Analysis of NPF and NRT transporter families regarding the nitrate nutrition in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster)

Nitrogen is an essential element for life and the main limiting nutrient for plant growth and development1. The main forms of inorganic nitrogen in soils are nitrate and ammonium, which relative abundances depend on environmental conditions such as temperature. In agricultural soils the most abundant nitrogen form is nitrate because the use of chemical fertilizers however in natural ecosystems nitrogen soil composition can be more complex. Conifers are tree gymnosperms with a wide distribution although their large forests dominate the boreal ecosystems where nitrification is limited and ammonium is the main nitrogen soil source2. In this context, conifers have an appreciable tolerance to ammonium. Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) is a conifer from the western Mediterranean region of high economic and ecological interest in Spain, France and Portugal. This pine is also a research model tree with different genomic resources such as a reference transcriptome and a gene expression atlas3. Taking advantage of these resources the members of the NPF and NRT transporter families involved in nitrate uptake and transport have been identified and analyzed in maritime pine4. Among the transporter families, the NRT3 one is expanded and composed by six members. The capacity of maritime pine to use nitrate or ammonium has been analyzed in seedlings. The development and growth responses to nitrate nutrition are comparable to ammonium supply. At molecular level, there are strong gene expressions for genes involved in nitrate uptake and assimilation such as Nitrate Reductase, Nitrite Reductase, Glutamine Synthetase 1a, three NRT3 genes and different NPF family members in the different organs. Since the NPF proteins can transport different metabolites, peptides and hormones, the NPF transporters involved in nitrate transport are being identified.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. This project was supported by the grant MicroNUpE, BIO2015-73512-JIN; MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE. JMVM was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional (FPU17/03517) and FO by a grant from the Universidad de Málaga (Programa Operativo de Empleo Juvenil vía SNJG, UMAJI11, FEDER, FSE, Junta de Andalucía)

An unexpected actor in ammonium assimilation in conifer trees

Conifers are tree species with enormous environmental and economic interests but with several characteristics that complicate their investigation (big size, secondary compounds, large long-life cycles, megagenomes…). However, they are well adapted to ammonium-rich soils being a good model to study ammonium assimilation in plants. Although they have a special feature, only two glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2) genes, GS1a and GS1b, coding for cytosolic proteins, have been identified. In angiosperms and in the gymnosperm Ginkgo biloba there are two types of this enzyme responsible of the ammonium assimilation: GS1 expressed in the cytosol and GS2 in the plastids. Until the date, the searches of new GS1 and GS2 genes in conifers have been made with classical biochemical and molecular biology techniques without satisfactory results. In the present context, the emergence of the next generation sequencing (NGS) techniques has open new opportunities in the resolution of old problems. They have allowed the whole sequencing of the massive conifer genomes and the analysis of their transcriptomes. Thus, in the framework of the European project ProCoGen, a gene expression atlas of the tissues of one-month seedlings was carried out using laser capture microdissection (LCM) and massive sequencing in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster), which is a conifer tree from the Southwestern Mediterranean region1. From the analysis of this work, a new gene coding for a new putative cytosolic GS has been identified, PpGS1c. 1Cañas, RA et al. (2017). Plant J, 91. 1064-1087Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Project funding by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad BIO2015-69285-R and MicroNUpE (BIO2015-73512-JIN; MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE

Physico-chemical characterization of remains from a Bronze Age ochre-burial in Biniadris Cave (Menorca, Spain)

Red ochre pigments have been used since ancient times by many different civilisations on different continents. In the paper presented herein, ten manufactured artefacts and biological materials stained with a red pigment found in the Bronze Age burial site of Biniadris Cave (Menorca, Spain) have been characterised throught X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, Raman and infrared spectroscopy techniques, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The surface analysis of the bones, hairs and ornaments allowed the chemical composition of the pigment used in the funeral practices and rituals to be unequivocally established as hematite-rich ochre. The finding of a gypsum preparation layer on a sample, below the ochre layer, suggests that it could have been used as a primer before sprinkling with hematite ochre. Given the excellent degree of conservation and the worth of this archaeological record for the study of the symbolic practices in the island of Menorca, these results call for further analyses on a larger set of archaeological artefacts to gain insight into the funeral practices conducted in this cave

Transcriptomics of ammonium nutrition in the conifer Pinus pinaster Aiton

Nitrogen is an important element for all living beings because it is part of macromolecules as significant as nucleic acids or amino acids. For plants, it constitutes a limiting factor in their growth and development1 due to their low natural availability in soils thus limiting primary production in ecosystems2. Conifers are a group of gymnosperm plants that form large forest extensions of vegetation, being the main constituents of forests in boreal ecosystems3 where ammonium is the main source of inorganic nitrogen4. Due to the characteristics of the soils in which conifers usually grow, these plants have developed a high tolerance to the presence of ammonium, which may constitute their main source of inorganic nitrogen5. The maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton) is a conifer that has a wide distribution in the western Mediterranean area and has been widely used in reforestation, soil stabilization tasks and industrially. In recent years, maritime pine has been the subject of multiple omic studies that have resulted in the acquisition of important tools and resources6,7. The present work is focused on the analysis of the ammonium uptake and management efficiency, and its relationship with the biomass accumulation in maritime pine. For this purpose, several experiments have been developed in which pine seedlings have undergone different levels of ammonium nutrition, both in the short and long term. As a result of short-term experiments, the characterization of transcriptomic response to the process of ammonium nutrition (uptake and assimilation) is being studied at mRNA, lncRNA and miRNA level in roots. In relation to long-term experiments, ten different provenances of maritime pine seedlings were treated with different ammonium levels and the biomass changes were measured. The results obtained suggest the existence a certain phenotypic plasticity grade for this conifer.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. This project was supported by a grant form the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MicroNUpE, BIO2015-73512-JIN; MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE). FO was supported by a grant from the Universidad de Málaga (Programa Operativo de Empleo Juvenil vía SNJG, UMAJI11, FEDER, FSE, Junta de Andalucía) and JMVM by a grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Formación Profesional (FPU17/03517

Thermal behavior of calafate (Berberis buxifolia) seeds

Low temperature is the most important factor limiting the distribution of plants. In this study the low temperature thermal behavior of calafate seeds was analyzed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and a vibrational characterization of their different components was conducted by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In cold-acclimated plants, such as calafate, the total percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their seeds is significantly higher than that of saturated fatty acids. Successive freezing-thawing cycles lead to increased formation of linoleic (LA) and linolenic (LNA) a-crystals. This process would barely modify the phase-transition temperature of the lipid membrane but would lead to an increase in the membrane fluidity (LNA would make the cell membranes more fluid during seed development). It seems that processes in membranes rather than in the glassy cytoplasm may determine the cooling resistance

Una propuesta de modelo para la medición del valor de marca en entidades deportivas

Today, the companies, usually, consider the presence of the intangible assets, specially the brand, in the strategic plans of the organizations. So much the scientific community of marketing, as the managerial world they deal that managing the brand and to know its value is a prior matter in altars to managing to differentiate the products and to reach a competitive advantage. In the world of the sport, in which increasingly the economic interests prevail over other interests of emotional type, it seems to be unavoidable to confront the study of the management of the brand equity of sports entities and clubs. They are organizations that try to compete on a market increasingly competitively and lucratively, and that for it must try to manage and to administer its resources efficiently. And one of these resources it constitutes the brand, the name of the sports entity. In this paper, after approaching the knowledge of the concept brand equity and its components, giving a particular vision of the importance that has the brand equity in sports organizations and proposing a model who helps the sports agent to understand and up to valuing the brand of the entity that it manages

Estudio de las diferentes alternativas tecnológicas utilizadas en cámaras de tiempo de vuelo (ToF)

El objetivo de este proyecto es el estudio de las diferentes alternativas tecnológicas utilizadas para el diseño de cámaras de tiempo de vuelo (ToF), incluyendo sus principales características, ventajas e inconvenientes y las fuentes de error. Con más detalle, los objetivos a alcanzar son: • Principio de funcionamiento, el cual se basa en un análisis en profundidad de todos los elementes que integran estas cámaras. • Diferentes alternativas tecnológicas basadas en los diferentes métodos de modulación: o Cámaras de modulación continua o Cámaras de modulación pulsada o Cámaras de modulación de pseudo-ruido • Ventajas e inconvenientes de cada una de ellas. • Fuentes de error y soluciones para mitigar su incidencia en la obtención de mapas de profundidad.The aim of this project is to study the different technological alternatives used for the design of time-of-flight (ToF) cameras, including their main characteristics, advantages and disadvantages and error sources. In detail, the objectives to reach, are: • Works principle, which is based on an in-depth analysis of all the elements that make up these cameras. • Different technological alternatives based on different modulation methods: o Continuous modulation cameras o Pulsed modulation cameras o Pseudo-noise modulation cameras • Advantages and disadvantages of each one of them. • Sources of error and solutions to mitigate their incidence in obtaining depth maps.Grado en Ingeniería Electrónica de Comunicacione

Vibrational and thermal characterization of seeds, pulp, leaves and seed oil of Rosa rubiginosa

Rosa rubiginosa L. seed oil has been studied for its application in skin care products, but the chemical nature of seeds, pulp and even leaves, apart from that of oil, is also relevant with a view to the application of this weed for biodiesel production. All these vegetal materials were studied by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for characterisation purposes. FTIR bands at 3005, 2924, 1740, 1654 and 1456 cm-1 were used to estimate the iodine index, suitable for biofuels, and the oxidation stability degree. From the viewpoint of the thermal stability, both the seed oil (for which pyrolysis occurs at 462°C), the raw seeds and the rosehip pulp (with decomposition temperatures of 373°C and 333°C, respectively) showed potential as a biomass feedstock for conversion into biofuels. Caracterización térmica y vibracional de las semillas, pulpa, hojas y aceite de semillas de Rosa rubiginosa. El aceite de semillas de R. rubiginosa L. ha sido estudiado para su aplicación en productos para el cuidado de la piel, pero la naturaleza química de las semillas, pulpa y hojas, además de la del aceite, también es importante con miras a la aplicación de esta mala hierba para la producción de biodiesel. Los materiales vegetales mencionados se han estudiado mediante espectroscopía infrarroja (FTIR) y calorimetría diferencial de barrido (DSC) con fines de caracterización. Las bandas del espectro infrarrojo en 3005, 2924, 1740, 1654 y 1456 cm-1 han sido utilizadas para estimar el índice de yodo, adecuado para los biocombustibles, y el grado de estabilidad a la oxidación. Desde el punto de vista de la estabilidad térmica, tanto el aceite de semillas (para el que la pirólisis se produce a 462ºC) como las semillas crudas y la pulpa (con temperaturas de descomposición de 373°C y 333°C, respectivamente) mostraron potencial como materia prima de biomasa para su conversión en biocombustibles

Analysis of a Celtiberian protective paste and its possible use by Arevaci warriors

This article presents an infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis of residue adhering to a Celtiberian pottery sherd of late Iron Age date from the Arevacian site of Cerro del Castillo, in Ayllón (Segovia, Spain). This residue may be a paste used since antiquity for protective aims. Orange-sepia in colour, made from crushed bones and glue, the paste was used by Greeks and Romans and later in the construction of the cathedrals and monasteries of Europe to confer a warm colour to the stone and to protect it against environmental deterioration. In this article we also suggest a possible ritual use of this paste in the protection of the skin of the Arevaci and Edetani warriors, and the previously unreported pleasant aroma of this material is highlighted. The possible nutritional use of this paste is also considered

Patología degenerativa de la rodilla del adulto

La degeneración del cartílago articular de la rodilla es una de las patologías que más afecta a la población general y a la de edad avanzada en especial. El dolor y la impotencia funcional causan una elevada morbimortalidad precisando ayuda médica para la mejora de la calidad de vida; el tratamiento gold estándar de la enfermedad es la artroplastia total de rodilla. El incremento de su prevalencia, debido al aumento de la esperanza de vida, ha requerido el avance en investigación con el objetivo de mejorar el diagnóstico y tratamiento de dicha enfermedad emergente. Haciendo uso de diversas bases de datos se obtiene esta revisión actualizada sobre la gonartrosis