Plant-Derived, Nodule-Specific Cysteine-Rich Peptides as a Novel Source of Biopesticides for Controlling Citrus Greening Disease.

Nodule-specific cysteine-rich (NCR) peptides, encoded in the genome of the Mediterranean legume (barrelclover), are known to regulate plant-microbe interactions. A subset of computationally derived 20-mer peptide fragments from 182 NCR peptides was synthesized to identify those with activity against the unculturable vascular pathogen associated with citrus greening disease, ' Liberibacter asiaticus' (Las). Grounded in a design of experiments framework, we evaluated the peptides in a screening pipeline involving three distinct assays: a bacterial culture assay with , a Las-infected excised citrus leaf assay, and an assay to evaluate effects on bacterial acquisition by the nymphal stage of hemipteran vector A subset of the 20-mer NCR peptide fragments inhibits both Las growth in citrus leaves and Las acquisition by .

A Perspective on Current Therapeutic Molecule Screening Methods Against ' Liberibacter asiaticus', the Presumed Causative Agent of Citrus Huanglongbing.

Huanglongbing (HLB), referred to as citrus greening disease, is a bacterial disease impacting citrus production worldwide and is fatal to young trees and mature trees of certain varieties. In some areas, the disease is devastating the citrus industry. A successful solution to HLB will be measured in economics: citrus growers need treatments that improve tree health, fruit production, and most importantly, economic yield.

Host Plant Adaptation Drives Changes in Proteome Regulation, Proteoform Expression, and Transmission of ' Liberibacter asiaticus', the Citrus Greening Pathogen.

The Asian citrus psyllid () is a pest of citrus and the primary insect vector of the bacterial pathogen, ' Liberibacter asiaticus' (Las), which is associated with citrus greening disease. The citrus relative (orange jasmine) is a host plant of but is more resistant to Las compared with all tested genotypes. The effect of host switching of between (citron) and plants on the acquisition and transmission of Las was investigated.

An Excised Leaf Assay to Measure Acquisition of ' Liberibacter asiaticus' by Psyllids Associated with Citrus Huanglongbing Disease.

Huanglongbing, or citrus greening disease, is the most serious disease of citrus worldwide and is associated with plant infection by ' Liberibacter asiaticus' (Las) and other species. Las is transmitted by , the Asian citrus psyllid, in a circulative propagative manner. Circulative propagative transmission is a complex process comprising at least three steps: movement of the pathogen into vector tissues, translocation and replication of the pathogen within the vector host, and pathogen inoculation of a new host by the vector.

Hepatitis B virus precore/core region mutations and genotypes among hepatitis B virus chronic carriers in South-Eastern, Nigeria.

Objectives: The study aimed at detecting the prevailing hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes and the presence of clinically relevant mutations in the precore/core gene of the HBV DNA, among patients with chronic infection in South-eastern, Nigeria.

Methods: A total of 72 participants with chronic HBV infection were enrolled into the study. Plasma samples from those with detectable HBV DNA were subjected to nested Polymerase Chain Reaction amplification using the precore/core specific primers.

Deeper Insight in Metastatic Cancer Progression; Epithelial-to- Mesenchymal Transition and Genomic Instability: Implications on Treatment Resistance.

Therapy resistance remains the major obstacle to successful cancer treatment. Epithelial-to- mesenchymal transition [EMT], a cellular reprogramming process involved in embryogenesis and organ development and regulated by a number of transcriptional factors [EMT-TFs] such as ZEB1/2, is recognized for its role in tumor progression and metastasis. Recently, a growing body of evidence has implicated EMT in cancer therapy resistance, but the actual mechanism that underlies this finding has remained elusive.

Phenotypic and molecular screenings for determination of cassava mosaic disease (CMD) status in farmers' fields in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV) are among the major constraints to cassava productivity within tropical and sub-tropical regions, including Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Thus, virus indexing has become imperative to determine the status of cassava mosaic disease (CMD) in Ebonyi State, to implement appropriate preventive and control strategies. Seventy-eight cassava accessions obtained from different locations of Ebonyi State were phenotypically scored, using scales 1-5 depending on CMD symptomatic expressions, followed by multiplex-PCR and sequencing for validation.

Genetic diversity and structure of as revealed by start codon targeted and directed amplified minisatellite DNA markers.

Background: Identification of high resolving DNA-based markers is of paramount importance to unlock the potential of genetic diversity and selection of unique accessions of L., within Cross River and Ebonyi States of Nigeria, for breeding and conservation. Therefore, we comparatively explored the effectiveness of start codon targeted (SCoT) and directed amplified minisatellite DNA (DAMD) markers for diversity analysis of the accessions.

Assessment of genetic diversity in Vigna unguiculata L. (Walp) accessions using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and start codon targeted (SCoT) polymorphic markers.

Background: Assessment of genetic diversity of Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp (cowpea) accessions using informative molecular markers is imperative for their genetic improvement and conservation. Use of efficacious molecular markers to obtain the required knowledge of the genetic diversity within the local and regional germplasm collections can enhance the overall effectiveness of cowpea improvement programs, hence, the comparative assessment of Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and Start codon targeted (SCoT) markers in genetic diversity of V.

Genomic and proteomic analysis of Schizaphis graminum reveals cyclophilin proteins are involved in the transmission of cereal yellow dwarf virus.

Yellow dwarf viruses cause the most economically important virus diseases of cereal crops worldwide and are transmitted by aphid vectors. The identification of aphid genes and proteins mediating virus transmission is critical to develop agriculturally sustainable virus management practices and to understand viral strategies for circulative movement in all insect vectors. Two cyclophilin B proteins, S28 and S29, were identified previously in populations of Schizaphisgraminum that differed in their ability to transmit the RPV strain of Cereal yellow dwarf virus (CYDV-RPV).