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Aim: To gain insight into nutritional practices and expected growth outcomes of infants born between 34 and 36 gestational weeks defined as late preterm infants (LPT). Methods: An anonymous online survey among paediatricians and neonatologists from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan was conducted from March until October 2020. The questionnaire consisted of 40 questions on the nutritional management and expected growth outcomes of LPT in and after‐hospital care. Results: Healthcare professionals from low to high Human Development (HDI) countries (n = 322) and very high HDI countries (n = 169) participated in the survey. Human milk was the preferred feeding, resulting in an adequate growth of LPT (weight, length and occipitofrontal circumference), according to a majority of respondents (low to high HDI, 179/265, 68% vs. very high HDI, 73/143, 51%; p = 0.002). The expected growth outcome was higher after‐hospital discharge. Less than half of healthcare professionals started enteral feeding during the 1st hour of life. Lactation difficulties, limited access to human milk fortifiers and donor human milk, especially among low to high HDI countries, were reported as major hurdles. Conclusion: Human milk is the first feeding choice for LPT. The diverse opinions on nutritional practices and expected growth outcomes among healthcare professionals indicate the necessity to develop general nutritional guidelines for LPT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cell wall, a strong extraprotoplasmic layer surrounding plant cells that mainly consists of a variety of polysaccharides, constitutes a major barrier for potential parasites. Plant-parasitic nematodes are well equipped to overcome this barrier as they produce and secrete cell-wall-degrading enzymes. Expression profiling of various life stages of the potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis revealed a novel pectate lyase gene ( Gr-pel2, 759 bp). The Gr-PEL2 protein showed highest similarity to pectate lyases from the facultative plant-parasitic nematodes Bursaphelenchus mucronatus and B. xylophilus and the soil-inhabiting saprophytic Streptomyces and Frankia species (i.e. 40–42% identity and 58–60% similarity), whereas only a remote relatedness to the previously identified Gr-PEL1 was observed (i.e. 28% identity and 43% similarity). Transient expression of Gr-pel2 in leaves of Nicotiana benthamiana resulted in severe malformations of the infiltrated tissues, not relating to maceration and soft rot symptoms. Ca2+ is known to be essential for pectate lyase activity, and the most likely calcium-binding site was identified in the Gr-PEL2 protein by combining homology modelling of the three-dimensional structure, site-directed mutagenesis and transient expression in leaves. A highly charged cleft in Gr-PEL2, which is likely to be involved in substrate binding and which is also significantly more hydrophobic in Gr-PEL1, was shown to be essential for protein activity. Our results underline the broad spectrum of pectate lyases and cell-wall-degrading enzymes necessary for successful parasitism by cyst nematodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Southern analysis showed that Gr-EXPB1, a functional expansin from the potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis, is member of a multigene family, and EST data suggest expansins to be present in other plant parasitic nematodes as well. Homology modeling predicted that Gr-EXPB1 domain 1 (D1) has a flat β-barrel structure with surface-exposed aromatic rings, whereas the 3D structure of Gr-EXPB1-D2 was remarkably similar to plant expansins. Gr-EXPB1 shows highest sequence similarity to two extracellular proteins from saprophytic soil-inhabiting Actinobacteria, and includes a bacterial type II carbohydrate-binding module. These results support the hypothesis that a number of pathogenicity factors of cyst nematodes is of procaryotic origin and were acquired by horizontal gene transfer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]