Biological, Molecular and Phiysiological Characterization of Four Soybean mosaic virus Isolates Present in Argentine Soybean Crops

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) causes systemic infections in soybean plants, leading to chlorotic mosaic and producing significant yield losses. The virus is widely distributed in all soybean production areas in the world. In Argentina, three geographical isolates were identified: Marcos Juárez (MJ), Manfredi (M), and North Western Argentina (NOA), and another isolate named “Planta Vinosa” (PV), which causes severe necrosis symptoms in some cultivars. Here, the biological, molecular and physiological characterization of these isolates was performed for the first time. Three of the four isolates showed a low genetic divergence in the evaluated genes (P1, CI and CP). Although SMV-NOA and SMV-PV had high homology at the sequence level, they showed wide differences in pathogenicity, seed mottling and the ability of transmission by seeds or aphids, as well as in physiological effects. SMV-NOA caused early alterations (before symptom appearance, BS) in ΦPSII and MDA content in leaves with respect to the other isolates. After the appearance of macroscopic symptoms (late symptoms, LS), SMV-M caused a significant increase in the content of MDA, total soluble sugars, and starch with respect to the other isolates. Thus, early alterations of ΦPSII and soluble sugars might have an impact on late viral symptoms. Likewise, SMV-MJ developed more severe symptoms in the susceptible Davis cultivar than in DM 4800. Therefore, our results show differences in genome, biological properties and physiological effects among SMV isolates as well as different interactions of SMV-MJ with two soybean cultivars.Instituto de Patología VegetalFil: Maugeri Suarez, M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales (FCEFyN); ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Marianela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez, Marianela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA) ; ArgentinaFil: Bejerman, Nicolas Esteban. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Bejerman, Nicolas Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Laguna, Irma Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Laguna, Irma Graciela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Pardina, Patricia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Pardina, Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); Argentin

Experimental transmission of Corn Stunt Spiroplasma Present In Different Regions of Argentina

The aim was to transmit Corn stunt spiroplasma (Spiroplasma kunkelii Whitcomb) using field-collected Dalbulus maidis insects (Hemiptera-Cicadellidae), and diseased plants from places in the subtropical and temperate regions of Argentina. Field-collected D. maidis populations transmitted the spiroplasma in 39% of the cases when a density of five insects per plant was used. Transmissions were obtained from diseased plants collected in two subtropical locations. In all the symptomatic plants, the presence of spiroplasma was detected by serology and confirmed with PCR. The development of the symptoms and the pathogen titer varied between plants infected with insects from the same location, leading to the identification of two plant groups: one with severe symptoms and high pathogen titer, and the other with mild symptoms and lower titer, showing a direct relation between pathogen titer and the severity of symptomsFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y MuseoInstituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuari

Occurrence of viruses and stunting diseases and estimative of yield losses by mollicutes in corn in Paraná State, Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a incidência de viroses e enfezamentos e estimar as perdas causadas por enfezamentos na cultura do milho safrinha. Os diagnósticos baseados em sintomas foram confirmados por PCR ou RTPCR. Em todas as lavouras, foram identificadas plantas com sintomas de enfezamentos, em incidência de 6,2% a 49,9% (média de 20,7%). Na identificação de insetos vetores desses patógenos, a cigarrinha Dalbulus maidis foi detectada em 20 lavouras das 24 amostradas, constituindo 66,6% do total de espécimens de cigarrinhas coletadas. A perda potencial causada pelos enfezamentos no período foi estimada em cerca de 16,5 milhões de dólares. A ocorrência de plantas com sintomas de "Maize rayado fino virus" e "Maize dwarf mosaic virus" foi baixa e o diagnóstico confirmado por RTPCR. A análise de 441 amostras suspeitas de infecção por "Mal de Río Cuarto virus", por DASELISA, mostrou ausência desse vírus. Resultados de PCR indicaram a presença de um possível fitoplasma distinto de "Maize bushy stunt phytoplasma" em duas plantas apresentando nanismo acentuado, folhas estreitas, enrijecidas, com deformações, e grãos na inflorescência, havendo necessidade de mais estudos para a confirmação da identidade desse possível novo fitoplasma.The objective of this work was to evaluate the occurence and yield losses by corn stunting diseases and maize viruses in "safrinha" season. Disease diagnostics based on plant symptoms were confirmed by PCR or RTPCR assays. Insect samples were collected in 24 fields for identification of vectors of the pathogens. Corn stunting diseases symptoms were observed in all crops evaluated, with incidence levels ranging from 6.2% to 49.9% (average 20.7%) and the presence of the leafhopper Dalbulus maidis, was detected in 20 of the 24 areas evaluated. This insect species was prevalent, representing 66,6% of total leafhoppers specimens collected. The potential yield losses caused by mollicutes was estimated around US$ 16.5 million. Few plants showing Maize rayado fino virus and Maize dwarf mosaic virus symptoms were found and virus infection was confirmed by RTPCR. Mal de Río Cuarto virus was not detected in all 441 plants analyzed by DASELISA. Results of PCR assays indicated the presence of a possible phytoplasma different from maize bushy stunt phytoplasma in two stunting maize plants showing leaves distortions and grain in the inflorescence. However, new studies should be done to confirm the identity of this possible new phytoplasma

Physiological alterations associated to the Mal de Rio Cuarto virus (MRCV) infection and to vector (Delphacodes kuscheli Fennah) phytotoxicity in wheat

Mal de Río Cuarto virus en trigo provoca una enfermedad resultante de la acción combinada con su principal vector, Delphacodes kuscheli. La severa sintomatología inducida por virus e insecto condujo a determinar la posible existencia de alteraciones fisiológicas en el cultivar de trigo ProINTA Federal, infectado artificialmente con dos aislamientos geográficamente distantes del MRCV y sometido a picadura de insectos no virulíferos, respectivamente, en tres estadios fenológicos. ProINTA Federal fue picado por insectos no virulíferos e inoculado en la primera hoja emergiendo del coleóptilo, en la cuarta y quinta hojas desplegadas, respectivamente. La condición sanitaria de los diferentes tratamientos fue constatada mediante ELISA. Las plantas tratadas manifestaron alteraciones fisiológicas con similares variaciones entre estadios fenológicos. Azúcares solubles totales, almidón y proteínas solubles incrementaron significativamente su contenido en plantas infectadas por MRCV. En plantas PS y con MRCV, el contenido de clorofilas disminuyó marcadamente y lo inverso sucedió con el malondialdehído, lo que indicaría daño oxidativo por estrés en las mismas. No existieron diferencias entre estadios fenológicos y las variaciones de los indicadores de alteraciones fisiológicas considerados, excepto para el incremento de almidón, significativamente superior en plantas inoculadas en la primera hoja emergiendo del coleóptilo.Mal de Río Cuarto virus produces a wheat disease, resulting from the combined action of this pathogen and its main vector, Delphacodes kuscheli. Knowing that viruses and insects cause a severe symptomatology in different genotypes, the objective of this work was to determine the possible physiological alterations in three phenological stages of wheat (cv ProINTA Federal) inoculated by two geographically distant MRCV isolate and exposed to non viruliferous insects Treatments were run at three plant stages first leaf emergence through coleoptile, four and five unfolded leaves. The health status of these plants was confirmed by ELISA. Physiological alterations were observed in both infected plants and plants exposed to non viruliferous insects (PS). The total soluble sugar, starch and soluble protein contents increased remarkably in the plants infected by MRCV. While chlorophyll content decreased considerably in PS and MRCV infected plants, malondialdehyde levels increased in both cases. These variations could indicate oxidative damage associated to biotic stress in these plants. The physiological alterations were similar on the different phenological stages. Only the starch increase was significantly higher in plants infected at the first leaf emergence from the coleoptile.Fil: Di Feo, Liliana del Valle. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Fitopatología y Fisiología Vegetal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Laguna, Irma Graciela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Fitopatología y Fisiología Vegetal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Biderbost, Elvio B.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Fitopatología y Fisiología Vegetal; Argentin

Nonuniversality of front fluctuations for compact colonies of nonmotile bacteria

The front of a compact bacterial colony growing on a Petri dish is a paradigmatic instance of non-equilibrium fluctuations in the celebrated Eden, or Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ), universality class. While in many experiments the scaling exponents crucially differ from the expected KPZ values, the source of this disagreement has remained poorly understood. We have performed growth experiments with B. subtilis 168 and E. coli ATCC 25922 under conditions leading to compact colonies in the classically alleged Eden regime, where individual motility is suppressed. Non-KPZ scaling is indeed observed for all accessible times, KPZ asymptotics being ruled out for our experiments due to the monotonic increase of front branching with time. Simulations of an effective model suggest the occurrence of transient nonuniversal scaling due to diffusive morphological instabilities, agreeing with expectations from detailed models of the relevant biological reaction-diffusion processes.This work has been supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (Spain and European Union) through Grants No. FIS2015- 66020-C2-1-P, FIS2015-69167-C2-1-P, FIS2015-73337-JIN, and BIO2016-79618-R, and by Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) Grant No. NANOAVANSENS S2013/MIT302

Nonuniversality of front fluctuations for compact colonies of nonmotile bacteria

The front of a compact bacterial colony growing on a Petri dish is a paradigmatic instance of non-equilibrium f luctuations in the celebrated Eden, or Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ), universality class. While in many experiments the scaling exponents crucially differ from the expected KPZ values, the source of this disagreement has remained poorly understood. We have performed growth experiments with B. subtilis 168 and E. coli ATCC 25922 under conditions leading to compact colonies in the classically alleged Eden regime, where individual motility is suppressed. Non-KPZ scaling is indeed observed for all accessible times, KPZ asymptotics being ruled out for our experiments due to the monotonic increase of front branching with time. Simulations of an effective model suggest the occurrence of transient nonuniversal scaling due to diffusive morphological instabilities, agreeing with expectations from detailed models of the relevant biological reaction-diffusion processe

Determinantes de la felicidad según los estudiantes de pre-grado durante el estado de emergencia sanitaria – Lima

The research had the objective of establishing the determinants of happiness according to undergraduate students during the state of sanitary emergency - Lima. This was developed under the quantitative approach, substantive type, ex post facto design, hypothetical deductive method. The study population consisted of 1556 students and 308 participated voluntarily, for data collection an online Happiness Scale survey and questionnaires for adults in Moyano (2016), Emotional Intelligence de BarOn ICE: NA (2005) and Engagement de Salanova y Schaufeli - UWES (Utrech Work Engagement Survey) (2016) were applied. The data were analyzed with the support of descriptive and inferential statistics with structural equations using SPSS 24 and Amos 24 software. The results showed that the medium level of happiness, the high level of emotional intelligence and engagement predominated. Likewise, the theoretical model proposed was that emotional intelligence and engagement determine happiness; therefore, from the result obtained with the Chicuadrado test (131,804) and the significance level of .000, the model was accepted. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that emotional intelligence influenced happiness by 22% while engagement by 36%; likewise emotional intelligence was related to engagement by 33%, in consequence happiness is determined in 23% by happiness and engagement according to undergraduate students during the state of health emergency - Lima.La investigación tuvo como objetivo establecer los determinantes de la felicidad según estudiantes de pre-grado durante el estado de emergencia sanitaria – Lima. Este se desarrolló bajo el enfoque cuantitativo, tipo sustantivo, diseño ex post facto, método hipotético deductivo. La población de estudio estuvo conformada por 1556 estudiantes, y participaron voluntariamente 308, para la recopilación de datos se aplicó una encuesta y cuestionarios on line de Escala de Felicidad para adultos de Moyano (2016), Inteligencia emocional de BarOn ICE: NA (2005) y de Engagement de Salanova y Schaufeli - UWES (Utrech Work Engagement Survey) (2016). Los datos se analizaron con el apoyo de la estadística descriptiva e inferencial con ecuaciones estructurales con el software SPSS 24 y Amos 24. Los resultados evidenciaron que predominó el nivel medio de la felicidad, el nivel alto de inteligencia emocional y engagement. Asimismo, el modelo teórico planteado fue que la inteligencia emocional y el engagement determinan la felicidad, por lo tanto, a partir del resultado obtenidos con la prueba de Chicuadrado (131.804) y el nivel de significancia de .000, se aceptó el modelo. Finalmente, se demostró que la inteligencia emocional influyó en la felicidad en un 22%, mientras que el engagement en un 36%; asimismo la inteligencia emocional se relacionó con el engagement en un 33%, en consecuencia la felicidad está determinada en un 23% por la inteligencia emocional y el engagement según los estudiantes de pre-grado durante el estado de emergencia sanitaria – Lima

Transmission of Mal de Río Cuarto virus by first and third-instar nymphs of Delphacodes kuscheli

The ability of first and third-instar Delphacodes kuscheli Fennah (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) nymphs to acquire and transmit Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV), under controlled conditions, was investigated. First and third-instar nymphs were allowed acquisition feeding separately on infected wheat plants for 48 hours. The insects were then placed in groups of three for serial transmissions to healthy wheat plants, using inoculation periods of 24 hours. Both instars of D. kuscheli were demonstrated to acquire and subsequently transmit the virus. Nevertheless, transmission trials showed highest transmission efficiency and shortest latent period when MRCV was acquired by first-instar nymphs.Se comparó la capacidad de ninfas de primer y tercer estadío de Delphacodes kuscheli Fennah (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) para adquirir y posteriormente transmitir el Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV), bajo condiciones controladas. Ninfas I y III avirulíferas se alimentaron separadamente de plantas de trigo infectadas durante 48 horas, para luego ser colocadas en subgrupos de tres individuos sobre plantas de trigo sanas. Se realizaron transmisiones seriales utilizando períodos de inoculación de 24 horas. Ambos estadiíos lograron adquirir y transmitir el MRCV, pero se evidenció una mayor cantidad de subgrupos infectivos cuando la adquisición se efectuó como ninfas I, así como una disminución significativa en la duración del período de latencia del virus respecto de los insectos que adquirieron el MRCV durante el tercer estadio ninfalThe ability of first and third-instar Delphacodes kuscheli Fennah (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) nymphsto acquire and transmit Mal de Río Cuarto virus (MRCV), under controlled conditions, was investigated. Firstand third-instar nymphs were allowed acquisition feeding separately on infected wheat plants for 48 hours. Theinsects were then placed in groups of three for serial transmissions to healthy wheat plants, using inoculationperiods of 24 hours. Both instars of D. kuscheli were demonstrated to acquire and subsequently transmit thevirus. Nevertheless, transmission trials showed highest transmission efficiency and shortest latent period whenMRCV was acquired by first-instar nymphs

Difusión del Corn Stunt Spiroplasma del maíz (Spiroplasma kunkelii) y del vector (Dalbulus maidis) en la República Argentina

Among the most important diseases that affect the corn crops (Zea mays L.) is “Corn Stunt Spiroplasm” (CSS). It is caused by Spiroplasm kunkelii and transmitted by a cicadelid Dalbulus maidis (De Long & Wolcott, 1923), the only vector known up to the present in Argentina. Corn crop were monitored in 10 provinces of Argentina during 1991/1992, 1994/1995, 1996/2000. This provided information about the growth of this disease since its detection in the year 1990/1991 up to the present in Argentina as well as the distribution of D. maidis, its vector. The detection of the pathogen was performed on plants with symptoms that are characteristic of CSS using the technique of NC-ELISA. The vector was captured by sweeping plants of corn with symptoms. A increase in the areas affected by CSS was shown in the provinces of Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, Chaco, Corrientes and Santiago del Estero as well as its recent detection in the provinces of Córdoba, San Luis and La Pampa. Based on the 83 places monitored, D. maidis was present in 80 % of the samples and the pathogen was detected in 96%. In the provinces Corrientes, Córdoba, San Luis and La Pampa, D. maidis was not registered.Entre las enfermedades más importantes que afectan al cultivo de maíz (Zea mays L.), se encuentra el achaparramiento o Corn Stunt Spiroplasma (CSS), causado por Spiroplasma kunkelii, trasmitido por el cicadélido Dalbulus maidis (De Long & Wolcott, 1923), único vector conocido hasta el presente en Argentina. Sobre la base de monitoreos realizados en lotes cultivados de maíz en 10 provincias de Argentina durante las campañas 1991/1992; 1994/1995; 1996/2000 se aporta información de esta enfermedad y del agente vector desde su detección en el año 1990/1991. La identificación del patógeno se realizó sobre plantas con síntomas característicos del CSS mediante la técnica de NCELISA. La presencia del vector se registró mediante capturas con red entomológica de arrastre sobre plantas de maíz con síntomas. Se demostró un incremento de la superficie afectada por el Corn Stunt Spiroplasma en las provincias de Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, Catamarca, Chaco, Corrientes, Santiago del Estero y la reciente aparición en las provincias de Córdoba, San Luis y La Pampa. De las 83 localidades monitoreadas, D. maidis estuvo presente en 80 % de las localidades y en 96% se detectó el patógeno. En las provincias de Corrientes, Córdoba, San Luis y La Pampa no se registró a D. maidis