'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus', Causal Agent of Citrus Huanglongbing, Is Reduced by Treatment with Brassinosteroids.

Huanglongbing (HLB) constitutes the most destructive disease of citrus worldwide, yet no established efficient management measures exist for it. Brassinosteroids, a family of plant steroidal compounds, are essential for plant growth, development and stress tolerance. As a possible control strategy for HLB, epibrassinolide was applied to as a foliar spray to citrus plants infected with the causal agent of HLB, 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus'. The bacterial titers were reduced after treatment with epibrassinolide under both greenhouse and field conditions but were stronger in the greenhouse. Known defense genes were induced in leaves by epibrassinolide. With the SuperSAGE technology combined with next generation sequencing, induction of genes known to be associated with defense response to bacteria and hormone transduction pathways were identified. The results demonstrate that epibrassinolide may provide a useful tool for the management of HLB

MICROTOX test, validation with Tubifex tubifex and QSAR analysis

<p>Fold change of ‘<i>Ca</i>. L. asiaticus’ titers in HLB-affected citrus plants treated or untreated with eBL after 12 months. The fold-change was calculated by dividing the average of total ‘<i>Ca</i>. L. asiaticus’ titers before the applications by the total ‘<i>Ca</i>. L. asiaticus’ titers after 12 months of applications. All the plants with and without typical symptoms of HLB prior to treatment were included in this analysis. Each point represents mean values with standard error (30 replicates per treatment). Significant difference among means was determined by one-way ANOVA least significant difference mean separation at *P <i><</i> 0.05; F = 5.316.</p

Induction of defense-related genes in HLB-affected citrus plants treated with eBL.

<p>(A) Superoxide dismutase (SOD), (B) Glutathione peroxidase (GPX1), (C) Chitinase (CHI1), (D) Beta-1, 3 glucanase, (E) Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), (F) Allene oxide synthase (AOS), (G) Fatty acid hydroperoxide lyase (HPL). Accession numbers are given in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0146223#pone.0146223.s008" target="_blank">S1 Table</a>. Results are based on three experiments, each with three replicates per treatment. Bars indicate standard error of the mean and least significant difference at *P <i><</i> 0.05; **P <0.01; NS, not significant.</p

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery