Effects of Culture Conditions on Antimicrobial Activity of Ganoderma resinaceum (Agaricomycetes) Extracts.

Among many sources of natural bioactive substances, mushrooms constitute a huge and mostly unexplored group. Biologically active secondary metabolites of Ganoderma, a group of wood-degrading mushrooms, have recently been reviewed. Our previous study revealed the antimicrobial activity of extracts from G.

Anti-MRSA Activity of Fruiting Body Extracts of Spectacular Rustgill Mushroom, Gymnopilus junonius (Agaricomycetes).

Despite the great advances in chemotherapeutics, infectious diseases are still one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Among some of the clinically relevant pathogens, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ranks as one of the most difficult bacteria to treat. It is a common cause of skin, soft-tissue, and endovascular infections, as well as pneumonia, septic arthritis, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, and sepsis.

Functional characterization of two novel purine transporters from the Basidiomycota Phanerochaete chrysosporium.

Purine transporters as substrate entry points in organisms, are involved in a number of cellular processes such as nitrogen source uptake, energy metabolism and synthesis of nucleic acids. In this study, two nucleobase transporter genes (phZ, phU) from Phanerochaete chrysosporium were cloned, identified, and functionally characterized. Our results show that PhZ is a transporter of adenine and hypoxanthine, and a protein belonging to the AzgA-like family, whilst PhU belongs to the NAT/NCS2 family, transporting xanthine and uric acid.

Screening for Antimicrobial Activity of Wood Rotting Higher Basidiomycetes Mushrooms from Uruguay against Phytopathogens.

In this work, the antimicrobial activity of extracts of wood rotting higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms isolated from Eucalyptus plantations in Uruguay was studied using bacterial and fungal phytopathogens as targets. Fifty-one extracts from mycelia and growth broth were prepared from higher Basidiomycetes mushrooms, from which eight extracts (from Ganoderma resinaceum, Laetiporus sulphureus, Dictyopanus pusillus, and Bjerkandera adusta) showed antimicrobial activity against Xanthomonas vesicatoria, Aspergillus oryzae, Penicillium expansum, Botrytis cinerea, and Rhizopus stolonifer as assayed in the qualitative test. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for those fungal extracts was determined and the results showed that L.

A Lectin Purified from Blood Red Bracket Mushroom, Pycnoporus sanguineus (Agaricomycetidae), Mycelium Displayed Affinity Toward Bovine Transferrin.

Fungal lectins constitute excellent ligands for development of affinity adsorbents useful in affinity chromatography. In this work, a lectin was purified from Pycnoporus sanguineus (PSL) mycelium using 3 procedures: by affinity chromatography, using magnetic galactosyl-nanoparticles or galactose coupled to Sepharose, and by ionic exchange chromatography (IEC). The highest lectin yield was achieved by IEC (55%); SDS-PAGE of PSL showed 2 bands with molecular mass of 68.

Development of analytical methodologies to assess recalcitrant pesticide bioremediation in biobeds at laboratory scale.

To assess recalcitrant pesticide bioremediation it is necessary to gradually increase the complexity of the biological system used in order to design an effective biobed assembly. Each step towards this effective biobed design needs a suitable, validated analytical methodology that allows a correct evaluation of the dissipation and bioconvertion. Low recovery yielding methods could give a false idea of a successful biodegradation process.

Purification and applications of a lectin from the mushroom Gymnopilus spectabilis.

A lectin was isolated from fruiting bodies of the mushroom Gymnopilus spectabilis (GSL) by ionic exchange chromatography. The lectin agglutinates mouse red cells exhibiting broad specificity towards several monosaccharides including the N-acetylneuraminic acid. Agglutination was also inhibited by the glycoproteins: fetuin, lactoferrin, and recombinant erythropoietin.

Screening for lectins from basidiomycetes and isolation of Punctularia atropurpurascens lectin.

Aqueous extracts of basidiomycete fungi were screened for the presence of lectins by hemagglutination (HA) assays with mouse, rabbit, and sheep red blood cells. From mycelia and/or fruiting bodies, 23 extracts were prepared; 15 extracts exhibited HA activity towards mouse erythrocytes, with specific activities ranging from 12 to 440 lectin units (LU) mg(-1) protein. In HA inhibition assays, 43 carbohydrates including mono-, di-, tri-, tetrasaccharides, glycoproteins, and polysaccharides were tested as haptens, to determine the saccharide-binding specificities of the lectins.

Analytical methodology for the study of endosulfan bioremediation under controlled conditions with white rot fungi.

A general procedure to study the biodegradation of endosulfan under laboratory conditions by white rot fungi isolated from native sources growing in YNB (yeast nitrogen base) media with 1% of glucose is presented. The evaluation of endosulfan biodegradation as well as endosulfan sulfate, endosulfan ether and endosulfan alcohol production throughout the whole bioremedation process was performed using an original and straightforward validated analytical procedure with recoveries between 78 and 112% at all concentration levels studied except for endosulfan sulfate at 50 mg L(-1) that yielded 128% and RSDs<20%. Under the developed conditions, the basidiomycete Bjerkandera adusta was able to degrade 83% of (alpha+beta) endosulfan after 27 days, 6 mg kg(-1) of endosulfan diol were determined; endosulfan ether and endosulfan sulfate were produced below 1 mg kg(-1) (LOQ, limit of quantitation).

A new antibacterial compound from Ibicella lutea.

Ibicella lutea is a 'quasi-carnivorous' plant that grows wild in Uruguay where it is used in popular medicine as an antiseptic for eye and skin infections. In an earlier screening, it showed a broad antibacterial spectrum. From the chloroform extract of the plant the main antibacterial compound has now been isolated and identified by several MS and NMR methods as a new compound, 11-O-(6'-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-stearic acid.