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During periderm differentiation, phellem cells undergo secondary cell wall thickening by suberin deposition, forming a compact barrier shielding plant organs from the environment. Development and suberization of periderm cells are tightly controlled processes, however their regulation is still poorly understood. To identify novel regulators of these processes, we have conducted histological and transcriptomic analyses to follow periderm development in two model systems: Arabidopsis and cork oak (Q. suber). After a detailed spatio-temporal study of periderm formation in Arabidopsis roots, a transcriptomic analysis using TRAP-Seq targeting periderm cells at the onset of suberization was performed with the aim to identify tissue-specific regulators. We found 2433, out of 4631 differentially expressed genes overrepresented in suberizing cells. Through a functional enrichment analysis, several terms were found to be represented, as suberin biosynthesis, response to karrikin, cell wall metabolic process and response to abscisic acid. Possible candidate genes involved in control of phellem suberization will be identified and selected for further functional validation. Furthermore, in cork oak, histochemical analyses on 1-week old tap roots, showed a positive effect of drought and heat stress on periderm development. This system is now being used as a model to identify regulators of cork formation in this species. A comparative transcriptomic analysis based on different growth conditions and root differentiation stages was performed, revealing contrasting transcriptome changes between different root zones. Genes potentially involved in the crosstalk between cork development and response to environmental changes are being identified by integrating the results obtained from both plant systems. This knowledge might further contribute to design new strategies for the improvement of cork production under abiotic stress conditions.

The Mediterranean climate is characterized by hot dry summers and frequent droughts. Mediterranean crops are frequently subjected to high evapotranspiration demands, soil water deficits, high temperatures, and photo-oxidative stress. These conditions will become more severe due to global warming which poses major challenges to the sustainability of the agricultural sector in Mediterranean countries. Selection of crop varieties adapted to future climatic conditions and more tolerant to extreme climatic events is urgently required. Plant phenotyping is a crucial approach to address these challenges. High-throughput plant phenotyping (HTPP) helps to monitor the performance of improved genotypes and is one of the most effective strategies to improve the sustainability of agricultural production. In spite of the remarkable progress in basic knowledge and technology of plant phenotyping, there are still several practical, financial, and political constraints to implement HTPP approaches in field and controlled conditions across the Mediterranean. The European panorama of phenotyping is heterogeneous and integration of phenotyping data across different scales and translation of “phytotron research” to the field, and from model species to crops, remain major challenges. Moreover, solutions specifically tailored to Mediterranean agriculture (e.g., crops and environmental stresses) are in high demand, as the region is vulnerable to climate change and to desertification processes. The specific phenotyping requirements of Mediterranean crops have not yet been fully identified. The high cost of HTPP infrastructures is a major limiting factor, though the limited availability of skilled personnel may also impair its implementation in Mediterranean countries. We propose that the lack of suitable phenotyping infrastructures is hindering the development of new Mediterranean agricultural varieties and will negatively affect future competitiveness of the agricultural sector. We provide an overview of the heterogeneous panorama of phenotyping within Mediterranean countries, describing the state of the art of agricultural production, breeding initiatives, and phenotyping capabilities in five countries: Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey. We characterize some of the main impediments for development of plant phenotyping in those countries and identify strategies to overcome barriers and maximize the benefits of phenotyping and modeling approaches to Mediterranean agriculture and related sustainability. © Copyright © 2019 Costa, Marques da Silva, Pinheiro, Barón, Mylona, Centritto, Haworth, Loreto, Uzilday, Turkan and Oliveira., Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, H2020: 739514 LIFE16 CCA/GR/000050 PTDC/ASP-HOR/31907/2017, PTDC/ASP-PLA/28726/2017 RTI2018-094652-B-I00 Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, FCT: PEst-OE/BIA/UI4046/2014, UID/Multi/04551/2013, UID/MULTI/00612/2013, UID/AGR/04129/2013 P12-AGR-0370 European Cooperation in Science and Technology, COST, MO is thankful to Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal), for funding the R&D unit, UID/Multi/04551/2013 (GREEN-IT). JMC thanks the support of FCT for funding the R&D unit LEAF (UID/AGR/04129/2013). JMS is grateful to FCT for funding BioISI R&D unit, UID/MULTI/00612/2013, under the project PEst-OE/BIA/UI4046/2014 and the internal projects Optigrape I and II. Part of the work was also supported by the FCT R&D projects INTERPHENO (PTDC/ASP-PLA/28726/2017) and VitiRoots (PTDC/ASP-HOR/31907/2017). JMC, JMS, CP, PM, IT and BU acknowledge the COST Action Phenomenall FA 1306 - The quest for tolerant varieties - Phenotyping at plant and cellular level. MB is grateful to the financial support of grants from Junta de Andaluc?a (P12-AGR-0370) and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovaci?n y Universidades (RTI2018-094652-B-I00 and MCIU/AEI/FEDER,UE). FL thanks the support of EU H2020 project EMPHASIS-PREP (grant agreement n. 739514). PM acknowledges the support of EU-LIFE program under the grant agreement LIFE16 CCA/GR/000050.

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) promotes atrial remodeling that in turn promotes AF perpetuation. The aim of our study is to investigate the impact of AF history length on 1-year outcome of AF catheter ablation in a cohort of patients enrolled in the Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Registry. Methods We described the real-life clinical epidemiology, therapeutic strategies, and the short- and mid-term outcomes of 1948 patients (71.9% with paroxysmal AF) undergoing AF ablation procedures, stratified according to AF history duration (= 2 years). Results The mean AF history duration was 46.2 +/- 57.4 months, 592 patients had an AF history duration = 2 years (mean 75.5 +/- 63.5 months) (P < 0.001). Patients with AF history duration = 2 years (34.0%) (P = 0.037). AF history duration >= 2 years, overall ablation procedure duration, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease were all predictors of recurrences after the blanking period. Conclusions In this multicenter registry, performing catheter ablation in patients with an AF history >= 2 years was associated with higher rates of AF recurrences at 1 year. Since cumulative time in AF in not necessarily equivalent to AF history, its role remains to be clarified.

Previous studies have correlated the severity of recurrent vulvovaginal Candida infections (VVC) and balanitis in patients from China with the presence of some dominant genotypes at the ORF RLM1. Here we tested VVC vs non-VVC isolates from Portugal, Brazil and Greece and, although the same genotypes were identified in VVC isolates, they were present in only five out of 150 strains. However, this analysis showed that VVC isolates presented a higher percentage of genotypes with similar high molecular weight alleles, in comparison with strains isolated from other biological sources. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved.