Investigation of mitochondrial inheritance in the smut fungus sporisorium reilianum.

An important goal in evolutionary biology is to address the origin of Earth’s immense biodiversity through the evolution of complex sexual reproduction mechanisms in eukaryotes. Inheritance of mitochondria during sexual reproduction has received special attention in recent years, as these organelles cannot be synthesized de novo and must be transmitted from parent to offspring. The importance of these organelles far exceeds its common function as the energy-producing “powerhouse” of the cell, as it has been found to also be involved in fundamental processes like apoptosis, aging and metabolic homeostasis. Thus, appropriate inheritance of mitochondria is essential for growth and development of progeny. Sexually reproducing eukaryotes present a variety of mechanisms that allow mitochondria from a single parent to be passed on to the offspring (homoplasmy). However, biparental inheritance of mitochondria has also been described in other systems, in which offspring inherit mitochondrial genomes from both parents (heteroplasmy). Presence of different mitochondrial genomes within the same cytoplasm may result in the dissemination of deleterious mutations arising from the individual nature of each mitochondrial genome (e.g. different DNA replication rates, susceptibility to oxidative damage, etc.). The smut fungus Sporisorium reilianum f. sp. zeae is a pathogen of maize that exhibits a dimorphic lifestyle, being able to switch from budding yeast-like haploid sporidia to pathogenic filamentous dikarya that eventually develop into diploid teliospores. Notably, this smut fungus is equipped with genes for the appropriate segregation of mitochondria during sexual reproduction. Mating in S. reilianum may occur between three parental type strains, a1, a2 and a3, of which only a2 contains genes that promote inheritance of its own mitochondrial genetic material. Accordingly, mitochondrial inheritance in offspring resulting from a cross with the a2 parent is expected to follow a uniparental pattern. However, what happens in a cross between the a1 and a3 partners remains unclear. The present work explores the uniparental inheritance system of mitochondria in S. reilianum through the development of reliable and low-cost diagnostic methodologies to discern between mitogenomes. The study was dependent on the investigation of the genetic diversity of different S. reilianum strains through whole-genome sequencing and gene synteny analysis, which proved to be more reliable, and led to cost-effective methodologies for the detection of polymorphisms. Multiple sequence alignment revealed a slew of mutations throughout the mitochondrial DNA molecule. Mutations that were detected in protein-encoding regions needed further investigation, as they could have detrimental consequences on their predicted polypeptides. Furthermore, unique DNA sequence was detected in the cox1 gene of the Chinese isolate mitogenome, with high percent identity to other species related to S. reilianum. This remarkable finding may hint at a complex evolutionary history of S. reilianum, influenced by potential inter- and intraspecific exchange of mitochondrial genetic material. The distinct polymorphic region detected in Chinese strains of S. reilianum also provided the ideal groundwork for the development of simple diagnostic methods to discern between mitotypes following a mating event in the context of mitochondrial inheritance. Exploration of the mitochondrial inheritance mechanism of S. reilianum was based on previous findings from the closely related species, Ustilago maydis, which involves a degradation-mediated mechanism that renders inheritance uniparental. The diagnostic methods developed were based on Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technology and suggested deviation from predicted inheritance patterns in which the Chinese mitotype was always favored. Additionally, this deviation was not affected in the absence of the Lga2/Rga2 system. Finally, the electron transport chain of S. reilianum was further explored. Bioinformatic analysis and growth inhibition assays using specific respiratory inhibitors revealed the presence of a putative alternative oxidase (AOX), which is associated with alternative respiration in the face of inhibition of one or more of the classical mitochondrial complexes. AOX may play a more prominent role in the pathogenic stage of the fungus, as its absence significantly reduced disease severity. Moreover, expression analysis revealed that alternative oxidase is upregulated in the diploid teliospore stage of the fungus. Compared to haploid sporidia that bud or the dikarya that grow filamentously, such teliospores may benefit from reduced respiratory rates due to their mostly quiescent nature. Combined with the findings regarding mitochondrial inheritance, the characterization of alternative routes facilitated by nuclearly-encoded components like alternative oxidase provide an additional perspective from which to study genomic conflicts during sexual reproduction

Evaluating The Effect Of Coated Urea And Urea-Ammonium-Nitrate Solution On Cane Tonnage, Sugar Yield, And Leaf-Soil Nitrogen Content Under Louisiana Sugarcane Production System

Nitrogen (N) is a crucial nutrient for proper plant growth and development. N deficiency results in poor tillering and thin, short internode stem production for sugarcane production, thus resulting in low cane tonnage. Therefore, proper N fertilizer management is essential for a sustainable sugarcane production system. This research was conducted at the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station in St. Gabriel, LA, from 2019 to 2020 at three Sites (Site 1, 2, and 3). The treatments consisted of different N rates (0, 45, 90, and 135 kg N ha-1) and sources (urea-ammonium-nitrate solution [UAN]-32%, 30-day [Coated Urea 1], 45-day [Coated Urea 2], 60-day [Coated Urea 3]) arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Soil samples at two depths (0-15 and 15-30 cm) and second top visible dewlap leaf blade samples were collected from each plot at two, four, eight, and sixteen weeks after N application and at harvest to determine soil ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-), and N content, respectively. Cane yield was determined by harvesting the whole plot with a chopper harvester and weighing the billets in a wagon equipped with load cells. Sugar yield was calculated as the product of cane yield and theoretical recoverable sugar (TRS). Unlike the N source, the rate significantly affected cane tonnage, sugar yield, and N content in stalks and leaves across sites (p-1. The increase attributed to N application was 16 Mg ha-1 for cane tonnage and 2,255 kg ha-1 for sugar yield. Site 3 achieved the highest cane and sugar yield among the Sites. The heavy-textured soil at Sites 1 and 2 and several heavy rainfall events during the tillering stage might have affected sugarcane growth and N transformations. The coated urea-treated soil maintained a level of N about 40 % higher than the UAN-treated plots across sampling dates for Sites 1 and 2. The findings from this research demonstrated (a) the influence of weather conditions and soil type on N transformation and availability, (b) the utility of coated urea as an N source, and (c) that UAN is an effective N source

Machining and Dimensional Validation Training Using Augmented Reality for a Lean Process

AbstractQuality control does not concern only to a finished product, nowadays measuring technologies control all the fabrication process in an active way. If product quality does not meet the customer specifications exists the risk of even lose projects. When multiple or complex operations are required in the fabrication process of a part and its dimensional validation is primordial and also happens that the operator has doubts about which step to follow or that the expert supervisor is not at the workshop for some reason, that is why comes the opportunity of implementing Augmented Reality (A.R.) technology in education and in a lean manufacturing process, as support for technician operators of machine-tools and coordinate-measuring machines, with the objective of helping the technician to perform, in a proper and timely manner, the step sequence of the process. It was proved that having A.R. as ally in the technician's education, the mistakes and time required to fulfill the machining and dimensioning of a part can be considerably reduced, as well as eliminate operator's dependency to the experts. At the end of the implementation, savings were found in the three stages analyzed, generating 27.36% savings in lathe process, 26.54% in milling and 45.16% in dimensional validation

Radiofármaco teragnóstico basado en dendrímeros conjugados a ácido fólico y Lys3 -bombesina con nanopartículas de oro en la cavidad dendrítica

Theragnostics (or theranostics) is an acronym of therapeutics and diagnostics. In this project, theterm refers to molecular/macromolecular vectors of specific recognition and nanoplatforms thatincorporate both functions, diagnosisand therapy simultaneously. In addition, the incorporation ofdiagnostic and therapeutics functions may be useful in monitoring disease progress and evaluatingthe response to combined therapy.By using radiopharmaceuticals, it is possible to record and detect by in vivo imaging thespatio-temporal distribution of molecular or cellular processes for diagnostic and therapeuticapplications using nuclear medicine techniques. Lutetium-177-based radiopharmaceuticals areconsidered theranostic systems because of their gamma emission (208 keV ) useful for performingthe diagnostic image and its negative beta radiation(Emax0.498 M eV ) suitable for therapeuticapplications. In this thesis it is reported for the first time, the preparation of a new multivalent andmultifunctional lutetium-177 radiopharmaceutical based on a dendrimer (PAMAM-G4) containinggold nanoparticles, folic acid, and the peptide bombes insuitable for targeted radiotherapy,plasmonic-photothermal therapy and dual molecular imaging (optic and nuclear) of breast cancer.Therefore, the first aim of this research was to synthesize177Lu-dendrimer-folate-bombesin with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the dendritic cavity (177Lu-DenAuNP-Folate-Bombesin)and to evaluate the radiopharmaceutical potential for targeted radiotherapy and thesimultaneous detection of folate receptors (FRs) and gastrin-releasing peptide receptors (GRPRs)over-expressed in breast cancer cells. p-SCN-Benzyl-DOTA was linked to the dendrimer in anaqueous-basic medium. The carboxylate groups of Lys1Lys3(DOTA)-Bombesin and folic acid wereactivated with HATU and conjugated to the dendrimer.The conjugate was mixed with 1 % HAuCl4followed by the addition of NaBH4and purified byultrafiltration. Elemental analysis (EDS), particle size distribution (DLS), TEM analysis, UV-Vis,infrared and fluorescence spectroscopies were performed. The conjugate was radiolabeled using177LuCl3and analyzed by radio-HPLC. Studies confirmed the dendrimer functionalization withhigh radiochemical purity (> 95 %). Fluorescence results demonstrated that the presence of AuNPsin the dendritic cavity confers useful photophysical properties to the radiopharmaceutical for opticalimaging. Binding studies in T47D breast cancer cells showed a specific cell uptake (41.15 ± 2.72 %).177Lu-Dendrimer(AuNP)-Folate-Bombesin showed suitable properties as an optical and nuclearimaging agent for breast tumors over-expressing GRPR and FRs, as well as for target-specifictherapy. The integration of fluorescence and plasmonic properties into one molecule is of importancein developing multifunctional imaging and therapy nanoprobes.The second aim of this research was to evaluate the fluorescent properties and the plasmonic-photothermal therapeutic and radiotherapeutic potential of177Lu-DenAuNP-Folate-Bombesinwhen it is internalized in T47D breast cancer cells. The intense NIR fluorescence emitted fromthe conjugate inside cells corroborated the usefulness of DenAuNP-Folate-Bombesin for opticalimaging. After laser irradiation, the presence of the nanosystem in cells caused a significant increasein the temperature of the medium resulting in a significant decrease in cell viability (down to 16.51± 1.52 %)due to the177Lu-DenAuNP-Folate-Bombesin plasmonic properties. After treatment with177Lu-DenAuNP-Folate-Bombesin, the T47D cell viability decreased 90 % because of the radiation absorbed dose (63.16 ± 4.20 Gy) delivered inside cells. In conclusion, the177Lu-DenAuNP-Folate-Bombesin nanosystem internalized in cancer cells exhibited properties suitable for optical imaging,plasmonic-photothermal therapy, and targeted radiotherapy.Teragnósticos (o teranósticos) es un acrónimo de terapéuticos y diagnósticos. En este proyecto, el término se refiere a vectores moleculares/macromoleculares de reconocimiento específico y a nanoplataformas que incorporan ambas funciones, diagnóstico y terapia de forma simultánea. Además de incorporar funciones diagnósticas y terapéuticas, estas entidades pueden ser útiles en el seguimiento de la progresión de la enfermedad y en la evaluación de la respuesta a la terapia combinada. Por otro lado, a través del uso de radiofármacos es posible registrar y detectar por imagen in vivo, la distribución espacio-temporal de procesos moleculares o celulares para aplicaciones diagnósticas y/o terapéuticas utilizando técnicas de medicina nuclear molecular. En particular, los radiofármacos basados en lutecio-177 son considerados teranósticos por su emisión gamma (208 keV ), útil para realizar la imagen diagnóstica, y por su emisión beta negativa (Emax 498 keV ) adecuada para aplicaciones terapéuticas. En este trabajo de tesis se reporta por primera vez, la preparación de un nuevo radiofármaco de lutecio-177 multivalente y multifuncional basado en un dendrímero (PAMAM-G4) conteniendo nanopartículas de oro en sus cavidades y conjugado a ácido fólico y al péptido bombesina, para su posible uso en radioterapia dirigida, terapia fototérmica plasmónica e imagen molecular dual (óptica y nuclear) de cáncer de mama. Por tanto, el primer objetivo de esta investigación fue sintetizar 177Lu-dendrímero-folato-bombesina con nanopartículas de oro (AuNPs) en la cavidad dendítica (177Lu-DenAuNPFolato-Bombesina) y evaluar el potencial del radiofármaco para la radioterapia dirigida y la detección simultánea de receptores de folato (FR) y de receptores del péptido liberador de gastrina (GRPRs) sobre-expresados en células de cáncer de mama. El p-SCN-bencil-DOTA se conjugó en medio acuoso básico a los grupos amino del dendrímero. Los grupos carboxilato de la Lys1-Lys3 (DOTA)-bombesina y el ácido fólico se activaron con HATU y también se conjugaron al dendrímero. El conjugado se mezcló con HAuCl4 seguido de la adición de NaBH4 y se purific´ mediante ultrafiltraci´on. Se realiz´o el an´alisis elemental (EDS), la distribuci´on de tamañó de partícula (DLS), análisis de TEM, espectroscopia de UV-Vis, infrarrojo y de fluorescencia. El conjugado se marcó radiactivamente usando 177LuCl3 y se analizó por radio-HPLC. Los estudios confirmaron la funcionalización del dendrímero con alta pureza radioquímica (> 95 %). Los resultados de fluorescencia demostraron que la presencia de AuNPs en las cavidades dendríticas confiere al radiofármaco propiedades físicas útiles para la obtención de imágenes ópticas. Los estudios de unión en células de cáncer de mama T47D mostraron una captación celular específica (41,15 ± 2,72 %). Por tanto, el 177Lu-DenAuNP-Folato-Bombesina presenta propiedades adecuadas como un agente de imagen óptica y nuclear para tumores de mama que sobre-expresan GRPR y FRs, así como un nanosistema con potencial para ser utilizado en radioterapia de blancos moleculares específicos. La integración de propiedades fluorescentes y plasmónicas en una molécula es de importancia en el desarrollo de nanosensores multifuncionales para imagen y terapia. El segundo objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar las propiedades fluorescentes y el potencial terapéutico fototérmico plasmónico y radioterapéutico del 177Lu-DenAuNP-Folato-Bombesina cuando se internaliza en células T47D de cáncer de mama. La fluorescencia intensa NIR emitida a 825 nm del conjugado dentro de las células, corroboró la utilidad de DenAuNP-Folato-Bombesina para la formación de imágenes ópticas. Después de la irradiación láser, la presencia del nanosistema en las células provocó un aumento significativo de la temperatura del medio (46.8 ◦ C, comparado con 39.1 ◦ C sin DenAuNP-Folato-Bombesina, p < 0.05), lo que resultó en una disminución significativa en la viabilidad celular (Hasta 16.51 ± 1.52 %) debido a las propiedades plasmónicas del 177LuDenAuNP-Folato-Bombesina. Después del tratamiento con el radiofármaco, la viabilidad celular T47D disminuyó 90 % debido a la dosis absorbida por radiación (63.16 ± 4.20 Gy) administrada dentro de las células. Se concluye que el 177Lu-DenAuNP-Folate-Bombesina internalizado en células de cáncer presenta propiedades adecuadas para la obtención de imágenes ópticas, terapia fototérmica-plasmónica y radioterapia dirigida.CONACYT (CONACYT-SEP-CB-2014-01-242443

Mitochondrial Inheritance in Phytopathogenic Fungi—Everything Is Known, or Is It?

Mitochondria are important organelles in eukaryotes that provide energy for cellular processes. Their function is highly conserved and depends on the expression of nuclear encoded genes and genes encoded in the organellar genome. Mitochondrial DNA replication is independent of the replication control of nuclear DNA and as such, mitochondria may behave as selfish elements, so they need to be controlled, maintained and reliably inherited to progeny. Phytopathogenic fungi meet with special environmental challenges within the plant host that might depend on and influence mitochondrial functions and services. We find that this topic is basically unexplored in the literature, so this review largely depends on work published in other systems. In trying to answer elemental questions on mitochondrial functioning, we aim to introduce the aspect of mitochondrial functions and services to the study of plant-microbe-interactions and stimulate phytopathologists to consider research on this important organelle in their future projects

New CaO-based adsorbents prepared by solution combustion and high-energy ball-milling processes for CO2 adsorption: Textural and structural influences

New CaO-based adsorbents prepared by solution combustion and high-energy ball-milling processes for CO2 adsorption: Textural and structural influencesIn the present work, new CaO-based adsorbents were obtained by a fast solution combustion method and high-energy ball-milling process to study their CO2 capture behavior under different moderate pressure and temperature conditions. The as-prepared CaO products were characterized systematically using different analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and N2 physisorption measurements. The results showed that the CaO prepared by solution combustion and ball-milled during 2.5 h showed the maximum CO2 adsorption capacity of 9.31 mmol/g at 25 C and 1 atm mainly via chemisorption with CaCO3 formation, which was corroborated by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies. In general, the obtained results revealed that the synthesized CaO nanopowders from solution combustion that were treated by high-energy ball-milling enhanced their CO2 adsorption capacity due to improved structural and textural properties, and this CaO-based adsorbent can be used as a promising material for CO2 capture in post-combustion CO2 capture technologies on a large scale, under atmospheric pressure and temperature conditions

Exploring Low Internal Reorganization Energies for Silicene Nanoclusters

High-performance materials rely on small reorganization energies to facilitate both charge separation and charge transport. Here, we performed DFT calculations to predict small reorganization energies of rectangular silicene nanoclusters with hydrogen-passivated edges denoted by H-SiNC. We observe that across all geometries, H-SiNCs feature large electron affinities and highly stabilized anionic states, indicating their potential as n-type materials. Our findings suggest that fine-tuning the size of H-SiNCs along the zigzag and armchair directions may permit the design of novel n-type electronic materials and spinctronics devices that incorporate both high electron affinities and very low internal reorganization energies.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figure

Comparación del comportamiento estructural y económico de losas armadas en una dirección y losas armadas en dos direcciones

La población en el Perú está en aumento y es necesario que todos cuenten con edificaciones adecuadas para ser habitadas, también es necesario que estas edificaciones sean económicas al momento de ser construidas, es por ello que se requieren sistemas de entrepiso aptos para tener estas condiciones, existen varias alternativas de las cuáles esta investigación se enfoca en la utilización de losas armadas. Estas son una buena opción para losas de entrepiso. El objetivo fue comparar el comportamiento estructural y económico de las losas armadas en una dirección y losas armadas en dos direcciones, realizando primero el diseño manual de las losas armadas en una dirección y dos direcciones mediante la Norma E.020, Código ACI y Norma E.060. Los diseños se realizaron para losas de dimensiones de 2m x 4m, 3m x 6m y 4m x 8m. Se modelaron las losas con el software SAP 2000 v.19 para datos de deformación, se realizaron metrados de materiales, costo unitario y se calcularon los presupuestos para cada tipo de losa, por último, se compararon los resultados. Finalmente se pudo concluir que las losas armadas en dos direcciones tienen mejor comportamiento estructural y menor costo hasta en un 20% que las losas armadas en una dirección

Análisis de la permeabilidad del agua en el concreto mediante la aplicación de bacterias (bioconcreto), Cusco - 2018

El objetivo principal de la investigación es analizar la permeabilidad del concreto fisurado mediante la aplicación de bacterias. El presente estudio tiene dos áreas específicas que se desarrolló tanto el componente biológico e ingenieril. Se utilizó la especie Bacillus subtilis y prismas de concreto (100 mm x 100 mm x 340 mm). La parte experimental es referida al cultivo de la bacteria y la obtención de esporas bacterianas; por otra parte, el componente ingenieril fue la elaboración del concreto con una resistencia a flexión de f´c =210 kg/cm2, la misma que se asemeja a elementos estructurales de las infraestructuras. La aplicación de la solución bioreparadora fue en las fisuras mediante el proceso de inmersión de muestras de concreto, donde las bacterias inducieron la precipitación de calcita en las fisuras. La evaluación del efecto curativo de las fisuras (e = 1 mm) se determinó mediante la prueba de permeabilidad a los 30 días sin la aplicación de bacterias; a los 54 y 86 días con la aplicación de bacterias. Asimismo, la curación de las fisuras se analizó mediante un estereoscopio con aumento de 16X y 32X. Los Resultados experimentales indicaron que, las fisuras de las muestras de concreto que no fueron tratados con las bacterias no fueron bioreparadas por tal motivo la permeabilidad en estas muestras fue mayor en comparación con muestras que fueron tratados con las bacterias

Utilización de amaranthus dubius (amaranthaceae) como alternativa alimentaria en cerdo criollo mestizado

This work was carried out with the objective of evaluating the productive acting of pigs fed with Amaranthus dubius. Diets were evaluated with the help of nutritious materials taken place in the region, with the addition of A. dubius (Amaranth, spleen), during crossbreed creole pigs liveweigth gain. 12 animals were used, with half weight of 18 Kg distributed in three treatments, according to statistical design with complete random blocks. The animals fed with a diet of corn, vitamins mixture and mineral mixture, shepherding and A. dubius presented bigger gain of weight (0,278 g/day) that those that received cassava instead of corn (208 g/día). The animals of the control group (with traditional manage) presented the smallest gain of weight (133 g/día). Stands out the potential of use of A. dubius like alternative forage in it feeds of pigs in the region.Este trabajo se llevó a cabo con el objetivo de evaluar el desempeño productivo de cerdos alimentados con Amaranthus dubius. Se evaluaron dietas a base de materiales alimenticios producidos en la región, con la adición de Amaranthus dubius (bledo de puerco), durante la ceba de cerdos criollos mestizados. Se utilizaron 12 doce animales, con peso medio de 18 Kg distribuidos en tres tratamientos, según diseño estadístico bloques completos al azar. Los animales alimentados con una dieta compuesta de maíz, premezcla mineral y vitamínica, pastoreo y A. dubius presentaron mayor ganancia de peso (0,278 g/día) que los que recibieron yuca en lugar de maíz (208 g/día). Los animales del grupo control (manejo tradicional) presentaron la menor ganancia de peso (133 g/día). Se destaca el potencial de uso de A. dubius como forraje alternativo en la ceba de cerdos en la región