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Aguirre NM, Ochoa ME, Holmlund HI, Palmeri GN, Lancaster ER, Gilderman GS, Taylor SR, Sauer KE, Borges AJ, Lamb AND, Jacques SB, Ewers FW, Davis SD. How megadrought causes extensive mortality in a deep-rooted shrub species normally resistant to drought-induced dieback: The role of a biotic mortality agent. Plant Cell Environ 2024; 47:1053-1069. [PMID: 38017668 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 10/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
Southern California experienced unprecedented megadrought between 2012 and 2018. During this time, Malosma laurina, a chaparral species normally resilient to single-year intense drought, developed extensive mortality exceeding 60% throughout low-elevation coastal populations of the Santa Monica Mountains. We assessed the physiological mechanisms by which the advent of megadrought predisposed M. laurina to extensive shoot dieback and whole-plant death. We found that hydraulic conductance of stem xylem (Ks, native ) was reduced seven to 11-fold in dieback adult and resprout branches, respectively. Staining of stem xylem vessels revealed that dieback plants experienced 68% solid-blockage, explaining the reduction in water transport. Following Koch's postulates, persistent isolation of a microorganism in stem xylem of dieback plants but not healthy controls indicated that the causative agent of xylem blockage was an opportunistic endophytic fungus, Botryosphaeria dothidea. We inoculated healthy M. laurina saplings with fungal isolates and compared hyphal elongation rates under well-watered, water-deficit, and carbon-deficit treatments. Relative to controls, we found that both water deficit and carbon-deficit increased hyphal extension rates and the incidence of shoot dieback.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Aguirre
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
| | - Marissa E Ochoa
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Helen I Holmlund
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
| | | | - Emily R Lancaster
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
- School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
| | - Gina S Gilderman
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
| | - Shaquetta R Taylor
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
| | - Kaitlyn E Sauer
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
| | - Adriana J Borges
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
| | - Avery N D Lamb
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
- Nicholas School of the Environment, The Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sarah B Jacques
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
- Department of Surgery, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Frank W Ewers
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California, USA
| | - Stephen D Davis
- Natural Science Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, USA
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Gilderman GS, Morsy M, Antony N. Native Valve Endocarditis Caused by Nocardia asteroides in an Immunocompetent Host: A Case Report and a Review of the Literature. Cureus 2023; 15:e35977. [PMID: 37041899 PMCID: PMC10083042 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.35977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/18/2022] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Nocardia species are a rare cause of infective endocarditis (IE). We describe a case of native valve endocarditis caused by Nocardia asteroides in a 38-year-old Hispanic male with no apparent environmental exposures or risk factors for IE. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed severe mitral regurgitation, prompting emergent replacement of the valve. Nocardia asteroides were isolated from the tissue culture of the mitral valve. MRI of the brain also demonstrated innumerable micronodular intra-axial lesions throughout the brain, consistent with disseminated nocardiosis. The patient was treated with intravenous trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, meropenem, and amikacin for a six-week course, followed by oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and minocycline for 12 months. Follow-up after 18 months revealed no evidence of relapse. Although several cases of endocarditis due to Nocardia asteroides have been reported in immunocompromised hosts, to the best of our knowledge we believe the present case is the first to describe native valve endocarditis by Nocardia asteroides in an immunocompetent host with no apparent risk factors for IE.
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