Molecular characterization of opportunistic pathogenic zygomycetes

The term zygomycosis refers to a diverse group of mycotic diseases caused by members of the orders Mucorales and Entomophthorales. These infections are frequently associated with diabetic ketoacidosis, deferoxamine treatment, cancer and its therapy, solid organ or bone marrow transplantations, extreme malnutrition and neutropenia. Although these mycoses are relatively rare, their high mortality rate underline the importance of this group of fungal infections. Molecular techniques are widely used to identify the virulence factors of clinically important fungi or to develop useful diagnostic techniques. However, application of these methods to characterize the opportunistic pathogenic nature of zygomycetes started only a few years ago. This review discusses the current state of molecular studies performed on the pathogenicity and diagnosis of zygomycetes causing opportunistic human mycosis

Közművelődési törekvések Magyarországon a felvilágosodás idején és a reformkorban = Adult Education in Hungary in the Enlightenment and in the Reformed Age

Kutatásunk célja annak feltárása volt, hogy a köznép művelésére, nevelésére milyen törekvések történtek Magyarországon a felvilágosodás idején és a reformkorban. Jelentős eredménynek tekintjük, hogy a kutatási periódus alatt a kutatás témájából megjelent egy monográfia (Fehér Katalin: (Népfelvilágosító törekvések Magyarországon 1777-1849), egy forrásgyűjtemény (A magyar felnőttképzés forrásai 1772-1849. Szerk: Fehér Katalin) egy tanulmánykötet, melynek kézirata lektorált és elfogadott, és amely 2012 első negyedévében jelenik meg (Fehér Katalin-Kereszty Orsolya: Terra Incognita.) és öt tanulmány, hazai és határon túli folyóiratokban, konferenciakötetekben. A kutatás részeredményeit hazai (ELTE, ONK) és külföldi (Turku, London, New York, Marosvásárhely, Nyitra) konferenciákon ismertettük. A kutatás fontos eredményének tekinthető az a bibliográfiai összeállítás (A felvilágosodás idején és a reformkorban megjelent népfelvilágosító kiadványok. Könyvészeti függelék. In: Fehér Katalin: Népfelvilágosító törekvések Magyarországon 1777-1849. 221-253.) mely elsőként tekinti át a teljességre törekedve a hazai nyomtatásban megjelent népfelvilágosító irodalmat. Szintén jelentős eredmény a témára vonatkozó, mindeddig ismeretlen nagy mennyiségű kéziratos forrásanyag feltárása és feldolgozása. A digitalizált forrásszövegeket egyetemi oktatómunkánk során felhasználjuk az andragógiatörténet tárgy keretében. | The purpose of our research was to explore the efforts of educate the adult people in Hungary in the Age of Enlightenment and in the Reformed Age. In this project we would examined the different forms of adult education based on contemporary primary sources. These sources were: the contemporary calendars, press, books, sermons etc. After discovering the sources, the main fields of the research were: 1. The educational policy and the adult education during the period; 2. The opinion of the Hungarian intellectuals about the necessarity of education of adults; 3. The most frequently appearing problems in connection with the education of adults in the Hungarian press; 4. The institutes of adult education, (public libraries, associations etc.); 5. The outstanding figures and teh most important books of the Hungarian public enlightenment between 1772 and 1849. The results of the project: A monography (Katalin Feher: People Enlightenment in Hungary 1777-1849. Budapest, 2009.), a source-collection, (The Sources of the Hungarian Adult Education. Ed. Katalin Feher. Budapest, 2011.) Katalin Feher - Orsolya Kereszty: Terra Incognita. Essays on Adult Education. (Accepted manuscript, will appear int he first Quarter of 2012.) Conference lectures on people enlightenment. Significant results of the subject hithero unknown manuscript sources of large ammounts of material exploration and processing

Potential applications of filamentous fungus derived β-defensin-like antifungal proteins in agriculture

Many filamentous fungi are postharvest and destructive plant pathogens and are thus responsible for enormous crop losses worldwide. The antifungal proteins secreted by filamentous fungi are promising agents for prevention of fungal diseases in the agriculture. The extracellular β-defensin-like antifungal proteins derived from ascomycetous filamentous fungal species are especially interesting in this respect because of their chemical and biological properties. The main features of these extracellular proteins are a low molecular mass, a basic character, and the presence of 6-8 cysteine residues and several intramolecular disulfide bonds which provide them with a high stability against protease degradation, high temperature and within a broad pH range. The tertiary structure of these proteins is very similar to the β-defensins, it contains five antiparallel β-sheets connected by three loops. In spite of the fact that they are very different in their amino acid sequences; conserved homologous regions can be identified. Based on it they can be divided into two main groups: peptides which contain the Penicillium chrysogenum antifungal protein (PAF) cluster in their amino acid sequences, and peptides with Penicillium brevicompactum bubble protein (BP) cluster. Both of them have a potent antifungal activity, but the peptides with PAF-cluster are effective against filamentous fungi. These proteins secreted by taxonomical distinct species cause similar symptoms on the susceptible fungus, but they have different mode of action and species specificity, nevertheless, their structure is very similar. They have high stability and efficacy; their limited toxicity and low costs of production could make them suitable for use in practical respects in agricultural fields, especially in plant protection on the field and crop protection after the harvest

Are cysteine and its derivatives applicable for the prevention of fungal diseases?

Many filamentous fungi are destructive pathogens of plants and are thus responsible for enormous crop losses worldwide. Therefore, there is a substantial demand for safely applicable, new compounds with extensive antifungal activity. Cysteine and its derivatives are interesting from this respect, as they have effective inhibitory potential against microorganisms and do not harmful effect on animal and plant cells. Cysteine is a non-essential amino acid, which is an important structural and functional component of many proteins and enzymes. Previous studies demonstrated that cysteine and N-acetyl-cysteine have also been shown to exert antifungal activity. A number of members of the class Zygomycetes are important as postharvest pathogens of agricultural products; Rhizopus, Mucor and Gilbertella species are among the most frequently isolated causative agents of fungal rots. In this study we investigated the in vitro antifungal activity of cysteine (D- and L-cysteine) and its 4 derivatives (L-cysteine-methyl-ester, N-acetyl-cysteine, N-isobutyryl-D-cysteine and N-isobutyryl-L-cysteine) against 20 zygomyceteous fungal isolates representing 16 genera (Actinomucor, Backusella, Gilbertella, Lichtheimia, Micromucor, Mortierella, Mucor, Mycotypha, Phycomyces, Rhizomucor, Rhizopus, Saksenaea, Syncephalastrum, Thamnostylum, Umbellopsis and Zygorynchus). The inhibitory potential of different concentrations (ranging from 0.625 to 10 mM) of the cysteine and its derivatives were investigated on the germination of sporangiospores and on hyphal extension by broth microdilution method and agar plate test. Cysteine and its derivatives showed a strong inhibitory effect against the most studied strains. Treatment with 10 mM of compounds resulted total growth inhibition in case of some isolates. Severe changes in colony morphology and hyphal growth were observed in presence of 10 mM Lcysteine, N-acetyl-cysteine and N-isobutyryl-L-cysteine when a strain was sensitive to them. Ten mM N-acetyl-cysteine induced dramatic modifications in the structural organization of the hyphae in case of Rhizopus stolonifer. The above mentioned features of the investigated compounds could make them favourable antifungal agents against Zygomycetes in agricultural respect in the future, but it is needed further studies to prove their practical efficiency, for example in plant model experiments