Wheat resistance and susceptibility against different fungal phytopathogens under changing weather conditions

El cultivo del trigo es considerado uno de los más esenciales para la alimentación mundial, aportando una fracción nutricional y calórica básica para la humanidad, siendo además el que mayor superficie agrícola ocupa. La producción de trigo, así como de otros cultivos agrícolas en todo el mundo, está seriamente comprometida debido a los incrementos de temperatura y descenso de las precipitaciones derivadas del cambio climático. Concretamente, según las predicciones, estos factores climáticos serán más severos en zonas del sur de Europa, como son los países de la Cuenca Mediterránea. En España, la mayor parte del trigo se cultiva en secano, lo que implicaría una reducción sustancial de la producción en dichas condiciones previstas de incrementos de temperatura y reducción de las precipitaciones. Además, estos cambios ambientales afectarían no solo al cultivo del trigo (morfología, fisiología y producción) per se, sino también al desarrollo de los organismos que les causan enfermedades (patógenos) y a las interacciones entre ambos. Entre los factores ambientales que más afectan al desarrollo de las enfermedades, la temperatura, la concentración de CO2 y el déficit hídrico (sequía) son los que sufrirán mayores alteraciones en las condiciones previstas de cambio climático. De hecho, existen evidencias de que las enfermedades pueden desarrollar mayores síntomas en condiciones de elevada temperatura o [CO2], provocando una rápida evolución de nuevos patotipos, o que la resistencia de las variedades se vea superada en menor tiempo. Aparte de esto, el hecho de una posible distribución geográfica de razas de patógenos mejor adaptadas a ambientes más cálidos, supone un gran riesgo para las variedades más susceptibles cultivadas en zonas donde ocurren dichas condiciones climáticas. Asimismo, es conocido que algunos genes de resistencia en trigo pierden su eficacia frente a patógenos específicos con temperaturas elevadas, lo que supone también un riesgo potencial para el cultivo del trigo. Por último, se debe tener en cuenta que tanto el trigo como los patógenos pueden aclimatarse a las condiciones cambiantes de clima, situación que podría derivar en un aumento o disminución de la incidencia de las enfermedades dependiendo de múltiples factores como el ciclo de vida del patógeno (biotrofo, necrotrofo, hemibiotrofo), el genotipo de la planta o el grado de intensidad y duración de los factores ambientales. Además de todos estos condicionantes, existe una falta de estudios de campo para evaluar de forma realista los efectos de diferentes factores abióticos actuando de manera simultánea sobre el desarrollo de enfermedades, lo que dificulta aún más el conocimiento de los efectos concretos del cambio climático en las relaciones planta-patógeno. Por todo ello, y teniendo en cuenta que los hongos fitopatógenos ya causan actualmente importantes pérdidas de producción, existe la necesidad de conocer pormenorizadamente cómo se verían afectadas las interacciones del cultivo del trigo con sus respectivos patógenos en las condiciones previstas de cambio climático. Para el estudio de dichas interacciones, en esta investigación se han llevado a cabo diversas metodologías de aislamiento, inoculación y análisis de tres enfermedades fúngicas de trigo (septoria, roya de la hoja y roya amarilla), tanto a nivel macro como microscópico. Asimismo, el crecimiento de las plantas de trigo, tanto antes como después de ser inoculadas con los diferentes patógenos, se realizó en cámaras climáticas e invernaderos de clima controlado, los cuales permitieron aplicar diferentes condiciones de temperatura y concentración de CO2. En primer lugar, se ha conseguido el aislamiento, inoculación y posterior desarrollo de la enfermedad de esos tres hongos fitopatógenos de trigo en condiciones óptimas de desarrollo para cada uno de ellos de acuerdo a métodos de varios autores, con algunas modificaciones (Soleiman et al., 2014; Sørensen et al., 2014; Stewart and McDonald, 2014; Sørensen et al., 2017). En segundo lugar, estos métodos permitieron el correcto desarrollo de las tres enfermedades en los genotipos de trigo objetivo de evaluación en esta investigación, tanto variedades cultivadas como líneas de mejora genética. A su vez, la evaluación visual de los síntomas de las tres enfermedades permitió la clasificación de dichos genotipos según su resistencia o susceptibilidad a cada una de ellas (McNeal et al., 1971; McCartney et al., 2002; Suffert et al., 2013; Sørensen et al., 2014). Una vez clasificados, se seleccionaron varios genotipos con diversos grados de respuesta frente a las enfermedades para la evaluación de componentes de resistencia macroscópicos (incluyendo análisis de imagen) (Sørensen et al., 2014; Stewart and McDonald, 2014; Karisto et al., 2018) y microscópicos (Moldenhauer et al., 2008; Bozkurt et al., 2010; Soleiman et al., 2014; Somai-Jemmali et al., 2017) bajo condiciones ambientales óptimas para el crecimiento fúngico. De esta manera se consiguió caracterizar los genotipos de una forma más exacta en su respuesta frente a enfermedades, lo que podría mejorar los procesos de mejora genética vegetal a través del fenotipado, o identificar con antelación la aparición de nuevos patotipos más virulentos de estos patógenos. Por último, gracias a la realización de dichas evaluaciones macro y microscópicas de componentes de resistencia, se valoró pormenorizadamente el efecto de las condiciones ambientales de incremento de temperatura y [CO2] en las interacciones planta-patógeno en genotipos con distintos patrones de resistencia y susceptibilidad frente a septoria y roya de la hoja. Así, se comprobó que las condiciones de incremento de temperatura y [CO2], si bien no modificaron la expresión general de resistencia o susceptibilidad de los genotipos estudiados frente a dichas enfermedades, sí influyeron en cierta medida tanto en la capacidad infectiva de los patógenos (positiva o negativamente) como en la respuesta de los genotipos a nivel fisiológico. De hecho, el uso de métodos de evaluación macro y microscópicos fue esencial para la determinación de dichos efectos, debido a que las interacciones planta-patógeno variaron en función del patógeno, del genotipo y de las condiciones ambientales de estudio. En resumen, esta Tesis Doctoral establece unos resultados novedosos al evaluar, por primera vez, mediante métodos macro y microscópicos, los efectos derivados del incremento de temperatura y [CO2] actuando simultáneamente en las interacciones del trigo con sus patógenos más importantes, con el objetivo de emular como serán dichas interacciones en un futuro contexto de cambio climático.Wheat is considered the one of most important cultivated crops in the world, providing an essential source of calories, plant-derived proteins and nutrients to mankind. Its production, as those of other crops worldwide, is seriously threatened due to increase in temperature and decrease in rainfall patterns derived from climate change. Particularly, these weather changes would be, according to some predictions, more severe in South European areas such as countries of the Mediterranean Basin. In Spain, where most of the cultivated wheat area is rainfed, these predicted weather conditions of increasing temperatures and reduced rainfall would imply a substantial reduction in wheat production. Additionally, these environmental changes would affect not only wheat cultivation (morphology, physiology and production) per se, but also pathogens development and their interaction with wheat. Amongst abiotic factors that strongly influence pathogens development, temperature, [CO2] and water deficit would suffer great variations due to climate change. In fact, it is known that fungal diseases could cause higher disease incidence at elevated temperatures or [CO2], which would favour the evolution of new races and faster resistance breakdown. In this sense, there is evidence that some resistant genes lose their efficacy at elevated temperatures and that some pathogen races, which are more adapted to warmer climates, cause severe epidemics after a geographic distribution to other more suitable zones. Finally, it must be taken into account that wheat and its pathogens can adapt themselves to changing weather conditions, which would increase or decrease disease incidence depending on multiple factors such as lifestyle of pathogens (biotroph, necrotroph, hemibiotroph), plant genotype, or timing and intensity of abiotic factors. In addition to these facts, there is a lack of realistic field studies assessing the effects of simultaneous abiotic factors on disease development, which hampers even more the knowledge about climate change effects on wheat-pathogen interactions. Therefore, and considering that fungal pathogens already cause important losses of wheat production, there is an urgent need to know in detail how wheat-pathogen interactions will be affected under climate change conditions. In order to study these interactions, this research has been conducted through diverse methodologies of isolation, inoculation and analysis, both macroscopic and microscopic, of three fungal diseases of wheat (septoria tritici blotch, leaf (brown) rust and yellow (stripe) rust). Additionally, climate chambers and a greenhouse with full environmental control of weather conditions such as temperature and [CO2] were used in the growth and development of wheat plants and their diseases. Firstly, three fungal pathogens of wheat were isolated, inoculated and developed disease symptoms in wheat plants in their respective optimum conditions, according to diverse authors, with modifications (Soleiman et al., 2014; Sørensen et al., 2014; Stewart and McDonald, 2014; Sørensen et al., 2017). Secondly, the three fungal diseases were conducted in bread and durum wheat genotypes of study in this research, ranging from Spanish commercial cultivars to breeding lines. At the same time, visual evaluation of disease symptoms led to the classification of wheat genotypes according to their resistance or susceptibility traits (McNeal et al., 1971; McCartney et al., 2002; Suffert et al., 2013; Sørensen et al., 2014). Once wheat genotypes were classified, some of them with different response to each disease were selected for macroscopic (using image analysis) (Sørensen et al., 2014; Stewart and McDonald, 2014; Karisto et al., 2018) and microscopic (Moldenhauer et al., 2008; Bozkurt et al., 2010; Soleiman et al., 2014; Somai-Jemmali et al., 2017) evaluations of components of resistance of wheat-pathogen interactions under optimum conditions of fungal development. As a result, wheat genotypes were precisely characterised in their response to diverse diseases, which would improve breeding research through phenotyping or identify new virulent pathogen pathotypes in advance. Finally, thanks to these macroscopic and microscopic evaluations of components of resistance, it was possible to precisely assess the effects derived from expected far future weather conditions of increasing temperature and [CO2] on interactions of selected wheat genotypes against both septoria tritici blotch and leaf rust diseases. Thus, although it was observed that general responses of resistance and susceptibility of currently used selected wheat genotypes did not change after a continuous exposure for both, plants and diseases, to elevated temperature and [CO2], these weather conditions certainly influenced both fungal infection capability (positively or negatively) and plant physiological responses to some extent. In fact, due to wheat-pathogen interactions varied regarding the pathogen, genotype and weather conditions studied, macro and microscopic evaluations were essential to determine these effects. In summary, this Ph.D. Thesis obtains novel results assessing, for the first time and using macro and microscopic methods, the effects derived from the exposure to simultaneously increasing temperature and [CO2] on the interactions of wheat against their most important pathogens, which try to resemble, as well as possible, how wheat-pathogen interactions would be in the future context of climate change

Drug trafficking, corruption and foreign direct investment: Theory and evidence

We develop a microeconomic model to explain why sanction policies used by developed countries have had ambiguous effects to reduce drug trafficking in developing countries. In the model, a country receives FDI depending on its government effort to reduce drug exports. However, local drug producers lobby and offer contributions whose impact depends on the level of government corruption. The government sets the level of enforcement against drug trafficking taking into account the contributions paid and the welfare of the local habitants. Analytically, we use the common agency theory to justify and explain diverse sanction policy outcomes. We also show evidence about the relationships among drug trafficking, corruption and FDI for some Latin-American countries.Drug Trafficking; FDI; Corruption; Latin America

Evaluación del ciclo de vida aplicada en agrocadenas productivas: un instrumento de gestión ambiental para el diseño de políticas

La Evaluación del Ciclo de Vida del Producto (ECV) ha sido sugerida como un instrumento adecuado para ampliar el análisis y formulación de estrategias y políticas al utilizar el enfoque de Cadenas Globales de Mercancías. En este artículo se analizan los alcances de la aplicación de la ECV en diferentes sistemas de gestión ambiental lo cual permite establecer las áreas de operación de las empresas en las cadenas en las cuales la dimensión ambiental puede ser considerada. En ese sentido se detectan temas centrales, tales como el diseño de los productos y sus consecuencias en la cadena de abastecimiento, lo cual conlleva necesidades de coordinación inter-empresariales que en el contexto de las cadenas muestran un gran potencial para la formulación de estrategias y políticas. Al traducir estos elementos en cadenas agroindustriales se determinan los puntos críticos en los procesos productivos para el mejoramiento del perfil ambiental de las cadenas considerando adicionalmente las condiciones particulares de cada cadena en términos de su comportamiento sectorial, la influencia del consumidor y otros actores relacionados, el desarrollo organizacional y las posibilidades de diferenciación de productos utilizando el aspecto ambiental como elemento estratégico.Evaluación del Ciclo de Vida, cadenas globales, cadenas agroindustriales, políticas sectoriales, gestión ambiental

Evaluación del ciclo de vida aplicada en agrocadenas productivas : un instrumento de gestión ambiental para el diseño de políticas

La Evaluación del Ciclo de Vida del Producto (ECV) ha sido sugerida como un instrumento adecuado para ampliar el análisis y formulación de estrategias y políticas al utilizar el enfoque de Cadenas Globales de Mercancías. En este artículo se analizan los alcances de la aplicación de la ECV en diferentes sistemas de gestión ambiental lo cual permite establecer las áreas de operación de las empresas en las cadenas en las cuales la dimensión ambiental puede ser considerada. En ese sentido se detectan temas centrales, tales como el diseño de los productos y sus consecuencias en la cadena de abastecimiento, lo cual conlleva necesidades de coordinación inter-empresariales que en el contexto de las cadenas muestran un gran potencial para la formulación de estrategias y políticas. Al traducir estos elementos en cadenas agroindustriales se determinan los puntos críticos en los procesos productivos para el mejoramiento del perfil ambiental de las cadenas considerando adicionalmente las condiciones particulares de cada cadena en términos de su comportamiento sectorial, la influencia del consumidor y otros actores relacionados, el desarrollo organizacional y las posibilidades de diferenciación de productos utilizando el aspecto ambiental como elemento estratégico.Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been suggested as an appropriate tool for widening policy and strategy design when Global Commodity Chains approach is applied. Various environmental management systems are analyzed in this article, in order to determine scopes of LCA' applications by firms and producers participating in commodity chains. In that sense, some main issues are detected such as product design and its consequences on the supply chain. These introduce the necessity of inter-firm coordination in commodity chain operations, which are important for policy and strategy design. When we consider these issues in agro-industrial chains in Costa Rica, it helps in determining the hot spots in the production process which require improvements from environmental perspective. But additional specific conditions of the commodity chains are related, such as the sectoral behaviour, consumer and other stakeholders influence, organization of the chain and available options for product differentiation considering environment as a strategic element

the role of mutual fund charges

Mutual fund intermediaries extract valuable information from their clients about their ex-ante investment horizon. Selecting share classes with front- or back-end loads reveals an explicit capital commitment which allows portfolio managers to better anticipate and manage flows. The information embedded in the share class choice of investors helps managers deliver performance by efficiently matching their investment choices to the underlying investment horizon of the retail investor. Mutual fund managers with less capital commitment, hold shares for shorter periods of time, hold more cash, more liquid stocks, and take less advantage of stocks with slow-moving arbitrage opportunities, i.e. fire sale stocks, and R&D intense stocks.publishersversionpublishe

The role of mutual fund charges

This work was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (UID/ECO/00124/2019, UIDB/00124/2020, UIDP/00124/2020, and Social Sciences DataLab PINFRA/22209/2016), the POR Lisboa and POR Norte (Social Sciences DataLab PINFRA/22209/2016), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MCIU), the State Research Agency (AEI), and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Grant Nos. PGC2018-101745-A-I00 and PID2021-125359NB-I00, and MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/FEDER (UE Grant No. PID2021-125359NB-I00).We study how the scarcity of committed capital affects the equilibrium distribution of net alphas in the asset management industry. We propose a model of active portfolio management with different sales fee structures where committed capital is in short supply. In the model, a portfolio's excess return is not fully appropriated by the money manager but shared with long-term investors. Empirically, we show that capital commitment allows funds to hold shares longer and take advantage of slow-moving arbitrage opportunities. Consistent with the model, funds with more committed capital generate higher value added, which, net of fees, accrues to long-term investors.publishersversionpublishe

Competition and cooperation in mutual fund families

Using manager compensation disclosure and intra-family manager cooperation measures, we create indices of family-level competitive/cooperative incentives. Families that encourage cooperation among their managers are more likely to engage in coordinated behavior (e.g., cross-trading and cross-holding) and have less volatile cash flows. Families with competitive incentives generate higher performing funds, a higher fraction of “star” funds, but greater performance dispersion across funds. In examining the determinants of incentive schemes, competitive families are more likely to manage institutional money, and cooperative families are more likely to distribute through brokers, consistent with retail demand for nonperformance characteristics.preprintpublishe

Thermorresponsive magnetic nanoparticles as target drug delivery for cancer treatment

In this research, temperature sensitive microgels with magnetic core for controlled release of 5-fluoruracil was synthesized. Magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were prepared by coprecipitation method and the surface was functionalized by acrylic acid. Polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) were grown by free radical polymerization in presence of cross-liker and initiator. The size of the polymer was manipulated by changing the mole percent of the crosslinker and evaluated for their morphology (TEM), particle size, zeta potential, loading efficiency, drug content and drug release. Furthermore, microgels were tagged with FITC, a fluorochrome which could be applied for cell imaging. Cytotoxicity studies revealed that the microgels were not toxic. These complex nanoparticles (Fe3O4/pNIPAM/FITC/5-Fu) appear to be a great promise to be used in controlled drug delivery and tumor targeting.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Synthesis of New Analogues of the Bengamides to encapsulate in magnetic nanoparticles

The development and identification of new antitumoral has become a research area of great interest and maximum priority due to secondary effects of current antitumoral and the appearance of tumours resistant to these agents. Marine sponges corresponding to the Jaspidae family have proved to be a prolific source of bioactive natural products. Among these, the Bengamides have showed an important biological profile, including antitumor, antibiotic and anthelmintic properties. Due to the interest of theses natural products, we describe a study directed towards the total synthesis of this class of compounds. Then we encapsulate Bengamides in temperature sensitive microgels with a magnetic core. Magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O 4) were prepared by coprecipitation method and the surface was functionalized by acrylic acid. Polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) were grown by free radical polymerization in presence of cross-liker and initiator.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Introgression of Seedling Plant Resistance to Leaf Rust from Agropyron cristatum into Wheat by Induced Homoeologous Recombination

Agropyron cristatum (P genome) is a Triticeae species from the wheat tertiary gene pool which has economic importance as forage and also displays traits beneficial to wheat. Resistance to leaf rust was previously mapped to the short arm of chromosome 1P (1PS) in A. cristatum by the development of a compensating Robertsonian translocation involving chromosome arm 1PS and the long arm of wheat chromosome 1B (1BL). In this study, chromosome arm 1PS was engineered using the ph1b mutation to induce 1BS/1PS homoeologous recombination and to obtain new translocations with shortened fragments of chromosome arm 1PS. Two translocations with different alien fragment sizes were identified by genomic in situ hybridization, wheat 1BS- and 1PS-specific molecular markers and gene-specific markers for glutenin, Glu-B3 and gliadin Gli-B1 seed storage protein. One translocation (called type 1) replaces a proximal segment of 1PS chromatin, and the other (called type 2) replaces a distal 1PS segment and introduces the Glu-B3 and Gli-B1 wheat storage protein loci. Six specific EST-STS markers for chromosome arm 1PS amplified PCR products in the recombinant type 2 translocation line. Resistance analysis showed that the type 2 translocation was highly resistant to a virulent race of leaf rust pathogen. The new wheat–A. cristatum translocations obtained yield material with seedling plant resistance to leaf rust and seed storage protein loci