Response of \u3cem\u3eAxonopus catarinensis\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eArachis pintoi\u3c/em\u3e to Shade Conditions

In the north-east of Argentina, there are more than 100,000 hectares of silvopastoral systems where trees, forages and livestock are combined with the goal to diversify income, reduce financial risk, obtain more profit and enhance environmental benefit (Cubbage et al. 2013). The rapid adoption of this production system by farmers has generated high demand for information on shade tolerant grass and legume forage species. Axonopus catarinensis is a native grass from Itajai Vally (Brazil) that was introduced to the north-east of Argentina 10 years ago; whereas Arachis pintoi is a sub-tropical legume (also native to Brazil) adapted to acid soils and tolerant of medium levels of shade (Fisher and Cruz 1994). Visual observation of these species in the field indicated high yields and acceptable tolerance to shade. A trial was subsequently carried out with the aim to quantify dry matter yield and nutritive quality of the species under different levels of shade for silvopastoral use

High incidence of mixed DNA and RNA virus infections in common bean in Central Brazil.

During the winter crop season in 2016 a very high incidence of viruslike symptoms of mosaic, leaf curling and deformation, and plant dwarfing was reported by farmers in central areas of Brazil. Bean plants were collected in commercial farms in Luziânia, Cristalina and experimental plots in Goiânia and Brasília

Mapping the potential for pumped storage using existing lower reservoirs

The increasing utilization of wind and solar power sources to lower CO2 emissions in the electric sector is causing a growing disparity between electricity supply and demand. Consequently, there is a heightened interest in affordable energy storage solutions to address this issue. Pumped Hydropower Storage (PHS) emerges as a promising option, capable of providing both short and long-term energy storage at a reasonable cost, while also offering the advantage of freshwater storage. To identify potential PHS locations in Brazil existing hydroelectric reservoirs as the lower reservoirs, we employed an innovative methodology that combines (i) plant-siting model that leverages high-resolution topographical and hydrological data to identify the most promising sites for further studies. (ii) An economic methodology was applied to configure PSH projects identified by the plant-siting model in terms of their installed capacity and discharge time, and to select the most attractive projects. (iii) A comprehensive analysis of the socio-environmental impacts of the projects was carried out, which enables the elimination of projects with severe impacts. Results created a ranking of 5600 mutually exclusive projects by net present value (NPV). The highest NPV is 2145 USD which refers to a PHS plant in the Doce Basin and Salto Grande dam as the lower reservoir. The upper reservoir stores 0.36 km3 of water and a 75 m high dam, the PHS has a 2 km tunnel, a 1 GW power capacity and discharge rate of 220 h. The paper shows a vast potential for weekly, monthly, and seasonal PHS with existing lower reservoirs in Brazil

Cowpea mild mottle virus (CPMMV) seed transmission in common bean cultivars.

In this work we used a more sensitive technique, RT-PCR coupled to Southern Blot, to analyze common bean seed transmission of CPMMV

An Induced Hypersensitive-Like Response Limits Expression of Foreign Peptides via a Recombinant TMV-Based Vector in a Susceptible Tobacco

BACKGROUND: By using tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)-based vectors, foreign epitopes of the VP1 protein from food-and-month disease virus (FMDV) could be fused near to the C-terminus of the TMV coat protein (CP) and expressed at high levels in susceptible tobacco plants. Previously, we have shown that the recombinant TMV vaccines displaying FMDV VP1 epitopes could generate protection in guinea pigs and swine against the FMDV challenge. Recently, some recombinant TMV, such as TMVFN20 that contains an epitope FN20 from the FMDV VP1, were found to induce local necrotic lesions (LNL) on the inoculated leaves of a susceptible tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum Samsun nn. This hypersensitive-like response (HLR) blocked amplification of recombinant TMVFN20 in tobacco and limited the utility of recombinant TMV vaccines against FMDV. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we investigate the molecular mechanism of the HLR in the susceptible Samsun nn. Histochemical staining analyses show that these LNL are similar to those induced in a resistant tobacco Samsun NN inoculated with wild type (wt) TMV. The recombinant CP subunits are specifically related to the HLR. Interestingly, this HLR in Samsun nn (lacking the N/N'-gene) was able to be induced by the recombinant TMV at both 25°C and 33°C, whereas the hypersensitive response (HR) in the resistant tobacco plants induced by wt TMV through the N/N'-gene pathways only at a permissive temperature (below 30°C). Furthermore, we reported for the first time that some of defense response (DR)-related genes in tobacco were transcriptionally upregulated during HLR. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike HR, HLR is induced in the susceptible tobacco through N/N'-gene independent pathways. Induction of the HLR is associated with the expression of the recombinant CP subunits and upregulation of the DR-related genes