An amalgam of pathogenic and beneficial endophytic fungi colonizing four Dendrobium species from Meghalaya,India

Endophytic fungi are known to play an important role in driving the evolution of plants by conferring adaptational advantages to their host through the production of secondary metabolites and phytohormones. In this study, we evaluated the diversity and phylogenetic relationship of endophytic fungal communities from four Dendrobium species viz., Dendrobium chrysanthum, Dendrobium heterocarpum, Dendrobium hookerianum, and Dendrobium longicornu of Meghalaya, India. A total of 51 culturable endophytic fungi were isolated from the four selected orchid species. The isolates were identified based on nuclear large subunit sequences into 33 species. Approximately 91% of the isolates showed affinity to Ascomycetes, while 9% of the isolates showed BLAST search similarity to Basidiomycetes. The most common genera were Trichoderma and Xylaria. The most prevalent genera were Fusarium, which was detected in all the four Dendrobium species followed by Diaporthe, which was present in three Dendrobium species viz., D. chrysanthum, D. hookerianum, and D. heterocarpum. The Shannon index value of endophytic fungal communities was the highest in D. chrysanthum (2.66), while D. longicornu (1) had the highest Evenness index. The present study revealed that endophytic fungi in these orchids are an amalgam of pathogenic and beneficial fungi, which have, at the least, switched their lifestyle to asymptomatic endophyte in their host. To our knowledge, this is the first such report on the diversity of endophytic fungi in the four selected Dendrobium species from Meghalaya, India.     

植物营养活力素对小鼠生长及耐受能力的影响

以不同剂量的植物营养活力素（ＰＶＮ）喂饲小鼠，对小鼠的体重增长、耐寒、耐热、耐力等进行了观测。结果：用药后实验小鼠的体重和胸脾系数明显增加；耐寒、耐热及持续游泳时间明显延长。表明ＰＶＮ可明显提高小鼠的体重增长和对应激的耐受能力，提示其营养作用不仅适用于植物，而且适用于动物。     

植物抗体及其应用

20世纪80年代末科学家将抗体基因转入烟草表达,标志着植物抗体的诞生.人类既可以以植物为生物反应器异源表达和生产具有药用及商业价值的蛋白质;也可用抗体在植物体中进行免疫调节,以研究植物生理代谢机制,或增加植物抵抗病虫害的能力.本文旨对植物抗体的优越性、表达生产及其在医药学、植物抗病及代谢等领域的进展进行综述和讨论.     

12种中草药的乙醇提取液对印鼠客蚤的毒效研究

目的:探讨中草药灭蚤的可行性。方法:用乙醇提出12种中草药的可溶成分,以瓶膜法测定其对印鼠客蚤的毒力。结果:在0.5g/ml(生药)的浓度下,10种中草药对印鼠客蚤有速效击倒作用,其中鸡血藤、巴豆仁、除虫菊花的10min击倒率大于50％;5种中草药的KD_(50)小于15min,比2％DDVP为优;巴豆仁接触30min恢复24h死亡率为70％。结论:除虫菊花、黎芦、鸡血藤、巴豆仁、贯众用于杀蚤有一定价值。     

Suppurative corneal ulceration in Bangladesh

Suppurative keratitis is an important preventable cause of blindness, particularly in the developing world. This study analyses 142 cases of suppurative keratitis referred to Chittagong Eye Infirmary, Bangladesh. Some 53.5% of cases were bacterial and 35.9% were fungal. The five most common pathogens were: Pseudomonas sp. 24%, Streptococcus pneumoniae 17%, Aspergillus sp. 13%, Fusarium sp. 7% and Curvularia sp. 6%. Gram stain and culture results were consistent in 62.6% of cases. Previous antibiotic treatment was a significant factor for failure of culture isolation and less so for Gram stain failure. On Gram stain, 55.9% of pseudomonal cases were missed, but only 2% of fungal cases were missed. Over all, Gram stain had a sensitivity of 62% and positive predictive value of 84% for bacterial cases, and 98% and 94% for fungal cases, respectively. Fungal ulcers were typically filamentous, but an antecedent history of trauma was not common. The most frequent injury was due to rice grains, but the inoculum appeared to be introduced during eye washing with contaminated water. Pseudomonal ulcers occurred most frequently in the monsoon season, and Fusarium cases were seen only in the hot, dry season.     

深部病原真菌菌种4453株分析

目的 分析深部病原真菌菌种分布。方法 收集1991-2003年我院门诊及住院病人6533例，对其标本按真菌培养分离鉴定步骤进行鉴定。结果 分离出白念珠菌3555株(85．44％)，克柔念珠菌309株(7．43％)，高里念珠菌239株(5．74％)；呼吸系统分离出真菌3004株(68．35％)；消化系统真菌1291株(29．37％)；泌尿生殖系统87株(1．98％)；神经系统8株(0．18％)；血液5株(0．11％)。结论 念珠菌属尤其白念珠菌是我院近13年间系统性真菌感染的重要致病菌；合理应用抗生素及早期诊断尤为重要。     

河北磁县食管癌胃癌高发人群口腔真菌分布的调查

应用常规方法随机研究食管癌、胃癌高发的磁县人群５４７例的口腔真菌。结果：１．口腔真菌阳性率为６８．４％，食管真菌阳性率为４７．３％，前者显著高于后者（Ｐ＜０．００１）。２．口腔真菌以念珠菌、曲霉菌和青霉菌为主，食管真菌以曲霉菌、青霉菌和念珠菌占多数。３．口腔与食管内的产毒真菌差异无显著性意义（Ｐ＞０．０５）。本结果为进一步研究口腔真菌与上消化道癌及肿瘤的一级预防提供了依据。     

Development of a quantitative monoclonal antibody‐based immunoassay for humicola ianuginosa on rice grains and comparison with conventional assays

A sensitive, specific, quantitative enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed that can be used to determine the extent of mycelial growth of a sporulating thermophilic fungus, Humicola lanuginosa on the surface of rice grains. The assay employs a monoclonal antibody EC6, developed in a previous study, which does not recognize spores of the fungus. Using antigen‐coated wells, a direct linear relationship was established between dilutions of extracts from freeze‐dried mycelium (0.5 to 3 μg/ml) and absorbance values but to eliminate day‐to‐day variations it was found to be necessary to run a dilution series, prepared from stock freeze‐dried mycelium, with every test sample. The ELISA method was compared with conventional quantitative methods. Estimates of total mycelial length in freeze‐dried material by ELISA were found to be in the same order of magnitude as those determined by ergosterol and a theoretical calculation. The ELISA method also compared favourably with direct linear measurements (by photomicrography) of live mycelium present in aliquots from homogenates of a 1 cm² plug taken from a plate but estimates of the latter by the dilution plate count method were much lower. In assays with inoculated rice grains, the quantitative ELISA method proved more sensitive than either the ergosterol method or direct plating of surface‐sterilized grains. The ELISA method also has the advantage of being highly specific and quick to conduct.     

Screening 34 Peanut Introductions for Allergen Content Using ELISA

Peanut is one of the most allergenic foods and reports of accidental ingestion of peanuts in unsuspected food are increasing. No information is available on the allergen content of peanut germplasm grown commercially and used in the food and confectionery industry. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the allergen contents of 34 peanut introductions (PI); and (2) to identify naturally occurring allergen-free and/or low or hypoallergenic peanuts germplasm. A basic ELISA protocol was utilized to detect the presence of antigens in the peanut lines using a pool of human sera from patients with documented history of peanut allergy. Two naturally occurring low, or hypo-allergenic germplasm were identified as PI 261942 and PI 338386. Both are Valencia market types with total allergen content significantly lower (P ≤0.05) than that of PI 119880 (0.550), PI 119876 (0.415) and PI 118991 (0.410) three Valencia market types and PI 262111 (0.485), a Virginia market type. No allergen-free PI was found. Allergen content of peanut lines from Bolivia and Paraguay were significantly (P ≤0.05) different to those from Venezuela. No significant difference was observed in the allergen content of the four market types.