Revisiting the use of Iprodione and Trichoderma in the integrated management of onion white rot

The biocontrol properties of Trichoderma species are well documented, but their effectiveness in antagonism of the problematic Sclerotium cepivorum, the causal agent of white rot in Allium species, appears limited with reports of significant control only relating to deliberately-mutated strains of Trichoderma. Our previous studies have indicated the possibility of using selected naturally-occurring strains of the antagonist in the suppression of other diseases; now in vitro and controlled environment in vivo studies have indicated that a degree of control of Onion White Rot is possible, and that the selected antagonist strains can be used in integrated treatments with Iprodione to good effect. The possible value of such treatments is considered in light of other approaches to the suppression of this continuing problem.     

A web server to locate periodicities in a sequence

Summary : FT is a tool written in C++, which implements the Fourier analysis method to locate periodicities in aminoacid or DNA sequences. It is provided for free public use on a WWW server with a Java interface. Availability : The server address is http://o2.db. uoa.gr/FT Contact : shamodr@atlas.uoa.gr      

Urinary Proteins,Vitamin D and Genetic Polymorphisms as Risk Factors for Febrile Urinary Tract Infection and Relation with Bacteremia: A Case Control Study

Objective/Purpose

Febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common bacterial disease that may lead to substantial morbidity and mortality especially among the elderly. Little is known about biomarkers that predict a complicated course. Our aim was to determine the role of certain urinary cytokines or antimicrobial proteins, plasma vitamin D level, and genetic variation in host defense of febrile UTI and its relation with bacteremia.

Methods

A case-control study. Out of a cohort of consecutive adults with febrile UTI (n = 787) included in a multi-center observational cohort study, 46 cases with bacteremic E.coli UTI and 45 cases with non-bacteremic E.coli UTI were randomly selected and compared to 46 controls. Urinary IL-6, IL-8, LL37, β-defensin 2 and uromodulin as well as plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D were measured. In 440 controls and 707 UTI patients polymorphisms were genotyped in the genes CXCR1, DEFA4, DEFB1, IL6, IL8, MYD88, UMOD, TIRAP, TLR1, TLR2, TLR5 and TNF.

Results

IL-6, IL-8, and LL37 are different between controls and UTI patients, although these proteins do not distinguish between patients with and without bacteremia. While uromodulin did not differ between groups, inability to produce uromodulin is more common in patients with bacteremia. Most participants in the study, including the controls, had insufficient vitamin D and, at least in winter, UTI patients have lower vitamin D than controls. Associations were found between the CC genotype of IL6 SNP rs1800795 and occurrence of bacteremia and between TLR5 SNP rs5744168 and protection from UTI. The rare GG genotype of IL6 SNP rs1800795 was associated with higher β-defensin 2 production.

Conclusion

Although no biomarker was able to distinguish between UTI with or without bacteremia, two risk factors for bacteremia were identified. These were inability to produce uromodulin and an IL6 rs1800795 genotype.     

Fibrinogen alpha chain O-glycopeptides as possible markers of urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common bacterial infection leading to substantial morbidity and considerable health care expenditures across all ages. Here we present an exploratory UPLC-MS study of human urine in the context of febrile, complicated urinary tract infection aimed to reveal and identify possible markers of a host response on infection. A UPLC-MS based workflow, taking advantage of Ultra High Resolution (UHR) Qq-ToF-MS, and multivariate data handling were applied to a carefully selected group of 39 subjects with culture-confirmed febrile Escherichia coli UTI. Using a combination of unsupervised and supervised multivariate modeling we have pinpointed a number of peptides specific for UTI. An unequivocal structural identification of these peptides, as O-glycosylated fragments of the human fibrinogen alpha 1 chain, required MS2 and MS3 experiments on two different MS platforms: ESI-UHR-Qq-ToF and ESI-ion trap, a blast search and, finally, confirmation was achieved by matching experimental tandem mass spectra with those of custom synthesized candidate-peptides.In conclusion, exploiting non-targeted UPLC-MS based approach for the investigation of UTI related changes in urine, we have identified and structurally characterized unique O-glycopeptides, which are, to our knowledge, the first demonstration of O-glycosylation of human fibrinogen alpha 1-chain.     

Utility of the white gene in estimating phylogenetic relationships among mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)

The utility of a nuclear protein-coding gene for reconstructing phylogenetic relationships within the family Culicidae was explored. Relationships among 13 species representing three subfamilies and nine genera of Culicidae were analyzed using a 762-bp fragment of coding sequence from the eye color gene, white. Outgroups for the study were two species from the sister group Chaoboridae. Sequences were determined from clone PCR products amplified from genomic DNA, and aligned following conceptual intron splicing and amino acid translation. Third codon positions were characterized by high levels of divergence and biased nucleotide composition, the intensity and direction of which varied among taxa. Equal weighting of all characters resulted in parsimony and neighboring-joining trees at odds with the generally accepted phylogenetic hypothesis based on morphology and rDNA sequences. The application of differential weighting schemes recovered the traditional hypothesis, in which the subfamily Anophelinae formed the basal clade. The subfamily Toxorhynchitinae occupied an intermediate position, and was a sister group to the subfamily Culicinae. Within Culicinae, the genera Sabethes and Tripteroides formed an ancestral clade, while the Culex-Deinocerites and Aedes- Haemagogus clades occupied increasingly derived positions in the molecular phylogeny. An intron present in the Culicinae- Toxorhynchitinae lineage and one outgroup taxon was absent in the basal Anophelinae lineage and the second outgroup taxon, suggesting that intron insertions or deletions may not always be reliable systematic characters.      

The formation of the mesoderm in urodelean amphibians

Summary Strong Li treatment leads to auto-activation of blastula and gastrula ectoderm due to lethal and sublethal cytolysis, resulting in adirect meso- and endodermization of the ectoderm. In contrast, a mild Li treatment-0.04 M LiCl in Holtfreter solution for only two hours—which does not show cytolizing effects, has no or only a weak mesodermizing effect upon blastula ectoderm. However, when the explant contains endoderm as well the same treatment leads to a marked transformation of ectoderm into mesoderm and subsequently into endoderm (vegetalization). Thisindirect action of the Li ion under physiological conditions apparently represents an enhancement of the normally occurring mesoderm formation from the ectodermal component of the blastula under the inducing action of the endodermal component and its subsequent transformation into endodermal structures, probably due to a rise in competence. The question is raised in how far the direct meso-and endodermization of gastrula ectoderm by heterogeneous inductors is open to the same criticsm as in the case of auto-activation of the ectoderm by a strong Li treatment. Finally, the experiments of Ave, Kawakami and Sameshima (1968) are briefly discussed.

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Zusammenfassung Eine starke Li-Behandlung führt im Blastula- und Gastrula-Ektoderm durch letale und subletale Zytolyse zu einer Selbstaktivierung, die sich auswirkt in einerdirekten Meso-und Entodermisierung des Ektoderms. Im Gegensatz dazu zeigt eine gelinde Li-Behandlung — 0,04 M LiCl in Holtfreter-Lösung während nur 2 Std —, die keine zytolyzierende Wirkung hat, keinen oder nur einen schwachen Einflu\ auf isoliertes Blastula-Ektoderm. Wenn dagegen das Explantat auch Entoderm enthlt, führt die gleiche Behandlung zu einer betrchlichen Umbildung von Ektoderm in Mesoderm und weiter in Entoderm (Vegetalisierung). Dieseindirekte Wirkung des Li-Ions unter physiologischen Verhltnissen stellt also offenbar eine Verstrkung dar der im normalen Keim vor sich gehenden Mesodermbildung aus der ektodermalen Komponente unter dem Einflu\ der induzierenden Wirkung der entodermalen Komponente und der darauffolgenden Transformierung in entodermale Strukturen, wsch. durch Kompetenzsteigerung. Es wird die Frage aufgeworfen, inwiefern die unmittelbare Meso- und Entodermisierung von Gastrula-Ektoderm durch heterogene Induktoren der gleichen Beurteilung zugnglich ist wie der Fall der Selbstaktivierung des Ektoderms durch starke Li-Behandlung. Schlie\lich werden die Experimente von Ave, Kawakami u. Sameshima (1968) kurz diskutiert.

     

The formation of the mesoderm in urodelean amphibians

Summary Experiments are described in which in early to late blastulae ofAmbystoma mexicanum (stages 7–8/9 Harrison) the animal, ectodermal half (zones I.II) was combined with the vegetative, endodermal yolk mass (zone IV) in various orientations, viz. in random orientation or with the dorso-ventral axes of the two components in identical, opposite or perpendicular orientation (0°, 180°, or 90° translocation respectively). The results demonstrate unequivocally that the dorso-ventral polarity of the induced mesoderm, and thus of the embryo, depends exclusively upon the inherent dorso-ventral polarity of the endoderm, whereas the grey crescent, a considerable part of which is located in the animal, ectodermal half, plays no causal role whatsoever.The results also show that the dorso-ventral polarity is inherent in the entire endodermal mass, but that the subsequent regional differentiation of the endoderm depends upon stimulating influences emanating from the surrounding mesoderm, the later nutritive yolk representing that part of the endoderm which normally does not come under the influence of the mesoderm, and therefore fails to receive the necessary stimulus for further differentiation.On the basis of these findings Schultze's Umkehrexperiment as studied byPenners andSchleip, Penners, andPasteels are reinterpreted, whileDalcq andPasteels' general developmental theory as well asCurtis' cortical grafting experiments are critically discussed.

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Zusammenfassung Es werden Experimente beschrieben, in denen in frühen bis späten Blastulae vonAmbystoma mexicanum (Stadien 7–8/9 Harrison) die animale, ektodermale Hälfte (Zonen I.II) mit der vegetativen, entodermalen Dottermasse (Zone IV) kombiniert wurde, und zwar in verschiedener Orientierung, d. h. in willkürlicher Orientierung oder mit den Dorsoventralachsen der beiden Komponenten identisch, entgegengesetzt oder senkrecht zueinander orientiert (0°, bzw. 180° oder 90° transloziert). Die Ergebnisse zeigen eindeutig, daß die Dorsoventralpolarität des induzierten Mesoderms, und damit die des Embryos, ausschließlich von der inhärenten Dorsoventralpolarität des Entoderms bestimmt wird, während der graue Halbmond, der zu einem beträchtlichen Teil in der animalen, ektodermalen Hälfte liegt, überhaupt keine kausale Rolle spielt.Außerdem zeigen die Ergebnisse, daß die Dorsoventralpolarität der ganzen Entodermmasse inhärent ist, daß aber die spätere regionale Differenzierung des Entoderms von stimulierenden Einflüssen seitens des umgebenden Mesoderms abhängig ist; der spätere Nährdotter ist derjenige Teil des Entoderms der normalerweise außerhalb des Wirkungsbereiches des Mesoderms liegt, und infolgedessen den für seine weitere Differenzierung benötigten Reiz nicht erhält.Angesichts dieser Befunde wird das Schultzesche Umkehrexperiment, welches vonPenners undSchleip, Penners, undPasteels näher untersucht worden ist, neu interpretiert, während die allgemeine Entwicklungstheorie vonDalcq u.Pasteels sowie die Cortextransplantationen vonCurtis kritisch diskutiert werden.