Hepcidin is a cysteine-rich peptide involved in iron metabolism, inflammatory response and as antimicrobial peptide. Despite the fact that hepcidins have been identified in several fish species, only ...few have been completely characterized. This study, described the identification and complete molecular characterization of the hepcidin antimicrobial peptide 1 (HAMP1) gene of
Alphestes immaculatus. Moreover, its specific expression level at both basal and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced conditions in different tissues was also determined by real-time PCR. Results showed that the HAMP1gene consists of three exons and two introns encoding a preprohepcidin composed of 90 aa (24 aa for signal peptide, 40 aa for prodomain and 26 aa for mature peptide). The promoter region analysis revealed a TATA box sequence and several putative transcription factor binding sites. A comparative analysis showed CEBPα, CEBPβ, NF-kB, HNF3, GATA-1 and c-Rel as the most common found in fishes. The mature peptide possesses a pI of 8.34, which is the average among fish hepcidin. In addition, the structural modeling showed a hairpin structure with four putative disulfide bonds. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that this hepcidin gene is a HAMP1 class, and is clustered into the same group with the Serranid fish
Epinephelus moara and the Antarctic fish
Lycodichthys dearborni. Finally, the relative expression levels showed high basal values in liver and muscle, whereas in LPS-induced fish the relative expression tendency changed, with the highest values in spleen and head kidney tissues. This study describes the completely characterized HAMP1 gene of
A. immaculatus and their patterns of expression level at different conditions and in different tissues, showing by first time muscle hepcidin expression could be relevant in the immune response in fish.
► Complete characterization of hamp1 gene in
A. immaculatus. ► Common transcription factors in fish hepcidin are CEBPβ, CEBPα, GATA, HNF3, NF-κB and c-Rel. ► Predicted structure is very similar to the striped bass structure. ► Muscle showed an unusual high basal hepcidin expression. ► Head kidney and spleen up-regulated hepcidin expression with LPS exposure.
Colletotrichum species are the most important postharvest spoilage fungi of papaya fruit. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of temperature and relative humidity on growth rate ...and time for growth to become visible of five strains of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolated from papaya fruit in a complex medium. As a primary model, the radial growth rates were estimated using the Baranyi and Roberts model in papaya agar. The Solver MS Excel function was used to obtain the time to visible mycelium (tv). Secondary models obtained with the Rosso et al. cardinal model of inflection were applied to describe the effect of temperature on the growth rate (μ). The Arrhenius-Davey model was used to model tv. The obtained models seem to be satisfactory for describing both μ and tv. The relative humidity had an effect on μ and tv for all tested C. gloeosporioides isolates, but no model accurately described the behavior of the fungus. External validation of models was performed with papaya fruit. Growth models were developed with the same models used in vitro. The bias and the accuracy factors as indices for performance evaluation of predictive models in food microbiology as a function of temperature and RH were 1.22 and 1.33, respectively, for μ and 1.18 and 1.62, respectively, for tv, indicating accurate predictions. The supply chain of papaya is complex and requires constant conditions, and poor conditions can result in damage to the fruit. Knowledge of the behavior of C. gloeosporioides on papaya fruit and application of the developed models in the supply chain will help to establish transport control strategies to combat these fungi. This research has contributed to development of the first models of growth for C. gloeosporioides in Mexico.
The effect of dietary β-1.3-glucan, vitamin E, and β-carotene supplements in juvenile brown shrimp, Farfantepenaeus californiensis, inoculated with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) was evaluated. ...Groups of 30 organisms (weighing 1 ± 0.5 g) were cultured in 60 L fiberglass tanks and fed daily with β-1.3- glucan (0.1%), vitamin E (0.01%), and β-carotene (0.01%) for 23 days; the specimens were then inoculated with WSSV. The antioxidant activity of the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were determined in the hepatopancreas and muscle at 0, 1, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after inoculation. Shrimp fed with β1.3-glucan, vitamin E, and β-carotene significantly increased SOD activity in the hepatopancreas and muscle at 12 and 24 h post-infection, respectively. Shrimp fed with vitamin E and β-1.3-glucan registered an increment in SOD activity from 12 to 48 h post-infection. Shrimp fed with β-carotene increased SOD activity before infection with WSSV, and shrimp fed with β-1.3-glucan and vitamin E increased CAT activity, also before infection. The CAT activity response in shrimp muscle increased with respect to the control group for all treatments tested from 1 to 6 h after inoculation with WSSV. The highest antioxidant response was registered in shrimp fed with vitamin E. Juvenile shrimp fed with vitamin E and later inoculated with WSSV registered 100% mortality at 72 h, but shrimp fed with β-1.3-glucan and β-carotene showed greater resistance to WSSV, with mortality at 144 h post-infection. This study demonstrated the capacity of juvenile Farfantepenaeus californiensis fed β-1.3-glucan, vitamin E, or β-carotene to increase the antioxidant response before and after viral infection.
To explore the potential of two kelps as natural sources of bioactive compounds, this study evaluated total phenolic content, antioxidant properties, anti-inflammatory, and cell viability activities ...of polyphenol-enriched fractions from
Eisenia arborea
and
Macrocystis pyrifera
. Overall, the fractions from
E. arborea
had higher antioxidant properties than
M. pyrifera
. However, two fractions from
E. arborea
and
M. pyrifera
showed the strongest antioxidant activities among 12 fractions tested by polyphenol content, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH), and Ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Several fractions upregulated IL-10 gene expression and downregulated TNF-α and iNOS mRNA in RAW 264.7 cells. Remarkably, most of the fractions at the highest concentration (1280 μg mL
−1
) showed non-toxic effect on L9S29 cell line. Analysis of fractions by Fourier transformed infrared from attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS) suggested the presence of phlorotannins, such as phloroeckol, fucophloroethol, and phlorofucofuroeckol. In conclusion, the polyphenol content (phlorotannins) varied among fractions of macroalgal species and influencing their biological properties, which represent natural sources for health promotion.
Phenoloxidase (PO) activity was studied in larval and juvenile homogenates and in the plasma and haemocytes of adult
Crassostrea gigas,
Argopecten ventricosus,
Nodipecten subnodosus, and
Atrina ...maura. Samples were tested for the presence of PO activity by incubation with the substrate
l-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine using trypsin, α-chymotrypsin, laminarin, lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) to elicit activation of prophenoloxidase (proPO) system. PO activity was not detected in larval homogenate. In juvenile homogenate, PO activity was found only in
C. gigas and
N. subnodosus. PO activity was present in adult samples and was enhanced by elicitors in the plasma of all species tested, but in haemocyte lysate supernatant (HLS) of only
N. subnodosus. Activation of proPO by laminarin was suppressed by a protease inhibitor cocktail (P-2714) in plasma and HLS of all species tested.
RESUMENObjetivo. Determinar la respuesta antioxidante actividad de superóxido dismutasa (SOD) y catalasa (CAT) así como la cuenta total de hemocitos (CTH) y el contenido de proteínas (CP) en ...camarones (Litopenaeus vannamei) expuestos a diferentes dosis y cepas de la levadura Debaryomyces hansenii (DH5, DH6, LL1), y un inmunoestimulante comercial (LAM). Materiales y métodos. Las levaduras fueron cultivadas y suministradas diariamente en concentraciones diferentes (104 – 106 UFC/mL) directamente a los tanques de cultivo de los camarones (8 ± 0.2 g) mientras que LAM fue aplicado una vez a la semana (0.5 mg/L). Los organismos fueron mantenidos bajo condiciones de laboratorio (28°C, 35%, 80% de recambio diario de agua, dieta comercial para camarón ad libitum). Los tratamientos fueron distribuidos por duplicado y los resultados evaluados a los 15 días con un análisis de varianza y una prueba de Tukey. Resultados. Se registró un CTH significativo (p<0.05) en los tratamientos con DH6 y LL1 (106 UFC/mL) comparada con el control, mientras que las cepas DH5 y DH6 revelaron un incremento significativo (p<0.05) de CP con la dosis de 104 UFC/mL. Los camarones tratados con LAM incrementaron significativamente (p<0.05) los valores de SOD y CAT. Conclusiones. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que D. hansenii incrementa la respuesta antioxidante y CTH en camarones.
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the etiologic agent of paratuberculosis disease affecting ruminants worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify potential candidate antigens ...and epitopes by bio and immuno-informatic tools which could be later evaluated as vaccines and/or diagnosis. 110 protein sequences were selected from MAP K-10 genome database: 48 classified as putative enzymes involved in surface polysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide synthesis, as membrane associated and secreted proteins, 32 as conserved membrane proteins, and 30 as absent from other mycobacterial genomes. These 110 proteins were preliminary screened for Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class II affinity and promiscuity using ProPred program. In addition, subcellular localization and host protein homology was analyzed. From these analyses, 23 MAP proteins were selected for a more accurate inmunoinformatic analysis (i.e. T cell and B cell epitopes analysis) and for homology with mycobacterial proteins. Finally, eleven MAP proteins were identified as potential candidates for further immunogenic evaluation: six proteins (MAP0228c, MAP1239c, MAP2232, MAP3080, MAP3131 and MAP3890) were identified as presenting potential T cell epitopes, while 5 selected proteins (MAP0232c, MAP1240c, MAP1738, MAP2239 and MAP3641c) harbored a large numbers of epitopes predicted to induce both cell- and antibody-mediated immune responses. Moreover, immunogenicity of selected epitopes from MAP1239c were evaluated in IFN-γ release assay. In summary, eleven M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis proteins were identified by in silico analysis and need to be further evaluated for their immunodiagnostic and vaccine potential in field and mice model.
•New antigens for diagnosis and vaccine development against MAP are needed.•In silico approach on MAP epitope discovery leads eleven protein candidates.•Six potential antigens were identified as presenting predicted T cell epitopes.•Five potential antigens were predicted to induce T and B cell immune responses.•Immunogenicity of potential epitopes induced IFN-γ release in vitro assay.
Seriola rivoliana
cultivated in Mexico are infected by
Neobenedenia
sp. (Monogenea: Capsalidae), resulting in dermal ulceration and subsequent bacterial invasion that can cause fish death. This study ...assesses the effects of temperature over hatching success, oncomiracidia longevity, and infection success. The experimental design consisted of culturing the parasite at temperatures ranging between 16 and 32 °C. The oncomiracidia infection success, time to sexual maturity, and size at sexual maturity of
Neobenedenia
sp. were examined only at three temperatures (20 °C, 24 °C, and 30 °C). Experiments were conducted under controlled conditions in the laboratory. The oncomiracidia development was found to be faster at warmer temperatures (4–5 days between 24 and 30 °C) than in colder treatments (7–11 days between 18 and 20 °C). Hatching success and oncomiracidia longevity were higher at 24 °C and 26 °C. At 20 °C, 24 °C, and 30 °C, infection success was greater than 90%. Additionally, the laid eggs were observed at 9, 12, and 15 days at 30 °C, 24 °C, and 30 °C, respectively. The results of this study will allow for improving the temporal schedule of applications of treatments against
Neobenedenia
sp. by the function of temperatures. In conclusion, it is recommended to treat fish more frequently if the temperature in cultures is higher than 24 °C, because
Neobenedenia
sp. development is faster. As an alternative, the fish could be moved to deeper and cooler waters.
Veracruz. Los principales estados productores de limón persa son Veracruz, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Yucatán y Puebla. En el estado de Veracruz los municipios productores que destacan son Martínez de la ...Torre, Atzalán, San Rafael, Tlapacoyan, Papantla y Misantla. El objetivo del trabajo fue analizar los costos y la rentabilidad de la producción del limón persa en el municipio de Tlapacoyan, Veracruz. Se calcularon los costos y los indicadores de rentabilidad y de competitividad de la producción. La superficie sembrada y el volumen de la producción se han venido incrementando en la última década a nivel nacional, estatal y municipal. Los costos de producción obtenidos por hectárea de limón persa se encuentran en promedio en alrededor de 18,000 pesos. Los mayores gastos de producción se ubican en la aplicación de fertilizantes granulados, labores culturales y mano de obra por cosecha. El limón persa es un cultivo intensivo en mano de obra, los gastos en este rubro representan más del cincuenta por ciento del costo total de producción. Los indicadores de rentabilidad precio-costo y tasa de ganancia se encuentran por arriba de los valores críticos de rentabilidad. Los resultados demuestran que el cultivo de limón persa en el municipio de Tlapacoyan, Veracruz, es competitivo.
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