(03146) 36-4 Protection of Mice with a Divalent Tuberculosis DNA Vaccine Encoding Antigens Ag85B and MPT64

Man LUO1,2, Li-Ke
JIANG2, Yao-Xiong HUANG3, Ming XIAO4, Bo LI4, and Guo-Lin ZOU1*
( 1College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China;
2College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China;
3Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Ji’nan University, Guangzhou 510632, China;
4Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological
Engineering, the Institute of Biodiversity Science,
Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China )

Abstract Citral refined from
Litsea cubeba oil has been found to have a strong influence on fungi,
especially Aspergillus flavus. Multiplex microanalysis and quasi-elastic
light scattering techniques were applied to study the effects of citral on Aspergillus
flavus spores from the levels of membrane, organelle and intracellular macromolecule.
It was found that citral injured the wall and the membrane of A. flavus spore,
resulting in decrease of its elasticity. After entering the cell, citral not
only influenced the genetic expression of mitochondrion reduplication and its
morphology, but also changed the aggregation of protein-like macromolecules.
As a result, cells, organelles and macromolecules lost their normal structures
and functions, eventually leading to the loss of germination ability of A.
flavus spores. Since Litsea cubeba oil as food additive and antifungal
agent is safe and less poisonous, it is important to elucidate the inhibitory
mechanisms of Litsea cubeba oil on the germination ability of A. flavus
spore.

Key words citral; Aspergillus
flavus spore; multiplex microanalysis techniques; quasi-elastic light scattering
technique

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Received: February 1, 2004 Accepted:
February 26, 2004
This work was supported by a grant from the Department of National Archives
of China (No. 903-protect-02).
*Corresponding author: Tel, 86-551-2822298; Fax, 86-551-2822298; E-mail, [email protected]