Isolation of phytopathogenic fungi in seeds Caatinga tree

A qualidade sanitária é um parâmetro que avalia a incidência de patógenos em sementes, principalmente em espécies de produção agrícola, havendo poucos estudos sobre espécies florestais arbóreas. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a qualidade sanitária em sementes de espécies arbóreas da Caatinga. O experimento foi conduzido no Laboratório de Fitopatologia do Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia Agroalimentar da UFCG, campus de Pombal-PB. Foram estudadas sementes de quatro espécies arbóreas: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemão): aroeira, Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.): catingueira, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.)Poiret: jurema-preta e Libidibia ferrea (Mart) ex Tul.: pau-ferro, as mesmas foram divididas em duas subamostras, sendo uma submetida à desinfestação superficial por imersão em hipoclorito de sódio (NaClO) a 2% por 5 minutos . A sanidade das sementes foi avaliada pelo “blotter test”. Os gêneros fúngicos comumente detectados nas sementes das espécies estudadas foram: Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. e Trichoderma spp.. A desinfestação com hipoclorito de sódio a 2% reduziu a incidência de fungos nas sementes das espécies estudadas. O gênero Aspergillus apresentou o maior número de colônias e diversidade de espécies fúngicas nas sementes tratadas e não tratadas, estando presente em todas as espécies arbóreas. A menor incidência de colônias fúngicas ocorreu na espécie Mimosa tenuiflora.The sanitary quality is a parameter that evaluates the incidence of pathogens in seeds, especially in species of agricultural production, so that there are few studies on forest tree species. This study aims to evaluate the sanitary quality and the effect on seeds of four species from the Caatinga region. The experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of Phytopathology from the Centre for Agri-Food Science and Technology at UFCG, Pombal - PB. Seeds from four species were studied: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemão): aroeira, Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz: catingueira, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poiret: jurema-preta and Libidibia ferrea (Mart ex Tul.) L.P. Queiroz: pau-ferro. The seed health was assessed using the “blotter test”. The genera of fungi commonly found in the seeds of the studied species were Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma spp. The disinfection with 2% sodium hypochlorite reduced the incidence of fungi on seeds of the studied species. The genus Aspergillus presented the highest number of colonies and diversity of fungal species in treated and untreated seeds, being present in all four species. The lowest incidence of fungal colonies occurred in the species Mimosa tenuiflora.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Toxic effects of Ricinus communis non-protein trypsin inhibitor on Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera:Noctuidae)

In the study reported herein, we aimed to isolate a trypsin inhibitor from Ricinus communis leaves through chromatographic and spectrometric techniques and evaluate its toxic effects on the development of Spodoptera frugiperda larvae. Plant extracts were submitted to fractionation in adsorption column. The fraction 10, which showed the highest inhibitory activity, were incorporated into an artificial diet at the concentrations of 0, 0.06, 0.12, 0.25 and 0.5%, and offered to S. frugiperda larvae. Fresh weight of larvae, food consumed and weight of eliminated faeces were registered. Based on these parameters the following nutritional index were calculated: Relative Consumption Rate (RCR), Relative Metabolic Rate (RMR), Relative Growth Rate (RGR), Approximated Digestibility (AD), Efficiency of Ingested Food Conversion (EIC), Efficiency of Digested Food Conversion (EDC) and the Metabolic Cost (100 - EDC). The inhibitor at 0.5% concentration was deleterious to S. frugiperda, extending the larval stage in 11 days, with higher RCR and ECD, and lower RGR, ECI and ECD. Therefore, the trypsin inhibitor from leaves of R. communis affected the S. frugiperda larval development, being promising in studies of alternative and sustainable control methods for lepidopteran pest species.Keywords: Castor beans, enzymatic inhibition, integrated pest management, plant defense against herbivor

Isolation of phytopathogenic fungi in seeds Caatinga tree

A qualidade sanitária é um parâmetro que avalia a incidência de patógenos em sementes, principalmente em espécies de produção agrícola, havendo poucos estudos sobre espécies florestais arbóreas. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a qualidade sanitária em sementes de espécies arbóreas da Caatinga. O experimento foi conduzido no Laboratório de Fitopatologia do Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia Agroalimentar da UFCG, campus de Pombal-PB. Foram estudadas sementes de quatro espécies arbóreas: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemão): aroeira, Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.): catingueira, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.)Poiret: jurema-preta e Libidibia ferrea (Mart) ex Tul.: pau-ferro, as mesmas foram divididas em duas subamostras, sendo uma submetida à desinfestação superficial por imersão em hipoclorito de sódio (NaClO) a 2% por 5 minutos . A sanidade das sementes foi avaliada pelo “blotter test”. Os gêneros fúngicos comumente detectados nas sementes das espécies estudadas foram: Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. e Trichoderma spp.. A desinfestação com hipoclorito de sódio a 2% reduziu a incidência de fungos nas sementes das espécies estudadas. O gênero Aspergillus apresentou o maior número de colônias e diversidade de espécies fúngicas nas sementes tratadas e não tratadas, estando presente em todas as espécies arbóreas. A menor incidência de colônias fúngicas ocorreu na espécie Mimosa tenuiflora.The sanitary quality is a parameter that evaluates the incidence of pathogens in seeds, especially in species of agricultural production, so that there are few studies on forest tree species. This study aims to evaluate the sanitary quality and the effect on seeds of four species from the Caatinga region. The experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of Phytopathology from the Centre for Agri-Food Science and Technology at UFCG, Pombal - PB. Seeds from four species were studied: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemão): aroeira, Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz: catingueira, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poiret: jurema-preta and Libidibia ferrea (Mart ex Tul.) L.P. Queiroz: pau-ferro. The seed health was assessed using the “blotter test”. The genera of fungi commonly found in the seeds of the studied species were Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma spp. The disinfection with 2% sodium hypochlorite reduced the incidence of fungi on seeds of the studied species. The genus Aspergillus presented the highest number of colonies and diversity of fungal species in treated and untreated seeds, being present in all four species. The lowest incidence of fungal colonies occurred in the species Mimosa tenuiflora.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Isolation of phytopathogenic fungi in seeds Caatinga tree

The sanitary quality is a parameter that evaluates the incidence of pathogens in seeds, especially in species of agricultural production, so that there are few studies on forest tree species. This study aims to evaluate the sanitary quality and the effect on seeds of four species from the Caatinga region. The experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of Phytopathology from the Centre for Agri-Food Science and Technology at UFCG, Pombal - PB. Seeds from four species were studied: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemão): aroeira, Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.) L.P. Queiroz: catingueira, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poiret: jurema-preta and Libidibia ferrea (Mart ex Tul.) L.P. Queiroz: pau-ferro. The seed health was assessed using the “blotter test”. The genera of fungi commonly found in the seeds of the studied species were Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. and Trichoderma spp. The disinfection with 2% sodium hypochlorite reduced the incidence of fungi on seeds of the studied species. The genus Aspergillus presented the highest number of colonies and diversity of fungal species in treated and untreated seeds, being present in all four species. The lowest incidence of fungal colonies occurred in the species Mimosa tenuiflora.A qualidade sanitária é um parâmetro que avalia a incidência de patógenos em sementes, principalmente em espécies de produção agrícola, havendo poucos estudos sobre espécies florestais arbóreas. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a qualidade sanitária em sementes de espécies arbóreas da Caatinga. O experimento foi conduzido no Laboratório de Fitopatologia do Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia Agroalimentar da UFCG, campus de Pombal-PB. Foram estudadas sementes de quatro espécies arbóreas: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Allemão): aroeira, Poincianella pyramidalis (Tul.): catingueira, Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.)Poiret: jurema-preta e Libidibia ferrea (Mart) ex Tul.: pau-ferro, as mesmas foram divididas em duas subamostras, sendo uma submetida à desinfestação superficial por imersão em hipoclorito de sódio (NaClO) a 2% por 5 minutos . A sanidade das sementes foi avaliada pelo “blotter test”. Os gêneros fúngicos comumente detectados nas sementes das espécies estudadas foram: Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp. e Trichoderma spp.. A desinfestação com hipoclorito de sódio a 2% reduziu a incidência de fungos nas sementes das espécies estudadas. O gênero Aspergillus apresentou o maior número de colônias e diversidade de espécies fúngicas nas sementes tratadas e não tratadas, estando presente em todas as espécies arbóreas. A menor incidência de colônias fúngicas ocorreu na espécie Mimosa tenuiflora

Integrated vector management targeting Anopheles darlingi populations decreases malaria incidence in an unstable transmission area, in the rural Brazilian Amazon

Background: Studies on vector behaviour should be conducted in order to evaluate the effectiveness of vector control measures on malaria protection in endemic areas of Latin America, where P. vivax predominates. This work aims to investigate the fauna of anopheline mosquitoes and verify the impact of integrated vector management in two colonization projects in the Careiro Municipality, Western Brazilian Amazon. Methods. Four mosquitoes captures were carried out from August 2008 to March 2010, with an interval of six months between each collection. Since September 2009 a large programme to reduce the burden of malaria has started in the two communities by distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITN) and intensification of indoor residual spraying (IRS). Human biting rates (HBRs), entomological inoculation rates (EIRs), malaria incidence rate (MIR) and Plasmodium carriers prevalence were used as outcomes to estimate the impact of the control measures. Results: A total of 3,189 anophelines were collected, belonging to 13 species. Anopheles darlingi was the predominant species in the period (42.6%), followed by Anopheles albitarsis (38.4%). An. darlingi HBRs showed a notable decreasing trend from the start to the end of the study. Conversely, An. albitarsis increased its contribution to overall HBRs throughout the study. For An. darlingi there was a significant positive correlation between HBRs and MIR (p=0.002). Anopheles albitarsis HBRs showed a significant negative correlation with the corresponding MIR (p=0.045). EIR from total anophelines and from An. darlingi and An. albitarsis presented decreasing patterns in the successive collections. Four species of anophelines (An. darlingi, An. albitarsis, Anopheles braziliensis and Anopheles nuneztovari) were naturally infected with Plasmodium, albeit at very low infection rates. There were a decrease in the MIR for both vivax and falciparum malaria and in the prevalence of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum carriers during the period of study. Conclusions: There is strong evidence of association between the density of An. darlingi and the incidence of malaria in the studies sites, further highlighting the importance of this vector in malaria transmission in this region. An. darlingi susceptibility to control using ITN and IRS is likely to be high in the rural settlements studied. © 2012 Martins-Campos et al

Influence of Clinical Status and Parasite Load on Erythropoiesis and Leucopoiesis in Dogs Naturally Infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi

Background: The bone marrow is considered to be an important storage of parasites in Leishmania-infected dogs, although little is known about cellular genesis in this organ during canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). Methodology/Principal Findings: The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes in erythropoiesis and leucopoiesis in bone marrow aspirates from dogs naturally infected with Leishmania chagasi and presenting different clinical statuses and bone marrow parasite densities. The evolution of CVL from asymptomatic to symptomatic status was accompanied by increasing parasite density in the bone marrow. The impact of bone marrow parasite density on cellularity was similar in dogs at different clinical stages, with animals in the high parasite density group. Erythroid and eosinophilic hypoplasia, proliferation of neutrophilic precursor cells and significant increases in lymphocytes and plasma cell numbers were the major alterations observed. Differential bone marrow cell counts revealed increases in the myeloid:erythroid ratio associated to increased numbers of granulopoietic cells in the different clinical groups compared with non-infected dogs. Conclusions: Analysis of the data obtained indicated that the assessment of bone marrow constitutes an additional and useful tool by which to elaborate a prognosis for CVL