Phylogenetic Diversity and Antifungal Activity of Endophytic Fungi Associated with Tephrosia purpurea

Sixty-one endophytic fungus strains with different colony morphologies were isolated from the leaves, stems and roots of Tephrosia purpurea with colonization rates of 66.95%, 37.50%, and 26.92%, respectively. Based on internal transcribed spacer sequence analysis, 61 isolates were classified into 16 genera belonging to 3 classes under the phylum Ascomycota. Of the 61 isolates, 6 (9.84%) exhibited antifungal activity against one or more indicator plant pathogenic fungi according to the dual culture test. Isolate TPL25 had the broadest antifungal spectrum of activity, and isolate TPL35 was active against 5 plant pathogenic fungi. Furthermore, culture filtrates of TPL25 and TPL35 exhibited greater than 80% growth inhibition against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. We conclude that the endophytic fungal strains TPL25 and TPL35 are promising sources of bioactive compounds.

Establishment of a hydrogel chip for high-throughput detection of Y chromosome microdeletions / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a high-sensitivity, high-specificity and low-cost hydrogel chip platform for the clinical screening of Y chromosome microdeletions.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Site-specific extended primers with a common sequence at the 5' end were used for hybridizing with the target. The Cy5-dUTP was incorporated into the products by primer extension, and the products were labeled with fluorescence. Then the extended products were added to the chip for hybridizing with acrylamide-modified common probes immobilized on the chip. After removal of the free Cy5-dUTP by electrophoresis, the signals were obtained by fluorescence scanning. And the detecting conditions of this method were optimized.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>SY254 of 9 samples was successfully detected with the hydrogel chip. The results showed that 3 were normal and the other 6 with microdeletions (1 female sample as a negative control), which coincided with the results of conventional multiplex PCR-electrophoresis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The hydrogel chip platform we established has provided a new technique for the detection of Y chromosome microdeletions, and is beneficial to the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility.</p>

Application of cDNA array for studying the gene expression profile of mature appressoria of Magnaporthe grisea / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Appressorium is an infection structure of the phytopathogenic fungus Magnaporthe grisea. Analysis of gene expression profiles of appressorium development provides insight into the molecular basis of pathogenicity and control of this fungal plant disease. A cDNA array representing 2927 unique genes based on a large EST (expressed sequence tag) database of M. grisea strain Y34 was constructed and used to profile the gene expression patterns at mycelium and appressorium maturation stages. Compared with mycelia, 55 up-regulated and 22 down-regulated genes were identified in mature appressoria. Among 77 genes, 16 genes showed no similarity to the genome sequences of M. grisea. A novel homologue of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase was found to be expressed at low-level in mature appressoria of M. grisea. The results indicated that the genes such as pyruvate carboxylase, phospholipid metabolism-related protein and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase involved in gluconeogenesis, lipid metabolism and glycolysis, showed differential expression in mature appressoria. Furthermore, genes such as PTH11, beta subunit of G protein and SGT1 involved in cell signalling, were expressed differentially in mature appressoria. Northern blot analysis was used to confirm the cDNA array results.

Clinical evaluation of therapeutic effects of "Cooling the blood and invigorating blood circulation" method on hepatitis hyperbilirubinemia / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>To explore the effect of treating hepatitis hyperbilirubinemia with Chinese traditional "cooling the blood and invigorating blood circulation" method.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-two patients were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (n=36) was treated with hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) 80-120 mg daily on the basis of routine western medicine treatment. The therapy group (n=36) was treated with "cooling the blood and invigorating blood circulation" decoction on the basis of routine western medicine treatment. After using the medicine for 28 days, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), albumin (ALB) in plasma were measured to compare the effects of the two methods.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The effective rate of the therapy group was 80.55%, that of the control group was 50%. There was significant difference in efficacy between the two groups (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>"Cooling the blood and invigorating blood circulation" method may be effective and safe in the treatment of hepatitis hyperbilirubinemia.</p>