The microbiota of Idaea inquinata developing on dry herbs

Idaea inquinata (Scopoli) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Idaeini) is a potential pest of stored food, mainly dry herbs. In this study, the role of diet in the shaping of the I. inquinata-associated bacterial community was investigated and its impact on insect performance (i.e., proportion of adult emergence and duration of postembryonic development). Larvae were reared on three diets with different nutritional compositions: (1) Matricaria chamomilla L. flowers, (2) Angelica archangelica L. roots, and (3) artificial diet. A DNA metabarcoding approach targeting V1-V2 and V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA was adopted to characterize the bacterial communities associated with adults and larvae reared on different diets, and estimate their composition and diversity. The core microbiota of this species was found to include some bacterial genera commonly associated with Lepidoptera. When a coverage-based integration of rarefaction and extrapolation of Hill numbers was used to compare groups of samples, the microbial diversity (estimated as phylogenetic diversity) differed among individuals reared on different diets, and also between larvae vs. adults. The lowest taxon diversity was found associated with individuals reared on M. chamomilla. Larvae fed with this fiber-rich diet had also a significantly slower development. The composition of the microbial community varied among individuals with different diets, but not between adults vs. larvae. This study highlights the important role of diet in shaping I. inquinata microbiota, but also suggests that the microbiota of non-feeding adult moths could be partially inherited from larvae

Metagenomics approaches for the detection and surveillance of emerging and recurrent plant pathogens

Globalization has a dramatic effect on the trade and movement of seeds, fruits and vegetables, with a corresponding increase in economic losses caused by the introduction of transboundary plant pathogens. Current diagnostic techniques provide a useful and precise tool to enact surveillance protocols regarding specific organisms, but this approach is strictly targeted, while metabarcoding and shotgun metagenomics could be used to simultaneously detect all known pathogens and potentially new ones. This review aims to present the current status of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) diagnostics of fungal and bacterial plant pathogens, discuss the challenges that need to be addressed, and provide direction for the development of methods for the detection of a restricted number of related taxa (specific surveillance) or all of the microorganisms present in a sample (general surveillance). HTS techniques, particularly metabarcoding, could be useful for the surveillance of soilborne, seedborne and airborne pathogens, as well as for identifying new pathogens and determining the origin of outbreaks. Metabarcoding and shotgun metagenomics still suffer from low precision, but this issue can be limited by carefully choosing primers and bioinformatic algorithms. Advances in bioinformatics will greatly accelerate the use of metagenomics to address critical aspects related to the detection and surveillance of plant pathogens in plant material and foodstuffs

Measurement of the atmospheric muon flux with the NEMO Phase-1 detector

The NEMO Collaboration installed and operated an underwater detector including prototypes of the critical elements of a possible underwater km3 neutrino telescope: a four-floor tower (called Mini-Tower) and a Junction Box. The detector was developed to test some of the main systems of the km3 detector, including the data transmission, the power distribution, the timing calibration and the acoustic positioning systems as well as to verify the capabilities of a single tridimensional detection structure to reconstruct muon tracks. We present results of the analysis of the data collected with the NEMO Mini-Tower. The position of photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) is determined through the acoustic position system. Signals detected with PMTs are used to reconstruct the tracks of atmospheric muons. The angular distribution of atmospheric muons was measured and results compared with Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: Astrop. Phys., accepte

A new multianodic large area photomultiplier to be used in underwater neutrino detectors

In this article we describe the properties of a new 10-in. hemispherical photomultiplier manufactured by Hamamatsu. The prototype has a segmented photocathode and four independent amplification stages. The photomultiplier is one of the main components of a newly designed direction-sensitive optical module to be employed in large-scale underwater neutrino telescopes. The R&D activity has been co-funded by the INFN and the KM3NeT Consortium. The prototype performance fully meets with the design specifications

Discovery of four recessive developmental disorders using probabilistic genotype and phenotype matching among 4,125 families.

Discovery of most autosomal recessive disease-associated genes has involved analysis of large, often consanguineous multiplex families or small cohorts of unrelated individuals with a well-defined clinical condition. Discovery of new dominant causes of rare, genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders has been revolutionized by exome analysis of large cohorts of phenotypically diverse parent-offspring trios. Here we analyzed 4,125 families with diverse, rare and genetically heterogeneous developmental disorders and identified four new autosomal recessive disorders. These four disorders were identified by integrating Mendelian filtering (selecting probands with rare, biallelic and putatively damaging variants in the same gene) with statistical assessments of (i) the likelihood of sampling the observed genotypes from the general population and (ii) the phenotypic similarity of patients with recessive variants in the same candidate gene. This new paradigm promises to catalyze the discovery of novel recessive disorders, especially those with less consistent or nonspecific clinical presentations and those caused predominantly by compound heterozygous genotypes