Sex chromosome differentiation in Belostoma (Insecta: Heteroptera: Belostomatidae)

Belostoma, a genus of the family Belostomatidae, includes species of great ecological importance as biocontrol agents. Few species of these species have been the subject of cytogenetic analyses. Karyotypic evolution in this genus involves agmatoploidy and simploidy; there are also different sex chromosome systems. We examined two Belostoma species (B. dilatatum and B. candidulum) collected from the Paranapanema River Basin (Brazil). Mitotic and meiotic analysis revealed 2n(♂) = 26 + X(1)X(2)X(3)Y for B. dilatatum and 2n(♂) = 14 + XY for B. candidulum; both karyotypes have holokinetic chromosomes. Differences in heterochromatin distribution were also observed between the species, besides variation in the localization of CMA(3)(+)/DAPI(-) blocks. The existence of different types of sex chromosome systems in these species was confirmed based on arrangements of the chromosomes in different meiotic stages. We identified a new sex system in B. dilatatum, and make the first cytogenetic report on B. candidulum.     

Hepatitis A virus evolution and the potential emergence of new variants escaping the presently available vaccines

Hepatitis A is the most common infection of the liver worldwide and is fecal-orally transmitted. Its incidence tends to decrease with improvements in hygiene conditions but at the same time its severity increases. Hepatitis A virus is the causative agent of acute hepatitis in humans and belongs to the Hepatovirus genus in the Picornaviridae family, and it has very unique characteristics. This article reviews some molecular and biological properties that allow the virus to live in a very quiescent way and to build an extremely stable capsid that is able to persist in and out of the body. Additionally, the relationship between the genomic composition and the structural and antigenic properties of the capsid is discussed, and the potential emergence of antigenic variants is evaluated from an evolutionary perspective.     

Relationship between salt tolerance and photosynthetic machinery performance in citrus

In citrus, salt stress has been related to the build up of chloride ions in plant tissues that affect photosynthesis, growth and yield. We investigated the effects of salt stress on the stability of the photosynthetic machinery with respect to the relative salt tolerance of different citrus genotypes including: Swingle Citrumelo, Carrizo citrange, C35 citrange, Cleopatra mandarin and Forner-Alcaide #5. Under identical salt-stress conditions, Forner-Alcaide #5 and Cleopatra mandarin accumulated less chloride ions in leaves than the other genotypes and showed a better plant performance. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters indicated severe impairments of photosynthetic activity in salt-sensitive Citrumelo and citranges but Cleopatra and Forner-Alcaide #5 were less affected. In addition, differences in photosynthetic responses between these two moderately tolerant genotypes suggested different strategies to cope with salinity. The high tolerance to salinity shown by Forner-Alcaide #5 can be associated to the ability of keeping an active photosynthetic system at elevated saline conditions whereas the tolerance of Cleopatra was linked to rapid reductions of net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, performance of PSII and photosynthetic efficiency.     

Transforming growth factor-beta signaling mediates hypoxia-induced pulmonary arterial remodeling and inhibition of alveolar development in newborn mouse lung

Hypoxia causes abnormal neonatal pulmonary artery remodeling (PAR) and inhibition of alveolar development (IAD). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta is an important regulator of lung development and repair from injury. We tested the hypothesis that inhibition of TGF-beta signaling attenuates hypoxia-induced PAR and IAD. Mice with an inducible dominant-negative mutation of the TGF-beta type II receptor (DNTGFbetaRII) and nontransgenic wild-type (WT) mice were exposed to hypoxia (12% O(2)) or air from birth to 14 days of age. Expression of DNTGFbetaRII was induced by 20 microg/g ZnSO(4) given intraperitoneally daily from birth. PAR, IAD, cell proliferation, and expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins were assessed. In WT mice, hypoxia led to thicker, more muscularized resistance pulmonary arteries and impaired alveolarization, accompanied by increases in active TGF-beta and phosphorylated Smad2. Hypoxia-induced PAR and IAD were greatly attenuated in DNTGFbetaRII mice given ZnSO(4) compared with WT control mice and DNTGFbetaRII mice not given ZnSO(4). The stimulatory effects of hypoxic exposure on pulmonary arterial cell proliferation and lung ECM proteins were abrogated in DNTGFbetaRII mice given ZnSO(4). These data support the conclusion that TGF-beta plays an important role in hypoxia-induced pulmonary vascular adaptation and IAD in the newborn animal model.     

Phytochemical analysis and in vitro antiviral activities of the essential oils of seven Lebanon species

The chemical composition of the essential oils of Laurus nobilis, Juniperus oxycedrus ssp. oxycedrus, Thuja orientalis, Cupressus sempervirens ssp. pyramidalis, Pistacia palaestina, Salvia officinalis, and Satureja thymbra was determined by GC/MS analysis. Essential oils have been evaluated for their inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV and HSV-1 replication in vitro by visually scoring of the virus-induced cytopathogenic effect post-infection. L. nobilis oil exerted an interesting activity against SARS-CoV with an IC(50) value of 120 microg/ml and a selectivity index (SI) of 4.16. This oil was characterized by the presence of beta-ocimene, 1,8-cineole, alpha-pinene, and beta-pinene as the main constituents. J. oxycedrus ssp. oxycedrus oil, in which alpha-pinene and beta-myrcene were the major constituents, revealed antiviral activity against HSV-1 with an IC(50) value of 200 microg/ml and a SI of 5.     

Application of proteomics technology for analyzing the interactions between host cells and intracellular infectious agents

Host-pathogen interactions involve protein expression changes within both the host and the pathogen. An understanding of the nature of these interactions provides insight into metabolic processes and critical regulatory events of the host cell as well as into the mechanisms of pathogenesis by infectious microorganisms. Pathogen exposure induces changes in host proteins at many functional levels including cell signaling pathways, protein degradation, cytokines and growth factor production, phagocytosis, apoptosis, and cytoskeletal rearrangement. Since proteins are responsible for the cell biological functions, pathogens have evolved to manipulate the host cell proteome to achieve optimal replication. Intracellular pathogens can also change their proteome to adapt to the host cell and escape from immune surveillance, or can incorporate cellular proteins to invade other cells. Given that the interactions of intracellular infectious agents with host cells are mainly at the protein level, proteomics is the most suitable tool for investigating these interactions. Proteomics is the systematic analysis of proteins, particularly their interactions, modifications, localization and functions, that permits the study of the association between pathogens with their host cells as well as complex interactions such as the host-vector-pathogen interplay. A review on the most relevant proteomic applications used in the study of host-pathogen interactions is presented.     

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci for the horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae)

The horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), is a cosmopolitan livestock pest that has caused a great negative impact on the animal production sector throughout the world. Here, we describe 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci isolated from H. irritans. The number of alleles found ranged from two to eight per locus and the expected heterozygosity from 0.1421 to 0.7702. These loci are potentially useful for the fine-scale genetic characterization of horn fly populations and provide fundamental information for pest management and planning of control programs.     

On the photophysics of metallophthalocyanine-based photothermal sensitizers: synergism between theory and experiment

A comprehensive understanding of the factors governing the efficiency of metallophthalocyanine-based photothermal sensitizers requires the knowledge of their excited-state dynamics. This can only be properly gained when the nature and energy of the excited states (often spectroscopically silent) lying between the photogenerated state and the ground state are known. Here the excited state deactivation mechanism of two very promising metallophthalocyanine-based photothermal sensitizers, NiPc(OBu)(8) and NiNc(OBu)(8), is reviewed. It is shown that time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) methods are capable to provide reliable information on the nature and energies of the low-lying excited states along the relaxation pathways. TDDFT calculations and ultrafast experiments consistently show that benzoannulation of the Pc ring modifies the photodeactivation mechanism of the photogenerated S(1)(pi,pi*) state by inducing substantial changes in the relative energies of the excited states lying between the S(1)(pi,pi*) state and the ground state.     

Comparative studies on the conformational change and aggregation behavior of irradiated carrageenans and agar by dynamic light scattering

The conformational associative properties of kappa-, iota-, and lambda-carrageenan and agar with irradiation dose were studied by dynamic light scattering. The random scission of the carrageenans and agar by gamma irradiation resulted in the formation of polydispersed lower molecular weight fragments. At high doses, the system moves towards uniformity. Conformational change from coil to helix was observed in all carrageenans and agar at doses up to 100 kGy. The conformational change in lambda-carrageenan may be due to the irregular and hybrid structure of this polysaccharide. Only agar and lambda-carrageenan still undergo conformational transition at a high dose of 200 kGy. Gelation is observed for kappa-, iota-carrageenan up to a dose of 50 kGy while gelation is still observed at 100 kGy for agar. Increase in the hydrodynamic radius with decreasing temperatures for the non-irradiated carrageenans follows this order: lambda-carrageenan>kappa-carrageenan>iota-carrageenan. Slight increases in hydrodynamic radius were observed with irradiation.