El proceso de creación de una empresa de productos ecológicos = The process of creating an eco-friendly products company

En España se está atravesando por un período de crisis iniciada en el año 2007. Debido a la crisis, la tasa de paro en España ha aumentado muy rápidamente y esto ha hecho que se haya creado una situación alarmante entre todos los colectivos. Muchas empresas han tenido que cerrar sus puertas porque veían como sus ventas iban disminuyendo con el paso del tiempo. Sin embargo, muchos empresarios antes de tener que cerrar sus negocios han optado por reinventarse buscando nuevas fórmulas para atraer clientes. De una manera o de otra es necesario reactivar la economía del país para poder salir de la crisis y la creación de una empresa es una buena idea para alcanzar este objetivo. Con la apertura de una nueva empresa se están creando puestos de trabajo no sólo para las personas que trabajen en el propio local sino que también para los proveedores. A través de la venta de productos ecológicos se intentará abastecer a un sector de la población que cada vez más demanda productos de calidad que sean beneficiosos para la salud. Fomentando el consumo se podrá salir de la crisis y es lo que se pretende con esta empresa. Además también se tendrá en cuenta el medioambiente con la venta de productos ecológicos y de comercio justo que, además de cuidar la salud, están ayudando a muchas personas de otras partes del mundo a salir adelant

Quorum Quenching Strains Isolated from the Microbiota of Sea Anemones and Holothurians Attenuate Vibrio corallilyticus Virulence Factors and Reduce Mortality in Artemia salina

The English text was corrected by Michael O'Shea. This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness (grant number PID2019-106704RB-100/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). Jose Carlos Reina is supported by an FPU fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport (fellowship number FPU15/01717).Interference with quorum-sensing (QS) intercellular communication systems by the enzymatic disruption of N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) in Gram-negative bacteria has become a promising strategy to fight bacterial infections. In this study, seven strains previously isolated from marine invertebrates and selected for their ability to degrade C6 and C10-HSL, were identified as Acinetobacter junii, Ruegeria atlantica, Microbulbifer echini, Reinheimera aquimaris, and Pseudomonas sihuiensis. AHL-degrading activity against a wide range of synthetic AHLs were identified by using an agar well diffusion assay and Agrobacterium tumefaciens NTL4 and Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and VIR07 as biosensors. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis indicated that this activity was not due to an AHL lactonase. All the strains degraded Vibrio coralliilyticus AHLs in coculture experiments, while some strains reduced or abolished the production of virulence factors. In vivo assays showed that strains M3-111 and M3-127 reduced this pathogen’s virulence and increased the survival rate of Artemia salina up to 3-fold, indicating its potential use for biotechnological purposes. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe AHLdegrading activities in some of these marine species. These findings highlight that the microbiota associated with marine invertebrates constitute an important underexplored source of biological valuable compounds.Spanish Government PID2019-106704RB-100/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 FPU15/0171

Challenges of distributed leadership: A challenging and complex case study in an urban secondary school

Proyecto titulado “Liderazgo Distribuido en las Escuelas: Alcance y patrones” (REF. EDU 2011-26436); financiado por el Plan Nacional de Investigación, Desarrollo e InvestigaciónEste estudio analiza la configuración y prácticas del liderazgo distribuido en una escuela secundaria urbana. Desarrollamos un estudio de caso durante un curso académico, empleando como instrumentos de recogida de información: entrevistas; observación de reuniones; y hacer “de sombra” del director. El tratamiento metodológico ha sido cualitativo y para los análisis se ha configurado un sistema de categorías. Hallamos un centro muy grande y complejo con un liderazgo distribuido múltiple, apoyado en el equipo técnico de coordinación pedagógica –ETCP- y en los jefes de departamentos. La directora rompe con el estilo del anterior director y tras años en el cargo, trabaja sobre el proceso de la sucesión. Algunos sectores se muestran insatisfechos con el desempeño de la dirección y se producen enfrentamientos entre etapas. A pesar de las dificultades, el género es un elemento importante en el liderazgo; el establecimiento de estructuras de poder se basa mucho en la micropolítica y están logrando mejoras en los rendimientos y en el clima del centroThis study analyses the configuration and leadership strategies in an urban Secondary school. We developed a case study during a whole academic year using as instruments for collecting data: in-depth interviews, meetings observation and principal’s shadowing. We apply a qualitative approach although we use a system of categories. As main results, we consider this is a complex and big school. We identify a multiple distributed leadership which leaned on the pedagogic coordination team and on the heads of departments. The current principal breaks the previous principal’s style and after few years as principal, she decides to work on the succession process. There are unsatisfied groups and confrontations between educative levels happened. In spite of those difficulties, gender is a relevant factor in the development of this leadership approach; the establishment of new power structures is based on micro-politic processes and they are getting improvements in the school’s performances and clim

Study of the different learning environments using secondary education students’ voices: A class, a multiple case study

El propósito de este trabajo es que el alumnado de ESO, en 4 centros de características diversas, a través de sus voces, describa sus entornos, identifiquen ventajas e inconvenientes de cada uno de ellos y áreas de mejora. Basándonos en los trabajos de Peng (2015), Yang, Bezerik-Gerber y Mino (2013), y Castro-Pérez y Morales-Ramirez (2015), los elementos del entorno sobre los que vamos a investigar van a estructurarse en: físico, de enseñanza, de aprendizaje y motivacional. Desarrollaremos un estudio de casos multiple (Stake, 2006) en cada centro educativo. Utilizaremos la metodología de las voces de los estudiantes, por lo que el alumnado actuará como co-investigadores y los instrumentos de recogida de datos serán actividades de aula. Esta metodología se ha usado en otras investigaciones como medio para explorar las prácticas inclusivas y como medio para mejorar los aprendizajes y la enseñanza (Adderley et al., 2015; Ainscow y Kaplan, 2005; Messiou, 2006, 2012, 2014)The purpose of this research is to know through secondary students’ voices of 2nd or 3rd course of 4 High Schools with different characteristics, how they perceive the environments where they work, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and which areas they want to change to improve their learning. According to Peng’s, 2015, Yang, Bezerik-Gerber y Mino’s (2013), and Castro-Pérez y Morales-Ramirez’s (2015) works, the elements of the environment are structured in accordance with 4 aspects: physical, teaching, learning and motivational. We are going to develop multiple case studies (Stake, 2006) in each secondary school. This research also draws on the use of students’ voices. So, learners’ll act as coresearches, and we collect data using activities. Students’ voices have been used in research as a way of exploring and developing inclusive practices in schools. Also, as a means of identifying ways to improve learning and teaching in schools (Ainscow y Kaplan, 2005; Messiou, 2006, 2012, 2014; Adderley et al., 2015

Silencing of Phytopathogen Communication by the Halotolerant PGPR Staphylococcus Equorum Strain EN21

I.S. wishes to thank MINECO for her Ramón and Cajal contract, M.R. wishes to thank MITRAMISS for his “Joven Investigador” contract, Michael O´Shea corrected the English version of the manuscript and Clementina Pozo bioassayed the toxicity of EN21. The authors thank Juan Sanjuan Pinilla research group (EEZ, CSIC) for kindly supply Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 strain.Supplementary materials can be found at http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/8/1/42/s1.Increasing world food demand together with soil erosion and indiscriminate use of chemical fertilization highlight the need to adopt sustainable crop production strategies. In this context, a combination of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and pathogen management represents a sustainable and effcient alternative. Though little studied, halophilic and halotolerant PGPR could be a beneficial plant growth promotion strategy for saline and non-saline soils. The virulence of many bacterial phytopathogens is regulated by quorum sensing (QS) systems. Quorum quenching (QQ) involves the enzymatic degradation of phytopathogen-generated signal molecules, mainly N-acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs). In this study, we investigate plant growth-promoting (PGP) activity and the capacity of the halotolerant bacterium Staphylococcus equorum strain EN21 to attenuate phytopathogens virulence through QQ.We used biopriming and in vivo tomato plant experiments to analyse the PGP activity of strain EN21. AHLinactivation was observed to reduce Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato infections in tomato and Arabidopsis plants. Our study of Dickeya solani, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum and Erwinia amylovora bacteria in potato tubers, carrots and pears, respectively, also demonstrated the effectiveness of QS interruption by EN21. Overall, this study highlights the potential of strain S. equorum EN21 in plant growth promotion and QQ-driven bacterial phytopathogen biocontrol.The study was funded by the Ramón y Cajal MINECO program (RYC-2014-15532) in Spai

AhaP, A Quorum Quenching Acylase from Psychrobacter sp. M9-54-1 That Attenuates Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Vibrio coralliilyticus Virulence

Although Psychrobacter strain M9-54-1 had been previously isolated from the microbiota of holothurians and shown to degrade quorum sensing (QS) signal molecules C6 and C10-homoserine lactone (HSL), little was known about the gene responsible for this activity. In this study, we determined the whole genome sequence of this strain and found that the full 16S rRNA sequence shares 99.78–99.66% identity with Psychrobacter pulmonis CECT 5989T and P. faecalis ISO-46T. M9-54-1, evaluated using the agar well diffusion assay method, showed high quorum quenching (QQ) activity against a wide range of synthetic N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHLs) at 4, 15, and 28 °C. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass-spectrometry (HPLC-MS) confirmed that QQ activity was due to an AHL-acylase. The gene encoding for QQ activity in strain M9-54-1 was identified from its genome sequence whose gene product was named AhaP. Purified AhaP degraded substituted and unsubstituted AHLs from C4- to C14-HSL. Furthermore, heterologous expression of ahaP in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 reduced the expression of the QS-controlled gene lecA, encoding for a cytotoxic galactophilic lectin and swarming motility protein. Strain M9-54-1 also reduced brine shrimp mortality caused by Vibrio coralliilyticus VibC-Oc-193, showing potential as a biocontrol agent in aquaculture

Plant growth-promoting activity and quorum quenchingmediated biocontrol of bacterial phytopathogens by Pseudomonas segetis strain P6

This research was funded by grants from the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness (AGL2015-68806-R) and the Ramon y Cajal program (RYC-2014-15532). The authors wish to thank Michael O'Shea for proofreading the manuscript and Juan Sanjuan Pinilla's research group (EEZ-CSIC) for kindly supplying the Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000.Given the major threat of phytopathogenic bacteria to food production and ecosystem stability worldwide, novel alternatives to conventional chemicals-based agricultural practices are needed to combat these bacteria. The objective of this study is to evaluate the ability of Pseudomonas segetis strain P6, which was isolated from the Salicornia europaea rhizosphere, to act as a potential biocontrol agent given its plant growth-promoting (PGP) and quorum quenching (QQ) activities. Seed biopriming and in vivo assays of tomato plants inoculated with strain P6 resulted in an increase in seedling height and weight. We detected QQ activity, involving enzymatic degradation of signal molecules in quorum sensing communication systems, against a broad range of N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs). HPLC-MRM data and phylogenetic analysis indicated that the QQ enzyme was an acylase. The QQ activity of strain P6 reduced soft rot symptoms caused by Dickeya solani, Pectobacterium atrosepticum and P. carotovorum on potato and carrot. In vivo assays showed that the PGP and QQ activities of strain P6 protect tomato plants against Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, indicating that strain P6 could have biotechnological applications. To our knowledge, this is the first report to show PGP and QQ activities in an indigenous Pseudomonas strain from Salicornia plants.Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness AGL2015-68806-RSpanish Government RYC-2014-1553

The probiotic Shewanella putrefaciens PDP11 target virulence factors by modulating quorum sensing inhibition

Bacteria communicate with each other by producing signal molecules and regulating the production of virulence factors that have importance in pathogenicity. Quorum sensing (QS) is a bacterial communication mechanism based on the perception of population density and secretion of determining signal molecules called autoinducers (AI) such as the case of Acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs). AHLs-mediated QS processes seem to be common in the marine environment and among marine pathogenic bacteria, which pathogenesis could be mitigated by probiotics, among others. Probiotics are defined as live microbial cells that confer health benefits to the host and some of their mechanisms include the production of antagonistic compounds that are inhibitory toward pathogens. In this sense, Shewanella putrefaciens Pdp11, a strain described as a probiotic for use in aquaculture, has been analysed to mediate QS processes by quorum-quenching assays using synthetic AHLs. The enzymatic activity is estimated at around 80% and 30% for C8- and C10-HSL, respectively, while the rest of AHLs tested were not degraded by the Pdp11 strain. It would be an interesting feature of the probiotic Pdp11 strain since these AHLs are related to facilitating microbial adhesion by promoting biofilm formation among other virulence factors related to pathogens. On the other hand, a distinctive feature of AHL inactivated by lactonase is that it can be reactivated by acid treatment. In this way, little C8-AHL was recovered when it is extracted to pH2, which indicates the enzyme activity is not derived from the hydrolysis of the lactone ring derived from the action of lactonases, suggesting the enzyme activity in Pdp11 could be an AHL-acylase. The potential QQ activity of Pdp11 was unknown so, these preliminary studies led to a further as another promising probiotic QQ tool for aquaculture

Peribacillus castrilensis sp. nov.: A Plant-Growth-Promoting and Biocontrol Species Isolated From a River Otter in Castril, Granada, Southern Spain

A strictly aerobic, chemoheterotrophic, endospore-forming, Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterial strain N3T was isolated from the feces of a river otter in Castril (Granada, southern Spain). It is halotolerant, motile, and catalase-, oxidase-, ACC deaminase-, and C4- and C8-lipase-positive. It promotes tomato plant growth and can reduce virulence in Erwinia amylovora CECT 222T and Dickeya solani LMG 25993T through interference in their quorum-sensing systems, although other antagonistic mechanisms could also occur. A phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence as well as the phenotypic and phylogenomic analyses indicated that the strain N3T is a novel species of the genus Peribacillus, with the highest 16S rRNA sequence similar to that of Bacillus frigoritolerans DSM 8801T (99.93%) and Peribacillus simplex DSM 1321T (99.80%). Genomic digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) between the strain N3T and Bacillus frigoritolerans DSM 8801T and Peribacillus simplex was 12.8 and 69.1%, respectively, and the average nucleotide identity (ANIb) of strain N3T and Bacillus frigoritolerans DSM 8801T and Peribacillus simplex was 67.84 and 93.21%, respectively. The genomic G + C content was 40.3 mol%. Its main cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0. Using 16S rRNA phylogenetic and in silico phylogenomic analyses, together with the chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data, we demonstrated that the type strain N3T (=CECT 30509T = LMG 32505T) is a novel species of the genus Peribacillus and the name Peribacillus castrilensis sp. nov. is proposed.Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (AGL-2015-68806-R)Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness (PID2019-106704RB-100/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)Plan Andaluz de Investigación (Research Group BIO 188)University of Granada Programme (Empleo Garantía Juvenil)Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (FPU15/01717

Saline Environments as a Source of Potential Quorum Sensing Disruptors to Control Bacterial Infections: A Review

Saline environments, such as marine and hypersaline habitats, are widely distributed around the world. They include sea waters, saline lakes, solar salterns, or hypersaline soils. The bacteria that live in these habitats produce and develop unique bioactive molecules and physiological pathways to cope with the stress conditions generated by these environments. They have been described to produce compounds with properties that differ from those found in non-saline habitats. In the last decades, the ability to disrupt quorum-sensing (QS) intercellular communication systems has been identified in many marine organisms, including bacteria. The two main mechanisms of QS interference, i.e., quorum sensing inhibition (QSI) and quorum quenching (QQ), appear to be a more frequent phenomenon in marine aquatic environments than in soils. However, data concerning bacteria from hypersaline habitats is scarce. Salt-tolerant QSI compounds and QQ enzymes may be of interest to interfere with QS-regulated bacterial functions, including virulence, in sectors such as aquaculture or agriculture where salinity is a serious environmental issue. This review provides a global overview of the main works related to QS interruption in saline environments as well as the derived biotechnological applications