Viral diagnosis in cultivars of Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam

Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. commonly known as sweet potato, is an important staple food worldwide, mainly due to its high nutritional value and yield. However, vegetative reproduction of sweet potato makes it more susceptible to viral infections, which threatens its productivity, quality, and difficult long-term preservation in germplasm banks. Also, it can act as a virus reservoir infecting the rest of the plant accessions in the bank collections. Hence, this work aimed to screen Begomovirus, Potyvirus, and Carlavirus infections in 16 traditional sweet potato cultivars from the germplasm collection of the ISOPlexis Germplasm Bank, Madeira, Portugal. The infection prevalence by these viruses among cultivars was 81.25%, 25.00%, and 6.25%, respectively; being ISOP1011 the only accession coinfected by Potyvirus and Carlavirus. The accessions ISOP1006, ISOP1010, and ISOP1047 were also coinfected by Begomovirus and Potyvirus, highlighting their vulnerability to viral infections. The ISOP1005 and ISOP1027 accessions were the only ones not infected by any of these viruses. The analysis of the partial sequence obtained from the Carlavirus detected in the accession ISOP1011, revealed the existence of an ORF that encodes for 93 amino acids of the catalytic domain of an RNA-directed RNA polymerase related to the Tymovirus protein family, as could be confirmed by comparison with proteins stored in UniProtKB. Multiple sequence alignment with these proteins showed that Motifs A and B of the catalytic domain were conserved. The search for sequence similarity with sequences deposited in GenBank reported a high sequence identity with Sweet potato yellow mottle virus (SPYMV) and Sweet potato chlorotic fleck virus (SPCFV). However, the 9-11% discrepancy in nucleotide sequence identity and a phylogenetic analysis carried out using the maximum probability method suggests the virus isolated from ISOP1011 is a new divergent strain of the SPCFV species.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea) of the Distrito Federal, Brazil

An updated list containing 504 species and 506 subspecies of butterflies (Papilionoidea) found in the Distrito Federal (central Brazil) in the last four decades is presented in this study, including data obtained in the literature, our personal collections, and several entomological collections recently visited, but not species with presumed distribution in the region. Some aspects concerning the occurrence of threatened species and the conservation of the butterfly fauna in the Distrito Federal are also discussed.Neste estudo é apresentada uma listagem atualizada com 504 espécies e 506 subespécies de borboletas (Papilionoidea) observadas no Distrito Federal nas últimas quatro décadas, onde foram reunidos dados da bibliografia, de coletas pessoais e de várias coleções entomológicas; espécies com ocorrência apenas presumida não foram incluídas. Alguns aspectos relacionados à ocorrência de espécies ameaçadas e à conservação da fauna de borboletas no Distrito Federal são também discutidos.859

PEDOLOGIA BRASILEIRA NA ANTÁRTICA: A PESQUISA DE SOLOS AFETADOS POR PERMAFROST NO CENÁRIO DO AQUECIMENTO GLOBAL

A Antártica representa um ambiente peculiar para formação de solos e estudo de muitos de seus processos, sendo que alguns dos quais possuem características atípicas. Solos afetados por permafrost são encontrados nas regiões árticas e subárticas, em altas montanhas e nas regiões livres de gelo da Antártica, e abrangem cerca de 13 % da cobertura terrestre. Atualmente, é inegável a influência do permafrost sobre os recursos hídricos, propriedades do solo, e desenvolvimento de vegetação. Além destes, uma série de questões estão relacionadas às mudanças no balanço de carbono, em reflexo à degradação do permafrost pelo aumento de temperatura. As quatro maiores regiões da Criosferano mundo são: Antártica, Oceano Ártico, as neves extrapolares e os ambientes montanhosos bastante frios. Mudanças na Criosferaem resposta ao aquecimento global são prováveis de serem observadas inicialmente em zonas de transição, em torno das extremidades de geleiras e camadas de gelo, e em áreas de permafrost, ambientes que em contrapartida, influenciam, mesmo que indiretamente, todas as superfícies da Terra. O debate sobre a possibilidade da ocorrência de aumento da temperatura global causado pelos gases do efeito estufa despertou atenção de pesquisadores sobre o estado de equilíbrio das grandes massas de gelo e permafrost presentes na Antártica. Outros fatores importantes envolvem as interações que influenciam diretamente as relações tróficas e rotas de transferência de matéria e energia entre o oceano e as áreas costeiras na Antártica. Nestes locais, existe grande aporte de materiais orgânicos depositados por aves, com destaque para os pinguins, sendo a incorporação destes materiais orgânicos à matriz mineral do solo a principal influência na caracterização dos solos ornitogênicos. Diante destes fatos, foram iniciados em 2002 os estudos pedológicos pelo então Projeto Criossolos, atual NúcleoTerrantar. Os trabalhos do Terrantar, que começaram na Baía do Almirantado - Ilha Rei George, foram se expandindo ao longo das Ilhas Shetlands do Sul e Península Antártica, sendo Hope Bay, no extremo norte da Península, o primeiro trabalho efetivamente realizado no continente antártico pelo referido Núcleo. Diversos trabalhos foram produzidos, com destaque para as características morfológicas, físicas, químicas, minaralógicas e micromorfológicas dos solos, além de mapeamentos, em trabalhos típicos de pedologia e levantamentos de solos, apresentados nesta revisão

PEDOLOGIA BRASILEIRA NA ANTÁRTICA: A PESQUISA DE SOLOS AFETADOS POR PERMAFROST NO CENÁRIO DO AQUECIMENTO GLOBAL

A Antártica representa um ambiente peculiar para formação de solos e estudo de muitos de seus processos, sendo que alguns dos quais possuem características atípicas. Solos afetados por permafrost são encontrados nas regiões árticas e subárticas, em altas montanhas e nas regiões livres de gelo da Antártica, e abrangem cerca de 13 % da cobertura terrestre. Atualmente, é inegável a influência do permafrost sobre os recursos hídricos, propriedades do solo, e desenvolvimento de vegetação. Além destes, uma série de questões estão relacionadas às mudanças no balanço de carbono, em reflexo à degradação do permafrost pelo aumento de temperatura. As quatro maiores regiões da Criosferano mundo são: Antártica, Oceano Ártico, as neves extrapolares e os ambientes montanhosos bastante frios. Mudanças na Criosferaem resposta ao aquecimento global são prováveis de serem observadas inicialmente em zonas de transição, em torno das extremidades de geleiras e camadas de gelo, e em áreas de permafrost, ambientes que em contrapartida, influenciam, mesmo que indiretamente, todas as superfícies da Terra. O debate sobre a possibilidade da ocorrência de aumento da temperatura global causado pelos gases do efeito estufa despertou atenção de pesquisadores sobre o estado de equilíbrio das grandes massas de gelo e permafrost presentes na Antártica. Outros fatores importantes envolvem as interações que influenciam diretamente as relações tróficas e rotas de transferência de matéria e energia entre o oceano e as áreas costeiras na Antártica. Nestes locais, existe grande aporte de materiais orgânicos depositados por aves, com destaque para os pinguins, sendo a incorporação destes materiais orgânicos à matriz mineral do solo a principal influência na caracterização dos solos ornitogênicos. Diante destes fatos, foram iniciados em 2002 os estudos pedológicos pelo então Projeto Criossolos, atual NúcleoTerrantar. Os trabalhos do Terrantar, que começaram na Baía do Almirantado - Ilha Rei George, foram se expandindo ao longo das Ilhas Shetlands do Sul e Península Antártica, sendo Hope Bay, no extremo norte da Península, o primeiro trabalho efetivamente realizado no continente antártico pelo referido Núcleo. Diversos trabalhos foram produzidos, com destaque para as características morfológicas, físicas, químicas, minaralógicas e micromorfológicas dos solos, além de mapeamentos, em trabalhos típicos de pedologia e levantamentos de solos, apresentados nesta revisão

Mapping Molecular Recognition of β1,3-1,4-Glucans by a Surface Glycan-Binding Protein from the Human Gut Symbiont Bacteroides ovatus

This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT-MCTES), Portugal, through project grant PTDC/BIA-MIB/31730/2017 (to A.S.P.), fellowships PD/BD/105727/2014 (to V.G.C.) and SFRH/BD/143494/2019 (to F.T.), and program contract DL-57/2016 (to B.A.P. and C.N.) and by Wellcome Trust Biomedical Resource grants number WT108430/Z/15/Z and WT218304/Z/19/Z, a March of Dimes (Arlington, VA, USA) Prematurity Research Center grant (number 22-FY18-821) for the funding to the Carbohydrate Microarray Facility, Associate Laboratory projects LAQV-REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020) and CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020 & UIDP/50011/2020), and by the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit (UCIBIO), which is financed by Portuguese national funds from FCT-MCTES (UIDP/04378/2020 and UIDB/04378/2020).A multigene polysaccharide utilization locus (PUL) encoding enzymes and surface carbohydrate (glycan)-binding proteins (SGBPs) was recently identified in prominent members of Bacteroidetes in the human gut and characterized in Bacteroides ovatus. This PUL-encoded system specifically targets mixed-linkage β1,3-1,4-glucans, a group of diet-derived carbohydrates that promote a healthy microbiota and have potential as prebiotics. The BoSGBPMLG-A protein encoded by the BACOVA_2743 gene is a SusD-like protein that plays a key role in the PUL's specificity and functionality. Here, we perform a detailed analysis of the molecular determinants underlying carbohydrate binding by BoSGBPMLG-A, combining carbohydrate microarray technology with quantitative affinity studies and a high-resolution X-ray crystallography structure of the complex of BoSGBPMLG-A with a β1,3-1,4-nonasaccharide. We demonstrate its unique binding specificity toward β1,3-1,4-gluco-oligosaccharides, with increasing binding affinities up to the octasaccharide and dependency on the number and position of β1,3 linkages. The interaction is defined by a 41-Å-long extended binding site that accommodates the oligosaccharide in a mode distinct from that of previously described bacterial β1,3-1,4-glucan-binding proteins. In addition to the shape complementarity mediated by CH-π interactions, a complex hydrogen bonding network complemented by a high number of key ordered water molecules establishes additional specific interactions with the oligosaccharide. These support the twisted conformation of the β-glucan backbone imposed by the β1,3 linkages and explain the dependency on the oligosaccharide chain length. We propose that the specificity of the PUL conferred by BoSGBPMLG-A to import long β1,3-1,4-glucan oligosaccharides to the bacterial periplasm allows Bacteroidetes to outcompete bacteria that lack this PUL for utilization of β1,3-1,4-glucans. IMPORTANCE With the knowledge of bacterial gene systems encoding proteins that target dietary carbohydrates as a source of nutrients and their importance for human health, major efforts are being made to understand carbohydrate recognition by various commensal bacteria. Here, we describe an integrative strategy that combines carbohydrate microarray technology with structural studies to further elucidate the molecular determinants of carbohydrate recognition by BoSGBPMLG-A, a key protein expressed at the surface of Bacteroides ovatus for utilization of mixed-linkage β1,3-1,4-glucans. We have mapped at high resolution interactions that occur at the binding site of BoSGBPMLG-A and provide evidence for the role of key water-mediated interactions for fine specificity and affinity. Understanding at the molecular level how commensal bacteria, such as prominent members of Bacteroidetes, can differentially utilize dietary carbohydrates with potential prebiotic activities will shed light on possible ways to modulate the microbiome to promote human health.publishersversionpublishe

Monocarboxylate transporter 4 (MCT4) and CD147 overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND. Monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) are transmembrane proteins involved in the transport of monocarboxylates across the plasma membrane, which appear to play an important role in solid tumours, however the role of MCTs in prostate cancer is largely unknown.The aim of the present work was to evaluate the clinico-pathological value of monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) expression, namely MCT1, MCT2 and MCT4, together with CD147 and gp70 as MCT1/4 and MCT2 chaperones, respectively, in prostate carcinoma. METHODS. Prostate tissues were obtained from 171 patients, who performed radical prostatectomy and 14 patients who performed cystoprostatectomy. Samples and clinico-pathological data were retrieved and organized into tissue microarray (TMAs) blocks. Protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in neoplastic (n= 171), adjacent non-neoplastic tissues (n= 135), PIN lesions (n=40) and normal prostatic tissue (n=14). Protein expression was correlated with patients' clinicopathologic characteristics. RESULTS. In the present study, a significant increase of MCT2 and MCT4 expression in the cytoplasm of tumour cells and a significant decrease in both MCT1 and CD147 expression in prostate tumour cells was observed when compared to normal tissue. All MCT isoforms and CD147 were expressed in PIN lesions. Importantly, for MCT2 and MCT4 the expression levels in PIN lesions were between normal and tumour tissue, which might indicate a role for these MCTs in the malignant transformation. Associations were found between MCT1, MCT4 and CD147 expressions and poor prognosis markers; importantly MCT4 and CD147 overexpression correlated with higher PSA levels, Gleason score and pT stage, as well as with perineural invasion and biochemical recurrence. CONCLUSIONS. Our data provides novel evidence for the involvement of MCTs in prostate cancer. According to our results, we consider that MCT2 should be further explored as tumour marker and both MCT4 and CD147 as markers of poor prognosis in prostate cancer.NPG, CP and VMG received fellowships from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), refs. SFRH/BD/61027/2009, SFRH/BPD/69479/ 2010 and SFRH/BI/33503/2008, respectively. This work was supported by the FCT grant ref. PTDC/SAU-FCF/104347/2008, under the scope of Programa Operacional Temático Factores de Competitividade” (COMPETE) of Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III and co-financed by Fundo Comunitário Europeu FEDER

Synthesis, Structural and Magnetic Characterization of a New Copper(II)-Nitronyl Nitroxide Radical Complex

In this work we describe the structure and the magnetic properties of a new copper(II)-NIT complex, where NIT stands for nitronyl nitroxide radical. This was achieved using (NBu4)4[Cu2(bopba)] as a precursor (where NBu4+ is the tetrabutylammonium cation and bopba is bis-o-phenylenebis(oxamate)), whose crystal structure was resolved and its magnetics properties studied. From the reaction of this precursor with a cationic nitronyl nitroxide radical, a new compound was prepared and magnetically characterized, namely (pEtRad)4[Cu2(bopba)] (where pEtRad+ stands for the cationic para-2-(4-pyridil)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1 -oxyl-3-oxide radical). The magnetic properties suggest that in this six-spin complex there is a competition between short range ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions. The ferromagnetic interaction can be explained by the orthogonality of the involved magnetic orbitals

Regulation of glucose and fatty acid metabolism in skeletal muscle during contraction

O ciclo glicose-ácido graxo explica a preferência do tecido muscular pelos ácidos graxos durante atividade moderada de longa duração. Em contraste, durante o exercício de alta intensidade, há aumento na disponibilidade e na taxa de oxidação de glicose. A produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio (EROs) durante a atividade muscular sugere que o balanço redox intracelular é importante na regulação do metabolismo de lipídios/carboidratos. As EROs diminuem a atividade do ciclo de Krebs e aumentam a atividade da proteína desacopladora mitocondrial. O efeito oposto é esperado durante a atividade moderada. Assim, as questões levantadas nesta revisão são: Por que o músculo esquelético utiliza preferencialmente os lipídios no estado basal e de atividade moderada? Por que o ciclo glicose-ácido graxo falha em exercer seus efeitos durante o exercício intenso? Como o músculo esquelético regula o metabolismo de lipídios e carboidratos em regime envolvendo o ciclo contração-relaxamento555303313CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPsem informaçãoThe glucose-fatty acid cycle explains the preference for fatty acid during moderate and long duration physical exercise. In contrast, there is a high glucose availability and oxidation rate in response to intense physical exercise. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during physical exercise suggests that the redox balance is important to regulate of lipids/carbohydrate metabolism. ROS reduces the activity of the Krebs cycle, and increases the activity of mitochondrial uncoupling proteins. The opposite effects happen during moderate physical activity. Thus, some issues is highlighted in the present review: Why does skeletal muscle prefer lipids in the basal and during moderate physical activity? Why does glucose-fatty acid fail to carry out their effects during intense physical exercise? How skeletal muscles regulate the lipids and carbohydrate metabolism during the contraction-relaxation cycle

Avaliação da atividade enzimática de fungos isolados do Bioma Amazônico / Evaluation of the enzymatic activity of fungi isolated from the Amazonian Biome

A geração de energia renovável é uma das maneiras de solucionar o acúmulo deresíduos agroindustriais. A estratégia de sucesso para produzir enzimas celulolíticas inclui seleção de microrganismos e melhorias nas condições do processo fermentativo. Este trabalho descreve aanálise das atividades enzimáticas de celulases usando diferentes fontes de substratos a partir de fungos degradantes de biomassa da floresta Amazônica. As fermentações foram realizadas em agitadores a 150 rpm, 30 °C durante 240 h. Foram determinadas três atividades enzimáticas: CMCase, FPase e ?-glicosidase. O substrato comercial AVICEL® apresentou as maiores atividades enzimáticas, principalmente após 96 horas de fermentação, tanto para a cepa 511 quanto 519

Diverse specificity of cellulosome attachment to the bacterial cell surface

This work was supported by the EU FP7 programme under the WallTraC project (grant No. 263916) and by projects PTDC/BIA-MIC/5947/2014, RECI/BBB-BEP/0124/2012 and EXPL/BIA-MIC/1176/2012 supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT-MCTES). The Research Unit UCIBIO (Unidade de Ciencias Biomoleculares Aplicadas) is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES EC (UID/Multi/04378/2013) and co-financed by the ERDF under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007728). We thank the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (Grenoble, France), Soleil (Saint-Aubin, France) and Diamond Light Source (Harwell, UK) for data collection and the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under BioStruct-X (grant agreement No. 283570, proposal number: Biostruct-X_ 4399) for funding.During the course of evolution, the cellulosome, one of Nature's most intricate multi-enzyme complexes, has been continuously fine-tuned to efficiently deconstruct recalcitrant carbohydrates. To facilitate the uptake of released sugars, anaerobic bacteria use highly ordered protein-protein interactions to recruit these nanomachines to the cell surface. Dockerin modules located within a non-catalytic macromolecular scaffold, whose primary role is to assemble cellulosomal enzymatic subunits, bind cohesin modules of cell envelope proteins, thereby anchoring the cellulosome onto the bacterial cell. Here we have elucidated the unique molecular mechanisms used by anaerobic bacteria for cellulosome cellular attachment. The structure and biochemical analysis of five cohesin-dockerin complexes revealed that cell surface dockerins contain two cohesin-binding interfaces, which can present different or identical specificities. In contrast to the current static model, we propose that dockerins utilize multivalent modes of cohesin recognition to recruit cellulosomes to the cell surface, a mechanism that maximises substrate access while facilitating complex assembly.publishersversionpublishe