General Earth and Planetary Sciences

El cultivo de chile en el norte centro de México es dañado por la infección causada por Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii. Los síntomas de la enfermedad incluyen clorosis, deformación foliar, enanismo y sobredesarrollo floral (yema grande) con necrosis de pistilo y anteras. La distribución de yemas grandes en la planta es irregular. Ello sugiere que el patógeno o sus efectores se moverían irregularmente dentro de la planta. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar la presencia de Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii en diferentes órganos de plantas de chile con síntomas de yema grande. Plantas enfermas de chile tipo Mirasol fueron recolectadas en una parcela comercial en Zacatecas, México, y sus raíces, tallos, hojas, frutos y yemas grandes fueron analizadas por PCR universal y anidada para detectar la presencia del fitoplasma. El patógeno fue detectado en cinco de ocho plantas analizadas, en por lo menos un órgano de cada planta; sin embargo, su distribución dentro de las plantas fue irregular. El porcentaje de detección fue 33.3, 62.5, 70, 80 y 100 % en raíces, hojas, tallos, frutos y yemas grandes, respectivamente. En frutos de plantas de chile sintomáticas a yema grande, el fitoplasma fue detectado en el pedúnculo, placenta y semillas.

Abstract Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are key players in the nitrogen cycle of polar soils. Here, we analyzed metagenomic data from tundra soils in Rásttigáisá, Norway, and recovered four metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) assigned to the genus ‘UBA10452’, an uncultured lineage of putative AOA in the order Nitrososphaerales (‘terrestrial group I.1b’), phylum Thaumarchaeota. Analysis of other eight previously reported MAGs and publicly available amplicon sequencing data revealed that the UBA10452 lineage is predominantly found in acidic polar and alpine soils. In particular, UBA10452 MAGs were more abundant in highly oligotrophic environments such as mineral permafrost than in more nutrient-rich, vegetated tundra soils. UBA10452 MAGs harbour multiple copies of genes related to cold tolerance, particularly genes involved in DNA replication and repair. Based on the phylogenetic, biogeographic, and ecological characteristics of 12 UBA10452 MAGs, which include a high-quality MAG (90.8% complete, 3.9% redundant) with a nearly complete 16S rRNA gene, we propose a novel Candidatus genus, Ca. Nitrosopolaris, with four species representing clear biogeographic/habitat clusters.

Trichomonas vaginalis (Tv) is a flagellated protist parasite that infects the human urogenital tract. The symbiotic relationship between Tv and Mycoplasma hominis has been reported. Recent studies have identified a new Mycoplasma strain, Candidatus Mycoplasma girerdii (Ca. M. girerdii), present in the vaginal secretions of women and have shown that this strain may be related to trichomoniasis. Here, we evaluated the presence of Tv, M. hominis and Ca. M. girerdii in 312 clinical samples from adult women diagnosed with vaginitis in Zhangye, Gansu province, China. Among these samples, 94, 153, and 48 were Tv, M. hominis and Ca. M. girerdii positive, respectively. Moreover, Tv was highly frequent in 17–30-year-old women in this region. Forty samples (83.3%) positive for Ca. M. girerdii were also positive for Tv. Six Tv isolates were successfully cultured, including five isolates that showed symbiotic relationships with Mycoplasma. This is the first report to evaluate the genetic characteristics of Ca. M. girerdii in China and may therefore provide insights into the effects of Ca. M. girerdii on the reproductive health of women.

High levels of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pini’ have produced extensive forest mortality on Pinus halepensis Mill forests in eastern Spain. This has led to the widespread levels of forest mortality. We used archival Landsat imagery and shapes algorithm implemented in the Google Earth Engine to explore the potential of the LandTrendr algorithm and its outputs, together with field observations, to analyze and predict the health status in P. halepensis stands affected by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pini’ in Andalusia (south-eastern Spain). We found that the Landsat time series algorithm (LandTrendr) has captured both long- and short-duration trends and changes in spectral reflectance related to phytoplasma disturbance in the Aleppo pine forest stands investigated. The normalized burn ratio (NBR) trends were positively associated with environmental variables: Annual precipitation, mean temperature, soil depth, percent base saturation and aspect. Environmental variables were tested for their contributions to the mapping of changes in Aleppo pine cover in the study area, as an empirical modeling approach to disturbance mapping in forests of south-eastern Spain. The methodology outlined in this paper has produced valuable results that indicate new possibilities for the use in forest management of remote-sensing technologies based on spectral trajectories associated with pest-diseases defoliation. Given the likely increase in pest risks in the forests of southern Europe, accurate assessment and map of pest outbreaks on forests will become increasingly important, both for research and for practical applications in forest management.