Transcriptional profiles of the human pathogenic fungus paracoccidioides brasiliensis in mycelium and yeast cells

This work was supported by MCT, CNPq, CAPES, FUB, UFG, and FUNDECT-MS. PbGenome Network: Alda Maria T. Ferreira, Alessandra Dantas, Alessandra J. Baptista, Alexandre M. Bailão, Ana Lídia Bonato, André C. Amaral, Bruno S. Daher, Camila M. Silva, Christiane S. Costa, Clayton L. Borges, Cléber O. Soares, Cristina M. Junta, Daniel A. S. Anjos, Edans F. O. Sandes, Eduardo A. Donadi, Elza T. Sakamoto-Hojo, Flábio R. Araújo, Flávia C. Albuquerque, Gina C. Oliveira, João Ricardo M. Almeida, Juliana C. Oliveira, Kláudia G. Jorge, Larissa Fernandes, Lorena S. Derengowski, Luís Artur M. Bataus, Marcus A. M. Araújo, Marcus K. Inoue, Marlene T. De-Souza, Mauro F. Almeida, Nádia S. Parachin, Nadya S. Castro, Odair P. Martins, Patrícia L. N. Costa, Paula Sandrin-Garcia, Renata B. A. Soares, Stephano S. Mello, and Viviane C. B. ReisParacoccidioides brasiliensis is the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis, a disease that affects 10 million individuals in Latin America. This report depicts the results of the analysis of 6,022 assembled groups from mycelium and yeast phase expressed sequence tags, covering about 80% of the estimated genome of this dimorphic, thermo-regulated fungus. The data provide a comprehensive view of the fungal metabolism, including overexpressed transcripts, stage-specific genes, and also those that are up- or down-regulated as assessed by in silico electronic subtraction and cDNA microarrays. Also, a significant differential expression pattern in mycelium and yeast cells was detected, which was confirmed by Northern blot analysis, providing insights into differential metabolic adaptations. The overall transcriptome analysis provided information about sequences related to the cell cycle, stress response, drug resistance, and signal transduction pathways of the pathogen. Novel P. brasiliensis genes have been identified, probably corresponding to proteins that should be addressed as virulence factor candidates and potential new drug targets

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

The expansion of sugarcane in the region midwest of Minas Gerais: current scenario and future trends

Submitted by Erika Demachki ([email protected]) on 2014-10-30T17:11:49Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Edmar Geraldo de Oliveira - 2014.pdf: 6762892 bytes, checksum: 8c561720e82fab705e5a4879cd101c9b (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira ([email protected]) on 2014-10-31T09:48:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Edmar Geraldo de Oliveira - 2014.pdf: 6762892 bytes, checksum: 8c561720e82fab705e5a4879cd101c9b (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-31T09:48:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Tese - Edmar Geraldo de Oliveira - 2014.pdf: 6762892 bytes, checksum: 8c561720e82fab705e5a4879cd101c9b (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-30Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPESIn the last decade, Brazilian sugar-energy sector showed significant growth, mainly between 2003 and 2009, when a vigorous expansion of industrial plants and sugarcane farmings occurred. According to IBGE, the increase of sugarcane planted area in the country in that period was of around 64.5 %, concentrating on Cerrado areas in the south-central region states. The research conducted during the development of this thesis, aimed at analyze the effects of the expansion of sugarcane farmings, especially those affected by cover and land use in the midwest region of Minas Gerais, under two different time perspectives . The first covers the period between 2005 and 2010, while the second considers simulated scenarios for cover and land use in the year 2030. For this, we used census data, geoprocessing and environmental modeling techniques using the free platform EGO DYNAMICS. The results showed that sugarcane farmings expansion in the midwest concentrated in the towns of Arcos, Bambuí, Iguatama, Japaraíba, Lagoa da Prata and Luz, which had an increase of 74 % in planted area for the period from 2005 to 2010. Sugarcane expansion in the region occurred primarily on agriculture and pasture areas, exacerbating competition for land use. Among the major crops of the investigated towns, corn and soybeans were those that yielded more space for sugarcane, while beans and coffee farmings had increased planted area in that period. The results of this research confirmed the hypothesis that sugarcane farmings, because of their higher level of investment, tend to occupy the best lands, including those equipped with basic infrastructure (roads and electrification, for example). The two scenarios simulated for the year 2030 (with respective growth rates), considered different contexts experienced by the sugarcane sector and showed mixed results. In the first, generated with transition rates derived from the period 1995-2000, the pasture areas would remain roughly stable, with a decrease of sugarcane farmings by 24.7 %, but with increased area for other crops of around 40%. The second scenario, produced with rates that represent the range between 2005 and 2010, proved to be very favorable to sugarcane expansion, with an increase of 127.3 % of the planted area. Sugarcane expansion would occur especially on agriculture and pasture areas, which would decrease by 35 % and 27.1 % respectively. In this scenario, the remaining Cerrado vegetation would remain stable, with a small positive bias of 1.4 %. It is understood that the product of this study will provide information to decision makers, on a regional scale, for the creation of policies aimed at more efficient management of cover and land use in the midwest region of Minas Gerais.Na última década, o setor sucroenergético brasileiro apresentou um crescimento significativo, sobretudo entre os anos de 2003 e 2009, ocasião em que ocorreu uma vigorosa expansão das unidades industriais e das lavouras de cana-de-açúcar. De acordo com dados do IBGE, o aumento da área plantada de cana no país, naquele período, foi da ordem de 64,5%, concentrando-se em áreas de Cerrado nos estados da região centro-sul. Na pesquisa realizada durante o desenvolvimento desta tese, buscou-se analisar os efeitos da expansão das lavouras de cana-de-açúcar, especialmente aqueles ocorridos sobre a cobertura e uso da terra na região centro-oeste de Minas Gerais, sob duas perspectivas temporais distintas. A primeira contempla o período entre 2005 e 2010, enquanto a segunda considera cenários simulados para a cobertura e uso da terra no ano de 2030. Para tanto, utilizou-se dados censitários, técnicas de geoprocessamento e modelagem ambiental com o uso da plataforma livre DINAMICA EGO. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que no centro-oeste mineiro o aumento das lavouras de cana concentrou-se nos municípios de Arcos, Bambuí, Iguatama, Japaraíba, Lagoa da Prata e Luz, os quais tiveram um acréscimo de 74% na área plantada no período de 2005 a 2010. A expansão da cana naquela região ocorreu prioritariamente sobre áreas de agricultura e pastagens, exacerbando a competição pelo uso da terra. Entre as principais culturas agrícolas dos municípios investigados, o milho e a soja foram aquelas que aparentemente mais cederam espaço para cana, ao passo que as lavouras de feijão e café apresentaram aumento da área plantada naquele período. Os resultados desta pesquisa confirmaram a hipótese de que as lavouras de cana-de-açúcar, dado ao seu maior nível de investimento, tendem a ocupar as melhores terras, incluindo aquelas dotadas de infraestrutura básica (rede viária e eletrificação, por exemplo). Os dois cenários simulados para o ano de 2030 (com respectivas taxas de crescimento), a partir de contextos distintos vivenciados pelo setor sucroalcooleiro, apresentaram resultados díspares. No primeiro, gerado com taxas de transição oriundas do período de 1995 a 2000, as áreas de pastagens se manteriam praticamente estáveis, com uma diminuição das lavouras de cana em 24,7%, mas com aumento da área destinada a outros cultivos na ordem de 40%. O segundo cenário, produzido com taxas que representam o intervalo entre 2005 e 2010, mostrou-se bastante favorável à expansão da cana-de-açúcar, com aumento de 127,3% da área plantada. Esta expansão da cana se daria especialmente sobre áreas com agricultura e pastagens, as quais sofreriam reduções de 35% e 27,1%, respectivamente. Neste cenário, a vegetação remanescente de Cerrado se manteria estável, com uma pequena oscilação positiva de 1,4%. Entende-se que o produto deste estudo poderá fornecer subsídios aos tomadores de decisão, em escala regional, para a criação de políticas voltadas a uma gestão mais eficiente da cobertura e uso da terra na região centro-oeste de Minas Gerais

Diagnóstico do uso da terra na região Centro-Oeste de Minas Gerais, Brasil: a renovação da paisagem pela cana-de-açúcar e seus impactos socioambientais / Diagnostic of the land use in the Midwest Region of Minas Gerais, Brazil: The renewal of the landscape by the sugarcane crops and its social and enviromenmental impacts

Nos últimos anos, o Brasil tem experimentado um aumento significativo no consumo de etanol combustível, combinado com uma melhoria no preço internacional do açúcar. No período de 2000 a 2010, a área plantada com cana no país aumentou 97,59% (equivalente a 4.526.475 hectares). Estes fatos têm contribuído para uma transformação da dinâmica agrícola no bioma Cerrado (savana), apontando para uma competição entre culturas de cana-de-açúcar e outras com menor nível de investimento. Neste estudo avaliamos a expansão da cultura da cana-de-açúcar na região Centro-Oeste do Estado de Minas Gerais, especificamente em áreas de Cerrado, e seus impactos socioambientais para os municípios contidos na área de estudo, entre os anos de 1995 e 2010. Dentre os resultados principais, obtidos por meio de técnicas de sensoriamento remoto e geoprocessamento, indicaram uma expansão de 130% para o plantio de cana-de-açúcar, seguido por 87% e 31% de reflorestamento e outras culturas, respectivamente. Foi detectada ainda uma redução da ordem de 19,6% da vegetação nativa, enquanto as áreas de pastagem perderam 8,5% da sua área original