Search results for "RAS"

Learned parasite avoidance is driven by host personality and resistance to infection in a fish-trematode interaction

2016

Cognitive abilities related to the assessment of risk improve survival. While earlier studies have examined the ability of animals to learn to avoid predators, learned parasite avoidance has received little interest. In a series of behavioural trials with the trematode parasite Diplostomum pseudospathaceum , we asked whether sea trout ( Salmo trutta trutta ) hosts show associative learning in the context of parasitism and if so, whether learning capacity is related to the likelihood of infection mediated through host personality and resistance. We show that animals are capable of learning to avoid visual cues associated with the presence of parasites. However, avoidance behaviour ceased af…

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…

Botryosphaeriaceae species associated with diseased loquat trees in Italy and description of Diplodia rosacearum sp. nov

2016

[EN] Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a fruit tree cultivated in several countries in the Mediterranean region. A survey of a loquat orchard in Sicily ( Italy) revealed the presence of plants showing dieback symptoms and cankers with wedge-shaped necrotic sectors. Fungi from the genera Diplodia and Neofusicoccum were isolated from symptomatic plants. On the basis of morphological characters and DNA sequence data four species were identified, Neofusicoccum parvum, N. vitifusiforme, Diplodia seriata and a novel Diplodia species, which is here described as D. rosacearum sp. nov. Inoculation trials of loquat plants cv Sanfilipparo showed that N. parvum, D. seriata and D. rosacearum were pathogen…

Buchwaldoboletus lignicola (Boletaceae), a rare basidiomycete from Europe

2017

AbstractBuchwaldoboletus lignicola is a rare basidiomycete with fragmented distribution in Europe. The taxonomy, ecology and distribution of this species is reported. The new locality from central Sicily widens the area of distribution of B. lignicola in Europe.

First record of Capnobotrys dingleyae (Metacapnodiaceae) on Taxus baccata for southern Europe

2017

Field investigations carried out in a mixed forest of Fagus sylvatica and Taxus baccata in the Nebrodi Natural Park (Sicily, southern Italy) allowed us to identify a very rare lignicolous ascomycete Capnobotrys dingleyae, a new species for southern Europe.

Epiphytic communities of open habitats in the western Tian-Shan Mts (Middle Asia: Kyrgyzstan)

2016

The paper presents the results of bryosociological research conducted on the epiphytic vegetation in the western Tian-Shan Mountains in 2013. The surveys on epiphytic bryophyte and lichen communities were done on 115 sites with different quantity of trees (solitary, in alleys or wood plots along river valleys) distributed in several mountain ranges within study area. In total 21 epiphytic moss species were found during research which composes characteristic species combinations making apparent difference between associations. As a result of field research and numerical analyses, three separate groups of samples corresponding to seven associations and one community within three alliances: Ul…

Updated checklist of macromycetes of Tunisia

2020

A preliminary checklist of macromycetes has been previously published with reference to six governorates located in northern Tunisia. This paper provides an updated version of the inventory of macromycetes in Tunisia, which includes 268 species, of which seven are worldwide recognized as rare. The investigation was carried out from September 2015 to December 2018 in 13 governorates of the Tunisian territory. This updated checklist reports 145 new national species records (139 basidiomycetes and six ascomycetes) belonging to 57 genera and 13 families. Data related to distribution, ecology and preferential hosts of each recorded taxon are also provided.

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…

The In Vitro Interaction of 12-Oxophytodienoic Acid and Related Conjugated Carbonyl Compounds with Thiol Antioxidants

2021

α,β-unsaturated carbonyls interfere with numerous plant physiological processes. One mechanism of action is their reactivity toward thiols of metabolites like cysteine and glutathione (GSH). This work aimed at better understanding these interactions. Both 12-oxophytodienoic acid (12-OPDA) and abscisic acid (ABA) conjugated with cysteine. It was found that the reactivity of α,β-unsaturated carbonyls with GSH followed the sequence trans-2-hexenal &lt

2018

Parasitism is considered a major selective force in natural host populations. Infections can decrease host condition and vigour, and potentially influence, for example, host population dynamics and behavior such as mate choice. We studied parasite infections of two common marine fish species, the sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus) and the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps), in the brackish water Northern Baltic Sea. We were particularly interested in the occurrence of parasite taxa located in central sensory organs, such as eyes, potentially affecting fish behavior and mate choice. We found that both fish species harbored parasite communities dominated by taxa transmitted to fish through …