Influence of crop rotation and flutolanil on the diversity of fungi on peanut shells

Les agents pathogènes du sol qui affectent les arachides (Arachis hypogaea) survivent ou hivernent souvent sur les écales d'arachides laissées sur ou dans le sol. Les effets de diverses rotations de cultures sur la flore fongique des écales d'arachides ont été comparés par trois tests en champ menés en 1992 et en 1993. Dans deux des tests, les parcelles d'arachides cultivées de façon continue ont été traitées ou non traitées avec le fongicide flutolanil. Les pratiques de rotation ont varié avec la localisation, et les cultures en rotation avec les arachides étaient le coton (Gossypium hirsutum), le seigle (Secale céréale), l'herbe de Bahia (Paspalum notatum), et le maïs (Zea mays). Au total,31 genres de champignon ont été isolés des écales. Plus des deux tiers des isolats étaient des Deutéromycètes, suivis en fréquence par les Basidiomycètes, les Ascomycètes et les Phycomycètes. Les pratiques de rotation ont affecté l'incidence de plusieurs champignons pathogènes (par exemple, les Fusarium spp. et le Lasiodiplodia theobromae) sur les écales d'arachides, mais les résultats n'ont pas été cohérents entre les tests et les années. L'herbe de Bahia ou le maïs cultivés en rotation avec les arachides ont réduit la fréquence du Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 dans les écales. Le Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2 et le Macrophomina phaseolina ont été isolés à des niveaux plus élevés dans la rotation herbe de Bahia-arachide. Quand les arachides étaient cultivées en rotation avec le coton avec ou sans une culture de couverture de seigle, les parcelles recouvertes de seigle avaient des taux d'isolement moindres pour les champignons totaux en 1992 que les parcelles sans seigle, mais aucune différence n'a été observée en 1993. De plus, plusieurs espèces de Fusarium ont été isolées plus fréquemment des écales provenant de parcelles en rotation avec le seigle. Le flutolanil a diminué significativement les taux d'isolement de plusieurs champignons, incluant le R. solani AG-4, dans un des essais en 1992. L'ensemble des champignons isolés (en combinant tous les isolats de champignon) sur les parcelles traitées au flutolanil étaient plus élevés en 1993, mais pas en 1992 sur un des sites. Les taux d'isolement pour les différents genres et espèces de champignon différaient sur les deux milieux utilisés (agar à l'extrait de malt et agar au sel de malt). En particulier, l’AIternaria alternata et des espèces de Fusarium ont été isolés plus fréquemment sur l'agar au sel de malt, tandis que L theobromae, R. solani AG-4 et Trichoderma spp. Étaient plus souvent rencontrés sur l'agar à l'extrait de malt.Soilborne pathogens of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) often survive or over winter on peanut shells left on or in the soil. The effects of different crop rotations on the peanut shell mycobiota were compared in three field trials in 1992 and repeated in 1993. In two of the trials, plots grown continuously to peanut were either treated with the fungicide flutolanil or left untreated. Rotation practices varied with location and the crops in rotation with peanut were cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), rye (Secale cereale), bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), and corn (Zea mays). In total, 31 different gene of fungi were isolated from shells. Over two-thirds of the isolates were Deuteromycotina, followed in frequency by Basidiomycetes, Ascomycetes, and Phycomycetes. The rotation practices affected the incidence of several pathogenic fungi (e.g., Fusarium spp., and Lasiodiplodia theobromae) in the peanut shells, but the results were not consistent across trials or years. Bahiagrass or corn grown in rotation with peanut reduced the frequency of Rhizoctonia solani AG-4 in shells. Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2 and Macrophomina phaseolina were isolated at a greater level in the bahiagrass-peanut rotation. Where peanut was rotated with cotton with or without a winter cover crop of rye, plots containing rye had lower isolation rates for total fungi in 1992 than those without rye, but there was no différence in 1993. Also, several species of Fusarium were isolated more frequently from shells from plots rotated with rye. Flutolanil significantly lowered isolation rates of several fungi, including R. solani AG-4, in one trial in 1992. Total fungi isolated (all fungal isolates combined) in the flutolanil-treated plots were greater in 1993, but not in 1992 at one site. Isolation rates for the different gene and species of fungi differed on the two media utilized (malt-extract agar and malt-salt agar). In particular, Alternaria alternata and species of Fusarium were isolated more frequently on malt-salt agar, whereas L theobromae, R. solani AG-4 and Trichoderma spp. were more common on malt-extract agar

Para-infectious brain injury in COVID-19 persists at follow-up despite attenuated cytokine and autoantibody responses

To understand neurological complications of COVID-19 better both acutely and for recovery, we measured markers of brain injury, inflammatory mediators, and autoantibodies in 203 hospitalised participants; 111 with acute sera (1–11 days post-admission) and 92 convalescent sera (56 with COVID-19-associated neurological diagnoses). Here we show that compared to 60 uninfected controls, tTau, GFAP, NfL, and UCH-L1 are increased with COVID-19 infection at acute timepoints and NfL and GFAP are significantly higher in participants with neurological complications. Inflammatory mediators (IL-6, IL-12p40, HGF, M-CSF, CCL2, and IL-1RA) are associated with both altered consciousness and markers of brain injury. Autoantibodies are more common in COVID-19 than controls and some (including against MYL7, UCH-L1, and GRIN3B) are more frequent with altered consciousness. Additionally, convalescent participants with neurological complications show elevated GFAP and NfL, unrelated to attenuated systemic inflammatory mediators and to autoantibody responses. Overall, neurological complications of COVID-19 are associated with evidence of neuroglial injury in both acute and late disease and these correlate with dysregulated innate and adaptive immune responses acutely

SARS-CoV-2-specific nasal IgA wanes 9 months after hospitalisation with COVID-19 and is not induced by subsequent vaccination

BACKGROUND: Most studies of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 focus on circulating antibody, giving limited insights into mucosal defences that prevent viral replication and onward transmission. We studied nasal and plasma antibody responses one year after hospitalisation for COVID-19, including a period when SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was introduced. METHODS: In this follow up study, plasma and nasosorption samples were prospectively collected from 446 adults hospitalised for COVID-19 between February 2020 and March 2021 via the ISARIC4C and PHOSP-COVID consortia. IgA and IgG responses to NP and S of ancestral SARS-CoV-2, Delta and Omicron (BA.1) variants were measured by electrochemiluminescence and compared with plasma neutralisation data. FINDINGS: Strong and consistent nasal anti-NP and anti-S IgA responses were demonstrated, which remained elevated for nine months (p < 0.0001). Nasal and plasma anti-S IgG remained elevated for at least 12 months (p < 0.0001) with plasma neutralising titres that were raised against all variants compared to controls (p < 0.0001). Of 323 with complete data, 307 were vaccinated between 6 and 12 months; coinciding with rises in nasal and plasma IgA and IgG anti-S titres for all SARS-CoV-2 variants, although the change in nasal IgA was minimal (1.46-fold change after 10 months, p = 0.011) and the median remained below the positive threshold determined by pre-pandemic controls. Samples 12 months after admission showed no association between nasal IgA and plasma IgG anti-S responses (R = 0.05, p = 0.18), indicating that nasal IgA responses are distinct from those in plasma and minimally boosted by vaccination. INTERPRETATION: The decline in nasal IgA responses 9 months after infection and minimal impact of subsequent vaccination may explain the lack of long-lasting nasal defence against reinfection and the limited effects of vaccination on transmission. These findings highlight the need to develop vaccines that enhance nasal immunity. FUNDING: This study has been supported by ISARIC4C and PHOSP-COVID consortia. ISARIC4C is supported by grants from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council. Liverpool Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre provided infrastructure support for this research. The PHOSP-COVD study is jointly funded by UK Research and Innovation and National Institute of Health and Care Research. The funders were not involved in the study design, interpretation of data or the writing of this manuscript

Large-scale phenotyping of patients with long COVID post-hospitalization reveals mechanistic subtypes of disease

One in ten severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections result in prolonged symptoms termed long coronavirus disease (COVID), yet disease phenotypes and mechanisms are poorly understood1. Here we profiled 368 plasma proteins in 657 participants ≥3 months following hospitalization. Of these, 426 had at least one long COVID symptom and 233 had fully recovered. Elevated markers of myeloid inflammation and complement activation were associated with long COVID. IL-1R2, MATN2 and COLEC12 were associated with cardiorespiratory symptoms, fatigue and anxiety/depression; MATN2, CSF3 and C1QA were elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms and C1QA was elevated in cognitive impairment. Additional markers of alterations in nerve tissue repair (SPON-1 and NFASC) were elevated in those with cognitive impairment and SCG3, suggestive of brain–gut axis disturbance, was elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) was persistently elevated in some individuals with long COVID, but virus was not detected in sputum. Analysis of inflammatory markers in nasal fluids showed no association with symptoms. Our study aimed to understand inflammatory processes that underlie long COVID and was not designed for biomarker discovery. Our findings suggest that specific inflammatory pathways related to tissue damage are implicated in subtypes of long COVID, which might be targeted in future therapeutic trials

Comparative effect of root-knot nematode on severity of Verticillium and Fusarium wilt in cotton

The effect of root-knot nematode (RKN) (Meloidogyne incognita) on Verticillium dahliae and Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) was investigated. Two different inoculation methods were used, one in which inoculum was added to the soil, so that nematode and fungal inoculum were in close proximity; the other, inoculation into the stem, whereby the two inocula were spatially separated. Invasion of the roots by RKN enhanced disease severity, as measured by the height of vascular browning in the stem, following inoculation with either wilt pathogen. The effect of RKN on Fusarium wilt was more pronounced than that on Verticillium wilt. Nematode-enhanced infection by F. oxysporum is a well known effect but there are few reports of enhanced infection by Verticillium due to RKN. Relative resistance of a number of cotton cultivars to both wilt diseases, as measured by height of vascular browning, was similar to the known field performance of the cultivars. The use of vascular browning as an estimate of disease severity was therefore validated

Using stable isotope ratios to unravel shorebird migration and population mixing: a case study with Red Knot Calidris canutus

Identifying demographic mechanisms is fundamental to understanding the causes of population change in waterbirds. This may be relatively easy for static breeding and wintering populations, but populations of mixed breeding or wintering origin often occur in stopover sites in spring and autumn, and thus estimates of survival and recruitment from these areas are inevitably representative of all the birds marked, rather than individual populations. We used stable isotope analysis of flight feathers to identify the different wintering populations of Red Knot Calidris canutus rufa that passed through Delaware Bay, north-eastern USA, in the springs of 2004 and 2005. Here, they feed and fatten on an abundance of Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus eggs before flying to their Arctic breeding areas. δ13N values separated birds from wintering areas in southern South America (“southern” birds) and Brazil/south-eastern USA (“northern” birds). Northern birds were further separated using δ13C values. Approximately 55% of the birds caught within Delaware Bay were from the southern population, 22.5% from Brazil, and 12.5% from the south-eastern USA, while 10% were of unknown (although most likely “northern”) origin. At a site on the Atlantic coast of Delaware Bay, where only Mussel Mytilus spp. spat were available, the proportion of short-distance migrants from the south-eastern USA was much higher, and is most likely related to their shorter-hop migration strategy that allows them to take advantage of this hard-shelled prey resource

Using stable isotope ratios to unravel shorebird migration and population mixing: a case study with Red Knot Calidris canutus

Identifying demographic mechanisms is fundamental to understanding the causes of population change in waterbirds. This may be relatively easy for static breeding and wintering populations, but populations of mixed breeding or wintering origin often occur in stopover sites in spring and autumn, and thus estimates of survival and recruitment from these areas are inevitably representative of all the birds marked, rather than individual populations. We used stable isotope analysis of flight feathers to identify the different wintering populations of Red Knot Calidris canutus rufa that passed through Delaware Bay, north-eastern USA, in the springs of 2004 and 2005. Here, they feed and fatten on an abundance of Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus eggs before flying to their Arctic breeding areas. δ13N values separated birds from wintering areas in southern South America (“southern” birds) and Brazil/south-eastern USA (“northern” birds). Northern birds were further separated using δ13C values. Approximately 55% of the birds caught within Delaware Bay were from the southern population, 22.5% from Brazil, and 12.5% from the south-eastern USA, while 10% were of unknown (although most likely “northern”) origin. At a site on the Atlantic coast of Delaware Bay, where only Mussel Mytilus spp. spat were available, the proportion of short-distance migrants from the south-eastern USA was much higher, and is most likely related to their shorter-hop migration strategy that allows them to take advantage of this hard-shelled prey resource