Abstract
Background
Rhizosphere microbiomes are fundamental for plant health, development, and productivity, but can be altered by the incidence of soil-borne pathogens. The dysbiosis (disturbance of ...the microbiome structure of healthy plants) caused by these pathogens, combined with the recruitment of beneficial microorganisms by the diseased plant, may cause shifts in the rhizosphere microbiome during the infection process. These shifts are likely to be associated with changes in the rhizosphere metabolic profile, as the biochemical dialog, or crosstalk, between host plants and their microbiome is mostly mediated by root exudates. Our objective was to elucidate the shifts in the avocado rhizosphere microbiome and associated changes in the rhizosphere metabolome induced by the infection of the oomycete
Phytophthora cinnamomi
. We also evaluated the effect of inoculating a bacterial biological control agent (BCA) of
P. cinnamomi
on the avocado rhizosphere microbiome, in the presence and absence of the pathogen, and on morphological and physiological plant variables, to confirm the potential of the BCA to alleviate the stress induced by the disease.
Dataset presentation
Here, we present a novel dataset collected from a time-course experiment with four treatments: (1) control trees; (2) trees infected with
P. cinnamomi
; (3) trees inoculated with the BCA; (4) trees infected with
P. cinnamomi
and inoculated with the BCA. During the infection process, we measured plant morphological and physiological variables and collected rhizosphere soil samples for bacterial and fungal amplicon sequencing, bacterial RNA-seq and metabolomic analyses.
Conclusions
Collectively, our data elucidate the shifts in the avocado rhizosphere microbiome after infection by
P. cinnamomi
and when inoculated with a BCA, and help understand how a pathogen or a beneficial bacterium can alter plant-microbiome crosstalk. Understanding the effect of
P. cinnamomi
or a BCA on the avocado tree physiology and on the avocado rhizosphere microbiome and metabolome will direct our search for disease biomarkers or potential pathogen antagonists, help identify metabolites related to the recruitment of microorganisms, and assist us in developing integrated disease management strategies.
Gluten-related disorders (GRDs) are increasing around the world, but their magnitude and relevance remain unknown in most Latin American countries. Thus, an online survey was conducted to estimate ...the prevalence of GRDs as well as adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD) in Paraguayan adult population. There were 1058 individuals surveyed using a validated questionnaire (response rate of 93.9%). The self-reported prevalence rates were as follows (95% CI): gluten sensitivity (GS), 10.30% (8.53-12.29); non-celiac GS (NCGS), 5.19% (3.94-6.71); physician-diagnosed celiac disease (PD-CD), 3.11% (2.15-4.35); wheat allergy (WA), 2.07% (1.30-3.13); and adherence to GFD, 15.69% (13.55-18.02). Excluding CD, more women than men met the criteria for GRDs, adverse food reactions, and GFD (
< 0.05). Eight respondents reported the coexistence of NCGS with PD-CD and/or WA. Most cases on a GFD indicated medical/dietitian advice for following the diet (68.07%). Non-self-reported GS individuals indicated weight control (46.4%) and the notion that the GFD is healthier (20.2%) as the main motivations for following the diet. GRDs are not uncommon in Paraguayan adult population. It seems that there is awareness about GRDs and the GFD, but training about the diagnosis of GRDs is desirable because of the informed overlapping diagnoses of CD or WA with NCGS. Future studies involving face-to-face interviews are necessary.
The characteristics of food allergen labelling are relevant for avoiding accidental exposure to the allergens of interest but no Latin American country has evaluated these characteristics. Our aim ...was to evaluate the characteristics of food allergen labelling and precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) in six Latin American countries. All data were collected directly from the supermarkets surveyed. A total of 10,254 packaged food products were analyzed, of which 63.3% (
= 6494) and 33.2% (
= 3405) featured allergen labelling and/or PAL, respectively. Most products complied with local regulations (≥87.4% for both locally produced and imported). Thirty-three types of PAL statements were detected; the most frequent was "may contain traces of…" (35.1%). Countries without regulations on the characteristics of allergen labelling had two-fold more products that contained allergens in their ingredients lists but no food allergen labelling. The use of PAL in countries that regulate it (38.2%) was as high as that in countries without PAL regulations (19.2%-44.7%). The findings suggest that the lack of regulations for the characteristics of allergen labeling increases the risk of accidental exposure to allergens of interest. Our findings also suggest that beyond regulations, a scientific approach is required for minimizing and standardizing the use of PAL.
Protected areas are of paramount relevance to conserving wildlife and ecosystem contributions to people. Yet, their conservation success is increasingly threatened by human activities including ...habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and species overexploitation. Thus, understanding the underlying and proximate drivers of anthropogenic threats is urgently needed to improve protected areas' effectiveness, especially in the biodiversity-rich tropics. We addressed this issue by analyzing expert-provided data on long-term biodiversity change (last three decades) over 14 biosphere reserves from the Mesoamerican Biodiversity Hotspot. Using multivariate analyses and structural equation modeling, we tested the influence of major socioeconomic drivers (demographic, economic, and political factors), spatial indicators of human activities (agriculture expansion and road extension), and forest landscape modifications (forest loss and isolation) as drivers of biodiversity change. We uncovered a significant proliferation of disturbance-tolerant guilds and the loss or decline of disturbance-sensitive guilds within reserves causing a "winner and loser" species replacement over time. Guild change was directly related to forest spatial changes promoted by the expansion of agriculture and roads within reserves. High human population density and low nonfarming occupation were identified as the main underlying drivers of biodiversity change. Our findings suggest that to mitigate anthropogenic threats to biodiversity within biosphere reserves, fostering human population well-being via sustainable, nonfarming livelihood opportunities around reserves is imperative.
Arterial hypertension is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in Mexico. However, there is limited data available to understand blood pressure management and cardiometabolic profiles.
To ...assess the prevalence of controlled and uncontrolled blood pressure, as well as the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors among patients from the Mexican Registry of Arterial Hypertension (RIHTA).
We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of participants living with arterial hypertension registered on RIHTA between December 2021 and April 2023. We used both the 2017 ACC/AHA and 2018 ESC/ESH thresholds to define controlled and uncontrolled arterial hypertension. We considered eleven cardiometabolic risk factors, which include overweight, obesity, central obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, low-HDL-C, high-LDL-C, low-eGFR, and high CVD risk.
In a sample of 5,590 participants (female: 61%, n=3,393; median age: 64 IQR: 56-72 years), the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension varied significantly, depending on the definition (2017 ACC/AHA: 59.9%, 95% CI: 58.6-61.2 and 2018 ESC/ESH: 20.1%, 95% CI: 19.0-21.2). In the sample, 40.43% exhibited at least 5-6 risk factors, and 32.4% had 3-4 risk factors, chiefly abdominal obesity (83.4%, 95% CI: 82.4-84.4), high-LDL-C (59.6%, 95% CI: 58.3-60.9), high-CVD risk (57.9%, 95% CI: 56.6-59.2), high triglycerides (56.2%, 95% CI: 54.9-57.5), and low-HDL-C (42.2%, 95% CI: 40.9-43.5).
There is a high prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension interlinked with a high burden of cardiometabolic comorbidities in Mexican adults living with arterial hypertension, underscoring the urgent need for targeted interventions and better healthcare policies to reduce the burden of the disease in our country.
There are no epidemiological data about food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (FDEIA) in Latin America. Our aim was to design, assess, and validate a questionnaire to identify potential FDEIA ...cases and/or estimate its prevalence by self-report. Questions were included in the instrument to address the main symptoms of FDEIA, type/intensity of physical activity, and anaphylaxis. The instrument’s clarity, comprehension and repeatability were evaluated. These evaluations were carried out by Hispanic people (Argentinians/Colombians/Mexicans/Peruvians), including nine individuals with medical diagnosis of FDEIA, and Brazilians. The Flesch–Kincaid score was calculated using the INFLESZ software. The instrument was translated from Spanish to Brazilian Portuguese following the translation back-translation procedure. The participants rated the two versions of the questionnaire as clear and comprehensible (three-point ordinal scale) and very easy to understand 0.33; average (scale 0–10). For these evaluations, the Kendall’s W coefficient showed strong agreement among raters (W = 0.80; average). The Flesch–Kincaid score was 63.5 in average (documents considered as readable). The Cohen’s Kappa coefficient showed almost perfect agreement in repeatability (0.88; average). The validation process of two versions of an instrument, used to identify potential FDEIA cases, was successfully carried out and it was found applicable to Latin American countries for generating epidemiological data.
Background
Rheumatic diseases are a reason for frequent consultation with primary care doctors. Unfortunately, there is a high percentage of misdiagnosis.
Objective
To design an algorithm to be used ...by primary care physicians to improve the diagnostic approach of the patient with joint pain, and thus improve the diagnostic capacity in four rheumatic diseases.
Methods
Based on the information obtained from a literature review, we identified the main symptoms, signs, and paraclinical tests related to the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis with peripheral involvement, systemic lupus erythematosus with joint involvement, and osteoarthritis. We conducted 3 consultations with a group of expert rheumatologists, using the Delphi technique, to design a diagnostic algorithm that has as a starting point “joint pain” as a common symptom for the four diseases.
Results
Thirty-nine rheumatologists from 18 countries of Ibero-America participated in the Delphi exercise. In the first consultation, we presented 94 items to the experts (35 symptoms, 31 signs, and 28 paraclinical tests) candidates to be part of the algorithm; 74 items (25 symptoms, 27 signs, and 22 paraclinical tests) were chosen. In the second consultation, the decision nodes of the algorithm were chosen, and in the third, its final structure was defined. The Delphi exercise lasted 8 months; 100% of the experts participated in the three consultations.
Conclusion
We present an algorithm designed through an international consensus of experts, in which Delphi methodology was used, to support primary care physicians in the clinical approach to patients with joint pain.
Key Points
• We developed an algorithm with the participation of rheumatologists from 18 countries of Ibero-America, which gives a global vision of the clinical context of the patient with joint pain.
• We integrated four rheumatic diseases into one tool with one common symptom: joint pain. It is a novel tool, as it is the first algorithm that will support the primary care physician in the consideration of four different rheumatic diseases.
• It will improve the correct diagnosis and reduce the number of paraclinical tests requested by primary care physicians, in the management of patients with joint pain. This point was verified in a recently published study in the journal Rheumatology International (reference number 31).
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