CIBERER : Spanish national network for research on rare diseases: A highly productive collaborative initiative

Altres ajuts: Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII); Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.CIBER (Center for Biomedical Network Research; Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red) is a public national consortium created in 2006 under the umbrella of the Spanish National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). This innovative research structure comprises 11 different specific areas dedicated to the main public health priorities in the National Health System. CIBERER, the thematic area of CIBER focused on rare diseases (RDs) currently consists of 75 research groups belonging to universities, research centers, and hospitals of the entire country. CIBERER's mission is to be a center prioritizing and favoring collaboration and cooperation between biomedical and clinical research groups, with special emphasis on the aspects of genetic, molecular, biochemical, and cellular research of RDs. This research is the basis for providing new tools for the diagnosis and therapy of low-prevalence diseases, in line with the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) objectives, thus favoring translational research between the scientific environment of the laboratory and the clinical setting of health centers. In this article, we intend to review CIBERER's 15-year journey and summarize the main results obtained in terms of internationalization, scientific production, contributions toward the discovery of new therapies and novel genes associated to diseases, cooperation with patients' associations and many other topics related to RD research

Organic mango production in Mexico: Status of orchard management

Eight percent of total planted area in Mexico is in the process to change from conventional to organic system mainly in the Pacific Coast under tropical dry and wet conditions. Mango cultivars in organic systems are 'Tommy Atkins', 'Kent', 'Ataulfo' which are demanded by market and early or late season of harvest. Cultivars are grafted on local polyembrionic rootstock well adapted to different soil types, they remain vigorous but tolerance to soil diseases has not been proved yet. Information of better combinations of rootstocks and cultivars appropriated for organic production and adapted to variable soil conditions, is needed. Plant densities range 100 to 200 trees ha -1, but are rapidly changing to higher tree densities. Either, tillage practices or cover crops are used to avoid herbicides to control weeds in between tree rows. Pruning of trees is a very important activity applied by growers to control tree size, avoid pest and diseases and promote better light conditions in internal canopy to improve fruit color. Many diseases affect tree foliage, flowering and fruits and are properly controlled using permitted products listed by IFOAM. However organic and more efficient alternatives are needed in order to control the wide diversity of diseases in the field. In addition to field applications, anthracnose damage on fruits is controlled by means of postharvest hot water treatments. Fruit flies are important pests, but they are kept under control with integrated management program applied to different regions according to population levels. Several organic products are used to fertilize orchards, but beneficial impact on fruit production and quality remain to be thoroughly clarified

Organic mango production in Mexico: Status of orchard management

Eight percent of total planted area in Mexico is in the process to change from conventional to organic system mainly in the Pacific Coast under tropical dry and wet conditions. Mango cultivars in organic systems are 'Tommy Atkins', 'Kent', 'Ataulfo' which are demanded by market and early or late season of harvest. Cultivars are grafted on local polyembrionic rootstock well adapted to different soil types, they remain vigorous but tolerance to soil diseases has not been proved yet. Information of better combinations of rootstocks and cultivars appropriated for organic production and adapted to variable soil conditions, is needed. Plant densities range 100 to 200 trees ha -1, but are rapidly changing to higher tree densities. Either, tillage practices or cover crops are used to avoid herbicides to control weeds in between tree rows. Pruning of trees is a very important activity applied by growers to control tree size, avoid pest and diseases and promote better light conditions in internal canopy to improve fruit color. Many diseases affect tree foliage, flowering and fruits and are properly controlled using permitted products listed by IFOAM. However organic and more efficient alternatives are needed in order to control the wide diversity of diseases in the field. In addition to field applications, anthracnose damage on fruits is controlled by means of postharvest hot water treatments. Fruit flies are important pests, but they are kept under control with integrated management program applied to different regions according to population levels. Several organic products are used to fertilize orchards, but beneficial impact on fruit production and quality remain to be thoroughly clarified

Vegetative and reproductive relationships in Mexican lime trees under tropical conditions

This work was carried out to determine the influence of seasons of vegetative shoots on the time of flowering and to known the intervals from flowering to fruit harvest of Mexican lime trees. Two experiments on a seven years old Mexican lime trees budded on Sour Orange rootstock were established. In experiment 1, the number of vegetative (VS) and reproductive shoots (RS) on each one of 10 trees were registered weekly during one year, using a metallic ring of one square meter area placed on the tree 1.75 m from the ground. Minimum temperature and rainfall data were also recorded every week. In experiment 2, monthly, ten new vegetative shoots on each one of ten trees were tagged. These shoots were observed every week until they bloom. During the most important periods of blooming, five flowering shoots per tree were chosen to determine interval to harvest. In experiment 1, four VS and two RS flushes were observed. The first period of VS and RS started in autumn and was associated to the initiation of irrigation. The second and more important was registered in January when temperatures were the lowest of the year. Half RS and half VS were recorded during this period. The third and four flushes were mainly VS and occurred during summer months with highest temperatures and the rainy season. In experiment 2, from the vegetative shoots emerging in January, 52% formed reproductive shoots 60-85 days later and 25% also flowered sparsely four to six months later. The remaining shoots (23%) repeated their vegetative activity during June and July. Most of the vegetative shoots initiated in February showed again a vegetative activity during May to July, and only 20% of them changed to reproductive. New vegetative shoots appeared from March to July showed a vegetative activity during the next two to six months. From the vegetative shoots emerged from July to September very few (15%) transformed to reproductive during November-December and the majority became vegetative again, however, most of them changed to reproductive from January to April. Fruits initiating during the winter time lasted 130 to 145 days until harvest. But those fruits emerged during the late spring and summer months reached complete development 90 to 120 days later. These combined phenological characteristics explain the long period of harvest showed by the MLT under tropical semiarid conditions

Insecticide resistance in adult diaphorina citri kuwayama1 from lime orchards in central West Mexico

Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, is the vector of "Huanglongbing" disease. Different insecticides are used to control the vector by a government containment program to prevent dissemination of disease in citrus growing areas in Mexico. Increased selection pressure on field populations can result in resistance to insecticides. The goal of this study was to determine susceptibility baselines in a laboratory strain of Asian citrus psyllid susceptible to 11 insecticides from five toxicological groups and determine diagnostic doses to test in eight populations from Tahiti lime, Citrus latifolia Tan., and Mexican lime, Citrus aurantifolia Swingle, orchards with different patterns of insecticide use. Resistance ratios were calculated in comparison with data from a susceptible strain in a laboratory in Florida. Most calculated LD50 and LD95 values corresponded well with mortalities caused by diagnostic doses. Asian citrus psyllids from Apatzingan, Michoacan were very resistant to imidacloprid, 4265.6-fold; dimethoate, 106.5-fold; chlorpyriphos, 26.5-fold; and slightly to thiamethoxam, 13.8-fold. At Cofradia de Morelos, Colima, resistance to imidacloprid was 25.6-fold. Resistance to imidacloprid (17.5-fold) and thiamethoxam (12.0-fold) was detected at Cerro de Ortega, Colima. Similar resistance was observed at Tepic, Nayarit, to imidacloprid (13.8-fold) and thiamethoxam (19.3-fold). Psyllids at Casimiro Castillo, Jalisco were resistant to chlorpyriphos (20.6-fold). At El Limon, Jalisco, resistance was found only to thiamethoxam (14.2-fold). Results are similar to those found by Tiwari et al. (2011, 2013) in Florida; however, resistance to neonicotinoids and organophosphates was greater in Asian citrus psyllids in Mexico than those in Florida

Huanglongbing (HLB) disease in Mexican lime trees [Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Swingle] and its dispersion in Colima state , Mexico [Síntomas Del Huanglongbing (HLB) en árboles de Limón Mexicano [Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Swingle] y su Dispersión en el Estado de Colima, México]

This work was carried out in orchards of Mexican lime [Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Swingle] affected by Huanglongbing (HLB) disease and located in the state of Colima, México. The objectives of this work were to characterize the symptoms of the disease in the trees, to evaluate the effect of HLB on the yield and other physical characteristics of the fruit, to determine its dispersion within an orchard and quantify the total orchards affected by HLB. Results showed that in this citrus species, the new vegetative shoots grow strong and healthy looking despite having emerged from symptomatic branches. The symptoms start as small yellowish spots on the leaves when the shoots are 45 to 60 days old. And they show the asymmetric diffuse mottling characteristic of HLB disease when they are 60 to 70 days old. This damage was observed in trees located inside of a structure covered with anti-aphid mesh and also in unprotected trees in the field. There was a significant yield reduction proportional to the percentage of canopy affected by the disease. In HLB symptomatic branches of diseased trees, the fruit was smaller but no misshapen fruits, inverted ripeness or an increase in the number of aborted seeds were detected. In an orchard without HLB vector control, the disease was detected in 53 % of the trees in only one year. HLB is widely spread throughout Colima state. This is the first report on HLB disease symptoms in Mexican lime and their effects on yield and fruit quality