Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated to Zea Mays L. plants in an agroecosystem of Atlántico, Colombia.

El maíz es considerado uno de los más importantes cultivos a nivel mundial. Como en muchos otros países, Colombia ha utilizado este cereal no solo como alimento para humanos y animales sino también para fabricar diferentes productos industriales. Las plantas de maíz están bien adaptadas a las diferentes condiciones climáticas y agroecológicas de Colombia, lo cual le permite estar ampliamente distribuido en todo el país. Algunas de sus adaptaciones naturales son atribuidas a la existencia de relaciones simbióticas con hongos micorrizógenos arbusculares (HMA), los cuales promueven la captación de nutrientes en especial de aquellos que tienen escasa movilidad tales como el fósforo (P) y el nitrógeno (N). Se identificaron HMA asociados a cultivos de maíz localizados en el municipio de Sabanalarga, Atlántico, Colombia. El número de esporas en 100 g de suelo se determinó mediante tamizado, siguiendo protocolos de centrifugación en sacarosa. El número de esporas por 100 g de suelo mostró diferencias estadísticas significativas durante los meses de muestreo (p<0,05). Se identificaron un total de 19 morfotipos correspondientes a doce especies del género Glomus, cinco del género Gigaspora y una especie para los géneros Acaulospora y Scutellospora. Se encontró correlación negativa entre temperatura y número de esporas; sin embargo no existió correlación entre el pH y las variables densidad de esporas, porcentaje de colonización y temperatura del suelo. Asimismo, se reportó bajo contenido de materia orgánica (0,99 %) y baja capacidad de intercambio catiónico (7,50 cmol.kgr-1suelo). Estos resultados, sumados al hecho de que este tipo de cultivos son grandemente dependientes de la actividad de hongos micorrizógenos, explican la densidad de esporas (400-1350 esp/100 g) y el elevado porcentaje de colonización (40-98 %) que fue encontrado durante el muestreo. Es claro que este cereal depende de la presencia de hongos micorrizógenos durante la toma de nutrientes.Corn is considered one of the most important cereal crops worldwide. As many other countries, Colombia has used this cereal not only to feed humans and animals but also to manufacture many different industrial products. Corn plants are well adapted in different climatic and ecological conditions in Colombia which allows it to be widely distributed throughout the country. Some of its natural adaptations are attributed to the existence of symbiotic relationships with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) which promote the nutrient uptake, especially those with known low mobility such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N). AMFs associated to corn crops were identified in samples collected in the fields of the municipality of Sabanalarga (Atlántico, Colombia). The number of spores per 100 g of soil was determined by sieving following sucrose centrifugation standard protocols. The number of spores per 100 g of soil showed statistically significant differences during the months of sampling (p < 0.05). A total of 19 morphotypes, corresponding to twelve species of the genus Glomus, five of the genus Gigaspora, and one species of both genus Acaulospora and Scutellospora were identified. A negative correlation between temperature and number of spores was found but no correlation between pH and the spore density, percentage of colonization and soil temperature variables was found. Additionally, low organic matter content (0.99%) and low cation exchange capacity (7.50 cmol*soil-Kg-1) were reported. These results, in addition to the fact that this kind of crops are highly dependent of mycorrhizal fungi activity, explain the spore density (400-1350 spore/ 100 g) and the high percentage of colonization (40-98%) that were obtained during sampling. It is clear that this cereal crop depends on the presence of mycorrhizal fungi during nutrient uptake

Transcriptome and gene expression analysis of three developmental stages of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei

Coffee production is a global industry valued at approximately 173 billion US dollars. One of the main challenges facing coffee production is the management of the coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei, which is considered the primary arthropod pest of coffee worldwide. Current control strategies are inefficient for CBB management. Although biotechnological alternatives, including RNA interference (RNAi), have been proposed in recent years to control insect pests, characterizing the genetics of the target pest is essential for the successful application of these emerging technologies. In this study, we employed RNA-seq to obtain the transcriptome of three developmental stages of the CBB (larva, female and male) to increase our understanding of the CBB life cycle in relation to molecular features. The CBB transcriptome was sequenced using Illumina Hiseq and assembled de novo. Differential gene expression analysis was performed across the developmental stages. The final assembly produced 29,434 unigenes, of which 4,664 transcripts were differentially expressed. Genes linked to crucial physiological functions, such as digestion and detoxification, were determined to be tightly regulated between the reproductive and nonreproductive stages of CBB. The data obtained in this study help to elucidate the critical roles that several genes play as regulatory elements in CBB development

Transcriptome and gene expression analysis of three developmental stages of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei

Coffee production is a global industry valued at approximately 173 billion US dollars. One of the main challenges facing coffee production is the management of the coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei, which is considered the primary arthropod pest of coffee worldwide. Current control strategies are inefficient for CBB management. Although biotechnological alternatives, including RNA interference (RNAi), have been proposed in recent years to control insect pests, characterizing the genetics of the target pest is essential for the successful application of these emerging technologies. In this study, we employed RNA-seq to obtain the transcriptome of three developmental stages of the CBB (larva, female and male) to increase our understanding of the CBB life cycle in relation to molecular features. The CBB transcriptome was sequenced using Illumina Hiseq and assembled de novo. Differential gene expression analysis was performed across the developmental stages. The final assembly produced 29,434 unigenes, of which 4,664 transcripts were differentially expressed. Genes linked to crucial physiological functions, such as digestion and detoxification, were determined to be tightly regulated between the reproductive and nonreproductive stages of CBB. The data obtained in this study help to elucidate the critical roles that several genes play as regulatory elements in CBB development

Transcriptome and gene expression analysis of three developmental stages of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei

Coffee production is a global industry valued at approximately 173 billion US dollars. One of the main challenges facing coffee production is the management of the coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei, which is considered the primary arthropod pest of coffee worldwide. Current control strategies are inefficient for CBB management. Although biotechnological alternatives, including RNA interference (RNAi), have been proposed in recent years to control insect pests, characterizing the genetics of the target pest is essential for the successful application of these emerging technologies. In this study, we employed RNA-seq to obtain the transcriptome of three developmental stages of the CBB (larva, female and male) to increase our understanding of the CBB life cycle in relation to molecular features. The CBB transcriptome was sequenced using Illumina Hiseq and assembled de novo. Differential gene expression analysis was performed across the developmental stages. The final assembly produced 29,434 unigenes, of which 4,664 transcripts were differentially expressed. Genes linked to crucial physiological functions, such as digestion and detoxification, were determined to be tightly regulated between the reproductive and nonreproductive stages of CBB. The data obtained in this study help to elucidate the critical roles that several genes play as regulatory elements in CBB development

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Digestive a-amylases from Tecia solanivora larvae (Lepidoptera:Gelechiidae): response to pH, temperature and plant amylase inhibitors

The biochemical properties of the digestive alpha-amylase from Tecia solanivora larvae, an important and invasive insect pest of potato (Solanum tuberosum), were studied. This insect has three major digestive a-amylases with isoelectric points 5.30, 5.70 and 5.98, respectively, which were separated using native and isoelectric focusing gels. The alpha-amylase activity has an optimum pH between 7.0 and 10.0 with a peak at pH 9.0. The enzymes are stable when heated to 50_C and were inhibited by proteinaceous inhibitors from Phaseolus coccineus (70% inhibition) and P. vulgaris cv. Radical (87% inhibition) at pH 6.0. The inhibitors present in an amaranth hybrid inhibited 80% of the activity at pH 9.0. The results show that the alpha-amylase inhibitor from amaranth seeds may be a better candidate to make genetically-modified potatoes resistant to this insect than inhibitors from common bean seeds

Scientometric Overview of Coffee By-Products and Their Applications

As coffee consumption is on the rise, and the global coffee production creates an excess of 23 million tons of waste per year, a revolutionary transition towards a circular economy via the transformation and valorization of the main by-products from its cultivation and preparation (Coffee Husk (CH), Coffee Pulp (CP), Coffee Silverskin (CS), and Spent Coffee Grounds (SCG)) is inspiring researchers around the world. The recent growth of scholarly publications in the field and the emerging applications of coffee by-products published in these scientific papers encourages a systematic review to identify the knowledge structure, research hotspots, and to discuss the challenges and future directions. This paper displays a comprehensive scientometric analysis based on 108 articles with a high level of influence in the field of coffee by-products and their applications. According to our analysis, the research in this field shows an explosive growth since 2017, clustered in five core applications: bioactive compounds, microbial transformation, environmental applications, biofuels from thermochemical processes, and construction materials

Pyrosequencing the Midgut Transcriptome of the Banana Weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Reveals Multiple Protease-Like Transcripts.

The banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus is an important and serious insect pest in most banana and plantain-growing areas of the world. In spite of the economic importance of this insect pest very little genomic and transcriptomic information exists for this species. In the present study, we characterized the midgut transcriptome of C. sordidus using massive 454-pyrosequencing. We generated over 590,000 sequencing reads that assembled into 30,840 contigs with more than 400 bp, representing a significant expansion of existing sequences available for this insect pest. Among them, 16,427 contigs contained one or more GO terms. In addition, 15,263 contigs were assigned an EC number. In-depth transcriptome analysis identified genes potentially involved in insecticide resistance, peritrophic membrane biosynthesis, immunity-related function and defense against pathogens, and Bacillus thuringiensis toxins binding proteins as well as multiple enzymes involved with protein digestion. This transcriptome will provide a valuable resource for understanding larval physiology and for identifying novel target sites and management approaches for this important insect pest