Verticillium dahliae causes severe yield reductions in a variety of important annual crops worldwide. Control of verticillium wilt has relied on soil fumigation; however, the use of the main soil fumigant, methyl bromide, has been banned in the European Union since 2010, creating a demand for novel crop protectants. As such, the use of biocontrol agents (BCAs) is an appealing management strategy. Prerequisites for the development of a successful BCA are an understanding of the modes of action of the antagonist, its ecological fitness and an efficient and economically feasible delivery system. Therefore, two BCAs (Paenibacillus alvei K165 or the nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum F2) and two release strategies (seed coating or amendment of the transplant soil plug) were assessed against verticillium wilt of aubergine (eggplant). Mixing the transplant soil plug with K165 or F2, at a rate of 10 and 20% (v/v), respectively, reduced verticillium wilt symptom development. Furthermore, a positive correlation was revealed between the release strategy and the BCA rhizosphere population. Correlation analysis also showed that disease severity was negatively correlated to the rhizosphere size of the BCA population. In addition, qPCR analysis showed that both BCAs induced the expression of the pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins PR1 and PR4 in the stem of aubergines before and after inoculation with V. dahliae in a manner that suggests a link with the rhizosphere size of the BCA population.

Two labdane type diterpenes, labd-13(E)-ene,-8alpha,15-diol (1) and labd-13(E)-ene,-8alpha,15-yl acetate (2) were isolated from the hexane extract of Cistus creticus subsp. eriocephalus (Viv.) Greuter & Burdet leaves, while (+)-19-acetoxy-cis-clerodan-3-en-15-oic acid (3) was isolated from the hexane extract of Cistus monspeliensis L. leaves. The compounds were examined for their in vitro cytostatic and cytotoxic activity against nine human leukemic cell lines, three of which exhibited a multidrug resistant phenotype. They were also evaluated for their anti-inflammatory activity in vivo on the back of hairless mice. The cytostatic and cytotoxic activity of the tested diterpenes followed the order 1>2>3. Topical application of the diterpenes on barrier disrupted skin did not seem to have a significant contribution to the repair rate of the skin barrier.

Essential oils and hexane extracts from Cistus monspeliensis L. leaves and fruits were analysed by GC-MS. Manoyl oxide and its isomers, 3 beta-hydroxy-manoyl oxide, 3 beta-hydroxy-13-epi-manoyl oxide, as well as 3 beta-acetoxy-13-epi-manoyl oxide were detected for the first time in C. monspeliensis L. Ent-13-epimanoyl oxide was isolated from the hexane extract of leaves and its structure was determined using spectroscopic methods. In vitro cytotoxic activity of ent-13-epi-manoyl oxide and mixtures of manoyl oxide isomers at 10(-4) M concentrations ranged from 11.1 to 32.2% of the activity for a vinblastine control evaluated against nine leukemic cell lines. The results showed that the manoyl oxide isomer mixtures as well as ent-13-epi-manoyl oxide exhibited a slight growth inhibiting activity.

No abstract

No abstract