Mycofumigation with Muscodor albus and Muscodor roseus for Control of Seedling Diseases of Sugar Beet and Verticillium Wilt of Eggplant.

Mycofumigation is the use of antimicrobial volatiles produced by fungi such as Muscodor albusitalic and M. roseus for the control of other organisms. Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) stand establishment was increased and disease severity decreased by mycofumigation with M. roseus and M. albus in autoclaved soil infested with Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium ultimum, or Aphanomyces cochlioides. Eggplant seedlings (Solanum melongena L.) transplanted into autoclaved soil infested with Verticillium dahliae and mycofumigated with M. albus and M. roseus had significantly less disease (P < 0.05) after 4 and 5 weeks compared with nonmycofumigated Verticillium-infested soil. The effect of formulation on efficacy of mycofumigation with M. roseus was tested using potato dextrose agar strips, alginate capsules, ground barley, pesta granules, and stabileze granules. The stabileze and ground barley formulations of M. roseus resulted in the best control of P. ultimum damping-off. The best control of A. cochlioides damping-off was with the stabileze formulation, and the stabileze, ground barley, and agar strip formulations provided similar control of R. solani damping-off. In soil infested with P. ultimum, mycofumigation with M. albus stabileze formulation resulted in stand establishment similar to that in the autoclaved soil. Mycofumigation was ineffective in controlling Fusarium wilt of sugar beet. Neither M. albus nor M. roseus affected sugar beet or eggplant growth or appearance except in the stabileze formulation, where stunting was noticed. Mycofumigation with M. albus and M. roseus shows promise for control of soilborne diseases caused by P. ultimum, A. cochlioides, R. solani, and V. dahliae.

Fever of central origin in traumatic brain injury controlled with propranolol.

Central fevers are known to develop in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and are believed to be caused by injury involving the hypothalamus. Described are three patients admitted with very severe TBI secondary to motor vehicle accidents. Initial Glasgow Coma Score ratings were 3 or 4. Head computed tomography (CT) scans showed intraventricular hemorrhage in two cases and no focal injury or bleeding in the third. All patients had decorticate posturing and symptoms of autonomic dysfunction, manifested by tachycardia and profuse sweating. Each of these patients developed high fevers ranging from 38.9 degrees C to 40.6 degrees C during their hospitalization course. Centrally mediated fevers were indicated after fever workups failed to show an infectious or inflammatory source. Propranolol 20 to 30 mg every 6 hours reduced the temperatures at least 1.5 degree C within 48 hours. In each case, when weaning from propranolol was attempted, an increase in temperature to greater than 38.0 degrees C reoccurred within 3 days. Repeat workups for infectious or inflammatory causes of fever were negative. The fevers were reduced after a reinstitution of propranolol. The propranolol was continued until all signs of autonomic dysfunction abated. Central fevers after TBI have been reported to have been treated successfully with propranolol in two children with decerebrate posturing. Pharmacological, neurophysiological, and anatomic studies provide evidence of a significant central nervous system role in the regulation of blood pressure and temperature.

Conservation of docosahexaenoic acid in the retina.

Over the last several years, evidence has accumulated that n-3 fatty acids, particularly 22:6n-3, are essential for the development of the structure and function of the visual system. The importance of 22:6n-3 is reflected in the tenacious manner in which the retina conserves this fatty acid during n-3 deficiency. We have shown that conservation is achieved by recycling 22:6n-3 within the retina or between the retina and the pigment epithelium. Within the retina, recycling could be accomplished by deacylation-reacylation reactions (Louie et al., 1991; Zimmerman and Keys, 1988). Recycling between the retina and the RPE may be achieved through specific transport proteins, possibly interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein (Bazan et al., 1985) and/or apolipoprotein E (Bazan et al., 1991).

Recycling of docosahexaenoic acid in rat retinas during n-3 fatty acid deficiency.

About 50% of the fatty acids in retinal rod outer segments is docosahexaenoic acid [22:6(n-3)], a member of the linolenic acid [18:3(n-3)] family of essential fatty acids. Dietary deprivation of n-3 fatty acids leads to only modest changes in 22:6(n-3) levels in the retina. We investigated the mechanism(s) by which the retina conserves 22:6(n-3) during n-3 fatty acid deficiency. Weanling rats were fed diets containing 10% (wt/wt) hydrogenated coconut oil (no n-3 or n-6 fatty acids), linseed oil (high n-3, low n-6), or safflower oil (high n-6, less than 0.1% n-3) for 15 weeks. The turnover of phospholipid molecular species and the turnover and recycling of 22:6(n-3) in phospholipids of the rod outer segment membranes were examined after the intravitreal injection of [2-3H]glycerol and [4,5-3H]22:6(n-3), respectively. Animals were killed on selected days, and rod outer segment membranes, liver, and plasma were taken for lipid analyses. The half-lives (days) of individual phospholipid molecular species and total phospholipid 22:6(n-3) were calculated from the slopes of the regression lines of log specific activity versus time. There were no differences in the turnover rates of phospholipid molecular species among the three dietary groups, as determined by the disappearance of labeled glycerol. Thus, 22:6(n-3) is not conserved through a reduction in phospholipid turnover in rod outer segments. However, the half-life of [4,5-3H]22:6(n-3) in the linseed oil group (19 days) was significantly less than in the coconut oil (54 days) and safflower oil (not measurable) groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Conservation of docosahexaenoic acid in rod outer segments of rat retina during n-3 and n-6 fatty acid deficiency.

We investigated the mechanism by which rat retina conserves docosahexaenoic acid during essential fatty acid deficiency. Weanling female albino rats were fed diets containing either 10% by weight hydrogenated coconut oil, safflower oil, or linseed oil for 15 weeks. Plasma and rod outer segment (ROS) membranes were prepared for fatty acid and phospholipid molecular species analysis. In addition, retinas were removed for morphometric analysis. We found the following: (1) Plasma phospholipids and cholesterol esters from coconut oil, safflower oil, and linseed oil diet groups were enriched in 20:3(n-9), 20:4(n-6), and 20:5(n-3), respectively. The levels of these 20-carbon fatty acids in the ROS, however, were only slightly affected by diet. (2) The fatty acids and molecular species of ROS phospholipids from the safflower oil and coconut oil groups showed a selective replacement of 22:6(n-3) with 22:5(n-6), as evidenced by a reduction of the 22:6(n-3)-22:6(n-3) molecular species and an increase in the 22:5(n-6)-22:6(n-3) species. (3) The renewal rate of ROS integral proteins, determined by autoradiography, was 10% per day for each diet group. (4) Morphometric analysis of retinas showed no differences in the outer nuclear layer area or in ROS length between the three groups. We conclude that the conservation of 22:6(n-3) in ROS is not accomplished through reductions in the rate of membrane turnover, the total amount of ROS membranes, or in the number of rod cells. The retina may conserve 22:6(n-3) through recycling within the retina or between the retina and the pigment epithelium, or through the selective uptake of 22-carbon polyunsaturated fatty acids from the circulation.

Fatty acid and molecular species compositions of phospholipids and diacylglycerols from rat retinal membranes.

The relative proportions and compositions of the diacyl molecular species of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidic acid (PA), and diacylglycerol (DG) from rat retinal membranes were determined. Two membrane fractions were derived by discontinuous sucrose gradient floatation: rod outer segment (ROS) and 'rest of the retina' (ROR). ROR is defined as those membranes pelleted as 100,000 g following removal of the ROS. Diacylglycerols were prepared from PC, PE and PS by phospholipase C treatment and were converted into the corresponding 1,2-diacylglycerobenzoates (DGBZ). PI, PA, and DG were converted into 1,2-diacylglyceroacetates (DGAC) by acetolysis. The molecular species of the DGBZ and DGAC were resolved by reverse-phase HPLC and detected by UV absorption at 230 and 210 nm, respectively. Fatty acid methyl esters of PC, PE, PS, PI and DG from ROS and ROR were prepared and analysed by GLC. The fatty acid and molecular species patterns of PC, PE and PS were similar in both membrane fractions, although the levels of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 omega 3) and 22:6-containing molecular species were lower in ROR than in ROS, PE and PS were enriched in 22:6 omega 3 and 18:0, an evidenced by the high levels of 18:0-22:6 and 22:6-22:6 molecular species. PC contained relatively more saturated and monoene species, such as 16:0-16:0, 16:0-18:0, 16:0-18:0, 16:0-18:1 and 18:0-18:1. The fatty acids and molecular species patterns of DG, PI and PA in ROS and ROR differed from those of PC, PE and PS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Metabolism of lipid molecular species in rat rod outer segments.

We have studied the metabolism of selected diacyl molecular species of phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylinositol (PI) and diacylglycerol (DG) from rat rod outer segments (ROS). Rats were injected intravitreally with [2-3H]glycerol. At 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 days post-injection, ROS phospholipids and DG were isolated by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography (TLC), derivatized, and fractionated into molecular species by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Selected molecular species were quantitated and counted for radioactivity. We found the following. In PC and PE, the specific activities of 22:6-22:6, 18:1-22:6 and 16:0-22:6 were highest at day 1 and then decreased in a nearly exponential manner. In contrast, the specific activities of 18:0-22:6 and 18:0-20:4 were substantially lower than these three molecular species and changed little over the 6-day period. In PS, the specific activities of 22:6-22:6, 18:0-22:6 and 18:1-22:6 were similar and did not reach their maximum until the 3rd or 4th days. In PC, the specific activities of the five molecular species examined were two to three times higher at day 1 than the same species in PE and PS. In PI and DG, the major molecular species were 16:0-20:4 and 18:0-20:4. The specific activities of these two molecular species at day 1 were about ten times higher than those of 20:4-containing species in PE and PC, and showed the most rapid turnover of any of the molecular species examined in this study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)