Abstract The spittlebugs Mahanarva spectabilis economically challenges cattle production of neotropical regions, due to its voracious feeding on tropical grasses. Here, we evaluated biochemical responses of the interaction between M. spectabilis and the widely cultivated tropical grasses Brachiaria spp. (i.e., brizantha and decumbens) and elephant grasses (cvs. Roxo de Botucatu and Pioneiro), regarding lipoxygenases, protease inhibitors, phytohormones, and proteolytic activities in the midgut of M. spectabilis. The M. spectabilis-infested grasses increased lipoxygenases activity, except for cv. Pioneiro. The levels of the phytohormones jasmonic and abscisic acids were similarly low in all genotypes and increased under herbivory. Furthermore, salicylic acid concentration was constitutively higher in Brachiaria sp., increasing only in spittlebug-infested B. decumbens. M. spectabilis infestations did not induce increases of protease inhibitors in any forage grass type. The trypsin activity remained unaltered, and the total proteolytic activity increased only in B. decumbens-fed insects. Our findings revealed that most forage grasses exposed to spittlebugs activate the lipoxygenases pathway, resulting in increased abscisic and jasmonic acids. However, greater amounts of these hormones do not induce protease inhibitory activity in response to spittlebug attack. This knowledge certainly helps to guide future projects aiming at reducing the impact of spittlebugs on forage production.

Over the last few years, researchers have started to explore a particular class of compounds defined as ionic liquids (ILs) in attempts to use their unique characteristics. Since ILs have a very low vapor pressure, these fascinating compounds hold great potential as high performance chemicals for several applications in the (bio)pharmaceutical industry. In general, and unlike common organic solvents with comparable polarities, ILs are quite compatible with enzymes (enhancing their structural and chemical stability) and other proteins, since they can promote higher selectivities, faster reaction rates and greater enzyme stabilities in biocatalytic reactions providing, at the same time, a path for the structural and functional stabilization of protein entities. ILs appear to enhance the delivery of macromolecules, particularly protein entities, and their interactions with ILs will be tackled in detail in this review paper.

O uso de ferramentas moleculares e avaliações da virulência de Pyricularia grisea, agente causal da brusone do arroz e do trigo, têm permitido identificar variantes do patógeno, especialmente aqueles que ocorrem na cultura do arroz. Nesse sentido, os marcadores microssatélites já demonstraram que são eficientes para classificar isolados de P. grisea em grupos geneticamente relacionados. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram caracterizar a diversidade genética de 18 isolados de P. grisea do trigo com o auxílio de oito primers de microssatélites e relacionar os dados da análise molecular com os dados do espectro de virulência desses isolados, inoculados em plantas jovens de 70 genótipos de trigo. Dos 8 loci analisados, o primer mais informativo foi PG 5, que apresentou 4 alelos. Além disso, os primers MG 21 e PG 12 permitiram separar os isolados Py 5020 e Py 5038 em um grupo bastante distinto, com menos de 50% de similaridade em relação aos demais isolados. A maioria dos isolados (16) apresentou mais de 75% de similaridade entre si. Na análise de virulência, 15 dos 18 isolados testados apresentaram mais de 85% de similaridade entre si. Com exceção do isolado Py 5002, o agrupamento dos isolados de acordo com o grau de similaridade que os mesmos apresentaram entre si foi muito semelhante nos dois critérios utilizados nesta pesquisa. O fato de não ter sido encontrado um genótipo que fosse resistente a todos os isolados confirma a necessidade de se buscar novas fontes ou melhores combinações genética de genótipos de trigo mais resistentes à doença.

The use of molecular tools and virulence evaluations of Pyricularia grisea, the causal agent of rice and wheat blast, has permitted identification of strains of the pathogen, especially those occurring in the rice crop. Microsatellites have already demonstrated efficiency to classify P. grisea isolates by genetic similarity groups. The objectives of this work were to characterize the genetic diversity of 18 isolates of P. griseacollected from wheat by applying 8 microsatellite primers; and to compare the molecular and virulence results of isolates, when inoculated in seedlings of 70 wheat genotypes. The most informative primer was PG 5 with 4 alleles. The primers MG 21 and PG 12 permitted separation of Py 5020 and Py 5038 in distinct groups, with less than 50% similarity in relation to others. The genetic similarity of isolates presented more than 75% similarity among them. In the virulence analysis, 15 out of 18 tested isolates showed more than 85% of similarity. The molecular pattern and virulence were similar for the isolates, except for Py 5002 isolate. The absence of resistance to all isolates confirms the need to seek new sources or better genetic combinations of wheat that are more resistant to disease.

This report describes the cloning, sequence and expression analysis of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene of Moniliophthora perniciosa, the most important pathogen of cocoa in Brazil. Southern blot analysis revealed the presence of a single copy of the GAPDH gene in the M. perniciosa genome (MpGAPDH). The complete MpGAPDH coding sequence contained 1,461 bp with eight introns that were conserved in the GAPDH genes of other basidiomycete species. The cis-elements in the promoter region of the MpGAPDH gene were similar to those of other basidiomycetes. Likewise, the MpGAPDH gene encoded a putative 339 amino acid protein that shared significant sequence similarity with other GAPDH proteins in fungi, plants, and metazoans. Phylogenetic analyses clustered the MPGAPDH protein with other homobasidiomycete fungi of the family Tricholomataceae. Expression analysis of the MpGAPDH gene by real-time PCR showed that this gene was more expressed (~1.3X) in the saprotrophic stage of this hemibiotrophic plant pathogen than in the biotrophic stage when grown in cacao extracts.

A análise de sequências de transcriptase reversa (RT) é uma etapa importante para descobrir a presença de elementos transponíveis e investigar o seu papel na geração de variabilidade genética em C. perniciosa. Seqüências putativas de TR foram analisadas no genoma do fitopatógeno C. perniciosa, o agente causal da doença vassoura-de-bruxa no cacau. Um fragmento de 394 pb foi amplificado a partir do DNA genômico de diferentes isolados de C. perniciosa, pertencentes aos biótipos C, L e S e a distintas áreas geográficas. A clivagem dos produtos de PCR com diferentes enzimas de restrição e sequenciamento de vários fragmentos de TR indicou a presença de diferentes seqüências mostrando eventos de transição G:C para A:T. A análise por hibridização revelou alto número de sinais sugerindo a presença de cópias de TR com diferentes perfis entre os isolados dos biótipos C, S e L. As comparações de seqüências dos peptídeos preditos indicam uma relação próxima com a proteína TR de retrotransposons-LTR da família gypsy.

Reverse transcriptase (RT) sequence analysis is an important technique used to detect the presence of transposable elements in a genome. Putative RT sequences were analyzed in the genome of the pathogenic fungus C. perniciosa, the causal agent of witches' broom disease of cocoa. A 394 bp fragment was amplified from genomic DNA of different isolates of C. perniciosa belonging to C-, L-, and S-biotypes and collected from various geographical areas. The cleavage of PCR products with restriction enzymes and the sequencing of various RT fragments indicated the presence of several sequences showing transition events (G:C to A:T). Southern blot analysis revealed high copy numbers of RT signals, forming different patterns among C-, S-, and L-biotype isolates. Sequence comparisons of the predicted RT peptide indicate a close relationship with the RT protein from thegypsy family of LTR-retrotransposons. The possible role of these retrotransposons in generating genetic variability in the homothallic C. perniciosa is discussed.