Land-use intensity and host plant simultaneously shape the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in a Mediterranean drained peatland

Land-use change is known to be a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services in Mediterranean areas. However, the potential for different host plants to modulate the effect of land-use intensification on community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is still poorly understood. To test the hypothesis that low land-use intensity promotes AMF diversity at different taxonomic scales and to determine whether any response is dependent upon host plant species identity, we characterised AMF communities in the roots of 10 plant species across four land use types of differing intensity in a Mediterranean peatland system. AMF were identified using 454 pyrosequencing. This revealed an overall low level of AMF richness in the peaty soils; lowest AMF richness in the intense cropping system at both virtual taxa and family level; strong modulation by the host plant of the impact of land-use intensification on AMF communities at the virtual taxa level; and a significant effect of land-use intensification on AMF communities at the family level. These findings have implications for understanding ecosystem stability and productivity and should be considered when developing soil-improvement strategies in fragile ecosystems, such as Mediterranean peatlands

Metformin and temozolomide, a synergic option to overcome resistance in glioblastoma multiforme models

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive primary brain tumor with poor survival. Cytoreduction in association with radiotherapy and temozolomide (TMZ) is the standard therapy, but response is heterogeneous and life expectancy is limited. The combined use of chemotherapeutic agents with drugs targeting cell metabolism is becoming an interesting therapeutic option for cancer treatment. Here, we found that metformin (MET) enhances TMZ effect on TMZ-sensitive cell line (U251) and overcomes TMZ-resistance in T98G GBM cell line. In particular, combined-treatment modulated apoptosis by increasing Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and reduced Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production. We also observed that MET associated with TMZ was able to reduce the expression of glioma stem cells (GSC) marker CD90 particularly in T98G cells but not that of CD133. In vivo experiments showed that combined treatment with TMZ and MET significantly slowed down growth of TMZ-resistant tumors but did not affect overall survival of TMZ-sensitive tumor bearing mice. In conclusion, our results showed that metformin is able to enhance TMZ effect in TMZ-resistant cell line suggesting its potential use in TMZ refractory GBM patients. However, the lack of effect on a GBM malignancy marker like CD133 requires further evaluation since it might influence response duration

Risk factors associated with adverse fetal outcomes in pregnancies affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a secondary analysis of the WAPM study on COVID-19.

Objectives To evaluate the strength of association between maternal and pregnancy characteristics and the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies with laboratory confirmed COVID-19. Methods Secondary analysis of a multinational, cohort study on all consecutive pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020 from 73 centers from 22 different countries. A confirmed case of COVID-19 was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens. The primary outcome was a composite adverse fetal outcome, defined as the presence of either abortion (pregnancy loss before 22 weeks of gestations), stillbirth (intrauterine fetal death after 22 weeks of gestation), neonatal death (death of a live-born infant within the first 28 days of life), and perinatal death (either stillbirth or neonatal death). Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate parameters independently associated with the primary outcome. Logistic regression was reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Mean gestational age at diagnosis was 30.6+/-9.5 weeks, with 8.0% of women being diagnosed in the first, 22.2% in the second and 69.8% in the third trimester of pregnancy. There were six miscarriage (2.3%), six intrauterine device (IUD) (2.3) and 5 (2.0%) neonatal deaths, with an overall rate of perinatal death of 4.2% (11/265), thus resulting into 17 cases experiencing and 226 not experiencing composite adverse fetal outcome. Neither stillbirths nor neonatal deaths had congenital anomalies found at antenatal or postnatal evaluation. Furthermore, none of the cases experiencing IUD had signs of impending demise at arterial or venous Doppler. Neonatal deaths were all considered as prematurity-related adverse events. Of the 250 live-born neonates, one (0.4%) was found positive at RT-PCR pharyngeal swabs performed after delivery. The mother was tested positive during the third trimester of pregnancy. The newborn was asymptomatic and had negative RT-PCR test after 14 days of life. At logistic regression analysis, gestational age at diagnosis (OR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.8-0.9 per week increase; pPeer reviewe

Frumenti teneri toscani: caratteri nutrizionali e nutraceutici di varietà iscritte al repertorio regionale

Il libro illustra il valore della biodiversità in agricoltura, il sistema di conservazione dell’agrobiodiversità in Toscana e le ricerche promosse dalla Regione per valorizzare le proprietà nutrizionali e nutraceutiche del patrimonio dell’agrobiodiversità regionale. Gli aspetti morfologici, tecnologici, nutrizionali e nutraceutici delle varietà di frumento tenero iscritte al Repertorio Regionale sono descritti insieme alle moderne tecniche di coltivazione finalizzate al miglioramento della qualità della granella, come la biofortificazione agronomica e la biofertilizzazione. Alcune ricette tipiche della tradizione toscana a base di frumento completano il libro

TILLAGE INTENSIFICATION AFFECTS AMF DIVERSITY, SOC AND ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES WITHIN SOIL AGGREGATES AT VARIOUS SCALES

Long-term agricultural management may change soil C sequestration and alter soil organic matter content, structure and biological activity. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of tillage and N fertilization within a field experiment with a soybean/ wheat rotation, originally established in 1982 in Central Italy. Treatments were ploughing at 30-cm depth (P30) and minimum tillage (MT) in combination with two N fertilizer rates to wheat, 0 (N0) and 200 kg N ha-1 (N200). In spring 2016, soil samples were collected from the 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil layers. Bulk density (BD), NH4-N and NO3-N concentration were assessed. After wet-sieving fractionation, SOC, total N and available P, enzymatic activities and AMF diversity were assessed in both bulk soil and microaggregates within macroaggregates (mM). AMF diversity was characterized by SSU-ITS-LSU fragment. At both soil layers, BD did not vary between tillage intensities, but was 7% higher in N200 than N0. At 15-30 cm depth, the proportion of mM was 21% higher in MT than P30, while no differences were detected in the surface layer. Tillage did not change soil total N and available P, whereas N fertilization affected NH4-N (15%) and NO3-N (28%) concentration at both soil layers. SOC, enzymatic activities and AMF diversity in bulk soil and in mM changed in P30 respect to MT. Our results showed co-occurrence patterns in SOC, enzymatic activities and AMF diversity of bulk soil and mM fraction, suggesting that the contribution of soil biota to C sequestration within aggregates varied with tillage

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi as mediators of ecosystem services related to crop productivity and quality and C equilibrium maintenance.

The management of soil biota is considered a key strategy to maintain and improve ecological services in agro-ecosystems. The plant symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) support plant growth, productivity, and soil fertility. However, the evidence of crop benefits following field application of fungal inoculum suggests that intensive agricultural practices, such as frequent and deep tillage, high P or N fertilizer rate, and continuous cropping, have a negative impact on AM fungal abundance in soil. Despite the huge commercial interest in microbial inoculants (biostimulants and biofertilizers), associated with a growing body of research, the detailed molecular, cellular, and physiological mechanisms underlying plant-biostimulant interactions under different environments and management strategies remain largely unknown. This presentation examines the current contributions of AM fungal inoculants to field crops to the increase of production and quality characters and identifies microbial consortia with the greatest potential for supporting ecosystem services, also related to soil organic carbon accumulation

Low bone mineralization in phenylketonuria may be due to undiagnosed metabolic acidosis

Background: Dietary intervention is to date the mainstay treatment to prevent toxic phenylalanine (Phe) accumulation in PKU patients. Despite success preventing central nervous system damage, there is increasing evidence of possible other unfavorable outcomes affecting other systems, e.g. kidney and bone; underlying mechanisms are yet to be fully elucidated. Methods: This observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study investigated 20 adult with PKU evaluating biochemical parameters, BMD measurements and extrapolating data from 3-days food records and protein substitutes (PS) and special low protein foods (SLPF) composition. Results: Blood gas venous analysis (VBG) indices were indicative of metabolic acidosis in 60% of PKU patients and VBG pH significantly correlated with BMD's Z-score (p-value = 0.022) even if its overall mean was in range (−1.29). Low bone mineral density for chronological age (Z-score < − 2.0) was found in 4 patients (20%). Indices of kidney function were not impaired. All used PS had a moderate excess of acidity, while SLPF were alkalizing and type/variety of consumed vegetables did not determine significant changes in acid-base equilibrium. Total intakes of potassium and magnesium were lower than expected. Discussion: PKU patients seem to be at risk of metabolic acidosis, directly linked to possible low bone mineralization. This may be related to the acidic composition of PS, potentially capable of acidifying the entire diet. Reported low intakes of potassium and magnesium may be relevant to these observations. Further studies are needed to better address these topics