Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Diversity in Cephalosporium maydis from Egypt

ABSTRACT Cephalosporium maydis, the causal agent of late wilt of maize, was first described in Egypt in the 1960s, where it can cause yield losses of up to 40% in susceptible plantings. We characterized 866 isolates of C. maydis collected from 14 governates in Egypt, 7 in the Nile River Delta and 7 in southern (Middle and Upper) Egypt, with amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. The four AFLP primer-pair combinations generated 68 bands, 25 of which were polymorphic, resulting in 52 clonal haplotypes that clustered the 866 isolates into four phylogenetic lineages. Three lineages were found in both the Nile River Delta and southern Egypt. Lineage IV, the most diverse group (20 haplotypes), was recovered only from governates in the Nile River Delta. In some locations, one lineage dominated (up to 98% of the isolates recovered) and, from some fields, only a single haplotype was recovered. Under field conditions in Egypt, there is no evidence that C. maydis reproduces sexually. The nonuniform geographic distribution of the pathogen lineages within the country could be due to differences in climate or in the farming system, because host material differs in susceptibility and C. maydis lineages differ in pathogenicity.     

Bioactivity Potential of Marine Natural Products from Scleractinia-Associated Microbes and In Silico Anti-SARS-COV-2 Evaluation

Marine organisms and their associated microbes are rich in diverse chemical leads. With the development of marine biotechnology, a considerable number of research activities are focused on marine bacteria and fungi-derived bioactive compounds. Marine bacteria and fungi are ranked on the top of the hierarchy of all organisms, as they are responsible for producing a wide range of bioactive secondary metabolites with possible pharmaceutical applications. Thus, they have the potential to provide future drugs against challenging diseases, such as cancer, a range of viral diseases, malaria, and inflammation. This review aims at describing the literature on secondary metabolites that have been obtained from Scleractinian-associated organisms including bacteria, fungi, and zooxanthellae, with full coverage of the period from 1982 to 2020, as well as illustrating their biological activities and structure activity relationship (SAR). Moreover, all these compounds were filtered based on ADME analysis to determine their physicochemical properties, and 15 compounds were selected. The selected compounds were virtually investigated for potential inhibition for SARS-CoV-2 targets using molecular docking studies. Promising potential results against SARS-CoV-2 RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and methyltransferase (nsp16) are presented.     

基于区间多阶段随机规划模型的灌区多水源优化配置

灌区多水源灌溉系统中存在许多不确定性因素,随着系统环境的变化及不确定性因素的影响,导致其配水过程具有动态特征。针对灌区多水源灌溉系统的配水特点,该文建立基于区间多阶段随机规划的灌区多水源优化配置模型。同时,考虑灌溉水对作物产量的影响,引入水分敏感指数权重系数,并以黑龙江省和平灌区水稻不同生育阶段灌溉水资源优化配置进行实例研究。结果表明,在不同来水情境下,管理者可根据各个生育阶段水分敏感指数权重系数,判断作物不同生育阶段的需水敏感程度,当来水情境的来水量多时,会产生余水量,可调配给下一生育阶段;当来水情境的来水量少时,管理者可在减少灌溉水量与增加外调水之间进行权衡,并根据需水关键期与需水非关键期做出决策,使水资源在作物生育阶段间及作物生育阶段内进行分配,实现灌区多水源灌溉系统的动态配水。该模型的应用在确保作物产量的同时,使灌溉水资源在作物各个生育阶段进行合理配置,有效地避免了水资源浪费,对提高灌溉水利用效率、保证水资源的可持续利用具有重要意义。     

Genetic Structure of Atmospheric Populations of Gibberella zeae

ABSTRACT Gibberella zeae, causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) of wheat and barley and Gibberella ear rot (GER) of corn, may be transported over long distances in the atmosphere. Epidemics of FHB and GER may be initiated by regional atmospheric sources of inoculum of G. zeae; however, little is known about the origin of inoculum for these epidemics. We tested the hypothesis that atmospheric populations of G. zeae are genetically diverse by determining the genetic structure of New York atmospheric populations (NYAPs) of G. zeae, and comparing them with populations of G. zeae collected from seven different states in the northern United States. Viable, airborne spores of G. zeae were collected in rotational (lacking any apparent within-field inoculum sources of G. zeae) wheat and corn fields in Aurora, NY in May through August over 3 years (2002 to 2004). We evaluated 23 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci in 780 isolates of G. zeae. Normalized genotypic diversity was high (ranging from 0.91 to 1.0) in NYAPs of G. zeae, and nearly all of the isolates in each of the populations represented unique AFLP haplotypes. Pairwise calculations of Nei's unbiased genetic identity were uniformly high (>0.99) for all of the possible NYAP comparisons. Although the NYAPs were genotypically diverse, they were genetically similar and potentially part of a large, interbreeding population of G. zeae in North America. Estimates of the fixation index (G(ST)) and the effective migration rate (Nm) for the NYAPs indicated significant genetic exchange among populations. Relatively low levels of linkage disequilibrium in the NYAPs suggest that outcrossing is common and that the populations are not a result of a recent bottleneck or invasion. When NYAPs were compared with those collected across the United States, the observed genetic identities between the populations ranged from 0.92 to 0.99. However, there was a significant negative correlation (R = -0.59, P < 0.001) between genetic identity and geographic distance, suggesting that some genetic isolation may occur on a continental scale. The contribution of long-distance transport of G. zeae to regional epidemics of FHB and GER remains unclear, but the diverse atmospheric populations of G. zeae suggest that inoculum may originate from multiple locations over large geographic distances. Practically, the long-distance transport of G. zeae suggests that management of inoculum sources on a local scale, unless performed over extensive production areas, will not be completely effective for the management of FHB and GER.