Seed quality, chlorophyll content index and leaf nitrogen levels in maize inoculated with Azospirillum brasilense

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Energy deficit does not affect immune responses of experimentally infected pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Use of probiotics to reduce faecal shedding of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in sheep

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Potential application of Ganoderma lucidum in solid state fermentation of primary sludge and wheat straw

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Evaluation of Brazilian sugarcane genotypes for resistance to Sugarcane mosaic virus under greenhouse and field conditions

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Expression of cellular components in granulomatous inflammatory response in piaractus mesopotamicus model

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Gallus gallus domesticus are resistant to infection with Neospora caninum tachyzoites of the NC-1 strain

The aim of this study was to experimentally evaluate infection in Gallus gallus domesticus with Neospora caninum tachyzoites of the NC-1 strain. Experimental infection was conducted in 90-day-old chickens, embryonated eggs and bioassays in dogs. In the first experiment, poults were randomly divided into four groups. Groups I and II were provided feed with coccidiostat, whereas groups III and IV received feed without coccidiostat. When the poults from groups I and III reached 90 days of age, they received a subcutaneous inoculation of N. caninum. Once the hens entered their egg-laying period, during the following 30 days, the eggs were collected, identified, weighed and placed in an incubator. On the 70th day after inoculation, all animals, including the chicks, were euthanized. Tissue samples from the adult poultry and chicks were collected for histopathology, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and PCR. Brain tissue and pectoral muscle samples from infected birds were fed to two dogs. Notably, the average weight of the group III eggs was lower than that of the group IV eggs (p <0.05). No changes consistent with infection in adult poultry or chicks were detected by histopathology or IHC; moreover, no amplified parasite DNA was detected in the birds'tissues or dogs'feces. No dog eliminated oocysts. In the second experiment, the embryonated chicken eggs were inoculated with 1 x 10(2) N. caninum tachyzoites, on the 10th day of incubation, and chicks born from these eggs were housed in boxes suitable for the species and received commercial feed and distilled water ad libitum. On the 30th day after infection (DAI), the poultry were euthanized, and their organs were processed as described in experiment I. The amplification of parasite DNA was observed in the spleen and pectoral muscles of one of the birds. The ingestion of bird tissues by dogs did not result in oocyst elimination. These results indicate that the parasite may have been eliminated by the host and that the use of tachyzoites to induce chronic disease might be a poor source for hens. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Resistência de porta-enxertos de cucurbitáceas a nematóides e compatibilidade da enxertia em melão

Nematodes severely attack net melon plants under protected cultivation conditions. The objective of this research was to select rootstocks with resistance to Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica. The experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions from October 2010 to April 2011 in Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo state, Brazil. Thirty-three cucurbitaceous genotypes were investigated as rootstocks; melons: CNPH 01-930 (Cucumis melo var. flexuosus), CNPH 01-962, 01-963 CNPH (Cucumis melo var. conomon), cvs. Gaucho Redondo, Gaucho Comprido, Redondo Amarelo, Gulfcoast, Chilton, Bonus no. 2, Fantasy; watermelons: cv. Charleston Gray, Progenie da Coreia (Citrullus lanatus); pumpkins: cvs. Mra. Ma, Ornamental, Howden, Mammoth, Kururu, Goianinha (Cucurbita moschata); gourd: Abobora de Porco, cvs. Maranhao, Brasileirinha (Lagenaria siceraria); squash: cv. Pataca Gigante (Cucurbita maxima); cucumber: cvs. Caipira, Branco Meio Comprido, Curumim (Cucumis sativus); loofah: Metro, Semente Branca, Semente Preta (Luffa cylindrica); wax gourd (Benincasa hispida); pumpkin rootstock: Hybrid cv. Keij; snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerins) and musk cucumber (Sicana odorifera). To evaluate the resistance, seedlings were transplanted to pots and the root inoculated with 3,000 eggs and second stage juveniles of M. incognita and M. javanica. Fifty days after the inoculation, the plants were evaluated for nematode resistance by means of the reproduction factor. The grafting compatibility between net melon cvs. Bonus no. 2 and Fantasy and the rootstocks previously characterized as resistant were evaluated by means of 60 graftings. CNPH 01-962, CNPH 01-963 and melon 'Gaucho Redondo', were considered resistant to M. incognita. Melon 'Redondo Amarelo', watermelon 'Charleston Gray', watermelon Progenie da Coreia, Trichosanthes cucumerins were considered resistant to M. javanica. Benincasa hispida was resistant to M. javanica and M. incognita. The compatibility between net melons and resistant rootstocks was higher than 98%.

Rabies surveillance in bats in Northwestern State of Sao Paulo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Sporothrix schenckii complex biology: environment and fungal pathogenicity

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effects of Yersinia enterocolitica O:3 derivatives on B lymphocyte activation in vivo

The potential sequelae of intestinal infection with Yersinia enterocolitica include reactive arthritis, erythema nodosum, Reiter's syndrome and other autoimmune diseases. The role of the immune response in the pathogenesis of these diseases has not been fully defined, but autoimmune manifestations may be a consequence of the increase in autoantibodies as a result of polyclonal B-cell activation induced by Yersinia. We investigated the effects of Y enterocolitica 0:3 derivatives on B lymphocyte activation in vivo. Groups of five specific pathogen free (SPF) Swiss mice were inoculated with bacterial cell extract, Yersinia outermembrane proteins (Yops) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) obtained from Y enterocolitica 0:3 and their immunoglobulin-secreting spleen cells were detected by isotype-specific protein A plaque assay. The presence of specific anti-Yersinia antibodies and autoantibodies was determined in mouse sera by ELISA. In all experiments a marked increase in the number of secretory cells of different isotypes was observed as early as the third day after inoculation. IgG and IgM anti-Yersinia antibodies were detected in the sera of all inoculated mice, and autoantibodies against myosin in the sera of those inoculated with bacterial cell extract. The sera from animals stimulated with LPS reacted with myelin, actin and laminin, while the sera from mice inoculated with Yops reacted with myelin, thyroglobulin and cardiolipin. These results suggest that SPF Swiss mice inoculated with any one of the Y enterocolitica derivatives tested exhibited polyclonal activation of B lymphocytes as a result of stimulation by various bacterial components and not only LPS stimulation.

Ehrlichia canis (Jaboticabal strain) induces the expression of TNF-alpha in leukocytes and splenocytes of experimentally infected dogs

Canine ehrlichiosis is caused by the bacterium Ehrlichia canis and is characterized by a systemic febrile disease of unknown pathogenesis. This study evaluated the expression of cytokines TNF-alpha, IL-10, IFN-gamma, in splenic cells and blood leukocytes during the acute phase of ehrlichiosis and after treatment with doxycycline hyclate in dogs experimentally infected with the E. canis Jaboticabal strain. The study results showed a significant expression of TNF-alpha 18 days post-inoculation, reducing by approximately 70% after treatment. There was a unique peak of expression of IL-10 and IFN-gamma 18 and 30 days post-inoculation, respectively. This study suggests that TNF-alpha plays a role in the pathogenesis of the acute phase of canine ehrlichiosis and that treatment with doxycycline hyclate reduces the systemic effects of this cytokine, possibly by reducing or eliminating parasitemia.

Enxertia e sua influencia na produção de pepino e reprodução de Meloidogyne javanica e M. incognita

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Type IV secretion system is not involved in infection process in citrus

The type IV secretion system (T4SS) is used by Gram-negative bacteria to translocate protein and DNA substrates across the cell envelope and into target cells. Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri contains two copies of the T4SS, one in the chromosome and the other is plasmid-encoded. To understand the conditions that induce expression of the T4SS in Xcc, we analyzed, in vitro and in planta, the expression of 18 ORFs from the T4SS and 7 hypothetical flanking genes by RT-qPCR. As a positive control, we also evaluated the expression of 29 ORFs from the type III secretion system (T3SS), since these genes are known to be expressed during plant infection condition, but not necessarily in standard culture medium. From the 29 T3SS genes analyzed by qPCR, only hrpA was downregulated at 72 h after inoculation. All genes associated with the T4SS were downregulated on Citrus leaves 72 h after inoculation. Our results showed that unlike the T3SS, the T4SS is not induced during the infection process.

Evaluation of short-interfering RNAs treatment in experimental rabies due to wild-type virus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)