cr(iii), co(ii), ni(ii), cu(ii) and zn(ii) salts of 2-(4-nitrophenylaminocarbonyl)benzoic acid were characterized by physical, analytical and spectroscopic studies and checked for their  in-vitro antimicrobial activity against three bacterial strains, mycobacterium smegmatis (gram +ve), escherichia coli (gram -ve), pseudomonas aeuroginosa (gram -ve) and three fungal strains, nigrospora oryzae, ...

Defensins are a large family of small, cationic, cysteine-rich proteins that are part of the defense arsenal that plants use for protection against potentially damaging fungal infections. The plant defensin NaD1 from Nicotiana alata is a potent antifungal protein that inhibits growth and kills a variety of fungal pathogens that affect both plant and animal (human) hosts. Some serine protease in...

The opportunistic human fungal pathogen Candida albicans can cause a variety of diseases, ranging from superficial mucosal infections to life-threatening systemic infections. Phagocytic cells of the innate immune response, such as neutrophils and macrophages, are important first-line responders to an infection and generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species as part of their protective antimic...

background and purpose: airborne fungi are one of the most important agents responsible for triggering allergic reactions such as rhinitis and severe asthma. this study was conducted to analyze and monitor the prevalence and distribution patterns of atmospheric fungal aerosols in the air of qazvin during winter of 2012. materials and methods: in the current descriptive study, the incidence and ...

Tamavidins are fungal biotin-binding proteins (BBPs) displaying antifungal activity against phytopathogens. Here we show high toxicity of tamavidins toward nematodes, insects, and amoebae. As these organisms represent important phyla of fungal predators and parasites, we propose that BBPs are part of the chemical defense system of fungi.

Brunecky et al. (Reports, 20 December 2013, p. 1513) compared the cellulolytic activity of bacterial multimodular cellulase CelA with fungal Cel7A (cellobiohydrolase I from Trichoderma reesei). If more active Cel7A from another fungus were used as a reference enzyme under optimal conditions with b-glucosidase added, the reported difference between bacterial and fungal enzymes would be less dram...

The antimicrobial efficacy of methanol and water extracts of seeds of the plant Swietenia macrophylla (Family: Meliaceae) was evaluated against selected pathogenic bacterial strains (Bacillus cereus MTCC 430, Klebsiella penumoniae MTCC 109, Pseudomonas aeruginosa MTCC 424, Escherichia  coli MTCC 443, Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96, Salmonella typhimurium MTCC 98, Micrococcus luteus MTCC 106...

Aspergillus fumigatus is a mold that causes severe pulmonary infections. Our knowledge of how A. fumigatus growth is controlled in the respiratory tract is developing, but still limited. Alveolar macrophages, lung resident macrophages, and airway epithelial cells constitute the first lines of defense against inhaled A. fumigatus conidia. Subsequently, neutrophils and inflammatory CCR2+ monocyte...

Fungus-gardening insects are among the most complex organisms because of their extensive co-evolutionary histories with obligate fungal symbionts and other microbes. Some fungus-gardening insect lineages share fungal symbionts with other members of their lineage and thus exhibit diffuse co-evolutionary relationships, while others exhibit little or no symbiont sharing, resulting in host-fungus f...