The multispecies stinkbug iflavirus Halyomorpha halys virus detected in the multispecies stinkbug egg parasitoid microwasp, Telenomus podisi (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae).

Wasps are important parasitoids of stinkbugs and frequently exposed to various types of microorganisms through environmental contact and fecal-oral transmission route. Many parasitize stinkbug eggs and are commercially used in the field to control insect population. The parasitoid T. podisi is known for its high parasitism capacity and ability to target multiple species of stinkbugs. In this study we asked whether T. podisi exposed to eggs infected by a multispecies asymptomatic stinkbug virus, the Halyomorpha halys virus (HhV) would get infected. HhV is a geographically distributed multispecies iflavirus previously found to infect four stinkbug hosts, including three Brazilian species, Chinavia ubica, Euschistus heros and Diceraeus melacanthus, and T. posidi can parasitize all of them. As results, RT-PCR screening revealed positive samples for the HhV genome in two out of four tested pools of T. podisi, whereas the antigenome, indicative of replicative activity, was not detected. The wasps were raised in E. heros eggs that presented both the genome and the antigenome forms of the HhV genome. Subsequent RNA-deep sequencing of HhV positive T. podisi RNA pools yielded a complete genome of HhV with high coverage. Phylogenetic analysis positioned the isolate HhV-Tp (isolate Telenomus podisi) alongside with the stinkbug HhV. Analysis of transcriptomes from several hymenopteran species revealed HhV-Tp reads in four species. However, the transmission mechanism and the ecological significance of HhV remain elusive, warranting further studies to illuminate both the transmission process and its capacity for environmental propagation using T. podisi as a potential vector.

Penicillium polonicum a new isolate obtained from Cerrado soil as a source of carbohydrate-active enzymes produced in response to sugarcane bagasse.

Penicillium species have been studied as producers of plant cell wall degrading enzymes to deconstruct agricultural residues and to be applied in industrial processes. Natural environments containing decaying plant matter are ideal places for isolating fungal strains with cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities. In the present study, Cerrado soil samples were used as source of filamentous fungi able to degrade xylan and cellulose. Penicillium was the most abundant genus among the obtained xylan and carboxymethylcellulose degraders. Penicillium polonicum was one of the best enzyme producers in agar-plate assays. In addition, it secretes CMCase, Avicelase, pectinase, mannanase, and xylanase during growth in liquid media containing sugarcane bagasse as carbon source. The highest value for endo-ß-1,4-xylanase activity was obtained after 4 days of growth. Xyl PP, a 20 kDa endo-ß-1,4-xylanase, was purified and partially characterized. The purified enzyme presented the remarkable feature of being resistant to the lignin-derived phenolic compounds, p-coumaric and trans-ferulic acids. This feature calls for its further use in bioprocesses that use lignocellulose as feedstock. Furthermore, future work should explore its structural features which may contribute to the understanding of the relationship between its structure and resistance to phenolic compounds. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-022-03405-x.