Chinese soft-shelled turtles (Trionyx sinens) in culture farms using an artificial warming system in Zhejiang, China, often show typical signs of white-spot disease such as white spots on their bodies, skin lesions, anorexia and eventually death. The sick turtles were mostly 5~80 g in weight. A suspected fungal pathogen was isolated from the sick turtles and verified as Paecilomyces lilacinus by sequence analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of its ribosomal DNA (rDNA). Detailed morphological examinations were also conducted to confirm the white-spot disease.
Animals ; Paecilomyces ; isolation & purification ; Turtles ; microbiology

The paper dealt with the characterization of polysaccharide of Paecilomyces lilacinus NH-PL-03 strain. First, we extracted and purified exude polysaccharide from the fungal fermentation broth by ethanol depositing method. Second, the proteins were removed by the Sevage method from the crude polysaccharide. Third, the purified polysaccharide (EP-1) was obtained after Superdex G-75 column separation. The results of UV-spectrometer and Sephacryl S-200 HR chromatography experiments showed that the EP-1 was a homogeneous pure polysaccharide with molecular weight of 35.2 kDa. Tested by paper chromatography analysis using the complete hydrolysis by sulfuric acid, we found that the EP-1 comprise single component as glucose. The chemical structure of EP-1 was confirmed as a kind of linear glucan linked by beta-(1,3) linkage. The Congo red reaction performed that EP-1 probable presented a triple-helical conformation in the dilute alkali.
Molecular Structure ; Paecilomyces ; chemistry ; Polysaccharides, Bacterial ; chemistry ; isolation & purification

No abstract available.
Aged ; Conjunctiva/*surgery ; Dacryocystorhinostomy/*adverse effects ; Eye Infections, Fungal/diagnosis/*etiology/microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; Keratitis/diagnosis/*etiology/microbiology ; Lacrimal Duct Obstruction/*diagnosis ; Paecilomyces/*isolation & purification ; Recurrence ; Surgical Wound Infection/diagnosis/*etiology/microbiology