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The authors regret that in the above article in the “Descriptionof Bifidobacterium avesanii sp. nov.” the syllabification is incor-rect. The correct Latin syllabification is a.ve.sa’ni.DSM collection number listed in the section “Description ofBifidobacterium avesanii sp. nov.” was incorrect. The correct DSMcollection number is 100685T. These changes in no way alter theoriginal conclusions of the paper

Wheat is one of the most important crops in Syria, for both local consumption and export commodity and can be infected by Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) a world-widespread disease. Fusarium Head Blight reduces yield, grain quality and causes accumulation of deoxynivalenol (DON). The most promising and effective management strategy is to avail cultivars resistant to FHB. Ten Syrian durum wheat cultivars and "Simeto", one of the most susceptible Italian cultivars, were artificially infected, under growth chamber and field conditions. They were inoculated with Syrian and Italian strains of Fusarium culmorum, one of the main agents of FHB, to screen their tolerance toward FHB infection, FHB spread, kernel infection and mycotoxin levels. Jory was the most tolerant cultivar in the growth chamber and field, while Sham 9, was the most susceptible.

Septoria tritici blotch (STB) is one of the most damaging disease of wheat caused by Zimoseptoria tritici (formerly known as Mycosphaerella graminicola / Septoria tritici) and worldwide spread. SBT is the most important foliar disease of wheat in America, Asia, Northern, Central Europe and it is a major disease, particularly on durum wheat, in North Africa. In Italy the average severity of STB infection, detected from 2000 up to 2015 on durum wheat varieties, has shown an exponential growth trend, that reached its peak between 2007-2010 with a further peak in 2013 and a slight decline in the last two marketing years. In the plain area environment of Bologna (Emilia Romagna region - North of Italy) the infection is due to Z. tritici with yield losses of 30% in years with high inoculum pressure. The aim of this study has been to evaluate, in the plain of Bologna, in two years field trial, the presence of Z. tritici on the flag leaf in San Carlo, a susceptible Italian durum wheat cultivar, after a single artificial inoculation at different vegetative stages (BBCH 31, 35, 39, 60) with two different inoculum concentration (105 and 106 conidia/ml). Visual assessments (Incidence, Disease severity -DS) and DNA quantification by Real time PCR, using the primer pair ST-rRNA F/R (Guo et al., 2006; Presymptomatic and quantitative detection of Mycosphaerella graminicola development in wheat using Real Time PCR. FEMS Microbiol Lett 262:223-229), were set up. The results demonstrate that the BBCH 39 is the most susceptible stage, independently by the concentration of inoculum and climatic conditions: the year 2012 was characterized by a low infection pressure of the pathogen, while year 2013 was characterized by a high infection pressure. In the 2013 a good correlation between DS and DNA quantity was observed. The results obtained point out that the most suitable period to obtain the best crop protection could be the flag leaf stage, even if Northern Italian farmers perform the fungicide treatment against STB earlier, at BBCH31 in association with the herbicide treatment, because cost-effective.

Fusarium culmorum is a plant pathogenic fungus that causes foot and root rot and ‘Fusarium head blight’ diseases in cereals and particular on wheat and barley. The fungus is also responsible for mycotoxins accumulation on grain. In the last years several studies identified mycoviruses in many fungal species that may cause hypovirulence and hence can be of value in the biocontrol of crop diseases. We analyzed the virome of 40 F. culmorum isolates from Italy, Iran and Syria and the resulting different dsRNA profiles have been associated with several species of mycoviruses. Each dsRNA fragment of the chosen strains was isolated and amplified through a random RT-PCR. PCR amplicons were cloned into plasmid vectors and sequenced. The overall rate of viral infection appears to be 60% and in particular we observed 18% of infection among Italian isolates (3 out of 16), 70% among Syrian isolates (11/16) and 87% among Iranian isolates (7/8). Sequencing results indicate the presence of single and mixed mycoviral infections by members of families Endornaviridae, Narnaviridae and Partitiviridae. Moreover a bipartitic viral species from an Italian fungal isolate has been characterized by virions isolation and full genome sequencing. Observing the low similarity of the genome with other previously described mycoviruses, we have proposed the name of Fusarium culmorum virus 1 (FcV1) for this new viral species. Further studies will focus on the effect of FcV1 on F. culmorum in order to determine its role in the biology and in particular in the fungal pathogenicity.

Fusarium crown rot (FCR) is an important disease of wheat and barley mainly caused by Fusarium graminearum, F. pseudograminearum and F. culmorum, which are also responsible for the production of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) during plant colonization. While most of studies on fungal colonization are focused on wheat, this is the first investigation on the colonization process of barley by these pathogens. The three above mentioned species were inoculated at the stem base level. At maturity, symptoms were visually evaluated and then plants were cut into four segments: Segment 1 (the area adjacent to the crown, including the first node) Segment 2 (the area including the second node) Segment 3 (the area adjacent to the flag leaf) and Segment 4 (head). Fungal DNA quantification of each inoculated strain was performed, on each segment, by Real Time qPCR. DON presence along the plant was determined by ELISA method. All inoculated strains caused browning, symptom particularly evident up to the second node, and the F. culmorum strain seemed to be the most virulent. Real Time qPCR assays showed that both F. graminearum and F. culmorum DNA was found up to the head, while F. pseudograminearum DNA was found up to the second node. For every pathogens, DON was detected up to the head. This study shows that barley, as already demonstrated in wheat, may be subject to head contamination by DON produced during FCR, thus representing a DON source in addition to Fusarium head blight contaminations.

Wheat is the most important and widely cultivated cereal crop in the world. In Italy durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) has a great economical importance, especially for good quality pasta production. Durum and soft wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) can be affected by several Fusarium species able to cause Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a cereal fungal disease widespread throughout the world with characteristic symptom of bleached spikes. FHB provokes yield losses, mainly in durum wheat more susceptible than soft wheat, and quality reduction due to mycotoxin contamination, which can occur in both unprocessed and processed wheat, representing a risk for human and animal health. The principal mycotoxins in wheat are trichothecenes B, especially deoxynivalenol (DON), mainly produced by F. graminearum and F. culmorum, the main causal agents of FHB. DON levels in Europe are established by COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1126/2007 of 28 September 2007 amending Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006. DON levels in the pasta food chain are shown in the presentation. FHB is defined a complex disease, because it may be caused by several Fusarium species producing different mycotoxins, whose presence varies at a local or regional levels depending on weather conditions especially during wheat anthesis, which is the period of its major susceptibility. In Italy, other than F. graminearum and F. culmorum, F. avenaceum, F. poae and F. equiseti are the species frequently present and recently F. proliferatum, a fumonisins producer, has also been detected. Knowing the occurrence of Fusarium species in growing areas helps to predict mycotoxin content in harvested grains. A focus on Syrian wheat case has shown the potential of mycotoxin risk in a country where the limits allowed for mycotoxins have not been yet defined. A Multiplex Real Time PCR for Fusarium species presence and a Fusarium MultiToxin approach on wheat grains have revealed the presence of F. proliferatum, a species until now considered of minor importance in wheat, but responsible of fumonisin contamination. These technologies are fundamental to monitor Fusarium population on wheat and to detect emergent mycotoxins, in a period of climatic changes, in order to safeguard human health.

Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) is a cereal disease widespread throughout the world and mainly studied in wheat. In barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) its fungal agents can affect yield crops and reduce the quality of grains for beer manufacture due to the production of several mycotoxins. Furthermore, during the malting process, some Fusarium species can produce special proteins called “hydrophobins” responsible of “beer gushing” that influences beer quality. Artificial inoculations on cv Quench with Fusarium graminearum, F. culmorum and F. poae have been performed in experimental field trials in the years 2013-2014, to evaluate the effects of FHB on barley malt. Disease incidence and severity were assessed. Fusarium Damaged Kernels (FDK), the presence of Deoxynivalenol (DON), T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins were evaluated. In addition, the species of Fusarium isolated were morphologically and molecularly identified. The results showed that the average incidence of mixed inoculum (F. graminearum and F. culmorum) was 15% while F. poae alone 28%. These low values were confirmed by FDK. Fusarium spp. was reisolated on 2% of the tested kernels, and F. culmorum was the prevalent species. The levels of DON, T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins were lower than the limits set by the European regulations and recommendations. We can conclude that the trends of the temperature and precipitation, in the investigated area and at the time of the study, were not favorable for the establishment of FHB disease. Then the grains of barley malt maintained their quality avoiding the gushing risk.

Italy is the first European producer of hazelnuts (Corylus avellana L.) and second in the world after Turkey. The orchards are mainly located in Piedmont, Lazio, Campania and Sicily. In 2013 a sample of hazelnut leaves from Piedmont, showing necrotic spots, has been analyzed. The aims of this work have been to identify the causal agent and verify Koch's postulates, since specific references in literature are not present. Colonies with a white aerial, dense mycelium with black acervuli close to center, similar to ink drops, grew really fast from hazelnut leaf samples plated on PDA. At light microscope the conidia appeared ellipsoid 4-septate, with three brown central cells, the basal and apical cells hyaline and with appendages. Morphologically the fungus was identified as Pestalotiopsis spp. Molecular identification has still not been successfully applied for species-level differentiation. Furthermore pathogenicity tests on leaves, both in vitro and in vivo, were set up at different temperatures. Positive response and a better infection resulted at 20°C. Pestalotiopsis was reisolated from the leaf tissues artificially infected. Pestalotiopsis spp. on hazelnut has been reported in different countries, in particular P. macrospora was found to be pathogenic on leaves and twigs in İran and P. guepinii in Turkey. Furthermore in 2015 Pestalotiopsis spp. was reported to cause disease on halzenut fruit clusters in Turkey, causing yield reduction. This work is the first report of Pestalotiopsis in hazelnut in Italy. Due to the economic importance of this crop in Italy, the incidence of this fungus should be monitored.

The present study investigated the effectiveness of bovine blood (BB)-based products, compared with that of the widely used iron thylenediaminedi-(2-hydroxyphenylacetic) acid (Fe-EDDHA) synthetic chelate, in iron nutrition of grapevine graft combinations and rootstocks grown under different controlled conditions. In experiments under nutrient solution utilising rhizoboxes and pots, the effect of iron application treatments was evaluated through biometric and chlorophyll index measurements, leaf nutrient concentration and root scanning electron microscopy. The bovine blood compounds improved iron nutrition of the grapevine similar to or better than Fe-EDDHA and enhanced root growth. The experimental evidence indicates that BB-based products represent a sustainable alternative to synthetic chelates as Fe fertilisers.

This paper presents the results of the comparison of different analytical techniques (Differential Scanning Calorimetry - DSC, Low Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance - LF-NMR, Light Microscopy - LM and Transmission Electron Microscopy – TEM) in order to evaluate the mass transfer, water status and cellular compartment modifications of the kiwifruit outer pericarp tissue during osmotic dehydration treatment (OD). Two kiwifruit species, A. deliciosa and A. chinensis were submitted to OD. OD was performed in a 61.5 % w/v sucrose solution at three different temperatures (25, 35 and 45 °C), with treatment time from 0 to 300 min. Peleg’s model highlighted that the main response differences between the two kiwifruit species occurred during the initial phase of the osmotic treatment. DSC parameters appeared to be sensitive to water and solid exchange between fruits and osmotic solution. LF-NMR proton T2 revealed the consequences of the water-solid exchange on the cell compartments, namely vacuole, cytoplasm plus extracellular space and cell wall. During OD, the reduction of the vacuole proton pool, detected by LF-NMR, suggested a shrinkage of such compartment, confirmed by LM. Cell walls of outer pericarp showed considerable changes in size, structure and stain uptake during OD observed at TEM. The proposed multianalytical approaches should enable better design of combined processing technologies permitting the evaluation of their effects on tissue response. U ovom radu su prikazani rezultati poređenja različitih analitičkih tehnika (Diferencijalna skeniranja Kalorimetrija – DSC, Niska Polje nuklearna magnetna rezonanca - LF-NMR, svetlost mikroskopije - LM i Prenos elektronsku mikroskopiju - TEM), u cilju određivanja prenosa mase, statusa vode i modifikacije ćelija tkiva perikarpa kivija tokom osmotske dehidratacije tretmana (OD). Dve sorte kivija su bile izložene osmotskom tretmanu, A. deliciosa i A. chinensis. Osmotsko sušenje obavljeno je u 61,5% rastvoru saharoze na tri različite temperature (25, 35 i 45°C), sa vremenom trajanja sušenja od 0 do 300 minuta. Pelegovim modelom naglašene su glavne razlike između dve sorte kivija koje se događaju tokom početne faze osmotskog tretmana. DSC parametri osetljivi su na izmenu vode i čvrste materije između voća i osmotskog rastvora. LF-NMR-om otkrivene su posledice razmene vode i čvrste materije na ćeliju, odnosno vakuole, citoplazmu sa vanćelijskim prostorom i ćelijski zid. Tokom OD, smanjenje vakuole protona bazena, otkrivena je LF-NMR, predložio skupljanja takvog odeljka, potvrđeno LM. Ćelijske zidove spoljne perikarpa su pokazali značajne promene u veličini, strukturi i mrlja uzimanja u toku OD posmatrano na sistem. Predloženi multianalitical pristupi treba da omogući bolji dizajn u kombinaciji obrade tehnologija dozvoljava procenu njihovog uticaja na tkivo odgovor. Fil: Dalla Rosa, Marco. Università di Bologna; Italia Fil: Tylewicz, Urszula. Università di Bologna; Italia Fil: Panarese, Valentina. Università di Bologna; Italia Fil: Laghi, Luca. Università di Bologna; Italia Fil: Pisi, Annamaria. Università di Bologna; Italia Fil: Santagapita, Patricio Roman. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Industrias; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Rocculi, Pietro. Università di Bologna; Italia

Fusarium proliferatum is an emerging, spreading worldwide pathogen of garlic, causing bulb rot. During the whole crop cycle, fungal presence is not associated to characteristic symptoms. During storage, infected bulbs, conversely, undergo to a slow deterioration process: at first brown depressed water soaked spots and, in extremely severe infections, the entire bulbs rot, reducing the garlic shelf-life. The disease leads to appreciable loss of product. This fungus is well known to produce fumonisins. White garlics, cultivated in different northern Italian regions are subjected to mycological and HPLC analysis, to detect the pathogen and quantify the mycotoxins. Basal plate of garlics were dissected and cultured in PDA Petri dishes amended with streptomycin and neomicyn sulphate. Strains morphologically belonging to F. proliferatum species were tested by PCR with specific primers and with primers for Fum1 gene involved in fumonisin production. For mycotoxin analysis, cloves were dried for one week at 40°C, grinded in fine powder and analyzed by IAC/HPLC. F. proliferatum is present in all the tested bulbs and all the strains collected show the presence of FUM1 gene. The Fumonisin levels in cloves ranged from 0,05 ppm to 0.68 ppm for B1 and up to 0.1 for B2. These quite low levels are reached within a short period of conservation in comparison to the time from storage to consumption. Mycotoxin levels should be checked in different food chain steps and on garlic derived products, therefore it is necessary to consider the influence of the conservation time at home, by consumers to better evaluate the possible risk in human health.

A rapid decay of Poplars AF2 clone, Populus x canadiensis, selected for biomass production addressed to produce energy and with an elevated tolerance to several harshnesses, has been observed in year 2013 in three fields (41.5ha) in Bologna Province. These fields were set in March 2010, pruning in two of the three fields was not done at the due time, since plants showed a scarce growth, with an incidence over 80%. Observations and samplings were done on plants of plots (10x10m) of each field. Trunk cross sections of all tested plants showed a central area, at 8cm from the soil, completely necrotic surrounded by a typical reddish ring extended up to 60%. Fungal colonies with fluffy grey mycelium were isolated from woody fragments, plated on agar medium. Their identification through sequencing of partial rDNA ITS region was performed comparing sequences in the NCBI database by BLASTn search algorithm. The nucleotide search comparison showed 98% identity with Cryptosphaeria lignyota (Fr.) Auersw. This fungus has been reported in literature as responsible of wood decay of some plant species, i.e. genus Populus and especially those with rapid growth. It can kill young trees within a year from infection and contributes to natural thinning of trunk formations. It seems that the host death might be due to massive invasion of the sapwood, that prevents it from transporting water and nutrients, and not to annular extension of the canker. The fungus is responsible of a great economic loss being all the infected plants highly compromised.

Background and Aims: The control of iron(Fe) chlorosis by synthetic Fe chelates is costly and their application can have adverse environmental impacts. We investigated the effectiveness of alternative vineyard strategies to prevent Fe chlorosis in grapevines. Methods and Results: An experiment was conducted over two consecutive seasonson VitisviniferaL. cv.Cabernet Sauvignon grafted on the Fe- chlorosis susceptible Vitis riparia grown in pots filled with calcareous soil. Intercropping with Festuca rubra enhanced leaf chlorophyll index and reduced the root activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase enzyme, a physiological marker of Fe deficiency. This response was similar to that of supplying Fe-ethylenediamineN,N’-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)acetic acid to soil. Application of ammonium with 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (a nitrification inhibitor) increased leaf chlorophyll index and stomatal length, and induced root biochemical responses similar to those with Fe-ethylenediamine-N,N’-bis(2-hydroxyphenylaceticacid) application. Leaf-applied Fe-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid induced a high root citric acid concentration, suggesting a limited translocation of Fe from leavesto roots. Intercropping with Festuca rubra decreased the leaf fluorescence-derived parameters in the first year and increased the leaf stomata conductance in the second year of the experiment. Conclusions: The results demonstrate the potential for preventing grapevine Fe chlorosis more sustainably through managing ammonium nutrition and adopting intercropping with Fe-efficient grasses. Significance of the Study: The data provide evidence of the effectiveness and physiological responses of agronomic strategies, alternative to synthetic Fe chelates, for preventing Fe deficiency in the grapevine.

Fusarium species are predominantly found associated with Fusarium head blight in wheat and other small-grain cereals all over the world. F. verticillioides (Fv) and F. proliferatum (Fp), the less frequently encountered species, are less pathogenic but toxigenic. The occurrence of these species in harvested wheat and cereals grains could indicate the presence of fumonisin mycotoxins. The risks of the consumption of fumonisin contaminated grains must not be ignored. In Syria, wheat is the main strategic crop and its two main products, bread and bulgur, are common food stuffs. The average consumption of bread per capita per month is 12.9 Kg. The aim of the study was to detect the presence of fumonisins in Syrian wheat grains and the ability of Fv and Fp in their production. Fourty-eight grain samples of durum and soft wheat were collected from different Syrian areas during years 2009 and 2010. Mycological analysis was performed on four hundred kernels for each sample. All Fusarium isolates were studied morphologically and molecularly, and then screened for their ability in producing mycotoxins in wheat cultivation. Fusarium infected samples were analyzed also for mycotoxin content using HPLC–MS/MS. The data revealed that F. verticillioides and F. proliferatum were present in Syrian wheat grains with frequencies of 10.4% and 8.0%, respectively towards the total of Fusarium population. All the strains were able to produce fumonisins B1, B2, B3 (FB1, FB2, FB3), and 10 % of the grain samples were contaminated with low levels of FB1, FB2.

Cytotoxicity of aluminum is a serious problem that can severely limit productivity in crops, particularly in acid soils. When the soil pH is lower than 4.5–5.0, Al3+ is solubilized in soil water and is absorbed by plant roots, inhibiting root elongation severely. Furthermore, the involvement of aluminum in biological systems has been emphasized in recent years, suggesting its potential interaction with cells. For example, the biotoxic effect of aluminum was correlated with the onset of Alzheimer's and other diseases. It has been observed that certain vegetal species that grow easily in acid soils using, for detoxify from aluminum, the production of organic acids capable of complexing it. To this purpose, plants make use of two strategies: the first is the exclusion of aluminum from roots (the complex formed in the soil cannot cross the cell membrane), the other provides a greater resistance to the effects of the aluminum through its complexation within the cell. In the present study, a tree species (olive tree, Olea Europea) and an herbaceous species (barley, Hordeum vulgare), were investigated through the analysis of the effects of increasing concentration of Al3+ ions in hydroponics growth conditions, analyzing the plants’ exudates. As expected, an increased concentration of Al3+ inhibited root elongation and proliferation. Moreover, a SEM observation of root tips evidenced an increasing number of cracks and fractures with increasing Al3+ concentration. The characterization of theses complexes is quite limited: the use of vibrational spectroscopic techniques (in particular Raman spectroscopy) offers the great advantage of operating satisfactorily also in an aqueous environment, allowing studies in systems similar to those occurring in nature and exploring the ppm concentration range through SERS analysis. We studied the Raman and IR spectra of three organic acids of agricultural interest (oxalic, tartaric and citric acids) together with their Na and Al salts, both in the solid state as well as in H2O and/or D2O solution. The results arising from the study of the differences between symmetric and asymmetric COO– stretching vibrations give interesting information on the type (monodentate, bidentate or bridging) and the strength of the bound involved in the complexing process. The structural data derived by spectroscopic methods are supported by computational methods, allowing the determination of complexing constants and stability.

Strawberry marginal chlorosis (SMC) is a disease that was observed in nurseries and production fields in France, Japan and Italy. Affected plants show pronounced stunting and a poor development of the root system. Older leaves are rolled upward and display a marked premature purple coloration while new leaves are reduced in size, chlorotic, with short petioles and generally cupped. This disease can be caused by two different phloem-limited plant pathogenic prokaryotes: the stolbur phytoplasma and the gamma-3 proteobacterium "Candidatus Phlomobacter fragrariae". During the fall season from 2005 to 2013, surveys were conducted in Emilia-Romagna region collecting and analysing symptomatic strawberry plants. Twenty-eight out of 168 samples tested positive by PCR analysis using the previously published primers Fra-4/Fra-5, indicated for tha amplification of a 550-bp fragment of the 16Sr RNA region of "Candidatus Phlomobacter fragrariae". The proteobacterium was also visualized on ultrathin sections of SMC-diseased strawberry leaf veins and petioles, by transmission electron microscopy. Sequence analysis of the 16Sr RNA and spoT-spoU-recG genes of selected isolates, surprisingly, revealed the presence of two Arsenophonus bacteria: "Candidatus Phlomobacter fragrariae" and "Candidatus Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus", reported to be the casual agent of the "basses richesses" syndrome of sugar beet plants in eastern France. To our knowledge this is the first detection of two different protobacteria associated to SMC and the first visualization in Italy of the proteobacterium by electron microscopy. Further investigations will be necessary to better understand the etiology and the epidemiology of this disease in Italy.

Kiwifruit is an important horticultural crop originated from China. More than 50 species are recognized in the genus Actinidia but in New Zealand and Italy A. deliciosa and A.chinensis are the mostly widely grown cultivars.Kiwifruit has been considered relatively disease free for more than 30 years however, since 2003, several viruses and virus-like diseases have been identified and more recent studies demonstrated that Actinidia spp. can be infected by a wide range of pathogens. Currently 13 different viral species have been identified on kiwifruit plants and these were divided into 3 groups: non-specialistic viruses, kiwifruit adapted viruses and viruses inducing diseases. The last group of viruses induces diseases in kiwifruit and to date only 2 viruses have caused significant damage to kiwifruit within commercial orchards. In N.Z. cherry leaf roll virus has been detected on kiwifruit associated with symptoms including leaf spots, fruit malformation, reduction in yield, bark cracking and cane wilting. Pelargonium zonate spot virus has been detected in Italy associated with severe symptoms on leaves and fruits. Infected plants showed chlorotic and necrotic rings on leaves and depressed areas on the fruits that resulted in deformation of the berries. Moreover, kiwifruit plants showing symptoms attributable to viral infection such as leaf narrowing and curling and wood pitting, have been recently identified during inspections of commercial orchards but none of the known kiwifruit-infecting viruses were identified. Unidentified filamentous viral particles were detected in all these symptomatic samples. The identification of at least 13 viruses that can infect kiwifruit has important repercussions for orchard managment, especially for nurseries that propagate kiwifruit.