Maxim (EbM) is a perennial herb grown in China for traditional Chinese medicines. Grey mould symptoms were observed on EbM leaves in several fields in Hubei Province, China, from April to June in ...2015, 2016 and 2017. V-shaped blights or concentric rings appeared initially on the basal leaves, followed by necrosis gradually spreading from the tips and margins to the entire leaf. Severely infected leaves were rolled or distorted and became brittle. A fungal isolate, MF468110, was recovered from diseased plants and identified as Botrytis cinerea based on its morphological features and sequence analysis of multiple genes. The colony on potato dextrose agar was initially white with abundant fluffy aerial mycelia and turned grey with numerous irregular black sclerotia. Sequence analysis of the G3PDH, RPB2 and HSP60 genes found high similarity with other reference strains representing the species B. cinerea. Pathogenicity tests showed that the symptoms were similar on EbM leaves after inoculation with a conidial suspension and the re-isolated fungi were morphologically similar to the isolates used for inoculation, indicating that the isolate MF468110 was pathogenic to EbM. This is the first report of B. cinerea causing grey mould on EbM in China.
The objective of this study was to assess the potential effects of climate change on the moisture performance and durability of massive timber walls on the basis of results derived from hygrothermal ...simulations. One-dimensional simulations were run using DELPHIN 5.9.4 for 31 consecutive years of the 15 realizations of the modeled historical (1986–2016) and future (2062–2092) climates of five cities located across Canada. For all cities, water penetration in the wall assembly was assumed to be 1% wind-driven rain, and the air changes per hour in the drainage cavity was assumed to be 10. The mold growth index on the outer layer of the cross-laminated timber panel was used to compare the moisture performance for the historical and future periods. The simulation results showed that the risk of mold growth would increase in all the cities considered. However, the relative change varied from city to city. In the cities of Ottawa, Calgary and Winnipeg, the relative change in the mold growth index was higher than in the cities of Vancouver and St. John’s. For Vancouver and St. John’s, and under the assumptions used for these simulations, the risk was already higher under the historical period. This means that the mass timber walls in these two cities could not withstand a water penetration rate of 1% wind-driven rain, as used in the simulations, with a drainage cavity of 19 mm and an air changes per hour value of 10. Additional wall designs will be explored in respect to the moisture performance, and the results of these studies will be reported in a future publication.
To improve the hydrophobicity and anti-mold properties of bamboo, cutinized bamboo was prepared by impregnating a mixture of food-grade carnauba wax and paraffin at annealing temperatures of 78 °C, ...80 °C, and 83 °C. The thermal properties and microstructures of the wax films were analyzed to understand the mechanism of wax interface phase. The contact angle, water absorption rate, dimensional stability, and microstructure of the cutinized bamboo were investigated. The results showed that phase separation occurred in the mixed wax and that the microstructure of the mixed wax films was reconstructed after annealing treatment. The thickness of the cutinized coating varied with the annealing temperature. The initial contact angle on the outer layer surface of cutinized bamboo reached 110.73°, and the surface energy was reduced by 53.6% at an annealing temperature of 83 °C. The water absorption and dimensional stability of the cutinized bamboo improved significantly. In addition, bamboo toothbrush handles modified at annealing temperature of 80 °C demonstrated good anti-mold. The annealing process of wax treatment is expected to benefit bamboo product protection.
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•Cutinized bamboo was prepared with mixed wax and annealed under different temperature.•The microstructure of mixed wax coating was reconstructed with phase separation after annealing.•The hydrophobicity of cutinized bamboo increased with annealing temperature.•Better hydrophobicity and anti-mildew were obtained after annealing treatment.
The prevalence of asthma in the United States (U.S.) has doubled since 1970, coinciding with the increased use of gypsum-drywall in home construction. Mold growth is promoted when gypsum-drywall gets ...wet. Since asthma is linked to mold exposures, accurate quantification of mold contamination in homes is critical. Therefore, qPCR assays were created and then used to quantify 36 common molds in dust collected in representative U.S. homes during the first American Health Homes Survey (AHHS). The concentrations of the 36 molds, i.e. 26 water-damage molds (Group 1) and 10 outside molds (Group 2), were used in the formulation of a home's Environmental Relative Moldiness Index (ERMI) value. The ERMI values for each of the AHHS homes were assembled from lowest to highest to create the ERMI scale, which ranges from -10 to 20. Subsequent epidemiological studies consistently demonstrated that higher ERMI values were linked to asthma development, reduced lung capacity or occupant asthma. Reducing mold exposures by remediation or with HEPA filtration resulted in a reduced prevalence of asthma and improvements in respiratory health. The ERMI scale has also been successfully applied in evaluating mold concentrations in schools and large buildings and appears to have applications outside the U.S.
The use of compost extracts is steadily increasing, offering an attractive way for plant growth enhancement and disease management replacing chemical pesticides. In this study, potential mechanisms ...involved in plant growth promotion and suppressive activity against fungal diseases, of a compost extract produced from poultry manure/olive husk compost, were investigated. Results of physico-chemical and microbiological investigations showed high ability to reduce
Fusarium oxysporum
,
Alternaria alternata
,
Aspergillus niger
and
Botrytis cinerea
growth. The suppressive ability detected using confrontation test and the phytostimulatory effect tested on tomato seeds were related mainly to its microbial population content. Among 150 bacterial strains, isolated from the compost extract, 13 isolates showed antifungal activity against the four tested plant pathogenic fungi. Their identification based on 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed they belonged to different species of the genus
Bacillus
,
Alcaligenes
,
Providencia
and
Ochrobactrum.
When tested for their ability to produce cell wall degradation enzymes using specific media, the majority of the 13 isolates were shown to synthesize proteases, lipases and glucanases. Similarly, the best part of them showed positive reaction for plant growth promoting substances liberation, biosurfactant production and biofilm formation. In vivo tests were carried out using tomato seeds and fruits and proved that 92% of strains improved tomato plants vigor indexes when compared to the control and 6 among them were able to reduce decay severity caused by
B. cinerea
over 50%. Principal component analysis showed an important correlation between in vitro and in vivo potentialities and that
Bacillus siamensis
CEBZ11 strain was statistically the most effective strain in protecting tomato plants from gray mould disease. This study revealed the selected strains would be useful for plant pathogenic fungi control and plant growth promotion.
There is mounting evidence that exposure to household dampness/mold (D/M) is the cause of respiratory, allergic diseases for children. While few research focuses on the effects caused by building ...environment changes, from a longitudinal investigation perspective, especially for China experiencing a rapid development in recent years. This study aimed to explore the changes of D/M in Chinese homes over the past 10 years and identify the impacts of climate, building energy efficiency and residents' behaviors. The cross-sectional surveys were repeatedly conducted in children’ residences in 2010 (Period I) and 2019 (Period II), among Taiyuan, Urumqi in northern China, and Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing in southern China. Finally, 23465 children in Period I and 34720 children in Period II were involved, with no changes of residences since birth. The results showed that the proportions for reported D/M indicators were significantly reduced in Period II: e.g., 93.8% and 84.1% residents respectively answered no visible mold spots and damp stains in current residences, compared to only 78.3% and 62.2% in Period I. Southern homes accounted for high proportions for D/M indicator occurrences; warm-humid climate, annual higher precipitation and lower sunshine hours, etc., exacerbated the indoor D/M exposure risks. While residents' behaviors like ventilation, airing quilt/beddings, regular cleaning ameliorated the reported D/M significantly. The findings, from a temporal and spacious dimension perspective, advance our understanding of indoor D/M changes, precisely improvement in children’ homes over the past 10 years, benefiting to promote indoor air quality standards in China.
•Epidemiological surveys for household environment and children health were repeated in China.•Temporal and spacious comparisons of Dampness/Mold were stratified by Period-District.•Proportions of D/M were reduced in residents regardless of district difference.•Southern homes reported higher proportions for D/M indicators due to climates.•Residents' behaviors like ventilation modified the D/M exposure risks significantly.
Grapevine is one of the world’s most economically important fruit crops. It is known that Vitis vinifera is a host for a large number of pathogenic agents, which significantly reduce the yield and ...berry quality. This forces the agronomists to use a huge amount of fungicides. Over the last few decades, alternative methods for solving this problem have been developed and continue to be developed. Such new technologies as marker-assisted selection, bioengineering of the rhizosphere, genetic engineering (transgenesis, cisgenesis and intragenesis) allow the production of pathogen-resistant cultivars. However, they are linked to a number of problems. One of the most promising methods is the creation of modified non-transgenic cultivars via CRISPR/Cas9-targeted mutagenesis. Therefore, researchers are actively looking for target genes associated with pathogen resistance and susceptibility. This review elucidates the main mechanisms of plant—pathogen interactions, the immune systems developed by plants, as well as the identified genes for resistance and susceptibility to the biotrophic pathogen Erysiphe necator and the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea.
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3D printing of master molds for soft lithography-based fabrication of microneedles (MNs) is a cost effective, easy and fast method for producing MNs with variable designs. Deviating ...from the classical geometries of MNs, ‘tanto blade’-inspired MNs showed effective skin penetration, acting as sharp structures with low insertion force of 10.6 N, which is sufficient for manual insertion. Additionally, hydrophilic, fluorescent noble metal nanocluster-modified gelatin nanocarriers were loaded in polyvinyl alcohol/sucrose MNs to act as a novel potential theranostic system emitting light in the near-infrared (λem = ~700 nm). Nanoparticles (NPs) distribution within the MNs and release have been monitored using confocal laser scanning microscopy by means of spectral analysis and linear unmixing. Furthermore, the MNs patch was modified by carving a channel at each of the four corners of the patch. This facilitated the separation process of MNs from the patch base into skin, when 15 µL phosphate buffered saline was applied through each channel post-skin insertion of the MNs. Then, the patch base can be removed easily leaving the implanted MNs inside the skin for further release of the NP cargo. This successfully reduced the application time to 1 min for enhanced patient compliance.
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•Antimicrobial activity of vapour EOs under vacuum was studied in vitro and in vivo.•Carvacrol:oregano showed >2 log unit reductions against saprophyte moulds in vitro.•Oregano ...presence was important for in vitro inhibition of Botrytis cinerea.•Carvacrol presence led to inhibition of Penicillium spp., A. alternata and A. niger.•Microbial quality of vapour EOs (8 mg L−1)-treated cilantro was kept for 12 d/2 °C.
Application of essential oils (EOs) in vapour phase under vacuum conditions may increase the effectiveness of EOs to sanitize plant products. Different treatments with EOs vapor were studied in vitro and in vivo against saprophyte microflora and pathogens at laboratory, pilot plant and industrial scales. Vapor of carvacrol combinations with oregano and peppermint essential oils (80:20 v:v) showed the best microbial reductions up to 1.5 log units for mesophiles (in vitro at laboratory scale), 0.9–3.9 log units for several isolated molds (in vitro at pilot plant scale) and approximately 1 log unit for Listeria innocua (in vivo at pilot plant scale). Particularly, carvacrol:oregano and carvacrol:peppermint vapors showed the highest mold log reductions (>3.3) for Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria alternata and Aspergillus niger while Fusarium spp. and Penicillium spp. showed lower reductions. EOs vapors concentrations lower than 0.5 mg L−1 did not achieve mold reductions higher than 0.2 log units while EOs vapors concentrations ≥10 mg L−1 did not increase the antifungal activity. Fresh cilantro treated at industrial scale with vapor of carvacrol:peppermint (less off-flavors than carvacrol:oregano) (80:20 v:v) at 8 mg L−1 under vacuum (adapting a vacuum cooling system) showed 0.8, 1.8 and 1.2 lower mesophiles, psychrophiles and enterobacteria log units, respectively, than untreated samples after 12 d at 2 °C of storage. Yeast and mold growth in cilantro was low throughout the studied period at storage temperature of 2 °C. Yellowing and browning of cilantro treated at 8 mg L−1 was also minimal, compared to the rest of treatments, after 12 d at 2 °C. In conclusion, the application of carvacrol:peppermint (80:20 v:v) vapor at 8 mg L−1 under vacuum in an industrial installation may extend the shelf life of fresh cilantro further than 12 d at 2 °C ensuring its microbial and visual quality.
Despite the recent increase in interest in indoor air quality regarding mould, there is no universally accepted standard media for the detection of airborne fungi, nor verification of many commonly ...used techniques. Commonly used media including malt-extract agar (MEA), Sabouraud dextrose agar (Sab), potato dextrose agar (PDA) with and without antibiotics chloramphenicol & gentamycin (CG) were compared for their suitability in detecting a range of airborne fungi by collecting 150 L outdoor air on a number of different days and seasons via an Anderson 400-hole sampler in suburban Melbourne, Australia. There was relatively little variation in mean numbers of colony forming units (CFU) and types of fungi recovered between MEA, PDA, Sab media groups relative to variation within each group. There was a significant difference between Sab, Dichloran-18% glycerol (DG18) and V8® Original juice agar media, however. Antibiotics reliably prevented the growth of bacteria that typically interfered with the growth and appearance of fungal colonies. There was no significant evidence for a growth enhancing factor from potato, mineral supplements or various vegetable juices. Differing glucose concentrations had modest effects, showing a vague ideal at 2%-4% with peptone. Sanitisation of the aluminium Andersen 400-hole sampler top-plate by flame is possible, but not strictly required nor advisable. The use of SabCG as a standard medium was generally supported.
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