Aportaciones a la taxonomía del género Asplenium: Anatomía del aparato productor de esporas.

Se ha realizado una descripción de la anatomía del aparato productor de esporas, y de los elementos que lo constituyen, en el género Asplenium, basada en el estudio de nueve especies, representativas de los subgéneros Pleurosorus y Asplenium, secciones Ceterach y Asplenium, greges trichomanes, adiantumnigrum, septentrionale y scolopendrium. En vista de la confusión terminológica que habitualmente se encuentra en los trabajos sobre anatomía de helechos, se presenta un glosario en el que se proponen las defmiciones más adecuadas extraídas de la literatura, así como algunas precisiones a éstas y términos nuevos, en base a nuestros resultados.A description of the anatomy of the sporeproducer mechanism, and the elements that form it in the genus Asplenium has been realized, based on the study of nine species representative, of the subgenera Pleurosorus andAsplenium, sections Ceterach andAsplenium, greges trichomanes, adiantum-nigrum, septentrionale and scolopendrium. . In sight of the terminological confusion that is usually found in works on fern anatomy, a glossary -taken out from literature- is presented, in wich adecuate explanations are proposed, along with some precissions to these and new terms, according to our results

Herbaceous plants in the understory of a pitch canker-affected Pinus radiata plantation are endophytically infected with Fusarium circinatum

[EN] Fusarium circinatum was recently detected as an endophyte in grasses causing no apparent damage. Our goal was to describe the endophytic colonization of herbaceous host plants growing in a plantation of Pinus radiata with symptoms of pitch canker disease, which may act as a reservoir of inoculum. We detected the fungus in five species of dicot families (Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae), in addition to two species in the Poaceae. The fungus was found in the aerial part of non-symptomatic hosts, so we describe E circinatum as an endophyte that is mainly transmitted by spores through the air. It was also detected in Hypochaeris radicata seeds, suggesting the potential occurrence of vertical transmission. An analysis of microsatellite markers showed a unique haplotype regardless of whether the isolates' origin was pine cankers or non-symptomatic herbaceous plants. Thus, the same genotype can adopt a pathogenic or endophytic lifestyle. We conclude that non -symptomatic plants can act as reservoirs of inoculum: pine seedlings can be infeded from senescent tissue of non-symptomatic hosts colonized by the fungus. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd and British Mycological Society. All rights reserved.We acknowledge Maite Morales Clemente for her excellent technical assistance and Inigo Zabalgogeazcoa for his helpful suggestions. Laura Hernandez was supported by a fellowship from INIA (FPI-INIA). Financial support for this research was provided by projects RTA2012-00015-C02-01 and RTA2013-00048-C03-01 (Programa Estatal I + D + i, INIA, Spain).Hernandez-Escribano, L.; Iturritxa, E.; Elvira-Recuenco, M.; Berbegal Martinez, M.; Campos, J.; Renobales, G.; García, I.... (2018). Herbaceous plants in the understory of a pitch canker-affected Pinus radiata plantation are endophytically infected with Fusarium circinatum. Fungal Ecology. 32:65-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2017.12.001S65713

DNA methylation epigenotypes in breast cancer molecular subtypes

12 páginas, 3 figuras, 3 tablas.-- et al.[Introduction]: Identification of gene expression-based breast cancer subtypes is considered a critical means of prognostication. Genetic mutations along with epigenetic alterations contribute to gene-expression changes occurring in breast cancer. So far, these epigenetic contributions to sporadic breast cancer subtypes have not been well characterized, and only a limited understanding exists of the epigenetic mechanisms affected in those particular breast cancer subtypes. The present study was undertaken to dissect the breast cancer methylome and to deliver specific epigenotypes associated with particular breast cancer subtypes. [Methods]: By using a microarray approach, we analyzed DNA methylation in regulatory regions of 806 cancer-related genes in 28 breast cancer paired samples. We subsequently performed substantial technical and biologic validation by pyrosequencing, investigating the top qualifying 19 CpG regions in independent cohorts encompassing 47 basal-like, 44 ERBB2+ overexpressing, 48 luminal A, and 48 luminal B paired breast cancer/adjacent tissues. With the all-subset selection method, we identified the most subtype-predictive methylation profiles in multivariable logistic regression analysis. [Results]: The approach efficiently recognized 15 individual CpG loci differentially methylated in breast cancer tumor subtypes. We further identified novel subtype-specific epigenotypes that clearly demonstrate the differences in the methylation profiles of basal-like and human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2)-overexpressing tumors. [Conclusions]: Our results provide evidence that well-defined DNA methylation profiles enable breast cancer subtype prediction and support the utilization of this biomarker for prognostication and therapeutic stratification of patients with breast cancer.This work was supported by grants from project CGL2008-01131 (Departamento de Sanidad del Gobierno Vasco), S-PE08UN45 and PE09BF02 (Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnologia del Gobierno Vasco), BIO2008-04212, and RD06/0020/1019 (Red Tematica de Investigacion Cooperativa en Cancer, RTICC) from the MICINN. The CIBER de Enfermedades Raras is an initiative of the ISCIII. NGB had a doctoral fellowship from the Basque Government (Departamento de Educacion, Universidades e Investigacion).Peer reviewe

Traditional medicinal uses of the Eurasian wild grapevine in the Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula constitutes the Western limit of the dioecious Eurasian wild grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. subsp. sylvestris). At present, it is a threatened plant, due to human impacts. This liana has had different uses in this territory from the Paleolithic until the end of the last century, including several medicinal applications, inherited from the classical Greek culture. In order to retrieve the available written information, we carried out an exhaustive bibliographic search of the pharmacopoeia linked to this Vitaceae, from the 16th century to the present day. Current references on chemical composition of different parts of grapevine and their medicinal uses were also covered. In parallel, we conducted research in several archives and made inquiries to historians, anthropologists, and sanitary personnel. We also interviewed elderly people from rural areas of Spain and Portugal where some relic populations of wild grapevine are still conserved. Among the written and oral medicinal uses compiled, the main ones are: the use of the grapevine bleeding water to alleviate eczema and skin eruptions and to combat conjunctivitis and keratitis; the use of must from unripe berries (agua de agraz in Spanish) as liver tonic and to treat digestive diseases; the leaves were used to reduce edema, as antihemorrhoidal, and for menopausal disorders; and finally, the vinegar was used to clean and disinfect wounds both on humans and animals. This paper highlights the tremendous erosion of the traditional knowledge about this relevant plant genetic resource