Construction and screening of a functional metagenomic library to identify novel enzymes produced by Antarctic bacteria

A metagenomic fosmid library of approximately 52 000 clones was constructed to identify functional genes encoding cold-adapted enzymes. Metagenomic DNA was extracted from a sample of glacial meltwater, collected on the Antarctic Peninsula during the ANTARKOS XXIX Expedition during the austral summer of 2012–2013. Each clone contained an insert of about 35–40 kb, so the library represented almost 2 Gb of genetic information from metagenomic DNA. Activity-driven screening was used to detect the cold-adapted functions expressed by the library. Fifty lipase/esterase and two cellulase-producing clones were isolated, and two clones able to grow on Avicel® as the sole carbon source. Interestingly, three clones formed a brown precipitate in the presence of manganese (II). Accumulation of manganese oxides was determined with a leucoberbelin blue assay, indicating that these three clones had manganese-oxidizing activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a manganese oxidase activity detected with a functional metagenomic strategy

Identification of Antarctic culturable bacteria able to produce diverse enzymes of potential biotechnological interest

It is estimated that more than three quarters of the Earth’s biosphere is in perennially cold environments. Despite the extreme environmental conditions of desiccation and freezing, microbes can colonize these habitats through the adaptation of metabolic functions and the synthesis of structurally adapted enzymes. Enzymes within psychrophilic microbes exhibit high specific activity at low and moderate temperature, with low thermostability. In this study we used a classic microbiological approach to isolate Antarctic bacteria with cellulolytic, lipolytic, and ligninolytic activities. From 15 different environmental samples, we generated a collection of approximately 800 bacterial isolates that could grow on R2A or Marine medium at 4°C. This collection was then screened for the presence of the three types of activity at 4°C. We found that 47.7% of the isolates displayed lipolytic activity, 10.2% had cellulase/xylanase activity, and 7.7% showed guaiacol oxidase activity. Of these, 10% displayed two different types of activity, while 0.25% displayed all three types of activity. Our results indicate that cold environments represent outstanding resources for bioprospecting and the study of enzymatic adaptation

Competencia mediática organizacional: Una revisión sistemática de literatura científica en Web of Science

This article analyses the results of a systematic review of scientific literature, carried out in the ISI WOS database, with the objective of answering two questions: Do scientific articles of impact on media competence include the organizational dimension? And, if they do, in what ways does the organizational dimension gain evidence? The search was performed between 2007 and 2017, from the descriptor “media* competenc*”, refined by “organization*”. From a total of 169 articles, and after applying some inclusion and exclusion criteria, it resulted in a corpus of three articles of impact. This shows that the fields of communication and education do not consider the organizational aspect in the development of media competence and that the selected articles of other areas focus only on competences for the use of social media. It is concluded that there is a broad path to develop researches that considers the organizational dimension in the development of media competence.Este artículo analiza el resultado de una revisión sistemática de literatura científica, realizada en la base de datos ISI WOS, con el objetivo de responder a dos preguntas: ¿Los artículos científicos de impacto sobre competencia mediática incluyen la dimensión organizacional? Y, si lo hacen, ¿desde qué aspectos se pone en evidencia la dimensión organizacional? La búsqueda fue realizada entre los años 2007-2017, a partir del descriptor “media* competenc*”, refinada por “organization*”. De un total de 169 artículos, y tras aplicar algunos criterios de inclusión y exclusión, resultó en un corpus de tres artículos de impacto. Esto muestra que en los campos de la comunicación y de la educación no se considera el aspecto organizacional en el desarrollo de la competencia mediática y que los artículos seleccionados en otros campos solo se centran en competencias para el uso de medios sociales. Se concluye que existe un camino amplio para desarrollar investigaciones que consideren la dimensión organizacional en el desarrollo de la competencia mediática

La competencia mediática de la ciudadanía española: dificultades y retos

Mientras el Parlamento Europeo instaba a la incorporación de la educación mediática en los currícula, un equipo de investigadores españoles trataba de averiguar el grado de competencia mediática de la ciudadanía. Los resultados son preocupantes. Se ponen de manifiesto grandes carencias en la mayor parte de las dimensiones que componen la competencia mediática: la de los lenguajes, la de la ideología y los valores, la de los procesos de producción y difusión, la de los procesos de recepción e interacción y la dimensión estética. Sólo en las cuestiones relativas a la tecnología se obtienen unos resultados aceptables. Se detectan también carencias en la comprensión de los procesos mentales que se producen en la interacción con las pantallas, sobre todo en lo relativos a los mecanismos emocionales e inconscientes. Y se observan, en fin, unos niveles crecientes de participación, pero muy alejados todavía, en cantidad y en calidad, de las posibilidades que ofrece el nuevo entorno comunicativo. Estos resultados deberían constituir un reto para las instancias educativas, que han de comprometerse en garantizar una formación que potencie la competencia mediática de la ciudadanía

Early transcontinental import of SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern 202012/01 (B.1.1.7) from Europe to Uruguay

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant B.1.1.7 causes a more transmissible and apparently more severe disease. We report its early introduction from Europe to South America from a traveler who arrived in Uruguay from the United Kingdom, even before B.1.1.7 was recognized as a variant of concern. This highlights the risk of introduction of SARS-CoV-2 variants despite strict contingency protocols and underscores the need of improving real-time surveillance worldwide.ANII: POS_NAC_2018_1_15149

El grado de competencia mediática en la ciudadanía andaluza

El proyecto de investigación que presentamos tiene como objeto implementar en la ciudadanía andaluza el concepto de «competencia audiovisual» (audiovisual skills), diagnosticando las necesidades y carencias de los ciudadanos, para en futuros estudios establecer un programa evaluativo que derive en propuestas formativas. Este proyecto fue impulsado inicialmente por el Consell de l’Audiovisual de Catalunya (CAC) a través de la Universidad Pompeu Fabra. Posteriormente, con el reconocimiento del Ministerio de Educación, la propuesta se hace extensiva a todo el territorio estatal. Progresivamente irán añadiéndose al equipo inicial investigadores procedentes de diecisiete Universidades de diferentes Comunidades Autónomas del Estado español. En Andalucía se ha contado con instituciones y Universidades de todas las provincias

Recurrent dissemination of SARS-CoV-2 through the Uruguayan–Brazilian border

Uruguay is one of the few countries in the Americas that successfully contained the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) epidemic during the first half of 2020. Nevertheless, the intensive human mobility across the dry border with Brazil is a major challenge for public health authorities. We aimed to investigate the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains detected in Uruguayan localities bordering Brazil as well as to measure the viral flux across this ∼1,100 km uninterrupted dry frontier. Using complete SARS-CoV-2 genomes from the Uruguayan–Brazilian bordering region and phylogeographic analyses, we inferred the virus dissemination frequency between Brazil and Uruguay and characterized local outbreak dynamics during the first months (May–July) of the pandemic. Phylogenetic analyses revealed multiple introductions of SARS-CoV-2 Brazilian lineages B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33 into Uruguayan localities at the bordering region. The most probable sources of viral strains introduced to Uruguay were the Southeast Brazilian region and the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Some of the viral strains introduced in Uruguayan border localities between early May and mid-July were able to locally spread and originated the first outbreaks detected outside the metropolitan region. The viral lineages responsible for Uruguayan urban outbreaks were defined by a set of between four and 11 mutations (synonymous and non-synonymous) with respect to the ancestral B.1.1.28 and B.1.1.33 viruses that arose in Brazil, supporting the notion of a rapid genetic differentiation between SARS-CoV-2 subpopulations spreading in South America. Although Uruguayan borders have remained essentially closed to non-Uruguayan citizens, the inevitable flow of people across the dry border with Brazil allowed the repeated entry of the virus into Uruguay and the subsequent emergence of local outbreaks in Uruguayan border localities. Implementation of coordinated bi-national surveillance systems is crucial to achieve an efficient control of the SARS-CoV-2 spread across this kind of highly permeable borderland regions around the world

Emergence and spread of a B.1.1.28-derived P.6 lineage with Q675H and Q677H spike mutations in Uruguay

Uruguay controlled the viral dissemination during the first nine months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Unfortunately, towards the end of 2020, the number of daily new cases exponentially increased. Herein, we analyzed the country-wide genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2 between November 2020 and April 2021. We identified that the most prevalent viral variant during the first epidemic wave in Uruguay (December 2020–February 2021) was a B.1.1.28 sublineage carrying Spike mutations Q675H + Q677H, now designated as P.6, followed by lineages P.2 and P.7. P.6 probably arose around November 2020, in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital department, and rapidly spread to other departments, with evidence of further local transmission clusters; it also spread sporadically to the USA and Spain. The more efficient dissemination of lineage P.6 with respect to P.2 and P.7 and the presence of mutations (Q675H and Q677H) in the proximity of the key cleavage site at the S1/S2 boundary suggest that P.6 may be more transmissible than other lineages co-circulating in Uruguay. Although P.6 was replaced by the variant of concern (VOC) P.1 as the predominant lineage in Uruguay since April 2021, the monitoring of the concurrent emergence of Q675H + Q677H in VOCs should be of worldwide interest

Real-Time genomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, Uruguay

We developed a genomic surveillance program for realtime monitoring of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VOCs) in Uruguay. We report on a PCR method for SARSCoV- 2 VOCs, the surveillance workflow, and multiple independent introductions and community transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 P.1 VOC in Uruguay