Regulation of cluster compactness and resistance to Botrytis cinerea with β-aminobutyric acid treatment in field-grown grapevine

Our paper offers unique information regarding the effects of DL-β-amino-n-butyric acid (BABA) on grape cluster compactness and Botrytis bunch rot development. The impact of treatment was investigated on a native Hungarian grapevine cultivar, Királyleányka (Vitis vinifera L.) during four seasons. The cultivar with dense clusters and with thin skinned berries provided excellent samples for bunch rot studies. In addition, the female sterility effect of BABA in grapevine flowers was examined, which may contribute to looser clusters. Cluster compactness was characterized with two different indexes, bunch rot incidence was assessed in percentages. Ovaries of flowers were examined under epifluorescent microscope. The applied treatments significantly influenced cluster indexes. Bunch rot incidence, however, was highly influenced by the precipitation during ripening. In years 2011 and 2013 reduced bunch rot was detected, while the extremity of rain in 2012 and 2014, resulted in no epidemic or high infection, respectively. Microscopic studies proved that successful treatments on cluster structure can be traced back to the female sterility caused by BABA. Our results presented clear evidence for the effectiveness of BABA treatment on Botrytis bunch rot by promoting looser clusters

Transmission of HIV drug resistance and the predicted effect on current first-line regimens in Europe

Background. Numerous studies have shown that baseline drug resistance patterns may influence the outcome of antiretroviral therapy. Therefore, guidelines recommend drug resistance testing to guide the choice of initial regimen. In addition to optimizing individual patient management, these baseline resistance data enable transmitted drug resistance (TDR) to be surveyed for public health purposes. The SPREAD program systematically collects data to gain insight into TDR occurring in Europe since 2001. Methods. Demographic, clinical, and virological data from 4140 antiretroviral-naive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals from 26 countries who were newly diagnosed between 2008 and 2010 were analyzed. Evidence of TDR was defined using the WHO list for surveillance of drug resistance mutations. Prevalence of TDR was assessed over time by comparing the results to SPREAD data from 2002 to 2007. Baseline susceptibility to antiretroviral drugs was predicted using the Stanford HIVdb program version 7.0. Results. The overall prevalence of TDR did not change significantly over time and was 8.3% (95% confidence interval, 7.2%-9.5%) in 2008-2010. The most frequent indicators of TDR were nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) mutations (4.5%), followed by nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) mutations (2.9%) and protease inhibitor mutations (2.0%). Baseline mutations were most predictive of reduced susceptibility to initial NNRTI-based regimens: 4.5% and 6.5% of patient isolates were predicted to have resistance to regimens containing efavirenz or rilpivirine, respectively, independent of current NRTI backbones. Conclusions. Although TDR was highest for NRTIs, the impact of baseline drug resistance patterns on susceptibility was largest for NNRTIs. The prevalence of TDR assessed by epidemiological surveys does not clearly indicate to what degree susceptibility to different drug classes is affected