Interrelationship Among Seed Quality Parameters and Fungi Associated with Seeds of Cotton (Gossypium Hirsutum L.)

A total of twenty nine species of fungi namely Aspergillus aculeatus Lizuka, A. flavus Link, A. fumigatus Fresenius, A. niger Van Tiegh, A. nidulans Eidam, A. subramanianii Visagie, Frisvad & Samson, A. tamariiKita G., A. toxicarius Murak, A. wentii Wehmer, Curvularial unata (Wakker) Boedijn, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Sacc., C. gossypii Southw., Chaetomium globosum Kunze., Fusarium moniliforme J. Shelden, F. nivale (Fr.) Sorauer, F. oxysporum Schlechtendal, F. fujikuroi Nirenberg, F. solani(Mart.) Sacc., Lasiodiplodiatheobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl., Meyerozyma guilliermondii (Wick.) Kurtzman & M. Suzuki., Mucor sp. P. Micheli ex L., Penicillium aculeatum Raper& Fennell, Penicillium citrinum Thom, Rhizoctonia solani Khun., Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb.) Vuill., Rhizopus oryzae Went & Prins. Geerl., Rhizo mucor sp. Luce t & Costantin, Syncephalastrum racemosum Cohn and Trichoderma viride Pers. were found to be associated with the seeds of 14 varieties viz. CB-1 to CB-14 of cotton. Seed quality analysis showed that percentage of pure seeds, germination, moisture, seedling mortality and associated fungi with different varieties of cotton seeds varies from 97.08-99.92%, 80-93%, 10-11.3%, 16.05-50.30% and 24-78.0% respectively. Present study deals with estimation of interrelationship between some quality factors through correlation and regression analysis are important for the assessment of seed quality. There were negative correlations between seedling mortality and purity percentage and between germination rate and fungus frequency. On the other hand, positive correlations were found between germination rate and purity percentage, between seedling mortality and fungus frequency, between purity percentage and fungus frequency, between germination rate and seed moisture and between fungus frequency and seed moisture. CB 8 was superior from the other cotton variety as it showed higher physical purity of seed (98.41%), higher seed germination (92%), lower fungal incidence (24%) and lower mortality of seedling (23.91%). Bioresearch Commu. 8(1): 1061-1067, 2022 (January)

WHY MUCORMYCOSIS(BLACK FUNGUS) CAN NOT BE DECLARED AS EPIDEMIC IN INDIA

While the whole world is under attack of a second wave and of a more severe potent mutant form of SARS CoV-2 virus causing SEVERE COVID 19 PNEUMONIA pandemic ,a new disease is on the verge of getting declared as an epidemic named MUCORMYCOSIS OR BLACK FUNGUS (in common term). MUCORMYCOSIS is an umbrella term used for an opportunistic infection caused by several fungi belong to GLOMEROMYCOTAFAMILY(mucor, zygomucor,lichtheimia,syncephalastrumetc) these saprophytic fungi can be found in soil,food damped walled in the environment which were actually considered as an non pathogenic organism to human. In current days it has become an emerging disease in the world especially in india. Now the COVID ASSOCIATED MUCORMYCOSIS has raised a severe threat and fear in india during these second wave of CORONAVIRUS INFECTION.Due to irrational use of the drug PREDNISOLON OR DEXAMETHSONE(which basically belong to steroid group of drugs) for the management of COVID 19 AQUIRED PNEUMONIAMOR,ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE ON HIGH O2 REQUIREMENT has raise 2 issuesone is improper glycemic control,second is severe immunosupressant stage HERE IS A CASE REPORT THAT CAN PROVE THAT CASES OF MUCORMYCOSIS WERE INEVIDENTLY PRESENT IN INDIA EVEN BEFORE THIS PANDEMIC STARTED. A 40 years old male,a cotton mill worker ,was admitted in the emergency observation ward OF IPGME&R AND SSKM HOSPITAL,KOLKATA AROUND THE MONTH OF OCTOBER IN 2018 with random blood glucose level(RBS) 702 gm/dl along with a history of necrotic oral ulcer over the hard pallete extending posteriorly along with left sided nasal blockage with complaint of difficulty to eat and swallow both liquid and solid and rhinolalia since 45 days. There was no history of fever,cough,haemoptysis,no history of trauma to the affected site or tuberculosis. At this point with a high RBS and elevated urea creatinin level patient was diagnosed to be in diabetic ketoacidosis and he was managed with iv. Insuline and hence forth his blood glucose level was kept under control with insulin therapy. While taking the history it came into our notice that the patient is a known case of type 2 diabetes mellitus and CKD-STAGE V due to IgA Nephropathy for which he was receiving Prednisolon which he suddenly discontinued 15 days before admission and he also underwent haemodialysis twice. On local examination he had a necrotic ulcer over the hard palate and necrotic debris in the nasal cavity(as evident in the nasal endoscopy).CT —nose+PNS showed left sided maxi antrum opacity suggestive of pansinusitis . All broad spectrum antibiotics along with iv voriconazol was started as the patient was immune compromised. After 2 days of his admission though his diabetes was under control patient suddenly showed orbital involvement and visual impairement on the left eye.A repeat CT showed progression of the sinusoidal opacity toward the retro orbital space and a bulky oedematous left inferior rectus due to inflammation and then he was refered to microbiology department with a suspection of mucormicosis?.scrapping material was collected from the oral ulceration site and KOH mount was done ? broad aseptate hyphae with acute angle branching? Suggestive of mucormicosis and culture was done in SDA and SDCA media. Culture growth revealed abundant, erected mycelium(around 0.5cm tall) .the surface colour of the colony was at first white to yellow,after a few days the centre tured black?.Lactophenol cotton blue(LPCB) stain from the growth showed wide ribbon like aseptate hyphae with sporangiophores terminated in swollen vesicles with radial merosporangiae with spores A confirmed diagnosis of Rhino orbital zygomycosis due to Syncephalastrum racemosum was made. The patient was put on intensive short acting insulin to achieve optimum glycemic control.As there was high risk of vascular invasion of mucormicosis(which is the most common mode of pathogenecity of these group of fungi) leading to sudden stroke following ischemia a surgical debridement was done and infected tissue was removed. He was put on intravenous liposomal Amphotricine B 300mg daily OD and later shifted to take voriconazole 200 BD.the patient got discharged in favourable condition. Now literature shows Fluconazole, voriconazole, and itraconazole do not have reliable activity against mucormycosis.DRUGS OF CHOICE should be Liposomal amphotericin, Amphotericin B lipid complex, Posaconazole, Echinocandins, Deferasirox. In recent senario during the pandemic many COVID 19 positive patients are getting advices from tele medicine or vedio consultation or many patients are self medicating themseleves learning from various social media in india.Now the taking drugs like prednisolon with out proper monitoring and sudden discontinuation the drug once the patient is feeling better is giving rise to stage of absolute lack of circulating neutrophils causing either pulmonary ,or rhinocerebral or rhino orbital mucormycosis in those patients even after recovering from COVID 19 INFECTION.The HRCT CHEST of those patients with pulmonary mucormycosis is very difficult to differentiate from the ground glass opacity formed in the lungs caused by COVID 19 PNEUMONIA So unsupervised intake of steroids or prolonged use of steroids along with improper use of antifungals are causing the rise of the this opportunistic infection in india which is increasing rate of fatality.

Synthesis, Spectroscopic Properties, Anti-Breast Cancer and Anti-Microbial Studies of Some Metal Complexes for New Schiff Base Ligand Derived From Anthranilic Acid.

2,2’-((1Z-1’Z) (1,3-diphenylpropane-1,3-diylidene) bis (azanylylidene)) dibenzoic acid (H2L) Schiff base ligand, was obtained by condensation reaction between anthranilic acid and dibenzoyl methane in 2:1 ratio.A series of Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) complexes was resulted from 1:1 (ligand: metal salt) reaction.The structural features of the synthesized ligand and its metal complexes was determined by elemental analyses, IR, 1H NMR, UV-Vis, ESR, mass spectra, conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements as well as thermal (TG/DTG) analyses. The analytical and spectroscopic tools showed that the complexes had composition of ML type with octahedral geometry. The IR results confirmed the tetradendate binding of the ligand involving two azomethine nitrogen atoms and two carboxylate oxygens. The Schiff base and its complexes have been screened for their antimicrobial activity against several bacterial organisms as (Streptococcus pneumoniae and Bacillus subtilis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) and fungi (Aspergillus fumigatus; Syncephalastrum racemosum; Geotricum candidum and Candida albicans) by disk diffusion method.All the metal complexes have potent antimicrobial activity than the free ligand. Anticancer activity of the ligand and its metal complexes was evaluated against human cancer (MCF-7 cells viability).

Susceptibility of Filamentous Fungi to Voriconazole in Malaysia Tested by Sensititre YeastOne and CLSI Microdilution Methods

Background: Voriconazole is a trizaole antifungal to treat fungal infection. In this study, the susceptibility pattern of voriconazole against filamentous fungi was studied using Sensititre® YeastOne and Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M38 broth microdilution method. Methods: The suspected cultures of Aspergillus niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. versicolor, A. sydowii, A. calidoutus, A. creber, A. ochraceopetaliformis, A. tamarii, Fusarium solani, F. longipes, F. falciferus, F. keratoplasticum, Rhizopus oryzae, R. delemar, R. arrhizus, Mucor sp., Poitrasia circinans, Syncephalastrum racemosum and Sporothrix schenckii were received from hospitals. Their identification had been confirmed in our lab and susceptibility tests were performed using Sensititre® YeastOne and CLSI M38 broth microdilution method. The significant differences between two methods were calculated using Wilcoxon Sign Rank test.Results: Mean of the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) for Aspergillus spp. and Fusarium were within 0.25 μg/mL-2.00 μg/mL by two methods except A. calidoutus, F. solani and F. keratoplasticum. Moreover, mean of MIC for S. schenkii were around 3.00 μg/mL by two methods. In contrast, mean of MIC for Rhizopus spp., Mucor sp., P. circinans and S. racemosum were ≥6.00 μg/mL by two methods. Generally, the MIC obtained by Sensititre YeastOne was one two-fold increase or decrease compared with the results obtained by CLSI method. The overall agreement between Sensititre YeastOne and CLSI methods to test susceptibility testing of voricaonazole was more than 70% except A. sydowii. The significant differences between two methods were significant when tested on A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. versicolor, A. sydowii, F. solani and S. schenkii. Conclusions: In conclusion, Sensititre YeastOne method appears to be an alternative procedure for antifungal susceptibility testing for some Malaysian moulds.

Syncephalastrum racemosum as aRare Agent of Rhino-orbital Mucormycosis:A Case Report and Review

Fungal infection of the paranasal sinuses is an increasingly recognised entity both in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. Aspergillus species are the most common aetiologic agents of this disease. Zygomycete agents are the common culprits in the immunocompromised group. The most common agent causing human disease is Rhizopus species followed by Rhizomucorspp. The important risk factors are uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and immunsupression. Here, a rare case of pansinusitis with Syncephalastrum racemosum was reported in a 13-year-old male child with aplastic anaemia. Syncephalastrum racemosum has been debated for its role in human diseases and very few reports are documented. To the best of our knowledge this was the third report of rhino-orbital infection caused by this fungus. Syncephalastrum racemosum should be considered as one of the aetiologic agents of rhino-orbital infections especially in the immunocompromised group.