Coltura in vitro e termoterapia a salvaguardia della biodiversità del carciofo in Puglia

Gli ecotipi locali costituiscono un'importante risorsa genetica che deve essere tutelata poiché rappresenta una fonte di biodiversità. L’impiego di nuove varietà propagate per seme ed infezioni virali di tipo asintomatico nel materiale di propagazione hanno contribuito all’erosione di tale biodiversità. La presenza di patogeni svilisce quali/quantitativamente le produzioni ed esclude dal mercato varietà di carciofo che, invece, potrebbero essere importanti per il consumo fresco e l'industria. La disponibilità di materiale virus-esente di provenienza vivaistica può costituire una valida soluzione al problema. É nata perciò l’esigenza di sviluppare protocolli specifici di risanamento per ecotipi locali identificati nell'ambito del progetto BiodiverSO della Regione Puglia. I protocolli sono stati finalizzati alla conservazione del germoplasma ed alla produzione su larga scala di piante fenotipicamente omogenee ed esenti da patogeni. In questo scenario, il protocollo di risanamento, basato sulla coltura in vitro dell’apice meristematico seguito da termoterapia, è stato applicato a diversi ecotipi pugliesi di carciofo (Cynara scolymus L.) che risultavano infetti per l’85% da Artichoke latent virus (ArLV), Artichoke Italian latent virus (AILV) e Tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV). A tale scopo, è stato utilizzato un basso numero di subcolture per le cultivar rifiorenti e nella fase di radicazione, risolutiva è stata l’adozione di alte concentrazioni di IBA seguita dal passaggio delle giovani piantine in un substrato particolarmente ricco in IAA. I saggi molecolari hanno infine permesso di verificare l’efficacia del risanamento, evidenziando la necessità di accoppiare la termoterapia al prelievo dell’apice meristematico per l’eradicazione anche dei virus parenchimatici, quali AILV. I campi catalogo allestiti consentiranno di valutare le caratteristiche morfologico/produttive del germoplasma risanato

A protocol for producing virus-free artichoke genetic resources for conservation, breeding, and production

The potential of the globe artichoke biodiversity in the Mediterranean area is enormous but at risk of genetic erosion because only a limited number of varieties are vegetatively propagated and grown. In Apulia (southern Italy), the Regional Government launched specific actions to rescue and preserve biodiversity of woody and vegetable crops in the framework of the Rural Development Program. Many globe artichoke ecotypes have remained neglected and unnoticed for a long time and have been progressively eroded by several causes, which include a poor phytosanitary status. Sanitation of such ecotypes from infections of vascular fungi and viruses may be a solution for their ex situ conservation and multiplication in nursery plants in conformity to the current EU Directives 93/61/CEE and 93/62/CEE that enforce nursery productions of virus-free and true-to-type certified stocks. Five Apulian ecotypes, Bianco di Taranto, Francesina, Locale di Mola, Verde di Putignano and Violetto di Putignano, were sanitized from artichoke Italian latent virus (AILV), artichoke latent virus (ArLV) and tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV) by meristem-tip culture and in vitro thermotherapy through a limited number of subcultures to reduce the risk of “pastel variants” induction of and loss of earliness. A total of 25 virus-free primary sources were obtained and conserved ex situ in a nursery

Embryo Culture, In Vitro Propagation, and Molecular Identification for Advanced Olive Breeding Programs

The high biodiversity of the olive tree is an important opportunity to develop sustainable plans to control Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) through breeding programs. Olive tree breeding activities have been limited due to various features of this species including the long time required for seed germination caused by the inhibition effect of the woody endocarp, the seed integument, and the endosperm. Starting from F1 seeds by cross-breeding, the embryo culture was compared with traditional seed germination, evaluating the effectiveness of in vitro multiplication of the plantlets for large-scale production. The isolated embryos were established on a new medium based on Rugini ‘84 macroelements, Murashige & Skoog ‘62 microelements, with Nitsch J. P. & Nitsch C. ‘69 vitamine and subcultured on Leva MSM modified. The results obtained confirmed that in vitro culture of olive embryos is a valid tool for increasing the percentage and speed of germination, helping to reduce the time of the olive breeding programs, offering the possibility to effectively propagate plantlets for further experiments

Anti-Angiogenic Activity of Drugs in Multiple Myeloma

Angiogenesis represents a pivotal hallmark of multiple myeloma (MM) that correlates to patients’ prognosis, overall survival, and drug resistance. Hence, several anti-angiogenic drugs that directly target angiogenic cytokines (i.e., monoclonal antibodies, recombinant molecules) or their cognate receptors (i.e., tyrosine kinase inhibitors) have been developed. Additionally, many standard antimyeloma drugs currently used in clinical practice (i.e., immunomodulatory drugs, bisphosphonates, proteasome inhibitors, alkylating agents, glucocorticoids) show anti-angiogenic effects further supporting the importance of inhibiting angiogenesis from potentiating the antimyeloma activity. Here, we review the most important anti-angiogenic therapies used for the management of MM patients with a particular focus on their pharmacological profile and on their anti-angiogenic effect in vitro and in vivo. Despite the promising perspective, the direct targeting of angiogenic cytokines/receptors did not show a great efficacy in MM patients, suggesting the need to a deeper knowledge of the BM angiogenic niche for the design of novel multi-targeting anti-angiogenic therapies