Occupational rhinoconjunctivitis to cyclamen: A case report / Rinoconjuntivite ocupacional a cyclamen - Caso clínico

Cyclamen is a plant belonging to the Primulaceae family, widely used as an indoor ornamental flowering plant. Occupational allergy to cyclamen has been occasionally described in the current literature. The authors intend to report the case and diagnostic approach of a suspected occupational cyclamen allergy.

O ciclame é uma planta pertencente à família Primulaceae, amplamente utilizada como planta ornamental de interior. A alergia ocupacional ao ciclame raramente foi descrita na literatura. Os autores pretendem descrever um caso e abordagem diagnóstica de uma suspeita de alergia ocupacional ao ciclame.

Gene expression of a putative glutathione S-transferase is responsive to abiotic stress in embryogenic cell cultures of Cyclamen persicum

Background: Cyclamen persicum is an economically important ornamental crop that is propagated exclusively through seeds as vegetative propagation using cuttings is not possible. Therefore a micropropagation method through somatic embryogenesis is of high interest; however the method suffers from low reliability concerning quality and quantity of the produced plantlets. A crucial step of the protocol is the removal of plant growth regulators (PGRs) that triggers embryo development. In order to get a better insight in this crucial step of the propagation process, a gene expression analysis has been set up using five different genes of glutathione S-transferases (GST) as these are known to be auxin responsive as well as stress reactive. Results: One out of the five genes of glutathione S-transferases (CpGST1) displayed a clear down-regulation 72 hrs after removal of PGRs compared to 4 hrs after, implying auxin responsiveness. However, a more detailed analysis including the time points 0, 4 and 72 hrs revealed an initial strong up-regulation after 4 hrs before it was down-regulated after 72 hrs. In comparison fold-changes of the additional four GST-genes were marginal. Comparing cultures on semisolid medium to that in suspension, transcript abundances of CpGST1 were clearly decreased in suspension culture. Conclusions: Against the initial hypothesis CpGST was not auxin responsive but stress reactive, probably especially indicating drought stress imposed on the cells upon transfer from submerged suspension culture to semisolid medium. Mechanical stress caused by shaking of suspensions cultures seemed to be less important.

Selection of reference genes for normalization of quantitative real-time PCR in cell cultures of Cyclamen persicum

As a prerequisite for gene expression analyses in cell cultures of the ornamental crop Cyclamen persicum basic parameters for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) have been established including the selection of reference genes using the software tools ‘geNorm’ and ‘NormFinder’. Five potential reference genes have been tested (elongation factor tu (Ef-Tu), putative ABC transporter ATPase, putative conserved oligomeric Golgi (COG) complex component, V-ATPase G subunit 1 and Histone H3-K9 methyltransferase 4 (H3-K9-HMTase 4)). ‘NormFinder’ as well as ‘geNorm’ identified Ef-Tu to be the least stable reference gene while the ranking of the most stable genes differed depending on the algorithm. According to ‘NormFinder’ COG complex component displayed the most stable expression whereas ‘geNorm’ indicated V-ATPase G subunit 1 and a putative ABC transporter ATPase to be the most reliable reference genes. Hence, we concluded to use a normalization factor calculated from the four reference genes V-ATPase G subunit 1, ABC transporter ATPase, Histone H3-K9 methyltransferase 4 (H3-K9-HMTase 4) and COG complex component for normalization of qRT-PCR in cell cultures of Cyclamen persicum.

Screening for propagation suitability in vitro of different Cyclamen species / Revisión para la adecuación de propagación in vitro de diferentes especies de Cyclamen

In the present study we examined the possibility of propagating different Cyclamen species (C. africanum Boiss. and Reut., C. cilicium Boiss. and Heldr., C. coum Mill., C. hederifolium Ait., C. persicum Mill., C. purpurascens Mill.) including some of their subspecies and cultivars in vitro using explants of adult plants. For this purpose two protocols have been applied to eleven genotypes combined with mostly four explant types (placentas with ovules, leaves, petioles and peduncles). The use of these protocols has given rise to either somatic embryo-like structures and/or adventitious shoots in all genotypes. This way it was possible to propagate each of the examined genotypes in vitro using explants of adult plants in a time less than one year. These results may be used in breeding and propagation of Cyclamen as an ornamental plant and as a medicinal plant.

Mycobiota from Cyclamen persicum and its interaction with Botrytis cinerea.

Sixty-six fungi isolated from cyclamen phylloplanes were identified and assessed in vitro for antagonism to B. cinerea on leaves, petals, petioles and peduncles. The estimation of pathogen conidial production was used as indicator of biocontrol ability of each of the strains. They were classified by cluster analysis resulting in four categories according to their behavior in the different organs. The most promising category included 34 isolates that significantly reduced pathogen inoculum in all the organs. Correspondence analysis showed association among leaf isolations, strains of Clonostachys rosea and Penicillium spp. and the best biocontrol performance. The statistical analysis was successful in dealing with this complex set of experimental data. Leaf fungal diversity was higher than those of petals and petiols, with Shannon values of 2.7, 0.9 and 0.5 respectively. Evidence for antibiosis and hyperparasitism was found for C. rosea.