Functional analysis of novel genes differentially expressed genes in heart/hemangioblast precursor cells (H/HPC)

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Ethnobotanical survey in Canhane village, district of Massingir, Mozambique: medicinal plants and traditional knowledge

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medicinal plants are used by 80% of people from developing countries to fulfill their primary health needs, occupying a key position on plant research and medicine. Taking into account that, besides their pharmaceutical importance, these plants contribute greatly to ecosystems' stability, a continuous documentation and preservation of traditional knowledge is a priority. The objective of this study was to organize a database of medicinal plants including their applications and associated procedures in Canhane village, district of Massingir, province of Gaza, Mozambique.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to gather information about indigenous medicinal plants and to maximize the collection of local knowledge, eleven informants were selected taking into account the dimension of the site and the fact that the vegetation presents a great homogeneity. The data were collected through intensive structured and semi-structured interviews performed during field research. Taxonomical identification of plant species was based on field observations and herbarium collections.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 53 plant species have been reported, which were used to treat 50 different human health problems. More than half of the species were used for stomach and intestine related disturbances (including major diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery). Additionally, four species with therapeutic applications were reported for the first time, whose potential can further be exploited. The great majority of the identified species was also associated with beliefs and myths and/or used as food. In general, the community was conscientious and motivated about conservational issues and has adopted measures for the rational use of medicinal plants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The ethnomedicinal use of plant species was documented in the Canhane village. The local community had a rich ethnobotanical knowledge and adopted sound management conservation practices. The data compiled in this study show the social importance of the surveyed plants being a contribution to the documentation of PGR at the national and regional level.</p

Biodegradation of diethylketone by two fungi

Two morphologically different fungi (one green and one white) from contaminated bioreactors with an aqueous solution of diethylketone and Streptococcus equisimilis were isolated and characterized at molecular level by sequencing the amplified ITS region. The ITS region sequence showed 99% match with Alternaria genera for the green fungi and 99% match with the Penicillium genera for the white fungi. The performance of these two fungi to biodegrade different concentrations of diethylketone from aqueous solutions was evaluated. The biodegradation of diethylketone was studied for an initial diethylketone concentration ranging from 0.5 to 4g/L in a batch mode of operation. The biodegradation rate found for both fungi followed the pseudo-second order kinetics for initial concentrations higher than 0.5 g/L and the resulting kinetic parameters are reported. The removal percentages obtained were approximately 100%, for all the initial concentrations tested

Cleaner approach for atrazine removal using recycling biowaste/waste in permeable barriers

This work addresses the rehabilitation of water contaminated with atrazine, entrapping it in a permeable and sustainable barrier designed with waste materials (sepiolite) and with biomaterials (cork and pine bark). Atrazine adsorption was assessed by kinetics and equilibrium assays and desorption was tested with different extraction solvents. Adsorbed atrazine was 100% recovered from sepiolite using 20% acetonitrile solution, while 40% acetonitrile was needed to leach it from cork (98%) and pine bark (94%). Continuous fixed-bed experiments using those sorbents as PRB were performed to evaluate atrazine removal for up-scale applications. The modified dose-response model properly described the breakthrough data. The highest adsorption capacity was achieved by sepiolite (23.3 (±0.8) mg/g), followed by pine bark (14.8 (±0.6) mg/g) and cork (13.0 (±0.9) mg/g). Recyclability of sorbents was evaluated by adsorption-desorption cycles. After two regenerations, sepiolite achieved 81% of atrazine removal, followed by pine with 78% and cork with 54%. Sepiolite had the best performance in terms of adsorption capacity/stability. SEM and FTIR analyses confirmed no significant differences in material morphology and structure. This study demonstrates that recycling waste/biowaste is a sustainable option for wastewater treatment, with waste valorization and environmental protection.Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the research project PTDC/AAG-TEC/5269/2014, the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2020 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte, Portugal. A. Lago thanks FCT for the concession of her PhD grant (SFRH/BD/132271/2017)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biowaste valorization for emerging pollutant abatement in aqueous phase

The use of raw chemical- or thermal-modified pine bark (10 g/L) as a biosorbent to remove fluoxetine hydrochloride (FLX), carbamazepine (CRB) and atrazine (ATZ) from water at 5 mg/L each was explored in this work. The adsorption efficiency onto raw pine was as follows: FLX > ATZ > CRB. Pine oxidized with HNO3 revealed to be the best modified biosorbent in terms of overall sorbate entrapment capacity (1.95 mg/g). The performance of raw pine (as the most sustainable biosorbent) was assessed in a prepilot air-lift-type reactor as a rehabilitation system to treat contaminated water for upscale purposes.This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the research project PTDC/AAG-TEC/5269/2014, the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2020 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte, Portugal. A. Lago thanks FCT for her PhD grant (SFRH/BD/132271/2017).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biodegradation of diethylketone by Penicillium sp. and Alternaria sp.: a comparative study biodegradation of diethylketone by fungi

Two contaminating fungi were isolated from a bioreactor containing diethylketone and Streptococcus equisimilis, subsequently characterized at molecular level and identified as belonging to the Alternaria and Penicillium genera. The ability of these fungi to biodegrade DEK is evaluated. The kinetic parameters are estimated using four growth kinetic models for biodegradation of organic compounds available in literature. The experimental data for Alternaria sp. and Penicillium sp. was found to be better fitted by the Haldane and the Luong respectively. Biodegradation rate kinetics was evaluated using zero-order, pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order and three-half order models. The pseudo-second-order model was found suitable for all the concentrations of DEK tested for the biodegradation assays using Penicillium sp. whereas for the Alternaria sp. this model just describes properly the assays with initial concentrations of DEK higher than 0.5 g/L. The percentage of biodegraded DEK were approximately 100%, for all the initial concentrations tested

Targeting the hemangioblast with a novel cell type-specific enhancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hemangioblasts are known as the common precursors for primitive hematopoietic and endothelial lineages. Their existence has been supported mainly by the observation that both cell types develop in close proximity and by in vitro differentiation and genetic studies. However, more compelling evidence will arise from tracking their cell fates using a lineage-specific marker.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report the identification of a hemangioblast-specific enhancer (Hb) located in the <it>cis</it>-regulatory region of chick <it>Cerberus </it>gene (<it>cCer</it>) that is able to direct the expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) to the precursors of yolk sac blood and endothelial cells in electroporated chick embryos. Moreover, we present the Hb-eGFP reporter as a powerful live imaging tool for visualizing hemangioblast cell fate and blood island morphogenesis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We hereby introduce the Hb enhancer as a valuable resource for genetically targeting the hemangioblast population as well as for studying the dynamics of vascular and blood cell development.</p

Identification of differentially expressed genes in the heart precursor cells of the chick embryo

Genetic evidence has implicated several genes as being critical for heart development. However, the inducers of these genes as well as their targets and pathways they are involved with, remain largely unknown. Previous studies in the avian embryo showed that at HH4 Cerberus (cCer) transcripts are detected in the anterior endomesoderm including the heart precursor cells and later in the left lateral plate mesoderm. We have identified a promoter element of chick cCer able to drive EGFP expression in a population of cells that consistently exit from the anterior primitive streak region, from as early as stage HH3+, and that later will populate the heart. Using this promoter element as a tool allowed us to identify novel genes previously not known to potentially play a role in heart development. In order to identify and study genes expressed and involved in the correct development and differentiation of the vertebrate heart precursor cell (HPC) lineages, a differential screening using Affymetrix GeneChip system technologies was performed. Remarkably, this screening led to the identification of more than 700 transcripts differentially expressed in the heart forming regions (HFR). Bioinformatic tools allowed us to filter the large amount of data generated from this approach and to select a few transcripts for in vivo validation. Whole-mount in situ hybridization and sectioning of selected genes showed heart and vascular expression patterns for these transcripts during early chick development. We have developed an effective strategy to specifically identify genes that are differentially expressed in the HPC lineages. Within this set we have identified several genes that are expressed in the heart, blood and vascular lineages, which are likely to play a role in their development. These genes are potential candidates for future functional studies on early embryonic patterning.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Ph.D., PD and BI fellowships; FCT research grants; IGC/FCG; IBB/CBME

Cork oak forests soil bacteria: potential for sustainable agroforest production

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are in increasing demand due to their role in promoting sustainable practices, not only in agriculture but also in forestry. Keeping in mind the future application of PGPR for increasing cork oak sustainability, the aim of this study was to find cork oak PGPR isolates with increased nutrient solubilisation traits, able to promote root morphological changes and/or antagonize cork oak bark phytopathogens. Soils from three cork oak forests with distinct bioclimates (humid, semi-humid and semi-arid) were used for isolating bacteria. From the 7634 colony-forming units, 323 bacterial isolates were biochemically assayed for PGPR traits (siderophores production, phosphate solubilizing and organic acids production), and 51 were found to display all these traits. These PGPR were able to induce root morphological changes on Arabidopsis thaliana, like suppression of primary root growth, increase of lateral roots or root hairs formation. However, the most proficient PGPR displayed specific ability in changing a single root morphological trait. This ability was related not only to bacterial genotype, but also with the environment where bacteria thrived and isolation temperature. Bacteria from semi-arid environments (mainly Bacillus megaterium isolates) could hold a promising tool to enhance plant development. Other isolates (Serratia quinivorens or B. cereus) could be further explored for biocontrol purposes.This work was supported by FEDER funds through COMPETE (Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade) and by national funds by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) in the framework of the projects SuberControl (PTDC/ASP-SIL/28635/2017), BioISI (UIDB/04046/2020) and CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020)

Generating asymmetries in the early vertebrate embryo: the role of the Cerberus-like family

One fundamental aspect of vertebrate embryonic development is the formation of the body plan. For this process, asymmetries have to be generated during early stages of development along the three main body axes: Anterior-Posterior, Dorso-Ventral and Left-Right. We have been studying the role of a novel class of molecules,the Cerberus/Dan gene family. These are dedicated secreted antagonists of three major signaling pathways: Nodal, BMP and Wnt. Our studies contribute to the current view that the fine tuning of signaling is controlled by a set of inhibitory molecules rather than by activators. In this context, the Cerberus-like molecules emerge as key players in the regulation and generation of asymmetries in the early vertebrate embryo.C.R.U.P; F.C.T.; IGC/Fundação Calouste Gulbenkia