The long-term effects of the olive mill wastewater (OMWW) spreading on soil chemical properties, microbial community, and olive tree parameters have been far poorly investigated. Therefore, this ...study aims to evaluate the effect of OMWW application on an olive orchard, and samples were collected at two different depths (0–20 cm and 20–40 cm) and 14 days, one year and two years from the end of the OMWW spreading on soil chemical characteristics and soil microbial structures. Variations of soil chemical parameters (pH, salinity, available P, and water-extractable organic C) were observed particularly at 14 days after spreading at both depths. All these parameters reached similar values to the soil after two years, except for available phosphorus. Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria are the most abundant phyla: only Firmicutes were negatively affected by the OMWW spreading after 14 days, suggesting that Gram-positive bacteria were probably negatively influenced by the addition of OMWW. The abundance of bacterial taxa in the soil is restored along time, except for the decrease of Firmicutes. This evidence suggests that the OMWW spreading in the long term does not affect the endemic soil bacterial community of the olive grove, as well as leaf net photosynthesis, the olive tree vegetative activity, yield, and fruits characteristics.
The cultivation of
Tuber melanosporum
Vittad., the black truffle, recently expanded all over the world. For successful truffle production, an important factor to consider is the mycorrhization level ...of the planted mycorrhized-seedlings. To assess the mycorrhization level of a truffle orchard it is necessary to develop a sampling strategy. Root sampling is time-consuming and a delicate operation because it is easy to disturb the ectomycorrhizal communities of the truffle-plants. A standardized and reproducible methodology for sampling mycorrhized roots in truffle orchards has not yet been developed. Consequently, we sampled five
T. melanosporum
truffle orchards located in Central Italy to determine: (1) the relationship between the number of sampled plants and the presence of
T. melanosporum
and other ectomycorrhizal Fungi; (2) the minimum number of trees (MNT) needed to achieve a reliable mycorrhization estimate and the minimum sampling ratio (MSR) as the percentage of MNT over the total number of trees present in the truffle orchard. Using a general linear model, we calculated MNT for
T. melanosporum
and other Fungi in two sampling campaigns in each truffle orchard. The mean values of the MNT ranged among 12–17 and 17–18, respectively, for
T. melanosporum
and for other Fungi. According to our findings we suggest that at least a MSR of 12% should be considered to have a fair estimate of the mycorrhization level of a truffle plantation.
Tuber aestivum, one of the most sought out and marketed truffle species in the world, is morphologically similar to Tuber mesentericum, which is only locally appreciated in south Italy and north-east ...France. Because T. aestivum and T. mesentericum have very similar ascocarp features, and collection may occur in similar environments and periods, these two species are frequently mistaken for one another. In this study, 43 T. aestivum and T. mesentericum ascocarps were collected in Italy for morphological and molecular characterization. The morphological and aromatic characteristics of the fresh ascocarps were compared with their spore morphology. Afterwards, we amplified and sequenced the elongation factor 1-α (EF1α) locus and built maximum likelihood trees to assess phylogenetic similarities between the two species. Tuber aestivum and T. mesentericum sequences cluster into different clades, with T. mesentericum sequences divided into three different sub-clades. According to their morphological features, three samples (T7, T8 and T12) were classified as T. mesentericum. However, when fresh, these ascocarps lacked the typical phenolic aromatic note. These specimens fall into the sub-clade III of the T. mesentericum phylogeny, which has the lowest genetic distance from the T. aestivum clade.
Fungi belonging to the genus
Tuber
produce edible ascocarps known as truffles.
Tuber magnatum
Picco may be the most appreciated truffle species given its peculiar aroma. While its life cycle is not ...yet fully elucidated, some studies demonstrated an active role of microorganisms. The main goal of this study was to determine how the
T. magnatum
microbiome varies across space and time. To address this, we characterized microbial communities associated with
T. magnatum
through high-throughput amplicon sequencing of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 16S rDNAs in three productive natural sites in Italy across 2 years. At each site, four truffles were sampled as well as the soil underneath and at 40, 100, and 200 cm from the harvesting points, to assess for microbial variation between substrates, years, and sites. A statistically significant site-related effect on microbial communities was identified, whereas only the prokaryotic community was significantly affected by the distance of soil from the truffle. Significant differences between sampling years were also found, demonstrating a possible relation among rainfall precipitation and
Firmicutes
and
Actinobacteria
. Thirty-six bacterial OTUs in truffles and 11 bacterial OTUs in soils beneath truffles were identified as indicator taxa. As shown for other truffle species, the dominance of
Bradyrhizobium
,
Rhizobium
, and
Ensifer
spp. within the truffle fruiting body suggests an evolutionary adaptation of this microorganism to the genus
Tuber
. The present work offers novel and relevant insights into the microbial ecology of
T. magnatum
ecosystems and fruiting bodies. The function and role of these bacteria in the truffle microbiome and life cycle are in need of further investigation.
Pecan trees are known to form ectomycorrhizae with a wide range of fungi, including commercial truffles that can be cultivated in agroforestry systems. Here, we investigated whether pecans can be ...successfully mycorrhized by Tuber spp. and whether the mycorrhization affects growth parameters and nutrient content of two productive pecan cultivars under southern subtropical conditions. We also sought to define procedures of mycorrhization adapted to the subtropics. The seedlings of two pecan cultivars (Barton and Importada) were inoculated with both Tuber aestivum and T. brumale and grown in a nursery for 12 months. The levels of ectomycorrhizal colonization and the morphological and chemical parameters of the seedlings were analyzed. The proposed mycorrhization protocol was successful, as all truffle-inoculated seedlings exhibited a high percentage of mycorrhized fine roots, on average 70% with T. aestivum and 88% with T. brumale. In both pecan cultivars, mycorrhization by the Tuber species reached levels at which all seedlings would qualify as suitable for commercialization. Notably, the cultivar Barton inoculated with T. brumale exhibited higher total biomass accumulation and growth of roots and shoots. Shoot and root parameters did not show nutrient deprivation. The nutrient status after one year of cultivation in a nursery also supported that the applied protocol was adequate to maintain healthy mycorrhized seedlings with suitable nutritional status for out-planting of seedlings in a commercial plantation. To our knowledge, this is the first study on the mycorrhization of pecan seedlings with European truffles under southern subtropical conditions. Our results suggested that the tested cultivars have a high potential for truffle production considering the necessary substrate, site, and management adaptations for selected commercial truffle species and the requirements for pecan orchards.
•Mycorrhization of two pecan cultivars with Tuber brumale and T. aestivum in southern subtropical conditions•Cultivar Barton inoculated with T. brumale performed best in mycorrhization levels and plant nutrition.•A modified protocol is proposed for mycorrhization of pecan seedlings with truffle in the southern subtropical hemisphere.
The growing demand for truffles has led to a global pursuit for their occurrence in the wild, and studies concerning their cultivation. Although European countries such as Italy, France and Spain ...have been known for truffle production, truffle hunting is new to Finland. The present study reports for the first time, the findings of
Tuber maculatum
in Finland on the basis of morphological and molecular analysis. The chemical characteristics of soil samples collected from the truffle sites have also been discussed. The species of the
Tuber
samples were identified primarily using morphological analysis. Molecular analysis was carried out for the confirmation of the identity of the species. Two phylogenetic trees were constructed based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences produced in this study and including representative sequences of whitish truffles available in GenBank. The truffles were identified as
T. maculatum
and
T. anniae
. This study could be considered as a basis for encouraging research on findings and identification of truffles in Finland.
Pecan,
Carya illinoinensis
, is an economically important nut producing tree that can establish ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with a high diversity of fungi. In the southern USA, truffles (
Tuber
spp.) ...sometimes fruit prolifically in cultivated pecan orchards and regularly associate with pecan roots as ectomycorrhizae (ECMs). It has been demonstrated that some valuable European truffle species (e.g.,
Tuber borchii
and
Tuber aestivum
) can form ECMs with pecan seedlings in nursery conditions. Thus, pecan may represent an attractive alternative host to forest trees for truffle growers given the potential for co-cropping truffles and pecans. To further explore the capacity of pecan to host truffle symbionts, pecan seedlings were inoculated with species of black truffles that are economically important in Europe,
T. melanosporum
and
T. brumale
. Ectomycorrhizae were characterized molecularly and their morphology was described in detail. Mycorrhization rates on pecan roots were assessed over a 2-year period.
Tuber melanosporum
and
T. brumale
produced well-formed ECMs with a level of root colonization in the first year of 37.3 and 34.5%, respectively. After 24 months, the level of mycorrhization increased for
T. brumale
(49.4%) and decreased for
T. melanosporum
(10.5%) inversely to that of non-target ECM greenhouse contaminants (e.g.,
Sphaerosporella brunnea
,
Trichophaea woolhopeia
,
Pulvinula constellatio
). To assess whether mating types segregated in
T. melanosporum
as been reported for other host species, we amplified the mating-type locus from single
T. melanosporum
ECM belonging to different seedlings over a 2-year period. The two mating idiomorphs were nearly equally represented along the 2-year time span:
MAT 1-1-1
decreased from 59.4% in the first year to 48.5% in the second year after inoculation. Data reported in this study add to knowledge on the mycorrhization of pecan trees with commercial truffles and has application to truffle and nut co-cropping systems.
•We analyzed the genetic variability of the Cornigliese sheep breed.•Cornigliese showed heterozygosity estimates less than expected.•The work confirmed the historical information about the origin of ...Cornigliese breed.•Our data confirmed genetic relationship with Bergamasca and Spanish Merino breeds.
To preserve sheep biodiversity is an important issue as the most productive breeds are becoming dependent on intensive management and breeders are abandoning the traditional breeds. The Cornigliese sheep is a local breed from Parma Apennine. In the last centuries it was crossed with Merino and Bergamasca breeds. The aim of this work is to investigate the genetic variability in the Cornigliese breed using 27 microsatellite markers. A total of 144 individual blood samples were randomly collected from the following breeds: Cornigliese, Bergamasca, Appenninica and Spanish Merino. The Palmera breed was used as out-group. A total of 344 alleles were detected. The average expected heterozygosity ranged from a maximum of 0.77 in Appenninica to a minimum of 0.68 in Bergamasca. In general, Cornigliese showed heterozygosity estimates less than expected. The Reynolds weighted genetic distance among the breeds highlighted a clear cluster, including Cornigliese and Bergamasca. As expected, they appeared in close neighbourhood in the tree because of the historic crossbreeding practices between these two breeds. Results of STRUCTURE analyses show that the four studied breeds were discriminated into separate clusters, even if Cornigliese has some individual related to Bergamasca and Spanish Merino. This work confirmed the historical information about the origin of Cornigliese breed which reports gene flow among these breeds. The genetic parameters show a moderate value of inbreeding in Cornigliese and therefore this breed should be monitored due the low number of individuals that compose it.
is a pioneer ectomycorrhizal fungus with facultative saprophytic capacities. Here, we sequenced the genome of
strain Sb_GMNB300, which is estimated at 51.6 Mb in size with 872 assembled contigs ...accounting for 12,597 predicted coding genes. This genome will be useful for comparative studies of Pezizales ectomycorrhizal symbioses.
Dissemination of medical practice and scientific information through social media (SoMe) by clinicians and researchers is increasing. Broad exposure of information can promote connectivity within the ...scientific community, overcome barriers to access to sources, increase debate, and reveal layperson perspectives and preferences. On the other hand, practices lacking scientific evidence may also be promoted, laypeople may misunderstand the professional message, and clinician may suffer erosion of professional status. The aim of this project was to enhance awareness and advise the anesthesia community and clinicians at large about the potential risks advocate for responsible use of SoMe to disseminate information related to medical practices and knowledge.
A modified Delphi process with prespecified consensus criteria was conducted among a multidisciplinary panel of experts, including anesthesiologists-intensivists, clinical psychologists, and forensic medicine specialists. Six items were identified: Ethics and deontological principles, the practice of sharing information via social media, legal aspects, psychological aspects, self-promotion, and criteria for appropriate dissemination. Statements and rationales were produced and subjected to blinded panelists' votes. After reaching consensus, a document was written which then underwent external review by experts uninvolved in the consensus process. The project was promoted by the Italian Society of Anesthesia Analgesia Resuscitation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI).
Twelve statements were produced, and consensus was achieved for all. The panel concluded that the general principles guiding dissemination of professional information via SoMe must remain in line with the general principles of ethics, deontology, and scientific validity that guide the medical profession and science in general. Professional equity must be maintained while communicating via SoMe. Medical practices lacking support by scientific evidence should not be disseminated. Patients' informed consent must be obtained before dissemination of information, images, or data. Self-promotion must not be prioritized over any of these principles.
When sharing medical practices and scientific information on SoMe, healthcare professionals are advised to act conscientiously and ethically. Local regulations should be adhered to. Institutional training on the potential risks and proper of SoMe for such purpose may contribute to preservation of professional integrity.
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