PpCRN7 and PpCRN20 of phythophthora parasitica regulate plant cell death leading to enhancement of host susceptibility

Phytophthora species secrete cytoplasmic effectors from a family named Crinkler (CRN), which are characterised by the presence of conserved specific domains in the N- and C-terminal regions. P. parasitica causes disease in a wide range of host plants, however the role of CRN effectors in these interactions remains unclear. Here, we aimed to: (i) identify candidate CRN encoding genes in P. parasitica genomes; (ii) evaluate the transcriptional expression of PpCRN (Phytophthora parasitica Crinkler candidate) during the P. parasitica interaction with Citrus sunki (high susceptible) and Poncirus trifoliata (resistant); and (iii) functionally characterize two PpCRNs in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. Results Our in silico analyses identified 80 putative PpCRN effectors in the genome of P. parasitica isolate 'IAC 01/95.1'. Transcriptional analysis revealed differential gene expression of 20 PpCRN candidates during the interaction with the susceptible Citrus sunki and the resistant Poncirus trifoliata. We have also found that P. parasitica is able to recognize different citrus hosts and accordingly modulates PpCRNs expression. Additionally, two PpCRN effectors, namely PpCRN7 and PpCRN20, were further characterized via transient gene expression in N. benthamiana leaves. The elicitin INF-1-induced Hypersensitivity Response (HR) was increased by an additive effect driven by PpCRN7 expression, whereas PpCRN20 expression suppressed HR response in N. benthamiana leaves. Despite contrasting functions related to HR, both effectors increased the susceptibility of plants to P. parasitica. Conclusions PpCRN7 and PpCRN20 have the ability to increase P. parasitica pathogenicity and may play important roles at different stages of infection. These PpCRN-associated mechanisms are now targets of biotechnological studies aiming to break pathogen's virulence and to promote plant resistance19CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQ445390/2014–0; 465440/2014–

Efeito do uso de pesticidas no perfil ambiental da produção de algodão.

A cadeia do algodão é responsável por diversos insumos para a indústria de alimentos, têxtil e bioenergia. Considerando sua alta produção, estudos relacionados à diminuição dos impactos ambientais associados são relevantes. A literatura mostra que, dentre os insumos utilizados nessa cadeia, os pesticidas apresentam grande contribuição nas emissões ambientais. Este trabalho avaliou o impacto do uso de pesticidas no perfil ambiental da produção de algodão. O inventário considerou a produção no Mato-Grosso, principal produtor, contendo pesticidas, fertilizantes e demais químicos, diesel (maquinário), calcário, gesso, semente e ocupação da terra (obtido na literatura). Os bancos de dados AGROFIT ou FISPQ foram utilizados na descrição dos pesticidas, sendo definida lista com mais de 30 compostos. O perfil ambiental foi determinado por Análise de Ciclo de Vida utilizando software Simapro e método Recipe-World Midpoint (H). As emissões foram obtidas pelo método apresentado por Nemecek, que aloca emissões dos pesticidas no compartimento solo. O modelo PestLCI, que estima emissões para diferentes compartimentos (solo - agrícola e florestal, ar, água - superficial e subterrânea) também foi usado e os resultados comparados. As emissões foram parametrizadas para a mesorregião do Norte Mato-Grossense. O modelo utilizado por Nemecek superestimou o impacto nas categorias Ecotoxicidade Terrestre e Marinha em 85 e 47 %, respectivamente e subestimou o impacto na categoria Ecotoxicidade de Água Doce em quase 100 %, em comparação ao modelo PestLCI, de melhor representação. Os pesticidas de maior contribuição (emissões) nos diferentes compartimentos foram Diuron, Ácido Metilarsênico, 2,4-D, Glifosato e Malation. O método ReCiPe-World Midpoint, considera Lambda-cialotrina, Profenofós e Clorpirifós as substâncias de maior impacto nas categorias relacionadas à Ecotoxicidade. A correta distribuição das emissões entre os compartimentos ambientais promove melhor compreensão dos impactos gerados pelos pesticidas, fundamental para buscar soluções e práticas que reduzam seu uso, buscando um equilíbrio entre produção e o meio ambiente

Avaliação do perfil ambiental da produção de óleo de algodão: efeito do processo de extração (mecânico ou solvente) e local de processamento.

O Brasil é o 4° produtor mundial de algodão, com destaque para MT. Portanto, estudos de Avaliação de Ciclo de Vida são essenciais para ampliar a sustentabilidade dessa cadeia. Há poucos trabalhos na literatura relacionados ao óleo de algodão, podendo este contribuir com propostas de aprimoramento e obtenção de produto mais sustentável. O objetivo deste estudo foi comparar perfis ambientais da produção do óleo de algodão, avaliando o efeito do método de extração (mecânica ou solvente) e distância da unidade de processamento. Os inventários da fase agrícola e industrial (descaroçamento e extração do óleo) foram obtidos da literatura. Os dados da fase agrícola são referentes à produção em município de Sapezal (MT). Para a fase industrial, os dados foram processados utilizando conjunto de dados de inventários. Considerou-se que o descaroçamento ocorreu em Sapezal (MT) e a extração em Rondonópolis (MT) ou Paraguaçu Paulista (SP). As emissões foram obtidas através da ferramenta ICVCalc-Embrapa, PestLCI, e literatura. A contabilidade ambiental foi realizada no SimaPro, método ReciPe-MidPoint-H. O transporte das sementes para as unidades apresentaram grande relevância; o produto processado em SP apresenta maior impacto em todas as categorias. Na categoria Aquecimento Global (GW) os aumentos são de até 58% comparados a MT. Os resultados estão relacionados às emissões derivadas do diesel (transporte). Entretanto, o local (SP) atenuou os impactos relativos, provavelmente devido à origem de insumos, como água e eletricidade. Quanto aos métodos de extração, aumentos relacionados ao uso de solvente são pouco significativos (até 2,6 % maiores na categoria GW), à exceção das categorias toxicidade humana, terrestre, marinha e depleção de água. O método por solvente amplia o rendimento (considerado em 5%) diminuindo o uso de insumos e os impactos derivados do transporte. Provavelmente, maiores rendimentos podem tornar o processo com solvente mais vantajoso do ponto de vista ambiental

Soybean Meal-Induced Intestinal Inflammation in Zebrafish Is T Cell-Dependent and Has a Th17 Cytokine Profile

Currently, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a serious public health problem on the rise worldwide. In this work, we utilized the zebrafish to introduce a new model of intestinal inflammation triggered by food intake. Taking advantage of the translucency of the larvae and the availability of transgenic zebrafish lines with fluorescently labeled macrophages, neutrophils, or lymphocytes, we studied the behavior of these cell types in vivo during the course of inflammation. We established two feeding strategies, the first using fish that were not previously exposed to food (naïve strategy) and the second in which fish were initially exposed to normal food (developed strategy). In both strategies, we analyzed the effect of subsequent intake of a control or a soybean meal diet. Our results showed increased numbers of innate immune cells in the gut in both the naïve or developed protocols. Likewise, macrophages underwent drastic morphological changes after feeding, switching from a small and rounded contour to a larger and dendritic shape. Lymphocytes colonized the intestine as early as 5 days post fertilization and increased in numbers during the inflammatory process. Gene expression analysis indicated that lymphocytes present in the intestine correspond to T helper cells. Interestingly, control diet only induced a regulatory T cell profile in the developed model. On the contrary, soybean meal diet induced a Th17 response both in naïve and developed model. In addition, when feeding was performed in rag1-deficient fish, intestinal inflammation was not induced indicating that inflammation induced by soybean meal is T cell-dependent

Lack of complex I is associated with oncocytic thyroid tumours

Oncocytic tumours are characterised by hyperproliferation of mitochondria. We immunohistochemically analysed all enzymes of the oxidative phosphorylation system in 19 oncocytic thyroid tumours. A specific lack of complex I was detected, which was expressed at <5% of the level determined in surrounding non-cancerous tissue

A Distributed GPU-based Framework for real-time 3D Volume Rendering of Large Astronomical Data Cubes

We present a framework to interactively volume-render three-dimensional data cubes using distributed ray-casting and volume bricking over a cluster of workstations powered by one or more graphics processing units (GPUs) and a multi-core CPU. The main design target for this framework is to provide an in-core visualization solution able to provide three-dimensional interactive views of terabyte-sized data cubes. We tested the presented framework using a computing cluster comprising 64 nodes with a total of 128 GPUs. The framework proved to be scalable to render a 204 GB data cube with an average of 30 frames per second. Our performance analyses also compare between using NVIDIA Tesla 1060 and 2050 GPU architectures and the effect of increasing the visualization output resolution on the rendering performance. Although our initial focus, and the examples presented in this work, is volume rendering of spectral data cubes from radio astronomy, we contend that our approach has applicability to other disciplines where close to real-time volume rendering of terabyte-order 3D data sets is a requirement.Comment: 13 Pages, 7 figures, has been accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australi

Assessment of oxidative damage to proteins and DNA in urine of newborn infants by a validated UPLC-MS/MS approach

The assessment of oxidative stress is highly relevant in clinical Perinatology as it is associated to adverse outcomes in newborn infants. This study summarizes results from the validation of an Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous quantification of the urinary concentrations of a set of endogenous biomarkers, capable to provide a valid snapshot of the oxidative stress status applicable in human clinical trials, especially in the field of Perinatology. The set of analytes included are phenylalanine (Phe), para-tyrosine (p-Tyr), ortho-tyrosine (o-Tyr), meta-tyrosine (m-Tyr), 3-NO2-tyrosine (3NO 2-Tyr), 3-Cl-tyrosine (3Cl-Tyr), 2′-deoxyguanosine (2dG) and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG). Following the FDA-based guidelines, appropriate levels of accuracy and precision, as well as adequate levels of sensitivity with limits of detection (LODs) in the low nanomolar (nmol/L) range were confirmed after method validation. The validity of the proposed UPLC-MS/MS method was assessed by analysing urine samples from a clinical trial in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants randomized to be resuscitated with two different initial inspiratory fractions of oxygen

Brain Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Regulates Arterial Blood Flow, Heart Rate, and Insulin Sensitivity

OBJECTIVE— To ascertain the importance and mechanisms underlying the role of brain glucagon-like peptide (GLP)-1 in the control of metabolic and cardiovascular function. GLP-1 is a gut hormone secreted in response to oral glucose absorption that regulates glucose metabolism and cardiovascular function. GLP-1 is also produced in the brain, where its contribution to central regulation of metabolic and cardiovascular homeostasis remains incompletely understood

Estruturação do Processo de Capacitação Presencial e a Distância e de Educação não-formal da Embrapa Informática Agropecuária.

Trata-se de uma efetiva contribuição de pesquisa desenvolvida para estruturar o processo de capacitação presencial e a distância e de educação não formal, sob a perspectiva da gestão por processo, com vistas a atender as necessidades e demandas das áreas de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (P&D), Transferência de Tecnologia (TT) e Desenvolvimento Institucional, privilegiando o emprego de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC)

Limited clinical relevance of mitochondrial DNA mutation and gene expression analyses in ovarian cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, numerous studies have investigated somatic mutations in mitochondrial DNA in various tumours. The observed high mutation rates might reflect mitochondrial deregulation; consequently, mutation analyses could be clinically relevant. The purpose of this study was to determine if mutations in the mitochondrial D-loop region and/or the level of mitochondrial gene expression could influence the clinical course of human ovarian carcinomas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We sequenced a 1320-base-pair DNA fragment of the mitochondrial genome (position 16,000-750) in 54 cancer samples and in 44 corresponding germline control samples. In addition, six transcripts (<it>MT-ATP6, MT-CO1, MT-CYB, MT-ND1</it>, <it>MT-ND6</it>, and <it>MT-RNR1</it>) were quantified in 62 cancer tissues by real-time RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Somatic mutations in the D-loop sequence were found in 57% of ovarian cancers. Univariate analysis showed no association between mitochondrial DNA mutation status or mitochondrial gene expression and any of the examined clinicopathologic parameters. A multivariate logistic regression model revealed that the expression of the mitochondrial gene <it>RNR1 </it>might be used as a predictor of tumour sensitivity to chemotherapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In contrast to many previously published papers, our study indicates rather limited clinical relevance of mitochondrial molecular analyses in ovarian carcinomas. These discrepancies in the clinical utility of mitochondrial molecular tests in ovarian cancer require additional large, well-designed validation studies.</p