Álgebra y genética

El objetivo de este documento es presentar una introducción a las relaciones que existen entre el Álgebra y la Genética, con algunos ejemplos de aplicaciones en ambos campos. Aunque se dan algunos conceptos biológicos es necesario que el lector consulte otros materiales

An Estimated New-Keynesian Model with Unemployment as Excess Supply of Labor

Wage stickiness is incorporated to a New-Keynesian model with variable capital to drive endogenous unemployment uctuations de ned as the log di¤erence between aggregate labor supply and aggregate labor demand. We estimated such model using Bayesian econometric techniques and quarterly U.S. data. The second-moment statistics of the unemployment rate in the model give a good t to those observed in U.S. data. Our results also show that wage-push shocks, demand shifts and monetary policy shocks are the three major determinants of unemployment fl uctuations. Compared to an estimated New-Keynesian model without unemployment (Smets and Wouters, 2007): wage stickiness is higher, labor supply elasticity is lower, the slope of the New-Keynesian Phillips curve is flatter, and the importance of technology innovations on output variability increases.Miguel Casares would like to thank both the Spanish government (research project ECO2011-24304) and Fundación Ramón Areces (VII Concurso Investigación en Economía) for their nancial support. Antonio Moreno and Jesús Vázquez would also like to thank the Spanish government (research projects ECO2009-11151 and ECO2010-16970, respectively) for their nancial support

Compounds produced by two robust Bacillus amyloliquefaciens biocontrol strains involved in antimicrobial activity and plant-growth promotion

Several members of the Bacillus genus are potential candidates to be used as biological control agents to combat pests or plant diseases. The bacterial attributes associated to Bacillus behaviour are mainly: the production of antimicrobial compounds, the plant-growth promotion capability and the induction of systemic resistance in plant host. In previous works, we have demonstrated this multifaceted biocontrol activity of B. amyloliquefaciens CECT8237 (UMAF6639) and CECT8238 (UMAF6614) strains, which contributes to plant protection against bacterial and fungal pathogens. In order to identify the bacterial features responsible for the outstanding biocontrol activity of these strains, their genomes were sequenced and analysed. Firstly, those features previously described for other Bacillus to be involved in the biocontrol activity were localized: i) Biosynthetic genes of secondary metabolites. Apart from the lipopeptides, formerly detected, we have demonstrated the production of other additional compounds that might participate in the antibiosis activity; ii) Biosynthetic genes of the volatile compounds 2,3-butanediol and acetoin, both involved in the induction of plant defence responses. Secondly, genetic singularities non-conserved within the Bacillus genus, which might contribute to the biocontrol ability of B. amyloliquefaciens CECT8237 and CECT8238 were identified in both genomes. Among them, we highlight two genomic regions hypothetically implicated in the production of non-characterized secondary metabolites. Ongoing studies are focused on elucidating the functionality of these uncharacterized regions, leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms of action involved in the robust biocontrol skills of these strains.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Rockets and feathers behaviour in the Spanish gasoline and diesel market: New evidence

In this paper we analyse the potential asymmetric response of retail prices for gasoline and diesel-fuel to changes in oil prices for the Spanish economy and its relation with the so-called ‘rockets and feathers’ behaviour. We show that the assumption made by previous studies, which use as the key explanatory variable the sign –positive or negativeof the change in international oil prices, is inadequate for the Spanish case and the magnitude of the change in international oil prices is also relevant. For small changes in international oil prices there is neither price asymmetry nor rockets and feathers behavior in the retail markets. However, price asymmetries in line with rockets and feathers behavior in retail gasoline and gasoil markets are present when these changes exceed a certain threshold. Following Martín-Moreno et al. (2018) we first apply an Auto-regressive Error Correction Model and endogenously estimate the threshold triggering the rockets and feathers behaviour. A time-varying nature for the dynamic response of retail prices to oil price shocks is revealed when we estimate the TAR-ECM model using rolling windows. Hence, in a second stage, we use a Markov-switching estimation of the model to test the robustness of the results given its suitability to changing environments. This study could have relevant policy implications for the Spanish gasoline and gasoil retail markets due to the ongoing debate on the existence of a rockets and feathers behavior in gasoline and gasoil retail markets between the Spanish regulatory body and the oil companies.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. ECO2015-67305-PMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad | Ref. ECO2015-68367-RXunta de Galicia | Ref. GRC2014/02

The expression profile of secondary metabolites in biofilms of B. amyloliquefaciens CECT 8237 biocontrol strain

The contribution of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens CECT 8237 (UMAF6639) strain to the plant protection against bacterial and fungal pathogens is mainly based on: i) the production of antimicrobial compounds, ii) the plant-growth promotion capability and iii) the induction of systemic resistance in plant host. In previous works, we demonstrated the relevant implication of the three families of lipopeptides in the biocontrol activity and biofilm formation on melon leaves. The analysis of the genome sequence revealed features previously identified in other Bacillus strains, such as genes related to biofilm formation, phytostimulation and induction of systemic resistance in the host plant, and novel genomic regions non-conserved within the Bacillus genus, and therefore with potential genes implicated in the biocontrol activity. Considering the relevance of biofilm formation and production of secondary metabolites in biocontrol, we analyzed the expression profile of several secondary metabolites produced by CECT 8237 in biofilm inducing conditions. To do so, we optimized an in situ detection method based on MALDI-TOF analysis of secondary metabolites within the bacterial colony and in supernatants and pellicles of B. amyloliquefaciens biofilms. We found a major accumulation of these secondary metabolites in the core and middle area of the colony and in the spent medium compared to pellicle. Further studies will help elucidating the real implication of these molecules in the bacterial ecology or in its mechanisms of defence, against competitors, and/or offense, against pathogens and its possible relation with the niche they occupy. This work was supported by grants from the Plan Nacional I+D+I (AGL-2012-31968) and Incentivos a Proyectos de Excelencia de la Junta de Andalucía (P10-AGR-57-97), both cofinanced by FEDER funds (EU). This work was also supported by grant from Koppert B.V. (8.06/60.4086) and European Research Council-Starting Grant BacBio ERC637971.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Análisis bioinformático y funcional del sistema de secreción tipo III en cepas de Pseudomonas savastanoi aisladas de diversos huéspedes

La especie Pseudomonas savastanoi se engloba dentro del complejo Pseudomonas syringae, constituido por un conjunto de bacterias fitopatógenas Gram (-) de gran interés agrícola y económico. Dentro de esta especie, hay descritos actualmente 4 patovares capaces de infectar plantas leñosas: pv. savastanoi (aislados de olivo), pv. nerii (aislados de adelfa), pv. fraxini (aislados de fresno) y pv. retacarpa (aislados de retama). Además, se han aislado cepas de P. savastanoi de otros huéspedes, entre los que se encuentra la dipladenia (Mandevilla spp.), aunque los aislados de esta planta no se han asignado aún a un patovar concreto. Dentro del complejo P. syringae, uno de los factores más importantes para el establecimiento de la enfermedad es el sistema de secreción tipo III (T3SS), así como su repertorio de efectores (T3E), los cuales han sido identificados como uno de los factores más relevantes en la determinación del rango de huésped. Actualmente, los genomas de varios aislados de los patovares savastanoi, nerii, fraxini y retacarpa están disponibles en NCBI. Además, hemos obtenido el borrador de la secuencia de aislados adicionales de P. savastanoi, incluyendo el de una cepa patógena en dipladenia. En la actualidad, estamos llevando a cabo ensayos de patogenicidad cruzada de todas estas cepas en diferentes huéspedes de P. savastanoi, con el objetivo de poder relacionar su especificidad de huésped con sus diferencias genómicas. Análisis bioinformáticos comparativos del T3SS de todas estas cepas y de su repertorio de T3E, nos ha permitido identificar el conjunto de T3E compartido entre todas las cepas, así como los específicos de cada una de ellas. Además, hemos construido mutantes en cepas modelo de cada patovar, así como en el aislado de la dipladenia, del gen hrpA, que codifica la principal proteína estructural del pilus del T3SS, y del gen hrpL, que codifica un activador transcripcional de los genes del T3SS y de la mayoría de sus T3E. En la actualidad, estamos analizando el papel de ambos genes en la patogenicidad de las cepas de P. savastanoi seleccionadas y la expresión de varios T3E que podrían estar implicados en el rango de huésped.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Hacia la identificación del regulón hrpL en Pseudomonas savastanoi

La especie Pseudomonas savastanoi, perteneciente al complejo Pseudomonas syringae, incluye cepas bacterianas aisladas de diversos huéspedes. Hasta la fecha, se han descrito 4 patovares de P. savastanoi capaces de infectar plantas leñosas: pv. savastanoi (aislados de olivo), pv. nerii (aislados de adelfa), pv. fraxini (aislados de fresno) y pv. retacarpa (aislados de retama). Además, recientemente se ha identificado a P. savastanoi como el agente causal de la necrosis bacteriana de la dipladenia (Mandevilla spp.), cuyo rango de huésped es diferente al de los patovares ya establecidos dentro de esta especie (ver comunicación presentada por E. Caballo-Ponce et al.). Con el objetivo de avanzar en el conocimiento de los factores genéticos determinantes del rango de huésped en P. savastanoi, hemos obtenido los borradores de los genomas de varios aislados pertenecientes a los diferentes patovares de esta especie (incluyendo un aislado de dipladenia). Este trabajo se ha centrado en el análisis bioinformático del repertorio de efectores (T3Es) del sistema de secreción tipo III (T3SS) de los diversos aislados secuenciados. Se ha identificado el conjunto de efectores comunes a todos los patovares de P. savastanoi, así como los efectores específicos de cada uno de ellos. Por otro lado, hemos construido mutantes de pérdida de función del gen hrpL en cepas modelo de cada patovar y en el aislado de dipladenia. Este gen, cuya implicación en patogenicidad se ha estudiado ampliamente en aislados de olivo, codifica un regulador positivo de la transcripción de la mayoría de los T3Es y de otros factores de virulencia. Actualmente estamos analizando el papel del gen hrpL en 1) la patogenicidad de todos los aislados seleccionados y, 2) la expresión de varios T3Es seleccionados.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Sinfonevada: Dataset of Floristic diversity in Sierra Nevada forests (SE Spain)

The Sinfonevada database is a forest inventory that contains information on the forest ecosystem in the Sierra Nevada mountains (SE Spain). The Sinfonevada dataset contains more than 7,500 occurrence records belonging to 270 taxa (24 of these threatened) from floristic inventories of the Sinfonevada Forest inventory. Expert field workers collected the information. The whole dataset underwent a quality control by botanists with broad expertise in Sierra Nevada flora. This floristic inventory was created to gather useful information for the proper management of Pinus plantations in Sierra Nevada. This is the only dataset that shows a comprehensive view of the forest flora in Sierra Nevada. This is the reason why it is being used to assess the biodiversity in the very dense pine plantations on this massif. With this dataset, managers have improved their ability to decide where to apply forest treatments in order to avoid biodiversity loss. The dataset forms part of the Sierra Nevada Global Change Observatory (OBSNEV), a long-term research project designed to compile socio-ecological information on the major ecosystem types in order to identify the impacts of global change in this area.All the information contained in Sinfonevada was gathered by TRAGSA (Transformación Agraria S.A.), a public company funded by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment. The Sierra Nevada Global Change Observatory is funded by the Andalusian Regional Government (via Environmental Protection Agency) and by the Spanish Government (via “Fundación Biodiversidad”, which is a Public Foundation)