4629 research outputs found
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Cupatges d’oli verge extra: es pot fer que sempre tingui el mateix gust?
Get PDFOptant per un perfil invariable us esteu perdent el millor que us pot oferir l’oli d’oliva verge extra, la seva extraordinària variabilitatinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Characterization of the anisotropy in proteinaceous semi-solid food matrices through polarized fluorescence spectroscopy
Get PDFThis study investigates the possibilities and limitations of fluorescence anisotropy (FA) as a technique to assess the intricate structures of (semi) solid food samples. Sensory and consumer preferences strongly depend on food texture and structural anisotropy which presents a formidable challenge for the food industry e.g. when developing plant-based alternatives. Plant-based foods are formulated to mimic the appearance, flavor, and fibrous texture of well-known animal-based products. In particular, anisotropy is a property of solid foods which is very difficult to control and quantify. Anisotropy is direction-dependent. Processed food matrices typically exhibit intricate micro- to macro-structural properties that differ in their anisotropic characteristics. FA represents a putative analytical tool to characterize and perhaps even quantify anisotropy, but so far research has provided ambiguous results. This study introduces a systematic protocol for measuring FA using fluorescein, a classic fluorescent dye, followed by a contextual quantitative comparison of anisotropy using solutions of tryptophan and BSA. Furthermore, high moisture extrusion products made from pea protein isolate and whey protein concentrate have been analyzed. In addition, the anisotropy of an industrially relevant food, namely, the Mozzarella cheese is quantified and compared to the Cagliata cheese. The results show - as expected - that Cagliata has a lower FA compared to Mozzarella produced via the pasta-filata process, quantified from the tryptophan fluorescence signal. This paper aims to clarify the complexities of quantifying fluorescence-based anisotropy in semi-solid food matrices and pinpoint challenges that hinder its broader application.Funding for this project (Grant ID - 0223–00041 A), titled "EXCHEQUER: EXamining CHEese QUality Elements and Reactions," was provided through a grant from Innovation Fund Denmark.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Clinical, Immunological and Pathological Characteristics of Ischemic Dermatopathy in Dogs with Leishmaniosis
Get PDFCutaneous lesions suggestive of vasculitis and/or ischemic dermatopathy (ID) are anecdotally reported in canine leishmaniosis, and the clinicopathological features of these conditions have not been fully characterized. The objective of this case series was to describe six dogs with leishmaniosis and ID. In 5/6 dogs, leishmaniosis was diagnosed at the time of ID diagnosis, whereas in 1/6 dogs, ID developed during the first month of anti-Leishmania conventional treatment. One each of greyhound, Chihuahua, whippet, American bully, hound and mixed breeds were represented, and the median age at presentation was 6 years [2–8]. All patients presented high or very high levels of circulating anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies. The cutaneous lesions were multifocal alopecia with atrophic skin with hyper- or hypopigmentation (6/6), ulcers located on the extremities and trunk (3/6) and onychodystrophy (2/6). Histologically, ID was confirmed by the presence of follicular atrophy (faded follicles) (6/6), perivascular or interstitial lymphoplasmacytic dermatitis or panniculitis (6/6), collagen smudging (3/6), dermal fibrosis (3/6), lymphocytic interface dermatitis (3/6) and ulceration (3/6). Vasculopathy was observed in the superficial and mid-vascular plexuses in 4/6 dogs and characterized by the combination of some of the following lesions: vasocongestion, hemorrhagic foci, mild hyaline mural degeneration, thrombi and fragmented degenerating nuclear debris of neutrophils in the vascular wall. Moreover, myositis was observed in 1/6 cases. Leishmania-specific immunohistochemistry was positive in the skin of 4/6 cases. Leishmaniosis might be considered an underlying cause of ID in dogs. However, the immune mechanisms and pathogenesis need to be elucidated.This study was supported by the European Society for Veterinary Dermatoplogy Research minor grant 2024.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Comportament de les noves varietats de gira-sol. Campanya 2024
Get PDFEn aquest article es presenten els resultats productius i agronòmics de les noves varietats de gira-sol a Espanya, obtinguts en el marc del Grupo para la Evaluación de las Nuevas Variedades de Cultivos Extensivos en España (GENVCE) a la darrera campanya. S’inclouen els resultats de 6 assajos realitats per diferents Instituts de recerca arreu de l’Estat localitzats a Madrid (IMIDRA), Castella i Lleó (ITACyL), Castella la Manxa (IRIAF), Aragó (CTA-DGA) i a Navarra (INTIA).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Espècies millorants d'estiu i els seus beneficis
Get PDFLa sembra de cultius millorants pot comportar diferències en determinats aspectes com és la competència amb les herbes, la millora de la biodiversitat, etc. Els resultats dels assajos realitzats durant la campanya 2024 mostren com cadascuna de les diferents espècies estudiades presenten avantatges propis. La mostassa és l’espècie que millor competeix amb les herbes, el càrtam i el gira-sol són les espècies que atrauen més pol·linitzadors i la crotalària la que atrau més fauna auxiliar.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Assessing the efficacy and generational stability of commercial transgenic maize resistance against key stored-product insect pests
Get PDFGenetic resistance, particularly through transgenic Bt maize, has demonstrated high efficacy in pest control under field conditions. However, in storage conditions, maize is susceptible to different pest species, which compromises its quality. It is unknown how effectively the Bt maize functions in storage environments or if resistance is being inherited in later generations. This study investigates two commercial maize genotypes: a transgenic genotype expressing the Cry1Ab protein and its near-isoline counterpart. It utilizes commercial seeds of both genotypes (F1), along with seeds obtained from field-grown transgenic and near-isoline plants (F2), which represent the seeds stored by farmers and the agricultural industry. The aim is to assess their vulnerability to common insect pests that affect stored products. By assessing grain damage and insect population dynamics, we identify differences in resistance among these different maize genotypes and generations. Our findings show that transgenic maize exhibits strong resistance against Sitotroga cerealella but lower resistance against Sitophilus zeamais. The impact of Oryzaephilus surinamensis on both genotypes was negligible. Additionally, the resistance diminishes in the F2 generation. With S. cerealella the F2 transgenic experienced 55% more damage compared to the F1. Similarly, in the case of S. zeamais, the F2 maize produced five times more frass than the F1, highlighting a significant reduction in resistance. This research identifies the resistance characteristics of maize, highlighting the most suitable traits for assessing pest resistance in stored maize. It emphasizes the need for sustainable pest control with genetic resistance, ensuring long-term protection of stored grains, and minimizing post-harvest losses.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This research has been funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion, la Agencia Estatal de Investigacion and FEDER (UE) (Grant PID 2021-125284OR-100, MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ FEDER, UE) and by the CERCA Program (Centres de Recerca de Catalunya, Spain) of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Julia Parsons is thankful for the Internal Predoctoral Research Fellowship funded by IRTA.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Halamphora witkowskii sp. nov. (Catenulaceae, Bacillariophyta), a new diatom species from the alkaline waters of Lake Van, Republic of Türkiye
Get PDFThis study introduces Halamphora witkowskii sp. nov., a newly discovered diatom species from Lake Van, the world’s largest soda lake known for its high alkalinity. Detailed morphological and morphometric analyses using light and scanning electron microscopy effectively distinguished this new species from closely related taxa, including Halamphora minima, H. coffeaeformis, and H. tumida. Additionally, culturing studies from live cells led to the establishment of two separate monocultures, which were utilized for phylogenetic analysis using the rbcL molecular marker, further confirming the distinctiveness of Halamphora witkowskii from other known species.Co-financed by the Minister of Science under the “Regional Excellence Initiative” Program for 2024–2027 (RID/SP/0045/2024/01).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Recombinant production of antimicrobial proteins in bacterial expression systems: Escherichia coli vs. lactic acid bacteria
No full textBackground
The development of antimicrobial treatments as alternatives to antibiotics to combat antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacteria is a global priority. Antimicrobial peptides and proteins such as Host Defense Peptides (HDPs) and endolysins are one of the alternatives that are being explored. HDPs are small, cationic, and amphiphilic antimicrobial peptides derived from the innate immune system exhibiting a broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. On the other hand, endolysins are enzymes produced by bacteriophages to hydrolyze the bacterial peptidoglycan layer, offering more specific antimicrobial activity than HDPs. While short peptides can be chemically synthesized, this approach presents several limitations, and recombinant production is also being used. Escherichia coli is the most used bacterial expression system for protein production. Alternative systems based on Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) microorganisms such as Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) have also been employed. However, so far, no comparative studies have evaluated the production and activity of antimicrobial proteins expressed in E. coli versus LAB and this study aims to address that gap.
Results
To evaluate potential differences in the production of antimicrobial proteins using E. coli and two LAB (Lactococcus lactis and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum) hosts, various proteins were evaluated. These included two HDPs fused to a GFP, two multidomain HDP-based proteins and one endolysin. The results revealed a clear influence of the expression system on the quality of HDP-based protein, including both GFP fusions and multidomain constructs. Protein yield was higher in E. coli and all HDP-based proteins exhibited higher antimicrobial activity when expressed in E. coli compared to L. lactis and L. plantarum. In contrast, endolysin activity was comparable when produced in E. coli and L. lactis.
Conclusions
These results demonstrate that the choice of bacterial expression host significantly affects not only the yield but, more importantly, the antimicrobial activity of HDP-based proteins. For these proteins, the antimicrobial activity was consistently higher when produced in E. coli. In contrast, endolysins exhibited similar characteristics regardless of whether they were expressed in E. coli or in L. lactis.This work was financially supported by MICIU/AEI/ https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033, grant number PID2022-136521OB-I00, PID2022-137332OB-I00 and CEX2023001263-S. ST-A. received a pre-doctoral fellowship from Ministerio de Universidades (Spain), and JVC was supported with a Margarita Salas grant for the training of young doctoral graduates (grant no. 722713). The authors are also grateful for the financial support received from Instituto de Salud Carlos III through and the Networking Research Center on Bioengineering, Biomaterials, and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN). The authors also acknowledge the ICTS NANBIOSIS for the support of the Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit (U6) at ICMAB-CSIC (https://www.nanbiosis.es/portfolio/u6- biomaterialprocessing-and-nanostructuring-unit/) and the assistance of the ICMAB-CSIC Scientific & Technical Services: SOFT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Assigning taxonomy and traits to DNA sequences of river diatoms in a region with limited taxonomic knowledge using the updated and annotated reference library Diat.barcode
No full textWe present a new version of a barcoding reference library dedicated to diatoms, Diat.barcode v12, with newly published sequences, annotated with ecological, and biological traits (size class, life forms, ecological guilds, etc) and curated by a college of experts. Diat.barcode incorporates rbcL data on all diatoms, though freshwater taxa are better represented. We used this library in two different areas, one where the taxonomic coverage of the library was good (mainland France) and another where it was poor (French Guyana) with about 320 diatom samples collected for river monitoring across both regions. We show that a direct bioinformatic assignment of environmental sequences to traits (ecological guilds, habitats, morphology) has great potential in French Guyana where species knowledge is poor and therefore the proportion of assigned environmental sequences is much lower (12.8%) than trait assignation (30%). We used co-correspondence analyses to show that, unlike mainland France where all species and trait assignation datasets were significantly correlated, in French Guyana only 7 out of 13 trait categories showed a significant correlation. This indicates a significant loss of ecological information through species assignment in French Guyana. Consequently, directly assigning environmental sequences to traits can be useful and provide more ecological information in regions with poor taxonomic knowledge because of the many rbcL sequences without taxonomic assignations.Samples were carried out in the framework of the French river monitoring and the OFB (Office Français de la Biodiversité), the Office de l’Eau de Guyane, the Water agencies, as well as the French ministry in charge of environment protection are thanked for helping in providing us the samples for molecular analyses. The study was supported by Aquaref (Etude B1.15) and the HORIZON project No. 101079234 BIOLAWEB (Boosting Institute of Chemistry Technology and Metallurgy in Water Biomonitoring) coordination and support actions funded by the European Union. CEW thanks the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) grant C19/SR/13680552/DISCO. The study was also supported by ANPCYT-PICT 2021-00372 and PICT 2019-03621.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Predicting global establishment for biological control: Climatic suitability of three promising larval parasitoids against the invasive tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta
No full textBackground: The invasive tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), poses a significant threat toglobal tomato production, and the limitations of chemical control necessitate the development of sustainable alternatives, suchas biological control through classical or augmentative releases. The success of such programs is contingent on the climaticmatch between the pest and its natural enemies. Methods: This study conducted a global bioclimatic evaluation of T. absolutaand three promising larval parasitoids – Necremnus tutae, Neochrysocharis formosa, and Dolichogenidea gelechiidivoris – usingthe CLIMEX model to guide their strategic deployment. We predicted their climatic suitability based on an integrated scenario thataccounts for both rainfed and irrigated agriculture. These predictions were then overlaid with global tomato cultivation areas toassess high-risk areas (pest Ecological Index (EI) ≥ 30) and quantify biocontrol potential (parasitoid EI ≥ 30). Results: The threeparasitoids possess largely distinct climatic niches, with regions highly suitable for all three covering only approximately 5% ofthe pest’s high-suitability habitat. Critically, overlaying predictions with tomato cultivation areas revealed that T. absoluta presentsa high climatic risk to approximately 53% of these areas. Approximately 50% of this high-risk area was climatically suitable for atleast one highly suitable parasitoid species, while the biocontrol potential varies starkly by region. Conclusions: These findingsprovide a proactive, yet conservative and realistic, assessment that underscores the necessity of regionally tailored biocontrolstrategies. By identifying areas of high climatic suitability, this study offers a scientific basis for developing targeted biologicalcontrol programs against T. absolutaThis work was funded by the Major Special Projects for Green Pest Control (110202401016(LS-06)), the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (ASTIP) (CAAS-ZDRW202505), and the National Key Research and Development Project of China (2021YFD1400200).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio