Climate change impacts on plant phenology: Grapevine (vitis vinifera) bud break in wintertime in southern italy

The effects of global warming on plants are not limited to the exacerbation of summer stresses; they could also induce dormancy dysfunctions. In January 2020, a bud break was observed in an old poly-varietal vineyard. Meteorological data elaboration of the 1951–2020 period confirmed the general climatic warming of the area and highlighted the particular high temperatures of the last winter. Phenological records appeared to be significantly correlated to wood hydration and starch reserve consumption, demonstrating a systemic response of the plant to the warm conditions. The eight cultivars, identified by single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) profiles and ampelographic description, grown in this vineyard showed different behaviors. Among them, the neglected Sprino, Baresana, Bianco Palmento, and Uva Gerusalemme, as well as the interspecific hybrid Seyve Villard 12.375, appeared to be the most interesting. Among the adaptation strategies to climate changes, the cultivar selection should be considered a priority, as it reduces the inputs required for the plant management over the entire life cycle of the vineyard. Hot Mediterranean areas, such as Salento, are a battlefront against the climate change impacts, and, thus, they represent a precious source of biodiversity for viticulture

SNP genotyping elucidates the genetic diversity of Magna Graecia grapevine germplasm and its historical origin and dissemination

Background: Magna Graecia is the ancient name for the modern geopolitical region of South Italy extensively populated by Greek colonizers, shown by archeological and historical evidence to be the oldest wine growing region of Italy, crucial for the spread of specialized viticulture around Mediterranean shores. Here, the genetic diversity of Magna Graecia grape germplasm was assessed and its role in grapevine propagation around the Mediterranean basin was underlined. Results: A large collection of grapevines from Magna Graecia was compared with germplasm from Georgia to the Iberian Peninsula using the 18 K SNP array. A high level of genetic diversity of the analyzed germplasm was determined; clustering, structure analysis and DAPC (Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components) highlighted the genetic relationships among genotypes from South Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece). Gene flow from east (Georgia) to west (Iberian Peninsula) was identified throughout the large number of detected admixed samples. Pedigree analysis showed a complex and well-structured network of first degree relationships, where the cultivars from Magna Graecia were mainly involved. Conclusions: This study provided evidence that Magna Graecia germplasm was shaped by historical events that occurred in the area due to the robust link between South Italian and Greek genotypes, as well as, by the availability of different thermal resources for cultivars growing in such different winegrowing areas. The uniqueness of this ampelographic platform was mainly an outcome of complex natural or human-driven crosses involving elite cultivars

Safety and feasibility of thullium laser transurethral resection of prostate for the treatment of benign prostatic enlargement in overweight patients

Objective: We aimed to determine safety and feasibility of thulium laser transurethral vapoenucleation of prostate (ThuVEP) for treatment of obese patients affected by benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Methods: We retrospectively analysed data of 452 patients with BPH who underwent ThuVEP from February 2012 to March 2016 in a single center. Patients were divided into three groups according to body mass index (BMI, kg/m2): Normal weight (18.5 64 BMI < 25; Group A), overweight (25 64 BMI < 30; Group B) and obese (BMI 65 30; Group C), for a total of 412 patients evaluable for this study. Preoperative total serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), digital rectal examination of the prostate, transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), renal ultrasound, urine culture, uroflowmetry, International Prostate Symptoms Score (IPSS), and Quality of Life (QoL) score were analyzed. Post-operative complications, hospital stay and days of catheterization, questionnaires and uroflowmetry at 1 and 3 months after surgery were evaluated. Preoperative data, surgical outcomes, complication rate and clinical outcomes were compared between groups. Results: The median age of patients was 69 years (Interquartile Range [IQR 10]). The preoperative median IPSS among groups was 19 (IQR 8.75), 20 (IQR 10), and 18 (IQR 10) respectively. At 1 and 3 months of follow-up, this value was 8 (IQR 7), 8 (IQR 4), 7 (IQR 5) and 5 (IQR 6.25), 5 (IQR 6), 6 (IQR 5), respectively (all p between groups > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference among three groups as for hospital stay and days of catheterization (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Our results showed that ThuVEP was safe and feasible even in overweight patients with substantially enlarged prostate

SNP genotyping elucidates the genetic diversity of Magna Graecia grapevine germplasm and its historical origin and dissemination

BACKGROUND: Magna Graecia is the ancient name for the modern geopolitical region of South Italy extensively populated by Greek colonizers, shown by archeological and historical evidence to be the oldest wine growing region of Italy, crucial for the spread of specialized viticulture around Mediterranean shores. Here, the genetic diversity of Magna Graecia grape germplasm was assessed and its role in grapevine propagation around the Mediterranean basin was underlined. RESULTS: A large collection of grapevines from Magna Graecia was compared with germplasm from Georgia to the Iberian Peninsula using the 18\u2009K SNP array. A high level of genetic diversity of the analyzed germplasm was determined; clustering, structure analysis and DAPC (Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components) highlighted the genetic relationships among genotypes from South Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean (Greece). Gene flow from east (Georgia) to west (Iberian Peninsula) was identified throughout the large number of detected admixed samples. Pedigree analysis showed a complex and well-structured network of first degree relationships, where the cultivars from Magna Graecia were mainly involved. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided evidence that Magna Graecia germplasm was shaped by historical events that occurred in the area due to the robust link between South Italian and Greek genotypes, as well as, by the availability of different thermal resources for cultivars growing in such different winegrowing areas. The uniqueness of this ampelographic platform was mainly an outcome of complex natural or human-driven crosses involving elite cultivars

Postural control and disability in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis

PMID: 33427617 Abstract Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may affect the postural control through abnormal sensory inputs and impaired motor responses. Sensory Organization Test (SOT) objectively evaluates contribution of different sensorial afferences in postural control. The aim of the study is to assess mechanisms of postural instability and their relations with disability and disease characteristics in an early RA(ERA) cohort. Methods: The equilibrium scores were assessed in 30 ERA patients and 30 age- and sex-matched controls. The somatosensory (SOM), visual (VIS) and vestibular (VEST) ratios were computed to assess the use of different sensory and the composite equilibrium score (CES) as a measure of global balance performance. Results: ERA patients had lower CES (78.4±6.0% vs. 83.4±5.0%, p=0.002), SOM ratio (98.5±1.8% vs. 99.6±2.1%, p=0.035), VIS ratio (85.2±7.6% vs. 91.5±6.0%, p=0.001) and VEST ratio (70.8±10.0% vs. 80.3±7.8%, p<0.001) compared to controls. The presence of ankle arthritis correlated negatively to both SOM (r=-0.369, p=0.045) and VIS ratio (r=0.470, p=0.009), pain severity to CES (r=-0.389, p=0.045) and VIS ratio (r=-0.385, p=0.048) and HAQ-DI to CES (r=-0.591, p=0.001), SOM (r=-0.510, p=0.004) and VIS ratio (r=-0.390, p=0.033.). Patients-reported postural instability was associated with lower CES (75.4±5.4% vs. 80.7±5.5%, p=0.016) and VEST ratios (66.5±10.1% vs. 74.1±8.8%, p=0.036). SOT outcomes did not differ according to acute phase reactants, disease activity or autoantibody positivity. Conclusions: RA patients showed an early impairment of postural control related to the degree of disability and subjective postural instability. Our data suggest that the lack of balance could result from both impaired motor response and abnormal sensory organisation

High-throughput 18K SNP array to assess genetic variability of the main grapevine cultivars from Sicily

The viticulture of Sicily, for its vocation, is one of the most important and ancient forms in Italy. Autochthonous grapevine cultivars, many of which known throughout the world, have always been cultivated in the island from many centuries. With the aim to preserve this large grapevine diversity, previous studies have already started to assess the genetic variability among the Sicilian cultivars by using morphological and microsatellite markers. In this study, simple sequence repeat (SSR) were utilized to verify the true-to-typeness of a large clone collection (101) belonging to 21 biotypes of the most 10 cultivated Sicilian cultivars. Afterwards, 42 Organization Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV) descriptors and a high-throughput single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array (Vitis18kSNP) were applied to assess genetic variability among cultivars and biotypes of the same cultivar. Ampelographic traits and high-throughput SNP genotyping platforms provided an accuracy estimation of genetic diversity in the Sicilian germplasm, showing the relationships among cultivars by cluster and multivariate analyses. The large SNP panel defined sub-clusters unable to discern among biotypes, previously classified by ampelographic analysis, belonging to each cultivar. These results suggested that a very large number of SNP did not cover the genome regions harboring few morphological traits. Genetic structure of the collection revealed a clear optimum number of groups for K = 3, clustering in the same group a significant portion of family-related genotypes. Parentage analysis highlighted significant relationships among Sicilian grape cultivars and Sangiovese, as already reported, but also the first evidences of the relationships between Nero d’Avola and both Inzolia and Catarratto. Finally, a small panel of highly informative markers (12 SNPs) allowed us to isolate a private profile for each Sicilian cultivar, providing a new tool for cultivar identification

Grapevine field experiments reveal the contribution of genotype, the influence of environment and the effect of their interaction (GXE) on the berry transcriptome

Changes in the performance of genotypes in different environments are defined as genotype x environment (G x E) interactions. In grapevine (Vitis vinifera), complex interactions between different genotypes and cli- mate, soil and farming practices yield unique berry qualities. However, the molecular basis of this phe- nomenon remains unclear. To dissect the basis of grapevine G x E interactions we characterized berry transcriptome plasticity, the genome methylation landscape and within-genotype allelic diversity in two genotypes cultivated in three different environments over two vintages. We identified, through a novel data-mining pipeline, genes with expression profiles that were: unaffected by genotype or environment, genotype-dependent but unaffected by the environment, environmentally-dependent regardless of geno- type, and GxE-related. The GxE-related genes showed different degrees of within-cultivar allelic diversity in the two genotypes and were enriched for stress responses, signal transduction and secondary metabo- lism categories. Our study unraveled the mutual relationships between genotypic and environmental vari- ables during GxE interaction in a woody perennial species, providing a reference model to explore how cultivated fruit crops respond to diverse environments. Also, the pivotal role of vineyard location in deter- mining the performance of different varieties, by enhancing berry quality traits, was unraveled

Progress for research of grape and wine culture in Georgia, the South Caucasus

This communication will provide the latest information about the progress of the “Research Project for the Study of Georgian Grapes and Wine Culture”, managed by the National Wine Agency of Georgia since 2014. Local and foreign institutions continue to work together with the aim of stimulating multidisciplinary scientific research activity on Georgian viticulture and viniculture and to reconstruct their development from Neolithic civilizations to the present. The project is multidisciplinary in nature, merging contributions from archaeology, history, ethnography, molecular genetics, biomolecular archaeology, palaeobotany, ampelography, enology, climatology and other scientific fields