Phytotoxic metabolites produced by Botryosphaeriaceae involved in grapevine trunk diseases

Fungi belonging to the Botryosphaeriaceae family are well known as cosmopolitan pathogens, saprophytes and endophytes and occur on a wide range of hosts including grapevine. More recently, a new species of Lasiodiplodia was isolated from declining grapevines in Sardinia (Italy). This still undescribed species showed to produce in liquid culture several phytotoxic secondary metabolites. In this communication the chemical and biological characterization of these bioactive secondary metabolites is discussed together with their role in the pathogenesis process

Bioactive and Structural Metabolites of Pseudomonas and Burkholderia Species Causal Agents of Cultivated Mushrooms Diseases1

Pseudomonas tolaasii, P. reactans and Burkholderia gladioli pv. agaricicola, are responsible of diseases on some species of cultivated mushrooms. The main bioactive metabolites produced by both Pseudomonas strains are the lipodepsipeptides (LDPs) tolaasin I and II and the so called White Line Inducing Principle (WLIP), respectively, LDPs which have been extensively studied for their role in the disease process and for their biological properties. In particular, their antimicrobial activity and the alteration of biological and model membranes (red blood cell and liposomes) was established. In the case of tolaasin I interaction with membranes was also related to the tridimensional structure in solution as determined by NMR combined with molecular dynamic calculation techniques. Recently, five news minor tolaasins, tolaasins A–E, were isolated from the culture filtrates of P. tolaasii and their chemical structure was determined by extensive use of NMR and MS spectroscopy. Furthermore, their antimicrobial activity was evaluated on target micro-organisms (fungi—including the cultivated mushrooms Agaricus bisporus, Lentinus edodes, and Pleurotus spp.—chromista, yeast and bacteria). The Gram positive bacteria resulted the most sensible and a significant structure-activity relationships was apparent. The isolation and structure determination of bioactive metabolites produced by B. gladioli pv. agaricicola are still in progress but preliminary results indicate their peptide nature. Furthermore, the exopolysaccharide (EPS) from the culture filtrates of B. gladioli pv. agaricicola, as well as the O-chain and lipid A, from the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the three bacteria, were isolated and the structures determined

Angiomatoid Fibrous Histiocytoma: Case Presentation with Review of Literature

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma is a rare neoplasm with an intermediate malignant potential, that mostly occurs in the subcutis and features varying proportions of epithelioid, ovoid and spindle cells in a nodular and syncytial growth pattern, with hemorrhagic pseudovascular spaces. Here, we report the clinical case of a 68-year-old man who presented with AFH on the right arm; the disease relapsed a few years after surgical excision. We also conduct a brief review of the literature, focusing on the biological and genetic characteristics and the differential diagnosis from other more or less similar entities

Radiation Protection at ELI Beamlines: A Unique LaserDriven Accelerator Facility

The Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) Beamlines is a laser driven accelerator facility located in the outskirts of the city of Prague. With its state-of-the-art lasers, it will carry out an ambitious and diverse research program. Activities at ELI Beamlines can be broken down in complementary areas of scientific interest: development and testing of novel technologies for multi-PW laser systems, plasma physics, high field physics experiments, production of femtosecond secondary sources of ionizing radiation (extreme ultraviolet radiation, X rays, gamma, electrons, and protons)to be used in interdisciplinary applications in physics, biology, medicine, and material sciences.In-house experiments are already taking place since the first half of 2018, first user calls and experiments started in 2019.In this contribution, the ELI Beamlines accelerator facility and its current status of operation are presented in more details. Particular attention is paid to the design and implementation of the radiation protection program, with emphasis on the unique challenges this laser facility poses in terms of radiation safety.Comment: conference: ICHEP202

Spitz Nevus with Features of Clark Nevus, So-Called SPARK Nevus: Case Series Presentation with Emphasis on Cytological and Histological Features

Background: SPARK nevus represents a little-known and characterized entity, with few case series available in the literature. Methods and results: we present a case series of 12 patients (6 F and 6 M) between January 2005 and December 2020 and conduct a review of the current literature. Ten articles were selected on the basis of the adopted inclusion criteria and the PRISMA guidelines. Conclusions: The definition of histopathological and dermoscopic criteria are important to allow for an agreement to be reached among dermopathologists, and for the development of a consensus on higher case studies. To our knowledge, there are not many case series in the literature, and ours is part of the attempt to increase the knowledge of an entity that remains little-known and characterized

Gulypyrones A and B and phomentrioloxins B and C produced by Diaporthe gulyae, a potential mycoherbicide for saffron thistle (Carthamus lanatus)

A virulent strain of Diaporthe gulyae, isolated from stem cankers of sunflower and known to be pathogenic to saffron thistle, has been shown to produce both known and previously undescribed metabolites when grown in either static liquid culture or a bioreactor. Together with phomentrioloxin, a phytotoxic geranylcyclohexenetriol recently isolated from a strain of Phomopsis sp., two new phytotoxic trisubstituted α-pyrones, named gulypyrones A and B (1 and 2), and two new 1,O- and 2,O-dehydro derivatives of phomentrioloxin, named phomentrioloxins B and C (3 and 4), were isolated from the liquid culture filtrates of D. gulyae. These four metabolites were characterized as 6-[(2S)2-hydroxy-1-methylpropyl]-4-methoxy-5-methylpyran-2-one (1), 6-[(1E)-3-hydroxy-1-methylpropenyl]- 4-methoxy-3-methylpyran-2-one (2), 4,6-dihydroxy-5-methoxy-2-(7-methyl-3-methyleneoct-6-en-1-ynyl)cyclohex-2-enone (3), and 2,5-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-3-(7-methyl-3-methyleneoct-6-en-1-ynyl)cyclohex-3-enone (4) using spectroscopic and chemical methods. The absolute configuration of the hydroxylated secondary carbon of the 2-hydroxy-1-methylpropyl side chain at C-6 of gulypyrone A was determined as S by applying a modified Mosher’s method. Other well-known metabolites were also isolated including 3-nitropropionic, succinic, and p-hydroxy- and p-methylbenzoic acids, p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and nectriapyrone. When assayed using a 5 mM concentration on punctured leaf disks of weedy and crop plants, apart from 3-nitropropionic acid (the main metabolite responsible for the strong phytotoxicity of the culture filtrate), phomentrioloxin B caused small, but clear, necrotic spots on a number of plant species, whereas gulypyrone A caused leaf necrosis on Helianthus annuus plantlets. All other compounds were weakly active or inactive

Atypical Fibroxanthoma-Like Amelanotic Melanoma: A Diagnostic Challenge

Atypical fibroxanthoma-like amelanotic melanoma is a very rare variant of melanoma that can, if not correctly recognized and framed, lead to diagnostic errors that can potentially cause problems of extreme relevance to patients. Correct knowledge of this entity and the execution of adequate immunohistochemical investigations are the basic conditions for the correct management of this lesion. We report on a case of atypical fibroxanthoma-like amelanotic melanoma, which clinically simulated a fibrohistiocytic lesion, and which created differential diagnostic problems, and finally, we conduct a short review of the literature

The Great Mime: Three Cases of Melanoma with Carcinoid-Like and Paraganglioma-Like Pattern with Emphasis on Differential Diagnosis

Melanoma is among the most aggressive tumors, with different histological patterns of presentation ranging from the usual and easily diagnosable pictures to complex patterns of difficult diagnostic interpretation. Here, we present three cases of a very rare melanoma variant described as "carcinoid-like" and "paraganglioma-like" in the literature, and a brief review of the current literature of the very few cases described to date

“Animal-Type Melanoma/Pigmented Epithelioid Melanocytoma”: History and Features of a Controversial Entity

Animal-type melanoma (ATM) was first described in the literature by Levene in 1979 in relation to a patient with a characteristic clinical presentation, and only later, rare and anecdotal case series have tried to shed light on an entity that has undergone several nosographic classification changes, and which, since 2018, is classified under the term "pigmented epithelioid melanocytoma". Here, we conduct a brief review of the current literature on ATM and present a new clinical case with histopathological, immunophenotypic, and molecular investigations