Effect of a siderophore producer on animal cell apoptosis: a possible role as anti-cancer agent.

Iron plays an essential role in the proliferation of aggressive tumors therefore it represents an ideal target for cancer therapy. Cell free supernatants from a siderophore producing actinobacterium previously isolated from Thailand were tested against six human cancer cell lines including malignant melanoma A 375 (ATCC no.: CRL-1619), colorectal adenocarcinoma SW620 (ATCC no.: CCL-227), gastric carcinoma Katob III (ATCC no.: HTB-103), liver hepatoblastoma HepG2 (ATCC no.: HB-8065), breast carcinoma BT474 (ATCC no.: HTB-20) and Acute T cell leukemia Jurkat (ATCC no.: CRL-2063). Following treatment of cells with the bacterial culture supernatant the cell viability of A375 cells was dramatically decreased with cell survival of less than 34 % within 48 h. The rest of the cell lines were largely unaffected. Therefore it is suggested that the actinobacterium produced a cytotoxic compound responsible for the cell death by inducing apoptotic activity. We further speculate that this compound was desferioxamine E as the bacterium is known to produce this compound under the culture conditions used

Antimicrobial activity from endophytic fungi isolated from plant leaves in Dipterocarpous forest at Viengsa district Nan province, Thailand

Eleven fungal endophytes representing different morphotaxa were characterized from 68 cultures, which were isolated from 4 species of Dipterocapous trees (Dipterocarpus tuberculatus Roxb., Shorea obtusa Wall., Shorea siamensis Miq. and Dalbergia oliveri Gamble.) growing in the Dipterocapous forest at Viengsa district, Nan province. Species of Phyllosticta spp. (15 isolates), Nodulisporium spp. (13 isolates) and Xylaria sp.1 (10 isolates) were the most frequently found. All endophytic fungal isolates were tested for potential production of bioactive metabolites. They were tested for antimicrobial activity against pathogenic microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aerogenosa, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans by the paper disk susceptibility test. They inhibited the growth of Gram positive bacteria more than Gram negative bacteria. Candida albicans was inhibited only by Nodulissporium sp. (DT6) and Xylaria sp.1 (DO9)

Exploring the Xylariaceae and its relatives

The Xylariaceae and its relatives rank as one of the best-known members of the Ascomycota. They are now well recognized for their diversity, global distribution, ecological activities and their outstanding novel metabolites with wide ranging bioactivity

Molecular phylogeny and re-assessment of some Scleroderma spp. (Gasteromycetes)

9 pages, 3 figures, 1 table.[EN] The fungal genus Scleroderma is cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical regions and forms ectomycorrhizal associations with a wide range of forest trees. To delimit phylogenetic Scleroderma species and identification, 43 basidiomes were chosen of different geographical origins and their rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were sequenced. Phylogenetic analyses of these sequences together with additional GenBank sequences identified 11 taxa. A strong phylogenetic pattern was observed related to a character of their basidiospore ornamentation.[ES] Las especies del género Scleroderma son cosmopolitas y forman ectomicorrizas con un amplio rango de hospedantes, tanto de zonas templadas como tropicales. Para delimitar las especies filogenéticas y la identificación de las mismas, se han seleccionado 43 basidiomas, de diferente origen geográfico, y se han secuenciado las regiones de transcripción interna del ADN ribosómico nuclear. Los análisis filogenéticos de estas colecciones, junto con secuencias obtenidas del GenBank, permiten identificar 11 especies, agrupadas en tres clados relacionados con el tipo de ornamentación de la basidióspora.CP is indebted to the Commission on Higher Education of Thailand, Royal Thai government for financial support and to the European Commission Human Potential Programme for supporting part of this study at the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid (BIODIBERIA).Peer reviewe

Rapid screening for genotypes as possible markers of virulence in the neurotropic black yeast Exophiala dermatiddis using PCR-RFLP

A simple method for fungal genotype screening was developed for the black yeast Exophiala dermatitidis based on RFLP of ribosomal ITS regions currently used as potential virulence markers. In a study set of 502 strains of the species, two main genotypes were recognized. Only 0.97% of lanes were difficult to interpret as they did not clearly present one of the expected genotypes. Twenty strains were deviating and proved to be E. spinifera after sequencing. Eight common. related species (based on SSU data) with clinical significance yielded different patterns with TaqI digestion, and thus the method is also usable for routine diagnostics. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V

Association mapping of ectomycorrhizal traits in loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda

To understand how diverse mutualisms coevolve and how species adapt to complex environments, a description of the underlying genetic basis of the traits involved must be provided. For example, in diverse coevolving mutualisms, such as the inter‐ action of host plants with a suite of symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi, a key question is whether host plants can coevolve independently with multiple species of symbionts, which depends on whether those interactions are governed independently by sepa‐ rate genes or pleiotropically by shared genes. To provide insight into this question, we employed an association mapping approach in a clonally replicated field experi‐ ment of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) to identify genetic components of host traits governing ectomycorrhizal (EM) symbioses (mycorrhizal traits). The relative abun‐ dances of different EM fungi as well as the total number of root tips per cm root colo‐ nized by EM fungi were analyzed as separate mycorrhizal traits of loblolly pine. Single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within candidate genes of loblolly pine were associated with loblolly pine mycorrhizal traits, mapped to the loblolly pine genome, and their putative protein function obtained when available. The results support the hypothesis that ectomycorrhiza formation is governed by host genes of large effect that apparently have independent influences on host interactions with different sym‐ biont speciesThe authors thank Tom Byram and the Western Gulf Forest Tree Improvement Program, Texas A&M Forest Service for their contribution to this project. This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program award #DBI-0501763 and the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture AFRI Applied Plant Genomics CAP award #2009-85606-05680. PJMG was supported by USDA NIFA Award #2011-67009-30030 award to Professor David B. Neale at University of California, Davis. USDA/NRI CSREES Plant Genomics Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP) Award #2007-55300-18603 generated the SNPs. JDH was supported by National Science Foundation award DEB-1119865Peer reviewe