Caracterización de la pared celular de frutos de fresa (Fragaria x ananassa Duch): cambios durante el desarrollo y efectos del silenciamiento de un gen de pectato liasa

Durante la maduración, los frutos de fresa sufren una rápida degradación que conlleva una importante pérdida de producción durante el periodo postcosecha. Sabemos que durante la maduración las paredes celulares de las células parenquimáticas del fruto sufren modificaciones que alteran su composición y sus propiedades, por ello poder estudiar los cambios producidos es necesario contar con un buen protocolo de extracción de paredes celulares. Tras probar varios protocolos de extracción de paredes celulares descritos en la bibliografía más una modificación de ellos, optamos por elegir el protocolo de extracción de Redgwell para la realización de las extracciones de pared ya que dio mejor resultado en cuanto a rendimiento, además de provocar menor degradación en los polímeros pécticos. Además, las mejoras conseguidas han permitido medir la fracción de pectinas unidas covalentemente a la pared, la eliminación de interferencias en la fracción de pectinas más solubles de la pared, así como la reducción de la cantidad de muestra necesaria y el tiempo empleado en la realización de las cromatografías, por la disminución del tamaño de la columna. Durante la maduración del fruto de fresa se producen una serie de cambios importantes, hemos encontrado una disminución drástica de la cantidad de pared a la vez que, las fracciones de pectinas incrementan su proporción llegando a superar el 50% en fruto maduro. Hemos observado durante la maduración que se produce además una solubilización de las pectinas, acompañado de un incremento en ácidos urónicos al pasar de estadio verde a rojo. Se produce también una despolimerización de las pectinas más fuertemente unidas a la pared primaria, sobre todo de la fracción unida covalentemente, y también de las hemicelulosas. Todos estos cambios alteran las interacciones físicas entre los componentes poliméricos de la pared, aumentando el tamaño de poro apoyando la idea de que la pared se degrada durante la maduración. El silenciamiento de la pectato liasa provoca frutos en estadio rojo más duros que los frutos control, producido por la alteración de las interacciones y procesamiento entre los distintos componentes estructurales de la matriz péctica Hemos observado una menor solubilización de pectinas de los polímeros pécticos, además de producirse una despolimerización de las fracciones pécticas más fuertemente unidas sobre todo en la fracción CARBONATO, y de la fracción de la hemicelulosa. Efectos parecidos a los que se producen durante la maduración de los frutos. Todo esto indicaría que el silenciamiento de la pectato liasa modifica el procesamiento de las pectinas, influyendo en las interacciones de dichos polímeros y en la adhesión entre células parenquimáticas de estos frutos. La pectato liasa se incluiría en el grupo de pectinasas que, junto a la poligalacturonasa y la pectin metilesterasa, estarían implicadas en el desmantelamiento de la pared celular responsables en última instancia del reblandecimiento del fruto. Redgwell y col. Plant Physiology (1992) 98, 71-81 Huber y col. Plant Physiology (1993) 102:473-48

Feeding Algae Meal to Feedlot Lambs with Competent Reticular Groove Reflex Increases Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Meat

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of supplementing marine algae as a source of omega-3 fatty acids (FA) in the diet, mixed in the concentrate or bottle-fed, on intramuscular fat FA composition of lambs with competent reticular groove reflex (RGR). Forty-eight feedlot lambs were distributed in three equal groups: one group did not consume marine algae nor had competent RGR, the second group received a daily dose (2.5%) of algae meal in the concentrate and the last group consumed the same dose of algae meal emulsified in milk replacer and bottle-fed. Marine algae raised the contents of EPA, DPA, and mainly DHA in the intramuscular fat, but the increase was significantly higher when algae meal was administered with a bottle via RGR. This strategy could contribute to improvements in the marketing of lamb meat by optimizing its status as a healthier food

Indoleamine, 2-3 dioxygenase activity could be an early marker of graft rejection in heart transplantation

[Abstract] Background. The indoleamine, 2-3 dioxygenase (IDO) is an inducible intracellular enzyme with immunosuppressive effects mainly on lymphocyte populations. It has been postulated that indirect determination of IDO serum activity may be a marker of renal graft rejection, but its potential usefulness in heart transplantation (HT) is unknown. Methods. This longitudinal study included 98 HT patients (83% males) who survived ≥1 year. Mean age was 54.14 ± 11.57 years. Serum IDO activity was analyzed one month after HT by means of high performance liquid chromatography and correlated with the cumulative incidence of acute rejection (AR) during one-year follow-up. AR was defined as biopsy-proven ≥ ISHLT grade 2R rejection or empirically treated non-biopsy-proven rejection. The study sample was divided into two groups: AR group (n = 51), including patients who experienced at least one AR episode during the first year after HT; No-AR group (N = 47), including the remaining patients. Results. Mean serum IDO activity one month after HT was significantly higher (P = .021) in the AR group (3.32 ± 1.56) than in the no-AR group (2.62 ± 1.35). No significant association between serum IDO activity and gender (male: 3.1 ± 1.56, women: 2.43 ± 0.99, P = .092), recipient age (r = −.07, P = .943) or donor age (r = 0.108, P = 0.293) was observed. By means of binary logistic regression, an odds ratio of 1.4 [CI 95%: 1.033-1.876, P = .03] per unit increase of act-IDO was estimated, with no significant modification upon forced adjustment for age and sex. Mean glomerular filtration rate 1 month after HT was 67.01 ± 28.51 mL/min/m2. No significant correlation between this parameter and serum IDO activity was observed (r = .160, P = .117). Conclusions. Our study suggests that serum IDO activity one month after HT might be associated with a higher risk of AR during one-year follow-up. This association seems to be independent of recipient gender, age or renal function

Role of NOD1 in heart failure progression via regulation of Ca2+ handling

Instituto de Salud Carlos III; CP11/00080Instituto de Salud Carlos III; PI14/01078Ministerio de Economía y competitividad; SAF2014-52492RMinisterio de Economía y competitividad; SAF2014-57190RMinisterio de Economía y competitividad; RTC2015-374

Metaanálisis del uso de semillas y aceites en la dieta de ovejas y cabras

The objective of this work was to use meta‑analysis to study the productive results of ewe and goat fed oil and seed, rich in unsatured fat acid. Twenty‑two experiments with ewes (63 treatments) and 21 experiments with goats (76 treatments) were used. Average extra fat intake was 83.6±33.6 g per day in ewes, and 73.4±38.7 g per day in goats. In ewes, extra fat intake did not affect dry matter intake, but increased milk fat yield (from 91.4 to 98.8 g per day) and reduced milk protein content (from 5.41 to 5.24%). There were no differences in the sum of fat and protein contents. In goats, extra fat included in the diet reduced dry matter intake (from 2.13 to 2.08 kg per day), and increased milk fat percentage (from 4.11 to 4.43%) and the sum of fat and protein contents (from 7.41 to 7.76%). The yield responses to the intake of diets enriched with unsaturated fatty acids differ between ewes and goats. However, milk commercial value is not affected because of the absence of negative effects on the sum of fat and protein contents in both species.El objetivo de este trabajo fue utilizar el metaanálisis para estudiar los resultados productivos de ovejas y cabras de ordeño, alimentadas con aceites y semillas ricas en ácidos grasos insaturados. Se utilizaron 22 experimentos con ovejas (63 tratamientos) y 21 con cabras (76 tratamientos). El consumo medio de grasa extra fue de 83,6±33,6 g por día en ovejas y 73,4±38,7 g por día en cabras. En ovejas, la grasa extra no afectó al consumo de materia seca, pero aumentó la producción de grasa (de 91,4 a 98,8 g por día) y redujo el contenido proteico (de 5,41 a 5,24%) de la leche. No hubo diferencias en el extracto quesero. En cabras, la inclusión de grasa en la dieta redujo el consumo de materia seca (de 2,13 a 2,08 kg por día) y aumentó el porcentaje de grasa láctea (de 4,11 a 4,43%) y el extracto quesero (de 7,41 a 7,76%). La respuesta productiva de ovejas y cabras al consumo de dietas ricas en ácidos grasos insaturados es diferente. Sin embargo, el valor comercial de la leche no se ve afectado, debido a la ausencia de efectos negativos sobre el extracto quesero en ambas especies

Two multi-fragment recombination events resulted in the beta-lactam-resistant serotype 11A-ST6521 related to Spain9V-ST156 pneumococcal clone spreading in south-western Europe, 2008 to 2016

Background: The successful pneumococcal clone Spain(9V)-ST156 (PMEN3) is usually associated with vaccine serotypes 9V and 14. Aim: Our objective was to analyse the increase of a serotype 11A variant of PMEN3 as cause of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Spain and its spread in south-western Europe. Methods: We conducted a prospective multicentre study of adult IPD in Spain (2008-16). Furthermore, a subset of 61 penicillin-resistant serotype 11A isolates from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain were subjected to whole genome sequencing (WGS) and compared with 238 genomes from the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA). Results: Although the incidence of serotype 11A in IPD was stable, a clonal shift was detected from CC62 (penicillin-susceptible) to CC156 (penicillin-resistant). By WGS, three major 11A-CC156 lineages were identified, linked to ST156 (n=5 isolates; France, Italy and Portugal), ST166 (n=4 isolates; France and Portugal) and ST838/6521 (n=52 isolates; France, Portugal and Spain). Acquisition of the capsule allowed to escape vaccine effect. AP200 (11A-ST62) was the donor for ST156 and ST838/6521 but not for ST166. In-depth analysis of ST838/6521 lineage showed two multi-fragment recombination events including four and seven fragments from an 11A-ST62 and an NT-ST344 representative, respectively. Conclusion: The increase in penicillin-resistant serotype 11A IPD in Spain was linked to the spread of a vaccine escape PMEN3 recombinant clone. Several recombination events were observed in PMEN3 acquiring an 11A capsule. The most successful 11A-PMEN3 lineage spreading in south-western Europe appeared after two multi-fragment recombination events with representatives of two major pneumococcal clones (11A-ST62 and NT-ST344)

Actions for novel teacher training: design and implementation of learning activities and resources on LMS support

El presente artículo describe el desarrollo de un Proyecto formativo para la implementación de actividades y recursos de aprendizaje en la plataforma UCO-Moodle por parte de profesorado novel, bajo tutela y coordinación de profesorado con experiencia previa contrastada. Se trata de un trabajo multidisciplinar donde las acciones se han ejecutado para ocho asignaturas de cuatro Áreas de conocimiento. El impacto de las innovaciones introducidas en varias asignaturas, afectó a más de 500 alumnos pertenecientes a seis títulos de grado de la Universidad de Córdoba. El trabajo realizado se completó con una evaluación de satisfacción por parte de los alumnos de los nuevos recursos de aprendizaje así como la autoevaluación del profesorado novel sobre la experiencia desarrollada.This article describes a project for the implementation of learning activities and resources in the UCO-Moodle platform by training teachers has been developed under the supervision and coordination of senior teaching staff with proven previous experience. It is a multidisciplinary work where the actions have been executed for eight different subjects in four Areas of knowledge. The impact of the learning activities introduced in different subjects was extended to more than 500 students belonging to six undergraduate degrees from the University of Cordoba. The experience has included an evaluation of students' satisfaction with the new learning resources as well as the self-assessment of the new teaching staff on the executed actions

Reduced mitochondrial pyruvate carrier expression in hearts with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction patients: ischemic vs. non-ischemic origin

Introduction and objectivesMitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) mediates the entry of pyruvate into mitochondria, determining whether pyruvate is incorporated into the Krebs cycle or metabolized in the cytosol. In heart failure (HF), a large amount of pyruvate is metabolized to lactate in the cytosol rather than being oxidized inside the mitochondria. Thus, MPC activity or expression might play a key role in the fate of pyruvate during HF. The purpose of this work was to study the levels of the two subunits of this carrier, named MPC1 and MPC2, in human hearts with HF of different etiologies.MethodsProtein and mRNA expression analyses were conducted in cardiac tissues from three donor groups: patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC), and donors without cardiac pathology (Control). MPC2 plasma levels were determined by ELISA.ResultsSignificant reductions in the levels of MPC1, MPC2, and Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) were observed in ICM patients compared with the levels in the Control group. However, no statistically significant differences were revealed in the analysis of MPC1 and MPC2 gene expression among the groups. Interestingly, Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDH) subunits expression were increased in the ICM patients. In the case of IDC patients, a significant decrease in MPC1 was observed only when compared with the Control group. Notably, plasma MPC2 levels were found to be elevated in both disease groups compared with that in the Control group.ConclusionDecreases in MPC1 and/or MPC2 levels were detected in the cardiac tissues of HFrEF patients, with ischemic or idiopatic origen, indicating a potential reduction in mitochondrial pyruvate uptake in the heart, which could be linked to unfavorable clinical features