Multiple anti-predator mechanisms in the red-spotted Argentina Frog (Amphibia: Hylidae)

Anurans employ a wide variety of anti-predator mechanisms to defend themselves. In casque-headed hylids, defence is thought to be a complex combination of several anti-predator mechanisms. However, the defence traits of only a few species are known; some hypotheses have yet to be addressed, whereas others, already tested in some species, need to be tested in additional taxa. The anti-predator mechanism of the casque-headed frog, Argenteohyla siemersi, is described here. It is a complex mechanism consisting of (1) behavioural and ecological traits, including secretive and semi-phragmotic habits and posture; (2) morphological features, including cryptic and aposematic colourations, a skull covered with bony dermal spines and protuberances that are associated with two types of granular venom glands; and (3) physiological and chemical traits, such as a highly lethal skin secretion. Our results are compared with those of previous studies of defence mechanisms in casque-headed frogs in an effort to understand the mechanisms and evaluate their potential phylogenetic signal in this group of anurans.Fil: Cajade, Rodrigo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: Hermida, Gladys Noemí. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Piñeiro, Jose Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biología; ArgentinaFil: Regueira, Eleonora. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; ArgentinaFil: Alcalde, Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Fusco, Luciano Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Bioquímica; ArgentinaFil: Marangoni, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biología; Argentin

The Ashbya Genome Database (AGD)—a tool for the yeast community and genome biologists

The Ashbya Genome Database (AGD) is a comprehensive online source of information covering genes from the filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii. The database content is based upon comparative genome annotation between A.gossypii and the closely related budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae taking both sequence similarity and synteny (conserved order and orientation) into account. Release 2 of AGD contains 4718 protein-encoding loci located across seven chromosomes. Information can be retrieved using systematic or standard locus names from A.gossypii as well as budding and fission yeast. Approximately 90% of the genes in the genome of A.gossypii are homologous and syntenic to loci of budding yeast. Therefore, AGD is a useful tool not only for the various yeast communities in general but also for biologists who are interested in evolutionary aspects of genome research and comparative genome annotation. The database provides scientists with a convenient graphical user interface that includes various locus search and genome browsing options, data download and export functionalities and numerous reciprocal links to external databases including SGD, MIPS, GeneDB, KEGG, GermOnline and Swiss-Prot/TrEMBL. AGD is accessible at http://agd.unibas.c

MIMAS: an innovative tool for network-based high density oligonucleotide microarray data management and annotation

BACKGROUND: The high-density oligonucleotide microarray (GeneChip) is an important tool for molecular biological research aiming at large-scale detection of small nucleotide polymorphisms in DNA and genome-wide analysis of mRNA concentrations. Local array data management solutions are instrumental for efficient processing of the results and for subsequent uploading of data and annotations to a global certified data repository at the EBI (ArrayExpress) or the NCBI (GeneOmnibus). DESCRIPTION: To facilitate and accelerate annotation of high-throughput expression profiling experiments, the Microarray Information Management and Annotation System (MIMAS) was developed. The system is fully compliant with the Minimal Information About a Microarray Experiment (MIAME) convention. MIMAS provides life scientists with a highly flexible and focused GeneChip data storage and annotation platform essential for subsequent analysis and interpretation of experimental results with clustering and mining tools. The system software can be downloaded for academic use upon request. CONCLUSION: MIMAS implements a novel concept for nation-wide GeneChip data management whereby a network of facilities is centered on one data node directly connected to the European certified public microarray data repository located at the EBI. The solution proposed may serve as a prototype approach to array data management between research institutes organized in a consortium

Dos bienales precursoras, dos senderos que se bifurcan

Posed within a degree seminar of this academic unit "”Mega-events of art. Contemporarycourses of a modern device"” and inscribed within the framework of a research project of its Secretary of Science and Technology "”Complex re-chainings between modern and contemporary artistic practices"”, this work proposes to compare the origins, motivations and trajectories of two international art exhibitions that are among the pioneers of this type of event: the BienalHispanoamericana de Arte and the Bienal de São Paulo. Born in 1951 only days apart, these are the earlier exhibitions of their kind after the appearance, more than fifty years ago, of the then very famous Venice Biennale. The panoramic review of both over approximately five years "”period that includes the meager existence of the first one"” allows us to make a series of points aimed at reflecting on the role that mega-events of art have had in a period of passage from the Modernity of art towards its contemporaneity, and in relation to a corpus that involves our regionPlanteado al interior de un seminario de grado"”Megamuestras de arte. Decursos contemporáneos de un dispositivo moderno"” e inscripto en el marco de un proyecto de investigación de UBACyT "”Reencadenamientos complejos entre las prácticas artísticas modernas y contemporáneas"”, este trabajo se propone comparar los orígenes, las motivaciones y los trayectos de dos muestras internacionales de arte que se encuentran entre las pioneras de este tipo de eventos: la Bienal Hispanoamericana de Arte y la Bienal de São Paulo. Nacidas en 1951 con sólo días de diferencia, se trata de las primeras muestras de este orden tras la aparición, más de medio siglo antes, de la ya por entonces muy afamada Biennale de Venecia. La revisión panorámica de ambas a lo largo de aproximadamente un lustro "”período que comprende la exigua existencia de la primera de ellas"” permite efectuar una serie de señalamientos orientados a reflexionar acerca del rol que las megamuestras de arte han tenido en un período de pasaje de la Modernidad del arte hacia su contemporaneidad y en relación a un corpus que involucra a nuestra región

The GermOnline cross-species systems browser provides comprehensive information on genes and gene products relevant for sexual reproduction

We report a novel release of the GermOnline knowledgebase covering genes relevant for the cell cycle, gametogenesis and fertility. GermOnline was extended into a cross-species systems browser including information on DNA sequence annotation, gene expression and the function of gene products. The database covers eight model organisms and Homo sapiens, for which complete genome annotation data are available. The database is now built around a sophisticated genome browser (Ensembl), our own microarray information management and annotation system (MIMAS) used to extensively describe experimental data obtained with high-density oligonucleotide microarrays (GeneChips) and a comprehensive system for online editing of database entries (MediaWiki). The RNA data include results from classical microarrays as well as tiling arrays that yield information on RNA expression levels, transcript start sites and lengths as well as exon composition. Members of the research community are solicited to help GermOnline curators keep database entries on genes and gene products complete and accurate. The database is accessible at

MIMAS 3.0 is a Multiomics Information Management and Annotation System

BACKGROUND: DNA sequence integrity, mRNA concentrations and protein-DNA interactions have been subject to genome-wide analyses based on microarrays with ever increasing efficiency and reliability over the past fifteen years. However, very recently novel technologies for Ultra High-Throughput DNA Sequencing (UHTS) have been harnessed to study these phenomena with unprecedented precision. As a consequence, the extensive bioinformatics environment available for array data management, analysis, interpretation and publication must be extended to include these novel sequencing data types. DESCRIPTION: MIMAS was originally conceived as a simple, convenient and local Microarray Information Management and Annotation System focused on GeneChips for expression profiling studies. MIMAS 3.0 enables users to manage data from high-density oligonucleotide SNP Chips, expression arrays (both 3'UTR and tiling) and promoter arrays, BeadArrays as well as UHTS data using MIAME-compliant standardized vocabulary. Importantly, researchers can export data in MAGE-TAB format and upload them to the EBI's ArrayExpress certified data repository using a one-step procedure. CONCLUSION: We have vastly extended the capability of the system such that it processes the data output of six types of GeneChips (Affymetrix), two different BeadArrays for mRNA and miRNA (Illumina) and the Genome Analyzer (a popular Ultra-High Throughput DNA Sequencer, Illumina), without compromising on its flexibility and user-friendliness. MIMAS, appropriately renamed into Multiomics Information Management and Annotation System, is currently used by scientists working in approximately 50 academic laboratories and genomics platforms in Switzerland and France. MIMAS 3.0 is freely available via http://multiomics.sourceforge.net/

Micro(Nano)Plastics as Carriers of Toxic Agents and Their Impact on Human Health

Currently, globally the demand and production of plastic items are increasing exorbitantly, generating a large amount of waste, and polluting the ecosystem, a site in which degradation processes are triggered, which give rise to smaller particles such as micro(nano)plastics (MNP). Continuous human exposure to these particles generates negative alterations in the host’s health. Three routes of MNP exposure or contact have been established: inhalation, ingestion of particles, and dermal absorption. Recently, it has been pointed out that microplastics (MP) can even be found in the human placenta. This chapter aims to compile and provide information on their role as conveyor vectors of agents potentially toxic to humans, mechanisms by which they enter the human body, their bioaccumulation, and health human effects

Microplásticos en playas de la zona de influencia del Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano (PNSAV), México

Background. Plastic production has increased considerably in the last decades, with production during 2019 of 368 million tons, where a considerable amount is discarded into the environment, where it wears out and decomposes into microplastics. Objectives. Quantify and characterize the microplastics on the beaches of the area of influence of the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano (PNSAV). Methods. The present study sampled sand beaches on the coasts of Veracruz, more specifically in La Mancha, Chachalacas, Chalchihuecan, Antón Lizardo, and El Sendero, in the municipalities of Actopan, Úrsulo Galván, La Antigua and Alvarado, respectively. Plastic particles were obtained after drying and sieving the sand and were quantified and characterized by spectroscopy (FTIR) and electron microscopy (SEM). Results. A total of 180 plastic pieces (4.5 pieces /m2 ) were found in the zone of influence of the PNSAV. El Sendero and Chachalacas’s beaches presented the most plastic pieces. Of the total number of particles in the system, 92.35% were irregularly shaped, and the rest were fibers, pellets, and films. Regarding the type and dominance of plastic polymers found on the beaches, the three primary materials were high and low-density polyethylene (26.67 and 27.22 %, respectively) and polypropylene (23.33 %). Conclusions. Microplastics were found on all the beaches analyzed, most of which were irregular in shape, representing a risk for organisms that ingest them since they serve as vectors of pathogenic microorganisms and dispersers of toxic chemicals.Antecedentes. La producción de plástico se ha incrementado considerablemente en las últimas décadas, teniendo una producción en 2019 de 368 millones de toneladas, donde una cantidad considerable termina desechada en el medio ambiente, donde se desgasta y descompone en microplásticos. Objetivos. Cuantificar y caracterizar los microplásticos presentes en las playas del área de influencia del Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano (PNSAV). Métodos. Se realizó un muestreo mediante cuadrantes ubicados en playas localizadas en la costa de Veracruz: La Mancha, Chachalacas, Chalchihuecan, Antón Lizardo y el Sendero, en los municipios de Actopan, Úrsulo Galván, la Antigua y Alvarado, respectivamente. Las partículas de plástico se obtuvieron después del secado y tamizado de la arena y se cuantificaron y caracterizaron por espectroscopía y microscopia. Resultados. Se encontró un total de 180 piezas de plástico (4.5 piezas/m2 ) en la zona de influencia del PNSAV. Las playas del Sendero y Chachalacas presentaron la mayor cantidad de piezas de plástico. Del total de partículas en el sistema, el 92.35 % presentó forma irregular, las restantes fueron fibras, “pellets” y películas. Con respecto al tipo y dominancia de polímeros plásticos encontrados en las playas, los tres materiales principales fueron polietileno de alta y baja densidad (26.67 y 27.22 %, respectivamente) y polipropileno (23.33 %). Conclusiones. Se encontraron microplásticos en todas las playas analizadas, la mayor parte presentaron forma irregular. Los microplásticos representan un riesgo para los organismos que los ingieren, ya que se ha reportado que sirven como vectores de microorganismos patógenos y dispersores de sustancias químicas tóxicas

CTD2 Dashboard: a searchable web interface to connect validated results from the Cancer Target Discovery and Development Network

Abstract The Cancer Target Discovery and Development (CTD2) Network aims to use functional genomics to accelerate the translation of high-throughput and high-content genomic and small-molecule data towards use in precision oncology. As part of this goal, and to share its conclusions with the research community, the Network developed the ‘CTD2 Dashboard’ [https://ctd2-dashboard.nci.nih.gov/], which compiles CTD2 Network-generated conclusions, termed ‘observations’, associated with experimental entities, collected by its member groups (‘Centers’). Any researcher interested in learning about a given gene, protein, or compound (a ‘subject’) studied by the Network can come to the CTD2 Dashboard to quickly and easily find, review, and understand Network-generated experimental results. In particular, the Dashboard allows visitors to connect experiments about the same target, biomarker, etc., carried out by multiple Centers in the Network. The Dashboard’s unique knowledge representation allows information to be compiled around a subject, so as to become greater than the sum of the individual contributions. The CTD2 Network has broadly defined levels of validation for evidence (‘Tiers’) pertaining to a particular finding, and the CTD2 Dashboard uses these Tiers to indicate the extent to which results have been validated. Researchers can use the Network’s insights and tools to develop a new hypothesis or confirm existing hypotheses, in turn advancing the findings towards clinical applications. Database URL: https://ctd2-dashboard.nci.nih.gov