Wood-decay fungi on trees of the city of Palermo (Sicily, Italy)

Nineteen taxa, belonging to 15 genera, included in 12 families of Basidiomycetes were observed on different living trees and stumps. Data on hosts and collection sites are reported together with notes on the causes of wood decay fungi attack and suggestions for solutions

Medicinal Mushrooms: Bioactive Compounds, Use, and Clinical Trials

Medicinal mushrooms have important health benefits and exhibit a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including antiallergic, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiviral, cytotoxic, immunomodulating, antidepressive, antihyperlipidemic, antidiabetic, digestive, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, nephroprotective, osteoprotective, and hypotensive activities. The growing interest in mycotherapy requires a strong commitment from the scientific community to expand clinical trials and to propose supplements of safe origin and genetic purity. Bioactive compounds of selected medicinal mushrooms and their effects and mechanisms in in vitro and in vivo clinical studies are reported in this review. Besides, we analyzed the therapeutic use and pharmacological activities of mushrooms

First report of Diplodia africana on Grevillea robusta

Branch cankers and dieback were observed on silky-oak trees (Grevillea robusta) along some streets of Palermo (Sicily, Italy). Fungi isolated from symptomatic branches were identified as Diplodia africana and D. seriata by morphological charac-ters and phylogenetic analyses of combined ITS and translation elongation factor 1-α sequences. Pathogenicity was verified by inoculating twigs of 3-y-old silky-oak plants. This is the first report of D. africana on G. robusta and the first record of D. seriata on this host in the northern hemisphere

An insight into the presence of lignicolous fungi in Sicily (southern Italy)

Thirty-six lignicolous fungal species (4 Ascomycota and 32 Basidiomycota), included in 16 families and 28 genera have been recorded in different natural and reforested areas of Sicily. Amylostereum laevigatum, Ceriporia excelsa, Phlebia lilascens, and Stereum insignitum represent new records for Sicily. Notes on some rare species are also here reported

Checklist of Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, and Succulents of Apulia (Southern Italy)

In this study we focused on the need to fill a knowledge gap among Italian botanical studies namely that of ornamental species census. In particular, we addressed one of the regions in southern Italy with less knowledge in the field of such studies and with an obvious presence of non-native species. A widespread census of the Apulian territory was carried out between 2021 and 2024 in both urban and suburban areas including street trees, parks, and private and historic gardens. The inventory of ornamental trees, shrubs, and succulents of Apulia (southern Italy) was carried out in six provinces, i.e., Bari, Barletta-Andria-Trani, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, and Taranto. The checklist comprises 287 taxa (including 265 species, 6 varieties, 5 subspecies, and 11 forms) included in 179 genera belonging to 78 families. We evaluated the number of taxa per families and genera, the presence of each taxa in the provinces of Apulia, the number of taxa per occurrence status, growth forms, geographical origin, and the number of native and alien taxa and also the artificial hybrids. Remarks of the most significant taxa and evaluation of geographical distribution in Italy were also taken into consideration. A large number of surveyed taxa (51.74%) are comprised in the list reported in the recent study on allochthonous vascular flora in Italy with a marked prevalence of Neophyte Casual Alien and Neophyte Naturalized Alien species

The Checklist of Sicilian Macrofungi: Second Edition

Approximately 30 years after the publication of the first Sicilian checklist of macrofungi,a new updated version is presented here. The census of macromycetes was carried out through periodic observations in different agricultural and forest ecosystems, in urban areas, in public and private gardens, and in botanical gardens. The 1919 infraspecific taxa included in 508 genera belonging to 152 families were collected in the Sicilian territory. Ectomycorrhizal fungi are the most represented ecological category, followed by saprotrophs on wood, saprotrophs on litter, and terricolous saprotrophs. The interest in this rich group of organisms is evidenced by the nutritional and therapeutic value of a high percentage of species. The actions linked to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and The Network for the Study of Mycological Diversity will further increase the number of macrofungi for Sicily in the future

Microbial Safety of Black Summer Truffle Collected from Sicily and Umbria Regions, Italy

Background: Tuber aestivum Vittad., known as black summer truffle, represents high-value food especially used as garnishment in nouvelle cuisine. The aim of this study was to investigate on the viable microbial populations associated with T. aestivum ascomata collected in different sites of Sicily and one locality of Umbria (Italy). Methods: The ripe ascomata of black summer truffles were collected from Central Italy. Cell densities of spoilage bacteria, fecal indicators, potential pathogens, yeasts, and molds were analyzed. Statistical analysis was conducted with XLSTAT software. Results: The microbiological counts of truffles ranged between 6.00 and 9.63 log Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/g for total mesophilic count and between 6.18 and 8.55 log CFU/g for total psychrotrophic count; pseudomonads were in the range 6.98-9.28 log CFU/g. Listeria spp. and coagulase-positive streptococci detected in no samples. Coagulasenegative streptococci were found in some samples with 2.11-4.76 log CFU/g levels. Yeasts and filamentous fungi were detected at consistent levels of 3.60-7.81 log CFU/g. Significant differences (p<0.01) were found between samples and also for all microbial groups. Conclusion: This study evidenced that the common brushing procedure applied for preparation of truffles is not sufficient to eliminate microbial risks for consumers. The application of an efficient decontamination treatment is strongly suggested before consumption of fresh truffles

Fermi Gamma-ray Imaging of a Radio Galaxy

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected the gamma-ray glow emanating from the giant radio lobes of the radio galaxy Centaurus A. The resolved gamma-ray image shows the lobes clearly separated from the central active source. In contrast to all other active galaxies detected so far in high-energy gamma-rays, the lobe flux constitutes a considerable portion (>1/2) of the total source emission. The gamma-ray emission from the lobes is interpreted as inverse Compton scattered relic radiation from the cosmic microwave background (CMB), with additional contribution at higher energies from the infrared-to-optical extragalactic background light (EBL). These measurements provide gamma-ray constraints on the magnetic field and particle energy content in radio galaxy lobes, and a promising method to probe the cosmic relic photon fields.Comment: 27 pages, includes Supplementary Online Material; corresponding authors: C.C. Cheung, Y. Fukazawa, J. Knodlseder, L. Stawar

Detection of Gamma-Ray Emission from the Starburst Galaxies M82 and NGC 253 with the Large Area Telescope on Fermi

We report the detection of high-energy gamma-ray emission from two starburst galaxies using data obtained with the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Steady point-like emission above 200 MeV has been detected at significance levels of 6.8 sigma and 4.8 sigma respectively, from sources positionally coincident with locations of the starburst galaxies M82 and NGC 253. The total fluxes of the sources are consistent with gamma-ray emission originating from the interaction of cosmic rays with local interstellar gas and radiation fields and constitute evidence for a link between massive star formation and gamma-ray emission in star-forming galaxies.Comment: Submitted to ApJ Letter

A change in the optical polarization associated with a gamma-ray flare in the blazar 3C 279

It is widely accepted that strong and variable radiation detected over all accessible energy bands in a number of active galaxies arises from a relativistic, Doppler-boosted jet pointing close to our line of sight. The size of the emitting zone and the location of this region relative to the central supermassive black hole are, however, poorly known, with estimates ranging from light-hours to a light-year or more. Here we report the coincidence of a gamma-ray flare with a dramatic change of optical polarization angle. This provides evidence for co-spatiality of optical and gamma-ray emission regions and indicates a highly ordered jet magnetic field. The results also require a non-axisymmetric structure of the emission zone, implying a curved trajectory for the emitting material within the jet, with the dissipation region located at a considerable distance from the black hole, at about 10^5 gravitational radii.Comment: Published in Nature issued on 18 February 2010. Corresponding authors: Masaaki Hayashida and Greg Madejsk