scholarly journals A potential microbial control for fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)

2005 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.S. Winder ◽  
A.K. Watson

Diseased fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) plants were collected in Quebec and organisms isolated from these plants were evaluated as potential biocontrol agents. Thirteen pathogenic fungi were isolated and three of these (Colletotrichum dematium, Seimatosporium kriegerianum, and Alternaria alternata) were virulent in initial screening assays. C. dematium was selected for further study because it was the most virulent pathogen, causing large necrotic lesions on leaves and stems of infected plants. Inoculum production was optimized on modified malt extract agar and the virulence enhanced by suppression of the conidial matrix with tannic acid and the addition of extracts of Aloe saponaria. The fungus was pathogenic to fireweed and E. lanceolatum, while other test species were very resistant or immune. Measurements of conidial and appressorial dimensions and its restricted host range support the hypothesis that the isolate may be an unreported form-species. Application of formulated conidia consistently provided 100% mortality of 7-wk-old inoculated fireweed rosettes within 48 h using 109 conidia m-2, from 10- to 15-d-old inoculum, and a 18- to 24-h dew period. Virulence was diminished in older plants. In field trials, growth of inoculated rosettes was reduced by 33%. These results suggest that C. dematium is a promising candidate for further development as a control agent for seedling fireweed in silviculture.

1979 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Smirnoff ◽  
Jeremy N. McNeil ◽  
Pierre Lamothe

AbstractThe baculovirus of Thymelicus lineola (Ochs.) has proved most effective as a microbial control agent of its host in numerous field trials, however, prior to its general use in an integrated control programme its possible deleterious effects on non-target organisms must be considered. Therefore the pathogenicity of this baculovirus to sheep and its cytopathogenicity to tissue cultures of lamb and calf testes were studied. Preliminary tests on 16 insect species were also carried out. No macro- or microscopic differences were detected between treated and control groups, suggesting that this baculovirus is quite specific and that its use as a microbial insecticide is feasible against T. lineola.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 5857
Author(s):  
Brandy J. Johnson ◽  
Anthony P. Malanoski ◽  
Jeffrey S. Erickson

This review describes an ongoing effort intended to develop wireless sensor networks for real-time monitoring of airborne targets across a broad area. The goal is to apply the spectrophotometric characteristics of porphyrins and metalloporphyrins in a colorimetric array for detection and discrimination of changes in the chemical composition of environmental air samples. The work includes hardware, software, and firmware design as well as development of algorithms for identification of event occurrence and discrimination of targets. Here, we describe the prototype devices and algorithms related to this effort as well as work directed at selection of indicator arrays for use with the system. Finally, we review the field trials completed with the prototype devices and discuss the outlook for further development.


2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (14) ◽  
pp. 4661-4667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Hernández-Soto ◽  
M. Cristina Del Rincón-Castro ◽  
Ana M. Espinoza ◽  
Jorge E. Ibarra

ABSTRACT Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis is the most widely used microbial control agent against mosquitoes and blackflies. Its insecticidal success is based on an arsenal of toxins, such as Cry4A, Cry4B, Cry11A, and Cyt1A, harbored in the parasporal crystal of the bacterium. A fifth toxin, Cry10Aa, is synthesized at very low levels; previous attempts to clone and express Cry10Aa were limited, and no parasporal body was formed. By using a new strategy, the whole Cry10A operon was cloned in the pSTAB vector, where both open reading frames ORF1 and ORF2 (and the gap between the two) were located, under the control of the cyt1A operon and the STAB-SD stabilizer sequence characteristic of this vector. Once the acrystalliferous mutant 4Q7 of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis was transformed with this construct, parasporal bodies were observed by phase-contrast microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Discrete, ca. 0.9-μm amorphous parasporal bodies were observed in the mature sporangia, which were readily purified by gradient centrifugation once autolysis had occurred. Pure parasporal bodies showed two major bands of ca. 68 and 56 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. These bands were further characterized by N-terminal sequencing of tryptic fragments using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry analysis, which identified both bands as the products of ORF1 and ORF2, respectively. Bioassays against fourth-instar larvae of Aedes aegypti of spore-crystal complex and pure crystals of Cry10Aa gave estimated 50% lethal concentrations of 2,061 ng/ml and 239 ng/ml, respectively. Additionally, synergism was clearly detected between Cry10A and Cyt1A, as the synergistic levels (potentiation rates) were estimated at 13.3 for the mixture of Cyt1A crystals and Cry10Aa spore-crystal complex and 12.6 for the combination of Cyt1A and Cry10Aa pure crystals.


Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Amanda Holland ◽  
Renaud Travadon ◽  
Daniel P. Lawrence ◽  
Mohamed Taieb Nouri ◽  
Florent P Trouillas

Almond trunk and branch canker diseases constitute a major cause of tree mortality in California. Numerous fungal pathogens have been associated with these canker diseases and pruning wounds act as major infection courts. Prior to this study, there were no products registered in California for the management of these diseases. In this study, fungicidal products including synthetic chemistries, biocontrols, paint and a sealant were evaluated for preventing fungal pathogen infection via pruning wounds. In four field trials conducted over two dormant seasons, sixteen pruning wound treatments were tested using hand-held spray applications, against five almond canker pathogens, namely Botryosphaeria dothidea, Neofusicoccum parvum, Cytospora sorbicola, Ceratocystis destructans, and Eutypa lata. The fungicide thiophanate-methyl (Topsin M) provided 82% overall disease prevention against four fungal pathogens. The biological control agent, Trichoderma atroviride SC1 (Vintec), tested at three application rates, resulted in 90 to 93% protection of pruning wounds in field trials, and for individual pathogens ranged from 81-100% protection for the three rates. At the time of this publication, Vintec is being considered for registration as a biological control product for the prevention of almond canker diseases, while Topsin M is recommended to growers for the prevention of almond canker diseases. This research indicates that effective protection of pruning wounds from infection by almond canker pathogens can be achieved with a one-time spray application of thiophanate-methyl or the biocontrol, T. atroviride SC1 (recommended 2 g/liter) after pruning.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuen-Huang Tsai ◽  
Yu-Ting Chen ◽  
Yu-Liang Yang ◽  
Bo-Yi Lee ◽  
Chien-Jui Huang ◽  
...  

Paenibacillus polymyxa is a beneficial bacterium for plant health. Paenibacillus polymyxa TP3 exhibits antagonistic activity toward Botrytis cinerea and alleviates gray mold symptoms on the leaves of strawberry plants. Moreover, suppression of gray mold on the flowers and fruits of strawberry plants in field trials, including vegetative cells and endospores, was demonstrated, indicating the potential of strain TP3 as a biological control agent. To examine the anti-B. cinerea compounds produced by P. polymyxa TP3, matrix‐assisted laser‐desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was performed and fusaricidin-corresponding mass spectra were detected. Moreover, fusaricidin-related signals appeared in imaging mass spectrometry of TP3 when confronted with B. cinerea. By using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based molecular networking approach, several fusaricidins were identified including a new variant of m/z 917.5455 with serine in the first position of the hexapeptide. Via advanced mass spectrometry and network analysis, fusaricidin-type compounds produced by P. polymyxa TP3 were efficiently disclosed and were presumed to play roles in the antagonism against gray mold pathogen B. cinerea.


Molecules ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 2883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cang Zhang ◽  
Xiaolan Zhang ◽  
Guangji Wang ◽  
Ying Peng ◽  
Xueyuan Zhang ◽  
...  

C118P, a phosphate prodrug of C118, which is a novel microtubule protein inhibitor, is currently under Phase I clinical development in China for treating ovarian cancer and lung cancer. The preclinical pharmacokinetics of prodrug C118P and its metabolite C118 were extensively characterized in vivo in mice, rats, and dogs and in vitro to support the further development of C118P. The preclinical tissue distribution and excretion were investigated in rats. Plasma protein binding in mice, rat, and human, and hepatic microsomal metabolic stability in mice, rat, dog, monkey, and human, were also evaluated. The (AUC0-inf) and C30s of C118P at 50 mg/kg in rats and 6 mg/kg in dogs, and the C2min of C118 at 6 mg/kg in dogs increased less than the dosage increase, suggested nonlinear pharmacokinetic occurred at high dose. As a prodrug, C118P can be quickly hydrolyzed into C118 after an intravenous administration. The unbound C118 in plasma is slightly higher than C118P. C118P can hardly penetrate the tissue, while C118 can distribute widely into tissues. In tumor-bearing nude mice, the concentration of C118 is high in lung, ovary, and tumor, with an extended half-life in tumor. C118P is a promising candidate prodrug for further clinical development.


1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (S171) ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Zelazny ◽  
M.S. Goettel ◽  
B. Keller

AbstractBacteria have been implicated in disease epizootics observed in field populations and laboratory-reared locusts and grasshoppers. Two species [Serratia marcescens Bizio and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Schroeter) Migula] consistently infect locusts when ingested with food and can spread in laboratory populations. However, research on developing these organisms for microbial control of locusts and grasshoppers begun in the 1950s has not been continued. In recent years strains of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner have been studied for activity against locusts and grasshoppers. Results of additional trials by the authors are reported. Among 393 B. thuringiensis isolates and 93 preparations of other sporeforming bacteria fed to nymphs of Locusta migratoria (L.) and/or Schistocerca gregaria Forsk., none has shown any pathogenicity to the insects. The recent discovery of novel B. thuringiensis strains active against various diverse pests and the many properties of a sporeforming bacterium that satisfy the requirements for a microbial control agent, and the development of Serratia entomophila as a promising agent for control of grass grubs, provide incentive to continue the search for an orthopteran-active sporeforming bacterium and to re-investigate the potential of non-sporeforming bacterial pathogens as microbial control agents of grasshoppers and locusts.


Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 936
Author(s):  
Ze Yang ◽  
Qiu Zhong ◽  
Shilong Zheng ◽  
Guangdi Wang ◽  
Ling He

A series of novel 1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]deca-6,9-diene-3,8-diones were designed and synthesized by using 4-aminophenol and α-glycolic acid or lactic acid as starting materials in three or four steps. The key step is the metal-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of the amide to 1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]deca-6,9-diene-3,8-diones (10a and 10b), the reaction conditions of which are investigated and optimized. The anticancer activity of 17 1-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]deca-6,9-diene-3,8-dione derivatives was evaluated. Preliminary results showed that 15 compounds have moderate to potent activity against human lung cancer A549, human breast cancer MDA-MB-231, and human cervical cancer HeLa cancer cell lines. Among them, compounds 11b and 11h were the most potent against A549 cell line with 0.18 and 0.19 µM of IC50, respectively; compounds 11d, 11h, and 11k showed the most potent cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 cell line with 0.08, 0.08, and 0.09 µM of IC50, respectively, while the activities of 11h, 11k, and 12c against HeLa cell line were the most potent with 0.15, 0.14, and 0.14 µM of IC50, respectively. Compound 11h is a promising candidate for further development, which emerged as the most effective compound overall against the three tested cancer cell lines.


2011 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. O. Stockwell ◽  
K. B. Johnson ◽  
D. Sugar ◽  
J. E. Loper

Mixtures of biological control agents can be superior to individual agents in suppressing plant disease, providing enhanced efficacy and reliability from field to field relative to single biocontrol strains. Nonetheless, the efficacy of combinations of Pseudomonas fluorescens A506, a commercial biological control agent for fire blight of pear, and Pantoea vagans strain C9-1 or Pantoea agglomerans strain Eh252 rarely exceeds that of individual strains. A506 suppresses growth of the pathogen on floral colonization and infection sites through preemptive exclusion. C9-1 and Eh252 produce peptide antibiotics that contribute to disease control. In culture, A506 produces an extracellular protease that degrades the peptide antibiotics of C9-1 and Eh252. We hypothesized that strain A506 diminishes the biological control activity of C9-1 and Eh252, thereby reducing the efficacy of biocontrol mixtures. This hypothesis was tested in five replicated field trials comparing biological control of fire blight using strain A506 and A506 aprX::Tn5, an extracellular protease-deficient mutant, as individuals and combined with C9-1 or Eh252. On average, mixtures containing A506 aprX::Tn5 were superior to those containing the wild-type strain, confirming that the extracellular protease of A506 diminished the biological control activity of C9-1 and Eh252 in situ. Mixtures of A506 aprX::Tn5 and C9-1 or Eh252 were superior to oxytetracycline or single biocontrol strains in suppressing fire blight of pear. These experiments demonstrate that certain biological control agents are mechanistically incompatible, in that one strain interferes with the mechanism by which a second strain suppresses plant disease. Mixtures composed of mechanistically compatible strains of biological control agents can suppress disease more effectively than individual biological control agents.


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