Woody Host-Specific Type III Effector HopBL2 Is Essential for Pseudomonas savastanoi Virulence and Associates With Plasmodesmata.

The type III secretion system in Pseudomonas syringae complex pathogens delivers type III effectors (T3Es) into plant cells to manipulate host processes, enhance survival, and promote disease. While substantial research has focused on herbaceous pathogens, T3Es in strains infecting woody hosts are less understood. This study investigates the HopBL family of effectors in Pseudomonas savastanoi, a pathogen of woody plants.

Secreted LysM proteins are required for niche competition and full virulence in Pseudomonas savastanoi during host plant infection.

Phytopathogenic bacteria secrete diverse virulence factors to manipulate host defenses and establish infection. Characterization of the type III secretion system (T3SS)- and HrpL-independent secretome (T3-IS) in Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi (Psv), the causal agent of olive knot disease, identified five secreted LysM-containing proteins (LysM1-LysM5) associated with distinct physiological processes critical for infection.

GacA reduces virulence and increases competitiveness in planta in the tumorigenic olive pathogen pv. savastanoi.

GacS/GacA is a widely distributed two-component system playing an essential role as a key global regulator, although its characterization in phytopathogenic bacteria has been deeply biased, being intensively studied in pathogens of herbaceous plants but barely investigated in pathogens of woody hosts. pv. savastanoi (Psv) is characterized by inducing tumours in the stem and branches of olive trees.

Lung function is related to salivary cytokines and hormones in healthy children. An exploratory cross-sectional study.

Pulmonary mechanics has been traditionally viewed as determined by lung size and physical factors such as frictional forces and tissue viscoelastic properties, but few information exists regarding potential influences of cytokines and hormones on lung function. Concentrations of 28 cytokines and hormones were measured in saliva from clinically healthy scholar children, purposely selected to include a wide range of body mass index (BMI). Lung function was assessed by impulse oscillometry, spirometry, and diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, and expressed as z-score or percent predicted.

HrpL Regulon of Bacterial Pathogen of Woody Host pv. NCPPB 3335.

The species comprises a group of phytopathogenic bacteria that cause symptoms of disease in woody hosts. This is mediated by the rapid activation of a pool of virulence factors that suppress host defences and hijack the host's metabolism to the pathogen's benefit. The gene encodes an essential transcriptional regulator of virulence functions, including the type III secretion system (T3SS), in pathogenic bacteria.

The Interspecific Fungal Hybrid Displays Subgenome-Specific Gene Expression.

Hybridization is an important evolutionary mechanism that can enable organisms to adapt to environmental challenges. It has previously been shown that the fungal allodiploid species Verticillium longisporum, the causal agent of verticillium stem striping in rapeseed, originated from at least three independent hybridization events between two haploid species. To reveal the impact of genome duplication as a consequence of hybridization, we studied the genome and transcriptome dynamics upon two independent V.

Three LysM effectors of Zymoseptoria tritici collectively disarm chitin-triggered plant immunity.

Chitin is a major structural component of fungal cell walls and acts as a microbe-associated molecular pattern (MAMP) that, on recognition by a plant host, triggers the activation of immune responses. To avoid the activation of these responses, the Septoria tritici blotch (STB) pathogen of wheat, Zymoseptoria tritici, secretes LysM effector proteins. Previously, the LysM effectors Mg1LysM and Mg3LysM were shown to protect fungal hyphae against host chitinases.

Salivary concentrations of cytokines and other analytes in healthy children.

Background: Blood has been the usual biological fluid for measuring analytes, but there is mounting evidence that saliva may be also useful for detecting cytokines in a noninvasive way. Thus, in this study we aimed to determine concentration of cytokines and other analytes in saliva from a population of healthy children.

Methods: We collected un-stimulated whole saliva samples from clinically healthy children, and concentration of 17 cytokines and 12 other analytes were measured in supernatants.

A secreted LysM effector protects fungal hyphae through chitin-dependent homodimer polymerization.

Plants trigger immune responses upon recognition of fungal cell wall chitin, followed by the release of various antimicrobials, including chitinase enzymes that hydrolyze chitin. In turn, many fungal pathogens secrete LysM effectors that prevent chitin recognition by the host through scavenging of chitin oligomers. We previously showed that intrachain LysM dimerization of the Cladosporium fulvum effector Ecp6 confers an ultrahigh-affinity binding groove that competitively sequesters chitin oligomers from host immune receptors.

A lysin motif effector subverts chitin-triggered immunity to facilitate arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi greatly improve mineral uptake by host plants in nutrient-depleted soil and can intracellularly colonize root cortex cells in the vast majority of higher plants. However, AM fungi possess common fungal cell wall components such as chitin that can be recognized by plant chitin receptors to trigger immune responses, raising the question as to how AM fungi effectively evade chitin-triggered immune responses during symbiosis. In this study, we characterize a secreted lysin motif (LysM) effector identified from the model AM fungal species Rhizophagus irregularis, called RiSLM.

Diffusing Capacity of the Lung for Carbon Monoxide in Mexican/Latino Children. Quality Control and Reference Values.

Rationale: Single-breath diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (Dl) values are used to evaluate gas exchange; however, the quality of maneuvers performed by children has not been evaluated, and reference values for young people living at moderate altitudes are not well established.

Objectives: Our objectives were 1) to determine whether Dl maneuvers performed by a pediatric population would meet 2017 European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society (ERS/ATS) quality control standards; and 2) to report normal Dl values for Mexican/Latino children and adolescents living at moderate altitudes.

Methods: This study involved healthy young people 4-20 years of age from the metropolitan area of Mexico City (2,240 m above sea level) who were recruited in schools from July 2014 to August 2017.

Tools of the crook- infection strategies of fungal plant pathogens.

Fungi represent an ecologically diverse group of microorganisms that includes plant pathogenic species able to cause considerable yield loses in crop production systems worldwide. In order to establish compatible interactions with their hosts, pathogenic fungi rely on the secretion of molecules of diverse nature during host colonization to modulate host physiology, manipulate other environmental factors or provide self-defence. These molecules, collectively known as effectors, are typically small secreted cysteine-rich proteins, but may also comprise secondary metabolites and sRNAs.

Validating Reference Equations for Impulse Oscillometry in Healthy Mexican Children.

Background: The impulse oscillometry system (IOS) measures the impedance (Z) of the respiratory system, but proper interpretation of its results requires adequate reference values. The objectives of this work were: (1) to validate the reference equations for the IOS published previously by our group and (2) to compare the adjustment of new available reference equations for the IOS from different countries in a sample of healthy children.

Methods: Subjects were healthy 4-15-y-old children from the metropolitan area of Mexico City, who performed an IOS test.

The Emerging British Verticillium longisporum Population Consists of Aggressive Brassica Pathogens.

Verticillium longisporum is an economically important fungal pathogen of brassicaceous crops that originated from at least three hybridization events between different Verticillium spp., leading to the hybrid lineages A1/D1, A1/D2, and A1/D3. Isolates of lineage A1/D1 generally cause stem striping on oilseed rape (Brassica napus), which has recently been reported for the first time to occur in the United Kingdom.

Transfer and engineering of immune receptors to improve recognition capacities in crops.

Immune receptors are pivotal elements of the plant immune system that act as sentinels for microbial invasion. Knowingly or unknowingly, breeding for resistance has largely relied on the transfer of immune receptor recognition specificities between plant genotypes. For decades such transfers were limited to crossable species.

Respiratory impedance in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Unlabelled: Impulse oscillometry (IOS) evaluates non-effort-dependent respiratory mechanics, and thus it may be useful to evaluate patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Objectives: We aimed (1) to describe the behavior of IOS parameters in patients with DMD, and compare it to those from a control group; (2) to determine whether resistances and reactances differ in relation to the severity of DMD; and (3) to compare IOS parameters with spirometry and maximal inspiratory (MIP) and expiratory (MEP) pressures.

Methods: Children and adolescents (<20 years old) with biopsy-confirmed DMD and age-paired subjects were cross-sectionally evaluated.

Altitude Above Sea Level and Body Mass Index as Determinants of Oxygen Saturation in Children: The SON@ Study.

Background: Altitude above sea level and body mass index are well-recognized determinants of oxygen saturation in adult populations; however, the contribution of these factors to oxygen saturation in children is less clear.

Objective: To explore the contribution of altitude above sea level and body mass index to oxygen saturation in children.

Methods: A multi-center, cross-sectional study conducted in nine cities in Mexico.

Values of impulse oscillometry in healthy mexican children and adolescents.

Background: The impulse oscillometry system (IOS) is increasingly used to evaluate lung function, but individual results must be compared with appropriate reference values. We aimed to obtain such reference values in Mexican children and adolescents.

Methods: Healthy subjects were recruited from kindergartens and schools after their parents signed a consent letter.

Multifaceted capsid proteins: multiple interactions suggest multiple roles for Pepino mosaic virus capsid protein.

Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) (family Alphaflexiviridae, genus Potexvirus) is a mechanically transmitted tomato pathogen that, over the last decade, has evolved from emerging to endemic worldwide. Here, two heat-shock cognate (Hsc70) isoforms were identified as part of the coat protein (CP)/Hsc70 complex in vivo, following full-length PepMV and CP agroinoculation. PepMV accumulation was severely reduced in Hsp70 virus-induced gene silenced and in quercetin-treated Nicotiana benthamiana plants.

Analysis of gene expression changes in peach leaves in response to Plum pox virus infection using RNA-Seq.

Differences in gene expression were studied after Plum pox virus (PPV, sharka disease) infection in peach GF305 leaves with and without sharka symptoms using RNA-Seq. For each sample, more than 80% of 100-nucleotide paired-end (PE) Illumina reads were aligned on the peach reference genome. In the symptomatic sample, a significant proportion of reads were mapped to PPV reference genomes (1.

Identification of novel virulence genes and metabolic pathways required for full fitness of Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi in olive (Olea europaea) knots.

Comparative genomics and functional analysis of Pseudomonas syringae and related pathogens have mainly focused on diseases of herbaceous plants; however, there is a general lack of knowledge about the virulence and pathogenicity determinants required for infection of woody plants. Here, we applied signature-tagged mutagenesis (STM) to Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi during colonization of olive (Olea europaea) knots, with the goal of identifying the range of genes linked to growth and symptom production in its plant host.

The genome of melon (Cucumis melo L.).

We report the genome sequence of melon, an important horticultural crop worldwide. We assembled 375 Mb of the double-haploid line DHL92, representing 83.3% of the estimated melon genome.

Sequence and role in virulence of the three plasmid complement of the model tumor-inducing bacterium Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi NCPPB 3335.

Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi NCPPB 3335 is a model for the study of the molecular basis of disease production and tumor formation in woody hosts, and its draft genome sequence has been recently obtained. Here we closed the sequence of the plasmid complement of this strain, composed of three circular molecules of 78,357 nt (pPsv48A), 45,220 nt (pPsv48B), and 42,103 nt (pPsv48C), all belonging to the pPT23A-like family of plasmids widely distributed in the P.

Determination of the melon chloroplast and mitochondrial genome sequences reveals that the largest reported mitochondrial genome in plants contains a significant amount of DNA having a nuclear origin.

Background: The melon belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, whose economic importance among vegetable crops is second only to Solanaceae. The melon has a small genome size (454 Mb), which makes it suitable for molecular and genetic studies. Despite similar nuclear and chloroplast genome sizes, cucurbits show great variation when their mitochondrial genomes are compared.

Nicotiana benthamiana resistance to non-adapted Melon necrotic spot virus results from an incompatible interaction between virus RNA and translation initiation factor 4E.

Nicotiana benthamiana has been described as non-host for Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV). We investigated the basis of this resistance using the unique opportunity provided by strain MNSV-264, a recombinant virus that is able to overcome the resistance. Analysis of chimeric MNSV mutants showed that virulence in N.