Molluscicidal activity of Solanum species of the Northeast of Brazil on Biomphalaria glabrata

Seven species of Solanum were screened for their molluscicidal properties against Biomphalaria glabrata, the intermediated host of Schistosoma mansoni, Solanum agrarium, S. jabrense, S. melissarum, S. megalonyx, S. paludosum, S. paraibanum and S. stipulaceum. Four extracts showed molluscicidal activity with LC(50) from 22 to 56 microg/ml.     

Changes in net N mineralization rates and soil N and P pools in a pine forest wildfire chronosequence

The concern that climate change may increase fire frequency and intensity has recently heightened the interest in the effects of wildfires on ecosystem functioning. Although short-term fire effects on forest soils are well known, less information can be found on the long-term effects of wildfires on soil fertility. Our objective was to study the 17-year effect of wildfires on forest net mineralization rates and extractable inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations. We hypothesize that (1) burned forest stands should exhibit lower net mineralization rates than unburned ones; (2) these differences would be greatest during the growing season; (3) differences between soil variables might also be observed among plots from different years since the last fire; and (4) due to fire-resistant geochemical processes controlling P availability, this nutrient should recover faster than N. We used a wildfire chronosequence of natural and unmanaged Pinus canariensis forests in La Palma Island (Canary Islands). Soil samples were collected during winter and spring at 22 burned and unburned plots. We found significantly higher values for net N mineralization and extractable N pools in unburned plots. These differences were higher for the winter sampling date than for the spring sampling date. Unlike extractable N and N mineralization rates, extractable P levels of burned plots exhibited a gradual recovery over time after an initial decrease. These results demonstrate that P. canariensis forest soils showed low resilience after wildfires, especially for N, and that this disturbance might induce long-term changes in ecosystem functioning.     

Heat treatment of beta-lactoglobulin: structural changes studied by partitioning and fluorescence

Functional properties of whey protein concentrates (WPC) are primarily dependent on the degree of denaturation of beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG), the major globular whey protein. Irreversible modifications in the tertiary structure and association state of beta-LG after heat treatment were studied by partition in aqueous two-phase systems and fluorescence quenching. Partitioning of preheated beta-LG in two-phase systems containing 5% (w/w) poly(ethylene glycol) and 7% (w/w) dextran, between pH 6.0 and7.0, are appropriately related with the intensity of heat treatment. An increase in the partition coefficient of beta-LG was observed with increasing temperature of heat treatment. On the other hand, fluorescence quenching of beta-LG by acrylamide was used to study the conformational flexibility of the protein at pH values between 4. 0 and 9.0. The values of bimolecular quenching rate constant (k(q)) obtained showed that beta-LG appears to be more flexible at high pH values, while at low pH the protein assumes a more compact form. The efficiency of acrylamide quenching on preheated beta-LG was substantially more pronounced than for the untreated protein. This difference can be ascribed to the presence of unfolded monomers and aggregates of denatured molecules formed after heat treatment, whose tryptophanyl residues are more exposed to the solvent. In conclusion, the results suggest that partition studies in aqueous two-phase systems and fluorescence quenching are very useful tools to detect changes in conformation and aggregation of beta-LG induced by heat treatment.     

Differences in body temperature, cell viability, and HSP-70 concentrations between Pelibuey and Suffolk sheep under heat stress

Pelibuey and Suffolk sheep were compared as to their capacity to regulate body temperature under environmental hyperthermia by measuring their differences in cellular response to heat stress (HS). In a first experiment, seven Pelibuey and seven Suffolk ewes were kept in a climatic chamber for 6 h daily during 10 days (temperatures within the 18 to 39.5 °C range). As chamber temperature rose, sheep rectal temperature increased in both groups, but to a lesser extent in Pelibuey (0.3 °C) than in Suffolk sheep (0.7 °C) (P?<?0.05). In a second experiment, cellular viability was assessed using cultured blood mononuclear cells from 15 Pelibuey and 15 Suffolk sheep. They were incubated at 37 °C for 24 h (control) or 43 °C for 6 h followed by 18 h at 37 °C (HS). In a third experiment, another blood mononuclear cells culture from eight Pelibuey and eight Suffolk sheep was kept at 37 °C for 15 h; these were subsequently cultured for 6 h at 37 °C (controls) or 43 °C (HS). Next, HSP-70 concentration was determined. HS reduced the percentage of viable cells to a greater extent in Suffolk [37 °C (73.7 %) vs. 43 °C (61.9 %); P?<?0.05] than in Pelibuey sheep [37 °C (74.9 %) vs. 43 °C (66.7 %); P?>?0.05]. HS significantly increased HSP-70 average concentrations for both breeds at 43 °C. A significant effect was observed for the breed by temperature interaction (P?<?0.05) caused by a greater difference between Pelibuey and Suffolk at 43 °C (2.85 vs. 0.53 ng/mL, respectively; P?<?0.05) than at 37 °C (0.05 vs. 0.03 ng/mL, respectively; P?>?0.05). In conclusion, Pelibuey sheep show more effective body temperature regulation under conditions of environmental hyperthermia. Also, cell viability after HS was higher in Pelibuey than in Suffolk, an effect that could be mediated by an HSP-70-related mechanism.     

Complexation of several fungicides with beta-cyclodextrin: determination of the association constants and isolation of the solid complexes

The formation of inclusion complexes with beta-cyclodextrin was studied for several popular fungicides of different types: prochloraz, 2-phenylphenol, thiophanate methyl, 8-hydroxyquinoline, and benalaxyl. Phase solubility diagrams showed that in all cases complexation takes place, leading to an important increase of water solubility in prochloraz and benalaxyl. Equilibrium association constants could be determined from the phase solubility data and from NMR titrations in the case of 2-phenylphenol. Because of the low solubility of the complex formed between 8-hydroxyquinoline and beta-cyclodextrin, the corresponding association constant could not be determined. The solid complexes of fungicide-cyclodextrin were prepared and isolated by different methods. The isolation of real complexes and not physical mixtures was confirmed in the cases of prochloraz, 2-phenylphenol, and benalaxyl by differential scanning calorimetry.     

Molecular evidence of Leishmania spp. in spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) from The Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve,Veracruz, Mexico

Veterinary Research Communications - The black-handed spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) is a platyrrhine primate distributed in southern Mexico, Central America, and part of South America. Two...     

Organogenic responses of Pinus pinea cotyledons to hormonal treatments: BA metabolism and cytokinin content

Isolated cotyledons from mature Pinus pinea L. embryos were cultured in vitro in a factorial combination of 4.4, 10 and 44.4 microM N6-benzyladenine (BA) for 2, 4, 8, 16 and 35 days to optimize shoot regeneration. Incubation of explants in 44.4 microM BA for 4 days, in place of the standard incubation in 4.4 microM BA for 35 days, reduced the entire culture period to 4 weeks. Shortening the culture period had no significant effect on the caulogenic response or the number of buds formed per cotyledon. To establish the relationship between key moments in the caulogenic process induced by 4.4 microM BA and the endogenous concentrations of the active forms of BA and other isoprenoid-type cytokinins (CKs), we examined uptake, metabolism and amount of BA, as well as the amounts of zeatin, dihydrozeatin and their ribosides in P. pinea cotyledons after 1, 2, 6, 12 and 24 h, and 2, 4, 8, 16 and 35 days of exposure to 8-[14C]BA. Uptake and release of BA were associated with water movement between explants and the medium during the first 8 days of culture. The interconvertible forms of BA were the main metabolites formed in the tissues. Inactivation of BA as a result of conjugation or oxidation was insignificant. The endogenous concentration of BA + N6-benzyladenosine was 20-fold higher than the exogenously applied BA during the competence acquisition phase (Days 0-3). The concentration of isoprenoid-type CKs also increased 16-fold and then decreased during this time. Induction of shoot buds (Days 4-8) was characterized by a second peak of BA uptake by explants that triggered the synthesis of N6-benzyladenosine-5 -monophosphate and by the maintenance of isoprenoid-type CKs. Reestablishment of CK homeostasis marked the shift from the induction phase to the shoot development phase in this organogenic process (Days 8-12).     

Neotropical Bats from Costa Rica harbour Diverse Coronaviruses

Bats are hosts of diverse coronaviruses (CoVs) known to potentially cross the host–species barrier. For analysing coronavirus diversity in a bat species‐rich country, a total of 421 anal swabs/faecal samples from Costa Rican bats were screened for CoV RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene sequences by a pancoronavirus PCR. Six families, 24 genera and 41 species of bats were analysed. The detection rate for CoV was 1%. Individuals (n = 4) from four different species of frugivorous (Artibeus jamaicensis, Carollia perspicillata and Carollia castanea) and nectivorous (Glossophaga soricina) bats were positive for coronavirus‐derived nucleic acids. Analysis of 440 nt. RdRp sequences allocated all Costa Rican bat CoVs to the α‐CoV group. Several CoVs sequences clustered near previously described CoVs from the same species of bat, but were phylogenetically distant from the human CoV sequences identified to date, suggesting no recent spillover events. The Glossophaga soricina CoV sequence is sufficiently dissimilar (26% homology to the closest known bat CoVs) to represent a unique coronavirus not clustering near other CoVs found in the same bat species so far, implying an even higher CoV diversity than previously suspected.     

Characterization of protein fractions from Bt-transgenic and non-transgenic maize varieties using perfusion and monolithic RP-HPLC. Maize differentiation by multivariate analysis

Protein fractions from transgenic Bt and non-transgenic maize varieties, extracted by the Osborne solvent fraction procedure, were characterized for the first time by perfusion and monolithic RP-HPLC in very short analysis times. Albumins and globulins from different transgenic Bt maizes as well as from their non-transgenic isogenic varieties were eluted in four peaks using perfusion RP-HPLC, whereas prolamins and glutelins were separated in seven peaks. Monolithic RP-HPLC enabled the separation of maize proteins in a large number of peaks showing 6 and 10 main peaks for albumins and globulins, respectively. Prolamins migrated at retention times higher than 5 min as seven peaks, whereas glutelins were separated in three main peaks appearing at retention times higher than 6.0 min. Moreover, chromatograms of the whole protein extracts showed 8 and 11 components for perfusion and monolithic RP-HPLC, respectively. A comparison of the chromatograms of the whole protein extracts relative to transgenic and non-transgenic varieties evidenced quantitative differences on the percentages of area, mainly for peaks 2 and 3 by perfusion RP-HPLC and for peaks 3 and 7 by monolithic RP-HPLC. A discriminant analysis based on these proteic profiles was carried out to classify and predict transgenic Bt maize lines, achieving 100% correct classification using perfusion RP-HPLC.