Global Antifungal Profile Optimization of Chlorophenyl Derivatives against Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

Twenty-two aromatic derivatives bearing a chlorine atom and a different chain in the para or meta position were prepared and evaluated for their in vitro antifungal activity against the phytopathogenic fungi Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. The results showed that maximum inhibition of the growth of these fungi was exhibited for enantiomers S and R of 1-(40-chlorophenyl)- 2-phenylethanol (3 and 4). Furthermore, their antifungal activity showed a clear structure-activity relationship (SAR) trend confirming the importance of the benzyl hydroxyl group in the inhibitory mechanism of the compounds studied. Additionally, a multiobjective optimization study of the global antifungal profile of chlorophenyl derivatives was conducted in order to establish a rational strategy for the filtering of new fungicide candidates from combinatorial libraries. The MOOPDESIRE methodology was used for this purpose providing reliable ranking models that can be used later

X chromosome inactivation does not necessarily determine the severity of the phenotype in Rett syndrome patients

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurological disorder usually caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene. Since the MECP2 gene is located on the X chromosome, X chromosome inactivation (XCI) could play a role in the wide range of phenotypic variation of RTT patients; however, classical methylation-based protocols to evaluate XCI could not determine whether the preferentially inactivated X chromosome carried the mutant or the wild-type allele. Therefore, we developed an allele-specific methylation-based assay to evaluate methylation at the loci of several recurrent MECP2 mutations. We analyzed the XCI patterns in the blood of 174 RTT patients, but we did not find a clear correlation between XCI and the clinical presentation. We also compared XCI in blood and brain cortex samples of two patients and found differences between XCI patterns in these tissues. However, RTT mainly being a neurological disease complicates the establishment of a correlation between the XCI in blood and the clinical presentation of the patients. Furthermore, we analyzed MECP2 transcript levels and found differences from the expected levels according to XCI. Many factors other than XCI could affect the RTT phenotype, which in combination could influence the clinical presentation of RTT patients to a greater extent than slight variations in the XCI pattern

Avaliação da atividade fungitóxica de óleos essenciais de folhas de Eucalyptus sobre Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis cinerea e Bipolaris sorokiniana Fungitoxic activity evaluation of essential leaf oils of Eucalyptus on Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis cinerea and Bipolaris sorokiniana

A maioria das plantas são resistentes aos diferentes patógenos, e essa resistência pode estar relacionada à existência de compostos fungistáticos naturalmente produzidos. Com o presente trabalho, avaliou-se a atividade fungitóxica de óleos essenciais de eucaliptos. Os óleos foram obtidos de folhas dos eucaliptos mediante arraste a vapor de água, utilizando o aparelho de Clevenger modificado. Nos ensaios biológicos, foram empregados os fitopatógenos Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis cinerea e Bipolaris sorokiniana. O crescimento dos microorganismos na presença de diferentes concentrações de óleo (5, 50 e 500 mg/Kg), usando os meios de cultura BDA (Batata-Dextrose-Ágar) e PCA (Batata-Cenoura-Ágar), foi avaliado. Nas concentrações de 500 mg/Kg dos óleos, foram observadas inibições significativas no crescimento micelial das espécies fúngicas, após período de 7 dias. No entanto, o óleo essencial de Eucalyptus urophylla foi o que apresentou maior ação fungitóxica, que foi atribuída à presença do composto denominado globulol, ausente no E.camaldulensis e no E. citriodora.<br>Most plants are resistant to different pathogens and this resistance may be related to the existence of naturally produced fungistatic components. The present work evaluated the fungitoxic activity of essential oils from three eucalyptus species. The essential oils were obtained from eucalyptus leaves by steam distillation using a modified Clevenger apparatus. The phytopatogens Fusarium oxysporum, Botrytis cinerea and Bipolaris sorokiniana were employed in the biological tests. The growth of fungi in the presence of different concentrations of oil (5, 50, and 500 mg/kg), using BDA (Potato-Dextrose-agar) and PCA (Potato-Carrot-agar) culture media were evaluated. Significant inhibition of the micelial growth of the fungal species was observed at the concentration of 500 mg/kg of oil after a period of seven days. The essential oil of Eucalyptus urophylla showed the greatest fungitoxic activity. This fact was attributed to the presence of the compound globulol, which was absent in the oils obtained from E. camaldulensis and E. citriodora