A new variant of Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) was detected for the first time from dahlia grown in Japan. The dahlia isolate of PSTVd formed a quasispecies and a major sequence variant consisting of 361 nucleotides in length, including five substitutions, three insertions, and one deletion, when compared to the intermediate strain from potato. In bioassays with the new isolate, Rutgers tomato developed mild stunting and leaf curling.

Sorghum-based traditional fermented food was screened for potential probiotic lactic acid bacteria. The isolates were identified by biochemical, physiological and genetic methods. Species identification was done by 16s rRNA sequence analysis. The functional probiotic potential of the two Lactobacillus species viz., Lactobacillus plantarum (Lact. plantarum) and Lactobacillus pentosus (Lact. pentosus) was assessed by different standard parameters. The strains were tolerant to pH 2 for 1 h and resistant to methicillin, kanamycin, vancomycin and norfloxacin. Two (Lact. plantarum COORG-3 and Lact. pentosus COORG-8) out of eight isolates recorded the cell surface hydrophobicity to be 59.12 and 64.06%, respectively. All the strains showed tolerance to artificial duodenum juice (pH 2) for 3 h, positive for bile salt hydrolase test and negative for haemolytic test. The neutralized cell-free supernatant of the strains Lact. pentosus COORG-4, Lact. plantarum COORG-1, Lact. plantarum COORG-7, Lact. pentosus COORG-8 and Lact. plantarum COORG-3 showed good antibiofilm activity. Lact. pentosus COORG-8 exhibited 74% activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa-MTCC 7903 and Lact. plantarum COORG-7 showed 68% inhibition of biofilm against Klebsiella pneumonia MTCC 7407. Three (Lact. plantarum COORG-7, Lact. pentosus COORG-5 and Lact. pentosus COORG 8) out of eight isolates exhibited a good antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes and five isolates (Lact. pentosus COORG 2, Lact. plantarum COORG 1, Lact. plantarum COORG 4, Lact. pentosus COORG 3 and Lact. plantarum COORG 6) are active against Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia, Enterococcus faecalis. The study also evaluated the cholesterol lowering property of the Lactobacillus strains using hen egg yolk as the cholesterol source. The cholesterol in hen egg yolk was assimilated by 74.12 and 68.26% by Lact. plantarum COORG 4 and Lact. pentosus COORG 7, respectively. The results of the present study suggest that the Lactobacillus strains isolated and characterized from sorghum-based fermented product may be used as probiotic strains for therapeutic applications.

The antifungal activity of essential oils from clove, cedar wood, Cymbopogon species, peppermint, Eucalyptus and neem were tested for their efficacy against nine Fusarium species,

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Listeria monocytogenes is one of the most important foodborne pathogens causing illness in humans and animals. Thus, a study was undertaken to investigate the incidence of Listeria species in fresh and dry fish samples marketed in Mysore, India. A total of 164 fresh and dry fish samples collected from retail outlet shops of Mysore, South India, during the period August 2005 through August 2006 were examined for the presence of Listeria species by using ISO 11290 protocol. The incidence of Listeria species was positive in 62 samples (37.8%), and L. monocytogenes was isolated from only three (1.83%) fresh fish samples. Listeria species in seafood were predominant in the order of Listeria innocua (50) (30.49%), Listeria grayi (eight) (4.9%), L. monocytogenes (three) (1.83%) and Listeria seeligeri (one) (0.6%). All isolates of Listeria species were subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and confirmed with the genus‐specific set of primers, and special emphasis was given for detection of L. monocytogenes using a species‐specific set of primers. The specificity and sensitivity of PCR were in good correlation with the cultural methods. The results indicated a high incidence of Listeria species and L. monocytogenes in fresh fish samples. This warrants the need for appropriate control measures as this would pose a serious threat to human health.