Domesticación de papaya: implicaciones en la tolerancia al cambio climático

AMARANTA GIRON RAMIREZ ARIANNA CHRISTINE CHAN LEON YESSICA BAUTISTA BAUTISTA ERICK ARROYO ALVAREZ Humberto José Estrella Maldonado Gabriela Fuentes Ortiz Jorge Manuel Santamaría Fernández (2023, [Artículo])

Mucho se ha hablado de que el proceso de domesticación de las especies comerciales trajo consigo una reducción en la talla de las plantas, un aumento en el tamaño de los frutos, cambios en el tipo sexual de las flores en algunos casos, etc. Sin embargo, poco se ha discutido la posibilidad de que, en algunas especies como en la papaya, el proceso de domesticación pudo haber traído consigo una pérdida de la tolerancia a sequía y posiblemente a otros factores climáticos, tolerancia que aún es posible encontrar en las poblaciones silvestres de esta importante especie.

CARICA PAPAYA PLANTAS SILVESTRES RESERVORIO GENETICO SEQUIA BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

El cocotero, un antiguo acompañante del hombre en los mares tropicales

Ignacio Rodrigo Islas Flores MIGUEL ALONSO TZEC SIMA Blondy Beatriz Canto Canché (2023, [Artículo])

El cocotero (Cocos nucifera), es una especie de origen en el Cretácico superior, conocida como el “árbol de la vida”; pertenece a la familia Arecaceae y es la única especie del género Cocos. Existen dos grupos de variedades fenotípicas reconocidas, las “altas” y las “enanas”, ambas con diferencias sustanciales en morfología y productividad. Los frutos del cocotero y el hombre se han acompañado en sus viajes por las diferentes áreas de los trópicos, inicialmente usados como fuente de agua y alimento y en nuestros días, como fuente alternativa de productos naturales, algunos utilizados en la prevención de enfermedades neurológicas de gran importancia.

COCO ORIGEN DISPERSION COLONIZACION USOS BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

¿Por qué las nueces son tan duras?

MELINA SANCHEZ LEONEL Ana Elisabeth Olivares-Hernández ISRAEL ARZATE VAZQUEZ Juan Vicente Mendez Mendez JESUS NICOLAS BERMUDEZ (2023, [Artículo])

Los frutos secos comúnmente conocidos como nueces, son alimentos importantes en la dieta cotidiana debido a su rico sabor y su valioso aporte nutricional. Sin embargo, al querer degustar este tipo de alimentos nos enfrentamos a la problemática de romper la cáscara, la cual se considera un material duro. De lo anterior surge la pregunta: ¿Por qué las cáscaras de nueces son tan duras? En este artículo se discutirán las características (morfológicas, microestructurales y composición) que tienen estos alimentos y que dan como resultado que exhiban un alto grado de rigidez.

CARACTERISTICAS FISICAS COMPOSICION FRUTOS SECOS MICROESTRUCTURA PROPIEDADES MECANICAS BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

Estado actual de las poblaciones de Lonchocarpus sanctuarii (Fabaceae) en Honduras

JOEL A. ORTEGA CESIA B. FLORES (2023, [Artículo])

Lonchocarpus sanctuarii, cono- cido popularmente como “chaperno negro’’ es un árbol nativo de Mesoamérica que se distribuye en México, El Sal- vador, Honduras y Nicara- gua. Esta especie habita en fragmentos de bosque seco subtropical y húmedo sub- tropical, y en Honduras se encuentran en el municipio Distrito Central y sus mayo- res amenazas son las expan- siones urbanas. Se realizaron giras de campo a tres sitios de las cinco poblaciones registra- das: UNAH-CU, Residencial La Cañada y la Colonia Hato de Enmedio. La mayoría de los individuos son brinzales (jóvenes) y las especies nati- vas con distribución restringi- da como L. sanctuarii son esenciales para mantener un equilibrio ecológico.

ADULTOS ABUNDANCIA BRINZALES DISTRIBUCIÓN HABITAT POBLACION NATIVA BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

Las células de las plantas también reciclan

Alexis Iván Cadena Ramos VERONICA LIMONES BRIONES Clelia de la Peña Seaman (2023, [Artículo])

Al escuchar la palabra reciclaje, probablemente pensamos en acciones como reutilizar botellas, bolsas, latas o cristales buscando obtener nuevos productos o materias primas para ser utilizados en la producción de otros bienes. Para sorpresa de muchos, las plantas tienen la misma capacidad de reciclar; es como si las plantas se limpiaran a sí mismas para eliminar aquello que no les sirve y puedan obtener nuevos materiales para otras funciones. Este proceso de reciclaje en las células vegetales es conocido como “autofagia” y es vital para mantener la integridad y la salud de las plantas, así como permitir su aclimatación a los ambientes poco favorables.

AUTOFAGIA MUERTE CELULAR ORGANELOS VACUOLA BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA VEGETAL (BOTÁNICA) ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL ECOLOGÍA VEGETAL

Comparative live-cell imaging analyses of SPA-2, BUD-6 and BNI-1 in Neurospora crassa reveal novel features of the filamentous fungal polarisome

Alexander Lichius (2012, [Artículo])

A key multiprotein complex involved in regulating the actin cytoskeleton and secretory machinery required for polarized growth in fungi, is the polarisome. Recognized core constituents in budding yeast are the proteins Spa2, Pea2, Aip3/Bud6, and the key effector Bni1. Multicellular fungi display a more complex polarized morphogenesis than yeasts, suggesting that the filamentous fungal polarisome might fulfill additional functions. In this study, we compared the subcellular organization and dynamics of the putative polarisome components BUD-6 and BNI-1 with those of the bona fide polarisome marker SPA-2 at various developmental stages of Neurospora crassa. All three proteins exhibited a yeast-like polarisome configuration during polarized germ tube growth, cell fusion, septal pore plugging and tip repolarization. However, the localization patterns of all three proteins showed spatiotemporally distinct characteristics during the establishment of new polar axes, septum formation and cytokinesis, and maintained hyphal tip growth. Most notably, in vegetative hyphal tips BUD-6 accumulated as a subapical cloud excluded from the Spitzenkörper (Spk), whereas BNI-1 and SPA-2 partially colocalized with the Spk and the tip apex. Novel roles during septal plugging and cytokinesis, connected to the reinitiation of tip growth upon physical injury and conidial maturation, were identified for BUD-6 and BNI-1, respectively. Phenotypic analyses of gene deletion mutants revealed additional functions for BUD-6 and BNI-1 in cell fusion regulation, and the maintenance of Spk integrity. Considered together, our findings reveal novel polarisome-independent functions of BUD-6 and BNI-1 in Neurospora, but also suggest that all three proteins cooperate at plugged septal pores, and their complex arrangement within the apical dome of mature hypha might represent a novel aspect of filamentous fungal polarisome architecture. © 2012 Lichius et al.

fungal protein, protein BNI 1, protein BUD 6, protein SPA 2, protein Spk, unclassified drug, actin binding protein, cytoskeleton protein, fungal protein, article, cell fusion, cellular distribution, comparative study, conidium, controlled study, cyto BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA MICROBIOLOGÍA MICROBIOLOGÍA

The Pacific harbor seal gut microbiota in Mexico: Its relationship with diet and functional inferences

ARLETTE MARIMAR PACHECO SANDOVAL (2019, [Artículo])

Diet is a primary driver of the composition of gut microbiota and is considered one of the main routes of microbial colonization. Prey identification is fundamental for correlating the diet with the presence of particular microbial groups. The present study examined how diet influenced the composition and function of the gut microbiota of the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii) in order to better understand the role of prey consumption in shaping its microbiota. This species is a good indicator of the quality of the local environment due to both its foraging and haul-out site fidelity. DNA was extracted from 20 fecal samples collected from five harbor seal colonies located in Baja California, Mexico. The V4 region of 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using the Illumina technology. Results showed that the gut microbiota of the harbor seals was dominated by the phyla Firmicutes (37%), Bacteroidetes (26%) and Fusobacteria (26%) and revealed significant differences in its composition among the colonies. Funtional analysis using the PICRUSt software suggests a high number of pathways involved in the basal metabolism, such as those for carbohydrates (22%) and amino acids (20%), and those related to the degradation of persistent environmental pollutants. In addition, a DNA metabarcoding analysis of the same samples, via the amplification and sequencing of the mtRNA 16S and rRNA 18S genes, was used to identify the prey consumed by harbor seals revealing the consumption of prey with mainly demersal habits. Functional redundancy in the seal gut microbiota was observed, irrespective of diet or location. Our results indicate that the frequency of occurrence of specific prey in the harbor seal diet plays an important role in shaping the composition of the gut microbiota of harbor seals by influencing the relative abundance of specific groups of gut microorganisms. A significant relationship was found among diet, gut microbiota composition and OTUs assigned to a particular metabolic pathway. © 2019 Pacheco-Sandoval et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

RNA 16S, RNA 18S, amino acid analysis, animal food, Article, bacterium colony, Bacteroidetes, basal metabolic rate, biodegradation, controlled study, DNA barcoding, feces analysis, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, intestine flora, metabolism, Mexico, microb BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)

Synthetic libraries of shark vNAR domains with different cysteine numbers within the CDR3

OLIVIA CABANILLAS BERNAL (2019, [Artículo])

The variable domain of New Antigen Receptors (vNAR) from sharks, present special characteristics in comparison to the conventional antibody molecules such as: small size (12–15 kDa), thermal and chemical stability and great tissue penetration, that makes them a good alternative source as therapeutic or diagnostic agents. Therefore, it is essential to improve techniques used for the development and selection of vNAR antibodies that recognize distinct antigens. The development of synthetic antibody libraries offers a fast option for the generation of antibodies with the desired characteristics. In this work three synthetic antibody libraries were constructed; without cysteines (Cys), with one Cys and with two Cys residues within its CDR3, with the objective of determining whether the presence or absence of Cys in the CDR3 favors the isolation of vNAR clones from a synthetic library. The libraries were validated selecting against six mammalian proteins. At least one vNAR was found for each of the antigens, and a clone coming from the library without Cys in the CDR3 was selected with all the antigens. In vitro angiogenesis assay with the isolated anti-VEGF antibodies, suggest that these vNARs are capable of inhibiting in vitro angiogenesis. In silico analysis of anti-VEGF antibodies showed that vNARs from synthetic libraries could rival antibodies with affinity maturation by in silico modeling. © 2019 Cabanillas-Bernal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

aquaporin 1, carcinoembryonic antigen, cysteine, fibroblast growth factor 2, glycophorin A, leukemia inhibitory factor, vasculotropin, vasculotropin antibody, angiogenesis inhibitor, antibody, cysteine, lymphocyte antigen receptor, vasculotropin A, a BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOFÍSICA BIOFÍSICA

Community ecology across bacteria, archaea and microbial eukaryotes in the sediment and seawater of coastal Puerto Nuevo, Baja California

Sabah Ul-Hasan (2019, [Artículo])

Microbial communities control numerous biogeochemical processes critical for ecosystem function and health. Most analyses of coastal microbial communities focus on the characterization of bacteria present in either sediment or seawater, with fewer studies characterizing both sediment and seawater together at a given site, and even fewer studies including information about non-bacterial microbial communities. As a result, knowledge about the ecological patterns of microbial biodiversity across domains and habitats in coastal communities is limited–despite the fact that archaea, bacteria, and microbial eukaryotes are present and known to interact in coastal habitats. To better understand microbial biodiversity patterns in coastal ecosystems, we characterized sediment and seawater microbial communities for three sites along the coastline of Puerto Nuevo, Baja California, Mexico using both 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We found that sediment hosted approximately 500-fold more operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for bacteria, archaea, and microbial eukaryotes than seawater (p < 0.001). Distinct phyla were found in sediment versus seawater samples. Of the top ten most abundant classes, Cytophagia (bacterial) and Chromadorea (eukaryal) were specific to the sediment environment, whereas Cyanobacteria and Bacteroidia (bacterial) and Chlorophyceae (eukaryal) were specific to the seawater environment. A total of 47 unique genera were observed to comprise the core taxa community across environment types and sites. No archaeal taxa were observed as part of either the abundant or core taxa. No significant differences were observed for sediment community composition across domains or between sites. For seawater, the bacterial and archaeal community composition was statistically different for the Major Outlet site (p < 0.05), the site closest to a residential area, and the eukaryal community composition was statistically different between all sites (p < 0.05). Our findings highlight the distinct patterns and spatial heterogeneity in microbial communities of a coastal region in Baja California, Mexico. This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.

BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOFÍSICA BIOFÍSICA

Suppression of breast tumor growth and metastasis by an engineered transcription factor

Adriana Beltran Lopez (2011, [Artículo])

Maspin is a tumor and metastasis suppressor playing an essential role as gatekeeper of tumor progression. It is highly expressed in epithelial cells but is silenced in the onset of metastatic disease by epigenetic mechanisms. Reprogramming of Maspin epigenetic silencing offers a therapeutic potential to lock metastatic progression. Herein we have investigated the ability of the Artificial Transcription Factor 126 (ATF-126) designed to upregulate the Maspin promoter to inhibit tumor progression in pre-established breast tumors in immunodeficient mice. ATF-126 was transduced in the aggressive, mesenchymal-like and triple negative breast cancer line, MDA-MB-231. Induction of ATF expression in vivo by Doxycycline resulted in 50% reduction in tumor growth and totally abolished tumor cell colonization. Genome-wide transcriptional profiles of ATF-induced cells revealed a gene signature that was found over-represented in estrogen receptor positive (ER+) "Normal-like" intrinsic subtype of breast cancer and in poorly aggressive, ER+ luminal A breast cancer cell lines. The comparison transcriptional profiles of ATF-126 and Maspin cDNA defined an overlapping 19-gene signature, comprising novel targets downstream the Maspin signaling cascade. Our data suggest that Maspin up-regulates downstream tumor and metastasis suppressor genes that are silenced in breast cancers, and are normally expressed in the neural system, including CARNS1, SLC8A2 and DACT3. In addition, ATF-126 and Maspin cDNA induction led to the re-activation of tumor suppressive miRNAs also expressed in neural cells, such as miR-1 and miR-34, and to the down-regulation of potential oncogenic miRNAs, such as miR-10b, miR-124, and miR-363. As expected from its over-representation in ER+ tumors, the ATF-126-gene signature predicted favorable prognosis for breast cancer patients. Our results describe for the first time an ATF able to reduce tumor growth and metastatic colonization by epigenetic reactivation of a dormant, normal-like, and more differentiated gene program. © 2011 Beltran et al.

artificial transcription factor 126, complementary DNA, doxycycline, estrogen receptor, maspin, microRNA, retrovirus vector, transcription factor, unclassified drug, estrogen receptor, serine proteinase inhibitor, SERPIN B5, SERPIN-B5, transcription BIOLOGÍA Y QUÍMICA CIENCIAS DE LA VIDA BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA) BIOLOGÍA ANIMAL (ZOOLOGÍA)