Endophytic species of Colletotrichum associated with mango in northeastern Brazil

Endophytic species of Colletotrichum associated with Mangifera indica (mango) are poorly understood. In this study, Colletotrichum species were isolated from mango in Pernambuco State, Brazil. There were significant differences in isolation frequencies of Colletotrichum species among sites and plant tissues. Mature leaf blades were colonized by most Colletotrichum isolates at the majority of sites. Partial sequences of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) of 97 Colletotrichum isolates were amplified as an initial measure of genetic diversity. Phylogenetic analysis with a subset of 22 isolates were performed based on a multi-locus dataset (ACT, TUB2, CAL, CHS-1, GAPDH, ITS) followed by Apn2/MAT IGS sequence-analysis for isolates within the C. gloeosporioides species complex. Molecular analysis associated with phenotypic characteristics revealed six previously described species [C. asianum, C. cliviae, C. dianesei (syn. C. melanocaulon), C. fructicola, C. karstii and C. tropicale] and one new species. This new species is introduced as C. endomangiferae. All species isolated were pathogenic on mango fruits but varied in their virulence. There was no distribution pattern of species among sites and plant tissues, although C. asianum was the most prevalent species at all sites and in all plant tissues studied. Five previously reported Colletotrichum species causing anthracnose in mango fruits in northeastern Brazil were also recovered as endophytes.     

Human Protoparvovirus DNA and IgG in Children and Adults with and without Respiratory or Gastrointestinal Infections

Three human protoparvoviruses, bufavirus (BuV), tusavirus (TuV) and cutavirus (CuV), have recently been discovered in diarrheal stool. BuV has been associated with diarrhea and CuV with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, but there are hardly any data for TuV or CuV in stool or respiratory samples. Hence, using qPCR and IgG enzyme immunoassays, we analyzed 1072 stool, 316 respiratory and 445 serum or plasma samples from 1098 patients with and without gastroenteritis (GE) or respiratory-tract infections (RTI) from Finland, Latvia and Malawi. The overall CuV-DNA prevalences in stool samples ranged between 0–6.1% among our six patient cohorts. In Finland, CuV DNA was significantly more prevalent in GE patients above rather than below 60 years of age (5.1% vs 0.2%). CuV DNA was more prevalent in stools among Latvian and Malawian children compared with Finnish children. In 10/11 CuV DNA-positive adults and 4/6 CuV DNA-positive children with GE, no known causal pathogens were detected. Interestingly, for the first time, CuV DNA was observed in two nasopharyngeal aspirates from children with RTI and the rare TuV in diarrheal stools of two adults. Our results provide new insights on the occurrence of human protoparvoviruses in GE and RTI in different countries.     

Analysis of Potential Oral Cleft Risk Factors in the Kosovo Population

The aim of this study was to analyze the association of potential risk factors such as positive family cleft history, smoking, use of drugs during pregnancy, and parental age with oral clefts in offspring within the Kosovo population. We conducted a population-based case-control study of live births in Kosovo from 1996 to 2005. Using a logistic regression model, 244 oral cleft cases were compared with 488 controls. We have excluded all syndromic clefts. Heredity increases the risk of clefts in newborns [odds ratio (OR) = 8.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.12–23.52]. Clefts were also associated with smoking (OR = 1.87, 95% CI 0.75–4.08), use of drugs during pregnancy (OR = 2.25, 95% CI 0.82–5.12), increasing maternal age (OR = 1.83, 95% CI 1.42–2.49), and increasing paternal age (OR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.2– 1.4). We found heredity to be the most important factor for cleft occurrence in Kosovar newborns. Another significant potential risk factor for occurrence of clefts is the parental age. We found the use of drugs and smoking during pregnancy to be less significant.Key words: Oral clefts, Cleft lip with or without cleft palate, Cleft palate only, Potential risk factors, Logistic regression model, Dummy variablesCleft lip with or without cleft palate and isolated cleft palate are the most common facial birth defects. The etiology involves complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors.¹ Genetic factors appear to create the most susceptibility for clefts. When environmental factors (i.e., triggers) interact with a genetically susceptible genotype, a cleft develops during an early stage of development.² The aim of this study was to analyze the association of potential risk factors such as positive family cleft history, smoking, use of drugs during pregnancy, and parental age with oral clefts in offspring in Kosovo. Risk factors vary among populations, and our ultimate goal was to provide data that may show new potential risk factors influencing the occurrence of clefts in Kosovo. With this new information, we hope to increase public awareness of such risks and thereby help reduce the incidence of cleft in Kosovo.