A new testudinoid turtle from the middle to late Eocene of Vietnam

Testudinoidea is a major clade of turtles that has colonized different ecological environments across the globe throughout the Tertiary. Aquatic testudinoids have a particularly rich fossil record in the Tertiary of the northern hemisphere, but little is known about the evolutionary history of the group, as the phylogenetic relationships of most fossils have not been established with confidence, in part due to high levels of homoplasy and polymorphism.Methods: We here focus on describing a sample of 30 testudinoid shells, belonging to a single population that was collected from lake sediments from the middle to late Eocene (35–39 Ma) Na Duong Formation in Vietnam. The phylogenetic placement of this new material is investigated by integrating it and 11 other species of putative geoemydids from the Eocene and Oligocene to a recently published matrix of geoemydid turtles, that embraces the use of polymorphic characters, and then running a total-evidence analysis.Results: The new material is highly polymorphic, but can be inferred with confidence to be a new taxon, Banhxeochelys trani gen. et sp. nov. It shares morphological similarities with other southeastern Asian testudinoids, Isometremys lacuna and Guangdongemys pingi, but is placed phylogenetically at the base of Pan-Testuguria when fossils are included in the analysis, or as a stem geoemydid when other fossils are deactivated from the matrix. The vast majority of other putative fossil geoemydids are placed at the base of Pan-Testuguria as well.Discussion: The phylogenetic placement of fossil testudinoids used in the analysis is discussed individually and each species compared to Banhxeochelys trani gen. et sp. nov. The high levels of polymorphism observed in the new taxon is discussed in terms of ontogenetic and random variability. This is the first time that a large sample of fossil testudinoids has its morphological variation described in detail

Marine-derived Fungi: Diversity Of Enzymes And Biotechnological Applications

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)The ocean is considered to be a great reservoir of biodiversity. Microbial communities in marine environments are ecologically relevant as intermediaries of energy, and play an important role in nutrient regeneration cycles as decomposers of dead and decaying organic matter. In this sense, marine-derived fungi can be considered as a source of enzymes of industrial and/or environmental interest. Fungal strains isolated from different substrates, such as invertebrates, decaying wood, seawater, sediments, and mangrove detritus, have been reported to be producers of hydrolytic and/or oxidative enzymes, with alginate lyase, amylase, cellulase, chitinase, glucosidase, inulinase, keratinase, ligninase, lipase, nuclease, phytase, protease, and xylanase being among the enzymes produced by fungi of marine origin. These enzymes present temperature and pH optima ranging from 35 to 70 degrees C, and 3.0 to 11.0, respectively. High-level production in bioreactors is mainly performed using submerged-state fermentation. Certain marine-derived fungal strains present enzymes with alkaline and cold-activity characteristics, and salinity is considered an important condition in screening and production processes. The adaptability of marine-derived fungi to oceanic conditions can be considered an attractive point in the field of fungal marine biotechnology. In this review, we focus on the advances in discovering enzymes from marine-derived fungi and their biotechnological relevance.6Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)FAPESP [2013/19486-0, 2013/08617-7]CNPq [304103/2013-6, 301248/2010-9]FAPESP [FAPESP 2009/18399-1, FAPESP 2011/18769-3, FAPESP 2008/06720-7, FAPESP 2012/12622-3, FAPESP 2013/12505-0, FAPESP 2014/12430-2, CNPq 159488/2014, FAPESP 2013/00286-1

Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for Differentiation of the Dimorphic Fungal Species Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Paracoccidioides lutzii

Isolates of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Paracoccidioides lutzii, previously characterized by molecular techniques, were identified for the first time by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). All isolates were correctly identified, with log score values of >2.0. Thus, MALDI-TOF MS is a new tool for differentiating species of the genus Paracoccidioides.Univ São Paulo, Fac Med, Hosp Clin, Cent Lab Div LIM03, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Inst Med Trop, Hosp Clin FMUSP, Lab Med Mycol LIM53, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Dept Biophys, Escola Paulista Med, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Dept Microbiol & Immunol, Inst Biociencias Botucatu, Botucatu, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Dept Biophys, Escola Paulista Med, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Targeting DNA topoisomerases or checkpoint kinases results in an overload of chaperone systems, triggering aggregation of a metastable subproteome

A loss of the checkpoint kinase ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) leads to impairments in the DNA damage response, and in humans causes cerebellar neurodegeneration, and an increased risk of cancer. A loss of ATM is also associated with increased protein aggregation. The relevance and characteristics of this aggregation are still incompletely understood. Moreover, it is unclear to what extent other genotoxic conditions can trigger protein aggregation as well. Here, we show that targeting ATM, but also ATR or DNA topoisomerases, results in the widespread aggregation of a metastable, disease-associated subfraction of the proteome. Aggregation-prone model substrates, including Huntingtin exon 1 containing an expanded polyglutamine repeat, aggregate faster under these conditions. This increased aggregation results from an overload of chaperone systems, which lowers the cell-intrinsic threshold for proteins to aggregate. In line with this, we find that inhibition of the HSP70 chaperone system further exacerbates the increased protein aggregation. Moreover, we identify the molecular chaperone HSPB5 as a cell-specific suppressor of it. Our findings reveal that various genotoxic conditions trigger widespread protein aggregation in a manner that is highly reminiscent of the aggregation occurring in situations of proteotoxic stress and in proteinopathies

FAUNA IXODÍDEA DE ANIMAIS SILVESTRES DO ESTADO DO PARANÁ, BRASIL – DADOS PRELIMINARES

Os carrapatos são conhecidos por parasitar uma variedade de hospedeiros domésticos e silvestres, incluindo mamíferos, aves, répteis e anfíbios. Além disso, muitos animais silvestres participam do ciclo epidemiológico de doenças transmitidas por carrapatos. Nesse sentido, o objetivo desse estudo foi identificar as espécies de carrapatos parasitando animais silvestres atendidos no Hospital Veterinário, Universidade Federal do paraná, Curitiba, Brasil. Os carrapatos foram coletados de 28 animais silvestres: uma anta (Tapirus terrestres), um cervídeo (Mazama sp.), um javali (Sus scrofa), dois bugios (Alouatta guariba), duas capivaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), 9 ouriços-cacheiros (Sphiggurus villosus), quatro tamanduás-mirins (Tamandua tetradactyla), seis gambás (Didelphis spp.), um gato-mourisco (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) e um teiú (Tupinambis sp.). Ao todo, foram coletados 115 carrapatos (65 machos, 33 fêmeas e 17 ninfas): Amblyomma aureolatum (1M, 3F, 2N) em dois bugios, um gambá e um gato-mourisco; Amblyomma calcaratum (8M, 2F) em 4 tamanduás-mirins; Amblyomma dubitatum (6M, 1F, 7N) em duas capivaras e um gambá; Amblyomma fuscum (3F) em um teiú; Amblyomma longirostre (28M, 8F, 4N) e Amblyomma parkeri (4M, 3F, 3N) em nove ouriços-cacheiros; Amblyomma ovale (1F) em um javali; Amblyomma sculptum (6M, 7F) em uma anta e um javali; Haemaphysalis juxtakochi (1N) em um cervídeo e Ixodes loricatus (12M, 5F) em cinco gambás. Estudos são necessários para melhor avaliar o papel dessas espécies na epidemiologia das doenças transmitidas por carrapatos