Search

Historical beers are a valuable source of information on past brewing microbiology providing opportunity for analysis and isolation. Although rarely found intact and suffering variable degrees of deterioration they can contain living microbial cells and residues of chemical components indicating the character of the beers and their production processes. This report summarises preliminary analysis of two beers from Victorian and Edwardian times and provides an indication of their chemistry and microbiology. One beer, recovered from the 1895 Scottish shipwreck Wallachia, was a 7.5% ABV stout, the other an 11% ABV celebration King's Ale, a barley wine, brewed by Bass in 1902 for the visit of King Edward VII. Live yeast was isolated from both beers: Brettanomyces and Debaryomyces from the Wallachia stout and Saccharomyces from the Bass Ale. Ribosomal DNA amplicon sequencing indicated the presence of a wide range of microorganisms in both beers including lactobacilli and pediococci in the Wallachia beer and staphylococci in the Bass Ale. Both beers are likely to be in the category of stock ales of the time and would have been matured for a period before bottling. The presence of Brettanomyces bruxellensis in both beers confirms the understanding of this species as an important contributor to these beers but it is also interesting that Debaryomyces species are consistently present as a major component and that Saccharomyces are less prevalent. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of the Institute of Brewing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Institute of Brewing & Distilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys conducted in peanut production areas of China revealed peanut pod rot in several fields in Shandong and Hebei Provinces, China. A large quantity of an unknown stem nematode was isolated from the hulls and seeds of peanuts, herein described as Ditylenchus arachis n. sp. The new species is characterized by a combination of the following features: lateral lip sectors distinctly projected, stylet delicate, 8·4-10 µm in length, six lines in the lateral field, tail elongate-conoid, bursa covering about 68-86% of tail length. Pathogenicity tests showed that D. arachis n. sp. could infect peanut (Arachis hypogaea), but not sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) or potato (Solanum tuberosum). Morphologically, D. arachis n. sp. appears closest to D. africanus, D. myceliophagus and D. destructor, but can be differentiated based upon a combination of morphological characteristics, host preference and molecular sequence data. The results of the phylogenetic analysis, based on 18S rDNA, the D2-D3 expansion region of 28S rDNA, and the ITS1-5·8S-ITS2 region, confirmed its status as a new species. A sister relationship with D. destructor was appointed, rather than with its ecologically very similar congener D. africanus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphologial, biochemical, molecular and karyological analyses of different populations and races of the stem and bulb nematode Ditylenchus dipsaci have suggested that it represents a species complex, of which only D. dipsaci sensu stricto and its morphologically larger variant, known as the giant race of the stem and bulb nematode, are plant parasites of economic importance. The present study singles out the giant race from this complex, herein described as a new species named Ditylenchus gigas n. sp., on the basis of morphological and molecular data obtained from several populations collected from broad beans in southern Italy, southern Spain and Lebanon. The new species epithet, which refers to the large body size of the nematode with respect to the normal races, must be considered to be conspecific with the D. dipsaci ‘giant race’ from Fabaceae in recent literature. Morphologically, the new species is characterized by a body size 1Æ5–2 times longer than the ‘normal race’, stylet delicate (11Æ5–13Æ0 lm long) with knobs distinctly sloping backwards, and long post-vulval uterine sac (81–150 lm long). Results of molecular analysis of rDNA sequences including the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region, the D2–D3 fragment of the 28S gene, the small 18S subunit, the partial mitochondrial gene for cytochrome c oxidase I (mtCOI), and hsp90 gene sequences, support the new taxonomic species status for the former D. dipsaci giant race from Vicia faba, and clearly distinguish D. gigas n. sp. from D. dipsaci sensu stricto. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simplified technique was developed for DNA sequence-based diagnosis of harmful dinoflagellate species. This protocol integrates procedures for DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification into a single tube. DNA sequencing reactions were performed directly, using unpurified PCR products as the DNA template for subsequent sequencing reactions. PCR reactions using DNA extracted from single cells of Cocodinium polykrikoides and Alexandrium catenella successfully amplified the target ribosomal DNA regions. DNA sequencing of the unpurified PCR products showed that DNA sequences corresponded to the expected locus of ribosomal DNA regions of both A. catenella and C. polykrikoides (each zero genetic distance and 100% sequence similarity). Using the protocol described in this article, there was little DNA loss during the purification step, and the technique was found to be rapid and inexpensive. This protocol clearly resolves the taxonomic ambiguities of closely related algal species (such as Alexandrium and Cochlodinium), and it constitutes a significant breakthrough for the molecular analysis of nonculturable dinoflagellate species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Kondoa Y. Yamada, Nakagawa & Banno was erected to accommodate a single taxon, K. malvinella (Fell & Hunter) Y. Yamada, Nakagawa & Banno, which was transferred from the teliospore-forming genus Rhodosporidium Banno based on pronounced differences in the 5S and 26S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) nucleotide sequences to R. toruloides Banno. In contrast with the original description, reinvestigation of K. malvinella revealed the formation of transversely septate (auricularioid) basidia that did not arise on teliospores, but formed directly on the dikaryotic mycelium. The four-celled basidia developed sterigmata on which forcibly discharged asymmetric basidiospores (ballistospores) were produced. Additionally, a new taxon emerged from the study of recent isolates, for which the name K. aeria sp. nov. is proposed. This new species produced two-celled auricularioid basidia on hyphae with incomplete clamp connections. Ballistospores arose on the basidia at the tip of sterigmata and, after ejection, germinated by budding. These observations led us to present an emended diagnosis for the genus Kondoa. Analysis of the sequence data from the D1/D2 region of the 26S rRNA gene showed a very close resemblance between K. aeria and K. malvinella in a cluster that also contained several Bensingtonia species. Taxa in this cluster share specific physiological traits and produce characteristic pinkish-cream to mauve colonies; in contrast, formation of ballistoconidia is only observed in the Bensingtonia species. Sequence data supported placement of K. malvinella and K. aeria in the `Agaricostilbum clade' of the Urediniomycetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Identification of the emerging yeast species Candida nivariensis among presumptively identified Iranian Candida glabrata isolates., Methodology: Clinical C. glabrata species complex isolates from blood (n=71; 33.3 %), urine (n=100; 46.9 %), vaginal swabs (n=20;9.4 %), BAL (n=10; 4.7 %), and sputum (n=12; 5.6 %) from Iran were investigated. Isolates were characterized by CHROMagar, multiplex PCRs, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting, internal transcribed spacer (ITS)/large subunit (LSU) rDNA and FKS1/FKS2 sequencing, and the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing broth microdilution method. A comprehensive literature review was conducted and all the relevant clinical and microbiological data were collected., Results: Four C. nivariensis isolates were recovered from blood samples of three subjects and were all consistently identified by nine-plex PCR, Bruker MALDI-TOF MS, and LSU and ITS rDNA sequencing. AFLP genotyping clustered the isolates into two groups. Sequencing of the FKS1 and FKS2 hotspots showed no accountable amino acid substitutions. All isolates were susceptible to amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, voriconazole, anidulafungin and micafungin., Conclusion: In total, 4 out of 213 clinical C. glabrata species complex candidemia isolates were C. nivariensis. Improvement of the BioMerieux Vitek MS database is required to accurately identify C. nivariensis and it is advised to alternatively use CHROMagar and/or PCR-based techniques. As other species within the Nakaseomyces clade may cause infection and showed high MIC values for antifungals, inclusion of their spectra into the MALDI-TOF MS database seems relevant. Due to developing resistance to fluconazole and insufficient efficacy of caspofungin, the combination of catheter removal plus treatment with caspofungin, or voriconazole, or micafungin might be effective for patients.