Variability in the way organisms reproduce raises numerous, and still unsolved, questions in evolutionary biology. In this study, we emphasize that fungi deserve a much greater emphasis in efforts to ...address these questions because of their multiple advantages as model eukaryotes. A tremendous diversity of reproductive modes and mating systems can be found in fungi, with many evolutionary transitions among closely related species. In addition, fungi show some peculiarities in their mating systems that have received little attention so far, despite the potential for providing insights into important evolutionary questions. In particular, selfing can occur at the haploid stage in addition to the diploid stage in many fungi, which is generally not possible in animals and plants but has a dramatic influence upon the structure of genetic systems. Fungi also present several advantages that make them tractable models for studies in experimental evolution. Here, we briefly review the unsolved questions and extant hypotheses about the evolution and maintenance of asexual vs. sexual reproduction and of selfing vs. outcrossing, focusing on fungal life cycles. We then propose how fungi can be used to address these long‐standing questions and advance our understanding of sexual reproduction and mating systems across all eukaryotes.
Tomato plants expressing the NahG transgene, which prevents accumulation of endogenous salicylic acid (SA), were used to study the importance of the SA signalling pathway in basal defence against ...Citrus Exocortis Viroid (CEVd) or Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV). The lack of SA accumulation in the CEVd- or TSWV-infected NahG tomato plants led to an early and dramatic disease phenotype, as compared to that observed in the corresponding parental Money Maker. Addition of acibenzolar-S-methyl, a benzothiadiazole (BTH), which activates the systemic acquired resistance pathway downstream of SA signalling, improves resistance of NahG tomato plants to CEVd and TSWV. CEVd and TSWV inoculation induced the accumulation of the hydroxycinnamic amides p-coumaroyltyramine, feruloyltyramine, caffeoylputrescine, and feruloylputrescine, and the defence related proteins PR1 and P23 in NahG plants earlier and with more intensity than in Money Maker plants, indicating that SA is not essential for the induction of these plant defence metabolites and proteins. In addition, NahG plants produced very high levels of ethylene upon CEVd or TSWV infection when compared with infected Money Maker plants, indicating that the absence of SA produced additional effects on other metabolic pathways. This is the first report to show that SA is an important component of basal resistance of tomato plants to both CEVd and TSWV, indicating that SA-dependent defence mechanisms play a key role in limiting the severity of symptoms in CEVd- and TSWV-infected NahG tomato plants.
The construction industry generates a considerable amount of waste. Faced with this undesirable situation, the ready-mix concrete sector, in particular, has invested energy and resources into reusing ...its own waste in its production process as it works towards the goal of more sustainable construction. This study examines the feasibility of incorporating two types of concrete waste, which currently end up in landfill, into the production process of ready-mix concrete: the waste generated during the initial production stage (ready-mix concrete waste), and waste created when demolition waste is treated to obtain artificial aggregate. The first phase of the study's methodology corroborates the suitability of the recycled aggregate through characterization tests. After this phase, the impact of incorporating different percentages of recycled coarse aggregate is evaluated by examining the performance of the produced concrete. The replacement rate varied between 15% and 50%. The results indicate that recycled aggregates are, indeed, suitable to be incorporated into ready-mix concrete production. The impact on the final product's performance is different for the two cases examined herein. Incorporating aggregates from generic concrete blocks led to a 20% decrease in the produced concrete's strength performance. On the other hand, using recycled aggregates made from the demolition waste led to a smaller decrease in the concrete's performance: about 8%. The results indicate that with adequate management and prior treatment, the waste from these plants can be re-incorporated into their production processes. If concrete waste is re-used, concrete production, in general, becomes more sustainable for two reasons: less waste ends up as landfill and the consumption of natural aggregates is also reduced.
We report the detection of the 1.3 mm continuum and the molecular emission of the disks of the young triple system SR24 by analyzing ALMA (The Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimter Array) ...subarcsecond archival observations. We estimate the mass of the disks (0.025 M☉ and 4 × 10−5 M⊕ for SR24S and SR24N, respectively) and the dynamical mass of the protostars (1.5 M☉ and 1.1 M☉). A kinematic model of the SR24S disk to fit its C18O (2-1) emission allows us to develop an observational method to determine the tilt of a rotating and accreting disk. We derive the size, inclination, position angle, and sense of rotation of each disk, finding that they are strongly misaligned ( ) and possibly rotate in opposite directions as seen from Earth, in projection. We compare the ALMA observations with 12CO SMA archival observations, which are more sensitive to extended structures. We find three extended structures and estimate their masses: a molecular bridge joining the disks of the system, a molecular gas reservoir associated with SR24N, and a gas streamer associated with SR24S. Finally, we discuss the possible origin of the misaligned SR24 system, concluding that a closer inspection of the northern gas reservoir is needed to better understand it.
Bone Development and Growth López, José M
International journal of molecular sciences,
06/2024, Volume:
25, Issue:
12
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Our skeleton is an essential part of our body consisting of 206 pieces made of a specialized form of connective tissue, with a matrix containing collagen fibers and a large amount of minerals ...
A
bstract
The stringent experimental bound on
μ →
e
γ
is compatible with a simultaneous and sizable new physics contribution to the electron and muon anomalous magnetic moments (
g −
2)
ℓ
(ℓ = e
, μ
...), only if we assume a non-trivial flavor structure of the dipole operator coefficients. We propose a mechanism in which the realization of the (
g −
2)
ℓ
correction is manifestly related to the mass generation through a flavor symmetry. A radiative flavon correction to the fermion mass gives a contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment. In this framework, we introduce a chiral enhancement from a non-trivial
O
(1) quartic coupling of the scalar potential. We show that the muon and electron anomalies can be simultaneously explained in a vast region of the parameter space with predicted vector-like mediators of masses as large as
Mχ
∈ 0
.
6
,
2
.
5 TeV.
Like China, Mexico has a traditional system of medicine dating back almost 5000 years that incorporates the healing practices of pre-Columbian civilizations, including the Maya and Aztec. Mexican ...Traditional Medicine (MTM) women depend on MTM practices and herbal medicines for their primary healthcare needs as limited access and high costs of Western medicine is a significant problem. The aims of this work were to determine the medicinal plants more commonly used in MTM for women's reproductive health issues and assess the clinical data supporting their use. Data from multiple sources was compiled and information on plants commonly used by women in Mexico MTM for the treatment of fertility and menstruation issues, pregnancy, and menopause was analyzed. Analysis of the data show that 185 species of plants representing > 60 families were used for a wide range of reproductive health issues. Some of these plants have been used in MTM for fertility regulation in women of which 35 species were used as emmenagogues and abortifacients. Approximate 40 species were used for the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, heavy menstrual bleeding, and dysmenorrhea. In terms of pregnancy, 35 species were used for postpartum care and to facilitate breastfeeding, 16 species were used as oxytocic agents to induce labor and speed birth, and six plant species were used to prevent miscarriage. Fourteen plant species were reported to treat infertility or promote fertility, and seven species were used to treat uterine prolapse. Three plants species were reported to treat menopause and two plants were used for osteoporosis. Analysis of the clinical data for commonly used medicinal plants showed some clinical support for the use of these plants in MTM. In Mexico, women use medicinal plants for almost every aspect of reproductive health. While some plants have clinical data, most medicinal plants used in MTM have no safety or efficacy data available and could serve as the basis of future investigations.
Two‐dimensional (2D) layered antimony (Sb) and antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) are two valuable materials for optoelectronic devices and thermoelectric applications. Preparing high‐quality sheets of ...these materials is the initial phase to promote their expected issues. Herein, micrometer‐sized few‐to‐multilayered sheets of Sb and Sb2Te3 have been obtained by electrochemical exfoliation. The layered rhombohedral Sb was exfoliated in Na2SO4 and Li2SO4 electrolytes by anodic–cationic intercalation, and Sb2Te3 was exfoliated in Na2SO4. These findings are important contributions for the solution‐based room‐temperature electrochemical exfoliation, which is stable under glove‐box‐free conditions, to further improve the production of high‐quality exfoliated sheets.
2D Sb and Sb2Te3 sheets: Few‐ to‐multilayered sheets (micrometer size) of 2D layered Sb and Sb2Te3 have been obtained by electrochemical exfoliation. The 2D layered rhombohedral Sb was exfoliated in Na2SO4 and Li2SO4 electrolytes by anodic–cationic intercalation, whereas Sb2Te3 in Na2SO4 but changing the voltage polarity. These procedures have the advantage to be solution‐based room‐temperature electrochemical exfoliations stable under glove‐box‐free conditions.
Sub-nanometer metal clusters have special physical and chemical properties, significantly different from those of nanoparticles. However, there is a major concern about their thermal stability and ...susceptibility to oxidation. In situ X-ray Absorption spectroscopy and Near Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy results reveal that supported Cu
clusters are resistant to irreversible oxidation at least up to 773 K, even in the presence of 0.15 mbar of oxygen. These experimental findings can be formally described by a theoretical model which combines dispersion-corrected DFT and first principles thermochemistry revealing that most of the adsorbed O
molecules are transformed into superoxo and peroxo species by an interplay of collective charge transfer within the network of Cu atoms and large amplitude "breathing" motions. A chemical phase diagram for Cu oxidation states of the Cu
-oxygen system is presented, clearly different from the already known bulk and nano-structured chemistry of Cu.
Aquaculture is threatened by severe bacterial and viral outbreaks which can cause massive mortality and limit productivity. Antimicrobial peptides are a promising tool for the control of infectious ...diseases; however, their use in the aquaculture sector has been poorly explored. Recombinant production of peptides is an interesting alternative to their chemical synthesis, which has still important challenges to address. Although extra amino acid tags are usually added to the ends of recombinant proteins to enhance their stability and facilitate their purification or their translational processing, the effect of these tags on the function and the stability of antimicrobial peptides is completely unknown. This is particularly important in the case of the short cationic antimicrobial peptide caerin, originally isolated from frog skin secretions, and other peptides which bioactivity has been directly related with its ability to adopt an amphipathic alpha-helical structure upon interaction with the microbial membranes. Caerin has demonstrated bactericidal activity against several important human pathogens, however its antimicrobial activity over usual aquaculture pathogens remains practically unexplored. In the present work, we have studied the effect of adding the terminal tag polyhistidine (6xHis) and the 2A peptide from the foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV-2A) to the N- or the C- terminus of caerin on its activity against a collection of bacterial and viral pathogens common to aquaculture species. In addition, the antimicrobial activity of a peptide composed of two tandem consecutive caerin sequences has been investigated. We have concluded that the addition of terminal tags to caerin causes a drastic reduction of its antiviral activity against the studied viruses and that the effect of the added tags on the bactericidal activity of the peptide depends of the target bacterial species. However, caerin with a 6xHis extension at its N terminus maintains or increases its antimicrobial activity against most of the fish pathogenic bacteria tested. According to our data, there is only a moderate agreement between the theoretical predictions obtained from in silico models and the experimental observations. This information is essential for the rational design of strategies to aim the recombinant production of caerin and other antimicrobial peptides, which can be used as anti-infective agents in aquaculture.
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•Important bacterial and viral fish pathogens are strongly inhibited by caerin•The addition of ending tags to caerin alters its structure and antimicrobial activity•An N-added 6His tag increases the activity of caerin against certain bacteria
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