Potential for Augmentation of Fruit Quality by Foliar Application of Bacilli Spores on Apple Tree

류충민,신정남,Wang Qi,Mei Ruhong,김의중,Jae Gu Pan 한국식물병리학회 2011 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.27 No.2

Previous studies have addressed the management of phyllosphere pathogens by leaf and root-associated microbes. The present study evaluated the effect of the foliar application of three strains of Bacillus spp. on plant growth and fruit quality. The application of a bacilli spore preparation significantly improved leaf growth parameters such as leaf thickness and photosynthesis capacity, indicating that bacilli treatment directly promoted leaf growth. In addition, foliar treatment resulted in an improvement in the key indicators of fruit quality including water, glucose, and sucrose contents. The present results suggest that foliar spraying of beneficial bacilli is a potential treatment of wide application for the improvement of apple quality. Foliar application of bacilli preparation as effective plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria broadens the spectrum of their availability for orchard application.

Potential for Augmentation of Fruit Quality by Foliar Application of Bacilli Spores on Apple Tree

Ryu, Choong-Min,Shin, Jung-Nam,Qi, Wang,Ruhong, Mei,Kim, Eui-Joong,Pan, Jae-Gu The Korean Society of Plant Pathology 2011 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.27 No.2

Previous studies have addressed the management of phyllosphere pathogens by leaf and root-associated microbes. The present study evaluated the effect of the foliar application of three strains of Bacillus spp. on plant growth and fruit quality. The application of a bacilli spore preparation significantly improved leaf growth parameters such as leaf thickness and photosynthesis capacity, indicating that bacilli treatment directly promoted leaf growth. In addition, foliar treatment resulted in an improvement in the key indicators of fruit quality including water, glucose, and sucrose contents. The present results suggest that foliar spraying of beneficial bacilli is a potential treatment of wide application for the improvement of apple quality. Foliar application of bacilli preparation as effective plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria broadens the spectrum of their availability for orchard application.

Adsorption of Villin Headpiece onto Graphene, Carbon Nanotube, and C60: Effect of Contacting Surface Curvatures on Binding Affinity

Zuo, Guanghong,Zhou, Xin,Huang, Qing,Fang, Haiping,Zhou, Ruhong American Chemical Society 2011 The Journal of Physical Chemistry Part C Vol.115 No.47

<P>The adsorption of protein villin headpiece (HP35) onto a graphene has been investigated using large scale molecular dynamics simulations, and the results are compared with similar adsorptions onto a single-wall carbon nanotube and a fullerene, C60. It is found that HP35 loses most of its native secondary and tertiary structures after the adsorption onto graphene. The π–π stacking interactions between the graphene and HP35’s aromatic residues play a key role in this adsorption. The graphene’s softness also helps the binding by adapting its own shape to fit better with aromatic residues in forming stronger π–π stacking interactions. Interestingly, the mechanism of HP35 adsorption onto the other two graphitic nanomaterials is found to be somewhat different, in which the π–π stacking interactions play a lesser role than the dispersion interactions between the nanomaterial and HP35’s aliphatic side chains. These findings indicate that in addition to the chemical composition, the shape of the nanoparticle is also an important factor in determining its interaction with proteins: the contacting surface curvature can lead to different adsorption mechanisms.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/jpccck/2011/jpccck.2011.115.issue-47/jp208967t/production/images/medium/jp-2011-08967t_0004.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/jp208967t'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

Biological Control of Apple Ring Rot on Fruit by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 9001

Yan Li,Li-Rong Han,Yuanyuan Zhang,Xuechi Fu,Ruhong Mei,Qi Wang,Lixia Zhang,Xinyi Chen 한국식물병리학회 2013 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.29 No.2

Apple ring rot disease, caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. ex. Fr) Ces. et de Not., is one of the most important diseases on apple fruits. In this study, strain 9001 isolated from healthy apple fruits from an infested orchard was evaluated for its biocontrol activity against apple ring rot in vitro and in vivo. Strain 9001 showed obvious antagonistic activity to B. dothidea YL-1 when plated on potato dextrose agar. Soaking healthy apples in the bacterial suspensions of strain 9001 prior to artificial inoculation of fungal pathogen resulted in a dramatic decrease in disease incidence when compared to the control. Moreover, either field application in the growth season or postharvest treatment of apples from infected orchards with bacterial suspensions of strain 9001 resulted in significantly reduced disease incidence within the storage period for 4 months at room temperature. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA and the gyrA gene, strain 9001 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. These results indicated that B. amyloliquefaciens 9001 could be a promising agent in biocontrol of apple ring rot on fruit, which might help to minimize the yield loss of apple fruit during the long postharvest period.

Biological Control of Apple Ring Rot on Fruit by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 9001

Li, Yan,Han, Li-Rong,Zhang, Yuanyuan,Fu, Xuechi,Chen, Xinyi,Zhang, Lixia,Mei, Ruhong,Wang, Qi The Korean Society of Plant Pathology 2013 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.29 No.2

Apple ring rot disease, caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. ex. Fr) Ces. et de Not., is one of the most important diseases on apple fruits. In this study, strain 9001 isolated from healthy apple fruits from an infested orchard was evaluated for its biocontrol activity against apple ring rot in vitro and in vivo. Strain 9001 showed obvious antagonistic activity to B. dothidea YL-1 when plated on potato dextrose agar. Soaking healthy apples in the bacterial suspensions of strain 9001 prior to artificial inoculation of fungal pathogen resulted in a dramatic decrease in disease incidence when compared to the control. Moreover, either field application in the growth season or postharvest treatment of apples from infected orchards with bacterial suspensions of strain 9001 resulted in significantly reduced disease incidence within the storage period for 4 months at room temperature. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA and the gyrA gene, strain 9001 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. These results indicated that B. amyloliquefaciens 9001 could be a promising agent in biocontrol of apple ring rot on fruit, which might help to minimize the yield loss of apple fruit during the long postharvest period.

Even with nonnative interactions, the updated folding transition states of the homologs Proteins G & L are extensive and similar

Baxa, Michael C.,Yu, Wookyung,Adhikari, Aashish N.,Ge, Liang,Xia, Zhen,Zhou, Ruhong,Freed, Karl F.,Sosnick, Tobin R. National Academy of Sciences 2015 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF Vol.112 No.27

<P><B>Significance</B></P><P>An outstanding issue in protein science is identifying the relationship between sequence and folding, e.g., do sequences having similar structures have similar folding pathways? The homologs Proteins G & L have been cited as a primary example where sequence variations dramatically affect folding dynamics. However, our new results indicate that the homologs have similar folding behavior. At the highest point on the reaction surface, the pathways converge to similar ensembles. These findings are distinct from descriptions based on the widely used mutational ϕ analysis, partly due to nonnative behavior. Our study emphasizes that significant challenges remain both in characterizing and predicting transition state ensembles even for relatively simple proteins whose folding behavior is believed to be well understood.</P><P>Experimental and computational folding studies of Proteins L & G and NuG2 typically find that sequence differences determine which of the two hairpins is formed in the transition state ensemble (TSE). However, our recent work on Protein L finds that its TSE contains both hairpins, compelling a reassessment of the influence of sequence on the folding behavior of the other two homologs. We characterize the TSEs for Protein G and NuG2b, a triple mutant of NuG2, using ψ analysis, a method for identifying contacts in the TSE. All three homologs are found to share a common and near-native TSE topology with interactions between all four strands. However, the helical content varies in the TSE, being largely absent in Proteins G & L but partially present in NuG2b. The variability likely arises from competing propensities for the formation of nonnative β turns in the naturally occurring proteins, as observed in our <I>TerItFix</I> folding algorithm. All-atom folding simulations of NuG2b recapitulate the observed TSEs with four strands for 5 of 27 transition paths [Lindorff-Larsen K, Piana S, Dror RO, Shaw DE (2011) <I>Science</I> 334(6055):517–520]. Our data support the view that homologous proteins have similar folding mechanisms, even when nonnative interactions are present in the transition state. These findings emphasize the ongoing challenge of accurately characterizing and predicting TSEs, even for relatively simple proteins.</P>