Biodiversidad de las plantas vasculares de las Islas Baleares

Se presentan los principales descriptores cuantitativos de la flora de plantas vasculares de las Islas Baleares. La flora autóctona asciende a 1729 taxones, con una proporción de 4.7 géneros por familia y de 3 taxones por género. Cerca del 50% de los taxones se agrupan en sólo 8 familias, entre éstas las gramíneas, compuestas y leguminosas suman más del 10% de los taxones cada una de ellas. Los terófitos son la forma vital más frecuente con un 40.9% de los taxones autóctonos, los fanerófitos por el contrario son minoritarios con únicamente el 8.4% de los taxones. Más de la mitad de los taxones (52.0%) pertenecen al elemento mediterráneo, y sólo el 5.5% son taxones eurosiberianos. La flora endémica representa el 10% de la flora autóctona (173 taxones). Los caméfitos (37.7%) son las formas biológicas más frecuentes entre los endemismos, mientras que los terófitos alcanzan solo al 6.2%. Esta desarmonía se repite en otras zonas mediterráneas y podría estar relacionada con la mayor proporción de formas leñosas que caracteriza a la flora de las islas.In this paper the main quantitative descriptors of the vascular flora of the Balearic Islands are presented. The autochthonous flora has 1729 taxa, with a rate of 4.7 genus each family, and 3 taxa each genus. About 50% of the taxa belong to only eight families; but Gramineae, Compositae and Leguminosae have more than 10% of the taxa each one. Therophytes are the most common life form with the 40.9% of the autochthonous taxa, on the other hand, phanerophytes are the less common with the 8.4% of the taxa. The 52% of the taxa have a Mediterranean distribution, and a scarce 5.5% could be considered as Eurosiberiane distribution. The endemic flora represents the 10% of the autochthonous flora (173 taxa). The chamephytes (37.7%) are the most frequent life form among the endemic, and the therophytes with only the 6.2% are the less common. This disharmony can be found in other Mediterranean areas, according with the characteristic woodiness of the islands flora

Parasites of the reintroduced Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) and Sympatric Mesocarnivores in Extremadura, Spain

Research Areas: MicrobiologyABSTRACT - The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is one of the most endangered felid species in the world. Conservation efforts have increased its population size and distribution and reinforced their genetic diversity through captive breeding and reintroduction programmes. Among several threats that the Iberian lynx faces, infectious and parasitic diseases have underlined effects on the health of their newly reintroduced populations, being essential to identify the primary sources of these agents and assess populations health status. To achieve this, 79 fresh faecal samples from Iberian lynx and sympatric mesocarnivores were collected in the reintroduction area of Extremadura, Spain. Samples were submitted to copromicroscopic analyses to assess parasite diversity, prevalence, and mean intensity of parasite burden. Overall, 19 (24.1%, ±15.1–35.0) samples were positive for at least one enteric parasite species. Parasite diversity and prevalence were higher in the Iberian lynx (43.8%) compared with the others mesocarnivores under study (e.g., the red fox Vulpes vulpes and the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon). Ancylostomatidae and Toxocara cati were the most prevalent (15.6%) parasites. Obtained results revealed that Iberian lynx role as predator control might have reduced parasite cross-transmission between this felid and mesocarnivores due to their decreasing abundances. Surveillance programs must include regular monitoring of this endangered felid, comprising mesocarnivores, but also domestic/feral and wild cat communities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Unraveling Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomic diversity and evolution in Lisbon, Portugal, a highly drug resistant setting.

BACKGROUND: Multidrug- (MDR) and extensively drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis (TB) presents a challenge to disease control and elimination goals. In Lisbon, Portugal, specific and successful XDR-TB strains have been found in circulation for almost two decades. RESULTS: In the present study we have genotyped and sequenced the genomes of 56 Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates recovered mostly from Lisbon. The genotyping data revealed three major clusters associated with MDR-TB, two of which are associated with XDR-TB. Whilst the genomic data contributed to elucidate the phylogenetic positioning of circulating MDR-TB strains, showing a high predominance of a single SNP cluster group 5. Furthermore, a genome-wide phylogeny analysis from these strains, together with 19 publicly available genomes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates, revealed two major clades responsible for M/XDR-TB in the region: Lisboa3 and Q1 (LAM).The data presented by this study yielded insights on microevolution and identification of novel compensatory mutations associated with rifampicin resistance in rpoB and rpoC. The screening for other structural variations revealed putative clade-defining variants. One deletion in PPE41, found among Lisboa3 isolates, is proposed to contribute to immune evasion and as a selective advantage. Insertion sequence (IS) mapping has also demonstrated the role of IS6110 as a major driver in mycobacterial evolution by affecting gene integrity and regulation. CONCLUSIONS: Globally, this study contributes with novel genome-wide phylogenetic data and has led to the identification of new genomic variants that support the notion of a growing genomic diversity facing both setting and host adaptation

Molecular profile in Paraguayan colorectal cancer patients, towards to a precision medicine strategy

[EN] Somatic mutation analysis and evaluation of microsatellite instability (MSI) have become mandatory for selecting personalized therapy strategies for advanced colorectal cancer and are not available as routine methods in Paraguay. The aims of this study were to analyze the molecular profile as well as the microsatellite status in a series of advanced colorectal patients from two public hospitals from Paraguay, to introduce these methodologies in the routine practice to guide the therapeutic decisions. Thirty-six patients diagnosed with advanced colorectal cancer from two referent public hospitals from Paraguay were recruited from May 2017 to February 2018. Sequenom Mass spectrometry, Oncocarta Panel V.1 was applied to analyze the mutational profile from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples. The microsatellite status was tested by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The mean age of the patients was 52 years with a range from 20 to 74 years. Eighty-three percent of the patients included in the study have advanced-stage tumors at the moment of the diagnosis. Sixteen patients (44.4%) were wild-type for all the oncogene regions analyzed with the Oncocarta panel. Thirty-two hot-spot pathogenic variants on seven oncogenes, among 20 patients (55.6%), were identified, including KRAS, NRAS, BRAF, PI3KCA, FGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor, and PDGFRA. Moreover, 14 (38.8%) of these patients presented pathogenic variants in KRAS/NRAS or BRAF genes that have implications in the clinical practice decisions. Five patients (14%) presented MSI. The IHC study for microsatellite status and the molecular profile analysis through Sequenom mass spectrometry are feasible and useful methods, due to identify those patient candidates for targeted therapies and for the budgetary calculations of the National Health PlansCONACYT Paraguay, Grant/Award Number: PINV-156/2015; INSTITUTO CARLOS III, Grant/Award Number: 17/00026 and CD15/00153; FONDOS FEDER; BankiaFleitas-Kanonnikoff, T.; Martinez-Ciarpaglini, C.; Ayala, J.; Gauna, C.; Denis, R.; Yoffe, I.; Sforza, S.... (2019). Molecular profile in Paraguayan colorectal cancer patients, towards to a precision medicine strategy. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Computational Molecular Science (Online). 8(6):3120-3130. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.2191S3120313086Bray, F., Ferlay, J., Soerjomataram, I., Siegel, R. L., Torre, L. A., & Jemal, A. (2018). Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68(6), 394-424. doi:10.3322/caac.21492Bray, F., & Piñeros, M. (2016). Cancer patterns, trends and projections in Latin America and the Caribbean: a global context. Salud Pública de México, 58(2), 104-117. doi:10.21149/spm.v58i2.7779Bohorquez, M., Sahasrabudhe, R., Criollo, A., Sanabria-Salas, M. C., Vélez, A., Castro, J. M., … Carvajal-Carmona, L. G. (2016). Clinical manifestations of colorectal cancer patients from a large multicenter study in Colombia. Medicine, 95(40), e4883. doi:10.1097/md.0000000000004883Sartore-Bianchi, A., Trusolino, L., Martino, C., Bencardino, K., Lonardi, S., Bergamo, F., … Siena, S. (2016). Dual-targeted therapy with trastuzumab and lapatinib in treatment-refractory, KRAS codon 12/13 wild-type, HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer (HERACLES): a proof-of-concept, multicentre, open-label, phase 2 trial. The Lancet Oncology, 17(6), 738-746. doi:10.1016/s1470-2045(16)00150-9Martinez-Ciarpaglini, C., Oltra, S., Roselló, S., Roda, D., Mongort, C., Carrasco, F., … Cervantes, A. (2018). Low miR200c expression in tumor budding of invasive front predicts worse survival in patients with localized colon cancer and is related to PD-L1 overexpression. Modern Pathology, 32(2), 306-313. doi:10.1038/s41379-018-0124-5Gao, J., Aksoy, B. A., Dogrusoz, U., Dresdner, G., Gross, B., Sumer, S. O., … Schultz, N. (2013). Integrative Analysis of Complex Cancer Genomics and Clinical Profiles Using the cBioPortal. Science Signaling, 6(269), pl1-pl1. doi:10.1126/scisignal.2004088Chakravarty, D., Gao, J., Phillips, S., Kundra, R., Zhang, H., Wang, J., … Schultz, N. (2017). OncoKB: A Precision Oncology Knowledge Base. JCO Precision Oncology, (1), 1-16. doi:10.1200/po.17.00011Arnold, M., Sierra, M. S., Laversanne, M., Soerjomataram, I., Jemal, A., & Bray, F. (2016). Global patterns and trends in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. Gut, 66(4), 683-691. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2015-310912Ohhara, Y., Fukuda, N., Takeuchi, S., Honma, R., Shimizu, Y., Kinoshita, I., & Dosaka-Akita, H. (2016). Role of targeted therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer. World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, 8(9), 642. doi:10.4251/wjgo.v8.i9.64

Parasites of the Reintroduced Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) and Sympatric Mesocarnivores in Extremadura, Spain.

The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is one of the most endangered felid species in the world. Conservation efforts have increased its population size and distribution and reinforced their genetic diversity through captive breeding and reintroduction programmes. Among several threats that the Iberian lynx faces, infectious and parasitic diseases have underlined effects on the health of their newly reintroduced populations, being essential to identify the primary sources of these agents and assess populations health status. To achieve this, 79 fresh faecal samples from Iberian lynx and sympatric mesocarnivores were collected in the reintroduction area of Extremadura, Spain. Samples were submitted to copromicroscopic analyses to assess parasite diversity, prevalence, and mean intensity of parasite burden. Overall, 19 (24.1%, ±15.1-35.0) samples were positive for at least one enteric parasite species. Parasite diversity and prevalence were higher in the Iberian lynx (43.8%) compared with the others mesocarnivores under study (e.g., the red fox Vulpes vulpes and the Egyptian mongoose Herpestes ichneumon). Ancylostomatidae and Toxocara cati were the most prevalent (15.6%) parasites. Obtained results revealed that Iberian lynx role as predator control might have reduced parasite cross-transmission between this felid and mesocarnivores due to their decreasing abundances. Surveillance programs must include regular monitoring of this endangered felid, comprising mesocarnivores, but also domestic/feral and wild cat communities.This research was funded by the European Union through its LIFE project Life + IBERLINCE (LIFE + 10NAT/ES/570) “Recuperación de la distribución histórica del lince ibérico (Lynx pardinus) en España y Portugal”. R. T. Torres is funded by national funds (OE), through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., in the scope of the framework contract foreseen in the numbers 4, 5, and 6 of the article 23, of the Decree-Law 57/2016, of 29 August, changed by Law 57/2017, of 19 July. Thanks are due to FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020) and CIISA Project UIDB/00276/2020 through national funds.S

Sardines at a junction: seascape genomics reveals ecological and oceanographic drivers of variation in the {NW} Mediterranean Sea

By evaluating genetic variation across the entire genome, one can address existing questions in a novel way while raising new ones. The latter includes how different local environments influence adaptive and neutral genomic variation within and among populations, providing insights into local adaptation of natural populations and their responses to global change. Here, under a seascape genomic approach, ddRAD data of 4609 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 398 sardines (Sardina pilchardus) collected in 11 Mediterranean and one Atlantic site were generated. These were used along with oceanographic and ecological information to detect signals of adaptive divergence with gene flow across environmental gradients. The studied sardines constitute two clusters (FST = 0.07), a pattern attributed to outlier loci, highlighting putative local adaptation. The trend in the number of days with sea surface temperature above 19°C, a critical threshold for successful sardine spawning, was crucial at all levels of population structuring with implications on the species' key biological processes. Outliers link candidate SNPs to the region's environmental heterogeneity. Our findings provide evidence for a dynamic equilibrium in which population structure is maintained by physical and ecological factors under the opposing influences of migration and selection. This dynamic in a natural system warrants continuous monitoring under a seascape genomic approach that might benefit from a temporal and more detailed spatial dimension. Our results may contribute to complementary studies aimed at providing deeper insights into the mechanistic processes underlying population structuring. Those are key to understanding and predicting future changes and responses of this highly exploited species in the face of climate change

Microwave versus radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of liver malignancies: a randomized controlled phase 2 trial

[EN] Microwave (MWA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are main ablative techniques for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and colorectal liver metastasis (MT). This randomized phase 2 clinical trial compares the effectiveness of MWA and RFA as well as morphology of corresponding ablation zones. HCC and MT patients with 1.5-4 cm tumors, suitable for ablation, were randomized into MWA or RFA Groups. The primary endpoint was short-to-long diameter ratio of ablation zone (SLR). Primary technical success (TS) and a cumulative local tumor progression (LTP) after a median 2-year follow-up were compared. Between June 2015 and April 2020, 82 patients were randomly assigned (41 patients per group). For the per-protocol analysis, five patients were excluded. MWA created larger ablation zones than RFA (p = 0.036) although without differences in SLR (0.5 for both groups, p = 0.229). The TS was achieved in 98% (46/47) and 90% (45/50) (p = 0.108), and LTP was observed in 21% (10/47) vs. 12% (6/50) (OR 1.9 [95% CI 0.66-5.3], p = 0.238) of tumors in MWA vs. RFA Group, respectively. Major complications were found in 5 cases (11%) vs. 2 cases (4%), without statistical significance. MWA and RFA show similar SLR, effectiveness and safety in liver tumors between 1.5 and 4 cm.This work was supported by a grant for medical research from Spanish Government (FIS-PI12/00799) and by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades under "Programa Estatal de I+D+i Orientada a los Retos de la Sociedad", Grant RTI2018-094357-B-C21.Radosevic, A.; Quesada, R.; Serlavos, C.; Sánchez, J.; Zugazaga, A.; Sierra, A.; Coll, S.... (2022). Microwave versus radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of liver malignancies: a randomized controlled phase 2 trial. Scientific Reports. 12(1):1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-03802-xS11012

Genomic identification of cryptic susceptibility to penicillins and β-lactamase inhibitors in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens threatens the future of modern medicine. One such resistant pathogen is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is resistant to nearly all β-lactam antibiotics, limiting treatment options. Here, we show that a significant proportion of MRSA isolates from different lineages, including the epidemic USA300 lineage, are susceptible to penicillins when used in combination with β-lactamase inhibitors such as clavulanic acid. Susceptibility is mediated by a combination of two different mutations in the mecA promoter region that lowers mecA-encoded penicillin-binding protein 2a (PBP2a) expression, and in the majority of isolates by either one of two substitutions in PBP2a (E246G or M122I) that increase the affinity of PBP2a for penicillin in the presence of clavulanic acid. Treatment of S. aureus infections in wax moth and mouse models shows that penicillin/β-lactamase inhibitor susceptibility can be exploited as an effective therapeutic choice for 'susceptible' MRSA infection. Finally, we show that isolates with the PBP2a E246G substitution have a growth advantage in the presence of penicillin but the absence of clavulanic acid, which suggests that penicillin/β-lactamase susceptibility is an example of collateral sensitivity (resistance to one antibiotic increases sensitivity to another). Our findings suggest that widely available and currently disregarded antibiotics could be effective in a significant proportion of MRSA infections.MRC - G1001787/1 MRC - MR/N002660/1 WT098600 HICF-T5-342 MR/S00291X/1 201344/Z/16/Z MR/P007201/

Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages

Generalist and specialist species differ in the breadth of their ecological niches. Little is known about the niche width of obligate human pathogens. Here we analyzed a global collection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 clinical isolates, the most geographically widespread cause of human tuberculosis. We show that lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages, suggesting a distinction between generalists and specialists. Population genomic analyses showed that, whereas the majority of human T cell epitopes were conserved in all sublineages, the proportion of variable epitopes was higher in generalists. Our data further support a European origin for the most common generalist sublineage. Hence, the global success of lineage 4 reflects distinct strategies adopted by different sublineages and the influence of human migration.We thank S. Lecher, S. Li and J. Zallet for technical support. Calculations were performed at the sciCORE scientific computing core facility at the University of Basel. This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 310030_166687 (S.G.) and 320030_153442 (M.E.) and Swiss HIV Cohort Study grant 740 to L.F.), the European Research Council (309540-EVODRTB to S.G.), TB-PAN-NET (FP7-223681 to S.N.), PathoNgenTrace projects (FP7-278864-2 to S.N.), SystemsX.ch (S.G.), the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF; S.N.), the Novartis Foundation (S.G.), the Natural Science Foundation of China (91631301 to Q.G.), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (5U01-AI069924-05) of the US National Institutes of Health (M.E.)

African Linguistics in Central and Eastern Europe, and in the Nordic Countries

Non peer reviewe