Diversity, migration routes, and worldwide population genetic structure of Lecanosticta acicola, the causal agent of brown spot needle blight.

Lecanosticta acicola is a pine needle pathogen causing brown spot needle blight that results in premature needle shedding with considerable damage described in North America, Europe, and Asia. Microsatellite and mating type markers were used to study the population genetics, migration history, and reproduction mode of the pathogen, based on a collection of 650 isolates from 27 countries and 26 hosts across the range of L. acicola.

Real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification: an early-warning tool for quarantine plant pathogen detection.

An effective framework for early warning and rapid response is a crucial element to prevent or mitigate the impact of biological invasions of plant pathogens, especially at ports of entry. Molecular detection of pathogens by using PCR-based methods usually requires a well-equipped laboratory. Rapid detection tools that can be applied as point-of-care diagnostics are highly desirable, especially to intercept quarantine plant pathogens such as Xylella fastidiosa, Ceratocystis platani and Phytophthora ramorum, three of the most devastating pathogens of trees and ornamental plants in Europe and North America.

Social wasp intestines host the local phenotypic variability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains.

Nowadays, the presence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been assessed in both wild and human-related environments. Social wasps have been shown to maintain and vector S. cerevisiae among different environments.

Powerful qPCR assays for the early detection of latent invaders: interdisciplinary approaches in clinical cancer research and plant pathology.

Latent invaders represent the first step of disease before symptoms occur in the host. Based on recent findings, tumors are considered to be ecosystems in which cancer cells act as invasive species that interact with the native host cell species. Analogously, in plants latent fungal pathogens coevolve within symptomless host tissues.

Endoscopic treatment of superficial colorectal neoplasms. Retrospective analysis of a single center technique and results.

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) is a technique developed in Japan for "en bloc" resection of larger superficial neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract as an alternative to the traditional Endoscopic Mucosal Resection (EMR), with removal of the lesion in multiple fragments ("piecemeal"). ESD offers a lower recurrence rate and allows a more accurate histopathological examination. This procedure is however considered technically difficult and therefore requires an adequate learning curve, it is time consuming with more discomfort for the patient, it has a higher complication rate, it is more expensive.

Mechanisms of induced susceptibility to Diplodia tip blight in drought-stressed Austrian pine.

Plants experiencing drought stress are frequently more susceptible to pathogens, likely via alterations in physiology that create favorable conditions for pathogens. Common plant responses to drought include the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the accumulation of free amino acids (AAs), particularly proline. These same phenomena also frequently occur during pathogenic attack.

Early physiological responses of Pinus pinea L. seedlings infected by Heterobasidion sp.pl. in an ozone-enriched atmospheric environment.

The presence of the American root-rot disease fungus Heterobasidion irregulare Garbel. & Otrosina was detected in Italian coastal pine forests (Pinus pinea L.) in addition to the common native species Heterobasidion annosum (Fries) Brefeld.

Major changes in the sex differences in cuticular chemical profiles of the western conifer seed bug (Leptoglossus occidentalis) after laboratory rearing.

Chemical compounds covering the insect cuticle have several functions ranging from protection against water loss to inter- and intra-specific communication. Their composition is determined by several intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Among these factors, laboratory rearing has been poorly investigated even though it has a strong potential for biasing behavioral experiments.

Upward movement of Verticillium dahliae from soil to olive plants detected by qPCR.

Olive trees play an important role in cultural, ecological, environmental and social fields, constituting in large part the Mediterranean landscape. In Tuscany, an important economic activity is based on olive. Unfortunately, the Verticillium wilt affects this species and causes vascular disease.

Molecular characterization of HetRV8-ir1, a partitivirus of the invasive conifer pathogenic fungus Heterobasidion irregulare.

The Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. complex includes some of the most destructive conifer pathogenic fungi in the Boreal forest region.

Use of loop-mediated isothermal amplification for detection of Ophiostoma clavatum, the primary blue stain fungus associated with Ips acuminatus.

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is an alternative amplification technology which is highly sensitive and less time-consuming than conventional PCR-based methods. Three LAMP assays were developed, two for detection of species of symbiotic blue stain fungi associated with Ips acuminatus, a bark beetle infesting Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), and an additional assay specific to I. acuminatus itself for use as a control.

Biogeographical patterns and determinants of invasion by forest pathogens in Europe.

A large database of invasive forest pathogens (IFPs) was developed to investigate the patterns and determinants of invasion in Europe. Detailed taxonomic and biological information on the invasive species was combined with country-specific data on land use, climate, and the time since invasion to identify the determinants of invasiveness, and to differentiate the class of environments which share territorial and climate features associated with a susceptibility to invasion. IFPs increased exponentially in the last four decades.

Role of social wasps in Saccharomyces cerevisiae ecology and evolution.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most important model organisms and has been a valuable asset to human civilization. However, despite its extensive use in the last 9,000 y, the existence of a seasonal cycle outside human-made environments has not yet been described. We demonstrate the role of social wasps as vector and natural reservoir of S.

High-resolution melting analysis: a new molecular approach for the early detection of Diplodia pinea in Austrian pine.

The differentiation of Diplodia pinea from closely related species, such as Diplodia scrobiculata and Diplodia seriata, and its detection in plant tissue, represented a critical issue for a long time. Molecular screening tools have recently been developed to address this topic. In this study we applied one of the most sensitive and rapid diagnostic screening method so far developed, called High-Resolution Melting Analysis (HRMA), to detect D.

New proteins orthologous to cerato-platanin in various Ceratocystis species and the purification and characterization of cerato-populin from Ceratocystis populicola.

Natural variants of cerato-platanin (CP), a pathogen associated molecular pattern (PAMP) protein produced by Ceratocystis platani (the causal agent of the plane canker stain), have been found to be produced by other four species of the genus Ceratocystis, including five clones of Ceratocystis fimbriata isolated from different hosts. All these fungal strains were known to be pathogenic to plants with considerable importance in agriculture, forestry, and as ornamental plants. The putative premature proteins were deduced on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of genes orthologous to the cp gene of C.

Systemic effects of Heterobasidion annosum s.s. infection on severity of Diplodia pinea tip blight and terpenoid metabolism in Italian stone pine (Pinus pinea).

Three-year-old seedlings of Pinus pinea L. were inoculated near the stem base with one of two Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref.

Early detection of Biscogniauxia nummularia in symptomless European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) by TaqMan quantitative real-time PCR.

Aims: To develop a quantitative real-time PCR (Rt PCR) assay for the early detection of Biscogniauxia nummularia, a xylariaceous fungus that causes strip-canker and wood decay on European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.).

Methods And Results: The molecular assay was based on TaqMan chemistry using species-specific primers and a fluorogenic probe designed on the ITS1 sequence of rRNA gene clusters.

Real-time PCR detection of Biscogniauxia mediterranea in symptomless oak tissue.

Aims: Real-time PCR, based on TaqMan chemistry, was used to detect Biscogniauxia mediterranea, a fungal pathogen that after a long endophytic phase may cause charcoal disease in oak trees.

Methods And Results: Specific primers and probe were designed and tested on axenic cultures of B. mediterranea and other fungi commonly colonizing oaks.

Systemic induction of traumatic resin ducts and resin flow in Austrian pine by wounding and inoculation with Sphaeropsis sapinea and Diplodia scrobiculata.

The potential role of the resin system in the response of Austrian pine (Pinus nigra Arn.) seedlings to mechanical injury and fungal infection was studied in greenhouse experiments. Anatomical observations were performed on 2-year-old plants wounded at collar level and inoculated with Sphaeropsis sapinea (Fr.

Genetic variation in eastern North American and putatively introduced populations of Ceratocystis fimbriata f. platani.

The plant pathogenic fungus Ceratocystis fimbriata f. platani attacks Platanus species (London plane, oriental plane and American sycamore) and has killed tens of thousands of plantation trees and street trees in the eastern United States, southern Europe and Modesto, California. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA fingerprints and alleles of eight polymorphic microsatellite markers of isolates of C.

[Radical peritonectomy in 37 patients with stage II and III ovarian cancer].

Aim: Radical peritonectomy followed by intraperitoneal early chemotherapy and systemic chemotherapy is the treatment of choice of stage II C and III ovarian cancer, due to the low 5-years survival rate (20%) of stage III and IV.

Methods: The authors present a 5-years experience in 37 patients affected by stage II C and III ovarian cancer treated by Sugarbaker's radical peritonectomy with some surgical technical differences. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy with adriamycin and cisplatin is started and followed after 25 days by a systemic chemotherapy with taxol and carboplatin.

Randomised controlled trial between stapled circumferential mucosectomy and conventional circular hemorrhoidectomy in advanced hemorrhoids with external mucosal prolapse.

Background: This randomized prospective study compared the outcome of circular hemorrhoidectomy according to the Hospital Leopold Bellan (HLB) technique (Paris) with Longo stapled circumferential mucosectomy (LSCM) in two homogeneous groups of patients affected by circular fourth-degree hemorrhoids with external mucosal prolapse.

Methods: From December 1996 to December 1999, 80 consecutive patients with fourth-degree hemorrhoids and external mucosal prolapse were randomly assigned to two groups. Forty patients (group A: 18 men, 22 women, mean age 50.

A New Phytophthora Root Disease of Alder in Italy.

A Phytophthora was found associated with wilt and mortality of Italian alder (Alnus cordata) seedlings in a nursery in northern Tuscany, Central Italy. This disease is one of the major constraints to alder survival in northern Europe (3). Symptoms included sparse yellowish brown foliage with abnormally small leaves, dark stained necrosis of the bark at the collar level, and reduction of the root system due to the death of the tap root and lateral roots.

Mycosphaerella dearnessii, a Needle-cast Pathogen on Mountain Pine (Pinus mugo) in Italy.

The pathogen Mycosphaerella dearnessii Barr. (syn. Scirrhia acicola; anamorph Lecanosticta acicola), the causal agent of brown spot needle blight, was observed on Pinus mugo in the Botanical Garden in Gardone (Brescia), on the western side of Garda Lake in northeastern Italy.