La colección núcleo de maní del INTA Manfredi, para mantener y evaluar variabilidad genética con recursos escasos

Las Colecciones de Germoplasma son reservorios de genes potencialmente útiles para tareas de investigación y mejora genética. Para ser utilizables, estas colecciones deben ser caracterizadas y evaluadas agronómica, patológica y químicamente. Esto requiere de ingentes recursos (dinero, tiempo, mano de obra, etc.). Estos requerimientos pueden reducirse utilizando una Colección Núcleo (C), que es un subgrupo de la Colección Original que mantiene casi totalmente la variabilidad genética presente en la misma. La Colección de Maní del INTA Manfredi (CMIM) se compone de 3443 entradas activas, provenientes de 40 países (aunque la mayoría provienen de Sudamérica).Fil: Baldessari, Jorge Javier. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Manfredi; ArgentinaFil: Conde, Maria Belen. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Marcos Juárez; ArgentinaFil: Gallardo, Rodrigo Martin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Manfredi; Argentin

Molecular dynamics and thermodynamical modelling using SAFT-VR to predict hydrate phase equilibria : application to CO2 hydrates

This work was dedicated to the prediction of the three phase coexistence line (CO2 hydrate–liquid H2Oliquid/vapour CO2) for the H2O+CO2 binary mixture by using (i) molecular dynamics simulations, and (ii) the well known van der Waals-Platteeuw (vdWP) model combined with the SAFT-VR equation of state. Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed using the simulation package GROMACS. The temperature at which the three phases are in equilibrium was determined for different pressures, by using direct coexistence simulations. Carbon dioxide was modelled as a linear-rigid chain molecule with three chemical units, the well-known version TraPPE molecular model. The TIP4P/Ice model was used for water. To perform the thermodynamical modelling, the SAFT-VR EOS was incorporated in the vdWP framework. The values of the cell model parameters were regressed and discussed together with the influence of some assumptions of the vdWP model. Since SAFT-VR can describe most of fluids involved in hydrate modelling (inhibitors, salts…), this study is a first step in the description of hydrate forming conditions of more complex systems. Finally, the three-phase coexistence temperatures obtained with both simulations and theory at different pressures were compared with experimental result

High fat diet blunts the effects of leptin on ventilation and on carotid body activity

Funding : This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology grant PTDC/SAU-ORG/111417/2009 to S.C. and by Grants BFU2015-70616R from MINECO-FEDER, Spain. J.F.S. and B.F.M. are supported by PhD Grants from FCT, PD/BD/105890/2014 and PD/BD/128336/2017, respectively.Leptin plays a role in the control of breathing, acting mainly on central nervous structures. Leptin receptor is expressed in the carotid body (CB) and this finding has been associated with a putative physiological role of leptin in the regulation of CB function. Since, the CBs are implicated in energy metabolism herein we tested the effects of different concentrations of leptin administration on ventilatory parameters and on carotid sinus nerve (CSN) activity in control and high-fat (HF) diet fed rats, in order to clarify the role of leptin in ventilation control in metabolic disease states. We also investigated the expression of leptin receptors and the neurotransmitters involved in leptin signalling in the CBs. We found that in non-disease conditions, leptin increases minute ventilation both in basal and hypoxic conditions. However, in the HF model, the effect of leptin in ventilatory control is blunted. We also observed that HF rats display an increased frequency of CSN discharge in basal conditions that is not altered by leptin, in contrast to what is observed in control animals. Leptin did not modify intracellular Ca2+ in CB chemoreceptor cells, but it produced an increase in the release of adenosine from the whole CB. We conclude that CBs represent an important target for leptin signalling, not only to coordinate peripheral ventilatory chemoreflexive drive, but probably also to modulate metabolic variables. We also concluded that leptin signalling is mediated by adenosine release and that HF diets blunt leptin responses in the CB, compromising ventilatory adaptation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.publishersversionpublishe

Phase equilibrium properties of CO 2 /CH 4 mixed gas hydroquinone clathrates: Experimental data and model predictions

Hydroquinone (HQ) clathrates seem to be promising inclusion compounds for selective CO2 capture from gas mixtures. However, to date no phase equilibrium data are known in literature for mixed-gas HQ clathrates. This study presents experimental equilibrium pressures obtained within a range of 298–343 K for different CO2/CH4 gas mixtures. The clathrate composition is given for each equilibrium point. The capture selectivity is calculated from the molar composition of the CO2/CH4 gas mixture in the clathrate and in the gas phase. The results obtained reveal that CH4 molecules in the CO2/CH4 mixtures are preferentially captured at equilibrium conditions. Our experimental data are compared against numerical predictions obtained from thermodynamic modeling using the Conde’s model. Very good agreement is found between the calculated and experimental data in terms of clathrate phase equilibria

Characterization of HMGB1/2 Interactome in Prostate Cancer by Yeast Two Hybrid Approach: Potential Pathobiological Implications

High mobility group box B (HMGB) proteins are pivotal in the development of cancer. Although the proteomics of prostate cancer (PCa) cells has been reported, the involvement of HMGB proteins and their interactome in PCa is an unexplored field of considerable interest. We describe herein the results of the first HMGB1/HMGB2 interactome approach to PCa. Libraries constructed from the PCa cell line, PC-3, and from patients' PCa primary tumor have been screened by the yeast 2-hybrid approach (Y2H) using HMGB1 and HMGB2 baits. Functional significance of this PCa HMGB interactome has been validated through expression and prognosis data available on public databases. Copy number alterations (CNA) affecting these newly described HMGB interactome components are more frequent in the most aggressive forms of PCa: those of neuroendocrine origin or castration-resistant PCa. Concordantly, adenocarcinoma PCa samples showing CNA in these genes are also associated with the worse prognosis. These findings open the way to their potential use as discriminatory biomarkers between high and low risk patients. Gene expression of a selected set of these interactome components has been analyzed by qPCR after HMGB1 and HMGB2 silencing. The data show that HMGB1 and HMGB2 control the expression of several of their interactome partners, which might contribute to the orchestrated action of these proteins in PCa

Molecular dynamics simulation of CO2 hydrates: Prediction of three phase coexistence line

The three phase equilibrium line (hydrate-liquid water-liquid carbon dioxide) has been estimated for the water + carbon dioxide binary mixture using molecular dynamics simulation and the direct coexistence technique. Both molecules have been represented using rigid nonpolarizable models. TIP4P/2005 and TIP4P/Ice were used for the case of water, while carbon dioxide was considered as a three center linear molecule with the parameterizations of MSM, EPM2, TraPPE, and ZD. The influence of the initial guest occupancy fraction on the hydrate stability has been analyzed first in order to determine the optimal starting configuration for the simulations, paying attention to the influence of the two different cells existing in the sI hydrate structure. The three phase coexistence temperature was then determined for a pressure range from 2 to 500 MPa. The qualitative shape of the equilibrium curve estimated is correct, including the high pressure temperature maximum that determines the hydrate re-entrant behaviour. However, in order to obtain quantitative agreement with experimental results, a positive deviation from the classical Lorentz-Berthelot combining rules must be considered

Predictors of outcome in a Spanish cohort of patients with Fabry disease on enzyme replacement therapy

Fabry disease may be treated by enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), but the impact of chronic kidney disease (CKD) on the response to therapy remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to analyse the incidence and predictors of clinical events in patients on ERT. Study design: Multicentre retrospective observational analysis of patients diagnosed and treated with ERT for Fabry disease. The primary outcome was the first renal, neurological or cardiological events or death during a follow-up of 60 months (24-120). Results: In 69 patients (42 males, 27 females, mean age 44.6±13.7 years), at the end of follow-up, eGFR and the left ventricular septum thickness remained stable and the urinary albumin: creatinine ratio tended to decrease, but this decrease only approached significance in patients on agalsidase-beta (242-128mg/g (p=0.05). At the end of follow-up, 21 (30%) patients had suffered an incident clinical event: 6 renal, 2 neurological and 13 cardiological (including 3 deaths). Events were more frequent in patients with baseline eGFR≤60ml/min/1.73m2 (log Rank 12.423, p=0.001), and this remained significant even after excluding incident renal events (log Rank 4.086, p=0.043) and in males and in females. Lower baseline eGFR was associated with a 3- to 7-fold increase the risk of clinical events in different Cox models. Conclusions: GFR at the initiation of ERT is the main predictor of clinical events, both in males and in females, suggesting that start of ERT prior to the development of CKD is associated with better outcomes

ICES. 2020. Working Group on Acoustic and Egg Surveys for Sardine and Anchovy in ICES areas 7, 8 and 9

he Working Group on Acoustic and Egg Surveys (WGACEGG) coordinates pelagic surveys for a number of stocks and provides monitoring for the two major sardine and anchovy stocks in ICES areas 6, 7, 8, and 9. The group evaluated small pelagic fish biomass indices derived from acoustic and Daily Egg Production Method (DEPM) surveys in ICES areas 6, 7, 8 and 9. These indices have been provided to the ICES Working Group on Southern Horse Mackerel, Anchovy and Sardine (WGHANSA), the Working Group on Widely Distributed Stocks (WGWIDE) and the Herring Assessment Working Group for the Area South of 62ºN (HAWG) stock assessment group, to serve as fishery-independent input for analytical assessment purposes. DEPM and acoustic indices were derived based on data collected using independent methods. Acoustic- and DEPM-derived biomass indices from quasi-synoptic surveys conducted in the Bay of Biscay in spring were compared, to assess the presence of potential bias and to improve the precision of fish stock biomass estimates. The DEPM-based anchovy biomass index was 22% higher than the acoustic index in 2019. Unusual concentrations of anchovy in Eastern Cantabrian Sea, an area not covered by the acoustic survey, and the presence near the sea surface of actively spawning individuals possibly under-sampled by acoustics in central Bay of Bay had been postulated as potential causes of this discrepancy. No significant difference was found between sardine biomass indices derived from DEPM and acoustics in 2019. The group has updated its database of standard gridded maps covering the European Atlantic area. This initiative continues to inform on the spatial dynamics of various parameters collected during the surveys coordinated under the auspices of the group (fish acoustic densities, anchovy and sardine egg abundance, surface temperature and salinity). Results of an analysis of the time series of gridded maps (anchovy and sardine acoustic density, surface salinity and temperature) showed quantitative changes in the spatial and temporal distribution of anchovy and sardine over the last 15 years, and further define their habitats in European Atlantic waters in spring. The timing and spatial coverage of DEPM and acoustic surveys that will be conducted by group members in 2020 were planned to optimise the monitoring of anchovy and sardine populations and their pelagic environment in the European Atlantic area. The synoptic nature of the survey components has been assessed for each target species. A manual describing the protocols used during the DEPM surveys coordinated by the WGACEGG group was reviewed, and writing of a manual of WGACEGG acoustic surveys continued. Both manuals will be available in 2020. The final results of the 2017 sardine DEPM assessment were endorsed by the group