First report of olive leaf scorch in Brazil, associated with Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca.

Olea europaea (L.) trees displaying leaf scorching symptoms, identical to those recently reported for olive trees colonized by Xylella fastidiosa in Southern Italy and also in Argentina, were observed in commercial orchards of two counties in Southeastern Brazil. PCR-based diagnosis using conserved primers for X. fastidiosa strains (RST31/33) and also specific to X. fastidiaosa subsp. pauca (CVC1/272-2 int) were positive for all symptomatic tested samples (n = 8 of 9), but no template was obtained using twigs from asymptomatic trees (n = 20). Bacterial colonies were isolated from symptomatic tissues on culture medium and confirmed by PCR using the set of primers specific to X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca. Comparative sequence analyses of seven MLST loci amplified from one tripled passaged colony (MFG01) perfectly matched with sequences of alleles leuA #7, petC #6, malF#8, cysG#10, holC#11, nuoL#8, and gltT#8, the allelic profile of Sequence Type-ST16, which is represented by the strain COF0238 isolated from Coffea arabica (L.) in Brazil (http://pubmlst.org/xfastidiosa/). Phylogenetic analysis placed the ST16 into subspecies pauca, but genetically closer to ST11 and ST13, both obtained from Citrus sinensis (L.) trees with citrus variegated chlorosis. The results confirm the association of olive plants showing leaf scorching with the presence of X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca , and represent the first report of this bacterium in Brazilian olive orchards.ISSN:0031-9465ISSN:1593-209

Characterization of Arbequina virgin olive oils produced in different regions of Brazil and Spain: physicochemical properties, oxidative stability and fatty acid profile

Production of virgin olive oil is beginning in Brazil. This paper analyzes the characteristics of the EVOO Arbequina from Brazil in comparison with Spanish Arbequina from different regions. Quality parameters, oxidative stability, pigments, colour and fatty acid profile were assessed, and relationships with geographic and climatic conditions were studied. All the samples presented good quality and met EU standards for extra-virgin olive oil, but there were significant differences between regions and countries for many of the parameters evaluated. Major differences between Brazilian and Spanish samples were observed for free acidity and colour of the oils, as well as minor variations in the fatty acid profile. The colour differences were related to rainfall, whereas the fatty acid content was strongly influenced by altitude and temperature. These results highlight the fact that geographic area and environmental factors influence the characteristics of Arbequina oil and play an important role in newly introduced cultivars.We are grateful to the CAPES Foundation, (Ministry of Education) Brazil, for scholarship support provided to the first author. This work is part of the doctoral thesis of Thays Helena Borges, Ph.D. student from the Official Doctoral Program ‘‘Nutrition and Food Sciences” of the Granada University. The authors also would like to thank Consejo Regulador de Denominación de Origen (DOP) Estepa and DOP Les Garrigues; Casas Hualdo, Castillo Canena, Cortijo de Jara, Quaryat Dillara and Olivas do Sul for the donation of samples