Griffithbille5152

Since the first report of grapevine rupestris vein feathering virus (GRVFV; genus Marafivirus, family Tymoviridae) in a Greek grapevine causing chlorotic discoloration of leaf veins (El Beaino et al., 2001), GRVFV was reported in some European countries, and in Australia, China, Korea, New Zealand, Uruguay, and Canada (Blouin et al., 2017; Cho et al., 2018; Reynard et al., 2017). In the USA, the virus was reported only from California in vines showing Syrah decline symptoms (Al Rwahnih et al., 2009). During virus surveys conducted between 2015 and 2019, 424 samples (petioles from individual or composite of five vines, with 4 petioles/vine) with and without discernible symptoms were collected randomly from 39 Vitis vinifera cultivars in vineyards and nurseries in eastern Washington State. Total RNA was isolated from these samples separately using SpectrumTM Plant Total RNA Kit (Sigma-Aldrich) and subjected individually to Illumina RNAseq (Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT). An average of ~28 millioed virus 3, grapevine red blotch virus, grapevine virus A and B, grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus, hop stunt viroid and grapevine yellow speckle viroid 1) making it difficult to correlate presence of the virus with specific symptoms. To confirm the presence of GRVFV, samples from cvs. Sangiovese (n = 45) and Pinot gris (n = 1) were tested by RT-PCR using custom designed primers SaF-215 (5'- TACAAGGTGAATTGCTCCACAC -3') and SaR-1027 (5'-TCATTGGCGATGCGTTCG-3') to amplify the 813 bp sequence covering partial replicase associated polyprotein region of the virus genome. Sanger sfour amplicons (MT782067-MT782070) showed identities from 86% (700 bp out of 813 bp) with an Australian isolate (MT084811.1) to 90.9% (738 bp out of 813 bp) with an isolate from New Zealand (MF000326.1). Additional studies are in progress to examine the etiology, genetic diversity and impact of GRVFV in Washington vineyards.Leymus secalinus (Blue wild rye) is a perennial grass species distributed in Leh-Ladakh region of India. Culms are usually solitary, 20-100 cm tall, 2-5-noded, smooth and glabrous. It is found on mountain slopes, rocky, stony and pebbled soils, grassy places, river banks, sandy and alkaline soils. It is one of the dominant species of the region and is mostly used for forage and grazing. L. secalinus plants with blackish-brown powdery spore mass/sori on the culm was observed in Leh region of Jammu and Kashmir, India during a wheat germplasm exploration (to collect wild relatives, land races, cultivars etc. of cultivated wheat) in September, 2018. Initially, sori were covered by the leaf sheath and at later stage more or less exposed with the absence of peridium. Infected culms and leaves are stunted, while inflorescences are abortive. Spores are globose, sub-globose to ovoid, blackish-brown in color, 3-5 x 4-4.5 µm in size, wall 0.5 µm thick and smooth. The fungus was identified as Tranzscheliella hypodytes (S L. secalinus in India. A voucher specimen of the fungus was deposited at Herbarium Cryptogamae Indiae Orientialis (HCIO) (52182), ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.Fig mosaic disease (FMD) is a complex viral disease with which 12 viruses, including a confirmed causal agent - fig mosaic emaravirus (FMV) - and three viroids are associated worldwide. FMD was first described in California in the early 1930s. Symptoms include foliar chlorosis, deformation, and mosaic patterns. FMD is disseminated by vegetative propagation, seed transmission, and vectors, including a mite, Aceria ficus. Management of the disease in fig orchards relies on scouting and elimination of infected trees. In this review, we focus on the distribution of the FMD-associated viruses and viroids by summarizing worldwide surveys and their genome structure. We also determined the full-length sequence of FMV and fig badnavirus 1 (FBV-1) isolates from Connecticut and compared the virus and viroid sequences from fig isolates. We suggest important areas of research including determining the potential synergistic effect of multiple viruses, elucidating the full-length genome sequence of each associated virus, and relating virus titer to to phenotypic changes in Ficus carica.Many members of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic pathogens causing several infections in animals. The incidence of NTM infections and emergence of drug-resistant NTM strains are rising worldwide, emphasizing the need to develop novel anti-NTM drugs. The present study is aimed to identify broad-spectrum drug targets in NTM using a comparative genomics approach. The study identified 537 core proteins in NTM of which 45 were pathogen specific and essential for the survival of pathogens. Furthermore, druggability analysis indicated that 15 were druggable among those 45 proteins. These 15 proteins, which were core proteins, pathogen-specific, essential, and druggable, were considered as potential broad-spectrum candidates. Based on their locations in cytoplasm and membrane, targets were classified as drug and vaccine targets. The identified 15 targets were different enzymes, carrier proteins, transcriptional regulator, two-component system protein, ribosomal, and binding proteins. The identified targets could further be utilized by researchers to design inhibitors for the discovery of antimicrobial agents.The damage or loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons accounts for the visual functional defects observed after traumatic injury, in degenerative diseases such as glaucoma, or in compressive optic neuropathies such as from optic glioma. By using optic nerve crush injury models, recent studies have revealed the cellular and molecular logic behind the regenerative failure of injured RGC axons in adult mammals and suggested several strategies with translational potential. This review summarizes these findings and discusses challenges for developing clinically applicable neural repair strategies.Micro- or minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries (MIGS) have been the latest addition to the glaucoma surgical treatment paradigm. This term refers not to a single surgery, but rather to a group of distinct procedures and devices that aim to decrease intraocular pressure. Broadly, MIGS can be categorized into surgeries that increase the trabecular outflow [Trabectome, iStent (first and second generations), Hydrus microstent, Kahook Dual Blade and gonioscopy-assisted transluminal trabeculotomy], surgeries that increase suprachoroidal outflow (Cypass microstent and iStent Supra), and conjunctival bleb-forming procedures (Xen gel stent and InnFocus microshunt). Compared to traditional glaucoma surgeries, such as trabeculectomy and glaucoma drainage device implantation (Ahmed, Baerveldt, and Molteno valves), MIGS are touted to have less severe complications and shorter surgical time. MIGS represent an evolving field, and the efficacy and complications of each procedure should be considered independently, giving more importance to high-quality and longer-term studies.Psychophysical and neurophysiological studies of responses to visual motion have converged on a consistent set of general principles that characterize visual processing of motion information. Both types of approaches have shown that the direction and speed of target motion are among the most important encoded stimulus properties, revealing many parallels between psychophysical and physiological responses to motion. Motivated by these parallels, this review focuses largely on more direct links between the key feature of the neuronal response to motion, direction selectivity, and its utilization in memory-guided perceptual decisions. These links were established during neuronal recordings in monkeys performing direction discriminations, but also by examining perceptual effects of widespread elimination of cortical direction selectivity produced by motion deprivation during development. Other approaches, such as microstimulation and lesions, have documented the importance of direction-selective activity in the areas that are active during memory-guided direction comparisons, area MT and the prefrontal cortex, revealing their likely interactions during behavioral tasks.Recent advances in stem cell engineering have led to an explosion in the use of organoids as model systems for studies in multiple biological disciplines. Together with breakthroughs in genome engineering and the various omics, organoid technology is making possible studies of human biology that were not previously feasible. For vision science, retinal organoids derived from human stem cells allow differentiating and mature human retinal cells to be studied in unprecedented detail. In this review, we examine the technologies employed to generate retinal organoids and how organoids are revolutionizing the fields of developmental and cellular biology as they pertain to the retina. Furthermore, we explore retinal organoids from a clinical standpoint, offering a new platform with which to study retinal diseases and degeneration, test prospective drugs and therapeutic strategies, and promote personalized medicine. Finally, we discuss the range of possibilities that organoids may bring to future retinal research and consider their ethical implications.Visual images can be described in terms of the illuminants and objects that are causal to the light reaching the eye, the retinal image, its neural representation, or how the image is perceived. Respecting the differences among these distinct levels of description can be challenging but is crucial for a clear understanding of color vision. This article approaches color by reviewing what is known about its neural representation in the early visual cortex, with a brief description of signals in the eye and the thalamus for context. The review focuses on the properties of single neurons and advances the general theme that experimental approaches based on knowledge of feedforward signals have promoted greater understanding of the neural code for color than approaches based on correlating single-unit responses with color perception. New data from area V1 illustrate the strength of the feedforward approach. Future directions for progress in color neurophysiology are discussed techniques for improved single-neuron characterization, for investigations of neural populations and small circuits, and for the analysis of natural image statistics.Photoreceptors are highly specialized sensory neurons with unique metabolic and physiological requirements. These requirements are partially met by Müller glia and cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), which provide essential metabolites, phagocytose waste, and control the composition of the surrounding microenvironment. A third vital supporting cell type, the retinal microglia, can provide photoreceptors with neurotrophic support or exacerbate neuroinflammation and hasten neuronal cell death. Understanding the physiological requirements for photoreceptor homeostasis and the factors that drive microglia to best promote photoreceptor survival has important implications for the treatment and prevention of blinding degenerative diseases like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.