Features of the Bacillus thuringiensis 888 strain’s influence on the content of essential oil, antioxidants and flavonoids in Origanum vulgare L.

This article aims to study the influence of the culture of the Bacillus thuringiensis var. thuringiensis 888 on the quality of the vegetative mass of Origanum vulgare in terms of the number of antioxidants and flavonoids, yield and composition of the essential oil. The research material included a liquid spore culture of the B. thuringiensis 888 strain, samples of oregano: sample no. g-4, containing 52.0% carvacrol in essential oil; No. 2 containing 59.85% α-terpineol; No. 1 with a predominant content of germacrene D (21.5%) and β- caryophyllene (19.4%). Soluble carbohydrates in the plants were determined using M.S. Dubois’s method, flavonoids – spectrophotometrically at 420 nm following R.A. Bubenchikov’s method. The total content of antioxidants was determined using the reduction of iron(III) chloride to iron(II) chloride. The essential oil content of Origanum vulgare was determined by using hydrodistillation following A.S. Ginsberg. Gas chromatography was used to determine component composition of the essential oil. The results show that treating the O. vulgare samples with the spore culture of B. thuringiensis 888 strain culture does not significantly affect the accumulation of terpenoid quinones, tochromanols and water-soluble antioxidants in leaves. It has been shown that treating oregano with an ordinary liquid spore culture of the B. thuringiensis 888 strain promotes the formation of a persistent tendency towards the accumulation of reducing sugars in the vegetative mass of plants — up to 30.8% compared to the control. Treating plants with a culture of B. Thuringiensis 888 strain promoted an increase in the essential oil content in O. vulgare plants of the sample no. 1 by 2.4 times, as compared to the control and did not significantly affect the essential oil content of the samples no. 2 and no. g-4. The sample no. g-4 was the most resistant to treatment with entomopathogenic bacteria, and the content of linalool and caryophyllene oxide in essential oils decreased by 44.6 and 37.1%, respectively, and linalyl acetate by 4.3 times compared with the control, as well as the accumulation of α-terpineol by 86.1%.

Potential use of Claroideoglomus etunicatum to enrich signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens Stapf.) for silvopasture preparation

Silvopasture system improvement in managing post-mining land resources has been done by searching for a quality grass. One of the selected grass species is signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens Stapf.). This research aimed to prepare signal grass through the inoculation of AMF Claroideoglomus etunicatum, as an effort to enrich its growth before being applied to post-mining soil. Research stages included the AMF inoculation on signal grass through spore culture and then transferred the colonized grass to the pot using sterile zeolite as a growth medium. The treatment on the first stage was without and with AMF inoculation (dose of 20 spores) on signal grass which was repeated for 12 times. Incubation in a spore culture was 4 weeks while incubation in a pot containing sterile zeolite medium was 8 weeks. Research data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk’s normality test, Independent Sample T-test, and Pearson’s correlation test. Observation results showed that the inoculation of C. etunicatum on signal grass was significantly impact on the increase of plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, number of tillers, shoot and root fresh weight, and shoot dry weight (p <0.05). Microscopic observation showed that there was AMF colonization on treated signal grass roots in the amount of 55 ± 0.06 % with number of spores was 252 ± 9.82 per 10 g zeolites, while AMF infection was not found in uninoculated signal grass. It is expected that by providing signal grass inoculated with AMF C. etunicatum would support its growth in post-mining land for Silvopasture system.

The role of earthworms in the spread of anthrax

The article discusses the issue of the danger of earthworms in the spread of anthrax in connection with the long-term persistence of the causative agent of the disease in the soil of cattle burial grounds. The results of assessing the effect of earthworms on soil cleansing from the anthrax pathogen and the properties of microorganisms isolated from worms are presented. Studies have shown that under the influence of worms, the amount of anthrax pathogen in the soil decreases by 30–50%, but the remaining spores did not change their properties and retained all the main biological and genetic factors of pathogenicity. Key words: earthworms, anthrax causative agent, spore culture, cultivation

Stable Tetrodotoxin Production by Bacillus sp. Strain 1839

For the first time, tetrodotoxin (TTX) was detected in a bacterial strain after five years of cultivation in laboratory conditions since its isolation from the animal host. A reliable method suitable for bacterial samples, high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, was used for toxin detection in spore and vegetative cultures of Bacillus sp. 1839. TTX was detected in a spore culture of the strain.

Keberadaan Mikoriza Arbuskular pada Lokasi Pertanaman Jarak Pagar (Jatropha curcas L.) di Lembah Palu

Plant rhizosphere has various types of microorganisms, including Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Fungi (AMF). Each ecosystem has different species and densities of AMF. For further use, study the potency of indigenous AMF is necessary. This research was conducted to know the existence and potency of indigenous AMF of soil where physic nuts grow on dry land of Palu Valley at Poboya, Palu, Central Sulawesi. Soil samples were collected, and then observed under microscope. The steps to study the potency of AMF were counting the propagules with Most Probable Number (MPN) method, spora trapping, identifying the types of spore, and single spore culture. The result showed that the number of infective AMF propagules from cultivated soil was 1117 microorganisms/g soil and from of natural soil was 711 microorganisms/g soil; and indigenous AMF from the soil where physic nut grown at Lembah Palu were dominated by Glomus sp.

Spore Germination, Gametophyte Development and Studies of the Growth Rate of Adiantum capillus-veneris L.

Spore culture of Adiantum capillus-veneris was carried out with a view to massively raising new fernlets cultured in growth nutrient with agar and to study its growth rate. Petri-dishes B, C, D and E containing modified Moores nutrient were used with ‘A’ containing wet soil without nutrient and served as control. All the Petri-dishes were autoclaved for 15 minutes and allowed to cool before sowing sterilized spores in three replicates and maintained at pH 5.80 and 23±2 °C with cool fluorescent white light in the incubator. Spores imbibed water from the nutrient, ruptured and germination started six days after sowing with emergence of colourless, uniseriate, elongated filamentous rhizoid. Prothallial cell which was green in colour started growing perpendicularly to the rhizoid. The germination rate was scored at an interval of four days for thirty days. Various stages of growth recorded include filamentous, spatulate, prothallus and two leaved fernlets. The heart-shaped gametophyte developed between 27-60 days with 12-16 rhizoids, archegonia and antheridia. Both archegonia and antheridia were found on each gametophyte, showing the evidence of being homosporous fern. This type of gametophyte growth and development is called Drynaria type. After 8 weeks from the transfer into the garden soil, plant height and increase in the number of leaves were observed and recorded. No growth was observed in the control showed there is need for protocol in raising massive fernlets rapidly within a short time. The study showed that A. capillus-veneris could be raised easily from freshly collected spores.