First Report of a 16SrII-C Phytoplasma Associated with Asymptomatic Acid Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) in Brazil.

At present, the principal bacterial disease of citrus in Brazil is Huanglongbing, caused by the alpha-proteobacterium 'Candidatus Liberibacter spp.' (although a phytoplasma of the 16SrIX group is also associated with this disease [4]). While there is a wide diversity of phytoplasmas in crop species in Brazil (3), there have been no reports of symptoms associated with phytoplasma in Brazilian citrus. Asymptomatic infections of citrus cannot be excluded as a possibility and such plants could serve as a reservoir of phytoplasma inoculum. The aim of this study was to assess the presence of phytoplasma in asymptomatic Citrus aurantifolia (acid lime) in Brazil. Thirty-three leaf samples (young leaves from the upper canopies) were randomly collected from different plants in the states of Minas Gerais (n = 23), Santa Catarina (n = 2), and São Paulo (n = 8). Two additional samples of C. limonia ('Rangpur' lime) and one of C. latifolia ('Persian' or 'Tahiti' lime) were collected in Minas Gerais. Total DNA extraction was performed using NucleoSpin Plant II Kit (Macherey-Nagel) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. PCR was carried out with a universal P1/P7 primer set followed by nested primers R16F2n/R16R2 (2). Additionally, direct PCR was performed using primers specific for phytoplasma immune-dominant membrane protein IMP3F/IMP3R (1). 'Rangpur' and 'Tahiti' lime were not infected with phytoplasma. Of the C. aurantifolia samples, 52% were positive for phytoplasma in the direct and nested PCR assays. The numbers of positive samples in Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, and São Paulo states were 12, 1, and 4, respectively. Of these, five were selected for DNA purification and 1,246-bp fragments were ligated to the pGEM T-easy vector (Promega) and partial 16Sr DNA was sequenced. Nucleotide sequences of Brazilian phytoplasma strains BR:MG:FNS10:2011, BR:MG:FNS53:2011, BR:SP:FNS73:2011, BR:SC:FNS86:2011, and BR:MG:FNS126:2012 (GenBank Accession Nos. KJ158173, KJ158174, KJ158175, KJ158176, and KJ158177, respectively) were subjected to RFLP analyses. The 16S rDNA RFLP in silico patterns for the five strains were identical to each other and to Cactus witches'-broom phytoplasma (16SrII-C subgroup, AJ293216). In addition, the highest similarity coefficient (5) and nucleotide sequence identity of Brazilian phytoplasma strains were 0.99 and 99%, respectively, with Cactus witches'-broom phytoplasma. PCR-RFLP analyses using the enzymes Bstu I, EcoR I, and Hpa II were consistent with RFLP in silico results, showing the same pattern as the 16SrII-C subgroup. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rDNA sequences (1,246 bp) demonstrated that all the Brazilian strains grouped in the same clade with other representative sequences from the 16S rDNAII group. To confirm the absence of any macroscopic symptoms, morphological characteristics of 10 uninfected and 10 phytoplasma-infected plants randomly selected from a single field in Minas Gerais were analyzed. There were no significant differences in leaf area, stalk diameter, or numbers of leaves, flowers, or fruits per branch. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the 16SrII-C subgroup phytoplasma associated with C. aurantifolia in Brazil, and the first report of asymptomatic citrus plants infected with phytoplasma. References: (1) N. Askari et al. J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 21:81, 2011. (2) I. M. Lee et al. Phytopathology 84:559, 1994. (3) H. G. Montano et al. Bull. Insectol. 60:129, 2007. (4) D. C. Teixeira et al. Phytopathology 98:977, 2008. (5) Y. Zhao et al. Meth. Mol. Biol. 938:329, 2013.

Microsurgical anastomosis of vas deferens by a telescopic technique.

A telescopic microsurgical anastomosis of the vas deferens was performed on 24 rats. Sequential histological examination demonstrated mucosal healing in 7 days. Healing was complete in 21 days, and tubal patency was confirmed by histology in 100% of the cases.

Bexiga psoica: consideracoes a respeito de 20 casos. / Psoas-hitch bladder: considerations on 20 cases

A tecnica da mobilizacao vesical para facilitar o reimplante ureterovesical e apresentada e seus resultados avaliados.Em nossas maos, a bexiga psoica mostrou os melhores resultados no reparo das lesoes do ureter distal

Priapismo. / Priapism

Trata-se de uma revisao clinico-urologica do priapismo na tentativa de explicacao etiologica, bem como uma adocao de classificacao modificada e os varios metodos terapeuticos, quer clinicos ou cirurgicos, atualmente utilizados para resolucao da patalogia de tamanha gravidade

Complicacoes cirurgicas em nefrectomias de doadores vivos para transplante renal. / Surgical complications in nephrectomies of living donors for kidney transplantation

Os autores discutem sua experiencia com 40 pacientes submetidos a nefrectomia para transplante renal nos ultimos 5 anos.A nefrectomia no doador vivo apresenta um baixo indice de complicacoes significativas

Priapismo - criacao de uma fistula espongio-cavernosa pela tecnica de Chester Winter. / Priapism: creation of a spongio-cavernous fistula by Chester Winter's technic

Os autores apresentam sua experiencia no tratamento do priapismo idiopatico com a realizacao do "shunt" cavernoso-glandar com agulha, enfatizando a simplicidade tecnica e os bons resultados obtidos

Anurias obstrutivas. / Obstructive anuria

Nos ultimos 4 anos observamos 40 casos de anuria obstrutiva: 52% devida a calculose, principalmente litiase unica e 48% durante a evolucao de cancer pelvico. Criterios clinicos e diagnosticos sao importantes para delinear e avaliar a terapeutica da obstrucao ureteral

Colica nefritica. / Nephritic colic

Os autores descrevem a colica nefritica como uma sindrome, manifestacao das multiplas patologias intrinsecas ou extrinsecas que comprometem o trato urinario superior

Processos infecciosos agudos do rim. / Acute infectious processes of the kidney

Os autores comentam os processos infecciosos renais e suas complicacoes, ressaltando a alteracao de sua etiofisopatogenia apos o advento dos antibioticos

Retencao urinaria. / Urinary retention

Os autores discutem os diferentes aspectos da retencao urinaria aguda e cronica dando grande importancia ao diagnostico etiologico do processo. Mostram de uma maneira simples e pratica, a conduta a ser tomada em diferentes situacoes

Inflamacoes, infeccoes e processos vasculares do aparelho genital masculino. / Inflammation, infections and vascular processes of the male genital tract

Os autores fazem consideracoes sobre os processos infecciosos, inflamatorios e vasculares do aparelho genital masculino; abordando o quadro clinico, diagnostico e tratamento das epididimites, orquites, prostato-vesiculites, torcao de ducto espermatico e da hidatide de Morgagni, priapismo e parafimose

Kidney transplantation in leprosy

despite the high frequency of renal involvement associated with Hansen's disease and the persistent occurrence of leprosy, especially in the underveloped countries, reference to kidney transplantation in these patients is rare. Secondary amyloidosis and a nephritic process possibly mediated by immune complexes are present in one-half of the leprosy pateints studied either by autopsy or by kidney biopsy.