Cellular localisation of VvRops and VvRabA5e, small GTPases developmentally regulated in grape berries

VvRops, in particular VvRop9, and VvRabA5e are small GTPases which are developmentally regulated in grape berries. In an attempt to help elucidate the role of these proteins during fruit development and ripening, we investigated their localisation in the fruit by immunocytofluorescence. These proteins were observed at a perinuclear location, at cell periphery and around vesicles. In particular VvRops were found to be located in the nucleus and likely on the plasma membrane. VvRop9 and VvRabA5e cDNAs were introduced separately into S. cerevisiae mutants with RHO1 and YPT31/YPT32 defective genes respectively. Neither cDNAs could complement these temperature-sensitive mutants, suggesting that the functions of the VvRop9 and VvRabA5e genes in grapevine likely differ from the functions of RHO1 and YPT31/YPT32 genes in yeast.

Cierre percutáneo de comunicación interventricular postinfarto

A 81 year-old woman presenting with a rupture of the interventricular septum after seven days of an acute myocardial infarction partially revascularized. Surgery was rejected because of very high surgical risk and a percutaneous ventricular septal rupture closure was performed. Echocardiography is crucial for the interventricular septum rupture diagnosis. Three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography provides accurate anatomic information of the rupture, guides the procedure and assesses the results after closure.Mujer de 81 años diagnosticada de comunicación interventricular que debuta con inestabilidad hemodinámica tras 1 semana de presentar un infarto anterior parcialmente revascularizado. Tras descartarse cirugía por muy alto riesgo quirúrgico se decide realizar un abordaje de cierre percutáneo del defecto. El uso de la ecocardiografía resulta crucial en el diagnóstico de la comunicación interventricular. Las técnicas avanzadas de ecocardiografía transesofágica tridimensional permiten realizar una adecuada evaluación de las dimensiones de la comunicación interventricular, así como guiar el procedimiento de cierre percutáneo y determinar los resultados del mismo

Oligonucleotide array-CGH identifies genomic subgroups and prognostic markers for tumor stage mycosis fungoides

Mycosis fungoide (MF) patients who develop tumors or extracutaneous involvement usually have a poor prognosis with no curative therapy available so far. In the present European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) multicenter study, the genomic profile of 41 skin biopsies from tumor stage MF (MFt) was analyzed using a high-resolution oligo-array comparative genomic hybridization platform. Seventy-six percent of cases showed genomic aberrations. The most common imbalances were gains of 7q33.3q35 followed by 17q21.1, 8q24.21, 9q34qter, and 10p14 and losses of 9p21.3 followed by 9q31.2, 17p13.1, 13q14.11, 6q21.3, 10p11.22, 16q23.2, and 16q24.3. Three specific chromosomal regions, 9p21.3, 8q24.21, and 10q26qter, were defined as prognostic markers showing a significant correlation with overall survival (OS) (P=0.042, 0.017, and 0.022, respectively). Moreover, we have established two MFt genomic subgroups distinguishing a stable group (0-5 DNA aberrations) and an unstable group (>5 DNA aberrations), showing that the genomic unstable group had a shorter OS (P=0.05). We therefore conclude that specific chromosomal abnormalities, such as gains of 8q24.21 (MYC) and losses of 9p21.3 (CDKN2A, CDKN2B, and MTAP) and 10q26qter (MGMT and EBF3) may have an important role in prognosis. In addition, we describe the MFt genomic instability profile, which, to our knowledge, has not been reported earlier

MoSfl1 Is Important for Virulence and Heat Tolerance in Magnaporthe oryzae

The formation of appressoria, specialized plant penetration structures of Magnaporthe oryzae, is regulated by the MST11-MST7-PMK1 MAP kinase cascade. One of its downstream transcription factor, MST12, is important for penetration and invasive growth but dispensable for appressorium formation. To identify additional downstream targets that are regulated by Pmk1, in this study we performed phosphorylation assays with a protein microarray composed of 573 M. oryzae transcription factor (TF) genes. Three of the TF genes phosphorylated by Pmk1 in vitro were further analyzed by coimmunoprecipitation assays. One of them, MoSFL1, was found to interact with Pmk1 in vivo. Like other Sfl1 orthologs, the MoSfl1 protein has the HSF-like domain. When expressed in yeast, MoSFL1 functionally complemented the flocculation defects of the sfl1 mutant. In M. oryzae, deletion of MoSFl1 resulted in a significant reduction in virulence on rice and barley seedlings. Consistent with this observation, the Mosfl1 mutant was defective in invasive growth in penetration assays with rice leaf sheaths. In comparison with that of vegetative hyphae, the expression level of MoSFL1 was increased in appressoria and infected rice leaves. The Mosfl1 mutant also had increased sensitivity to elevated temperatures. In CM cultures of the Mosfl1 and pmk1 mutants grown at 30°C, the production of aerial hyphae and melanization were reduced but their growth rate was not altered. When assayed by qRT-PCR, the transcription levels of the MoHSP30 and MoHSP98 genes were reduced 10- and 3-fold, respectively, in the Mosfl1 mutant. SFL1 orthologs are conserved in filamentous ascomycetes but none of them have been functionally characterized in non-Saccharomycetales fungi. MoSfl1 has one putative MAPK docking site and three putative MAPK phosphorylation sites. Therefore, it may be functionally related to Pmk1 in the regulation of invasive growth and stress responses in M. oryzae

Perspectives on the use of transcriptomics to advance biofuels

As a field within the energy research sector, bioenergy is continuously expanding. Although much has been achieved and the yields of both ethanol and butanol have been improved, many avenues of research to further increase these yields still remain. This review covers current research related with transcriptomics and the application of this high-throughput analytical tool to engineer both microbes and plants with the penultimate goal being better biofuel production and yields. The initial focus is given to the responses of fermentative microbes during the fermentative production of acids, such as butyric acid, and solvents, including ethanol and butanol. As plants offer the greatest natural renewable source of fermentable sugars within the form of lignocellulose, the second focus area is the transcriptional responses of microbes when exposed to plant hydrolysates and lignin-related compounds. This is of particular importance as the acid/base hydrolysis methods commonly employed to make the plant-based cellulose available for enzymatic hydrolysis to sugars also generates significant amounts of lignin-derivatives that are inhibitory to fermentative bacteria and microbes. The article then transitions to transcriptional analyses of lignin-degrading organisms, such as Phanerochaete chrysosporium, as an alternative to acid/base hydrolysis. The final portion of this article will discuss recent transcriptome analyses of plants and, in particular, the genes involved in lignin production. The rationale behind these studies is to eventually reduce the lignin content present within these plants and, consequently, the amount of inhibitors generated during the acid/base hydrolysis of the lignocelluloses. All four of these topics represent key areas where transcriptomic research is currently being conducted to identify microbial genes and their responses to products and inhibitors as well as those related with lignin degradation/formation.clos

Qualitative Impact Analysis of International Tourists and Residents’ Perceptions of Málaga-Costa Del Sol Airport

Air transport plays a key role especially in countries where tourism has a great impact on the economy. In Spain, the contribution made by this industry to GPD stands at EUR 119 billion, representing 11% of GDP. This case study focuses on the Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport due to the growth the city has experienced in recent years. The research examines the impacts of this infrastructure from the perceptions of residents and tourists. We conducted 638 questionnaires and 50 interviews with residents, and 165 questionnaires and 106 interviews with international tourists from August 2019 to January 2020. A qualitative thematic analysis was carried out using the NVivo Pro software. The findings indicate that residents value the ease of travel and employment generated by the airport. However, they are concerned about the environment impacts and mass tourism. For tourists, almost no negative impacts are recorded. Residents and tourists consider the existence of positive effects on other nearby cities of Andalusia. Conclusions have practical and theoretical implications for impact researches

Technique for ice crystal particle size measurements and results for the National Research Council of Canada altitude ice crystal test system

This paper describes the equipment, analysis methods and results obtained for particle size measurements based on a particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) system in which a short duration laser pulse is used to backlight airborne particles. This produces high quality and high resolution images of fast moving airborne particles in a non-intrusive manner. This imaging technique is also used to examine particle morphology and 2D particle trajectory and velocity. The image analysis methods are outlined and validation test results discussed which show the measurement of reference glass beads between 20 and 400 microns were generally to within their stated size. As well, validation testing using known icing wind tunnel droplet distributions were compared with Spraytek 2000 Malvern droplet size measurements and showed agreement of the MVD's to be within \ub15% for distributions having nominally 20, 40 and 80 micron MVD's. Implementing this non-intrusive shadowgraphy technique at the NRC ice crystal test system installed at its research altitude test facility (RATFac) showed ice particle size distributions could be generated from approximately 60 to700 micron median mass diameters (MMD's) with the ability to create larger particles well above 1 mm in diameter.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye