Antibiotic Resistance and Heavy Metals Tolerance in Gram-Negative Bacteria from Diseased American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) Cultured in Malaysia

A total of 140 bacterial isolates have been successfully isolated from various organs of diseased American bullfrog （Rana catesbeiana） cultured in Malaysia. The most frequently isolated bacteria was Edwardsiella spp. （46 isolates） followed by Aeromonas spp. （33 isolates）, Flavobacterium spp. （31 isolates）, and Vibrio spp. （30 isolates）. Majority of the bacterial isolates were found sensitive to furazolidone （85.0%）, chloramphenicol （85.0%）, oxolinic acid （90.0%）, florfenicol （95.0%）, and flumequine （97.5%）. On the other hand, most of the bacterial isolates were resistant to oleandomycin （77.5%） and lincomycin （87.5%）. Nitrofurantoin and flumequine can be inhibited the growth of all of Vibrio spp. whereas all isolates of Edwardsiella spp. were found sensitive to florfenicol and flumequine. Multiple antibiotic resistance （MAR） index were in range of 0.30-0.40, indicating that bacterial isolates from cultured bullfrogs may have received high risk exposure to the tested antibiotics. In addition, 90-100% of the isolates were resistant to copper, cadmium, and chromium. These results provided insight information on tolerance level of bacterial isolates from cultured bullfrogs to 21 antibiotics as well as heavy metals.

Characterization of salt tolerance and Fusarium wilt resistance of a sweetpotato mutant

The variant LM1 was previously obtained using embryogenic cell suspension cultures of sweetpotato variety Lizixiang by gamma-ray induced mutation, and then its characteristics were stably inherited through six clonal generations, thus this mutant was named LM1. In this study, systematic characterization of salt tolerance and Fusarium wilt resistance were performed between Lizixiang and mutant LM1. LM1 exhibited significantly higher salt tolerance compared to Lizixiang. The content of proline and activities of superoxide dismutase（SOD） and photosynthesis were significantly increased, while malonaldehyde（MDA） and H_2O_2 contents were significantly decreased compared to that of Lizixiang under salt stress. The inoculation test with Fusarium wilt showed that its Fusarium wilt resistance was also improved. The lignin, total phenolic, jasmonic acid（JA） contents and SOD activity were significantly higher, while H_2O_2 content was significantly lower in LM1 than that in Lizixiang. The expression level of salt stress-responsive and disease resistance-related genes was significantly higher in LM1 than that in Lizixiang under salt and Fusarium wilt stresses, respectively. This result provides a novel and valuable material for improving the salt tolerance and Fusarium wilt resistance of sweetpotato.

Development of Hybrid Rice Variety FY7206 with Blast Resistance Gene Pid3 and Cold Tolerance Gene Ctb1

Hybrid rice Fanyou 7206（FY7206）, derived from the cross between a sterile line Fanyuan A and a restorer line Fuhui 7206, was bred by the Rice Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China. FY7206 was characterized by moderate blast resistance, cold tolerance, as well as wide adaptability, and high yields. The blast resistance results indicated that the frequencies of blast races in race B, race C and the total resistance frequency for FY7206 were 95.5%, 100.0% and 97.2%, respectively. The disease resistance results showed that the leaf blast grade for FY7206 was level 1 and panicle blast was level 5. The indoor spray results indicated that FY7206 was resistant to 11 isolates of Magnorpathe oryzae. The blast resistance of FY7206 might be derived from the high expression of blast resistance gene Pid3. The results for simulated cold resistance in an artificial climate chamber indicated that the cold tolerance for FY7206 was moderate at the booting and flowering stages. The cold tolerance results also indicated that FY7206 could be tolerant to temperatures as low as 10 °C at the seedling stage. The q RT-PCR results showed that the expression of cold tolerance gene Ctb1 in FY7206 was relatively high. These results suggested that FY7206 is a hybrid indica rice variety with good comprehensive characteristics, including blast resistance and cold tolerance.