Role of phyllosphere fungi of forest trees in the development of decomposer fungal communities and decomposition processes of leaf litter.

The ecology of endophytic and epiphytic phyllosphere fungi of forest trees is reviewed with special emphasis on the development of decomposer fungal communities and decomposition processes of leaf litter. A total of 41 genera of phyllosphere fungi have been reported to occur on leaf litter of tree species in 19 genera. The relative proportion of phyllosphere fungi in decomposer fungal communities ranges from 2% to 100%. Phyllosphere fungi generally disappear in the early stages of decomposition, although a few species persist until the late stages. Phyllosphere fungi have the ability to utilize various organic compounds as carbon sources, and the marked decomposing ability is associated with ligninolytic activity. The role of phyllosphere fungi in the decomposition of soluble components during the early stages is relatively small in spite of their frequent occurrence. Recently, the roles of phyllosphere fungi in the decomposition of structural components have been documented with reference to lignin and cellulose decomposition, nutrient dynamics, and accumulation and decomposition of soil organic matter. It is clear from this review that several of the common phyllosphere fungi of forest trees are primarily saprobic, being specifically adapted to colonize and utilize dead host tissue, and that some phyllosphere fungi with marked abilities to decompose litter components play important roles in decomposition of structural components, nutrient dynamics, and soil organic matter accumulation.

Pharmacokinetics of macrolides, lincosamides and streptogramins.

Macrolide antibiotics are known to be effective in spite of their low blood levels. This results in an exception to the customary rule of antibiotics evaluation, of judging the in-vivo effect of an antibiotic in terms of blood levels and MICs. Most efforts to improve blood levels of macrolides have been unsuccessful because of hepatic toxicity. Intravenous administration of macrolides has been difficult because of the frequent incidence of severe side effects. In the present paper, the in-vivo distribution characteristics and metabolic features of macrolides are summarized with some mention of those of lincosamides and streptogramins. Results show that macrolides are intrinsically toxic to man as a protein synthesis inhibitor, but that they are easily metabolized and destroyed in the body. In the course of this destruction, minute amount of a macrolide and its active metabolites distribute selectively in some tissues owing to their higher tissue affinity. Thus a delicate balance between tissue affinity and metabolism makes effective and safe oral therapy with minimum side activities.

Purification, fine structure and characterization of temperate phages from drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Three kinds of temperate Staphylococcus aureus phages were differentiated by serological, sedimentation and electron microscopic studies. Phage S1 had a long hexagonal head and a long tail, a density in Cs2SO4 of 1.364 g/ml and belonged to serological group A; phage S2 had a short hexagonal head and a short tail, a density of 1.385 to 1.392 g/ml and belonged to serological group B; phage S3 had a shape similar to phage S2 except for some minor differences, but had a density of 1.416 g/ml and belonged to serological group F. S. aureus MS27 was found to be singly lysogenic for S2. However, S. aureus MS3878 was a doubly lysogenic strain carrying S1 and S2 and S. aureus E169 was a triply lysogenic strain carrying S1, S2 and S3. All these temperate phages showed similarity in shape to typing phages belonging to the same serological group. The temperate S. aureus phages revealed the presence of a hexagonal baseplate with spikes. The burst sizes of phages of S1, S2 and S3 were about 50, 110 and 120 respectively. The DNA from S1, S2 and S3 ranged from 29.4 to 30 megadaltons in size.