Historia del cultivo de la judía: su evolución más allá de las áreas de origen y domesticación

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most important grain legume for direct human consumption on a global scale. Current bean germplasm collections show a wide variation of phenotypes, although genetic erosion is gradually affecting this species as in many countries local traditional varieties are being replaced by elite cultivars. This crop has spread to every continent over the past few centuries, which has resulted in a complex genetic structure of bean germplasm outside its areas of origin and domestication (South and Central America). Some evidence indicates that this germplasm is more complex than previously thought and contains additional, as yet unexplored, diversity. This is especially the case in southern Europe, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula, where it was introduced in the early sixteenth century and has been documented as a secondary focus of domestication of the species. The integration of omic data into bean germplasm documentation databases and its combination with genotypic, phenotypic and agro-ecological data is opening a new era for the enhancement and efficient use of common bean genetic resources as the main grain legume in Europe and worldwide.La judía común (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) es la leguminosa de grano más relevante para el consumo humano directo en escala global. Las colecciones de germoplasma de judía actuales muestran una amplia variación de fenotipos, aunque en muchos países las variedades locales están siendo reemplazados por cultivares de élite, concentrando la producción agraria en un número cada vez más reducido de cultivares con la consecuente erosión genética o pérdida de biodiversidad. Este cultivo se ha extendido por todos los continentes durante los últimos siglos, lo que ha dado lugar a una compleja estructura genética fuera de sus áreas de origen y domesticación (Mesoamérica y Sudamérica). Diversas evidencias indican que el germoplasma europeo contiene una diversidad adicional mayor de la esperada especialmente en el Sur de Europa, y particularmente en la Península Ibérica, dónde fue introducida a comienzos del siglo XVI, y que ha sido documentada como un centro de domesticación secundaria de la especie. La integración de datos ómicos en las bases de datos de documentación del germoplasma de judía y su combinación con datos genéticos, fenotípicos y agro-ecológicos está abriendo una nueva era para la valorización y el uso eficiente de los recursos genéticos de la judía común como la principal leguminosa de grano para consumo humano en Europa y globalmente

EEG resting state alpha dynamics predict an individual’s vulnerability to auditory hallucinations

Task-free brain activity exhibits spontaneous fluctuations between functional states, characterized by synchronized activation patterns in distributed resting-state (RS) brain networks. The temporal dynamics of the networks’ electrophysiological signatures reflect individual variations in brain activity and connectivity linked to mental states and cognitive functions and can predict or monitor vulnerability to develop psychiatric or neurological disorders. In particular, RS alpha fluctuations modulate perceptual sensitivity, attentional shifts, and cognitive control, and could therefore reflect a neural correlate of increased vulnerability to sensory distortions, including the proneness to hallucinatory experiences. We recorded 5 min of RS EEG from 33 non-clinical individuals varying in hallucination proneness (HP) to investigate links between task-free alpha dynamics and vulnerability to hallucinations. To this end, we used a dynamic brain state allocation method to identify five recurrent alpha states together with their spatiotemporal dynamics and most active brain areas through source reconstruction. The dynamical features of a state marked by activation in somatosensory, auditory, and posterior default-mode network areas predicted auditory and auditory-verbal HP, but not general HP, such that individuals with higher vulnerability to auditory hallucinations spent more time in this state. The temporal dynamics of spontaneous alpha activity might reflect individual differences in attention to internally generated sensory events and altered auditory perceptual sensitivity. Altered RS alpha dynamics could therefore instantiate a neural marker of increased vulnerability to auditory hallucinations

1H-NMR-Based Metabolic Profiling of Maternal and Umbilical Cord Blood Indicates Altered Materno-Foetal Nutrient Exchange in Preterm Infants

Background: Adequate foetal growth is primarily determined by nutrient availability, which is dependent on placental nutrient transport and foetal metabolism. We have used 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to probe the metabolic adaptations associated with premature birth. Methodology: The metabolic profile in 1H NMR spectra of plasma taken immediately after birth from umbilical vein, umbilical artery and maternal blood were recorded for mothers delivering very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) or normo-ponderal full-term (FT) neonates. Principal Findings: Clear distinctions between maternal and cord plasma of all samples were observed by principal component analysis (PCA). Levels of amino acids, glucose, and albumin-lysyl in cord plasma exceeded those in maternal plasma, whereas lipoproteins (notably low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and lipid levels were lower in cord plasma from both VLBW and FT neonates. The metabolic signature of mothers delivering VLBW infants included decreased levels of acetate and increased levels of lipids, pyruvate, glutamine, valine and threonine. Decreased levels of lipoproteins glucose, pyruvate and albumin-lysyl and increased levels of glutamine were characteristic of cord blood (both arterial and venous) from VLBW infants, along with a decrease in levels of several amino acids in arterial cord blood. Conclusion: These results show that, because of its characteristics and simple non-invasive mode of collection, cord plasma is particularly suited for metabolomic analysis even in VLBW infants and provides new insights into the materno-foetal nutrient exchange in preterm infants

Editorial: Protein crops: food and feed for the future, volume II

3 páginasPeer reviewe

Is It Possible to Differentiate <i>Pneumocystis jirovecii</i> Pneumonia and Colonization in the Immunocompromised Patients with Pneumonia?

Respiratory sample staining is a standard tool used to diagnose Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PjP). Although molecular tests are more sensitive, their interpretation can be difficult due to the potential of colonization. We aimed to validate a Pneumocystis jirovecii (Pj) real-time PCR (qPCR) assay in bronchoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and oropharyngeal washes (OW). We included 158 immunosuppressed patients with pneumonia, 35 lung cancer patients who underwent BAL, and 20 healthy individuals. We used a SYBR green qPCR assay to look for a 103 bp fragment of the Pj mtLSU rRNA gene in BAL and OW. We calculated the qPCR cut-off as well as the analytical and diagnostic characteristics. The qPCR was positive in 67.8% of BAL samples from the immunocompromised patients. The established cut-off for discriminating between disease and colonization was Ct 24.53 for BAL samples. In the immunosuppressed group, qPCR detected all 25 microscopy-positive PjP cases, plus three additional cases. Pj colonization in the immunocompromised group was 66.2%, while in the cancer group, colonization rates were 48%. qPCR was ineffective at diagnosing PjP in the OW samples. This new qPCR allowed for reliable diagnosis of PjP, and differentiation between PjP disease and colonization in BAL of immunocompromised patients with pneumonia

Preliminary study for resistance to common bean mosaic virus in common bean landraces

Trabajo presentado en las XI Jornadas de selección y mejora de plantas hortícolas, celebradas en Córdoba (España), entre el 21 y el 23 de octubre de 1998.- 5 páginas y 2 tablas.[EN] Resistance to bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) was evaluated among a collection of 286 accessions of Phaseolus vulgaris L., that belonged to different origin, under field conditions. The majority of bean landraces from La Coruña (Northwest of Spain) were positives for BCMV. There were no relation between seed color and suceptibility to BCMV, although most of the black and brown-seeded landraces had a negative result for BCMV. Field screening of bean germplasm under field conditions revealed a large number of genotypes with possible potential as sources of resistance. However, these results could be confused by the environment, and these materials should be confirmed again and under mechanical inoculation.[ES] Se evaluó la presencia del virus del mosaico común (BCMV) en una colección de 286 entradas de Phaseolus vulgaris L., de diferente procedencia y en condiciones de campo. Una gran proporción de las variedades autóctonas de La Coruña (Noroeste de España) presentaron reacción positiva para BCMV. Por otro lado, no se encontró relación entre el tipo de semilla y síntomas de BCMV, aunque variedades de judía de semilla negra y marrón desarrollaron en su mayoría reacción negativa al BCMV. La evaluación de germoplasma de judía común en condiciones de campo reveló un gran número de variedades como posibles fuentes de resistencia, aunque estos resultados podrían estar confundídos con el ambiente o debido a la existencia de reacciones cruzadas, y deberían ser confirmados en otras condiciones y con inoculación artificial.Peer reviewe

Brain monoaminergic neurotransmitters during chronic stress in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Trabajo presentado en el 11º Congreso de la Asociación Ibérica de Endocrinología Comparada (AIEC), celebrado en Vigo (España), del 13 al 15 de julio de 2017Stress is negatively affecting animal welfare in such a way that most behavioral and physiological functions, such as food intake, are jeopardized. In fish, the stress response initiates with the activation of the hypothalamus-sympathetic-cromaffin (HPC), and the hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal cells (HPI) axes leading to increased plasma catecholamines and cortisol levels. Our previous results point to the important role played by both dopaminergic and serotonergic systems in initiating the response to acute stress. However, little is known regarding the involvement of both systems under chronic stress and their influence on food intake. To address that question an experiment was performed consisting on stressing rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) by high stocking density for 3 and 10 days. Food intake was evaluated all over the experiment in non-stressed and stressed fish. Plasma levels of cortisol, glucose and lactate, the content of DA and 5HT, and their main metabolites (DOPAC and 5HIAA) in different brain regions, and hypothalamic mRNA abundance of TH, TPH1 were assessed. Our results reveal that stressed animals showed reduced food intake, increased plasma cortisol levels, and enhanced dopaminergic and serotonergic activities in telencephalon, hypothalamus, optic tectum and hindbrain, independently of the stress duration. TH and TPH1 mRNA abundance also increased in stressed trout. Our present results support the hypothesis of a key role played by both dopaminergic and serotonergic systems in initiating and maintaining the neuroendocrine response to stress. In addition their involvement in mediating the stress-related food intake inhibition might be taken in consideration.Funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and European Fund for Regional Development (AGL2013-46448-3-1-R and FEDER) and AEO-ECIMAT. C. Otero-Rodiño was a recipient of FPI fellowship.Peer reviewe