Fighting brucellosis in pigs (thematic card)

Ficha resumen (thematic card) realizada dentro de las actividades de divulgación del proyecto europeo REPRODIVAC que trata sobre las formas de luchar contra la brucelosis en ganado porcinoREPRODIVAC has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 10106081

Evaluación del contenido de Clorofila en tres especies de Mangles empleando un enfoque híbrido e imágenes Sentinel-2

El objetivo principal de este estudio es la estimación del contenido de clorofila en zonas de mangle en Cayo Coco (Cuba) empleando modelos biofísicos acoplados a algoritmos de aprendizaje automático desde una perspectiva de Cambio Climático

Acolchado de paja en líneas de frutales

Grupo de Cooperación PDR “Acolchado de paja en las líneas de frutales” en el marco del Programa de Desarrollo Rural (PDR) de Aragón 2014-2020Publishe

Can traditional management practices help mountain livestock farms in the Spanish Pyrenees cope with climate change?

Livestock grazing systems constitute a traditional activity in mountain areas. They are adapted to vegetation growth cycles in meadows, forests and grasslands, and deliver ecosystem services such as open landscapes, wildfires prevention, biodiversity maintenance and quality products. Climate change poses a new challenge on mountain grazing systems by impacting on its natural resource base. We used the model NODRIZA to evaluate the potential impact of three scenarios of altered pasture quality and quantity due to climate change (optimistic, medium and worst) and a business-as-usual scenario (BAU) on four beef farms representative of the existing grazing systems in the Spanish Pyrenees. We explored the role of traditional management practices (e.g. modifying the grazing season and early weaning) to cope with these changes. Cow body condition score, feed self-sufficiency and gross margin were the indicators of farms functioning. The optimistic scenario improved all farming indicators during most of the modelled period and then declined—still above BAU levels—in the long term. The medium scenario resulted in an initial improvement of farming indicators and a decline to BAU levels in the long run. The worst scenario declined all indicators below BAU levels. The four case studies were impacted in the same direction but to different extent, farms oriented to fattened calves suffered higher impacts than those focused on weaned calves. Traditional adaptation actions succeeded to maintain cow body condition score steady, but they came at the expense of lower feed self-sufficiency and gross margin, becoming impractical to face climate change.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This work was supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (GenTORE, grant agreement No. 727213) and the Government of Aragón (Grant Research Group Funds AR25_23R, pre-doctoral contract of E. Muñoz-Ulecia).ProfitabilityFeed self-sufficiencyGrasslandAdaptationModellingPublishe

Network of GRAS transcription factors in plant development, fruit ripening and stress responses

The plant-specific family of GRAS transcription factors has been wide implicated in the regulation of transcriptional reprogramming associated with a diversity of biological functions ranging from plant development processes to stress responses. Functional analyses of GRAS transcription factors supported by in silico structural and comparative analyses are emerging and clarifying the regulatory networks associated with their biological roles. In this review, a detailed analysis of GRAS proteins' structure and biochemical features as revealed by recent discoveries indicated how these characteristics may impact subcellular location, molecular mechanisms, and function. Nomenclature issues associated with GRAS classification into different subfamilies in diverse plant species even in the presence of robust genomic resources are discussed, in particular how it affects assumptions of biological function. Insights into the mechanisms driving evolution of this gene family and how genetic and epigenetic regulation of GRAS contributes to subfunctionalization are provided. Finally, this review debates challenges and future perspectives on the application of this complex but promising gene family for crop improvement to cope with challenges of environmental transition.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) supported the research through Vinisense project (PTDC/BAA-DIG/4735/2020) and Research Unit grant UID/MULTI/04046/2021, awarded to BioISI. R.A. is a recipient of fellowship from BioSys PhD programme PD65-2012 (UI/BD/153054/2022).Publishe

Brucellosis and One Health: Inherited and Future Challenges

One Health is the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment, a concept that historically owes much to the study of brucellosis, including recent political and ethical considerations. Brucellosis One Health actors include Public Health and Veterinary Services, microbiologists, medical and veterinary practitioners and breeders. Brucellosis awareness, and the correct use of diagnostic, epidemiological and prophylactic tools is essential. In brucellosis, One Health implementation faces inherited and new challenges, some aggravated by global warming and the intensification of breeding to meet growing food demands. In endemic scenarios, disease awareness, stakeholder sensitization/engagement and the need to build breeder trust are unresolved issues, all made difficult by the protean characteristics of this zoonosis. Extended infrastructural weaknesses, often accentuated by geography and climate, are critically important. Capacity-building faces misconceptions derived from an uncritical adoption of control/eradication strategies applied in countries with suitable means, and requires additional reference laboratories in endemic areas. Challenges for One Health implementation include the lack of research in species other than cattle and small ruminants, the need for a safer small ruminant vaccine, the need to fill in the infrastructure gap, the need for realistic capacity-building, the creation of reference laboratories in critical areas, and the stepwise implementation of measures not directly transposed from the so-called developed countries.One Healthbrucellosisawarenesscapacity buildingclimateglobal warmingintensificationdiagnosisvaccinesUnpublishe

Inclusion of Sainfoin in the Concentrate of Finishing Lambs: Fatty Acid Profiles of Rumen, Plasma, and Muscle

The effects of sainfoin inclusion (Onobrychis viciifolia) in the finishing concentrate for light lambs on the fatty acid (FA) composition of the ruminal digesta, plasma, and meat were evaluated. Twenty-six weaned male lambs were divided into three groups and fed individually ad libitum for 40 days with one of three concentrates differing in the level of sainfoin inclusion: 0% (0SF), 20% (20SF), and 40% (40SF). The rumen digesta showed an increase in C18:3 n-3 concentration and a decrease in C18:1 t10 concentration when sainfoin was included in the concentrate regardless of the level of inclusion. However, the highest C18:1 t11 and the lowest C18:2 n-6 proportions were obtained only in the 40SF rumen, showing a stronger t11 biohydrogenation pathway. In plasma, most effects were associated with changes in the levels of polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) n-3. The meat FA profile of 40SF lambs presented higher percentages of PUFA n-3 and CLA c9,t11 and a lower PUFA n-6/PUFA n-3 ratio compared with those from 0SF and 20SF diets because of the potentiation of the ruminal t11 pathway. Inclusions of 20 and 40% sainfoin both showed beneficial effects on meat quality; furthermore, these effects were most marked in the 40% sainfoin diet.Este estudio ha contado con el apoyo del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, los Fondos de Desarrollo Regional de la Unión Europea (INIA RTA2017-00080-C02) y los Fondos de Grupos de Investigación del Gobierno de Aragón (A25_23R) además de el apoyo de una beca de doctorado del INIA-EFS (PRE2018-086670).Publishe

Minimum Leaf Conductance (gmin) Is Higher in the Treeline of Pinus uncinata Ram. in the Pyrenees: Michaelis Hypothesis Revisited

The search for a universal explanation of the altitudinal limit determined by the alpine treeline has given rise to different hypotheses. In this study, we revisited Michaelis’ hypothesis which proposed that an inadequate “ripening” of the cuticle caused a greater transpiration rate during winter in the treeline. However, few studies with different explanations have investigated the role of passive mechanisms of needles for protecting against water loss during winter in conifers at the treeline. To shed light on this, the cuticular transpiration barrier was studied in the transition from subalpine Pinus uncinata forests to alpine tundra at the upper limit of the species in the Pyrenees. This upper limit of P. uncinata was selected here as an example of the ecotones formed by conifers in the temperate mountains of the northern hemisphere. Our study showed that minimum leaf conductance in needles from upper limit specimens was higher than those measured in specimens living in the lower levels of the sub-alpine forest and also displayed lower cuticle thickness values, which should reinforce the seminal hypothesis by Michaelis. Our study showed clear evidence that supports the inadequate development of needle cuticles as one of the factors that lead to increased transpirational water losses during winter and, consequently, a higher risk of suffering frost drought.The work of DA-F was supported by an FPI-INIA contract BES2017-081208. AS was a recipient of a doctoral fellowship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). DA-F, JF, JP-P, DS-K, and EG-P acknowledge the financial contribution by Reference Group H09_20R (Gobierno de Aragón, Spain)cuticular waxesminimum leafconductanceMichaelis’ hypothesistreelinePinus uncinataIn pres