Phenological phases of flowering in hop (Humulus lupulus L.) and their correspondence with microsporogenesis and microgametogenesis

[EN] Hop (Humulus Lupulus L.) suffered, as many other crops, a shrinkage of its intraspecific agrobiodiversity. Biotechnological methods of breeding would offer new opportunities to produce improved varieties with interesting phytochemical profiles and adaptable to the challenging conditions of climate change. Doubled haploid (DH) technology could be a useful tool to increase hop agrobiodiversity but, unfortunately, there is a complete lack of information about hop flower biology. For this reason, the main aim of this work is the study of the different phenological phases of flowering in hop and the corresponding developmental stages of microspores/pollen grains contained therein. The results obtained allowed the identification of morphological markers (anther and flower bud length), easy and fast to measure, that would speed up the selection of flower buds containing the highest percentage of vacuolated microspores and young pollen, the stages considered in most species as the most responsive to androgenesis. A further result, derived from the flower bud and anther microscopical observation, evidenced the increase of lupulin glands on bud and anther surface as the bud proceeds in development from microsporogenesis to microgametogenesis.This work was supported by Spanish MINECO [grant number AGL2017-88135-R to JMSS] jointly funded by FEDER.Liberatore, C.; Calabuig-Serna, A.; Rodolfi, M.; Chiancone, B.; Seguí-Simarro, JM. (2019). Phenological phases of flowering in hop (Humulus lupulus L.) and their correspondence with microsporogenesis and microgametogenesis. Scientia Horticulturae. 256:1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.108639S16256Easterling, K. A., Pitra, N. J., Jones, R. J., Lopes, L. G., Aquino, J. R., Zhang, D., … Bass, H. W. (2018). 3D Molecular Cytology of Hop (Humulus lupulus) Meiotic Chromosomes Reveals Non-disomic Pairing and Segregation, Aneuploidy, and Genomic Structural Variation. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9. doi:10.3389/fpls.2018.01501Nagel, J., Culley, L. K., Lu, Y., Liu, E., Matthews, P. D., Stevens, J. F., & Page, J. E. (2008). EST Analysis of Hop Glandular Trichomes Identifies an O-Methyltransferase That Catalyzes the Biosynthesis of Xanthohumol. The Plant Cell, 20(1), 186-200. doi:10.1105/tpc.107.055178Parra-Vega, V., González-García, B., & Seguí-Simarro, J. M. (2012). Morphological markers to correlate bud and anther development with microsporogenesis and microgametogenesis in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 35(2), 627-633. doi:10.1007/s11738-012-1104-xPatzak, J., Nesvadba, V., Henychová, A., & Krofta, K. (2010). Assessment of the genetic diversity of wild hops (Humulus lupulus L.) in Europe using chemical and molecular analyses. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 38(2), 136-145. doi:10.1016/j.bse.2009.12.023Patzak, J., Nesvadba, V., Krofta, K., Henychova, A., Marzoev, A. I., & Richards, K. (2010). Evaluation of genetic variability of wild hops (Humulus lupulus L.) in Canada and the Caucasus region by chemical and molecular methods. Genome, 53(7), 545-557. doi:10.1139/g10-024Salas, P., Rivas-Sendra, A., Prohens, J., & Seguí-Simarro, J. M. (2011). Influence of the stage for anther excision and heterostyly in embryogenesis induction from eggplant anther cultures. Euphytica, 184(2), 235-250. doi:10.1007/s10681-011-0569-9Seguí-Simarro, J. M. (2010). Androgenesis Revisited. The Botanical Review, 76(3), 377-404. doi:10.1007/s12229-010-9056-6Seguí-Simarro, J. M., & Nuez, F. (2005). Meiotic metaphase I to telophase II as the most responsive stage during microspore development for callus induction in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) anther cultures. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 27(4), 675-685. doi:10.1007/s11738-005-0071-xSHEPHARD, H. L., PARKER, J. S., DARBY, P., & AINSWORTH, C. C. (2000). Sexual development and sex chromosomes in hop. New Phytologist, 148(3), 397-411. doi:10.1046/j.1469-8137.2000.00771.xXie, W., Xiong, W., Pan, J., Ali, T., Cui, Q., Guan, D., … Davis, S. J. (2018). Decreases in global beer supply due to extreme drought and heat. Nature Plants, 4(11), 964-973. doi:10.1038/s41477-018-0263-

Encoding the scaling of the cosmological variables with the Euler Beta function

We study the scaling exponents for the expanding isotropic flat cosmological models. The dimension of space, the equation of state of the cosmic fluid and the scaling exponent for a physical variable are related by the Euler Beta function that controls the singular behavior of the global integrals. We encounter dual cosmological scenarios using the properties of the Beta function. For the entropy density integral we reproduce the Fischler-Susskind holographic bound.Comment: Latex2e, 11 pages, 1 figure; reference added; minor changes commenting the nature of the holographic principle and the particle/event horizo

Doubled haploids in eggplant

[EN] This review compiles the most relevant advances made in the production of doubled haploid plants in eggplant, the application of doubled haploid lines in breeding programs, and the future perspectives for the development of alternative technologies for doubled haploid generation in this species. Eggplant is a solanaceous crop cultivated worldwide for its edible fruit. Eggplant breeding programs are mainly aimed to the generation of F1 hybrids by crossing two highly homozygous, pure lines, which are traditionally obtained upon several self crossing generations, which is an expensive and time consuming process. Alternatively, fully homozygous, doubled haploid (DH) individuals can be induced from haploid cells of the germ line in a single generation. Several attempts have been made to develop protocols to produce eggplant DHs principally using anther culture and isolated microspore culture. Eggplant could be considered a moderately recalcitrant species in terms of ability for DH production. Anther culture stands nowadays as the most valuable technology to obtain eggplant DHs. However, the theoretical possibility of having plants regenerated from somatic tissues of the anther walls cannot be ruled out. For this reason, the use of isolated microspores is recommended when possible. This approach still has room for improvement, but it is largely genotype-dependent. In this review, we compile the most relevant advances made in DH production in eggplant, their application to breeding programs, and the future perspectives for the development of other, less genotype-dependent, DH technologies.This research was funded by the Valencian Government, grant number CDEIGENT 2018/023 to RMM and by the Spanish MICINN, grant number PID2020-115763RB-I00 to JMSS. ACS is the recipient of a predoctoral contract from the FPU program of the Spanish Government.Mir Moreno, R.; Calabuig-Serna, A.; Seguí-Simarro, JM. (2021). Doubled haploids in eggplant. Biology. 10(7):1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10070685S11610

Is leishmaniasis endemic on the island of Minorca (Spain)?. A human visceral case after living 13 years in Minorca

Ecoepidemiologica studies performed in Minorca (Balearic Islands) seem to show that leishmaniasis is not endemic in this island, even in the presence of the vector. All cases of leishmaniasis in man or dog diagnosed in the island seem to come from other Spanish regions. A recent case of human visceral leishmaniasis in a man who had not left Minorca for 13 years calls into question this assumption or the time that Leishmania may persist asymptomatic in the host

Dynamics of calcium during in vitro microspore embryogenesis and in vivo microspore development in Brassica napus and Solanum melongena

[EN] Calcium is widely known to have a role as a signaling molecule in many different processes, including stress response and activation of the embryogenic program. However, there are no direct clues about calcium levels during microspore embryogenesis, an experimental process that combines a developmental switch toward embryogenesis and the simultaneous application of different stressing factors. In this work, we used FluoForte, a calcium-specific fluorescent vital dye, to track by confocal microscopy the changes in levels and subcellular distribution of calcium in living rapeseed (B. napus) and eggplant (S. melongena) microspores and pollen grains during in vivo development, as well as during the first stages of in vitro-induced microspore embryogenesis in rapeseed. During in vivo development, a clear peak of cytosolic Ca2+ was observed in rapeseed vacuolate microspores and young pollen grains, the stages more suitable for embryogenesis induction. However, the Ca2+ levels observed in eggplant were dramatically lower than in rapeseed. Just after in vitro induction, Ca2+ levels increased specifically in rapeseed embryogenic microspores at levels dramatically higher than during in vivo development. The increase was observed in the cytosol, but predominantly in vacuoles. Non-embryogenic forms such as callus-like and pollen-like structures presented remarkably different calcium patterns. After the heat shock-based inductive treatment, Ca2+ levels progressively decreased in all cases. Together, our results reveal unique calcium dynamics in in vivo rapeseed microspores, as well as in those reprogrammed to in vitro embryogenesis, establishing a link between changes in Ca2+ level and subcellular distribution, and microspore embryogenesis.This work was supported by grant AGL2014-55177-R to JS from Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) jointly funded by FEDER. AR was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the FPI Program of Universitat Politecnica de Valencia.Rivas-Sendra, A.; Calabuig-Serna, A.; Seguí-Simarro, JM. (2017). Dynamics of calcium during in vitro microspore embryogenesis and in vivo microspore development in Brassica napus and Solanum melongena. Frontiers in Plant Science. 8. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.01177

Assessment of different anther culture approaches to produce doubled haploids in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

[EN] Cucumber is one of the most important vegetable crops worldwide, which makes it a good candidate to produce doubled haploid (DH) lines to accelerate plant breeding. Traditionally, these approaches involved induction of gynogenesis or parthenogenesis with irradiated pollen, which carries some disadvantages compared to androgenesis. Despite this, studies on anther/microspore cultures in cucumber are surprisingly scarce. Furthermore, most of them failed to unambiguously demonstrate the haploid origin of the individuals obtained. In this work we focused on anther cultures using two cucumber genotypes, different previously published protocols for anther culture, different in vitro culture variants to make it more efficient, and most importantly, a combination of flow cytometry and microsatellite molecular markers to evaluate the real androgenic potential and the impact of anther wall tissue proliferation. We developed a method to produce DH plants involving a bud pretreatment at 4 C, a 35 C treatment to anthers, culture with BAP and 2,4-D, and induction of callus morphogenesis by an additional 35 C treatment and sequential culture first in liquid medium in darkness and second in solid medium with light. We also found that factors such as genotype, proliferation of anther wall tissues, orientation of anthers in the culture medium and growth regulator composition of the initial anther culture medium have a remarkable impact. Our rate of chromosome doubling (81%) was high enough to exclude additional chromosome doubling steps. Together, our results present androgenesis as an improvable but yet more convenient alternative to traditional gynogenesis and parthenogenesis-based approaches.Thanks are due to all the whole staff of the Cell Biology Group for helping and training AA during his stay in the group. This work was supported by Grant AGL2017- 88135-R to JMSS from Spanish Ministerio de Economı´a y Competitividad (MINECO) jointly funded by FEDER.Asadi, A.; Zebarjadi, A.; Abdollahi, MR.; Seguí-Simarro, JM. (2018). Assessment of different anther culture approaches to produce doubled haploids in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Euphytica. 214(216):1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-018-2297-xS117214216Abdollahi MR, Najafi S, Sarikhani H, Moosavi SS (2016) Induction and development of anther-derived gametic embryos in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) by optimizing the macronutrient and agar concentrations in culture medium. Turk J Biol 40(3):571–579Ashok Kumar HG, Murthy HN (2004) Effect of sugars and amino acids on androgenesis of Cucumis sativus. Plant Cell, Tissue Organ Cult 78(3):201–208. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:ticu.0000025637.56693.68Bai B, Su YH, Yuan J, Zhang XS (2013) Induction of somatic embryos in arabidopsis requires local YUCCA expression mediated by the down-regulation of ethylene biosynthesis. Mol Plant 6(4):1247–1260. https://doi.org/10.1093/mp/sss154Claveria E, Garcia-Mas J, Dolcet-Sanjuan R (2005) Optimization of cucumber doubled haploid line production using in vitro rescue of in vivo induced parthenogenic embryos. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 130(4):555–560Corral-Martínez P, Nuez F, Seguí-Simarro JM (2011) Genetic, quantitative and microscopic evidence for fusion of haploid nuclei and growth of somatic calli in cultured ms1035 tomato anthers. Euphytica 178(2):215–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-010-0303-zDanin-Poleg Y, Reis N, Tzuri G, Katzir N (2001) Development and characterization of microsatellite markers in Cucumis. Theor Appl Genet 102(1):61–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001220051618Dong Y-Q, Zhao W-X, Li X-H, Liu X-C, Gao N-N, Huang J-H, Wang W-Y, Xu X-L, Tang Z-H (2016) Androgenesis, gynogenesis, and parthenogenesis haploids in cucurbit species. Plant Cell Rep. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-016-2018-7FAOSTAT (2018) http://faostat.fao.org. Accessed July 2018Ficcadenti N, Sestili S, Annibali S, Di Marco M, Schiavi M (1999) In vitro gynogenesis to induce haploid plants in melon Cucumis melo L. Genet Breed 53:255–257Gałązka J, Niemirowicz-Szczytt K (2013) Review of research on haploid production in cucumber and other cucurbits. Folia Hortic. https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2013-0008Hamidvand Y, Abdollahi MR, Chaichi M, Moosavi SS (2013) The effect of plant growth regulators on callogenesis and gametic embryogenesis from anther culture of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Int J Agric Crop Sci 5(10):1089Kurtar ES, Balkaya A, Kandemir D (2016) Evaluation of haploidization efficiency in winter squash (Cucurbita maxima Duch.) and pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) through anther culture. Plant Cell, Tissue Organ Cult 127(2):497–511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-016-1074-6Lotfi M, Alan AR, Henning MJ, Jahn MM, Earle ED (2003) Production of haploid and doubled haploid plants of melon (Cucumis melo L.) for use in breeding for multiple virus resistance. Plant Cell Rep 21(11):1121–1128Metwally EI, Moustafa SA, El-Sawy BI, Shalaby TA (1998) Haploid plantlets derived by anther culture of Cucurbita pepo. Plant Cell, Tissue Organ Cult 52(3):171–176. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1005908326663Mohamed M, Refaei E (2004) Enhanced haploids regeneration in anther culture of summer squash (Curcurbita pepo L.). Cucurbit Genet Coop Rep 27:57–60Murashige T, Skoog F (1962) A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol Plant 15:473–479Parra-Vega V, Renau-Morata B, Sifres A, Seguí-Simarro JM (2013) Stress treatments and in vitro culture conditions influence microspore embryogenesis and growth of callus from anther walls of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Plant Cell, Tissue Organ Cult 112(3):353–360. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-012-0242-6Rakha M, Metwally E, Moustafa S, Etman A, Dewir Y (2012) Evaluation of regenerated strains from six Cucurbita interspecific hybrids obtained through anther and ovule in vitro cultures. Aust J Crop Sci 6(1):23–30Saghai-Maroof MA, Soliman KM, Jorgensen RA, Allard RW (1984) Ribosomal DNA spacer-length polymorphisms in barley: mendelian inheritance, chromosomal location, and population dynamics. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 81(24):8014–8018. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.81.24.8014Sauton A, Dumas de Vaulx R (1987) Obtention de plantes haploides chez melon (Cucumis melo L.) par gynogenese indute par du pollen irraidié. Agronomie 7:141–148Seguí-Simarro JM (2016) Androgenesis in solanaceae. In: Germanà MA, Lambardi M (eds) In vitro embryogenesis. Methods in molecular biology, vol 1359. Springer, New York, pp 209–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3061-6_9Seguí-Simarro JM, Nuez F (2006) Androgenesis induction from tomato anther cultures: callus characterization. Acta Hort 725:855–861Seguí-Simarro JM, Nuez F (2007) Embryogenesis induction, callogenesis, and plant regeneration by in vitro culture of tomato isolated microspores and whole anthers. J Exp Bot 58(5):1119–1132Seguí-Simarro JM, Nuez F (2008) Pathways to doubled haploidy: chromosome doubling during androgenesis. Cytogenet Genome Res 120(3–4):358–369. https://doi.org/10.1159/000121085Shalaby TA (2006) Embryogenesis and plantlets regeneration from anther culture of squash plants (Cucurbita pepo L.) as affected by different genotypes. 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In: Cucurbitaceae 2008: proceedings of the IXth Eucarpia meeting on genetics and breeding of cucurbitaceae, pp 371–374Xie M, Qin L-Y, Pan J-S, He H-L, Wu A-Z, Cai R (2005) Flower morphogenesis and microspore development versus anther culture of cucumber. Acta Bot Boreal-Occid Sin 25(6):1096Zhan Y, Chen J-F, Malik AA (2009) Embryoid induction and plant regeneration of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) through microspore culture. Acta Hort Sin 36(2):221–22

La regulación de la protección animal en diferentes ámbitos territoriales nacionales. Especial atención a Europa y Latinoamérica

En las últimas décadas se ha producido un cambio importante de paradigma en el ámbito de la protección animal, demandando leyes más acordes con la actualidad. En este sentido diferentes países, tanto del entorno europeo como latinoamericano han modificado sus códigos civiles reconociendo a los animales como seres dotados de sensibilidad. Aun así, pese a este reconocimiento y los avances científicos, animales silvestres y marinos parecen quedar fuera de toda protección al ser considerados cazables o simples recursos, en las que no existe una norma internacional que reconozca derechos a los animales, habida cuenta que la Declaración Universal de Derecho Animal es una simple declaración de intenciones sin ningún efecto jurídico. Otras normas como el Convenio CITES que regula el tráfico de vida silvestre ha demostrado su ineficacia, más que regular debería prohibir. Otro sector, como es la industria agroalimentaria regula el bienestar animal del sector, destinado más concretamente a la sanidad pública, dado que aunque se establezcan estándares de bienestar animal en esta industria mayoritariamente no se cumple, más teniendo en cuenta la proliferación de macrogranjas como una industria más, en la que miles de cabezas de ganado de diferentes especies conviven 24 horas al día encerradas. Sin embargo, son los tribunales los que a través de la interpretación de las normas han puesto en énfasis tanto el maltrato que sufren los animales a manos del hombre como la destrucción sistemática de ecosistemas y su biodiversidad, advirtiendo de la necesidad de su protección ya que la vida del propio ser humano dependen de la conservación de nuestros entornos y su biodiversidad

A literature review of the use of gamification in accounting education

[EN] Gamification is a tool that is increasingly used in the field of teaching at all levels of education, from primary to university. Despite the fact that Business Management and Accounting have not remained on the sidelines in studies on the use of game-based learning, the scarcity of such work in this field provides us with only a limited vision of the research that is being carried out in the area. In order to fill this research gap, this paper analyses the academic literature in detail on the use of gamification in accounting education. To this end, an in-depth review of scientific documents retrieved from academic databases has been carried out with the aim of: a) identifying the methodologies used in the research, b) examining the types of games used by researchers, c) establishing the different educational stages where this research is being carried out, d) analysing the samples used, and e) analysing the results obtained in the studies. The results obtained from this review have made it possible to recognise some of the most recurrent work and other research areas in which further exploration can be undertaken within the field of gamification and accounting.Queiro-Ameijieras, CM.; Martí-Parreño, J.; Seguí-Mas, E.; Summerfield, L. (2019). A literature review of the use of gamification in accounting education. IATED. 7662-7667. https://doi.org/10.21125/iceri.2019.1822S7662766

Exploring a simple sector of the Einstein-Maxwell landscape

We explore the four dimensional Einstein-Maxwell landscape as a toy model in which we can formulate a sphere compactification stabilized by an electromagnetic field. Replacing the compactification sphere by J spheres, we obtain a simple sector of the (2J+2)-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell landscape. In this toy model, we analyze some properties which are very difficult to uncover in the string theory landscape, including: complete moduli stabilization, stability conditions, and state counting. We also show how to construct anthropic states in this model. A detailed comparison between the main features of this landscape and the Bousso-Polchinski landscape is given. We finally speculate on the impact of these phenomena in the string theory landscape.Comment: 69 pages, 16 figures, some references adde

El litoral ¿objeto de consumo o e planificación? Una comparación entre Córcega y Baleares

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