Characterization of CRISPR-Cas Systems in Serratia marcescens Isolated from Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1790) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The CRISPR-Cas adaptive immune system has been attracting increasing scientific interest for biological functions and biotechnological applications. Data on the Serratia marcescens system are scarce. Here, we report a comprehensive characterisation of CRISPR-Cas systems identified in S. marcescens strains isolated as secondary symbionts of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, also known as Red Palm Weevil (RPW), one of the most invasive pests of major cultivated palms. Whole genome sequencing was performed on four strains (S1, S5, S8, and S13), which were isolated from the reproductive apparatus of RPWs. Subtypes I-F and I-E were harboured by S5 and S8, respectively. No CRISPR-Cas system was detected in Si or S13. Two CRISPR arrays (4 and 51 spacers) were detected in S5 and three arrays (11, 31, and 30 spacers) were detected in S8. The CRISPR-Cas systems were located in the genomic region spanning from ybhR to phnP, as if this were the only region where CRISPR-Cas loci were acquired. This was confirmed by analyzing the S. marcescens complete genomes available in the NCBI database. This region defines a genomic hotspot for horizontally acquired genes and/or CRISPR-Cas systems. This study also supplies the first identification of subtype I-E in S. marcescens

Relationship between chemical composition and nematicidal activity of different essential oils

In this study, the relationship between nematicidal activity and chemical composition of ten essential oils (EOs) from different plant species was investigated both in in vitro assays on juveniles (J2) and eggs of the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita and in experiments on tomato in soil infested by M. incognita. Nematode J2 were exposed for 4, 8 or 24 h to 0.78–100 µg mL−1 concentrations of each EO, whereas 24, 48 or 96 h exposures to 250, 500 and 1000 µg mL−1 solutions were tested on M. incognita egg masses. Treatments with 50, 100 or 200 µg kg soil rates of each EO were applied in the experiment on potted tomato. The highest nematicidal potential resulted for the C. verum EO, as highly toxic to both M. incognita J2 and eggs and strongly suppressive on nematode multiplication on tomato roots. The infestation of M. incognita on tomato roots was also strongly reduced by the EOs from E. citriodora and S. aromaticum, both highly toxic to M. incognita J2 but less active on nematode eggs. Adversely, R. graveolens EO strongly inhibited the egg hatch but was limitedly toxic to the infective J2. Chemical composition of the EOs was determined by GC-FID and GC-MS. The ten EOs showed a very different chemical composition in terms of major phytochemicals, with one or two dominant components totally amounting up to 85%. The structure–activity relationship based on the main phytochemicals identified in the assayed EOs and their nematicidal effects on M. incognita was also discussed. Results from this study confirmed that the selection of suitable EO raw materials can lead to the formulation on new effective nematicidal products

Growth and yield promoting effect of artificial mycorrhization combined with different fertiliser rates on field-grown tomato

Combination of plant inoculation with a commercial mycorrhizal formulation with half or full fertiliser application rates was evaluated for the effects on plant growth and yield and mycorrhization occurrence throughout two consecutive field tomato crops in southern Italy. Mycorrhizal formulation was inoculated on tomato seedling roots both in the nursery and after transplant. Inoculated tomato seedlings were significantly larger than non-inoculated seedlings less than 30 days after the first inoculation in the nursery. Above ground dry biomass and stem number of inoculated plants were found to be higher also at the end of each crop. Positive effects of mycorrhizal inoculation were extended also to marketable yield of both crops, mainly due to an increased number and weight of clusters and fruits. Mycorrhizal treatment also improved crop earliness, seen in terms of anticipating plant flowering, increasing first harvest yield, and reducing average harvesting time compared to non-inoculated plants. Both rates of mineral fertilisers positively affected tomato growth and marketable yield, but did not influence fruit quality parameters. No significant interaction was found between mineral fertilisation and plant mycorrhization. Crop inoculation with mycorrhizal formulations could reduce the amounts of fertilisers and pesticides being used, and could represent a sustainable technique to improve crop yield and profitability

The CUORE Cryostat: A 1-Ton Scale Setup for Bolometric Detectors

The cryogenic underground observatory for rare events (CUORE) is a 1-ton scale bolometric experiment whose detector consists of an array of 988 TeO2 crystals arranged in a cylindrical compact structure of 19 towers. This will be the largest bolometric mass ever operated. The experiment will work at a temperature around or below 10 mK. CUORE cryostat consists of a cryogen-free system based on pulse tubes and a custom high power dilution refrigerator, designed to match these specifications. The cryostat has been commissioned in 2014 at the Gran Sasso National Laboratories and reached a record temperature of 6 mK on a cubic meter scale. In this paper, we present results of CUORE commissioning runs. Details on the thermal characteristics and cryogenic performances of the system will be also given.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LTD16 conference proceedin

CALDER - Neutrinoless double-beta decay identification in TeO2bolometers with kinetic inductance detectors

Next-generation experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay must be sensitive to a Majorana neutrino mass as low as 10 meV. CUORE, an array of 988 TeO2 bolometers being commissioned at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, features an expected sensitivity of 50-130 meV at 90% C.L, that can be improved by removing the background from α radioactivity. This is possible if, in coincidence with the heat release in a bolometer, the Cherenkov light emitted by the β signal is detected. The amount of light detected is so far limited to only 100 eV, requiring low-noise cryogenic light detectors. The CALDER project (Cryogenic wide-Area Light Detectors with Excellent Resolution) aims at developing a small prototype experiment consisting of TeO2 bolometers coupled to new light detectors based on kinetic inductance detectors. The present R&D is focused on the light detectors. We present the latest results and the perspectives of the project

Limits on Dark Matter Effective Field Theory Parameters with CRESST-II

CRESST is a direct dark matter search experiment, aiming for an observation of nuclear recoils induced by the interaction of dark matter particles with cryogenic scintillating calcium tungstate crystals. Instead of confining ourselves to standard spin-independent and spin-dependent searches, we re-analyze data from CRESST-II using a more general effective field theory (EFT) framework. On many of the EFT coupling constants, improved exclusion limits in the low-mass region (< 3-4 GeV) are presented.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

A Low Nuclear Recoil Energy Threshold for Dark Matter Search with CRESST-III Detectors

The CRESST-III experiment (Cryogenic Rare Events Search with Superconducting Thermometers), located at the underground facility Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy, uses scintillating CaWO₄ crystals as cryogenic calorimeters to search for direct dark matter interactions in detectors. A large part of the parameter space for spin-independent scattering off nuclei remains untested for dark matter particles with masses below a few GeV/c², despite many naturally motivated theoretical models for light dark matter particles. The CRESST-III detectors are designed to achieve the performance required to probe the low-mass region of the parameter space with a sensitivity never reached before. In this paper, new results on the performance and an overview of the CRESST-III detectors will be presented, emphasizing the results about the low-energy threshold for nuclear recoil of CRESST-III Phase 1 which started collecting data in August 2016. Keywords: Cryogenic detectors; Dark matter; Rare-event searche

Search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 64 Zn and 70 Zn with CUPID-0

CUPID-0 is the first pilot experiment of CUPID, a next-generation project searching for neutrinoless double beta decay. In its first scientific run, CUPID-0 operated 26 ZnSe cryogenic calorimeters coupled to light detectors in the underground Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. In this work, we analyzed a ZnSe exposure of 11.34 kg year to search for the neutrinoless double beta decay of 70Zn and for the neutrinoless positron-emitting electron capture of 64Zn. We found no evidence for these decays and set 90% credible interval limits of T0νββ1/2(70Zn) > 1.6 1021 year and T0νECβ+1/2(64Zn) > 1.2×1022 year, surpassing by more than one order of magnitude the previous experimental results (Belli et al. in J Phys G 38(11):115107, https://doi.org/10.1088/0954-3899/38/11/115107, 2011)

TES-Based Light Detectors for the CRESST Direct Dark Matter Search

The CRESST experiment uses cryogenic detectors based on transition-edge sensors to search for dark matter interactions. Each detector module consists of a scintillating CaWO₄ crystal and a silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) light detector which operate in coincidence (phonon-light technique). The 40-mm-diameter SOS disks (2 g mass) used in the data taking campaign of CRESST-II Phase 2 (2014–2016) reached absolute baseline resolutions of σ = 4–7 eV. This is the best performance reported for cryogenic light detectors of this size. Newly developed silicon beaker light detectors (4 cm height, 4 cm diameter, 6 g mass), which cover a large fraction of the target crystal surface, have achieved a baseline resolution of σ = 5.8 eV. First results of further improved light detectors developed for the ongoing low-threshold CRESST-III experiment are presented. Keywords: Transition-edge sensor; Cryogenic light detector; Direct dark matter searc

Search of the neutrino-less double beta decay of 82 Se into the excited states of 82 Kr with CUPID-0

The CUPID-0 experiment searches for double beta decay using cryogenic calorimeters with double (heat and light) read-out. The detector, consisting of 24 ZnSe crystals 95% enriched in 82Se and two natural ZnSe crystals, started data-taking in 2017 at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso. We present the search for the neutrino-less double beta decay of 82Se into the 0+1, 2+1 and 2+2 excited states of 82Kr with an exposure of 5.74 kg·yr (2.24×1025 emitters·yr). We found no evidence of the decays and set the most stringent limits on the widths of these processes: G(82Se ¿82Kr0+1)8.55×10-24 yr-1, G (82 Se ¿82 Kr 2+1)<6.25×10-24 yr-1, G(82Se ¿82Kr2+2)8.25×10-24 yr-1 (90% credible interval)