Search results for "ASM"

A Robust and All-Inclusive Pipeline for Shuffling of Adeno-Associated Viruses.

2018

Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) are attractive templates for engineering of synthetic gene delivery vectors. A particularly powerful technology for breeding of novel vectors with improved properties is DNA family shuffling, i.e., generation of chimeric capsids by homology-driven DNA recombination. Here, to make AAV DNA shuffling available to a wider community, we present a robust experimental and bioinformatical pipeline comprising: (i) standardized and partially codon-optimized plasmids carrying 12 different AAV capsid genes; (ii) a scalable protocol including troubleshooting guide for viral library production; and (iii) the freely available software SALANTO for comprehensive analysis of ch…

Green methodology for quality control of elemental content of infant milk powder

2019

Abstract A green methodology for the direct determination of elemental content in infant milk powder samples from 0 to 3 years was developed. A portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) tool has been used as a direct method for the quantification of five essential elements (Ca, K, Fe, Cu and Zn). For analysis pellets from 0.8 g of each sample weight were made and analyzed. Due to the high dependence of the ED-XRF signal with the sample matrix, external calibrations using cocoa powder diluted with glucose were performed. Infant milk samples were diluted with lactose and the signals were interpolated in the external calibrations. Concentrations obtained by ED-XRF were compared wi…

Collateral sensitivity of natural products in drug-resistant cancer cells

2018

Cancer chemotherapy is frequently hampered by drug resistance. Concepts to combine anticancer drugs with different modes of action to avoid the development of resistance did not provide the expected success in the past, because tumors can be simultaneously non-responsive to many drugs (e.g. the multidrug resistance phenotype). However, tumors may be specifically hypersensitive to other drugs - a phenomenon also termed collateral sensitivity. This seems to be a general biological mechanism, since it also occurs in drug-resistant Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we give a timely and comprehensive overview on hypersensitivity in resistant cancer cells towards natural produc…

2018

BackgroundThe use and partitioning of trophic resources is a central aspect of community function. On the ground of tropical forests, dozens of ant species may be found together and ecological mechanisms should act to allow such coexistence. One hypothesis states that niche specialization is higher in the tropics, compared to temperate regions. However, trophic niches of most species are virtually unknown. Several techniques might be combined to study trophic niche, such as field observations, fatty acid analysis (FAA) and stable isotope analysis (SIA). In this work, we combine these three techniques to unveil partitioning of trophic resources in a tropical and a temperate community. We des…

Genetic diversity of fig (Ficus caricaL.) genotypes grown in Southern Italy revealed by the use of SSR markers

2017

The genetic variability among 181 fig (Ficus carica L.) accessions found in small farms located in Campania, Basilicata, Apulia, Calabria and Sicily was investigated analysing the polymorphism of 18 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The SSR analysis revealed a large genetic diversity among accessions. A total of 117 alleles were detected with a mean of 6.5 locus-1. The average expected (He) and observed heterozygosity (Ho) were 0.56 and 0.66, respectively. The mean polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.51, suggesting a significant molecular diversity among the fig accessions taken into consideration. The UPGMA cluster analysis discriminated 174 genotypes and allowed to find 8 grou…

Multilocus typing for characterization of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’-related strains in several ornamental species in Italy

2018

Different ornamental plants showing symptoms referable to phytoplasma presence and collected between 1993 and 2015 in various floricultural areas in north and south of Italy, enclosing Sicily, resulted to be infected by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’-related strains, and after PCR/RFLP identification on 16Sr gene were assigned to 16SrI-B subgroup. These infected samples were employed for phytoplasma strain differentiation on tuf, groel, rp and amp genes. In particular, the 23 phytoplasma strains employed were from hydrangea (5), primula (3), gentian (2), petunia (2) and gerbera (1) samples showing flower virescence; from gladiolus samples both in vivo and in micropropagation (2) showing t…

p24 Family Proteins Are Involved in Transport to the Plasma Membrane of GPI-Anchored Proteins in Plants

2020

p24 proteins are a family of type-I membrane proteins that cycle between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi apparatus via Coat Protein I (COPI)- and COPII-coated vesicles. These proteins have been proposed to function as cargo receptors, but the identity of putative cargos in plants is still elusive. We previously generated an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) quadruple loss-of-function mutant affecting p24 genes from the δ-1 subclass of the p24 delta subfamily (p24δ3δ4δ5δ6 mutant). This mutant also had reduced protein levels of other p24 family proteins and was found to be sensitive to salt stress. Here, we used this mutant to test the possible involvement of p24 proteins in the…

Identification of (In)Compatible S-genotypes and Molecular Characterisation of Italian Sweet Cherry Cultivars.

2017

Italy is the first sweet cherry producer in Europe. Its rich germplasm of local varieties has not been fully characterised or exploited in breeding programmes. Sweet cherry is a self-incompatible species; this trait is controlled by a gametophytically expressed multi-allelic (S) locus. The knowledge of sweet cherry S-alleles and cross-incompatibility groups is important for growers and breeders for choosing appropriate pollinators in the orchard and planning crosses. In this work, we analysed 94 sweet cherry cultivars native of large part of the Italian regions where cherry is grown. The microsatellite primer pair set and the reference cultivars agreed for cherry by the Prunus Working Group…

New Clones and Old Varieties: Quality of Sicilian Hillside Apple Cultivation

2021

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the qualitative characteristics of the new clones according to the Mediterranean hillside growing environment and, at the same time, to highlight the qualitative peculiarities of the old varieties in order to avoid genetic loss. Introduction: Several apple varieties are constantly selected for improved quality traits and introduced for cultivation and marketing in addition to a few traditional and affirmed varieties. On the other side, local genotype and ancient varieties are still valorised due to the request of a niche market. Methods: We have studied the physico-chemical quality and the sensory traits of the fruit obtained in this particular en…

Germplasm of medicinal and aromatic plant species in the Parco della Favorita in Palermo city (Sicily, Italy)

2017

Despite high urbanization, the city of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) has a good level of plant biodiversity. The Parco della Favorita is the largest green space in the city. It covers an area of 400 ha and is the green lung of the city. The Parco della Favorita is home to many wild species of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). This study aims to promote the Favorita Park as an urban green area to be used for educational purposes to raise awareness for the medicinal and food uses of MAPs. Nineteen plant species belonging to fifteen botanical families were identified. The most representative plant species were Foeniculum vulgare, Laurus nobilis, Capparis spinosa and Malva sylvetsris. Some of the…