Epidemiological update of cystic echinococcosis in livestock and assessment of practices related to its control in the Mediterranean area

Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, is a zoonotic parasitic disease that still represents a serious threat to human and animal health worldwide. The Mediterranean basin is recognized as one of the major hotspots of CE due to several factors, including the presence of diverse intermediate host species as well as socio-economic and cultural conditions of local communities. This study aims to take a closer look at epidemiological data on CE in the Mediterranean area and assess the knowledge attitudes and practices of shepherds towards this disease in four countries (Algeria, Greece, Italy and Tunisia), highly endemic for CE, with the final goal of identifying highly endemic risk areas and practices in use which might potentially allow the persistence of E. granulosus infection in these areas. To update the epidemiological scenario of CE in Mediterranean areas, a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature on CE prevalence data published during the 2017-2023 period was carried out and, through a geographical information system (GIS), a map displaying the current CE distribution in the Mediterranean area was generated. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted through in-depth interviews of the farmers to collect information on their management system as well as knowledge attitudes and practices towards CE. From the farmer-participatory survey some risky practices emerged including the non-regular deworming of dogs or the use of ineffective drugs or dosing, as well as the provision of uncooked animal viscera to dogs. Finally, lower levels of knowledge and awareness of the disease was observed among farmers from North Africa compared with those of European countries. In conclusion, the results obtained highlight that CE is still a very serious problem in Mediterranean areas and increased efforts are needed to promote awareness among farmers and to turn research results into policy in order to reduce the spread of this disease, according to the One Health perspective.

Advances on the Amaryllidacea Alkaloids Collected in South Africa, Andean South America and the Mediterranean Basin

The alkaloids are one of the most represented family of natural occurring biological active compounds. Amaryllidaceae are also very well known for their beautiful flower and are thus used as ornamental plants in historic and public gardens. The Amaryllidacea alkaloids constitute an important group that is subdivided into different subfamilies with different carbon skeletons. They are well known from ancient times for their long application in folk medicine, and in particular, Narcissus poeticus L. was known to Hippocrates of Cos (ca. B.C. 460-370), who treated uterine tumors with a formulate prepared from narcissus oil. To date, more than 600 alkaloids of 15 chemical groups exhibiting various biological activities have been isolated from the Amaryllidaceae plants. This plant genus is diffused in regions of Southern Africa, Andean South America and the Mediterranean basin. Thus, this review describes the chemical and biological activity of the alkaloids collected in these regions in the last two decades as weel those of isocarbostyls isolated from Amaryllidaceae in the same regions and same period.

Invasion Fosters Change: Independent Evolutionary Shifts in Reproductive Traits after Oxalis pes-caprae L. Introduction

Biological invasions offer optimal scenarios to study evolutionary changes under contemporary timescales. After long-distance dispersal, exotic species have to cope with strong mate limitation, and shifts toward uniparental reproduction have been hypothesized to be selectively advantageous. Oxalis pes-caprae is a clonal tristylous species native to South Africa, and invasive in Mediterranean regions worldwide. It reproduces sexually and asexually but the importance of each strategy differs between ranges. Native populations reproduce mostly sexually while in invasive ones asexual reproduction is the prevailing strategy due to the dominance of pentaploid monomorphic populations. Nevertheless, two contrasting scenarios have been observed after introduction: transition toward clonality, and re-acquisition of sexuality fueled by multiple introductions of compatible mates. Here, we aimed to assess evolutionary changes of reproductive traits in O. pes-caprae invasive populations and evaluate whether these traits could be related with invasion success and prevalence of certain forms in the western Mediterranean basin. Sexual and asexual reproduction traits were quantified under optimal conditions in a common garden experiment including native and invasive sexual, predominately asexual, and obligated asexual individuals. Different reproductive, ecological, and genetic constraints created by long-distance dispersal seem to have generated different selective pressures in sexual and asexual traits, with our results supporting evolutionary changes in invasive populations of O. pes-caprae. Native plants had higher sexual fitness, while a transition toward clonality was clear for invasive forms, supporting clonal reproduction as a major trait driving invasion. Differences were also observed among invasive plants, with sexual forms having increased dispersal potential; thus, they are expected to be in advantage in comparison with predominantly asexual and obligated asexual plants, and may become widespread in the future. Historical processes, like the initial introduction of predominantly asexual forms followed by sexual forms more recently, could be in the origin of current distribution patterns of O. pes-caprae in the western Mediterranean. This study shows that invasion processes are very dynamic and that ecological and genetic constraints determined by the invasion process may originate different reproductive strategies that are likely to determine invasion success.

Journey from the West: did tropical Graphidaceae (lichenized Ascomycota: Ostropales) evolve from a saxicolous ancestor along the American Pacific coast?

PREMISE OF THE STUDY

This study elucidates the phylogenetic position of a unique taxon of Graphidaceae occurring on rock in coastal desert areas, assessing its importance for our understanding of the evolution of the largest family of tropical lichenized fungi. •

METHODS

We used maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches to reconstruct a three-gene phylogeny of Graphidaceae and a Bayesian molecular clock approach to estimate divergence dates for major clades, as well as Bayesian ancestral ecogeography state analysis. •

KEY RESULTS

The new genus Redonographa represents a new subfamily, Redonographoideae, sister to subfamily Graphidoideae. Redonographa is exclusively saxicolous and restricted to the American Pacific coast from California to central Chile, including Galapagos. It contains four species: Redonographa chilensis comb. nov., R. saxiseda comb. nov., R. saxorum comb. nov., and R. galapagoensis sp. nov. The genus Gymnographopsis, with a similar ecogeography but differing in excipular carbonization and chemistry, is also included in Redonographoideae, with the species G. chilena from Chile and G. latispora from South Africa. Molecular clock analysis indicates that Redonographoideae diverged from Graphidoideae about 132 million years ago (Ma) in the Early Cretaceous. •

CONCLUSIONS

The divergence date for subfamilies Redonographoideae and Graphidoideae coincides with the early breakup of Gondwana and ancient origin of the Atacama Desert. However, the common ancestor of Redonographoideae plus Graphidoideae was reconstructed to be tropical-epiphytic. Thus, even if Redonographoideae is subtropical-saxicolous, the hypothesis that Graphidoideae evolved from a subtropical-saxicolous ancestor is not supported.