Development of functional ectopic compound eyes in scarabaeid beetles by knockdown of orthodenticle

Complex traits like limbs, brains, or eyes form through coordinated integration of diverse cell fates across developmental space and time, yet understanding how complexity and integration emerge from uniform, undifferentiated precursor tissues remains limited. Here, we use ectopic eye formation as a paradigm to investigate the emergence and integration of novel complex structures following massive ontogenetic perturbation. We show that down-regulation via RNAi of a single head patterning gene—orthodenticle—induces ectopic structures externally resembling compound eyes at the middorsal adult head of both basal and derived scarabaeid beetle species (Onthophagini and Oniticellini). Scanning electron microscopy documents ommatidial organization of these induced structures, while immunohistochemistry reveals the presence of rudimentary ommatidial lenses, crystalline cones, and associated neural-like tissue within them. Further, RNA-sequencing experiments show that after orthodenticle down-regulation, the transcriptional signature of the middorsal head—the location of ectopic eye induction—converges onto that of regular compound eyes, including up-regulation of several retina-specific genes. Finally, a light-aversion behavioral assay to assess functionality reveals that ectopic compound eyes can rescue the ability to respond to visual stimuli when wild-type eyes are surgically removed. Combined, our results show that knockdown of a single gene is sufficient for the middorsal head to acquire the competence to ectopically generate a functional compound eye-like structure. These findings highlight the buffering capacity of developmental systems, allowing massive genetic perturbations to be channeled toward orderly and functional developmental outcomes, and render ectopic eye formation a widely accessible paradigm to study the evolution of complex systems.Fil: Zattara, Eduardo Enrique. Indiana University; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; ArgentinaFil: Macagno, Anna L. M.. Indiana University; Estados UnidosFil: Busey, Hannah A.. Indiana University; Estados UnidosFil: Moczek, Armin P.. Indiana University; Estados Unido

Gold Nucleation Inhibition by Halide Ions: a Basis for a Seed-Mediated Approach

In the present work, we examine the effect of halide ions on gold nucleation, a typical synthetic variable in the wet-chemical production of gold nanostructures. It was found that the homogeneous nucleation of gold by the chemical reduction of aqueous gold ions is kinetically quenched by an increase in the concentration of halide ions, and this effect grows stronger as the Au–halide complex stability increases. The nucleation quenching is not exclusively related to a specific reducing agent, but appears to be a more general behavior, and is affected by the pH of the media. While no nucleation is observed, Au(I) metastable species coexist together with the reducer, constituting metastable solutions. It is demonstrated that nucleation inhibition by halide ions can be employed as a basis for a seed-mediated approach to produce gold nanostructures. The metastable solutions are proved to function as growth baths, where Au(I) reduction is triggered on the surface of previously synthesized gold nanoparticles, driving their growth in the absence of secondary nucleation. It is also shown how, with this approach, the synthesis conditions can be rationally designed to obtain gold nanoparticles with the desired properties in a controlled and reproducible fashion.Fil: Moiraghi, Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Douglas Gallardo, Oscar Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Coronado, Eduardo A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Macagno, Vicente Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Manuel Alejo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; Argentin

The role of Tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine reducing agent in the controlled formation of α,ω-Alkanedithiols Monolayers on Au(111) with monocoordinated and bicoordinated configurations

The addition of the reducing agent tris(2-carboxyethyl) phosphine (TCEP) during the formation of α,ω-alkanedithiols monolayers on Au(111) using the immersion method produces the assembly of monolayers with bicoordinated molecules (both S-terminal groups bound to the surface) that have a reductive desorption potential that is more positive than for monolayers with monocoordinated molecules in a standing up configuration. We show that the use of TCEP either during formation of the monolayer or as a post treatment procedure allows the controlled formation of monolayers with bicoordinated or monocoordinated configurations. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were performed to elucidate the role of TCEP in the formation of the bicoordinated configuration. We investigated the TCEP-dithiol interaction in ethanol solvent as well as the coadsorption of trimethylphosphine with 1,2-ethanedithiol on Au(111). The Brønsted base character of the phosphine facilitates the H exchange from the −SHgroups of the dithiol to the phosphorous atom of TCEP with very low activation energy barriers, thus allowing the thiolate groups to bind to the Au(111) surface, thus yielding the bicoordinated configuration. Dithiol lifting mechanisms such as H exchange between S atoms and the formation of intra/inter layer disulfide bonds have much higher energy barriers.Fil: Euti, Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Velez, Patricio. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Matemática y Física; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Leiva, Ezequiel Pedro Marcos. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Matemática y Física; ArgentinaFil: Macagno, Vicente Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Paredes Olivera, Patricia. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Departamento de Matemática y Física; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Patrito, Eduardo Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Cometto, Fernando Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; Argentin

Wayfinding and Glaucoma: A Virtual Reality Experiment.

PurposeWayfinding, the process of determining and following a route between an origin and a destination, is an integral part of everyday tasks. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of glaucomatous visual field loss on wayfinding behavior using an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment.MethodsThis cross-sectional study included 31 glaucomatous patients and 20 healthy subjects without evidence of overall cognitive impairment. Wayfinding experiments were modeled after the Morris water maze navigation task and conducted in an immersive VR environment. Two rooms were built varying only in the complexity of the visual scene in order to promote allocentric-based (room A, with multiple visual cues) versus egocentric-based (room B, with single visual cue) spatial representations of the environment. Wayfinding tasks in each room consisted of revisiting previously visible targets that subsequently became invisible.ResultsFor room A, glaucoma patients spent on average 35.0 seconds to perform the wayfinding task, whereas healthy subjects spent an average of 24.4 seconds (P = 0.001). For room B, no statistically significant difference was seen on average time to complete the task (26.2 seconds versus 23.4 seconds, respectively; P = 0.514). For room A, each 1-dB worse binocular mean sensitivity was associated with 3.4% (P = 0.001) increase in time to complete the task.ConclusionsGlaucoma patients performed significantly worse on allocentric-based wayfinding tasks conducted in a VR environment, suggesting visual field loss may affect the construction of spatial cognitive maps relevant to successful wayfinding. VR environments may represent a useful approach for assessing functional vision endpoints for clinical trials of emerging therapies in ophthalmology

Adaptive maternal behavioral plasticity and developmental programming mitigate the transgenerational effects of temperature in dung beetles

Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to cope with rapid environmental change. Yet exactly when during ontogeny plastic responses are elicited, whether plastic responses produced in one generation influence phenotypic variation and fitness in subsequent generations, and the role of plasticity in shaping population divergences, remains overall poorly understood. Here, we use the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus to assess plastic responses to temperature at several life stages bridging three generations and compare these responses across three recently diverged populations. We find that beetles reared at hotter temperatures grow less than those reared at mild temperatures, and that this attenuated growth has transgenerational consequences by reducing offspring size and survival in subsequent generations. However, we also find evidence that plasticity may mitigate these consequences in two ways: 1) mothers modify the temperature of their offspring's developmental environment via behavioral plasticity and 2) in one population, offspring exhibit accelerated growth when exposed to hot temperatures during very early development (‘developmental programming’). Lastly, our study reveals that offspring responses to temperature diverged among populations in fewer than 100 generations, possibly in response to range-specific changes in climatic or social conditions.Fil: Macagno, Anna L. M.. Indiana University; Estados UnidosFil: Zattara, Eduardo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universidad Bariloche. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente; Argentina. Indiana University; Estados UnidosFil: Ezeakudo, Onye. Homestead High School; Estados UnidosFil: Moczek, Armin P.. Indiana University; Estados UnidosFil: Ledón Rettig, Cristina. Indiana University; Estados Unido

Individual differences in level of wisdom are associated with brain activation during a moral decision-making task.

IntroductionWisdom is reportedly associated with better health and quality of life. However, our knowledge of the neurobiology of wisdom is still in the early stages of development. We aimed to improve our understanding by correlating a psychometric measure of the trait with patterns of brain activation produced by a cognitive task theorized to be relevant to wisdom: moral decision-making. In particular, we aimed to determine whether individual differences in wisdom interact with moral task complexity in relation to brain activation.MethodsParticipants were 39 community-dwelling men and women aged 27-76 years, who completed moral and nonmoral decision-making tasks while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Brain activation in select regions of interest was correlated with participants' scores on the San Diego Wisdom Scale (SD-WISE).ResultsIndividual differences in wisdom were found to interact with brain response to moral versus nonmoral and moral personal versus impersonal dilemmas, particularly in regions in or near the default mode network. Persons with higher scores on the SD-WISE had less contrast between moral and nonmoral dilemmas and greater contrast between moral-personal and moral-impersonal dilemmas than individuals with lower SD-WISE scores.ConclusionsResults confirmed our hypothesis that individual differences in level of wisdom would interact with moral condition in relation to brain activation, and may underscore the relevance of considering one's own and others' actions and experiences in the context of wise thinking. Future studies are needed to replicate these findings and to examine specific neurocircuits

Silver oxide particles/silver nanoparticles interconversion: Susceptibility of forward/backward reactions to the chemical environment at room temperature

The thermal stability of the silver oxide particles (Ag 2O)/ metallic silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) system in aqueous and gaseous environments is investigated with UV-Visible spectroscopy, TEM, SEM and DLS as characterisation techniques, and with calculations using electromagnetic theory. Thermal decomposition of aqueous Ag 2O colloids to produce AgNPs is conclusively demonstrated and used as a base reaction to produce clean AgNPs without any external reducing agent. Such a spontaneous character of Ag 2O decomposition in alkaline aqueous/water-enriched environments at room temperature makes the formation of silver oxide films on silver nanoparticles/nanostructures unlikely, keeping the silver surface oxide-free, a crucial feature in determining the silver catalytic and Raman enhancing properties. The synthetic suitability of this reaction to develop new routes to produce AgNPs is explored by analyzing the effect of temperature, complexing agents, and environment polarity on the AgNPs size/shape control. Thermal decomposition of Ag 2O colloids in aqueous/water-enriched environments offers the possibility to produce AgNPs at low cost, with easy, clean, safe and green chemistry procedures.Fil: Douglas Gallardo, Oscar Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Moiraghi, Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Macchione, Micaela Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Godoy, Jorge A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Manuel Alejo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Coronado, Eduardo A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Macagno, Vicente Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Físico-química de Córdoba; Argentin

Multiple Changes in Peptide and Lipid Expression Associated with Regeneration in the Nervous System of the Medicinal Leech

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