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La opinión pública ante los problemas y retos de la agricultura española
No full textEn este artículo el autor analiza la percepción que la población española tiene sobre los principales problemas y retos a los que se enfrenta la agricultura. Para ello, se utilizan los datos resultantes de dos encuestas de opinión (Barómetro del CIS y Eurobarómetro de la Comisión Europea), a través de las cuáles se dan respuesta a algunas cuestiones como la valoración de la población sobre los problemas del sector, su apoyo a las reivindicaciones manifestadas en las protestas del pasado año, el papel asignado a las administraciones o el conocimiento de la opinión pública sobre la PAC y su contribución a la solución de los problemas y los desafíos de los agricultores y ganaderos. El análisis concluye que la población española respalda las protestas y se solidariza con sus reivindicaciones.Peer reviewe
Lithostratigraphic, structural and geochronological framework of the Namibe region, SW Angola: Insights into the late Eburnean Orogeny in the Congo Shield
No full text[EN] The Namibe region in southwestern Angola represents the southernmost extent of the Southwestern Congo Shield; however, its tectonothermal evolution is still poorly understood. To better constrain the timing and deformation style of the outcropping rocks in this region, we integrated (i) 1:250,000-scale lithostratigraphic and structural geological mapping, (ii) SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of metamorphic rocks, and (iii) 40Ar/39Ar muscovite cooling ages. The study area comprises the Epupa Complex of ortho- and paragneisses, overlain by the Namibe Group, which is composed of supracrustal metasediments. The sharp lithological contrast, absence of orthogneisses, and the preservation of basal marbles suggest that the protoliths of the Namibe Group were unconformably deposited on the Epupa Complex. Both units experienced polyphase ductile deformation during the Eburnean event. Two penetrative deformation phases (D1 and D2) are overprinted by two later, less pervasive phases (D3 and D4). A subhorizontal D2 shear zone links sinistral transpression in the upper crust with lateral flow in a partially molten lower crust. Peak metamorphic conditions led to widespread anatexis. SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages from migmatitic leucosomes, granitic–tonalitic orthogneisses, and detrital to metamorphic zircons cluster tightly between 1.82 and 1.80 Ga, while 40Ar/39Ar muscovite ages indicate cooling at ∼1.80 Ga. This implies that the thermal peak, melt segregation, granite emplacement, and cooling occurred within ≤10 Ma. The near-synchronicity of high-grade metamorphism and magmatism, together with the crustal-scale D2 shear architecture, supports a model of hot, thickened crust undergoing vertical strain transfer during late Eburnean sinistral transpression. This study provides the first precise 1.82–1.80 Ga age bracket for the late Eburnean event in southwestern Angola, highlighting a well-preserved subhorizontal attachment zone that couples upper crustal shear with deep crustal flow.Peer reviewe
Advancing vegetable genetics with gene editing: a pathway to food security and nutritional resilience in climate-shifted environments
No full textAs global populations grow and climate change increasingly disrupts agricultural systems, ensuring food security and nutritional resilience has become a critical challenge. In addition to grains and legumes, vegetables are very important for both human and animals because they contain vitamins, minerals, and fibre. Enhancing the ability of vegetables to withstand climate change threats is essential; however, traditional breeding methods face challenges due to the complexity of the genomic clonal multiplication process. In the postgenomic era, gene editing (GE) has emerged as a powerful tool for improving vegetables. GE can help to increase traits such as abiotic stress tolerance, herbicide tolerance, and disease resistance; improve agricultural productivity; and improve nutritional content and shelf-life by fine-tuning key genes. GE technologies such as Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR-Cas9) have revolutionized vegetable breeding by enabling specific gene modifications in the genome. This review highlights recent advances in CRISPR-mediated editing across various vegetable species, highlighting successful modifications that increase their resilience to climatic stressors. Additionally, it explores the potential of GE to address malnutrition by increasing the nutrient content of vegetable crops, thereby contributing to public health and food system sustainability. Additionally, it addresses the implementation of GE-guided breeding strategies in agriculture, considering regulatory, ethical, and public acceptance issues. Enhancing vegetable genetics via GE may provide a reliable and nutritious food supply for an expanding global population under more unpredictable environmental circumstances.Not applicable.Peer reviewe
Genebank Peer Reviews: A powerful tool to improve genebank quality and promote collaboration
No full textThe conservation of plant genetic resources (PGR) is critical to ensuring global food security and agricultural sustainability. Genebanks play a vital role in ex situ conservation, complementing in situ strategies by preserving crop diversity (incl. their wild relatives) and providing access to biological materials for research, breeding and farming. However, maintaining high conservation standards and ensuring accessibility remains a global challenge. To address this, the ‘Genebank Peer Review’ system was developed as a collaborative quality assessment and improvement mechanism. This system facilitates reciprocal evaluations among genebanks, promoting transparency, capacity building and continuous improvement in conservation practices. Implemented in Europe since 2019, the peer review process involves structured self-assessments, site visits and expert evaluations, culminating in publicly available reports that guide genebanks in enhancing their operations. Feedback from participating institutions highlights the system's effectiveness in fostering knowledge exchange, strengthening professional networks and improving genebank management practices. Despite its success, challenges remain, particularly regarding expert availability and resource constraints. Future efforts should focus on institutionalizing mentorship programmes to sustain and expand the impact of Genebank Peer Reviews and monitor improvements.The author(s) declare financial support was received
for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article. This work was supported by two projects that
received funding from the European Union’s Horizon
2020 research and innovation programme: the GenRes
Bridge project under grant agreement No. 817580 and
the AGENT project under grant agreement No. 862613.Peer reviewe
Protist genomics: key to understanding eukaryotic evolution
No full text15 p.-4 box.-3 fig.All eukaryotes other than animals, plants, and fungi are protists. Protists are highly diverse and found in nearly all environments, with key roles in planetary health and biogeochemical cycles. They represent the majority of eukaryotic diversity, making them essential for understanding eukaryotic evolution. However, these mainly unicellular, microscopic organisms are understudied and the generation of protist genomes lags far behind most multicellular lineages. Current genomic methods, which are primarily designed for animals and plants, are poorly suited for protists. Advancing protist genome research requires reevaluating plant- and animal-centric genomic standards. Future efforts must leverage emerging technologies and bioinformatics tools, ultimately enhancing our understanding of eukaryotic molecular and cell biology, ecology, and evolution.This work contributes to the Institut de Ciències del Mar "Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence" accreditation CEX2024-001494-S funded by AEI 10.13039/501100011033 of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.Peer reviewe
Advancing Human Health Through the Lens of Gene Expression
No full textIn an era of rapid scientific and technological progress, the intersection of biology, medicine, and technology has become more pivotal than ever. Central to this convergence is the study of gene expression—a field that deciphers how genetic information is transcribed, translated, and regulated within living organisms. Gene Expression, an open-access journal with a rich history and an evolving mission, serves as a vital platform for disseminating groundbreaking research that bridges fundamental biology and translational medicine. Since its inception in 1991, the journal has upheld a steadfast commitment to fostering innovation, rigor, and collaboration in areas that directly impact human health.None.Peer reviewe
Lognormal MAD of regional migration treatment [Dataset]
No full textIn Fig 2d the MAD of each treatment were separately rescaled to facilitate comparison, meaning that a single lognormal was fit. The lognormal parameters ( and s) slightly vary from treatment-to-treatment, so lognormal fits were examined for separate treatments. Here we present the MAD with fitted lognormal for the regional migration treatment at transfer 12, the treatment with the highest number of ASVs. We see that the empirical MAD is non-linear on a log-log scale, suggesting that a power law would not serve as an appropriate descriptor.Peer reviewe
Reprogramming of liver metabolism during West Nile virus infection unveils novel aspects of disease pathophysiology
No full text[Data availability]
The RNA-seq datasets generated during the current study have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus with the primary accesion code GSE242981.[Background]
West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic mosquito-borne flavivirus responsible for outbreaks of encephalitis and meningitis worldwide. About 20% of infected patients exhibit abnormal liver function tests, although the participation of this organ in the pathophysiology of the disease remains unclear. To fill this gap, this study explores changes in liver metabolism during WNV infection.[Methods]
Given the relevance of the liver as a major immune and metabolic organ, the changes in response to WNV infection were analyzed in the mouse model combining transcriptomics, lipidomics and histopathological analyses.[Results]
Despite the absence of detectable viral replication in the liver, infection resulted in hepatic transcriptomic reprogramming that affected inflammation, immunity, biological oxidation and lipid metabolisms. Changes in the expression of genes related to glutathione metabolism, detoxification reactions, fatty acid metabolism (fatty acid oxidation and fatty acyl-CoA biosynthesis), phospholipid synthesis (phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine), sphingolipid synthesis, sterol metabolism and lipid droplet organization were identified. The reduction in glutathione in the liver of infected animals was confirmed and lipidomic analyses showed an increase in the content of sphingolipids, triacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters. A decrease in the cholesterol, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine levels was also observed. Moreover, histopathological findings supported the development of steatosis in one-third of WNV-infected animals.[Conclusions]
The discovery of these underestimated metabolic aspects of the infection repurposes the impact of WNV on liver function. These results will contribute to a better understanding of the physiopathology of the disease and warrant special attention to liver function during WNV infection.This study was supported by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 and FEDER, EU under grants PID2019-105117RR-C21 (to MAMA), PID2022-137372OR-C21 (to MAMA), PID2020-119195RJ-I00 (to NJO), Community of Madrid under grant TEC-2024/BIO-66/SALAINDEC-CM (to MAMA) and by the European Commission– NextGenerationEU through CSIC's Global Health Platform (PTI Salud Global). PMC was supported by a FPI fellowship from AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 under grant PRE2020-093374. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.Peer reviewe
Presence in descendant as function of progenitor abundance [Dataset]
No full texta) An ASV is more likely to be present in the descendant communities if it has a higher relative abundance in the progenitor. b) This result implies that probability that an ASV has a non-zero carrying capacity is a function of its progenitor abundance, a relationship that can be modeled as a logistic regression.Peer reviewe
Origin of intrinsically low thermal conductivity in a garnet-type solid electrolyte: Linking lattice and ionic dynamics with thermal transport
No full textUnderstanding thermal transport in solid electrolytes is essential for improving the performance, reliability, and safety of all-solid-state batteries. Garnet-type lithium-ion conductors are promising candidates for solid electrolytes, yet their thermal-transport mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we connect the lattice and ion dynamics of single-crystal garnet-type Li6.5La3Zr1.5Ta0.5O12 to its intrinsically low thermal conductivity. Our study reveals that the single crystals grown by the floating-zone method exhibit remarkably low glasslike thermal conductivity. Using first-principles calculations and inelastic-neutron-scattering measurements, we identify both the acoustic and numerous optical phonon modes, which stem from the complex crystal structure of the material. Notably, a low-energy optical branch exhibits an avoided crossing with acoustic phonons near 7 meV. These optical modes can enhance the scattering of heat-carrying acoustic phonons and reduce thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the calculated Grüneisen parameters are large, especially for the vibrational modes around 6 meV, indicating strong anharmonicity, with a noticeable contribution from lithium-ion vibrations. A two-channel thermal-transport model is employed to describe the weak temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity, which can be attributed to the substantial contribution of diffuson transport facilitated by the abundance of optical phonons and intrinsic anharmonicity. These results offer valuable insights into the thermal transport in a broad class of ionic conductors of interest for energy conversion and storage applications.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 2144328 and No. 1750786. X.C. and Y.W. acknowledge support from the Opportunity to Advance Sustainability Innovation and Social Inclusion (OASIS) internal funding award from the University of California, Riverside. Y.S., Q.C., and C.L. are supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award Number DE-SC0023874. This study was also supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN) with funding from the European Union NextGenerationEU (PRTR-C17.I1), promoted by the Government of Aragon. J.C. acknowledges funding from Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (MICIU)–State Research Agency (AEI) (DOI:10.13039/501100011033) through Grant No. CEX2023-001286-S. This research used resources at the High Flux Isotope Reactor and Spallation Neutron Source, a Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The beam time was allocated to TAX on Proposal No. IPTS-28205.1 and to ARCS on Proposal No. IPTS-30640.1. Research conducted at ORNL’s HFIR and SNS was sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy.With funding from the Spanish government through the "Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence" accreditation (CEX2023-001286-S).Peer reviewe