CCm performance in Arctic and Antarctic seaweeds in a warming and acidifying marine environment

Presentación oral al congresoOcean acidification and warming are affecting with special intensity the polar coastal ecosystems. The Arctic kelps Saccharina latissima and Laminaria solidungula from Kongsfjorden (Svalbard) were cultured at 4 and 9 ºC in combination with current (390 ppm, CC) and increased (1200 ppm, HC) levels of atmospheric CO2. The Antarctic endemic Desmarestia anceps and D. menziesii were cultured at 2 and 7 ºC, and also at CC and HC.For all these species ∂13C values suggested an absence of deactivation of carbon concentrating mechanisms at increased CO2 levels. The lack of inhibition of CCM at high CO2 shown by ∂13C values seems to be a common pattern in polar species, but it is not related to responses in photosynthesis and growth. Growth of both Arctic species were largely unaffected by increased CO2 conditions, regardless the temperature. In contrast, the Antarctic species were favored by high CO2, specially at the highest temperature. External carbonic anhydrase (eCA) was responsible for about 50% to 80% of the photosynthetic O2 evolution in all the species, according to inhibition assays using DBS. CO2 promoted a decrease in eCA contribution to O2 evolution in the Antarctic species but not in the Arctic ones. The addition of EZ did not promote further inhibition in any species, indicating a low relevance of internal CA, although a concomitant inhibition of eCA may mask this contribution if no other mechanism of active transport was operating. Our latest results of the gene expression of D. anceps reveal that there is a low response to CO2. The relevance of this resilience to CO2 in polar environments will be discussed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Transcriptomics in brown algae

Brown algae are distributed worldwide on rocky shores. They are importenet components of ecosystems, they provide habitat, shelter and serve as nurseries for various marine organisms. The geographic as well as depth distribution of macroalgae is constrained by abiotic factors, especially light and temperature. It is therefore likely that due to the global change, distribution patterns of these organisms will change. In this work the molecular acclimation of two prominent brown macroalgae, Saccharina latissima (Arctic) and Desmarestia anceps (Antarctic), was analyzed and the acclimation potential of both species was compared.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Molecular stress response in polar algae

Geographical and vertical distribution patterns of macroalgae are constrained by abiotic factors such as light, including UVR and temperature. Hence, future global environmental changes could have a significant impact on geographic and vertical distribution patterns, as well as primary productivity. Polar waters are particularly vulnerable to warming but also to ocean acidification due to the increased solubility of CO2 in cold waters. Many studies have been conducted on the growth and photosynthetic performance of macroalgae under manifold stresses, yet the involved molecular processes of acclimation and adaption are still poorly understood. To compare molecular acclimation mechanisms in polar macroalgae, gene expression under abiotic stress has been investigated in an Arctic species, Saccharina latissima, and an Antarctic species, Desmarestia anceps. Both species response to abiotic stress with a multitude of transcriptional changes, but show different acclimation strategies. Critical components of acclimation mechanisms in Saccharina latissima are the differential regulation of photosynthetic components, ROS scavenging and carbohydrate metabolism, Desmarestia anceps on the contrary shows a high constitutive expression of the latter. Main components of molecular acclimation mechanisms to light and temperature stress in Desmarestia anceps include induction of protein and lipid modification processes for maintaining membrane and protein function. The high constitutive expression of several metabolism types in Desmarestia anceps might be due to the strong adaption to cold environments. However, as high constitutive gene expression requires extra energy, this lack of genetic regulation might display a disadvantage with respect to cosmopolitan eurythermic species in near-future scenarios.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

A model of partial differential equations for HIV propagation in lymph nodes

Texto completo versión postprint de autor.-- PACS numbers: 02.30.Ks,02.30.Hq,87.18.Hf,87.19.XxA system of partial differential equations is used to model the dissemination of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in CD4+T cells within lymph nodes. Besides diffusion terms, the model also includes a time-delay dependence to describe the time lag required by the immunologic system to provide defenses to new virus strains. The resulting dynamics strongly depends on the properties of the invariant sets of the model, consisting of three fixed points related to the time independent and spatial homogeneous tissue configurations in healthy and infected states. A region in the parameter space is considered, for which the time dependence of the space averaged model variables follows the clinical pattern reported for infected patients: a short scale primary infection, followed by a long latency period of almost complete recovery and third phase characterized by damped oscillations around a value with large HIV counting. Depending on the value of the diffusion coefficient, the latency time increases with respect to that one obtained for the space homogeneous version of the model. It is found that same initial conditions lead to quite different spatial patterns, which depend strongly on the latency interval.This work was partially supported by the following Brazilian funding agencies: CAPES, FAPESB/PRONEX, CNPq and National Institute for Science and Technology/Complex Systems.Peer reviewe

Increased temperature and CO2 alleviate photoinhibition in Desmarestia anceps: from transcriptomics to carbon utilization

Ocean acidification and warming are affecting polar regions with particular intensity. Rocky shores of the Antarctic Peninsula are dominated by canopy-forming Desmarestiales. This study investigates the physiological and transcriptomic responses of the endemic macroalga Desmarestia anceps to a combination of different levels of temperature (2 and 7 °C), dissolved CO2 (380 and 1000 ppm), and irradiance (65 and 145 µmol photons m−2 s−1). Growth and photosynthesis increased at high CO2 conditions, and strongly decreased at 2 °C plus high irradiance, in comparison to the other treatments. Photoinhibition at 2 °C plus high irradiance was evidenced by the photochemical performance and intensive release of dissolved organic carbon. The highest number of differentially regulated transcripts was observed in thalli exposed to 2 °C plus high irradiance. Algal 13C isotopic discrimination values suggested an absence of down-regulation of carbon-concentrating mechanisms at high CO2. CO2 enrichment induced few transcriptomic changes. There was high and constitutive gene expression of many photochemical and inorganic carbon utilization components, which might be related to the strong adaptation of D. anceps to the Antarctic environment. These results suggest that increased temperature and CO2 will allow D. anceps to maintain its productivity while tolerating higher irradiances than at present conditions

The CENP-T C-terminus is exclusively proximal to H3.1 and not to H3.2 or H3.3.

The kinetochore proteins assemble onto centromeric chromatin and regulate DNA segregation during cell division. The inner kinetochore proteins bind centromeres while most outer kinetochore proteins assemble at centromeres during mitosis, connecting the complex to microtubules. The centromere-kinetochore complex contains specific nucleosomes and nucleosomal particles. CENP-A replaces canonical H3 in centromeric nucleosomes, defining centromeric chromatin. Next to CENP-A, the CCAN multi-protein complex settles which contains CENP-T/W/S/X. These four proteins are described to form a nucleosomal particle at centromeres. We had found the CENP-T C-terminus and the CENP-S termini next to histone H3.1 but not to CENP-A, suggesting that the Constitutive Centromere-Associated Network (CCAN) bridges a CENP-A- and a H3-containing nucleosome. Here, we show by in vivo FRET that this proximity between CENP-T and H3 is specific for H3.1 but neither for the H3.1 mutants H3.1(C96A) and H3.1(C110A) nor for H3.2 or H3.3. We also found CENP-M next to H3.1 but not to these H3.1 mutants. Consistently, we detected CENP-M next to CENP-S. These data elucidate the local molecular neighborhood of CCAN proteins next to a H3.1-containing centromeric nucleosome. They also indicate an exclusive position of H3.1 clearly distinct from H3.2, thus documenting a local, and potentially also functional, difference between H3.1 and H3.2

Alternative Splicing of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor IgIII Loops in Cancer

Alternative splicing of the IgIII loop of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) 1–3 produces b- and c-variants of the receptors with distinctly different biological impact based on their distinct ligand-binding spectrum. Tissue-specific expression of these splice variants regulates interactions in embryonic development, tissue maintenance and repair, and cancer. Alterations in FGFR2 splicing are involved in epithelial mesenchymal transition that produces invasive, metastatic features during tumor progression. Recent research has elucidated regulatory factors that determine the splice choice both on the level of exogenous signaling events and on the RNA-protein interaction level. Moreover, methodology has been developed that will enable the in depth analysis of splicing events during tumorigenesis and provide further insight on the role of FGFR 1–3 IIIb and IIIc in the pathophysiology of various malignancies. This paper aims to summarize expression patterns in various tumor types and outlines possibilities for further analysis and application