NTMC2T5.1 is involved in chloroplast clustering around nucleus in Nicotiana benthamiana.

Plants have developed mechanisms to protect themselves from pathogens and resist their attacks. Among these, clustering of chloroplasts around the nuclear envelope is a phenomenon that has been proposed as a general response to the perception of pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria [1]. Additionally, it has been hypothesized that chloroplast clustering could serve as an efficient way of transferring signals —such as lipids and reactive oxygen species— between these two organelles in order to induce changes in the expression of pathogen defence-related genes. Synaptotagmin-like mitochondrial-lipid-binding (SMP) domain proteins are evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotes and participate in the formation of membrane contact sites between organelles. In particular, their SMP domains allow the lipid transport between the membranes of different organelles [2]. Our group is focus on studying NTMC2T5 proteins, a group of SMP proteins, with two homologs in Arabidopsis thaliana. By transiently overexpressing AtNTMC2T5.1 and some truncated versions in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf cells, and using confocal microscopy, we have determined the subcellular localization of the encoded protein. This protein is anchored to the chloroplast outer envelope and interacts with the membranes of other organelles, like the ER and the nuclear envelope membrane [3]. Additionally, we have detected that overexpression of NTMC2T5 proteins causes a significant chloroplast clustering around nucleus, that it was not observed when overexpressing other proteins. Thus, we have estimated the contribution of its functional domains in the clustering. Our results suggest that the C-terminal hydrophobic region (HR) of AtNTMC2T5.1 is essential for this process. Moreover, our Arabidopsis ntmc2t5.1/t5.2 knock down plants showed slower growth when treated with flagelin22 and reduced chloroplast clustering when treated with H2O2.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Autophagy is required for strawberry fruit ripening

Autophagy is a catabolic and recycling pathway that maintains cellular homeostasis under normal growth and stress conditions. Two major types of autophagy, microautophagy and macroautophagy, have been described in plants. During macroautophagy, cellular content is engulfed by a double-membrane vesicle called autophagosome. This vesicle fuses its outer membrane with the tonoplast and releases the content into the vacuole for degradation. During certain developmental processes, autophagy is enhanced by induction of several autophagy-related genes (ATG genes). Autophagy in crop development has been studied in relation to leaf senescence, seed and reproductive development, and vascular formation. However, its role in fruit ripening has only been partially addressed. Strawberry is an important berry crop, representative of non-climacteric fruit. We have analyzed the occurrence of autophagy in developing and ripening fruits of the cultivated strawberry. Our data show that most ATG genes are conserved in the genome of the cultivated strawberry Fragaria x ananassa and they are differentially expressed along the ripening of the fruit receptacle. ATG8-lipidation analysis proves the presence of two autophagic waves during ripening. In addition, we have confirmed the presence of autophagy at the cellular level by the identification of autophagy-related structures at different stages of the strawberry ripening. Finally, we show that blocking autophagy either biochemically or genetically dramatically affects strawberry growth and ripening. Our data support that autophagy is an active and essential process with different implications during strawberry fruit ripening.This work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie to VS-V grant agreement 844365 project FrATGaria: Identification of the role of autophagy during fruit ripening and stress resistance in Strawberry: Autophagy manipulation as a way to improve Strawberry fitness, by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (grant BIO2017-82609-R) to MB and by the Plan Propio of the University of Malaga

An action research for implementing peer assessment strategy using audio recordings to improve the listening comprehension skills of 2nd year of baccalaureate

The present action research aimed to improve students' listening skills and competencies using peer assessment as a learning strategy. It was required trying to close the big educative gap found in schools after the COVID-19 pandemic that made everything stop. One of the most complex skills to develop is listening. Therefore applying action research and peer assessment between partners, learners could check their work through specific training, obtaining positive improvements in their second language comprehension by recording some audio as a final project. Students were progressively working for five weeks to improve their listening skills. There were forty participants immersed in the study. The facilitator implemented a pretest and a posttest to measure students' knowledge and fluency at the beginning and final parts. A checklist and a protocol interview were required to work with learners' perspectives during the innovation.La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo mejorar las habilidades y competencias auditivas de los estudiantes utilizando la evaluación por pares como estrategia de aprendizaje. Se requería cerrar la gran brecha educativa encontrada en las escuelas luego de la pandemia COVID-19 que hizo que todo se detuviera. Una de las habilidades más complejas de desarrollar es la de escuchar. Por lo tanto, aplicando la investigación y la evaluación por pares entre compañeros, los alumnos podrían verificar su trabajo a través de capacitación específica, obteniendo mejoras positivas en la comprensión de su segundo idioma al grabar un audio como proyecto final. Los estudiantes estuvieron trabajando progresivamente durante cinco semanas para mejorar sus habilidades auditivas. Había cuarenta participantes inmersos en el estudio. El facilitador implementó una prueba previa y una prueba posterior para medir el conocimiento y la fluidez de los estudiantes en las partes inicial y final. Se requirió una lista de verificación y una entrevista de protocolo para trabajar con las perspectivas de los alumnos durante la innovación

NTMC2T5: a newly identified lipid transfer proteins at ER-chloroplast contact sites involved in development and stress response.

In plants, fatty acid synthesis takes place at chloroplasts, and they are assembled into glycerolipids and sphingolipids at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Then, the newly ER synthetized lipids are sent back to the chloroplast to form part of their membranes. Since, no vesicular transport has been described between these two organelles, lipid transport might be mediated by lipid transport proteins (LTP) via a non-vesicular pathway.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

EDUCATOR’S REFLECTION ON PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES CHANGES

This study investigates early childhood educators’ perception about changes generated in their pedagogical practice in the dimensions of knowing, being and doing, after participating in a training process focused on emotional education and psychoaffective child development in Colombia. In order to understand how pedagogical practices had changed after their participation in the Program´s training, a qualitative research was conducted, applying qualitative questionnaires and semi- structured interviews with 50 educators participating in the training. Results indicate positive changes in theoretical and didactical knowledge, sensitivity to children, as well as professional and personal satisfaction. Participants appreciated especially the training’s focus on their own emotional dimension and the recognition of their history, since they feel a high emotional charge considering the combination of the children’s situations they experience during their work, as well as their own personal background.The results of the study show the need to keep in mind the dimensions being, knowing and doing during the training process of educators, in order to allow a profound understanding of theoretical concepts and practical implications. At the same time, the results raise the question of an ongoing psychological and educational support for educators, in order to allow a permanent reflection of their own emotional reactions to the difficult situations they face in their work, and thus achieve an improvement in their teaching practice

SMP-CONTAINING PROTEINS AT MEMBRANE CONTACT SITES: SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION AND CHARACTERIZATION.

Membrane contact sites (MCS) are microdomains where two membranes of two different organelles are in close apposition, but they do not fuse. MCS are essential for non-vesicular transport of lipids. This lipid transport is mediated by several families of proteins which all of them contain a lipid transport domain, as the synaptotagmin-like mitochondrial lipid-binding (SMP) domain. The most studied SMP protein is Arabidopsis SYT1 which is known to be involved in tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. Later studies in other SMP proteins of the same family have shown that SYT1 and homologous such as SYT3 or SYT5 gave similar results. However, little information is available about the role other SMP proteins in plants. We have studied the occurrence of additional SMP proteins in A. thaliana and S. lycopersicum. In order to identify these proteins, SMP sequences from human and yeast were used to identify their remote orthologues in A. thaliana and S. lycopersicum, allowing the identification of several putative encoding SMP domains. We have found that some of the identified proteins are exclusive of plants as they do not have direct orthologs in yeast nor human. Transient expression in N. benthamiana leaves followed by confocal microscopy was used to study the subcellular localization of these proteins. Our results show that some of these proteins are localized at ER-Golgi contact sites and two other proteins at ER-Chloroplast sites. Finally, to determine whether these proteins are involved in abiotic stress tolerance, we have analysed the root growth and seed germination rates of Arabidopsis mutants for these genes under different conditions. Some of these mutants have shown different germination rates in media supplemented with NaCl and different rates of expanded cotyledons in media supplemented with ABA. These results suggest that some these proteins may be implicated in abiotic stress signalling through an ABA-dependent pathway.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. This work is supported by grants from: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (grant PGC2018-098789-B-I00), UMA-FEDER (grant UMA18-FEDERJA-154) and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (BIO2017-82609-R)

Culture media based on effluent derived from soy protein concentrate production for Lacticaseibacillus paracasei 90 biomass production: statistical optimisation, mineral characterization, and metabolic activities

The waste and by-products of the soybean industry could be an economic source of nutrients to satisfy the high nutritional demands for the cultivation of lactic acid bacteria. The aims of this work were to maximize the biomass production of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei 90 (L90) in three culture media formulated from an effluent derived from soy protein concentrate production and to assess the effects these media have on the enzymatic activity of L90, together with their influence on its fermentation profile in milk. The presence of essential minerals and fermentable carbohydrates (sucrose, raffinose, and stachyose) in the effluent was verified. L90 reached high levels of microbiological counts (∼ 9 log cfu mL−1) and dry weight (> 1 g L−1) on the three optimized media. Enzymatic activities (lactate dehydrogenase and β-galactosidase) of L90, and its metabolism of lactose and citric acid, as well as lactic acid and pyruvic acid production in milk, were modified depending on the growth media. The ability of the L90 to produce the key flavour compounds (diacetyl and acetoin) was maintained or improved by growing in the optimized media in comparison with MRS.Fil: Beret, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Lactología Industrial. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Lactología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Peralta, Guillermo Hugo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Lactología Industrial. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Lactología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Vera Candioti, Luciana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Wolf, Irma Veronica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Lactología Industrial. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Lactología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, Renzo. Municipalidad de Gualeguaychu (entre Rios).; ArgentinaFil: Hynes, Erica Rut. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Lactología Industrial. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Lactología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Bergamini, Carina Viviana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Lactología Industrial. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Lactología Industrial; Argentin

FUNCIONABILIDAD FAMILIAR: CONDUCTA DISRUPTIVA DE LOS ESTUDIANTES

El propósito de este trabajo de investigación demostró la relación que existe entre la funcionabilidad familiar y la conducta disruptiva. La metodología utilizada es descriptiva – correlacional. La población de estudio estuvo conformada por 174 alumnos del 4to y 5to año del nivel secundaria de la institución educativa Teniente Miguel Cortes de Sullana, a quienes se les aplicó dos cuestionarios los cuales fueron utilizados para la recolección de datos, los mismos que fueron codificados y procesados en un programa de cálculo estadístico, obteniendo los resultados esperados. En los resultados se pudo demostrar que existe una baja relación negativa entre el funcionamiento familiar y la conducta disruptiva de los estudiantes, validándose así la hipótesis planteada. Se pudieron encontrar valores importantes en lo que corresponde a la Funcionabilidad Familiar en general, orientándose a la funcionabilidad media que al ser analizados mediante el estadístico correspondiente arrojaron que existe una correlación inversa entre las variables, así se puede afirmar que a mayor funcionabilidad familiar menores serán las conductas disruptivas

Aplicaciones de las nuevas herramientas de visualización de modelos 3D y realidad virtual en Internet a la docencia de la conservación y restauración del patrimonio, el diseño, y las bellas artes

Depto. de Diseño e ImagenFac. de Bellas ArtesFALSEsubmitte

Localization and characterization of SMP-containing proteins in Membrane Contact Sites

Membrane contact sites (MCS) are discrete regions where two membranes from different organelles are closely apposed (10-30 nm). In those regions, non-vesicular transfer of lipids takes place to ensure proper organelle functioning. Arabidopsis SYT1 is one of the best characterized MCS protein, and it plays a relevant role in tolerance to abiotic stresses. SYT1 is a SMP (synaptotagmin-like mitocondrial lipid binding domain) containing protein localized at ER-PM contact sites. Recent studies suggest that this protein transfer glycerolipids between these two membranes. However, little is known about other SMP-containing proteins in plants, as their localization or their role in abiotic stress. We have focused on studying the rest of SMP-containing proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum. To identify them, human E-Syt1 sequence was used to find the remote orthologues in plants. An interesting highlight of those results was that some SMP-containing proteins are exclusive from plants, there are no orthologues in human nor yeast. The subsequent step was the study of their subcellular location, that was carried out in Nicotiana benthamiana by transient expression of the SMP-containing proteins from Arabidopsis and Solanum, followed by confocal microscopy imaging. We have found that those proteins locate in different MCS across the cell: SYT6, NTMC2T6 and Tex2 localise in ER-Golgi contact sites, NTMC2T5 in ER-Chloroplast contact sites, and we have also confirmed that Solanum CLB1 and SYT5 localized at ER-PM contact sites as their Arabidopsis counterparts. Additionally, we have analysed the root growth, seed germination rates and fully expanded cotyledons of Arabidopsis mutants for these genes in media supplemented with salt or ABA, and our results suggest that some of these proteins might be implicated in abiotic stress signalling through an ABA pathway.This work is supported by grants from: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (grant PGC2018-098789-B-I00), UMA-FEDER (grant UMA18-FEDERJA-154) and Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (BIO2017-82609-R), and meeting assistance was granted by Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech