PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF STROBILURIN SENSITIVITY OF ZYMOSEPTORIA TRITICI ITALIAN STRAINS

Mycosphaerella graminicola (anamorph: Zymoseptoria tritici) is the causal agent of leaf blotch, the most important foliar disease of wheat in Northern and Central Europe. In Italy only during the last few years, the incidence of the disease has been increased. The most common strategies for the control of the disease is the use of fungicides in particular QoIs, DMIs, and more recently were introduced the SDHIs. The resistance to QoIs and DMIs was already common in the main wheat cultivated areas in the world (Cools and Fraaije, 2008; Estep et al., 2015; Fraaije et al., 2005; Gisi et al., 2005; Leroux et al., 2005; Stammler and Semar, 2011; Stewart et al., 2014) while in Italy no results coming from wide and specific sensitivity monitoring are available. The aim of this study was to test the sensitivity of Z. tritici strains to QoI in order to obtain the first data about the Italian scenario. Leaves of bread and durum wheat were collected during 2015 from 10 fields with different use of fungicides (wild type, experimental centers and commercial ones) located in the North of Italy. The sensitivity of 60 isolates to azoxystrobin at different concentrations (0-0.001-0.01-0.1-1-2-10-20 mg/L of active ingredient) have been determined in vitro by microtiter assay (Stammler and Semar, 2011). The EC50 values of the wild types ranged from 0.02 to 0.12 mg/L of azoxystrobin, while the first analyzed isolates collected from experimental plots and commercial fields showed EC50s variable from 1.92 to 5.1 mg/L. Only one isolate pointed out an EC50 of 20.6 mg/L of active ingredient. On the base of these first results, we can suppose the presence of a slight decrease of sensitivity of Z. tritici isolates collected from Italian fields (according to Gisi et al., 2005). Molecular analysis on the presence of G143A substitution will be carried out

Genome sequence of Stemphylium vesicarium, the causal agent of Brown Spot disease of Pear

Stemphylium vesicarium (Wallr.) E. Simmons is the causal agent of several plant diseases as well Brown Spot of Pear (BSP), which is one of the most economically important fungal diseases in European pear-production areas. Moreover, conidia widespread from plant material infected by the pathogen can trigger respiratory allergy. We were aimed to provide the first available genome sequence of S. vesicarium.The resource is presented accompanied by genome properties.Genomic DNA was extracted from the monoconidial strain 1731a13FI1M3 isolated from pear, then de novo sequenced by shotgun on Illumina Miseq platform v3. 1,127 contigs were assembled and a total assembly length of 38.66 Mb were obtained. The size was similar to those of Stemphylium lycopersici,the only other genome currently available for the Stemphilium genus. Gene prediction resulted in 12,309 putative genes.A primary functional annotation provided information about Orthologous Groups, Gene Ontology terms, KEGG pathways, and SMART/Pfam domains for each group. Furthermore, combined prediction of transmembrane topology and signal peptide were carried out, and genome sequence was also analyzed for the automatic genomic identification and analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters.Among predicted genes it was also possible to identify several orthologues required in other Ascomycota as related to: pathogenesis or full virulence on plants, signal transduction, cell respiration.Furthermore, the annotation was able to detect the orthologues of alt a 1 major and alt a 7 minor A. alternata allergens. The availability of this genome opens a new scenario in the investigation of S.vesicarium lifestyle and molecular plant/pathogen interaction, and could be fundamental to design more effective and sustainable fungicides management strategies to control BSP and other plant diseases. The genome sequence has been deposited in the GenBank under the accession number:QXCR00000000 (BioProject: PRJNA470620, BioSample: SAMN09098503)

Genome sequence resource for Stemphylium vesicarium, causing Brown Spot Disease of Pear

none5noStemphylium vesicarium is the causal agent of several plant diseases as well Brown Spot of Pear (BSP), which is one of the most economically important fungal diseases in European pear-production areas. In addition to the relevance of the economic impact, conidia widespread from plant material infected by the pathogen can trigger respiratory allergy. Here, we report the first genome of a S. vesicarium strain, the 173-1a13FI1M3, isolated from pear and sensitive to the mostly used fungicide classes currently authorized in Europe against BSP. The availability of this draft genome could represent a first important step in understanding the physiology and the infection mechanism of the pathogen. Furthermore, this contribution could be fundamental in order to design more effective and sustainable strategies to control the disease.openKatia Gazzetti, Elena L. Diaconu, Irene M. Nanni, Alessandro Ciriani, Marina CollinaKatia Gazzetti, Elena L. Diaconu, Irene M. Nanni, Alessandro Ciriani, Marina Collin

Genome sequence resource for Stemphylium vesicarum, causing brown spot disease of pear

Stemphylium vesicarium(Wallr.) E.Simmons ca ncause disease of non cropplants,herbaceouscrops,andfruittrees.BrownSpotofPear(BSP),causedbyS.vesicarium,isthemosteconomicallyrelevantfungaldiseaseformanyvarietiesofpearinItalyandinotherEuropeancountries.Twigs,leavesandfruitscanbedamaged,andmanyfungicideapplicationsarethusrequiredfrompetalfalltofruitripeningtoprotectpearorchards.Moreover,conidiawidespreadfromplantmaterialinfectedbythepathogencantriggerrespiratoryallergy.WewereaimedtoprovidethefirstavailablegenomesequenceofS.vesicarium,thatisonlythesecondofStemphiliumgenus.Thegenomeresourceispresentedaccompaniedbymetricsandproperties.Amongpredictedgenesitwaspossibleidentifyseveralorthologuesofgenesinvolvedinpathogenesisandfullvirulence,hostcellwalldegradation,componentsofsignalingandsecondarymetabolismpathways,fungicidesresistancesandtriggingofhumanallergy

Antiacetylcholinesterase activity and docking studies with chlorogenic acid, cynarin and arzanol from Helichrysum stoechas (Asteraceae)

This work was aimed at the study of the chemical composition in phenolic compounds responsible for the high antiacetylcholinesterase activity of aqueous extracts (decoctions) from Helichrysum stoechas aerial parts. Chlorogenic acid, cynarin, and arzanol were the main components of decoctions, detected by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry. Flowers and stems/leaves extracts inhibited antiacetylcholinesterase with IC50 values of 260.7 and 654.8 μg/mL, respectively. The biological activity of these extracts was maintained after in vitro gastrointestinal digestion, indicating that the active compounds present in the extracts were not enzymatically modified by the gastrointestinal system used to simulate the digestion. Molecular docking studies with the main components were carried out in order to obtain information, at the molecular level, as to how these compounds access the enzyme’s active site. The docking study showed for the first time that chlorogenic acid, cynarin, and arzanol fit nicely in the antiacetylcholinesterase active site channel, blocking all access to the catalytic triad. This explained the high inhibitory activity determined during in vitro experiments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MOLECOLE NATURALI PER IL CONTROLLO DI ORGANISMI PATOGENI IN COLTIVAZIONI DI PYRUS COMMUNIS

Il ruolo dell'Unità di ricerca 7 del tecnopolo Terra&Acqua Tech dell'Università degli Studi di Ferrara nel progetto “Innovazioni di processo e di prodotto per una pericoltura di qualità” per migliorare l'efficienza produttiva e la sostenibilità economica della filiera del pero (Pyrus communis), in collaborazione con il Centro di Fitofarmacia del Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie dell’Università di Bologna si è focalizzato sulla ricerca di molecole naturali da scarti vegetali che avessero attività biologica (biocida) verso patogeni del pero (Task 1.4). In particolare, la ricerca si è sviluppata rispetto ai seguenti obiettivi: 1) l'individuazione di fonti agro-industriali quali potenziali fonti di molecole bioattive e sicure; 2) aspetti estrattivi delle fonti vegetali individuate; 3) caratterizzazione chimica dei fitocomplessi; 4) verifica dell'efficacia biologica in vitro nel controllo di organismi dannosi per Pyrus communis. Seguendo questo percorso, si sono individuate più di 100 tipologie di risorse vegetali come scarti della lavorazione di 28 colture tipiche del territorio di pianura. La modalità estrattiva, valutata come più adeguata in termini di efficacia senza trascurare fattori di praticità, economicità e sostenibilità ambientale, è stata la macerazione in ultrasuoni in solventi diversi come etanolo, acetone e cloroformio, con l’ottenimento di rese variabili dal 2 al 40%. Tramite tecniche analitiche cromatografiche di routine (HPTLC-fingerprinting), si sono evidenziate classi di flavonoidi, cumarine, antociani, procianidine ed è stata valutata la loro attività antiossidante ed antimicrobica mediante HPTLC-bioautografica e altre opportune e classiche strategie in vitro. Tale approccio indagativo è stato utilizzato su 126 diversi estratti ed ha permesso di selezionarne 26 che si sono dimostrati i più attivi. L'attività biologica è stata valutata in vitro verso fitopatogeni (batteri e funghi) la cui sensibilità al trattamento potesse essere da guida alla successiva eventuale valutazione rispetto alla bioattività su Stemphyllium vesicarium. I microrganismi impiegati in questa prima fase erano Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Pseudomonas syrngae pv. syringae, Botrytis cinerea e Neonectria galligena. Gli estratti e le molecole più promettenti selezionate da questo pre-screening (19 fitocomplessi e 16 molecole pure) sono stati poi saggiati dal gruppo dell'Università degli Studi di Bologna su Stemphyllum vesicarium, agente causale della maculatura bruna, verificandone in laboratorio le possibili potenzialità bio-attive e le potenziali proiezioni verso possibili strumenti in grado di affiancare i moderni fungicidi di sintesi nella difesa da questa importante malattia fungina negli areali di coltivazione del pero del Nord Italia. Particolarmente interessante si è rivelata la capacità di inibizione mostrata da juglone, resveratrolo e α-asarone sui quali si concentrerà l’attenzione dei prossimi studi