Isolation and Characterization of Two Novel, Cytoplasmically Polyadenylated, Oocyte-Specific, Mouse Maternal RNAs

AbstractDuring early development in mouse andXenopus,translational activation of stored maternal mRNAs by cytoplasmic polyadenylation requires both the nuclear polyadenylation signal AAUAAA and U-richcis-acting adenylation control elements (ACEs), also termed cytoplasmic polyadenylation elements, located in the 3′ UTR. Using an ACE-based PCR strategy (Salléset al.,1992) we have isolated two novel cDNAs from mouse oocytes: OM2a and OM2b (for Oocyte Maturation). Each message contains an ACE consensus sequence upstream of AAUAAA, is specifically transcribed in the growing oocyte, and is cytoplasmically polyadenylated upon oocyte maturation. Comparison of the mouse and rat homologs reveals considerable nucleotide sequence homology and conservation of overall gene organization. However, the predicted open reading frames are far less conserved, suggesting that these genes may not be functioning as proteins. The tissue specificity and tight temporal regulation of the RNAs suggest a role for these genes during early development

Resgate do patrimônio imaterial referente aos usos da diversidade de gramíneas no bioma pampa nos séculos XIX e XX.

Os usos da biodiversidade do Pampa foram, nos séculos passados, muito variados. Já no final do Século XIX grande parte deste conhecimento foi ficando restrito a populações remanescentes, e a maior parte das espécies úteis, até então empregadas, ficou cada vez mais esquecida na memória coletiva. O resgate deste patrimônio imaterial permitirá a busca de alternativas produtivas para as comunidades rurais, mais condizentes com as diretrizes do desenvolvimento sustentável e com a preservação dos recursos genéticos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi resgatar o patrimônio imaterial referente aos usos da diversidade vegetal de gramíneas nos séculos XIX e início do XX pelas populações rurais no Bioma Pampa. Foram levantadas informações referentes aos usos da família Poaceae. Foi realizada a atualização nomenclatural e a delimitação dos táxons ocorrentes no Rio Grande do Sul, especificamente no Bioma Pampa, incluindo espécies nativas e exóticas. Foram registradas, até o momento, 58 espécies de gramíneas úteis para o Rio Grande do Sul. Para as gramíneas ocorrentes no Bioma Pampa foram constatados usos medicinal, aromático, cosmético, ornamental, controle de erosão, obtenção de ceras e óleos, como alimento humano e animal, forrageira, produção de bebidas fermentadas, material de construção e cobertura de moradias, fabricação de utensílios domésticos e rurais, material para estofamento de móveis, enchimento de colchões e travesseiros, e matéria-prima para produção de papel

First report on natural infection with Leishmania infantum in a domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain

A pet domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo) with a papular lesion involving the right pinna was diagnosed with chronic pyogranulomatous dermatitis by histopathologic examination. Intralesional, intracytoplasmic oval microorganisms compatible with Leishmania spp. or Histoplasma spp. were observed in macrophages and multinucleate giant cells. Leishmania infantum (L. infantum) infection was diagnosed by PCR, culture in Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle medium, and immunohistochemistry. Abnormal clinicopathological results included increased alanine transferase, alkaline phosphatase, serum gamma glutamyl transferase and polyclonal gammpathy. Anti-Leishmania antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunofluorescence antibody test and western blot using L. infantum antigen. Immunoreactivity against the 16 kDa specific L. infantum antigen fraction was observed by western blot. PCR performed in blood samples obtained from this patient after positive parasite isolation detected L. infantum DNA. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first diagnosis and isolation of L. infantum in a domestic ferret naturally infected in an endemic region (Spain) where canine and feline leishmaniosis is frequently detected. According to these findings, ferrets should be included as potential reservoir hosts of L. infantum. Future investigations should analyze the epidemiological role of ferrets in L. infantum infection including the prevalence of infection

Conservação in situ no Bioma Pampa: resgate e transplante de mudas de butiá (Butia odorata).

Butia odorata é uma palmeira que ocorre no Sul do Brasil e no Uruguai, podendo formar extensas populações conhecidas como butiazais ou palmares

Dissimilar Impact of a Mediterranean Diet and Physical Activity on Anthropometric Indices: A Cross-Sectional Study from the ILERVAS Project

There is a close relationship between lifestyle behaviors and excess adiposity. Although body mass index (BMI) is the most used approach to estimate excess weight, other anthropometric indices have been developed to measure total body and abdominal adiposity. However, little is known about the impact of physical activity and adherence to a Mediterranean diet on these indices. Here we report the results of a cross-sectional study with 6672 middle-aged subjects with low to moderate cardiovascular risk from the Ilerda Vascular (ILERVAS) project. The participants' adherence to physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form) and MedDiet (Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener) was evaluated. Measures of total adiposity (BMI, Clínica Universidad de Navarra-Body Adiposity Estimator (CUN-BAE), and Deurenberg's formula), central adiposity (waist and neck circumferences, conicity index, waist to height ratio, Bonora's equation, A body adiposity index, and body roundness index), and lean body mass (Hume formula) were assessed. Irrespective of sex, lower indices of physical activity were associated with higher values of total body fat and central adiposity. This result was constant regardless of the indices used to estimate adiposity. However, the association between MedDiet and obesity indices was much less marked and more dependent on sex than that observed for physical activity. Lean body mass was influenced by neither physical activity nor MedDiet adherence. No joint effect between physical activity and MedDiet to lower estimated total or central adiposity indices was shown. In conclusion, physical activity is related to lower obesity indices in a large cohort of middle-aged subjects. MedDiet showed a slight impact on estimated anthropometric indices, with no joint effect when considering both lifestyle variables

Cup Blocks the Precocious Activation of the Orb Autoregulatory Loop

Translational regulation of localized mRNAs is essential for patterning and axes determination in many organisms. In the Drosophila ovary, the germline-specific Orb protein mediates the translational activation of a variety of mRNAs localized in the oocyte. One of the Orb target mRNAs is orb itself, and this autoregulatory activity ensures that Orb proteins specifically accumulate in the developing oocyte. Orb is an RNA-binding protein and is a member of the cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding (CPEB) protein family. We report here that Cup forms a complex in vivo with Orb. We also show that cup negatively regulates orb and is required to block the precocious activation of the orb positive autoregulatory loop. In cup mutant ovaries, high levels of Orb accumulate in the nurse cells, leading to what appears to be a failure in oocyte specification as a number of oocyte markers inappropriately accumulate in nurse cells. In addition, while orb mRNA is mislocalized and destabilized, a longer poly(A) tail is maintained than in wild type ovaries. Analysis of Orb phosphoisoforms reveals that loss of cup leads to the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated Orb, suggesting that an important function of cup in orb-dependent mRNA localization pathways is to impede Orb activation