Root and stem rot,and wilting of olive tree caused by Dematophora necatrix and associated with Emmia lacerata in Central Italy

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Lethal wilting was observed on young olive trees cv Favolosa in a grove in central Italy. White mycelial strands wrapped the basal portion of the stems that...     

Effect of Cooking on Lignans Content in Whole‐Grain Pasta Made with Different Cereals and Other Seeds

Lignans are of increasing interest because of their potential anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, estrogenic, and antiestrogenic activities. In this work, mixed‐cereal pastas manufactured by adding 60% whole‐grain flours of different cereals (wheat, oat, rye, barley, and rice) to durum wheat semolina, a multigrain pasta with different grains (cereals, legumes, and flaxseed), and a traditional industrial durum wheat semolina were analyzed for their lignans content both in the raw and in the cooked state, ready for consumption. For raw mixed‐cereal pastas, total lignans were within the range 94.91–485.62 μg/100 g d.w. After cooking, total lignans losses of about 35.5, 18.31, and 5.46% were observed respectively in oat‐, rye‐, and rice‐added pastas, whereas increases of 5.74 and 13.62% were observed in barley‐added and whole durum wheat pastas. Interesting results were obtained for the multigrain pasta: the raw product exhibited a total lignans content of 9,686.17 ± 287.03 μg/100 g d.w., and the major contribution was given by secoisolariciresinol. This highest total lignans value resulted from its rich and varied composition in seeds of different origin, legumes, and flaxseed in particular. Our findings showed that mixed‐cereal and multigrain pastas can be considered a good source of lignans. The effect of cooking was not the same for each product, and it depended on the different lignans profile of each grain, on the different chemical structure of each lignan, and on the nature of the food matrix.     

Pathogenicity of two recent Western Mediterranean West Nile virus isolates in a wild bird species indigenous to Southern Europe: the red-legged partridge

ABSTRACT: West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging zoonotic pathogen whose geographic spread and incidence in humans, horses and birds has increased significantly in recent years. WNV has long been considered a mild pathogen causing self-limiting outbreaks. This notion has changed as WNV is causing large epidemics with a high impact on human and animal health. This has been particularly noteworthy since its introduction into North America in 1999. There, native bird species have been shown to be highly susceptible to WNV infection and disease with high mortalities. For this reason, the effect of WNV infection in North American bird species has been thoroughly studied by means of experimental inoculations in controlled trials. To a lesser extent, European wild birds have been shown to be affected clinically by WNV infection. Yet experimental studies on European wild bird species are lacking. The red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa) is a gallinaceous bird indigenous to the Iberian Peninsula, widely distributed in South Western Europe. It plays a key role in the Mediterranean ecosystem and constitutes an economically important game species. As such it is raised intensively in outdoor facilities. In this work, red-legged partridges were experimentally infected with two recent WNV isolates from the Western Mediterranean area: Morocco/2003 and Spain/2007. All inoculated birds became viremic and showed clinical disease, with mortality rates of 70% and 30%, respectively. These results show that Western Mediterranean WNV variants can be pathogenic for some European bird species, such as the red-legged partridge.     

Properties of humic acids in Mediterranean forest soils (Southern Italy): influence of different plant covering

The chemical and spectroscopic properties of humic acids (HAs) isolated from four litters and their corresponding underlying soils at three depths in a protected forest area in Southern Italy were investigated as a function of four different plant coverings: Quercus ilex L., mixed Carpinus betulus L. and C. orientalis Mill., Pinus halepensis L., and mixed Quercus trojana Webb. and Q. ilex L.. The forested site is a part of a calcareous plateau, characterized by homogeneous soils classified as Eutric Cambisols associated with Calcic Luvisols. The changes in the composition of HAs with soil depth have been evaluated on the basis of chemical (elemental and COOH groups) and spectroscopic analyses (E₄/E₆ ratio and FT IR spectra), and lignin-derived CuO oxidation products. A different distribution of the main elements was found in the various HAs which is apparently related to the type of humic acid-precursor biomolecules in the parent litters. The HAs isolated from soils under Q. ilex and mixed Carpinus species showed a slight increase in the C/H ratio and COOH content downward the soil profile, suggesting increasing aromatic polycondensation and humification degree with depth. On the contrary, no trend was observed for HAs from soils under Pinus halepensis L. and mixed Quercus species, indicating a partial incorporation of residues deriving from litter degradation into these HAs. Further, the content of lignin-derived phenols was higher in Pinus halepensis L. and mixed Quercus species layers, with the same trend measured for the corresponding HAs, thus confirming a lignin contribution related to the lignin type of plant covering.     

Differentiation and structure of an Italian landrace of celery (Apium graveolens L.): inferences for on farm conservation

The “Sedano Nero di Trevi” (Black Celery from Trevi) is a landrace grown in Umbria (Italy) at risk of extinction. A morpho-physiological and molecular characterisation of the landrace and a detailed investigation of its cultural and cultivation context were carried out with the aim of facilitating a request for a quality mark, implement in situ (on farm) conservation schemes that are being developed in Italy and register the landrace in the European common catalogue of ‘conservation varieties’. These actions can help the landrace survive. Six farmer populations of the landrace and four élite varieties were characterised for thirteen morpho-physiological traits and nine AFLP primer combinations. The “Sedano Nero” farmer populations were better performers than élite varieties for important agronomic traits, such as yield, under the local agronomic conditions. Both morpho-physiological traits and molecular markers clearly distinguished the landrace from the élite cultivars. In addition, a structure was detected in the landrace with farmer populations being characterised by specific alleles. These results are discussed in connection with the local seed system and possible in situ conservation strategies for landraces.     

Olive mill wastewater spreading and AMF inoculation effects in a low-input semi-arid Mediterranean crop succession

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to evaluate, in a marginal semi-arid Mediterranean agro-ecosystem (Sicily-Italy), the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation and raw olive mill wastewater (OMW) (40 and 80 m³ ha^?1) on forage (durum wheat-snail medick intercropping) yield, and grain production of broad bean and chickpea. AMF inoculation significantly increased (+13.6%) forage dry biomass and durum wheat nitrogen (+22.8%) and phosphorus (+32.5%) uptake. AMF inoculation, significantly promoted broad bean phosphorus uptake (+11.5%) and root nodule number (+13.9%) in the absence of OMW. OMW spreading reduced weeds in the forage (?31.3%), root nodule number (?29.7%) and dry weight (?22.7%) in broad bean. OMW also significantly increased snail medick dry biomass (+19.3%) as compared to control treatments (0, 40 and 80 m³ H₂O ha^?1, average production 361 g m^?2), and broad bean grain yield with a production of 2.46 ± 0.12 and 1.94 ± 0.09 Mg ha^?1 with and without OMW, respectively. During the experiment AMF colonization was not affected by OMW volumes. The results obtained showed that in a marginal Mediterranean agro-ecosystem: 1) OMW, notwithstanding spreading volumes, is a valuable amendment to maximize legume yield while 2) AMF inoculation is a valuable practice to improve biomass production and N and P uptake in wheat.     

Characterization of Fungal Biodiversity In Compost and Vermicompost

The ability of fungi to break down complex carbon sources makes them of vital importance in both the generation and application of compost. This paper illustrates the diversity and functions of the mycoflora of both a green compost (made solely thermophilically from plant debris) and a vermicompost (made mesophilically by the action of earthworms on plant and animal wastes). The soil dilution plate technique was applied on 3 media (PDA, CMC, PDA plus cycloheximide) and at 3 incubation temperatures (24°C, 37°C and 45°C) to isolate and identify fungal entities. Enzymatic activities (amylase, cellulase, chitinase, esterase, ligninase, pectinase, phosphatase, plastic degradation and xylanase) of most species from both composts were evaluated with a semiquantitative method on 15 substrates. There were substantial qualiquantitative differences in the species composition of the two composts. A total of 193 entities were isolated: 54 from green compost only, 77 from vermicompost only, 62 from both. This taxonomic diversity was reflected in the metabolic potential. Amilase, cellulase, protease and esterase activities were significantly higher in the green compost. Lignin and plastic polymer degradation were significantly higher in the vermicompost. Structural and functional characterization of this kind is of assistance in determining both the most appropriate application of composts and their hygienic quality.     

Basidiomycetes from Compost and their Dye Degradation and Enzyme Activities

The degree of decolorization of Poly R-478, a highly recalcitrant anthraquinone dye, by three basidiomycetes belonging to Polyporales isolated from compost was investigated together with the enzymes involved. Decolorization tests in two liquid cultures, one with a simple mycelium inoculum, the other with an inoculum of mycelium grown on straw, resulted in 70% and 87% decolorization respectively in 7 days. However, the efficiency did not increase significantly in the presence of the lignocellulose substrate. The three strains produced laccase and/or manganese peroxidase activity during the decolorization, whereas lignin peroxidase activity was not observed. Previous growth on straw enhanced the synthesis of ligninolytic enzymes, though there was no correlation between enzyme activity and decolorization. The three fungi can be proposed as promising candidates for the treatment of colored industrial effluents and probably for soils contaminated by complex polymers, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.     

Spawning aggregation behaviour in the Creole perch,Percichthys trucha (Percichthyidae): A target species for conservation

1. Habitat fragmentation and loss threaten freshwater biodiversity worldwide. Habitats that are essential as fish spawning and nursery sites are critical, and must be identified for conservation purposes. Littoral zones within Patagonian lakes, especially shallow vegetated areas, represent important areas for the Creole perch, Percichthys trucha.
2. Spawning behaviour has been little studied, so it is not known whether these movements are performed in groups. A particular area of a deep lake in northern Patagonia was studied to identify the environmental conditions under which spawning occurs, and to analyse spawning aggregation behaviour in relation to the lunar cycle.
3. To identify spawning sites, spawning occurrence time, and the environmental parameters that determine it, fish capture data were analysed. Underwater cameras were also set up at three depth strata in the shallow zone to detect spawning aggregation behaviour. Aggregation was scored as the greatest number of individuals present in a single frame, and the number present per depth stratum. The relationship between the lunar cycle and Creole perch abundance by depth was then determined.
4. This is the first visual record of a spawning bed and the spawning aggregation behaviour of Creole perch in Patagonian lakes. The abundance of mature Creole perch in the shallow strata during the austral spring suggests that vegetated areas constitute spawning sites. Spawning aggregation takes place at a shallow depth 2 days before the full moon.
5. As the reproductive behaviours of Creole perch are important phenomena in the life history of the species, the results of this study have important implications for conservation and management.