Two different <i>Xylella fastidiosa</i> strains circulating in Italy: phylogenetic and evolutionary analyses

<p><i>Xylella fastidiosa</i>, a bacterial species infecting a broad range plants, includes five subspecies, <i>fastidiosa, multiplex, pauca, mulberry and sandyi.</i> In Europe, <i>Xylella</i> was isolated in olive trees in southern Italy (Apulia region) during the year 2013. The aim of the present study was to apply phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis to trace the possible origin and way of the entrance of <i>Xylella fastidiosa</i> in Italy. All the genomes available for <i>Xylella fastidiosa</i> spp were downloaded from NCBI. A phylogeographic analysis was performed using BEAST. <i>X. fastidiosa</i> strains belonging to <i>X. fastidiosa</i> subsp. <i>pauca</i> and subsp. <i>sandyi</i> have been reported to infect olive trees and coffee plants, respectively. The phylogeographic analysis also revealed and confirmed these two different ways of provenience <i>X. fastidiosa</i> subsp. <i>pauca</i> from Costa Rica and <i>X. fastidiosa</i> subsp <i>sandyi</i> from California Phylogeny have been an important tool to validate and support the recent hypothesis for <i>X. fastidiosa pauca</i> provenience.</p

Schematic representation of the experimental set-up.

<p>Schematic representation of the experimental set-up.</p

Total antioxidant capability of N, LPS and LPS+INU-supernatants.

<p>The supernatants were collected after 30 minute of mucosal exposure and analysed. Reported values are the means of six independent experiments ± SE. (*P<0.001; ANOVA test).</p

Total Antioxidant Capability of fructans.

<p>Fructans, with different molecular characteristics (DP and branching) and botanical origins, were tested for their antioxidant capability and compared to glucose, fructose and sucrose. Reported values are the means of six independent experiments ± SE. Values marked by the same letter are not statistically different (P>0.05; ANOVA test); values marked by different letters are statistically different (P<0.05; ANOVA test).</p

Effects of cooking and digestion on total antioxidant capability of inulin.

<p>Inulin (150 mg/ml) was subjected to cooking and digestion processes by an <i>in vitro</i> system as described in Material and Methods. Reported values are the means of six independent experiments ± SE.</p

Effect of the exposure to N, LPS and LPS+INU-undernatants on resting length of colonic smooth muscle cells (SMCs).

<p>Cell length was measured in the absence of agonists. Reported values are the means of six independent experiments ± SE.</p

Levels of protein oxidation in colonic mucosa and submucosa layers following the exposure to N, LPS and LPS+INU-supernatants.

<p>Protein oxidation level was measured in all the analysed experimental conditions as total protein carbonyl group content. Reported values are the means of six independent experiments ± SE. (*P<0.01; ANOVA test).</p

Effects of ionizing radiation on bio-active plant extracts useful for preventing oxidative damages

<p>Humans are exposed to ionizing radiations in medical radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy that cause oxidative damages and degenerative diseases. Airplane pilots, and even more astronauts, are exposed to a variety of potentially harmful factors, including cosmic radiations. Among the phytochemicals, phenols are particularly efficient in countering the oxidative stress. In the present study, different extracts obtained from plant food, plant by-products and dietary supplements, have been compared for their antioxidant properties before and after irradiation of 140 cGy, a dose absorbed during a hypothetical stay of three years in the space. All the dry extracts, characterized in terms of vitamin C and phenolic content, remained chemically unaltered and maintained their antioxidant capability after irradiation. Our results suggest the potential use of these extracts as nutraceuticals to protect humans from oxidative damages, even when these extracts must be stored in an environment exposed to cosmic radiations as in a space station.</p

Changes in the levels of specific transcripts in response to LPS or LPS+INU treatments, compared to control condition.

<p>Values are means ± SE. The results were analyzed by ANOVA test. * indicates significant values (p < 0.05).</p

List of the proteins that showed significantly (p <0.05) altered abundance in LPS and LPS+INU samples in comparison with the control.

<p>List of the proteins that showed significantly (p <0.05) altered abundance in LPS and LPS+INU samples in comparison with the control.</p