Biocontrol offers a promising alternative to synthetic fungicides for the control of a variety of pre- and post-harvest diseases of crops. Black rot, which is caused by the pathogenic fungus Ceratocytis fimbriata, is the most destructive post-harvest disease of sweet potato, but little is currently known about potential biocontrol agents for this fungus. Here, we isolated several microorganisms from the tuberous roots and shoots of field-grown sweet potato plants, and analyzed their ribosomal RNA gene sequences. The microorganisms belonging to the genus Pantoea made up a major portion of the microbes residing within the sweet potato plants, and fluorescence microscopy showed these microbes colonized the intercellular spaces of the vascular tissue in the sweet potato stems. Four P. dispersa strains strongly inhibited C. fimbriata mycelium growth and spore germination, and altered the morphology of the fungal hyphae. The detection of dead C. fimbriata cells using Evans blue staining suggested that these P. dispersa strains have fungicidal rather than fungistatic activity. Furthermore, P. dispersa strains significantly inhibited C. fimbriata growth on the leaves and tuberous roots of a susceptible sweet potato cultivar (“Yulmi”). These findings suggest that P. dispersa strains could inhibit black rot in sweet potato plants, highlighting their potential as biocontrol agents.

The mucoadhesive polymers have enormous potential for the delivery of therapeutic macromolecules, genes, and vaccines through the nasal cavity with high drug bioavailability.

Lily is an important cut-flower and bulb crop in the commercial market. Here, transcriptome profiling of Lilium 'Sorbonne' was conducted through de novo sequencing based on Illumina platform. This research aims at revealing basic information and data that can be used for applied purposes especially the molecular regulatory information on flower color formation in lily. In total, 36,920,680 short reads which corresponded to 3.32 GB of total nucleotides, were produced through transcriptome sequencing. These reads were assembled into 39,636 Unigenes, of which 30,986 were annotated in Nr, Nt, Swiss-Prot, KEGG, COG, GO databases. Based on the three public protein databases, a total of 32,601 coding sequences were obtained. Meanwhile, 19,242 Unigenes were assigned to 128 KEGG pathways. Those with the greatest representation by unique sequences were for ''metabolic pathways'' (5,406 counts, 28.09 %). Our transcriptome revealed 156 Unigenes that encode key enzymes in the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway including CHS, CHI, F3H, FLS, DFR, etc. MISA software identified 2,762 simple sequence repeats, from which 1,975 primers pairs were designed. Over 2,762 motifs were identified, of which the most frequent was AG/CT (659, 23.86 %), followed by A/T (615, 22.27 %) and CCG/CGG (416, 15.06 %). Based on the results, we believe that the color formation of the Lilium 'Sorbonne' flower was mainly controlled by the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. Additionally, this research provides initial genetic resources that will be valuable to the lily community for other molecular biology research, and the SSRs will facilitate marker-assisted selection in lily breeding.

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Essential oil extracted from Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (H. cordata) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine due to its excellent biological activities. However, impurities and deficient preparations of the essential oil limit its safety and effectiveness. Herein, we proposed a strategy to prepare H. cordata essential oil (HEO) safely and effectively by combining the solvent extraction and the macroporous resin purification flexibly, and then encapsulating it using microemulsion. The extraction and purification process were optimized by orthogonal experimental design and adsorption-desorption tests, respectively. The average houttuynin content in pure HEO was then validated at 44.3% ± 2.01%, which presented a great potential for industrial application. Subsequently, pure HEO-loaded microemulsion was prepared by high-pressure homogenization and was then fully characterized. Results showed that the pure HEO-loaded microemulsion was successfully prepared with an average particle size of 179.1 nm and a high encapsulation rate of 94.7%. Furthermore, safety evaluation tests and in vitro antiviral testing indicated that the safety and activity of HEO were significantly improved after purification using D101 resin and were further improved by microemulsion encapsulation. These results demonstrated that the purification of HEO by macroporous resin followed by microemulsion encapsulation would be a promising approach for industrial application of HEO for the antiviral therapies.

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The genus Izhakiella was established and designated as a member of the family Enterobacteriaceae in 2016. Although the taxonomical classification of most members in this family has been relatively resolved after two reclassifications in 2016 and 2017, the classification of the genus Izhakiella remains ambiguous. In this study, a polyphasic approach was used to provide evidence supporting the fact that the genus Izhakiella should no longer be considered a member of Enterobacteriaceae and proposes its reclassification into the family Erwiniaceae . The phylogenetic tree of type species in the families Enterobacteriaceae and Erwiniaceae based on the sequences of the 16S rRNA gene, rpoB housekeeping gene, and the whole-genome comprising the 92 core genes revealed that the genus Izhakiella forms a phylogenetic lineage within the family Erwiniaceae . The average nucleotide identity (ANI) value of the type species with genus Izhakiella was found to be higher for the family Erwiniaceae than that for the family Enterobacteriaceae . Notably, 12 conserved signature indels (CSIs) that are exclusively shared among the Erwiniaceae clade members were found in the type strains of the genus Izhakiella . Based on these analyses, this study suggests the reclassification of I. capsodis and I. australiensis into the family Erwiniaceae .