimon

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The interaction of Arabidopsis with Alternaria brassicicola provides a model for disease caused by necrotrophs, but a drawback has been the lack of a compatible pathosystem. Infection of most ecotypes, including the widely-studied line Col-0, with this pathogen generally leads to a lesion that does not expand beyond the inoculated area. This study examines an ecotype, Dijon G (DiG, which is considered sensitive to A. brassicicola. Results We show that the interaction has the characteristics of a compatible one, with expanding rather than limited lesions. To ask whether DiG is merely more sensitive to the pathogen or, rather, interacts in distinct manner, we identified genes whose regulation differs between Col-0 and DiG challenged with A. brassicicola. Suppression subtractive hybridization was used to identify differentially expressed genes, and their expression was verified using semi-quantitative PCR. We also tested a set of known defense-related genes for differential regulation in the two plant-pathogen interactions. Several known pathogenesis-related (PR genes are up-regulated in both interactions. PR1, and a monooxygenase gene identified in this study, MO1, are preferentially up-regulated in the compatible interaction. In contrast, GLIP1, which encodes a secreted lipase, and DIOX1, a pathogen-response related dioxygenase, are preferentially up-regulated in the incompatible interaction. Conclusion The results show that DiG is not only more susceptible, but demonstrate that its interaction with A. brassicicola has a specific transcriptional signature.

  8. Characteristics of bacillus strains with antifungal activity against phytopathogens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Young Keun; Senthilkumar, M. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup (Korea, Republic of)

    2009-12-15

    Four bacterial isolates that showed antifungal activity against Alternaria alternata and other phytopathogens were isolates from bean rhizosphere. 16S rDNA analysis and phylogenetic relationship indicated that these isolates belong to Genus Bacillus. Isolate A1 clustered with Bacillus licheniformis while other isolates A2, A3 and A4 clustered together with B.pumilus. n-Butanol extract of these isolates strongly inhibited the growth of A. alternata while, chloroform extract of isolate A2 and ethyl acetate extract of A1,A3, and A4 inhibited the test fungus partially. All the isolates except A4 produced chitinase enzyme. None of the isolates solubilized mineral phosphate. Radiation sensitivity of isolates A1, A2, A3 and A4 were assessed and the LD{sub 99} values are determined as 0.50, 6.69, 11,60, 1.53 kGy, respectively. Mutant libraries of each isolate were prepared by exposing them to gamma radiation at their respective LD{sub 99} dose. Crude metabolite caused drastic changes on A. alternata hyphal morphology. Appearance of shrunken and collapsed hyphae could be due to the leak of cell wall or changes in membrane permeability.

  9. Characteristics of bacillus strains with antifungal activity against phytopathogens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Young Keun; Senthilkumar, M.

    2009-01-01

    Four bacterial isolates that showed antifungal activity against Alternaria alternata and other phytopathogens were isolates from bean rhizosphere. 16S rDNA analysis and phylogenetic relationship indicated that these isolates belong to Genus Bacillus. Isolate A1 clustered with Bacillus licheniformis while other isolates A2, A3 and A4 clustered together with B.pumilus. n-Butanol extract of these isolates strongly inhibited the growth of A. alternata while, chloroform extract of isolate A2 and ethyl acetate extract of A1,A3, and A4 inhibited the test fungus partially. All the isolates except A4 produced chitinase enzyme. None of the isolates solubilized mineral phosphate. Radiation sensitivity of isolates A1, A2, A3 and A4 were assessed and the LD 99 values are determined as 0.50, 6.69, 11,60, 1.53 kGy, respectively. Mutant libraries of each isolate were prepared by exposing them to gamma radiation at their respective LD 99 dose. Crude metabolite caused drastic changes on A. alternata hyphal morphology. Appearance of shrunken and collapsed hyphae could be due to the leak of cell wall or changes in membrane permeability

  10. CONTROL OF Alternaria porri (E11 CIF. AND TOXIC EFFECT OF CAPTAFOL SPRAYING IN GARLIC (Allium sativum L. CONTROLE DE Alternaria porri (E11 Cif. E EFEITO FITOTÓXICO DE CAPTAFOL EM PULVERIZAÇÃO NA CULTURA DO ALHO (Allium sativum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iraídes Fernandes Carneiro

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available

    The objective of the present work was to verify the effect of the different concentrations of the captafol fungicide (0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 g.i.a./100 l of water, in the control of Alternaria porri (E11 Cif. and their toxic effects on plants, in two cultivars of garlic (Lavinia and Centenário. The results show that, for the cultivars tested, the fungicide, in the concentrations utilized, didn’t control the pathogen, and it didn’t show fitotoxicity.

    Com o objetivo de verificar o efeito do Captafol no controle de Alternaria porri (E11 Cif. na cultura do alho, e seus efeitos fitotóxicos nesta A1iácea, foi instalado um experimento nas dependências da Escola de Agronomia da Universidade Federal de Goiás, em Goiânia. O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso com parcelas subdivididas utilizando-se as cultivares Lavinia e Centenário, submetidas a pulverizações com o fungicida nas seguintes concentrações: 0, 50, 100, 200 e 400 gramas do princípio ativo por 100 litros de água. Os resultados indicam que, para as duas cultivares utilizadas, o Captafol não controlou o patógeno, nem se mostrou fitotóxico.

  11. Variación estacional y potencial enzimático de microhongos asociados con la descomposición de hojarasca de Nothofagus pumilio Seasonal variation and enzymatic potential of microfungi associated with the decomposition of Nothofagus pumilio leaf litter

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    EDUARDO VALENZUELA

    2001-12-01

    Full Text Available Se estudió la variación estacional y el potencial enzimático de microhongos aislados desde el follaje y hojarasca de Nothofagus pumilio sometida a degradación natural durante 1 año. La investigación se realizó en un bosque de N. pumilio ubicado en una microcuenca del Valle de Antillanca, Parque Nacional Puyehue (40° 47' S, 72° 12' O, 1.120 m de altitud. Hojas senescentes colectadas desde árboles de N. pumilio se depositaron en bolsas de malla de nylon ("litter bags" y se sometieron a degradación natural en el piso del bosque durante 1 año (marzo 1997-marzo 1998, realizando muestreos trimestrales. Para el aislamiento de microhongos desde las hojas se utilizó el método de las diluciones, con agar extracto de malta al 2 % como medio de cultivo. Para determinar los potenciales degradativos de los aislamientos, se analizaron in vitro las actividades de amilasa, celulasa, pectinasa, proteasa, lacasa, oxidasa extracelular, peroxidasa, citocromo oxidasa, fosfatasa, esterasa y tirosinasa. Las principales especies aisladas en las hojas senescentes fueron Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum, Phialophora grupo hoffmannii y Rhodotorula aurantiaca. Las especies dominantes en la hojarasca fueron Hormonema prunorum, Mortierella ramanniana var. angulispora, Penicillium para-herquei y Trichoderma polysporum. El mayor potencial enzimático lo exhibieron Moniliales y micelios estériles, mientras el menor Sphaeropsidales y levaduras. Las especies más activas fueron Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Hormonema prunorum y Phialophora malorum. Las actividades de celulasa y amilasa fueron las más importantes. De las enzimas ligninolíticas, oxidasa extracelular y peroxidasa presentaron los más elevados potenciales enzimáticosThe seasonal variation and enzymatic potential of microfungi isolated from senescent leaves and leaf litter of Nothofagus pumilio was studied. The study was performed in a N

  12. Selection of pathogen-resistant mutants in rapeseed

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spanier, A.; Roebbelen, G.

    1990-01-01

    Full text: Significant yield reductions are due to Phoma lingam and Alternaria brassicae. Toxin containing culture filtrates of the pathogens as well as concentrated toxins of Phoma (Sirodesmins) are used for resistance selections in in-vitro cultures of haploid rapeseed materials. A few days after transfer of the in-vitro materials to the selective media the inhibitory effect of both the culture filtrates as well as the Sirodesmins was apparent. Clones were obtained, surviving several transfers onto toxin containing media. Further experiments shall clarify whether the toxin tolerance, selected in vitro at the cell level, is expressed in the differentiated plant in the greenhouse and finally in the field. (author)

  13. A new p-hydroxybenzoic acid derivative from an endophytic fungus Penicillium sp. of Nerium indicum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Yang-Min; Qiao, Ke; Kong, Yang; Guo, Lin-Xin; Li, Meng-Yun; Fan, Chao

    2017-12-01

    A new p-hydroxybenzoic acid derivative named 4-(2'R, 4'-dihydroxybutoxy) benzoic acid (1) was isolated from the fermentation of Penicillium sp. R22 in Nerium indicum. The structure was elucidated by means of spectroscopic (HR-ESI-MS, NMR, IR, UV) and X-ray crystallographic methods. The antibacterial and antifungal activity of compound 1 was tested, and the results showed that compound 1 revealed potent antifungal activity against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Alternaria alternata, and Alteranria brassicae with MIC value of 31.2 μg/ml.

  14. Inhibition of spore germination of Alternaria tenuis by sulfur dioxide

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Couey, H.M.

    1962-08-01

    As a part of a continuing study of SO/sub 2/ fumigation of table grapes, the effect of SO/sub 2/ on spores of an isolate of A. tenuis Auct. causing decay of table grapes was determined. The amount of SO/sub 2/ required to inhibit completely spore germination depended on availability of moisture and the temperature. At 20/sup 0/C, wet spores required 20-min exposure to 100 ppm SO/sub 2/ to prevent germination, but spores equilibrated at 90% relative humidity (RH) required 10-min exposure to 1000 ppm SO/sub 2/. Dry spores at 60% RH were unaffected by a 20-min exposure to 4000 ppm SO/sub 2/. Increasing the temperature in the range 5-20/sup 0/C increased effectiveness of the SO/sub 2/ treatment. A comparison of Alternaria with Botrytis cinerea Fr. (studied earlier) showed that wet spores of these organisms were about equally sensitive to SO/sub 2/, but that dry Alternaria spores were more resistant to SO/sub 2/ than dry Botrytis spores under comparable conditions.

  15. Research Regarding the Simultaneous Control of the Pathogens on Tomatoes Crops under High Plastic Tunnels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela ŞOVĂREL

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In Romania the most important pathogens on tomatoes crops are Alternaria porri f.sp. solani, Botrytis cinerea, Fulvia fulva, Phytophthora infestans and Erysiphe sp. During period of vegetation, the attack of mentioned pathogens are frequently overlapping. For simultaneously control of pathogenswere used some combination with different active substances (chlorothalonil 500g/l, iprodione 500 g/l, fenhexamid 500 g/l, thiophanate methyl 500g/l, metiram 80%, dimethomorph 9%, mancozeb 60%, difenoconazole 250 g/l , fenamidone 75g/l, propamocarb HCL 375 g/l. The best results for controlling Alternaria porri f.sp. solani, Botrytis cinerea and Fulvia fulva are metiram 80% 0.2% + thiophanate methyl 500g/l 0.14% with 93.5% efficacy. In the untreated check the degree of attack was 78.6% (44.3% A.solani, 7.0% B.cinerea and 27.3% F. Fulva. For controlling Phytophthora infestans, Erysiphe sp. and Fulvia fulva (fenamidone 75g/l + propamocarb HCL 375 g/l    0.2% +  difenoconazole 250 g/l 0.05% with 94.5% efficacy. In the untreated check the degree of attack is 81.2% (38.4% P. infestans, 27.4% Erysiphe sp. , 15.4% F. fulva.

  16. Comparative study of airborne Alternaria conidia levels in two cities in Castilla-La Mancha (central Spain), and correlations with weather-related variables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabariego, Silvia; Bouso, Veronica; Pérez-Badia, Rosa

    2012-01-01

    Alternaria conidia are among the airborne biological particles known to trigger allergic respiratory diseases. The presented paper reports on a study of seasonal variations in airborne Alternaria conidia concentrations in 2 cities in the central Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete and Toledo. The influence of weather-related variables on airborne conidia levels and distribution was also analysed. Sampling was carried out from 2008-2010 using a Hirst sampler, following the methodology established by the Spanish Aerobiology Network. Annual airborne Alternaria conidia counts were higher in Toledo (annual mean 3,936 conidia) than in Albacete (annual mean 2,268 conidia). Conidia were detected in the air throughout the year, but levels peaked between May-September. Considerable year-on-year variations were recorded both in total annual counts and in seasonal distribution. A significant positive correlation was generally found between mean daily Alternaria counts and both temperature and hours of sunlight, while a significant negative correlation was recorded for relative humidity, daily and cumulative rainfall, and wind speed. Regression models indicated that between 31%-52% of the variation in airborne Alternaria conidia concentrations could be explained by weather-related variables.

  17. Salicylic acid-mediated establishment of the compatibility between Alternaria brassicicola and Brassica juncea is mitigated by abscisic acid in Sinapis alba.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazumder, Mrinmoy; Das, Srirupa; Saha, Upala; Chatterjee, Madhuvanti; Bannerjee, Kaushik; Basu, Debabrata

    2013-09-01

    This work addresses the changes in the phytohormonal signature in the recognition of the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Alternaria brassicicola by susceptible Brassica juncea and resistant Sinapis alba. Although B. juncea, S. alba and Arabidopsis all belong to the same family, Brassicaceae, the phytohormonal response of susceptible B. juncea towards this pathogen is unique because the latter two species express non-host resistance. The differential expression of the PR1 gene and the increased level of salicylic acid (SA) indicated that an SA-mediated biotrophic mode of defence response was triggered in B. juncea upon challenge with the pathogen. Compared to B. juncea, resistant S. alba initiated enhanced abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA) responses following challenge with this pathogen, as revealed by monitoring the expression of ABA-related genes along with the concentration of ABA and JA. Furthermore, these results were verified by the exogenous application of ABA on B. juncea leaves prior to challenge with A. brassicicola, which resulted in a delayed disease progression, followed by the inhibition of the pathogen-mediated increase in SA response and enhanced JA levels. Therefore, it seems that A. brassicicola is steering the defence response towards a biotrophic mode by mounting an SA response in susceptible B. juncea, whereas the enhanced ABA response of S. alba not only counteracts the SA response but also restores the necrotrophic mode of resistance by enhancing JA biosynthesis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. Alternaria cerasidanica sp nov., isolated in Denmark from drupes of Prunus avium

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roberts, R. G.; Reymond, S. T.; Andersen, Birgitte

    2010-01-01

    The ex-type strain of Alternaria cerasidanica was isolated in 2001 from an immature, asymptomatic drupe of Prunus avium collected at a commercial cherry orchard near Skaelskor, Denmark. Cultural morphology, sporulation pattern and cluster analyses of combined RAPD, RAMS (microsatellite), and AFLP...

  19. Irradiation in the control of post harvest losses- a NRL contribution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy, M.K.; Prasad, H.H.

    1994-01-01

    In-vitro growth of Phytophthora parasitica is completely prevented by a dose of 1.5kGy of gamma radiation and that of Phomopsis vexans by a dose of 4.0kGy. These doses, however cannot prevent the growth of other three studied fungi viz. Fusarium ceoruleum, Geotrichum candidum and Alternaria alternata and exerted only a reversible effect on their growth. Irradiation as a method for the control of harvest losses in fruits, tomato, rice etc. were studied at Nuclear Research Laboratory (NRL) and the results are given. 2 figs., 8 tabs

  20. Phyllosphere mycobiota on garden ponds plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Kowalik

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Investigations were conducted on calamus, common cattail, soft rush, yellow iris and white water lily plants in twenty ponds in Malopolska and Podkarpacie Regions. Mycobiota existing in the phyllosphere caused discolouring and necroses of leaves and shoots. 88 species of mycobiota were identified and isolated from the diseased tissues. Dominant were Alternaria alternata, Epicoccum nigrum and Isaria farinosa. Fungi of genera: Aspergillus, Botrytis, Chaetomium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Ilyonectria, Mortierella, Mucor, Penicillium, Phialophora, Phoma, Pleustomophora, Sordaria, Trichoderma and Umbelopsis were also numerous. The monophagous and the polyphagous were identified.

  1. Isolation of fungi in Musca domestica Linnaeus, 1758 (Diptera: Muscidae captured at two natural breeding grounds in the municipality of Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sales Márcia de Senna Nunes

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to isolate and identify fungal species found in natural association with adults of Musca domestica. The adult insects were collected from two natural breeding grounds: hog pens and an urban sanitary landfill. The isolated fungi were identified as: Aspergillus flavus (23.8%, A. niger var. niger (14.4%, Penicillium corylophilum (21.4%, P. fellutanum (11.9%, Cladosporium cladosporoides (4.7%, Fusarium sp. (4.7%, Alternaria alternata (11.9%, Curvularia brachyspora (2.4%, Mycelia sterilia (2.4% and the Mucorales order (2.4%.

  2. Fungi and fungi-like Oomycetes isolated from affected leaves of rhododendron

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Kowalik

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the work is to identify fungi and fungi-like Oomycetes occurring on affected leaves of rhododendron Rhododendron L. Mycological analyses were carried out on 200 leaves collected from green areas of Kraków from May till September 2005. Isolated fungi-like Oomycetes belonged to 67 taxa. The most frequently found fungi included: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Coelophoma empetri, Nigrospora sphaerica, Pestalotia sydowiana, Phialophora cyclaminis, Phomopsis archeri, Septoria azalea and Sordaria fimicola. Among fungi-like organisms Phytophthora cinnamomi and P. citricola were isolated.

  3. [Microbiological corrosion of aluminum alloys].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnov, V F; Belov, D V; Sokolova, T N; Kuzina, O V; Kartashov, V R

    2008-01-01

    Biological corrosion of ADO quality aluminum and aluminum-based construction materials (alloys V65, D16, and D16T) was studied. Thirteen microscopic fungus species and six bacterial species proved to be able to attack aluminum and its alloys. It was found that biocorrosion of metals by microscopic fungi and bacteria was mediated by certain exometabolites. Experiments on biocorrosion of the materials by the microscopic fungus Alternaria alternata, the most active biodegrader, demonstrated that the micromycete attack started with the appearance of exudate with pH 8-9 on end faces of the samples.

  4. Microflora fúngica de sementes de milho em ambientes de armazenamento

    OpenAIRE

    Tanaka, Maria Aparecida de Souza; Maeda, Jocely Andreuccetti; Plazas, Isabel Helena de Almeida Zeituni

    2001-01-01

    Durante o armazenamento, vários fungos podem permanecer associados às sementes de milho, causando deterioração ou se mantendo viáveis, infectando posteriormente a plântula. Objetivou-se neste trabalho verificar a sobrevivência de fungos associados às sementes de milho durante 12 meses de armazenamento, em câmara fria (14ºC; 40% UR) e em ambiente não controlado. Observaram-se com maior freqüência os fungos de campo Alternaria alternata, Bipolaris maydis, Cephalosporium acremonium, Cladosporium...

  5. A polyphasic approach to the taxonomy of the Alternaria infectoria species-group

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Birgitte; Sørensen, Jens Laurids; Nielsen, Kristian Fog

    2009-01-01

    Different taxa in the species-group of Alternaria infectoria (teleomorph Lewia spp.) are often isolated from various cereals including barley, maize and wheat grain, ornamental plants and skin lesions from animals and humans. In the present study we made a polyphasic characterization of 39 strains...

  6. In Silico Identification of Mimicking Molecules as Defense Inducers Triggering Jasmonic Acid Mediated Immunity against Alternaria Blight Disease in Brassica Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinesh Pandey

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Alternaria brassicae and Alternaria brassicicola are two major phytopathogenic fungi which cause Alternaria blight, a recalcitrant disease on Brassica crops throughout the world, which is highly destructive and responsible for significant yield losses. Since no resistant source is available against Alternaria blight, therefore, efforts have been made in the present study to identify defense inducer molecules which can induce jasmonic acid (JA mediated defense against the disease. It is believed that JA triggered defense response will prevent necrotrophic mode of colonization of Alternaria brassicae fungus. The JA receptor, COI1 is one of the potential targets for triggering JA mediated immunity through interaction with JA signal. In the present study, few mimicking compounds more efficient than naturally occurring JA in terms of interaction with COI1 were identified through virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulation studies. A high quality structural model of COI1 was developed using the protein sequence of Brassica rapa. This was followed by virtual screening of 767 analogs of JA from ZINC database for interaction with COI1. Two analogs viz. ZINC27640214 and ZINC43772052 showed more binding affinity with COI1 as compared to naturally occurring JA. Molecular dynamics simulation of COI1 and COI1-JA complex, as well as best screened interacting structural analogs of JA with COI1 was done for 50 ns to validate the stability of system. It was found that ZINC27640214 possesses efficient, stable, and good cell permeability properties. Based on the obtained results and its physicochemical properties, it is capable of mimicking JA signaling and may be used as defense inducers for triggering JA mediated resistance against Alternaria blight, only after further validation through field trials.

  7. Atividades antioxidante e fungitóxica do óleo essencial de capim-limão e do citral Antioxidant and fungitoxic activities of the lemongrass essential oil and citral

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Gustavo de Lima Guimarães

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Tendo em vista a importância dos óleos essenciais, objetivou-se, com este trabalho, avaliar a atividade antioxidante e os efeitos fungitóxicos do óleo essencial de capim-limão e do seu constituinte majoritário citral sobre a inibição micelial dos fitopatógenos Fusarium oxysporum cubense, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Bipolaris sp. e Alternaria alternata. A atividade antioxidante foi realizada, empregando os métodos de redução do radical livre DPPH e o ensaio de oxidação do sistema b-caroteno/ácido linoléico. Para cada metodologia, utilizou-se o delineamento inteiramente casualizado em esquema fatorial de 4 x 5, sendo quatro compostos (óleo essencial, citral, timol e α-tocoferol e cinco concentrações (5; 10; 25; 50 e 100 µg L-1, com três repetições Os ensaios para verificação das atividades fungitóxicas foram realizados aplicando o teste de fumigação in vitro sobre a inibição micelial dos fungos fitopatogênicos estudados. Os tratamentos foram dispostos de forma inteiramente casualizada, com três repetições e em esquema fatorial com arranjo variável entre os fitopatógenos. O óleo essencial e o citral apresentaram pequena atividade antioxidante perante a metodologia que avalia a redução do radical estável DPPH, no entanto, perante a metodologia que emprega o sistema emulsificado β-caroteno/ácido linoléico estes compostos apresentaram atividades antioxidantes significativas. Nas atividades fungitóxicas, o óleo essencial e o citral apresentaram uma maior atividade sobre o fitopatógeno Alternaria alternata. Em relação aos valores de IC50 os menores valores apresentados pelo óleo essencial (75,83 µg mL-1 e pelo citral (58,24 µg mL-1 foram sobre o Bipolaris sp. O citral causou as maiores inibições miceliais, para todos os fitopatógenos.Given the importance of essential oils, this study evaluated the antioxidant activity and fungitoxic effects of lemongrass essential oil and its main constituent

  8. A polyphasic approach for the characterization of endophytic Alternaria strains isolated from grapevines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Polizzotto, Rachele; Andersen, Birgitte; Martini, Marta

    2012-01-01

    A polyphasic approach was set up and applied to characterize 20 fungal endophytes belonging to the genus Alternaria, recovered from grapevine in different Italian regions.Morphological, microscopical, molecular and chemical investigations were performed and the obtained results were combined in a...

  9. Alternaria sp. MG1, a resveratrol-producing fungus: isolation, identification, and optimal cultivation conditions for resveratrol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Junling; Zeng, Qin; Liu, Yanlin; Pan, Zhongli

    2012-07-01

    Due to its potential in preventing or slowing the occurrence of many diseases, resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxystilbene) has attracted great research interest. The objective of this study was to identify microorganisms from selected plants that produce resveratrol and to optimize the conditions for resveratrol production. Endophytes from Merlot wine grapes (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Merlot), wild Vitis (Vitis quinquangularis Rehd.), and Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum Siebold & Zucc.) were isolated, and their abilities to produce resveratrol were evaluated. A total of 65 isolates were obtained and 21 produced resveratrol (6-123 μg/L) in liquid culture. The resveratrol-producing isolates belonged to seven genera, Botryosphaeria, Penicillium, Cephalosporium, Aspergillus, Geotrichum, Mucor, and Alternaria. The resveratrol-producing capability decreased or was completely lost in most isolates after three rounds of subculture. It was found that only the strain Alternaria sp. MG1 (isolated from cob of Merlot using GA1 medium) had stable and high resveratrol-producing capability in all subcultures. During liquid cultivation of Alternaria sp. MG1 in potato dextrose medium, the synthesis of resveratrol began on the first day, increased to peak levels on day 7, and then decreased sharply thereafter. Cell growth increased during cultivation and reached a stable and high level of biomass after 5 days. The best fermentation conditions for resveratrol production in liquid cultures of Alternaria sp. MG1 were an inoculum size of 6 %, a medium volume of 125 mL in a 250-mL flask, a rotation speed of 101 rpm, and a temperature of 27 °C.

  10. Discovering Novel Alternaria solani Succinate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors by in Silico Modeling and Virtual Screening Strategies to Combat Early Blight

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sehrish Iftikhar

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Alternaria blight is an important foliage disease caused by Alternaria solani. The enzyme Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH is a potential drug target because of its role in tricarboxylic acid cycle. Hence targeting Alternaria solani SDH enzyme could be efficient tool to design novel fungicides against A. solani. We employed computational methodologies to design new SDH inhibitors using homology modeling; pharmacophore modeling and structure based virtual screening. The three dimensional SDH model showed good stereo-chemical and structural properties. Based on virtual screening results twelve commercially available compounds were purchased and tested in vitro and in vivo. The compounds were found to inhibit mycelial growth of A. solani. Moreover in vitro trials showed that inhibitory effects were enhanced with increase in concentrations. Similarly increased disease control was observed in pre-treated potato tubers. Hence the applied in silico strategy led us to identify novel fungicides.

  11. Seed isolates of Alternaria and Aspergillus fungi increase germination of Astragalus utahensis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sean D. Eldredge; Brad Geary; Scott L. Jensen

    2016-01-01

    Astragalus utahensis (Torr.) Torr. & A. Gray (Fabaceae) (Utah milkvetch) is native lo the arid Great Basin and has desirable attributes that make it a good candidate for restoration in arid, noncompetitive situations. Seed dormancy is a significant barrier to consistent establishment for this species. Species of Alternaria and Aspergillus fungi have...

  12. Fungitoxicty of Bidens pilosa, Thymus vulgaris, Lippia alba and Rosmarinus officinalis in the in vitro development of phytophatogens fungi / Fungitoxidade de Bidens pilosa, Thymus vulgaris, Lippia alba e Rosmarinus officinalis no desenvolvimento in vitro de fungos fitopatogênicos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Renato Stangarlin

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available The fungitoxicity of aqueous crude extracts (ACE of Bidens pilosa, Thymus vulgaris, Lippia alba and Rosmarinus officinalis was evaluated in vitro on development of Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum graminicola, Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium rolfsii. The active ACE were incorporated to Potato- Dextrose-Agar (PDA alone or in mixture, at 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 25% and 50% concentrations. Measurement in fungal colonies was taken daily until the control treatment covered 2/3 of the culture media. The mixtures of T. vulgaris with B. pilosa did not have positive effect because the ACE of B. pilosa did not reduce the fungal growth of R. solani and in mixture inhibited the effect ACE of T. vulgaris. However, the mixture of ACEs of R. officinalis and L. alba produced better results than isolated ACEs, with 60% of growth inhibition of A. alternata. The ACE of T. vulgaris inhibited the growth of C. graminicola at 97%. The results show that ACEs have significative fungitoxicity in the evaluated phythopathogens.Avaliou-se in vitro, a atividade fungitóxica dos extratos brutos aquosos (EBA em diferentes concentrações isolados e em misturas de Bidens pilosa, Thymus vulgaris, Lippia alba e Rosmarinus officinalis no desenvolvimento dos fungos Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum graminicola, Rhizoctonia solani e Sclerotium rolfsii. A avaliação foi realizada incorporando os extratos brutos aquosos (EBAs ao meio BDA isolados e em mistura, nas concentrações 0%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 25% e 50%. Foram feitas medições diárias das colônias fúngicas até o momento em o tratamento controle cobriu 2/3 da superfície do meio de cultura. Verificou-se que a mistura de T. vulgaris com B. pilosa não teve efeito positivo, pois o EBA isolado de B. pilosa não reduziu o crescimento do fungo R. solani e em mistura reduziu o efeito do EBA de T. vulgaris. Porém, o EBAs de R. officinalis e L. alba em mistura levaram a melhores resultados, reduzindo em até 60% o

  13. Biological control of Alternaria radicina in seed production of carrots with Ulocladium atrum

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Köhl, J.; Langerak, C.J.; Meekes, E.T.M.; Molhoek, W.M.L.

    2004-01-01

    Black rot of carrots is caused by seed-borne Alternaria radicina. Biological control of seed infestation by treatments applied to plants in flower during seed production with the fungal antagonist Ulocladium atrum was investigated in laboratory and field experiments resulting in a reduction of seed

  14. Antifungal activity of medicinal plant extracts against phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria spp Actividad antifúngica de extractos de plantas medicinales contra el hongo fitopatógeno Alternaria spp

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    Paola Díaz Dellavalle

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of extracts of 10 plant species used in traditional Uruguayan medicine against the phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria spp. The plants were selected on the basis of their reported ethnobotanical uses. Aqueous, saline buffer and acid extracts of different plant species were screened in vitro for their antifungal activity against Alternaria spp. For the antifungal evaluation we used a microspectrophotometric assay. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC of the extracts were determined. Three solvents were assayed on different tissues of the plants and among the 29 evaluated extracts, 31% of the extracts inhibited growth, similar to the effects of a chemical fungicide. Acid extracts of the plants were more effective than the aqueous or buffer extracts against Alternaria spp. The MIC values of the extracts were determined ranging between 1.25 and 25 µg mL-1. The MFC values of the extracts ranged between 1.25 µg mL-1 (Rosmarinus officinalis L. and 10 µg mL-1 (Cynara scolymus L.. MICs and MFCs values obtained from leaves (Salvia officinalis L. and R. officinalis and seeds extracts (Salvia sclarea L. were quite comparable to values obtained with the conventional fungicide captan (2.5 µg mL-1. The extracts of Salvia sclarea, S. officinalis and R. officinalis could be considered as potential sources of antifungal compounds for treating diseases in plants. These extracts showed maximum activity, even at very low concentrations, and the same fungicide effects as chemical fungicide. We conclude from this that these extracts exhibit amazing fungicidal properties that support their traditional use as antiseptics.El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la actividad antifúngica de extractos vegetales de 10 especies utilizadas en la medicina tradicional uruguaya contra el hongo fitopatógeno Alternaria spp. Las plantas fueron seleccionadas en base a usos

  15. Occurrence of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. spores in Western, Northern and Central-Eastern Poland in 2004-2006 and relation to some meteorological factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grinn-Gofroń, Agnieszka; Rapiejko, Piotr

    2009-08-01

    The concentration of airborne spores of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. has been investigated at three monitoring stations situated along the west-north and central-east transect in Poland (Szczecin, Olsztyn, Warszawa,) i.e. from a height of 100 m to 149 m above sea level. The aerobiological monitoring of fungal spores was performed by means of three Lanzoni volumetric spore traps. Cladosporium spp. spores were dominant at all the stations. The highest Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. numbers of spores were observed at all the cities in July and August. Statistically significant correlations have been found between the Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. concentration in the air and the mean air temperature, amount of precipitation, air pressure and relative air humidity. The spore count of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. is determined by the diversity of local flora and weather conditions, especially by the air temperature. The identification of factors, which influence and shape spore concentrations, may significantly improve the current methods of allergy prevention.

  16. Distribution Frequency and Incidence of Seed-borne Pathogens of Some Cereals and Industrial Crops in Serbia

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    Jelena Lević

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A total of 41 species of fungi were isolated from seed samples of barley, maize, soybean,and sunflower collected at different locations in Serbia. The majority of detected speciesoccurred on barley (35 of 41 species or 87.8% comparing to soybean (17 of 41 species or41.5%, sunflower (16 of 41 species or 39.0% and maize (15 of 41 species or 36.9%. Speciesbelonging to genera Alternaria, Chaetomium, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Penicillium and Rhizopuswere present on seeds of all four plant species. Alternaria species were dominant on soybean,barley and sunflower seeds (85.7%, 84.7% and 76.9%. F. verticillioides and Penicilliumspp. were mainly isolated from maize seeds (100 and 92.3% respectively, while other specieswere isolated up to 38.5% (Chaetomium spp. and Rhizopus spp.. F. graminearum, F. proliferatum,F. poae and F. sporotrichioides were the most common Fusarium species isolatedfrom barley (51.1-93.3%, while on the soybean seeds F. oxysporum (71.4%, F. semitectum(57.1% and F. sporotrichioides (57.1% were prevalent. Frequency of Fusarium species onsunflower seeds varied from 7% (F. equiseti, F. graminearum, F. proliferatum and F. subglutinansto 15.4% (F. verticillioides. Statistically significant negative correlation (r = –0.678* wasdetermined for the incidence of F. graminearum and Alternaria spp., as well as, Fusarium spp.and Alternaria spp. (r = –0.614*, on barley seeds. The obtained results revealed that seedbornepathogens were present in most seed samples of important cereals and industrialcrops grown under different agroecological conditions in Serbia. Some of the identifiedfungi are potential producers of mycotoxins, thus their presence is important in termsof reduced food safety for humans and animals. Therefore, an early and accurate diagnosisand pathogen surveillance will provide time for the development and the applicationof disease strategies.

  17. Biocontrol Potential of Streptomyces hydrogenans strain DH16 Towards Alternaria brassicicola to Control Damping Off and Black Leaf Spot of Raphanus sativus

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    Rajesh Kumari Manhas

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Biocontrol agents and their bioactive metabolites provide one of the best alternatives to decrease the use of chemical pesticides. In light of this, the present investigation reports the biocontrol potential of Streptomyces hydrogenans DH16 and its metabolites towards Alternaria brassicicola, causal agent of black leaf spot and damping off of seedlings of crucifers. In vitro antibiosis of strain against pathogen revealed complete suppression of mycelial growth of pathogen, grown in potato dextrose broth supplemented with culture supernatant (20% v/v of Streptomyces hydrogenans DH16. Microscopic examination of the fungal growth showed severe morphological abnormalities in the mycelium caused by antifungal metabolites. In vivo studies showed the efficacy of streptomycete cells and culture supernatant as seed dressings to control damping off of Raphanus sativus seedlings. Treatment of pathogen infested seeds with culture supernatant (10% and streptomycete cells significantly improved seed germination (75-80% and vigour index (1167-1538. Furthermore, potential of cells and culture supernatant as foliar treatment to control black leaf spot was also evaluated. Clearly visible symptoms of disease were observed in the control plants with 66.81% disease incidence and retarded growth of root system. However, disease incidence reduced to 6.78 and 1.47% in plants treated with antagonist and its metabolites, respectively. Additionally, treatment of seeds and plants with streptomycete stimulated various growth traits of plants over uninoculated control plants in the absence of pathogen challenge. These results indicate that S. hydrogenans and its culture metabolites can be developed as biofungicides as seed dressings to control seed borne pathogens, and as sprays to control black leaf spot of crucifers.

  18. Dehydrin-like proteins in the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria brassicicola have a role in plant pathogenesis and stress response.

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    Stéphanie Pochon

    Full Text Available In this study, the roles of fungal dehydrin-like proteins in pathogenicity and protection against environmental stresses were investigated in the necrotrophic seed-borne fungus Alternaria brassicicola. Three proteins (called AbDhn1, AbDhn2 and AbDhn3, harbouring the asparagine-proline-arginine (DPR signature pattern and sharing the characteristic features of fungal dehydrin-like proteins, were identified in the A. brassicicola genome. The expression of these genes was induced in response to various stresses and found to be regulated by the AbHog1 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK pathway. A knock-out approach showed that dehydrin-like proteins have an impact mainly on oxidative stress tolerance and on conidial survival upon exposure to high and freezing temperatures. The subcellular localization revealed that AbDhn1 and AbDhn2 were associated with peroxisomes, which is consistent with a possible perturbation of protective mechanisms to counteract oxidative stress and maintain the redox balance in AbDhn mutants. Finally, we show that the double deletion mutant ΔΔabdhn1-abdhn2 was highly compromised in its pathogenicity. By comparison to the wild-type, this mutant exhibited lower aggressiveness on B. oleracea leaves and a reduced capacity to be transmitted to Arabidopsis seeds via siliques. The double mutant was also affected with respect to conidiation, another crucial step in the epidemiology of the disease.

  19. Seed borne mycoflora of castor bean (ricinus communis l.) from pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawar, S.; Khalid, S.

    2014-01-01

    Castor bean seeds were analyzed by using ISTA (International seed testing association) for the detection of seed borne mycoflora. Thirty one fungal species belonging to 15 genera were isolated from 12 samples of castor bean seeds collected from different areas of Pakistan. Fusarium solani, Alternaria alternata, Cephaliophora tropica were most predominant fungal species isolated while the saprophytic fungi like A. niger, A. flavus were common in all samples of castor bean seed tested. Blotter method was considered to be better technique which gave maximum number of fungi followed by agar plate and deep freezing methods. (author)

  20. Mycoflora and Mycotoxigenic Moulds of Pistachio Nuts for Human Consumption in the Sultanate of Oman

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    A. E. Elshafie

    1998-12-01

    Full Text Available Mycoflora of 75 cans of different batches and brands of pistachio nuts purchased in the Sultanate of Oman was studied. A number of fungi were isolated, with percentages of contaminated nuts [average between brands ] as follows: Aspergillus niger 14.8%, Penicillium spp. 13.6%, A flavus 9.7%, A nidulans 1.6%, and < l % for Cladosporium cladosporoides, Alternaria alternata , A ochraceeus and Ulocadium consortiale. Significant differences were found among the batches and brands contaminated by A flavus. A flatoxin B, was found only in one sample out of 1.5 assayed at a level of 2 ug/kg.

  1. Occurrence of pathotypes of Ascochyta pinodes (Jones in the Olsztyn district

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    Helena Furgał-Węgrzycka

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The causal agent of leaf and pods spot-pot of peas and field peas in the Olsztyn district was the fungus Ascochyta pinodes (Jones. Investigated isolates of A. pinoides different by macroscopic and microscopic features. From diseased leaves and pods of peas and field peas saprophytic fungi were also obtained. Among them Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum purpurascens, Stemphylium botryosum, Sordaria fimicola and mycelia sterilia were dominant. In the study on the identification and distribution of pathotypes of A. pinodes (Jones six pathotypes were identified among which pathotypes 3 dominated. The identified pathotypes differed by macroscopic and microscopic features.

  2. Antimicrobial activity of essential oil from Schinus molle Linn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundidza, M

    1993-11-01

    The essential oil from the fresh leaves of Schinus molle isolated by hydrodistillation was tested for antibacterial activity using the hole plate diffusion method and for antifungal activity using the mycelium or single cell growth inhibition method. Results obtained showed that the volatile oil exhibited significant activity against the following bacterial species: Klebsiella pneumoniae, Alcaligenes faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Leuconostoc cremoris, Enterobacter aerogenes, Proteus vulgaris, Clostridium sporogenes, Acinetobacter calcoacetica, Escherichia coli, Beneckea natriegens, Citrobacter freundii, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus subtilis and Brochothrix thermosphacata. The fungal species Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus parasiticus, Fusarium culmorum and Alternaria alternata exhibited significant sensitivity to the volatile oil.

  3. Antioxidant and antifungal activities of two spices of mangrove plant extract

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    Somayeh Rastegar

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the antifungal and the radical scavenging capacity related to antioxidant potential of ethanol and water extracts of leaves of Rhizophora mucronata (R. mucronata and Avicennia marina (A. marina mangrove plant species against five postharvest pathogenic bacteria. Methods: In vitro assessment of antioxidant and antifungal activities was evaluated in this present study for both aqueous and ethanol extracts prepared from leaves of A. marina and R. mucronata. The antioxidant activities of these mangroves were evaluated by using reducing power and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assays with butylated hydroxytoluene and L-(+- ascorbic acid as standards. Results: The result showed that the antioxidant activities of all extracts increased with increasing concentration of extracts. However, the ethanol extracts of both species showed the highest antioxidant activities. Antimicrobial tests were then carried out by the disk diffusion method. The ethanol extracts of both species showed antifungal activities on Penicillium purpurogenum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Penicillium notatum, Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata and Penicillium italicum. However, none of the water extracts exhibited antifungal activity on the studied fungi. Among all the pathogens, tested Aspergillus flavus was the most resistant fungi. Different concentrations of extracts from A. marina and R. mucronata showed different amounts of control against tested fungal strains. Conclusions: This study indicated that mangrove species has natural antioxidant and antifungal properties.

  4. Shaping of the fungal communities isolated from yellow lupin seeds (Lupinus luteus L. throughout storage time

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    Bożena Cwalina-Ambroziak

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The object of the experiment were seeds of two traditional cultivars of yellow lupin (Juno and Amulet cultivated in 1999 in two crop-rotation with 20% and 33% yellow lupine contribution. The quantitative and qualitative composition of the fungal community colonizing the seeds were determined in the laboratory conditions after 0.5-, 1.5- and 2.5-year of storage time. In total 1077 fungal colonies were isolated from the lupin seeds. Fungi representing the species of Penicillium - 29.3%, Alternaria alternata - 26.7% and Rhizopus nigricans - 12.7% were isolated most widely. Among the fungi pathogenic to lupin, the species of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (16.3% isolates was dominant. The crop rotation with 20% lupin reduced the number of fungal colonies colonizing the seeds including the pathogens from the species of C. gloeosporioides. Seed disinfection decreased the total number of fungal colonies isolated from both cultivars. Higher number of C. gloeosporioides isolates was found in the combination with disinfected seeds. More fungal colonies were obtained from seeds of cv. Amulet than from those of cv. Juno. The storage duration had an effect on the population and the composition of species of fungi isolated from seeds of yellow lupine. With longer storage population of Penicillium spp. and Rhizopus spp. increased, whereas the population of C. gloeosporioides decreased.

  5. Overexpression of NPR1 in Brassica juncea Confers Broad Spectrum Resistance to Fungal Pathogens

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    Sajad Ali

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Brassica juncea (Indian mustard is a commercially important oil seed crop, which is highly affected by many biotic stresses. Among them, Alternaria leaf blight and powdery mildew are the most devastating diseases leading to huge yield losses in B. juncea around the world. In this regard, genetic engineering is a promising tool that may possibly allow us to enhance the B. juncea disease resistance against these pathogens. NPR1 (non-expressor of pathogen-related gene 1 is a bonafide receptor of salicylic acid (SA which modulates multiple immune responses in plants especially activation of induced and systemic acquired resistance (SAR. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of new NPR1 homolog (BjNPR1 from B. juncea. The phylogenetic tree constructed based on the deduced sequence of BjNPR1 with homologs from other species revealed that BjNPR1 grouped together with other known NPR1 proteins of Cruciferae family, and was nearest to B. napus. Furthermore, expression analysis showed that BjNPR1 was upregulated after SA treatment and fungal infection but not by jasmonic acid or abscisic acid. To understand the defensive role of this gene, we generated B. juncea transgenic lines overexpressing BjNPR1, and further confirmed by PCR and Southern blotting. The transgenic lines showed no phenotypic abnormalities, and constitutive expression of BjNPR1 activates defense signaling pathways by priming the expression of antifungal PR genes. Moreover, BjNPR1 transgenic lines showed enhanced resistance to Alternaria brassicae and Erysiphe cruciferarum as there was delay in symptoms and reduced disease severity than non-transgenic plants. In addition, the rate of disease spreading to uninfected or distal parts was also delayed in transgenic plants thus suggesting the activation of SAR. Altogether, the present study suggests that BjNPR1 is involved in broad spectrum of disease resistance against fungal pathogens.

  6. Degradation of the Alternaria mycotoxins alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, and altenuene upon bread baking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegel, David; Feist, Michael; Proske, Matthias; Koch, Matthias; Nehls, Irene

    2010-09-08

    The stability of the Alternaria mycotoxins alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, and altenuene upon bread baking was investigated by model experiments using a spiked wholemeal wheat flour matrix. For alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether, but not for altenuene, degradation products, formed through a sequence of hydrolysis and decarboxylation, could be identified in pilot studies. The simultaneous quantification of alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, altenuene, and the degradation products was achieved by a newly developed high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) multimethod. The obtained quantitative data indicate that the Alternaria mycotoxins are barely degraded during wet baking, while significant degradation occurs upon dry baking, with the stability decreasing in the order alternariol monomethyl ether>alternariol>altenuene. The novel degradation products could be detected after the wet baking of flour spiked with alternariol and in a sample survey of 24 commercial cereal based baking products.

  7. Activation of Melanin Synthesis in Alternaria infectoria by Antifungal Drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandes, Chantal; Prados-Rosales, Rafael; Silva, Branca M A; Nakouzi-Naranjo, Antonio; Zuzarte, Mónica; Chatterjee, Subhasish; Stark, Ruth E; Casadevall, Arturo; Gonçalves, Teresa

    2015-12-28

    The importance of Alternaria species fungi to human health ranges from their role as etiological agents of serious infections with poor prognoses in immunosuppressed individuals to their association with respiratory allergic diseases. The present work focuses on Alternaria infectoria, which was used as a model organism of the genus, and was designed to unravel melanin production in response to antifungals. After we characterized the pigment produced by A. infectoria, we studied the dynamics of 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN)-melanin production during growth, the degree of melanization in response to antifungals, and how melanization affected susceptibility to several classes of therapeutic drugs. We demonstrate that A. infectoria increased melanin deposition in cell walls in response to nikkomycin Z, caspofungin, and itraconazole but not in response to fluconazole or amphotericin B. These results indicate that A. infectoria activates DHN-melanin synthesis in response to certain antifungal drugs, possibly as a protective mechanism against these drugs. Inhibition of DHN-melanin synthesis by pyroquilon resulted in a lower minimum effective concentration (MEC) of caspofungin and enhanced morphological changes (increased hyphal balloon size), characterized by thinner and less organized A. infectoria cell walls. In summary, A. infectoria synthesizes melanin in response to certain antifungal drugs, and its susceptibility is influenced by melanization, suggesting the therapeutic potential of drug combinations that affect melanin synthesis. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  8. Necrotrophic pathogens use the salicylic acid signaling pathway to promote disease development in tomato.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Taha Abd El; Oirdi, Mohamed El; Gonzalez-Lamothe, Rocio; Bouarab, Kamal

    2012-12-01

    Plants use different immune pathways to combat pathogens. The activation of the jasmonic acid (JA)-signaling pathway is required for resistance against necrotrophic pathogens; however, to combat biotrophic pathogens, the plants activate mainly the salicylic acid (SA)-signaling pathway. SA can antagonize JA signaling and vice versa. NPR1 (noninducible pathogenesis-related 1) is considered a master regulator of SA signaling. NPR1 interacts with TGA transcription factors, ultimately leading to the activation of SA-dependent responses. SA has been shown to promote disease development caused by the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea through NPR1, by suppressing the expression of two JA-dependent defense genes, proteinase inhibitors I and II. We show here that the transcription factor TGA1.a contributes to disease development caused by B. cinerea in tomato by suppressing the expression of proteinase inhibitors I and II. Finally, we present evidence that the SA-signaling pathway contributes to disease development caused by another necrotrophic pathogen, Alternaria solani, in tomato. Disease development promoted by SA through NPR1 requires the TGA1.a transcription factor. These data highlight how necrotrophs manipulate the SAsignaling pathway to promote their disease in tomato.

  9. Fungitoxicity of lyophilized and spray-dried garlic extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tedeschi, Paola; Maietti, Annalisa; Boggian, Marisa; Vecchiati, Giorgio; Brandolini, Vincenzo

    2007-01-01

    Among the compounds discussed for anti-microbial and anti-fungal use allicin (allylthiosulfinate, diallyl disulfide-S-monoxide), an active ingredient of garlic, has attracted considerable attention. The objective of this study is to determine the antifungal activity of a local garlic ecotype (Voghiera) extracts against different pathogens. Primary screening was carried out by the agar plates technique using ethanol garlic extract at four final concentrations against the following organisms: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus spp., Colletotrichum acutatum, Didymella bryoniae, Fusarium culmorum, Fusarium avenaceum, Fusarium gramineareum, Gliocladium roseum 47, Pythium splendens, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, Stemphylium vesicarium, Trichoderma longibranchiatum, and Botrytis cinerea. Secondary screening was carried out using a lyophilized and a spray-dried preparation at different concentrations against the organisms selected for the high inhibition garlic effect in the primary screening and compared with the commercial fungicides mancozeb and iprodione. The best results were observed for the spray-dried garlic compound that showed a good fungicidal activity at the concentration of 1.5 g/10 mL while lyophilized garlic at the same concentration exhibited less inhibition activity against the four fungi analyzed in the second screening.

  10. Antifungal Activity of Lactobacillus sp. Bacteria in the Presence of Xylitol and Galactosyl-Xylitol

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    Lidia Lipińska

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Lactic acid fermentation is a natural method of antimicrobial food protection. Antagonistic activity of Lactobacillus sp. bacteria, taking part in this process, is directed mainly against the same or other microorganisms. In this work we determine the impact of the presence of xylitol and galactosyl-xylitol on the antagonistic activity of 60 Lactobacillus sp. strains against indicator molds (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicicola, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium latenicum, Geotrichum candidum, and Mucor hiemalis and yeasts (Candida vini. We used double-layer method to select antifungal strains of Lactobacillus bacteria and poisoned medium method to confirm their fungistatic properties. Additionally, we examined the inhibition of Alternaria brassicicola by Lactobacillus paracasei ŁOCK 0921 cultivated with xylitol or galactosyl-xylitol directly on wild cherries. The presence of xylitol and its galactosyl derivative led to increase of spectrum of antifungal activity in most of the studied plant-associated lactobacilli strains. However, no single strain exhibited activity against all the indicator microorganisms. The antifungal activity of Lactobacillus bacteria against molds varied considerably and depended on both the indicator strain and the composition of the medium. The presence of xylitol and galactosyl-xylitol in the growth medium is correlated with the antifungal activity of the studied Lactobacillus sp. bacteria against selected indicator molds.

  11. Antifungal Activity of Lactobacillus sp. Bacteria in the Presence of Xylitol and Galactosyl-Xylitol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipińska, Lidia; Klewicki, Robert; Klewicka, Elżbieta; Kołodziejczyk, Krzysztof; Sójka, Michał; Nowak, Adriana

    2016-01-01

    Lactic acid fermentation is a natural method of antimicrobial food protection. Antagonistic activity of Lactobacillus sp. bacteria, taking part in this process, is directed mainly against the same or other microorganisms. In this work we determine the impact of the presence of xylitol and galactosyl-xylitol on the antagonistic activity of 60 Lactobacillus sp. strains against indicator molds (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicicola, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium latenicum, Geotrichum candidum, and Mucor hiemalis) and yeasts (Candida vini). We used double-layer method to select antifungal strains of Lactobacillus bacteria and poisoned medium method to confirm their fungistatic properties. Additionally, we examined the inhibition of Alternaria brassicicola by Lactobacillus paracasei ŁOCK 0921 cultivated with xylitol or galactosyl-xylitol directly on wild cherries. The presence of xylitol and its galactosyl derivative led to increase of spectrum of antifungal activity in most of the studied plant-associated lactobacilli strains. However, no single strain exhibited activity against all the indicator microorganisms. The antifungal activity of Lactobacillus bacteria against molds varied considerably and depended on both the indicator strain and the composition of the medium. The presence of xylitol and galactosyl-xylitol in the growth medium is correlated with the antifungal activity of the studied Lactobacillus sp. bacteria against selected indicator molds.

  12. Antifungal Activity of Lactobacillus sp. Bacteria in the Presence of Xylitol and Galactosyl-Xylitol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipińska, Lidia; Klewicki, Robert; Klewicka, Elżbieta; Kołodziejczyk, Krzysztof; Sójka, Michał; Nowak, Adriana

    2016-01-01

    Lactic acid fermentation is a natural method of antimicrobial food protection. Antagonistic activity of Lactobacillus sp. bacteria, taking part in this process, is directed mainly against the same or other microorganisms. In this work we determine the impact of the presence of xylitol and galactosyl-xylitol on the antagonistic activity of 60 Lactobacillus sp. strains against indicator molds (Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicicola, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium latenicum, Geotrichum candidum, and Mucor hiemalis) and yeasts (Candida vini). We used double-layer method to select antifungal strains of Lactobacillus bacteria and poisoned medium method to confirm their fungistatic properties. Additionally, we examined the inhibition of Alternaria brassicicola by Lactobacillus paracasei ŁOCK 0921 cultivated with xylitol or galactosyl-xylitol directly on wild cherries. The presence of xylitol and its galactosyl derivative led to increase of spectrum of antifungal activity in most of the studied plant-associated lactobacilli strains. However, no single strain exhibited activity against all the indicator microorganisms. The antifungal activity of Lactobacillus bacteria against molds varied considerably and depended on both the indicator strain and the composition of the medium. The presence of xylitol and galactosyl-xylitol in the growth medium is correlated with the antifungal activity of the studied Lactobacillus sp. bacteria against selected indicator molds. PMID:27294124

  13. Isolamento de fungos degradadores de carbendazim

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Célia Maria Maganhotto de Souza Silva

    1999-07-01

    Full Text Available Os fungicidas sistêmicos do grupo dos benzimidazóis são amplamente utilizados no controle de muitas doenças de plantas, tanto no solo como na parte aérea, e isso tem sido causa de contaminação ambiental. A ação de alguns microorganismos contribui para degradação e perda da atividade biológica desses fungicidas, podendo reduzir, dessa forma, o risco de impactos negativos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi selecionar fungos com potencial para degradar benomil e seu produto de hidrólise, carbendazim, e quantificar o potencial de degradação. Fungos foram isolados de três diferentes solos da região de agricultura irrigada do município de Guaíra, SP, com histórico de aplicação intensiva de fungicidas benzimidazóis. Dentre os fungos isolados, Alternaria alternata foi a linhagem menos afetada pelo aumento na concentração de benomil no meio de cultura. Na concentração máxima (100 mig mL-1 a inibição da taxa de crescimento de A. alternata foi 22%, enquanto nas demais linhagens foi superior a 45%. Em meio de cultura líquido suplementado com carbendazim, a taxa de crescimento em biomassa de A. alternata foi 43% maior do que a no meio sem carbendazim, o que indica o consumo do fungicida como fonte de carbono. A. alternata degradou rapidamente o fungicida, chegando a 66,21% de desaparecimento do produto em dois dias. A meia-vida de carbendazim nessas condições foi de 1,16 dias.

  14. THE USE OF AZADIRACHTA INDICA EXTRACT TO DECREASE OF ALTERNARIA PORRI DISEASE ON ONION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loso Winarto

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Purple spot caused by Alternaria porri a major disease in the onion crop in the world. The disease is also widespread in the onion crop in Indonesia. This research aim was to know the effect of mimba leaf (Azadirachta indica extract concentration to decrease of Alternaria porri on onion (Allium ascalonicum L.This research conducted at Research Garden of the Center of Agricultural Technology Assessment of North Sumatra Province, from October 2010 until January 2011.The research used non factorial Block Randomized Design (BRD and four replications.The treatment consisted of six levels of Azadirachta indica which is dissolved in one litre of water each treatment. The number of replication are four each treatment. Treatment applied were 0 g plot-1 (control; 100 g plot-1; ; 150 g plot-1 ; 200 g plot-1 ; 250 g plot-1 ; 300 g plot-1 . The results showed that mimba leaf extract significantly affect the intensity of the purple spot disease and onion production.

  15. Reinvestigation of structure of porritoxin, a phytotoxin of Alternaria porri.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horiuchi, Masayuki; Maoka, Takashi; Iwase, Noriyasu; Ohnishi, Keiichiro

    2002-08-01

    The structure of porritoxin, a phytotoxin of Alternaria porri, was reinvestigated by detailed 2D NMR analysis including (1)H-(13)C and (1)H-(15)N HMBC experiments. The structure of porritoxin was determined to be 2-(2'-hydroxyethyl)-4-methoxy-5-methyl-6-(3' '-methyl-2' '-butenyloxy)-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one (1). Thus our previous proposed structure, 8-(3',3'-dimethylallyloxy)-10-methoxy-9-methyl-1H-3,4-dihydro-2,5-benzoxazocin-6(5H)-one (2), is incorrect.

  16. Alternaria resistance of Brassicae campestris L. improved by induced mutations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Das, M.L.; Rahman, A.

    1989-01-01

    Full text: Seeds of 'YS 52', a cultivar susceptible to Alternaria brassicae (Berk.) Sacc., were exposed to gamma rays (30-90 kR). Eight more resistant mutants were selected in M3 and subjected to further field evaluation. The best mutant '17-5-83' appeared resistant and gave 44% higher yield than the parent, mutant '70-7-82' was found to be moderately resistant and gave a yield 21% higher than the parent. The yield increases seem to be connected with plant architecture changes. (author)

  17. Gamma-ray induced mutation breeding in tree fruit crops

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, Yuji

    1998-01-01

    In many vegetatively propagated crops and tree fruit crops, spontaneous mutations have played an important role in the development of cultivars. Thus, induced mutation breeding has been thought to be a promising way to improve commercially important cultivars. At the Institute of Radiation Breeding (IRB), studies on induced mutation breeding of temperate zone fruit trees using gamma-rays have been performed since 1962. Black spot disease, caused by Alternaria alternata Japanese pear pathotype, is one of the most serious diseases of Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia NAKAI var. culta NAKAI) in Japan. It is known that some Japanese pear cultivars are completely resistant to the disease. The pathogenic fungi produces host-specific toxins (named AK-toxin) (Tanaka 1993, Otani et al. 1973). The susceptibility of Japanese pear is controlled by a single dominant gene (Kozaki 1973). To improve the Japanese pear cultivar 'Nijisseiki', which is highly susceptible to black spot disease, young grafted plants of 'Nijisseiki' have been irradiated chronically in the Gamma Field of the IRB since 1962. In 1981, one twig of a tree planted at a distance of 53 m from the 60 Co source with an exposure rate of 0.138 Gy/day (20hr-irradiation) was selected as the first resistant mutant. It was designated as cultivar 'Gold Nijisseiki' and released in 1990. A selection method for mutants resistant to black spot disease using the pathogen produced toxin and pear leaf disks was established. It is a simple and stable selection method. Up to the present, three mutant cultivars resistant to black spot disease have been bred at the IRB by chronic and acute gamma-ray irradiation. They showed intermediate resistance compared with the completely resitan cultivar 'Choujuurou' and highly susceptible cultivar 'Nijisseiki'. We obtained some apple mutants resistant to alternaria leaf blotch disease using toxin and leaf disks and are also attempting to obtain mutant resistant to some disease in other temperate

  18. Identification, characterization and phylogenetic analysis of antifungal Trichoderma from tomato rhizosphere.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Shalini; Kashyap, Prem Lal; Kumar, Sudheer; Srivastava, Alok Kumar; Ramteke, Pramod W

    2016-01-01

    The use of Trichoderma isolates with efficient antagonistic activity represents a potentially effective and alternative disease management strategy to replace health hazardous chemical control. In this context, twenty isolates were obtained from tomato rhizosphere and evaluated by their antagonistic activity against four fungal pathogens ( Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici , Alternaria alternata , Colletotrichum gloeosporoides and Rhizoctonia solani ). The production of extracellular cell wall degrading enzymes of tested isolates was also measured. All the isolates significantly reduced the mycelial growth of tested pathogens but the amount of growth reduction varied significantly as well. There was a positive correlation between the antagonistic capacity of Trichoderma isolates towards fungal pathogens and their lytic enzyme production. The Trichoderma isolates were initially sorted according to morphology and based on the translation elongation factor 1-α gene sequence similarity, the isolates were designated as Trichoderma harzianum , T. koningii , T. asperellum , T. virens and T. viride . PCA analysis explained 31.53, 61.95, 62.22 and 60.25% genetic variation among Trichoderma isolates based on RAPD, REP-, ERIC- and BOX element analysis, respectively. ERG - 1 gene, encoding a squalene epoxidase has been used for the first time for diversity analysis of antagonistic Trichoderma from tomato rhizosphere. Phylogenetic analysis of ERG -1 gene sequences revealed close relatedness of ERG -1sequences with earlier reported sequences of Hypocrea lixii , T. arundinaceum and T. reesei. However, ERG -1 gene also showed heterogeneity among some antagonistic isolates and indicated the possibility of occurrence of squalene epoxidase driven triterpene biosynthesis as an alternative biocontrol mechanism in Trichoderma species.

  19. Potato carrot agar with manganese as an isolation medium for Alternaria, Epicoccum and Phoma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jens Laurids; Mogensen, Jesper Mølgaard; Thrane, Ulf

    2009-01-01

    A semi-selective medium for isolation of Alternaria spp., Epicoccum sp. and Phoma spp. from soil and plant samples was developed. The basal medium was a modified potato carrot agar (PCA), containing 10 g/L of potato and carrot. It is known that the target genera sporulate well on standard PCA when...

  20. Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations amplify Alternaria alternata sporulation and total antigen production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Background: Although the association between rising levels of carbon dioxide, the principle anthropogenic greenhouse gas, and pollen production has been established, few data are available regarding the function of rising carbon dioxide on quantitative or qualitative changes in allergenic fungal sp...

  1. Arabidopsis Responds to Alternaria alternata Volatiles by Triggering Plastid Phosphoglucose Isomerase-Independent Mechanisms

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Sanchez-Lopez, A.M.; Bahaji, A.; De Diego, N.; Baslam, M.; Li, J.; Munoz, F.J.; Almagro, G.; Garcia-Gomez, P.; Ameztoy, K.; Ricarte-Bermejo, A.; Novák, Ondřej; Humplík, J.F.; Spíchal, L.; Doležal, Karel; Ciordia, S.; Mena, M. C.; Navajas, R.; Baroja-Fernandez, E.; Pozueta-Romero, J.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 172, č. 3 (2016), s. 1989-2001 ISSN 0032-0889 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1204 Institutional support: RVO:61389030 Keywords : tandem mass-spectrometry * exceptionally high-levels * starch biosynthesis * functional-characterization * glucose translocator * thaliana * mutants * cytokinin * tissues * leaves Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 6.456, year: 2016

  2. Occurrence of pathotypes of Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella (Jones Boerema in the Olsztyn district

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Furgał-Węgrzycka

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The causal agents of leaves and pods spot-pot of peas and field peas in the Olsztyn district was the fungus Phoma medicaginis var. pinodella. Investigated isolates of P. medicaginis var. pinodella differed by macroscopic and microscopic features. From diseases leaves and pods of peas and field peas obtained also saprophytic fungi among which Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Epicoccum purpurascens, Stemphylium botryosum, Sordaria fimicola and mycelia sterilia were dominated. In the study on the identification and distribution of pathotypes of P. medicaginis var. pinodella six pathotypes were identified among which pathotype 3 were dominated. The identified pathotypes differed by macroscopic and microscopic features.

  3. Occurrence of pathotypes of Ascochyta pisi (Lib. in the Olsztyn district

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Furgał-Węgrzycka

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The causal agents of leaf and pods spot-pot of peas and field peas in the Olsztyn district was the fungus Ascochyta pisi (Lib.. Investigated isolates of A. pisi differed by macroscopic and microscopic features. From diseases leaves and pods of peas and field peas obtained also saprophitic fungi among which Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium c1adosporioides, Epicoccum purpurascens, Stemphylium botryosum, Sordaria fimicola and mycelia starilia were dominated. In the study of the identification and distribution of pathotypes of A. pisi five pathotypes were identified among which pathotype 2 were dominated. The identified the pathotypes differed by macroscopic and microscopic features.

  4. Sensivity of Jordanian Isolates of Alternaria solani to Manchotane

    OpenAIRE

    K.I. Al-Mughrabi

    2004-01-01

    Early blight of potato, caused by Alternaria solani, poses a significant risk to potato crops worldwide. Fifty A. solani isolates representing a population were collected from the Jordan Valley, purified, and tested for their sensitivity to the fungicide mancothane. The isolates were tested against a series of concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 mg mancothane ml-1 in 5% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Some A. solani isolates tolerated up to 1000 mg mancothane ml-1. Isolat...

  5. Are Epiphytic Microbial Communities in the Carposphere of Ripening Grape Clusters (Vitis vinifera L.) Different between Conventional, Organic, and Biodynamic Grapes?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kecskeméti, Elizabeth; Berkelmann-Löhnertz, Beate; Reineke, Annette

    2016-01-01

    Using barcoded pyrosequencing fungal and bacterial communities associated with grape berry clusters (Vitis vinifera L.) obtained from conventional, organic and biodynamic vineyard plots were investigated in two subsequent years at different stages during berry ripening. The four most abundant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on fungal ITS data were Botrytis cinerea, Cladosporium spp., Aureobasidium pullulans and Alternaria alternata which represented 57% and 47% of the total reads in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Members of the genera Sphingomonas, Gluconobacter, Pseudomonas, Erwinia, and Massilia constituted 67% of the total number of bacterial 16S DNA reads in 2010 samples and 78% in 2011 samples. Viticultural management system had no significant effect on abundance of fungi or bacteria in both years and at all three sampling dates. Exceptions were A. alternata and Pseudomonas spp. which were more abundant in the carposphere of conventional compared to biodynamic berries, as well as Sphingomonas spp. which was significantly less abundant on conventional compared to organic berries at an early ripening stage in 2011. In general, there were no significant differences in fungal and bacterial diversity indices or richness evident between management systems. No distinct fungal or bacterial communities were associated with the different maturation stages or management systems, respectively. An exception was the last stage of berry maturation in 2011, where the Simpson diversity index was significantly higher for fungal communities on biodynamic compared to conventional grapes. Our study highlights the existence of complex and dynamic microbial communities in the grape cluster carposphere including both phytopathogenic and potentially antagonistic microorganisms that can have a significant impact on grape production. Such knowledge is particularly relevant for development, selection and application of effective control measures against economically important

  6. Identification of Novel Source of Resistance and Differential Response of Allium Genotypes to Purple Blotch Pathogen, Alternaria porri (Ellis) Ciferri.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanda, Satyabrata; Chand, Subodh Kumar; Mandal, Purander; Tripathy, Pradyumna; Joshi, Raj Kumar

    2016-12-01

    Purple blotch, caused by Alternaria porri (Ellis) Cifferi, is a serious disease incurring heavy yield losses in the bulb and seed crop of onion and garlic worldwide. There is an immediate need for identification of effective resistance sources for use in host resistance breeding. A total of 43 Allium genotypes were screened for purple blotch resistance under field conditions. Allium cepa accession 'CBT-Ac77' and cultivar 'Arka Kalyan' were observed to be highly resistant. In vitro inoculation of a selected set of genotypes with A. porri , revealed that 7 days after inoculation was suitable to observe the disease severity. In vitro screening of 43 genotypes for resistance to A. porri revealed two resistant lines. An additional 14 genotypes showed consistent moderate resistance in the field as well as in vitro evaluations. Among the related Allium species, A. schoenoprasum and A. roylei showed the least disease index and can be used for interspecific hybridization with cultivated onion. Differential reaction analysis of three A. porri isolates ( Apo-Chiplima, Apn-Nasik, Apg-Guntur ) in 43 genotypes revealed significant variation among the evaluated Allium species ( P = 0.001). All together, the present study suggest that, the newly identified resistance sources can be used as potential donors for ongoing purple blotch resistance breeding program in India.

  7. Study on caralluma tuberculata nutritional composition and its importance as medicinal plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, B.; Abbasi, S.J.; Hussain, F.

    2014-01-01

    This study was conducted on Caralluma tuberculata, a famous traditional medicinal plant in the northern territory of Pakistan to assess its importance. Analysis were performed on its nutritional, proximate and microchemical composition for evaluation as food plant, while experiments of cytotoxicity, phytotoxicity and as phytobiocide were conducted to study its importance as medicinal plant. A method for vegetative propagation of C. tuberculata was optimized using cut stems without roots give better result and also more economical, from single stem multiple plant can be produced. It contains good amount of nutrients and proximate contents. Due to high inhibitory effect results of C. tuberculata against Alternaria alternata it can be recommended as selective fungicide for controlling Alternaria sp., born diseases. From the results it becomes clear that C. tuberculata had some anti-bacterial compounds which had very minimum inhibitory effect on the growth of bacterial species. This plant also showed significant activity against Artemia salina, Lemna minor and can be used as cytotoxic and phytotoxic agents in concentrated states. (author)

  8. The wild tomato species Solanum chilense shows variation in pathogen resistance between geographically distinct populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stam, Remco; Scheikl, Daniela; Tellier, Aurélien

    2017-01-01

    Wild tomatoes are a valuable source of disease resistance germplasm for tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) breeders. Many species are known to possess a certain degree of resistance against certain pathogens; however, evolution of resistance traits is yet poorly understood. For some species, like Solanum chilense , both differences in habitat and within species genetic diversity are very large. Here we aim to investigate the occurrence of spatially heterogeneous coevolutionary pressures between populations of S. chilense . We investigate the phenotypic differences in disease resistance within S. chilense against three common tomato pathogens ( Alternaria solani , Phytophthora infestans and a Fusarium sp .) and confirm high degrees of variability in resistance properties between selected populations. Using generalised linear mixed models, we show that disease resistance does not follow the known demographic patterns of the species. Models with up to five available climatic and geographic variables are required to best describe resistance differences, confirming the complexity of factors involved in local resistance variation. We confirm that within S. chilense , resistance properties against various pathogens show a mosaic pattern and do not follow environmental patterns, indicating the strength of local pathogen pressures. Our study can form the basis for further investigations of the genetic traits involved.

  9. Evaluation of non-chemical seed treatment methods for control of Alternaria brassicicola on cabbage seeds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Amein, T.; Wright, Al S.; Wikstrom, M.; Koch, E.; Schmitt, A.; Stephan, D.; Jahn, M.; Tinivella, F.; Gullino, M.L.; Forsberg, G.; Werner, S.; Wolf, van der J.M.; Groot, S.P.C.

    2011-01-01

    Due to the lack of foliar fungicide use, the organic production of Brassica seeds free of Alternaria spp. is difficult. Therefore, effective seed treatments certified for use in organic farming are needed to eradicate or at least effec­tively reduce the seed-borne inoculum. We here report results of

  10. In vitro activity of glucosinolates and their degradation products against brassica-pathogenic bacteria and fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sotelo, T; Lema, M; Soengas, P; Cartea, M E; Velasco, P

    2015-01-01

    Glucosinolates (GSLs) are secondary metabolites found in Brassica vegetables that confer on them resistance against pests and diseases. Both GSLs and glucosinolate hydrolysis products (GHPs) have shown positive effects in reducing soil pathogens. Information about their in vitro biocide effects is scarce, but previous studies have shown sinigrin GSLs and their associated allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) to be soil biocides. The objective of this work was to evaluate the biocide effects of 17 GSLs and GHPs and of leaf methanolic extracts of different GSL-enriched Brassica crops on suppressing in vitro growth of two bacterial (Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris and Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola) and two fungal (Alternaria brassicae and Sclerotinia scletoriorum) Brassica pathogens. GSLs, GHPs, and methanolic leaf extracts inhibited the development of the pathogens tested compared to the control, and the effect was dose dependent. Furthermore, the biocide effects of the different compounds studied were dependent on the species and race of the pathogen. These results indicate that GSLs and their GHPs, as well as extracts of different Brassica species, have potential to inhibit pathogen growth and offer new opportunities to study the use of Brassica crops in biofumigation for the control of multiple diseases. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  11. Comparative study on the effect of chemicals on Alternaria blight in Indian mustard--a multi-location study in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meena, P D; Chattopadhyay, C; Kumar, A; Awasthi, R P; Singh, R; Kaur, S; Thomas, L; Goyal, P; Chand, P

    2011-05-01

    High severity of Altemaria blight disease is a major constraint in production of rapeseed-mustard in India. The aim of this study was to investigate the suppressive potential of chemicals viz., zinc sulphate, borax, sulphur, potash and calcium sulphate, aqueous extracts viz., Eucalyptus globosus (50 g l-1) leaf extract and garlic (Allium sativum) bulb (20 g l-1) extract, cow urine and bio-agents Trichoderma harzianum, Pseudomonas fluorescence in comparison with the recommended chemical fungicide (mancozeb), against foliar disease Alternaria blight of Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. and Coss] under five different geographical locations of India. Mancozeb recorded the lowest mean severity (leaf: 33.1%; pod: 26.3%) of Alternaria blight with efficacy of garlic bulb extract alone (leaf = 34.4%; pod = 27.3%) or in combination with cow urine (leaf = 34.2%; pod = 28.6%) being statistically at par with the recommended chemical fungicide. Chemicals also proved effective in reducing Alternaria blight severity on leaves and pods of Indian mustard (leaf = 36.3-37.9%; pod = 27.5-30.1%). The effective treatments besides providing significant reduction in disease severity also enabled increase in dry seed yield of the crop (mancozeb = 2052 kg ha-1; garlic = 2006 kg ha-1; control = 1561 kg ha-1).

  12. QTL identification for early blight resistance (Alternaria solani) in a Solanum lycopersicum x S. arcanum cross.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chaerani, R.; Smulders, M.J.M.; Linden, van der C.G.; Vosman, B.; Stam, P.; Voorrips, R.E.

    2007-01-01

    Alternaria solani (Ellis and Martin) Sorauer, the causal agent of early blight (EB) disease, infects aerial parts of tomato at both seedling and adult plant stages. Resistant cultivars would facilitate a sustainable EB management. EB resistance is a quantitatively expressed character, a fact that

  13. FUNGOS CAUSADORES DE PODRIDÕES PÓS-COLHEITA EM UVAS APIRÊNICAS NO PÓLO AGRÍCOLA DE JUAZEIRO-BA E PETROLINA-PE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RÚBIA BRITO CAMARGO

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In Brazil, postharvest diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms are a major problem that causes damage to around 80% of the total fruit production. In the lower middle São Francisco river valley numerous studies on identification and control of fungal diseases during postharvest of grapes are needed, in order to minimize losses in this step. In this context, bunches of seedless varieties 'Crimson', 'Sonaka'; 'Superior' and 'Thompson' were collected from July to November 2009, in order to identify and quantify the incidence of pathogenic fungi. The grapes were collected on five farms which specialize in the production of table grapes for export, all located in Juazeiro - BA and Petrolina - PE. During this period, 10 samples were taken. In the fruit farm five plants were used for sampling, and removal of two bunches of grapes per plant, totaling 10 bunches per variety. Subsequently, they were sent to the laboratory of Plant Pathology at UNEB/DTCS where they were placed separately in a moist chamber for 48 hours at an average temperature of 23 ºC. After this period, isolations of berries and stems in Petri plates containing PDA - potato-dextrose-agar were carried out with 10 repetitions, which were placed on benches under laboratory conditions. From the 8th day on, the presence of Aspergillus niger, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium herbarum, Lasiodiploidia theobromae was observed, which presented the highest incidence, as well as Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium expansum.

  14. Production of transgenic brassica juncea with the synthetic chitinase gene (nic) conferring resistance to alternaria brassicicola

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munir, I.; Hussan, W.; Kazi, M.; Mian, A.

    2016-01-01

    Brassica juncea is an important oil seed crop throughout the world. The demand and cultivation of oil seed crops has gained importance due to rapid increase in world population and industrialization. Fungal diseases pose a great threat to Brassica productivity worldwide. Absence of resistance genes against fungal infection within crossable germplasms of this crop necessitates deployment of genetic engineering approaches to produce transgenic plants with resistance against fungal infections. In the current study, hypocotyls and cotyledons of Brassica juncea, used as explants, were transformed with Agrobacterium tumefacien strain EHA101 harboring binary vector pEKB/NIC containing synthetic chitinase gene (NIC), an antifungal gene under the control of cauliflower mosaic virus promoter (CaMV35S). Bar genes and nptII gene were used as selectable markers. Presence of chitinase gene in trangenic lines was confirmed by PCR and southern blotting analysis. Effect of the extracted proteins from non-transgenic and transgenic lines was observed on the growth of Alternaria brassicicola, a common disease causing pathogen in brassica crop. In comparison to non-transgenic control lines, the leaf tissue extracts of the transgenic lines showed considerable resistance and antifungal activity against A. brassicicola. The antifungal activity in transgenic lines was observed as corresponding to the transgene copy number. (author)

  15. COMPLEX OF PATHOGENES ON VEGETABLE CROPS IN CONDITION OF CENTRAL REGION OF RUSSIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. T. Timina

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available As a result of monitoring of causative agents of diseases of vegetable crops and studying of its species specification, the genus and species of fungi and bacteria, were found. Previously unknown in the Central region of Russia pathogens of carrot were identified: Sclerotinia nevales, Gleocladium roseum, Verticillium spp, Trichotecium roseum, Streptomyces scabies, F. nivale, F. chlamidosporum, F. equiseti, F. proliferatum, Chaetomium spp., Erysiphe umbelliferum, Erwinia carotovora. Main causative agents of diseases  of carrot during storage were also described: Alternaria infectoria, A. alternatа, A. arborescens, A. radicina, A. cheiranthi, A. corotiincultae, A. cinerariae, Embellisia spp., Nimbia spp., Cladosporium spp. It was found new pathogen for onion (Aspergillus niger, garlic (Fusarium semitectum, F. subglutinans, F. proliferatum, F.avenacium, red beet (Typhula ishikariensis, and radish (Drechslera Bondartseva.

  16. Identification of Novel Source of Resistance and Differential Response of Allium Genotypes to Purple Blotch Pathogen, Alternaria porri (Ellis Ciferri

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satyabrata Nanda

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Purple blotch, caused by Alternaria porri (Ellis Cifferi, is a serious disease incurring heavy yield losses in the bulb and seed crop of onion and garlic worldwide. There is an immediate need for identification of effective resistance sources for use in host resistance breeding. A total of 43 Allium genotypes were screened for purple blotch resistance under field conditions. Allium cepa accession ‘CBT-Ac77’ and cultivar ‘Arka Kalyan’ were observed to be highly resistant. In vitro inoculation of a selected set of genotypes with A. porri, revealed that 7 days after inoculation was suitable to observe the disease severity. In vitro screening of 43 genotypes for resistance to A. porri revealed two resistant lines. An additional 14 genotypes showed consistent moderate resistance in the field as well as in vitro evaluations. Among the related Allium species, A. schoenoprasum and A. roylei showed the least disease index and can be used for interspecific hybridization with cultivated onion. Differential reaction analysis of three A. porri isolates (Apo-Chiplima, Apn-Nasik, Apg-Guntur in 43 genotypes revealed significant variation among the evaluated Allium species (P = 0.001. All together, the present study suggest that, the newly identified resistance sources can be used as potential donors for ongoing purple blotch resistance breeding program in India.

  17. Phytochemical screening and biological activities of trigonella incisa and nonea edgeworthii

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rehman, S.; Ahmad, N.; Shinwari, Z.K.; Ahmad, I.

    2017-01-01

    The extracts and its derived fractions from two important medicinal plants species Trigonella incisa and Nonea edgeworthii were tested for biochemical potential. The aim of our research was to encourage drug finding work with plants. The crude extract and fractions from Trigonella incisa plant were found to be most potent against Pseudomonas aeuriginosa as compared to Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhi. The Chloroform fraction showed outstanding inhibition 11 mm against Pseudomonas aeuriginosa followed by crude extract, n-butanol and aqueous fractions each giving 9 mm inhibition. The n-butanol fraction of Trigonella incisa revealed 8 mm inhibition against Escherichia coli second by aqueous fraction with 7 mm inhibition. Moderate inhibition (8 mm) was showed by crude extract and chloroform fraction against Salmonella typhi. In case of Nonea edgeworthii plant aqueous and ethyl acetate fraction were found to be most active against Pseudomonas aeuriginosa and Escherichia coli giving inhibition of 14 mm each which is found to be best inhibition even more than the inhibition showed by antibiotic used. Crude extract and chloroform fraction of the plant showed 12 mm and 10 mm inhibition against Salmonella typhi. Both the selected plants were found equally potential against the tested fungi. n-hexane and chloroform fractions of Trigonella incisa give 10 mm inhibition against Fusarium oxysporum and Alternaria alternata respectively while crude extract from Nonea edgeworthii give 11 mm inhibition against Alternaria alternata. Over all poor scavenging activity was showed by selected plants. Ethyl acetate fraction of both plants was found to be reasonably good when compared with standard. The low antioxidant profile of the plants may be due to the absence of flavonoids in plants .In preliminary phytochemical screening alkaloid, phenol and saponins were reported in both plants. (author)

  18. Identification and Characterization of Pathogenic and Endophytic Fungal Species Associated with Pokkah Boeng Disease of Sugarcane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angelyn Hilton

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Pokkah Boeng is a serious disease of sugarcane, which can lead to devastating yield losses in crop-producing regions, including southern China. However, there is still uncertainty about the causal agent of the disease. Our aim was to isolate and characterize the pathogen through morphological, physiological, and molecular analyses. We isolated sugarcane-colonizing fungi in Fujian, China. Isolated fungi were first assessed for their cell wall degrading enzyme capabilities, and five isolates were identified for further analysis. Internal transcribed spacer sequencing revealed that these five strains are Fusarium, Alternaria, Phoma, Phomopsis, and Epicoccum. The Fusarium isolate was further identified as F. verticillioides after Calmodulin and EF-1α gene sequencing and microscopic morphology study. Pathogenicity assay confirmed that F. verticillioides was directly responsible for disease on sugarcane. Co-inoculation of F. verticillioides with other isolated fungi did not lead to a significant difference in disease severity, refuting the idea that other cellulolytic fungi can increase disease severity as an endophyte. This is the first report characterizing pathogenic F. verticillioides on sugarcane in southern China.

  19. The effect of mineral fertilization on fungi colonizing potato (Solanum tuberosum L. tubers after harvest and after storage

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    Bożena Cwalina-Ambroziak

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the results of a three-year exact experiment conducted in Bałcyny, in which a late potato cultivar, Jasia, was grown. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of different levels of mineral fertilization: A (N 80 kg × ha-1 P 80 kg × ha-1 K120 kg × ha-1 and B (N 120 kg × ha-1 P 144 kg × ha-1 K156 kg × ha-1, and foliar fertilization (Basfoliar 12-4-6, ADOB Mn and Solubor DF on the quantitative and qualitative composition of fungal populations colonizing potato tubers. Fungi were isolated immediately after harvest and after a five-month storage period. After seven days of incubation, fungal colonies were transferred onto agar slants for microscopic identification. Over the entire experimental period, more pathogenic fungi were obtained from potato tubers analyzed after storage (62.9% of the total fungal population after storage than from those analyzed immediately after harvest (39.1%, and the greatest number of fungi was reported in 2004. Rhizoctonia solani was isolated most frequently, followed by Colletotrichum coccodes and Alternaria alternata. Pathogens of the genus Fusarium and the species Helminthosporium solani were not numerous. In the treatment A with soil mineral fertilization with lower NPK rates, larger numbers of pathogenic fungi were noted in 2004 after harvest and after five-month storage, and in 2005 after harvest. At the remaining dates of analysis, pathogens were more frequently isolated from potato tubers in experimental variant B with higher NPK rates. Immediately after harvest, the highest number of pathogenic fungi was isolated in the treatment with foliar application of ADOB Mn and Basfoliar 12-4-6. After five-month storage, pathogens most often colonized potato tubers in experimental variant B with foliar application of Solubor DF, Solubor DF and ADOB Mn, and in experimental variant A with a combination of fertilizers. In the other fertilization variants, including in the control

  20. Antifungal and antioxidant activities of mature leaves of Myrcia splendens (Sw. DC.

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    F. C. Pontes

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract In recent years, natural products with antifungal and antioxidant activities are being increasingly researched for a more sustainable alternative to the chemicals currently used for the same purpose. The plant pathogenic fungus Alternaria alternata is a causative agent of diseases in citrus, leading to huge economic losses. Antioxidants are important for the production of medicines for various diseases that may be related to the presence of free radicals, such as cancer, and in the cosmetic industry as an anti-aging agent and the food industry as preservatives. This study evaluated the antifungal and antioxidant potential of extracts of mature leaves of Myrcia splendens, a tree species that occurs in the Brazilian Cerrado. The antioxidant potential was analyzed by an assay of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging method, and the antifungal activity was assessed through the evaluation of mycelial growth. Majority of the extracts exhibited a strong antioxidant activity, especially the acetonic extract (4A. The antioxidant activity may be related to the presence of phenolic compounds. However, the extracts showed no inhibitory activity of mycelial growth of the fungus tested, with the exception of dichloromethanic extract (2B, which had an inhibitory effect (10.2% at the end of testing.

  1. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF LEAF BLIGHT OF CARROT (Daucus carota L. CAUSED BY Alternaria dauci (KÜHN GROVES & SKOLKO: SURVIVAL OF Alternaria dauci IN VEGETAL RESIDUES OF CARROT (Daucus carota L. CROP ASPECTOS EPIDEMIOLÓGICOS DA QUEIMA DAS FOLHAS DA CENOURA (Daucus carota L. CAUSADA POR Alternaria dauci (Kühn GROVES & SKOLKO: Sobrevivência de Alternaria dauci (Kühn Groves & SKOLKO em restos culturais da cenoura (Daucus carota L.

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    Geraldo Martins Chaves

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available

    The spore viability of Alternaria dauci (Kühn Groves & Skolko in carrot (Daucus carota L. debris which were kept at different levels of temperature and relative humidity, without light, was studied. The temperature levels tested were 8, 16, 24 and 32°C, and the relative humidity levels 3, 18, 51, 73 and 100%. The treatments were different combinations of these levels. Humidity was the more important factor in preserving the fungus spore ability to germinate and its infectivity. Under conditions of high relative humidity and temperatures of 24 and 32°C, the spores rapidly lost their viability. This did not happen when the relative humidity was equal to, or below, 51%. The survival of fungus mycelium on carrot petioles was studied in non-treated organic soil, at different humidity levels, at three different depths, during a period of 120 days. Soil humidity was the factor of major significance in the persistence of the mycelium, followed by depths and time factors. In petioles kept at depths of 10 and 20 cm in humid soil, the survival was greatly reduced, while survival was markedly higher in those kept at the surface of dry soil. The effect of humidity on the viability of mycelium was studied also under soiless condition. Petioles were maintained in relative humidity controlled chamber, at 24°C. In saturated atmosphere (100% humidity, the mycelium viability was lost in less than 20 days. It was concluded that both, the conidial and mycelial form of Alternaria dauci are quite sensitive to high humidity levels.

    Estudou-se a sobrevivência das formas conidial e miceliana de Alternaria dauci, respectivamente, sobre folhas necrosadas e pecíolos de cenoura, sob diferentes condições mesológicas. Os esporos do fungo sobre conidióforos em folhas necrosadas de cenoura foram mantidos por 120 dias sob condi

  2. An integrated in silico/in vitro approach to assess the xenoestrogenic potential of Alternaria mycotoxins and metabolites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dellafiora, Luca; Warth, Benedikt; Schmidt, Verena; Del Favero, Giorgia; Mikula, Hannes; Fröhlich, Johannes; Marko, Doris

    2018-05-15

    Xenoestrogenic mycotoxins may contaminate food and feed posing a public health issue. Besides the zearalenone group, the Alternaria toxin alternariol (AOH) has been described as a potential mycoestrogen. However, the estrogenicity of Alternaria toxins is still largely overlooked and further data are needed to better describe the group toxicity. In the frame of risk assessment, mixed in silico/in vitro approaches already proved to be effective first-line analytical tools. An integrated in silico/in vitro approach was used to investigate the effects of metabolic and chemical modifications on the estrogenicity of AOH. Among the considered modifications, methylation was found critical for enhancing estrogenicity (as seen for alternariol monomethyl ether (AME)) while hydroxylation and glucuronidation had the opposite effect (as seen for 4-hydroxy AOH and 4-hydroxy AME). The structure-activity relationship analysis provided the structural rationale. Our results provide insights to design more efficient risk assessment studies expanding knowledge over the group toxicity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Yield loss assessment due to Alternaria blight and its management in linseed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, R B; Singh, H K; Parmar, Arpita

    2014-04-01

    Field experiments were conducted during 2010-11 and 2011-12 to assess the yield losses due to Alternaria blight disease caused by Alternaria lini and A. linicola in recently released cultivars and their management with the integration of Trichoderma viride, fungicides and plant extract. Disease severity on leaves varied from 41.07% (Parvati) to 65.01% (Chambal) while bud damage per cent ranged between 23.56% (Shekhar) to 46.12% (T-397), respectively in different cultivars. Maximum yield loss of 58.44% was recorded in cultivar Neelum followed by Parvati (55.56%), Meera (55.56%) and Chambal (51.72%), respectively while minimum loss was recorded in Kiran (19.99%) and Jeevan (22.22%). Minimum mean disease severity (19.47%) with maximum disease control (69.74%) was recorded with the treatment: seed treatment (ST) with vitavax power (2 g kg(-1) seed) + 2 foliar sprays (FS) of Saaf (a mixture of carbendazim+mancozeb) 0.2% followed by ST with Trichoderma viride (4g kg(-1) seed) + 2 FS of Saaf (0.2%). Minimum bud damage (13.75%) with maximum control (60.94%) was recorded with treatment of ST with vitavax power+2 FS of propiconazole (0.2%). Maximum mean seed yield (1440 kg ha(-1)) with maximum net return (Rs. 15352/ha) and benefit cost ratio (1:11.04) was obtained with treatment ST with vitavax power + 2 FS of Neem leaf extract followed by treatment ST with vitavax power+2 FS of Saaf (1378 kg ha(-1)).

  4. The wild tomato species Solanum chilense shows variation in pathogen resistance between geographically distinct populations

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    Remco Stam

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Wild tomatoes are a valuable source of disease resistance germplasm for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum breeders. Many species are known to possess a certain degree of resistance against certain pathogens; however, evolution of resistance traits is yet poorly understood. For some species, like Solanum chilense, both differences in habitat and within species genetic diversity are very large. Here we aim to investigate the occurrence of spatially heterogeneous coevolutionary pressures between populations of S. chilense. We investigate the phenotypic differences in disease resistance within S. chilense against three common tomato pathogens (Alternaria solani, Phytophthora infestans and a Fusarium sp. and confirm high degrees of variability in resistance properties between selected populations. Using generalised linear mixed models, we show that disease resistance does not follow the known demographic patterns of the species. Models with up to five available climatic and geographic variables are required to best describe resistance differences, confirming the complexity of factors involved in local resistance variation. We confirm that within S. chilense, resistance properties against various pathogens show a mosaic pattern and do not follow environmental patterns, indicating the strength of local pathogen pressures. Our study can form the basis for further investigations of the genetic traits involved.

  5. The wild tomato species Solanum chilense shows variation in pathogen resistance between geographically distinct populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheikl, Daniela; Tellier, Aurélien

    2017-01-01

    Wild tomatoes are a valuable source of disease resistance germplasm for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) breeders. Many species are known to possess a certain degree of resistance against certain pathogens; however, evolution of resistance traits is yet poorly understood. For some species, like Solanum chilense, both differences in habitat and within species genetic diversity are very large. Here we aim to investigate the occurrence of spatially heterogeneous coevolutionary pressures between populations of S. chilense. We investigate the phenotypic differences in disease resistance within S. chilense against three common tomato pathogens (Alternaria solani, Phytophthora infestans and a Fusarium sp.) and confirm high degrees of variability in resistance properties between selected populations. Using generalised linear mixed models, we show that disease resistance does not follow the known demographic patterns of the species. Models with up to five available climatic and geographic variables are required to best describe resistance differences, confirming the complexity of factors involved in local resistance variation. We confirm that within S. chilense, resistance properties against various pathogens show a mosaic pattern and do not follow environmental patterns, indicating the strength of local pathogen pressures. Our study can form the basis for further investigations of the genetic traits involved. PMID:28133579

  6. Transcriptional Responses of the Bdtf1-Deletion Mutant to the Phytoalexin Brassinin in the Necrotrophic Fungus Alternaria brassicicola

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    Yangrae Cho

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Brassica species produce the antifungal indolyl compounds brassinin and its derivatives, during microbial infection. The fungal pathogen Alternaria brassicicola detoxifies brassinin and possibly its derivatives. This ability is an important property for the successful infection of brassicaceous plants. Previously, we identified a transcription factor, Bdtf1, essential for the detoxification of brassinin and full virulence. To discover genes that encode putative brassinin-digesting enzymes, we compared gene expression profiles between a mutant strain of the transcription factor and wild-type A. brassicicola under two different experimental conditions. A total of 170 and 388 genes were expressed at higher levels in the mutants than the wild type during the infection of host plants and saprophytic growth in the presence of brassinin, respectively. In contrast, 93 and 560 genes were expressed, respectively, at lower levels in the mutant than the wild type under the two conditions. Fifteen of these genes were expressed at lower levels in the mutant than in the wild type under both conditions. These genes were assumed to be important for the detoxification of brassinin and included Bdtf1 and 10 putative enzymes. This list of genes provides a resource for the discovery of enzyme-coding genes important in the chemical modification of brassinin.

  7. A new perylenequinone from a halotolerant fungus, Alternaria sp. M6.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Song-Ya; Li, Zhan-Lin; Bai, Jiao; Wang, Yu; Zhang, Li-Min; Wu, Xin; Hua, Hui-Ming

    2012-01-01

    To study the metabolites of a halotolerant fungus Alternaria sp. M6. The metabolites were isolated and purified by various chromatographic techniques. Their structures were determined on the basis of physical properties and spectroscopic data. Nine compounds were isolated and identified as 8β-chloro-3, 6aα, 7β, 9β, 10-pentahydroxy-9, 8, 7, 6a-tetrahydroperylen-4(6aH)-one (1), alterperylenol (2), dihydroalterperylenol (3), adenine (4), adenosine (5), deoxyadenosine (6), guanosine (7), tryptophan (8), and hexadecanoic acid (9). Compound 1 is a new perylenequinone. Copyright © 2012 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Antimicrobial activities of Streptomyces pulcher, S. canescens and S. citreofluorescens against fungal and bacterial pathogens of tomato in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    el-Abyad, M S; el-Sayed, M A; el-Shanshoury, A R; el-Sabbagh, S M

    1996-01-01

    Thirty-seven actinomycete species isolated from fertile cultivated soils in Egypt were screened for the production of antimicrobial compounds against a variety of test organisms. Most of the isolates exhibited antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive, Gram-negative, and acid-fast bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi, with special attention to fungal and bacterial pathogens of tomato. On starch-nitrate agar, 14 strains were active against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (the cause of Fusarium wilt), 18 against Verticillium albo-atrum (the cause of Verticillium wilt), and 18 against Alternaria solani (the cause of early blight). In liquid media, 14 isolates antagonized Pseudomonas solanacearum (the cause of bacterial wilt) and 20 antagonized Clavibacter michiganensis ssp. michiganensis (the cause of bacterial canker). The most active antagonists of the pathogenic microorganisms studied were found to be Streptomyces pulcher, S. canescens (syn. S. albidoflavus) and S. citreofluorescens (syn. S. anulatus). The antagonistic activities of S. pulcher and S. canescens against pathogenic fungi were assessed on solid media, and those of S. pulcher and S. citreofluorescens against pathogenic bacteria in liquid media under shaking conditions. The optimum culture conditions were determined.

  9. Genome-wide identification and structure-function studies of proteases and protease inhibitors in Cicer arietinum (chickpea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Ranu; Suresh, C G

    2015-01-01

    Proteases are a family of enzymes present in almost all living organisms. In plants they are involved in many biological processes requiring stress response in situations such as water deficiency, pathogen attack, maintaining protein content of the cell, programmed cell death, senescence, reproduction and many more. Similarly, protease inhibitors (PIs) are involved in various important functions like suppression of invasion by pathogenic nematodes, inhibition of spores-germination and mycelium growth of Alternaria alternata and response to wounding and fungal attack. As much as we know, no genome-wide study of proteases together with proteinaceous PIs is reported in any of the sequenced genomes till now. Phylogenetic studies and domain analysis of proteases were carried out to understand the molecular evolution as well as gene and protein features. Structural analysis was carried out to explore the binding mode and affinity of PIs for cognate proteases and prolyl oligopeptidase protease with inhibitor ligand. In the study reported here, a significant number of proteases and PIs were identified in chickpea genome. The gene expression profiles of proteases and PIs in five different plant tissues revealed a differential expression pattern in more than one plant tissue. Molecular dynamics studies revealed the formation of stable complex owing to increased number of protein-ligand and inter and intramolecular protein-protein hydrogen bonds. The genome-wide identification, characterization, evolutionary understanding, gene expression, and structural analysis of proteases and PIs provide a framework for future analysis when defining their roles in stress response and developing a more stress tolerant variety of chickpea. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. The health condition of spring oilseed crops in relation to the fungi colonising their seeds

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    Barbara Majchrzak

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The research was conduced in the years 1999-2000. The aim of the research was to determine the health condition of overground parts and seeds of the following spring oilseed crops: crambe (Crambe abbysinica Hoechst. cv. B o r o w s k i, false flax (Camelina sativa L. cv. B o r o w s k a, spring rape (Brassica napus ssp. oleifera L. cv. M a r g o and oleiferous radish (Raphanus sativus var. oleiferus L. cv. P e g l e t t a. In all the years of the research alternaria blight was found on the leaves and siliques of spring rape and oleiferous radish and on the leaves and stems of crambe. False flax proved to be weakly infected by pathogens. On its leaves gray mould (Botrytis cinerea was found in all the years of the research. The disease was found on the siliques only in 1999. In 2000 powdery mildew was found on spring rape and false flax (respectively, Erysiphe crucifearum and E.cichoracearum. The weather conditions affected the intensity of the diseases on the studied spring oilseed crops. Alernaria genus, especially A.alternata was most commonly isolated from the seeds of examined plants. It constituted from 37% (in crambe to 63,3% (in spring rape of all the isolates. Of the remaining pathogenic species, numerous fungi of the Fusarium genus (F.avenaceum, F.culmorum, F.equiseti and F.oxysporum were isolated. They constituted from 1,0% (false flax to 17,3% (crambe of the isolates.

  11. Pharmaceutical Properties of Marine Macroalgal Communities from Gulf of Mannar against Human Fungal Pathogens

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    R. Lavanya

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the antifungal activity of seaweed extracts against human fungal pathogens. Methods: Antifungal activity of six species of marine macro algae Codium decorticatum, Caulerpa scalpelliformis, Gracilaria crassa, Acanthophora spicifera, Sargassum wightii and Turbinaria conoides using different solvents acetone, methanol, chloroform, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, hexane and aqueous were evaluated against Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium udum, Fusarium solani, Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria alternat, Botrytis cinerea, Candida albicans, Candida krusei, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Results: From the investigation, the maximum activity was recorded from Phaeophyceae, Chlorophyceae and Rhodophyceae respectively. The maximum inhibition zone was noted in acetone extract of T. conoides against F. udum. Conclusions: From these findings, it is concluded that brown seaweed Turbinaria conoides is more effective than the green and red seaweeds.

  12. Influence of Cultivars and Seed Thermal Treatment on the Development of Fungal Pathogens in Carrot and Onion Plants

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    Martin Koudela

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Carrot and onion are vegetables representing an important segment of fresh market. They suffer from serious fungal diseases that can inflict great damage on crops, i.e. alternaria leaf blight, peronospora downy mildew, and botrytis neck rot. The resistance of selected carrot and onion cultivars important for the production of vegetables in the Czech Republic was tested by exposure to targeted infection by the above fungal pathogens. The exposure of eleven carrot cultivars to spores of Alternaria dauci showed that the most resistant and sensitive cultivars were Katrin, Cortina F1, Afalon F1 and Favorit, Tinga, Berlika F1, respectively. A targeted infection of onion cultivars with Botrytis aclada clustered them into three groups: Amfora F1, Bolero, Tosca, Triumf F1 (strong resistance, Avalon, Grenada (medium resistance, Alice, Karmen, Všetana (low resistance. Similar groups were distinguished also after the infection with Peronospora destructor: Avalon, Bolero, Tosca (strong resistance, Alice, Amfora F1, Grenada, Karmen, Triumf F1 (medium resistance,Všetana (low resistance. Hot water treatment of carrot seeds applied after the inoculation with A. dauci decreased the development of the infection 1.3-2.3-fold, whereas the protective effect observed with onion seeds against the infection by P. destructor and B. aclada was lower.

  13. Synthesis and in vitro antifungal efficacy of oleoyl-chitosan nanoparticles against plant pathogenic fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xing, Ke; Shen, Xiaoqiang; Zhu, Xiao; Ju, Xiuyun; Miao, Xiangmin; Tian, Jun; Feng, Zhaozhong; Peng, Xue; Jiang, Jihong; Qin, Sheng

    2016-01-01

    An antifungal dispersion system was prepared by oleoyl-chitosan (O-chitosan) nanoparticles, and the antifungal activity against several plant pathogenic fungi was investigated. Under scanning electron microscopy, the nanoparticles formulation appeared to be uniform with almost spherical shape. The particle size of nanoparticles was around 296.962 nm. Transmission electron microscopy observation showed that nanoparticles could be well distributed in potato dextrose agar medium. Mycelium growth experiment demonstrated that Nigrospora sphaerica, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Nigrospora oryzae and Alternaria tenuissima were chitosan-sensitive, while Gibberella zeae and Fusarium culmorum were chitosan-resistant. The antifungal index was increased as the concentration of nanoparticles increased for chitosan-sensitive fungi. Fatty acid analyses revealed that plasma membranes of chitosan-sensitive fungi were shown to have lower levels of unsaturated fatty acid than chitosan-resistant fungi. Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS gene sequences indicated that two chitosan-resistant fungi had a near phylogenetic relationship. Results showed that O-chitosan nanoparticles could be a useful alternative for controlling pathogenic fungi in agriculture. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Micromycetes on climbing roses leaves (Rosa L. in the Botanic Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow

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    Maria Kowalik

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Micromycetes inhabiting the leaves of 20 cultivars of climbing roses (Rosa L., grown in Botanic Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow was investigated in the three successive years of research. Sixty-five taxa of of micromycetes was recorded with a few species dominating: Alternaria alternata, Epicoccum nigrum, Pestalotia rosae, Penicillium brevicompactum and Sordaria fimicola, accompanied by various other microfungi. A high abundance of rose black spot caused by Diplocarpon rosae was also observed. The affected leaves revealed advancing necrosis, substantially enhancing at the end of the growing season. Defoliation took place from June to October. Micromycetes inhabiting the leaves of climbing roses in Botanic Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow considerably deteriorated the decorative aspect of the plants.

  15. In vitro antifungal activity of Ocimum selloi essential oil and methylchavicol against phytopathogenic fungi1

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    Larissa Corrêa Bomfim Costa

    Full Text Available The efficacy of Ocimum selloi essential oil was evaluated for controlling the growth of mycelia and spores germination Moniliophthora perniciosa. Six compounds (99.89% of the total oil were identified by GC-MS, of which methyl chavicol, methyl eugenol, β-caryophyllene, germacrene-D, bicyclogermacrene and spathulenol. Essential oil was tested for antifungal activity, which was determined by disc diffusion and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC determination methods. Application of the oil reduced mycelial growth in a dose dependent manner, with maximum inhibition being observed at concentration of 1,000 ppm. Such antifungal activity could be attributed to methyl chavicol since the pure compound was shown to be similarly effective against Moniliophthora perniciosa at 1,000 ppm. The oil when applied at a concentration of 1,000 ppm, reduced the spore germination of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and M. perniciosa by 93 and 87%, respectively, but had no effect on the Alternaria alternata. It is concluded that the oil from O. selloi and its major constituent, methyl chavicol, are efficient in inhibiting M. perniciosa, but less effective against C. gloeosporioides and A. alternata. The results obtained from this work may contribute to the development of alternative anti-fungal agents to protect the cacao crop from fungal disease.

  16. Signal signature and transcriptome changes of Arabidopsis during pathogen and insect attack.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Vos, Martin; Van Oosten, Vivian R; Van Poecke, Remco M P; Van Pelt, Johan A; Pozo, Maria J; Mueller, Martin J; Buchala, Antony J; Métraux, Jean-Pierre; Van Loon, L C; Dicke, Marcel; Pieterse, Corné M J

    2005-09-01

    Plant defenses against pathogens and insects are regulated differentially by cross-communicating signaling pathways in which salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET) play key roles. To understand how plants integrate pathogen- and insect-induced signals into specific defense responses, we monitored the dynamics of SA, JA, and ET signaling in Arabidopsis after attack by a set of microbial pathogens and herbivorous insects with different modes of attack. Arabidopsis plants were exposed to a pathogenic leaf bacterium (Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato), a pathogenic leaf fungus (Alternaria brassicicola), tissue-chewing caterpillars (Pieris rapae), cell-content-feeding thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), or phloem-feeding aphids (Myzus persicae). Monitoring the signal signature in each plant-attacker combination showed that the kinetics of SA, JA, and ET production varies greatly in both quantity and timing. Analysis of global gene expression profiles demonstrated that the signal signature characteristic of each Arabidopsis-attacker combination is orchestrated into a surprisingly complex set of transcriptional alterations in which, in all cases, stress-related genes are overrepresented. Comparison of the transcript profiles revealed that consistent changes induced by pathogens and insects with very different modes of attack can show considerable overlap. Of all consistent changes induced by A. brassicicola, Pieris rapae, and E occidentalis, more than 50% also were induced consistently by P. syringae. Notably, although these four attackers all stimulated JA biosynthesis, the majority of the changes in JA-responsive gene expression were attacker specific. All together, our study shows that SA, JA, and ET play a primary role in the orchestration of the plant's defense response, but other regulatory mechanisms, such as pathway cross-talk or additional attacker-induced signals, eventually shape the highly complex attacker-specific defense response.

  17. Natural zinniol derivatives from Alternaria tagetica. Isolation, synthesis, and structure-activity correlation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamboa-Angulo, M Marcela; Escalante-Erosa, Fabiola; García-Sosa, Karlina; Alejos-González, Fátima; Delgado-Lamas, Guillermo; Peña-Rodríguez, Luis M

    2002-02-27

    Two novel phytotoxins, 8-zinniol methyl ether (5) and 8-zinniol acetate (6), in addition to 6-(3',3'-dimethylallyloxy)-4-methoxy-5-methylphthalide (2), 5-(3',3'-dimethylallyloxy)-7-methoxy-6-methylphthalide (3), and the novel metabolites 8-zinniol 2-(phenyl)ethyl ether (4) and 7-zinniol acetate (7) have been identified as natural zinniol derivatives from the organic crude extract of Alternaria tagetica culture filtrates. Using zinniol as the starting material, phytotoxin 5 was synthesized, together with a number of synthetic intermediates (8-13). Both natural and synthetic zinniol derivatives were evaluated in the leaf-spot bioassay against marigold leaves (Tagetes erecta).

  18. Determination of Alternaria mycotoxins in wine and juice using ionic liquid modified countercurrent chromatography as a pretreatment method followed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Chen; Cao, Xueli; Liu, Man; Wang, Wei

    2016-03-04

    Alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), and tenuazonic acid (TeA) are some of the main Alternaria mycotoxins that can be found as contaminants in food materials. The objective of this study was to develop a pretreatment method with countercurrent chromatography (CCC) for enrichment and cleanup of trace Alternaria mycotoxins in food samples prior to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. An Analytical CCC instrument with a column volume 22.5mL was used, and a two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate and water modified with 6% [HOOMIM][Cl] in mass to volume ratio was selected. Under the optimized CCC operation conditions, trace amounts of AOH, AME, and TeA in large volume of liquid sample were efficiently extracted and enriched in the stationary phase, and then eluted out just by reversing the stationary phase as mobile phase in the opposite flowing direction tail-to-head. The enrichment and elution strategies are unique and can be fulfilled online with high enrichment factors (87-114) and high recoveries (81.14-110.94%). The method has been successively applied to the determination of Alternaria mycotoxins in real apple juice and wine samples with the limits of detection (LOD) in the range of 0.03-0.14μgL(-1). Totally 12 wine samples and 15 apple juice samples from the local market were analyzed. The detection rate of AOH and AME in both kinds of the samples were more than 50%, while TeA was found in relatively high level of 1.75-49.61μgL(-1) in some of the apple juice samples. The proposed method is simple, rapid, and sensitive and could also be used for the analysis and monitoring of Alternaria mycotoxin in other food samples. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Selection and differentiation of Bacillus spp. Antagonistic to Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici and Alternaria solani infecting Tomato.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanmugam, Veerubommu; Atri, Kamini; Gupta, Samriti; Kanoujia, Nandina; Naruka, Digvijay Singh

    2011-03-01

    Antagonistic Bacillus spp. displaying in vitro production of siderophore, chitinase, and β-1,3-glucanase were identified from dual culture assays. In independent greenhouse studies, seed bacterization and soil application of Bacillus atrophaeus S2BC-2 challenge inoculated with Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici (FOL) and Alternaria solani (AS) recorded low percent disease index of 25.3 and 28.7, respectively, over nonbacterised pathogen control (44.3 and 56.4). The low disease incidence corroborated with tomato growth promotion with high vigor index (8,041.2) and fresh plant weight (82.5 g) on challenge inoculation with FOL. Analysis of root and leaf samples in rhizobacterial treatment challenged with FOL and AS revealed maximum induction of chitinase (1.9 and 1.7 U/mg of protein, respectively) and β-1,3-glucanase (23.5 and 19.2 U/mg of protein, respectively). In native gel activity assays, the rhizobacterial treatment on challenge inoculation strongly expressed three high intensity PO isoforms along with one low intensity isoform. In studies on genetic diversity of the Bacillus strains by repetitive extragenomic palindromic-polymerase chain reaction (REP-PCR) and amplified rDNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) patterns, ARDRA was more highly discriminant than REP-PCR and allowed grouping of the strains and differentiation of the antagonistic strains from other isolates.

  20. Combination of Trichoderma harzianum endochitinase and a membrane-affecting fungicide on control of Alternaria leaf spot in transgenic broccoli plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mora, A; Earle, E D

    2001-04-01

    Progeny from transgenic broccoli (cv. Green Comet) expressing a Trichoderma harzianum endochitinase gene were used to assess the interaction between endochitinase and the fungicide Bayleton in the control of Alternaria brassicicola. In vitro assays have shown synergistic effects of endochitinase and fungicides on fungal pathogens. Our study examined the in planta effects of endochitinase and Bayleton, individually and in combination. Two month old transgenic and non-transgenic plants were sprayed with ED50 levels of Bayleton and/or inoculated with an A. brassicicola spore suspension. Disease levels in non-sprayed transgenic plants were not statistically different from sprayed transgenic plants nor from sprayed non-transgenic controls. Thus endochitinase-transgenic plants alone provided a significant reduction of disease severity, comparable to the protection by fungicide on non-transgenic plants. Comparison of the expected additive and observed effects revealed no synergism between endochitinase and Bayleton (at ED50 level), and usually less than an additive effect. Some transgenic lines sprayed with fungicide at doses higher than ED50 showed resistance similar to the non-sprayed transgenic lines, again suggesting no synergistic effect. Lack of synergism may be due to incomplete digestion of the cell wall by endochitinase, so that the effect of Bayleton at the cell membrane is not enhanced.

  1. Porritoxins, metabolites of Alternaria porri, as anti-tumor-promoting active compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horiuchi, Masayuki; Tokuda, Harukuni; Ohnishi, Keiichiro; Yamashita, Masakazu; Nishino, Hoyoku; Maoka, Takashi

    2006-02-01

    To search for possible cancer chemopreventive agents from natural sources, we performed primary screening of metabolites of Alternaria porri by examining their possible inhibitory effects on Epstein-Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) activation induced by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) in Raji cells. The ethyl acetate extract of A. porri showed the inhibitory effect on EBV-EA activation. Three porritoxins (1-3) were obtained as inhibitory active compounds for EBV-EA from ethyl acetate extract. 6-(3',3'-Dimethylallyloxy)-4-methoxy-5-methylphthalide (2) showed the strongest activity among them. Inhibitory effect of porritoxin (1) and (2) was superior to that of beta-carotene, a well-known anti-tumor promoter. Furthermore, the structure-activity correlation of porritoxins and their related compounds were discussed.

  2. Three New Resveratrol Derivatives from the Mangrove Endophytic Fungus Alternaria sp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinhua Wang

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Three new resveratrol derivatives, namely, resveratrodehydes A–C (1–3, were isolated from the mangrove endophytic fungus Alternaria sp. R6. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by analysis of their MS, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. All compounds showed broad-spectrum inhibitory activities against three human cancer cell lines including human breast MDA-MB-435, human liver HepG2, and human colon HCT-116 by MTT assay (IC50 < 50 μM. Among them, compounds 1 and 2 both exhibited marked cytotoxic activities against MDA-MB-435 and HCT-116 cell lines (IC50 < 10 μM. Additionally, compounds 1 and 3 showed moderate antioxidant activity by DPPH radical scavenging assay.

  3. Antifungal and proteolytic activities of endophytic fungi isolated from Piper hispidum Sw

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ravely Casarotti Orlandelli

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Endophytes are being considered for use in biological control, and the enzymes they secrete might facilitate their initial colonization of internal plant tissues and direct interactions with microbial pathogens. Microbial proteases are also biotechnologically important products employed in bioremediation processes, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical, photographic and food industries. In the present study, we evaluated antagonism and competitive interactions between 98 fungal endophytes and Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum sp., Phyllosticta citricarpa and Moniliophthora perniciosa. We also examined the proteolytic activities of endophytes grown in liquid medium and conducted cup plate assays. The results showed that certain strains in the assemblage of P. hispidum endophytes are important sources of antifungal properties, primarily Lasiodiplodia theobromae JF766989, which reduced phytopathogen growth by approximately 54 to 65%. We detected 28 endophytes producing enzymatic halos of up to 16.40 mm in diameter. The results obtained in the present study highlight the proteolytic activity of the endophytes Phoma herbarum JF766995 and Schizophyllum commune JF766994, which presented the highest enzymatic halo diameters under at least one culture condition tested. The increased activities of certain isolates in the presence of rice or soy flour as a substrate (with halos up to 17.67 mm in diameter suggests that these endophytes have the potential to produce enzymes using agricultural wastes.

  4. Transcription Factor Amr1 Induces Melanin Biosynthesis and Suppresses Virulence in Alternaria brassicicola

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Yangrae; Srivastava, Akhil; Ohm, Robin A.; Lawrence, Christopher B.; Wang, Koon-Hui; Grigoriev, Igor V.; Marahatta, Sharadchandra P.

    2012-05-01

    Alternaria brassicicola is a successful saprophyte and necrotrophic plant pathogen. Several A. brassicicola genes have been characterized as affecting pathogenesis of Brassica species. To study regulatory mechanisms of pathogenesis, we mined 421 genes in silico encoding putative transcription factors in a machine-annotated, draft genome sequence of A. brassicicola. In this study, targeted gene disruption mutants for 117 of the transcription factor genes were produced and screened. Three of these genes were associated with pathogenesis. Disruption mutants of one gene (AbPacC) were nonpathogenic and another gene (AbVf8) caused lesions less than half the diameter of wild-type lesions. Unexpectedly, mutants of the third gene, Amr1, caused lesions with a two-fold larger diameter than the wild type and complementation mutants. Amr1 is a homolog of Cmr1, a transcription factor that regulates melanin biosynthesis in several fungi. We created gene deletion mutants of ?amr1 and characterized their phenotypes. The ?amr1 mutants used pectin as a carbon source more efficiently than the wild type, were melanin-deficient, and more sensitive to UV light and glucanase digestion. The AMR1 protein was localized in the nuclei of hyphae and in highly melanized conidia during the late stage of plant pathogenesis. RNA-seq analysis revealed that three genes in the melanin biosynthesis pathway, along with the deleted Amr1 gene, were expressed at low levels in the mutants. In contrast, many hydrolytic enzyme-coding genes were expressed at higher levels in the mutants than in the wild type during pathogenesis. The results of this study suggested that a gene important for survival in nature negatively affected virulence, probably by a less efficient use of plant cell-wall materials. We speculate that the functions of the Amr1 gene are important to the success of A. brassicicola as a competitive saprophyte and plant parasite.

  5. Epicoccum nigrum the new pathogen of sorghum seed in Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ristić Danijela

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Sixteen samples of sorghum seed (Sorghum bicolor (L. Moench. 'Alba', 'Gold', 'Prima' and 'Reform' were analyzed in the localities of Bački Petrovac and Čantavir in the period 2009-2011. Tipresence of species belonging to the genera Epicoccum, Fusarium, Alternaria, Aspergillus and Penicillium was established in single and mixed infections. From the infected sorghum seed, monosporial cultures identified as Epicoccum nigrum based on morphology, proved their pathogenicity on artificially inoculated sorghum seedlings. Molecular identification was performed by PCR and amplification of the ITS region of ribosomal DNA. Gene sequences of selected isolates 291-09 (JQ619838 and 315-09 (JQ619839 exhibited 99-100% nucleotide identity with the sequences of 31 isolates of E. nigrum deposited in the GenBank. It obtained results represent the first detailed characterization of E. nigrum in Serbia. The presence of a large number of phytopathogenic fungi on sorghum seed should be further investigated in order to clarify their relationships and relative significance.

  6. The dynamics of the fungal aerospores Alternaria sp. and Cladosporium sp. in Parisian atmospheric air, in France

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brezoczki, V. M.

    2016-08-01

    The bioallergens occurring naturally in the atmospheric air are microorganisms, pollen grains, plant seeds, leaf and stem scrap, or their protein molecules. The presence of various airborne fungal spores determines a high allergenic potential for public health. This effect is due to the high number of produced spores, which under favourable meteorological conditions (dry weather and wind) reach the surrounding air. This paper traces the dynamics of two types of fungi, Alternaria sp and Cladosporium sp, fungi which can be found outdoors, in the surrounding air, as well as indoors, inside houses (especially the conidia of Cladosporium sp). The effects of these fungal spores on human health are varies, ranging from seasonal allergies (hay fever, rhinitis, sinusitis etc.) to sever afflictions of the respiratory system, onset of asthma, disfunctionalities of the nervous systems, of the immune system, zymoses etc. The monitoring of the dynamics of the aerospores Alternaria sp and Cladosporium sp was carried out between 2010 and 2013, over a period of 42 weeks during one calendar year, from February to the end of September, in the surrounding air in the French capital, Paris. The regional and global climate and meteorological conditions are directly involved in the occurrence and development of fungi colonies, the transportation and dispersion of fungal spores in the atmospheric air, as well as in the creation of the environment required for the interaction of chemical and biological components in the air. Knowledge of the dynamics of the studied fungal aerospores, coupled with climate and meteorological changes, offers a series of information on the magnitude of the allergenic potential these airborne spores can determine. Legal regulations in this domain set the allergen risk threshold for the Alternaria sp aerospores at 3500 ÷ 7000 spores/m3 air/week, and for the Cladosporium sp aerospores at 56,000 spores/m3 air/week. Besides these regulations there exist a series of

  7. Novel Tandem Biotransformation Process for the Biosynthesis of a Novel Compound, 4-(2,3,5,6-Tetramethylpyrazine-1)-4′-Demethylepipodophyllotoxin▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Ya-Jie; Zhao, Wei; Li, Hong-Mei

    2011-01-01

    According to the structure of podophyllotoxin and its structure-function relationship, a novel tandem biotransformation process was developed for the directional modification of the podophyllotoxin structure to directionally synthesize a novel compound, 4-(2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine-1)-4′-demethylepipodophyllotoxin (4-TMP-DMEP). In this novel tandem biotransformation process, the starting substrate of podophyllotoxin was biotransformed into 4′-demethylepipodophyllotoxin (product 1) with the demethylation of the methoxyl group at the 4′ position by Gibberella fujikuroi SH-f13, which was screened out from Shennongjia prime forest humus soil (Hubei, China). 4′-Demethylepipodophyllotoxin (product 1) was then biotransformed into 4′-demethylpodophyllotoxone (product 2) with the oxidation of the hydroxyl group at the 4 position by Alternaria alternata S-f6, which was screened out from the gathered Dysosma versipellis plants in the Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Finally, 4′-demethylpodophyllotoxone (product 2) and ligustrazine were linked with a transamination reaction to synthesize the target product 4-TMP-DMEP (product 3) by Alternaria alternata S-f6. Compared with podophyllotoxin (i.e., a 50% effective concentration [EC50] of 529 μM), the EC50 of 4-TMP-DMEP against the tumor cell line BGC-823 (i.e., 0.11 μM) was significantly reduced by 5,199 times. Simultaneously, the EC50 of 4-TMP-DMEP against the normal human proximal tubular epithelial cell line HK-2 (i.e., 0.40 μM) was 66 times higher than that of podophyllotoxin (i.e., 0.006 μM). Furthermore, compared with podophyllotoxin (i.e., log P = 0.34), the water solubility of 4-TMP-DMEP (i.e., log P = 0.66) was significantly enhanced by 94%. For the first time, the novel compound 4-TMP-DMEP with superior antitumor activity was directionally synthesized from podophyllotoxin by the novel tandem biotransformation process developed in this work. PMID:21398491

  8. Computational approaches for discovery of common immunomodulators in fungal infections: towards broad-spectrum immunotherapeutic interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidane, Yared H; Lawrence, Christopher; Murali, T M

    2013-10-07

    Fungi are the second most abundant type of human pathogens. Invasive fungal pathogens are leading causes of life-threatening infections in clinical settings. Toxicity to the host and drug-resistance are two major deleterious issues associated with existing antifungal agents. Increasing a host's tolerance and/or immunity to fungal pathogens has potential to alleviate these problems. A host's tolerance may be improved by modulating the immune system such that it responds more rapidly and robustly in all facets, ranging from the recognition of pathogens to their clearance from the host. An understanding of biological processes and genes that are perturbed during attempted fungal exposure, colonization, and/or invasion will help guide the identification of endogenous immunomodulators and/or small molecules that activate host-immune responses such as specialized adjuvants. In this study, we present computational techniques and approaches using publicly available transcriptional data sets, to predict immunomodulators that may act against multiple fungal pathogens. Our study analyzed data sets derived from host cells exposed to five fungal pathogens, namely, Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus fumigatus, Candida albicans, Pneumocystis jirovecii, and Stachybotrys chartarum. We observed statistically significant associations between host responses to A. fumigatus and C. albicans. Our analysis identified biological processes that were consistently perturbed by these two pathogens. These processes contained both immune response-inducing genes such as MALT1, SERPINE1, ICAM1, and IL8, and immune response-repressing genes such as DUSP8, DUSP6, and SPRED2. We hypothesize that these genes belong to a pool of common immunomodulators that can potentially be activated or suppressed (agonized or antagonized) in order to render the host more tolerant to infections caused by A. fumigatus and C. albicans. Our computational approaches and methodologies described here can now be applied to

  9. Sobrevivência saprofítica de Alternaria brassicicola e manejo de restos foliares de brócolos Saprophytic survival of Alternaria brassicicola and management of broccoli leaf debris

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Augusto Martins Peruch

    2007-02-01

    Full Text Available A sobrevivência saprofítica do fungo Alternaria brassicicola foi investigada em restos foliares de brócolos (Brassica oleracea var. italica, em diferentes profundidades de incorporação no solo, períodos do ano e sistemas de manejo do solo. Os restos foliares infectados pelo patógeno foram distribuídos em parcelas no campo, na superfície do solo e nas profundidades de 5 e 10cm. Periodicamente, os restos foliares foram coletados e a concentração de conídios quantificada, sendo obtida a longevidade da esporulação e a taxa de extinção da esporulação. Foi verificada maior longevidade da esporulação nos restos foliares no período com temperaturas amenas, maior umidade relativa do ar e menor precipitação pluvial. Menor esporulação ocorreu quando os restos culturais foram incorporados a 10cm de profundidade. Quando comparados os sistemas de manejo convencional e orgânico, houve diferença na taxa de extinção da esporulação do patógeno quando a fonte de inóculo foi depositada nas profundidades de 5 e 10cm, sendo superior no solo sob manejo convencional, enquanto na superfície do solo não houve diferença. O manejo da alternariose em brócolos na região do estudo pode ser realizado pela incorporação dos restos foliares infectados no solo, à profundidade mínima de 10cm, visando a um intervalo mínimo de 60 dias entre cultivos de brássicas.The saprophytic survival of the fungus Alternaria brassicicola was investigated in leaf debris of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica, at different depths of soil incorporation, periods of the year, and systems of soil management. Infected leaf debris were distributed in field plots, at the soil surface and at depths of 5 and 10cm. Periodically, the debris in the bags were collected and conidia concentrations were quantified for longevity of spore production and extinction rate. Higher spore production longevity was observed on leaf debris in the period with lower temperatures

  10. Fungi isolated from flue-cured tobacco sold in Southeast United States, 1968-1970.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welty, R E

    1972-09-01

    Flue-cured tobacco leaves, from low- and middle-stalk positions, offered for sale in each of two markets, within each of five tobacco types, were evaluated for moisture content (MC) and filamentous fungi during August through October in 1968, 1969, and 1970. Alternaria alternata, Penicillium cyclopium, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus repens, and Aspergillus flavus were most frequently isolated from cultured tissue. Other filamentous fungi that grew from the tissue included species from four genera of field fungi and seven species of storage fungi. Although the MC ranged from 11.0 to 22.5%, it averaged 16.4, 16.8, and 15.9% for samples taken in 1968, 1969, and 1970, respectively. Average populations of fungi per sample over the three years ranged from 0 to 1,528,500 colonies/g of tobacco.

  11. Oregano (Lippia graveolens) essential oil added within pectin edible coatings prevents fungal decay and increases the antioxidant capacity of treated tomatoes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez-Garcia, Isela; Cruz-Valenzuela, M Reynaldo; Silva-Espinoza, Brenda A; Gonzalez-Aguilar, Gustavo A; Moctezuma, Edgar; Gutierrez-Pacheco, M Melissa; Tapia-Rodriguez, Melvin R; Ortega-Ramirez, Luis A; Ayala-Zavala, J Fernando

    2016-08-01

    Tomato is a fruit widely consumed due to its flavor and nutritional value; however, it is susceptible to fungi contamination. Oregano essential oil (OEO) is a fungicide whose constituents are volatile; therefore, their incorporation within edible coatings can protect them and maintain their efficacy. In this context, this study evaluated the effect of OEO applied within pectin coatings on the inhibition of Alternaria alternata growth, antioxidant content and sensorial acceptability of tomatoes. The major volatile compounds of OEO were carvacrol (47.41%), p-cymene (26.44%) and thymol (3.02%). All the applied OEO concentrations (15.7, 25.9 and 36.1 g L(-1) ) inhibited the in vitro growth of A. alternata, whereas the in vivo effective concentrations were 25.9 and 36.1 g L(-1) . Additionally, there was an increment of total phenols and antioxidant activity in coated tomatoes compared to controls. Aroma acceptability of tomatoes was not affected by the pectin-OEO coating; additionally, the pectin, pectin-OEO 15.7 g L(-1) treatments and control tomatoes showed higher flavor acceptability than those coated with pectin-OEO 25.9 and 36.1 g L(-1) . Pectin-OEO coatings showed antifungal effect and increased the antioxidant activity without negative effects on the sensorial acceptability of tomatoes. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

  12. A novel isoindoline, porritoxin sulfonic acid, from Alternaria porri and the structure-phytotoxicity correlation of its related compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horiuchi, Masayuki; Ohnishi, Keiichiro; Iwase, Noriyasu; Nakajima, Yoshikazu; Tounai, Kenji; Yamashita, Masakazu; Yamada, Yasumasa

    2003-07-01

    Novel zinniol-related compound 3, named porritoxin sulfonic acid, with an isoindoline skeleton was isolated from the culture liquid of Alternaria porri. The structure was determined to be 2-(2"-sulfoethyl)-4-methoxy-5-methyl-6-(3'-methyl-2'-butenyloxy)-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-one. The phytotoxic activities of three isoindolines (1-3) were evaluated in a seedling-growth assay against stone leek and lettuce.

  13. IN VITRO BIOACTIVITY OF CREOSOTE BUSH EXTRACTS (LARREA TRIDENTATA ON THE INHIBITION OF POSTHARVEST FUNGI: PENICILLIUM POLONICUM, ASPERGILLUS NIGER, RHIZOPUS ORYZAE Y ALTERNARIA TENUISSIMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Peñuelas-Rubio

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available En el presente estudio se evaluó la eficiencia de extractos vegetales deLarrea tridentataobtenidos con diclorometano, etanol, metanol y agua, sobre el crecimiento radial in vitro de cuatro hongos fitopatógenos, los cuales primeramente fueron identificados en género y especie empleando claves taxonómicas y técnicas moleculares. Para los bioensayosin vitrose aplicaron diseños completamente al azar con cuatro tratamientos y tres repeticiones en cada hongo, utilizando las concentraciones: 0, 250, 500 y 750 ppm paraAlternaria sp.; 0, 2000, 2500 y 3000 paraAspergillus sp.; 0, 1500, 1750 y 2000 paraPenicillium sp. y 0, 150, 200 y 250 ppm paraRhizopus sp. Cada tratamiento tuvo tres repeticiones. El análisis molecular determinó la especie tenuissima paraAlternaria,nigerparaApergillus,polonicumparaPenicilliumyoryzaeparaRhizopus. En cuanto a las pruebasin vitro, se determinaron inhibiciones del 100% para tres de los hongos en estudio:Alternaria tenuissimacon extracto EtOH a 750 ppm;Aspergillus nigercon extracto DCM a 3000 ppm yRhizopus oryzaea partir de 150 ppm y 250 ppm de los extractos DCM y EtOH respectivamente. Se presentó una inhibición del 82% a 2000 ppm paraPenicillium polonicum. Se concluye que a pesar de las diferencias en susceptibilidad entre las especies fúngicas, los extractos deLarrea tridentataobtenidos con etanol y dicloromentano son efectivos para el control de los hongos fitopatógenos bajo estudioin vitro.

  14. Intensidade de ataque de tripes, de alternaria e da queima-das-pontas em cultivares de cebola

    OpenAIRE

    Leite,Germano L.D.; Santos,Marília Cristina dos; Rocha,Silma L.; Costa,Cândido A. da; Almeida,Chrystian I. Maia e

    2004-01-01

    Avaliou-se a intensidade de ataque de Thrips tabaci Lind., a incidência de Alternaria porri (Ellis) e Botrytis squamosa J.C. Walker em nove cultivares de cebola [Aurora, Primavera, CNPH 6400, Crioula Alto-Vale, Vale-Ouro (IPA 11), Franciscana (IPA-16), Piraouro, Conquista e Serrana], num experimento no delineamento em blocos casualizados com cinco repetições. Foram feitas avaliações semanais, do transplantio até a colheita, em dez plantas/parcela do número de T. tabaci presente na bainha das ...

  15. Expression analysis of chitinase upon challenge inoculation to Alternaria wounding and defense inducers in Brassica juncea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandhya Rawat

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Chitinases are the hydrolytic enzymes which belong to the pathogenesis-related (PR protein family and play an important role not only in plant defense but also in various abiotic stresses. However, only a limited number of chitinase genes have been characterised in B. juncea. In this study, we have characterised B. juncea class IV chitinase gene (accession no EF586206 in response to fungal infection, salicylic acid (SA, jasmonic acid (JA treatments and wounding. Gene expression studies revealed that the transcript levels of Bjchitinase (BjChp gene increases significantly both in local and distal tissues after Alternaria infection. Bjchitinase gene was also induced by jasmonic acid and wounding but moderately by salicylic acid. A 2.5 kb class IV chitinase promoter of this gene was isolated from B. juncea by Genome walking (accession no KF055403.1. In-silico analysis of this promoter revealed a number of conserved cis-regulatory elements related to defense, wounding and signalling molecules like SA, and JA. For validation, chitinase promoter was fused to the GUS gene, and the resultant construct was then introduced into Arabidopsis plants. Histochemical analysis of T2 transgenic Arabidopsis plants showed that higher GUS activity in leaves after fungal infection, wounding and JA treatment but weakly by SA. GUS activity was seen in meristematic tissues, young leaves, seeds and siliques. Finally investigation has led to the identification of a pathogen-inducible, developmentally regulated and organ-specific promoter. Present study revealed that Bjchitinase (BjChp promoter is induced during biotic and environmental stress and it can be used in developing finely tuned transgenics.

  16. Chemical composition and fungicidal activity of the essential oil of Thymus vulgaris against Alternaria citri

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erica A. Soto Mendívil

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Se analizó químicamente el aceite esencial de tomillo (Thymus vulgaris L. por Cromatografía de Gases/Espectroscopia de Masas y se evaluó su actividad fungicida. Los principales constituyentes fueron borneol (28.4%, timol (16.6%, carvacrol metil eter (9.6%, camfeno (6.9%, α-humulene (6.4% y carvacrol (5.0%. Las pruebas de actividad fungicida (in vitro indicaron que la concentración de 1000ppm del aceite esencial de tomillo fue efectivo para inhibir a Alternaria citri, cuando se adicionó al medio de cultivo agar papa dextrosa

  17. Transcription factor Amr1 induces melanin biosynthesis and suppresses virulence in Alternaria brassicicola.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yangrae Cho

    Full Text Available Alternaria brassicicola is a successful saprophyte and necrotrophic plant pathogen. Several A. brassicicola genes have been characterized as affecting pathogenesis of Brassica species. To study regulatory mechanisms of pathogenesis, we mined 421 genes in silico encoding putative transcription factors in a machine-annotated, draft genome sequence of A. brassicicola. In this study, targeted gene disruption mutants for 117 of the transcription factor genes were produced and screened. Three of these genes were associated with pathogenesis. Disruption mutants of one gene (AbPacC were nonpathogenic and another gene (AbVf8 caused lesions less than half the diameter of wild-type lesions. Unexpectedly, mutants of the third gene, Amr1, caused lesions with a two-fold larger diameter than the wild type and complementation mutants. Amr1 is a homolog of Cmr1, a transcription factor that regulates melanin biosynthesis in several fungi. We created gene deletion mutants of Δamr1 and characterized their phenotypes. The Δamr1 mutants used pectin as a carbon source more efficiently than the wild type, were melanin-deficient, and more sensitive to UV light and glucanase digestion. The AMR1 protein was localized in the nuclei of hyphae and in highly melanized conidia during the late stage of plant pathogenesis. RNA-seq analysis revealed that three genes in the melanin biosynthesis pathway, along with the deleted Amr1 gene, were expressed at low levels in the mutants. In contrast, many hydrolytic enzyme-coding genes were expressed at higher levels in the mutants than in the wild type during pathogenesis. The results of this study suggested that a gene important for survival in nature negatively affected virulence, probably by a less efficient use of plant cell-wall materials. We speculate that the functions of the Amr1 gene are important to the success of A. brassicicola as a competitive saprophyte and plant parasite.

  18. Antimicrobial potential of triticale stillage after lactic acid fermentation with Lactobacillus fermentum PL-1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kujundžić Žužana

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This study is concerned with the testing of antimicrobial activity of triticale stillage obtained after lactic fermentation by Lactobacillus fermentum PL-1. The antimicrobial tests were performed using the disc-diffusion and agar well diffusion methods. It was found that fermented triticale stillage after lactic acid fermentation exhibited an inhibitory effect towards tested Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria: Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis. The triticale stillage without addition of CaCO3 before fermentation showed a stronger antimicrobial effect in comparison with the triticale stillage with added CaCO3. Triticale stillage after lactic acid fermentation did not show any antifungal effect on the growth of tested moulds (Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus versicolor, Penicillium brevicompactum, and Fusarium subglutinans. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-31017

  19. Rapid biosynthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles: an assessment of antibacterial and antimycotic activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanawaria, Sajjan Kumar; Sankhla, Aryan; Jatav, Pradeep Kumar; Yadav, Raghvendra Singh; Verma, Kumar Sambhav; Velraj, Parthiban; Kachhwaha, Sumita; Kothari, Shanker Lal

    2018-04-01

    Bioassisted synthesis provides a facile, convenient, and promising approach to produce many inorganic nanostructures. Herein, we report a rapid biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Thuja occidentalis (L.) leaf extract with an emphasis on their antibacterial and antimycotic activity. Interestingly, the synthesis of AgNPs was completed in a short duration of 35-40 min. The electron micrographs showed AgNPs with particles Bacillus subtilis. An AgNP solution with 30 µg/ml concentration arrested the growth of bacterial strains making a zone of inhibition > 15 mm. The antimycotic activity against Aspergillus niger, Fusarium spp., and Alternaria alternata species increased monotonically with nanoparticle concentration in the growth media. A 10 ppm solution of AgNP was detrimental to fungal growth. Thus, the technique provides an avenue to synthesize antibiotic AgNPs without use of other external agents.

  20. The effect of irrigation and foliar fertilization on the colonization of american ginseng (Panax quinquefolium l. diseased parts by different micro-organisms

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    Alina Pastucha

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Field studies on the health of American ginseng cultivated in the Lublin district on poor sandy soil were conducted in the years 2004-2006. The studies involved treatment combinations with irrigation and without irrigation as well as foliar fertilization with Alkalin PK and Resistim of American ginseng plants. Mycological analysis was made of diseased ginseng parts with the aim of determining the quantitative and qualitative composition of fungi-like organisms and fungi threatening the cultivation of this plant. Fungi from the genera of Cylindrocarpon, Fusarium and the following species Alternaria alternata, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, as well as fungi-like organisms: Pythium irregulare and Phytophthora sp., were isolated from the infected parts of ginseng. The smallest number of fungi was isolated from the plants growing on the plots without irrigation and those where foliar application with Alkalin PK was applied.

  1. Micromycetes colonizing and damaging leaves of evergreen rhododendron (Rhododendron L. in nursery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Kowalik

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available In May and October 2010–2012, mycological studies were conducted on 10 cultivars of rhododendron bushes growing in containers in the nursery of ornamental plants. Out of 3000 specimens of infested leaf fragments, 2566 fungal colonies belonging to 41 species were isolated. The following species colonizing the leaves and causing their necrosis were extracted in the largest number of colonies: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Epicoccum nigrum, Humicola grisea, Pestalotiopsis sydowiana, Phoma pomorum, Sordaria fimicola, Trichoderma koningii, Trichoderma polysporum, Truncatella truncata, Umbelopsis isabellina and others. The research showed that the micromycetes colonies colonizing and damaging rhododendron leaves varied in species composition and number of colonies in different years and at different times. The study determined which rhododendron cultivars were characterized by good health and which had the greatest susceptibility to infection by micromycetes.

  2. Pengaruh Kepekatan Esktrak Daun Nimba Terhadap Penekanan Serangan (Alternaria porri (EII.CIF) Pada Tanaman Bawang Merah (Allium ascalonicum L)

    OpenAIRE

    Enni Sahrani Nst

    2009-01-01

    Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh kepekatan ekstrak daun mimba terhadap penekanan Alternaria porri (EII. Cif.) pada tanaman bawang merah. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di BPTP (Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian) Sumatera Utara, pada ketinggian tempat lebih kurang 25 m dpl. Penelitian dimulai bulan Nopember 2007 sampai Januari 2008. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode Rancangan Acak Kelompok Non factorial yang terdiri dari P0 (Kontrol tanpa perlakuan), P1 (100 gr daun mimba d...

  3. Isolation and identification of microbes associated with mobile phones in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amira H.A Al-Abdalall

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: This study was conducted to determine microbial contamination of mobile phones in the city of Dammam, in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia, and identify the most important microbial species associated with these phones in order to take the necessary remedial measures. Materials and Methods: The analysis of a total of 202 samples was done to identify fungal and pathogenic bacteria isolates. Sterile swabs were firmly passed on the handset, the buttons and the screens of mobile phones, then inoculated into media of bacteria and fungi. Frequency distribution of isolates were calculated. Results: There were 737 isolated of the following bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Neisseria sicca, Micrococcus luteus, Proteus mirabilis, Bacillus subtilis, and Enterobacter aerogenes at the rate of 56.58, 13.57, 8.01, 7.73, 6.51, 3.66, 2.85 and 1.09% respectively. There were fungal isolates as follows: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger, Cladosporium sp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus ochraceus at the rate of 29.07, 26.74, 20.93, 10.47, 6.98, 2.33, 2.33, 1.16%, respectively. Conclusions: The study showed that all mobile phones under consideration were infected by several microbes, most of which belonged to the natural flora of the human body as well as airborne fungi and soil. This means that it is necessary to sterilize hands after contact with a phone since it is a source of disease transmission.

  4. Biological activities of synthesized silver nanoparticles

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The C. halicacabum leaf extract synthesized AgNPs efficiency were tested against different bacterial pathogens MTCC-426 Proteus vulgaris, MTCC-2453 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, MTCC-96 Staphylococcus aureus, MTCC-441 Bacillus subtilis andMTCC-735 Salmonella paratyphi, and fungal pathogens Alternaria solani ...

  5. A Zinc-Finger-Family Transcription Factor, AbVf19, Is Required for the Induction of a Gene Subset Important for Virulence in Alternaria brassicicola

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Srivastava, Akhil [Univ. of Hawaii, Manoa, HI (United States); Ohm, Robin A. [USDOE Joint Genome Inst., Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Oxiles, Lindsay [Univ. of Hawaii, Manoa, HI (United States); Brooks, Fred [Univ. of Hawaii, Manoa, HI (United States); Lawrence, Christopher B. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Grigoriev, Igor V. [USDOE Joint Genome Inst., Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Cho, Yangrae [Univ. of Hawaii, Manoa, HI (United States)

    2011-10-26

    Alternaria brassicicola is a successful saprophyte and necrotrophic plant pathogen with a broad host range within the family Brassicaceae. It produces secondary metabolites that marginally affect virulence. Cell wall degrading enzymes (CDWE) have been considered important for pathogenesis but none of them individually have been identified as significant virulence factors in A. brassicicola. In this study, knockout mutants of a gene, AbVf19, were created and produced considerably smaller lesions than the wild type on inoculated host plants. The presence of tandem zinc-finger domains in the predicted amino acid sequence and nuclear localization of AbVf19- reporter protein suggested that it was a transcription factor. Gene expression comparisons using RNA-seq identified 74 genes being downregulated in the mutant during a late stage of infection. Among the 74 downregulated genes, 28 were putative CWDE genes. These were hydrolytic enzyme genes that composed a small fraction of genes within each family of cellulases, pectinases, cutinases, and proteinases. The mutants grew slower than the wild type on an axenic medium with pectin as a major carbon source. This study demonstrated the existence and the importance of a transcription factor that regulates a suite of genes that are important for decomposing and utilizing plant material during the late stage of plant infection.

  6. Distribution and diversity of airborne microflora under mangrove forest at sandspit area karachi, pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nazim, K.; Khan, M.U.; Ali, Q.M.; Ahmed, M.; Shaukat, S.S.; Sherwani, S.K.

    2012-01-01

    Fungi and bacteria are heterotrophic decomposers that grow on organic matter and occupy various habitats in mangrove forests. This paper deals with the distribution and diversity of air-borne microbiota (fungi and bacteria) under a mangrove forest at Sandspit, Pakistan. A permanent stand was set up at Sandspit to observe the qualitative and quantitative variations throughout the year, using petri plate techniques. During the study, a total of 16 fungal species, viz., Aspergillus niger, A. fumigatus, A. sulphureus, A. terreus, A. wentii, A. flavus, Alternaria alternata, A. maritima, A. porri, Alternaria sp., Rhizopus varians, Mucormucedo, Penicillium sp., P. notatum, Dreshellera biseptata, Exosporiella fungorum, Cladosporium oxysporum and 14420 +- 267 bacterial colonies were recorded from the selected site. The study revealed that the fungi were the major component of airborne microflora in mangrove environment. It was observed that both fungal species and number of bacterial colonies were higher in summer than in winter. It is anticipated that the temperature and salinity of sea-water directly affect the diversity of fungi and bacteria in mangroves environment. The maximum diversity H' (1.906) was recorded in August whereas the minimum H' (1.053) was recorded in March. It is hoped that this research will add to our knowledge pertaining to the distribution and diversity of the airborne microbiota (bacteria and fungi) in mangrove ecosystem. (author)

  7. Altertoxins with potent anti-HIV activity from Alternaria tenuissima QUE1Se, a fungal endophyte of Quercus emoryi

    OpenAIRE

    Bashyal, Bharat P.; Wellensiek, Brian P.; Ramakrishnan, Rajesh; Faeth, Stanley H.; Ahmad, Nafees; Leslie Gunatilaka, A. A.

    2014-01-01

    Screening of a small library of natural product extracts derived from endophytic fungi of the Sonoran desert plants in a cell-based anti-HIV assay involving T-cells infected with the HIV-1 virus identified the EtOAc extract of a fermentation broth of Alternaria tenuissima QUE1Se inhabiting the stem tissue of Quercus emoryi as a promising candidate for further investigation. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of this extract led to the isolation and identification of two new metabolites, alterto...

  8. Influence of temperature, precipitation, and cultivar characteristics on changes in the spectrum of pathogenic fungi in winter wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hýsek, Josef; Vavera, Radek; Růžek, Pavel

    2017-06-01

    In view of the threat posed by climate change, we studied the influence of temperature, precipitation, cultivar characteristics, and technical management measures on the occurrence of phytopathogenic fungi in wheat during 2009-2013. This work involved experiments at two sites differing in average temperatures and precipitation. Temperature and precipitation appear to influence differences in the spectrum of phytopathogenic fungi at the individual sites. In 2009 (the warmest year), Alternaria triticina was dominant. In 2010 (having the smallest deviations from the average for individual years), Septoria tritici dominated. In 2011, Puccinia triticina was most prominent, while in 2012, the genus Drechslera (Pyrenophora) and in 2013, S. tritici and Drechslera tritici-repentis (DTR) dominated. Temperature and precipitation levels in the individual spring months (warmer March to May) played a large role, especially for the leaf rust P. triticina in 2011. A change of only 1 °C with different precipitation during a year played a significant role in changing wheat's fungal spectrum. Cluster analysis showed the differences between single pathogenic fungi on wheat in a single year due to temperature and precipitation. Alternaria abundance was strongly influenced by year (p < 0.001) while locality was significant only in certain years (2012, 2013; p = 0.004 and 0.015, respectively). The same factors were revealed to be significant in the case of Puccinia, but locality played a role (p < 0.001) in different years (2011, 2013). The abundance of S. tritici and Pyrenophora tritici-repentis (Drechslera tritici-repentis) was influenced only by year (p < 0.001).

  9. Dampak Penyakit Tanaman terhadap Pendapatan Petani Kubis-kubisan di Daerah Agropolitan Kabupaten Cianjur, Jawa Barat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teguh Pratama

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Cruciferous vegetables are very important agricultural commodities for increasing  farmers  income. The main obstacles in their cultivation involved among others high level of pathogen infestation that may cause reduction in farmer’s income. This research was conducted to determine the main pathogens and their impact on farmer income in Agropolitan area of Cianjur Regency, West Java Province. The research was conducted through three activities, i.e. farmer survey, identification of the main pathogens, and measurement of disease intensity. The results showed that there were three main pathogens on assessed cruciferous vegetables, i.e. Alternaria brassiccicola (alternaria leaf spot, Plasmodiophora brassicae (clubroot, and Xanthomonas campestris (black rot, with disease intensity of 16.7%, 18.7%, and 15.1%, respectively. Clubroot disease was the most affecting disease in decreasing the  production of cruciferous vegetables and the farmer income. Incidence of clubroot disease with an average disease intensity of 16.67% might lead to the decrease of farming income about 24%–28%.

  10. Detecção, transmissão e patogenicidade de fungos em sementes de angico-vermelho (Parapiptadenia rigida Detection, transmission and pathogenicity of fungi on seeds of Parapiptadenia rigida ("angico-vermelho"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caciara Gonzatto Maciel

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Angico-vermelho (Parapiptadenia rigida (Benth. Brenan é uma espécie nativa de grande valor ecológico e econômico, importante para a recomposição de áreas degradadas. O presente trabalho avaliou incidência, transmissão e patogenicidade de fungos associados a sementes de angico-vermelho de distintas procedências do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Para isso, utilizaram-se três amostras de sementes, com as quais realizaram-se testes de germinação, sanidade empregando-se o método do papel-filtro (PF e de plaqueamento em batata-dextrose-ágar (BDA, transmissão e patogenicidade dos fungos. A germinação das sementes de angico-vermelho variou de 63 a 91 %. Os fungos considerados potencialmente patogênicos encontrados associados as sementes de angico-vermelho foram: Alternaria sp.; Botrytis sp.; Fusarium sp.; Cladosporium sp. e Pestalotia sp.; sendo que Fusarium sp. foi detectado em todas as amostras pelo método PF, e foi transmitido via semente causando má formação do sistema radicular e dos cotilédones e tombamento de pré emergência. Sua patogenicidade foi confirmada."Angico-vermelho" (Parapiptadenia rigida (Benth. Brenan is a native species of great ecological and economic importance for the recovery of degraded areas. This study evaluated the incidence, the transmission and the pathogenicity of fungi associated with "angico-vermelho" seeds from different provenances of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Thus, we used three samples of seeds, with which germination and sanity tests were carried out by adopting the methods of filter paper (FP, plating on potato dextrose agar (PDA, transmission and pathogenicity of fungi. Germination of "angico-vermelho" seeds ranged from 63-91%. The fungi considered potentially pathogenic and found associated with "angico-vermelho" seeds were: Alternaria sp.; Botrytis sp.; Fusarium sp.; Cladosporium sp. and Pestalotia sp.. Fusarium sp. was detected in all samples according to the FP method and was

  11. Antifungal activity and isomerization of octadecyl p-coumarates from Ipomoea carnea subsp. fistulosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nidiry, Eugene Sebastian J; Ganeshan, Girija; Lokesha, Ankanahalli N

    2011-12-01

    Bioassay monitored HPLC assisted isolation and purification of the chief antifungal fraction of the leaves of Ipomoea carnea subsp. fistulosa (Convulvulaceae) were achieved using Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Cladosporium cucumerinum as test organisms. The activity of the purified fraction was further confirmed by the dose dependent inhibition of the spore germination of Alternaria alternata and A. porri. The active fraction was identified as a mixture of (E)-octadecyl p-coumarate and (Z)-octadecyl p-coumarate. The two isomers were detected on an HPLC column with substantially different retention times, but once eluted from the column, one form was partly converted to the other in daylight. Conclusive evidence for the structures and their isomerization were obtained from the HPLC behavior, IR, UV, HRESIMS, CIMS and and NMR spectral data. Important 1H NMR and 13C NMR signals could be separately assigned for the isomers using 2D NMR techniques.

  12. Biodegradation of diesel fuel hydrocarbons by mangrove fungi from Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ameen, Fuad; Moslem, Mohamed; Hadi, Sarfaraz; Al-Sabri, Ahmed E

    2016-03-01

    Mangrove sediments were collected from major mangrove stands on the Red Sea Coast of Saudi Arabia. Forty five isolates belonging to 12 genera were purified and five isolates as well as their consortium were found to be able to grow in association with petroleum oil as sole carbon source under in vitro conditions. The isolated strains were identified based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequence analysis. The fungal strains with the greatest potentiality to degrade diesel oil, without developing antagonistic activity, were identified as Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus terreus, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Eupenicillium hirayamae and Paecilomyces variotii. As compared to the controls, these fungi accumulated significantly higher biomass, produced extracellular enzymes and liberated larger volumes of CO2. These observations with GC-MS data confirm that these isolates displayed rapid diesel oil bioremoval and when used together as a consortium, there was no antagonistic activity.

  13. Ecological screening of lipolytic cultures and process optimization for extracellular lipase production from fungal hyperproducer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iftikhar, T.; Niaz, M.; Anwer, M.; Abbas, S.Q.; Saleem, M.; Jabeen, R.

    2011-01-01

    Present investigation describes the biosynthesis of extracellular lipases by various local fungal strains isolated from various lipid rich habitats of Faisalabad. The isolated cultures of Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, Rhizopus microsporus, Mucor mucedo, Alternaria alternata, Trichophyton sp., Fusarium semitectum, E (un-identified), Curvularia sp., Aspergillus flavus, G (un-identified), F (Mucor sp.) and H (Synnematous) were identified and screened for the extracelluler lipases production. Different environmental parameters such as pH, temperature, inoculum size, amount of substrate and incubation time were optimized for the selected hyper producer. It was found that maximum production of lipases by Trichophyton sp., was obtained after 48 h of batch fermentation. Similarly, the diluent pH of 7.0 and incubation temperature of 30 deg. C were found optimum for enzyme production by the microorganism. The maximum production of lipases during the course of present studies was 65.20 +- 1.13a U/g. (author)

  14. CONTROL OF Alternaria porri (E11) CIF. AND TOXIC EFFECT OF CAPTAFOL SPRAYING IN GARLIC (Allium sativum L.) CONTROLE DE Alternaria porri (E11) Cif. E EFEITO FITOTÓXICO DE CAPTAFOL EM PULVERIZAÇÃO NA CULTURA DO ALHO (Allium sativum L.)

    OpenAIRE

    Iraídes Fernandes Carneiro; Wilson Ferreira de Oliveira

    2007-01-01

    The objective of the present work was to verify the effect of the different concentrations of the captafol fungicide (0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 g.i.a./100 l of water), in the control of Alternaria porri (E11) Cif. and their toxic effects on plants, in two cultivars of garlic (Lavinia and Centenário). The results show that, for the cultivars tested, the fungicide, in the concentrations utilized, didn’t control the pat...

  15. Swainsonine Biosynthesis Genes in Diverse Symbiotic and Pathogenic Fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Cook

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Swainsonine—a cytotoxic fungal alkaloid and a potential cancer therapy drug—is produced by the insect pathogen and plant symbiont Metarhizium robertsii, the clover pathogen Slafractonia leguminicola, locoweed symbionts belonging to Alternaria sect. Undifilum, and a recently discovered morning glory symbiont belonging to order Chaetothyriales. Genome sequence analyses revealed that these fungi share orthologous gene clusters, designated “SWN,” which included a multifunctional swnK gene comprising predicted adenylylation and acyltransferase domains with their associated thiolation domains, a β-ketoacyl synthase domain, and two reductase domains. The role of swnK was demonstrated by inactivating it in M. robertsii through homologous gene replacement to give a ∆swnK mutant that produced no detectable swainsonine, then complementing the mutant with the wild-type gene to restore swainsonine biosynthesis. Other SWN cluster genes were predicted to encode two putative hydroxylases and two reductases, as expected to complete biosynthesis of swainsonine from the predicted SwnK product. SWN gene clusters were identified in six out of seven sequenced genomes of Metarhzium species, and in all 15 sequenced genomes of Arthrodermataceae, a family of fungi that cause athlete’s foot and ringworm diseases in humans and other mammals. Representative isolates of all of these species were cultured, and all Metarhizium spp. with SWN clusters, as well as all but one of the Arthrodermataceae, produced swainsonine. These results suggest a new biosynthetic hypothesis for this alkaloid, extending the known taxonomic breadth of swainsonine producers to at least four orders of Ascomycota, and suggest that swainsonine has roles in mutualistic symbioses and diseases of plants and animals.

  16. The Shewanella algae strain YM8 produces volatiles with strong inhibition activity against Aspergillus pathogens and aflatoxins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andong eGong

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus fungi and associated aflatoxins are ubiquitous in the production and storage of food/feed commodities. Controlling these pests is a challenge. In this study, the Shewanella algae strain YM8 was found to produce volatiles that have strong antifungal activity against Aspergillus pathogens. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry profiling revealed 15 volatile organic compounds (VOCs emitted from YM8, of which dimethyl trisulfide was the most abundant. We obtained authentic reference standards for six of the VOCs; these all significantly reduced mycelial growth and conidial germination in Aspergillus; dimethyl trisulfide and 2,4-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl-phenol showed the strongest inhibitory activity. YM8 completely inhibited Aspergillus growth and aflatoxin biosynthesis in maize and peanut samples stored at different water activity levels, and scanning electron microscopy revealed severely damaged conidia and a complete lack of mycelium development and conidiogenesis. YM8 also completely inhibited the growth of eight other agronomically important species of phytopathogenic fungi: A. parasiticus, A. niger, Alternaria alternate, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum, Monilinia fructicola, and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. This study demonstrates the susceptibility of Aspergillus and other fungi to VOCs from marine bacteria and indicates a new strategy for effectively controlling these pathogens and the associated mycotoxin production in the field and during storage.

  17. A Pectate Lyase-Coding Gene Abundantly Expressed during Early Stages of Infection Is Required for Full Virulence in Alternaria brassicicola.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yangrae Cho

    Full Text Available Alternaria brassicicola causes black spot disease of Brassica species. The functional importance of pectin digestion enzymes and unidentified phytotoxins in fungal pathogenesis has been suspected but not verified in A. brassicicola. The fungal transcription factor AbPf2 is essential for pathogenicity and induces 106 genes during early pathogenesis, including the pectate lyase-coding gene, PL1332. The aim of this study was to test the importance and roles of PL1332 in pathogenesis. We generated deletion strains of the PL1332 gene, produced heterologous PL1332 proteins, and evaluated their association with virulence. Deletion strains of the PL1332 gene were approximately 30% less virulent than wild-type A. brassicicola, without showing differences in colony expansion on solid media and mycelial growth in nutrient-rich liquid media or minimal media with pectins as a major carbon source. Heterologous PL1332 expressed as fusion proteins digested polygalacturons in vitro. When the fusion proteins were injected into the apoplast between leaf veins of host plants the tissues turned dark brown and soft, resembling necrotic leaf tissue. The PL1332 gene was the first example identified as a general toxin-coding gene and virulence factor among the 106 genes regulated by the transcription factor, AbPf2. It was also the first gene to have its functions investigated among the 19 pectate lyase genes and several hundred putative cell-wall degrading enzymes in A. brassicicola. These results further support the importance of the AbPf2 gene as a key pathogenesis regulator and possible target for agrochemical development.

  18. Monitoring of Soil-Borne Pathogens in the Agricultural Soils of the Pestrechinsky District (Tatarstan, Russia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzhabarova, K. O.; Kuryntseva, P. A.; Galitskaya, P. Y.; Selivanovskaya, S. Y.

    2018-01-01

    A recent agricultural trend is aimed to develop organic farming technologies. Organic farming means no mineral fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics and other chemical substances not characteristic of natural conditions should be used in farm production. When choosing the regions, where this technology can be successfully realized, it is important to evaluate not only the physical and chemical qualities of soils, but also the degree of their infestation with phytopathogens. The Pestrechinsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan, where transfer to organic farming is being planned, was chosen as such a region. Agricultural lands were marked at the map of the administrative region, 100 sampling site were generated using GIS Technologies. It was found out that soil microbial community was characterized by a typical ratio and count of yeast fungi (3.4·105 - 1.6·106 CFU•g-1), mold fungi (1.0·101 - 1.7·105 CFU·g-1) and bacteria (1.6·106 - 3.1·107 CFU·g-1). In all the selected soil samples plant pathogenic fungi of the Fusarium genus were found (26 to 250 CFU·g-1), and as for another genus of plant pathogenic fungi, Alternaria, their count was rather low (0 to 9 CFU·g-1, herewith in 46 samples out of 100 they were absent.

  19. [Diversity and community structure of endophytic fungi from Taxus chinensis var. mairei].

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-07-01

    A total of 628 endophytic fungi were isolated from 480 tissue segments of needles and branches of Taxus chinensis var. mairei. According to morphological characteristics and ITS sequences, they represented 43 taxa in 28 genera, of which 10 Hyphomycetes, 20 Coelomycetes, 12 Ascomycetes and 1 unknown fungus. Phomopsis mali was confirmed as the dominant species. In accordance with relative frequency, Alternaria alternata, Aureobasidium pullulans, Colletotrichum boninense, C. gloeosporioides, Epicoccum nigrum , Fungal sp., Fusarium lateritium, Glomerella cingulata, Magnaporthales sp. , Nigrospora oryzae, Pestalotiopsis maculiformans, P. microspora, Peyronellaea glomerata and Xylaria sp. 1 were more common in T. chinensis var. mairei. T. chinensis var. mairei were severely infected by endophytic fungi. Endophytic fungi were found in 81 percent of plant tissues with a high diversity. Distribution ranges of endophytic fungi were influenced by tissue properties. The colonization rate, richness, diversity of endophytic fungi in needles were obviously lower than in branches, and kinds of endophytic fungi between branches were more similar than those in needles, thus endophytic fungi had tissue preference. In addition, tissue age influenced the community structure of endophytic fungi. The elder branch tissues were, the higher colonization rate, richness, diversity of endophytic fungi were. Systematic studying the diversity and community structure of endophytic fungi in T. chinensis var. mairei and clarifying their distribution regularity in plant tissues would offer basic data and scientific basis for their development and utilization. Discussing the presence of fungal pathogens in healthy plant tissues would be of positive significance for source protection of T. chinensis var. mairei.

  20. Radicinols and radicinin phytotoxins produced by Alternaria radicina on carrots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solfrizzo, Michele; Vitti, Carolina; De Girolamo, Annalisa; Visconti, Angelo; Logrieco, Antonio; Fanizzi, Francesco P

    2004-06-02

    The phytotoxin epi-radicinol, a diastereomer of radicinol, was isolated from large cultures of Alternaria radicina grown on carrot slices and identified by GC-MS, LC-MS, (1)H NMR, and (13)C NMR. Four strains of A. radicina isolated from rotted carrot produced epi-radicinol as the major metabolite (up to 39414 microg/g) together with radicinol (up to 2423 microg/g), and, to a lesser extent, radicinin when cultured on carrot slices, whereas on rice they mainly produced radicinin (2486-53800 microg/g). Radicinin and epi-radicinol reduced root elongation of germinating carrot seeds at concentrations of 10-20 microg/mL. Carrot samples naturally infected by A. radicina contained detectable quantities of epi-radicinol also in combination with lower levels of radicinin or radicinol. Accumulation of radicinols and radicinin in stored carrots, either naturally contaminated or artificially inoculated with A. radicina, was stimulated by successive temperature rises from 1 to 10 degrees C and from 10 to 20 degrees C, reaching maximum levels of 60 microg/g epi-radicinol and 26 microg/g radicinin. This is the first report on the production of radicinols by A. radicina and its natural occurrence in carrots in association with radicinin.

  1. Antifungal activity of nettle (Urtica dioica L.), colocynth (Citrullus colocynthis L. Schrad), oleander (Nerium oleander L.) and konar (Ziziphus spina-christi L.) extracts on plants pathogenic fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadizadeh, I; Peivastegan, B; Kolahi, M

    2009-01-01

    Anti-mycotic activity of the ethanol extracts from Nettle (Urtica dioica L.), Colocynth (Citrullus colocynthis L. Schrad), Konar (Ziziphus spina-christi L.) and Oleander (Nerium oleander L.) floral parts were screened in vitro against four important plant pathogenic fungi viz.; Alternaria alternate, Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani and Rizoctonia solani using agar dilution bioassay. Extracts showed antifungal activity against all the tested fungi. Among the plants, Nettle and Colocynth were the most effective against A. alternate and R. solani while Oleander possesses the best inhibition on F. oxysporum and F. solani. Konar was the most effective extract by reducing the growth of Rizoctonia solani than other fungi. These results showed that extracts could be considered suitable alternatives to chemical additives for the control of fungal diseases in plants.

  2. Ni(II, Pd(II and Pt(II complexes with ligand containing thiosemicarbazone and semicarbazone moiety: synthesis, characterization and biological investigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SULEKH CHANDRA

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of nickel(II, palladium(II and platinum(II complexes with thiosemicarbazone and semicarbazone of p-tolualdehyde are reported. All the new compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance measurements, magnetic susceptibility measurements, mass, 1H-NMR, IR and electronic spectral studies. Based on the molar conductance measurements in DMSO, the complexes may be formulated as [Ni(L2Cl2] and [M(L2]Cl2 (where M = Pd(II and Pt(II due to their non-electrolytic and 1:2 electrolytic nature, respectively. The spectral data are consistent with an octahedral geometry around Ni(II and a square planar geometry for Pd(II and Pt(II, in which the ligands act as bidentate chelating agents, coordinated through the nitrogen and sulphur/oxygen atoms. The ligands and their metal complexes were screened in vitro against fungal species Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus niger and Fusarium odum, using the food poison technique.

  3. An eco-friendly route of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles formation and investigation of the mechanical properties of the HPMC-γ-Fe2O3 nanocomposites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarkar, Joy; Mollick, Md Masud Rahaman; Chattopadhyay, Dipankar; Acharya, Krishnendu

    2017-03-01

    In recent times, biosynthetic approaches toward the synthesis of nanoparticles have been shown to have several advantages over physical and chemical methods. Here, we report the extracellular mycosynthesis of γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles by Alternaria alternata. The fungal biomass when exposed to aqueous iron(III) chloride solution led to the formation of highly stable γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles extracellularly. The influence of these biosynthesized γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles on the properties of hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose was also investigated. Characterization of the biosynthesized γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles and HPMC-γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanocomposite films were done by the different types of spectral and electron microscopic analysis. The size of the γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles ranges from 75 to 650 nm. The mechanical effect of the agglomerated γ-Fe 2 O 3 nanoparticles into the HPMC polymer matrix was also investigated.

  4. Toxic micromycetes in grain raw material during its processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lugauskas, Albinas; Raila, Algirdas; Railiene, Marija; Raudoniene, Vita

    2006-01-01

    In 2003-2005 micromycetes were isolated and identified from wheat, barley, rye, buckwheat grain brought into mills or from processing enterprises. Contamination of the produced flour with micromycete propagules (cfu g(-1)), changes in micromycete diversity and abundance in the course of flour storage, preparation and baking of bread, production of groats or other food products and fodder were determined. Most attention was given to widely distributed micromycetes, known producers of toxins: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus candidus, A. clavatus, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. oryzae, A. (=Eurotium) repens, Fusarium culmorum, F. equiseti, F. graminearum, F. moniliforme, F. oxysporum, F. poae, F. sporotrichioides, Penicillium brevicompactum, P. chrysogenum, P. cyclopium, P. daleae, P. expansum, P. funiculosum, P. roqueforti, P. urticae, P. verruculosum, P. viridicatum, Phoma exiqua, Rhizomucor pusillus, Rhizopus stolonifer, Trichothecium roseum. Abilities of these micromycetes to produce secondary toxic metabolites were determined as well as possible hazard caused to people consuming the contaminated products.

  5. Control of Black Rot Disease in Tomato Fruits by Using Formulated Ginger Essential oil Treated by Gamma Radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helal, I.M.; Abdeldaiem, M.H.

    2008-01-01

    Ginger essential oil (Zingiber officinale) treated by gamma radiation at dose of 10 kGy was selected as an active ingredient for formulation of the biocide. Liquid formulations (emulsifiable concentrates) were prepared using different emulsifiers (Emulgator B.L.M. and tween 80 or tween 20) and additive oil (soybean oil). Physicochemical properties of the formulated oil (spontaneous emulsification, emulsion stability; cold stability and heat stability, viscosity, surface tension and ph) were measured. The formulated oil was tested in vivo to investigate its efficiency for controlling the growth of Alternaria alternata inoculated into tomato fruits. The results indicated that soaking inoculated tomato fruits in the formulated oil (ginger essential oil + soybean oil + emulgator B.L.M. + tween 80) treatment at concentration of 300 ppm for a period of 12 minute was the most effective for controlling the growth of the tested fungus. In addition, the formulated oil had efficiency for controlling the rot development on tomato fruits when applied as therapeutic and protective agents

  6. Cellular protein receptors of maculosin, a host specific phytotoxin of spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, S H; Strobel, G A

    1994-01-05

    Maculosin (the diketopiperazine, cyclo (L-Pro-L-Tyr)) is a host specific phytotoxin produced by Alternaria alternata on spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa L.). Receptors for this phytotoxin have been isolated from spotted knapweed. Knapweed leaves possess most of the maculosin-binding activity in the cytosolic fraction. However, activity was also observed in the whole membrane fraction of the leaf. The binding component of the cytosolic fraction was identified as a protein(s) because of its heat-lability and sensitivity to proteases. A 16-fold purification of a toxin-binding protein was carried out by ammonium sulfate fractionation, and Sephadex G-200, and maculosin-affinity column chromatography. The affinity column was prepared with epoxy activated Sepharose 6B to which the phenolic group of maculosin was attached. The receptor was estimated to contain more than one binding protein by native and SDS-PAGE. At least one of the maculosin-binding proteins was identified as ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase (RuBPcase).

  7. Mites and fungi in heavily infested stores in the Czech Republic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubert, J; Stejskal, V; Munzbergová, Z; Kubátová, A; Vánová, M; Zd'árková, E

    2004-12-01

    Toxigenic and allergen-producing fungi represent a serious hazard to human food and animal feed safety. Ninety-four fungal species were isolated from mite-infested samples of seeds taken from Czech seed stores. Fungi were isolated from the surface of four kinds of seeds (wheat, poppy, lettuce, and mustard) and from the gut and external surface of five species of mites (i.e., Acarus siro L., 1758, Caloglyphus rhizoglyphoides (Zachvatkin, 1973), Lepidoglyphus destructor (Schrank, 1781), Tyrophagus putrescentnae (Schrank, 1781) and Cheyletus malaccensis Oudemans 1903) separately. Multivariate analysis of fungi complex composition showed that the frequency of fungal was species significantly influenced by the kind of seed. Fungal frequencies differed between mites gut and exoskeleton surface and between the surfaces of mites and seeds. Three groups of fungal species were recognized: 1) mite surface-associated fungi: Penicillium brevicompactum, Alternaria alternata, and Aspergillus versicolor; 2) mite surface- and seed-associated fungi: Aspergillus niger, Penicillium crustosum, Penicillium aurantiogriseum, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Aspergillus flavus; and 3) seed-associated fungi: Cladosporium herbarum, Mucor dimorphosporus f. dimorphosporus, Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium griseofulvum, and Eurotium repens. Mite-carried species of microfungi are known to produce serious mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin B1, cyclopiazonic acid, sterigmatocystin, ochratoxin A, and nephrotoxic glycopeptides) as well as allergen producers (e.g., A. alternata and P. brevicompactum). Storage mites may play an important role in the spread of some medically hazardous micromycetes. In addition, these mite-fungi associations may heighten the risk of occurrence of mycotoxins in food and feed stuffs and cause mixed contamination by fungal and mite allergens.

  8. Sensivity of Jordanian Isolates of Alternaria solani to Manchotane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.I. Al-Mughrabi

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available Early blight of potato, caused by Alternaria solani, poses a significant risk to potato crops worldwide. Fifty A. solani isolates representing a population were collected from the Jordan Valley, purified, and tested for their sensitivity to the fungicide mancothane. The isolates were tested against a series of concentrations of 0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 mg mancothane ml-1 in 5% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS. Some A. solani isolates tolerated up to 1000 mg mancothane ml-1. Isolates treated with the various concentrations were divided into 5 groups based on the percentage of A. solani growth achieved despite treatment: group 1 comprised isolates with mycelial growth of 0.1– 20.9%; group 2, 21–40.9%; group 3, 41–60.9%; group 4, 61–80.9%; and group 5, 81–100%. Ninety-seven percent of all isolates grew at 0.1 mg mancothane ml-1, 94% at 1 mg ml-1, 86% at 10 mg ml-1, 66% at 100 mg ml-1, and 16% at 1000 mg ml-1. Isolates appeared to be distributed normally at 10 mg mancothane ml-1. Eight isolates were highly resistant to mancothane and grew even at the highest test concentration. An A. solani population collected from potato fields in the Jordan Valley exhibited a moderate level of resistance to mancothane. Growers should be careful and vigilant when using this fungicide to control early blight.

  9. ACTIVIDAD ANTAGÓNICA DE Trichoderma spp. SOBRE Alternaria porri Y SU EFECTO EN LA ACTIVIDAD ENZIMÁTICA DE CEBOLLA

    OpenAIRE

    Camacho Luna, Valeria

    2015-01-01

    Los hongos del género Trichoderma son utilizados por su actividad antagónica para controlar fitopatógenos ya sea por ataque directo contra el patógeno ó por inducción de la resistencia sistémica de las plantas. Alternaria porri es un patógeno foliar de la cebolla que ocasiona la enfermedad “mancha púpura” que afecta a toda la planta. En este trabajo se identificó morfológicamente aislamientos de T. asperellum obtenidas de raíz de cebolla (TC1, TC2 Y TC3); y T. atroviridae y T. ...

  10. The Arabidopsis defence response mutant esa1 as a tool to discover novel resistance traits against Fusarium diseases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hemelrijck, van W.; Wouters, P.F.J.; Brouwer, M.; Windelinckx, A.; Goderis, I.J.W.M.; Bolle, De M.F.C.; Thomma, B.P.H.J.; Cammue, B.P.A.; Delauré, S.L.

    2006-01-01

    The Arabidopsis thaliana mutant esa1 was previously shown to exhibit enhanced susceptibility to the necrotrophic fungal pathogens Alternaria brassicicola, Botrytis cinerea and Plectosphaerella cucumerina. In this work, we tried to elaborate on this susceptibility by investigating whether the esa1

  11. Fungal Endophyte Diversity and Bioactivity in the Indian Medicinal Plant Ocimum sanctum Linn.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kanika Chowdhary

    Full Text Available Endophytic mycopopulation isolated from India's Queen of herbs Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum were explored and investigated for their diversity and antiphytopathogenic activity against widespread plant pathogens Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum. 90 fungal isolates, representing 17 genera were recovered from 313 disease-free and surface sterilised plant segments (leaf and stem tissues from three different geographic locations (Delhi, Hyderabad and Mukteshwar during distinct sampling times in consequent years 2010 and 2011 in India. Fungal endophytes were subjected to molecular identification based on rDNA ITS sequence analysis. Plant pathogens such as F. verticillioides, B. maydis, C. coarctatum, R. bataticola, Hypoxylon sp., Diaporthe phaseolorum, Alternaria tenuissima and A. alternata have occurred as endophyte only during second sampling (second sampling in 2011 in the present study. Bi-plot generated by principal component analysis suggested tissue specificity of certain fungal endophytes. Dendrogram revealed species abundance as a function of mean temperature of the location at the time of sampling. Shannon diversity in the first collection is highest in Hyderabad leaf tissues (H' = 1.907 whereas in second collection it was highest from leaf tissues of Delhi (H' = 1.846. Mukteshwar (altitude: 7500 feet reported least isolation rate in second collection. Nearly 23% of the total fungal isolates were considered as potent biocontrol agent. Hexane extract of M. phaseolina recovered from Hyderabad in first collection demonstrated highest activity against S. sclerotiorum with IC50 value of 0.38 mg/ml. Additionally, its components 2H-pyran-2-one, 5,6-dihydro-6-pentyl and palmitic acid, methyl ester as reported by GC-MS Chromatogram upon evaluation for their antiphytopathogenic activity exhibited IC50 value of 1.002 and 0.662 against respectively S. sclerotiorum indicating their significant role in

  12. Survival of pathogens of Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea Gemifera group) in crop residues

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Köhl, J.; Vlaswinkel, M.E.T.; Groenenboom-de Haas, B.H.; Kastelein, P.; Hoof, van R.A.; Wolf, van der J.M.; Krijger, M.C.

    2011-01-01

    Mycosphaerella brassicicola (ringspot), Alternaria brassicicola and A. brassicae (dark leaf spot) and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (black spot) can infect leaves of Brussels sprouts resulting in yield losses. Infections of outer leaves of sprouts cause severe losses in quality. Crop

  13. Annual Research Progress Report (U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1979-09-30

    fungi were recovered from biopsy, and 10 from autopsy tissue. The predominant genus was As r illus. Pathogenic genera included Coccidioides, Mucor and...Alternaria. The most rapid nd lethal fungal mycoses have occurred with Mucor and Rhizopus spp, but’these species are still relatively rare in burn wounds. As...Sepodonium 1 0 0 3 0 0 Penicillium 1 3 0 1 0 1 Alternaria 2 3 1 3 6 1 Trichophyton 0 0 0 1 0 0 Mucor 2 0 0 1 4 0 Rhizopus 2 0 0 0 0 0 Curvularium 2 3 0 0 0

  14. In vitro susceptibility of filamentous fungi to copper nanoparticles assessed by rapid XTT colorimetry and agar dilution method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghasemian, E; Naghoni, A; Tabaraie, B; Tabaraie, T

    2012-12-01

    Metal nanoparticles and their uses in various aspects have recently drawn a great deal of attention. One of the major applications is that it can be used as an antimicrobial agent. They can be considered in approaches targeted to decrease the harms caused by microorganisms, specifically fungi, threatening the medical and industrial areas. The aim of this study was to investigate the antifungal activity of synthesized copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) against four filamentous fungi including Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium solani, and Penicillium chrysogenum. Zerovalent copper nanoparticles of mean size 8nm were synthesized by inert gas condensation (IGC) method. The antifungal activity of these synthesized copper nanoparticles was measured against selected fungi by using two different techniques including agar dilution method and XTT reduction assay. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for copper nanoparticles by agar dilution method were less or equal to 40mg/L for P. chrysogenum, less or equal to 60mg/L for A. alternata, less or equal to 60mg/L for F. solani, and less or equal to 80mg/L for A. flavus. And also MICs obtained by XTT reduction assay ranged from 40 to 80mg/L. Our data demonstrated that the copper nanoparticles inhibited fungal growth, but the fungal sensitivity to copper nanoparticles varies depending on the fungal species. Therefore, it is advisable that the minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) be examined before using these compounds. It is hoped that, in future, copper nanoparticles could replace some antifungal agents, making them applicable to many different medical devices and antimicrobial control system. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  15. In vitro sensitivity of Alternaria solani to conventional fungicides and a biofungicide based on tea tree essential oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miloš Stepanović

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A study of in vitro sensitivity of five Alternaria solani isolates to cooper-oxychloride, chlorothalonil, difenoconazole, pyraclostrobin and a biofungicide based on tea tree essential oil was carried out. The isolates were obtained from infected tomato leaves collected from five different locations in Serbia. The tested isolates showed the highest sensitivity to pyraclostrobin with EC50 values ranging from 0.0014 to 0.0041 μg ml-1. The EC50 values of difenoconazole were 0.018-0.037 μg ml-1, chlorothalonil 2.99-4.54 μg ml-1, and cooper-oxychloride 13.27-15.63 μg ml-1. All tested A. solani isolates were the least sensitive to tea tree oil (1323.97-3307.08 μg l-1.

  16. Brassia campestris L. ssp. chinensis L.var. utilis Tsen et Lee

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    omodibo

    2012-12-31

    Dec 31, 2012 ... On the basis of morphological and cultural features, the pathogen ... Alternaria isolate from Purple-Caitai showed 99% identity with other ITS sequences of .... Cho KH, Park SH, Kim KT, Kim S, Kim JS, Park BS, Woo JG, Lee HJ.

  17. Identification and Bioactivity of Compounds from the Mangrove Endophytic Fungus Alternaria sp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jinhua Wang

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Racemic new cyclohexenone and cyclopentenone derivatives, (±-(4R*,5S*,6S*-3-amino-4,5,6-trihydroxy-2-methoxy-5-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one (1 and (±-(4S*,5S*-2,4,5-trihydroxy-3-methoxy-4-methoxycarbonyl-5-methyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one (2, and two new xanthone derivatives 4-chloro-1,5-dihydroxy-3-hydroxymethyl-6-methoxycarbonyl-xanthen-9-one (3 and 2,8-dimethoxy-1,6-dimethoxycarbonyl-xanthen-9-one (4, along with one known compound, fischexanthone (5, were isolated from the culture of the mangrove endophytic fungus Alternaria sp. R6. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by analysis of their MS (Mass, one and two dimensional NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited potent ABTS [2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid] scavenging activities with EC50 values of 8.19 ± 0.15 and 16.09 ± 0.01 μM, respectively. In comparison to Triadimefon, compounds 2 and 3 exhibited inhibitory activities against Fusarium graminearum with minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC values of 215.52 and 107.14 μM, respectively, and compound 3 exhibited antifungal activity against Calletotrichum musae with MIC value of 214.29 μM.

  18. Antifungal Activities of Extracts from Selected Lebanese Wild Plants against Plant Pathogenic Fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Abou-Jawdah

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Extracts of nine plant species growing wild in Lebanon were tested for their efficacy against seven plant pathogenic fungi: Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria solani, Penicillium sp., Cladosporium sp., Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. melonis, Rhizoctonia solani and Sphaerotheca cucurbitae. Extracts of three of the plants, Origanum syriacum, Micromeria nervosa and Plumbago maritima, showed the highest levels of in vitro activity against spore germination and mycelial growth of the fungi tested. Inula viscosa showed high activity against spore germination but only moderate activity against mycelial growth. The other five plant species tested Calamintha origanifolia, Micromeria juliana, Ruta sp., Sideritis pullulans and Urginea maritima showed only moderate to low activity against these fungi. Preventive sprays with extracts of O. syriacum, M. nervosa, P. maritima and I. viscosa, applied at concentrations ranging between 4 and 8% to squash and cucumber seedlings, gave efficient protection against gray mold caused by B. cinerea and powdery mildew caused by S. cucurbitae. However, these extracts did not control green mold of citrus fruits caused by Penicillium sp. Thin layer chromatography revealed three inhibitory bands in extracts of O. syriacum, two in I. viscosa and only one in each of the other plants tested: M. nervosa, P. maritima, C. origanifolia and Ruta sp.

  19. Efeito de meios de cultura e fatores físicos no crescimento e esporulação de Alternaria dauci e A. solani Effect of culture media and physical factors on growth and sporulation of Alternaria dauci and A. solani

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pablo Pulz

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Alternaria dauci e Alternaria solani são espécies / 24 h. O método desenvolvido neste trabalho foi comparado ao reconhecidamente difíceis de esporular em meios de cultura. Este tradicionalmente utilizado (BDA, 25 ºC, 12 h luz branca / 12 h trabalho teve o objetivo de verificar a influência de alguns meios escuro e raspagem da colônia. O meio V8-ágar, temperatura de 25 de cultura e fatores fisicos sobre o crescimento micelial e a ºC, luz NUV e raspagem das colônias exerceram influência mais esporulação dessas espécies. Testaram-se os meios de cultura BDA, marcante no crescimento e esporulação. O fotoperíodo 12 h luz NUV Aveia e V8; temperaturas (15ºC, 20ºC, 25ºC, 30ºC e 35ºC / 12 h escuro foi o que mais estimulou a esporulação. Observou-se que, comprimentos de onda da luz durante a incubação (amarelo, azul, de modo geral, períodos de escuro maiores que os períodos de luz, branco, NUV, verde e vermelho; tipos de injúria aplicados à aplicados após injúria da colônia, favoreceram a esporulação. O colônia (raspagem, UV, irradiação de microondas, e temperatura método desenvolvido mostrou-se nitidamente superior ao de 100 ºC e fotoperíodos (luz / escuro, respectivamente, de 24 h tradicionalmente utilizado, para crescimento e esporulação de ambas / 0 h, 22 h / 2 h, 17 h / 7 h, 12 h / 12 h, 7 h / 17 h, 2 h / 22 e 0 h as espécies.Alternaria dauci and A. solani are fungal species known for h and 0 h / 24 h were tested. The method developed in this study was difficult sporulation in culture media. This study had the objective of compared to the traditional procedure (BDA, 25 ºC, 12 h white / 12 verifying the influence of some physical factors on mycelia growth h dark light and scratching of the colony. V8-agar medium, and sporulation of these two species. Culture media (BDA, oat and temperature of 25 ºC, NUV light and scratching of the colonies had a V8, temperature (15ºC, 20ºC, 25ºC, 30ºC and 35ºC, light

  20. Targeting allergenic fungi in agricultural environments aids the identification of major sources and potential risks for human health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weikl, F; Radl, V; Munch, J C; Pritsch, K

    2015-10-01

    Fungi are, after pollen, the second most important producers of outdoor airborne allergens. To identify sources of airborne fungal allergens, a workflow for qPCR quantification from environmental samples was developed, thoroughly tested, and finally applied. We concentrated on determining the levels of allergenic fungi belonging to Alternaria, Cladosporium, Fusarium, and Trichoderma in plant and soil samples from agricultural fields in which cereals were grown. Our aims were to identify the major sources of allergenic fungi and factors potentially influencing their occurrence. Plant materials were the main source of the tested fungi at and after harvest. Amounts of A. alternata and C. cladosporioides varied significantly in fields under different management conditions, but absolute levels were very high in all cases. This finding suggests that high numbers of allergenic fungi may be an inevitable side effect of farming in several crops. Applied in large-scale studies, the concept described here may help to explain the high number of sensitization to airborne fungal allergens. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Antimicrobial activity screening of isolated flavonoids from Azadirachta indica leaves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    QUDSIA KANWAL

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The antimicrobial activities of two flavonoids, namely genistein 7-O-glucoside (1 and (–-epi-catechin (2, isolated from Azadirachta indica A. Juss (neem leaves, were evaluated against five fungal species, viz: Alternaria alternata (Fr. Keissler, Aspergillus fumigatus Fresenius, Aspergillus niger van Tieghem, Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi Goid. and Penicillium citrii, and four bacterial species, viz. Lactobacillus sp., Escherichia coli, Azospirillium lipoferum and Bacillus sp. Six concentrations, viz. 100, 300, 500, 700, 900 and 1000 ppm of each of the two flavonoids were employed using malt extract agar medium. All the concentrations of both the test compounds significantly suppressed fungal as well as bacterial growth. The highest concentration (1000 ppm of both fractions 1 and 2 reduced the growth of the different test fungal species by 83–99 % and 82–95 %, respectively. Compound 1 was highly effective against Lactobacillus sp., against which its various concentrations reduced the bacterial growth by 52–99.8 %. Compound 2 was highly effective against A. lipoferum and Bacillus sp., resulting in 94–100 % and 73–99% reduction in bacterial growth, respectively.

  2. Mycopopulation of marshmallow (Althaea officinalis L

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavlović Snežana Đ.

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Marshmallow is an important medicinal plant in Serbia. Because of increasing demands on the market, cultivation has been started. Through regular quality control of commercial seeds and plantations, mycopopulation of marshmallow was recorded in the period 2000-2006. Seeds of marshmallow were dominated by Alternaria alternata and species from the genus Fusarium (Fusarium verticillioides, F. proliferatum, F. semitectum, F. oxysporum and F. solani. Species belonging to Fusarium genus are the cause of rot of seeds and roots of marshmallow, causing chlorosis and fading, and therefore deterioration and necrosis of plants, as well as decrease of seed germination of seeds. Leaves and stalks of marshmallow were from time to time under massive attack of Puccinia malvacearum, and that was the reason why leaves were unuseful as a herbal drug. On roots and lower part of the stalks, massive appearance of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, a causal agent of the white rot, in cases when marshmallow was cultivated after sunflower, was recorded, too. From other fungi in roots, species belonging to the genus Fusarium (F. oxysporum, F. solani and F. verticillioides were dominant.

  3. Antifungical Activity of Autochthonous Bacillus subtilis Isolated from Prosopis juliflora against Phytopathogenic Fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdelmoteleb, Ali; Troncoso-Rojas, Rosalba; Gonzalez-Soto, Tania; González-Mendoza, Daniel

    2017-12-01

    The ability of Bacillus subtilis , strain ALICA to produce three mycolytic enzymes (chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, and protease), was carried out by the chemical standard methods. Bacillus subtilis ALICA was screened based on their antifungal activity in dual plate assay and cell-free culture filtrate (25%) against five different phytopathogenic fungi Alternaria alternata , Macrophomina sp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides , Botrytis cinerea , and Sclerotium rolfesii . The B. subtilis ALICA detected positive for chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase and protease enzymes. Fungal growth inhibition by both strain ALICA and its cell-free culture filtrate ranged from 51.36% to 86.3% and 38.43% to 68.6%, respectively. Moreover, hyphal morphological changes like damage, broken, swelling, distortions abnormal morphology were observed. Genes expression of protease, β-1,3-glucanase, and lipopeptides (subtilosin and subtilisin) were confirmed their presence in the supernatant of strain ALICA. Our findings indicated that strain ALICA provided a broad spectrum of antifungal activities against various phytopathogenic fungi and may be a potential effective alternative to chemical fungicides.

  4. First report of Alternaria alternata causing leaf spot on the whorled sunflower (Heilianthus verticillatus) in the southeast United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    The whorled sunflower, Helianthus verticillatus (Small), is an endangered, herbaceous perennial plant endemic to limited small tracts of land in west Tennessee, east Alabama, and west Georgia. In October 2015, plants from wild populations in Georgia and Alabama exhibited small, circular brown, necro...

  5. Phytopathogenic Dothideomycetes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Crous, P.W.; Verkley, G.J.M.; Groenewald, J.Z.

    2013-01-01

    This volume of Studies in Mycology is dedicated to the plant health officers of the world, who are constantly confronted by a range of plant pathogenic fungi that cause devastating diseases of agricultural and forestry crops. Five main groups of fungi are dealt with, namely Alternaria, Cercospora,

  6. Metabolite production by differnt Ulocladium species

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Birgitte; Hollensted, Morten

    2008-01-01

    Ulocladium, which is phylogenetically related to Alternaria, contains species that are food spoilers and plant pathogens, but also species that have potential as enzyme producers and bio-control agents. Ulocladium spp. are often found on dead vegetation, in soil, air and dust, but also on food...

  7. Levantamento da intensidade da alternariose e da podridão negra em cultivos orgânicos de brássicas em Pernambuco e Santa Catarina Survey of the intensity of Alternaria black spot and black rot on brassica species under organic farming systems in Pernambuco and Santa Catarina states, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz A M Peruch

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a intensidade da alternariose, causada por Alternaria brassicicola e/ou Alternaria brassicae, e da podridão negra, causada por Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, em cultivos orgânicos de brássicas em Pernambuco e Santa Catarina. Os levantamentos foram realizados no período de novembro de 2001 a fevereiro de 2002, num total de 103 cultivos orgânicos de várias espécies de brássicas. Foram registradas elevadas prevalências das doenças nos estados, com exceção em couve-chinesa em Santa Catarina. A prevalência da alternariose foi 100% nos cultivos de brócolis em Pernambuco, bem como em couve-flor nos dois estados, enquanto a podridão negra atingiu esse nível nos cultivos de brócolis e couve-flor em Santa Catarina. Na média das diferentes espécies de brássicas, as doenças foram mais prevalentes em Pernambuco que Santa Catarina. Entretanto, as médias de severidade de cada doença no conjunto das brássicas não foram diferentes entre os estados, embora as condições climáticas tenham sido nitidamente distintas. A severidade da alternariose variou entre as espécies de brássicas somente em Pernambuco, com a menor severidade registrada em couve-manteiga. Em relação à podridão negra, apenas em Santa Catarina houve diferença na severidade entre as brássicas, sendo registrados os menores níveis em couve-chinesa. Não foram constatadas correlações significativas entre os níveis de severidade da alternariose e da podridão negra, bem como da severidade destas com o número total de plantas e a idade das plantas nos cultivos.The objective of this research was to evaluate the intensity of Alternaria black spot, caused by Alternaria brassicicola and/or Alternaria brassicae, and black rot, caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris in organic cultivation of brassicas in Pernambuco and Santa Catarina. The survey was carried aut from November 2001 to February 2002, in 103 fields under

  8. Application of MALDI-TOF MS fingerprinting as a quick tool for identification and clustering of foodborne pathogens isolated from food products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elbehiry, Ayman; Marzouk, Eman; Hamada, Mohamed; Al-Dubaib, Musaad; Alyamani, Essam; Moussa, Ihab M; AlRowaidhan, Anhar; Hemeg, Hassan A

    2017-10-01

    Foodborne pathogens can be associated with a wide variety of food products and it is very important to identify them to supply safe food and prevent foodborne infections. Since traditional techniques are timeconsuming and laborious, this study was designed for rapid identification and clustering of foodborne pathogens isolated from various restaurants in Al-Qassim region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Sixty-nine bacterial and thirty-two fungal isolates isolated from 80 food samples were used in this study. Preliminary identification was carried out through culture and BD Phoenix™ methods. A confirmatory identification technique was then performed using MALDI-TOF MS. The BD Phoenix results revealed that 97% (67/69 isolates) of bacteria were correctly identified as 75% Enterobacter cloacae, 95.45% Campylobacter jejuni and 100% for Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. While 94.44% (29/32 isolates) of fungi were correctly identified as 77.77% Alternaria alternate, 88.88% Aspergillus niger and 100% for Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium digitatum, Candida albicans and Debaryomyces hansenii. However, all bacterial and fungal isolates were 100% properly identified by MALDI-TOF MS fingerprinting with a score value ≥2.00. A gel view illustrated that the spectral peaks for the identified isolates fluctuate between 3,000 and 10,000 Da. The results of main spectra library (MSP) dendrogram showed that the bacterial and fungal isolates matched with 19 and 9 reference strains stored in the Bruker taxonomy, respectively. Our results indicated that MALDI-TOF MS is a promising technique for fast and accurate identification of foodborne pathogens.

  9. The fungi causin damping-off of carrot seedlings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bogdan Nowicki

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available When 136 samples of dying carrot seedlings from several fields were analyzed Alternaria rudicina proved to be the most common seedling pathogen (41%, followed by some Fusarium species (27%, mostly F. avenaceum.The less common seedling pathogens were Pythium spp. (13%, Phoma spp.(2,5% and Botrytis cinerea (1,4%. Some other fungi (Bipolaris sorokiniana, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Stemphylium botryosym and Ulocladium consortiale were found in less than 1% of seedlings examined.

  10. Incidência de Mancha Púrpura (Alternaria porri Ell. Cif.) em cultivares e híbridos de cebola (Allium cepa L.), em Manaus, Am. ()

    OpenAIRE

    Alves, Maria Luiza Braz; Paiva, Waldelice Oliveira; Assis, Luís Alberto Guimarães

    1982-01-01

    Resumo Avaliou-se, em Manaus, AM, a intensidade do ataque de Alternaria porri em híbridos e cultivares de cebola (Allium cepa L.) A doença ocorreu naturalmente e efetuaram-se as observações ao final do ciclo vegetativo. Considerou-se o total de plantas avaliadas como 100% e as plantas, de acordo com a porcentagem de infecção, foram enquadradas nas seguintes classes: I ((0-10%); II (10-30%); III (30-50%); IV (50-70%) e V (> 70%). O híbrido (Px-76) foi o único a apresentar plantas na classe com...

  11. Pathological and rhizospherical studies on root-rot disease of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Isolations from diseased squash roots revealed the presence of Alternaria tenuis, Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani and Rhizoctonia solani. The last two fungi were more frequent than any of the other fungi. Pathogenicity tests proved that squash plants were highly vulnerable to attack by Fusarium solani and ...

  12. Identificação e quantificação de fungos associados a sementes de azevém (Lolium multiflorum Lam.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Eduardo Loureiro da Silva

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available O trabalho teve como objetivos, identificar e quantificar os fungos associados a sementes de azevém, comparar a incidência em diferentes meios de cultura, e determinar o número de escleródios de Claviceps purpurea presentes em amostras de sementes. Foram analisadas 37 amostras de sementes de azevém provenientes de municípios do Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e Paraná. As sementes foram plaqueadas em três meios de cultura: BDA, semi-seletivo de Reis e semi-seletivo de Segalin & Reis, analisando-se a incidência dos fungos. Para detecção de C. purpurea, foram pesados 100g de sementes por amostra e, através de exame visual, foi determinado o número de escleródios. Os fungos detectados foram Alternaria alternata, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Drechslera spp., D. siccans, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium spp., Aspergillus spp. e Penicillium sp. A incidência de A. alternata variou de 0,0% a 33,7% e freqüência de 89,2% nas amostras analisadas. Para B. sorokiniana a incidência foi de 0,0% a 2,2% e frequência de 62,2%, Drechslera spp., apresentou incidência de 0,0% a 40,3% e frequência de 78,4%. D. siccans a incidência foi de 0,1% a 20,0% e frequência de 100%.Para Fusarium spp., e F. graminearum a incidência foi de 0,0% a 31,0% e 0,0% a 11,3% e frequência de 81,1% e 64,9%, de 0,0% a 43,7% de incidência e 94,6% de frequência para Aspergillus spp. e Penicillium sp. com incidência entre 0,0% a 51,7% e frequência de 91,9%, respectivamente. O fungo C. purpurea foi encontrado em 81,1% das amostras em estudo.

  13. Testes cutâneos de hipersensibilidade imediata com o evoluir da idade Positive skin test and age

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilma Carvalho Neves Forte

    2001-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: avaliação da positividade aos testes cutâneos de hipersensibilidade imediata em crianças com asma brônquica e/ou rinite alérgica em diferentes faixas etárias. CASUÍSTICA E MÉTODOS: foi observada a positividade aos testes cutâneos de hipersensibilidade imediata, por testes de puntura, frente a diferentes alérgenos de mesma procedência: poeira total e Dermatophagóides sp, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae e Blomia tropicalis, Penicillium sp, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium herbarium, Aspergillus fumigatus, grama bermuda, capim de pasto, epitélio de cão, epitélio de gato, penas, Blatella germanica, lã. Foram selecionadas 713 crianças divididas em grupos conforme a faixa etária: grupo I (6 a 11 meses, II (1 a 3 anos e 11 meses, III (4 a 8 anos e 11 meses e IV (9 a 15 anos. Para análise estatística utilizou-se o cálculo do qui-quadrado. RESULTADOS: o total de diferenças significativas entre os vários grupos foi: I e II = 5; II e III = 5; II e IV = 5; III e IV = 6; I e III = 10 e I e IV = 10 CONCLUSÃO: concluiu-se que a positividade ao teste de hipersensibilidade imediata foi maior com o evoluir da idade, havendo positividade já aos doze meses de vida, sendo esta positividade significativamente maior a partir de quatro anos de idade.OBJECTIVE: to evaluate positive responses to skin tests for immediate hypersensitivity to allergens in children with asthma and rhinitis at different ages. METHOD: we observed positive skin test reactivity in prick tests using fifteen allergens of same origin (total dust and Dermatophagoides sp.; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus; Dermatophagoides farinae; Blomia tropicalis; Penicillium sp; Alternaria alternata; Cladosporium herbarium; Aspergillus fumigatus; Bermuda grass; forage grass; dog and cat epithelia; feathers; Blatella germanica and wool. We placed 713 selected patients into different age groups - Group I: 6 to 11 months; Group II: 1 to 3 years and 11

  14. Caracterización cultural y morfológica e identificación de 12 aislamientos fungosos de semillas de Leucaena leucocephala cv. Perú Cultural and morphological characterization and identification of 12 fungal isolations in seeds of Leucaena leucocephala cv. Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. C Lezcano

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo identificar los agentes fungosos asociados a las semillas de Leucaena leucocephala cv. Perú almacenadas al ambiente, a partir de la caracterización cultural y morfológica de 12 aislamientos puros; estos se obtuvieron de la siembra de las estructuras fúngicas (vegetativas y/o reproductivas, en placas Petri (9 cm de diámetro que contenían Agar Papa Dextrosa (APD y Agar Malta (AM. Las placas se incubaron durante 10 días a 25ºC, con alternancia de 8 h luz/16 h oscuridad o a oscuridad constante, según los requerimientos de cada organismo. Se identificaron siete agentes fungosos asociados a las semillas, los cuales se clasificaron teniendo en cuenta los caracteres culturales y morfológicos, y se corroboraron con las claves taxonómicas. Ello permitió agrupar: Penicillium expansum Link, Rhizopus stolonifer Ehrenb. ex Fr., Cladosporium sphaerospermum Penz., Chaetomium indicum Corda, Alternaria alternata (Fr Keissl., Pestalotia sp. y Trichoderma sp. Dichos caracteres constituyen una herramienta importante para la identificación de los hongos hasta el nivel de especie, por lo que se recomienda realizar nuevos estudios con los aislamientos #9 y #11 con vista a completar la identificación hasta la especie en el caso de los géneros Trichoderma y Pestalotia; así como identificar las especies fungosas del resto de los aislamientos.The objective of this study was to identify the fungal agents associated to seeds of Leucaena leucocephala cv. Peru stored under ambient conditions, from the cultural and morphological characterization of 12 pure isolations; they were obtained from planting the fungal structures (vegetative and/or reproductive, in Petri dishes (9 cm diameter which contained Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA and Malt Agar (MA. The dishes were incubated for 10 days at 25ºC, alternating 8 h light/16 h darkness or at constant darkness, according to the requirements of each organism. Seven fungal

  15. [Antagonism in vitro among phytopathogenic and saprobic fungi from horticultural soils].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alippi, H E; Monaco, C

    1990-01-01

    Two methods were tested in order to determine the existence of in vitro antagonism among saprobic and pathogenic fungi. These microorganisms were the most common isolates from horticultural soils of La Plata (Buenos Aires). Trichoderma harzianum; T. koningii and Penicillium sp. were antagonistic to all the pathogenic fungi tested, Fusarium solani; F. oxysporum; Alternaria solani; Colletotrichum sp. and Sclerotium rolfsii Spicaria sp., Paecilomyces sp. and Chaetomiun sp. were antagonistic only to Colletotrichum sp. and Fusarium solani.

  16. Long-term cryopreservation of non-spore-forming fungi in Microbank™ beads for plant pathological investigations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lakshman, Dilip K; Singh, Vimla; Camacho, Manuel E

    2018-05-01

    Long-term preservation of experimental fungi without genetic, morphological, and pathogenic changes is of paramount importance in mycological and plant pathological investigations. Several cryogenic and non-cryogenic methods are available for the preservation of fungi, but the methods can be cumbersome, hazardous, expensive, and often not suitable for long-term storage of non-spore-forming (sterile) fungi. A method of preservation of spore-forming fungi in commercially available porous beads (Micrbank™) under cryogenic condition was successfully tested for three non-spore-forming basidiomycetes genera: Rhizoctonia solani (teleomorph: Thanatephorus cucumeris) (n = 19), Ceratobasidium species (n = 1), and Waitea circinata (n = 3), and a non-spore forming ascomycetes, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (n = 1). For comparison, spore-forming ascomycetous fungi, Alternaria alternata (n = 1), Bauveria basiana (n = 2), Botrytis cinerea (n = 1), Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. gladiolii (n = 1), Trichoderma spp. (n = 3), and Thielaviopsis basicola (n = 2) were also cryopreserved in Microbank beads. Viable fungal isolates of all test species were retrieved after five years of storage at -80 °C, which was longer than the viabilities of the corresponding isolates cryopreserved in agar plugs or colonized wheat seeds. Fungi revived from the Microbank beads maintained identical morphology and cultural characteristics of the parent isolates. Randomly selected Rhizoctonia isolates revived from the Microbank beads maintained respective pathological properties of the parent isolates; also, no mutation was detected in the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA when compared with respective cultures maintained at ambient temperature. This finding demonstrated the utility of cryopreservation in Microbank beads as a convenient alternative to conventional long-term preservation of a wide group of fungal cultures for plant pathological investigations

  17. Reference genes for accurate transcript normalization in citrus genotypes under different experimental conditions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valéria Mafra

    Full Text Available Real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR has emerged as an accurate and widely used technique for expression profiling of selected genes. However, obtaining reliable measurements depends on the selection of appropriate reference genes for gene expression normalization. The aim of this work was to assess the expression stability of 15 candidate genes to determine which set of reference genes is best suited for transcript normalization in citrus in different tissues and organs and leaves challenged with five pathogens (Alternaria alternata, Phytophthora parasitica, Xylella fastidiosa and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus. We tested traditional genes used for transcript normalization in citrus and orthologs of Arabidopsis thaliana genes described as superior reference genes based on transcriptome data. geNorm and NormFinder algorithms were used to find the best reference genes to normalize all samples and conditions tested. Additionally, each biotic stress was individually analyzed by geNorm. In general, FBOX (encoding a member of the F-box family and GAPC2 (GAPDH was the most stable candidate gene set assessed under the different conditions and subsets tested, while CYP (cyclophilin, TUB (tubulin and CtP (cathepsin were the least stably expressed genes found. Validation of the best suitable reference genes for normalizing the expression level of the WRKY70 transcription factor in leaves infected with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus showed that arbitrary use of reference genes without previous testing could lead to misinterpretation of data. Our results revealed FBOX, SAND (a SAND family protein, GAPC2 and UPL7 (ubiquitin protein ligase 7 to be superior reference genes, and we recommend their use in studies of gene expression in citrus species and relatives. This work constitutes the first systematic analysis for the selection of superior reference genes for transcript normalization in different citrus organs and under biotic stress.

  18. Pathogenic Fungal Species Associated with Digestive System of Periplaneta americana (Blattaria: Blattidae Trapped from Residential Dwellings in Ahvaz City, Southwestern Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamid Kassiri

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Cockroaches are the most prevalent domestic pests of a worldwide distribution. They were recognized as possible vectors of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites in residential dwellings and hospital environ­ments. The present study isolated and identified yeasts and filamentous fungi from digestive tract of American cock­roaches, collected from three different residential regions of Iran.Methods: Seventy cockroaches were sampled using direct collection (hand catch, vacuum cleaner and sticky traps in Ahvaz, Iran in 2009–2010. Their medically important fungal microorganisms were isolated from digestive tract using standard mycological methods. Filamentous fungi were identified by macroscopic and microscopic examina­tion. Yeasts were identified by API ID32C-32100 kit.Results: A high percentage of cockroaches (88.6% were detected to carry fungi of medical importance. Overall, 23 fungi species/genera were isolated from the American cockroaches' alimentary tract. The fungi isolated from cock­roaches, from the residential regions were species of Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Penicillium, Mucorales, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Mycelia, Chrysosporium, Candida, Rhodotorula, Zygosaccharomyces, and Debaryomyces. Candida spp. (41.4%, Aspergillus spp. (37.1% and Rhodotorula spp (27.1% were the most common fungi recovered on cockroaches. Candida albicans and Candida glabrata were the commonest species of the genus Candida. In addi­tion, Aspergillus niger and A. flavus were the most frequent species of the genus Aspergillus.Conclusion: American cockroaches may carry pathogenic fungi in the urban areas of Ahvaz.

  19. Hyperspectral remote sensing for advanced detection of early blight (Alternaria solani) disease in potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atherton, Daniel

    Early detection of disease and insect infestation within crops and precise application of pesticides can help reduce potential production losses, reduce environmental risk, and reduce the cost of farming. The goal of this study was the advanced detection of early blight (Alternaria solani) in potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants using hyperspectral remote sensing data captured with a handheld spectroradiometer. Hyperspectral reflectance spectra were captured 10 times over five weeks from plants grown to the vegetative and tuber bulking growth stages. The spectra were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA), spectral change (ratio) analysis, partial least squares (PLS), cluster analysis, and vegetative indices. PCA successfully distinguished more heavily diseased plants from healthy and minimally diseased plants using two principal components. Spectral change (ratio) analysis provided wavelengths (490-510, 640, 665-670, 690, 740-750, and 935 nm) most sensitive to early blight infection followed by ANOVA results indicating a highly significant difference (p potato plants.

  20. Spatial and temporal distribution of Alternaria spores in the Iberian Peninsula atmosphere, and meteorological relationships: 1993-2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aira, María-Jesús; Rodríguez-Rajo, Francisco-Javier; Fernández-González, María; Seijo, Carmen; Elvira-Rendueles, Belén; Abreu, Ilda; Gutiérrez-Bustillo, Montserrat; Pérez-Sánchez, Elena; Oliveira, Manuela; Recio, Marta; Tormo, Rafael; Morales, Julia

    2013-03-01

    This paper provides an updated of airborne Alternaria spore spatial and temporal distribution patterns in the Iberian Peninsula, using a common non-viable volumetric sampling method. The highest mean annual spore counts were recorded in Sevilla (39,418 spores), Mérida (33,744) and Málaga (12,947), while other sampling stations never exceeded 5,000. The same cities also recorded the highest mean daily spore counts (Sevilla 109 spores m(-3); Mérida 53 spores m(-3) and Málaga 35 spores m(-3)) and the highest number of days on which counts exceeded the threshold levels required to trigger allergy symptoms (Sevilla 38 % and Mérida 30 % of days). Analysis of annual spore distribution patterns revealed either one or two peaks, depending on the location and prevailing climate of sampling stations. For all stations, average temperature was the weather parameter displaying the strongest positive correlation with airborne spore counts, whilst negative correlations were found for rainfall and relative humidity.

  1. Identification and expression analysis of WRKY transcription factor genes in canola (Brassica napus L. in response to fungal pathogens and hormone treatments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deyholos Michael K

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Members of plant WRKY transcription factor families are widely implicated in defense responses and various other physiological processes. For canola (Brassica napus L., no WRKY genes have been described in detail. Because of the economic importance of this crop, and its evolutionary relationship to Arabidopsis thaliana, we sought to characterize a subset of canola WRKY genes in the context of pathogen and hormone responses. Results In this study, we identified 46 WRKY genes from canola by mining the expressed sequence tag (EST database and cloned cDNA sequences of 38 BnWRKYs. A phylogenetic tree was constructed using the conserved WRKY domain amino acid sequences, which demonstrated that BnWRKYs can be divided into three major groups. We further compared BnWRKYs to the 72 WRKY genes from Arabidopsis and 91 WRKY from rice, and we identified 46 presumptive orthologs of AtWRKY genes. We examined the subcellular localization of four BnWRKY proteins using green fluorescent protein (GFP and we observed the fluorescent green signals in the nucleus only. The responses of 16 selected BnWRKY genes to two fungal pathogens, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Alternaria brassicae, were analyzed by quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR. Transcript abundance of 13 BnWRKY genes changed significantly following pathogen challenge: transcripts of 10 WRKYs increased in abundance, two WRKY transcripts decreased after infection, and one decreased at 12 h post-infection but increased later on (72 h. We also observed that transcript abundance of 13/16 BnWRKY genes was responsive to one or more hormones, including abscisic acid (ABA, and cytokinin (6-benzylaminopurine, BAP and the defense signaling molecules jasmonic acid (JA, salicylic acid (SA, and ethylene (ET. We compared these transcript expression patterns to those previously described for presumptive orthologs of these genes in Arabidopsis and rice, and observed both similarities and differences in

  2. Eco-friendly PEG-based controlled release nano-formulations of Mancozeb: Synthesis and bioefficacy evaluation against phytopathogenic fungi Alternaria solani and Sclerotium rolfsii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majumder, Sujan; Shakil, Najam A; Kumar, Jitendra; Banerjee, Tirthankar; Sinha, Parimal; Singh, Braj B; Garg, Parul

    2016-12-01

    Controlled release (CR) nano-formulations of Mancozeb (manganese-zinc double salt of N,N-bisdithiocarbamic acid), a protective fungicide, have been prepared using laboratory-synthesized poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs)-based functionalized amphiphilic copolymers without using any surfactants or external additives. The release kinetics of the developed Mancozeb CR formulations were studied and compared with that of commercially available 42% suspension concentrate and 75% wettable powder. Maximum amount of Mancozeb was released on 42nd day for PEG-600 and octyl chain, PEG-1000 and octyl chain, and PEG-600 and hexadecyl chain, on 35th day for PEG-1000 and hexadecyl chain, on 28th day for PEG-1500 and octyl chain, PEG-2000 and octyl chain, PEG-1500 and hexadecyl chain, and PEG-2000 and hexadecyl chain in comparison to both commercial formulations (15th day). The diffusion exponent (n value) of Mancozeb in water ranged from 0.42 to 0.62 in tested formulations. The half-release (t 1/2 ) values ranged from 17.35 to 35.14 days, and the period of optimum availability of Mancozeb ranged from 18.54 to 35.42 days. Further, the in vitro bioefficacy evaluation of developed formulations was done against plant pathogenic fungi Alternaria solani and Sclerotium rolfsii by poison food technique. Effective dose for 50% inhibition in mgL -1 (ED 50 ) values of developed formulations varied from 1.31 to 2.79 mg L -1 for A. solani, and 1.60 to 3.14 mg L -1 for S. rolfsii. The present methodology is simple, economical, and eco-friendly for the development of environment-friendly CR formulations of Mancozeb. These formulations can be used to optimize the release of Mancozeb to achieve disease control for the desired period depending upon the matrix of the polymer used. Importantly, the maximum amount of active ingredient remains available for a reasonable period after application. In addition, the developed CR formulations were found to be suitable for fungicidal applications, allowing

  3. The protection of parsley seedlings (Petroselinum sativum Hoffm. ssp. microcarpum) against damping-off.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nawrocki, J

    2006-01-01

    The experiment was carried out in the years 2003 and 2004 on parsley cultivar: 'Berlinska', 'Cukrowa', 'Vistula' and 'Kinga'. Mycological analysis of parsley seeds showed, that the most common inhabitans were fungi from genus Alternaria (mainly A. alternata and A. radicina) and Fusarium, especially F. avenaceum and F. oxysporum. The two-year study on the effectiveness of 5 substances--biopreparate Biochikol 020 PC (polymer of chitosol) and Biosept 33 SL (extract of grape-fruit); and fungicides: Amistar 250 SC (BAS azoxystrobin), Dithane M-45 80WP (mancozeb) and Zaprawa Funaben T (carbendazim+thiram) used against parsley damping-off was conducted in glasshouse and field conditions. Seeds of parsley were treated one of tested substances before sowing. The results of glasshouse experiments showed, that the best efficacy exibited Amistar and Zaprawa Funaben T for seedlings cultivar 'Berlińska' and 'Cukrowa' and Biochikol for 'Kinga'. During field experiments Zaprawa Funaben T showed the best efficacy for seedlings 'Berlińska' and 'Vistula'. Preparate Amistar was the best seed dressing for parsley cultivar 'Cukrowa' and 'Kinga'. During glasshouse experiments in control the highest number of decaying seedlings had cultivar 'Berlinska', in field experiments 'Kinga'.

  4. Influence of hot water dip and gamma irradiation on postharvest fungal decay of Galia melons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barkai-Golan, R.; Padova, R.; Ross, I.; Lapidot, M.; Copel, A.; Davidson, H.

    1993-01-01

    Dipping Galia melons in hot water at 52 deg C for 5 min or at 55 deg for 2 min resulted in 12-15% decay (caused by Alternaria alternata, Fusarium spp. and Trichothecium roseum) during prolonged storage (12 d at 6 deg plus 3 d at 18 deg ) compared with 75% decay in untreated fruit or 60% decay in cold-water-dipped fruit. Irradiation at 0.5 or 1 kGy had no significant effect on decay development. However, combination of heat treatment with a 0.5 kGy dose prevented fungal growth, resulting in 5% decay during storage. Combinations of heating with 1 kGy irradiation gave no improvement in anti-fungal effect over treatment with 0.5 kGy and sometimes resulted in a decreased suppressive effect. Reducing the duration of dipping at 55 deg from 2 to 0.5 min, applied alone or in combination with irradiation, considerably reduced the anti-fungal effect of the treatment. The effective combined treatment resulted in 12-15% of slight peel damage, but all the fruits were regarded as marketable. No differences in fruit firmness were recorded among the treatments

  5. Fungal volatiles associated with moldy grain in ventilated and non-ventilated bin-stored wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinha, R N; Tuma, D; Abramson, D; Muir, W E

    1988-01-01

    The fungal odor compounds 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-octen-3-ol and 3-octanone were monitored in nine experimental bins in Winnipeg, Manitoba containing a hard red spring wheat during the autumn, winter and summer seasons of 1984-85. Quality changes were associated with seed-borne microflora and moisture content in both ventilated and non-ventilated bins containing wheat of 15.6 and 18.2% initial moisture content. All three odor compounds occurred in considerably greater amounts in bulk wheat in non-ventilated than in ventilated bins, particularly in those with wheat having 18.2% moisture content. The presence of these compounds usually coincided with infection of the seeds by the fungi Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler, Aspergillus repens DeBarry, A. versicolor (Vuill.) Tiraboschi, Penicillium crustosum Thom, P. oxalicum Currie and Thom, P. aurantiogriesum Dierckx, and P. citrinum Thom. High production of all three odor compounds in damp wheat stored in non-ventilated bins was associated with heavy fungal infection of the seeds and reduction in seed germinability. High initial moisture content of the harvested grain accelerated the production of all three fungal volatiles in non-ventilated bins.

  6. Fungi colonizing dead leaves of herbs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Kowalik

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The material was collected from the Botanical Garden and the Collegium Medicum Medicinal Plant Garden of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. The investigated species were: lemon balm (Mellisa officinalis L., common lavender (Lavendula angustifolia Mill., horsemint (Mentha longifolia L., sage (Salvia officinalis L., sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L., and wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare L.. The aim of the investigation was to identify fungi causing the death of leaf tissues of herbs from the mint family Lamiaceae. In mycological investigations, 180 fragments of each plant leaves (1,080 dead leaf fragments in total were placed in a 2% PDA medium. Over 970 colonies of fungi belonging to 48 species were isolated from the dead leaf tissues of the six herb species. Alternaria alternata (toxin-producing, Epicoccum nigrum and Sordaria fimicola were the most frequently isolated. The largest numbers of colonies and species of fungi were isolated from horsemint, while the lowest numbers were from wild marjoram leaves. It was shown that the death of leaves of selected herb species from the Lamiaceae family was caused by various fungi. The results of the mycological analysis confirmed the diversity of species colonizing the leaves of the herbs.

  7. The skin prick test – European standards

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    Heinzerling Lucie

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Skin prick testing is an essential test procedure to confirm sensitization in IgE-mediated allergic disease in subjects with rhinoconjunctivitis, asthma, urticaria, anapylaxis, atopic eczema and food and drug allergy. This manuscript reviews the available evidence including Medline and Embase searches, abstracts of international allergy meetings and position papers from the world allergy literature. The recommended method of prick testing includes the appropriate use of specific allergen extracts, positive and negative controls, interpretation of the tests after 15 – 20 minutes of application, with a positive result defined as a wheal ≥3 mm diameter. A standard prick test panel for Europe for inhalants is proposed and includes hazel (Corylus avellana, alder (Alnus incana, birch (Betula alba, plane (Platanus vulgaris, cypress (Cupressus sempervirens, grass mix (Poa pratensis, Dactilis glomerata, Lolium perenne, Phleum pratense, Festuca pratensis, Helictotrichon pretense, Olive (Olea europaea, mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris, ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Alternaria alternata (tenuis, Cladosporium herbarum, Aspergillus fumigatus, Parietaria, cat, dog, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, and cockroach (Blatella germanica. Standardization of the skin test procedures and standard panels for different geographic locations are encouraged worldwide to permit better comparisons for diagnostic, clinical and research purposes.

  8. Streptomyces zhihengii sp. nov., isolated from rhizospheric soil of Psammosilene tunicoides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Mei-Juan; Fei, Jing-Jing; Salam, Nimaichand; Kim, Chang-Jin; Hozzein, Wael N; Xiao, Min; Huang, Hai-Quan; Li, Wen-Jun

    2016-10-01

    An actinomycete strain, designated YIM T102(T), was isolated from the rhizospheric soil of Psammosilene tunicoides W. C. Wu et C. Y. Wu collected from Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China. The taxonomic position of the new isolate was investigated by a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain YIM T102(T) belongs to the genus Streptomyces. Strain YIM T102(T) was most closely related to Streptomyces eurocidicus NRRL B-1676(T) with a pairwise 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 98.9 %. However, DNA-DNA relatedness value between strain YIM T102(T) and S. eurocidicus NBRC 13491(T) was found to be 37.8 ± 1.8 %. The menaquinone composition detected for strain YIM T102(T) was MK-9 (H6) and MK-9 (H8), while the major fatty acids were summed feature 4 (38.0 %), anteiso-C15:0 (13.1 %), iso-C16:0 (10.1 %), summed feature 3 (9.8 %) and C16:0 (9.0 %) and iso-C15:0 (5.2 %). The whole-cell hydrolysates contained galactose, glucose, ribose and mannose, along with LL-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid in the peptidoglycan. The DNA G+C content was 70.7 mol%. Strain YIM T102(T) also exhibited antagonistic activity against Alternaria alternata, Alternaria brassicae and Colletotrichum nicotianae Averna, based on the findings from the comparative analyses of phenotypic and genotypic characteristics; it is proposed that strain YIM T102 represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces zhihengii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIM T102(T) (=KCTC 39115(T) = DSM 42176(T) = CGMCC 4.7248(T)).

  9. Phosphoproteome profiles of the phytopathogenic fungi Alternaria brassicicola and Botrytis cinerea during exponential growth in axenic cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davanture, Marlène; Dumur, Jérôme; Bataillé-Simoneau, Nelly; Campion, Claire; Valot, Benoît; Zivy, Michel; Simoneau, Philippe; Fillinger, Sabine

    2014-07-01

    This study describes the gel-free phosphoproteomic analysis of the phytopathogenic fungi Alternaria brassicicola and Botrytis cinerea grown in vitro under nonlimiting conditions. Using a combination of strong cation exchange and IMAC prior to LC-MS, we identified over 1350 phosphopeptides per fungus representing over 800 phosphoproteins. The preferred phosphorylation sites were found on serine (>80%) and threonine (>15%), whereas phosphorylated tyrosine residues were found at less than 1% in A. brassicicola and at a slightly higher ratio in B. cinerea (1.5%). Biological processes represented principally among the phoshoproteins were those involved in response and transduction of stimuli as well as in regulation of cellular and metabolic processes. Most known elements of signal transduction were found in the datasets of both fungi. This study also revealed unexpected phosphorylation sites in histidine kinases, a category overrepresented in filamentous ascomycetes compared to yeast. The data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange database with identifier PXD000817 (http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD000817). © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  10. PRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL OF THE CHERRY TOMATO GENOTYPE GROUP BEFORE INFECTION BY Alternaria tomatophila

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    HUGO CESAR RODRIGUES MOREIRA CATÃO

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Early blight (caused by Alternaria tomatophila is a major disease of tomato with no resistant cultivars. Thus, it is necessary to identify sources of resistance and productive genotypes for the development of new cultivars. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the productive potential of cherry tomato genotypes grown in the summer / fall, the severity of early blight on leaves and the incidence of disease in fruits. The treatments consisted of Carolina tomato genotypes, Cereja Vermelho, CH 152 and CLN1561A. The experimental design consisted of randomized blocks with six replications, and the experimental plot had 16 plants. The following characteristics were evaluated: area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC, average number of microinjuries on the fruits (MF, average number of fruits per bunch (NFC, average number of bunches per plant (NCP, average number of fruits per plant (NFP, average yield, number of fruits with incidence of early blight per plant (NFI and the severity of early blight in leaves (%. The cherry tomato genotype CH152 showed tolerance to early blight with a smaller area under the disease progress curve, lower severity and fruits with incidence of A. tomatophila were not observed in this genotype. The CH152 had the highest number of fruits per bunch, greater number of bunches per plant, higher number of fruits per plant and higher productivity. This line has great potential of being integrated into breeding programs.

  11. Comparative proteomic analysis of pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains from the swine pathogen Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae

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    Klein Cátia S

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is a highly infectious swine pathogen and is the causative agent of enzootic pneumonia (EP. Following the previous report of a proteomic survey of the pathogenic 7448 strain of swine pathogen, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, we performed comparative protein profiling of three M. hyopneumoniae strains, namely the non-pathogenic J strain and the two pathogenic strains 7448 and 7422. Results In 2DE comparisons, we were able to identify differences in expression levels for 67 proteins, including the overexpression of some cytoadherence-related proteins only in the pathogenic strains. 2DE immunoblot analyses allowed the identification of differential proteolytic cleavage patterns of the P97 adhesin in the three strains. For more comprehensive protein profiling, an LC-MS/MS strategy was used. Overall, 35% of the M. hyopneumoniae genome coding capacity was covered. Partially overlapping profiles of identified proteins were observed in the strains with 81 proteins identified only in one strain and 54 proteins identified in two strains. Abundance analysis of proteins detected in more than one strain demonstrates the relative overexpression of 64 proteins, including the P97 adhesin in the pathogenic strains. Conclusions Our results indicate the physiological differences between the non-pathogenic strain, with its non-infective proliferate lifestyle, and the pathogenic strains, with its constitutive expression of adhesins, which would render the bacterium competent for adhesion and infection prior to host contact.

  12. Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of 1-benzhydryl-sulfonyl-4-(3-(piperidin-4-yl) propyl)piperidine derivatives against pathogens of Lycopersicon esculentum: a structure-activity evaluation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinaya, K; Kavitha, R; Ananda Kumar, C S; Benaka Prasad, S B; Chandrappa, S; Deepak, S A; Nanjunda Swamy, S; Umesha, S; Rangappa, K S

    2009-01-01

    Several 1-benzhydryl-sulfonyl-4-(3-(piperidin-4-yl)propyl)piperidine derivatives 8(a-j) were prepared by the treatment of substituted benzhydryl chlorides with 4-(3-(piperidin-4-yl)propyl)piperidine followed by N-sulfonation with sulfonyl chlorides in the presence of dry methylene dichloride and triethyl amine. The synthesized compounds were characterized by (1)H-NMR, IR, and elemental analysis. All the synthesized compounds were evaluated in vitro for their efficacy as antimicrobial agents by artificial inoculation technique against standard strains of two important bacterial viz., Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. vesicatoria and Ralstonia solanacearum as well as and two fungal pathogens namely Alternaria solani and Fusarium solani of tomato plants. We have briefly investigated the structure-activity relation studies and reveal that the nature of substitutions on benzhydryl ring and sulfonamide ring influences the antibacterial activity. Among the synthesized new compounds 8b, 8d, 8g, 8h, 8i, and 8j were showed significant potent antimicrobial activities compared to the standard drugs chloramphenicol, mancozeb.

  13. TmpL, a transmembrane protein required for intracellular redox homeostasis and virulence in a plant and an animal fungal pathogen.

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    Kwang-Hyung Kim

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The regulation of intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS is critical for developmental differentiation and virulence of many pathogenic fungi. In this report we demonstrate that a novel transmembrane protein, TmpL, is necessary for regulation of intracellular ROS levels and tolerance to external ROS, and is required for infection of plants by the necrotroph Alternaria brassicicola and for infection of mammals by the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. In both fungi, tmpL encodes a predicted hybrid membrane protein containing an AMP-binding domain, six putative transmembrane domains, and an experimentally-validated FAD/NAD(P-binding domain. Localization and gene expression analyses in A. brassicicola indicated that TmpL is associated with the Woronin body, a specialized peroxisome, and strongly expressed during conidiation and initial invasive growth in planta. A. brassicicola and A. fumigatus DeltatmpL strains exhibited abnormal conidiogenesis, accelerated aging, enhanced oxidative burst during conidiation, and hypersensitivity to oxidative stress when compared to wild-type or reconstituted strains. Moreover, A. brassicicola DeltatmpL strains, although capable of initial penetration, exhibited dramatically reduced invasive growth on Brassicas and Arabidopsis. Similarly, an A. fumigatus DeltatmpL mutant was dramatically less virulent than the wild-type and reconstituted strains in a murine model of invasive aspergillosis. Constitutive expression of the A. brassicicola yap1 ortholog in an A. brassicicola DeltatmpL strain resulted in high expression levels of genes associated with oxidative stress tolerance. Overexpression of yap1 in the DeltatmpL background complemented the majority of observed developmental phenotypic changes and partially restored virulence on plants. Yap1-GFP fusion strains utilizing the native yap1 promoter exhibited constitutive nuclear localization in the A. brassicicola DeltatmpL background. Collectively, we

  14. Encountering epidemic effects of leaf spot disease (Alternaria brassicae) on Aloe vera by fungal biocontrol agents in agrifields-An ecofriendly approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Swapan Kumar; Banerjee, Subhankar; Pal, Sujoy; Chakraborty, Niloy

    2018-01-01

    Aloe vera (L.) Burm.f. is a highly important and extensively cultivated medicinal plant and that is also extensively used in the cosmetic industry. It has been frequently reported to suffer from Alternaria leaf spot disease in various parts of the world. Various fungicides used to combat this disease, have deleterious effects on the environment and on pharmacologically important constituents of Aloe vera. To avoid the harmful effects of fungicides an ecofriendly approach has been adopted here. A weekly survey was conducted during 2013-2015 in and around North 24 Parganas (West Bengal) to obtain the percentage of disease index (PDI). For biological control of the disease, screening of the antagonistic efficacy of biocontrol agents was carried out through the in vitro dual-culture-plate method and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the mechanism. The in vitro effects of fungicides on the radial growth of the pathogen were evaluated through the poison food method and were compared with potent antagonistic fungi. Field application of potent antagonistic fungi was conducted through the dip-and-spray method. The results showed that, the PDI peaked during the hot and humid conditions of May to September (76.57%-98.57%) but decreased during the winter, December-January (35.71-46.66%). Trichoderma asperellum exerted the greatest inhibition of the radial growth of A. brassicae acting through non volatile (70.39%) and volatile metabolites (72.17%). A SEM study confirmed the hyperparasitic nature of T. asperellum through hyphal coiling-T. asperellum was similar to 2% blitox-50 (73.92%) and better than 2% bavistin (59.77%) (in vitro). In agricultural field trials (2013-15), Trichoderma application restricted the disease to the smallest area (PDI 24.00-29.33%) in comparison to untreated plots (73.33%). In conclusion, saplings treated with the dip method (108 spores / mL) and sprayed 4 times with a spore suspension of biocontrol agents such as T. asperellum, T

  15. Green Chemistry Approach for the Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles Using the Fungus Alternaria sp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhanasekar, Naresh Niranjan; Rahul, Ganga Ravindran; Narayanan, Kannan Badri; Raman, Gurusamy; Sakthivel, Natarajan

    2015-07-01

    The synthesis of gold nanoparticles has gained tremendous attention owing to their immense applications in the field of biomedical sciences. Although several chemical procedures are used for the synthesis of nanoparticles, the release of toxic and hazardous by-products restricts their use in biomedical applications. In the present investigation, gold nanoparticles were synthesized biologically using the culture filtrate of the filamentous fungus Alternaria sp. The culture filtrate of the fungus was exposed to three different concentrations of chloroaurate ions. In all cases, the gold ions were reduced to Au(0), leading to the formation of stable gold nanoparticles of variable sizes and shapes. UV-Vis spectroscopy analysis confirmed the formation of nanoparticles by reduction of Au(3+) to Au(0). TEM analysis revealed the presence of spherical, rod, square, pentagonal, and hexagonal morphologies for 1 mM chloroaurate solution. However, quasi-spherical and spherical nanoparticles/heart-like morphologies with size range of about 7-13 and 15-18 nm were observed for lower molar concentrations of 0.3 and 0.5 mM gold chloride solution, respectively. The XRD spectrum revealed the face-centered cubic crystals of synthesized gold nanoparticles. FT-IR spectroscopy analysis confirmed the presence of aromatic primary amines, and the additional SPR bands at 290 and 230 nm further suggested that the presence of amino acids such as tryptophan/tyrosine or phenylalanine acts as the capping agent on the synthesized mycogenic gold nanoparticles.

  16. EFEITO DE EXTRATOS DE Allamanda blanchetti NO CONTROLE DE Alternaria brassicicola EM MUDAS DE COUVE-MANTEIGA

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    JULIANA DE SOUZA GRANJA BARROS

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the extract from a native plant from caatinga (Allamanda blanchetti in the control of the fungus Alternaria brassicicola, concerning to induction of resistance mechanisms in seedlings of kale and direct fungitoxic action. Under greenhouse conditions, the seedlings of kale were sprayed with extracts from A. blanchetti extracted at hot and at cold at concentrations of 0; 100; 500 to 1000 ppm. Analysis of disease severity were performed at 5; 6; 7; 8; 9:10 days after inoculation. Peroxidases were analyzed five times 0; 24; 72; 120, and 168 hours after spraying the seedlings with the extracts. Furthermore, the capacity of the hot and cold extracts was also evaluated at 0; 100; 500, and 1000 ppm to inhibit the germination of spores of A. brassicicola. The concentrations of 1000 ppm of the hot and cold extracts were more effective in controlling the disease. The extract of A. blanchetti induced an increase in the peroxidase activity at 24 hours after treatment application and promote inhibition of germination of spores of A. brassicicola. These results indicate the potential from A. blanchetti to control A. brassicicola, both by direct action and the activation of defense mechanisms.

  17. AMPK in Pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesquita, Inês; Moreira, Diana; Sampaio-Marques, Belém; Laforge, Mireille; Cordeiro-da-Silva, Anabela; Ludovico, Paula; Estaquier, Jérôme; Silvestre, Ricardo

    2016-01-01

    During host-pathogen interactions, a complex web of events is crucial for the outcome of infection. Pathogen recognition triggers powerful cellular signaling events that is translated into the induction and maintenance of innate and adaptive host immunity against infection. In opposition, pathogens employ active mechanisms to manipulate host cell regulatory pathways toward their proliferation and survival. Among these, subversion of host cell energy metabolism by pathogens is currently recognized to play an important role in microbial growth and persistence. Extensive studies have documented the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling, a central cellular hub involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis, in host-pathogen interactions. Here, we highlight the most recent advances detailing how pathogens hijack cellular metabolism by suppressing or increasing the activity of the host energy sensor AMPK. We also address the role of lower eukaryote AMPK orthologues in the adaptive process to the host microenvironment and their contribution for pathogen survival, differentiation, and growth. Finally, we review the effects of pharmacological or genetic AMPK modulation on pathogen growth and persistence.

  18. Efectos del agua ozonizada sobre microorganismos patógenos y alterantes de frutas y hortalizas

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    Laura Frisón

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available La demanda de productos mínimamente procesados es creciente. Su inocuidad es un tema que preocupa tanto a procesadores, como a agencias de regulación y a consumidores. Las industrias han tenido que buscar métodos más eficaces para evitar el deterioro por microorganismos y mejorar la vida útil. Se considera que una sanitización es segura si el sanitizante logra reducir 5 log (99,999 % eficiencia la concentración de bacterias y 4 log (99,99 % eficiencia la concentración de mohos. Se estudió el efecto del agua ozonizada sobre bacterias patógenas como Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas sp., Escherichia coli, Sthaphylococcus aureus y Salmonella sp. y sobre hongos fitopatógenos, micotoxigénicos y alterantes de frutas y hortalizas como Aspergillus niger, Penicillium digitatum, Alternaria alternata y Cladosporium cladosporioides.Se realizaron ensayos in vitro mediante el Test de Suspensión a 2 concentraciones de ozono en agua y 4 tiempos de exposición. Se logró determinar el siguiente orden descendente de resistencia en bacterias: B. cereus, Pseudomonas sp., E. coli, S. aureus y Salmonella sp. Se logró determinar el siguiente orden descendente de resistencia en mohos: A. niger, P. digitatum, A. alternata y C. cladosporioides. Se realizaron ensayos sobre hojas de lechuga, que contenían inoculadas las bacterias en estudio, con agua ozonizada ([2 ppm], por 5 minutos y sobre naranjas enteras, que contenían inoculadas conidios de los mohos en estudio, con agua ozonizada ([3 ppm], por 15 minutos. En ninguno de los ensayos se logró reducir más de 3 log la concentración de microorganismos. Teniendo en cuenta que las altas concentraciones de microorganismos inoculados en los ensayos (10E6 - 10E7 células/mL para bacterias y 10E5 - 10E6 conidios/mL para mohos no se encuentran normalmente en estos alimentos frescos, se puede inferir que el ozono podría utilizarse como sanitizante.

  19. Efectos del agua ozonizada sobre microorganismos patógenos y alterantes de frutas y hortalizas

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    Laura Frisón

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available La demanda de productos mínimamente procesados es creciente. Su inocuidad es un tema que preocupa tanto a procesadores, como a agencias de regulación y a consumidores. Las industrias han tenido que buscar métodos más eficaces para evitar el deterioro por microorganismos y mejorar la vida útil. Se considera que una sanitización es segura si el sanitizante logra reducir 5 log (99,999 % eficiencia la concentración de bacterias y 4 log (99,99 % eficiencia la concentración de mohos. Se estudió el efecto del agua ozonizada sobre bacterias patógenas como Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas sp., Escherichia coli, Sthaphylococcus aureus y Salmonella sp. y sobre hongos fitopatógenos, micotoxigénicos y alterantes de frutas y hortalizas como Aspergillus niger, Penicillium digitatum, Alternaria alternata y Cladosporium cladosporioides. Se realizaron ensayos in vitro mediante el Test de Suspensión a 2 concentraciones de ozono en agua y 4 tiempos de exposición. Se logró determinar el siguiente orden descendente de resistencia en bacterias: B. cereus, Pseudomonas sp., E. coli, S. aureus y Salmonella sp. Se logró determinar el siguiente orden descendente de resistencia en mohos:A. niger, P. digitatum, A. alternata y C. cladosporioides. Se realizaron ensayos sobre hojas de lechuga, que contenían inoculadas las bacterias en estudio, con agua ozonizada ([2 ppm], por 5 minutos y sobre naranjas enteras, que contenían inoculadas conidios de los mohos en estudio, con agua ozonizada ([3 ppm], por 15 minutos. En ninguno de los ensayos se logró reducir más de 3 log la concentración de microorganismos. Teniendo en cuenta que las altas concentraciones de microorganismos inoculados en los ensayos (106 - 107 células/mL para bacterias y 105 - 106 conidios/mL para mohos no se encuentran normalmente en estos alimentos frescos, se puede inferir que el ozono podría utilizarse como sanitizante.

  20. Pathogen inactivation techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelletier, J P R; Transue, S; Snyder, E L

    2006-01-01

    The desire to rid the blood supply of pathogens of all types has led to the development of many technologies aimed at the same goal--eradication of the pathogen(s) without harming the blood cells or generating toxic chemical agents. This is a very ambitious goal, and one that has yet to be achieved. One approach is to shun the 'one size fits all' concept and to target pathogen-reduction agents at the Individual component types. This permits the development of technologies that might be compatible with, for example, plasma products but that would be cytocidal and thus incompatible with platelet concentrates or red blood cell units. The technologies to be discussed include solvent detergent and methylene blue treatments--designed to inactivate plasma components and derivatives; psoralens (S-59--amotosalen) designed to pathogen-reduce units of platelets; and two products aimed at red blood cells, S-303 (a Frale--frangible anchor-linker effector compound) and Inactine (a binary ethyleneimine). A final pathogen-reduction material that might actually allow one material to inactivate all three blood components--riboflavin (vitamin B2)--is also under development. The sites of action of the amotosalen (S-59), the S-303 Frale, Inactine, and riboflavin are all localized in the nucleic acid part of the pathogen. Solvent detergent materials act by dissolving the plasma envelope, thus compromising the integrity of the pathogen membrane and rendering it non-infectious. By disrupting the pathogen's ability to replicate or survive, its infectivity is removed. The degree to which bacteria and viruses are affected by a particular pathogen-reducing technology relates to its Gram-positive or Gram-negative status, to the sporulation characteristics for bacteria, and the presence of lipid or protein envelopes for viruses. Concerns related to photoproducts and other breakdown products of these technologies remain, and the toxicology of pathogen-reduction treatments is a major ongoing area

  1. Wild Honey Inhibits Growth od Some Phytopathogenic Fungi in vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.I. Al-Mughrabi

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available Wild honey was diluted to 1000 ppm with sterile distilled water and tested in vitro for inhibition of the plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria solani, Stemphylium solani, Colletotrichum sp., and Phytophthora infestans. Wild honey was effective against all these fungi, particularly A. solani and P. infestans, the causal agents of early and late blight diseases respectively; also against R. solani and F. oxysporum, and to a less extent against S. solani and Colletotrichum sp. This is the first report on the inhibiting effect of wild honey against plant pathogenic fungi.

  2. AMPK in Pathogens

    OpenAIRE

    Mesquita, Inês Morais; Moreira, Diana; Marques, Belém Sampaio; Laforge, Mireille; Cordeiro-da-Silva, Anabela; Ludovico, Paula; Estaquier, Jérôme; Silvestre, Ricardo Jorge Leal

    2016-01-01

    During host–pathogen interactions, a complex web of events is crucial for the outcome of infection. Pathogen recognition triggers powerful cellular signaling events that is translated into the induction and maintenance of innate and adaptive host immunity against infection. In opposition, pathogens employ active mechanisms to manipulate host cell regulatory pathways toward their proliferation and survival. Among these, subversion of host cell energy metabolism by pathogens is currently recogn...

  3. Arginase activity in pathogenic and non-pathogenic species of Leishmania parasites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badirzadeh, Alireza; Taheri, Tahereh; Taslimi, Yasaman; Abdossamadi, Zahra; Heidari-Kharaji, Maryam; Gholami, Elham; Sedaghat, Baharehsadat; Niyyati, Maryam; Rafati, Sima

    2017-07-01

    Proliferation of Leishmania (L.) parasites depends on polyamine availability, which can be generated by the L-arginine catabolism and the enzymatic activity of arginase (ARG) of the parasites and of the mammalian hosts. In the present study, we characterized and compared the arginase (arg) genes from pathogenic L. major and L. tropica and from non-pathogenic L. tarentolae. We quantified the level of the ARG activity in promastigotes and macrophages infected with pathogenic L. major and L. tropica and non-pathogenic L. tarentolae amastigotes. The ARG's amino acid sequences of the pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leishmania demonstrated virtually 98.6% and 88% identities with the reference L. major Friedlin ARG. Higher ARG activity was observed in all pathogenic promastigotes as compared to non-pathogenic L. tarentolae. In vitro infection of human macrophage cell line (THP1) with pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leishmania spp. resulted in increased ARG activities in the infected macrophages. The ARG activities present in vivo were assessed in susceptible BALB/c and resistant C57BL/6 mice infected with L. major, L. tropica and L. tarentolae. We demonstrated that during the development of the infection, ARG is induced in both strains of mice infected with pathogenic Leishmania. However, in L. major infected BALB/c mice, the induction of ARG and parasite load increased simultaneously according to the time course of infection, whereas in C57BL/6 mice, the enzyme is upregulated solely during the period of footpad swelling. In L. tropica infected mice, the footpads' swellings were slow to develop and demonstrated minimal cutaneous pathology and ARG activity. In contrast, ARG activity was undetectable in mice inoculated with the non-pathogenic L. tarentolae. Our data suggest that infection by Leishmania parasites can increase ARG activity of the host and provides essential polyamines for parasite salvage and its replication. Moreover, the ARG of Leishmania is vital for parasite

  4. Altertoxins with potent anti-HIV activity from Alternaria tenuissima QUE1Se, a fungal endophyte of Quercus emoryi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashyal, Bharat P; Wellensiek, Brian P; Ramakrishnan, Rajesh; Faeth, Stanley H; Ahmad, Nafees; Gunatilaka, A A Leslie

    2014-11-01

    Screening of a small library of natural product extracts derived from endophytic fungi of the Sonoran desert plants in a cell-based anti-HIV assay involving T-cells infected with the HIV-1 virus identified the EtOAc extract of a fermentation broth of Alternaria tenuissima QUE1Se inhabiting the stem tissue of Quercus emoryi as a promising candidate for further investigation. Bioactivity-guided fractionation of this extract led to the isolation and identification of two new metabolites, altertoxins V (1) and VI (2) together with the known compounds, altertoxins I (3), II (4), and III (5). The structures of 1 and 2 were determined by detailed spectroscopic analysis and those of 3-5 were established by comparison with reported data. When tested in our cell-based assay at concentrations insignificantly toxic to T-cells, altertoxins V (1), I (3), II (4), and III (5) completely inhibited replication of the HIV-1 virus at concentrations of 0.50, 2.20, 0.30, and 1.50 μM, respectively. Our findings suggest that the epoxyperylene structural scaffold in altertoxins may be manipulated to produce potent anti-HIV therapeutics. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Pathogenic Fungi Transmitted Through Cucumber Seeds and Safely Elimination by Application of Peppermint Extract and Oil

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    Eman S.H. FARRAG

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Diseases induced by Fusarium, like damping-off and wilt on cucumber, are serious problems around the world. Samples of cucumber seeds were collected from commercial markets in Egypt and tested for seed-borne fungi. In order to detect the maximum number of internal and external seed-borne fungi, agar plate examination of disinfected and non-disinfected seeds were used. Two species of Fusarium were the most frequent and predominant fungi. Facultative parasites of the genera Alternaria, Rhizoctonia, Helminthosporium and Penicillium were also found. A total 33 isolates of Fusarium spp. were obtained using Komadas selective medium. Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani were highly frequent. Pathogenicity test indicated that, F. oxysporum isolate (Fem8 was the main causal organism of pre- and post-emergence damping off. Furthermore, it occurred in all seed parts tested. Some infected seeds germinate, but they were either rapidly overgrown by F. oxysporum or they developed into a diseased seedling. The water extract of garlic, peppermint and rheum completely inhibited the conidiospore germination and mycelial growth of F. oxysporum at tested conc. 3, 2 and 3%, respectively. Soaked seeds in 2% peppermint extract and evaporated seeds by vapor of peppermint oil caused a highly reduction in the infection and reduced transmission of the referred fungi from seeds to the growing seedlings. The vigor of cucumber seedlings raised from the treated seeds was better than that developed from untreated ones.

  6. Pathogenic Fungi Transmitted Through Cucumber Seeds and Safely Elimination by Application of Peppermint Extract and Oil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eman S.H. FARRAG

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Diseases induced by Fusarium, like damping-off and wilt on cucumber, are serious problems around the world. Samples of cucumber seeds were collected from commercial markets in Egypt and tested for seed-borne fungi. In order to detect the maximum number of internal and external seed-borne fungi, agar plate examination of disinfected and non-disinfected seeds were used. Two species of Fusarium were the most frequent and predominant fungi. Facultative parasites of the genera Alternaria, Rhizoctonia, Helminthosporium and Penicillium were also found. A total 33 isolates of Fusarium spp. were obtained using Komada�s selective medium. Fusarium oxysporum and F. solani were highly frequent. Pathogenicity test indicated that, F. oxysporum isolate (Fem8 was the main causal organism of pre- and post-emergence damping off. Furthermore, it occurred in all seed parts tested. Some infected seeds germinate, but they were either rapidly overgrown by F. oxysporum or they developed into a diseased seedling. The water extract of garlic, peppermint and rheum completely inhibited the conidiospore germination and mycelial growth of F. oxysporum at tested conc. 3, 2 and 3%, respectively. Soaked seeds in 2% peppermint extract and evaporated seeds by vapor of peppermint oil caused a highly reduction in the infection and reduced transmission of the referred fungi from seeds to the growing seedlings. The vigor of cucumber seedlings raised from the treated seeds was better than that developed from untreated ones.

  7. Microbial rRNA sequencing analysis of evaporative cooler indoor environments located in the Great Basin Desert region of the United States†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemons, Angela R.; Hogan, Mary Beth; Gault, Ruth A.; Holland, Kathleen; Sobek, Edward; Olsen-Wilson, Kimberly A.; Park, Yeonmi; Park, Ju-Hyeong; Gu, Ja Kook; Kashon, Michael L.; Green, Brett J.

    2017-01-01

    Recent studies conducted in the Great Basin Desert region of the United States have shown that skin test reactivity to fungal and dust mite allergens are increased in children with asthma or allergy living in homes with evaporative coolers (EC). The objective of this study was to determine if the increased humidity previously reported in EC homes leads to varying microbial populations compared to homes with air conditioners (AC). Children with physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis living in EC or AC environments were recruited into the study. Air samples were collected from the child's bedroom for genomic DNA extraction and metagenomic analysis of bacteria and fungi using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. The analysis of bacterial populations revealed no major differences between EC and AC sampling environments. The fungal populations observed in EC homes differed from AC homes. The most prevalent species discovered in AC environments belonged to the genera Cryptococcus (20%) and Aspergillus (20%). In contrast, the most common fungi identified in EC homes belonged to the order Pleosporales and included Alternaria alternata (32%) and Phoma spp. (22%). The variations in fungal populations provide preliminary evidence of the microbial burden children may be exposed to within EC environments in this region. PMID:28091681

  8. Variation in the Microbiome, Trichothecenes, and Aflatoxins in Stored Wheat Grains in Wuhan, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qing-Song Yuan

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Contamination by fungal and bacterial species and their metabolites can affect grain quality and health of wheat consumers. In this study, sequence analyses of conserved DNA regions of fungi and bacteria combined with determination of trichothecenes and aflatoxins revealed the microbiome and mycotoxins of wheat from different silo positions (top, middle, and bottom and storage times (3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The fungal community in wheat on the first day of storage (T0 included 105 classified species (81 genera and 41 unclassified species. Four species had over 10% of the relative abundance: Alternaria alternata (12%, Filobasidium floriforme (27%, Fusarium graminearum (12%, and Wallemia sebi (12%. Fungal diversity and relative abundance of Fusarium in wheat from top silo positions were significantly lower than at other silo positions during storage. Nivalenol and deoxynivalenol in wheat were 13–34% higher in all positions at 3 months compared to T0, and mycotoxins in wheat from middle and bottom positions at 6 to 12 months were 24–57% higher than at T0. The relative abundance of toxigenic Aspergillus and aflatoxins were low at T0 and during storage. This study provides information on implementation and design of fungus and mycotoxin management strategies as well as prediction models.

  9. Fungal contaminants in man-made water systems connected to municipal water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadaifciler, Duygu Göksay; Demirel, Rasime

    2018-04-01

    Water-related fungi are known to cause taste and odor problems, as well as negative health effects, and can lead to water-pipeline clogging. There is no legal regulation on the occurrence of fungi in water environments. However, much research has been performed, but further studies are needed. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the fungal load and the presence of mycotoxigenic fungi in man-made water systems (for homes, hospitals, and shopping centers) connected to municipal water in Istanbul, Turkey. The mean fungal concentrations found in the different water samples were 98 colony-forming units (CFU)/100 mL in shopping centers, 51 CFU/100 mL in hospitals, and 23 CFU/100 mL in homes. The dominant fungal species were identified as Aureobasidium pullulans and Fusarium oxysporum. Aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus and ochratoxigenic Aspergillus westerdijkiae were only detected in the hospital water samples. Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus clavatus, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Cladosporium cladosporioides were also detected in the samples. The study reveals that the municipal water supplies, available for different purposes, could thus contain mycotoxigenic fungi. It was concluded that current disinfection procedures may be insufficient, and the presence of the above-mentioned fungi is important for people with suppressed immune systems.

  10. Evaluation of Antifungal Efficacy of 0.1% and 0.25% Riboflavin with UVA: A Comparative In Vitro Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilgihan, Kamil; Kalkanci, Ayse; Ozdemir, Huseyin Baran; Yazar, Reyhan; Karakurt, Funda; Yuksel, Erdem; Otag, Feza; Karabicak, Nilgun; Arikan-Akdagli, Sevtap

    2016-08-01

    Antifungal efficacy of photochemical cross-linking (PACK-CXL) with 0.1% and 0.25% riboflavin was evaluated with a comparative in vitro study. Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC reference strains, Candida parapsilosis, Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium solani, Scedosporium apiospermum, and Alternaria alternata strains isolated from keratitis cases were chosen as targeted microorganisms. Unique "black plate method" was developed in polystyrene microplates. Riboflavin suspensions in 0.1% and 0.25% were separately added into inoculated wells. Non-inoculated wells were filled by black colored dye in order to protect treated wells from reflection of UV treatment. After ultraviolet A (UVA) treatment, each well was evaluated by microbiological culture in order to count viable fungal colonies. Fungal killing rate was calculated by comparing fungal counts (CFU/mL) before and after UVA application of riboflavin-added wells. Four different fungal inoculum concentrations of targeted microorganisms, including 10 4 , 10 3 , 10 2 , and 10 1 CFU/mL, were assayed. PACK-CXL with 0.25% riboflavin was found to be highly effective on fungal cells even in 10 4 CFU/mL of concentration. PACK-CXL appears as a promising treatment option for difficult-to-treat cases of fungal keratitis and 0.25% riboflavin concentration increases fungicidal effect of the procedure dramatically.

  11. Keratinophilic fungi and other moulds associated with air-dust particles from Egypt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdel-Hafez, S I; Moubasher, A H; Barakat, A

    1990-01-01

    One-hundred and eleven species and three species varieties belonging to 39 genera were collected from 50 dust samples on the five media used at 28 degrees C. Using the hair-baiting technique with horse hair, 10 species of Chrysosporium were isolated: C. asperatum, C. state of Arthroderma tuberculatum, C. indicum, C. inops, C. keratinophilum, C. merdarium, C. pannorum, C. queenslandicum, C. tropicum and C. xerophilum. True dermatophytes were isolated: Trichophyton verrucosum and Trichophyton sp. Also, numerous fungi tolerating high levels of cycloheximide were encountered, such as members of Acremonium, Aspergillus and Penicillium. On plates of glucose or cellulose Czapek-Dox agar (free from sucrose) the most frequent fungi were: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus flavus, A. flavus var. columnaris, A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. ochraceus, A. sydowii, A. terreus, Chaetomium globosum, Cladosporium herbarum, Emericella nidulans, Fusarium oxysporum, Mucor hiemalis, Penicillium chrysogenum, P. oxalicum, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis and Ulocladium atrum. On plates of 50% sucrose or 10 and 20% NaCl-Czapek's agar, some interesting species were frequently encountered: Eurotium amstelodami, E. chevalieri, E. halophilicum, E. montevidensis, E. repens, E. rubrum and Scopulariopsis halophilica. The isolated fungi have been tested for osmophilicity and halophilicity, they showed different rates of growth on sucrose and sodium chloride-Czapek's medium of various osmotic potential.

  12. Application of ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy to Compare the Cell Materials of Wood Decay Fungi with Wood Mould Fungi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barun Shankar Gupta

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Wood fungi create vast damage among standing trees and all types of wood materials. The objectives of this study are to (a characterize the cell materials of two major wood decay fungi (Basidiomycota, namely, Trametes versicolor and Postia placenta, and (b compare the cell materials of decay fungi with four wood mould fungi (Ascomycota, namely, Aureobasidium pullulans, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium cladosporioides, and Ulocladium atrum. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR spectroscopy is used to characterize the microbial cellular materials. The results showed that the IR bands for the fatty acid at ∼2900 cm−1 were different for the two-decay-fungi genre. Postia placenta shows more absorbance peaks at the fatty acid region. Band ratio indices for amide I and amide II from protein amino acids were higher for the mould fungi (Ascomycota than the decay fungi (Basidiomycota. Similarly, the band ratio index calculated for the protein end methyl group was found to be higher for the mould fungi than the decay fungi. Mould fungi along with the decay fungi demonstrated a positive correlation (R2=0.75 between amide I and amide II indices. The three-component multivariate, principal component analysis showed a strong correlation of amide and protein band indices.

  13. The role of fungal sensitisation in clinical presentation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Kshitij; Gaur, Shailendra Nath; Chowdhary, Anuradha

    2015-09-01

    Atopic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) demonstrate more severe symptoms than their non-atopic counterparts. Also, Aspergillus hypersensitivity is known in COPD. However, allergic sensitisation to non-Aspergillus fungi has never been studied in COPD patients. To evaluate the prevalence of fungal sensitisation and its impact on the clinical presentation and outcome of COPD patients. Sensitisation to 17 fungi was studied in 55 COPD patients through skin prick tests, fungus-specific IgE, precipitating antibodies, total IgE and eosinophil counts. The clinical symptoms of patients were monitored thorough a patient-administered questionnaire. Overall, 5.4% (n = 3) of COPD patients were fungus sensitive. The sensitisation was noted to Alternaria alternata and Schizophyllum commune in two patients each, whereas another was sensitive to A. tamarii, Rhizopus spp. and Aspergillus fumigatus. Eosinophils were higher in fungus-sensitised patients (P = 0.001 vs. 0.003). No differences were noted in the clinical presentation of patients sensitised to fungi compared to those not sensitised to fungi or non-atopic. Although low, fungal sensitisation occurs in COPD but it is not limited to Aspergilli alone. Fungus-sensitised patients exhibit greater eosinophilia, implying more severe inflammation. Thus, such patients should be followed up regularly to recognise clinical worsening or development of ABPM. © 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  14. Qualidade físico-química, microbiológica e ocorrência de micotoxinas de Alternaria alternata em derivados de tomate

    OpenAIRE

    Santos, Grazielle Gebrim

    2014-01-01

    O tomate industrial destina-se à produção de derivados, como extratos, polpas, molhos e conservas de tomate sem pele. A indústria de processamento de tomates no Brasil apresentou um grande crescimento a partir da década de 1970. O Brasil figura entre os dez maiores produtores de tomate industrial do mundo. A cultura do tomate é afetada por um grande número de doenças causadas por fungos e bactérias. Entre os fungos produtores de toxinas que acometem os tomates industriais destacam-se os do gê...

  15. Pathogenic microorganisms of medicinal herbal drugs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stević Tatjana

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available All the parts of plants (root, leaf, flower naturally have a high level of microorganisms, bacteria and fungi, especially molds. Microbial contamination could be a result of inappropriate harvesting, cleaning of the raw plant material, unhygienic processing of the plants, unsuitable transport and storage. After examination of over 40 dried medicinal plant species, the lowest microbial quality was determined for Maydis stigma, Mentha leaf and herb, Equisetum herb, Calendula flower, Urtica leaf, Melissa leaf, Serpylli herb, Chamomilla flower etc. Although mixed infections are recorded with different types of fungus, Fusarium was observed as the most dominant genus in most of the tested drugs, followed by Aspergillus and Alternaria. In addition to these fungi species from the following genera were identified: Phoma, Cephalosporium, Nigrospora, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, Gliocladium, Myrothecium, Cercospora, Phomopsis, Verticillium, Dreschlera (=Bipolaris, Rhizoctonia, Septoria, Trichoderma, Curvularia, Stachybotrys, Trichothecium, Puccinia, Botrytis, Mucor and Rhizopus sp., depending on plant species.

  16. Functional role of an endophytic Bacillus amyloliquefaciens in enhancing growth and disease protection of invasive English ivy (Hedera helix L.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Marcos Antonio; Li, Jai-Yan; Bergen, Marshall; da Silva, Joaquim Manoel; Kowalski, Kurt P.; White, James Francis

    2015-01-01

    BackgroundWe hypothesize that invasive English ivy (Hedera helix) harbors endophytic microbes that promote plant growth and survival. To evaluate this hypothesis, we examined endophytic bacteria in English ivy and evaluated effects on the host plant.MethodsEndophytic bacteria were isolated from multiple populations of English ivy in New Brunswick, NJ. Bacteria were identified as a single species Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. One strain of B. amyloliquefaciens, strain C6c, was characterized for indoleacetic acid (IAA) production, secretion of hydrolytic enzymes, phosphate solubilization, and antibiosis against pathogens. PCR was used to amplify lipopeptide genes and their secretion into culture media was detected by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Capability to promote growth of English ivy was evaluated in greenhouse experiments. The capacity of C6c to protect plants from disease was evaluated by exposing B+ (bacterium inoculated) and B− (non-inoculated) plants to the necrotrophic pathogen Alternaria tenuissima.ResultsB. amyloliquefaciens C6c systemically colonized leaves, petioles, and seeds of English ivy. C6c synthesized IAA and inhibited plant pathogens. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis revealed secretion of antifungal lipopeptides surfactin, iturin, bacillomycin, and fengycin. C6c promoted the growth of English ivy in low and high soil nitrogen conditions. This endophytic bacterium efficiently controlled disease caused by Alternaria tenuissima.ConclusionsThis study suggests that B. amyloliquefaciens plays an important role in enhancing growth and disease protection of English ivy.

  17. Contribuição ao estudo das atividades antifúngica e elicitora de fitoalexinas em sorgo e soja por eucalipto (Eucalyptus citriodora Contribution for the study of antifungal and phytoalexins elicitors in sorghum and soybean activities by eucalyptus (Eucalyptus citriodora

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Solange Maria Bonaldo

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Compostos secundários presentes em plantas medicinais desempenham funções importantes em interações planta-patógeno, por ação antimicrobiana direta ou induzindo a síntese de mecanismos de defesa em outras plantas. Para verificar o efeito fungitóxico do eucalipto sobre o crescimento micelial de Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotium rolfsii, Phytophthora sp, Alternaria alternata e Colletotrichum sublineolum, o extrato bruto (EB foi incorporado ao BDA e o óleo essencial (OE foi distribuído na superfície do meio com alça de Drigalski. A germinação de esporos de C. sublineolum também foi avaliada na presença de diferentes alíquotas de OE. Para verificar a indução de fitoalexinas, mesocótilos de sorgo foram aspergidos com EB a 20% ou então, mergulhados em suspensões do OE. Para a indução de gliceolina, 20 µL do EB foram colocados em cotilédones de soja. A presença de compostos fungitóxicos no OE e EB através da cromatografia de camada delgada também foi avaliada. Os resultados evidenciaram inibição do crescimento micelial dos fungos para concentrações do EB acima de 20%. Todas as alíquotas do óleo inibiram o crescimento micelial dos fungos testados, com exceção de R. solani cuja inibição ocorreu para alíquotas acima de 20µL. Houve inibição de 100% na germinação dos conídios para todas as alíquotas do OE testadas na primeira metodologia, porém, na segunda metodologia o OE não promoveu inibição da germinação de esporos. Entretanto, foram observadas alterações na morfologia dos tubos germinativos e inibição da formação de apressórios. Observou-se a presença de apenas uma fração fungitóxica no OE, e o EB não apresentou frações fungitóxicas. Houve a produção de fitoalexinas apenas em mesocótilos de sorgo tratados com o EB.Secondary compounds found in medicinal plants play important role in plant-pathogen interactions by having direct antimicrobian effect on them or inducing the defense

  18. Transgenic Brassica juncea plants expressing MsrA1, a synthetic cationic antimicrobial peptide, exhibit resistance to fungal phytopathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rustagi, Anjana; Kumar, Deepak; Shekhar, Shashi; Yusuf, Mohd Aslam; Misra, Santosh; Sarin, Neera Bhalla

    2014-06-01

    Cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAPs) have shown potential against broad spectrum of phytopathogens. Synthetic versions with desirable properties have been modeled on these natural peptides. MsrA1 is a synthetic chimera of cecropin A and melittin CAPs with antimicrobial properties. We generated transgenic Brassica juncea plants expressing the msrA1 gene aimed at conferring fungal resistance. Five independent transgenic lines were evaluated for resistance to Alternaria brassicae and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, two of the most devastating pathogens of B. juncea crops. In vitro assays showed inhibition by MsrA1 of Alternaria hyphae growth by 44-62 %. As assessed by the number and size of lesions and time taken for complete leaf necrosis, the Alternaria infection was delayed and restricted in the transgenic plants with the protection varying from 69 to 85 % in different transgenic lines. In case of S. sclerotiorum infection, the lesions were more severe and spread profusely in untransformed control compared with transgenic plants. The sclerotia formed in the stem of untransformed control plants were significantly more in number and larger in size than those present in the transgenic plants where disease protection of 56-71.5 % was obtained. We discuss the potential of engineering broad spectrum biotic stress tolerance by transgenic expression of CAPs in crop plants.

  19. A novel approach for differentiating pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leptospira based on molecular fingerprinting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Di; Zhang, Cuicai; Zhang, Huifang; Li, Xiuwen; Jiang, Xiugao; Zhang, Jianzhong

    2015-04-24

    Leptospirosis is a worldwide, deadly zoonotic disease. Pathogenic Leptospira causes leptospirosis. The rapid and accurate identification of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leptospira strains is essential for appropriate therapeutic management and timely intervention for infection control. The molecular fingerprint is a simple and rapid alternative tool for microorganisms identification, which is based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). In this study, molecular fingerprint was performed to identify pathogenic strains of Leptospira. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences was used as the reference method. In addition, a label-free technique was used to reveal the different proteins of pathogenic or non-pathogenic Leptospira. A reference database was constructed using 30 Leptospira strains, including 16 pathogenic strains and 14 non-pathogenic strains. Two super reference spectra that were associated with pathogenicity were established. Overall, 33 Leptospira strains were used for validation, and 32 of 33 Leptospira strains could be identified on the species level and all the 33 could be classified as pathogenic or non-pathogenic. The super reference spectra and the major spectra projection (MSP) dendrogram correctly categorized the Leptospira strains into pathogenic and non-pathogenic groups, which was consistent with the 16S rRNA reference methods. Between the pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains, 108 proteins were differentially expressed. molecular fingerprint is an alternative to conventional molecular identification and can rapidly distinguish between pathogenic and non-pathogenic Leptospira strains. Therefore, molecular fingerprint may play an important role in the clinical diagnosis, treatment, surveillance, and tracking of epidemic outbreaks of leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonosis that is caused by spirochetes of the genus Leptospira. Leptospirosis is a serious zoonotic

  20. Antimicrobial Activity of Extracts from Leaves, Stems and Flowers of Euphorbia macroclada against plant pathogenic fungi

    OpenAIRE

    K. Al-Mughrabi

    2003-01-01

    Extracts drawn from dried and powdered flowers, stems and leaves of Euphorbia macroclada with some organic solvents were tested for antimicrobial effect against the fungi Verticillium dahliae, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizopus stolonifer, Penicillium italicum, Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria solani, Stemphylium solani, Cladosporium sp., Mucor sp., and Pythium sp. The strongest inhibitory effect of the extracts was observed against R. solani, V. dahliae, F. oxysporum, Pythium sp. and R. ...

  1. The phytoalexin camalexin induces fundamental changes in the proteome of Alternaria brassicicola different from those caused by brassinin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedras, M Soledade C; Minic, Zoran; Abdoli, Abbas

    2014-01-01

    Camalexin is the major phytoalexin produced by Alternaria thaliana, but is absent in Brassica species that usually produce phytoalexin blends containing brassinin and derivatives. The protein profiles of A. brassicicola treated with camalexin were evaluated using proteomics and metabolic analyses and compared with those treated with brassinin. Conidial germination and mycelial growth of A. brassicicola in liquid media amended with camalexin and brassinin showed that fungal growth was substantially slower in presence of camalexin than brassinin; chemical analyses revealed that A. brassicicola detoxified camalexin at much slower rate than brassinin. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) followed by tryptic digestion and capillary liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric analyses identified 158 different proteins, of which 45 were up-regulated and 113 were down-regulated relative to controls. Venn diagram analyses of differentially expressed proteins in cultures of A. brassicicola incubated with camalexin and brassinin indicated clear differences in the effect of each phytoalexin, with camalexin causing down-regulation of a larger number of proteins than brassinin. Overall, results of this work suggest that each phytoalexin has several different targets in the cells of A. brassicicola, and that camalexin appears to have greater potential to protect cultivated Brassica species against A. brassicicola than brassinin. Copyright © 2013 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Wild Honey Inhibits Growth od Some Phytopathogenic Fungi in vitro

    OpenAIRE

    K.I. Al-Mughrabi

    2003-01-01

    Wild honey was diluted to 1000 ppm with sterile distilled water and tested in vitro for inhibition of the plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Alternaria solani, Stemphylium solani, Colletotrichum sp., and Phytophthora infestans. Wild honey was effective against all these fungi, particularly A. solani and P. infestans, the causal agents of early and late blight diseases respectively; also against R. solani and F. oxysporum, and to a less extent against S....

  3. Processes for managing pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godfree, Alan; Farrell, Joseph

    2005-01-01

    Wastewater contains human, animal, and plant pathogens capable of causing viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections. There are several routes whereby sewage pathogens may affect human health, including direct contact, contamination of food crops, zoonoses, and vectors. The range and numbers of pathogens in municipal wastewater vary with the level of endemic disease in the community, discharges from commercial activities, and seasonal factors. Regulations to control pathogen risk in the United States and Europe arising from land application of biosolids are based on the concept of multiple barriers to the prevention of transmission. The barriers are (i) treatment to reduce pathogen content and vector attraction, (ii) restrictions on crops grown on land to which biosolids have been applied, and (iii) minimum intervals following application and grazing or harvesting. Wastewater treatment reduces number of pathogens in the wastewater by concentrating them with the solids in the sludge. Although some treatment processes are designed specifically to inactivate pathogens, many are not, and the actual mechanisms of microbial inactivation are not fully understood for all processes. Vector attraction is reduced by stabilization (reduction of readily biodegradable material) and/or incorporation immediately following application. Concerns about health risks have renewed interest in the effects of treatment (on pathogens) and advanced treatment methods, and work performed in the United States suggests that Class A pathogen reduction can be achieved less expensively than previously thought. Effective pathogen risk management requires control to the complete chain of sludge treatment, biosolids handling and application, and post-application activities. This may be achieved by adherence to quality management systems based on hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) principles.

  4. The Epl1 and Sm1 proteins from Trichoderma atroviride and Trichoderma virens differentially modulate systemic disease resistance against different life style pathogens in Solanum lycopersicum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Angel eSalas-Marina

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Fungi belonging to the genus Trichoderma, commonly found in soil or colonizing plant roots, exert beneficial effects on plants, including the promotion of growth and the induction of resistance to disease. T. virens and T. atroviride secrete the proteins Sm1 and Epl1, respectively, which elicit local and systemic disease resistance in plants. In this work, we show that these fungi promote growth in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum plants. T. virens was more effective than T. atroviride in promoting biomass gain, and both fungi were capable of inducing systemic protection in tomato against Alternaria solani, Botrytis cinerea, and Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst DC3000. Deletion (KO of epl1 in T. atroviride resulted in diminished systemic protection against A. solani and B. cinerea, whereas the T. virens sm1 KO strain was less effective in protecting tomato against Pst DC3000 and B. cinerea. Importantly, over-expression (OE of epl1 and sm1 led to an increase in disease resistance against all tested pathogens. Although the Trichoderma WT strains induced both systemic acquired resistance (SAR- and induced systemic resistance (ISR-related genes in tomato, inoculation of plants with OE and KO strains revealed that Epl1 and Sm1 play a minor role in the induction of these genes. However, we found that Epl1 and Sm1 induce the expression of a peroxidase and an α-dioxygenase encoding genes, respectively, which could be important for tomato protection by Trichoderma spp. Altogether, these observations indicate that colonization by beneficial and/or infection by pathogenic microorganisms dictates many of the outcomes in plants, which are more complex than previously thought.

  5. Immune Evasion Strategies of Pathogens in Macrophages: the Potential for Limiting Pathogen Transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Yuwei; Khan, Faheem Ahmed; Pandupuspitasari, Nuruliarizki Shinta; Zhang, Shujun

    2017-01-01

    Preventing pathogen transmission to a new host is of major interest to the immunologist and could benefit from a detailed investigation of pathogen immune evasion strategies. The first line of defense against pathogen invasion is provided by macrophages. When they sense pathogens, macrophages initiate signals to inflammatory and pro-inflammatory cytokines through pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) subsequently mediating phagocytosis and inflammation. The macrophage immune machinery classically includes two subsets: the activated M1 and the activated M2 that respond accordingly in diverse immune challenges. The lipid and glycogen metabolic pathways work together with the lysosome to help the mature phagosome to degrade and eliminate intracellular pathogens in macrophages. The viral evasion strategies are even more complex due to the interplay between autophagy and apoptosis. However, pathogens evolve several strategies to camouflage themselves against immune responses in order to ensure their survival, replication and transmission. These strategies include the muting of PRRs initiated inflammatory responses, attenuation of M1 and/or induction of M2 macrophages, suppression of autophago-lysosomal formation, interference with lipid and glycogen metabolism, and viral mediation of autophagy and apoptosis cross-talk to enhance viral replication. This review focuses on pathogen immune evasion methods and on the strategies used by the host against camouflaged pathogens.

  6. Diversity and antifungal activity of the endophytic fungi associated with the native medicinal cactus Opuntia humifusa (Cactaceae) from the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva-Hughes, Alice F; Wedge, David E; Cantrell, Charles L; Carvalho, Camila R; Pan, Zhiqiang; Moraes, Rita M; Madoxx, Victor L; Rosa, Luiz H

    2015-06-01

    The endophytic fungal community associated with the native cactus Opuntia humifusa in the United States was investigated and its potential for providing antifungal compounds. A hundred-eight endophytic fungal isolates were obtained and identified by molecular methods into 17 different taxa of the genera Alternaria, Aureobasidium, Biscogniauxia, Cladosporium, Cryptococcus, Curvularia, Diaporthe, Epicoccum, Paraconiothyrium, Pestalotiopsis and Phoma. The most frequent species associated with O. humifusa were Alternaria sp. 3, Aureobasidium pullulans and Diaporthe sp. The fungal community of O. humifusa had a high richness and diversity; additionally, the species richness obtained indicates that the sample effort was enough to recover the diversity pattern obtained. Six extracts of endophytes showed antifungal properties and (1)H NMR analyses of the extracts of Alternaria sp. 5 Ohu 8B2, Alternaria sp. 3 Ohu 30A, Cladosporium funiculosum Ohu 17C1 and Paraconiothyrium sp. Ohu 17A indicated the presence of functional groups associated with unsaturated fatty-acid olefinic protons and fatty acid methylene and methyl protons. GC-FID analysis of these extracts confirmed the presence of a mixture of different fatty acids. The (1)H NMR analyses of Biscogniauxia mediterranea Ohu 19B extracts showed the presence of aromatic compounds. From the extract of B. mediterranea we isolated the compound 5-methylmellein that displayed moderate antifungal activity against the phytopathogenic fungi Phomopsis obscurans. Our results suggest that native medicinal cacti of the United States can live symbiotically with rich and diverse endophytic communities and may be a source of bioactive molecules, including those able to inhibit or control plant disease pathogens. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  7. Antifungal Activity of Bacillus coagulans TQ33, Isolated from Skimmed Milk Powder, against Botrytis cinerea

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    Rui Feng Xiao

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Bacillus coagulans TQ33 is isolated from the skimmed milk powder and has a broad antifungal activity against pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria solani, Phytophthora drechsleri Tucker, Fusarium oxysporum and Glomerella cingulata. The characteristics of active antifungal substances produced by B. coagulans TQ33 and its antifungal effects against the growth of plant pathogenic fungi has been evaluated. The effect of pH, temperature and protease on the antifungal activity of B. coagulans TQ33 was determined. The results of partial characterization of the antifungal compound indicated that its activity is likely to be due to the production of a proteinaceous substance together with other substances. The greenhouse trials suggest that B. coagulans TQ33 has a great potential for the control of plant pathogenic fungi.

  8. Comparative genome analysis of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Clavibacter strains reveals adaptations to their lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Załuga, Joanna; Stragier, Pieter; Baeyen, Steve; Haegeman, Annelies; Van Vaerenbergh, Johan; Maes, Martine; De Vos, Paul

    2014-05-22

    The genus Clavibacter harbors economically important plant pathogens infecting agricultural crops such as potato and tomato. Although the vast majority of Clavibacter strains are pathogenic, there is an increasing number of non-pathogenic isolates reported. Non-pathogenic Clavibacter strains isolated from tomato seeds are particularly problematic because they affect the current detection and identification tests for Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm), which is regulated with a zero tolerance in tomato seed. Their misidentification as pathogenic Cmm hampers a clear judgment on the seed quality and health. To get more insight in the genetic features linked to the lifestyle of these bacteria, a whole-genome sequence of the tomato seed-borne non-pathogenic Clavibacter LMG 26808 was determined. To gain a better understanding of the molecular determinants of pathogenicity, the genome sequence of LMG 26808 was compared with that of the pathogenic Cmm strain (NCPPB 382). The comparative analysis revealed that LMG 26808 does not contain plasmids pCM1 and pCM2 and also lacks the majority of important virulence factors described so far for pathogenic Cmm. This explains its apparent non-pathogenic nature in tomato plants. Moreover, the genome analysis of LMG 26808 detected sequences from a plasmid originating from a member of Enterobacteriaceae/Klebsiella relative. Genes received that way and coding for antibiotic resistance may provide a competitive advantage for survival of LMG 26808 in its ecological niche. Genetically, LMG 26808 was the most similar to the pathogenic Cmm NCPPB 382 but contained more mobile genetic elements. The genome of this non-pathogenic Clavibacter strain contained also a high number of transporters and regulatory genes. The genome sequence of the non-pathogenic Clavibacter strain LMG 26808 and the comparative analyses with other pathogenic Clavibacter strains provided a better understanding of the genetic bases of virulence and

  9. Pathogen intelligence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael eSteinert

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Different species inhabit different sensory worlds and thus have evolved diverse means of processing information, learning and memory. In the escalated arms race with host defense, each pathogenic bacterium not only has evolved its individual cellular sensing and behaviour, but also collective sensing, interbacterial communication, distributed information processing, joint decision making, dissociative behaviour, and the phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity necessary for epidemiologic success. Moreover, pathogenic populations take advantage of dormancy strategies and rapid evolutionary speed, which allow them to save co-generated intelligent traits in a collective genomic memory. This review discusses how these mechanisms add further levels of complexity to bacterial pathogenicity and transmission, and how mining for these mechanisms could help to develop new anti-infective strategies.

  10. Phylogeographic Diversity of Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic Hantaviruses in Slovenia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korva, Miša; Knap, Nataša; Resman Rus, Katarina; Fajs, Luka; Grubelnik, Gašper; Bremec, Matejka; Knapič, Tea; Trilar, Tomi; Avšič Županc, Tatjana

    2013-01-01

    Slovenia is a very diverse country from a natural geography point of view, with many different habitats within a relatively small area, in addition to major geological and climatic differences. It is therefore not surprising that several small mammal species have been confirmed to harbour hantaviruses: A. flavicollis (Dobrava virus), A. agrarius (Dobrava virus–Kurkino), M. glareolus (Puumala virus), S. areanus (Seewis virus), M. agrestis, M. arvalis and M. subterraneus (Tula virus). Three of the viruses, namely the Dobrava, Dobrava–Kurkino and Puumala viruses, cause disease in humans, with significant differences in the severity of symptoms. Due to changes in haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome cases (HFRS) epidemiology, a detailed study on phylogenetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of pathogenic and non-pathogenic hantaviruses circulating in ecologically diverse endemic regions was performed. The study presents one of the largest collections of hantavirus L, M and S sequences obtained from hosts and patients within a single country. Several genetic lineages were determined for each hantavirus species, with higher diversity among non-pathogenic compared to pathogenic viruses. For pathogenic hantaviruses, a significant geographic clustering of human- and rodent-derived sequences was confirmed. Several geographic and ecological factors were recognized as influencing and limiting the formation of endemic areas. PMID:24335778

  11. Overexpression of Differentially Expressed Genes Identified in Non-pathogenic and Pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica Clones Allow Identification of New Pathogenicity Factors Involved in Amoebic Liver Abscess Formation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Meyer

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available We here compared pathogenic (p and non-pathogenic (np isolates of Entamoeba histolytica to identify molecules involved in the ability of this parasite to induce amoebic liver abscess (ALA-like lesions in two rodent models for the disease. We performed a comprehensive analysis of 12 clones (A1-A12 derived from a non-pathogenic isolate HM-1:IMSS-A and 12 clones (B1-B12 derived from a pathogenic isolate HM-1:IMSS-B. "Non-pathogenicity" included the induction of small and quickly resolved lesions while "pathogenicity" comprised larger abscess development that overstayed day 7 post infection. All A-clones were designated as non-pathogenic, whereas 4 out of 12 B-clones lost their ability to induce ALAs in gerbils. No correlation between ALA formation and cysteine peptidase (CP activity, haemolytic activity, erythrophagocytosis, motility or cytopathic activity was found. To identify the molecular framework underlying different pathogenic phenotypes, three clones were selected for in-depth transcriptome analyses. Comparison of a non-pathogenic clone A1np with pathogenic clone B2p revealed 76 differentially expressed genes, whereas comparison of a non-pathogenic clone B8np with B2p revealed only 19 differentially expressed genes. Only six genes were found to be similarly regulated in the two non-pathogenic clones A1np and B8np in comparison with the pathogenic clone B2p. Based on these analyses, we chose 20 candidate genes and evaluated their roles in ALA formation using the respective gene-overexpressing transfectants. We conclude that different mechanisms lead to loss of pathogenicity. In total, we identified eight proteins, comprising a metallopeptidase, C2 domain proteins, alcohol dehydrogenases and hypothetical proteins, that affect the pathogenicity of E. histolytica.

  12. Overexpression of Differentially Expressed Genes Identified in Non-pathogenic and Pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica Clones Allow Identification of New Pathogenicity Factors Involved in Amoebic Liver Abscess Formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Martin; Fehling, Helena; Matthiesen, Jenny; Lorenzen, Stephan; Schuldt, Kathrin; Bernin, Hannah; Zaruba, Mareen; Lender, Corinna; Ernst, Thomas; Ittrich, Harald; Roeder, Thomas; Tannich, Egbert; Lotter, Hannelore; Bruchhaus, Iris

    2016-08-01

    We here compared pathogenic (p) and non-pathogenic (np) isolates of Entamoeba histolytica to identify molecules involved in the ability of this parasite to induce amoebic liver abscess (ALA)-like lesions in two rodent models for the disease. We performed a comprehensive analysis of 12 clones (A1-A12) derived from a non-pathogenic isolate HM-1:IMSS-A and 12 clones (B1-B12) derived from a pathogenic isolate HM-1:IMSS-B. "Non-pathogenicity" included the induction of small and quickly resolved lesions while "pathogenicity" comprised larger abscess development that overstayed day 7 post infection. All A-clones were designated as non-pathogenic, whereas 4 out of 12 B-clones lost their ability to induce ALAs in gerbils. No correlation between ALA formation and cysteine peptidase (CP) activity, haemolytic activity, erythrophagocytosis, motility or cytopathic activity was found. To identify the molecular framework underlying different pathogenic phenotypes, three clones were selected for in-depth transcriptome analyses. Comparison of a non-pathogenic clone A1np with pathogenic clone B2p revealed 76 differentially expressed genes, whereas comparison of a non-pathogenic clone B8np with B2p revealed only 19 differentially expressed genes. Only six genes were found to be similarly regulated in the two non-pathogenic clones A1np and B8np in comparison with the pathogenic clone B2p. Based on these analyses, we chose 20 candidate genes and evaluated their roles in ALA formation using the respective gene-overexpressing transfectants. We conclude that different mechanisms lead to loss of pathogenicity. In total, we identified eight proteins, comprising a metallopeptidase, C2 domain proteins, alcohol dehydrogenases and hypothetical proteins, that affect the pathogenicity of E. histolytica.

  13. Autophagy in plant pathogenic fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiao-Hong; Xu, Fei; Snyder, John Hugh; Shi, Huan-Bin; Lu, Jian-Ping; Lin, Fu-Cheng

    2016-09-01

    Autophagy is a conserved cellular process that degrades cytoplasmic constituents in vacuoles. Plant pathogenic fungi develop special infection structures and/or secrete a range of enzymes to invade their plant hosts. It has been demonstrated that monitoring autophagy processes can be extremely useful in visualizing the sequence of events leading to pathogenicity of plant pathogenic fungi. In this review, we introduce the molecular mechanisms involved in autophagy. In addition, we explore the relationship between autophagy and pathogenicity in plant pathogenic fungi. Finally, we discuss the various experimental strategies available for use in the study of autophagy in plant pathogenic fungi. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Isolation and Identification of Pathogenic Fungi from Thorns and Thistles in Isfahan and Adjacent Cities

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    M Emami

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The most important subcutaneous fungal infections in man are caused by injury due to contaminated thistles and thorns. From an epidemiological point of view , it is important to recognize the fungi as well as their frequency of them in various thistles and thorns Methods: The present research has been conducted on thorns and thistles of 16 regions including cities and villages of Isfahan province. 800 samples have been collected. Specimens were inoculated and incubated at 25◦C in S & SCC medium. In order to isolate and identify the fungi, cultures in specific media, intraperitoneal injections of mice and disc diffusion test have been applied. Results: Over one year of study, 1676 colonies of actinomycetes and fungi were recognized. The most common fungi were as follows: Alternaria (22/4%,Aspergillus(11/8% , Cladosporium (10/8%,Esteril mycellium(10/6% and Penicillium (9/7%. The prevalence was most in Shahreza city(10/2% , while the least was in Ardestan(3%. The most prevalent yeasts were Candida tropicalis (50% , Rodotrula rubra (12/5% , Candida kerusei(11/4%,Trichosporon candida (7/9% , Unknown yeasts (6/8%, Candida gillermondi (5/7%, Saccharomyces cervisia (3/4%, Geotricum candidum and Trichosporon glabrata (Candida glabrata each one (1/1%. The prevalence was most in Khansar city(19/2%. In this study, 4 species similar to Coccidioides immitis, Phialophora verrucosa (4 species and Exophiala jeanselmei (3 species were identified. Conclusion: In this study done for the first time in this area, pathogenic and opportunistic fungi were isolated. Furthermore, Exophiala jeanselmei and Nocardiopsis dassonvillei were isolated for the first time from thorns in the country.

  15. In vitro antifungal activity of four chemotypes of Lippia alba (Verbenaceae essential oils against Alternaria solani (Pleosporeaceae isolates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ELISA Z. TOMAZONI

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Several volatile natural compounds produced by plant secondary metabolism have been proven to present antimicrobial action, enabling their use in phytopathogen control. They also present low environmental impact when compared to conventional pesticides. Essential oils contain these compounds and can be found in several plant species, such as Lippia alba (Mill. N.E. Brown (Verbenaceae. Essential oils of four chemotypes of L. alba, characterized by their major compounds, namely camphor, citral, linalool and camphor/1,8-cineole, were tested against the phytopathogen Alternaria solani Sorauer (Pleosporaceae, which causes early blight on tomatoes and is responsible for great economic losses regarding production. Essential oils antifungal action was tested in vitro using potato dextrose agar medium with essential oil concentrations at 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 µL mL-1. The chemotype that had the best performance was citral, showing significant inhibition compared to the others, starting at the 0.5 µL mL-1 concentration. The essential oil belonging to the linalool chemotype was efficient starting at the 1.5 µL mL-1 concentration. Conversely, the camphor chemotype did not show any action against the phytopathogen. Moreover, the essential oils had no remarkable effect on tomato germination and growth. In conclusion, these essential oils presented fungicidal action against A. solani.

  16. In vitro antifungal activity of four chemotypes of Lippia alba (Verbenaceae) essential oils against Alternaria solani (Pleosporeaceae) isolates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomazoni, Elisa Z; Pansera, Márcia R; Pauletti, Gabriel F; Moura, Sidnei; Ribeiro, Rute T S; Schwambach, Joséli

    2016-05-31

    Several volatile natural compounds produced by plant secondary metabolism have been proven to present antimicrobial action, enabling their use in phytopathogen control. They also present low environmental impact when compared to conventional pesticides. Essential oils contain these compounds and can be found in several plant species, such as Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Brown (Verbenaceae). Essential oils of four chemotypes of L. alba, characterized by their major compounds, namely camphor, citral, linalool and camphor/1,8-cineole, were tested against the phytopathogen Alternaria solani Sorauer (Pleosporaceae), which causes early blight on tomatoes and is responsible for great economic losses regarding production. Essential oils antifungal action was tested in vitro using potato dextrose agar medium with essential oil concentrations at 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 µL mL-1. The chemotype that had the best performance was citral, showing significant inhibition compared to the others, starting at the 0.5 µL mL-1 concentration. The essential oil belonging to the linalool chemotype was efficient starting at the 1.5 µL mL-1 concentration. Conversely, the camphor chemotype did not show any action against the phytopathogen. Moreover, the essential oils had no remarkable effect on tomato germination and growth. In conclusion, these essential oils presented fungicidal action against A. solani.

  17. Pathogenicity of Human ST23 Streptococcus agalactiae to Fish and Genomic Comparison of Pathogenic and Non-pathogenic Isolates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Wang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Streptococcus agalactiae, or Group B Streptococcus (GBS, is a major pathogen causing neonatal sepsis and meningitis, bovine mastitis, and fish meningoencephalitis. CC23, including its namesake ST23, is not only the predominant GBS strain derived from human and cattle, but also can infect a variety of homeothermic and poikilothermic species. However, it has never been characterized in fish. This study aimed to determine the pathogenicity of ST23 GBS to fish and explore the mechanisms causing the difference in the pathogenicity of ST23 GBS based on the genome analysis. Infection of tilapia with 10 human-derived ST23 GBS isolates caused tissue damage and the distribution of pathogens within tissues. The mortality rate of infection was ranged from 76 to 100%, and it was shown that the mortality rate caused by only three human isolates had statistically significant difference compared with fish-derived ST7 strain (P < 0.05, whereas the mortality caused by other seven human isolates did not show significant difference compared with fish-derived ST7 strain. The genome comparison and prophage analysis showed that the major genome difference between virulent and non-virulent ST23 GBS was attributed to the different prophage sequences. The prophage in the P1 region contained about 43% GC and encoded 28–39 proteins, which can mediate the acquisition of YafQ/DinJ structure for GBS by phage recombination. YafQ/DinJ belongs to one of the bacterial toxin–antitoxin (TA systems and allows cells to cope with stress. The ST23 GBS strains carrying this prophage were not pathogenic to tilapia, but the strains without the prophage or carrying the pophage that had gene mutation or deletion, especially the deletion of YafQ/DinJ structure, were highly pathogenic to tilapia. In conclusion, human ST23 GBS is highly pathogenic to fish, which may be related to the phage recombination.

  18. Differentiation between a pathogenic and a non-pathogenic form of Gyrodactylus salaris using PCR-RFLP

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kania, Per Walther; Jørgensen, Thomas Rohde; Buchmann, Kurt

    2007-01-01

    A new method based on PCR-RFLP is presented. It is able to differentiate between the Danish non-pathogenic form of Gyrodactylus salaris and the Norwegian pathogenic form.......A new method based on PCR-RFLP is presented. It is able to differentiate between the Danish non-pathogenic form of Gyrodactylus salaris and the Norwegian pathogenic form....

  19. Preliminary geochemical, microbiological, and epidemiological investigations into possible linkages between lignite aquifers, pathogenic microbes, and kidney disease in northwestern Louisiana

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bunnell, Joseph E.; Bushon, Rebecca N.; Stoeckel, Donald M.; Gifford, Amie M.; Beck, Marisa; Lerch, Harry E.; Shi, Runhua; McGee, Benton; Hanson, Bradford C.; Kolak, Jonathan; Warwick, Peter D.

    2003-01-01

    In May 2002, 15 wells and four surface water sites were sampled, and in September 2002, those same wells and sites plus four additional surface sites were sampled in five parishes of northwestern Louisiana. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to select residential water wells for sampling. Well water samples were analyzed for pH, conductivity, organic compounds, and nutrient and anion concentrations. All samples were further tested for presence of fungi (maintained for up to 28 days and colonies counted and identified microscopically), and metal and trace element concentration by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry and atomic emission spectrometry. Surface water samples were tested for dissolved oxygen and evidence of leptospiral bacterial presence. A polymerase chain reaction protocol was optimized for detection of pathogenic leptospires, and the sensitivity of the assay was determined. The Spearman correlation method was used to assess the association between the endpoints for these field/laboratory analyses and the incidence of cancer of the renal pelvis obtained from the Louisiana Tumor Registry. Significant associations were revealed between the cancer rate and the overall number of organic compounds, the fungi Zygomycetes, the nutrients PO4 and NH3, and thirteen chemical elements (As, B, Br, Cl, Cr, F, Li, Na, P, Rb, Se, Sr, W) from the well water as compared to the controls. Among the species of fungi from the total of 136 isolates were 12 Penicillium spp., at least two Aspergillus spp., a number of other genera (Alternaria sp., Eupenicillium lapidosum, Cladosporium sp., Epicoccum sp., Trichoderma sp., Paecilomyces sp., Chrysosporium sp., Chloridium sp.), and Zygomycetes, and Coelmycetes -- some of which are known mycotoxin producers. The two control wells yielded a mean of 6.5 (SD = 3.5355) individual isolates, while the mean number of isolates from all other sites was 7.6 (SD = 4.4866). Presence of human pathogenic leptospires was

  20. The Tick Microbiome: Why Non-pathogenic Microorganisms Matter in Tick Biology and Pathogen Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah I. Bonnet

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Ticks are among the most important vectors of pathogens affecting humans and other animals worldwide. They do not only carry pathogens however, as a diverse group of commensal and symbiotic microorganisms are also present in ticks. Unlike pathogens, their biology and their effect on ticks remain largely unexplored, and are in fact often neglected. Nonetheless, they can confer multiple detrimental, neutral, or beneficial effects to their tick hosts, and can play various roles in fitness, nutritional adaptation, development, reproduction, defense against environmental stress, and immunity. Non-pathogenic microorganisms may also play a role in driving transmission of tick-borne pathogens (TBP, with many potential implications for both human and animal health. In addition, the genetic proximity of some pathogens to mutualistic symbionts hosted by ticks is evident when studying phylogenies of several bacterial genera. The best examples are found within members of the Rickettsia, Francisella, and Coxiella genera: while in medical and veterinary research these bacteria are traditionally recognized as highly virulent vertebrate pathogens, it is now clear to evolutionary ecologists that many (if not most Coxiella, Francisella, and Rickettsia bacteria are actually non-pathogenic microorganisms exhibiting alternative lifestyles as mutualistic ticks symbionts. Consequently, ticks represent a compelling yet challenging system in which to study microbiomes and microbial interactions, and to investigate the composition, functional, and ecological implications of bacterial communities. Ultimately, deciphering the relationships between tick microorganisms as well as tick symbiont interactions will garner invaluable information, which may aid in the future development of arthropod pest and vector-borne pathogen transmission control strategies.

  1. Enzymatic activity of fungi isolated from crops

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wioletta A. Żukiewicz-Sobczak

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: To detect and assess the activity of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and to find differences in enzymograms between fungi isolated from wheat and rye samples and grown on Czapek-Dox Broth and Sabouraud Dextrose Broth enriched with cereal (wheat or rye. Isolated strains were also classified in the scale of biosafety levels (BSL. Material and methods: The study used 23 strains of fungi cultured from samples of wheat and rye (grain, grain dust obtained during threshing and soil collected in the Lublin region (eastern Poland. API ZYM test (bioMérieux was carried out according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Classification of BSL (Biosafety levels was based on the current literature. Results : High enzymatic activity was found in strains cultured in media containing 1% of wheat grain ( Bipolaris holmi, Penicillium decumbens and with an addition of 1% of rye grain ( Cladosporium herbarum, Aspergillus versicolor, Alternaria alternata . The total number of enzymes varied depending on the type of media, and in most cases it was higher in the culture where an addition of cereal grains was used. Conclusions : Isolated strains of fungi reveal differences in the profiles of the enzyme assay. It can be assumed that the substrate enriched in grains stimulate the higher activity of mold enzymes. Key words: enzymatic activity, mold fungi, zymogram, biohazards.

  2. In Vitro Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity and GC-MS Analysis of Mazus goodenifolius

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Riaz

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The antimicrobial, antioxidant and cytotoxic properties of Mazus goodenifolius (Hornem. Pennell essential oil, methanol extract and some solvent-extracted subfractions of the latter were appraised. A qualitative, quantitative analysis of the classes of phytochemicals in the various fractions and GC-MS analysis of the essential oil was carried out. The activity of the plant extract and various subfractions against selected bacterial (Pasturella multocida, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus and fungal strains (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Alternaria alternata and Rhizopus solani was evaluated. The antioxidant activity was assayed using the DPPH radical scavenging and % inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation tests. In the DPPH radical scavenging test the IC50 values ranged from 7.21 to 91.79 µg/mL, and in the latter the range of % peroxidation inhibition was 35.42–93.48%. Protective effects of the absolute methanol extract, which had the highest content of phenolics and flavonoids, against H2O2 induced oxidative damage in plasmid pBR322 DNA was also evaluated, and it was found to offer some protection at the highest tested dose (1,000 µg/mL. Finally the cytotoxicity of the plant extract, fractions and essential oil was analyzed by examining haemolytic activity against human blood erythrocytes (RBCs, whereby the % lysis of RBCs was found to be in the range of 1.65 to 4.01%.

  3. Effect of Gamma Irradiation on Chemical Constituents, Antimicrobials and Antioxidants of Thyme and Cinnamon Volatile Oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anwar, M.M.; Nasr, E.H.; Ali, S.E.

    2015-01-01

    This study was carried out to investigate the effect of gamma irradiation at doses 10 or 20 kGy on the chemical constituents of essential oils extracted from irradiated thyme and cinnamon, and study the effect of these essential oils on the oxidative stability of soybean oil. In addition, this study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of extracted essential oils from irradiated thyme and cinnamon as Antimicrobial agents.The results showed that the major components for essential oils of thyme were 77.03% thymol and 15.34 % eugenol acetate whereas the major components for essential oils of cinnamon were 66.14% cinnamaldehyde and 11.18% cinnamyl cinnamate. The study revealed that the essential oils extracted from irradiated cinnamon at 20 kGy showed the best antioxidant activities while gamma irradiation reduced the antioxidant activities of thyme essential oils. Essential oils extracted from irradiated and non-irradiated thyme and cinnamon were tested for the antibacterial activities against eight strains of Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas citri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis and also tested for their antifungal activities against four strains of Penicillium spp., Rhizopus spp., Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus niger. The results showed that all tested oils exhibited an inhibition effect for the growth of the microorganisms under investigation and gamma irradiation at dose 20 kGy had the high effect.

  4. Effect of elicitors and precursors on azadirachtin production in hairy root culture of Azadirachta indica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Smita; Srivastava, A K

    2014-02-01

    The present study involved strategies for enhancement in in vitro azadirachtin (commercially used biopesticide) production by hairy root cultivation of Azadirachta indica. Improvement in the azadirachtin production via triggering its biosynthetic pathway in plant cells was carried out by the exogenous addition of precursors and elicitors in the growth medium. Among the different abiotic stress inducers (Ag(+), Hg(+2), Co(+2), Cu(+2)) and signal molecules (methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid) tested, salicylic acid at 15 mg l(-1) of concentration was found to enhance the azadirachtin yield in the hairy roots to the maximum (up to 4.95 mg g(-1)). Similarly, among the different biotic elicitors tested (filter-sterilized fungal culture filtrates of Phoma herbarium, Alternaria alternata, Myrothecium sp., Fusarium solani, Curvularia lunata, and Sclerotium rolfsii; yeast extract; and yeast extract carbohydrate fraction), addition of filter-sterilized fungal culture filtrate of C. lunata (1 % v/v) resulted in maximum azadirachtin yield enhancement in hairy root biomass (up to 7.1 mg g(-1)) with respect to the control (3.3 mg g(-1)). Among all the biosynthetic precursors studied (sodium acetate, cholesterol, squalene, isopentynyl pyrophosphate, mavalonic acid lactone, and geranyl pyrophosphate), the overall azadirachtin production (70.42 mg l(-1) in 25 days) was found to be the highest with cholesterol (50 mg l(-1)) addition as an indirect precursor in the medium.

  5. Mycobiota and Mycotoxins in Traditional Medicinal Seeds from China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Amanda Juan; Jiao, Xiaolin; Hu, Yongjian; Lu, Xiaohong; Gao, Weiwei

    2015-01-01

    The multi-mycotoxin occurrence for internal and superficial fungi contamination were comprehensively assessed in medicinal seeds used as food or beverage. Based on a polyphasic approach using morphological characters, β-tubulin and ITS gene blast, a total of 27 species belonging to 12 genera were identified from surface-sterilized seeds. Chaetomium globosporum was most predominant (23%), followed by Microascus trigonosporus (12%) and Alternaria alternata (9%). With respect to superficial mycobiota, thirty-four species belonging to 17 genera were detected. Aspergillus niger and Penicillium polonicum were predominant (12% and 15%, respectively). Medicinal seed samples and potential toxigenic fungi were tested for ochratoxin A (OTA) and aflatoxins (AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, AFG2) using UPLC-MS/MS. Platycladi seeds were contaminated with AFB1 (52.0 µg/kg) and tangerine seed was contaminated with OTA (92.3 µg/kg). Subsequent analysis indicated that one A. flavus strain isolated from platycladi seed was able to synthesize AFB1 (102.0 µg/kg) and AFB2 (15.3 µg/kg). Two P. polonicum strains isolated from tangerine and lychee seeds were able to synthesize OTA (4.1 µg/kg and 14.8 µg/kg, respectively). These results identify potential sources of OTA and aflatoxins in medicinal seeds and allude to the need to establish permitted limits for these mycotoxins in these seeds that are commonly consumed by humans. PMID:26404373

  6. Pathogenic agents in freshwater resources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geldreich, Edwin E.

    1996-02-01

    Numerous pathogenic agents have been found in freshwaters used as sources for water supplies, recreational bathing and irrigation. These agents include bacterial pathogens, enteric viruses, several protozoans and parasitic worms more common to tropical waters. Although infected humans are a major source of pathogens, farm animals (cattle, sheep, pigs), animal pets (dogs, cats) and wildlife serve as significant reservoirs and should not be ignored. The range of infected individuals within a given warm-blooded animal group (humans included) may range from 1 to 25%. Survival times for pathogens in the water environment may range from a few days to as much as a year (Ascaris, Taenia eggs), with infective dose levels varying from one viable cell for several primary pathogenic agents to many thousands of cells for a given opportunistic pathogen.As pathogen detection in water is complex and not readily incorporated into routine monitoring, a surrogate is necessary. In general, indicators of faecal contamination provide a positive correlation with intestinal pathogen occurrences only when appropriate sample volumes are examined by sensitive methodology.Pathways by which pathogens reach susceptible water users include ingestion of contaminated water, body contact with polluted recreational waters and consumption of salad crops irrigated by polluted freshwaters. Major contributors to the spread of various water-borne pathogens are sewage, polluted surface waters and stormwater runoff. All of these contributions are intensified during periods of major floods. Several water-borne case histories are cited as examples of breakdowns in public health protection related to water supply, recreational waters and the consumption of contaminated salad crops. In the long term, water resource management must focus on pollution prevention from point sources of waste discharges and the spread of pathogens in watershed stormwater runoff.

  7. Comparative genome analysis of pathogenic and non-pathogenic Clavibacter strains reveals adaptations to their lifestyle

    OpenAIRE

    Załuga, Joanna; Stragier, Pieter; Baeyen, Steve; Haegeman, Annelies; Van Vaerenbergh, Johan; Maes, Martine; De Vos, Paul

    2014-01-01

    Background The genus Clavibacter harbors economically important plant pathogens infecting agricultural crops such as potato and tomato. Although the vast majority of Clavibacter strains are pathogenic, there is an increasing number of non-pathogenic isolates reported. Non-pathogenic Clavibacter strains isolated from tomato seeds are particularly problematic because they affect the current detection and identification tests for Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm), which is reg...

  8. Host pathogen relations: exploring animal models for fungal pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harwood, Catherine G; Rao, Reeta P

    2014-06-30

    Pathogenic fungi cause superficial infections but pose a significant public health risk when infections spread to deeper tissues, such as the lung. Within the last three decades, fungi have been identified as the leading cause of nosocomial infections making them the focus of research. This review outlines the model systems such as the mouse, zebrafish larvae, flies, and nematodes, as well as ex vivo and in vitro systems available to study common fungal pathogens.

  9. Insight of Genus Corynebacterium: Ascertaining the Role of Pathogenic and Non-pathogenic Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Alberto; Oliveira, Leticia C; Aburjaile, Flavia; Benevides, Leandro; Tiwari, Sandeep; Jamal, Syed B; Silva, Arthur; Figueiredo, Henrique C P; Ghosh, Preetam; Portela, Ricardo W; De Carvalho Azevedo, Vasco A; Wattam, Alice R

    2017-01-01

    This review gathers recent information about genomic and transcriptomic studies in the Corynebacterium genus, exploring, for example, prediction of pathogenicity islands and stress response in different pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. In addition, is described several phylogeny studies to Corynebacterium , exploring since the identification of species until biological speciation in one species belonging to the genus Corynebacterium . Important concepts associated with virulence highlighting the role of Pld protein and Tox gene. The adhesion, characteristic of virulence factor, was described using the sortase mechanism that is associated to anchorage to the cell wall. In addition, survival inside the host cell and some diseases, were too addressed for pathogenic corynebacteria, while important biochemical pathways and biotechnological applications retain the focus of this review for non-pathogenic corynebacteria. Concluding, this review broadly explores characteristics in genus Corynebacterium showing to have strong relevance inside the medical, veterinary, and biotechnology field.

  10. Efferocytosis of Pathogen-Infected Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niloofar Karaji

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The prompt and efficient clearance of unwanted and abnormal cells by phagocytes is termed efferocytosis and is crucial for organism development, maintenance of tissue homeostasis, and regulation of the immune system. Dying cells are recognized by phagocytes through pathways initiated via “find me” signals, recognition via “eat me” signals and down-modulation of regulatory “don’t eat me” signals. Pathogen infection may trigger cell death that drives phagocytic clearance in an immunologically silent, or pro-inflammatory manner, depending on the mode of cell death. In many cases, efferocytosis is a mechanism for eliminating pathogens and pathogen-infected cells; however, some pathogens have subverted this process and use efferocytic mechanisms to avoid innate immune detection and assist phagocyte infection. In parallel, phagocytes can integrate signals received from infected dying cells to elicit the most appropriate effector response against the infecting pathogen. This review focuses on pathogen-induced cell death signals that drive infected cell recognition and uptake by phagocytes, and the outcomes for the infected target cell, the phagocyte, the pathogen and the host.

  11. Emerging Pathogens Initiative (EPI)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — The Emerging Pathogens Initiative (EPI) database contains emerging pathogens information from the local Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs). The EPI software...

  12. Host Pathogen Relations: Exploring Animal Models for Fungal Pathogens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine G. Harwood

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Pathogenic fungi cause superficial infections but pose a significant public health risk when infections spread to deeper tissues, such as the lung. Within the last three decades, fungi have been identified as the leading cause of nosocomial infections making them the focus of research. This review outlines the model systems such as the mouse, zebrafish larvae, flies, and nematodes, as well as ex vivo and in vitro systems available to study common fungal pathogens.

  13. Comparative analysis of lipopolysaccharides of pathogenic and intermediately pathogenic Leptospira species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patra, Kailash P; Choudhury, Biswa; Matthias, Michael M; Baga, Sheyenne; Bandyopadhya, Keya; Vinetz, Joseph M

    2015-10-30

    Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are complex, amphipathic biomolecules that constitute the major surface component of Gram-negative bacteria. Leptospira, unlike other human-pathogenic spirochetes, produce LPS, which is fundamental to the taxonomy of the genus, involved in host-adaption and also the target of diagnostic antibodies. Despite its significance, little is known of Leptospira LPS composition and carbohydrate structure among different serovars. LPS from Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni strain L1-130, a pathogenic species, and L. licerasiae serovar Varillal strain VAR 010, an intermediately pathogenic species, were studied. LPS prepared from aqueous and phenol phases were analyzed separately. L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni has additional sugars not found in L. licerasiae serovar Varillal, including fucose (2.7%), a high amount of GlcNAc (12.3%), and two different types of dideoxy HexNAc. SDS-PAGE indicated that L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni LPS had a far higher molecular weight and complexity than that of L. licerasiae serovar Varillal. Chemical composition showed that L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni LPS has an extended O-antigenic polysaccharide consisting of sugars, not present in L. licerasiae serovar Varillal. Arabinose, xylose, mannose, galactose and L-glycero-D-mannoheptose were detected in both the species. Fatty acid analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) showed the presence of hydroxypalmitate (3-OH-C16:0) only in L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni. Negative staining electron microscopic examination of LPS showed different filamentous morphologies in L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni vs. L. licerasiae serovar Varillal. This comparative biochemical analysis of pathogenic and intermediately pathogenic Leptospira LPS reveals important carbohydrate and lipid differences that underlie future work in understanding the mechanisms of host-adaptation, pathogenicity and vaccine development in leptospirosis.

  14. Intensidade de ataque de tripes, de alternaria e da queima-das-pontas em cultivares de cebola Intensity of attacks of thrips, purple blotch and gray mold on onion cultivars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Germano L.D. Leite

    2004-03-01

    Full Text Available Avaliou-se a intensidade de ataque de Thrips tabaci Lind., a incidência de Alternaria porri (Ellis e Botrytis squamosa J.C. Walker em nove cultivares de cebola [Aurora, Primavera, CNPH 6400, Crioula Alto-Vale, Vale-Ouro (IPA 11, Franciscana (IPA-16, Piraouro, Conquista e Serrana], num experimento no delineamento em blocos casualizados com cinco repetições. Foram feitas avaliações semanais, do transplantio até a colheita, em dez plantas/parcela do número de T. tabaci presente na bainha das folhas bem como da percentagem de área foliar danificada pelo mesmo a partir da primeira folha expandida e também da presença ou da ausência de lesões causadas por A. porri e B. squamosa. A cv. Franciscana mostrou-se mais resistente em relação às demais ao ataque de T. tabaci. Não houve diferença significativa de plantas afetadas por A. porri e B. squamosa. T. tabaci e A. porri foram ambos afetados positiva e negativamente pela temperatura e pela umidade relativa do ambiente, respectivamente.The intensity of attack of T. tabaci and incidence of Alternaria porri (Ellis Cif and Botrytis squamosa J.C. Walker in nine onion cultivars [Aurora, Primavera, CNPH 6400, Crioula Alto-Vale, Vale-Ouro (IPA 11, Franciscana (IPA-16, Piraouro, Conquista and Serrana] was evaluated, in an experiment in randomized blocks design, with five replications. Weekly evaluations were done from the transplanting until harvesting date, in ten plants/parcel of the number of T. tabaci on the leaves, the percentage of damaged foliar area from the first expanded leaf up and the presence or absence of injuries caused by A. porri and B. squamosa. The cv. Franciscana was more resistant to the attack of T. tabaci in comparison to the other onion cultivars. There was no significant difference between cvs for A. porri and Botrytis squamosa resistance. T. tabaci and A. porri were influenced positively and negatively by temperature and relative humidity, respectively.

  15. Ecological niche of plant pathogens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ecaterina Fodor

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Disease ecology is a new approach to the understanding of the spread and dynamics of pathogens in natural and man-made environments. Defining and describing the ecological niche of the pathogens is one of the major tasks for ecological theory, as well as for practitioners preoccupied with the control and forecasting of established and emerging diseases. Niche theory has been periodically revised, not including in an explicit way the pathogens. However, many progresses have been achieved in niche modeling of disease spread, but few attempts were made to construct a theoretical frame for the ecological niche of pathogens. The paper is a review of the knowledge accumulated during last decades in the niche theory of pathogens and proposes an ecological approach in research. It quest for new control methods in what concerns forest plant pathogens, with a special emphasis on fungi like organisms of the genus Phytophthora. Species of Phytophthora are the most successful plant pathogens of the moment, affecting forest and agricultural systems worldwide, many of them being invasive alien organisms in many ecosystems. The hyperspace of their ecological niche is defined by hosts, environment and human interference, as main axes. To select most important variables within the hyperspace, is important the understanding of the complex role of pathogens in the ecosystems as well as for control programs. Biotic relationships within ecosystem of host-pathogen couple are depicted by ecological network and specific metrics attached to this. The star shaped network is characterized by few high degree nodes, by short path lengths and relatively low connectivity, premises for a rapid disturbance spread. 

  16. Ecological niche of plant pathogens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ecaterina Fodor

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Disease ecology is a new approach to the understanding of the spread and dynamics of pathogens in natural and man-made environments. Defining and describing the ecological niche of the pathogens is one of the major tasks for ecological theory, as well as for practitioners preoccupied with the control and forecasting of established and emerging diseases. Niche theory has been periodically revised, not including in an explicit way the pathogens. However, many progresses have been achieved in niche modeling of disease spread, but few attempts were made to construct a theoretical frame for the ecological niche of pathogens. The paper is a review of the knowledge accumulated during last decades in the niche theory of pathogens and proposes an ecological approach in research. It quest for new control methods in what concerns forest plant pathogens, with a special emphasis on fungi like organisms of the genus Phytophthora. Species of Phytophthora are the most successful plant pathogens of the moment, affecting forest and agricultural systems worldwide, many of them being invasive alien organisms in many ecosystems. The hyperspace of their ecological niche is defined by hosts, environment and human interference, as main axes. To select most important variables within the hyperspace, is important for the understanding of the complex role of pathogens in the ecosystems as well as for control programs. Biotic relationships within ecosystem of host-pathogen couple are depicted by ecological network and specific metrics attached to this. The star shaped network is characterized by few high degree nodes, by short path lengths and relatively low connectivity, premises for a rapid disturbance spread.

  17. Methods for detecting pathogens in the beef food chain: detecting particular pathogens

    Science.gov (United States)

    The main food-borne pathogens of concern in the beef food chain are Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella spp.; however, the presence of other pathogens, including Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter spp., Clostridium spp., Bacillus cereus, and Mycobacterium avium subsp. par...

  18. Lipids in host-pathogen interactions: pathogens exploit the complexity of the host cell lipidome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Meer-Janssen, Ynske P M; van Galen, Josse; Batenburg, Joseph J; Helms, J Bernd

    2010-01-01

    Lipids were long believed to have a structural role in biomembranes and a role in energy storage utilizing cellular lipid droplets and plasma lipoproteins. Research over the last decades has identified an additional role of lipids in cellular signaling, membrane microdomain organization and dynamics, and membrane trafficking. These properties make lipids an attractive target for pathogens to modulate host cell processes in order to allow their survival and replication. In this review we will summarize the often ingenious strategies of pathogens to modify the lipid homeostasis of host cells, allowing them to divert cellular processes. To this end pathogens take full advantage of the complexity of the lipidome. The examples are categorized in generalized and emerging principles describing the involvement of lipids in host-pathogen interactions. Several pathogens are described that simultaneously induce multiple changes in the host cell signaling and trafficking mechanisms. Elucidation of these pathogen-induced changes may have important implications for drug development. The emergence of high-throughput lipidomic techniques will allow the description of changes of the host cell lipidome at the level of individual molecular lipid species and the identification of lipid biomarkers.

  19. Transient virulence of emerging pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolker, Benjamin M; Nanda, Arjun; Shah, Dharmini

    2010-05-06

    Should emerging pathogens be unusually virulent? If so, why? Existing theories of virulence evolution based on a tradeoff between high transmission rates and long infectious periods imply that epidemic growth conditions will select for higher virulence, possibly leading to a transient peak in virulence near the beginning of an epidemic. This transient selection could lead to high virulence in emerging pathogens. Using a simple model of the epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of emerging pathogens, along with rough estimates of parameters for pathogens such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, West Nile virus and myxomatosis, we estimated the potential magnitude and timing of such transient virulence peaks. Pathogens that are moderately evolvable, highly transmissible, and highly virulent at equilibrium could briefly double their virulence during an epidemic; thus, epidemic-phase selection could contribute significantly to the virulence of emerging pathogens. In order to further assess the potential significance of this mechanism, we bring together data from the literature for the shapes of tradeoff curves for several pathogens (myxomatosis, HIV, and a parasite of Daphnia) and the level of genetic variation for virulence for one (myxomatosis). We discuss the need for better data on tradeoff curves and genetic variance in order to evaluate the plausibility of various scenarios of virulence evolution.

  20. Food-borne pathogens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemand, J.G.

    1985-01-01

    The Salmonella scare reinforced the importance of never taking chances when it comes to controlling pathogens. The issue has been resolved by radurisation. The article deals with the various pathogens that can effect food and argues the case for radurisation in dealing with them. It also looks at some of the other food products that can be treated using this process

  1. Viral pathogen discovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Charles Y

    2015-01-01

    Viral pathogen discovery is of critical importance to clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, and public health. Genomic approaches for pathogen discovery, including consensus polymerase chain reaction (PCR), microarrays, and unbiased next-generation sequencing (NGS), have the capacity to comprehensively identify novel microbes present in clinical samples. Although numerous challenges remain to be addressed, including the bioinformatics analysis and interpretation of large datasets, these technologies have been successful in rapidly identifying emerging outbreak threats, screening vaccines and other biological products for microbial contamination, and discovering novel viruses associated with both acute and chronic illnesses. Downstream studies such as genome assembly, epidemiologic screening, and a culture system or animal model of infection are necessary to establish an association of a candidate pathogen with disease. PMID:23725672

  2. Pathogenicity and Host Range of Pathogen Causing Black Raspberry (Rubus coreanus) Anthracnose in Korea

    OpenAIRE

    Uh Seong Jeong; Ju Hee Kim; Ki Kwon Lee; Seong Soo Cheong; Wang Hyu Lee

    2013-01-01

    The strains of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, C. coccodes, C. acutatum isolated from black raspberry werepathogenic to apple and strawberry after dropping inoculation, but showed weak pathogenicity in hot-pepperand tomato. The anthracnose pathogens of C. gloeosporioides, C. orbiculare, C. acutatum isolated from apple,hot-pepper and pumpkin showed pathogenicity in black raspberry. Moreover, the anthracnose pathogensisolated from apple caused disease symptoms in non-wounded inoculation.

  3. Future research needs involving pathogens in groundwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradford, Scott A.; Harvey, Ronald W.

    2017-01-01

    Contamination of groundwater by enteric pathogens has commonly been associated with disease outbreaks. Proper management and treatment of pathogen sources are important prerequisites for preventing groundwater contamination. However, non-point sources of pathogen contamination are frequently difficult to identify, and existing approaches for pathogen detection are costly and only provide semi-quantitative information. Microbial indicators that are readily quantified often do not correlate with the presence of pathogens. Pathogens of emerging concern and increasing detections of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens in groundwater are topics of growing concern. Adequate removal of pathogens during soil passage is therefore critical for safe groundwater extraction. Processes that enhance pathogen transport (e.g., high velocity zones and preferential flow) and diminish pathogen removal (e.g., reversible retention and enhanced survival) are of special concern because they increase the risk of groundwater contamination, but are still incompletely understood. Improved theory and modeling tools are needed to analyze experimental data, test hypotheses, understand coupled processes and controlling mechanisms, predict spatial and/or temporal variability in model parameters and uncertainty in pathogen concentrations, assess risk, and develop mitigation and best management approaches to protect groundwater.

  4. Future research needs involving pathogens in groundwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradford, Scott A.; Harvey, Ronald W.

    2017-06-01

    Contamination of groundwater by enteric pathogens has commonly been associated with disease outbreaks. Proper management and treatment of pathogen sources are important prerequisites for preventing groundwater contamination. However, non-point sources of pathogen contamination are frequently difficult to identify, and existing approaches for pathogen detection are costly and only provide semi-quantitative information. Microbial indicators that are readily quantified often do not correlate with the presence of pathogens. Pathogens of emerging concern and increasing detections of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens in groundwater are topics of growing concern. Adequate removal of pathogens during soil passage is therefore critical for safe groundwater extraction. Processes that enhance pathogen transport (e.g., high velocity zones and preferential flow) and diminish pathogen removal (e.g., reversible retention and enhanced survival) are of special concern because they increase the risk of groundwater contamination, but are still incompletely understood. Improved theory and modeling tools are needed to analyze experimental data, test hypotheses, understand coupled processes and controlling mechanisms, predict spatial and/or temporal variability in model parameters and uncertainty in pathogen concentrations, assess risk, and develop mitigation and best management approaches to protect groundwater.

  5. A fungal pathogen of amphibians, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, attenuates in pathogenicity with in vitro passages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langhammer, Penny F; Lips, Karen R; Burrowes, Patricia A; Tunstall, Tate; Palmer, Crystal M; Collins, James P

    2013-01-01

    Laboratory investigations into the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), have accelerated recently, given the pathogen's role in causing the global decline and extinction of amphibians. Studies in which host animals were exposed to Bd have largely assumed that lab-maintained pathogen cultures retained the infective and pathogenic properties of wild isolates. Attenuated pathogenicity is common in artificially maintained cultures of other pathogenic fungi, but to date, it is unknown whether, and to what degree, Bd might change in culture. We compared zoospore production over time in two samples of a single Bd isolate having different passage histories: one maintained in artificial media for more than six years (JEL427-P39), and one recently thawed from cryopreserved stock (JEL427-P9). In a common garden experiment, we then exposed two different amphibian species, Eleutherodactylus coqui and Atelopus zeteki, to both cultures to test whether Bd attenuates in pathogenicity with in vitro passages. The culture with the shorter passage history, JEL427-P9, had significantly greater zoospore densities over time compared to JEL427-P39. This difference in zoospore production was associated with a difference in pathogenicity for a susceptible amphibian species, indicating that fecundity may be an important virulence factor for Bd. In the 130-day experiment, Atelopus zeteki frogs exposed to the JEL427-P9 culture experienced higher average infection intensity and 100% mortality, compared with 60% mortality for frogs exposed to JEL427-P39. This effect was not observed with Eleutherodactylus coqui, which was able to clear infection. We hypothesize that the differences in phenotypic performance observed with Atelopus zeteki are rooted in changes of the Bd genome. Future investigations enabled by this study will focus on the underlying mechanisms of Bd pathogenicity.

  6. A fungal pathogen of amphibians, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, attenuates in pathogenicity with in vitro passages.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Penny F Langhammer

    Full Text Available Laboratory investigations into the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd, have accelerated recently, given the pathogen's role in causing the global decline and extinction of amphibians. Studies in which host animals were exposed to Bd have largely assumed that lab-maintained pathogen cultures retained the infective and pathogenic properties of wild isolates. Attenuated pathogenicity is common in artificially maintained cultures of other pathogenic fungi, but to date, it is unknown whether, and to what degree, Bd might change in culture. We compared zoospore production over time in two samples of a single Bd isolate having different passage histories: one maintained in artificial media for more than six years (JEL427-P39, and one recently thawed from cryopreserved stock (JEL427-P9. In a common garden experiment, we then exposed two different amphibian species, Eleutherodactylus coqui and Atelopus zeteki, to both cultures to test whether Bd attenuates in pathogenicity with in vitro passages. The culture with the shorter passage history, JEL427-P9, had significantly greater zoospore densities over time compared to JEL427-P39. This difference in zoospore production was associated with a difference in pathogenicity for a susceptible amphibian species, indicating that fecundity may be an important virulence factor for Bd. In the 130-day experiment, Atelopus zeteki frogs exposed to the JEL427-P9 culture experienced higher average infection intensity and 100% mortality, compared with 60% mortality for frogs exposed to JEL427-P39. This effect was not observed with Eleutherodactylus coqui, which was able to clear infection. We hypothesize that the differences in phenotypic performance observed with Atelopus zeteki are rooted in changes of the Bd genome. Future investigations enabled by this study will focus on the underlying mechanisms of Bd pathogenicity.

  7. Diversity and antibacterial activities of fungi derived from the Gorgonian Echinogorgia rebekka from the South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ya-Nan; Shao, Chang-Lun; Zheng, Cai-Juan; Chen, Yi-Yan; Wang, Chang-Yun

    2011-01-01

    The diversity of symbiotic fungi associated with the gorgonian coral Echinogorgia rebekka from the Weizhou coral reef in the South China Sea was investigated. Combined with morphologic traits, ITS-rDNA sequences revealed 18 fungal strains from this gorgonian. All of the 18 fungi belonged to the phylum Ascomycota and were distributed among seven genera in five orders: Eurotiales (Aspergillus and Penicillium), Pleosporales (Alternaria), Capnodiales (Cladosporium), Trichosphaeriales (Nigrospora) and Hypocreales (Hypocrea and Nectria). Antibacterial activities of these fungal strains were investigated with five pathogenic bacteria. All of the 18 fungal strains displayed different levels of antibacterial activities, most of which exhibited moderate to high antibacterial activities to the Gram-positive pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus tetragenus, and showed relatively low bioactivities to other three pathogenic bacteria. Several fungal strains in the genera Penicillium and Cladosporium with strong antibacterial activities provide potential for further research on isolation of bioactive secondary metabolites.

  8. Potatoes, pathogens and pests

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lazebnik, Jenny

    2017-01-01

    Currently, fungicides are necessary to protect potato crops against late blight, Phytophthora infestans, one of the world’s most damaging crop pathogens. The introgression of plant resistance genes from wild potato species targeted specifically to the late blight pathogen into

  9. Ocorrência de patógenos em cultivos de melancia e abóbora no sertão da Paraíba

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. G. F. O. Soares

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Por constituírem uma importante fonte de alimento, plantações de melancia e abóbora são comumente cultivadas no sertão paraibano, porém pouco se sabe sobre a ocorrência de patógenos causadores de doenças, os quais limitam a sua produtividade e renda aos produtores. Visando obter informações sobre a ocorrência dos patógenos virais e fúngicos em cultivos de abóbora e melancia situados em municípios produtores no sertão da Paraíba, amostras coletadas com sintomas de mosaico e deformação foliar, típicos de doenças virais foram analisadas pela técnica sorológica “enzime linked immuno sorbentassay” (Elisa indireto para Papaya ring spot virus, type watermelon (PRSV-W, Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV, Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV e Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV. O teste de dupla difusão em Agar foi utilizado para verificar a presença de Squash mosaic virus (SqMV. Em contrapartida, amostras coletadas com sintomas de doenças fúngicas foram analisadas pelo isolamento do patógeno e visualização de suas características morfológicas em microscópio óptico. Em abóbora, houve prevalência dos vírus ZYMV e PRSV-W em infecções simples e mistas, e maior incidência dos fungos Cladosporium spp., e Alternaria spp. Em melancia detectou-se infecção simples e mistas das espécies PRSV-W, WMV e ZYMV, e maior freqüência de Fusarium spp. e Alternaria spp.. Não foram detectados os vírus CMV e SqMV. Os resultados obtidos revelam a ocorrência de vários patógenos fúngicos e viróticos em cultivos de abóbora e melancia situados no sertão da Paraíba e ressaltam a importância da utilização de estratégias de manejo que reduzem os danos ocasionados por esses patógenos.Occurrence of pathogens in watermelon and pumpkin crops in the State of ParaibaAbstract: By constitute an important food source, watermelon and pumpkin plantations are commonly grown on Paraíba backlands, but little is known about the occurrence of disease

  10. Mucosal immunity to pathogenic intestinal bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Lopez, Araceli; Behnsen, Judith; Nuccio, Sean-Paul; Raffatellu, Manuela

    2016-03-01

    The intestinal mucosa is a particularly dynamic environment in which the host constantly interacts with trillions of commensal microorganisms, known as the microbiota, and periodically interacts with pathogens of diverse nature. In this Review, we discuss how mucosal immunity is controlled in response to enteric bacterial pathogens, with a focus on the species that cause morbidity and mortality in humans. We explain how the microbiota can shape the immune response to pathogenic bacteria, and we detail innate and adaptive immune mechanisms that drive protective immunity against these pathogens. The vast diversity of the microbiota, pathogens and immune responses encountered in the intestines precludes discussion of all of the relevant players in this Review. Instead, we aim to provide a representative overview of how the intestinal immune system responds to pathogenic bacteria.

  11. An emerging cyberinfrastructure for biodefense pathogen and pathogen-host data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, C; Crasta, O; Cammer, S; Will, R; Kenyon, R; Sullivan, D; Yu, Q; Sun, W; Jha, R; Liu, D; Xue, T; Zhang, Y; Moore, M; McGarvey, P; Huang, H; Chen, Y; Zhang, J; Mazumder, R; Wu, C; Sobral, B

    2008-01-01

    The NIAID-funded Biodefense Proteomics Resource Center (RC) provides storage, dissemination, visualization and analysis capabilities for the experimental data deposited by seven Proteomics Research Centers (PRCs). The data and its publication is to support researchers working to discover candidates for the next generation of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics against NIAID's Category A, B and C priority pathogens. The data includes transcriptional profiles, protein profiles, protein structural data and host-pathogen protein interactions, in the context of the pathogen life cycle in vivo and in vitro. The database has stored and supported host or pathogen data derived from Bacillus, Brucella, Cryptosporidium, Salmonella, SARS, Toxoplasma, Vibrio and Yersinia, human tissue libraries, and mouse macrophages. These publicly available data cover diverse data types such as mass spectrometry, yeast two-hybrid (Y2H), gene expression profiles, X-ray and NMR determined protein structures and protein expression clones. The growing database covers over 23 000 unique genes/proteins from different experiments and organisms. All of the genes/proteins are annotated and integrated across experiments using UniProt Knowledgebase (UniProtKB) accession numbers. The web-interface for the database enables searching, querying and downloading at the level of experiment, group and individual gene(s)/protein(s) via UniProtKB accession numbers or protein function keywords. The system is accessible at http://www.proteomicsresource.org/.

  12. Highly pathogenic avian influenza.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swayne, D E; Suarez, D L

    2000-08-01

    Highly pathogenic (HP) avian influenza (AI) (HPAI) is an extremely contagious, multi-organ systemic disease of poultry leading to high mortality, and caused by some H5 and H7 subtypes of type A influenza virus, family Orthomyxoviridae. However, most AI virus strains are mildly pathogenic (MP) and produce either subclinical infections or respiratory and/or reproductive diseases in a variety of domestic and wild bird species. Highly pathogenic avian influenza is a List A disease of the Office International des Epizooties, while MPAI is neither a List A nor List B disease. Eighteen outbreaks of HPAI have been documented since the identification of AI virus as the cause of fowl plague in 1955. Mildly pathogenic avian influenza viruses are maintained in wild aquatic bird reservoirs, occasionally crossing over to domestic poultry and causing outbreaks of mild disease. Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses do not have a recognised wild bird reservoir, but can occasionally be isolated from wild birds during outbreaks in domestic poultry. Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses have been documented to arise from MPAI viruses through mutations in the haemagglutinin surface protein. Prevention of exposure to the virus and eradication are the accepted methods for dealing with HPAI. Control programmes, which imply allowing a low incidence of infection, are not an acceptable method for managing HPAI, but have been used during some outbreaks of MPAI. The components of a strategy to deal with MPAI or HPAI include surveillance and diagnosis, biosecurity, education, quarantine and depopulation. Vaccination has been used in some control and eradication programmes for AI.

  13. Interaction of pathogens with host cholesterol metabolism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sviridov, Dmitri; Bukrinsky, Michael

    2014-10-01

    Pathogens of different taxa, from prions to protozoa, target cellular cholesterol metabolism to advance their own development and to impair host immune responses, but also causing metabolic complications, for example, atherosclerosis. This review describes recent findings of how pathogens do it. A common theme in interaction between pathogens and host cholesterol metabolism is pathogens targeting lipid rafts of the host plasma membrane. Many intracellular pathogens use rafts as an entry gate, taking advantage of the endocytic machinery and high abundance of outward-looking molecules that can be used as receptors. At the same time, disruption of the rafts' functional capacity, achieved by the pathogens through a number of various means, impairs the ability of the host to generate immune response, thus helping pathogen to thrive. Pathogens cannot synthesize cholesterol, and salvaging host cholesterol helps pathogens build advanced cholesterol-containing membranes and assembly platforms. Impact on cholesterol metabolism is not limited to the infected cells; proteins and microRNAs secreted by infected cells affect lipid metabolism systemically. Given an essential role that host cholesterol metabolism plays in pathogen development, targeting this interaction may be a viable strategy to fight infections, as well as metabolic complications of the infections.

  14. Priority setting of foodborne pathogens: disease burden and costs of selected enteric pathogens

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kemmeren JM; Mangen MJJ; Duynhoven YTHP van; Havelaar AH; MGB

    2006-01-01

    Toxoplasmosis causes the highest disease burden among seven evaluated foodborne pathogens. This is the preliminary conclusion of a major study of the disease burden and related costs of foodborne pathogens. The other micro-organisms that were studied are Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp.,

  15. Mutant of Japanese pear resistant to Black Spot Disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanada, T.; Nishida, T.; Ikeda, F.

    1987-01-01

    Full text: Nijisseike is one of the leading cultivars of Japanese pear (Pyrus serotinea Rehd.), but susceptible to black spot disease. Farmers try to prevent this disease by wrapping the fruit with a paper bag and by repeated spraying of fungicides. The disease is caused by a Japanese pear pathotype of Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler. Susceptibility is controlled by a single dominant gene. In 1962, grafted trees of this cultivar were planted at a distance between 53 and 93 m from the 60 Co source in the gamma-field (daily dose 15-4 rad). One branch on a tree planted at 53 m was detected as resistant in 1981. Under field conditions, black spots were observed on many fruits and leaves of the original trees by natural infection in early July, however, they were not observed on the mutant. To examine the resistance of the mutant, artificial inoculations were made using spores of the pathogen and the host specific toxin produced by germinating spores. When some drops of the spore suspension are placed on leaves, the formation of black spots depends upon the leaf age. In a resistant cv. as Chojuro, black spot symptoms are formed only when inoculated on young leaves. An intermediate reaction was observed in the mutant, whereas the original Nijisseiki showed severe symptoms. When inoculation was made on matured fruit skins, no black spot was formed on the mutant just like on the resistant cv. Chojuro, while many small black spots were formed and grew into large spots overlapping each other on the susceptible cv. Nijisseiki. In case of the crude toxin inoculation (4-0.04 ppm) of cv. Nijisseiki black spots were formed on the surface of the susceptible fruit skin, and necrotic lesions at the cut end of detached small pieces of leaves, although reaction on fruit skins was weaker compared with inoculation by spores. However, no symptoms were observed from the toxin application on the mutant and the resistant cv. Chojuro. That the resistance of the mutant is classified as

  16. Mycobiota of rape seeds in Romania. I. Identification of mycobiota associated with rape seeds from different areas of Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana-Eugenia Şesan

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The spectrum of fungal diversity associated with rape seeds belonging to 33 cultivars (Alaska, Astrada, Astrid, Atlantic, Betty, Champlein, Chayenne, Dexter, Digger, Elvis, Eurowest, Finesse, Herkules, Hydromel, Hydromel-MA, Ladoga, anitoba, Masa Rom, Milena, Mohican, Montego, Nectar, Ontario, Orkan, Perla (4 lots, Remy, Robust, Rodeo, Saphir, Tiger, Tiger CBC Lot ROM06-121-110, Triangle, Valesca, Vectra and 2 hybrids (H-90-20-83, H-90-21-83 has been established by samples’ macroscopical and microscopical analizying, during 2006-2008, for the first time in Romania. The Ulster method on malt-agar and PDA culture media has been used, evaluating the percentage of fungal taxons present on/in rape seeds. The most important pathogenic fungi identified were: Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib. de Bary, Botrytis cinerea Pers., Rhizoctonia solani Kühn, Alternaria brassicae (Berk. Sacc., A. brassicicola (Schwein. Wiltshire and Fusarium spp. Also, a large quantities of some saprophytic fungi, as Alternaria, Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus have been recorded. These ones have been affected the health condition of rape seeds, suppressing their germination and other vital phenomena. Among potential antagonistic fungi the following genera have been isolated: Chaetomium (0-4%, Trichoderma (0-10%, Aspergillus (0-14%, Penicillium (0-100%. Some correlations and comparisons have been established between fungal diversity, their provenience, cultivars, culture media (Malt-Agar/MA, Potato-Dextrose-Agar/PDA used. It has been evaluated the behaviour of rape cultivars and hybrids towards the main rape seed pathogens.

  17. Tropism and pathogenicity of rickettsiae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsuneo eUchiyama

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular parasitic bacteria that cause febrile exanthematous illnesses such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Mediterranean spotted fever, epidemic and murine typhus, etc. Although the vector ranges of each Rickettsia species are rather restricted; i.e., ticks belonging to Arachnida and lice and fleas belonging to Insecta usually act as vectors for spotted fever group and typhus group rickettsiae, respectively, it would be interesting to elucidate the mechanisms controlling the vector tropism of rickettsiae. This review discusses the factors determining the vector tropism of rickettsiae. In brief, the vector tropism of rickettsiae species is basically consistent with their tropism towards cultured tick and insect cells. The mechanisms responsible for rickettsiae pathogenicity are also described. Recently, genomic analyses of rickettsiae have revealed that they possess several genes that are homologous to those affecting the pathogenicity of other bacteria. Analyses comparing the genomes of pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains of rickettsiae have detected many factors that are related to rickettsial pathogenicity. It is also known that a reduction in the rickettsial genome has occurred during the course of its evolution. Interestingly, Rickettsia species with small genomes, such as Rickettsia prowazekii, are more pathogenic to humans than those with larger genomes. This review also examines the growth kinetics of pathogenic and nonpathogenic species of spotted fever group rickettsiae in mammalian cells. The growth of nonpathogenic species is restricted in these cells, which is mediated, at least in part, by autophagy. The superinfection of nonpathogenic rickettsiae-infected cells with pathogenic rickettsiae results in an elevated yield of the nonpathogenic rickettsiae and the growth of the pathogenic rickettsiae. Autophagy is restricted in these cells. These results are discussed in this review.

  18. Pathogen recognition in the innate immune response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Himanshu; Kawai, Taro; Akira, Shizuo

    2009-04-28

    Immunity against microbial pathogens primarily depends on the recognition of pathogen components by innate receptors expressed on immune and non-immune cells. Innate receptors are evolutionarily conserved germ-line-encoded proteins and include TLRs (Toll-like receptors), RLRs [RIG-I (retinoic acid-inducible gene-I)-like receptors] and NLRs (Nod-like receptors). These receptors recognize pathogens or pathogen-derived products in different cellular compartments, such as the plasma membrane, the endosomes or the cytoplasm, and induce the expression of cytokines, chemokines and co-stimulatory molecules to eliminate pathogens and instruct pathogen-specific adaptive immune responses. In the present review, we will discuss the recent progress in the study of pathogen recognition by TLRs, RLRs and NLRs and their signalling pathways.

  19. Genetic diversity and occurrence of the F129L substitutions among isolates of Alternaria solani in south-eastern Sweden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odilbekov, Firuz; Edin, Eva; Garkava-Gustavsson, Larisa; Hovmalm, Helena Persson; Liljeroth, Erland

    2016-01-01

    Early blight, caused by the fungus Alternaria solani, occurs on potato mainly in the south-eastern part of Sweden, but also in other parts of the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of A. solani populations from different potato growing regions in south-eastern Sweden using AFLP marker analysis. In addition, the cultured isolates were examined for substitutions in the gene encoding cytochrome b , associated with loss of sensitivity against QoI fungicides. Nei's gene diversity index for the Swedish populations of A. solani revealed a gene diversity of up to 0.20. Also genetic differentiation was observed among populations of A. solani from different locations in south-eastern Sweden. The mitochondrial genotype of the isolates of A. solani was determined and both known genotypes, GI (genotype 1) and GII (genotype 2), were found among the isolates. The occurrence of the F129L substitution associated with a loss of sensitivity to strobilurins was confirmed among the GII isolates. In vitro conidial germination tests verified that isolates containing the F129L substitution had reduced sensitivity to azoxystrobin and, at a lower extent, to pyraclostrobin. Genetic diversity was relatively high among isolates of A. solani in south-eastern part of Sweden. F129L substitutions, leading to reduced sensitivity to strobilurins, have been established in field populations, which may have implications for the future efficacy of QoI fungicides.

  20. Arthropods vector grapevine trunk disease pathogens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyo, P; Allsopp, E; Roets, F; Mostert, L; Halleen, F

    2014-10-01

    Arthropod-mediated dispersal of pathogens is known in many cropping systems but has never been demonstrated for grapevine trunk disease pathogens. Arthropods from vineyards were screened for the presence of pathogens associated with Petri disease and esca using cultural and molecular techniques. The ability of the most abundant pathogen-carrying species to inoculate healthy grapevine vascular tissues was also determined. Millipedes and ants were allowed to associate with a DsRed- Express-transformed Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, after which they were exposed to freshly pruned healthy grapevines under controlled conditions and wounds were monitored for subsequent infection. In addition, the possibility of millipede excreta, commonly found on pruning wounds in the field, to act as inoculum source was determined. A diverse arthropod fauna was associated with declining grapevines and many of these carried trunk disease pathogens. However, spiders, the ant Crematogaster peringueyi, and the millipede Ommattoiulus moreleti were the most abundant pathogen carriers. The ant and millipede species fed on pruning wound sap and effectively transmitted trunk disease pathogens. Millipede excreta contained viable spores of Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and may serve as an inoculum source. Numerous arthropods, including beneficial predators, are potential vectors of grapevine trunk disease pathogens. Our results highlight the need for an integrated approach, including targeted management of ants and millipedes at the time of pruning, to limit the spread of grapevine trunk diseases.