Fusarium proliferatum is an important pathogen and causes a great economic loss to fruit industry. Environmental pH-value plays a regulatory role in fungi pathogenicity, however, the mechanism needs further exploration. In this study, F. proliferatum was cultured under two initial pH conditions of 5 and 10. No obvious difference was observed in the growth rate of F. proliferatum between two pH-values. F. proliferatum cultured under both pH conditions infected banana fruit successfully, and smaller lesion diameter was presented on banana fruit inoculated with pH 10-cultured fungi. Proteomic approach based on two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) was used to investigate the changes in secretome of this fungus between pH 5 and 10. A total of 39 differential spots were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS). Compared to pH 5 condition, proteins related to cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDEs) and proteolysis were significantly down-regulated at pH 10, while proteins related to oxidation-reduction process and transport were significantly up-regulated under pH 10 condition. Our results suggested that the downregulation of CWDEs and other virulence proteins in the pH 10-cultured F. proliferatum severely decreased its pathogenicity, compared to pH 5-cultured fungi. However, the alkaline environment did not cause a complete loss of the pathogenic ability of F. proliferatum, probably due to the upregulation of the oxidation-reduction related proteins at pH 10, which may partially compensate its pathogenic ability.
The COVID-19 pandemic impacts have arguable been more pronounced in the developing world, such as the Small Island States (SIDS) of the Caribbean, where a plethora of geophysical and socio-political factors have led to increased vulnerability, particularly in fragile sectors such as agriculture. The pandemic added another layer of complexity to the unstable agri-food systems of SIDS in the Caribbean. Measures to contain the unfolding crisis have tremendously disrupted food systems by threatening the production, distribution, and marketing of commodities which exposed the frailty of the region's food security. Caribbean SIDS are highly dependent on food imports and relies on international markets to secure food. Many are also dependent on agricultural exports and have a large portion of their population involved in agriculture making them particularly vulnerable to the rigors of the pandemic. Export restrictions on foodstuff and prohibitions due to lockdowns and border closures further exacerbated these challenges. Additionally, food and nutrition security in the region is also subjected to the effects of climate change and climate-related disasters. Dealing with the impacts of co-occurring disasters is, therefore, an ever-present threat. This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on the agri-food supply in the Caribbean. It also identified measures and initiatives adopted to cope with these disruptive consequences. The study involves the use of internet-based surveys and focus group discussions and internet-based surveys with stakeholders and online searches for related literature. A total of 96 farmers, 60 food distributors, 84 food service operators, and 237 consumers from the region participated in the online survey and 4 focus group discussions between January and November 2021. The results confirmed that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were evident along the entire agri-food supply chain and numerous challenges and shocks were identified across all participating groups and countries. Some challenges and shocks such as loss of income and related challenges including lower sales and loss of markets affected all groups in the study but to varying degrees and based on socio-demographic factors. In general people of lower income status and smaller businesses were more susceptible to the negative impacts of the pandemic.
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