ABSTRACT
AIM: To investigate the impact of inoculating peanut seeds with the biocontrol agent Trichoderma harzianum ITEM 3636 on the structure of bacterial and fungal communities from agricultural soils. METHODS AND RESULTS: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and next-generation sequencing (NGS) of amplicons (or marker gene amplification metagenomics) were performed to investigate potential changes in the structure of microbial communities from fields located in a peanut-producing area in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. Fields had history of peanut smut (caused by Thecaphora frezii) incidence. The Shannon indexes (H'), which estimate diversity, obtained from the PCR-DGGE assays did not show significant differences neither for bacterial nor for fungal communities between control and inoculation treatments. On the other hand, the number of operational taxonomic units obtained after NGS was similar between all the analysed samples. Moreover, results of alpha and beta diversity showed that there were no significant variations between the relative abundances of the most representative bacterial and fungal phyla and genera, in both fields. CONCLUSIONS: Trichoderma harzianum ITEM 3636 decreases the incidence and severity of agriculturally relevant diseases without causing significant changes in the microbial communities of agricultural soils. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Our investigations provide information on the structure of bacterial and fungal communities in peanut-producing fields after inoculation of seeds with a biocontrol agent.
Subject(s)
Biological Control Agents , Soil Microbiology , Trichoderma , Agriculture , Arachis , Argentina , Bacteria/genetics , Bacteria/isolation & purification , Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis , Fungi/genetics , Fungi/isolation & purification , High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing , Microbiota , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Seeds , Soil/chemistryABSTRACT
A study was made in order to assess whether the combined use of color flow mapping and conventional pulsed Doppler could improve the accuracy of blood flow velocity waveform analysis in fetal and placental circulations. Fifty patients were studied at 18 to 20 or 26 to 28 weeks of gestation by two trained investigators by means of either conventional Doppler or conventional Doppler plus color flow mapping. Recordings were performed at the level of the uterine arteries, umbilical artery, descending aorta, and internal carotid artery. The experimental procedure was repeated the following day with the patients undergoing the alternate technique of recording. In all the vascular districts investigated, color flow mapping allowed us to obtain a higher number of reliable recordings, to shorten the observation time, and to reduce the intra- and interobserver coefficient of variations.
Subject(s)
Fetus/blood supply , Placenta/blood supply , Pregnancy/physiology , Ultrasonography/methods , Uterus/blood supply , Aorta, Thoracic/physiology , Arteries/physiology , Blood Flow Velocity , Carotid Artery, Internal/physiology , Color , Female , Humans , Pregnancy Trimester, Second , Reproducibility of Results , Umbilical Arteries/physiologyABSTRACT
The transitions, i.e. time intervals between two different behavioural states, were studied in 10 healthy and 10 growth retarded fetuses (IUGR) in near term pregnancies. In healthy fetuses, transitions usually lasted less than 3 min whereas IUGR fetuses showed a longer duration when compared to healthy fetuses. Moreover, a significant trend in the change of state variables (fetal heart rate, fetal eye movements and fetal gross body movements) was evident in healthy fetuses: fetal heart rate was the first variable to change in transitions from 1F to 2F and the last variable to change in transitions from 2F to 1F. On the other hand IUGR fetuses showed a random sequence in order of change. These findings were substantiated by the intraindividual consistency evidenced in repeated recordings. In conclusion the analysis of transitions differentiates between healthy fetuses and those affected by IUGR.
Subject(s)
Fetal Growth Retardation/diagnosis , Blood Flow Velocity , Female , Fetal Growth Retardation/physiopathology , Fetal Movement , Gestational Age , Heart Rate, Fetal , Humans , Male , Pregnancy , Prenatal Diagnosis , Time FactorsSubject(s)
Fetal Growth Retardation/diagnostic imaging , Prenatal Diagnosis/methods , Blood Flow Velocity , Diagnosis, Differential , Female , Fetal Distress/diagnostic imaging , Fetal Growth Retardation/etiology , Humans , Oxygen/administration & dosage , Predictive Value of Tests , Pregnancy , Pulsatile Flow , Risk Factors , Sensitivity and Specificity , UltrasonographyABSTRACT
A cerebral midline cystic lesion was detected by real-time ultrasound in utero in the absence of other congenital abnormalities. Pulsed Doppler ultrasound assessment of fetal circulation demonstrated normal peripheral and intracardiac hemodynamics associated with decreased cerebral vascular resistance. Furthermore, a markedly turbulent flow pattern was evidenced within the cerebral lesion. The presence of a cerebral arteriovenous malformation with an aneurysm of the vein of Galen was suggested and the provisional diagnosis was later confirmed by computed tomography and carotid angiography performed after birth.
