A transcriptomic snapshot of early molecular communication between Pasteuria penetrans and Meloidogyne incognita

© The Author(s). 2018Background: Southern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White, 1919), Chitwood, 1949 is a key pest of agricultural crops. Pasteuria penetrans is a hyperparasitic bacterium capable of suppressing the nematode reproduction, and represents a typical coevolved pathogen-hyperparasite system. Attachment of Pasteuria endospores to the cuticle of second-stage nematode juveniles is the first and pivotal step in the bacterial infection. RNA-Seq was used to understand the early transcriptional response of the root-knot nematode at 8 h post Pasteuria endospore attachment. Results: A total of 52,485 transcripts were assembled from the high quality (HQ) reads, out of which 582 transcripts were found differentially expressed in the Pasteuria endospore encumbered J2 s, of which 229 were up-regulated and 353 were down-regulated. Pasteuria infection caused a suppression of the protein synthesis machinery of the nematode. Several of the differentially expressed transcripts were putatively involved in nematode innate immunity, signaling, stress responses, endospore attachment process and post-attachment behavioral modification of the juveniles. The expression profiles of fifteen selected transcripts were validated to be true by the qRT PCR. RNAi based silencing of transcripts coding for fructose bisphosphate aldolase and glucosyl transferase caused a reduction in endospore attachment as compared to the controls, whereas, silencing of aspartic protease and ubiquitin coding transcripts resulted in higher incidence of endospore attachment on the nematode cuticle. Conclusions: Here we provide evidence of an early transcriptional response by the nematode upon infection by Pasteuria prior to root invasion. We found that adhesion of Pasteuria endospores to the cuticle induced a down-regulated protein response in the nematode. In addition, we show that fructose bisphosphate aldolase, glucosyl transferase, aspartic protease and ubiquitin coding transcripts are involved in modulating the endospore attachment on the nematode cuticle. Our results add new and significant information to the existing knowledge on early molecular interaction between M. incognita and P. penetrans.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Effect of emersion time on growth, mortality and quality of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas, Thunberg 1973) reared in a suspended system in a lagoon in Northern Italy

To assess the effect of emersion time on growth, mortality and quality, 4320 triploid oysters were glued to suspended ropes in a plant located in Sacca degli Scardovari, a Northern Italian lagoon on the Po delta. The oysters were subjected to three emersion systems (10 ropes/system): the farm standard, i.e. 14 emersion hours every 4 days during the first 4 months and 10 emersion hours every 2 days during the last 4 months of trial; long, 14 emersion hours per day; short, 7 emersion hours per day. At attachment, oysters exhibited an average weight of 6.04 \ub1 2.63 g and a length of 39.8 \ub1 8.38 mm. Eight months after attachment, mortality was significantly lower in the case of the standard system and higher in both short and long emersion systems, i.e. 44.3% vs. 66.8% and 63.3%, respectively (P 64 .001). At harvest, oyster biometric and rheological traits, proximate composition and fatty acid profile did not change with the emersion system, with few exceptions. The muscles of oysters submitted to short emersion showed lower hardness than those submitted to long and standard emersion systems (1027 g vs. 1422 g and 1430 g; P 64 .05). Furthermore, oysters under the long emersion system had greater cohesiveness than those of the standard system (0.53 vs. 0.49; P 64 .05). In conclusions, oysters reached the commercial size in 8 months, which makes Sacca degli Scardovari a promising site for oyster farming. Emersion time scarcely influenced oyster growth and quality, but had a large impact on oyster mortality

Dissecting the proteome dynamics of the early heat stress response leading to plant survival or death in Arabidopsis

In many plant species, an exposure to a sublethal temperature triggers an adaptative response called acclimation. This response involves an extensive molecular reprogramming that allows the plant to further survive to an otherwise lethal increase of temperature. A related response is also launched under an abrupt and lethal heat stress that, in this case, is unable to successfully promote thermotolerance and therefore ends up in plant death. Although these molecular programmes are expected to have common players, the overlapping degree and the specific regulators of each process are currently unknown. We have carried out a high-throughput comparative proteomics analysis during acclimation and during the early stages of the plant response to a severe heat stress that lead Arabidopsis seedlings either to survival or death. This analysis dissects these responses, unravels the common players and identifies the specific proteins associated with these different fates. Thermotolerance assays of mutants in genes with an uncharacterized role in heat stress demonstrate the relevance of this study to uncover both positive and negative heat regulators and pinpoint a pivotal role of JR1 and BAG6 in heat tolerance.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement 260468 to M. Mar Castellano and from the grants RTA2013-00027-00-00 and S2013/ABI-2734-CM. We thank Dr. A. Munoz for critical reading of the manuscript, Dr. R. Toribio for his help in the annotation of gene descriptions and Dr. Hara-Nishimura and Dr. Hans-Peter Mock for kindly providing the OLEO2 and HSP90.1 antibodies, respectively. Plant Response is also thanked for its support in the project. The authors declare no conflict of interest.S

From 2003 to 2011: Proteomics investigation at the agroforestry and plant biochemistry and proteomics research group (University of Cordoba, Spain)

ISBN: 9784904633991International audienc

Adherence to the mediterranean lifestyle and desired body weight loss in a mediterranean adult population with overweight: a PREDIMED-Plus Study

Background: Body weight dissatisfaction is a hindrance to following a healthy lifestyle and it has been associated with weight concerns. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the association between the adherence to the Mediterranean lifestyle (diet and exercise) and the desired body weight loss in an adult Mediterranean population with overweight. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis in 6355 participants (3268 men; 3087 women) with metabolic syndrome and BMI (Body mass index) between 27.0 and 40.0 kg/m2 (55-75 years old) from the PREDIMED-Plus trial. Desired weight loss was the percentage of weight that participants wished to lose. It was categorized into four cut-offs of this percentage (Q1: <10%, n = 1495; Q2: 10-15%, n = 1804; Q3: <15-20%, n = 1470; Q4: ≥20%, n = 1589). Diet was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire and a 17-item Mediterranean diet questionnaire. Physical activity was assessed by the validated Minnesota-REGICOR and the validated Spanish version of the Nurses' Health Study questionnaire. Results: Participants reporting higher percentages of desired weight loss (Q3 and Q4) were younger, had higher real and perceived BMI and were more likely to have abdominal obesity. Desired weight loss correlated inversely to physical activity (Q1: 2106 MET min/week; Q4: 1585 MET min/week. p < 0.001) and adherence to Mediterranean diet (Q1: 8.7; Q4: 8.3. p < 0.001). Conclusions: In older Mediterranean individuals with weight excess, desired weight loss was inversely associated with Mediterranean lifestyle adherence. Deeply rooted aspects of the MedDiet remained similar across groups. Longitudinal research is advised to be able to establish causality.The PREDIMED-Plus trial was supported by the official funding agency for biomedical research of the Spanish government, ISCIII, through the Fondo de Investigación para la Salud (FIS), which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (five coordinated FIS projects led by J.S.-S. and J.Vidal, including the following projects: PI13/00673, PI13/00492, PI13/00272, PI13/01123, PI13/00462, PI13/00233, PI13/02184, PI13/00728, PI13/01090, PI13/01056, PI14/01722, PI14/00636, PI14/00618, PI14/00696, PI14/01206, PI14/01919, PI14/00853, PI14/01374, PI14/00972, PI14/00728, PI14/01471, PI16/00473, PI16/00662, PI16/01873, PI16/01094, PI16/00501, PI16/00533, PI16/00381, PI16/00366, PI16/01522, PI16/01120, PI17/00764, PI17/01183, PI17/00855, PI17/01347, PI17/00525, PI17/01827, PI17/00532, PI17/00215, PI17/01441, PI17/00508, PI17/01732, PI17/00926, PI19/00957, PI19/00386, PI19/00309, PI19/01032, PI19/00576, PI19/00017, PI19/01226, PI19/00781, PI19/01560, and PI19/01332, the Especial Action Project entitled: Implementación y evaluación de una intervención intensiva sobre la actividad física Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grant to J.S.-S., the European Research Council (Advanced Research Grant 2013–2018, 340918) to Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, the Recercaixa Grant to J.S.-S. (2013ACUP00194), Grants from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0458/2013, PS0358/2016, and PI0137/2018), a Grant from the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2017/017), a SEMERGEN Grant, EU-COST Action CA16112, a Grant of support to research groups no. 35/2011 from the Balearic Islands Government, Grants from Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IDISBA), funds from the European Regional Development Fund (CIBEROBN CB06/03 and CB12/03) and from the European Commission (EAT2BENICE_H2020_SFS2016). M. Rosa Bernal-López was supported by “Miguel Servet Type I” program (CP15/00028) from the ISCIII-Madrid (Spain), cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund. Jordi Salas-Salvadó is partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme. Cristina Bouzas received a Fernando Tarongí Bauzà PhD Grant. I.M Gimenez-Alba received a grant FPU from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Univesities (reference FPU 18/01703). The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results