Decreased reactive oxygen species concentration in the elongation zone contributes to the reduction in maize leaf growth under salinity

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the apoplast of cells in the growing zone of grass leaves are required for elongation growth. This work evaluates whether salinity‐induced reductions in leaf elongation are related to altered ROS production. Studies were performed in actively growing segments (SEZ) obtained from leaf three of 14‐d‐old maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings gradually salinized to 150 mM NaCl. Salinity reduced elongation rates and the length of the leaf growth zone. When SEZ obtained from the elongation zone of salinized plants (SEZs) were incubated in 100 mM NaCl, the concentration where growth inhibition was approximately 50%, O2•– production, measured as NBT formazan staining, was lower in these than in similar segments obtained from control plants. The NaCl effect was salt‐specific, and not osmotic, as incubation in 200 mM sorbitol did not reduce formazan staining intensity. SEZs elongation rates were higher in 200 mM sorbitol than in 100 mM NaCl, but the difference could be cancelled by scavenging or inhibiting O2•– production with 10 mM MgCl2 or 200 µM diphenylene iodonium, respectively. The actual ROS believed to stimulate growth is •OH, a product of O2•– metabolism in the apoplast. SEZs elongation in 100 mM NaCl was stimulated by a •OH‐generating medium. Fusicoccin, an ATPase stimulant, and acetate buffer pH 4, could also enhance elongation in these segments, although both failed to increase ROS activity. These results show that decreased ROS production contributes to the salinity‐associated reduction in grass leaf elongation, acting through a mechanism not associated with pH changes.Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos VegetalesFil: Rodriguez, Andrés Alberto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (ex IFFIVE); ArgentinaFil: Córdoba, Alicia R. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (ex IFFIVE); ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Leandro Ismael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (ex IFFIVE); ArgentinaFil: Taleisnik, Edith. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (ex IFFIVE); Argentin

Soybean responseto initial stage of Fusarium virguliforme infection

Fusarium virguliforme causes the Sudden Death Syndrome, an important disease in soybean crops. In this work, we investigated the defensive response mechanisms in soybean root, at cell wall level, during F. virguliforme infection using an in vitro culture system. We measured total root lignin content by the acetyl bromide method and estimated the in-situ lignin and suberin deposition by confocal microscopy on local and systemic root tissues, i.e. adjacent and distant to the pathogen entry site respectively. Moreover, the expression dynamics of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), shikimate/quinate hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HCT) and cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) was evaluated by real-time quantitative PCR. The results showed that, although the most significant increment of lignin deposition was observed in the epidermal cells of local tissues, F. virguliforme also induced lignin deposition changes in a sistemic fashion. In fact, inoculated plants presented a higher deposition of lignin in hypodermis and cortex than the control ones, independently of the distance from the inoculum source, while suberin deposition was higher in local zones. Moreover, the gene expression analysis showed an up-regulation of PAL, HCT and CAD genes after the inoculation with the pathogen, which correlates with the cell wall modifications observed in the local tissues. The results presented here suggest that the increase in lignin and suberin deposition during soybean root/F. virguliforme interaction is probably a strategy not only to stop the pathogen entrance, but to provide the plant more time to prepare its defences as well.Instituto de Patología VegetalFil: Giachero, María Lorena. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Marquez, Nathalie. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Leandro Ismael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Ducasse, Daniel Adrian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentin

Salinity induced anatomical and morphological changes in Chloris gayana Kunth roots

Chloris gayana Kunth is a grass species valuable as forage which was introduced into Argentina to be used as pasture in saline soils of subtropical and warm-temperate zones, given its good adaptability to drought, salinity and mild freezing. However, its tolerance varies according to the cultivar. In tetraploid cultivars, important reductions in yield have been observed. Here, a study of the variations produced on the root and stem system by salinity at different NaCl concentrations (0, 150 y 250 mM) was performed in the Boma cultivar, with the aim of determining the anatomical and morphological alterations produced by the salt excess. Plants cultivated with the highest level of salinity showed, in the whole, significant differences in the measured variables. A diminution in absolute values of the variables and a major reduction in vascular tissue dimensions were observed, which suggests that the lack of tolerance to salt stress could be related to a deficient adaptation to absorb and transport water and nutrients from the roots.Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos VegetalesFil: Ceccoli, Gabriel. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ramos, Julio C. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Leandro Ismael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales (ex IFFIVE); ArgentinaFil: Acosta, Juan M. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Perreta, Mariel Gladis. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Sweet corn (Zea mays L.) growth and yield are influenced by establishment methods

Six experiments were performed in the term of three years in order to explore and compare the effects of transplanting and direct sowing (DS) on sweet corn (Zea mays L.) growth, earliness and yield. Different genotypes, tray cell sizes (volume) and seedling ages were assayed. In all experiments, direct sowing was performed with a final separation of 0.25 m between plants in each row. Growth parameters (height, leaf area and ear size) were reduced with the increase of age and/or decrease of the tray cell size, mainly in cultivars with early flowering i.e., low cumulative corn heat unit (CHU) requirements. Earlier harvests were obtained in transplanting compared to direct sowing, although with lower yields. When the thermal time accumulated by plants in the trays was higher than 100 CHU, the yield decreased by 3.91% (R2 = 0.79) for each unit of CHU. The results indicate that the transplanted sweet corn yield was generally lower than of direct seeded plants, and differences grew bigger as the tray cell volume was smaller and the seedlings age increased.Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos VegetalesFil: Ceccoli, Gabriel. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Leandro Ismael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Gariglio, Norberto Francisco. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Favaro, Juan Carlos. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; ArgentinaFil: Bouzo, Carlos Alberto. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentin

Primer reporte de Berkeleyomyces basicola (sinónimo: Thielaviopsis basicola) en raíces de batata (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) en Argentina

Muestras sintomáticas de batata cv Arapey INIA, fueron recolectadas en lotes de producción comercial en Colonia Molina, Guaymallén, Mendoza, Argentina. Estas presentaban lesiones redondeadas, oscuras, frecuentemente coalescentes, con micelio granuloso blanco. El hongo fue aislado a partir de batatas sintomáticas que representaban la infección generalizada del cultivo. Los aislamientos fueron sembrados en APG con sulfato de estreptomicina e incubados durante siete días a 21°C con alternancia de luz blanca/ luz negra (UV-400 nm). Las observaciones al microscopio óptico revelaron la presencia de endoconidios hialinos, no-septados, cilíndricos con extremos redondeados (8-16 x 4-6 µm), fiálides (43-46 µm de largo) de base redondeada (7-9 µm) y cuello que se estrecha hacia la punta (4-6 µm). También se observaron clamidosporas marrones (aleuriesporas) de 9-13 x 8-12 µm, en cadenas con 1-7 septos. El ADN genómico fue extraído para la identificación molecular. Un fragmento ITS de 565 pb fue amplificado usando los iniciadores ITS5/ ITS4 y secuenciado. La secuencia reveló 99 % de identidad con Berkeleyomyces basicola (sinónimo: Thielaviopsis basicola) y está depositada en el GenBank como KX580957 (CBS: C430.74, GenBank accession number AF275482.1). Esta constituye el primer reporte de B. basicola en el cultivo de batata en Argentina y una amenaza potencial para la producción de raíces reservantes.Symptomatic sweet potato cv Arapey INIA samples were collected from a commercial production field in Colonia Molina, Guaymallén department, Mendoza province, Argentina. They showed dark rounded lesions, sometimes coalescing with white granular mycelium. Fungus was obtained from symptomatic sweet potatoes, which represented the generalized infection that affected the crop. They were seeded in PDA with streptomycin sulfate and incubated for seven days at 21°C, alternating white/black (UV400nm) light. Observations with an optical microscope revealed the presence of hyaline, not septated, cylindrical endoconidia with rounded ends. They were 8-16 µm length and 4–6 µm width. Phialides were 43-46 µm length, rounded bases (7-9 µm width) and tapering to the neck´s tip (4-6 µm width). Brown chlamydospores (aleuriospores), 9-13 µm length and 8-12 µm width, in chains of 2-8 spores were observed. For molecular identification, total genomic DNA was extracted. ITS fragment of 565 pb was amplified using ITS5/ITS4 primers and sequenced. The sequence indicated 99% identity with Berkeleyomyces basicola (synonymous: Thielaviopsis basicola). This was deposited in GenBank as (KX580957) (CBS: C430.74, Gen Bank accession number AF275482.1). This is the first report of B. basicola in sweet potato in Argentina, a potential threat to storage root yields.Fil: Martino, Julia Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Di Feo, Liliana del Valle. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Paccioretti, Mauro Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Contardi, Clara Adriana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Mendoza-san Juan. Estacion Experimental Agropecuaria Mendoza. Agencia de Extension Rural Lujan de Cuyo.; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, Miguel Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios.; ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Leandro Ismael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pastor, Silvina Estela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentin

Status in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma not otherwise specified: A single center study from Argentina

BackgroundDiffuse large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) is a heterogeneous disease. Based on Hans? algorithm, DLBCL not otherwise specified (NOS) is classified by cell-of-origin into germinal center B-cell (GCB) and non-GCB subtypes. Non-GCB ones have frequently NF-kB pathway activation and worse prognosis compared to GCB cases. MYD88 is an adaptor protein of toll-like and IL-1 receptor signalling, leading downstream NF-kB pathway activation. MYD88 L265P mutation confers the protein constitutional activation. This mutation is present in around 20% of non-GCB subtype, and rarely found in GCB subtype of DLBCL. The prognostic value of MYD88 L265P mutation in DLBCL has been matter of controversy.AimsThe aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of MYD88 L265P mutation in DLBCL NOS cases of Argentina, and compare it with previous reports in the literature.MethodsA retrospective cohort of 73 DLBCL NOS cases diagnosed in the Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires (Argentina) between 2010 and 2016 was studied. Complete clinical records, Hans? algorithm, and available material for molecular testing were inclusion criteria. Patients with prior diagnosis of low-grade lymphoma or diagnosis of immunodeficiency-associated, post-transplant, EBV+, primary mediastinal, primary testicular, primary CNS, primary effusion, leg-type or intravascular DLBCL were excluded. DNA was extracted from tissue blocks using QIAamp mini kit (Qiagen). MYD88 L265P was assessed using an in-house allele-specific probe-based Real-Time PCR assay. Positive (primary testicular DLBCL) and negative controls (tonsil) were added to each run. Every case was checked subsequently using qBiomarker MYD88 L265P Somatic Mutation Assay (Qiagen). Prevalences were expressed as percentage, confident intervals were calculated using Clopper-Pearson exact method. Kaplan Meier curves and Log-rank test were used to evaluate overall survival (OS).Results36 patients (49,31%) were female, and median age at diagnosis was 66 years (range 26-89). 33 patients (45,20%) had extranodal involvement (gastrointestinal tract: 14 cases; liver: 5 cases; bone: 4 cases; other locations: 10 cases). 44 cases (60,27%) were GCB and 29 (39,73%) were non-GCB DLBCLs. MYD88 L265P mutation was present in 2 cases (2,74% ; CI 95%: 0,33-9,55%) among all DLBCLs, including 1 GCB case (2,27% ; CI 95%: 0,06-12,02%) and 1 non-GCB case (3,45% ; CI 95%: 0,09-17.76%). There was no significant association between MYD88 L265P status, Hans´algorithm subtype, sex, age or Ki67 index and OS.ConclusionIn the analyzed population, the prevalence of GCB and non-GCB subtypes among DLBCL NOS cases was similar to international reports, although we did not find significant difference between both groups regarding OS (p=0,712). MYD88 L265P mutation was found only in 2 patients (1 GCB and 1 non-GCB), accounting for 2,74% (CI 95%: 0,33-9,55%) and 2,27% (CI 95%: 0,06-12,02%) of all DLBCL NOS and non-GCB cases, respectively. Both prevalences are significantly lower than those published in 2017 by Lee et al. in a meta-analysis, where they found that MYD88 L265P is present in 16% (CI 95%: 15-18,09%) and 20,63% (CI 95%: 18,41-23%) of patients among all DLBCLs and non-GCB subtype, respectively. However, MYD88 L265P prevalence in primary SNC, testicular and leg-type DLBCLs diagnosed in our institution are similar to the literature (data not shown).Fil: Jauk, Federico. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Kohan, Dana. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Leandro Ismael. Hospital Italiano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Diaz de Arce, Heidy. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Cristaldo, Nancy. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: RANUNCOLO, Stella Maris. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica. - Hospital Italiano. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica. - Instituto Universitario Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. Instituto de Medicina Traslacional E Ingenieria Biomedica.; ArgentinaFil: Warley, Fernando. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Otero, Victoria. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Garcia Rivello, Hernan Jorge. Hospital Italiano; Argentina24th Congress of the European Hematology AssociationAmsterdamHolandaEscuela Europea de Hematologí

Análisis anatómico y morfológico del ginóforo de maní en presencia de Thecaphora Frezii

Resumen extendidoEl carbón del maní es la principal enfermedad que afecta a este cultivo en Argentina. El agente causal es el hongo Thecaphora frezii, el cual sobrevive en el suelo en forma de teliosporas. El ciclo de infección inicia cuando el ginóforo del maní penetra en el suelo y los exudados del clavo estimulan la germinación de las teliosporas. Las teliosporas forman un probasidio y el basidio da lugar a las basidiosporas, las cuales finalmente dan origen un micelio infectivo que ingresa en el ginóforo, produciendo infección y colonización localizada del tejido. Las células que forman las semillas son reemplazadas parcial o totalmente por una masa carbonosa constituida por las teliosporas del hongo, lo que se traduce en hipertrofia de los tejidos y malformaciones de los frutos. El objetivo del presente trabajo es conocer las características anatómicas y morfológicas del ginóforo en plantas susceptibles y tolerantes inoculadas con T. frezii, con énfasis en aquellos componentes relacionados a la defensa tales como lignina, suberina y taninos.Centro de Investigaciones AgropecuariasFil: Flamarique, Sofía Solange. Fondo para la Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (FONCYT); ArgentinaFil: Flamarique, Sofía Solange. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Matesevach Becerra, A.M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Laboratorio de Morfología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Matesevach Becerra, A.M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Museo Botánico de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Leandro Ismael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Paredes, Juan Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Paredes, Juan Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Rago, Alejandro Mario. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP); ArgentinaFil: Merino, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Merino, Maria Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentin

Caracterización de Xylella fastidiosa a partir de materiales vegetales y cepas aisladas de olivo (Olea europaea L.) e implementación de un sistema de diagnóstico serológico en Argentina

Xylella fastidiosa está considerada plaga cuarentenaria de importancia global por el grave impacto económico y social que ocasiona en cultivos de importancia agrícola. El objetivo de este trabajo fue aislar y caracterizar cepas bacterianas y muestras vegetales infectadas con X. fastidiosa de plantas de olivo (Olea europaea L.) e implementar un sistema de diagnóstico serológico para su detección. Para la caracterización molecular se utilizó el sistema de tipificación multilocus de secuencias (MLST). Se logró el aislamiento de la bacteria desde olivo y se determinó que todos los materiales caracterizados corresponden a X. fastidiosa subespecie pauca ST69, un grupo genético solo presente en Argentina. Se elaboraron reactivos serológicos fundamentales para la puesta a punto de técnicas de diagnóstico. Con la técnica DAS ELISA se logró un sistema de diagnóstico rápido, robusto y económico, permitiendo resolver la ausencia de disponibilidad continua de reactivos serológicos específicos para X. fastidiosa.Xylella fastidiosa is considered a quarantine pest of global significance due to the severe economic and social damage it causes on most valuable crops. The objective of this work was to isolate and characterize bacterial strains of infected with X. fastidiosa of olive (Olea europaea L.) samples and implement a serological diagnostic system for their detection. For the molecular characterization, the multilocus sequence typing system (MLST) was used. The isolation of the bacterium from the olive tree was achieved and it was determined that all materials characterized correspond to X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST69, a genetic subgroup that has been detected only in Argentina. An antiserum was produced and serological diagnosis systems were adjusted. A solid, fast and economical diagnostic method DAS ELISA system was achieved, solving the continuous lack of availability of serological reagents for X. fastidiosa.Fil: Tolocka, Patricia Andrea. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Giolitti, Fabián José. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Guzmán, F. A.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Córdoba. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Manfredi; ArgentinaFil: Mattio, Maria Fernanda. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Nome, C. F.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Ortega, Leandro Ismael. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Paccioretti, M. A.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Roca, Monica Esther María. Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca y Alimento. Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Otero, M. L.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Haelterman, Raquel Mercedes. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Instituto de Patología Vegetal; Argentina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola; Argentin

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide