Search results for "PEP"
showing 10 items of 5500 documents
Updated pest categorisation of Xylella fastidiosa
2018
Abstract Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Plant Health Panel updated its pest categorisation of Xylella fastidiosa, previously delivered as part of the pest risk assessment published in 2015. X. fastidiosa is a Gram‐negative bacterium, responsible for various plant diseases, including Pierce's disease, phony peach disease, citrus variegated chlorosis, olive quick decline syndrome, almond leaf scorch and various other leaf scorch diseases. The pathogen is endemic in the Americas and is present in Iran. In the EU, it is reported in southern Apulia in Italy, on the island of Corsica and in the Provence‐Alpes‐Côte d'Azur region in France, as well as in the Autonomous r…
Taxonomic status and epidemiology of the mesoparasitic copepod Pennella balaenoptera in cetaceans from the western Mediterranean.
2018
Pennella balaenoptera is a mesoparasitic copepod that has been reported in at least 17 cetacean species. Subtle morphological differences in the first antennae of adult females have been used to discriminate this species from P. filosa, a species infecting fishes. Other morphological traits are unreliable because of their high plasticity, and no molecular data are available to confirm the taxonomic status of P. balaenoptera as an independent species. We found no consistent morphological differences of the first antennae between P. balaenoptera and P. filosa collected from cetaceans and fish in the western Mediterranean. Molecular data on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I failed…
In vitro antifungal activity of bioactive peptides produced by Lactobacillus plantarum against Aspergillus parasiticus and Penicillium expansum
2017
Abstract Food spoilage caused by mycotoxigenic moulds represents an important problem in food security. The antimicrobial peptides are compounds of natural origin constituted by a variable number (5–100) of amino acids held together through peptide bonds. In this work, the cell free supernatants (CFSs) containing peptides obtained from four strains of LAB were lyophilized, filtered and tested to determine the antifungal activity against Aspergillus Parasiticus and Penicillium expansum . CFS obtained by Lactobacillus plantarum showed the highest inhibition activity. CFS was fractionated by size exclusion chromatography and injected into the liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detect…
First report of tomato brown rugose fruit virus infecting sweet pepper in Italy
2020
In January 2020, about 85% of a red sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) crop in a greenhouse located in Ragusa province (Sicily, Italy) showed virus-like symptoms. Symptoms consisted of a slight mosaic and discoloration of young leaves, vein clearing on young leaves, browning of the stem with strong necrosis located in the intersection of the secondary branches, partial necrosis of the vegetative apex and marbling, mosaic and distortion of the fruits (Fig. 1). It is important to note that in 2019 the same greenhouse was cultivated with tomato, which had been removed due to extensive infection caused by Tomato brown rugose fruit virus
A comparative study of viral infectivity, accumulation and symptoms induced by broad bean wilt virus 1 isolates
2018
Broad bean wilt virus 1 (BBWV-1, genus Fabavirus, family Secoviridae) is a bipartite positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus distributed worldwide infecting many herbaceous species. Until now, scarce information regarding biological properties of BBWV-1 isolates is available. This work shows a comparative study on virus infectivity (proportion of infected plants over inoculated plants), virus accumulation and symptoms induced by four genetically different BBWV-1 isolates (Ben, B41/99, NSRV and PV0548) which were mechanically inoculated on several herbaceous hosts. The four BBWV-1 isolates infected broad bean, tomato, pepper and Nicotiana benthamiana plants, whereas none of them infected cu…
Purification, characterization and influence on membrane properties of the plant-specific sphingolipids GIPC
2020
AbstractThe plant plasma membrane (PM) is an essential barrier between the cell and the external environment. The PM is crucial for signal perception and transmission. It consists of an asymmetrical lipid bilayer made up of three different lipid classes: sphingolipids, sterols and phospholipids. The most abundant sphingolipids in the plant PM are the Glycosyl Inositol Phosphoryl Ceramides (GIPCs), representing up to 40% of total sphingolipids, assumed to be almost exclusively in the outer leaflet of the PM. In this study, we investigated the structure of GIPCs and their role in membrane organization. Since GIPCs are not commercially available, we developed a protocol to extract and isolate …
Immunity and other defenses in pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum
2010
Background Recent genomic analyses of arthropod defense mechanisms suggest conservation of key elements underlying responses to pathogens, parasites and stresses. At the center of pathogen-induced immune responses are signaling pathways triggered by the recognition of fungal, bacterial and viral signatures. These pathways result in the production of response molecules, such as antimicrobial peptides and lysozymes, which degrade or destroy invaders. Using the recently sequenced genome of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum), we conducted the first extensive annotation of the immune and stress gene repertoire of a hemipterous insect, which is phylogenetically distantly related to previously ch…
To Swim or Not to Swim: Potential Transmission of Balaenophilus manatorum (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) in Marine Turtles
2017
Species of Balaenophilus are the only harpacticoid copepods that exhibit a widespread, obligate association with vertebrates, i.e., B. unisetus with whales and B. manatorum with marine turtles and manatees. In the western Mediterranean, juveniles of the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta are the only available hosts for B. manatorum, which has been found occurring at high prevalence (>80%) on them. A key question is how these epibionts are transmitted from host to host. We investigated this issue based on experiments with live specimens of B. manatorum that were cultured with turtle skin. Specimens were obtained from head-started hatchlings of C. caretta from the western Mediterranean. …
Insect Vectors (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) and Pathogens Associated with the Disease Syndrome “Basses Richesses” of Sugar Beet in France
2019
International audience; The syndrome “basses richesses” (SBR) is a disease of sugar beet in eastern France associated with two phloem-restricted, nonculturable plant pathogens: a stolbur phytoplasma and a γ-3 proteobacterium, here called SBR bacterium. Three planthopper (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) species were found to live near and within sugar beet fields in eastern France: Cixius wagneri, Hyalesthes obsoletus, and Pentastiridius leporinus. The role of these planthoppers in spreading the two pathogens to sugar beet was studied. Based on its abundance and high frequency of infection with the SBR bacterium, P. leporinus was considered to be the economic vector of SBR disease. C. wagneri, the prim…
Influence of biotic variables on invertebrate size structure and diversity in coastal wetlands of Southeastern Spain
2016
Abstract Biomass and size-based estimations provide relevant information regarding ecosystem functioning and biotic interactions. Our aims were to study the effect of fish and macrophytes on the size structure of invertebrate assemblages (from rotifers to insects) in a set of coastal water bodies, estimating the biomass (total and main invertebrate groups), the biomass-size spectra (model of Pareto) and size diversity. In fishless ponds, cladoceran and ostracod biomass were higher, and they presented greater size diversity. In fish ponds, rotifer biomass presented greater proportion; while in fishless ponds, cladocerans were usually the most abundant taxa and the largest organisms. The biom…