The sequences of 5.8S rDNA and the flanking internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) were sequenced from hypha, fruit body and sclerotia of Grifola umbellata and its companion fungus. Their ITS sequences similarity was 99.36%. The results suggested that G. umbellata was closely related to its companion fungus.

The endophytic fungi with plant growth promoting effects were screened by co-culture of each endophytic fungus and seedlings of Dendrobium officinale. Anatomical features of the inoculated roots were studied by paraffin sectioning. Morphological characteristics and rDNA ITS1-5. 8S-ITS2 sequences were applied for the taxonomy of endophytic fungi. The results showed that 8 strains inoculated to D. officinale seedlings greatly enhanced plant height, stem diameter, new roots number and biomass. According to the anatomical features of the inoculated roots, each fungus could infect the velamina of seedlings. The hyphae or pelotons were existed in the exodermis passage cells and cortex cells. The effective fungi could not infect the endodermis and vascular bundle sheath, but which was exception for other fungi with harmful to seedlings. Combined with classic morphologic classification, 2 effective strains were identified which were subjected to Pestalotiopsis and Eurotium. Six species of fungi without conidiophore belonged to Pyrenochaeta, Coprinellus, Pholiota, Alternaria, Helotiales, which were identified by sequencing the PCR-amplified rDNA ITS1-5. 8S-ITS2 regions. The co-culture technology of effective endophytic fungi and plant can apply to cultivate the seedlings of D. officinale. It is feasible to shorten growth cycle of D. officinale and increase the resource of Chinese herbs.
Biomass ; DNA, Fungal ; genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal ; genetics ; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer ; genetics ; Dendrobium ; cytology ; growth & development ; microbiology ; Endophytes ; classification ; genetics ; physiology ; Fungi ; classification ; genetics ; physiology ; Host-Pathogen Interactions ; Hyphae ; physiology ; Plant Roots ; cytology ; growth & development ; microbiology ; Plants, Medicinal ; growth & development ; microbiology ; RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S ; genetics ; Seedlings ; cytology ; growth & development ; microbiology ; Species Specificity

An elicitor from fungus Mycenae sp. enhanced the extracellular pH of protocorms of Dendrobium candidum in two stages and also inspired the activities of PAL, POD and LOX. The different elicitors were different in enhancing the pH. The activities of PAL and POD ascended twice after elicitors were applied. The protocorms treated twice by elicitor had the higher PAL activity.

Owing to the positive interactions between different microorganisms, mixed fermentation has been found more and more effective in practice. Apparent progress has been made on the application and mechanism of mixed fermentation in past ten years, including: (1) degradation and utilization of cellulose, bagasse, cornstalk, etc; (2) degradation of environmental pollution, like Diazinon and PVA; (3) production of specifically metabolite; (4) optimized technics of mixed fermentation. The latest progress on the application, related mechanism, microorganisms, and conditions of mixed fermentation is reviewed in this article.

Geographic distribution of Polyporus umbellatus was predicted by using distribution records. Based on 42 distribution records from 12 provinces and bioclimatic data (1950-2000), georaphic distribution of P. umbellatus was modeled using Maxent. The results showed thatthe Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis method was used to assess the accuracy of MAXENT model and the area under ROC curve (AUC) value of MAXENT was 0. 960 which suggested that the result of assessment was dependable. The geographic distribution pattern of were divided into three distribution block based on distribution values of 0.5-0.8: small area of Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning and Hebei province, the board area of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, the southeast area of Tibet and the most area of Shanxi and Shannxi, the southeast board area of Shannxi, Gansu and Ningxia. Jackknife Test showed that average precipitation in warm seasons had the greatest contribution to the distribution gain of P. umbellatus, followed by mean temperature of driest quarter and annual mean temperature. The object suggests the potential distribution areasof P. umbellatus which is useful for the habitat conservation and introduction of P. umbellatus.
China ; Ecosystem ; Entropy ; Polyporus ; growth & development

This study was conducted to investigate the physicochemical properties of Polyporus umbellatus sclerotial exudate. Morphological characteristics of the sclerotia and its exudate were observed during different stages of sclerotial formation. The pH of the exudate was detected at different time during cultivation. A phenol-sulfuric acid method was employed to determine the polysaccharide content of P. umbellatus sclerotial exudate during cultivating time. Additionally, the protein content was measured by means of BCA protein assay. Furthermore, CAT content was detected using ultraviolet absorption method. That the protein content of the exudate and CAT specific activity rose gradually during the passage of the cultivating time indicated a high level of oxidative stress during P. umbellatus sclerotial exudate formation. The results showed that the pH of the exudate increased gradually and then dropped down during sclerotial formation. That the pH of the exudate maintained the acidity state during the cultivation indirectly indicated that acidic environment would help sclerotial formation. The exudate produced gradually and was absorbed by the sclerotia itself.
Culture Media ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Fungal Proteins ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Fungi ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Oxidative Stress ; Polyporus ; chemistry ; metabolism ; Polysaccharides ; chemistry ; metabolism

HIV-1 integrase (IN) is a key enzyme for the viral replication. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) between HIV-1 IN and a cellular cofactor lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF/p75) is a validated target for anti-HIV drug discovery. In order to build the platform for screening inhibitor against PPI between IN and LEDGF/p75, the vector containing the LEDGF/p75 protein cDNA was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli and the function of the LEDGF/p75 protein was assayed. The LGDGF/p75 encoding gene optimized according to the preference codon usage of E. coli, was synthesized and cloned into the expression vector pGEX-4T-1 to form a recombined plasmid, then transformed into host cell E. coli BL21 (DE3). The recombined clones were identified and confirmed by BamH I/Sal I digestion and sequencing, the successfully recombined plasmid in the host cell was induced by IPTG and the condition of the expression was optimized. The expressed protein was purified by the Ni2+ affinity chromatography column and SDS-PAGE was used to analyze the molecular weight and specificity. In addition, ELISA assay was used to analyze the function of the recombinant protein. The recombinant LGDGF/p75 was soluble, and expressed highly and stably in E. coli. The protein was proved to enhance HIV-1 IN strand transfer activity in vitro by ELISA. It will be helpful to build the platform of screening inhibitors against PPI between IN and LEDGF/p75.
Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; HIV Integrase ; metabolism ; HIV-1 ; physiology ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Protein Binding ; Virus Replication

italic>Anoectochilus roxburghii (Wall.) Lindl. is a medicinal species belonging to the Orchidaceae, whose whole plant can be used as a medicinal herb, known as "JinXianLian". It has antidiabetic, liver-protecting, anti-inflammatory, etc. A. roxburghii has long been used as food and medicine in Guangdong and Fujian provinces. With the wide recognition of the concept of "medicine and food homology" and the surge of market demand, wild A. roxburghii has been far from meeting the supply. It is important to establish an artificial propagation system. Resource characteristics are the key basis for optimizing germplasm and propagation systems. Therefore, this paper summarizes the germplasm resource characteristics and propagation technologies of A. roxburghii in China to provide a reference for sustainable development and subsequent mechanistic research.

Four small GTPase genes which may be relative to sclerotial development were firstly cloned from medicinal fungus Polyporus umbellatus using rapid amplification of cDNA end PCR (RACE) method. The results showed that full-length cDNA of PuRhoA was 698 bp contained 585 bp ORF, which was predicted to encode a 194 amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 21.75 kD with an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.44; the full length cDNA of PuRhoA2 was 837 bp in length and encoded a 194 amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 21.75 kD and an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.33; the full length cDNA of Puypt1 was 896 bp in length and encoded a 204-aa protein with a molecular weight of 22.556 kD and an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.75; the full length cDNA of PuRas was 803 bp in length and encoded a 212-aa protein with a molecular weight of 23.821 kD and an isoelectric point (pI) of 5.2. There are fani acyl transferase enzyme catalytic site and myrcene-transferase enzyme catalytic site in PuRhoA1 while the PuRhoA2 only possess myrcene-transferase enzyme catalytic site. Puypt1 contains the Rab1-Ypt1 conserved domain of small GTPase family and PuRas contains the fani acyl transferase enzyme catalytic site. According to the phylogenetic analysis all these four small GTPase clustered with basidiomycete group. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that Puypt1, PuRas and PuRhoA1 transcripts were significantly higher in the beginning of sclerotial formation than that in the mycelia, whereas the transcripts levels of PuRhoA2 gene were particularly lower in sclerotia than that in mycelia, suggesting that these four genes might be involved in P umbellatus selerotial development.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; Fungal Proteins ; genetics ; GTP Phosphohydrolases ; genetics ; Genes, Fungal ; Mycelium ; Phylogeny ; Polyporus ; enzymology ; genetics ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate in mavalonic acid pathway, which is the first committed step for isoprenoid biosynthesis in plants. However, it still remains unclear whether HGMR gene plays a role in the isoprenoid biosynthesis in Dendrobium officinale, an endangered epiphytic orchid species. In the present study, a HMGR encoding gene, designed as DoHMGR1 (GenBank accession JX272632), was identified from D. officinale using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) methods, for the first time. The full length cDNA of DoHMGR1 was 2 071 bp in length and encoded a 562-aa protein with a molecular weight of 59.73 kD and an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.18. The deduced DoHMGR1 protein, like other HMGR proteins, constituted four conserved domains (63-561, 147-551, 268-383 and 124-541) and two transmembrane motifs (42-64 and 85-107). Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that DoHMGR1 had high identity (67%-89%) to a number of HMGR genes from various plants and was closely related to Vanda hybrid cultivar, rice and maize monocots. Real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that DoHMGR1 was expressed in the three included organs. The transcripts were the most abundant in the roots with 2.13 fold over that in the leaves, followed by that in the stems with 1.98 fold. Molecular characterization of DoHMGR1 will be useful for further functional elucidation of the gene involving in isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway in D. officinale.
Base Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; DNA, Complementary ; genetics ; Dendrobium ; enzymology ; genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl CoA Reductases ; genetics ; metabolism ; Molecular Weight ; Phylogeny ; Plant Leaves ; enzymology ; genetics ; Plant Roots ; enzymology ; genetics ; Plant Stems ; enzymology ; genetics ; Plants, Medicinal ; enzymology ; genetics ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid