Kinds Of Fungi Research Articles

Stereochemical control of asymmetric hydrogen transfer employing five different kinds of fungi in anhydrous hexane

Nonracemic 1-phenylethyl alcohol of R and S configuration and of high enantiomeric purity was obtained by bioreduction of acetophenone in nonaqueous environment—anhydrous hexane. Immobilized cells of five different kinds of microorganisms were tested as biocatalysts, namely: Rhodotorula rubra, Rhodotorula glutinis, Cladosporium sp., Verticillium sp. and baker’s yeast. The effect of parameters such as the addition of chemical compounds influencing the stereoselectivity of bioreduction and the mode of biocatalyst pretreatment (permeabilization or cultivation under anaerobic conditions) has been investigated.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal formation of crucifer leaf mustard induced by flavonoids apigenin and daidzein

Flavonoids from legume root secretion may probably act as signal molecules for expression of Rhizobial “nod” nodulation genes and AM fungal symbiotic gene. Leaf mustard is a non-mycorrhizal plant; it does not contain flavonoids and other signal molecules. AM fungi could not infect the roots of leaf mustard and form a symbiont in nature, when it was treated with flavonoids (apigenin or daidzein). The results of trypan blue staining showed that two kinds of AM fungi (G intraradices and G. mosseae) successfully infected the roots of non-mycorrhizal plant leaf mustard. AM fungi grew towards and colonized the roots of leaf mustard, producing young spores and completing the course of life. AM fungi are the only one kind of fungi with ALP activity. The result of ALP staining has also proved that AM fungi infected successfully the roots of leaf mustard. AM fungi (G intraradices and G. mosseae) that existed in the roots of non-mycorrhizal plant leaf mustard were probed by nested PCR and special molecular probes. The above-mentioned proof chains have fully proved that flavonoids induced AM fungi (G intraradices and G. mosseae) to infect non-mycorrhizal plant and establish symbiotic relationship.

Detection of aflatoxigenic fungi in feeds using the PCR method

The possibility of using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to speed up and specify the detection of aflatoxigenic fungi isolated from feed was investigated. The method, applied to 2 genes encoding the biosynthesis of aflatoxins (apa-2 and ver-1), was optimized on two collection cultures (Aspergillus flavus CCM F-108 and A. parasiticus CCM F-550). The specificity of the optimized PCR method was proved on collection cultures of different kinds of fungi. Fifty feed samples out of which 18 showed positive findings of aflatoxigenic fungi on an Aspergillus Flavus and Parasiticus Agar (AFPA) medium were tested. Isolated strains of Aspergillus strains were verified using the PCR method; its reaction products were detected in 1% agarose gel by electrophoresis. The results almost exclusively matched those gained from the AFPA medium.

Anti-fungal test of composite agastache lotion on seven pathogenic fungi and its clinical application

To study the effect of Chinese composite recipe in treating mycotic infection. The growth condition of 7 kinds of fungi cultured on the media containing composite agastache lotion (CAL, consisted of 5 Chinese drugs) of different concentration was observed. Result showed that CAL could inhibit 7 kinds of fungi. Based on the above anti-fungus test, 110 patients with skin tinea or genital candidiasis were treated separately with CAL, western medicine and combined (CAL and western) medicines, the therapeutic effects of the 3 groups were observed and compared. The therapeutic effect in patients treated with combined medicine was significantly better than that in the other two groups (P < 0.05). Combined use of CAL and western medicine could enhance the cure rate in treating skin tinea and genital candidiasis. Attention should be paid on studying Chinese anti-fungal agents.

New Antifungal Antibiotics, Bacillopeptins and Fusaricidins

AbstractFor Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

古紙から造った炭の物性ときのこ栽培への利用

This paper presents the changes of behavior and the characteristics of used paper carbonized at various temperatures up to 1, 000°C, and utilization of charcoal made from used paper, as a cultivation material for mushroom growing. The weight of the used paper decreased when heated, mainly in the temperature range from 250°C to 400°C. The used paper shrunk around the similar temperature. However, the temperature that shrinkage started was 20°C higher than the temperature that weight decrease started. The charcoal made from used paper had two types of pores, pores between fibers and pores in fibers. Pores between fibers were created at temperatures of less than 400°C, which was evident after the remarkable weight decreases had finished. Bulk density influenced the formation of the pore between fibers. Pore volume and pore diameter decreased with increased bulk density. Pleuroutus ostreatus was able to be cultivated on charcoal made from used paper. The occurrence of fruit bodies and the mycelial growth in the charcoal was greater in charcoal that had a low bulk density and high moisture content. Therefore, charcoal made from used paper is a good medium for cultivating various kinds of fungi.

New antifungal antibiotics, bacillopeptins and fusaricidins

We isolated four strains of bacteria producing antifungal antibiotics from the rhizosphere of garlic with basal rot caused by the plant pathogenic fungal strain Fusarium oxysporum. Among them, Bacillus subtilis FR-2 was found to produce new antifungal antibiotics, named bacillopeptins A, B, and C. Their structures have been determined by 1D and 2D NMR and MS experiments, and amino acid analysis coupled with chiral HPLC, to be cyclic lipopeptides each containing a long-chain beta-amino acid. Another bacterial strain, Bacillus polymyxa KT-8, was shown to produce new antifungal antibiotics named fusaricidins A, B, C, and D which are more potent than bacillopeptins in their antimicrobial activity. The structures of the fusaricidins have been elucidated similarly as bacillopeptins to be cyclic hexadepsipeptides all containing 15-guanidino-3-hydroxypentadecanoic acid as a side chain. Fusaricidins strongly inhibit the growth of various kinds of fungi and moreover surprisingly show strong inhibitory activity against Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus or Micrococcus luteus.

Microflora fúngica de sementes de milho em ambientes de armazenamento

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 herbarum, Fusarium moniliforme e Rhizoctonia solani, além de Rhizopus spp. e Trichoderma spp., cuja sobrevivência decresceu ao longo do armazenamento, de modo muito mais acentuado em condição de ambiente não controlado, em comparação à câmara fria. Aspergillus e Penicillium tiveram suas incidências aumentadas ao longo do período, principalmente em ambiente não controlado. Nessa condição, a sobrevivência de Fusarium moniliforme foi reduzida gradativamente até o final dos doze meses; comparativamente, em câmara fria, a viabilidade do fungo foi menos afetada. Bipolaris maydis manteve-se viável na maioria dos lotes, durante todo o armazenamento em câmara fria; em ambiente não controlado, o fungo sobreviveu durante quatro a dez meses, dependendo do lote avaliado. O armazenamento em ambiente não controlado, embora tenha provocado a redução do inóculo de F. moniliforme e outros fungos importantes, poderia acelerar o processo de deterioração das sementes. Em câmara fria, por outro lado, a viabilidade dos fungos é favorecida, comprometendo a qualidade sanitária das sementes.

Biodegradation behaviour of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) induced by microorganisms

The effect of microorganisms on degradation of PLLA was compared by using different kind of fungus in vitro. Fusarium L023 showed the strongest activity in accelerating the degradation of PLLA. Therefore, the in vitro degradation of PLGA copolymers was examined by immersing PLGA(50/50) and PLGA(70/30) films in media with or without Fusarium L023. Degradation of the polymeric films was monitored by measuring inherent viscosity and weight loss, as well as using techniques such as GPC, 1H NMR, DSC and SEM. In this case, the degradation of PLGA copolymers could be markedly accelerated by Fusarium L023. The microorganism assimilated the released oligomers as carbon-source, and this could explain why the inherent viscosity decreased more slowly for inoculated samples at the later stage than those in the controlled medium. Moreover, the Fusarium L023 would favor the degradation of PLGA copolymers by destroying the crystallization of PLLA segments at the later stage, which was caused by the preferential loss of glycotyl unit in the case of hydrolysis, for Fusarium L023 was more effective on accelerating the degradation of PLLA than PGA.

Disrobing Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor: The Hidden Legacy of Christian Anti-Semitism in Brothers Karamazov

??? COHPAnATIST DISROBING DOSTOEVSKy5S GRAND INQUISITOR: THE HIDDEN LEGACY OF CHRISTIAN ANTI-SEMITISM IN BROTHERS KARAMAZOV Gary Adelman Dostoevsky's anti-Semitism evolved in the 1870s to connect with his central philosophical, social, and religious beliefs and eventually fueled the "great debate" between Zossima and the Grand Inquisitor in Brothers Karamazov, or between religion and revolutionary socialism. I propose that Dostoevsky poured his extreme, late-life hatred ofJews, found especially in his Diary, letters, and notebooks, into the Grand Inquisitor, quite consciously attacking in him the Jew in his own imagination, a kind of diabolical Chief Elder, and driving the debate with the same sort of Manichaean opposition one finds in the Gospels between Christ and the Jewish Antichrist. The satanic energy of the Inquisitor derives primarily from this private symbolism, and from the desire "to [grind] into ethnographical dust" (Goldstein 54) the chief rival to Russian Messianism —the Jews. To make my case, I show the extent and extremity of the author's views in the context of his time, examine possible literary influences, and speculate as well on the personal origins of his prejudice. I offer a "surprise witness"—the German novelist Hermann Goedsche—to buttress my contention that the Inquisitor is a repository for Dostoevsky's hatred ofJews. For Dostoevsky, a devout Christian, the Jew came to represent a conspiracy to conquer not just Russia but the entire world. This was his position while he was writing Brothers Karamazov. During the 1870s, and especially toward the end of his life, when absorbed with Karamazov, he believed emphatically in the evil "Yid."1 The year before he began work on the novel, he wrote a long article on Jews (in the March 1877 issue ofA Writer's Diary) in which he repeated many of the old Christian libels: the Jews were morally corrupt; they constituted an alien state within a state, unassimüable and threatening; tv ;y controlled international banking and the press. He was convinced . Jewish hostility toward the rest ofthe world, and he was certain that Jews would never become loyal citizens of Russia. In the article, Dostoevsky warned his magazine readers that Judaism , i.e., "Yidism"—huckstering, self-interest, materialism—had taken over the Christian world, so Christians now shared completely in Jewish egoism and commercialism. The god of the Jews had been secularized and had become the god ofthis world, money. As he told his subscribers, every person for himself, all communion among people only for personal gain, mercilessness to the lower classes—never before had these strivings been elevated so openly, and held up as a guiding principle, as they Vol. 24 (2000): 83 CHRISTIAN ANTI-SEMITISM IN DOSTOEVSKY were now that "Yidism" was "creeping over the whole world in place of 'unsuccessful' Christianity" (Writer's Diary 2: 915). It was a pet notion of his that the Jews incomprehensibly had drawn strength from calamity. Adaptable, tenacious, clinging, and spreading like a kind offungus, they now were contaminating everything with their noxious influence. Despite his statement that it was in the spirit of Christianity to give Jews equal rights, he must have regarded the idea of giving them full equality as a danger that would ultimately lead to the destruction of Russia. Yet at times, a wild notion would come into my head: what if it weren't the Jews who numbered three million in Russia but the Russians; and what if there were eighty million Jews? Now how would they transform the Russians, and how would they treat them? Would they allow them to become their equals in rights? Would they allow them to pray freely in their midst? Would they not turn them directly into slaves? Even worse: would they not strip themutterlybare? Would they not massacre them altogether, exterminate them completely, as they did more than once with alien peoples in times ofold in their ancient history? (Writer's Diary 2: 909) Perhaps it is a tribute to his forbearance that he did not go as far as others who advocated abolishing the synagogues, refusing Jews any kind ofemployment, and banishing or exterminating them. Nor, in the magazine , does he actuaUy furnish the strategy by which the Jews were supposed to...

Structure - Activity Relationships for Selected Sulfur-Rich Antifungal Compounds

A series of sulfur compounds has been prepared and tested against two kinds of fungi: Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Results on various sulfone disulfides and ester disulfides have led to the formulation of a proposed mechanism for fungicidal behaviour that permits one to anticipate which structures will be antifungal.

Colonization Potential of Ornamental Plants by Three Vesicular–Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

Roots of majority of natural shrubs are colonized by many species of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi. These kinds of fungi form a symbiosis with the root system of the plant and give a better water and mineral absorption (P, Zn, N, Cu, etc.), and a better root disease resistance to the plant. However, the media usually used in ornemental plants nursery contain no or few mycorrhizal fungi. For now, new commercial inoculum are available and could be used to get the advantages provided by VAM fungi. In order to evaluate the potential of ornamental plants to be colonized, we have inoculated the rooting media with three VAM fungi (Glomus intraradices Schenk &amp; Smith, Glomus etunicatum Becker &amp; Gerdemann, and Glomus mosseae Nicol. &amp; Gerd.; Premier Tech, Rivière-du-Loup, Québec). The inoculum proportion used contained about 1500 propagules/L. After 16 weeks, near 80% of the 200 species and cultivars tested have shown a colonization by at least one of the fungi. We shall present here a list of the results.

Mold spectrum of four cereal brands of the German crop 1995.

The concentration of extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) of 80 cereal grain samples of the German harvest 1995 was investigated. In addition to this, the total as well as the inherent mycoflora of two winter wheat and two winter rye brands which showed the highest EPS-concentration was detected on maltsalt agar (NaCl 5%). Surface disinfection with 1% NaOCl for the determination of the internal mycoflora caused a significant reduction in number and kind of fungi. However, the mycoflora of all samples was dominated by fungi of the genera Alternaria spp. and Cladosporium spp., Aureobasidium pullulans, Fusarium spp. and Epicoccum purpurascens (in decreasing order) occurred to a minor extent. A possible contamination of the cereal grains with mycotoxins of Alternaria and Cladosporium is discussed.

Conversion of Aflatoxin B1 by Humicola fuscoatra.

The conversion of aflatoxin B1 by six kinds of fungi, previously reported to assimilate aflatoxin B1, was investigated. The tested fungi were Aspergillus fumigatus, Paecilomyces lilacinus, P. inflatus, Humicola fuscoatra, Penicillium spinulosum, and Trichoderma aureoviride.After incubation at 25°C for 4 weeks, most of the tested fungi lowered the aflatoxin B1 level in the broth to less than 10% of the starting level. Penicillium spinulosum contained 80% of aflatoxin B1 in the mycelia, but the other fungi contained less than 30% of aflatoxin B1 in the mycelia. This fact suggests that aflatoxin B1 was converted by these 5 kinds of fungi.Only Humicola fuscoatra showed a marked difference in the aflatoxin conversion rate between intact and sterilized mycelia. Intact mycelia of the fungus degraded 90% of aflatoxin B1 but sterilized mycelia had no effect on aflatoxin B1. Aflatoxin B1 was converted in the mycelia of the fungus but not in the broth filtrate. These findings indicate that the conversion by Humicola fuscoatra was a biological reaction.The conversion products of aflatoxin B1 by Humicola fuscoatra were identified to be aflatoxicols A and B by TLC and HPLC, and all the reduced aflatoxin B1 was converted to aflatoxicols A and B.

(2S)-2-Amino-5-chloro-4-hydroxy-5-hexenoic acid, a new chloroamino acid, and related compounds from Amanita gymnopus

Combining different chromatography systems, unusual nonprotein amino acids were isolated and unequivocally identified from a small amount (less than 100 g fresh weight) ofAmanita gymnopus fruit body. Without obtaining crystals of these amino acids, on the basis of1H-NMR determination, high resolution mass spectrometry, chlorine analysis and oxidation with L-amino acid oxidase, one of them proved to be a new chloroamino acid, (2S)-2-amino-5-chloro-4-hydroxy-5-hexenoic acid (G2). The other three were (2S)-2-amino-5-hexenoic acid (G1), (2S)-2-amino-4,5-hexadienoic acid (G3) and (2S)-2-amino-5-hexynoic acid (G4). Amino acid (G1) was also encountered for the first time in natural products. Amino acid (G3) has been reported from several kinds of fungi belonging toAmanita, subgenusLepidella. The occurrence of amino acid (G4) was already reported fromCortinarius claricolor.

SYNTHESIS AND REACTIONS OF N-CHLOROMETHYL-1,2,4-TRIAZOLES WITH SULFUR AND OXYGEN NUCLEOPHILES

Abstract 2-Chloromethyl-1,2,4-triazole-3-thione derivatives (1 and 2) were synthesized through the hydroxy-methyl derivatives, and reacted with alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl thiols to give the corresponding sulfides (3–15). Compounds 1 and 2 were reacted with sodium alkoxides and phenoxide affording the corresponding ethers (19–24). Transformation of C˭S to C˭O has been achieved by the action of mercuric acetate. Condensation of compounds 1 and 2 with hydrazine, phenylhydrazine and hydroxylamine yielded bicyclic condensation products 27–32. Activity of the newly synthesized compounds against different kinds of fungi has been investigated in vitro.

Fungal contamination of oil paintings in Japan

Japan's climate, with several months of high temperatures, and high humidity, is well suited to the growth of various kinds of fungi. They grow not only on food, wood, and textiles, but also on paintings. We have examined a variety of instances of deterioration caused by the growth of fungi on paintings and have isolated and identified more than a hundred of these fungi. Of these, the typical ones are Alternaria, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma and Penicillium. Since 1982 we have studied a fungicide-containing varnish to test its ability to inhibit fungal growth. The varnish, made from synthetic resin containing Vinyzene, a fungicide, was sprayed on about 100 paint samples. Annual observations have confirmed that it has a fungicidal effect. This paper reports on the effect of the Vinyzene-containing varnish on paint and its utility as a fungicide.

Ｃｈａｌａｒａ ｐａｒａｄｏｘａの生澱粉分解酵素とその応用に関する研究

The amylase produced by a kind of fungus, Chalara paradoxa, is one of the raw starch digesting amylases. In this report, the studies on properties of this amylase and its application for ethanol fermentation were summarized. There were several glucoamylases (EC 3.2.1.3) in the culture filtrate, and each glucoamylase has a different isoelectric point. These glucoamylases were purified separately, and their general properties were studied. The kinetic studies showed that C. paradoxa glucoamylase has almost the same subsite structure as Rhizopus niveus. But C. paradoxa glucoamylase has rather high affinities for complex cyclodextrins. The raw corn starch granules digested by Ca paradoxa glucoamylase were studied with an electron microscope. The digested starch granules have a layered structure of less susceptibility to the amylase, and there were junctions among layers. In the raw starch digestion, the glucoamylase has cooperative action with the a-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) which was purified from the culture filtrate. The ethanol fermentation of raw corn starch without cooking using C. paradoxa raw starch digesting amylase was performed. The ethanol yield was more than 90% at proper conditions.

Impact of microbial activity on trace element concentrations in excavated bones

Fresh bone specimens have been inoculated with two different kinds of fungi which have been kept on media enriched with either Sr, Ba, Mg or Zn. We were able to show that the microorganisms cause substantial contamination of the bone by carrying soil metals into the specimen, where they become fixed to the mineral matrix within a short time. Thus, microorganisms can play a major role in the early stages of dead bone decomposition. Three different cleaning methods applied to the bones prior to analysis failed because it was not possible to remove the fungal tissue quantitatively. We conclude that any excavated bone specimen exhibiting signs of a prior invasion by microorganisms is unsuitable for trace element analysis, especially in cases where the soil is specifically enriched with the elements under study. However, when the soil does not show an excess of the elements to be analyzed, bone contamination by microorganisms is not significant at a statistical level, except for Mg, where an overall depletion is observed. Thus, trace element data of excavated skeletons can hardly be individualized, but are rather valid at a group level only.

AIRBORNE FUNGAL FLORA IN THE HOSPITAL AND HOMES OF ASTHMATIC CHILDREN

Airborne fungal flora in the hospital and 4 homes of hospitalized asthmatic childen were examined using a slit sampler. The indoor airborne fungal flora detected on the potato dextrose agar medium (PDA) was different from that detected from the outdoor air samples. Some kinds of fungi were fuond only in the indoor air samples. The average number of fungal colonies in the indoor air samples from homes (42.1) was higher than that in the indoor ones from the hospital (18.6) (p<0.001). One patient had often had attacks when he came home. One of the reasons for these attacks was supposed to be due to his exposure to more fungal elements in the home than in the hospital. The prevalence of an osmophilic fungus Wallemia sebi was studied: 5.1% of all indoor fungal colonies and 3.0% of all outdoor ones were detected on the dichroran glycerol agar medium (DG18), while 0.09% of all indoor fungal colonies and none from outdoor ones were detected on the PDA.Airborne fungal flora in 25 homes of non-asthmatic children was examined using the DG18 to detect osmophilic fungi. In the indoor air samples, Cladosporium had the highest incidence, followed by Penicillium, Alternaria, yeasts, Epicoccum and Aspergillus. W. sebi was the seventh most prevalent in the indoor air samples and the eleventh in the outdoor ones. The incidence of W. sebi in the 25 homes was significantly higher in the indoor air samples than in the outdoor ones (χ2test p<0.01). It was suggested that W. sebi and other osmophilic fungi might be predominant in the indoor air.