Sesquiterpenoids and Xanthones from the Kiwifruit-Associated Fungus Bipolaris sp. and Their Anti-Pathogenic Microorganism Activity

Nine previously undescribed sesquiterpenoids, bipolarisorokins A–I (1–9); two new xanthones, bipolarithones A and B (10 and 11); two novel sativene-xanthone adducts, bipolarithones C and D (12 and 13); as well as five known compounds (14–18) were characterized from the kiwifruit-associated fungus Bipolaris sp. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods, electronic circular dichroism (ECD), 13C NMR calculations, DP4+ probability analyses, and single crystal X-ray diffractions. Many compounds exhibited anti-pathogenic microorganism activity against the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae and four pathogenic microorganisms.

Frequencies of drought at Ranchi regions, Jharkhand

Studies of water balance have been carried out for Ranchi taking 35 years (1970-2004) of climate data. Ranchi has annual water need of 1754 mm, rainfall of 1460 mm, actual evapotranspiration (AE) of 860 mm, water surplus (WS) of 600 mm and water deficit (WD) of 894 mm. The aridity index values were analyzed to assess the frequency of drought experienced of this region. The study reveals that during the above period, Ranchi has experienced 11 percent of large drought and severe drought, but only 3 per cent disastrous droughts in 35 years. Moderate drought category is observed to be most common with 23 per cent probability. Analyses of periods will contagious drought indicate that during the five year period 1980-84 and 1995-99, moderate, large and severe droughts were experienced.

Yuxiensis granularis gen. et sp. nov., a Novel Quellkörper-Bearing Fungal Taxon Added to Scortechiniaceae and Inclusion of Parasympodiellaceae in Coronophorales Based on Phylogenetic Evidence

An undetermined saprobic fungal taxon from Yunnan (China) is revealed as a new genus in Scortechiniaceae (Coronophorales). The novel taxon, Yuxiensis, is characterized by immersed to erumpent, semi-globose ascomata, which are not surrounded by any tomentum or conspicuous subiculum, a subcylindrical quellkörper in the centrum, clavate asci with long pedicels and allantoid hyaline ascospores with granular contents. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian posterior probability analyses based on LSU, ITS, tef1 and rpb2 sequence data depict a close phylogenetic relationship of the new genus to Pseudocatenomycopsis, hence, confirming its placement in Scortechiniaceae. Parasympodiellaceae, thus far belonging to Parasympodiellales, is transferred to Coronophorales based on multi-gene phylogenetic evidence. Additionally, the incertae sedis monotypic genus Arthrocristula is treated as a synonym of Parasympodiella, with Arthrocristula hyphenata recombined as Parasympodiella hyphenata comb. nov., as the type strain of Arthrocristula hyphenata clusters inside the Parasympodiellaceae clade along with other Parasympodiella taxa.