Low levels of taurine introgression in the current Brazilian Nelore and Gir indicine cattle populations

Background: Nelore and Gir are the two most important indicine cattle breeds for production of beef and milk in Brazil. Historical records state that these breeds were introduced in Brazil from the Indian subcontinent, crossed to local taurine cattle in order to quickly increase the population size, and then backcrossed to the original breeds to recover indicine adaptive and productive traits. Previous investigations based on sparse DNA markers detected taurine admixture in these breeds. High-density genome-wide analyses can provide high-resolution information on the genetic composition of current Nelore and Gir populations, estimate more precisely the levels and nature of taurine introgression, and shed light on their history and the strategies that were used to expand these breeds. Results: We used the high-density Illumina BovineHD BeadChip with more than 777 K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that were reduced to 697 115 after quality control filtering to investigate the structure of Nelore and Gir populations and seven other worldwide populations for comparison. Multidimensional scaling and model-based ancestry estimation clearly separated the indicine, European taurine and African taurine ancestries. The average level of taurine introgression in the autosomal genome of Nelore and Gir breeds was less than 1% but was 9% for the Brahman breed. Analyses based on the mitochondrial SNPs present in the Illumina BovineHD BeadChip did not clearly differentiate taurine and indicine haplotype groupings. Conclusions: The low level of taurine ancestry observed for both Nelore and Gir breeds confirms the historical records of crossbreeding and supports a strong directional selection against taurine haplotypes via backcrossing. Random sampling in production herds across the country and subsequent genotyping would be useful for a more complete view of the admixture levels in the commercial Nelore and Gir populations.(VLID)90707

Epiisopilosine alkaloid has activity against schistosoma mansoni in mice without acute toxicity

CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPSchistosomiasis is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Schistosoma, currently affecting more than 200 million people. Among the various species of this parasite that infect humans, S. mansoni is the most common. Pharmacological treatment is limited135119CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESPCONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP404134/2012-22014/02282-76, 2016/18023-5, 2016/22488-3The authors are grateful to Phytobios Pesquisa Desenvolvimento e Inovação LTDA.,company of the Centroflora Group, for its support during the realization of this research. SMA is grateful to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico

Deforestation, degradation and violence in the “Gurupi Mosaic” – The most threatened region of Amazonia

O "Mosaico Gurupi" está localizado entre o oeste do Maranhão e o leste do Pará, na Área de Endemismo Belém, que embora seja a região mais desmatada do Bioma Amazônico no Brasil, preserva uma diversidade cultural e biológica superlativa. O mosaico engloba seis Terras Indígenas (Alto Turiaçu, Awá, Caru, Arariboia, Rio Pindaré e Alto Rio Guamá) e uma Unidade de Conservação (Reserva Biológica do Gurupi). Essas áreas protegidas conservam os principais remanescentes florestais da região e garantem a manutenção de serviços ecossistêmicos essenciais aos dois estados, principalmente de regulação hidrológica. No entanto, essa região vive sob ameaças constantes de desmatamento e de degradação pela extração ilegal de madeira, e por incêndios criminosos. Os povos indígenas e lideranças comunitárias da região são vitimados pela violência associada a tais crimes. Para promover a conservação e a restauração dessas áreas, uma rede formada por diversas instituições indígenas e não indígenas vem trabalhando em conjunto para o reconhecimento do "Mosaico Gurupi" pelo Ministério do Meio Ambiente. A proposta aqui apresentada inclui o mosaico em questão e o Corredor Ecológico da Amazônia Maranhense, que irá conectar os principais remanescentes florestais da região, por meio da restauração das matas ciliares ao longo dos rios Buriticupu, Pindaré e Zutiua. A conformação do mosaico visa integrar esforços para a proteção territorial, a restauração florestal e o fortalecimento da cultura e educação indígena; o que poderá converter a região mais ameaçada da Amazônia em um exemplo de conservação e sustentabilidade econômica e social por meio da promoção da restauração florestal.The "Gurupi Mosaic" is located between west Maranhão and east Pará states, in the Belém Endemism Area, which although being the most deforested region of the Amazonian biome in Brazil, preserves superlative biological and cultural diversity. The Mosaic includes six indigenous lands (Alto Turiaçu, Awá, Caru, Araribóia, Rio Pindaré, Alto Rio Guamá) and a conservation unit (Gurupi Biological Reserve). These protected areas conserve the region’s main forest remnants and guarantee the maintenance of essential ecosystem services. However, this region is under constant threats of deforestation and degradation by illegal logging and arson. Indigenous peoples living in the region are victims of the violence associated with such crimes. To promote the conservation and restoration of these areas, several indigenous and non-indigenous institutions have been working together to formalize the "Gurupi Mosaic" with the Ministry of the Environment. The proposal presented here includes the Mosaic and one ecological corridor in the state of Maranhão, which will connect the region’s last forest remnants through the restoration of the riparian forests along the main rivers. The conformation of the Mosaic aims to integrate efforts to protect territories, restore forests and strengthen indigenous culture and education. This could turn the most threatened region of Amazonia into an example of conservation and economic and social sustainability

Diversity of lactic acid bacteria of the bioethanol process

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bacteria may compete with yeast for nutrients during bioethanol production process, potentially causing economic losses. This is the first study aiming at the quantification and identification of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) present in the bioethanol industrial processes in different distilleries of Brazil.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 489 LAB isolates were obtained from four distilleries in 2007 and 2008. The abundance of LAB in the fermentation tanks varied between 6.0 × 10⁵and 8.9 × 10⁸CFUs/mL. Crude sugar cane juice contained 7.4 × 10⁷to 6.0 × 10⁸LAB CFUs. Most of the LAB isolates belonged to the genus <it>Lactobacillus </it>according to rRNA operon enzyme restriction profiles. A variety of <it>Lactobacillus </it>species occurred throughout the bioethanol process, but the most frequently found species towards the end of the harvest season were <it>L. fermentum </it>and <it>L. vini</it>. The different rep-PCR patterns indicate the co-occurrence of distinct populations of the species <it>L. fermentum </it>and <it>L. vini</it>, suggesting a great intraspecific diversity. Representative isolates of both species had the ability to grow in medium containing up to 10% ethanol, suggesting selection of ethanol tolerant bacteria throughout the process.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study served as a first survey of the LAB diversity in the bioethanol process in Brazil. The abundance and diversity of LAB suggest that they have a significant impact in the bioethanol process.</p

DNA damage in circulating leukocytes measured with the comet assay may predict the risk of death

The comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis, is the most common method used to measure strand breaks and a variety of other DNA lesions in human populations. To estimate the risk of overall mortality, mortality by cause, and cancer incidence associated to DNA damage, a cohort of 2,403 healthy individuals (25,978 person-years) screened in 16 laboratories using the comet assay between 1996 and 2016 was followed-up. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated a worse overall survival in the medium and high tertile of DNA damage (p < 0.001). The effect of DNA damage on survival was modelled according to Cox proportional hazard regression model. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 1.42 (1.06-1.90) for overall mortality, and 1.94 (1.04-3.59) for diseases of the circulatory system in subjects with the highest tertile of DNA damage. The findings of this study provide epidemiological evidence encouraging the implementation of the comet assay in preventive strategies for non-communicable diseases

Search for supersymmetry in events with b-quark jets and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for physics beyond the standard model based on events with large missing transverse energy, at least three jets, and at least one, two, or three b-quark jets. The study is performed using a sample of proton-proton collision data collected at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC in 2011. The integrated luminosity of the sample is 4.98 inverse femtobarns. The observed number of events is found to be consistent with the standard model expectation, which is evaluated using control samples in the data. The results are used to constrain cross sections for the production of supersymmetric particles decaying to b-quark-enriched final states in the context of simplified model spectra.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review