The expression pattern of the Picea glauca Defensin 1 promoter is maintained in Arabidopsis thaliana, indicating the conservation of signalling pathways between angiosperms and gymnosperms*

A 1149 bp genomic fragment corresponding to the 5' non-coding region of the PgD1 (Picea glauca Defensin 1) gene was cloned, characterized, and compared with all Arabidopsis thaliana defensin promoters. The cloned fragment was found to contain several motifs specific to defence or hormonal response, including a motif involved in the methyl jasmonate reponse, a fungal elicitor responsive element, and TC-rich repeat cis-acting element involved in defence and stress responsiveness. A functional analysis of the PgD1 promoter was performed using the uidA (GUS) reporter system in stably transformed Arabidopsis and white spruce plants. The PgD1 promoter was responsive to jasmonic acid (JA), to infection by fungus and to wounding. In transgenic spruce embryos, GUS staining was clearly restricted to the shoot apical meristem. In Arabidopsis, faint GUS coloration was observed in leaves and flowers and a strong blue colour was observed in guard cells and trichomes. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing the PgD1::GUS construct were also infiltrated with the hemibiotrophic pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000. It caused a suppression of defensin expression probably resulting from the antagonistic relationship between the pathogen-stimulated salicylic acid pathway and the jasmonic acid pathway. It is therefore concluded that the PgD1 promoter fragment cloned appears to contain most if not all the elements for proper PgD1 expression and that these elements are also recognized in Arabidopsis despite the phylogenetic and evolutionary differences that separates them

Оценка подлинности и стабильности производственных и контрольных штаммов - возбудителей актуальных инфекций бактериальной этиологии

The paper presents the results of identification of a spectrum of biochemical activity and certification of 140 bacterial strains of I-II risk level deposited in the State collection of pathogenic microorganisms of Scientific centre for expert evaluation of medicinal products of the Ministry of health of the Russian Federation. Causative agents of meningitis, dysentery, salmonellosis and other acute gastrointestinal, pyoinflammatory infections, including nosocomial, and other epidemiologically significant infections which can be applied for manufacturing and an quality assessment medicinal and diagnostic preparations, including vaccines, toxoids, therapeutic and prophylactic bacteriophages, antimicrobic drugs, diagnostic serum, test system, nutrient media were evaluated. Correction of a taxonomic nomenclature of collection strains according to requirements of Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology (2nd ed) was provided. A possibility of selection of the analogs of cultures of the microorganisms deposited in national collections of other countries and applied by production and quality control of immunobiological medicines and also for quality assessment of laboratory researches is proved. Stability of pivotal phenotypic properties and lack of dissociation master-seed and test strains is confirmed at freeze-drying for over 40 years.Проведено определение спектра биохимической активности и паспортизация 140 коллекционных штаммов бактерий III-IV групп патогенности, депонированных в Государственной коллекции патогенных микроорганизмов ФГБУ «НЦЭСМП» Минздрава России, возбудителей менингита, дизентерии, сальмонеллеза и других острых кишечных инфекций, гнойно-воспалительных, в том числе нозокомиальных, и других эпидемиологически значимых инфекций, которые могут применяться для производства и оценки качества лекарственных и диагностических препаратов, в том числе вакцин, анатоксинов, лечебно-профилактических бактериофагов, антимикробных препаратов, сывороток диагностических, диагностикумов эритроцитарных, тест-систем, наборов реагентов для биохимической идентификации патогенных микроорганизмов, дифференциально-дагностических и селективных питательных сред. Выполнена коррекция таксономической номенлатуры коллекционных штаммов в соответствии со Вторым изданием систематики бактерий Берджи (Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology. 2nd ed). Получена возможность подбора аналогов культур микроорганизмов, депонированных в национальных коллекциях других стран и применяемых при производстве и контроле качества иммунобиологических лекарственных препаратов, а также для оценки качества лабораторных исследований. Подтверждена стабильность ключевых фенотипических свойств и отсутствие диссоциации производственных и тест-штаммов при хранении в лиофилизированном состоянии на протяжении свыше 40 лет

Features of the preservation of vitamins in chocolate

Bitter, milk and white chocolate differ in terms of identification, including the content of the total dry residue of cocoa and the mass fraction of fat. The mass fraction of fat is regulated by state standards and is an important indicator of the quality of chocolate. Different receipts of chocolate cause different vitamins content. Chocolate contains a significant amount of tocopherols with high antioxidant activity, this allows preserving unsaturated fatty acids and biologically active components for a long shelf life. Losses of vitamins occur due to their oxidation and transition to more stable forms during storing of chocolate and chocolate products. Unstable and increased storage temperature leads not only to deterioration of organoleptic parameters, but also to a significant decrease in the content of vitamins. Objects of research have been samples of bitter, milk and white chocolate. The change in the content of vitamins during addition and storage at the temperature of 20 °C and under conditions of "accelerated aging" at the temperature of 50 °C in bitter, milk and white chocolate has been studied. Model samples of milk chocolate have been made using cocoa butter as a fat component to determine the loss of vitamins when introduced. The greatest losses have been found for nicotinamide and folic acid with the introduction of vitamins into chocolate. Significantly smaller losses have been established for thiamine and riboflavin. The loss of various vitamins when introduced is 10–15 %. The loss of vitamins after one month of storage at the temperature of 20 °C is from 5 to 15 %. The results are used to develop a methodology for assessing the safety of vitamins in confectionery

Authentification and stability assessment of master-seed and control strains of pathogenic bacteria-causative agents of actual infections

The paper presents the results of identification of a spectrum of biochemical activity and certification of 140 bacterial strains of I-II risk level deposited in the State collection of pathogenic microorganisms of Scientific centre for expert evaluation of medicinal products of the Ministry of health of the Russian Federation. Causative agents of meningitis, dysentery, salmonellosis and other acute gastrointestinal, pyoinflammatory infections, including nosocomial, and other epidemiologically significant infections which can be applied for manufacturing and an quality assessment medicinal and diagnostic preparations, including vaccines, toxoids, therapeutic and prophylactic bacteriophages, antimicrobic drugs, diagnostic serum, test system, nutrient media were evaluated. Correction of a taxonomic nomenclature of collection strains according to requirements of Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology (2nd ed) was provided. A possibility of selection of the analogs of cultures of the microorganisms deposited in national collections of other countries and applied by production and quality control of immunobiological medicines and also for quality assessment of laboratory researches is proved. Stability of pivotal phenotypic properties and lack of dissociation master-seed and test strains is confirmed at freeze-drying for over 40 years

Antifungal defensins and their role in plant defense

Since the beginning of the 90’s lots of cationic plant, cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptides (AMP) have been studied. However, Broekaert only coined the term plant defensin in 1995, after comparison of a new class of plant antifungal peptides with known insect defensins. From there, many plant defensins have been reported and studies on this class of peptides encompass its activity towards microorganisms and molecular features of the mechanism of action against bacteria and fungi. Plant defensins also have been tested as biotechnological tools to improve crop production through fungi resistance generation in organisms genetically modified (OGM). Its low effective concentration towards fungi, ranging from 0.1 to 10 µM and its safety to mammals and birds makes them a better choice, in place of chemicals, to control fungi infection on crop fields. Herein, is a review of the history of plant defensins since their discovery at the beginning of 90’s, following the advances on its structure conformation and mechanism of action towards microorganisms is reported. This review also points out some important topics, including: (i) the most studied plant defensins and their fungal targets; (ii) the molecular features of plant defensins and their relation with antifungal activity; (iii) the possibility of using plant defensin(s) genes to generate fungi resistant GM crops and biofungicides; and (iv) a brief discussion about the absence of products in the market containing plant antifungal defensins