Comunicación corta. Rhizoctonia solani, agente causal de la muerte de plántulas de acelga en España

During September 2011, post-emergence damping off of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla L.) was observed in a greenhouse in Villa del Prado (Spain). About 20% of the seedlings showed damping off symptoms. Lesions were initially water soaked, dark brown necrosis of crown tissue, irregular in shape and sunken in appearance on large plants, causing the infected seedlings to collapse and eventually die. Rhizoctonia solani was isolated consistently from symptomatic plants. After morphological and molecular identification of the isolates, pathogenicity was tested by placing agar plugs of four isolates adjacent to the stem at the three or four true leaf stage. In inoculated plants, brown crown and stem necrosis occurred while control plants did not show disease symptoms. Pathogenicity using non-germinated seeds was also tested. All four isolates produced extensive damping off when inoculated on non-germinated seeds. To our knowledge, this is the first report of damping off of Swiss chard caused by R. solani in Europe.En el mes de septiembre de 2011, se observó muerte de plántulas en acelgas cultivadas en un invernadero en Villa del Prado (España). Cerca del 20% de los semilleros mostraban síntomas de caída de plántulas. Las lesiones iniciales tenían un aspecto húmedo y consistían en una necrosis del tejido de la corona de color marrón oscuro, de bordes irregulares y deprimidos en las plantas adultas, produciendo el colapso de las plántulas y, ocasionalmente, la muerte de las mismas. Rhizoctonia solani se aisló de manera consistente de las plantas sintomáticas. Tras una identificación morfológica y molecular, la patogenicidad de los aislados se probó colocando discos de agar adyacentes al tallo de la planta en estados de tres o cuatro hojas verdaderas. En las plantas inoculadas se observó un oscurecimiento de la corona y la necrosis del tallo en todos los casos, síntomas que no mostraron las plantas control. Por otro lado, se comprobó la patogenicidad de los aislados en semillas no germinadas. Los cuatro aislados produjeron muerte de plántulas cuando se inocularon en semillas no germinadas. Hasta donde hemos podido comprobar, este trabajo parece ser la primera cita de muerte de plántulas de acelga causada por R. solani en Europa

Rhizoctonia solani as causative agent of damping off of Swiss chard in Europe

During September 2011, post-emergence damping off of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla L.) was observed in a greenhouse in Villa del Prado (Spain). About 20% of the seedlings showed damping off symptoms. Lesions were initially water soaked, dark brown necrosis of crown tissue, irregular in shape and sunken in appearance on large plants, causing the infected seedlings to collapse and eventually die. Rhizoctonia solani was isolated consistently from symptomatic plants. After morphological and molecular identification of the isolates, pathogenicity was tested by placing agar plugs of four isolates adjacent to the stem at the three or four true leaf stage. In inoculated plants, brown crown and stem necrosis occurred while control plants did not show disease symptoms. Pathogenicity using non-germinated seeds was also tested. All four isolates produced extensive damping off when inoculated on non-germinated seeds. To our knowledge, this is the first report of damping off of Swiss chard caused by R. solani in Europe

The effects of storage duration, temperature and cultivar on the severity of garlic clove rot caused by Fusarium proliferatum.

Diseases that affect garlic during storage can lead to severe economic losses for farmers worldwide. One causal agent of clove rot is Fusarium proliferatum. Here, the progress of clove rot caused by F. proliferatum and its dependence on different storage conditions and cultivar type were studied. The effect of temperature on mycelial growth, conidial viability, and fungal survival during garlic commercial storage was documented. Samples of 50 bulbs from a randomized field trial with three different clonal generations for purple garlic (F3, F4 and F5) and the F4 clonal generation for white garlic were labeled and stored for two months (short-term storage). In addition, another sample of the F5 clonal generation of purple garlic was stored for 6 months after harvest (long-term storage). The presence of the pathogen and the percentage of symptomatic cloves were evaluated. A notable difference in the rot severity index (RSI) of different garlic varieties was observed. In all studied cases, clove rot increased with storage time at 20 ◦ C, and the white garlic variety had a higher index of rot severity after two months of storage. Additionally, there were clear differences between the growth rates of F. proliferatum isolates. Studies conducted on the temperature responses of the pathogen propagules showed that expo- sure for at least 20 min at 50 ◦ C was highly effective in significantly reducing the viability of fungal conidia. Pathogenicity studies showed that the fungus is pathogenic in all commercial varieties. However, there were significant differences in varietal susceptibility between Chinese and white garlic type cultivars (81.84 ± 16.44% and 87.5 ± 23.19% symptomatic cloves, respectively) and purple cultivars (49.06 ± 13.42% symptomatic cloves

Biocontrol of mycotoxigenic fungi using bacteria isolated from ecological vineyard soils

The presence of mycotoxin-producing Aspergillus species in vineyards is a problem for food safety and the economy. In addition, rising temperatures due to climate change are modifying microbial communities, causing the replacement of some fungal species and the rise of mycotoxins such as aflatoxins. The use of microorganisms as biological control agents (BCAs) is one of the most promising strategies to prevent fungal growth and toxin production. In this study, 513 microor-ganisms were isolated from organic vineyard soils in different regions of Spain. The 480 bacteria and 33 yeasts isolated were sequentially screened to select those with the most suitable charac-teristics to be used as BCAs. After identifying 16 isolates meeting all requirements, six bacterial isolates were selected to test their potential to control three relevant toxigenic grape fungi in vitro: A. carbonarius, A. niger and A. flavus. Isolates of Arthrobacter sp., Rhodococcus sp. and Bacillus my-coides showed an excellent ability to reduce the growth and mycotoxin concentration of the above-mentioned fungi and represent potential candidates for further study regarding their possible industrial application as a BCA.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, grant num‐ ber RTI 2018‐097593‐B‐C21

First report of Fusarium verticillioides causing stalk and root rot of sorghum in Spain

Podredumbre del tallo y la raíz del sorgo causada por Fusarium verticillioides en Españ

INFORME CAMPAÑA ARSA 0308

Durante los días 10 al 21 de Marzo del 2008 se ha llevado a cabo la campaña con arte de arrastre de fondo ARSA 0308. Al igual que en años anteriores, la zona prospectada ha correspondido a la zona de plataforma y talud continental de la parte española del Golfo de Cádiz, comprendida entre el meridiano 7º 20’ W, o la frontera con Portugal, el paralelo 36º 15’ N, entre las isóbatas de 15 y 800 metros, siendo su límite inferior la distancia de 6 millas a la costa. Dicha campaña se encuentra inmersa dentro del programa de recopilación de datos básico de la Unión Europea considerada como prioridad 1. La campaña se realizó a bordo del B/O "Cornide de Saavedra", siendo el objetivo previsto la estimación de los índices de abundancia (número y biomasa), de las especies demersales de mayor interés pesquero, así como de la fauna asociada a ellas

A simplified courtship conditioning protocol to test learning and memory in Drosophila

In Drosophila, a male that has previously been sexually rejected reduces its courtship behavior when confronted again with an unreceptive female. This reduced courting time reflects a memory formation process. Here, we describe a simplified protocol to perform the courtship conditioning assay for assessing the reduced courting time, using regular lab equipment and handmade tools. Every step of the procedure, from raising flies and training to testing and quantification of this memory-related behavior, can be implemented in any practice laboratory.We would like to thank Javier Gil Castillo for its invaluable help and advices in 3D printing. We also thank the flies from Bloomington Stock Center. We would like to thank BioRender (www.biorender.com) for the open-access platform used to create the graphical abstract. This work was supported by the Spanish Research Agency (Ministerio de Innovacion y Ciencia [MICINN]) under the grant PGC2018-094630-B-100 to F.A.M., cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to F.A.M. F.A.M. is a recipient of a RyC-2014-14961 contract. B.G.-M. is a recipient of a FPI-UAM predoctoral fellowship, grant number SFPI/2020/00878. C.G.B. is a recipient of a FPU predoctoral fellowship, grant number FPU19/04449 (MEFP). S.P.-F. is a recipient of a JAE intro fellowship, grant number JAEINT_21_02520 (CSIC)

Poly (lactic acid)/D-limonene/ZnO bio-nanocomposites with antimicrobial properties

Antimicrobial films of poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/D-limonene/zinc oxide (ZnO)-based bio-nanocomposites were prepared via melt compounding and subsequent thermocompression. D-limonene was incorporated at concentrations of 10 or 20 wt%, and ZnO pure nanoparticles and those organically modified with oleic acid (O-ZnO), with an average diameter of 13.5 nm, were included at concentrations of 3, 5, and 8 wt%. The plasticizing effect of D-Limonene was corroborated by a decrease in the glass transition temperature compared to pure PLA. The presence of ZnO and O-ZnO in the PLA matrix promoted a slight increase in the degree of crystallinity due to its nucleant performance. Although ZnO and O-ZnO induced lower thermal stability and slightly decreased microhardness in the composites, excellent antimicrobial performance was demonstrated. Both ZnO and O-ZnO nanocomposites reached 99.9% of effectiveness for nanoparticles content above 5 wt%, regardless of the source of irradiation, D-limonene concentration, and nanoparticle modification. Therefore, these bio-nanocomposites will allow for future advances in sustainable antimicrobial materials for the medical or food packaging fields.DICYT, Grant/Award Number: Project 022041ZR_POSTDOCT; Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico,Grant/Award Numbers: 1170226, 320029

Characteristics and outcome of adult patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia and increased body mass index treated with the PETHEMA Protocols

Objective The obesity/overweight may have an influence on APL outcomes. Methods This is the biggest multicentre analysis on 1320 APL patients treated with AIDA-induction and risk-adapted consolidation between 1996 and 2012. Patients body mass index (BMI) was classified as underweight (= 30 kg/m(2)) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Results and conclusions Relationship between male gender, older age, and other known laboratory abnormalities in overweight/obese patients was significant. The induction mortality rate was significantly higher in APL with BMI >= 25 vs BMI = 25 had a trend to lower OS (74% vs 80%; P = .06). However, in the multivariate analysis, BMI did not retain the independent predictive value (P = .46). There was no higher incidence of differentiation syndrome with BMI >= 25, but there was a trend in obese. There was no difference in relapse rate according to the BMI. In summary, overweight/obesity does not represent an independent risk factor for APL outcomes. The influence of obesity in APL patients treated with chemotherapy-free regimens remains to be established

Radar on RAIA: High frequency radars in the RAIA Observatory

The RADAR ON RAIA project aims to update and extend beyond the Galician border the High Frequency (HF) radar network that has been operating since 2011 in the framework of the RAIA Observatory. The Project is allowing the establishment of a cross-border collaboration beyond the physical infrastructure itself, developing a sharing strategy of maintenance procedures, validation and data processing on both sides of the border, as well as an easy and public access to all the information. In addition, new products are being developed to exploit the potential of the HF radar technology.Peer Reviewe