Bacterial blotch caused by Pseudomonas tolaasii is one of the major diseases of oyster mushroom, Pleurotus ostreatus. Application of bacteriophages is a very useful tool to decrease the density of pathogens and it has been successful to making diseasefree cultivation area, known as phage therapy. Effect of phages on pathogen sterilization is very limited to the specific host strains. Minor variations of the host strains may cause changes in phage sensitivity. The phage-resistant strains of P. tolaasii were isolated and their pathogenic characters were investigated to improve the effectiveness of phage therapy. In the phylogenetic analysis, both phage-resistant strains and the corresponding host strains were identical based on the sequence comparison of 16S rRNA genes. The pathogenic characters, such as hemolytic activity and brown blotch formation, were measured on the phage-resistant strains and no correlation between phage-resistance and pathogenic characters was observed. Nevertheless, pathogenic characters were sometimes changed in the phage-resistant strains depending on the host strains. In order to make the phage therapy successful, the bacteriophages having a wide host range should be isolated.
Contamination and growth of Trichoderma, a green mold, on the oak log and wooden chip or sawdust media can severely inhibit the growth of oak mushroom. Chemicals including pesticides and antibiotics are generally not allowed for the control of green mold disease during mushroom cultivation. In this study, bacterial pathogens causing blotch disease on the oyster mushrooms were isolated and their peptide toxins were purified for the control of green mold disease. Strains of Pseudomonas tolaasii secret various peptide toxins, tolaasin and its structural analogues, having antifungal activities. These peptides have shown no effects on the growth of oak mushrooms. When the peptide toxins were applied to the green mold, Trichoderma harzianum H1, they inhibited the growth of green molds. Among the 20 strains of peptide-forming P. tolaasii, strong, moderate, and weak antifungal activities were measured from 8, 5, and 7 strains, respectively. During oak mushroom cultivation, bacterial culture supernatants containing the peptide toxins were sprayed on the aerial mycelia of green molds grown on the surface of sawdust media. The culture supernatants were able to suppress the fungal growth of green molds while no effect was observed on the mushroom growth and production. They changed the color of molds from white aerial mycelium into yellowish dried scab, representing the powerful anti-fungal and sterilization activities of peptide toxins.
This study examined the antioxidant capacities of apple peel, grape peel, and sweet potato peel. The antioxidant activities were evaluated using total phenolic contents, total flavonoids contents, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ABTS radical cation scavenging activity, FRAP reducing power, and ORAC assay. The total phenolic (7.76 μM quercetin equivalent/g peel) and total flavonoids (1.03 μM quercetin equivalent/g peel) contents in apple peel were significantly higher than in grape peel and sweet potato peel (P<0.05). The scavenging activities of DPPH and ABTS radicals of a 70% ethanol extract of apple peel was 3.2-4.6 and 2.8-5.4 times high than those of grape and sweet potato peel, respectively. In addition, the FRAP reducing power and ORAC assay of 70% ethanol extraction from apple peel were significantly higher than those of the other samples. Therefore, apple peel can be used efficiently as a natural antioxidant.
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