SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Levels of nutrients in the leaves of twelve genotypes of grape

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o de caracterizar o teor de nutrientes minerais: N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mo e B de doze genótipos de videira: ‘Itália’, ‘Rubi’, ‘Patrícia’, ‘Isabel’, ‘Redglobe’, ‘Roberta’, ‘Kyoho’, ‘Romana’, ‘Rosalinda’, ‘Moscatel de Hamburgo’, ‘Niágara Rosada’ e ‘UVF 01’ na região Norte Fluminense. Realizou-se a poda, seguida de adubação convencional e orgânica e análise do limbo foliar em duas épocas do ciclo reprodutivo da videira: no pleno florescimento e início da maturação das bagas (“veraison”). Nessa caracterização, concluiu-se que o limbo foliar coletado refletiu bem o estado nutricional dos genótipos de videira. Os genótipos não apresentaram níveis de N abaixo do normal, sendo a maioria dos genótipos apresentaram níveis normais. Nenhum genótipo apresentou níveis abaixo do normal de K e P. Todos os genótipos apresentaram níveis de Ca abaixo da faixa normal para as duas épocas amostradas e níveis de Mg na faixa normal. Todos os genótipos apresentaram níveis normais de B.The objective of this study was to characterize the levels of mineral nutrients: N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mo and B of twelve genotypes of grapevine: 'Italy', 'Ruby' , 'Patricia', 'Isabel', 'Redglobe', 'Roberta', 'Kyoho', 'Roman', 'Rosalinda', 'Moscatel de Hamburgo’,' 'Niagara Rosada' and 'UVF 01' in the North of Rio de Janeiro State. The plants were pruinned and fertilized (organic and mineral).  The leaf blades were analyzed in two periods of the reproductive cycle of the vine: in full bloom and the beginning of berry ripening (veraison). In this characterization, it was concluded that the leaves reflected the nutritional status of the vine genotypes. The genotypes did not show levels of N below normal, with most genotypes showing normal levels. Neither genotype showed below normal levels of K and P. All genotypes showed levels of Ca below the normal range for all seasons and Mg in the normal range. All genotypes showed normal levels of B

Avaliação da diversidade genética em acessos de Psidum spp. via marcadores RAPD

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a diversidade genética entre 20 acessos de Psidium spp. (UENF 1830 a UENF 1849, UENF- Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense) por marcadores RAPD. Vinte e oito primers foram utilizados, gerando um total de 157 bandas. Os marcadores moleculares RAPD foram capazes de revelar a existência de diversidade entre os 20 acessos de Psidium. Para a interpretação dos dados, o índice Nei e Li foi utilizado. Com base na análise do agrupamento hierárquico UPGMA e o método de otimização Tocher, essa diversidade pôde ser observada pela presença de acessos similares e divergente

Diazotrophic bacteria and nitrogen fertilization on the growth of micropropagated pineapple plantlets during acclimatization. Diazotrophic bacteria and nitrogen fertilization on the growth of micropropagated pineapple plantlets during acclimatization Bact

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of inoculation with diazotrophic bacteria and nitrogen fertilization on the growth ), and five evaluation periods (30, 60, 90, 120, and 15

Yield and quality of silage of maize hybrids

The objective of this research was to identify the potential of maize hybrids for the production of silage. Hybrids 1671B, 2B433, 20A78, SHS4070, BX1280 and DKB390 were tested in a randomized block design with three replications. The hybrids yields were evaluated (average plant height, height of ear insertion, number of broken and lodged plants/ha, leaf:stem and ear:plant ratio and production of of DM, CP and TDN/ha). There was no difference between hybrids for the variables studied, except for the height of ear insertion. With respect to chemical characteristics, N-NH3/NT organic acids, and pH, there was also no difference between cultivars and hybrid silages are rated as of very good quality