New postcranial elements of the Thalassodrominae (Pterodactyloidea,Tapejaridae) from the Romualdo Formation (Aptian–Albian), Santana Group,Araripe Basin,Brazil

Tapejarids are edentate pterosaurs recovered mainly from Early Cretaceous deposits. They are diagnosed by five synapomorphies, among which only one is postcranial: a broad and well‐developed tubercle at the ventroposterior margin of the coracoid. Regarding the clade Thalassodrominae, most phylogenetic studies are based on cranial elements, as postcranial skeletons of these pterosaurs are rare. Here, new postcranial material from the Romualdo Formation (Aptian–Albian) from the Araripe Basin is described. The material comprises the three posteriormost cervical vertebrae, the first seven dorsal vertebrae (fused into a notarium), both scapulocoracoids, a fragment of a sternum, a partial right humerus, a small fragment of a 4th phalanx of the wing finger, a distal extremity of the right femur and the proximal portions of both tibia and fibula. Comparisons with other specimens and morphological features examined in a phylogenetic context, such as the presence of three foramina lateral and dorsal to the neural canal of the cervical vertebrae, the presence of a notarium and a pneumatic foramen on the ventral side of the proximal portion of the humerus, allow the assignment of this specimen as Thalassodrominae indet. Regarding palaeobiogeographical aspects, to date, this clade is exclusively found in the Romualdo Formation. It is the most complete postcranial material assigned to the Thalassodrominae described so far.     

Different patterns of evolution for duplicated DNA repair genes in bacteria of the Xanthomonadales group

Background

DNA repair genes encode proteins that protect organisms against genetic damage generated by environmental agents and by-products of cell metabolism. The importance of these genes in life maintenance is supported by their high conservation, and the presence of duplications of such genes may be easily traced, especially in prokaryotic genomes.

Results

The genome sequences of two Xanthomonas species were used as the basis for phylogenetic analyses of genes related to DNA repair that were found duplicated. Although 16S rRNA phylogenetic analyses confirm their classification at the basis of the gamma proteobacteria subdivision, differences were found in the origin of the various genes investigated. Except for lexA, detected as a recent duplication, most of the genes in more than one copy are represented by two highly divergent orthologs. Basically, one of such duplications is frequently positioned close to other gamma proteobacteria, but the second is often positioned close to unrelated bacteria. These orthologs may have occurred from old duplication events, followed by extensive gene loss, or were originated from lateral gene transfer (LGT), as is the case of the uvrD homolog.

Conclusions

Duplications of DNA repair related genes may result in redundancy and also improve the organisms' responses to environmental challenges. Most of such duplications, in Xanthomonas, seem to have arisen from old events and possibly enlarge both functional and evolutionary genome potentiality.

     

Metabolism, Intake, and Digestibility of Lambs Supplemented with Organic Chromium

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the metabolism of organic chromium and its effect on digestibility and intake of lambs. Four 4-month-old male lambs, each weighing 28 kg, were used. The animals were kept in metabolic cages for a period of 20 days (15 days of adaptation and 5 days of experimentation), in two experimental phases, with inverted treatments. Organic chromium was administered by intraruminal infusion of 1 mg of chromium-rich yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) throughout the adaptive and experimental period. The dry material rates of the diet and feces of the animals were evaluated to estimate consumption, digestibility, and fecal production. During the experimental period, blood, feces, and urine were collected every 24 h to determine chromium levels. There was no significant difference in the excretion of chromium in the urine, and no mineral remnants were detected in the blood. Excretion was generally fecal. There was greater excretion of chromium in the feces of lambs in the treated group on day 0 and day 3, compared with the control group. The use of organic chromium promoted an increase in the consumption of dry material in the treated animals only at day 0 (P?<?0.05). The production of fecal dry matter was greater among the treated lambs than among the animals of the control group on day 1, day 2, day 3, and day 4 (P?<?0.05). The results obtained showed that organic chromium associated with live yeasts is not absorbed by the body and do not affect the intake time in the dose used.     

Polyunsaturated fatty acids production by solid-state fermentation on polyurethane foam by Mortierella alpina

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential in healthy diets and their production is extremely important. Natural sources of PUFAs includes animal and aquatic products such as marine fish oil, however there are several limitations such as the decrease of fish stocks throughout the world. Thus, microbial oils are a preferable source of PUFAs. Herein, it was studied the production of PUFAs by Mortierella alpina under solid-state fermentation (SSF) using polyurethane foam as inert substrate and synthetic medium or lignocellulosic hydrolysate as source of C, N, and other nutrients. Several parameters of fermentation conditions were evaluated as carbon source, inductors addition, ratio C/N and temperature. The highest amount of total PUFAs per mass of solid (535.41 ± 24.12 mg/g), linoleic acid (129.66 ± 5.84 mg/g), and α-linoleic acid (401.93 ± 18.10 mg/g) were produced when the culture medium contained 20 g/L glucose, 10% (w/v) linseed oil, the C/N ratio was adjusted to 25 and the incubation temperature was 25°C for 3 days decreasing to 16°C on the remaining 4 days of fermentation. In addition, a hemicellulosic hydrolysate can be used as low-cost substrate to produce PUFAs, although the production was lower than the achieved with synthetic medium. SSF showed an interesting technology for microbial PUFAs production.     

Trypanocidal and cytotoxic activities of essential oils from medicinal plants of Northeast of Brazil

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in Latin America. There are no vaccines available, the chemotherapy used to treat this illness has serious side effects and its efficacy on the chronic phase of disease is still a matter of debate. In a search for alternative treatment for Chagas disease, essential oils extracted from traditional medicinal plants Lippia sidoides, Lippia origanoides, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Ocimum gratissimum, Justicia pectorales and Vitex agnus-castus were investigated in vitro for trypanocidal and cytotoxic activities. Essential Oils were extracted by hydrodistillation and submitted to chemical analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The concentration of essential oils necessary to inhibit 50% of the epimastigotes or amastigotes growth (IC(50)) and to kill 50% of trypomastigote forms (LC(50)) was estimated. The most prevalent chemical constituents of these essential oils were monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. All essential oils tested demonstrated an inhibitory effect on the parasite growth and survival. L. sidoides and L. origanoides essential oils were the most effective against trypomastigote and amastigote forms respectively. No significant cytotoxic effects were observed in mouse peritoneal macrophages incubated with essential oils which were more selective against the parasites than mammalian cells. Taken together, our results point towards the use of these essential oils as potential chemotherapeutic agent against T. cruzi.     

Nasal immunization of mice with Lactobacillus casei expressing the Pneumococcal Surface Protein A: induction of antibodies, complement deposition and partial protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae challenge

Strategies for the development of new vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae infections try to overcome problems such as serotype coverage and high costs, present in currently available vaccines. Formulations based on protein candidates that can induce protection in animal models have been pointed as good alternatives. Among them, the Pneumococcal Surface Protein A (PspA) plays an important role during systemic infection at least in part through the inhibition of complement deposition on the pneumococcal surface, a mechanism of evasion from the immune system. Antigen delivery systems based on live recombinant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) represents a promising strategy for mucosal vaccination, since they are generally regarded as safe bacteria able to elicit both systemic and mucosal immune responses. In this work, the N-terminal region of clade 1 PspA was constitutively expressed in Lactobacillus casei and the recombinant bacteria was tested as a mucosal vaccine in mice. Nasal immunization with L. casei-PspA 1 induced anti-PspA antibodies that were able to bind to pneumococcal strains carrying both clade 1 and clade 2 PspAs and to induce complement deposition on the surface of the bacteria. In addition, an increase in survival of immunized mice after a systemic challenge with a virulent pneumococcal strain was observed.     

Description of Micropygomyia (Silvamyia) echinatopharynx sp. nov. (Diptera: Psychodidae) a new species of phlebotomine sand fly from the state of Tocantins, Brazil

During a study of the phlebotomines of the Brazilian state of Tocantins, a new species was discovered in Porto Nacional county, here described as Micropygomyia (Silvamyia) echinatopharynx sp. nov. This is only the second species of the subgenus Micropygomyia (Silvamyia) to be described.