coli strains, was negative for the stcE gene The presence or abs

coli strains, was negative for the stcE gene. The presence or absence of the stcE gene in all strains was confirmed by Southern blot (data not shown). Analysis of isolated plasmid DNA by Southern blot demonstrated that stcE was encoded on the large plasmid of the four atypical Shigella B13 strains (data not shown). Sequence analysis of the 2.7-kb stcE gene showed only UK-371804 three synonymous substitutions shared among

the atypical Shigella B13 strains and a Q727L substitution in strain 3556-77 compared to the EHEC EDL933 allele (data not shown). Six substitutions within 220 nucleotides of the intergenic region upstream of the predicted stcE promoter are present in the plasmids of all four atypical Shigella B13 strains compared to pO157. To determine whether the StcE protein was expressed and secreted by the atypical Shigella B13 strains, TCA-precipitated supernatants of overnight cultures were analyzed by immunoblot. StcE protein was identified in supernatants from strains 3556-77, 3052-94, and 3053-94, but not from 3557-77 or 5216-70 (Table 2). StcE activity in culture supernatants was assayed for C1-INH proteolysis by immunoblots Tanespimycin and detected with all atypical Shigella B13 strains except 3557-77 and 5216-70 (Fig. 1, Table 2). To determine whether the atypical Shigella B13 plasmid encoding stcE is similar to the large invasion plasmid of Shigella

(pINV), several pINV-encoded virulence factors were sought by PCR amplification (Table 2). None of the pINV-encoded virulence factors could be amplified from the atypical Axenfeld syndrome Shigella B13 strains. PCR analysis using primers specific for pO157-encoded genes resulted in amplification of etpD, but not katP. The gene, traC, which is an F plasmid gene that is also encoded on the large virulence plasmid of E. coli O157:H-, pSFO157, did not PCR amplify from any of the atypical Shigella B13 strains tested. The presence of additional E. coli-specific chromosomally encoded genes was determined by colony PCR (Table 2). The LEE-encoded

regulator (Ler) is a global virulence regulator that has been shown to positively regulate the expression of LEE (Mellies et al., 1999), stcE, and the etp operon in E. coli O157:H7 (Lathem et al., 2002). PCR analysis of the atypical Shigella B13 strains identified the ler gene in the four atypical Shigella B13 strains encoding eae and stcE. An additional LEE-encoded gene, espA, encodes a subunit of the type III secretion system unique to EPEC and EHEC and is encoded by the atypical Shigella B13 strains encoding eae and stcE. PCR analysis of cadA, which encodes lysine decarboxylase and is universally absent in Shigella but present in most E. coli strains (Day et al., 2001), revealed that none of the atypical Shigella B13 strains encoded cadA. The abilities of the atypical Shigella B13 strains to invade HEp-2 cells were determined.

Cel5M thus possessed the typical properties of a cold active cell

Cel5M thus possessed the typical properties of a cold active cellulase and is the first cold-active cellulase in the newly established subfamily of GH5 (Fig. 1). The effects of metal ions, detergents and chelating agents on Cel5M were

examined (Table 2). CuSO4, SDS and EDTA significantly reduced the activity of Cel5M, indicating that these agents may be inhibitors of Cel5M. CoCl2, FeCl2 and dithiothreitol increased the cellulolytic activity of Cel5M. Most other agents did not significantly influence Navitoclax cost the cellulolytic activity of Cel5M. Previous studies showed that ferrous and ferric ions may interfere with the activity of most cellulases (Tejirian & Xu, 2010). Cel5M exhibits a novel adaptation to the ferrous ion and may therefore may have a broader application in biofuel and chemical industries. The hydrolytic activity toward different substrates was assayed at 30 °C in phosphate-buffered saline (pH 4.5). Cel5M exhibited high activity toward CMC (26.9 ± 1.35 U mg−1 protein), low activity

toward p-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside (0.56 ± 0.03 U mg−1 protein), and no activity toward microcrystalline cellulose or avicel (specific cellulolytic activity was not detectable). These results are consistent with a previous study showing that the CBM is necessary for efficient hydrolysis of crystalline celluloses (Takashima et al., 1998). The EX 527 price present work was supported by the China National Natural Science Foundation Fenbendazole (Grant Nos. 91028011 and 41076091), the China Ocean Mineral Resources R&D Association (Grant Nos. DYXM-115-02-2-20 and DYXM-115-02-2-6), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (Grant No. 09CX05005A), the National Basic Research Program of China (grant No. 2009CB219506), the Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2007AA091903), the Key Scientific and Technological Development Program of the National Qingdao Economic & Technical Development Zone (Grant No. 2009-2-34), and the Foundation of

the State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing in China University of Petroleum (Grant No. SKL2010-02). We thank Baosheng Ge for his help in data analysis. “
“FMRP – University of São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil Environmental plasmids often expand the metabolic repertoire of bacteria that carry them, but they also interfere with the biochemical and genetic network of the host. The pWW0 plasmid born by Pseudomonas putida mt-2 encodes the TOL pathway for degradation of toluene/m-xylene through production of intermediate compounds benzoate/3-methylbenzoate. These can be also recognized as substrates by the chromosomally encoded ben and cat gene products, thereby creating a manifest regulatory and biochemical conflict. In this context, we have investigated how the introduction of the pWW0 plasmid into P. putida affects behaviour of the promoter of the ben pathway (Pb) in single cells.

Hence, there has been a significant focus in recent years on deve

Hence, there has been a significant focus in recent years on developing methods for the in vitro culture of those species hitherto refractory to cultivation. The finding that certain bacterial species have never been identified by culture may be a simple matter of coincidence: an organism that has a low prevalence or is particularly slow-growing may have been overlooked in cultural analyses. Additionally,

many genetically distinct phylotypes are phenotypically indistinguishable and are lumped together if conventional biochemical methods for identification are used. Conversely, some bacteria are genuinely resistant to culture in isolation on conventional media. Certain bacteria have fastidious growth requirements www.selleckchem.com/products/Adriamycin.html including the need for specific nutrients, pH conditions, incubation temperatures or levels of oxygen in the atmosphere. Kopke et al. (2005) investigated the effect of different substrates and culture conditions on the growth of bacteria from comparable samples of coastal sediments, and found that the various cultivation approaches resulted in the isolation of different groups of bacteria specific to each method, confirming the impact of cultivation conditions on the yield of culture. Thus, if the specific requirements for the growth of a bacterium are not met by the artificial medium and incubation conditions, or if there is

competition for nutrients among mixtures of organisms cultured together, some STI571 supplier bacteria may not grow. Growth may also

be inhibited by bacteriocins released from other bacteria in a mixed culture or by antibacterial substances present within the medium (Tamaki et al., 2005). In order to make the best estimate of the true diversity of the community present, multiple methods of cultivation should be used. The formation of biofilms appears to be Celecoxib an inevitable result of bacterial colonization of surfaces and has been identified in the earliest fossil records (Hall-Stoodley et al., 2004). Bacterial biofilms have many of the features of multicellular organisms and individual species within biofilms cooperate to resist external stresses (Stoodley et al., 2002). Such interactions enable the biofilm to function as a complex unit (Stoodley et al., 2002; Marsh, 2005; ten Cate, 2006). There may be cross-feeding or metabolic cooperation between species for the provision of nutrients (Belenguer et al., 2006), such as the production of lactic acid (through fermentation of carbohydrates) by Streptococcus mutans, which is utilized as a source of carbon by Veillonella spp. (Mikx & Van der Hoeven, 1975). Another key feature of biofilm communities is bacterial communication through networks of signals (Davey, 2008). These include quorum-sensing mechanisms that are involved in the regulation of the bacterial community structure, properties and survival (De Kievit et al., 2001; Konaklieva & Plotkin, 2006; ten Cate, 2006).

Overall results obtained in this study indicate the applicability

Overall results obtained in this study indicate the applicability of the developed primer system for its intended use. Actinobacteria are Gram-positive,

morphologically and physiologically Roxadustat mouse very diverse bacteria with a high GC content in their DNA, and they are one of the main phyla within the domain Bacteria (Ensign, 1992; Ludwig & Klenk, 2001). The class Actinobacteria contains five orders –Acidimicrobiales, Rubrobacterales, Coriobacterales, Bifidobacteriales and Actinomycetales (Zhi et al., 2009). A sixth order, Nitriliruptorales, was proposed by Sorokin et al. (2009). Actinobacteria are dominant colonizers in soils (McCarthy & Williams, 1992; Heuer et al., 1997). Many species produce extracellular enzymes for degradation selleck chemicals of macromolecules such as lignin, cellulose, chitin and, in part, starch (Ensign, 1992; Korn-Wendisch & Kutzner, 1992; Heuer et al., 1997). Therefore, Actinobacteria often occur in materials where organic materials are degraded (McCarthy & Williams, 1992; Rintala et al., 2002), such as soils, compost heaps and building materials. In particular, investigations in the indoor environment demonstrated their presence in water-damaged building materials beside fungi. In addition, they seem to be associated with various negative health effects, for example coughing, wheezing, asthma, airways infections, tiredness and headache (Spengler et al., 1994; Sundell et al., 1994; Bornehag et al., 2001;

Ixazomib nmr Haverinen et al., 2001; Suihko et al., 2009). To investigate the diversity of those bacteria in the indoor environment we describe here an Actinobacteria-specific primer system targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Furthermore, we evaluated an earlier described Actinobacteria-specific primer system (Stach et al., 2003) and compared the number

of Actinobacteria genera detectable in silico, as well as the detectable variety of Actinobacteria from 18 different building material samples, using both primer systems. The present study shows the advantage of using more than one primer system to investigate the whole diversity of such a large group of bacteria. Bacterial strains (randomly selected) used for optimization of PCR protocol are listed in Table 1. For investigation of environmental samples, one plaster and one compost sample as well as two bioaerosol samples (one from a composting plant and one from a duck house) were investigated. Mature compost material was obtained from a composting plant in Cyriaxweimar (Germany) and plaster material was obtained from the cellar of a residential building after water damage. Bioaerosol samples were taken by filtration through a sterile polycarbonate filter (0.8 μm pore size, ∅37 mm, Whatman, Germany) using personal air samplers (PGP/GSP, BIA, Germany) in combination with membrane pumps SG-10 (GSA, Germany). Cells were detached and homogenized in 10 mL NaCl 0.9% (w/v) using a stomacher (Stomacher 80 Lab Systems; Seward, London, UK) for 60 s.

This could be a new cellular mechanism of hypothermia-induced neu

This could be a new cellular mechanism of hypothermia-induced neuroprotection mediated by activated Lumacaftor microglial cells. “
“In order to isolate the repetition suppression effects for each part of a whole-face stimulus, the left and right halves of face stimuli were flickered at different frequency rates (5.88 or 7.14 Hz), changing or not changing identity at every stimulation cycle. The human electrophysiological (electroencephalographic) responses to each face half increased in amplitude when different rather than repeated face half identities were presented at every stimulation cycle. Contrary to the repetition suppression

effects for whole faces, which are usually found over the right occipito-temporal cortex, these part-based repetition suppression effects were found on all posterior electrode sites and were unchanged when the two face halves were manipulated by separation, lateral misalignment, or inversion. In contrast, intermodulation components (e.g. 7.14–5.88 = 1.26 Hz) were found mainly over

the right occipito-temporal cortex and were significantly reduced following the aforementioned manipulations. In addition, the intermodulation components decreased substantially for face halves belonging Metformin molecular weight to different identities, which form a less coherent face than when they belong to the same face identity. These observations provide objective evidence for dissociation between part-based second and integrated (i.e. holistic/configural)

responses to faces in the human brain, suggesting that only responses to integrated face parts reflect high-level, possibly face-specific, representations. “
“Differentiation of neuroblastoma × glioma NG108-15 hybrid cells can be induced by different means, but the mechanisms involved are unclear. Our aim was to characterize the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in this process. The PKCs present in NG108-15 cells, i.e. PKCα, PKCδ, PKCε and PKCζ, were inhibited using a cocktail of Go6983 and Ro318220 or were downregulated by treatment with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). In high-glucose Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium, neuritogenesis was induced by 24 h treatment with a cocktail of Go6983 and Ro318220 or by 48 h treatment with PMA, the latter process thus requiring a longer treatment. However, when cells treated with PMA for only 24 h were placed in extracellular standard salts solution, e.g. Locke’s buffer, for 3 h, morphological and functional differentiation occurred, with rounding of the cell body, actin polymerization subjacent to the plasma membrane and an increase in voltage-sensitive Ca2+ channel activity in the absence of cell death.

2) FK77 (ΔbceRS), MM02 (ΔbceAB) and MM03 (ΔvraDE) strains reduce

2). FK77 (ΔbceRS), MM02 (ΔbceAB) and MM03 (ΔvraDE) strains reduced their resistance level, revealing hetero-resistance to bacitracin. MM03

in particular showed a significant reduction compared with two other mutants, FK77 and MM02. In wild-type MW2 strain, the expression of bceA and vraD was rapidly induced by the addition of bacitracin into the medium (Fig. 3). This induction was found to occur after 5 min of bacitracin exposure. The level of vraD transcript was more than 100-fold that of the wild type. Interestingly, a low concentration of bacitracin (0.5, 1 μg mL−1) significantly induced the expression of two genes (bceA and vraD) until 15 min, after which the expression of both decreased. In contrast, bacitracin (above 8 μg mL−1) continued Afatinib to induce these two genes even after 15 min. The level of the TCS (bceR) transcript itself did not increase by addition of bacitracin after 30 min, but slightly increased after 60 min (data not shown). The level of vraF transcript was not increased

by bacitracin (data not shown). The expressions of bceA and vraD in MM08 (ΔbceS) were not induced by addition of bacitracin, while the induction of their expressions by bacitracin were observed in the strain (MM09) which complemented with the gene for bceS in MM08 (Fig. 3). Also, in FK77 (ΔbceRS) strain, induction of the expression of bceA and vraD upon the addition of bacitracin was completely inhibited. check details In this study, we identified one uncharacterized TCS (MW2545-44) that has the ability to sense bacitracin and positively regulates two transporters responsible for bacitracin resistance. Interestingly, this TCS regulates not only a downstream gene coding for ABC transporter (MW2543-42), but also another transporter (MW2620-2621) known as vraDE, which is located separately

from the genes coding for the TCS. These two ABC transporters, especially VraDE, showed a high similarity with B. subtilis ABC transporter Nintedanib (BIBF 1120) BceAB responsible for bacitracin efflux (Ohki et al., 2003). In addition, similar transporters showing homology with BceAB have been reported in several Gram-positive bacteria, such as BcrAB of B. licheniformis (Podlesek et al., 1995), BcrAB of Enterococcus faecalis (Manson et al., 2004) and MbrAB of Streptococcus mutans (Tsuda et al., 2002). This type of ABC transporter is considered to pump out bacitracin to the exterior of the cell directly. Upstream of bceAB in B. subtilis, the gene coding for TCS, known as BceRS, is located (Ohki et al., 2003; Rietkötter et al., 2008). BceRS has been demonstrated to sense bacitracin and induce the expression of BceAB, leading to resistance to bacitracin. Like bceRSAB in B. subtilis, the results in this study showed that S. aureus has the same system, so we designated this TCS as BceRS (MW2545-2544) and the downstream transporter as BceAB (MW2543-2542). In S. aureus, another gene, MW2546, was closely located upstream of bceRS, speculating three genes were in a same operon (Fig. 1).

1%), followed by the occurrence of SAEs (223%), financial (159%

1%), followed by the occurrence of SAEs (22.3%), financial (15.9%) and other reasons. Table 3 shows the most frequent SAEs (per 100 patient-years) that led to withdrawal of the biological agents. The commonest reported SAEs were allergy (2.90), serious infections (1.34), tuberculosis (0.93), infusion/injection site reaction (0.75) and malignancies (0.29). Regarding the incidence of SAEs of the anti-TNFα agents, the rates of serious infections (per 100 patient-years) were 1.99, 0.85, 0.63 and 0.61 for IFX, ETN, ADA and GLM, respectively; whereas

the corresponding incidence of tuberculosis was 1.68, 0.43, 0.85 and 0.61, respectively. Infusion/injection site reaction (per 100 patient-years) was highest with IFX (1.38) and skin allergy/anaphylaxis was also most commonly reported with IFX (3.75). There were a total of 32 cases of tuberculosis (TB) reported this website to our registry, exclusively related to the use of the anti-TNF biological agents. Twelve (37.5%) cases developed TB during the 6 months of treatment, whereas four (12.5%) cases developed this infection between 6 and 12 months of therapy.

Twenty-two (69%) patients had TB localized to the lung but the remaining 10 (31%) cases had disseminated disease (miliary TB). Routine screening for latent TB was performed by the tuberculin skin test (TST). Twenty-four percent of patients were given isoniazid treatment for latent TB before the commencement of anti-TNFα therapies. Forty-six episodes of non-TB serious infections were reported. The commonest sites of infection were check details the lower respiratory

tract (46%), followed by soft tissue/skin (20%) and the upper respiratory tract (9%). Disseminated infection (septicemia) was reported in 7% of these episodes. Bacteria contributed to 74% of these infective episodes, whereas there were seven cases of viral (herpes zoster in three, cytomegalovirus in two and hepatitis B reactivation in two cases) and five cases of fungal infection (candidiasis in four and aspergillosis in one). As GLM, TCZ, ABA and RTX had a relatively short history of use in Hong Kong, we only studied the drug retention rates of IFX, ETN and ADA. As shown in Table 3, users of ADA had shorter total patient-years of follow-up than those of IFX or ETN. The cumulative probability of drug withdrawal due to either inefficacy or SAEs in 5 years Adenosine was highest with IFX (64.5%), followed by ETN (44.2%) and ADA (36.9%) (P < 0.001 for IFX compared to others) (Fig. 1). A similar pattern of drug withdrawal was seen when withdrawal due to inefficacy only was considered (Fig. 2). Table 4 shows the results of Cox regression for factors associated with withdrawal of the biological agents because of either inefficacy or SAEs. Increasing age (hazards ratio [HR] per year 1.01 [1.001–1.016; P = 0.02]), female sex (HR 1.46 [1.18–1.81]; P < 0.001), not having a diagnosis of SpA (HR 0.67 [0.53–0.85]; P = 0.001) and IFX use (vs. non-IFX, HR 1.49 [1.25–1.

, 2010, 2011) have enabled these models to be generated in a high

, 2010, 2011) have enabled these models to be generated in a high-throughput manner for tens of thousands of microbial genomes. This approach is becoming increasingly relevant as draft quality genomes of the most abundant organisms in a microbial community can be assembled from metagenomic data (Woyke et al., 2010; Hess et al., 2011; Mackelprang et al., 2011; Iverson et al., 2012; Luo et al., 2012). In particular, CAL-101 nmr Mackelprang et al. (2011) found that the most abundant organism present in Alaskan permafrost soil was a novel methanogen and that modeling its metabolism from the assembled draft

genome provided direct insight into how the thawing permafrost will contribute methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere. Microbial interaction models predict how the metabolisms of two or more microbial taxa interact with one another and their environment. Flux-balance models, which have been proven to be successful, are now being taken a step further to enable the development of simple interaction models between multiple individual flux-balance models for different genomes (Freilich et al., 2011). Individual-based models represent space as a discrete lattice, and each lattice element can contain microbial cells and measures of environmental

parameter levels. Each microbial cell in the GKT137831 datasheet model is an individual and can have various capacities to interact with environmental parameters (O’Donnell et al., 2007). Applying individual-based methods to entire microbial communities requires highly detailed, very accurate information about microbial metabolism and the nature of the microenvironment (Ferrer et al., 2008;

Freilich et al., 2011). Fortunately, there are computational techniques for describing multiphase transport in complex, porous media like soil, such as the Lattice-Boltzmann method (i.e. Zhang et al., 2005), which is a class of computational fluid dynamics techniques. Using these methods, it may be possible to model the dynamic movement of soil and then overlay this with biological information regarding the dynamics of the microbiome in that system; however, this has not yet been validated. Because this form Racecadotril of modeling can be computationally intensive, some methodological innovations, such as the use of superindividuals, have been advocated (Scheffer et al., 1995). The first study using individual-based modeling to predict the behavior of a microbial community simulated the accumulation of nitrate by nitrifying bacteria in different soil types (Ginovart et al., 2005). Recently, Gras et al. (2010) modeled the metabolism and dynamics of organic carbon and nitrogen in three different types of Mediterranean soil. The model incorporated specific parameters for growth and decay of microbial biomass, temporal evolution of mineralized intermediate carbon and nitrogen, mineral nitrogen in ammonium and nitrate, carbon dioxide, and O2.

Women’s needs should be considered when developing evidence-based

Women’s needs should be considered when developing evidence-based information on weight. Excess weight places them at high risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, infertility and complications following pregnancy and giving birth. Women are also an important population group because they influence decision-making around meal choices for their families and are the biggest consumers of weight-loss products, many of which can be purchased in pharmacies. Pharmacies are readily accessible primary healthcare locations and given the pharmacist’s expertise in being able to recognise

underlying causes of obesity (e.g. medications, certain disease states), BIRB 796 cost pharmacies are an ideal location to provide women with evidence-based information on all facets of weight management. Considering the exponential rise in the use of the World Wide Web, this information could be delivered as an online educational resource supported by other flexible formats. The time has come for the development of an online, evidence-based educational resource on weight management, which is combined with other flexible formats and targeted at women in general and according to different phases of their lives (pregnancy, post-partum, menopause). By empowering

women with this knowledge it will allow them and their families to take better control of their health and wellbeing, and it may just be the much needed answer to complement already existing resources to help curb the obesity epidemic. “
“The objective of this research was to explore pharmacists’ knowledge

of, experiences selleck with and perception of factors interfering with their ability to provide non-prescription emergency contraceptive pill consultations in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. A self-administered paper questionnaire was mailed, using Dillman’s tailored design method, to all pharmacists (n = 1123) registered with the Nova Scotia College of Pharmacists. Resveratrol The response rate was 53.0% (595/1123), with 451 respondents working in community practice. Most respondents reported that they had provided consultations for the emergency contraceptive product Plan B since it became available without a prescription (93.6%), and that Plan B is kept behind the pharmacy counter (83.6%). Pharmacists most frequently (47.8%) reported spending 6–10 min providing Plan B consultations. Respondents were generally knowledgeable about Plan B; however, only 39.2% knew that it can be effective for up to 5 days and 69.3% knew that the incidence of vomiting is less than 50%. The factors interfering the most with providing Plan B consultations were lack of privacy (46.1%) and lack of staff to cover during the consultation (50.9%). In general, Nova Scotia pharmacists are knowledgeable about emergency contraceptive pills; however, education regarding effective timing for use of such pills would be helpful.

15, and 02 μg mL−1

ROS accumulation in fungal cells was

15, and 0.2 μg mL−1.

ROS accumulation in fungal cells was examined using 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H2DCFDA; Torin 1 molecular weight Molecular Probes) (Liu et al., 2010). Conidia of A. niger were cultured in Sabouraud medium 16 h and treated with CTBT (10 μg mL−1) for 3 h at 28 °C. The hyphae were washed and resuspended in 10 mM (PBS) and incubated in 40 mM H2DCFDA for 30 min at 28 °C. Then, the hyphae were washed, resuspended in 10 mM PBS, and visualized by fluorescence microscopy using excitation and emission wavelengths of 480 and 530 nm, respectively. The antifungal activity of CTBT was assessed using the agar diffusion method on Mueller–Hinton medium, as recommended by Espinel-Ingroff et al. (2007). CTBT (10 μg per disk) was found to inhibit the growth of different molds involving both saprophytic and pathogenic fungal species. It induced inhibition zones, varying in diameter from 19 mm for M. gypseum to 50 mm for P. purpurogenum, that were apparently larger than those caused by itraconazole (30 μg per disk) (Table 1). This was probably due to PI3K inhibitor CTBT’s different rate of diffusion into the agar medium. Under the same experimental conditions, fluconazole (25 μg per disk), having only limited activity against filamentous fungi (Loeffler & Stevens, 2003),

did not produce zones of growth inhibition. In further experiments, we used two fungal species, A. niger and A. fumigatus. They represent industrially and medically important molds. Aspergillus niger is used for the production of organic acids and enzymes. Aspergillus fumigatus is a human pathogen that causes invasive, often fatal, pulmonary disease in immunocompromised Prostatic acid phosphatase individuals

(Maschmeyer et al., 2007). As shown in Fig. 1, CTBT added at a concentration of 80 μg mL−1 to Sabouraud broth containing conidia (106 per mL) of A. niger or A. fumigatus, inhibited the swelling of conidia, and prevented germ tube development. After 24 h of interaction of A. niger or A. fumigatus conidia with CTBT (80 μg mL−1), no fungal growth was detected on Sabouraud agar in spots (1.5 × 104 conidia) of treated conidia (Fig. 2), indicating that the effect of CTBT was fungicidal. CTBT has been found to induce superoxide formation and oxidative stress in yeast cells (Batova et al., 2010). Apparently, the same occurs in filamentous fungi. CTBT added to A. niger mycelium induced the ROS formation as detected by H2DCFDA, which is a cell-permeable indicator for ROS. Intense green fluorescence was distributed along the plasma membrane and within the cytoplasm (Fig. 3). However, no ROS-specific signals were observed in control hyphae (Fig. 3). When A. niger or A. fumigatus conidia were applied (in 5 μL) to solid growth media, radial growth of colonies was observed. When using initial spore amounts 2 × 102–2 × 104 conidia, colonies appeared with a diameter of 50 mm after 3–7 days, depending on fungal species and culture media used.