L'Acumulació de perdigons de plom al Parc Natural del Fondó d'Elx (Alacant): distribució espacial i propostes d'actuació

Presentem els resultats de l'anàlisi de l'acumulació de perdigons de plom als sediments de dues basses del Parc Natural del Fondó d'Elx (Alacant). El plom és un element poc freqüent a la natura però que es pot concentrar als aiguamolls com a conseqüència de l'activitat cinegètica. Aquesta acumulació pot ocasionar que diferents tipus d'organismes ingereixin aquest metall, especialment l'avifauna aquàtica, tot produint-los una greu intoxicació. El Fondó és un sistema aquàtic regulat per l'home on s'ha practicat la caça des de fa molts anys; darrerament s'han trobat en aquest paratge nombrosos exemplars de flamencs (Phoenicopterus ruber) morts per l'emmetzinament amb perdigons de plom. Per tal de corroborar la causa d'aquesta mortalitat, es va procedir a la realització d'aquest estudi. Els resultats obtinguts demostren que s'hi han acumulat grans quantitat de plom al Parc, amb densitats a l'embassament de Llevant de 166,22 perdigons m2, i de 121,57 perdigons m2 a la reserva natural. Es proposa la utilització de méodes de representació especial (Kriging) per localitzar als aiguamolls les zones on l'acumulació és més elevada. També es proposen diferents mesures correctores i possibles solucions específiques que puguin alleugerir el problema.Sediments of two lagoons of the «Parc Natural del Fondo d'Elx» (Alacant, Spain) where analized in order to determine the existing content of lead gunshots accumulated by hunting activity. This can cause poisoning for ingestion in a waste range of organisms, specially in birds. The Fondo is a man made wetland, were hunting has been played for many years. In recent years, many flamingo (Phoenicopterus rubber) individuals have been found dead by lead shot ingestion. The results evidence hight levels of lead accumulation in sediments of the Natural Park. Mean densities are 166.22 shots m2 in the East Pond and 122.57 shots m2 in the Natural Reserve. A method of spatial interpolation (Kriging) is proposed for the location of the higher lead accumulation areas in wetlands. Possible solutions and specific corrective measures are also proposed.Presentamos los resultados del análisis de la acumulac de perdigones de plomo en los sedimentos de dos lagunas del Parque Natural del Hondo de Elche (Alicante). El plomo es un elemento poco frecuente en la naturaleza pero que se puede concentrar en determinados lugares como las zonas húmedas, debido a la actividad cinegética. Esta acumulación puede ocasionar la ingestión del metal por distintos tipos de organismos (sobre todo aves acuáticas), en los que se produce una grave intoxicación. El Hondo es una zona húmeda regulada por el hombre, en la que se ha practicado la caza desde hace muchos años; en estos últimos se han encontrado en este Parque numerosos ejemplares de flamencos (Phoenicopterus ruber) muertos por envenenamiento con perdigones de plomo. Para corroborar la causa de esta mortalidad se procedió a la realización del presente estudio. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto las elevadas densidades de plomo en los sedimentos sumergidos del Parque, siendo las medias obtenidas en el embalse de Levante de 166,22 perdigones m2, y de 121,57 perdigones m2 en la reserva natural. Se proponen técnicas de interpolación espacial (Kriging) para la localización de áreas de zonas húmedas donde la acumulación es mayor. También se proponen distintas medidas correctoras y posibles soluciones que puedan aliviar el problema

Advanced Genetic Studies on Powdery Mildew Resistance in TGR-1551

[EN] Cucurbits powdery mildew (CPM) is one of the main limiting factors of melon cultivation worldwide. Resistance to races 1, 2, and 5 has been reported in the African accession TGR-1551, whose resistance is controlled by a dominant-recessive epistasis. The dominant and recessive quantitative trail loci (QTL) have previously been located in chromosomes 5 and 12, respectively. We used several densely genotyped BC3 families derived from the cross between TGR-1551 and the susceptible cultivar 'Bola de Oro' to finely map these resistance regions. The further phenotyping and genotyping of the selected BC5, BC5S1, BC5S2, BC4S1, BC(4)xPS, and (BC(4)xPS) S-1 offspring allowed for the narrowing of the candidate intervals to a 250 and 381 kb region in chromosomes 5 and 12, respectively. Moreover, the temperature effect over the resistance provided by the dominant gene has been confirmed. High resolution melting markers (HRM) were tightly linked to both resistance regions and will be useful in marker-assisted selection programs. Candidate R genes with variants between parents that caused a potential modifier impact on the protein function were identified within both intervals. These candidate genes provide targets for future functional analyses to better understand the resistance to powdery mildew in melons.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033), grant number PID2020-116055RB (C21 and C22), and by the Conselleria d'Educacio, Investigacio, Cultura i Esports de la Generalitat Valenciana, grant number PROMETEO/2021/072 (to promote excellence groups, cofinanced with FEDER funds). M.L. is a recipient of a predoctoral fellowship (PRE2018-083466) of the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades co-financed with FSE funds.López-Martín, M.; Pérez De Castro, AM.; Picó Sirvent, MB.; Gómez-Guillamon, ML. (2022). Advanced Genetic Studies on Powdery Mildew Resistance in TGR-1551. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 23(20):1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms232012553119232

The thalamus and its subnuclei—a gateway to obsessive-compulsive disorder

Larger thalamic volume has been found in children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and children with clinical-level symptoms within the general population. Particular thalamic subregions may drive these differences. The ENIGMA-OCD working group conducted mega- and meta-analyses to study thalamic subregional volume in OCD across the lifespan. Structural T-1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from 2649 OCD patients and 2774 healthy controls across 29 sites (50 datasets) were processed using the FreeSurfer built-in ThalamicNuclei pipeline to extract five thalamic subregions. Volume measures were harmonized for site effects using ComBat before running separate multiple linear regression models for children, adolescents, and adults to estimate volumetric group differences. All analyses were pre-registered (https://osf.io/73dvy) and adjusted for age, sex and intracranial volume. Unmedicated pediatric OCD patients (<12 years) had larger lateral (d = 0.46), pulvinar (d = 0.33), ventral (d = 0.35) and whole thalamus (d = 0.40) volumes at unadjusted p-values <0.05. Adolescent patients showed no volumetric differences. Adult OCD patients compared with controls had smaller volumes across all subregions (anterior, lateral, pulvinar, medial, and ventral) and smaller whole thalamic volume (d = -0.15 to -0.07) after multiple comparisons correction, mostly driven by medicated patients and associated with symptom severity. The anterior thalamus was also significantly smaller in patients after adjusting for thalamus size. Our results suggest that OCD-related thalamic volume differences are global and not driven by particular subregions and that the direction of effects are driven by both age and medication status

L'Acumulació de perdigons de plom al Parc Natural del Fondó d'Elx (Alacant): distribució espacial i propostes d'actuació

Sediments of two lagoons of the «Parc Natural del Fondo d'Elx» (Alacant, Spain) where analized in order to determine the existing content of lead gunshots accumulated by hunting activity. This can cause poisoning for ingestion in a waste range of organisms, specially in birds. The Fondo is a man made wetland, were hunting has been played for many years. In recent years, many flamingo (Phoenicopterus rubber) individuals have been found dead by lead shot ingestion. The results evidence hight levels of lead accumulation in sediments of the Natural Park. Mean densities are 166.22 shots m2 in the East Pond and 122.57 shots m2 in the Natural Reserve. A method of spatial interpolation (Kriging) is proposed for the location of the higher lead accumulation areas in wetlands. Possible solutions and specific corrective measures are also proposed.Presentem els resultats de l'anàlisi de l'acumulació de perdigons de plom als sediments de dues basses del Parc Natural del Fondó d'Elx (Alacant). El plom és un element poc freqüent a la natura però que es pot concentrar als aiguamolls com a conseqüència de l'activitat cinegètica. Aquesta acumulació pot ocasionar que diferents tipus d'organismes ingereixin aquest metall, especialment l'avifauna aquàtica, tot produint-los una greu intoxicació. El Fondó és un sistema aquàtic regulat per l'home on s'ha practicat la caça des de fa molts anys; darrerament s'han trobat en aquest paratge nombrosos exemplars de flamencs (Phoenicopterus ruber) morts per l'emmetzinament amb perdigons de plom. Per tal de corroborar la causa d'aquesta mortalitat, es va procedir a la realització d'aquest estudi. Els resultats obtinguts demostren que s'hi han acumulat grans quantitat de plom al Parc, amb densitats a l'embassament de Llevant de 166,22 perdigons m2, i de 121,57 perdigons m2 a la reserva natural. Es proposa la utilització de méodes de representació especial (Kriging) per localitzar als aiguamolls les zones on l'acumulació és més elevada. També es proposen diferents mesures correctores i possibles solucions específiques que puguin alleugerir el problema.Presentamos los resultados del análisis de la acumulac de perdigones de plomo en los sedimentos de dos lagunas del Parque Natural del Hondo de Elche (Alicante). El plomo es un elemento poco frecuente en la naturaleza pero que se puede concentrar en determinados lugares como las zonas húmedas, debido a la actividad cinegética. Esta acumulación puede ocasionar la ingestión del metal por distintos tipos de organismos (sobre todo aves acuáticas), en los que se produce una grave intoxicación. El Hondo es una zona húmeda regulada por el hombre, en la que se ha practicado la caza desde hace muchos años; en estos últimos se han encontrado en este Parque numerosos ejemplares de flamencos (Phoenicopterus ruber) muertos por envenenamiento con perdigones de plomo. Para corroborar la causa de esta mortalidad se procedió a la realización del presente estudio. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto las elevadas densidades de plomo en los sedimentos sumergidos del Parque, siendo las medias obtenidas en el embalse de Levante de 166,22 perdigones m2, y de 121,57 perdigones m2 en la reserva natural. Se proponen técnicas de interpolación espacial (Kriging) para la localización de áreas de zonas húmedas donde la acumulación es mayor. También se proponen distintas medidas correctoras y posibles soluciones que puedan aliviar el problema

Incidence and genetic diversity of cucurbit viruses in the Spanish Mediterranean area

[EN] Viral infections on cucurbits fields can cause major economic losses. Monitoring of the main producing areas is essential to identify both prevalent and emerging viruses. For two consecutive years (2019-2020), the presence and molecular diversity of 9 aphid- and whitefly-transmitted viruses in the main cucurbits producing areas of the Spanish Mediterranean basin and other important regions were studied. In analyses of symptomatic plants, watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) were found to be prevalent in all the monitored areas, regardless of the crop and the farming conditions. Moroccan watermelon mosaic virus (MWMV) and tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) were also found at lower rates, mainly in mixed infections with WMV. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted to determine the molecular variability of the different isolates. Whereas the sequences of CABYV, MWMV and ToLCNDV isolates all clustered within their corresponding Mediterranean clade, new viral variants of WMV and CMV were found. Concretely, 7 new WMV profiles and a reassorting CMV isolate (IB-IB-IA) were observed. Moreover, the complete genome of the newly described WMV isolates was sequenced. Further studies should be done to determine if these new variants spread to new areas and if they can overcome the previously described resistances.Agencia Estatal de Investigacion, Grant/Award Number: PID2020-116055RB (C21 and C22) and PRE2018-083466; Generalitat Valenciana, Grant/Award Number: PROMETEO/2021/072.López-Martín, M.; Sifres Cuerda, AG.; Gómez-Guillamón, ML.; Picó Sirvent, MB.; Pérez De Castro, AM. (2024). Incidence and genetic diversity of cucurbit viruses in the Spanish Mediterranean area. Plant Pathology. 73(2):431-443. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.1382543144373

A Novel Introgression Line Library Derived from a Wild Melon Gives Insights into the Genetics of Melon Domestication, Uncovering New Genetic Variability Useful for Breeding

A collection of 30 melon introgression lines (ILs) was developed from the wild accession Ames 24297 (TRI) into ‘Piel de Sapo’ (PS) genetic background. Each IL carried an average of 1.4 introgressions from TRI, and the introgressions represented 91.4% of the TRI genome. Twenty-two ILs, representing 75% of the TRI genome, were evaluated in greenhouse (Algarrobo and Meliana) and field (Alcàsser) trials, mainly to study traits related to domestication syndrome such as fruit weight (FW) and flesh content (FFP), as well as other fruit quality traits as fruit shape (FS), flesh firmness (FF), soluble solid concentration (SSC), rind color and abscission layer. The IL collection showed an impressive variation in size-related traits, with FW ranging from 800 to 4100 g, reflecting the strong effect of the wild genome on these traits. Most of the ILs produced smaller fruits compared with PS; however, unexpectedly, the IL TRI05-2 produced bigger fruits, likely due to new epistatic interacions with the PS genetic background. In contrast, the genotypic effect for FS was smaller, and few QTLs with notable effects were detected. Interestingly, variability was also observed for FFP, FF and SSC, rind color and abscission layer formation. Genes in these introgressions are candidates for having been involved in melon domestication and diversification as well. These results confirm that the TRI IL collection is a very powerful tool for mapping traits of agronomic interest in melon, allowing the confirmation of previously reported QTLs and the identification of new ones to better understand the domestication process of this crop

Right Prefrontal Cortical Thickness Is Associated With Response to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Children With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered a first-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in pediatric and adult populations. Nevertheless, some patients show partial or null response. The identification of predictors of CBT response may improve clinical management of patients with OCD. Here, we aimed to identify structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) predictors of CBT response in 2 large series of children and adults with OCD from the worldwide ENIGMA-OCD consortium. METHOD: Data from 16 datasets from 13 international sites were included in the study. We assessed which variations in baseline cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical volume predicted response to CBT (percentage of baseline to post-treatment symptom reduction) in 2 samples totaling 168 children and adolescents (age range 5-17.5 years) and 318 adult patients (age range 18-63 years) with OCD. Mixed linear models with random intercept were used to account for potential cross-site differences in imaging values. RESULTS: Significant results were observed exclusively in the pediatric sample. Right prefrontal cortex thickness was positively associated with the percentage of CBT response. In a post hoc analysis, we observed that the specific changes accounting for this relationship were a higher thickness of the frontal pole and the rostral middle frontal gyrus. We observed no significant effects of age, sex, or medication on our findings. CONCLUSION: Higher cortical thickness in specific right prefrontal cortex regions may be important for CBT response in children with OCD. Our findings suggest that the right prefrontal cortex plays a relevant role in the mechanisms of action of CBT in children

The functional connectome in obsessive-compulsive disorder: resting-state mega-analysis and machine learning classification for the ENIGMA-OCD consortium.

Current knowledge about functional connectivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is based on small-scale studies, limiting the generalizability of results. Moreover, the majority of studies have focused only on predefined regions or functional networks rather than connectivity throughout the entire brain. Here, we investigated differences in resting-state functional connectivity between OCD patients and healthy controls (HC) using mega-analysis of data from 1024 OCD patients and 1028 HC from 28 independent samples of the ENIGMA-OCD consortium. We assessed group differences in whole-brain functional connectivity at both the regional and network level, and investigated whether functional connectivity could serve as biomarker to identify patient status at the individual level using machine learning analysis. The mega-analyses revealed widespread abnormalities in functional connectivity in OCD, with global hypo-connectivity (Cohens d: -0.27 to -0.13) and few hyper-connections, mainly with the thalamus (Cohens d: 0.19 to 0.22). Most hypo-connections were located within the sensorimotor network and no fronto-striatal abnormalities were found. Overall, classification performances were poor, with area-under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUC) scores ranging between 0.567 and 0.673, with better classification for medicated (AUC = 0.702) than unmedicated (AUC = 0.608) patients versus healthy controls. These findings provide partial support for existing pathophysiological models of OCD and highlight the important role of the sensorimotor network in OCD. However, resting-state connectivity does not so far provide an accurate biomarker for identifying patients at the individual level

The functional connectome in obsessive-compulsive disorder: resting-state mega-analysis and machine learning classification for the ENIGMA-OCD consortium

Current knowledge about functional connectivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is based on small-scale studies, limiting the generalizability of results. Moreover, the majority of studies have focused only on predefined regions or functional networks rather than connectivity throughout the entire brain. Here, we investigated differences in resting-state functional connectivity between OCD patients and healthy controls (HC) using mega-analysis of data from 1,024 OCD patients and 1,028 HC from 28 independent samples of the ENIGMA-OCD consortium. We assessed group differences in whole-brain functional connectivity at both the regional and network level, and investigated whether functional connectivity could serve as biomarker to identify patient status at the individual level using machine learning analysis. The mega-analyses revealed widespread abnormalities in functional connectivity in OCD, with global hypo-connectivity (Cohen’s d: -0.27 to -0.13) and few hyper-connections, mainly with the thalamus (Cohen’s d: 0.19 to 0.22). Most hypo-connections were located within the sensorimotor network and no fronto-striatal abnormalities were found. Overall, classification performances were poor, with area-under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic curve (AUC) scores ranging between 0.567 and 0.673, with better classification for medicated (AUC=0.702) than unmedicated (AUC=0.608) patients versus healthy controls. These findings provide partial support for existing pathophysiological models of OCD and highlight the important role of the sensorimotor network in OCD. However, resting-state connectivity does not so far provide an accurate biomarker for identifying patients at the individual level

Virtual histology of cortical thickness and shared neurobiology in 6 psychiatric disorders

Importance Large-scale neuroimaging studies have revealed group differences in cortical thickness across many psychiatric disorders. The underlying neurobiology behind these differences is not well understood. Objective To determine neurobiologic correlates of group differences in cortical thickness between cases and controls in 6 disorders: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and schizophrenia. Design, Setting, and Participants Profiles of group differences in cortical thickness between cases and controls were generated using T1-weighted magnetic resonance images. Similarity between interregional profiles of cell-specific gene expression and those in the group differences in cortical thickness were investigated in each disorder. Next, principal component analysis was used to reveal a shared profile of group difference in thickness across the disorders. Analysis for gene coexpression, clustering, and enrichment for genes associated with these disorders were conducted. Data analysis was conducted between June and December 2019. The analysis included 145 cohorts across 6 psychiatric disorders drawn from the ENIGMA consortium. The numbers of cases and controls in each of the 6 disorders were as follows: ADHD: 1814 and 1602; ASD: 1748 and 1770; BD: 1547 and 3405; MDD: 2658 and 3572; OCD: 2266 and 2007; and schizophrenia: 2688 and 3244. Main Outcomes and Measures Interregional profiles of group difference in cortical thickness between cases and controls. Results A total of 12 721 cases and 15 600 controls, ranging from ages 2 to 89 years, were included in this study. Interregional profiles of group differences in cortical thickness for each of the 6 psychiatric disorders were associated with profiles of gene expression specific to pyramidal (CA1) cells, astrocytes (except for BD), and microglia (except for OCD); collectively, gene-expression profiles of the 3 cell types explain between 25% and 54% of variance in interregional profiles of group differences in cortical thickness. Principal component analysis revealed a shared profile of difference in cortical thickness across the 6 disorders (48% variance explained); interregional profile of this principal component 1 was associated with that of the pyramidal-cell gene expression (explaining 56% of interregional variation). Coexpression analyses of these genes revealed 2 clusters: (1) a prenatal cluster enriched with genes involved in neurodevelopmental (axon guidance) processes and (2) a postnatal cluster enriched with genes involved in synaptic activity and plasticity-related processes. These clusters were enriched with genes associated with all 6 psychiatric disorders. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, shared neurobiologic processes were associated with differences in cortical thickness across multiple psychiatric disorders. These processes implicate a common role of prenatal development and postnatal functioning of the cerebral cortex in these disorders