Tunis University

About: Tunis University is a education organization based out in Tunis, Tunisia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Thin film. The organization has 11745 authors who have published 15400 publications receiving 154900 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Tunis & UT.

Biological control of grey mould in strawberry fruits by halophilic bacteria.

Abstract: Aims: Grey mould caused by Botrytis cinerea is an economically important disease of strawberries in Tunisia and worldwide. The aim of this study was to select effective halophilic bacteria from hypersaline ecosystems and evaluate the abilities of antifungal bacteria to secrete extracellular hydrolytic enzymes, anti-Botrytis metabolites and volatiles. Methods and Results: Grey mould was reduced in strawberry fruits treated with halophilic antagonists and artificially inoculated with B. cinerea. Thirty strains (20·2%) were active against the pathogen and reduced the percentage of fruits infected after 3 days of storage at 20°C, from 50% to 91·66%. The antagonists were characterized by phenotypic tests and 16S rDNA sequencing. They were identified as belonging to one of the species: Virgibacillus marismortui, B. subtilis, B. pumilus, B. licheniformis, Terribacillus halophilus, Halomonas elongata, Planococcus rifietoensis, Staphylococcus equorum and Staphylococcus sp. The effective isolates were tested for antifungal secondary metabolites. Conclusions: Moderately halophilic bacteria may be useful in biological control against this pathogen during postharvest storage of strawberries. Significance and Impact of the study: The use of such bacteria may constitute an important alternative to synthetic fungicides. These moderate halophiles can be exploited in commercial production and application of the effective strains under storage and greenhouse conditions.

Clinical features of Parkinson disease patients with homozygous leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 G2019S mutations.

Abstract: Background The G2019S mutation is the most common pathogenic substitution in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 ( LRRK2 ) gene, which has recently been identified in familial and sporadic Parkinson disease (PD). Objectives To report the clinical characteristics of PD patients with homozygous LRRK2 6055G>A (G2019S) mutations and to compare them with previously published descriptions of heterozygous patients. Design Descriptive clinical report from an international consortium of studies. Subjects Patients with familial PD and homozygous LRRK2 mutations included 23 Tunisians, 2 Algerians, 2 US patients, 1 Canadian, and 1 Moroccan. Results There were no observable differences between the homozygote and heterozygote phenotypes. Conclusions Parkinson disease related to LRRK2 is characterized by typical clinical features, and the similarities between patients with homozygous and heterozygous mutations do not support a gene dosage effect.