The Spread of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus from the Middle East to the World

The ongoing global spread of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV; Genus Begomovirus, Family Geminiviridae) represents a serious looming threat to tomato production in all temperate parts of the world. Whereas determining where and when TYLCV movements have occurred could help curtail its spread and prevent future movements of related viruses, determining the consequences of past TYLCV movements could reveal the ecological and economic risks associated with similar viral invasions. Towards this end we applied Bayesian phylogeographic inference and recombination analyses to available TYLCV sequences (including those of 15 new Iranian full TYLCV genomes) and reconstructed a plausible history of TYLCV's diversification and movements throughout the world. In agreement with historical accounts, our results suggest that the first TYLCVs most probably arose somewhere in the Middle East between the 1930s and 1950s (with 95% highest probability density intervals 1905–1972) and that the global spread of TYLCV only began in the 1980s after the evolution of the TYLCV-Mld and -IL strains. Despite the global distribution of TYLCV we found no convincing evidence anywhere other than the Middle East and the Western Mediterranean of epidemiologically relevant TYLCV variants arising through recombination. Although the region around Iran is both the center of present day TYLCV diversity and the site of the most intensive ongoing TYLCV evolution, the evidence indicates that the region is epidemiologically isolated, which suggests that novel TYLCV variants found there are probably not direct global threats. We instead identify the Mediterranean basin as the main launch-pad of global TYLCV movements

Decrease in the incidence of cucumber Fusarium wilt in Varamin greenhouses using Talaromyces flavus

Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum is one of the most important greenhouse cucumber diseases. The chemical methods are not possible easily for controlling this disease, and the most suitable of the control method is introduced as biological control using antagonistic agents. Since, the study of antagonistic mechanisms is an important subject in biological control, therefore in this study for isolating pathogenic and antagonistic agents, plant and soil sampling was carried out in the Varamin infected greenhouses. Then, based on the inhibitory percent of the pathogenic agent growth, caused by the antagonistic mechanisms of the different isolates related to the antagonistic fungi, Talaromyces flavus and Trichoderma harzianum, three effective isolates of each one in terms of the most inhibitory effect were selected and the efficacy of the every isolate in biological control was investigated, using three application method (seed coating, addition to soil, both seed coating and addition to soil). In the next step, based on the results of the greenhouse experiment, the four effective treatments containing T. flavus and T. harzianum isolates, in terms of the efficacy in decreasing cucumber Fusarium wilt disease were evaluated in Varamin cucumber greenhouse, during three consecutive crop years. These treatments included TF-Cu-V-59 as soil treatment, TF-Cu-V-60 as seed treatment, TH-Cu-V-13 as soil treatment and THCu- V-13 as soil and seed treatment. Each experiment was performed with a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in five treatments (each of four above-mentioned treatments and unhealthy control) and four replications. The treatments were evaluated as calculating disease severity percent and total yield. Statistical results in compound analysis form for three consecutive years showed that the interaction effect between treatment and year was significant; as a result, analysis of data was carried out for each year, separately. The results related to first and second years showed that among all treatments, the most effective treatment was TF-Cu-V-59 as soil treatment in terms of efficacy in disease control and increasing yield. However, the results related to third year showed that all treatments containing antagonistic isolates decreased disease severity percent and increased yield significantly, compared to unhealthy control. In spite of a significant difference among antagonistic treatments, in terms of disease severity percent and yield, in first and second years, these treatments were not different significantly in third year. It could be presumed that due to the residues of T. flavus bioformulations related to previous years in soil, the population of the above-mentioned antagonistic fungus has been improved using antagonistic treatments containing T. flavus in these treatments; consequently there was no significant difference among these treatments in terms of measured parameters.Laleh Naraghi, Dariush Shahriary, Abolfazl Sarpeleh, Asghar Heydari and Homayoun Afshari-Aza

Ethnic and Sex Diversity in Academic Plastic Surgery: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Ethnic, racial, and sex disparities continue to persist in medicine despite efforts to diversify the profession. In competitive surgical specialties such as plastic surgery, those disparities are particularly pronounced. This study aims to evaluate racial, ethnic, and sex diversity in academic plastic surgery. Methods: We compiled a list of major plastic surgery professional societies, plastic surgery journal editorial boards, and plastic surgery accreditation boards to evaluate ethnic and sex diversity in society, research, and accreditation domains, respectively. Demographic data were collected and analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: White individuals are significantly overrepresented across the professional and research domains, and Asian individuals are overrepresented in the professional domain when compared to non-white races. White individuals make up a total of 74% of the society domain, 67% of the research domain, and 86% of the accreditation domain when compared to all non-white surgeons. Male surgeons made up 79% of the society domain, 83% of the research domain, and 77% of the accreditation domain when compared to all non-male surgeons. Conclusions: Ethnic, racial, and sex disparities persist in academic plastic surgery. This study, which looked at societies, editorial boards, and accreditation boards, demonstrated a persistent ethnic, racial, and sex homogeneity among leadership. Changes are required to continue to diversify the field and provide women and underrepresented minorities the tools needed to succeed. © 2023 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]