Bacillus Toyonensis BCT-7112T Spores as Parenteral Adjuvant of BoHV-5 Vaccine in a Murine Model

Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins - Bacterial spores of the genus Bacillus are being evaluated as adjuvant molecules capable of improving the immune response to vaccines. In this study, we...     

Computer-Guided Trypanocidal Activity of Natural Lactones Produced by Endophytic Fungus of Euphorbia umbellata

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by Chagas’ disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. Since the current treatment lack efficacy, specificity, and suffers from several side-effects, novel therapeutics are mandatory. Natural products from endophytic fungi have been useful sources of lead compounds. In this study, three lactones isolated from an endophytic strain culture were in silico evaluated for rational guidance of their bioassay screening. All lactones displayed in vitro activity against T. cruzi epimastigote and trypomastigote forms. Notably, the IC₅₀ values of (+)-phomolactone were lower than benznidazole (0.86 vs. 30.78 μM against epimastigotes and 0.41 vs. 4.88 μM against trypomastigotes). Target-based studies suggested that lactones displayed their trypanocidal activities due to T. cruzi glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (TcGAPDH) inhibition, and the binding free energy for all three TcGAPDH-lactone complexes suggested that (+)-phomolactone has a lower score value (−3.38), corroborating with IC₅₀ assays. These results highlight the potential of these lactones for further anti-T. cruzi drug development.     

Jackfruit trees as seed attractors and nurses of early recruitment of native plant species in a secondary forest in Brazil

The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened tropical forests in the world, being drastically reduced, fragmented, and disturbed. The drastic process of anthropic occupation and exploitation of this biome has, in many cases, led to the introduction of exotic species, such as the jackfruits (Artocarpus heterophyllus). However, studies on the influence of jackfruits on the native biota are still scarce. Here we investigated the influence of fruit trees on the seed rain and early recruitment of seedlings in native remnants, comparing these patterns with those observed for a native species tapirira (Tapirira guianensis), which similarly to jackfruits, produces many fruits throughout the year, attracting a variety of frugivore species. Seed rain and seedlings observed under the jackfruits were both more abundant and equally rich to the assemblages reported under the native tapirira trees. In both species, co-specifics comprise a large part of the number of seeds (>?70%) and seedlings (>?45%) individuals and, although they attract similar seed assemblages, seedling composition diverge, particularly when co-specifics are excluded. We reported that jackfruits can attract a diverse seed and seedling assemblages, and we find no evidence that the presence of jackfruits negatively affects the arrival and initial recruitment of native plant species in the study area. These results should be analyzed with caution but considered when evaluating costs and benefits of management options to control exotic species.

     

Can the use of zooplankton dormant stages from natural wetlands contribute to restoration of mined wetlands?

Wetlands are among the most diverse environments on the planet and are strongly threatened by human activities. Their restoration and/or mitigation of human impacts, therefore, relies on information that can aid to the management of impacted wetlands so that they return to a (semi-) natural state. We investigate in this study the relationship between dormant stages of zooplankton and clay removal in areas subjected to mining. We evaluate whether a gradual increase in topsoil addition from donor natural wetlands to the sediment of mined wetlands influenced the zooplankton community. Eight wetlands were sampled in the Sinos River floodplain, four natural and four mined. In the laboratory, four field sediment samples were incubated for zooplankton hatching in five treatments comprising sediments from: mined wetlands, natural wetlands, and three treatments containing mined sediments added with low (5%), medium (20%) and high (40%) quantities of sediment from natural wetlands. Hatching consisted of 61 individuals distributed across eight zooplankton taxa. Copepod nauplii were the most abundant (31.1%) followed by Epiphanes sp. (29.5%) and Ovalona glabra (16.4%). While natural wetlands provided 42.6% of the hatched zooplankton, mined wetlands had just 6.5%. Zooplankton richness and abundance were higher in natural wetland sediments compared with mined and added sediment wetlands. To some degree, the sediment soil donation from natural to mined wetlands was considered viable. As long as prior studies are performed to test the size and quality of the dormant banks present in the sediment of candidate donor wetlands, sediment from donor wetlands may aid in the establishment of a more diverse community in disturbed systems.

     

Evolution of a Complex Locus for Terpene Biosynthesis in Solanum

Functional gene clusters, containing two or more genes encoding different enzymes for the same pathway, are sometimes observed in plant genomes, most often when the genes specify the synthesis of specialized defensive metabolites. Here, we show that a cluster of genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum; Solanaceae) contains genes for terpene synthases (TPSs) that specify the synthesis of monoterpenes and diterpenes from cis-prenyl diphosphates, substrates that are synthesized by enzymes encoded by cis-prenyl transferase (CPT) genes also located within the same cluster. The monoterpene synthase genes in the cluster likely evolved from a diterpene synthase gene in the cluster by duplication and divergence. In the orthologous cluster in Solanum habrochaites, a new sesquiterpene synthase gene was created by a duplication event of a monoterpene synthase followed by a localized gene conversion event directed by a diterpene synthase gene. The TPS genes in the Solanum cluster encoding cis-prenyl diphosphate–utilizing enzymes are closely related to a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum; Solanaceae) diterpene synthase encoding Z-abienol synthase (Nt-ABS). Nt-ABS uses the substrate copal-8-ol diphosphate, which is made from the all-trans geranylgeranyl diphosphate by copal-8-ol diphosphate synthase (Nt-CPS2). The Solanum gene cluster also contains an ortholog of Nt-CPS2, but it appears to encode a nonfunctional protein. Thus, the Solanum functional gene cluster evolved by duplication and divergence of TPS genes, together with alterations in substrate specificity to utilize cis-prenyl diphosphates and through the acquisition of CPT genes.     

Adenosine Inhibition of 45Ca Uptake by Synaptosomes as Function of Time of Electrical Stimulation

Abstract

The effect of adenosine on ⁴⁵Ca uptake by rat brain synaptosomes electrically stimulated was studied as function of time of stimulation (10, 30, 120 s). Inhibition of ⁴⁵Ca uptake was more evident for 120 s.     

A new Brazilian Passiflora leafminer: Spinivalva gaucha,gen. n., sp. n. (Lepidoptera,Gracillariidae, Gracillariinae), the first gracillariid without a sap-feeding instar

Male, female, pupa, larva and egg of a new genus and species of Gracillariidae (Gracillariinae), Spinivalva gaucha Moreira and Vargas from southern Brazil are described and illustrated with the aid of optical and scanning electron microscopy. A preliminary analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences including members of related lineages is also provided. The immature stages are associated with Passiflora actinia, Passiflora misera and Passiflora suberosa (Passifloraceae), and build mines on the adaxial leaf surface. Initially the mines are serpentine in shape, but later in larval ontogeny become a blotch type. Although the larvae are hypermetamorphic as in other Gracillariidae, there is no sap-feeding instar in Spinivalva gaucha; the larva feeds on the palisade parenchyma, thus producing granular frass during all instars. Pupation occurs outside the mine; prior to pupating, the larva excretes numerous bubbles that are placed in rows on the lateral margins of the cocoon external surface. This is the second genus of gracillariid moth described for the Atlantic Rain Forest, and the second gracillariid species known to be associated with Passifloraceae.     

Differentially expressed proteins during an incompatible interaction between common bean and the fungus Pseudocercospora griseola

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the main source of protein and an important source of minerals in several countries around the world. Angular leaf spot, caused by the fungus Pseudocercospora griseola, is one of the major diseases of the common bean. In this work, we used two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to analyze alterations in the proteome of common bean leaves challenged with an incompatible race of P. griseola. Twenty-three differentially expressed proteins were detected in leaves of cultivar AND 277 collected at 12, 24 and 48 h after inoculation. The proteins were digested with trypsin and submitted to MALDI-TOF/TOF and MicrOTOF-Q electrospray mass spectrometry. Nineteen of them were identified upon MS/MS fragmentation. Most of these proteins are involved with amino acid metabolism, terpenoid metabolism, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, antioxidant systems, vitamin and cofactor metabolism, plant–pathogen interaction, carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis, or genetic information processing, showing that the interaction in this pathosystem affects different genes from various metabolic pathways and processes.