RESUMO Os insetos hospedeiros do fungo Aschersonia sp. estão restritos às famílias Aleyrodidae e Coccidae, da ordem Hemiptera. Objetivou-se avaliar o efeito, in vitro, desse fungo, nos diferentes estádios de desenvolvimento da mosca-negra-dos-citros, A. woglumi, como potencial agente de controle biológico, através de bioensaios com diferentes concentrações de inóculo do fungo. A melhor eficiência de controle foi constatada em concentrações mais elevadas, a partir de 2,3 x 107 conídios/mL, revelando-se como um bom agente de controle biológico dessa praga. Embora tenha apresentado crescimento lento no meio de cultura testado, Aschersonia cf. aleyrodis mostrou-se eficiente no controle da mosca-negra-dos-citros. As maiores mortalidades ocorreram nas fases mais jovens de A. woglumi como ovo, ninfa 2 e ninfa 1, não havendo diferença estatística entre elas. No estádio de ninfa 4, ocorreu a menor mortalidade. As mortalidades nas fases de ovo, ninfas 1, 2 e 3, com exceção da ninfa 4, se iniciaram no quarto dia após a inoculação de A. cf. aleyrodis, com acmes de mortalidade no 10º dia.

ABSTRACT The host insects of the fungus Aschersonia sp. are restricted to the Aleyrodidae and Coccidae families of the Hemiptera order. The present study was aimed at evaluating, through bioessays with different concentrations of the fungi, the effect of this fungus, in-vitro, on different developmental stages of Aleurocanthus woglumi, thus testing it as a potential biological control agent. Aschersonia cf. aleyrodis proved more efficient in the control of A. woglumi at higher concentrations, from 2.3 x 107 conidia/mL, turning out to be a good biological control agent of this pest. Although it presented slow growth in the culture medium tested, Aschersonia cf. aleyrodis proved to be efficient in the control of citrus blackfly. The highest mortalities occurred in the youngest stages of A. woglumi as an egg, and at the second and first nymph stages, there being no statistical difference between them. The lowest mortality occurred at the fourth nymph stage. The mortalities at the egg stage, and at the first, second and third nymph stages (but not the fourth), began on the fourth day after A. cf. aleyrodis inoculation, with peaks of mortality on the tenth day.

Seven unrelated patients with hemoglobin (Hb) H disease and 27 individuals with alpha-chain structural alterations were studied to identify the alpha-globin gene mutations present in the population of Southeast Brazil. The -alpha3.7, --MED and -(alpha)20.5 deletions were investigated by PCR, whereas non-deletional alpha-thalassemia (alphaHphalpha, alphaNcoIalpha, <FONT FACE="Symbol">aa</FONT>NcoI, alphaIcalpha and alphaTSaudialpha) was screened with restriction enzymes and by nested PCR. Structural alterations were identified by direct DNA sequencing. Of the seven patients with Hb H disease, all of Italian descent, two had the -(alpha)20.5/-alpha3.7 genotype, one had the --MED/-alpha3.7 genotype, one had the --MED/alphaHphalpha genotype and three showed interaction of the -alpha3.7 deletion with an unusual, unidentified form of non-deletional alpha-thalassemia [-alpha3.7/(<FONT FACE="Symbol">aa</FONT>)T]. Among the 27 patients with structural alterations, 15 (of Italian descent) had Hb Hasharon (alpha47Asp->His) associated with the -alpha3.7 deletion, 4 (of Italian descent) were heterozygous for Hb J-Rovigo (alpha53Ala->Asp), 4 (3 Blacks and 1 Caucasian) were heterozygous for Hb Stanleyville-II (alpha78Asn->Lys) associated with the alpha+-thalassemia, 1 (Black) was heterozygous for Hb G-Pest (alpha74Asp->Asn), 1 (Caucasian) was heterozygous for Hb Kurosaki (alpha7Lys->Glu), 1 (Caucasian) was heterozygous for Hb Westmead (alpha122His->Gln), and 1 (Caucasian) was the carrier of a novel silent variant (Hb Campinas, alpha26Ala->Val). Most of the mutations found reflected the Mediterranean and African origins of the population. Hbs G-Pest and Kurosaki, very rare, and Hb Westmead, common in southern China, were initially described in individuals of ethnic origin differing from those of the carriers reported in the present study and are the first cases to be reported in the Brazilian population.