Genome of Herbaspirillum seropedicae Strain SmR1, a Specialized Diazotrophic Endophyte of Tropical Grasses

The molecular mechanisms of plant recognition, colonization, and nutrient exchange between diazotrophic endophytes and plants are scarcely known. Herbaspirillum seropedicae is an endophytic bacterium capable of colonizing intercellular spaces of grasses such as rice and sugar cane. The genome of H. seropedicae strain SmR1 was sequenced and annotated by The Paraná State Genome Programme—GENOPAR. The genome is composed of a circular chromosome of 5,513,887 bp and contains a total of 4,804 genes. The genome sequence revealed that H. seropedicae is a highly versatile microorganism with capacity to metabolize a wide range of carbon and nitrogen sources and with possession of four distinct terminal oxidases. The genome contains a multitude of protein secretion systems, including type I, type II, type III, type V, and type VI secretion systems, and type IV pili, suggesting a high potential to interact with host plants. H. seropedicae is able to synthesize indole acetic acid as reflected by the four IAA biosynthetic pathways present. A gene coding for ACC deaminase, which may be involved in modulating the associated plant ethylene-signaling pathway, is also present. Genes for hemagglutinins/hemolysins/adhesins were found and may play a role in plant cell surface adhesion. These features may endow H. seropedicae with the ability to establish an endophytic life-style in a large number of plant species

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Transcriptomic Portrait of Locally Advanced Breast Cancer and Its Prognostic Value in a Multi-Country Cohort of Latin American Patients

Purposes: Most molecular-based published studies on breast cancer do not adequately represent the unique and diverse genetic admixture of the Latin American population. Searching for similarities and differences in molecular pathways associated with these tumors and evaluating its impact on prognosis may help to select better therapeutic approaches. Patients and Methods: We collected clinical, pathological, and transcriptomic data of a multi-country Latin American cohort of 1,071 stage II-III breast cancer patients of the Molecular Profile of Breast Cancer Study (MPBCS) cohort. The 5-year prognostic ability of intrinsic (transcriptomic-based) PAM50 and immunohistochemical classifications, both at the cancer-specific (OSC) and disease-free survival (DFS) stages, was compared. Pathway analyses (GSEA, GSVA and MetaCore) were performed to explore differences among intrinsic subtypes. Results: PAM50 classification of the MPBCS cohort defined 42·6% of tumors as LumA, 21·3% as LumB, 13·3% as HER2E and 16·6% as Basal. Both OSC and DFS for LumA tumors were significantly better than for other subtypes, while Basal tumors had the worst prognosis. While the prognostic power of traditional subtypes calculated with hormone receptors (HR), HER2 and Ki67 determinations showed an acceptable performance, PAM50-derived risk of recurrence best discriminated low, intermediate and high-risk groups. Transcriptomic pathway analysis showed high proliferation (i.e. cell cycle control and DNA damage repair) associated with LumB, HER2E and Basal tumors, and a strong dependency on the estrogen pathway for LumA. Terms related to both innate and adaptive immune responses were seen predominantly upregulated in Basal tumors, and, to a lesser extent, in HER2E, with respect to LumA and B tumors. Conclusions: This is the first study that assesses molecular features at the transcriptomic level in a multicountry Latin American breast cancer patient cohort. Hormone-related and proliferation pathways that predominate in PAM50 and other breast cancer molecular classifications are also the main tumor-driving mechanisms in this cohort and have prognostic power. The immune-related features seen in the most aggressive subtypes may pave the way for therapeutic approaches not yet disseminated in Latin America. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02326857). Copyright © 2022 Llera, Abdelhay, Artagaveytia, Daneri-Navarro, Müller, Velazquez, Alcoba, Alonso, Alves da Quinta, Binato, Bravo, Camejo, Carraro, Castro, Castro-Cervantes, Cataldi, Cayota, Cerda, Colombo, Crocamo, Del Toro-Arreola, Delgadillo-Cisterna, Delgado, Dreyer-Breitenbach, Fejerman, Fernández, Fernández, Fernández, Franco-Topete, Gabay, Gaete, Garibay-Escobar, Gómez, Greif, Gross, Guerrero, Henderson, Lopez-Muñoz, Lopez-Vazquez, Maldonado, Morán-Mendoza, Nagai, Oceguera-Villanueva, Ortiz-Martínez, Quintero, Quintero-Ramos, Reis, Retamales, Rivera-Claisse, Rocha, Rodríguez, Rosales, Salas-González, Sanchotena, Segovia, Sendoya, Silva-García, Trinchero, Valenzuela, Vedham, Zagame, United States-Latin American Cancer Research Network (US-LACRN) and Podhajcer.Fil: Llera, Andrea Sabina. Fundación Instituto Leloir-CONICET. Molecular and Cellular Therapy Laboratory; ArgentinaFil: Abdelhay, Eliana Saul Furquim Werneck. Instituto Nacional de Câncer. Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit; BrasilFil: Artagaveytia, Nora. Universidad de la República. Hospital de Clínicas Manuel Quintela; UruguayFil: Daneri-Navarro, Adrián. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Müller, Bettina. Instituto Nacional del Cáncer; ChileFil: Velazquez, Carlos. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Alcoba, Elsa B. Hospital Municipal de Oncología María Curie; ArgentinaFil: Alonso, Isabel. Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell; UruguayFil: Alves da Quinta, Daniela B. Fundación Instituto Leloir-CONICET. Molecular and Cellular Therapy Laboratory; ArgentinaFil: Alves da Quinta, Daniela B. Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE). Instituto de Tecnología (INTEC); ArgentinaFil: Binato, Renata. Instituto Nacional de Câncer. Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit; BrasilFil: Bravo, Alicia Inés. Hospital Regional de Agudos Eva Perón; ArgentinaFil: Camejo, Natalia. Universidad de la República. Hospital de Clínicas Manuel Quintela; UruguayFil: Carraro, Dirce Maria. AC Camargo Cancer Center. Centro Internacional de Pesquisa (CIPE). Laboratory of Genomics and Molecular Biology; BrasilFil: Castro, Mónica. Instituto de Oncología Angel Roffo; ArgentinaFil: Castro-Cervantes, Juan M. Hospital de Especialidades CMNO-IMSS; MéxicoFil: Cataldi, Sandra. Instituto Nacional del Cáncer; UruguayFil: Cayota, Alfonso. Institut Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Cerda, Mauricio. Universidad de Chile. Instituto de Neurociencias Biomédicas. Facultad de Medicina. Centro de Informática Médica y Telemedicina. Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas (ICBM). Integrative Biology Program; ChileFil: Colombo, Alicia. Universidad de Chile. Facultad de Medicina y Hospital Clínico. Department of Pathology; ChileFil: Crocamo, Susanne. Instituto Nacional de Câncer. Oncology Department; BrasilFil: Del Toro-Arreola, Alicia. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Delgadillo-Cisterna, Raúl. Hospital de Especialidades CMNO-IMSS; MéxicoFil: Delgado, Lucía. Universidad de la República. Hospital de Clínicas Manuel Quintela; UruguayFil: Dreyer-Breitenbach, Marisa. Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcantara Gomes; BrasilFil: Fejerman, Laura. University of California Davis. Department of Public Health Sciences and Comprehensive Cancer Center; Estados UnidosFil: Fernández, Elmer A. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. CONICET. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Inmunología y Enfermedades Infecciosas [Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Inmunología y Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIDIE); ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Elmer A. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Wanda. Hospital San Borja Arriarán; ChileFil: Franco-Topete, Ramón A. Universidad de Guadalajara. Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. Organismo Público Descentralizado (OPD); MéxicoFil: Gabay, Carolina. Instituto de Oncología Angel Roffo; ArgentinaFil: Gaete, Fancy. Hospital Luis Tisne; ChileFil: Garibay-Escobar, Adriana. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Gómez, Jorge. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Greif, Gonzalo. Institut Pasteur de Montevideo; UruguayFil: Gross, Thomas G. Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Guerrero, Marisol. Hospital San José; ChileFil: Henderson, Marianne K. Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Lopez-Muñoz, Miguel E. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Lopez-Vazquez, Alejandra. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Maldonado, Silvina. Hospital Regional de Agudos Eva Perón; ArgentinaFil: Morán-Mendoza, Andrés J. Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia CMNO-IMSS; MéxicoFil: Nagai, Maria Aparecida. Sao Paulo University Medical School. Cancer Institute of São Paulo (ICESP). Center for Translational Research in Oncology; BrasilFil: Oceguera-Villanueva, Antonio. Instituto Jalisciense de Cancerologia; MéxicoFil: Ortiz-Martínez, Miguel A. Hospital General Regional No. 1. IMSS; MéxicoFil: Quintero, Jael. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Quintero-Ramos, Antonio. Universidad de Guadalajara; MéxicoFil: Reis, Rui M. Hospital de Câncer de Barretos. Molecular Oncology Research Center; BrasilFil: Retamales, Javier. Grupo Oncológico Cooperativo Chileno de Investigación; ChileFil: Rivera-Claisse, Ernesto. Centro Estatal de Oncologia; MéxicoFil: Rocha, Darío. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, Robinson. Hospital Central de las Fuerzas Armadas; UruguayFil: Rosales, Cristina. Hospital Municipal de Oncología María Curie; ArgentinaFil: Salas-González, Efrain. Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia CMNO-IMSS; MéxicoFil: Sanchotena, Verónica. Hospital Municipal de Oncología María Curie; ArgentinaFil: Segovia, Laura. Hospital Barros Luco Trudeau; ChileFil: Sendoya, Juan Martín. Fundación Instituto Leloir-CONICET. Molecular and Cellular Therapy Laboratory; ArgentinaFil: Silva-García, Aida A. Universidad de Guadalajara. Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. Organismo Público Descentralizado (OPD); MéxicoFil: Trinchero, Alejandra. Hospital Regional de Agudos Eva Perón; ArgentinaFil: Valenzuela, Olivia. Universidad de Sonora; MéxicoFil: Vedham, Vidya. National Cancer Institute. Center for Global Health; Estados Unido

The Transcriptomic Portrait of Locally Advanced Breast Cancer and Its Prognostic Value in a Multi-Country Cohort of Latin American Patients.

PurposesMost molecular-based published studies on breast cancer do not adequately represent the unique and diverse genetic admixture of the Latin American population. Searching for similarities and differences in molecular pathways associated with these tumors and evaluating its impact on prognosis may help to select better therapeutic approaches.Patients and methodsWe collected clinical, pathological, and transcriptomic data of a multi-country Latin American cohort of 1,071 stage II-III breast cancer patients of the Molecular Profile of Breast Cancer Study (MPBCS) cohort. The 5-year prognostic ability of intrinsic (transcriptomic-based) PAM50 and immunohistochemical classifications, both at the cancer-specific (OSC) and disease-free survival (DFS) stages, was compared. Pathway analyses (GSEA, GSVA and MetaCore) were performed to explore differences among intrinsic subtypes.ResultsPAM50 classification of the MPBCS cohort defined 42·6% of tumors as LumA, 21·3% as LumB, 13·3% as HER2E and 16·6% as Basal. Both OSC and DFS for LumA tumors were significantly better than for other subtypes, while Basal tumors had the worst prognosis. While the prognostic power of traditional subtypes calculated with hormone receptors (HR), HER2 and Ki67 determinations showed an acceptable performance, PAM50-derived risk of recurrence best discriminated low, intermediate and high-risk groups. Transcriptomic pathway analysis showed high proliferation (i.e. cell cycle control and DNA damage repair) associated with LumB, HER2E and Basal tumors, and a strong dependency on the estrogen pathway for LumA. Terms related to both innate and adaptive immune responses were seen predominantly upregulated in Basal tumors, and, to a lesser extent, in HER2E, with respect to LumA and B tumors.ConclusionsThis is the first study that assesses molecular features at the transcriptomic level in a multicountry Latin American breast cancer patient cohort. Hormone-related and proliferation pathways that predominate in PAM50 and other breast cancer molecular classifications are also the main tumor-driving mechanisms in this cohort and have prognostic power. The immune-related features seen in the most aggressive subtypes may pave the way for therapeutic approaches not yet disseminated in Latin America.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02326857)

Analisando as pesquisas em educação especial no Brasil Analysing research in special education in Brazil

Nosso objetivo foi examinar a articulação lógica entre o problema e a proposição teórico-metodológica das produções na área da Educação Especial, focando os seus pressupostos epistemológicos. Nos fundamentamos nos pressupostos das tendências empírico-analítica, fenomenológica-hermenêutica, crítico-dialética e do paradigma da complexidade. O procedimento adotado foi interpretar todas as dissertações/teses produzidas nos Programas de Pós-Graduação em Educação e Educação Especial do Brasil, que versam sobre Educação Especial, produzidas nos anos de 2001, 2002 e 2003, disponíveis no banco de teses da CAPES. Encontramos as tendências empírica, fenomenológica e dialética. Os equívocos encontrados foram a não inserção da pesquisa entre as produções na área; ausência de criticidade; não posicionamento numa determinada concepção de educação; construção teórica fundamentada em concepções diferentes; falta de coerência nos pressupostos teórico-metodológicos; não explicitação metodológica; não descrição dos procedimentos éticos; e má elaboração dos resumos. Concluímos pela necessidade da melhoria das dissertações/teses para que possamos avançar na produção de conhecimento na área da Educação Especial.<br>Our objective was to analyze the logical articulation between the problem and the theoretical-methodological proposal of studies in the field of Special Education, focusing on the epistemological issues. We based our study on the empiric-analytical tendencies, phenomenology-hermeneutic, critical-dialectical and the complexity paradigm. The procedure that was adopted was interpreting all dissertations/thesis produced in Post-Graduate programs in Education and Special Education in Brazil, which focus on Special Education, produced in 2001, 2002 and 2003, available online at CAPES' thesis database. We found empirical, phenomenological and dialectic tendencies. The errors encountered included the failure to include the research among the productions in the field; lack of critical approach; lack of making explicit what educational conception the study was based on; theoretical construction based on different conceptions; lack of coherence in the theoretical-methodological proposals; lack of methodological specification; absence of ethical procedural descriptions; and poorly written abstracts. We came to the conclusion that improvements in theses /dissertations are necessary so as to continually move forward in the production of knowledge in the field of Special Education

Molecular mechanisms probably involved in plant colonization and plant growth promotion identified in the <i>H. seropedicae</i> SmR1 genome.

<p>Plant signals can modulate the expression of bacterial genes coding for adhesins, type IV <i>pili</i> and enzymes of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) synthesis, triggering bacterial attachment to root surfaces. The molecular communication involves bacterial protein secretion and phytohormones to stimulate plant growth and modulate plant defense response. In addition, modulation of plant ethylene levels by ACC deaminase may contribute to plant growth promotion. The success of the endophytic association depends on a compatible genetic background that leads to benefits for both organisms.</p

General features of the genome of <i>Herbaspirillum seropedicae</i> SmR1.

<p>General features of the genome of <i>Herbaspirillum seropedicae</i> SmR1.</p

Proposed pathways for aromatic compounds metabolism in <i>H. seropedicae</i> SmR1.

<p>Proposed pathways for aromatic compounds metabolism in <i>H. seropedicae</i> SmR1.</p

The genome of <i>Herbaspirillum seropedicae</i> SmR1.

<p>From inside to outside 1) G+C content; 2) GC skew; 3) genes color-coded according the COG functional categories; genes in the + strand and − strand are represented in the inside and outside circles respectively; 4) rRNAS operons; 5) putative horizontally transferred regions identified using IVOM: light red indicates low score and dark red indicates high score; 6) regions of <i>H. seropedicae</i> genome identical to castor bean (<i>Ricinus communis</i>) sequences (minimum of 200 bp in length and higher than 90% in identity).</p