First Report of Anthracnose on Hymenocallis littoralis Caused by Colletotrichum siamense in China.

Spider lily (Hymenocallis littoralis (Jacq.) Salisb.) is a widely cultivated horticultural plant worldwide and has ornamental and medicinal value.

Genome-wide analysis of phylogeny, expression profile and sub-cellular localization of SKP1-Like genes in wild tomato.

SKP1 is a core component of SCF complex, a major type of E3 ubiquitin ligase catalyzing the last step in ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation pathway. In present study, SKP1 gene family in Solanum pimpinellifolium (SSK), a wild species of tomato, was investigated. A total of 19 SSK genes were identified through homologous search.

[The changes of ocular bacterial isolates and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility in the past six years].

Objective: To analyze the changes of ocular bacterial isolates and their susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, gatifloxacin and tobramycin in Henan Province in the past six years.

Methods: Retrospective study of ocular bacterial isolates and their in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility test results of Henan Eye Institute in the past six years.

Results: A total of 2044 bacterial isolates were classified into 39 kinds in the past six years, which were mainly from the conjunctival sac.

[Comparative research of the efficacy of the gatifloxacin and levofloxacin for bacterial conjunctivitis in human eyes].

Objective: To evaluate the different efficacy and safety to the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis between the fluoroquinolone antibiotics gatifloxacin and levofloxacin.

Methods: A multi-centre, random, double-blind and control trial was performed in six centers including Eye Ear Nose and Throat Hospital of Fudan University, Henan Eye Institute, Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wenzhou Medical College, the First Affiliated Hospital Of Nanjing Medical University, Xijing Hospital Affiliated to the Fourth Military Medical University, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University between August 2006 and October 2007. The levofloxacin was set as the efficient control.

Agromyces flavus sp. nov., an actinomycete isolated from soil.

A gram-positive, non-motile strain, designated CPCC 202695(T), was isolated from a soil sample collected from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, north-west China. Strain CPCC 202695(T) contained rhamnose, glucose and galactose in the cell wall as diagnostic sugars and 2,4-diaminobutyric acid, alanine, glutamic acid and glycine in the peptidoglycan. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and two unknown glycolipids.

Diversity of culturable actinobacteria from Qinghai-Tibet plateau, China.

To investigate the diversity of culturable actinobacteria and further screen for microbial pharmaceutics, seven different media were chosen to isolate actinobacteria from 87 soil samples collected from Qinghai-Tibet plateau. A total of 1930 strains was isolated and identified to belong to 11 suborders, i.e.

Geodermatophilus ruber sp. nov., isolated from rhizosphere soil of a medicinal plant.

A novel actinobacterial strain, designated CPCC 201356(T), was isolated from a rhizosphere soil sample of the medicinal plant Astragalus membranaceus and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic analysis. Good growth occurred at 20-32 °C, at pH 7.0-7.

Substituted benzothiophene or benzofuran derivatives as a novel class of bone morphogenetic protein-2 up-regulators: synthesis, structure-activity relationships, and preventive bone loss efficacies in senescence accelerated mice (SAMP6) and ovariectomized rats.

In this work, substituted benzothiophene and benzofuran compounds were found to be a new class of potential anabolic agents by enhancing BMP-2 expression. A series of benzothiophene and benzofuran derivatives have been synthesized, and their activities of up-regulating BMP-2 and bone loss prevention efficacies in SAMP6 mice and OVX rats have been studied. Benzothiophenes 1, 3, 14, 4a, 7a, 8a, and benzofuran analogue 2 showed higher BMP-2 up-regulation rates in vitro.

Amycolatopsis xylanica sp. nov., isolated from soil.

An actinomycete, designated CPCC 202699(T), was isolated from soil in Qinghai province, China, and its taxonomic status was established. Strain CPCC 202699(T) contained meso-diaminopimelic acid in its peptidoglycan, arabinose and galactose as the diagnostic sugars in whole-cell hydrolysates, a phospholipid pattern consisting mainly of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylmethylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine, MK-9(H(4)) as the predominant menaquinone and iso-C(16 : 0) (18.8 %), iso-C(15 : 0) (18.

Alloactinosynnema album gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Actinosynnemataceae isolated from soil.

The taxonomic position of a Gram-stain-positive, aerobic strain, designated 03-9939(T), isolated from a soil sample collected from Xinjiang Province, China, was established using a polyphasic approach. Whole-cell hydrolysates of strain 03-9939(T) contained galactose and ribose as diagnostic sugars and meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diamino acid. The predominant menaquinone was MK-9(H4).

Actinopolymorpha cephalotaxi sp. nov., a novel actinomycete isolated from rhizosphere soil of the plant Cephalotaxus fortunei.

An actinomycete, strain I06-2230(T), was isolated from rhizosphere soil of the plant Cephalotaxus fortunei, collected from Yunnan province, south China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate belongs to the genus Actinopolymorpha. Cells grew on agar surfaces, with no penetration even after prolonged cultivation.

Actinoplanes sichuanensis sp. nov. and Actinoplanes xinjiangensis sp. nov.

Two motile actinomycetes, designated strains 03-723(T) and 03-8772(T), which had potent inhibitory activity against Enterococcus faecium peptide deformylase and several clinical Gram-positive, antibiotic-resistant strains, were isolated from two soil samples collected from Sichuan Province and Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, respectively. The taxonomic status of these two organisms was established by using a polyphasic approach. The taxonomic data were consistent with the assignment of the strains to the genus Actinoplanes.

Gene-specific silencing induced by parallel complementary RNA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

To investigate whether parallel complementary RNA (pRNA) could induce gene-specific silencing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, pRNA of the mexA gene was expressed in it. Compared to the control strains, the strain expressing pRNA of mexA showed a 50% decrease in minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of several antimicrobial agents and a twofold increase in the initial accumulation rate of ethidium bromide, all of which are substrates of the MexAB-OprM efflux pump. These results suggest that gene-specific silencing was induced by pRNA.

Synthesis and evaluation of 1-(benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)ethanone analogues as novel anti-osteoporosis agents acting on BMP-2 promotor.

A novel series of 1-(benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)ethanone analogues were prepared and evaluated for enhancing BMP-2 expression. Compounds 1-5, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 16, with upregulation rate values of 35.6%, 27.

Nocardia jinanensis sp. nov., an amicoumacin B-producing actinomycete.

A novel actinomycete, strain 04-5195(T), that produces amicoumacin B, which targets bone morphogenetic protein-2, was isolated from a soil sample collected in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Strain 04-5195(T) had morphological, biochemical, physiological and chemotaxonomic properties that were consistent with its classification in the genus Nocardia and it formed a phyletic line in the Nocardia 16S rRNA gene tree. It was evident from the phylogenetic data that strain 04-5195(T) was most closely associated with Nocardia speluncae N2-11(T).

Roseomonas vinacea sp. nov., a Gram-negative coccobacillus isolated from a soil sample.

Strain CPCC 100056(T), which was isolated from a soil sample collected from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, China, was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. The organism was coccobacillus-shaped, non-motile and formed vinaceous colonies on ISP2 agar medium. The respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-10.

Nesterenkonia halophila sp. nov., a moderately halophilic, alkalitolerant actinobacterium isolated from a saline soil.

A Gram-positive, non-motile, moderately halophilic, alkalitolerant actinobacterium, designated strain YIM 70179(T), was isolated from a saline soil sample collected from Xinjiang Province, north-west China, and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. The cell-wall peptidoglycan type of strain YIM 70179(T) was A4alpha, l-Lys-Gly-l-Glu. Cells of the isolate contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol and an unknown glycolipid, MK-8 as major menaquinone and anteiso-C(15 : 0), anteiso-C(17 : 0) and iso-C(16 : 0) as major fatty acids.

Saccharopolyspora antimicrobica sp. nov., an actinomycete from soil.

Three Gram-positive, aerobic, non-motile, non-acid-alcohol-fast strains, designated I05-00051, I05-00074T and I03-00808, were isolated from different soil samples in Beijing and Sichuan, China. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and DNA-DNA hybridization experiments revealed that these three isolates represented the same genospecies. These three strains showed <97.

A case of chylothorax treated curatively with Sapylin, a streptococcus preparation.

Chylothorax is an uncommon disease where fatty fluid accumulates within the chest cavity. Conservative management, including repeated thoracentesis or pleurodesis, seems to be suitable to most cases. Herein, we present a case of efficacious pleurodesis by intrapleural injection of Sapylin, a streptococcus preparation, for the treatment of chylothorax.

Salinicoccus luteus sp. nov., isolated from a desert soil.

A moderately halophilic bacterium, strain YIM 70202(T), was isolated from a desert soil sample collected from Egypt and was subjected to a taxonomic investigation. In a phylogenetic dendrogram based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain YIM 70202(T) was affiliated to the Salinicoccus clade, showing 94.5-96.

Streptomyces emeiensis sp. nov., a novel streptomycete from soil in China.

An actinomycete, strain 4776(T), was isolated from soil collected from Emei Mountain in Sichuan Province, China. The taxonomic status of this strain was established using a polyphasic approach. The organism was found to have morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics typical of streptomycetes.

Zhihengliuella halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel member of the family Micrococcaceae.

The actinobacterial strain YIM 70185(T) was isolated from a saline soil sample collected from Qinghai province, north-west China, and subjected to a taxonomic investigation. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed 93.5-96.

Deinococcus yunweiensis sp. nov., a gamma- and UV-radiation-resistant bacterium from China.

A Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, non-motile, rod-shaped, red-pigmented strain, designated YIM 007T, was found as a contaminant on an agar plate in the laboratory of Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, China. The optimum growth pH and temperature for the isolate were 7.0-7.

Sinococcus qinghaiensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel member of the order Bacillales from a saline soil in China.

A Gram-positive, non-spore-forming isolate, designated YIM 70212(T), was isolated from a hypersaline soil sample collected from Qinghai, north-west China. Cells of the isolate were orange-pigmented, motile cocci with multiple flagella. A polyphasic taxonomic investigation was carried out on the isolate.

Identification of a new peptide deformylase gene from enterococcus faecium and establishment of a new screening model targeted on PDF for novel antibiotics.

Objective: To identify a new peptide deformylase (PDF) gene (Genebank Accession AY238515) from Enterococcus faecium and to establish a new screening model targeted on PDF.

Methods: A new PDF gene was identified by BLAST analysis and PCR and was subsequently over-expressed in the prokaryotic expression host E. coli B121(DE3).