Tiago Domingues Zucchi

Screening of Brazilian cacti rhizobacteria for plant growth promotion under drought

Drought is one of the major problems worldwide. The search for new and efficient microorganisms, from unexplored environments, to be used in association with plants to alleviate the negative effects imposed by water stress, is an interesting alternative. Thus, cacti-associated bacteria from the Brazilian semi-arid region were isolated based on their ability to grow in medium with reduced water availability. Strains were tested for the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS), as well as in vitro plant growth promotion traits. A great proportion of the isolates belong to the genus Bacillus. From a total of forty-eight bacteria, 65% were able to grow in medium with reduced water availability (0.919Aw), exopolysaccharide production was observed for 65% of the strains. The production of indole acetic acid (IAA) exceeding 51μgmL(-1) was observed for 4% and the high solubilization of Ca-P was verified for 6% of the isolates. No strain was able to produce hydrogen cyanide (HCN), 71% produced ammonia and 79% showed a halo of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) degradation. Zea mays L. growth promotion under water stress (30% of field capacity) was achieved by two strains of Bacillus spp. This is the first report to describe cacti-associated bacteria from Brazilian semi-arid with plant growth-promoting abilities.

Isolation and characterization of actinobacteria ectosymbionts from Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

The ectosymbiont actinobacterium Pseudonocardia was isolated from the integument of Acromyrmex leaf-cutter ants and seems to play a crucial role in maintaining asepsis of the nest. Currently, there has been an intensive search for Pseudonocardia associated with several attine species, but few studies have indicated that other actinobacteria may be associated with these ants as well. We therefore characterized the culturable actinobacteria community associated with the integument of the fungus-growing ant Acromyrmex subterraneus brunneus Forel, 1893 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ectosymbionts were isolated using four different media and characterized by morphological and molecular (16S rDNA) methods. A total of 20 strains were isolated, of which 17 were characterized as Streptomyces spp., and one isolate each as Pseudonocardia, Kitassatospora and Propionicimonas. Unlike other Acromyrmex species, A. subterraneus brunneus is associated with a diversity of actinobacteria. Even though Pseudonocardia is present on this leaf-cutting ants integument, the number and diversity of Streptomyces spp. found differs from those of previous studies with other attine ants and suggest that different culturing approaches are needed to characterize the true diversity of microbes colonizing the integument of attine ants. Moreover, understanding the diversity of the culturable actinobacteria associated with A. subterraneus brunneus should increase our knowledge of the evolutionary relationship of this intricate symbiotic association.

Streptomyces sp. ASBV‐1 reduces aflatoxin accumulation by Aspergillus parasiticus in peanut grains

Aims:  To evaluate the ability of Streptomyces sp. (strain ASBV‐1) to restrict aflatoxin accumulation in peanut grains.

Biological control of mycotoxin-producing molds

Mycotoxins are produced by the secondary metabolism of many fungi and can be found in almost 25% of the worlds agricultural commodities. These compounds are toxic to humans, animals, and plants and therefore, efforts should be made to avoid mycotoxin contamination in food and feed. Besides, up to 25% of all harvested fruits and vegetables are lost due to storage molds and/or mycotoxin contamination and many methods have been applied to mitigate these issues, but most of them rely on the use of fungicides. Although chemicals are often the first defensive line against mycotoxigenic fungi, the indiscriminate use of fungicides are awakening the public perception due to their noxious effects on the environment and human/animal health. Thus, there is an increasing public pressure for a safer and eco-friendly alternative to control these organisms. In this background, biological control using microbial antagonists such as bacteria, fungi and yeasts have been shown to be a feasible substitute to reduce the use of chemical compounds. Despite of the positive findings using the biocontrol agents only a few products have been registered and are commercially available to control mycotoxin-producing fungi. This review brings about the up-to-date biological control strategies to prevent or reduce harvested commodity damages caused by storage fungi and the contamination of food and feed by mycotoxins.

Biological control of phytopathogenic fungi by endophytic actinomycetes isolated from maize (Zea mays L.)

This work aimed a survey on the biodiversity of maize endophytic actinomycete, and an evaluation of their potential to control the phytopathogenic fungi. From several regions of Sao Paulo state, 40 strains were isolated from the healthy maize plants. The identification of these strains, based on morphological properties and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profile showed that most of them belonged to the Streptomyces genus. These isolates were first screened for the growth inhibition of phytopathogenic fungi and results showed that all the isolate were able to inhibit the development of at least one tested pathogen. Two selected isolates were then evaluated for the control of P. aphanidermatum in cucumber (Cucumis sativa L.) under greenhouse conditions. Isolate 16R3B was able to reduce up to 71% damping-off incidence whereas isolate 14F1D/2 reduced the disease incidence by 36%. Damping- off control in cucumber, mainly for the isolate 16R3B, suggested for its use in greenhouse cucumber producing fields and to be tested in field trials.

The gastric caeca of pentatomids as a house for actinomycetes

BackgroundMicrobes are extensively associated with insects, playing key roles in insect defense, nutrition and reproduction. Most of the associations reported involve Proteobacteria. Despite the fact that Actinobacteria associated with insects were shown to produce antibiotic barriers against pathogens to the hosts or to their food and nutrients, there are few studies focusing on their association with insects. Thus, we surveyed the Actinobacteria diversity on a specific region of the midgut of seven species of stinkbugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) known to carry a diversity of symbiotically-associated Proteobacteria.ResultsA total of 34 phylotypes were placed in 11 different Actinobacteria families. Dichelops melacanthus held the highest diversity with six actinobacteria families represented by nine phylotypes. Thyanta perditor (n = 7), Edessa meditabunda (n = 5), Loxa deducta (n = 4) and Pellaea stictica (n = 3) were all associated with three families. Piezodorus guildini (n = 3) and Nezara viridula (n = 3) had the lowest diversity, being associated with two (Propionibacteriaceae and Mycobacteriaceae) and one (Streptomyceataceae) families, respectively. Corynebacteriaceae and Mycobacteriaceae were the most common families with phylotypes from three different insect species each one.ConclusionsMany phylotypes shared a low 16S rRNA gene similarity with their closest type strains and formed new phyletic lines on the periphery of several genera. This is a strong indicative that stinkbug caeca can harbor new species of actinobacteria, which might be derived from specific associations with the species of stinkbugs studied. Although the well-known role of actinobacteria as a source of biomolecules, the ecological features of these symbionts on the stinkbugs biology remain unknown.

Draft Genome Sequence of Komagataeibacter rhaeticus Strain AF1, a High Producer of Cellulose, Isolated from Kombucha Tea.

ABSTRACT Here, we present the draft genome sequence of Komagatabaeicter rhaeticus strain AF1, which was isolated from Kombucha tea and is capable of producing high levels of cellulose.

Amycolatopsis thermophila sp. nov. and Amycolatopsis viridis sp. nov., thermophilic actinomycetes isolated from arid soil

The taxonomic positions of two thermophilic actinomycetes isolated from an arid Australian soil sample were established based on an investigation using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The organisms had chemical and morphological properties typical of members of the genus Amycolatopsis and formed distinct phyletic lines in the Amycolatopsis methanolica 16S rRNA subclade. The two organisms were distinguished from one another and from the type strains of related species of the genus Amycolatopsis using a range of phenotypic properties. Based on the combined genotypic and phenotypic data, it is proposed that the two isolates be classified in the genus Amycolatopsis as Amycolatopsis thermophila sp. nov. (type strain GY088(T)=NCIMB 14699(T)=NRRL B-24836(T)) and Amycolatopsis viridis sp. nov. (type strain GY115(T)=NCIMB 14700(T)=NRRL B-24837(T)).

Host-Symbiont Interactions for Potentially Managing Heteropteran Pests

Insects in the suborder Heteroptera, the so-called true bugs, include over 40,000 species worldwide. This insect group includes many important agricultural pests and disease vectors, which often have bacterial symbionts associated with them. Some symbionts have coevolved with their hosts to the extent that host fitness is compromised with the removal or alteration of their symbiont. The first bug/microbial interactions were discovered over 50 years ago. Only recently, mainly due to advances in molecular techniques, has the nature of these associations become clearer. Some researchers have pursued the genetic modification (paratransgenesis) of symbionts for disease control or pest management. With the increasing interest and understanding of the bug/symbiont associations and their ecological and physiological features, it will only be a matter of time before pest/vector control programs utilize this information and technique. This paper will focus on recent discoveries of the major symbiotic systems in Heteroptera, highlighting how the understanding of the evolutionary and biological aspects of these relationships may lead to the development of alternative techniques for efficient heteropteran pest control and suppression of diseases vectored by Heteroptera.

A short-term test adapted to detect the genotoxic effects of environmental volatile pollutants (benzene fumes) using the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans.

With the recent focus on environmental problems, increasing awareness of the harmful effects of industrial and agricultural pollution has created a demand for progressively more sophisticated pollutant and toxicity detection methods. Using Aspergillus nidulans strains this work presents a new short term-test that, most importantly, enables the rapid and inexpensive detection of volatile pollutants that induce genotoxic/carcinogenic effects in animals. The main aim is to contribute to environmental health protection, and special attention is directed to monitoring the hazard posed by benzene (as a carcinogenic agent model) mainly because its ubiquitous presence often leads to severe noxious effects in humans among whom increased rates of human leukemia have been reported. To evaluate even the submutagenic effects of benzene fumes, two Aspergillus nidulans diploid strains, heterozygous for several auxotrophic mutations, were used. The DNA lesions produced stimulate mitotic recombination and homozygotization of auxotrophic recessive mutations. Conidial exposure to a saturated atmosphere of benzene fumes for 20 s was enough to increase the mitotic recombination frequencies significantly. Genetic analyses of treated diploids evidenced alterations related to mitotic recombination frequencies, gene expression, and allelic segregation rates. Altogether they reflect the potential of benzene to induce alterations in the fungal DNA, and albeit indirectly, they also respond for the genotoxic/carcinogenic harmful side effects widely connected to benzene. This is the first description of a sensitive, rapid and inexpensive test able to detect the submutagenic dose effects of volatile environmental compounds. In addition, despite concentrating on benzene the same test can be applied to many other pollutants, volatile or not. Additionally, the test can also be used to detect the antigenotoxic properties of foods and drugs.