Development of fad7-1 single mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants that are resistant to aphids

Aphids are a group of sap-feeding insects that attack most of the world’s crops. The loss of function of fatty acid desaturase7 (FAD7) in Solanum lycopersicum (tomato plant) induces aphid resistance that is dependent upon the accumulation of plant defense hormones such as salicylic acid (SA). Tomato lacks most of the genetic resources found in the model plant Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). There is an analogous fad7-1 line of Arabidopsis; however, the line has a background mutation, the glabra-1 (gl1), that causes the absence of trichomes (small hairs), which are essential to plant defense. In order to study aphid resistance, a single mutant line of fad7-1 mutants were developed using cross breeding between the fad7-1/gl1 mutant and wild-type plants. Homozygous fad7-1 mutants were then identified using the Kasajima DNA extraction method, followed by the use of single nucleotide polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (SNP-PCR) primers using allele-specific PCR. A phenotypic screening was then performed to screen out the plants with the glabra-1 mutation using the presence or absence of trichomes. Two single Arabidopsis fad7-1 mutant lines were identified, and subsequently verified using a bioassay to be aphid resistant relative to other genotypes as seen in tomato

Laser cooling of a metastable argon atomic beam

A production of low velocity and monoenergetic atomic beams would increase the resolution in spectroscopic studies and many other experiments in atomic physics. Laser Cooling uses the radiation pressure to decelerate and cool atoms. The effusing from a glow discharge metastable argon atomic beam is affected by a counterpropagating laser light tuned to the cycling transition in argon. The Zeeman shift caused by a spatially varying magnetic field compensates for the changing Doppler shift that takes the atoms out of resonance as they decelerated. Deceleration and velocity bunching of atoms to a final velocity that depends on the detuning of the laser relative to a frequency of the transition have been observed. Time-of-Flight (TOF) spectroscopy is used to examine the velocity distribution of the cooled atomic beam. These TOF studies of the laser cooled atomic beam demonstrate the utility of laser deceleration for atomic-beam velocity selection

Persistence of the Exotic Mirid \u3ci\u3eNesidiocoris tenuis\u3c/i\u3e (Hemiptera: Miridae) in South Texas

The Rio Grande Valley is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the U.S and is located in the southernmost part of Texas. In October 2013, we detected an exotic plant bug, Nesidiocoris tenuis Reuter (Hemiptera: Miridae: Bryocorinae) occurring in the region. Nesidiocoris tenuis has zoophytophagous habits; however, in the absence of insect prey, it feeds on its plant hosts. After its morphological and genetic identification, this study monitored the population of N. tenuis in its introduction phase in commercial fields and corroborated its establishment in research fields for three years. Populations of N. tenuis were high during the fall and low during winter. This study found that N. tenuis populations were higher in tomato fields as compared to adjacent pepper, okra, and squash fields, indicating its host preferences during the introduction phase. Recurrent population growth patterns suggest that N. tenuis was established in Rio Grande Valley with permanent populations in tomato fields. In addition, N. tenuis populations were affected by tomato cultivar selection and by plastic mulch color. The presence of N. tenuis could establish a new trophic insect relationship for vegetable production. However, it is unknown if the presence of N. tenuis may help to control pests of economic importance, such as whiteflies in cotton, or become a pest on sesame, an emerging crop

Biology of Stress and Physical Performance

Regular physical training leads to physical capacity and optimal sports performance, and although this relationship is usually linear, the athlete’s adaptation is conditioned by multiple factors: environmental, genetic and psychological. Studies have shown that between 70 and 85% of successful and unsuccessful athletes can be identified using psychological measures of personality and mood, a level higher than chance, but insufficient for the purpose of selecting athletes. The research indicates that the mood of the athletes exhibits a dose-response relationship with their adaptation to the training load; This finding has shown potential to reduce the incidence of overtraining syndrome in athletes who undergo rigorous physical training, through early detection using scales of perception of their mood and physiological measures such as the testosterone / cortisol index. Thus, the genetic and epigenetic modifications of the factors that regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and, therefore, the response to stress, have recently been associated with a detrimental effect on physical performance and early manifestations of the overtraining syndrome and the abandonment of training and competences

A Multiple System of Radio Sources at the Core of the L723 Multipolar Outflow

We present high angular resolution Very Large Array multi-epoch continuum observations at 3.6 cm and 7 mm towards the core of the L723 multipolar outflow revealing a multiple system of four radio sources suspected to be YSOs in a region of only ~4 arcsecs (1200 AU) in extent. The 3.6 cm observations show that the previously detected source VLA 2 contains a close (separation ~0.29 arcsecs or ~90 AU) radio binary, with components (A and B) along a position angle of ~150 degrees. The northern component (VLA 2A) of this binary system is also detected in the 7 mm observations, with a positive spectral index between 3.6 cm and 7 mm. In addition, the source VLA 2A is associated with extended emission along a position angle of ~115 degrees, that we interpret as outflowing shock-ionized gas that is exciting a system of HH objects with the same position angle. A third, weak 3.6 cm source, VLA 2C, that is detected also at 7 mm, is located ~0.7 arcsecs northeast of VLA 2A, and is possibly associated with the water maser emission in the region. The 7 mm observations reveal the presence of an additional source, VLA 2D, located ~3.5 arcsecs southeast of VLA 2A, and with a 1.35 mm counterpart. All these radio continuum sources have a positive spectral index, compatible with them being YSOs. We also propose that the high velocity CO emission observed in the region could be the superposition of multiple outflows (at least three independent bipolar outflows) excited by the YSOs located at the core, instead of the previous interpretations in terms of only one or two outflows.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (2007 December 6

Estudio de las condiciones ambientales para realizar un calendario de plantación de Petunia x Hybrida cv “Ultra White” en el norte de Buenos Aires

Para definir la posible extensión del calendario de plantación de petunia en el norte de Buenos Aires, se realizaron 8 transplantes de Ultra White (cada 45 días) en un año, en un invernadero no climatizado de la EEA INTA San Pedro (33º4’S,59º4’W.G), en macetas de 1 litro con sustrato comercial, densidad de 55pl.m-² y riego por goteo. Se registró: temperatura del aire y radiación fotosintéticamente activa (PAR) cada 15 minutos y se calcularon el fotoperíodo y la diferencia entre temperaturas diurnas y nocturnas (DIF). Se analizó: duración del período vegetativo (hasta aparición de primera flor), reproductivo (hasta 10 flores abiertas) y ciclo; tasa de progreso a floración, altura y producción de materia seca. A lo largo del año, el fotoperíodo aumentó de 9,1-13,5 hs y la temperatura media del aire de 14-26,9ºC, observándose una reducción del período vegetativo de 45 a 16 días; del reproductivo de 25 a 13 días, y del ciclo de 70-29 días. El fotoperíodo determinó la duración del período vegetativo (R²=0,90) y la tasa de progreso a floración (R²=0,94) con ajuste cuadrático. La extensión de la etapa reproductiva estuvo influenciada en forma lineal e inversa por la temperatura media nocturna (R²=0,97). La altura del tallo principal al final de la etapa vegetativa, tuvo una alta relación lineal inversa con el DIF (R2=0,91). La cantidad de materia seca producida por día estuvo determinada principalmente por la cantidad de horas de luz, en una relación lineal inversa (R²= 0,83). No se observaron umbrales de fotoperíodo ni de temperaturas que provocaran ausencia de pimpollos florales. Se confirmaría la posibilidad de cultivar petunia Ultra White en la zona durante todo el año.EEA San PedroFil: Zanek, Carlos Teodoro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; ArgentinaFil: Ávila, A. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Francescangeli, Nora. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria San Pedro; Argentin

Comparative analysis of the biosimilar and innovative G-CSF modulated pathways on umbilical cord blood–derived mononuclear cells

Biosimilars of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) have been routinely introduced into clinical practice. However, not functional genomics characterization has been performed yet in comparison with the innovator G-CSF. This study aimed to evaluate the transcriptomic changes in an in vitro model of umbilical cord blood cells (UBC) exposed to G-CSF for the identification of their modulated pathways. Umbilical cord blood cells–derived mononuclear cells (MNCs) were treated with biosimilar and innovator G-CSF for further gene expression profiling analysis using a microarray-based platform. Comparative analysis of biosimilar and innovator G-CSF gene expression signatures allowed us to identify the most commonly modulated pathways by both drugs. In brief, we observed predominantly upmodulation of transcripts related to PI3K-Akt, NF-kappaB, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathways as well as transcripts related to negative regulation of apoptotic process among others. In addition, hematopoietic colony-forming cell assays corroborate the G-CSF phenotypic effects over UBC-derived MNCs. In conclusion, our study suggests that G-CSF impacts UBC-derived cells through the modulation of several signaling pathways associated with cell survival, migration, and proliferation. The concordance observed between biosimilar and innovator G-CSF emphasizes their similarity in regards to their specificity and biological responses.Fil: Ávila Portillo, Luz Mabel. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Colombia. Stem Medicina Regenerativa/CryoHoldco; Colombia. Hospital Militar Central. Unidad de Investigación; ColombiaFil: Aristizabal, F.. Universidad Nacional de Colombia; ColombiaFil: Perdomo, S.. Universidad El Bosque. Facultad de Odontología; ColombiaFil: Riveros, A.. Stem Medicina Regenerativa/CryoHoldco; ColombiaFil: Ospino, B.. Stem Medicina Regenerativa/CryoHoldco; ColombiaFil: Avila, J. P.. Stem Medicina Regenerativa/CryoHoldco; ColombiaFil: Butti, M.. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Centro de Investigaciones Inmunológicas Básicas y Aplicadas; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Abba, Martín Carlos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Centro de Investigaciones Inmunológicas Básicas y Aplicadas; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin

Unravelling the relevance of the polyadenylation factor EhCFIm25 in entamoeba histolytica through proteomic analysis

We recently reported that silencing of the polyadenylation factor EhCFIm25 in Entamoeba histolytica, the protozoan which causes human amoebiasis, affects trophozoite proliferation, death, and virulence, suggesting that EhCFIm25 may have potential as a new biochemical target. Here, we performed a shotgun proteomic analysis to identify modulated proteins that could explain this phenotype. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD027784. Our results revealed changes in the abundance of 75 proteins. Interestingly, STRING analysis, functional GO‐term annotations, KEGG analyses, and literature review showed that modulated proteins are mainly related to glycolysis and carbon metabolism, cytoskeleton dynamics, and parasite virulence, as well as gene expression and protein modifications. Further studies are needed to confirm the hypotheses emerging from this proteomic analysis, to thereby acquire a comprehensive view of the molecular mechanisms involved