Aislamientos nativos de Trichoderma harzianum inducen resistencia a Zymoseptoria tritici en plantas de trigo

Trichoderma harzianum inducting resistance to Zymoseptoria tritici. Septoria tritici blotch is endemic in the wheat growing cultivated areas of Argentina, which impacts in the crop yield. One management strategy is to use biocontrol agents. The objective of this work was to determine the effectiveness of Trichoderma spp. isolated from soils of different growing regions, as antagonist and characterize the T. harzianum effect throughout the proteolytic activity of the serine protease in the wheat plant. To determine the antagonistic capacities of Trichoderma spp. against Zimoseptoria tritici, wheat plants were grown from seeds coated with each of the ninety isolated Trichoderma. Antagonism was assessed 21 days after inoculation by the capacity of each Trichoderma spp. isolate to restrict the progress of the disease. To measure the increasing proteolytic activity, ten isolated T. harzianum characterized by their inhibitory effect over the pathogen, were chosen. Four isolates of the antagonist (strain 2 and 8, from Los Hornos and 129 and 141 from Manfredi localities) simultaneously decreased the pycnidial coverage percentage with a noted increasing of the serine-protease activity in the susceptible wheat cultivar. This behavior is associated to a biochemical mechanism of defense with an early systemic effect.La Septoriosis del trigo es endémica en las regiones productoras de Argentina, impactando en su rendimiento. Una alternativa de manejo, es el uso de agentes de biocontrol. Se propuso: determinar la efectividad de los aislamientos de Trichoderma obtenidos a partir de suelos de diferentes localidades de la región triguera argentina, sobre el control de la enfermedad y caracterizar la actividad de la serín proteasa (con capacidad antifúngica) del fluido intercelular de trigo generada por los mejores aislamientos. Para determinar la capacidad biocontroladora de los 90 aislamientos de Trichoderma, se sembraron semillas recubiertas con cada uno de los antagonistas y posteriormente las plántulas se inocularon con Zymoseptoria tritici. Se evaluó la capacidad de cada aislamiento del biocontrolador para restringir el progreso de la septoriosis 21 días después de la inoculación. A las plantas tratadas con las 10 mejores cepas de T. harzianum, se les midió el incremento de la actividad proteolítica. Cuatro de los aislamientos (2 y 8, de Los Hornos y 129 y 141 de Manfredi) disminuyeron el porcentaje de cobertura picnidial y se destacaron por el aumento de la actividad proteolítica en un cultivar susceptible. Éste comportamiento se asocia a un mecanismo bioquímico de defensa con un efecto sistémico temprano.Fil: Stocco, Marina Celeste. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Centro En Investigación de Fitopatología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mansilla, Andrea Yamila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Mónaco, Cecilia I.. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Centro En Investigación de Fitopatología; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Segarra, Carmen Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Lampugnani, Gladys. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; ArgentinaFil: Abramoff, Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales; ArgentinaFil: Marchetti, Maria Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Kripelz, Natalia. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Centro En Investigación de Fitopatología; ArgentinaFil: Cordo, Cristina C.. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas. Centro En Investigación de Fitopatología; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Consolo, Verónica Fabiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones En Biodiversidad y Biotecnología; Argentin

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers:study protocol for the COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErS (HEROES) study

BACKGROUND: Preliminary country-specific reports suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on the mental health of the healthcare workforce. In this paper, we summarize the protocol of the COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErS (HEROES) study, an ongoing, global initiative, aimed to describe and track longitudinal trajectories of mental health symptoms and disorders among health care workers at different phases of the pandemic across a wide range of countries in Latin America, Europe, Africa, Middle-East, and Asia. METHODS: Participants from various settings, including primary care clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and mental health facilities, are being enrolled. In 26 countries, we are using a similar study design with harmonized measures to capture data on COVID-19 related exposures and variables of interest during two years of follow-up. Exposures include potential stressors related to working in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as sociodemographic and clinical factors. Primary outcomes of interest include mental health variables such as psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic stress disorders. Other domains of interest include potentially mediating or moderating influences such as workplace conditions, trust in the government, and the country’s income level. RESULTS: As of August 2021, ~ 34,000 health workers have been recruited. A general characterization of the recruited samples by sociodemographic and workplace variables is presented. Most participating countries have identified several health facilities where they can identify denominators and attain acceptable response rates. Of the 26 countries, 22 are collecting data and 2 plan to start shortly. CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the most extensive global studies on the mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a variety of countries with diverse economic realities and different levels of severity of pandemic and management. Moreover, unlike most previous studies, we included workers (clinical and non-clinical staff) in a wide range of settings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00127-021-02211-9

Structural and functional features of a wheat germin-like protein that inhibits trypsin

The wheat leaf apoplast contains a protein that inhibits trypsin and belongs to the family of germin-like proteins called germin-like protease inhibitor (GLPI). Since it was first described in our laboratory, the objective of this study was to find out if GLPI is a new germin-like protein and to identify the molecular site responsible for its inhibitory action. Amino acid sequence fragments of GLPI have been determined using mass spectrometry and used to synthesize complementary DNA by reverse transcription PCR. This has allowed recovery of the amino acid sequence of the mature form of GLPI, which is indistinguishable from barley GLP and having pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase activity. Using chemical modifiers of amino acids, the unique Arg of GLPI is found to be necessary for preserving its protease inhibition activity. Furthermore, structural homology modeling has allowed prediction that Arg is located along the GLPI surface, which could aid in its activity on proteases. Given that GLPI acts as a superoxide dismutase and as pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase, it is deemed to be a multifunctional protein.Fil: Mansilla, Andrea Yamila. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Segarra, Carmen Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: Conde, Ruben Danilo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentin