Contatti e scambi tra la cultura serra d'alto e i vasi a bocca quadrata: Il caso delle Ollette tipo San Martino

Il lavoro illustra la distribuzione delle cosiddette ollette San Martino in contesti funerari riconducibili alle culture che si sviluppano durante il V millennio a.C. rispettivamente a Sud e a Nord della penisola italiana. I vasi esaminati, globulari a bocca ristretta e realizzati in ceramica figulina, caratterizzano alcuni corredi funerari della fase più recente della cultura peninsulare di Serra d’Alto, talvolta con connotati di prestigio, e sono presenti anche in diverse sepolture femminili della cultura dei Vasi a Bocca Quadrata in area padana e alpina. L’esatta riproduzione formale del tipo peninsulare e la coerenza dell’uso in contesto funerario rivelano una inattesa condivisione di rituali e di valori simbolici tra due mondi geográficamente distanti

Technical note: Identification of Prototheca species from bovine milk samples by PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism

We report the development of a PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) method to identify Prototheca spp. responsible for bovine mastitis: P. zopfii and P. blaschkeae. The method was set up using reference strains belonging to P. zopfii genotype 1, P. zopfii genotype 2, and P. blaschkeae as target species and P. stagnora, and P. ulmea as negative controls. The assay was applied on 50 isolates of Prototheca spp. isolated from bovine mastitic milk or bulk-tank milk samples, and all isolates were identified as P. zopfii genotype 2. We conclude that the described PCR-SSCP approach is accurate, inexpensive, and highly suitable for the identification of P. zopfii genotype 2 on field isolates but also directly on milk, if preceded by a specific DNA extraction method

The effect of selection on casein genetic polymorphisms and haplotypes in Italian Holstein cattle

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Factors affecting soil invertebrate biodiversity in agroecosystems of the Po Plain area (Italy)

Soil is a fundamental component of the biosphere, whose properties and quality are affected by human activities, such as agriculture. Soil health is fundamental for different ecosystem services and soil biota has a crucial role in maintaining it. Elucidating how different crops and agricultural practices affect soil invertebrates communities is of relevance. In the present study, a DNA metabarcoding approach was adopted to evaluate the effects of different biotic and abiotic factors, including agricultural practices, on the composition and diversity of soil invertebrate communities of different agro-ecosystems (Po Plain-Italy). At this aim, the DNA markers and the more effective primers in retrieving soil metazoan communities were established. Bulk soil samples from different agro-ecosystems (i.e., cornfield, alfalfa, paddy fields, vineyard, stable meadow, woodland) were collected and, processed for obtaining 18S rRNA and coi sequences (raw reads analyzed using QIIME2 and R). Soil physical and chemical parameters were measured for each soil sample (e.g., pH, carbon-nitrogen ratio, texture, porosity) and metadata on farms management were retrieved. The most efficient primer pairs in recovering soil metazoans were M620F/M1260R for 18S rRNA, and mlCOIintF/jgHCO2198R for coi gene. Soil communities resulted dominated by Nematoda, Arthropoda, Annelida, Rotifera and Tardigrada. The most diverse invertebrate communities have been found in the soil of stable meadows and woodlands, while cornfields showed the lowest level of diversity. The diversity of soil invertebrate communities (Hill numbers) was positively correlated with the level of porosity and carbon-nitrogen ratio, while it was negatively correlated with the phosphate abundance. This pattern probably reflects the negative effect of excessive fertilization with phosphates on soil fauna, while the abundance of organic matter and microhabitats were found to enhance the presence of more complex communities. Other soil properties were correlated only with specific taxa (e.g., pH was negatively correlated with the diversity of Annelida and Rotifera)

Short communication: Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus from bulk tank milk of dairy cattle in Lombardy (northern Italy).

ABSTRACT Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important pathogens causing mastitis in cattle, and it is responsible for economic losses in dairy herds worldwide. The PCR amplification of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer (ribosomal spacer PCR, RS-PCR) allows a rapid classification of the strains in genotypes and genotypic clusters (CL), which are characterized by different epidemiological and clinical properties. Both RS-PCR and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) were performed on strains isolated from bovine bulk tank milk (BTM) collected from dairy herds located in the Lombardy region (northern Italy), to outline the distribution of Staph. aureus genotypes in this geographical area. Out of 844 examined samples, 398 were positive for Staph. aureus, with a variable count (cfu/mL) Up to 8 colonies from each sample were genotyped. A total of 1,101 Staph. aureus strains were analyzed with RS-PCR, and only a selection of them (n = 86), in relation to their frequency and geographical origin, underwent MLST. This study revealed 8 major genotypic clusters (CLB, CLC, CLR, CLS, CLI, CLF, CLAO, and CLZ), of which Staph. aureus CLB (29.3%) was the most common. Samples of BTM positive for CLB had a Staph. aureus cfu/mL count significantly higher than the non-CLB positive ones. Our MLST analysis showed genotypes already known as bovine-associated in literature, such as clonal complexes CC8, CC97, and CC151. The same selection of 86 strains was also analyzed for the presence of the adlb gene, which was recently proposed as a possible marker of contagiousness. Most Staph. aureus belonging to CLB or CC8 carried the adlb gene (85%), whereas this gene was detected in only 9% of non-CLB strains (CLAA, CLBI, CLBJ, CLS). In conclusion, the present study confirms that Staph. aureus CLB, which is recognized as a contagious genotype, is a particularly relevant agent of intramammary infection in dairy cows in Lombardy, and indirectly supports the idea that adlb can be a possible marker of contagiousness of isolates

Caracterización de Staphylococcus aureus aislado de productos lácteos por MALDI-TOF MS

Comunicaciones a congreso

ORMA: a tool for identification of species-specific variations in 16S rRNA gene and oligonucleotides design

16S rRNA gene is one of the preferred targets for resolving species phylogenesis issues in microbiological-related contexts. However, the identification of single-nucleotide variations capable of distinguishing a sequence among a set of homologous ones can be problematic. Here we present ORMA (Oligonucleotide Retrieving for Molecular Applications), a set of scripts for discriminating positions search and for performing the selection of high-quality oligonucleotide probes to be used in molecular applications. Two assays based on Ligase Detection Reaction (LDR) are presented. First, a new set of probe pairs on cyanobacteria 16S rRNA sequences of 18 different species was compared to that of a previous study. Then, a set of LDR probe pairs for the discrimination of 13 pathogens contaminating bovine milk was evaluated. The software determined more than 100 candidate probe pairs per dataset, from more than 300 16S rRNA sequences, in less than 5 min. Results demonstrated how ORMA improved the performance of the LDR assay on cyanobacteria, correctly identifying 12 out of 14 samples, and allowed the perfect discrimination among the 13 milk pathogenic-related species. ORMA represents a significant improvement from other contexts where enzyme-based techniques have been employed on already known mutations of a single base or on entire subsequences

Towards a Radio-guided Surgery with β−\beta^{-} Decays: Uptake of a somatostatin analogue (DOTATOC) in Meningioma and High Grade Glioma

A novel radio guided surgery (RGS) technique for cerebral tumors using $\beta^{-}$ radiation is being developed. Checking the availability of a radio-tracer that can deliver a $\beta^{-}$ emitter to the tumor is a fundamental step in the deployment of such technique. This paper reports a study of the uptake of 90Y labeled (DOTATOC) in the meningioma and the high grade glioma (HGG) and a feasibility study of the RGS technique in these cases.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

Molecular typing and differences in biofilm formation and antibiotic susceptibilities among Prototheca strains isolated in Italy and Brazil.

Bovine mastitis caused by Prototheca is a serious and complex problem that accounts for high economic losses in the dairy industry. The main objective of this study was to identify and characterize at genetic level different Prototheca strains and provide the most complete data about protothecal antibiotic resistance. The study involves 46 isolates from Italian (13 strains) and Brazilian (33 strains) mastitic milk. These strains were identified by multiplex PCR and single strand conformation polymorphism analysis and characterized by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR. Moreover, biofilm production and antibiotic susceptibility were evaluated. Forty-two strains resulted as Prototheca zopfii genotype 2, whereas 4 isolates could belong to a potential new Prototheca species. The RAPD-PCR, performed with 3 primers (M13, OPA-4, and OPA-18), showed a notable heterogeneity among isolates and grouped the strains according to the species and geographical origin. Biofilm production was species-dependent and P. zopfii genotype 2 strains were classified as strong biofilm producers. In vitro antibiotic susceptibility tests indicated that Prototheca strains were susceptible to antibacterial drugs belonging to aminoglycosides group; the highest activity against Prototheca strains was observed in the case of colistin sulfate, gentamicin, and netilmicin (100% of susceptible strains). It is interesting to note that all the Italian P. zopfii genotype 2 strains showed lower minimum inhibitory concentration values than the Brazilian ones. Nisin showed more efficacy than lysozyme and potassium sorbate, inhibiting 31% of the strains. Results obtained in this study confirmed that RAPD-PCR is a rapid, inexpensive, and highly discriminating tool for Prototheca strains characterization and could give a good scientific contribution for better understanding the protothecal mastitis in dairy herd