Paenibacillus larvae is one of the major bacterial pathogens of honey bee broods and the causative agent of American foulbrood disease. The factors responsible for the pathogenesis of American foulbrood disease are still not fully understood, and the increasing resistance of P. larvae to commonly used antibiotics necessitates a search for new agents to control this disease. The in vitro antibacterial activities of 28 plant essential oils against P. larvae ATCC 9545 were evaluated.

BACKGROUND:

Biosurfactants constitute a structurally diverse group of surface-active compounds derived from microorganisms. They are widely used industrially in various industrial applications such as pharmaceutical and environmental sectors. Major limiting factor in biosurfactant production is their production cost.

OBJECTIVES:

The aim of this study was to investigate biosurfactant production under laboratory conditions with potato peels as the sole source of carbon source.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Among 348 microbial strains isolated from petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil, five were selected for
their ability to produce biosurfactant based on battery of screening assay including hemolytic activity, surface tension
reduction, drop collapse assay, emulsification activity, and cell surface hydrophobicity studies. Of these, bacterial isolate
DSVP20 was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (NCBI GenBank accession no. GQ865644) based on biochemical
characterization and the 16S rDNA analysis, and it was found to be a potential candidate for biosurfactant

The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, is an important pest of beekeeping industry. The effects of
five natural diet materials on the developmental biology and mortality of all life stages of the greater wax moth were
investigated in a laboratory trial. Effect of all five natural diets on the developmental biology and mortality varied
significantly. New wax comb (NW) was found to be the poorest larval diet inducing prolonged immature stage duration,