Publications by authors named "Monica Ramirez-Vazquez"

In recent years, avocados have gained worldwide popularity as a nutritive food. This trend is causing a rise in the production of this fruit, which is accompanied by several problems associated with monocultural practices. Despite massive economic gains, limited molecular and structural information has been generated about avocado ripening.

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Using light, transmission, scanning electron, and confocal microscopy, we carried out a morphological study of antennal sensilla and their ultrastructures of the Mexican Fruit Fly (Loew), an economically important species that is a pest of mangos and citrus in Mexico and Central America. Our goal was to update the known information on the various sensilla in the antennae of , involved in the perception of odors, temperature, humidity, and movement. Based on their external shape, size, cuticle-thickness, and presence of pores, we identified six types of sensilla with 16 subtypes (one chaetica in the pedicel, four clavate, two trichoid, four basiconic, one styloconic, and one campaniform-like in the flagellum, and three additional ones in the two chambers of the sensory pit (pit-basiconic I and II, and pit-styloconic)), some of them described for the first time in .

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Avocado ( Mill.) is a tree crop of great social and economic importance. However, the crop productivity is hindered by fast-spreading diseases, which calls for the search of new biocontrol alternatives to mitigate the impact of avocado phytopathogens.

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The antifungal and insecticidal activities of 34 extracts from 27 plant species were evaluated against fungal phytopathogens of the genus Fusarium and Xyleborus Scolytine ambrosia beetles involved in Fusarium dieback (FD) and laurel wilt (LW) diseases. Sixteen extracts caused mycelial growth inhibition (MGI) above 23 % at 2 mg mL against F. solani, those from S.

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spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) infestations cause significant economic losses in commercial fruit production worldwide. However, some plants quickly counteract the insertion of eggs by females by generating neoplasia and hindering eclosion, as is the case for Mill.

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Antimicrobial compounds produced by bacteria have been increasingly acknowledged as an important resource for the control of phytopathogens. We used a bioassay-guided fractionation approach to identify antifungal metabolites produced by two avocado rhizobacteria (INECOL-4742 and INECOL-5927), both members of the Bacillus subtilis/B. amyloliquefaciens species complex, against Fusarium solani and F.

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Antifungal assay-guided fractionation of the methanolic crude extract of (Solanaceae), popular known as 'lady of the night', led the isolation and identification of the steroidal saponin named pennogenin tetraglycoside, which was identified for the first time in this plant species by spectroscopic means. The crude extract, fractions and pennogenin tetraglycoside exhibited mycelial growth inhibition of and . is a cosmopolitan fungal phytopathogen that affects several economically important crops.

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is a key pest of mangoes and citrus from Texas to Costa Rica but the mechanisms of odorant perception in this species are poorly understood. Detection of volatiles in insects occurs mainly in the antenna, where molecules penetrate sensillum pores and link to soluble proteins in the hemolymph until reaching specific odor receptors that trigger signal transduction and lead to behavioral responses. Scrutinizing the molecular foundation of odorant perception in is necessary to improve biorational management strategies against this pest.

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Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is a valuable model for understanding the mechanism of plant embryogenesis and a tool for the mass production of plants. However, establishing SE in avocado has been complicated due to the very low efficiency of embryo induction and plant regeneration. To understand the molecular foundation of the SE induction and development in avocado, we compared embryogenic (EC) and non-embryogenic (NEC) cultures of two avocado varieties using proteomic and metabolomic approaches.

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Rhizobacteria emit bioactive metabolites with antifungal properties that could be used for biocontrol of fungal diseases. In this study, we evaluated the potential of diffusible and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by avocado rhizobacteria to inhibit the growth of Fusarium kuroshium, one of the causal agents of Fusarium dieback (FD) in avocado. Three bacterial isolates (INECOL-6004, INECOL-6005, and INECOL-6006), belonging to the Bacillus genus, were selected based on their capacity to inhibit several avocado fungal pathogens, and tested in antagonism assays against F.

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Although the use of crop-associated bacteria as biological control agents of fungal diseases has gained increasing interest, the biotechnological potential of forest tree-associated microbes and their natural products has scarcely been investigated. The objective of this study was to identify bacteria or bacterial products with antagonistic activity against Fusarium solani and Fusarium kuroshium, causal agent of Fusarium dieback, by screening the rhizosphere and phyllosphere of three Lauraceae species. From 195 bacterial isolates, we identified 32 isolates that significantly reduced the growth of F.

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Recent studies showed that bacterial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play an important role in the suppression of phytopathogens. The ability of VOCs produced by avocado (Persea americana Mill.) rhizobacteria to suppress the growth of common avocado pathogens was therefore investigated.

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