ABSTRACT
Mushroom cultivation has gained increased attention in recent years. Currently, only four types of spawn, including sawdust spawn, grain spawn, liquid spawn, and stick spawn, are commonly available for mushroom cultivation. This limited spawn diversity has led to difficulty in selecting suitable inoculum materials in some cultivation. In this study, three small blocks of lignocellulosic agro-wastes and one block of a synthetic matrix were prepared as support for growing Pleurotus ostreatus in liquid medium. Mycelium-adsorbed blocks were then evaluated for their potential as block spawn for fructification. Our results indicated that the edible fungus was adsorbed and abundantly grew internally and externally on loofah sponge and synthetic polyurethane foam (PUF) supports and also has the ability to attach and grow on the surface of sugarcane bagasse and corncob supports. The mycelia of P. ostreatus adhered on corncob exhibited the highest metabolic activity, while those on the PUF showed the least activity. Mycelial extension rates of block spawns made of agro-waste materials were comparable to that of sawdust spawn, but the block spawn of PUF showed a significantly lower rate. No significant differences in cropping time and yield were observed among cultivations between experimental block spawns and sawdust spawns. Moreover, the corncob block spawn maintained its fruiting potential during an examined period of 6-month storage. The developed block spawn could be practically applied in mushroom cultivation.
Subject(s)
Agaricales , Fruit , Fungi , Luffa , Pleurotus , Polyurethanes , Porifera , SaccharumABSTRACT
Objective: To isolate endophytic fungi from the leaves and fruits of Eucommia ulmoides and evaluate their antimicrobial activity.Methods: The endophytic fungi from the leaves and fruits of E. ulmoides were isolated by plate culture method, the antimicrobial activity was evaluated by standoff method, and the ability of producing bioactive compounds of E. ulmoides was investigated by HPLC. Results: A total of 52 endophytic fungi were isolated from segments of healthy the leaves and fruits E. ulmoides. Extract of two strains had a retention time identical to that of authentic chlorogenic acid. Eleven out of 52 strains exhibited antimicrobial activity to four or more fungal pathogens. The strain 29 (Alternaria SP.) showed maximum inhibition against Fusarium graminearum, and the radial growth inhibition was 82.6%. These endophytic fungi belonged to genus Alternaria, Niqrospora, and Dothideomycetes compared with the fungal sequence database at GenBank. Conclusion: Plenty of endophytic fungi from the leaves and fruits of E. ulmoides are found and 11 strains have antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity of these endophytic fungi could be exploited in the biotechnological medicine and agricultural industry.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the genetic diversity among the wild populations of Leonurus artemisia in Henan province. Methods: The genetic diversity of 66 individuals in eight representational populations of L. artemisia from four areas of Funiu, Taihang, Dabie, and Tongbai Mountains was investigated by SCoT molecular marker technique. Results: A total of 240 bands were produced by 10 primers, among which 238 bands were polymorphic bands, and the percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) was 99.17%. The average value of Nei's genetic diversity index (H) was 0.264 2, Shannon's information index (I) was 0.39, genetic differentiation coefficient (Gst) was 0.294 6, and the gene flow (Nm) among populations was 1.197.Mantel Test analysis showed that the significant correlation was found between the geographical and genetic distances among the different populations of L. artemisia (r=0.366 3, P < 0.05). Conclusion: The wild populations of L. artemisia in Henan province have higher genetic diversity. There is a significant correlation between geographical and genetic distances.