Studies on Thermoactinomyces sp. TM9208. I. Description of the strain

A strain of Thermoactinomyces sp., TM9208, isolated from a soil sample in the Taipei area showed antagonistic activity to Gram positive bacteria but not to the Gram negative on the potato extract agar plate by the cross streaking method. The strain showed strong starch hydrolysis, beta type of hemolysis, brownish yellow growth on the potato extract agar and green on the nutrient agar. Its aerial mycelium, white to grayish white, was long and straight with short branches. The spores are single and have smooth surface. It is a good utilizer of starch, maltose and cellobiose as carbon source, but utilizes dulcitol, salicin, sucrose, rhamnose and sorbitol poorly.

Identification by physical means of organic moieties of conjugates produced from carbaryl by tobacco cells in suspension culture

Carbaryl (1-naphthyl methylcarbamate), labeled with 14C in the C1-naphthyl, carbonyl, or N-methyl position, was introduced into the culture medium of tobacco cells in suspension culture. Following incubation, cells were homogenized in water, centrifugated, and supernatants hydrolyzed with beta-glucosidase or HCl. Organic moieties (moieties) were characterized by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography (TLC), and many were subsequently identified by infrared and mass spectrometry. On the basis of the data obtained with 14C1-naphthyl-labeled carbaryl, it appeared that 18.4% of the total characterized metabolites represented unconjugated N-CH2OH- carbaryl [1-naphthyl N-(hydroxymethyl)carbamate], excreted by the cells into the culture medium. The metabolites found in the cells primarily consisted of conjugates of 1-naphthol (73.6% of the total characterized metabolites) and N-CH2OH-carbaryl (2.5%). Conjugates of 7-hydroxycarbaryl (7-hydroxy-1-napthyl methylcarbamate), 4-hydroxycarbaryl (4-hydroxy-1-naphthyl methylcarbamate), and 5-hydroxycarbaryl (5-hydroxy-1-naphthyl methylcarbamate) were also detected in small amounts. Of five unknown 14C1-naphthyl-labeled carbaryl metabolites, three were tentatively characterized as: O-1-naphthylcholesterol (Cholest-5-en-3beta-yl-1-napthol: 3.0%); an unconjugated hydroxylated 1,4-dihydro-1,4-epiperoxynapththalene (1.4%); and an acidlabile, beta-glucosidase-resistant conjugate of a cis-dihydrodiol of 1-naphthol (0.3%; other than the trans-5,6-dihydrodiol). The cholesterol derivative may represent a new "detoxification mechanism" in plants; the epiperoxide may help to elucidate plant oxidation mechanisms. A new TLC procedure was developed which successfully separated the acetate derivative of N-hydroxycarbaryl (1-naphthyl N-hydroxy-N-methylcarbamate) from 12 other common moieties of carbaryl metabolites and their acetate derivatives. A new two-dimensional TLC system was developed for the separation of underivatized N-hydroxycarbaryl from 14 other moieties of carbaryl metabolites; two additional two-dimensional TLC systems were utilized for moiety separations. With these TLC procedures, no conjugated or unconjugated N-hydroxycarbaryl could be detected in any tobacco cell culture fraction after incubation of cells in medium containing radiolabeled carbaryl. Authentic 14C1-naphthyl-labeled N-CH2OH-carbaryl was shown to be converted to desmethylcarbaryl (1-naphthylcarbamate) 97%) and 1-naphthol (3%) by 0.1N HCl hydrolysis.

Fatal primary Epstein-Barr virus infection masquerading as histiocytic medullary reticulosis in young children in Taiwan

We reported 3 fatal cases of primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection resembling histiocytic medullary reticulosis (HMR) in young children in Taiwan, where an HMR-like illness has been previously found to be prevalent. The disease ran a fulminant course, manifesting as fever, anemia, jaundice, skin rash, pulmonary infiltration, and/or hepatosplenomegaly lasting for only 1-3 weeks. Laboratory tests revealed no hemolytic anemia and Coombs test was negative. Sepsis or HMR was the main clinical differential. At autopsy, the spleen, liver, lymph node, lung, and bone marrow showed infiltration of atypical "histiocytes" or blasts, lymphocytes, and mature histiocytes with hemophagocytosis. Immunophenotype and gene rearrangement studies of the lymphoid tissues revealed that these atypical "histiocytes" were actually polyclonal B immunoblasts in one case and transformed T lymphocytes in the remaining 2 cases, representing two different types of virus-host interaction. Southern blot and in situ hybridization studies on frozen lymphoid tissues demonstrated the presence of EBV DNA in all 3 patients; the study for cytomegalovirus was negative. The young age of these patients, closely correlated with the prevalent age of primary EBV infection in the general populations in Taiwan, strongly suggest that these childhood cases of previously diagnosed HMR-like disease may actually represent a lethal form of primary EBV infection or fatal infectious mononucleosis.