Genomic Template Stability assessed in almond trees of cv. ‘Vairo’ treated with biostimulants and boron-based fertilizers

Almond is highly produced in the NE of Portugal, where late frosts during flowering, low precipitation, and high temperature in summer affect productivity and quality. In addition to late-flowering cultivars, plant biostimulants (PBs) and boron-based fertilizers have been used to improve cell division, vegetative growth, photoassimilates rate, and nutritional status of almond trees. Despite the wide use of PBs in multiple food crops, the scientific evaluation of their effects is scarce. Our team previously analyzed the effects of PBs and boron-based fertilizers in the mitotic cell cycle of almonds and verified the intensification of cell division without significant anomalies. This work focused on the molecular characterization of three-years-old almond trees of cv. ‘Vairo’ was treated with two PBs (based on seaweed extract and free amino acids) and two boron-based fertilizers (applied on soil and leaves) in a rainfed orchard (NE Portugal) using leaf samples collected through the summer of 2019 in treated trees. Three monthly applications of individual PBs based on seaweed extract (AN), amino acids (AA), and boron ethanolamine (BE) and a unique application of boron on the soil (BS) were made. The molecular stability was assayed by comparing with untreated trees using ISSR, RAPD, IRAP, REMAP, and iPBS markers. The molecular data achieved in ‘Vairo,’ under the edaphoclimatic conditions where it was studied, revealed that AA, BE, or BS treatments induced higher molecular stability, corroborating our previous cytogenetic results.This work was supported by National Funds by the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the project UIDB/04033/2020. Author AC thanks to the FCT and UTAD for her contract as a researcher under the scope of D.L. no. 57/2016 of 29 August and Law no. 57/2017 of 19 July.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of almond trees treated with plant biostimulants or boron-based fertilizers

Almond is highly produced in the NE of Portugal, where late frosts during flowering, low precipitation, and high tempera- ture in summer affect productivity and quality. Despite the use of late-flowering cultivars, plant biostimulants (PBs) and boron-based fertilizers can also be used to improve cell division, vegetative growth, photoassimilates rate, and nutritional status. PBs are widely used in some food crops, but the evaluation of their effects is still scarce. We treated three-year- old almond trees of cv. ‘Vairo,’ growing in a rainfed orchard in the NE of Portugal, with four individual treatments: two PBs (based on seaweed extract and free amino acids) and two boron-based fertilizers (applied on soil and leaves). Three monthly applications of seaweed extract (AN), free amino acids (AA), and boron ethanolamine (BE) were made. A single application of boron on the soil (BS) was made. Leaf samples were collected in treated and untreated (control) trees in cytogenetic and molecular analyses through the summer of 2019. The mitotic cell cycle analysis was performed to prepare mesophyll dividing cells stained with silver nitrate, and the molecular stability was assessed with five marker systems. This work aimed to extrapolate which individual treatment conferred higher mitotic cell cycle regularity and molecular stability. The cytogenetic and molecular data achieved in the cv. ‘Vairo,’ under the edaphoclimatic conditions studied, revealed that the individual treatments AA, BE, or BS induced higher leaf mitotic indexes, regular mitosis, and molecular stability, which might increase the photosynthetic area and production.This research was funded by national funds provided by the FCT/MCTES (“Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/ Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior”) to the research units CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and CITAB (UIDB/04033/2020). The research was integrated in the activities of the Operational Group “EGIS: Estratégias para uma gestão integrada do solo e da água em espécies produtoras de frutos secos”, funded by PT2020 and EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Induction of a gloverin-like antimicrobial polypeptide in the sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis challenged by septic injury

Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius, 1794) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is an important pest for Brazilian sugarcane. In the present study, we detected two distinct spots in hemolymph from septic injured larvae (HDs1 and HDs2), which are separated by 2DE gel electrophoresis. Both spots were subjected to in-gel tryptic digestion and MALDI-TOF/TOF analysis, which revealed the sequence VFGTLGSDDSGLFGK present in both HDs1 and HDs2. This sequence had homology and 80% identity with specific Lepidoptera antimicrobial peptides called gloverins. Analyses using the ImageMaster 2D software showed pI 8.94 of the HDs1 spot, which is similar to that described to Hyalophora gloveri gloverin (pI 8.5). Moreover, the 14-kDa molecular mass of the spot HDs1 is compatible to that of gloverins isolated from the hemolymph of Trichoplusia ni, Helicoverpa armigera and H. gloveri. Antimicrobial assays with partially purified fractions containing the HDs1 and HDs2 polypeptides demonstrated activity against Escherichia coli. This is the first report of antimicrobial polypeptides in D. saccharalis, and the identification of these peptides may help in the generation of new strategies to control this pest

Chronic wasting disease risk assessment in Portugal - setting up a project

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Assessing chronic wasting disease risk in Portugal

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Chronic wasting disease risk assessment in Portugal: results and future work.

Número da Revista Portuguesa de Ciências Veterinárias, dedicado à publicação dos "Proceedings of the 10th Iberian Congress on Prions" que decorreu em Vila Real, Portugal de 19 1 20 de maio de 2022.Chronic wasting disease risk assessment in Portugal: results and future work.This work was supported by the project WastingPrionRisk [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029947 / PTDC/ CVT-CVT/29947/2017] funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). FCT PhD grant [SFRH/BD/146961/2019] financed by FCT through FSE (Fundo Social Europeu). This work was also supported by national funds [UIDB/CVT/00772/2020], [LA/P/0059/2020] and [UIDB/04033/2020] by FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) risk assessment in Portugal : The genetic approach to study prion protein gene (PRNP) variability in Portuguese populations of three cervid species: red deer, fallow deer and roe deer.

Número da Revista Portuguesa de Ciências Veterinárias, dedicado à publicação dos "Proceedings of the 10th Iberian Congress on Prions" que decorreu em Vila Real, Portugal de 19 1 20 de maio de 2022.Among the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids is now the rising concern in wildlife within Europe, after the first case was detected in Norway in 2016, in a wild reindeer and until October 2021, a total of 34 cases were described in Norway, Sweden and Finland.This work was supported by the project WastingPrionRisk [POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029947 / PTDC/ CVT-CVT/29947/2017] funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). FCT PhD grant [SFRH/BD/146961/2019] financed by FCT through FSE (Fundo Social Europeu). This work was also supported by national funds [UIDB/CVT/00772/2020], [LA/P/0059/2020] and [UIDB/04033/2020] by FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio