Purification of Starch Granules from Arabidopsis Leaves and Determination of Granule-Bound Starch Synthase Activity

Starch constitutes the most important carbon reserve in plants and is composed of branched amylopectin and linear amylose. The latter is synthesized exclusively by the Granule-Bound Starch Synthase (GBSS, EC 2.4.1.21). Here we report a readily reproducible, specific and highly sensitive protocol, which includes the isolation of intact starch granules from Arabidopsis thaliana leaves and the subsequent determination of GBSS activity. We have applied this method to study GBSS activity in diurnal cycles in vegetative growth and during the photoperiodic transition to flowering in Arabidopsis (Tenorio et al., 2003; Ortiz-Marchena et al., 2014).España,MINECO CSD2007-00057, BIO2008-02292, and BIO2011-28847-C02-00España, Junta de Andalucía P06-CVI-01450 and P08-AGR-0358

Bacteria and the evolution of honest signals. The case of ornamental throat feathers in spotless starlings

1. Mechanisms guaranteeing reliability of messages are essential in understanding the underlying information and evolution of signals. Micro-organisms may degrade signalling traits and therefore influence the transmitted information and evolution of these characters. The role of micro-organisms in animal signalling has, however, rarely been investigated. 2. Here, we explore a possible role for feather-degrading bacteria driving the design of ornamental throat feathers in male spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor). We estimated length, bacterial load, degradation status and susceptibility to degradation by keratinolytic bacteria in those feathers, compared with non-ornamental adjacent feathers in males, as well as to throat feathers in females. In addition, the volume of the uropygial gland and its secretion was measured and the secretion extracted. We also experimentally evaluated the capacity of each secretion to inhibit growth of a keratinolytic bacterium. 3. The apical part of male ornamental throat feathers harboured more bacteria and degraded more quickly than the basal part; these patterns were not detected in female throat feathers or in non-ornamental male feathers. Moreover, degradation status of male and female throat feathers did not differ, but was positively associated with feather bacterial density. Finally, the size of the uropygial gland in both males and females predicted volume and the inhibitory capacity of secretion against feather-degrading bacteria. Only in males was uropygial gland size negatively associated with the level of feather degradation. 4. All results indicate differential susceptibility of different parts of throat feathers to keratinolytic bacterial attack, which supports the possibility that throat feathers in starlings reflect individual ability to combat feather-degrading bacteria honestly. This is further supported by the relationship detected between antimicrobial properties of uropygial secretion and the level of feather degradation. 5. Our results suggest that selection pressures exerted by feather-degrading bacteria on hosts may promote evolution of particular morphologies of secondary sexual traits with different susceptibility to bacterial degradation that reliably inform of their bacterial load. Those results will help to understand the evolution of ornamental signals.This work was financed by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci on, European funds (FEDER) (CGL2010-19233-C03-01, CGL2013-48193-C3-1-P). MRR and DMG received a postdoc from the program “JAE-Doc”, GT from the “Juan de la Cierva”, and CRC had a predoctoral fellowship, all from the Spanish Government.Peer reviewe

Nest Material Shapes Eggs Bacterial Environment

Selective pressures imposed by pathogenic microorganisms to embryos have selected in hosts for a battery of antimicrobial lines of defenses that includes physical and chemical barriers. Due to the antimicrobial properties of volatile compounds of green plants and of chemicals of feather degrading bacteria, the use of aromatic plants and feathers for nest building has been suggested as one of these barriers. However, experimental evidence suggesting such effects is scarce in the literature. During two consecutive years, we explored experimentally the effects of these nest materials on loads of different groups of bacteria (mesophilic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus and Enterococcus) of eggshells in nests of spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor) at the beginning and at the end of the incubation period. This was also explored in artificial nests without incubation activity. We also experimentally increased bacterial density of eggs in natural and artificial nests and explored the effects of nest lining treatments on eggshell bacterial load. Support for the hypothetical antimicrobial function of nest materials was mainly detected for the year and location with larger average values of eggshell bacterial density. The beneficial effects of feathers and plants were more easily detected in artificial nests with no incubation activity, suggesting an active role of incubation against bacterial colonization of eggshells. Pigmented and unpigmented feathers reduced eggshell bacterial load in starling nests and artificial nest boxes. Results from artificial nests allowed us to discuss and discard alternative scenarios explaining the detected association, particularly those related to the possible sexual role of feathers and aromatic plants in starling nests. All these results considered together confirm the antimicrobial functionality mainly of feathers but also of plants used as nest materials, and highlight the importance of temporally and geographically environmental variation associated with risk of bacterial proliferation determining the strength of such effects. Because of costs associated to nest building, birds should adjust nest building effort to expected bacterial environments during incubation, a prediction that should be further explored.This work was financed by Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, European funds (FEDER) (CGL2010-19233-C03-01, CGL2010-19233-C03-03, CGL2013-48193-C3-1-P, CGL2013-48193-C3-3-P). MRR and DMG received a postdoc from the programmes “JAE-Doc” and CRC had a predoctoral grant from the Spanish Government. GT was supported by Juan de la Cierva programme (Spain) and by Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Ecuador (SENESCYT) through a Prometeo research grant.Peer reviewe

Intraspecific avian brood parasites avoid host nests infested by ectoparasites

Intraspecific brood parasitism is widespread among birds and provides clues for elucidating the evolutionary origin of interspecific brood parasitism. Studies suggest that brood parasitism does not occur at random, but that parasitic females select nests with advantages such as higher physical stability, reduced predation risk, or lower ectoparasite infestations. However, this evidence is sparse and mainly correlative. By experimentally increasing the abundance of Carnus hemapterus (a common, generalist and widespread ectoparasitic nest fly of a multitude of bird species) in half of the nests, we show that parasitic Spotless Starlings (Sturnus unicolor) avoid conspecific nests infested by ectoparasites. Since Carnus ectoparasites impinge costs on their avian nestling hosts, this avoidance response would be adaptive for parasitic Starlings. Further, we suggest a mechanism by which parasitic females may assess the level of ectoparasite infestation to select host nests accordingly: by using parasite cues such as faeces and blood remains. Additionally, these cues may be used by parasitic females for synchronization with the reproductive cycle of host females because ectoparasite cues also indicate that incubation has already commenced. Whatever the functionality, the mechanism suggested here may be employed by intra- and interspecific brood parasites, so it might represent a widespread strategy in nature.Financial support was provided by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and FEDER (CGL2013- 48193-C3-1-P), the JAE programme to D. M. G. and M. R. R., and the Ramo´n y Cajal programme (Spain) and the Secretarı´a de Educacio ´n Superior, Ciencia, Tecnologı´a e Innovacio´n del Ecuador (SENESCYT) through a Prometeo research grant to G. TPeer reviewe

Long-term clinical and functional course of Borderline Personality Disorder: A meta-analysis of prospective studies

Background: This meta-analytic review is the first to synthesize findings from prospective research on the long-term course of borderline personality disorder in adult clinical populations. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in Medline, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, PubMed, and Scopus within the period 1990-2017. Inclusion criteria were: (1) adult BPD sample diagnosed by a validated, semi-structured interview; (2) at least two prospective assessments of outcomes; and (3) follow-up period ≥ 5 years. Quality of evidence was rated with the Systematic Assessment of Quality in Observational Research (SAQOR). Four outcomes were meta-analysed using mixed-effect methods: remission from BPD diagnosis, completed suicide, depressive symptoms, and functioning. Potential moderators regarding the natural course and the initial treatment received were studied. Results: Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria, with 837 participants from nine countries being followed. Between 50% and 70% of the BPD patients achieved remission in the long-term. Significant reductions in depression and functional impairment were also found. Mean suicide rate ranged from 2% to 5%. Younger age was associated with a higher likelihood of remission. Being female was correlated with lower functional improvement. Despite some positive trends, there were no significant associations between treatment moderators and the long-term outcome. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the course of BPD is characterized by symptomatic amelioration and a slight functional improvement in the long-term. Age and gender modulate the long-term prognosis and should be considered to adapt treatment resources. Further research is required to draw robust conclusions on the long-term effects of psychotherapeutic interventions

Los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible y su aplicación actual en las bibliotecas andaluzas

Trabajo que emana de la IV Jornadas Técnicas de Bibliotecas, analizando los 17 Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible(ODS) y sus 169 metas para hacerlos posibles se recogen tres ejes en los que se encuentran la sostenibilidad económica, la social y la ambiental. Se revisan los 17 ODS y su aplicación en las Bibliotecas de Andalucía

Characterization of the sucrose phosphate phosphatase (SPP) isoforms from Arabidopsis thaliana and role of the S6PPc domain in dimerization

Sucrose-phosphate phosphatase (SPP) catalyses the final step in the sucrose biosynthesis pathway. Arabidopsis thaliana genome codifies four SPP isoforms. In this study, the four Arabidopsis thaliana genes coding for SPP isoforms have been cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli and the kinetic and regulatory properties of the purified enzymes analysed. SPP2 is the isoform showing the highest activity, with SPP3b and SPP3a showing lower activity levels. No activity was detected for SPP1. We propose that this lack of activity is probably due to the absence of an essential amino acid participating in catalysis and/or in the binding of the substrate, sucrose-6-phosphate (Suc6P). The expression patterns of Arabidopsis SPP genes indicate that SPP2 and SPP3b are the main isoforms expressed in different tissues and organs, although the non-catalytic SPP1 is the main isoform expressed in roots. Thus, SPP1 could have acquired new unknown functions. We also show that the three catalytically active SPPs from Arabidopsis are dimers. By generating a chimeric SPP composed of the monomeric cyanobacterial SPP fused to the higher plant non-catalytic S6PPc domain (from SPP2), we show that the S6PPc domain is responsible for SPP dimerization. This is the first experimental study on the functionality and gene expression pattern of all the SPPs from a single plant species.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TRANSPLANTA Consolider 28317Junta de Andalucía P08-AGR-03582 y CVI-28

Turismo del vino en el marco de Jerez. Un análisis desde la perspectiva de la oferta

Spain is a country with a well established tourism sector and a great wine-growing tradition, and is now constructing tourist wine routes with the aim of developing rural areas and, consequently, creating new tourist destinations. In this paper, an analysis of the supply of wine tourism in a specific area of Spain, the Sherry Region, is presented, with the aim of analysing how wine can be a key resource in tourism in a given geographical area.España, un país con un consolidado sector turístico y una gran tradición vitivinícola, está vertebrando la creación de rutas turísticas del vino con la finalidad de desarrollar áreas rurales y crear, por tanto, nuevos destinos turísticos. En este artículo presentamos un análisis de la oferta del enoturismo en una determinada zona, el Marco de Jerez, con la finalidad de analizar cómo el vino (y la gastronomía) pueden ser, y a veces lo es, el principal atractivo para visitar una determinada área geográfica