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In line with the actual increasing request of innovative and alternative tools aimed to reduce the use of chemicals in favor of more sustainable agriculture and food systems, natural products, such as essential oils (EOs), represent a valid alternative to pesticides. Essential oils contain antioxidant and antimicrobial constituents able to act against plant pathogens, including phytopathogenic fungi. Despite species belonging to Daucus genus are already known as a source of active essential oils, little is known about D. carota ssp. major (pastinocello), a local carrot variety, now listed among the species facing extinction risk. With the aim to investigate this species, the present work aimed to study three pastinocello accessions cultivated in Central Italy, in terms of bio-agronomic characteristics, inflorescence production, essential oils yield and composition, and their activity against plant pathogenic and beneficial fungi. Results showed significant morphological and productive differences among accessions as well as a significant different composition in their essential oils, with accession L24 richer in oxygenated sesquiterpenes class (such as carotol and daucol) and L281 and L305 showing monoterpene hydrocarbons as the most abundant chemical groups. At the same time the EO obtained from L24 was the most effective in reducing the growth of two important plant pathogenic fungi, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici and Monilinia fructigena , while any effect was observed against two well-known beneficial isolates belonging to Trichoderma genus. These results not only confirm the possibility to use EOs from pastinocello to control plant pathogenic fungi, but also leave open the possibility of a combined use with beneficial Trichoderma isolates, already exploited as biocontrol agents for the management of plant diseases. • Three pastinocello accessions were evaluated for agronomic traits and essential oil yield, composition and anti-fungal activity. • All the essential oils from the dried aerial parts showed an α-pinene chemotype. • Carotol and daucol were significantly more represented in the essential oil of L24 accession. • Essential oil from L24 accession shows a potential antifungal activity against two important plant pathogenic fungi. • The lack of effect of pastinocello essential oil vs beneficial fungi makes possible its combined use with Trichoderma spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea Turtle Egg Fusariosis (STEF) is a worldwide emergent fungal disease affecting eggs and causing embryos mortality in turtle's nests such as those of Caretta caretta. It is caused by a complex of species belonging to Fusarium genus, particularly those included in the Fusarium Solani Species Complex (FSSC). During the samplings carried out in summer 2020 along the Tuscany coastlines (Italy), C. caretta eggs showed clinical signs resembling those caused by STEF. A total of 32 fungal isolates were obtained from lesioned eggs whose molecular characterization allowing identifying as belonging to FSSC / Neocosmospora spp., Fusarium oxysporum Species Complex (FOSC) / F. oxysporum and Fusarium nodosum, i.e., fungal genera and speciesincluding also well-known plant pathogens. Isolates inoculated on several plant hosts did not result in any pathogenic activity but F. nodosum causing, on wheat spikes, disease symptoms.This is the first time F. nodosum has been isolated from portions of eggs showing evident signs of fungal infection. This work represents the first report of Fusarium spp. isolated from C. caretta eggs showing lesions resembling those caused by STEF on Tuscan coast thus posing a significant concern to loggerhead sea turtle conservation also in this region., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mushrooms and derivates are well known to the scientific community for having different health benefits and exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities, including lipid-lowering, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, antimicrobic, antiallergic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, immunomodulating, neuroprotective and osteoprotective actions. In Europe, medical mushrooms are mainly marketed in the form of food supplements as single components or combined with other nutraceuticals. In this context, the first peculiarity that distinguishes it is the safety established through the "history of consumption" that characterizes that mushroom. However, the cultivation of medicinal mushrooms on a large scale is performed mainly in China, where most of the production facilities do not have internationally recognized good manufacturing practices, despite that many European companies that sell myotherapies are supplied by Chinese manufacturers. This is particularly evident in Italy, where an arsenal of mushroom products is marketed in the form of powders and extracts not always of ascertained origin and sometimes of doubtful taxonomic identification, and thus not meeting the quality criteria required. The growing interest in mycotherapy involves a strong commitment from the scientific community to propose supplements of safe origin and genetic purity as well as to promote clinical trials to evaluate its real effects on humans. The purpose of this research is to analyze different mushroom-based dietary supplements used in medicine as monotherapy on the Italian market and to evaluate their composition and quality. The molecular identification of the sequences with those deposited in GenBank allowed for identifying 6 out of 19 samples, matching with those deposited belonging to the species indicated in the label, i.e., Lentinula edodes (samples 1, 4, 12 and 18) and Ganoderma lucidum (samples 5 and 10). Samples containing Ganoderma, labeled in the commercial product as G. lucidum , showed sequences that showed homology of 100% and 99% with G. resinaceum and G. sichuanense . An additional investigation was carried out in order to determine the active fungal ingredients, such as ergosterol, aflatoxins, heavy metals, nicotine and total glucan. The results obtained and shown in the manuscript highlight how the data were not only in line with what is expected with respect to what is indicated in the labels.

Paraphaeosphaeria genus includes plant pathogens or biocontrol agents as well as bioremediators and endophytic fungi. Paraphaeosphaeria sporulosa 10515 was isolated in 2013 as an endophyte of Festuca spp. collected on Mount Etna at 1,832 meters above sea level. Here, we present the first-draft whole-genome sequence of a P. sporulosa endophytic isolate. This data will be useful for future research on understanding the genetic bases of endophytism.