Wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo mexicana) monitoring: Innovation in sampling and estimator of population density

Objective: To estimate the population of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo, mexicana) and its density in ecosystems of its distribution. Design / methodology / approach: A method based on random sampling with a population density estimator was designed. The design was based on the observation of wild turkeys that go to attraction sites (feedlots) of 2,500 m2 (50 X 50 m) counted in 12 hours a day, three consecutive days. For the total of random sites, the criterion of one site for every 300 ha of surface under study was used. The study was carried out on March 1, 2 and 3, 2019 in 3,000 hectares of pine-oak forest, in Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas, Mexico. Observations were made from a fixed point 25 m from each site, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The attraction sites were located at a random distance within 10 systematically fixed transects in the study area. Results: The results showed a population of 66 turkeys in 3,000 ha, with a density of 0.022 turkeys ha-1. Limitations / implications: The application of the method was useful for the monitoring of wild turkey in the pine-oak forest, showing that it is a method that does not impact the population, that does not require long sampling times, is reliable, low-cost, and easy to carry out. The method is not reliable in ecosystems that do not allow the location of high visibility sites. Findings / conclusions: Considering the distribution of wild turkey in Mexico, the method is a new alternative applicable to population studies of wild turkey.Objective: To estimate the population of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo, mexicana) and its density in ecosystems of its distribution.Design / methodology / approach: A method based on random sampling with a population density estimator was designed. The design was based on the observation of wild turkeys that go to attraction sites (feedlots) of 2,500 m 2 (50 X 50 m) counted in 12 h a day, three consecutive days. For the total of random sites, the criterion of one site for every 300 ha of surface under study was used. The study was carried out on March 1, 2 and 3, 2019 in 3,000 ha of pine-oak forest, in Monte Escobedo, Zacatecas, Mexico. Observations were made from a fixed point 25 m from each site, from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The attraction sites were located at a random distance within 10 systematically fixed transects in the study area.Results: The results showed a population of 66 turkeys in 3,000 ha, with a density of 0.022 turkeys ha -1 . Limitations / implications: The application of the method was useful for the monitoring of wild turkey in the pine-oak forest, showing that it is a method that does not affect the population, which does not require long sampling times, is reliable, low-cost, and easy to carry out. The method is not reliable in ecosystemsthat do not allow the location of high visibility sites.Findings / conclusions: Considering the distribution of wild turkey in Mexico, the method is a new alternative applicable to population studies of wild turkey

ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF JAGUAR, PUMA AND THEIR POTENTIAL PREY IN SAN LUIS POTOSI, MEXICO

Jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) are sympatric species in Mexico and have ecological similarities. The understanding of interespecific interactions between these species are important for effective conservation strategies. We studied activity patterns of jaguars, pumas and their potential prey species through camera-trapping photographs obtained by during four seasonsin the Abra-Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve , San Luis Potosí, Mexico. We described activity patterns of 12 terrestrial vertebrate species, the degree of overlap of jaguar and puma activity; and the prey – predator relationship. Both felids showed cathemeral activity and overlapping between their activities. Jaguar activity showed a significant correlation with eight prey species activity. Puma activity was no related with any prey species activity. Activity peaks of both felids suggest that temporal segregation is a strategy which minimizes interspecific encounters allowing the coexistence of several individuals in this small reserve.El jaguar (Panthera onca) y el puma (Puma concolor) en México son especies simpátricas y presentan similitud ecológica. El entendimiento de las interacciones interespecíficas entre estas especies es importante para la elaboración de estrategias efectivas de conservación. Se estudiaron los patrones de actividad del jaguar, el puma y sus presas potenciales, a través del análisis de las fotografías obtenidas en cuatro temporadas de foto-trampeo en la Reserva de la Biosfera Sierra del Abra-Tanchipa (RBSAT), San Luis Potosí, México. Se describieron los patrones de actividad de 12 especies de fauna, el grado de sobreposición en la actividad del jaguar y el puma; y su relación con la actividad de sus presas. Ambos felinos presentaron actividad catemeral con traslape en sus patrones de actividad. La actividad del jaguar está relacionada significativamente con la actividad de ocho especies de presas; la actividad del puma no se relacionó con la actividad de ninguna presa. Los picos de actividad de ambos felinos sugieren que la separación temporal es una estrategia para minimizar los de encuentros interespecíficos que permite la coexistencia de varios individuos en reservas pequeñas

Geminivirus replication protein decreases PCNA sumoylation at two acceptor sites

Geminiviruses are plant viruses with circular, single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) genomes that infect a broad range of plants causing substantial crop diseases worldwide. They replicate in nuclei of infected cells by using host DNA replication machinery and an essential protein encoded in their genome designated Rep (replication-associated protein). This multifunctional protein induces the accumulation of the host factors involved in replication and it is capable of interacting with a lot of plant proteins including PCNA (Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen), a processivity factor that coordinates a wide range of processes involved in maintenance, duplication and transmission of the genome, and the sumoylation enzyme that conjugates SUMO to target proteins (SUMO-conjugating enzyme- SCE). PCNA modification by SUMO, and also ubiquitin, has long been known to be of key importance for determining how DNA damage is processed by the replisome and for maintenance of overall genome integrity. In yeast, PCNA sumoylation has been associated to DNA repair involving homologous recombination (HR). Previously, we reported that Rep ectopic expression does not result in broad changes in the sumoylation pattern of plant cells, but it modifies the sumoylation state of selected host proteins. In this work, we show, using a reconstituted sumoylation system in Escherichia coli, that tomato PCNA is sumoylated at two residues, K254 and K164, and that co-expression of the Rep protein suppresses PCNA sumoylation at these lysines. Finally, we confirm that PCNA is sumoylated and that Rep also interferes with PCNA sumoylation in planta.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

El género Porphyra (Bangiaceae, Rhodophyta) en la costa del Pacífico de México. IV. Porphyra pendula E.Y. Dawson

The occurrence and seasonality of Porphyra pendula E.Y. Dawson (Bangiaceae, Rhodophyta) in its macroscopic phase, is reported for the Pacific coast of Mexico, based on sampling conducted during November 2002 to May 2003, and specimens housed in national and foreign herbaria. We describe in detail the vegetative and reproductive structure of the thallus, as well as its habitat and geographic distribution of the species. The specimens of P. pendula from Isla Carmen, Los Planes and Calerita, represent newly reported populations from the Gulf of California. Based on data obtained from herbarium specimens and observations of a population in Calerita, Baja California Sur, we concluded that P. pendula, in its macroscopic phase, is a seasonal species occurring from January to March (winter to the beginning of spring).Se registra la presencia y estacionalidad de la fase macroscópica de Porphyra pendula E.Y. Dawson (Bangiaceae, Rhodophyta) para la costa del Pacífico de México, con base en material recolectado durante el periodo de noviembre del 2002 a mayo del 2003 y un análisis de ejemplares depositados en herbarios nacionales y extranjeros. Se describen en forma detallada los caracteres morfo-anatómicos y estructuras reproductoras de los talos; así como su hábitat y distribución geográfica. Los especímenes de P. pendula de Isla Carmen, Los Planes y Calerita representan poblaciones nuevas de ésta especie en el Golfo de California. Considerando la revisión de especimenes de herbario y el seguimiento de una población en Calerita, Baja California Sur, se determinó que la estacionalidad de P. pendula en su fase macroscópica es de enero a marzo (invierno-principios de primavera)

Factors affecting nectar sugar composition in chiropterophilic plants

AbstractMost pollinators prefer the sugars present in the nectar they consume, so it has been hypothesized that they have molded nectar trait evolution. However, nectar-feeding bats do not exhibit preferences for the sugars present in their diet. We analyzed the role that biochemical and ecological factors could play in shaping the nectar traits of chiropterophilic plants. We studied nectar traits and flower production in 49 plant species. We evaluated the relationship between nectar concentration and sugar composition using phylogenetically independent contrasts and if nectar traits were related to flower production using a Manova. We found that 42 species produced high hexoses nectars, and 7 species produced sucrose rich nectars. Phylogenetically independent contrasts showed that nectar concentration was negatively related to glucose content, positively related to fructose content, and was not related to sucrose content. A negative relationship was found from glucose and fructose contents to sucrose content, and glucose content was negatively related to fructose content. Finally, we did not found any relationship between nectar traits and the plants’ flowering strategies. We conclude that bat physiology and the relative low evolutionary time of the interaction between plants and bats may determine the lack of pattern in the nectar characteristics of chiropterophilic plants

Extremophile deep-sea viral communities from hydrothermal vents: Structural and functional analysis

Ten publicly available metagenomic data sets from hydrothermal vents were analyzed to determine the taxonomic structure of the viral communities present, as well as their potential metabolic functions. The type of natural selection on two auxiliary metabolic genes was also analyzed. The structure of the virome in the hydrothermal vents was quite different in comparison with the viruses present in sediments, with specific populations being present in greater abundance in the plume samples when compared with the sediment samples. ssDNA genomes such as Circoviridae and Microviridae were predominantly present in the sediment samples, with Caudovirales which are dsDNA being present in the vent samples. Genes potentially encoding enzymes that participate in carbon, nitrogen and sulfur metabolic pathways were found in greater abundance, than those involved in the oxygen cycle, in the hydrothermal vents. Functional profiling of the viromes, resulted in the discovery of genes encoding proteins involved in bacteriophage capsids, DNA synthesis, nucleotide synthesis, DNA repair, as well as viral auxiliary metabolic genes such as cytitidyltransferase and ribonucleotide reductase. These auxiliary metabolic genes participate in the synthesis of phospholipids and nucleotides respectively and are likely to contribute to enhancing the fitness of their bacterial hosts within the hydrothermal vent communities. Finally, evolutionary analysis suggested that these auxiliary metabolic genes are highly conserved and evolve under purifying selection, and are thus maintained in their genome

Does native Trypanosoma cruzi calreticulin mediate growth inhibition of a mammary tumor during infection?

Indexación: Web of Science.Background: For several decades now an antagonism between Trypanosoma cruzi infection and tumor development has been detected. The molecular basis of this phenomenon remained basically unknown until our proposal that T. cruzi Calreticulin (TcCRT), an endoplasmic reticulum-resident chaperone, translocated-externalized by the parasite, may mediate at least an important part of this effect. Thus, recombinant TcCRT (rTcCRT) has important in vivo antiangiogenic and antitumor activities. However, the relevant question whether the in vivo antitumor effect of T. cruzi infection is indeed mediated by the native chaperone (nTcCRT), remains open. Herein, by using specific modified anti-rTcCRT antibodies (Abs), we have neutralized the antitumor activity of T. cruzi infection and extracts thereof, thus identifying nTcCRT as a valid mediator of this effect. Methods: Polyclonal anti-rTcCRT F(ab')(2) Ab fragments were used to reverse the capacity of rTcCRT to inhibit EAhy926 endothelial cell (EC) proliferation, as detected by BrdU uptake. Using these F(ab')(2) fragments, we also challenged the capacity of nTcCRT, during T. cruzi infection, to inhibit the growth of an aggressive mammary adenocarcinoma cell line (TA3-MTXR) in mice. Moreover, we determined the capacity of anti-rTcCRT Abs to reverse the antitumor effect of an epimastigote extract (EE). Finally, the effects of these treatments on tumor histology were evaluated. Results: The rTcCRT capacity to inhibit ECs proliferation was reversed by anti-rTcCRT F(ab')(2) Ab fragments, thus defining them as valid probes to interfere in vivo with this important TcCRT function. Consequently, during infection, these Ab fragments also reversed the in vivo experimental mammary tumor growth. Moreover, anti-rTcCRT Abs also neutralized the antitumor effect of an EE, again identifying the chaperone protein as an important mediator of this anti mammary tumor effect. Finally, as determined by conventional histological parameters, in infected animals and in those treated with EE, less invasive tumors were observed while, as expected, treatment with F(ab')(2) Ab fragments increased malignancy. Conclusion: We have identified translocated/externalized nTcCRT as responsible for at least an important part of the anti mammary tumor effect of the chaperone observed during experimental infections with T. cruzi.http://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12885-016-2764-

Diagnóstico de producción en ganado lechero en pastoreo de un grupo ganadero de validación y transferencia de tecnología

The regionalization of framing issues for producers Livestock Group of Validation and Technology Transfer (GGAVATT) from San Jose Miahuatlán Veracruz, Mexico, under the current production of native grass prairie with mainly during the months of higher temperature have a poor performance and thus milk production declines which promotes a great use of concentrated feeds which causes an increase in production cost and less use to them. For this purpose we made a diagnosis of current conditions GGAVATT production, yielding information that helps us source and compared to determine precisely what the effect of applying the proposed alternative. We propose an alternative implementation of pastures with improved pastures needed to produce a greater amount of forage per unit area especially in the colder months.La regionalización de la problemática encuadrando a los productores del Grupo Ganadero de Validación y Transferencia de Tecnología (GGAVATT) de San José Miahuatlán Veracruz, México, bajo la actual situación de producción de praderas básicamente con gramas nativas que durante los meses de menor frío tienen un pobre desempeño y por ende la producción de leche se deteriora lo cual promueve una gran utilización de alimentos concentrados lo que provoca un incremento en el costo de producción y una menor utilidad para estos. Para dicho propósito se realizó un diagnóstico de las condiciones actuales de producción del GGAVATT, arrojando información que nos sirve de partida y de comparación para determinar con precisión cuál es el efecto de aplicar la alternativa propuesta. Se plantea como alternativa la implantación de praderas con pastos mejorados que permitan producir una mayor cantidad de forrajes por unidad de superficie sobre todo en los meses de menor temperatura

Controlled transdermal release of antioxidant ferulate by a porous Sc(III) MOF

The Sc(III) MOF-type MFM-300(Sc) is demonstrated in this study to be stable under physiological conditions (PBS), biocompatible (to human skin cells), and an efficient drug carrier for the long-term controlled release (through human skin) of antioxidant ferulate. MFM-300(Sc) also preserves the antioxidant pharmacological effects of ferulate while enhancing the bio-preservation of dermal skin fibroblasts, during the delivery process. These discoveries pave the way toward the extended use of Sc(III)-based MOFs as drug delivery systems (DDSs)