Role of extraction procedures on the concentration of varietal thiol precursors in Grillo white grape must

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Feeding ecology of the transparent goby <em>Aphia minuta</em> (Pisces, Gobiidae) in the northwestern Adriatic Sea

The feeding ecology of the transparent goby Aphia minuta was examined in spring (May 2003) in the coastal waters off Comacchio, in the northwestern Adriatic Sea. Stomach content analysis indicated A. minuta to be a planktivorous species, feeding exclusively on pelagic invertebrates. The diet composition was dominated by the calanoid copepods Acartia clausi and Temora longicornis, followed in decreasing order of importance by other copepods (especially calanoids and Oncaea spp.) and larvae of decapods, polychaetes and bivalves. A. minuta exhibited a generalistic feeding strategy with a relatively broad niche width. Abundant taxa in the environment, such as A. clausi and T. longicornis, were seldom selected, whereas rare taxa, such as larvae of polychaetes and decapods, were highly selected. According to the observed ontogenetic shift in diet, small-size individuals relied preferentially on juvenile T. longicornis and Oncaea spp., whereas large-sized specimens consumed preferably A. clausi and calanoids. The positive relationship found between prey and fish size may help to mitigate the intraspecific competition for food resources

Phenotypic Definition of the Progenitor Cells with Erythroid Differentiation Potential Present in Human Adult Blood

In Human Erythroid Massive Amplification (HEMA) cultures, AB mononuclear cells (MNC) generate 1-log more erythroid cells (EBs) than the corresponding CD34pos cells, suggesting that MNC may also contain CD34neg HPC. To clarify the phenotype of AB HPC which generate EBs in these cultures, flow cytometric profiling for CD34/CD36 expression, followed by isolation and functional characterization (colony-forming-ability in semisolid-media and fold-increase in HEMA) were performed. Four populations with erythroid differentiation potential were identified: CD34posCD36neg (0.1%); CD34posCD36pos (barely detectable-0.1%); CD34negCD36low (2%) and CD34negCD36neg (75%). In semisolid-media, CD34posCD36neg cells generated BFU-E and CFU-GM (in a 1 : 1 ratio), CD34negCD36neg cells mostly BFU-E (87%) and CD34posCD36pos and CD34negCD36low cells were not tested due to low numbers. Under HEMA conditions, CD34posCD36neg, CD34posCD36pos, CD34negCD36low and CD34negCD36neg cells generated EBs with fold-increases of ≈9,000, 100, 60 and 1, respectively, and maturation times (day with >10% CD36highCD235ahigh cells) of 10–7 days. Pyrenocytes were generated only by CD34neg/CD36neg cells by day 15. These results confirm that the majority of HPC in AB express CD34 but identify additional CD34neg populations with erythroid differentiation potential which, based on differences in fold-increase and maturation times, may represent a hierarchy of HPC present in AB

Multi-marker metabarcoding approach to study mesozooplankton at basin scale

Zooplankton plays a pivotal role in marine ecosystems and the characterisation of its biodiversity still represents a challenge for marine ecologists. In this study, mesozooplankton composition from 46 samples collected in summer along the western Adriatic Sea, was retrieved by DNA metabarcoding analysis. For the first time, the highly variable fragments of the mtDNA COI and the V9 region of 18S rRNA genes were used in a combined matrix to compile an inventory of mesozooplankton at basin scale. The number of sequences retrieved after quality filtering were 824,148 and 223,273 for COI and 18S (V9), respectively. The taxonomical assignment against reference sequences, using 95% (for COI) and 97% (for 18S) similarity thresholds, recovered 234 taxa. NMDS plots and cluster analysis divided coastal from offshore samples and the most representative species of these clusters were distributed according to the dominant surface current pattern of the Adriatic for the summer period. For selected sampling sites, mesozooplankton species were also identified under a stereo microscope providing insights on the strength and weakness of the two approaches. In addition, DNA metabarcoding was shown to be helpful for the monitoring of non-indigenous marine metazoans and spawning areas of commercial fish species. We defined pros and cons of applying this approach at basin scale and the benefits of combining the datasets from two genetic markers

Asexual reproduction and strobilation of Sanderia malayensis (Scyphozoa, Pelagiidae) in relation to temperature: experimental evidence and implications

Sanderia malayensis is a scyphozoan species present in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, ranging from the Suez Canal to Japan. Although this jellyfish is commonly kept in aquariums around the world, there is a knowledge gap regarding its biology and ecology, especially at the polyp stage. In this study, we tested the asexual reproductive activity of S.malayensis at Three different temperatures: 10, 15 and 20 \ub0C. Results showed significant increases of polyps at 15 \ub0C and 20 \ub0C, and a minimum at 10\ub0C, corresponding with daily budding rates of 6.61\ub1 0.92%, 5.85 \ub1 2.36% and 0.66\ub10.24%, respectively. Moreover, a second experiment was carried out to report about the ability of S. malayensis to prey on Aurelia solida at ephyra stage. Unidirectional predation of S. malayensis ephyrae on A. solida and an absence of inverse predation was observed. These results could give new insights on the potential fitness and survival of this species if it will ever invade the Mediterranean Sea

Distribution of Engraulis encrasicolus eggs and larvae in relation to coastal oceanographic conditions (the South-western Adriatic Sea case study)

Identification of potential spawning and nursery areas of European anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus) represents an essential step in the management of a resource which is of fundamental importance both for fishery and pelagic trophic web. Egg and larvae occurrence from ichthyoplankton surveys (2012 - 2015) in the South Western Adriatic Sea were examined to understand the mechanisms that control their distribution. Egg and larvae densities varied through the years with the highest values recorded in 2012 and the lowest in 2014. Positive correlations between eggs and larvae with zooplankton were observed. When quotient analysis was used to find relations with environmental and biological variables, the results pointed out an egg preference for depth between 91 and 120 m and an avoidance between 11 and 30 m. Moreover, egg avoidances for high values of chlorophyll-a (> 0.52 mg m-3) and low values of zooplankton biomass ( 151 m; preference for high zooplankton biomass (> 1000 mg m-2) and avoidance for low biomass (< 299 mg m-2). These correlations and the quotient values suggest that egg and larvae distribution in the South-Western Adriatic Sea is mainly driven by food availability and depth

Nutrients Intake Is Associated with DNA Methylation of Candidate Inflammatory Genes in a Population of Obese Subjects

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential association between dietary nutrients and alterations in DNA methylation in a set of five candidate genes, including CD14, Et-1, iNOS, HERV-w and TNFα, in a population of overweight/obese subjects. We evaluated possible associations between gene methylation and clinical blood parameters, including total cholesterol (TC), low- and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C and HDL-C), triglyceride and homocysteine levels. We employed validated methods to assess anthropometric, clinical and dietary data, as well as pyrosequencing to evaluate DNA methylation of the five candidate genes in 165 overweight/obese subjects. There was no association between body mass index and DNA methylation of the five candidate genes in this group of subjects. Positive associations were observed between TNFα methylation and blood levels of LDL-C (β = 0.447, p = 0.002), TC/HDL-C (β = 0.467, p = 0.001) and LDL-C/HDL-C (β = 0.445, p = 0.002), as well as between HERV-w methylation and dietary intakes of β-carotene (β = 0.088, p = 0.051) and carotenoids (β = 0.083, p = 0.029). TNFα methylation showed negative associations with dietary intakes of cholesterol (β = −0.278, p = 0.048), folic acid (β = −0.339, p = 0.012), β-carotene (β = −0.332, p = 0.045), carotenoids (β = −0.331, p = 0.015) and retinol (β = −0.360, p = 0.008). These results suggest a complex relationship among nutrient intake, oxidative stress and DNA methylation

Multicentre harmonisation of a six-colour flow cytometry panel for naïve/memory T cell immunomonitoring

Background. Personalised medicine in oncology needs standardised immunological assays. Flow cytometry (FCM) methods represent an essential tool for immunomonitoring, and their harmonisation is crucial to obtain comparable data in multicentre clinical trials. The objective of this study was to design a harmonisation workflow able to address the most effective issues contributing to intra- and interoperator variabilities in a multicentre project. Methods. The Italian National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanita, ISS) managed a multiparametric flow cytometric panel harmonisation among thirteen operators belonging to five clinical and research centres of Lazio region (Italy). The panel was based on a backbone mixture of dried antibodies (anti-CD3, anti-CD4, anti-CD8, anti-CD45RA, and anti-CCR7) to detect naive/memory T cells, recognised as potential prognostic/predictive immunological biomarkers in cancer immunotherapies. The coordinating centre distributed frozen peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and fresh whole blood (WB) samples from healthy donors, reagents, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to participants who performed experiments by their own equipment, in order to mimic a real-life scenario. Operators returned raw and locally analysed data to ISS for central analysis and statistical elaboration. Results. Harmonised and reproducible results were obtained by sharing experimental set-up and procedures along with centralising data analysis, leading to a reduction of cross-centre variability for naive/memory subset frequencies particularly in the whole blood setting. Conclusion. Our experimental and analytical working process proved to be suitable for the harmonisation of FCM assays in a multicentre setting, where high-quality data are required to evaluate potential immunological markers, which may contribute to select better therapeutic options

Dissecting the susceptibility/resistance mechanism of Vitis vinifera for the future control of downy mildew

23CO.NA.VI. 2020 – 8° Convegno Nazionale di Viticoltura, Udine, Italy, July 5-7, 2021openInternationalBothThe Eurasian grapevine (Vitis vinifera), a species cultivated worldwide for high-quality wine production, is extremely susceptible to the agent of downy mildew, Plasmopara viticola. Nevertheless, germplasm from Georgia (Southern Caucasus, the first grapevine domestication centre), characterized by a high genetic variability, showed resistance traits to P. viticola. The cultivar Mgaloblishvili exhibited the most promising phenotype in terms of resistance against P. viticola. Its defence response results in: i) low disease intensity; ii) low sporulation; iii) damaged mycelium; iv) production of antimicrobial compounds such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), whose effectiveness on the pathogen was evaluated by leafdisc assays. At the transcriptomic level, its resistance mechanism is determined by the differential expression of both resistance and susceptible genes. The resistance genes are related to: i) pathogen recognition through PAMP, DAMP and effector receptors; ii) ethylene signalling pathway; iii) synthesis of antimicrobial compounds (VOCs) and fungal wall degrading enzymes; iv) development of structural barriers (cell wall reinforcement). The first putative susceptible gene was the transcription factor VviLBDIf7 gene, whose validation was carried out by dsRNA (double-stranded RNA) assay. In this work, these unique results on plant-pathogen interaction are reviewed with the aim of developing new strategies to control the disease.openRicciardi, Valentina; Marcianò, Demetrio; Sargolzaei, Maryam; Marrone Fassolo, Elena; Fracassetti, Daniela; Brilli, Matteo; Moser, Mirko; Vahid, Shariati J.; Tavakole, Elahe; Maddalena, Giuliana; Passera, Alessandro; Casati, Paola; Pindo, Massimo; Cestaro, Alessandro; Costa, Alex; Bonza, Maria Cristina; Maghradze, David; Tirelli, Antonio; Failla, Osvaldo; Bianco, Piero Attilio; Quaglino, Fabio; Toffolatti, Silvia Laura; De Lorenzis, GabriellaRicciardi, V.; Marcianò, D.; Sargolzaei, M.; Marrone Fassolo, E.; Fracassetti, D.; Brilli, M.; Moser, M.; Vahid, S.J.; Tavakole, E.; Maddalena, G.; Passera, A.; Casati, P.; Pindo, M.; Cestaro, A.; Costa, A.; Bonza, M.C.; Maghradze, D.; Tirelli, A.; Failla, O.; Bianco, P.A.; Quaglino, F.; Toffolatti, S.L.; De Lorenzis, G