A Genetic Code Alteration Is a Phenotype Diversity Generator in the Human Pathogen Candida albicans

BACKGROUND: The discovery of genetic code alterations and expansions in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes abolished the hypothesis of a frozen and universal genetic code and exposed unanticipated flexibility in codon and amino acid assignments. It is now clear that codon identity alterations involve sense and non-sense codons and can occur in organisms with complex genomes and proteomes. However, the biological functions, the molecular mechanisms of evolution and the diversity of genetic code alterations remain largely unknown. In various species of the genus Candida, the leucine CUG codon is decoded as serine by a unique serine tRNA that contains a leucine 5'-CAG-3'anticodon (tRNA(CAG)(Ser)). We are using this codon identity redefinition as a model system to elucidate the evolution of genetic code alterations. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have reconstructed the early stages of the Candida genetic code alteration by engineering tRNAs that partially reverted the identity of serine CUG codons back to their standard leucine meaning. Such genetic code manipulation had profound cellular consequences as it exposed important morphological variation, altered gene expression, re-arranged the karyotype, increased cell-cell adhesion and secretion of hydrolytic enzymes. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study provides the first experimental evidence for an important role of genetic code alterations as generators of phenotypic diversity of high selective potential and supports the hypothesis that they speed up evolution of new phenotypes

Network Service Orchestration: A Survey

Business models of network service providers are undergoing an evolving transformation fueled by vertical customer demands and technological advances such as 5G, Software Defined Networking~(SDN), and Network Function Virtualization~(NFV). Emerging scenarios call for agile network services consuming network, storage, and compute resources across heterogeneous infrastructures and administrative domains. Coordinating resource control and service creation across interconnected domains and diverse technologies becomes a grand challenge. Research and development efforts are being devoted to enabling orchestration processes to automate, coordinate, and manage the deployment and operation of network services. In this survey, we delve into the topic of Network Service Orchestration~(NSO) by reviewing the historical background, relevant research projects, enabling technologies, and standardization activities. We define key concepts and propose a taxonomy of NSO approaches and solutions to pave the way towards a common understanding of the various ongoing efforts around the realization of diverse NSO application scenarios. Based on the analysis of the state of affairs, we present a series of open challenges and research opportunities, altogether contributing to a timely and comprehensive survey on the vibrant and strategic topic of network service orchestration.Comment: Accepted for publication at Computer Communications Journa

Evaluation of buriti endocarp as lignocellulosic substrate for second generation ethanol production

The production of lignocellulosic ethanol is one of the most promising alternatives to fossil fuels; however, this technology still faces many challenges related to the viability of the lignocellulosic alcohol in the market. In this paper the endocarp of buriti fruit was assessed for ethanol production. The fruit endocarp was characterized physically and chemically. Acid and alkaline pre-treatments were optimized by surface response methodology for removal of hemicellulose and lignin from the biomass. Hemicellulose content was reduced by 88% after acid pretreatment. Alkaline pre-treatment reduced the lignin content in the recovered biomass from 11.8% to 4.2% and increased the concentration of the cellulosic fraction to 88.5%. The pre-treated biomass was saccharified by the action of cellulolytic enzymes and, under optimized conditions, was able to produce 110 g of glucose per L of hydrolyzate. Alcoholic fermentation of the enzymatic hydrolyzate performed by Saccharomyces cerevisiae resulted in a fermented medium with 4.3% ethanol and a yield of product per substrate (YP/S) of 0.33

The Yeast PNC1 Longevity Gene Is Up-Regulated by mRNA Mistranslation

Translation fidelity is critical for protein synthesis and to ensure correct cell functioning. Mutations in the protein synthesis machinery or environmental factors that increase synthesis of mistranslated proteins result in cell death and degeneration and are associated with neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and with an increasing number of mitochondrial disorders. Remarkably, mRNA mistranslation plays critical roles in the evolution of the genetic code, can be beneficial under stress conditions in yeast and in Escherichia coli and is an important source of peptides for MHC class I complex in dendritic cells. Despite this, its biology has been overlooked over the years due to technical difficulties in its detection and quantification. In order to shed new light on the biological relevance of mistranslation we have generated codon misreading in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using drugs and tRNA engineering methodologies. Surprisingly, such mistranslation up-regulated the longevity gene PNC1. Similar results were also obtained in cells grown in the presence of amino acid analogues that promote protein misfolding. The overall data showed that PNC1 is a biomarker of mRNA mistranslation and protein misfolding and that PNC1-GFP fusions can be used to monitor these two important biological phenomena in vivo in an easy manner, thus opening new avenues to understand their biological relevance

Crop pollination by nocturnal bees.

Most bees are active during the day. However, approximately 1% of the bee species are nocturnal and forage in search for flowers during the low light intensities of the night, between sunset and sunrise. They account for about 250 species and are distributed among the families: Andrenidae, Apidae, Colletidae and Halictidae. We evaluate the role of nocturnal bees in the pollination of "cambuci", Campomanesia phaea, Myrtaceae, and "guarana", Paullinia cupana, Sapindaceae, both economically highly important plants of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest and Amazon, respectively.Edited by Heikki M. T. Hokkanen, Ingeborg Menzler-Hokkanen

Indicadores de saúde entre idosos ativos e insuficientemente ativos residentes em áreas rurais

Modelo do estudo: Estudo transversal. Objetivo do estudo: Analisar a associação entre indicadores de saúde em idosos ativos e insuficientemente ativos. Metodologia: Estudo realizado em indivíduos com 60 anos ou mais, residentes na área rural de Jequié – BA, Brasil, cadastrados no programa Estratégia Saúde da Família do distrito de Itajurú. Foram analisadas as características sociodemográficas, comportamentais, estado de saúde, histórico de quedas, estado cognitivo e Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC). Para análise dos dados, utilizaram-se procedimentos da estatística descritiva, testes Qui-quadrado, teste “t” para amostras independentes e U de Mann-Whitney (nível de significância utilizado pd”0,05). Resultados: Foram entrevistados 95 idosos, sendo 55 mulheres e 40 homens com idade entre 60 e 96 anos (73,5 ± 9,4). A prevalência de inatividade física foi de 40%, mostrando-se superior entre os idosos que relataram viver sozinho, que apresentaram déficit cognitivo, que não sabiam ler e escrever, e com histó- rico de quedas no último ano. Os idosos mais jovens e com menor IMC eram mais ativos, quando comparados com seus pares. Conclusão: Os idosos que não alcançaram as recomendações de níveis adequados de atividade física apresentaram condições de saúde mais desfavoráveis. Recomenda-se a implementação de políticas públicas para promoção da atividade física no intuito de melhorar as condi- ções de saúde, em especial os idosos residentes de áreas ruraisStudy design: cross-sectional study. Study objective: To examine the association between health indicators in active and insufficiently active older adults. Methodology: The study included individuals 60 years or older residing in rural Jequie - BA who were registered in the Family Health Strategy program in the district Itajurú. Sociodemographic data, behavioral characteristics, health status, history of falls, cognitive status and body mass index (BMI) were analyzed. For data analysis, we used the procedures of descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, “t” test for independent samples and the Mann-Whitney test (significance level p ≤0.05). Results: Ninety-five individuals were interviewed, including 55 women and 40 men between the ages of 60 and 96 years (73.5 ± 9.4).The prevalence of physical inactivity was 40%, being higher among the elderly who live alone reported that patients with cognitive impairment, who could not read and write with a history of falls in the last year. The older people with lower BMI were more active compared to their peers. Conclusion: The elderly who not reached the recommended adequate levels of physical activity had health conditions more unfavorable. We recommend the implementation of public policies to promote physical activity in order to improve health conditions, especially the elderly residents of rural area

Meglumine antimoniate and miltefosine combined with allopurinol sustain pro-inflammatory immune environments during canine leishmaniosis treatment

Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) caused by Leishmania infantum is a zoonotic disease of global concern. Antileishmanial drug therapies commonly used to treat sick dogs improve their clinical condition, although when discontinued relapses can occur. Thus, the current study aims to evaluate the effect of CanL treatments in peripheral blood, lymph node, and bone marrow cytokine profile associated with clinical recovery. Two groups of six dogs diagnosed with CanL were treated with miltefosine combined with allopurinol and meglumine antimoniate combined with allopurinol (MT+A and MG+A), respectively. At diagnosis and after treatment, during a 3-month follow-up, clinical signs, hematological and biochemical parameters, urinalysis results and antileishmanial antibody titers were registered. Furthermore, peripheral blood, popliteal lymph node, and bone marrow samples were collected to assess the gene expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α, TGF-β, and IFN-γ by qPCR. In parallel, were also evaluated samples obtained from five healthy dogs. Both treatment protocols promoted the remission of clinical signs as well as normalization of hematological and biochemical parameters and urinalysis values. Antileishmanial antibodies returned to non-significant titers in all dogs. Sick dogs showed a generalized upregulation of IFN-γ and downregulation of IL-2, IL-4, and TGF-β, while gene expression of IL-12, TNF-α, IL-5, and IL-10 varied between groups and according to evaluated tissue. A trend to the normalization of cytokine gene expression was induced by both miltefosine and meglumine antimoniate combined therapies. However, IFN-γ gene expression was still up-regulated in the three evaluated tissues. Furthermore, the effect of treatment in the gene expression of cytokines that were not significantly changed by infection, indicates that miltefosine and meglumine antimoniate combined therapy directly affects cytokine generation. Both combined therapies are effective in CanL treatment, leading to sustained pro-inflammatory immune environments that can compromise parasite survival and favor dogs' clinical cure. In the current study, anti-inflammatory and regulatory cytokines do not seem to play a prominent role in CanL or during clinical recovery.publishersversionpublishe

Seleção de híbridos superiores de Brachiaria decumbens para caracteres agronômicos do Programa de Melhoramento da Embrapa Gado de Corte.

As pastagens do gênero Brachiaria decumbens, conta apenas com a cultivar Basilisk ocupando grandes áreas. Este trabalho relata os resultados da avaliação agronômica de 34 híbridos de B. decumbens visando à seleção de híbridos apomíticos superiores, candidatos a novas cultivares. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições e cinco plantas por parcela, espaçadas de 1,0 x 0,5 m. As cultivares B. brizantha cv. Marandu e B. decumbens cv. Basilisk foram utilizadas como testemunhas

Green manure in coffee systems in the region of Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais: characteristics and kinetics of carbon and nitrogen mineralization.

The use of green manure may contribute to reduce soil erosion and increase the soil organic matter content and N availability in coffee plantations in the Zona da Mata, State of Minas Gerais, in Southeastern Brazil. The potential of four legumes (A. pintoi, C. mucunoides, S. aterrimum and S. guianensis)to produce above-ground biomass, accumulate nutrients and mineralize N was studied in two coffee plantations of subsistence farmers under different climate conditions. The biomass production of C. mucunoides was influenced by the shade of the coffee plantation.C. mucunoides tended to mineralize more N than the other legumes due to the low polyphenol content and polyphenol/N ratio. In the first year, the crop establishment of A. pintoi in the area took longer than of the other legumes, resulting in lower biomass production and N2 fixation. In the long term, cellulose was the main factor controlling N mineralization. The biochemical characteristics, nutrient accumulation and biomass production of the legumes were greatly influenced by the altitude and position of the area relative to the sun

The VISCACHA survey - I. Overview and first results

TheVISCACHA (VIsible Soar photometry of star Clusters in tApii and Coxi HuguA) Survey is an ongoing project based on deep photometric observations of Magellanic Cloud star clusters, collected using the SOuthern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope together with the SOAR Adaptive Module Imager. Since 2015 more than 200 h of telescope time were used to observe about 130 stellar clusters, most of them with low mass (M < 104MΘ) and/or located in the outermost regions of the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud.With this high-quality data set, we homogeneously determine physical properties from statistical analysis of colour-magnitude diagrams, radial density profiles, luminosity functions, and mass functions. Ages, metallicities, reddening, distances, present-day masses, mass function slopes, and structural parameters for these clusters are derived and used as a proxy to investigate the interplay between the environment in theMagellanic Clouds and the evolution of such systems. In this first paper we present the VISCACHA Survey and its initial results, concerning the SMC clusters AM3, K37, HW20, and NGC 796 and the LMC ones KMHK228, OHSC3, SL576, SL61, and SL897, chosen to compose a representative subset of our cluster sample. The project's long-term goals and legacy to the community are also addressed.Fil: Maia, Francisco F. S.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Dias, Bruno. Universidad Andrés Bello; Chile. European Southern Observatory Santiago; ChileFil: Santos, Joao F. C.. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: De Kerber, Leandro. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Bica, Eduardo. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Piatti, Andres Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Observatorio Astronómico de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Barbuy, Beatriz. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Quint, Bruno. Gemini Observatory; ChileFil: Fraga, Luciano. Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica; Brasil. Gemini Observatory; ChileFil: Sanmartim, David. Gemini Observatory; ChileFil: Angelo, Mateus S.. Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Hernandez-Jimenez, Jose A.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Santrich, Orlando J. Katime. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Oliveira, Raphael A. P.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Pérez-Villegas, Angeles. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Souza, Stefano O.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Vieira, Rodrigo G.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Westera, Pieter. Universidade Federal do ABC; Brasi