Study of the expression of different genes of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) metabolism during the early paralarval development of the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

Dissertação de mestrado, Aquacultura e Pescas, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, Universidade do Algarve, 2015The common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, presents characteristics as high market price, high fecundity, short life cycle, rapid growth and high food conversion rates, which make this species a potential target for future aquaculture. However, two main problems have been pointed as the main causes for the high mortalities observed in the culture of this cephalopod: (i) the lack of standardized culture conditions and (ii) the absence of an appropriate diet that fulfil all the nutritional requirements of paralarvae. Particularly, the lack of a balance in lipid and fatty acid composition such as a deficiency in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) has been pointed out as one of the main problems. Additionally, it has been proved that the early life stages of octopus paralarvae have high PUFA requirements. LC-PUFA are considered key factors for a suitable growth during planktonic life of octopus and are biosynthesized by enzymes called desaturases and elongases. In the present study, our main objective was to study the expression of the genes encoding for the Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase with Δ9 activity (Scd), the Fatty acyl desaturase with Δ5 activity (Fad) and the Elongases of Very Long-Chain fatty acids (Elovl5 and Elovl4), all them involved in the LC-PUFA metabolism. The expression of these genes has been analyzed through quantitative PCR (qPCR) from hatching on (day 0) and at days 5, 10, 15 and 20 of paralarval development. These specific genes are already characterized for the adult octopus. Our results revealed the presence of all these enzymes in paralarvae during all the studied period. Moreover, despite some exceptions, a tendency of an increase of the expression of these genes from day 0 to day 20 is observed. This could suggest that each enzyme is incorporated/biosynthesized when the development becomes more complex and/or when this endogenous biosynthesis capacity appears as a response to a poor diet, in order to fulfill the nutritional requirements. The high expression at day 0 observed in scd and elovl5 could also indicate that the activation of the zygote genome can occurs during the embryonic development of the common octopus, although further research will be necessary. In conclusion, this study elucidates and clarifies how these genes are expressed in octopus paralarvae during the first days of development. It will allow to fill the knowledge gaps that still exist on the culture of Octopus vulgaris, possibly contributing to reduce the high mortalities observed in the early paralarval development, and, at the same time, to help to identify the essential fatty acids for paralarvae stages.O polvo comum, Octopus vulgaris, apresenta características como o alto preço no mercado, altas taxas de fecundidade, curto ciclo de vida, crescimento rápido e altas taxas de conversão de alimento, que fazem desta espécie um grande potencial para a aquacultura. Contudo, dois grandes problemas têm sido apontados como as principais causas para as altas mortalidades observadas no cultivo deste cefalópode: (i) a falta de condições padrão no seu cultivo e (ii) a ausência de uma dieta que complete todas as necessidades nutricionais desta paralarva. Particularmente, é observado uma falta de equilíbrio na composição de lípidos e ácidos gordos na dieta, como a deficiência em ácidos gordos polinsaturados de cadeia longa (AGP-CL). Para além disso, tem vindo a ser provado que os estádios primários das paralarvas de polvo apresentam grandes necessidades em ácidos gordos polinsaturados (AGP). Os ácidos gordos polinsaturados de cadeia longa são considerados fatores chave para um bom crescimento durante a vida plantónica do polvo e são biosintetizados por enzimas designadas de desaturases e elongases. O presente estudo teve como principal objectivos o estuda da expressão dos genes que codificam a Estearoil-CoA Dessaturase com actividade Δ9 (Scd), a dessaturase de ácido gordo com actividade Δ5 (Fad) e as Elongases de ácidos gordos de cadeia longa Elovl5 e Elovl4, envolvidos no metabolismo dos AGP-CL. A expressão destes genes foi analisada através de PCR quantitativo (qPCR) a partir da eclosão (dia 0) e aos dias 5, 10, 15 e 20 do desenvolvimento das paralarvas. Estes genes em específico já foram anteriormente caraterizados em polvo adulto. Os resultados revelaram a presença de todas as enzimas nas paralarvas durante o período de tempo estudado. Além disso, e salvo algumas exceções, é observado um aumento da expressão destes genes desde o dia 0 até ao dia 20. Sugere-se que esta tendência pode ser explicada pelo facto das enzimas serem incorporadas/biosintetizadas à medida que o desenvolvimento se torna mais complexo e/ou quando a capacidade endogena de biosintetizar estas enzimas pode aparecer como resposta a uma dieta nutricionalmente pobre, de forma a preencher as necesidades nutricionais destas paralarvas. Foi também verificada uma elevada expressão dos genes scd e elovl5 ao dia 0, podendo indicar a ativação do genoma do zigoto durante o periodo embrionário do polvo comum, embora seja necessária mais pesquisa nesta linha de investigação. Concluíndo, este estudo permitiu elucidar e clarificar como estes genes se expressam nas paralarvas de polvo durante os primeiros dia de desenvolvimento, podendo ajudar na identificação dos ácidos gordos essenciais de cada estádio das paralarvas. Ao mesmo tempo, veio aumentar o conhecimento do cultivo da espécie de polvo, Octopus vulgaris, contribuindo para reduzir as elevadas mortalidades observadas nos estádio iniciais de desenvolvimento das paralarvaras

Educomunicação e suas áreas de intervenção: Novos paradigmas para o diálogo intercultural

oai:omp.abpeducom.org.br:publicationFormat/1O material aqui divulgado representa, em essência, a contribuição do VII Encontro Brasileiro de Educomunicação ao V Global MIL Week, da UNESCO, ocorrido na ECA/USP, entre 3 e 5 de novembro de 2016. Estamos diante de um conjunto de 104 papers executivos, com uma média de entre 7 e 10 páginas, cada um. Com este rico e abundante material, chegamos ao sétimo e-book publicado pela ABPEducom, em seus seis primeiros anos de existência. A especificidade desta obra é a de trazer as “Áreas de Intervenção” do campo da Educomunicação, colocando-as a serviço de uma meta essencial ao agir educomunicativo: o diálogo intercultural, trabalhado na linha do tema geral do evento internacional: Media and Information Literacy: New Paradigms for Intercultural Dialogue

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved