Five isolates of a new member of the family Closteroviridae, tentatively named blackcurrant leafroll-associated virus 1 (BcLRaV-1), were identified in the currant. The 17-kb-long genome codes for 10 putative proteins. The replication-associated polyprotein has several functional domains, including papain-like proteases, methyltransferase, Zemlya, helicase, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Additional open reading frames code for a small protein predicted to integrate into the host cell wall, a heat-shock protein 70 homolog, a heat-shock protein 90 homolog, two coat proteins, and three proteins of unknown functions. Phylogenetic analysis showed that BcLRaV-1 is related to members of the genus Closterovirus, whereas recombination analysis provided evidence of intraspecies recombination.

The phylogeny, identification, and characterization of 33 B. cereus sensu lato isolates originating from 17 agricultural soils from 11 countries were analyzed on the basis of whole genome sequencing. Phylogenetic analyses revealed all isolates are divided into six groups, which follows the generally accepted phylogenetic division of B. cereus sensu lato isolates. Four different identification methods resulted in a variation in the identity of the isolates, as none of the isolates were identified as the same species by all four methods—only the recent identification method proposed directly reflected the phylogeny of the isolates. This points to the importance of describing the basis and method used for the identification. The presence and percent identity of the protein product of 19 genes potentially involved in pathogenicity divided the 33 isolates into groups corresponding to phylogenetic division of the isolates. This suggests that different pathotypes exist and that it is possible to differentiate between them by comparing the percent identity of proteins potentially involved in pathogenicity. This also reveals that a basic link between phylogeny and pathogenicity is likely to exist. The geographical distribution of the isolates is not random: they are distributed in relation to their division into the six phylogenetic groups, which again relates to different ecotypes with different temperature growth ranges. This means that we find it easier to analyze and understand the results obtained from the 33 B. cereus sensu lato isolates in a phylogenetic, patho-type and ecotype-oriented context, than in a context based on uncertain identification at the species level.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the possibility of using wine industry wastes, such as red and white grape bagasse, to produce bacterial cellulose (BC) instead of using a costly commercial medium. BC was produced using grape bagasse as a carbon source replacement and the sole nutrient in the medium. The BC films were evaluated for their productivity and water-holding capacity. The BC films were also investigated for their morphology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), their viscoelastic properties using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and their chemical composition using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Although the use of grape bagasse as the sole nutrient was successful in the preparation of BC, the BC films had inferior viscoelastic properties to other produced BC films. White grape bagasse proved to be an excellent carbon substitute as the production of BC and its water-holding capacity were five times higher and the produced BC films were up to 72% more flexible than the bacterial cellulose produced using standard HS medium.

Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) is a long-known virus naturally infecting Rubus and grapevine. It is also one of the economically most important viruses of raspberries, but there are only a limited number of sequences covering a substantial part of the genome available in the databases. The aim of this study was: i) to study the geographic distribution of RBDV in Slovenia, and ii) to sequence RNA2 of several red raspberry and grapevine RBDV isolates and study their phylogeny and population structure. Geographic distribution studies were performed over a period of 13 years in three wine-growing regions of Slovenia (Primorska, Podravje and Posavje). The highest incidence of RBDV was found in Podravje (58.8%) and the lowest in Primorska (5.1%). Big differences were observed between Vipavska dolina (10.2%) and three other wine-growing districts of Primorska region (0.4–1.2%). Almost complete RNA2 sequences were obtained for four red raspberry isolates and seven grapevine isolates. Additionally, only coat protein sequences were obtained for three red raspberry isolates. Phylogenetic and population diversity analyses were performed on all available RBDV sequences. Phylogenetic analysis has shown clear differences in sequences from Rubus and grapevine that form two highly supported clades. In RNA2 analysis additional two sub-clades were found in grapevine clade. Two major subclades were identified also in the Rubus clade with further differentiation within these subclades. Purifying or stabilizing selection was found to be acting on both, CP and MP genes while few codons were found to be under positive selection.

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