Stem Lesions Research Articles

Main predictors of in-hospital adverse outcomes in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome patients with multivessel disease

Aim. To evaluate the range of risk factors associated with adverse cardiovascular events onset in hospital period of follow-up in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTEACS) with multivessel disease (MD).Material and methods. To the study, under the framework of prospective, single-center registry, the NSTEACS and MD patients were included. Depending on the strategy of revascularization, three groups were selected: staged PCI, coronary bypass (CBG) and PCI as the first with CBG as the second stage. As adverse cardiovascular events, the following were taken: death, myocardial infarction, stroke or transient cerebral ishemia, clinically significant bleeding by BARC, repeat nonscheduled revascularization of target vessel. Results. Analysis revealed the groups of factors increasing the probability of adverse cardiovascular events. Those are: (1) clinical and demographic — older age, diabetes, postinfarction cardiosclerosis, multifocal atherosclerosis, chronic renal failure; (2) coronary and surgical — left main stem lesion, severe atherosclerosis by SYNTAX Score, high surgical risk by EuroScore II, revascularization strategy; (3) predominance of low or moderate risk by GRACE comparing with high risk.Conclusion. The results have confirmed high predictional significance of clinical and demography and coronary factors for development of adverse cardiovascular diseases. A significant finding of the study was the fact that in a hospital with surgery and endovascular treatment available 24/7, the intermediate and low GRACE risk in NSTEACS and MD is a factor of adverse cardiovascular events development due to revascularization delays if the risk is not high.

Pectobacterium and Dickeya Responsible for Potato Blackleg Disease in New York State in 2016.

Beginning in 2014, outbreaks of blackleg disease compromised potato (Solanum tuberosum) production in the northeastern United States. Disease severity was atypical for plantings with certified seed. During 2016, 43 samples with blackleg symptoms were analyzed, originating from more than 20 farms operating in New York State. A combination of techniques was employed to identify the blackleg pathogens: isolation in vitro, diagnostic PCR assays for Pectobacterium and Dickeya sp., pathogenicity assays, and DNA sequencing. Twenty-three bacterial isolates were obtained, the majority of which were designated D. dianthicola or P. parmentieri; two of the isolates were designated P. atrosepticum. All isolates were pathogenic in stem lesion and tuber soft rot assays and exhibited pectin degrading activity (pitting) in crystal violet pectate agar medium. Phylogenetic analyses of dnaX gene sequences placed all but one of the isolates into clades corresponding to D. dianthicola, P. parmentieri, or P. atrosepticum. One atypical isolate clustered with P. carotovorum subspecies. Data are consistent with the hypothesis that D. dianthicola from New York and the northeast are part of a single clade, and at least three different soft rot bacteria were associated with blackleg during 2016 in New York.

Availability of vestibular myogenic evoked potential (VEMP) and blink reflex study in evaluating vestibular pathways of patients with cerebellar and brain stem lesion

Patients with cerebellar and brain stem lesions present symptoms of vestibular dysfunction, due to involvement of vestibular pathways. To investigate the relationship and availability of the VEMP and blink reflex study with vestibular pathways, we evaluated patients with cerebellar and brain stem lesion, analyzed the results of VEMP and blink reflex studies, which reflects vestibular dysfunction and vestibular nerve pathways. Sixteen Patients with cerebellar or brain stem stroke diagnosed by MRI were enrolled. VEMP and blink reflex study was performed using Nicolet.Viking IV D ® and DantecKeypointMedtronics ® . Clinical evaluation to check vestibular function and Berg balance scale was conducted. Participants were divided into normal and abnormal groups by comparing P13, N13 latency and amplitude of VEMP and latency difference of R1 and R2 of blink reflex, of the affected side against the sound side. McNemar and Wilcoxon rank sum test was done to confirm the correlation of abnormal VEMP, blink reflex studies and Berg balance test scores. ( P < 0.05). Participants with abnormal blink reflex, 37.5% (3/8) revealed abnormal VEMP results. 50% (3/6) of participants with abnormal VEMP, also revealed abnormal blink reflex results. Among the patients with brain stem lesion, 53.8% (7/13) showed abnormal blink reflex, while 46.2% (6/13) showed abnormal VEMP. There was no statistical correlation with the results of abnormal VEMP and abnormal blink reflex, but tendency of positive correlation was present. Brainstem stroke patients with abnormal blink reflex showed average of 6 in berg balance score, indicating very severe balance impairment, respectively. The tendency of positive correlation of abnormal blink reflex and VEMP suggests the overlap of vestibular pathway and brainstem pathway. This infers the possibility of utilizing VEMP instead of blink reflex as an evaluation tool for brain stem lesion, since the VEMP is more painless and simply conducted than blink reflex. Further study with more participants is needed.

Screening for Susceptibility to Anthracnose Stem Lesions in Southern Highbush Blueberry

‘Flicker’ is a southern highbush blueberry (SHB, Vaccinium corymbosum) cultivar frequently selected by growers in Central and South Florida. In 2014, several growers in Central Florida experienced issues with anthracnose stem lesions and twig dieback on ‘Flicker’, resulting in a reduction in new plantings and the removal of many existing plantings. The objective of this study was to determine the level of anthracnose susceptibility of certain commercially available SHB cultivars, which information can be used to limit further use of susceptible cultivars in the University of Florida blueberry breeding program. The screening was performed using a spray inoculation of a virulent Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolate onto whole V. corymbosum plants, followed by measurement of incidence and severity of disease over time. In repeated experiments, ‘Flicker’ and two other cultivars had a significantly higher mean number of lesions and area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) than any other tested cultivar, and in both experiments, the observed lesions were similar in many respects to those previously reported on northern highbush blueberry (also V. corymbosum). Although the results of these experiments may ultimately indicate that Flicker has a unique genetic susceptibility to this form of anthracnose among SHB cultivars commercially grown in Florida, screening of additional cultivars must be performed for confirmation.

Brain stem modeling at a system level – chances and limitations

Abstract The topic of brain stem computational simulation still seems understudied in contemporary scientific literature. Current advances in neuroscience leave the brain stem as one of the least known parts of the human central nervous system. Brain stem lesions are particularly damaging to the most important physiological functions. Advances in brain stem modeling may influence important issues within the core of neurology, neurophysiology, neurosurgery, and neurorehabilitation. Direct results may include both development of knowledge and optimization and objectivization of clinical practice in the aforementioned medical areas. Despite these needs, progress in the area of computational brain stem models seems to be too slow. The aims of this paper are both to recognize the strongest limitations in the area of computational brain stem simulations and to assess the extent to which current opportunities may be exploited. Despite limitations, the emerging view of the brain stem provided by its computational models enables a wide repertoire of functions, including core dynamic behavior.

Vertebral Artery Dissection Caused by Neck Tics

AbstractVertebral arterial dissection (VAD) is a rarely observed cause of vertebrobasilar ischemia. It is often reported as individual case reports in children, and the underlying cause is usually congenital anomalies or trauma to the neck. In this case report, we present a pediatric case of VAD whose magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography angiographies were normal and could only be diagnosed after a careful reassessment of the initial brain MRIs considering the dynamic nature of the dissection process. Etiological investigations pointed to the patient's neck tics as the origin of the condition, which is a rare and interesting cause different from the previously reported cases in the literature. Due to the ischemic lesions in the brain stem and the cerebellum, low molecular weight heparin treatment was started and the neurological symptoms rapidly receded. Since a severe tic disorder involving the face and neck has been observed as a rare cause of VAD aside from the previously reported causes such as the Bow–Hunter syndrome reported in archers, congenital cervical anomalies, traumatic mechanical accidents, and cervical chiropractical maneuvers, the sharing of this case will contribute to the literature.

Diaporthe novem isolated from sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and other crop and weed hosts in Australia

In 2011, patches of lodged plants of Helianthus annuus (commercial sunflower) with stem lesions were observed in a commercial crop at Kingsthorpe, Queensland, Australia. Several species of Diaporthe were consistently isolated from the lesions. Diaporthe novem was identified by DNA sequence analysis. In following surveys, Diaporthe novem was found to be associated with other crop species including Cicer arietinum (chickpea), Glycine max (soybean), Lupinus alba (lupin), Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) Vicia faba (faba bean) and Vigna radiata (mungbean), and with the weed species Datura stramonium (common thornapple), Helianthus annuus (wild-type sunflower), Malva parviflora (small flowered mallow), Rapistrum rugosum (turnip weed), Sambucus gaudichaudiana (wild elderberry), Sisymbrium orientale (indian hedge mustard), Sonchus oleraceus (sowthistle), Verbena sp., Vicia sativa (common vetch), and Xanthium strumarium (noogoora burr). In pathogenicity tests, isolates of D. novem from sunflower were highly virulent when re-inoculated on commercial sunflower varieties. This study has identified D. novem as a frequent cause of stem canker of sunflower in the eastern cropping areas of Australia, and extends the known host range of D. novem.

Exploring the genetics of lesion and nodal resistance in pea (Pisum sativum L.) to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum using genome-wide association studies and RNA-Seq.

The disease white mold caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a significant threat to pea production, and improved resistance to this disease is needed. Nodal resistance in plants is a phenomenon where a fungal infection is prevented from passing through a node, and the infection is limited to an internode region. Nodal resistance has been observed in some pathosystems such as the pea (Pisum sativum L.)‐S. sclerotiorum pathosystem. In addition to nodal resistance, different pea lines display different levels of stem lesion size restriction, referred to as lesion resistance. It is unclear whether the genetics of lesion resistance and nodal resistance are identical or different. This study applied genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) and RNA‐Seq to understand the genetic makeup of these two types of resistance. The time series RNA‐Seq experiment consisted of two pea lines (the susceptible ‘Lifter’ and the partially resistant PI 240515), two treatments (mock inoculated samples and S. sclerotiorum‐inoculated samples), and three time points (12, 24, and 48 hr post inoculation). Integrated results from GWAS and RNA‐Seq analyses identified different redox‐related transcripts for lesion and nodal resistances. A transcript encoding a glutathione S‐transferase was the only shared resistance variant for both phenotypes. There were more leucine rich‐repeat containing transcripts found for lesion resistance, while different candidate resistance transcripts such as a VQ motif‐containing protein and a myo‐inositol oxygenase were found for nodal resistance. This study demonstrated the robustness of combining GWAS and RNA‐Seq for identifying white mold resistance in pea, and results suggest different genetics underlying lesion and nodal resistance.

Cardiac surgery 2017 reviewed.

For the year 2017, more than 21,000 published references can be found in PubMed when entering the search term "cardiac surgery". This review focusses on conventional cardiac surgery, considering the new interventional techniques only if they were directly compared to classic techniques but also entails aspects of perioperative intensive care management. The publications last year provided a plethora of new and interesting information that helped to quantify classic surgical treatment effects and provided new guidelines for the management of structural heart disease, which made comparisons to interventional techniques easier. The field of coronary bypass surgery was primarily filled with confirmatory evidence for the beneficial role of coronary artery bypass grafting for complex coronary disease and equal outcomes for percutaneous coronary intervention for less complex disease including main stem lesions. For aortic valve treatment, the new guidelines provide an equal recommendation for surgical and transcatheter aortic valve replacement for high and intermediate risk giving specific check lists to individualize decision-making by the heart team. For low-risk aortic stenosis, surgical valve replacement remains the primary indication. For the mitral valve, the importance of surgical experience of the individual surgeon on short- and long-term outcome was presented and the prognostic impact of mitral repair for primary mitral regurgitation was emphasized. In addition, there were many relevant and interesting other contributions from the purely operative arena in the fields of tricuspid disease as well as terminal heart failure (i.e., transplantation and ventricular assist devices). While this article attempts to summarize the most pertinent publications, it does not have the expectation of being complete and cannot be free of individual interpretation. As in recent years, it provides a condensed summary that is intended to give the reader "solid ground" for up-to-date decision-making in cardiac surgery.

First Report of Phytophthora capsici Infection on Bell Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) from Punjab, Pakistan

Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is one of the extensively cultivated vegetable crop in Punjab, Pakistan. During two years of field surveys, February-November 2016-17, damping off and blight symptoms were observed. Average seedling mortality was recorded as 18.7% while yield loss due to blight was estimated 32 to 41% at mature stages. Maximum blight infection was recorded from the areas frequently flooded with canal irrigation system. At early stages, lesions were noticed on stem portions at soil line level while at crop maturity stages blight symptoms were noted. Leaves were blanched and wilted while fruits were covered with white mold. Masses of sporangia were evident on and inside the infected fruits under humid conditions. A total of twelve isolates were recovered from infected root, stem and fruit portions on rye agar media (Caten and Jinks, 1968) incubated at 25oC under fluorescent light. Papillated sporangia were averaged 42 ± 2.6 X 27 ± 1.7 μm in size (range 27 - 52 × 23 - 36 μm). Oospores were produced on 20% V8 agar and were spherical 22 ± 1.4 μm in diameter (range 14 to 27 μm) while average pedicels length was recorded as 58 ± 12.5 μm (range 13 to 120 μm). These observations were similar to those described for P. capsici (Cocoa, 1988). DNA was extracted using Cetyl Trimethylammonium Bromide (CTAB) method and the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (White et al., 1990). The amplicons were purified and sequenced in both directions (GenBank Accession No. MF322868 and MF322869). BLAST analysis revealed these isolates showed 99% identity with ITS sequences of Phytophthora capsici (KM369964 and KU518782). Pathogenicity assay was performed on healthy bell pepper seedlings with five repeats. Soil was flooded with 20ml sporangial suspension (1 x 103 sporangia/ml) in pots containing seedlings while 5ml suspension was sprayed until run off on mature plants (Hyder et al., 2018). A set of uninoculated seedlings was used as control. Pots were kept in dew chamber for 10-20 days at 25±2 oC. Seedling mortality was observed five days after inoculation while at later stage plants develop brown-to-black stem lesions with white mycelial growth on leaves. These symptoms were identical to the P. capsici infections in field. Consistent re-isolations of P. capsici confirm its association with the disease. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Phytophthora blight on bell pepper from Pakistan

Diffusion-Weighted Zonal Oblique Multislice-EPI Enhances the Detection of Small Lesions with Diffusion Restriction in the Brain Stem and Hippocampus: A Clinical Report of Selected Cases.

Diffusion restriction is the morphologic hallmark of acute ischemic infarcts and excitotoxic brain injury in various cerebral pathologies. Diffusion restriction is visible as hyperintensity on DWI and as hypointensity on ADC maps. Due to the vicinity of multiple anatomic structures in the brain stem and hippocampus, very small lesions with diffusion restriction may result in severe clinical symptomatology, but these small lesions easily go undetected on standard cerebral DWI due to insufficient spatial resolution, T2* blurring, and image artifacts caused by susceptibility-related image distortions. Diffusion-weighted zonal oblique multislice-EPI with reduced FOV acquisition permits a considerable increase in spatial resolution and enhances the visualization of very small pathologic lesions in the brain stem and hippocampus. Improved performance in the depiction of different pathologic lesions with diffusion restriction in the brain stem and hippocampus using this sequence compared with standard DWI in selected cases is presented.

PERCUTANEOUS INTERVENTION IN STABLE ANGINA: WHAT ISSUES DO WE SOLVE?

In the article, a role of percutaneous intervention discussed in stable ischemic disease of the heart, and an evolution presented of the perspectives on its influence on prognosis and clinical presentation of the disease. The results provided, of recent trials, including the ORBITA. According to current clinical guidelines, endovascular treatment does improve prognosis in patients with the left coronary artery stem lesion and proximal left descending artery lesion, as in a significant area of damaged myocardium involved in temporary ischemia. Percutaneous coronary intervention should be done in patients with continued clinical presentation of angina and nonsatisfactory life quality regardless the optimal medication treatment.

Vestibular-evoked myogenic potential: an easy neurophysiological tool for evaluating brain stem involvement in multiple sclerosis

BackgroundVestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) are an applicable neurophysiological technique that can be used for diagnosis of brain stem involvement in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).AimThe aim was to evaluate the relationship between VEMP parameters, clinical characteristics, and brain stem lesions in patients with MS.Patients and MethodsThe study was a case–control study done on 20 patients with MS and 10 normal controls. The disability level of the patients was assessed by the expanded disability status scale and brain stem functional system score (FSS). Location of demyelinating lesions was determined from brain and spinal cord MRI scans. VEMP was done for all patients and controls.ResultsOverall, 60% (n=12) of patients with MS were found to have absent VEMP latency (P13–N23) in both right and left side. Patients with preserved VEMP latency were found to have significantly delayed latency (P13–N23) in both right and left sides than controls. Comparison between patients with delayed VEMP latency and those with absent VEMP latency in disease characteristics revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between them in disease duration (P=0.001), expanded disability status scale score (P=0.01), and functional system score (P=0.04). The group of patients with vestibular symptoms or brain stem lesions was found to have significantly more absent VEMP latency than those without.ConclusionPatients with MS may have abnormal VEMP, especially those with long disease duration, vestibular symptoms, greater disability, and brain stem lesions.

Occurrence of Diplodia corticola, including new oak host records, in Wisconsin, USA

SummaryIn the United States, diseased oaks (Quercus species) exhibit tip blight, branch and stem cankers, and dieback often attributed to Diplodia species or related fungi. Emergence of Diplodia corticola as a pathogen of European oaks, and reports of this fungus in the eastern and western United States, prompted re‐examination of strains from Wisconsin. These had been obtained in the late 1990s and early 2000s and previously identified only as Diplodia species. Nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences were obtained from the Wisconsin strains and analysed with other sequences from GenBank. Wisconsin strains confirmed as D. corticola were from northern red oak (Q. rubra), black oak (Q. velutina), white oak (Q. alba) and bur oak (Q. macrocarpa). Other strains from oaks in Wisconsin were D. mutila and D. seriata. Wound inoculation of northern red, white and bur oak seedlings with D. corticola in a greenhouse resulted in shoot death and stem lesions, from which the pathogen was reisolated. We conclude that D. corticola has been present in the northcentral United States for at least two decades and report two previously unrecognized hosts of this pathogen: white oak and bur oak. The roles of D. corticola, related fungi and influences of other environmental factors in deterioration of oak health in North America merit additional investigation.

Cranial Cavernous Malformations: Natural History and Treatment.

Cavernous malformations (CMs), also known as cavernous angiomas or cavernomas, are low-flow vascular malformations of the brain and spinal cord that consist of clusters of dilated sinusoidal channels lined with endothelial cells that do not exhibit intervening tight junctions. The involved blood vessels lack muscular and elastic layers, and blood at various stages of thrombosis and organization often fills the thin-walled vascular caverns. CMs are grossly distinct from adjacent brain and have a lobulated appearance sometimes likened to a mulberry, with a characteristic dark red or purple color. Hemosiderin and gliosis often surround CMs of the brain and spinal cord; no neural tissue is present inside the lesion. Except for developmental venous anomalies (DVAs) present in ≈33% of CMs,1 no abnormal vascularity is typically seen on digital subtraction angiography, leading CMs to be termed cryptic or occult vascular malformations (Figure 1). Multiple small hemorrhage events lead to a pathognomonic popcorn appearance on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging because of hemosiderin staining from blood products of various ages. Calcifications may be present on computed tomographic imaging (Figure 2). Figure 1. A 48-year-old woman presented with headaches. A , Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain with T2-weighted imaging demonstrated a 1.1-cm lesion in the cerebellar vermis with mixed signal intensity. B – D , Susceptibility-weighted imaging demonstrated hemosiderin within the lesion’s core and a developmental venous anomaly associated with the cavernous malformation (arrowheads). Figure 2. A 28-year-old woman presented with partial seizures without secondary generalization. A , Noncontrast computed tomography of the head demonstrated a 1.4-cm right posterior cingulate hyperdensity, with evidence of mild hemorrhage and calcification. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain demonstrated the cavernous malformation to have a core of mixed signal intensity, heterogeneous enhancement, and a rim of hemosiderin consistent with a cavernous malformation, as evidenced on ( B ) susceptibility-weighted imaging, ( C ) T2-weighted …

Fungi Associated with Disease and Weevil Damage ofAmaranthus cruentusin South Africa

Agronomic trials were conducted in central SouthAfrica to establish Amaranthus cruentus as a commercial grain crop. Knowledge of potential pest- and pathogen-related problems that might arise during cultivation is essential for future industry development. Previous studies linked fungi belonging to the genera Fusarium and Alternaria with weevil damage of leafy amaranth (A. hybridus). The aim of the present study was to conduct a disease survey to identify possible fungal association with weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and weevil damage in A. cruentus fields at Potchefstroom and Taung in the North-West Province, South Africa. Isolations were made from lesion margins, larval galleries of the weevil Hypolixus haerens, and stem lesions associated with the weevils Athesapeuta dodonis and Baris amaranthi. Weevil larvae associated with lesions as well as adults collected from plants in amaranth plots were euthanased and plated out onto fungal growth media. Fungi arising from the weevils were purified and identified to genus level based on morphology. Alternaria was predominantly isolated from leaf spots in contrast to Fusarium species that were isolated from root rot, cankered roots and stems. Fusarium species were by a considerable margin the dominant group associated with weevil damage and stem lesions, as well as larval tunnels, larval bodies and free living adults. Species of Cladosporium and Alternaria were also isolated from adult weevils with significant consistency. Other less dominant fungi isolated from adult weevils and larval tunnels included species of Aspergillus, Epicoccum, Humicola, Mucor, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Trichoderma. It is evident that Fusarium and Alternaria are the genera that host the most important and potentially dominant fungal pathogen taxa linked with grain amaranth disease symptoms and associated weevil pests. As such they will have to be investigated further in future.

VARIATION IN AGGRESSIVENESS AND AFLP AMONG Alternaria solani ISOLATES FROM INDONESIA

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Alternaria solani &lt;/em&gt;is a necrotroph fungus that causes three-phased diseases in tomato. Management of the pathogen by using resistant cultivars requires knowledge on the aggressiveness and genetic diversity of the fungus. The aims of this study were to isolate &lt;em&gt;A. solani &lt;/em&gt;from major tomato and potato producing areas in Indonesia and to study their aggressiveness and genetic variability. Twenty two&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;A. solani&lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;isolates were recovered from early blighted tomato and potato in Central and West Java.&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;A. alternata&lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;was also isolated from tomato leaves in West Java and North Sumatra, indicating that early blight in Indonesia may be caused by more than one &lt;em&gt;Alternaria &lt;/em&gt;species. Resistance tests of four tomato genotypes to selected&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;A. solani&lt;/em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;isolates revealed that local isolates were more aggressive in inciting early blight and stem lesion than an imported isolate from USA. This implies that introduced breeding materials must be tested to local isolates to obtain effective resistance genes. Cluster analysis based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) obtained from &lt;em&gt;Eco&lt;/em&gt;RI+AG and&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Mse&lt;/em&gt;I+C primer amplification separated 28 local and Taiwan isolates from the US isolate, which was coincided with aggressiveness separation between the local isolates and the US isolate. Three clusters of AFLP genotypes which did not associate with geographic origin were observed among tropical isolates. The low genetic diversity among the Indonesian isolates suggests clonal population structure with wide distribution. Successful local tomato breeding requires the availability of local&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;A. solani &lt;/em&gt;collection with well-characterized aggressiveness level and molecular diversity to obtain effective resistance genes.&lt;/p&gt;

First Report of Cercospora apii s. lat. Causing a Leaf Spot on Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) in the United States

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis L.: Campanulaceae) is a wildflower common throughout much of the eastern United States and grows in a variety of habitats. It is used as an ornamental plant because its bright red flowers appear in the fall and attract hummingbirds. The foliage is generally free of disease when the plant is not flowering, although a few leaf and stem lesions may be present during the growing season. In August/September 2016 and 2017, plants established in eastern Tennessee developed numerous spots on stems and leaves. The round- to lenticular-shaped lesions had dry, white, papery necrotic centers surrounded by reddish-purple host tissue. There were no signs of a pathogen. Leaves were washed in running water for 5 min, surface disinfested with 1.05% NaClO for 15 min, and rinsed three times in sterile water. Lesions and some green tissue from leaves were transferred to half-strength potato dextrose agar (PDA) augmented with 10 mg rifampicin/liter, and incubated in the dark. Mycelium was i...

Первая находка гриба Diaporthe phaseolorum на подсолнечнике в России

Грибы рода Diaporthe широко распространены по всему миру, многие виды являются патогенами экономически значи-мых культур, в том числе и подсолнечника. Традиционно идентификацию видов Diaporthe осуществляли по морфологическим, морфолого-культуральным признакам и связи с питающим растением. Достоверную идентификацию до уровня вида представителей этого рода на настоящий момент рекомендуется осуществлять, основываясь на изучении молекулярно-генетических признаков. Комплексное изучение видов Diaporthe в России с применением методов молекулярной филогении не проводилось. Представленная работа посвящена идентификации изолята Diaporthe sp., выделенного из подсолнечника, собранно-го в Краснодарском крае. Согласно полученным результатам изучения молекулярно-генетических (нуклеотидные последовательности области внутренних транскрибируемых спейсеров рибосомальной ДНК, генов β-тубулина и фактора элонгации трансляции-1α) и морфологических признаков, изолят MF 16-010 был идентифицирован как вид Diaporthe phaseolorum (Cooke &amp; Ellis) Sacc. На территории России этот изолят является первой достоверной находкой данного вида на подсолнечнике. В результате искусственной инокуляции было показано, что изолят MF 16-010 является для подсолнечника патогенным.

First report of the fungus Diaporthe phaseolorum on sunflower in Russia

ABSTRACT Fungi of the ascomycete genus Diaporthe have been identified worldwide. Typically, Diaporthe species are saprobes, endophytes, or plant pathogens. The distinction between the species of this genus has historically been based on the combination of the morphological information, cultural characteristics, and host affiliation. The correct identification of the Diaporthe species should be carried out based on a combination of molecular genetic traits. A comprehensive analysis of Diaporthe species in the Russian Federation using molecular phylogeny methods has never been accomplished. The goal of this study was the identification of the isolate Diaporthe sp. MF 16-010, extracted from stems of Helianthus annuus L. that was collected in the Krasnodar region of the Russian Federation. According to the morphology data and DNA sequence analyses of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region as well as of the translation elongation factor-1α (EF-1α) and ß-tubulin genes, the isolate MF 16-010 was identified as Diaporthe phaseolorum (Cooke &amp; Ellis) Sacc. To the best of our knowledge, this isolate represents the first report of Diaporthe phaseolorum associated with sunflower in the Russian Federation. The development of the stem lesions as a result of the artificial inoculation of MF 16-010 to sunflower proved that this isolate is pathogenic for sunflower.