Resistência de variedades de alface à podridão mole causada por Pectobacterium aroidearum / Lettuce varieties resistance to soft rot caused by Pectobacterium aroidearum

A alface está sujeita a doenças de natureza bacteriana, como a podridão mole que pode ser causada por bactérias pectinolíticas. O controle genético é a principal forma de controle desta doença, entretanto, no Brasil, ainda não existem variedades resistentes. Deste modo, o objetivo deste trabalho foi o de identificar fontes de resistência à podridão mole causada por Pectobacterium aroidearum em variedades comerciais de alface e avaliar a estabilidade de resistência destas em diferentes níveis de virulência. Os experimentos foram realizados em casa de vegetação na Universidade do Estado da Bahia, Juazeiro, BA, com 15 variedades de alface: Augusta, Babá de Verão, Cinderela, Crespa Grand Rapids, Elba, Elisabeth, Grandes Lagos 659, Luíza, Maravilha de Inverno, Maravilha Quatro Estações Roxa, Mimosa Green Salad Bowl, Mimosa Roxa Salad Bowl, Mônica SF31, Regina de Verão e Veneranda. Inicialmente, foi avaliada sua suscetibilidade a um isolado de P. aroidearum de alta virulência UNEB28. As variedades que apresentaram melhor desempenho foram selecionadas para o teste de estabilidade da resistência, onde foram inoculadas com três isolados com diferentes níveis de virulência: UNEB23 (baixa), UNEB28 (moderada) e UNEB3 (alta). Nos dois experimentos foram avaliadas a incidência e severidade da doença, e foram agrupadas em classes conforme a sua reação. Nenhuma variedade se mostrou imune à doença, entretanto, a variedade Elba apresentou melhor desempenho mesmo quando submetida a diferentes níveis de virulência, podendo ser usada em programas de melhoramento. 

The influence of Castanea sativa Mill. flower extract on hormonally and chemically induced prostate cancer in a rat model

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancers in men, with a huge impact on their health. The use of Castanea sativa Mill. flowers (CFs) in beverages has been reported, through ancestral claims, as having health benefits. In vitro research has evidenced the properties of CFs, such as antitumor and antioxidant activities. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of CF extract in an animal model of PCa. Forty male Wistar Unilever rats were randomly assigned to four groups: control, induced, control + CF, and induced + CF groups. Animals from the induced groups were exposed to a multistep protocol for PCa induction. The CF extract, rich in trigalloyl-HHDP-glucoside and obtained via decoction, was administered to the CF groups in drinking water (3 mg per animal per day) for 49 weeks. Animals were sacrificed at 61 weeks of age. Regarding the effects of CFs on dorsolateral prostate tumorigenesis, no significant differences were observed between the induced and induced + CF groups. However, animals exposed to the CF extract showed fewer inflammation areas on the dorsolateral prostate lobe than those not exposed to CF. Moreover, the CF extract alleviated the hepatic oxidative stress associated with the multistep protocol, resulting in lower levels of lipid peroxidation. These results suggest that CF extract has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This journal is.This work was supported by European Investment Funds by FEDER/COMPETE/POCI - Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization and National Funds by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under the projects UIDB/04033/2020 (CITAB), UIDB/00690/2020 (CIMO), UIDB/50006/2020 (LAQV), UIDB/CVT/00772/2020 (CECAV), and UIDP/00616/2020 (CQ-VR), the project RUNawayPCa (POCI-01-0145- FEDER-016728 and PTDC/DTP-DES/6077/2014), and PhD fellowship SFRH/BD/136747/2018. L. Barros also acknowledges national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for her contract. The Interreg Program received financial support from the Project IBERPHENOL, Project Number 0377_IBERPHENOL_6_E, cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through POCTEP 2014-2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Preliminary characterization of Psidium germplasm in different Brazilian ecogeographic regions

O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar 119 acessos de goiabeira e 40 acessos de araçazeiro identificados em 35 ecorregiões brasileiras, de acordo com descritores da International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). A maioria dos acessos de araçazeiro apresentou grandes espaços entre as nervuras da folha, enquanto os de goiabeira apresentaram espaços pequenos. Os frutos de araçazeiro foram classificados como pequenos, enquanto os de goiabeira apresentaram tamanho de médio a grande. A maioria dos acessos de araçazeiro (91%) apresentou cor branca para a polpa do fruto, enquanto 58% dos de goiabeira apresentaram cor de rosa-claro a rosa-escuro. As diferenças nos frutos entre Psidium selvagens e domesticados indicam que os frutos foram os mais alterados pela seleção artificial.The objective of this work was to characterize 119 accessions of guava and 40 accessions of “araçá” sampled in 35 Brazilian ecoregions, according to the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) descriptors. The majority of “araçá” accessions presented wide spacing of leaf veins, while guava accessions presented medium to close spacing. Most fruits of “araçá” accessions were classified as small, contrasting with medium to large fruits of guava accessions. Most of “araçá” accessions (91%) presented white flesh fruit color, while 58% of guava accessions presented pale pink, pink and dark pink colors. Fruitdifferences among wild and cultivated Psidium species indicate fruit as the most altered trait under artificial selection

Pain pressure threshold algometry of the abdominal wall in healthy women

The objective of this study was to determine the inter- and intra-examiner reliability of pain pressure threshold algometry at various points of the abdominal wall of healthy women. Twenty-one healthy women in menacme with a mean age of 28 +/- 5.4 years (range: 19-39 years) were included. All volunteers had regular menstrual cycles (27-33 days) and were right-handed and, to the best of our knowledge, none were taking medications at the time of testing. Women with a diagnosis of depression, anxiety or other mood disturbances were excluded. Women with previous abdominal surgery, any pain condition or any evidence of inflammation, hypertension, smoking, alcoholism, or inflammatory disease were also excluded. Pain perception thresholds were assessed with a pressure algometer with digital traction and compression and a measuring capacity for 5 kg. All points were localized by palpation and marked with a felt-tipped pen and each individual was evaluated over a period of 2 days in two consecutive sessions, each session consisting of a set of 14 point measurements repeated twice by two examiners in random sequence. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean pain threshold obtained by the two examiners on 2 diferent days (examiner A: P = 1.00; examiner B: P = 0.75; Wilcoxon matched pairs test). There was excellent/good agreement between examiners for all days and all points. Our results have established baseline values to which future researchers will be able to refer. They show that pressure algometry is a reliable measure for pain perception in the abdominal wall of healthy women

Coinfection with Different Trypanosoma cruzi Strains Interferes with the Host Immune Response to Infection

A century after the discovery of Trypanosoma cruzi in a child living in Lassance, Minas Gerais, Brazil in 1909, many uncertainties remain with respect to factors determining the pathogenesis of Chagas disease (CD). Herein, we simultaneously investigate the contribution of both host and parasite factors during acute phase of infection in BALB/c mice infected with the JG and/or CL Brener T. cruzi strains. JG single infected mice presented reduced parasitemia and heart parasitism, no mortality, levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, CCL2, IL-6 and IFN-γ) similar to those found among naïve animals and no clinical manifestations of disease. On the other hand, CL Brener single infected mice presented higher parasitemia and heart parasitism, as well as an increased systemic release of pro-inflammatory mediators and higher mortality probably due to a toxic shock-like systemic inflammatory response. Interestingly, coinfection with JG and CL Brener strains resulted in intermediate parasitemia, heart parasitism and mortality. This was accompanied by an increase in the systemic release of IL-10 with a parallel increase in the number of MAC-3+ and CD4+ T spleen cells expressing IL-10. Therefore, the endogenous production of IL-10 elicited by coinfection seems to be crucial to counterregulate the potentially lethal effects triggered by systemic release of pro-inflammatory mediators induced by CL Brener single infection. In conclusion, our results suggest that the composition of the infecting parasite population plays a role in the host response to T. cruzi in determining the severity of the disease in experimentally infected BALB/c mice. The combination of JG and CL Brener was able to trigger both protective inflammatory immunity and regulatory immune mechanisms that attenuate damage caused by inflammation and disease severity in BALB/c mice