The multifaceted roles of metabolic enzymes in the Paracoccidioides species complex

Paracoccidioides species are dimorphic fungi and are the etiologic agents of paracoccidioidomycosis, which is a serious disease that involves multiple organs. The many tissues colonized by this fungus suggest a variety of surface molecules involved in adhesion. A surprising finding is that most enzymes in the glycolytic pathway, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and glyoxylate cycle in Paracoccidioides spp. have adhesive properties that aid in interacting with the host extracellular matrix and thus act as 'moonlighting'proteins. Moonlighting proteins have multiple functions, which adds a dimension to cellular complexity and benefit cells in several ways. This phenomenon occurs in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. For example, moonlighting proteins from the glycolytic pathway or TCA cycle can play a role in bacterial pathogenesis by either acting as proteins secreted in a conventional pathway and/or as cell surface components that facilitate adhesion or adherence. This review outlines the multifunctionality exhibited by many Paracoccidioides spp. enzymes, including aconitase, aldolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, isocitratelyase, malatesynthase, triose phosphate isomerase, fumarase, and enolase. We discuss the roles that moonlighting activities play in the virulence characteristics of this fungus and several other human pathogens during their interactions with the host.

Deposição e danos mecânicos em sementes de sorgo utilizando um mecanismo dosador de fluxo contínuo em ensaio de bancada

This study aimed to evaluate the behavior of the deposition and mechanical damage in seeds using a continuous flow metering system under different slope and speed. Part of the study was conducted at Agricultural Research Foundation Agricultural - (FAPA), where seeds that are deposited by a metering system were collected, and the quality analysis verifying the percentage of mechanical damage were conducted at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, UNESP, city of Botucatu– SP. The mechanism deposition was subjected to three different speed conditions (4,7, and 10 km.h-1) and three differents working slopes, ( 3%, 8%, and 16%). The results were submitted to Tukey test (p ≤ 0.05), and an analysis of variance with F test at 5% significance level was performed. The results showed an interaction between the factor slope and speed of work, increasing the metering mechanism speed, results in a reduction of the seed deposition at a 3% slope but a working speed of 10 km h-1did not reduce the rate of seed deposition until the slope reaches 16%. Both the slope factor and the working speed caused at least 3.9 and 4.2% more damage to the seeds, respectively.