Genome-wide Analysis of the Snakin/GASA Gene Family in Solanum tuberosum cv. Kennebec

Snakin/GASA proteins have been involved in different aspects of plant growth and development although their exact role is still intriguing. All of them maintain 12 cysteines of the C-terminus in highly conserved positions that are responsible for their structure and are essential for their biochemical activity as antioxidants. Two members were isolated from Solanum tuberosum to date (Snakin-1 and Snakin-2) and were shown to have antimicrobial activity. We have recently demonstrated that Snakin-1 has additional roles in plant growth and development. We carried out a genome-wide search for new Snakin/GASA family members in potato. 16 Snakin/GASA genes were isolated, sequenced and characterized. Interestingly, we found in Solanum tuberosum subsp. tuberosum cv. Kennebec that Snakin-1, Snakin-2 and Snakin-3 expression is affected by bacterial and/or fungal inoculation. These results strengthen the participation of Snakin-1 and Snakin-2 genes in biotic stress tolerance and suggest that Snakin-3 is also involved in plant defense. The data presented here could be a good starting point for more focused and deep investigations regarding the biological functions of potato Snakin/GASA genes during plant development and in response to environmental stress.Fil: Nahirñak, Vanesa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Rivarola, Maximo Lisandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: González de Urreta, Martín Salvador. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Paniego, Norma Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Hopp, Horacio Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Almasia, Natalia Ines. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez Rovere, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; Argentin

First Report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae Causing Branch Canker on "Manzanilla" Olive in Northwestern Argentina

Olive is an economically important crop in Northwestern Argentina where dead branches are frequently observed. In September of 2015 a total of 20 cankered branches and/or wood necrosis from 10 orchards showing dieback symptoms were collected from ´Manzanilla´ olive trees in Catamarca (C) and La Rioja (LR) provinces. One cankered branch from each province was selected to study the dark brown internal tissue under the bark. Small pieces of symptomatic tissue were disinfected with 70% ethanol and 2% sodium hypochlorite, rinsed with sterile distilled water, aseptically transferred to 2% water agar (WA) plates, and incubated at 25°C under 12h light-cycle period until fungal colonies developed. Pure culture of the fungus was obtained through successive transfers of hyphal tips from the margin of growing colony onto WA plates, then hyphal tips were transferred to 9-cm oatmeal agar (OA) plates to study morphological characteristics of the colony. Fungal colonies were fast-growing and covered the plate surface after 4 days at 30°C in darkness. Colonies were dark blue to black, with abundant fluffy aerial mycelium and black underside. Grouped erumpent black pycnidia were observed after 15 days and measured 3 to 5 mm tall with conidia extruding in black masses. Conidigenous cells were short and hyaline. Conidia were unicellular, hyaline, subovoid to ellipsoid, thickwalled with truncate base, and 25.94 (21-30) μm x 14.61 (12-15) μm (n=40). Mature conidia were dark-walled, septate, with longitudinal striations, and 24.59 (22-32) μm x 13.88 (12-16) μm, and 22.54 (20-25) μm x 13.77 (13-15) μm (n=40), with L/W ratio 1.77 and 1.64 for C and LR strains, respectively. Teleomorph was not observed in nature. Morphological traits agreed with descriptions of species within the Lasiodiplodia genus (Punithalingam 1976). To identify the isolates to species, the internal transcribed spacer ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 gene, and part of the translation elongation factor (TEF1-α) and β-tubulin genes were amplified and sequenced using primers ITS1/ITS4, TEF1-α-688F/TEF1-α-986R, and Bet2a/Bet2b (Alves et al 2008). ITS region (KY053847, KX816956), TEF gene (MF422024) and BET gene (MF628107) showed 100%, 90%, and 100% identity with L. theobromae isolates from ?Mission? and ?Sevillano? (JX515716, JX515717), and ?Sevillano? (JX515763, JX515685) olives from California, respectively (Úrbez-Torres et al 2013). DNA sequences were deposited in GenBank. Two fungal isolates, one for each province, were used for pathogenicity tests. Isolates C and LR were grown on OA and incubated at 25°C under 12 h light for 7 days. Pathogenicity was verified on 10 healthy young ´Arbequina´ olive plants. Three small wounds were made on the stem of each plant with a sterile needle. Mycelial plugs were placed on the wounded surface, covered with wet cotton, and kept under 100% RH until symptom development. Non-colonized plugs were used as negative controls. Dark brown lesions were observed extending from the inoculation site reaching 3 cm after 30 days. Control plants showed no symptoms. Re-isolation of the fungus from diseased parts showed the same morphological traits than the fungus isolated from the field. This fungus was previously described on olive trees in Italy (Carlucci et al 2013), and California (Úrbez-Torres et al 2013). This is the first report of L. theobromae on olive in Argentina.Fil: Pérez, B.A.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Niz, J.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Salvador, R.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Berretta, Marcelo Facundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Microbiología y Zoología Agrícola; ArgentinaFil: Roca, Monica Esther María. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja; Argentina. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Alimento. Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria; ArgentinaFil: Pesce, Virginia Mercedes. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Matías, A.C.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Catamarca-La Rioja. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; ArgentinaFil: González de Urreta, Martín Salvador. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Biotecnología; ArgentinaFil: Paccioretti, Mauro Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Otero, M.L.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentin

First Complete Genome Sequence of Potato leafroll virus from Argentina

In this study, we determined for the first time the complete genomicsequence of an Argentinian isolate of Potato leafroll virus (PLRV), the type species of the genus Polerovirus. The isolate sequenced came from a Solanum tuberosum plant that had been naturally infected with the virus. Isolate PLRV-AR had a nucleotide sequence identity between 94.4 and 97.3% with several known PLRV isolates worldwide.Fil: Barrios Barón, María Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Agrofoglio, Yamila Carla. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Delfosse, Verónica Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Nahirñak, Vanesa. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: González de Urreta, Martín Salvador. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Almasia, Natalia Ines. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Vazquez Rovere, Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; ArgentinaFil: Distéfano, Ana Julia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas; Argentin