First report of Diplodia africana on Grevillea robusta

Branch cankers and dieback were observed on silky-oak trees (Grevillea robusta) along some streets of Palermo (Sicily, Italy). Fungi isolated from symptomatic branches were identified as Diplodia africana and D. seriata by morphological charac-ters and phylogenetic analyses of combined ITS and translation elongation factor 1-α sequences. Pathogenicity was verified by inoculating twigs of 3-y-old silky-oak plants. This is the first report of D. africana on G. robusta and the first record of D. seriata on this host in the northern hemisphere

A cytological and ultrastructural study on the maturation and germination of oospores of Plasmopara viticola from overwintering vine leaves

Observations on cytological and ultrastructural changes in Plasmopara viticola oospores were carried out during the overwintering period. Three types of oospores were observed. Type I, characterized by a thin inner oospore wall (IOW), large lipid globules and two nuclei, was recovered only in samples collected in October. These oospores were considered to be immature. Maturation occurred during November and involved a noticeable increase in thickness of the IOW, fusion of nuclei, formation of an ooplast and break up of large lipid globules into smaller ones (type II oospores). A few oospores (type III) showed abnormal organization with very large lipid globules and less frequently discernible nuclei. IOW solubilization, dissolution of the ooplast and lipid globules and nuclear division were the first detectable events during oospore germination. Germinating oospores produce a germ tube which was terminated by a sporangium. In its young stage, the sporangium had a thick wall and an unusual multi-layered membrane. During this phase, nuclear divisions took place in the sporangium. While sporangium development progressed, the ribosome density in the cytoplasm decreased and mitochondria, initially roundish with evident cristae, became their usual tubular profile. The plasma membrane had a typical structure and storage organelles, such as finger print vacuoles and lipid globules, became more numerous in the cytoplasm. Larger vacuoles contained the flagella of differentiating zoospores.Observations on cytological and ultrastructural changes in Plasmopara viticola oospores were carried out during the overwintering period. Three types of oospores were observed. Type I, characterized by a thin inner oospore wall (IOW), large lipid globules and two nuclei, was recovered only in samples collected in October. These oospores were considered to be immature. Maturation occurred during November and involved a noticeable increase in thickness of the IOW, fusion of nuclei, formation of an ooplast and break up of large lipid globules into smaller ones (type II oospores). A few oospores (type III) showed abnormal organization with very large lipid globules and less frequently discernible nuclei. IOW solubilization, dissolution of the ooplast and lipid globules and nuclear division were the first detectable events during oospore germination. Germinating oospores produce a germ tube which was terminated by a sporangium. In its young stage, the sporangium had a thick wall and an unusual multi-layered membrane. During this phase, nuclear divisions took place in the sporangium. While sporangium development progressed, the ribosome density in the cytoplasm decreased and mitochondria, initially roundish with evident cristae, became their usual tubular profile. The plasma membrane had a typical structure and storage organelles, such as finger print vacuoles and lipid globules, became more numerous in the cytoplasm. Larger vacuoles contained the flagella of differentiating zoospores

Sull'antagonismo in vivo ed in vitro di Acremonium byssoides, endofita in Vitis vinifera, nei confronti di Plasmopara viticola

Lo studio dell\u2019interazione fra Acremonium byssoides, Vitis vinifera e Plasmopara viticola, condotto nell\u2019ultimo decennio, ha evidenziato in vitro e in vivo l\u2019attivit\ue0 antagonistica dell\u2019ifomicete, endofita negli organi verdi di alcune cultivars di vite, nei confronti del patogeno. In particolare, \ue8 stato accertato che sospensioni conidiche, filtrati colturali, estratti grezzi e metaboliti di A. byssoides riducono sensibilmente la germinazione delle spore agamiche e gamiche di P. viticola, limitando la produzione di propaguli. Inoltre, l\u2019uso di un microscopio laser confocale e l\u2019impiego di un\u2019opportuna tecnica di decolorazione dei tessuti fogliari, seguita da colorazione di contrasto, ha consentito di visualizzare l\u2019ifomicete, latente nelle nervature di foglie sane e iperparassita dell\u2019oomicete in foglie infette. In queste ultime, infatti, A. byssoides, dopo aver prodotto metaboliti secondari tossici per P. viticola, ne invade e degrada micelio, rami sporangiofori e spore gamiche. Tale attivit\ue0 antagonistica, determinando il contenimento sia della diffusione che della sopravvivenza del patogeno, pu\uf2 assumere, quindi, un ruolo rilevante nella definizione di strategie di difesa biologica contro la peronospora della vite

Naphthalenone polyketides produced by Neofusicoccum parvum , a fungus associated with grapevine Botriosphaeria dieback

A strain of Neofusicoccum parvum isolated from declining vines was pathogenic to grapevine cultivar Inzolia in Sicily. This strain produced some metabolites in liquid medium. Crude extract, through a bio-guided purification process, yielded four naphthalenone polyketides. They were identified by comparison with spectroscopic data and optical proprieties reported in literature as: (3S, 4S)-7-ethyl-3,4,8-trihydroxy-6-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-1-(2H)-naphthalenone, (3S*, 4S*)-3,4-dihydro-3,4,8-trihydroxy-7-(1-hydroxyethyl)-6-methoxy-1-(2H)-naphthalenone, (4S)-3,4-dihydro-4,8-dihydroxy-1-(2H)-naphthalenone, named botryosphaerones D and A, isosclerone, respectively, and (3S*,4S*)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-1-tetralone (1-4). Phytotoxic activity of the isolated compounds (1-4) was tested on grapevine leaves at using the leaf puncture assay. All tested compounds were phytotoxic, with botryosphaerone D showing the greatest activity. The phytotoxic effects decreased when treated leaves were exposed to light. All of the metabolites did not show in vitro antifungal activity against Diplodia seriata, Lasiodiplodia mediterranea, Neofusicoccum vitifusiforme, or Phytophthora citrophthora. This is the first report of in vitro production of botryosphaerones D and A, and 3,4,5-trihydroxy-1-tetralone by N. parvum

Lasiolactols A and B Produced by the Grapevine Fungal Pathogen Lasiodiplodia mediterranea

A strain of Lasiodiplodia mediterranea, a fungus associated with grapevine decline in Sicily, produced several metabolites in liquid medium. Two new dimeric c-lactols, lasiolactols A and B (1and 2), were characterized as (2S*,3S*,4R*,5R*,20S*,30S*,40R*,50R*)- and (2R*,3S*,4R,5R*,20R*,30S*,40R*,50R*)-5-(4-hydroxymethyl-3,5-dimethyl-tetrahydro-furan-2-yloxy)-2,4-dimethyl-tetrahydro-furan-3-yl]-methanols by IR, 1D- and 2D-NMR, and HR-ESI-MS. Other fourmetabolites were identified as botryosphaeriodiplodin, (5R )-5-hydroxylasiodiplodin, (–)-(1R,2R)-jasmonic acid, and (–)-(3S,4R,5R)-4-hydroxymethyl-3,5-dimethyldihydro-2-furanone (3-6, resp.). The absolute configuration (R) at hydroxylatedsecondary C-atom C(7) was also established for compound 3. The compounds 1–3,5,and 6, tested for their phytotoxic activities to grapevine cv. Inzolia leaves at different concentrations (0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/ml) were phytotoxic and compound 5 showed the highest toxicity. All metabolites did not show in vitro antifungal activity against four plant pathogens

Expression of cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 in normal and pathological human oral mucosa.

Cyclooxigenase (COX) is the rate-limiting enzyme for the conversion of arachidonic acid (AA) to prostaglandins (PGs). Two isoforms of COX have been identified: COX-1 is constitutively expressed in many cells and is involved in cell homeostasis, angiogenesis and cell-cell signalling; COX-2 is not expressed in normal condition however it is strongly expressed in inflammation. The oral cavity is constantly exposed to physical and chemical trauma that could lead to mucosal reactions such as hyperplasia, dysplasia and cancer. Early diagnosis is the most important issue to address for a positive outcome of oral cancer; therefore it would be useful to identify molecular markers whose expression is associated with the various stages of oral cancer progression. Since COX enzyme has been involved, with different mechanisms, in the development and progression of malignancies we decided to investigate the expression and localization of COX-1 and COX-2 in normal human oral mucosa and three different pathologies (hyperplasia, dysplasia and carcinoma) by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. COX-1 mRNA and protein have been detected already in normal oral mucosa and their expression progressively increases from normal samples towards hyperplasia, dysplasia and finally carcinoma. On the contrary, COX-2 is not expressed in the normal tissue, starts to be expressed in hyperplasia, reaches the maximum activation in dysplasia and then starts to be downregulated in carcinoma

Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with diseased loquat trees in Italy and description of Diplodia rosacearum sp. nov

[EN] Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a fruit tree cultivated in several countries in the Mediterranean region. A survey of a loquat orchard in Sicily ( Italy) revealed the presence of plants showing dieback symptoms and cankers with wedge-shaped necrotic sectors. Fungi from the genera Diplodia and Neofusicoccum were isolated from symptomatic plants. On the basis of morphological characters and DNA sequence data four species were identified, Neofusicoccum parvum, N. vitifusiforme, Diplodia seriata and a novel Diplodia species, which is here described as D. rosacearum sp. nov. Inoculation trials of loquat plants cv Sanfilipparo showed that N. parvum, D. seriata and D. rosacearum were pathogenic to this host. Although variability was observed between isolates, N. parvum and D. rosacearum were the most aggressive species.This research was supported by Servizio VII Fitosanitario Forestale del Dipartimento Regionale, Azienda Regionale Foreste Demaniali. Artur Alves acknowledges financing by European Funds through COMPETE and by National Funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) to the research unit CESAM (UID/AMB/50017/2013 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007638) and himself (FCT Investigator Programme - IF/00835/2013), and support by the Contributi avvio e sviluppo collaborazioni internazionali (CORI-2014), Visiting Professor Programme at the University of Palermo, Italy. The authors thank Dr. Giuseppe Lo Giudice for allowing carrying out the surveys in his loquat field.Giambra, S.; Piazza, G.; Alves, A.; Mondello, V.; Berbegal Martinez, M.; Armengol Fortí, J.; Burruano, S. (2016). Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with diseased loquat trees in Italy and description of Diplodia rosacearum sp. nov. Mycosphere (Online). 7(7):978-989. https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/si/1b/9S9789897

Treatment and disease progression in a birth cohort of vertically HIV-1 infected children in Ukraine

Background: Ukraine has the highest HIV prevalence (1.6%) and is facing the fastest growing epidemic in Europe. Our objective was to describe the clinical, immunological and virological characteristics, treatment and response in vertically HIV-infected children living in Ukraine and followed from birth.Methods: The European Collaborative Study (ECS) is an ongoing cohort study, in which HIV-1 infected pregnant women are enrolled and followed in pregnancy, and their children prospectively followed from birth. ECS enrolment in Ukraine started in 2000 initially with three sites, increasing to seven sites by 2009.Results: A total of 245 infected children were included in the cohort by April 2009, with a median age of 23 months at most recent follow-up; 33% (n = 77) had injecting drug using mothers and 85% (n = 209) were infected despite some use of antiretroviral prophylaxis for prevention of mother-to-child transmission. Fifty-five (22%) children had developed AIDS, at a median age of 10 months (IQR = 6-19). The most prevalent AIDS indicator disease was Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP). Twenty-seven (11%) children had died (median age, 6.2 months). Overall, 108 (44%) children had started highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART), at a median 18 months of age; median HAART duration was 6.6 months to date. No child discontinued HAART and 92% (100/108) remained on their first-line HAART regimen to date. Among children with moderate/severe immunosuppression, 36% had not yet started HAART. Among children on HAART, 71% (69/97) had no evidence of immunosuppression at their most recent visit; the median reduction in HIV RNA was 4.69 log10 copies/mL over a median of 10 months treatment. From survival analysis, an estimated 94%, 84% and 81% of children will be alive and AIDS-free at 6, 12 and 18 months of age, respectively. However, survival increased significantly over time: estimated survival rates to 12 months of age were 87% for children born in 2000/03 versus 96% for those born in 2004/08.Conclusion: One in five children had AIDS and one in ten had died. The half of children who received HAART has responded well and survival has significantly improved over time. Earlier diagnosis and prompt initiation of HAART remain key challenges