Expression and functional significance of andromonoecy in Solanum houstonii Martyn

Andromonoecy, the production of both hermaphrodite and female-sterile (staminate) flowers in the same plant, is a sexual system that has evolved independently numerous times and is found in 33 families and ~4000 species of flowering plants. Over the last three decades, andromonoecy has been used as a model to study resource allocation in plants, and to investigate the evolution of unisexual flowers. However, large gaps remain in our knowledge of the mechanisms that promote the production of staminate flowers. In this thesis, I investigated the expression and functional significance of andromonoecy in Solanum houstonii, a Mexican endemic perennial shrub, by 1) assessing sex determination of staminate flowers, 2) examining the functional role of staminate flowers and 3) evaluating the reproductive consequences of andromonoecy in natural populations. In this thesis, first, I characterised the andromonoecy of S. houstonii. I achieved this by determining the main morphological differences among flower types (hermaphrodite and staminate) and establishing how these differences arise through floral development (Chapter 2). Second, I assessed the lability in the production of hermaphrodite and staminate flowers within an individual in order to determine whether sex expression is a plastic response to environmental changes in resource availability (Chapter 3). Third, I investigated the functional role of staminate flowers on their efficiency at pollen donation, pollinator attraction and in siring seeds in a laboratory experiment using commercial bumblebees as pollinators (Chapter 4). Finally, I conducted field surveys in natural populations to evaluate the reproductive success of S. houstonii and the ecological factors that may maintain andromonoecy in this species (Chapter 5). Overall, my results demonstrated that in S. houstonii the suppression of female organs on staminate flowers occurs at early stages of development and is influenced by inflorescence architecture. Staminate flowers do not promote pollen donation or pollinator attraction in laboratory experiments more than hermaphrodite flowers. However, in natural populations, staminate flowers may increase pollen export and deposition as I found a relatively high incidence of pollinators and that fruit and seed set were not limited by pollen receipt. These findings provide new insights into the mechanisms involved in the production of staminate flowers, the functional significance of staminate flowers, and the reproductive success of an, andromonoecious species

Selecció de soca de cianobacteris per a la obtenció de bioestimulants a escala pilot

One of the sectors most vulnerable to climate change is agriculture, since its effects have a direct and negative impact on crops. At the same time, the problem is aggravated by the growing world population. In order to promote efficient and sustainable agricultural practices, a transition must be made towards the use of biostimulants, as opposed to phytosanitary products and chemical fertilizers, such a way to preserve and reestablish the balance in the environment. The biostimulant effects of cyanobacteria have recently been discovered. However, their production has a high cost and in order to reduce them, low-cost resources are exploited, such as the use of wastewater to grow cyanobacteria, thus promoting a circular economy. The objective of this study is to select the most favorable strain of cyanobacteria for the production of biostimulants at pilot scale. For this purpose, the adaptability of Synechococcus sp., Synechocystis sp, and Phormidium sp. strains to wastewater is evaluated, focusing on their growth and nutrient removal capacity. The project integrates 5 experiments carried out in 2.5 L photobioreactors (FBR) and fed with the secondary effluent of a laboratory-scale activated sludge treatment plant. The parameters that have been experimented are the mode of operation of the FBR, passing through batch and semi-continuous, the hydraulic retention time of 6 to 8 days, as well as the nutrient supply in the medium. The results obtained show evidence of the ability of cyanobacterial strains to live in wastewater. The high productivity and nutrient removal rate of Synechocystis sp. compared to Phormidium sp. is noteworthy. Likewise, Synechocystis sp. is less susceptible to biological contamination than Phormidium sp., a fact that highlights its suitability for use on a pilot scale. This project is a firm commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), taking biostimulants to another dimension as a challenge to be met for agricultural sustainability, thus responding to SDGs 6, 11, 13, 14 and 15.Uno de los sectores más vulnerables al cambio climático es el de la agricultura, ya que sus efectos repercuten directa y negativamente sobre los cultivos. Concatenadamente la problemática se agrava debido al abastecimiento de una población mundial en continuo crecimiento. Con el fin de fomentar prácticas agrícolas eficientes y sostenibles se debe hacer la transición hacía el uso de bioestimulantes, frente productos fitosanitarios y fertilizantes químicos, para así poder preservar y reestablecer el equilibrio en el medio. Recientemente se ha descubierto los efectos bioestimulantes que tienen las cianobacterias. No obstante, su producción tiene un elevado coste y con la finalidad de reducirlos, se explotan recursos de bajo coste, como es el uso de aguas residuales para crecer las cianobacterias, fomentando así una economía circular. El objetivo del presente estudio persigue seleccionar la cepa de cianobacterias más favorable para la producción de bioestimulantes a escala piloto. Para eso, se avalúa la capacidad de adaptación de las cepas de Synechococcus sp, Synechocystis sp, i Phormidium sp. a las aguas residuales, focalizándose en su crecimiento y capacidad de eliminación de nutrientes. El proyecto integra 5 experimentos que se desarrollan en fotobiorreactores (FBR) de 2,5 L y se alimentan con el efluente secundario de una planta depuradora de lodos activados a escala laboratorio. Los parámetros que se han experimentado son el modo de operación de los FBR, pasando por batch y semi-contínuo, el tiempo de retención hidráulica de 6 a 8 días, así como el aporte de nutrientes en el medio. Los resultados obtenidos muestran evidencias sobre la capacidad de las cepas de cianobacterias para vivir en aguas residuales. Cabe destacar la alta tasa de productividad y eliminación de nutrientes de Synechocystis sp. frente el Phormidium sp.. Así mismo, Synechocystis sp. resulta ser menos susceptible a contaminaciones biológicas respecto al Phormidium sp., hecho que remarca su idoneidad para el uso a escala piloto. Este proyecto es un compromiso firme en relación a los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible (ODS), trasladando a otra dimensión los bioestimulantes como reto a alcanzar para la sostenibilidad agrícola, así pues, responde a los ODS 6, 11, 13, 14 y 15.Un dels sectors més vulnerables al canvi climàtic és el de l’agricultura, ja que els seus efectes repercuteixen directa i negativament sobre els cultius. Concatenadament la problemàtica s’agreuja degut a l’abastiment d’una població mundial en continuo creixement. Per tal de fomentar pràctiques agrícoles eficients i sostenibles cal fer la transició cap a l’ús de bioestimulants, enfront de productes fitosanitaris i fertilitzants químics, per així poder preservar i restablir l’equilibri en el medi. Recentment s’ha descobert els efectes bioestimulants que tenen els cianobacteris. No obstant, la seva producció té uns elevats costos i amb la finalitat de reduir-los, s’exploren recursos de baix cost, com és l’ús d’aigües residuals, tot fomentant una economia circular. L’objectiu del present projecte persegueix seleccionar la soca de cianobacteris més òptima per a la producció de bioestimulants a escala pilot. Per això, s’ha avaluat la capacitat d’adaptació de les soques de Synechococcus sp, Synechocystis sp, i Phormidium sp. a les aigües residuals, focalitzant-se en el seu creixement i la capacitat de remoció de nutrients. El projecte consta de 5 experiments que es desenvolupen en fotobiorreactors (FBR) de 2,5 L i s’alimenten a partir de l’efluent secundari d’una planta depuradora de fangs activats a escala laboratori. Els paràmetres que s’han variat són el mode d’operació dels FBR, passant per batch i semi-continu, el Temps de Retenció Hidràulic (TRH) de 6 a 8 dies, així com també, l’optimització de la producció aportant nutrients al medi. Els resultats obtinguts evidencien la capacitat de les soques de cianobacteris per viure en aigües residuals. Cal destacar l’alta taxa de productivitat i de remoció de nutrients del Synechocystis sp, envers el Phormidium sp.. Tanmateix, Synechocystis sp. resulta ser menys susceptible a contaminacions biològiques enfront el Phormidium sp., fet que remarca la seva idoneïtat per emprar-la a escala pilot. Aquest treball esdevé un compromís en ferm envers els objectius de desenvolupament sostenible (ODS), traslladant a una altre dimensió els bioestimulants com a repte assolir per a la sostenibilitat agrícola, així doncs, respon als ODS 6, 11, 13, 14 i 15.Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::6 - Aigua Neta i SanejamentObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenible

Load forecasting using Singular Spectrum analysis

Nowadays, the energy market has become more relevant and the electricity demand is more active, this means that it is less predictable. This has caused an increase in the development of a prediction with greater certainty and accuracy. It has the aim of improving energy efficiency, power systems planning and operations. The majority of the load forecasting articles have been a timely forecasting, which is easier to obtain the expected values. There are different ways to predict the load consumption, primarily statistical techniques and artificial intelligent techniques

Terrorismo individual

Treball Final de Grau en Dret. Codi: DR1052. Curs acadèmic: 2016-201

Constructeràpia, peces de construccions arquitectòniques per malalts de Parkinson

El Parkinson és una malaltia neurodegenerativa que afecta als símptomes motors i no-motors de tot aquell que la pateix. Per millorar la qualitat de vida del malalt, els productes que s’han d’utilitzar han de complir amb la rehabilitació d’aquests dos factors. La Constructeràpia, una teràpia ocupacional, és una activitat que es realitza gràcies a peces de construccions arquitectòniques pensades per a malalts de Parkinson i adaptades als 5 estadis existents. Les construccions es basen en una combinació de geometries i colors. Amb elles es treballa les extremitats superiors, frenant l’evolució dels símptomes de tremolor i rigidesa gràcies als moviments de detall, precisió, coordinació i a enfortir la musculatura. També es millora la motivació i l’autonomia del pacient gràcies a la llibertat de crear i prendre decisions per un mateix, per ser una activitat creativa, on intervé la imaginació, i perquè gràcies a la memòria podran fer construccions que evolucionen positivament, tenint cada vegada reptes majors. Els dos tipus de complexitats es manifesten amb la mida de les peces i amb la tonalitat de color i es divideixen en el 1r i 2n estadi i en el 3r, 4t i 5è estadi. Amb la Constructeràpia s’aconsegueix una satisfacció personal ja que tot l’esforç es podrà veure transformat en un producte final i propi. Perquè la teràpia sigui eficaç, hi ha diferents peces geomètriques, quatre bases i connectors per unir cada bloc i fer que les arquitectures no es desplomin a causa dels símptomes motors. Tot el conjunt està emmagatzemat en un packaging, cadascun amb les peces de la mateixa complexitat. Per augmentar la motivació dels pacients i / o ajudar a aquells que no tenen tanta imaginació, hi ha un llibre de tipus de construccions, ordenades de menor a major dificultat i adaptades a les dues complexitats. L’activitat es desenvolupa en centres especialitzats en malalties neurodegeneratives, en associacions de Parkinson i en residències ja que són exercicis grupals per poder augmentar la seva funció didàctica. Ocasionalment hauran de crear construccions de manera individual perquè el neuròleg o fisioterapeuta pugui veure l’evolució de cada persona. Gràcies a ser un producte especialitzat, s’obté una normalització de la malaltia.Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the motor and non-motor symptoms of those who suffer the disease. To improve the quality of life of patients, the products to be used must meet the rehabilitation of those two factors. The Constructherapy, occupational therapy, is an activity that is performed by pieces of architectural constructions designed for Parkinson’s patients and adapted in 5 existing stages. The constructions are based on a combination of geometry and colour. With these, the upper extremities are in movement, slowing down the process of trembling and rigidity as the detail, precision, coordinated movements, strengthen the muscles. The freedom to create and make decisions for yourself, motivates the patient and give him autonomy, thanks to his creative activity, involving imagination, which is also improved. The memory intervenes in this activity in a positive way, and the patient can reach each time greater challenges. The two types of complexities have to do with the size of the pieces and their colour and are divided into the 1st and 2nd stage and the 3rd, 4th and 5th stage. With Constructherapy the patient gets a personal satisfaction as every effort he does, will be transformed into a final self-created product. There are different geometric pieces, four bases and connectors, these elements make the therapy effective as the blocks and buildings do not collapse due to the motor symptoms. Each entire set is packed together, with all the parts of the same complexity. To increase motivation of patients and / or to help those who do not have much imagination, there is a book with constructions, ordered from easiest to hardest building and adapted to the two complexities. The activity takes place in specialized centres for neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson associations and residences, because the exercises are done in groups to enhance their didactic function. Occasionally buildings could be created individually so that the neurologist or physiotherapist can see the progress of each person. As this is a specialized product, a normalization of the disease is obtained

Enhancing sustainability through microalgae cultivation in urban wastewater for biostimulant production and nutrient recovery

Microalgae can produce biostimulants in form of phytohormones, which are compounds that, even if applied in low concentrations, can have stimulant effects on plants growth and can enhance their quality and their resistance to stress. Considering that microalgal biomass can grow recovering nutrients from wastewater, this circular approach allows to use residues for the production of high added value compounds (such as phytohormones) at low cost. The interest on biostimulants production from microalgae have recently raised. Scientists are focused on the direct application of these cellular extracts on plants, while the number of studies on the identification of bioactive molecules, such as phytohormones, is very scarce. Two cyanobacteria strains (Synechocystis sp. (SY) and Phormidium sp. (PH)) and a chlorophyte (Scenedesmus sp. (SC)) were cultured in laboratory-scale PBRs with a working volume of 2.5 L in secondary urban wastewater varying N:P ratio in the cultures to obtain the highest productivity. The variation of N:P ratio affects microalgae growth, and SY and PH presented higher productivities (73 and 48 mg L-1 d, respectively) under higher N:P ratio (> 22:1). Microalgal biomass was freeze-dried and phytohormones content was measured with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The three microalgae showed similar phytohormones profiles, being the auxin (indole-3-acetic acid, IAA) the most abundant (72 ng g-1DW in SY). Proteins were major macronutrient for all strains, reaching 48 %DW in PH culture. To optimize the biostimulants production, a balance between the production of such compounds, biomass productivity and nutrients removal should be taken into consideration. In this sense, SC was the most promising strain, showing the highest N and P removal rates (73 % and 59 %, respectively) while producing phytohormones.This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CYRCLE-PID2020-113866RA-I00). E. Uggetti would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Economy for her research grant (RYC2018-025514-I). A. Álvarez-González kindly acknowledge the Departament de Recerca i Universitats de la Generalitat de Catalunya for her PhD scholarship (FI AGAUR 2022FI_B 00488).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Adding complexity to complexity: Gene family evolution in polyploids

Comparative genomics of non-model organisms has resurrected whole genome duplication (WGD) from being viewed as a somewhat obscure process that happens in plants to a primary driver of eukaryotic diversification. The shadow of past ploidy increases has left a strong signature of duplicated genes organized into gene families, even in small genomes that have undergone effectively complete rediploidization. Nevertheless, despite continually advancing technologies and bioinformatics pipelines, resolving the fate of duplicate genes remains a substantial challenge. For example, many important recognition processes are driven not only by allelic expansion through retention of duplicates but also by diversification and copy number variation. This creates technical difficulties with assembly to reference genomes and accurate interpretation of homology. Thus, relatively little is known about the impacts of recent polyploidization and hybridization on the evolution of gene families under selective forces that maintain diversity, such as balancing selection. Here we use a complex of species and ploidy levels in the genus Arabidopsis (A. lyrata and A. arenosa) as a model to investigate the evolutionary dynamics of a large and complicated gene family known to be under strong balancing selection: the receptor-like kinases, which include the female component of genetically controlled self-incompatibility. Specifically, we question: (1) How does diversity of S-receptor kinase (SRK) alleles in tetraploids compare to that in their close diploid relatives? (2) Is there increased trans-specific polymorphism (i.e., sharing of alleles that transcend speciation, characteristic of balancing selection) in tetraploids compared to diploids due to the higher number of copies they carry? (3) Do these highly variable loci show evidence of introgression among extant species/ploidy levels within or outside known zones of hybridization? (4) Is there evidence for copy number variation among paralogs? We use this example to highlight specific issues to consider when interpreting gene family evolution, particularly in relation to polyploids but also more generally in diploids. We conclude with recommendations for strategies to address the challenges of resolving such complex loci in the future, using advances in deep sequencing approaches

Los malestares psicológicos en la sociedad del bienestar

En nuestra sociedad, y a pesar de los notables avances en el estado de bienestar, muchas personas se sienten enfermas y trastornadas ante los vaivenes de la vida. El infortunio cotidiano tiene hoy día rango de enfermedad, muchas veces de enfermedad mental. De ahí, el notable aumento de las consultas en los diferentes dispositivos sanitarios de todo tipo. El consumo, la tecno-ciencia y el individualismo, los tres sistemas a través de los cuales tratamos de alcanzar la felicidad en la actualidad, influyen en la forma en la que experimentamos las adversidades de la vida. A su vez, los medios de comunicación, la industria farmacéutica, los profesionales y los pacientes son los agentes implicados en lo que se ha dado en llamar la medicalización de la existencia. La conclusión es que las personas experimentan como enfermedades las contradicciones propias del sistema social