Inhibition of Spore Germination of Phakopsora Pachyrhizi Using Crude Extracts of Amaranthus Spinosus

The effectiveness of methanolic and n-hexane crude extracts of Amaranthus spinosus to inhibit the spore germination of Phakopsora pachyrhizi, a causal agent of soybean rust disease was studied. Both methanolic and n-hexane crude extracts inhibited spore germination at concentrations of 0.1% to 5.0%. Methanolic extract of the roots at a concentration of 2.5% inhibited 55% of spore germination, and this result was similar when higher concentration at 5% of methanolic and n-hexane extracts of the flowers was used. The presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and terpenoids in the extract may be responsible for the inhibition. The extract was potential to be utilized as a botanical fungicide.     

Automated fluorimetry in quality control of pasteurized and ultra-high temperature-treated starch soup

Automated monitoring of the microbiological quality of heat-processed foods by the resazurin reduction test was applied to microtitration plate incubator-fluorimeter technology. The appearance and disappearance of the fluorescing peak of resorufin was monitored on microtitration trays. Pasteurized or ultra-high temperature-treated starch-based soup was used as the model food system. Bacillus subtilis spores (ultra-high temperature treatment) and vegetative cells of Enterococcus faecalis (pasteurization) were inoculated into the soup before the heat treatment at levels which resulted in some survival. The timing of appearance of maximum fluorescence correlated with the number of bacteria in pre-incubated samples. Automated resazurin-reduction fluorimetry was compared with conventional plating, turbidometry and microcolony count by the direct epifluorescent filter technique. The results of the resazurin test correlated well with those of all the other methods tested. Fluorimetry had the advantage that the results could be read within 1–5h and the reproducibility was superior to the other methods.     

采用超高压破碎灵芝孢子的研究

本文研究了超高压破碎方法对灵芝孢子破壁的影响,实验结果表明:不同的灵芝孢子粉浓度对破壁率的影响不大,浓度为0.3%和0.5%都有较好的破壁效果,而选择灵芝孢子粉浓度为0.3%进行破壁处理是最好;不同的破碎次数对其总体的破壁率的影响十分明显,破碎一次的破壁率只能在53.46～64.45%之间,而破碎两次的破壁率最高能够达到85.68%,对灵芝孢子粉破壁三次,破壁率为88.47%。     

不同杀菌剂对玉米丝黑穗病原菌室内抑菌作用

采用孢子萌发法测定了戊唑醇、三唑酮、多菌灵和福美双4种杀菌剂对玉米丝黑穗病菌孢子萌发的抑制作用和毒力。结果表明，戊唑醇对玉米丝黑穗病菌孢子的萌发抑制作用最强，EC50为0．0369mg／L，表现出非常高的毒力．显著高于其他3种药剂．是防治该病害非常优秀的杀菌剂。     

Spores morphology of the family Pteridaceae from Shandong Province,China

In this article, we explored systematically the spore morphology of Pteridaceae by observation of the species distributed in Shandong Province using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the spore morphology of all the species in the family is tetrahedral and trilete. The characters of spore ornamentation are intraspecies stable, but significantly different among species and genera. Spore morphology is significant in exploring the phylogenetic relationships of Pteridaceae as well as in generic and specific delimitations.     

基于微生物灭活芽孢的矿冶粉尘清洁皂的制备及性能研究

矿冶粉尘给一线工人皮肤健康带来严重威胁。通过添加微生物灭活芽孢于清洁皂中,研究了不同芽孢添加量对清洁皂去污能力的影响,对比了硅藻土、活性炭和芽孢添加皂在粉尘去污和重金属去除方面的异同,并通过感官评价测试了三种皂在皮肤清洁方面的效果。结果表明,添加硅藻土可以达到80%的粉尘去除率。而活性炭尽管比表面积高,但微粒细小同样易于吸附于手掌纹理中,造成二次污染,故去除率最低。在基础皂中添加1%(w/w)灭活芽孢对粉尘污染的去污率达到了95%,二次洗涤可将重金属去除率从90%提高到95%以上。感官评价中,黑色活性炭的吸附作用造成了清洗后的手掌依然不够干净,观感最差;硅藻土皂的清洁效果接近日常家用皂,观感居中;而芽孢皂的清洁效果最明显,观感最佳。     

The ability of zinc to inhibit the sporulation and viability of Clostridium sporogenes and growth of other bacteria

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of zinc on the sporulation and viability of Clostridium sporogenes and on the growth of other bacteria. When 0.5% ZnCl₂ was added to a sporulation medium, it completely inhibited C. sporogenes (PA 3679) sporulation for up to 3 weeks. At concentrations of 0.5% and 1.0%, ZnCl₂ not only completely inactivated the vegetative cell viability (>7.0 Log reduction) but also significantly reduced the spore viability (<2.1 Log reduction) of C. sporogenes. Taken together, it was concluded that zinc blocks C. sporogenes sporulation by damaging (or killing) vegetative cells and probably by interfering with the biosynthesis of spore components. In addition to the inhibitory effect on the sporulation and viability of C. sporogenes, ZnCl₂ was found to have a broad antimicrobial spectrum against all Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative spoilage and pathogenic bacteria tested. The minimal inhibitory concentration for inhibiting the bacteria ranged between 3.7 and 7.4 mm . Therefore, we expect that this compound or a combination thereof has a potential as a surface‐cleaning agent or disinfectant.     

Effect of Nanoencapsulated Vitamin B1 Derivative on Inhibition of Both Mycelial Growth and Spore Germination of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. raphani

Nanoencapsulation of thiamine dilauryl sulfate (TDS), a vitamin B1 derivative, was proved to effectively inhibit the spore germination of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. raphani (F. oxysporum), as well as mycelial growth. The average diameter of nanoparticles was measured as 136 nm by being encapsulated with an edible encapsulant, lecithin, whose encapsulation efficiency was about 55% in containing 200 ppm of TDS concentration: the 100 ppm TDS nanoparticle solution showed a mycelial growth inhibition rate of 59%. These results were about similar or even better than the cases of treating 100 ppm of dazomet, a positive antifungal control (64%). Moreover, kinetic analysis of inhibiting spore germination were estimated as 6.6% reduction of spore germination rates after 24 h treatment, which were 3.3% similar to the case of treating 100 ppm of a positive control (dazomet) for the same treatment time. It was also found that TDS itself could work as an antifungal agent by inhibiting both mycelial growth and spore germination, even though its efficacy was lower than those of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles especially played a more efficient role in limiting the spore germination, due to their easy penetration into hard cell membranes and long resident time on the surface of the spore shell walls. In this work, it was first demonstrated that the nanoparticle of TDS not a harmful chemical can control the growth of F. oxysporum by using a lower dosage than commercial herbicides, as well as the inhibiting mechanism of the TDS. However, field trials of the TDS nanoparticles encapsulated with lecithin should be further studied to be effectively used for field applications.     

Viability and surface properties of spores subjected to a cleaning-in-place procedure: Consequences on their ability to contaminate surfaces of equipment

This study was designed to evaluate how conditions encountered by spores during cleaning-in-place (CIP) procedures affected their surface properties, their viability and ability to contaminate materials. Spores from five Bacillus cereus strains were treated with NaOH at high temperature. Results revealed that high temperatures (exceeding 60 °C) and NaOH concentrations (over 0.5%) were required to significantly decrease spore viability (3–5 log decrease). In these conditions, modifications were also clearly observed by microscopy to various surface structures of spores (appendages, exosporium, and especially to the hair-like nap) but also to their coat. Therefore, the ability of culturable spores to adhere decreased for the majority of strains tested. We then demonstrated that spores in suspension in NaOH could adhere to surfaces of a CIP rig and that the contamination level was controlled by flow pattern. Consequently, re-adhesion along the processing line might occur during CIP procedures and this phenomenon must be taken into account when defining cleaning strategies.