Mycorrhizal dependency of papaya commercial varieties

O Genótipo da planta é fator preponderante na resposta à micorriza. Avaliou-se, neste trabalho, a resposta a fósforo e o grau de dependência micorrízica de variedades de mamoeiro (Carica papaya L.). O experimento foi realizado em casa de vegetação da Embrapa-Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Mandioca e Fruticultura, com quatro variedades, testando-se seis doses de P: 0, 20, 40, 80, 140, 280 mg dm-3 e três tratamentos fúngicos (um controle não-micorrizado e a inoculação de Glomus clarum ou Gigaspora margarita). Foram estimados os seguintes parâmetros: dose de P para máxima eficiência micorrízica; valor T'; benefício da aplicação do P; benefício micorrízico; eficiência simbiótica, e dependência micorrízica. Plantas não-micorrizadas apresentaram resposta quadrática ao P aplicado e as inoculadas seguiram modelo raiz-quadrático, com grande incremento de matéria seca da parte aérea nas doses baixas; o benefício de P foi maior nas variedades Sunrise Solo e Improved Sunrise Solo - Line 72/12, enquanto as variedades Baixinho de Santa Amália e Tainung no 1 apresentaram benefício micorrízico proporcionalmente maior, resultando em maior eficiência simbiótica. As variedades de mamoeiro apresentaram a seguinte classificação quanto à dependência micorrízica: Baixinho de Santa Amália = Tainung no 1 > Sunrise Solo = Improved Sunrise Solo - Line 72/12. A maior ou menor dependência relacionou-se com a capacidade da variedade em produzir raízes.Plant genome is an important factor in plant response to arbuscular fungi. This work was designed to evaluate the degree of response to P application and mycorrhizal dependence of different varieties of papaya (Carica papaya L.). The experiment was performed under greenhouse conditions at Embrapa-Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Mandioca e Fruticultura, Cruz das Almas, BA, Brazil, using seedlings of four varieties, six rates of P: 0, 20, 40, 80, 140 and 280 mg dm-3, and three fungi treatments (one control uninoculated and inoculation with Glomus clarum or Gigaspora margarita). The following parameters were estimated: rate of P for maximum mycorrhizal efficiency; T' value; P benefit, mycorrhizal benefit, symbiotic efficiency, and mycorrhizal dependence. Control plants had a quadratic response to applied P, while those inoculated had a root-quadratic response with a great increment in growth at lower rates; phosphorus benefit was higher in Sunrise Solo and Improved Sunrise Solo - Line 72/12 varieties, while the other two varieties showed a higher mycorrhizal benefit, resulting in a higher symbiotic efficiency. Papaya varieties showed the following classification of mycorrhizal dependency: Baixinho de Santa Amália = Tainung no 1 > Sunrise Solo = Improved Sunrise Solo - Line 72/12. Mycorrhizal dependence related with the capability of the variety to produce roots

Modulation of the immune response by Fonsecaea pedrosoi morphotypes in the course of experimental chromoblastomycosis and their role on inflammatory response chronicity

A common theme across multiple fungal pathogens is their ability to impair the establishment of a protective immune response. Although early inflammation is beneficial in containing the infection, an uncontrolled inflammatory response is detrimental and may eventually oppose disease eradication. Chromoblastomycosis (CBM), a cutaneous and subcutaneous mycosis, caused by dematiaceous fungi, is capable of inducing a chronic inflammatory response. Muriform cells, the parasitic form of Fonsecaea pedrosoi, are highly prevalent in infected tissues, especially in long-standing lesions. In this study we show that hyphae and muriform cells are able to establish a murine CBM with skin lesions and histopathological aspects similar to that found in humans, with muriform cells being the most persistent fungal form, whereas mice infected with conidia do not reach the chronic phase of the disease. Moreover, in injured tissue the presence of hyphae and especially muriform cells, but not conidia, is correlated with intense production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in vivo. Highthroughput RNA sequencing analysis (RNA-Seq) performed at early time points showed a strong up-regulation of genes related to fungal recognition, cell migration, inflammation, apoptosis and phagocytosis in macrophages exposed in vitro to muriform cells, but not conidia. We also demonstrate that only muriform cells required FcγR and Dectin-1 recognition to be internalized in vitro, and this is the main fungal form responsible for the intense inflammatory pattern observed in CBM, clarifying the chronic inflammatory reaction observed in most patients. Furthermore, our findings reveal two different fungal-host interaction strategies according to fungal morphotype, highlighting fungal dimorphism as an important key in understanding the bipolar nature of inflammatory response in fungal infections

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Phomoxanthone A, Compound of Endophytic Fungi <i>Paecilomyces</i> sp. and Its Potential Antimicrobial and Antiparasitic

The present work reports the isolation and biological evaluation of three dimeric xanthones from Paecilomyces sp. EJC01.1 isolated as endophytic from Schnella splendens, a typical plant of the Amazon. The compounds phomoxanthone A (1), phomoxanthone B (2) and dicerandrol B (3) were isolated by chromatographic procedures and identified by spectroscopic methods of 1D and 2D NMR and MS. The extracts and compound 1 showed antimicrobial activities against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The compound phomoxanthone A (1) showed greater inhibitory activity against B. subtilis (MIC of 7.81 µg mL−1); in addition, it also pronounced inhibitory effect against promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis (IC50 of 16.38 ± 1.079 µg mL−1) and epimastigote forms Trypanosoma cruzi (IC50 of 28.61 ± 1.071 µg mL−1). To provide more information about the antibacterial activity of compound 1, an unprecedented molecular docking study was performed using S-ribosyl-homocysteine lyase (LuxS) (PDB ID 2FQO), which showed a possible interaction of phomoxanthone A with two of the residues (His58 and Cys126) that are fundamental for the catalysis mechanism in B. subtilis, which may be associated with the higher activity, when compared to other bacteria, observed in experimental studies. Additionally, quantum studies (DFT) were performed, for which a low gap value (5.982 eV) was observed, which corroborates the reactivity of phomoxanthone A. Thus, phomoxanthone A can be a good agent against pathogenic bacteria

CBM progression in a Zymosan-induced inflammation model.

<p>After 15 days post infection with fungal propagules (FP), animals were treated intra lesionally (i.l.) in the footpad with 20μl of a suspension containing 5 mg/ml of zymosan (ZYM) or PBS, until 15 days post treatment start (d.p.t) (A). Animals treated with ZYM displayed intense inflammatory response up to 30 days post infection (d.p.i) (B). Animals facing prolonged inflammation showed no reduction in fungal load over time, as observed for those animals treated with PBS (C). **P<0.01 and ***P<0.001.</p

Phagocytosis gene expression in peritoneal macrophages co-culturing with conidia.

<p>Peritoneal macrophages (PM) co-culturing with conidia (FC) did not induce much gene expression related to phagocytosis.</p

Quantification of <i>F</i>. <i>pedrosoi</i> fungal cells in the tissue and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the course of murine CBM.

<p>Fungal cells were counted on twenty fields chosen at random in histopathological slides with the aid of a counting reticle (A-D). In all groups muriform cells (red arrows) could be identified after 15 days after infection. At the same time, hyphal fragments (brown arrow) were also present in animals infected either with hyphae (FH) (B) or muriform cells (MC) (C). Few conidia (black arrow) are observed after 15 days of infection in animals infected with <i>F</i>. <i>pedrosoi</i> conidia (FC) (A). Cell counts were expressed as cells per mm² of injured tissue. 1000x magnification (A-D). After 15 days of infection, high levels of TNF-α (E), IL-1β (F), IL-6 (G) and MCP-1 (H) were observed in groups with higher numbers of hyphae and muriform cells in the tissue. Cytokine production was measured by ELISA from homogenized footpad tissue. *P<0.05, **P<0.01 and ***P<0.001 compared to FC group.</p