Identification and characterization of beneficial microorganisms associated with chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) for increased productivity and drought tolerance

In view of the impact of water scarcity on productivity, it is important to provide plants with tools that make them more tolerant. Such development can be attained by exploiting beneficial microorganisms for increased productivity and resilience under climate conditions. Furthermore, the economic and environmental constrains of mineral fertilizers actively encourage alternative sources which are environment-friendly, cost effective and ensure the demands and constrains of producers and consumers. Therefore, the use of beneficial microorganisms as biofertilizers has become important in agri- culture sector because of their potential role in food safety and sustainable production. Among soil microorganisms, PGPR, including rhizobia, are promising substitutes of chemical fertilizers because of their biological mechanisms that improve plant performance and enhance the resistance to fungal pathogens and abiotic stress. Becoming conscious of this potential, requires an understanding of their role in crop production and the development of efficient inoculants available for farmers. The present study has the objective of identified the best inoculant of chickpea rizhosfera microorganism. This has been carried out with the following procedures: Trap culture collection of the bacterias, In-vitro assessment to prove that the bacterias are the same as the first isolation, molecular identification, and phylogenetic analysis of the sequences. The phylogenetic trees are quite clear but is difficult to extract conclusions with out further studies.En vista de l’impacte de l’escassetat d’aigua a la productivitat, és important proporcionar a les plantes eines que les facin més tolerants. Aquest desenvolupament es pot aconseguir mitjan¸cant l’explotació de microorganismes beneficiosos per augmentar la productivitat i la resistència en condicions climàtiques. A més, els problemes econòmics i ambientals dels fertilitzants minerals fomenten activament el desenvolupament d’alternatives que siguin amigables amb el medi ambient, rendibles i satisfacin les demandes dels productors i consumidors. Per tant, l’ús de microorganismes beneficiosos com a biofertilitzants s’ha tornat important en el sector de l’agricultura a causa del seu paper productiu i sostenible. Els microorganismes del sòl, Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR), inclosos els rizobios, són substituts prometedors dels fertilitzants químics a causa dels seus mecanismes biològics que milloren el rendiment de la planta i augmenten la resistència als patògens fúngics i l’estrès abiòtic. Prendre consciència d’aquest potencial, requereix una comprensió del seu paper en la producció de cultius i el desenvolupament de inoculants eficients i disponibles per als agricultors. El present estudi té com a objectiu identificar el millor inoculant del la rizosfera del cigró. Això s’ha dut a terme amb els següents procediments: Cultius trampa per a la recol·lecció dels bacteris, Avaluació in vitro per provar que els bacteris són iguals al primer a¨ıllament, identificació molecular i anàlisi filogenètica de les seqüències. Els arbres filogenètics són prou clars, però és difícil extreure conclusions sense estudis addicionals.En vista del impacto de la escasez de agua en la productividad, es importante proporcionar a las plantas herramientas que las hagan más tolerantes. Este desarrollo puede lograrse mediante la explotación de microorganismos beneficiosos para aumentar la productividad y la resistencia en condiciones climáticas. Además, los problemas económicos y ambientales de los fertilizantes minerales fomentan activamente el desarrollo de alternativas que son amigables con el medio ambiente, rentables y satisfaciendo las demandas de los productores y consumidores. Por lo tanto, el uso de microorganismos beneficiosos como biofertilizantes se ha vuelto importante en el sector de la agricultura debido a su papel productivo y sostenible.Los microorganismos del suelo, PGPR, incluidos los rizobios, son sustitutos prometedores de los fertilizantes químicos debido a sus mecanismos biológicos que mejoran el rendimiento de la planta y aumentan la resistencia a los patógenos fúngicos y al estrés abiótico. Tomar conciencia de este potencial, requiere una comprensión de su papel en la producción de cultivos y el desarrollo de inoculantes eficientes disponibles para los agricultores. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo identificar al mejor inoculante del la rizosfera del garbanzo. Esto se ha llevado a cabo con los siguientes procedimientos: Cultivos trampa para la recolección de las bacterias, Evaluación in vitro para probar que las bacterias son iguales al primer aislamiento, identificación molecular y análisis filogenético de las secuencias. Los árboles filogenéticos son bastante claros, pero es difícil extraer conclusiones sin estudios adicionales

The World of Bullying: An Overview and Reflexion

The issue of bullying is of growing concern in developed countries. Considerable effort has been carried out to understand the problem and implementation programs have been launched to deal with this issue. In this paper we aim to define the concept of bullying and to present some data in relation to causes of bullying which have been highlighted by different researchers around the world. We aim to shed some light on the question of how to fight against bullying. Our conclusions stress the difficulties in conceptualising and researching bullying derived from cultural/social factors and from factors that relate to adolescence as a transitional and vulnerable period in life

The World of Bullying: An Overview and Reflexion

The issue of bullying is of growing concern in developed countries. Considerable effort has been carried out to understand the problem and implementation programs have been launched to deal with this issue. In this paper we aim to define the concept of bullying and to present some data in relation to causes of bullying which have been highlighted by different researchers around the world. We aim to shed some light on the question of how to fight against bullying. Our conclusions stress the difficulties in conceptualising and researching bullying derived from cultural/social factors and from factors that relate to adolescence as a transitional and vulnerable period in life

The Association Between Rate and Severity of Exacerbations in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Application of a Joint Frailty-Logistic Model.

Exacerbations are a hallmark of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Evidence suggests the presence of substantial between-individual variability (heterogeneity) in exacerbation rates. The question of whether individuals vary in their tendency towards experiencing severe (versus mild) exacerbations, or whether there is an association between exacerbation rate and severity, has not yet been studied. We used data from the MACRO Study, a 1-year randomized trial of the use of azithromycin for prevention of COPD exacerbations (United States and Canada, 2006-2010; n = 1,107, mean age = 65.2 years, 59.1% male). A parametric frailty model was combined with a logistic regression model, with bivariate random effects capturing heterogeneity in rate and severity. The average rate of exacerbation was 1.53 episodes/year, with 95% of subjects having a model-estimated rate of 0.47-4.22 episodes/year. The overall ratio of severe exacerbations to total exacerbations was 0.22, with 95% of subjects having a model-estimated ratio of 0.04-0.60. We did not confirm an association between exacerbation rate and severity (P = 0.099). A unified model, implemented in standard software, could estimate joint heterogeneity in COPD exacerbation rate and severity and can have applications in similar contexts where inference on event time and intensity is considered. We provide SAS code (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, North Carolina) and a simulated data set to facilitate further uses of this method

Re-designing the substrate binding pocket of laccase for enhanced oxidation of sinapic acid

Iterative saturation mutagenesis was performed over six residues delimiting the substrate binding pocket of a high-redox potential chimeric laccase with the aim of enhancing its activity over sinapic acid, a lignin-related phenol of industrial interest. In total, more than 15000 clones were screened and two selected variants, together with the parent-type laccase, were purified and characterized. The new variants presented shifted pH activity profiles and enhanced turnover rates on sinapic acid and its methyl ester, whereas the oxidation of related phenols was not significantly enhanced. Neither the enzyme's redox potential nor the mechanism of the reaction were affected. Thus, quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics calculations were done to rationalize the effect of the selected mutations, revealing the critical role of the residues of the enzyme pocket to provide the precise binding of the substrate that enables an efficient electron transfer to the T1 copper. The results presented highlight the power of combining directed evolution and computational approaches to give novel solutions in enzyme engineering and to understand the mechanistic reasons behind them, offering new insights for further rational design towards specific targets

Deciphering the biotic and climatic factors that influence floral scents : a systematic review of floral volatile emissions

Altres ajuts: Catalan Government grant FI-2013Currently, a global analysis of the information available on the relative composition of the floral scents of a very diverse variety of plant species is missing. Such analysis may reveal general patterns on the distribution and dominance of the volatile compounds that form these mixtures, and may also allow measuring the effects of factors such as the phylogeny, pollination vectors, and climatic conditions on the floral scents of the species. To fill this gap, we compiled published data on the relative compositions and emission rates of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the floral scents of 305 plant species from 66 families. We also gathered information on the groups of pollinators that visited the flowers and the climatic conditions in the areas of distribution of these species. This information allowed us to characterize the occurrence and relative abundances of individual volatiles in floral scents and the effects of biotic and climatic factors on floral scent. The monoterpenes trans-β-ocimene and linalool and the benzenoid benzaldehyde were the most abundant floral VOCs, in both ubiquity and predominance in the floral blends. Floral VOC richness and relative composition were moderately preserved traits across the phylogeny. The reliance on different pollinator groups and the climate also had important effects on floral VOC richness, composition, and emission rates of the species. Our results support the hypothesis that key compounds or compounds originating from specific biosynthetic pathways mediate the attraction of the main pollinators. Our results also indicate a prevalence of monoterpenes in the floral blends of plants that grow in drier conditions, which could link with the fact that monoterpene emissions protect plants against oxidative stresses throughout drought periods and their emissions are enhanced under moderate drought stress. Sesquiterpenes, in turn, were positively correlated with mean annual temperature, supporting that sesquiterpene emissions are dominated mainly by ambient temperature. This study is the first to quantitatively summarise data on floral-scent emissions and provides new insights into the biotic and climatic factors that influence floral scents

Social fragmentation, public goods, and local elections: evidence from China

This study examines how the economic effects of local elections in rural China depend on voter heterogeneity, as captured by religious fractionalisation. We first document religious composition and the introduction of village-level elections for a nearly nationally representative sample of over 200 villages. Then, we examine the interaction effect of heterogeneity and the introduction of elections on village government provision of public goods. The interaction effect is robustly negative. We interpret this as evidence that voter heterogeneity constrains the potential benefits of local elections for public goods provision

Approaching the Dirac point in high mobility multi-layer epitaxial graphene

Multi-layer epitaxial graphene (MEG) is investigated using far infrared (FIR) transmission experiments in the different limits of low magnetic fields and high temperatures. The cyclotron-resonance like absorption is observed at low temperature in magnetic fields below 50 mT, allowing thus to probe the nearest vicinity of the Dirac point and to estimate the conductivity in nearly undoped graphene. The carrier mobility is found to exceed 250,000 cm$^2$/(V.s). In the limit of high temperatures, the well-defined Landau level (LL) quantization is observed up to room temperature at magnetic fields below 1 T, a phenomenon unique in solid state systems. A negligible increase in the width of the cyclotron resonance lines with increasing temperature indicates that no important scattering mechanism is thermally activated, supporting recent expectations of high room-temperature mobilities in graphene.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure