Genomic damage induced in tobacco plants by chlorobenzoic acids--metabolic products of polychlorinated biphenyls

Tobacco seedlings (Nicotiana tabacum var. xanthi) were treated for 24 h with mono-(2- and 3-CBA), di-(2,5- and 3,4-CBA), and tri-(2,4,6- and 2,3,5-CBA)-chlorobenzoic acids (CBAs) and with the mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls--Delor 103, or cultivated for 1 or 2 weeks in soil polluted with the CBAs. DNA damage in nuclei of leaves and roots was evaluated by the comet assay. A significant increase in DNA damage was observed only at concentrations of CBAs that caused withering of leaves or had lethal effects within 2-4 weeks after the treatments. As the application of CBAs did not induce somatic mutations, the induced DNA migration is probably caused by necrotic DNA fragmentation and not by DNA damage resulting in genetic alteration. In contrast, the application of the monofunctional alkylating agent ethyl methanesulphonate as a positive control resulted in a dose-response increase of DNA damage and an increase of somatic mutations. Thus, the EMS-produced DNA migration is probably associated with genotoxin-induced DNA fragmentation. The data demonstrate that the comet assay in plants should be conducted together with toxicity studies to distinguish between necrotic and genotoxin-induced DNA fragmentation. The content of 2,5-CBA in tobacco seedlings was measured by reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatography.     

Contribution of the functional 5-HTTLPR variant of the SLC6A4 gene to obesity risk in male adults

Background: A polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter (5‐HTTLPR) gene SLC6A4 shows functionally important 44‐bp insertion/deletion alleles: long (L) and short (S). We have previously found that the S allele is a genetic risk factor for obesity in adolescents. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the S/L variant of the SLC6A4 gene is associated with BMI as a continuous trait and also with obesity in a large sample of adult men of European ancestry included in a cross‐sectional, population‐based study. Methods and Procedures: The study group was composed of individuals who were randomly recruited from a factory in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area and who underwent an annual health examination. Results: We observed that among 1,329 unrelated subjects, aged 34.6 ± 0.3 years, age‐adjusted BMI values (expressed as mean ± s.e.) for each genotype showed statistically significant differences across genotypic groups (LL: 25.4 ± 0.2, LS: 26.0 ± 0.1 and SS: 26.7 ± 0.2, P < 0.0002). In addition, association tests showed that the 5‐HTTLPR‐genotype distribution was significantly different between 692 lean (BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2) and 637 obese (BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2) individuals. We found a 1.36 odds ratio (OR) (95% CI 1.01–1.85) for obesity in SS carriers in comparison with LL carriers, P = 0.026. Discussion: In conclusion, our findings indicate that 5‐HTTLPR polymorphism may be linked with BMI and also with obesity and/or overweight in adult male population, reinforcing the role of the serotonin transporter as a risk factor for the obesity phenotype and suggesting potential new avenues for its pharmacological treatment.     

Phylogenetic relationships of South American alligatorids and the caiman of Madeira River

We analyzed DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (cyt b), the nuclear Recombination Activating Gene 1 (RAG1) and the myelocytomatosis oncogene (MYC) to infer the phylogenetic relationship of Caiman crocodilus and Caiman yacare, and other South American alligatorid crocodilian species. Phylogenetic relationships were robustly supported with Paleosuchus sister to Melanosuchus and Caiman. Phylogenetic relationships of C. crocodilus and C. yacare were unclear as these two species share mitochondrial and nuclear haplotypes. Specifically this sharing occurs among specimens of C. yacare and C. crocodilus from the Madeira River drainage. Two potential explanations stand out: secondary contact followed by hybridization, and differentiation along a cline. Current data cannot resolve between these two competing hypotheses. In comparison with C. yacare and C. crocodilus, Paleosuchus trigonatus and Paleosuchus palpebrosus are very well differentiated and also show surprising haplotypic diversity in spite of their phenotypic similarity.     

Association of the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) gene with body height in adult males from two Swedish population cohorts

Human body height is a complex genetic trait with high heritability. We performed an association study of 17 candidate genes for height in the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM) that consists of 1153 elderly men of age 70 born in the central region of Sweden. First we genotyped a panel of 137 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) evenly distributed across the candidate genes in the ULSAM cohort. We identified 4 SNPs in the estrogen receptor gene (ESR1) on chromosome 6q25.1 with suggestive signals of association (p<0.05) with standing body height. This result was followed up by genotyping the same 25 SNPs in the ESR1 gene as in ULSAM in a second population cohort, the Prospective Investigation of the Vasculature in Uppsala Seniors (PIVUS) cohort that consist of 507 males and 509 females of age 70 from the same geographical region as ULSAM. One SNP, rs2179922 located in intron 4 of ESR1 showed and association signal (p = 0.0056) in the male samples from the PIVUS cohort. Homozygote carriers of the G-allele of the SNP rs2179922 were on average 0.90 cm taller than individuals with the two other genotypes at this SNP in the ULSAM cohort and 2.3 cm taller in the PIVUS cohort. No association was observed for the females in the PIVUS cohort.     

Bioprospecting of Turbinaria Macroalgae as a Potential Source of Health Protective Compounds

The present study aims to focus on the bioprospecting of marine macroalgae of Turbinaria species, plenteous biomass of the world ocean. Three types of solvents, i.e., H₂O, MeOH/H₂O (80:20, v/v) and hexane/i‐PrOH (50:50, v/v), were used for extraction. Both the biological activity and the pattern of present chemicals were characterized. For the cell proliferation assay, the human embryonic kidney 293 cells, cervix/breast/pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and osteosarcoma cells were used. For the antioxidant activity determination, both intracellular assay with human embryonic kidney and cervix adenocarcinoma cells, as well as the biochemical DPPH test, were employed. To complete the information about macroalgae composition, organic compounds were characterized by the liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Attention was concentrated mainly on the lipidomic profile characterization. In spite the fact that any significant antiproliferative effect was not observed for cancer cells, both the Turbinaria species were shown to be good protectors against the oxidative stress of the non‐cancer cells. Most of the antioxidants were determined in the hexane/i‐PrOH extract. As regards the lipids identified, most of them belonged to the triacylglycerols followed by sphingomyelins, diacylglycerols, and polar (lyso)phospholipids. Additionally to fatty acids with 14, 16 and 18 carbons, also those with odd carbon numbers were frequently present.     

Salvia officinalis L. Essential Oils from Spain: Determination of Composition,Antioxidant Capacity,Antienzymatic, and Antimicrobial Bioactivities

Four essential oils (EO s) from Salvia officinalis L. cultivated in Spain (Murcia Province) were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC /MS ) to determine their relative and absolute compositions. The main components were α ‐thujone (22.8 – 41.7%), camphor (10.7 – 19.8%), 1,8‐cineole (4.7 – 15.6%), and β ‐thujone (6.1 – 15.6%). Enantioselective gas chromatography identified (?)‐α ‐thujone and (+)‐camphor as the main enantiomers in all the analyzed EO s. Furthermore, when the EO s were tested to determine their antioxidant activity against free radicals and as ferric reducing and ferrous chelating agents, all were seen to have moderate activity due to the compounds they contained, such as linalool or terpinene. Because of their known relation with inflammatory illnesses and Alzheimer 's disease, respectively, the inhibition of lipoxygenase and acetylcholinesterase was studied using the EO s. Some individual compounds also inhibited these enzymes. In addition, the studied EO s were able to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , and Candida albicans . The characterization carried out increases our awareness of the possible uses of S . officinalis EO as natural additives in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.     

Characterization of 32 microsatellite loci for the Pacific red snapper, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lutjanus peru</Emphasis>, through next generation sequencing

We developed a set of hypervariable microsatellite markers for the Pacific red snapper (Lutjanus peru), an economically important marine fish for small-scale fisheries in the west coast of Mexico. We performed shotgun genome sequencing with the 454 XL titanium chemistry and used bioinformatic tools to search for perfect microsatellite loci. We selected 66 primer pairs that were synthesized and genotyped in an ABI PRISM 3730XL DNA sequencer in 32 individuals from the Gulf of California. We estimated levels of genetic diversity, deviations from linkage and Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, estimated the frequency of null alleles and the probability of individual identity for the new markers. We reanalyzed 16 loci in 16 individuals to estimate genotyping error rates. Eighteen loci failed to amplify, 16 loci were discarded due to unspecific amplifications and 32 loci (14 tetranucleotide and 18 dinucleotide) were successfully scored. The average number of alleles per locus was 21 (±6.87, SD) and ranged from 8 to 34. The average observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.787 (±0.144 SD, range 0.250–0.935) and 0.909 (±0.122 SD, range 0.381–0.965), respectively. No significant linkage was detected. Eight loci showed deviations from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, and from these, four loci showed moderate null allele frequencies (0.104–0.220). The probability of individual identity for the new loci was 1.46^?62. Genotyping error rates averaged 9.58%. The new markers will be useful to investigate patterns of larval dispersal, metapopulation dynamics, fine-scale genetic structure and diversity aimed to inform the implementation of spatially explicit fisheries management strategies in the Gulf of California.