The association between overlooked microbial eukaryotes and plant holobiont: functionality and diversity

The plant holobiont is a relatively recent term in biology, introduced to address the assembly composed by the plant itself and its associated microbes. In order to address evolutionary selection within this frame, it becomes necessary to study plant-associated microbes, or microbiome, as a whole. A number of studies underpin the hypothesis that the picture of the plant microbiome is not yet complete in a number of aspects: from the role of abiotic factors in shaping microbial communities, to the whole microbial composition itself. The full comprehension of the microbiome scenario is, however, crucial to address the plant holobiont and therefore plant health. A still overlooked component of the plant microbiome, which I called overlooked microbial eukaryotes, includes a vast range of microbes, spanning from photoautotrophs to parasites, and has been proven to have prominent roles in other contexts such as soil or freshwaters. I applied ecological approaches as well as field experiments in order to address this overlooked component as a key of the still incomplete picture of the plant holobiont. Amplicon sequencing on natural A.thaliana populations from 15 sites in Germany, France, Spain, and Sweden, revealed that overlooked microbial eukaryotes are not occasional partners of the plant holobiont, both epiphytical and endophytical. On the contrary, they are able to widely interact with key hubs of the plant leaf microbiome such as Sphingomonas sp and the family of Caulobacteraceae, independently of the surrounding abiotic factors. Among others, microalgae have proven to be major shapers of microbial diversity for bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes. A newly established network analysis tool revealed that the presence of selected microalgae like Bracteacoccus sp. are linked to fluctuations of the pathogen Pseudomonas viridiflava, opening potential new fields in plant immunity research. The role of microalgae within the plant holobiont is also likely expressed by the symbiosis with lichenising fungi. A tight association between lichenising fungi and potential algal partners was found in shaping the leaf microbial diversity, prominently the epiphytic compartment. Amplicon sequencing on a time course-common garden experiment revealed that, beside microalgae, consumers like amoeboid organisms of the groups Lobosa, Conosa, Ciliophora also shape microbial diversity and follow specific succession patterns over time. XI Furthermore, the key role of overlooked microbial eukaryotes in the plant holobiont seems to be stable even at low concentrations. In fact, pools of low abundant overlooked microbial eukaryotes shape microbial diversity, to an extent never assessed before. In all these experiments, a key finding was the marginal effect of plant ecotype, as well as the marginal effect of latitudinal-climatic factors (with the exception of oomycetes), compared to the impact of overlooked microbial eukaryotes. My work gives novel insights into the ecology and the successions of overlooked microbial eukaryotes, revealing scenarios in which primary producers shape microbial diversity through the presence of single taxon such as Bracteacoccus sp, or together with lichenising fungi. They also influence microbial population through consumers and predators like Ciliophora and Lobosa, which undergo successions over time. My work further supports the autonomy of the assembly of microbial community from the plant host genetic background and from province related features, underpinning a core and multilevel role of overlooked microbial eukaryotes in the plant holobiont

HMGB1-Induced Cross Talk between PTEN and miRs 221/222 in Thyroid Cancer

High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is an ubiquitous protein that plays different roles in the nucleus, cytoplasm and extra-cellular space. It is an important DAMP molecule that allows communication between damaged or tumor cells and the immune system. Tumor cells exploit HMGB1’s ability to activate intracellular pathways that lead to cell growth and migration. Papillary thyroid cancer is a well differentiated tumor and is often used to study relationships between cells and the inflammatory microenvironment as the latter is characterized by high levels of inflammatory cells and cytokines. Anaplastic thyroid cancer is one of the most lethal human cancers in which many microRNAs and tumor suppressor genes are de-regulated. Up-regulation of microRNAs 221 and 222 has been shown to induce the malignant phenotype in many human cancers via inhibition of PTEN expression. In this study we suggest that extracellular HMGB1 interaction with RAGE enhances expression of oncogenic cluster miR221/222 that in turn inhibits tumor suppressor gene PTEN in two cell lines derived from human thyroid anaplastic and papillary cancers. The newly identified pathway HMGB1/RAGE/miR 221/222 may represent an effective way of tumor escape from immune surveillance that could be used to develop new therapeutic strategies against anaplastic tumors

Clinical, Histological and Trichoscopic Correlations in Scalp Disorders

Trichoscopy is the term coined for the dermoscopic imaging of scalp and hair. This diagnostic technique, simple and noninvasive, can be used as a handy bedside tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of hair and scalp disorders. It allows the recognition of morphologic structures not visible by the naked eye and provides the clinician with a range of dermoscopic findings necessary for differential diagnosis. Trichoscopy observation can be broadly grouped as interfollicular patterns and follicular patterns. Recently, a third mixed class, called the follicular plus interfollicular pattern, has been introduced. Some of these features are specific to a certain scalp disease, while others can be found in many hair disorders. Although studies suggest that the use of trichoscopy can improve clinical accuracy, further investigation is needed. This review provides update information on the trichoscopic features of the most common scalp disorders, striving to show a histopathological and clinical correlation

Dermoscopy and methyl aminolevulinate: A study for detection and evaluation of field cancerization

Actinic keratosis (AK) is a keratinocyte intraepidermal neoplasia UV light – induced that frequently appears in sun-exposed areas of the skin. Although historically AK was de fi ned as “ precancerous ” , actually it is considered as the earliest stage of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in situ. Since AKs can progress into invasive SCC, their treatment isrecommended. AKsrarely developasa singlelesion;usually multiplelesions commonly affect anen- tire area of chronically actinic damaged skin. This has led to the concept of “ fi eld cancerization ” , an area chroni- cally sun-exposed that surrounds peripherally visible lesions, in which are individualized subclinical alterations. One of the main principles endpoint in the management of AKs is the evaluation and the treatment of fi eld cancerization. In this view, in order to detect and quantify fi eld cancerization, we employed a method based on the topical application of methyl aminolevulinate (MAL) and the detection of the fl uorescence emitted by its metabolite Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX); then, considering the extension and the intensity of measured fl uores- cence, we create a score of fi eld cancerization. The results show that patients underwent to daylight PDT had a reduction of total score, from T0 to T2. Whereas in the group untreated we observed a stability of total score or a slightly worse. So, the method and the score used allows to evaluate with a good approximation the dimension of fi eld cancerization and show the modi fi cation of it after treatment

GlobalSearchRegression.jl: Building bridges between Machine Learning and Econometrics in Fat-Data scenarios

The aim of this paper is twofold. The first one is to describe a novel research-project designed for building bridges between machine learning and econometric worlds (ModelSelection.jl).The second one is to introduce the main characteristics and comparative performance of the first Julia-native all-subset regression algorithm included in GlobalSearchRegression.jl (v1.0.5). As other available alternatives, this algorithm allows researchers to obtain the best model specification among all possible covariate combinations - in terms of user defined information criteria-, but up to 3165 and 197 times faster than STATA and R alternatives, respectively.Fil: Panigo, Demian Tupac. Universidad Nacional de la Plata. Facultad de Ingenieria. Instituto Malvinas.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Centro de Innovación de los Trabajadores. Universidad Metropolitana para la Educación y el Trabajo. Centro de Innovación de los Trabajadores; ArgentinaFil: Gluzmann, Pablo Alfredo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas. Departamento de Ciencias Económicas. Centro de Estudios Distributivos Laborales y Sociales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Mocskos, Esteban Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Computación; ArgentinaFil: Mauri Ungaro, Adán. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Mari, Valentin. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Monzon, Nicolás. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Avellaneda; Argentin

Predicted Torque Model in Low-Frequency-Assisted Boring (LFAB) Operations

A low-frequency-assisted boring operation is a key cutting process in the aircraft manufacturing sector when drilling deep holes to avoid chip clogging based on chip breakage and, consequently, to reduce the temperature level in the cutting process. This paper proposes a predicted force model based on a commercial control-supported chip breaking function without external vibration devices in the boring operations. The model was fitted by conventional boring measurements and was validated by vibration boring experiments with different ranges of amplitude and frequency. The average prediction error is around 10%. The use of a commercial function makes the model more attractive for the industry because there is no need for intrusive vibration sensors. The low-frequency assisted boring (LFAB) operations foster the chip breakage. Finally, the model is generic and can be used for different cutting materials and conditions. Roughness is improved by 33% when vibration conditions are optimal, considered as a vibration amplitude of half the feed per tooth. This paper presents, as a novelty, the analysis of low-frequency vibration parameters in boring processes and their effect on chip formation and internal hole roughness. This has a practical significance for the definition of a methodology based on the torque model for the selection of conditions on other hole-making processes, cutting parameters and/or materials.This research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 723698 (ForZDM)

Obtaining deeper insights into microbiome diversity using a simple method to block host and nontargets in amplicon sequencing

Abstract Profiling diverse microbiomes is revolutionizing our understanding of biological mechanisms and ecologically relevant problems, including metaorganism (host + microbiome) assembly, functions and adaptation. Amplicon sequencing of multiple conserved, phylogenetically informative loci has therefore become an instrumental tool for many researchers. Investigations in many systems are hindered, however, since essential sequencing depth can be lost by amplification of nontarget DNA from hosts or overabundant microorganisms. Here, we introduce “blocking oligos”, a low‐cost and flexible method using standard oligonucleotides to block amplification of diverse nontargets and software to aid their design. We apply them primarily in leaves, where exceptional challenges with host amplification prevail. A . thaliana ‐specific blocking oligos applied in eight different target loci reduce undesirable host amplification by up to 90%. To expand applicability, we designed universal 16S and 18S rRNA gene plant blocking oligos for targets that are conserved in diverse plant species and demonstrate that they efficiently block five plant species from five orders spanning monocots and dicots ( Bromus erectus , Plantago lanceolata , Lotus corniculatus , Amaranth sp., Arabidopsis thaliana ). These can increase alpha diversity discovery without biasing beta diversity patterns and do not compromise microbial load information inherent to plant‐derived 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing data. Finally, we designed and tested blocking oligos to avoid amplification of 18S rRNA genes of a sporulating oomycete pathogen, demonstrating their effectiveness in applications well beyond plants. Using these tools, we generated a survey of the A . thaliana leaf microbiome based on eight loci targeting bacterial, fungal, oomycete and other eukaryotic microorganisms and discuss complementarity of commonly used amplicon sequencing regions for describing leaf microbiota. This approach has potential to make questions in a variety of study systems more tractable by making amplicon sequencing more targeted, leading to deeper, systems‐based insights into microbial discovery. For fast and easy design for blocking oligos for any nontarget DNA in other study systems, we developed a publicly available R package

Homínidos y hienas en el Calvero de la Higuera (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) durante el Pleistoceno superior. Resultados preliminares.

Depto. de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y PaleontologíaFac. de Ciencias GeológicasTRUEpu

Sobre humanos, animales y plantas: los estudios de la herencia en el ámbito académico agropecuario argentino y su impronta social (1886-1930)

Este trabajo aborda tempranas reflexiones sobre la herencia en la Argentina y el modo en que ellas plantearon, desde un principio, una homologa aplicación para el mundo social y el agropecuario. Se prolongan aquí anteriores indagaciones que nos permitieron dar con la recepción diferencial que tuvieron en el país el darvinismo y la eugenesia. Mientras el primero, considerado en ciertos ámbitos como una simple hipótesis, quedó sujeto a fuertes controversias que decantaron en variados mecanismos de recepción’; la eugenesia como los estudios sobre la herencia en general, fueron investidos de un status científico que rápidamente los volvió incuestionables5. Siguiendo esta línea de investigación, nos proponemos aquí profundizar y, a la vez, complejizar, esos anteriores planteos, explorándolos insumos provistos por una realidad agropecuaria que se mostró particularmente proclive a enunciar extrapolaciones al orden social de mejoras llevadas a cabo en animales y plantasFacultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la EducaciónUniversidad Nacional de QuilmesFacultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociale