Infection patterns of Paradollfusnema amphisbaenia (Nematoda: Cosmocercidae) in a population of Amphisbaena wuchereri (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) from Minas Gerais state, south-eastern Brazil, and its relations with host size, sex and fat body mass

Specimens (n= 41) of the amphisbaenid Amphisbaena wuchereri taken from a population in Minas Gerais state, south-eastern Brazil, were examined for gastrointestinal parasites. A single nematode species was found, Paradollfusnema amphisbaenia. This was a new host record for this nematode species. This parasite was encountered in the large intestine (prevalence of 100%), in the stomach (prevalence of 2%) and in the small intestine (prevalence of 7.3%). The intensity of infection ranged from 1 to 457 individual parasites per host and was positively correlated with body size of both male and female amphisbaenians. The discrepancy index (D) indicated that P. amphisbaenia tended to an even distribution in this host population. The nematode, which did not affect fat body mass, induced inflammatory infiltrations in the small intestine, indicating that the parasites might injure the host's organs. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012.

ALBA-TCP: uma cultura de integração regional alternativa para a América Latina?

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Análise de crescimento e trocas gasosas de erva-cidreira (Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. ex Britt & Wilson) cultivada em solução nutritiva

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Produção e valor nutricional de híbridos de amoreira (Morus alba L.) colhidos em diferentes idades de crescimento

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Épocas de plantio, idades e horários de colheita na produção e qualidade do óleo essencial de Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E. Br., quimiotipo limoneno-carvona

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Produção de folhas, óleo essencial e anatomia foliar quantitativa de Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. (Verbenaceae) em diferentes níveis de sombreamento e épocas de colheita

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Horticultura) - FCA

Avaliação nutricional do feno das folhas da amoreira (Morus alba L.) em frangos de corte

The trial was carried to evaluate the nutritional effects of mulberry leaf hay in broiler chickens. Five treatments were used: control (no mulberry, 3.16% CF); 15% mulberry (4.14% CF); 30% mulberry (5.09% CF), no mulberry (4.14% CF); no mulberry (5.09% CF). A randomized blocks design was used, with two blocks and three replications into the blocks to evaluate performance index, histopathological examination of the visceral organs and morphometric measurements of the hepatocyte nucleus and pancreatic acini. A poor performance index was observed for broilers feeding on mulberry leaves; lesions such as steatosis, proliferation of hepatic duct cells and multiple necrosis were found in the livers of the chickens fed with 30% mulberry (5.09% CF), as well as size reduction of the hepatocyte nucleus and pancreatic acini. From these data, it is concluded that mulberry probably has some toxic substance which can interfere in the improvement of diet ingredients, resulting in damage to broiler chickens.

Pinguicula filifolia subsp alba (Lentibulariaceae), a new subspecies with an extremely restricted distribution in Pinar del Rio, Cuba

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Os projetos políticos de Brasil e Venezuela para a América do Sul do século XXI: a UNASUL e a ALBA em uma perspectiva comparada

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES)

Experimental and field record of preferred temperature in the neotropical amphisbaenid Amphisbaena mertensi stauch (reptilia, amphisbaenidae)

1. 1. Temperature preference in experimental thermal gradient in the laboratory was determined and field preferred temperature was recorded, for Amphisbaena mertensi. 2. 2. Mean preferred temperature in 52 experiments averaged 21.4°C which was close to those recorded in 16 specimens measured in the field (21.1°C). 3. 3. Selected temperature varied from 12 to 27°C in the laboratory, and data taken in the field ranged from 18 to 26°C. © 1984.

Mating system parameters at hierarchical levels of fruits, individuals and populations in the Brazilian insect-pollinated tropical tree, Tabebuia roseo-alba (Bignoniaceae)

For many tree species, mating system analyses have indicated potential variations in the selfing rate and paternity correlation among fruits within individuals, among individuals within populations, among populations, and from one flowering event to another. In this study, we used eight microsatellite markers to investigate mating systems at two hierarchical levels (fruits within individuals and individuals within populations) for the insect pollinated Neotropical tree Tabebuia roseo-alba. We found that T. roseo-alba has a mixed mating system with predominantly outcrossed mating. The outcrossing rates at the population level were similar across two T. roseo-alba populations; however, the rates varied considerably among individuals within populations. The correlated paternity results at different hierarchical levels showed that there is a high probability of shared paternal parentage when comparing seeds within fruits and among fruits within plants and full-sibs occur in much higher proportion within fruits than among fruits. Significant levels of fixation index were found in both populations and biparental inbreeding is believed to be the main cause of the observed inbreeding. The number of pollen donors contributing to mating was low. Furthermore, open-pollinated seeds varied according to relatedness, including half-sibs, full-sibs, self-sibs and self- half-sibs. In both populations, the effective population size within a family (seed-tree and its offspring) was lower than expected for panmictic populations. Thus, seeds for ex situ conservation genetics, progeny tests and reforestation must be collected from a large number of seed-trees to guarantee an adequate effective population in the sample.

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF EIGHT NOVEL POLYMORPHIC MICROSATELLITE LOCI IN LIPPIA ALBA (VERBENACEAE)

Premise of the study: A set of eight microsatellite (simple sequence repeat [SSR]) markers for Lippia alba, an important medicinal and cosmetic plant, was developed to aid studies of genetic diversity and to define efficient strategies for breeding programs. Methods and Results: Using a (CT)(8)- and (GT)(8)-enriched library, a total of 11 SSR loci were developed and optimized in L. alba. Of the 11 loci, eight were found to be polymorphic after screening 61 accessions from two populations. The parameters used to characterize loci were expected heterozygosity (H-e) and number of alleles. A total of 44 alleles were identified, with an average of 5.5 alleles per loci, which were moderately to highly informative according to H-e. Conclusions: These new SSR markers have potential for informing genetic diversity, allele mining, and mapping studies and will be used to generate information for breeding programs of L. alba

Apple latent infection caused by Neofabraea alba: host-pathogen interaction and disease management

Apple latent infection caused by Neofabraea alba: host-pathogen interaction and disease management Bull’s eye rot (BER) caused by Neofabraea alba is one of the most frequent and damaging latent infection occurring in stored pome fruits worldwide. Fruit infection occurs in the orchard, but disease symptoms appear only 3 months after harvest, during refrigerated storage. In Italy BER is particularly serious for late harvest apple cultivar as ‘Pink Lady™’. The purposes of this thesis were: i) Evaluate the influence of ‘Pink Lady™’ apple primary metabolites in N. alba quiescence ii) Evaluate the influence of pH in five different apple cultivars on BER susceptibility iii) To find out not chemical method to control N. alba infection iv) Identify some fungal volatile compounds in order to use them as N. alba infections markers. Results regarding the role of primary metabolites showed that chlorogenic, quinic and malic acid inhibit N. alba development. The study based on the evaluation of cultivar susceptibility, showed that Granny Smith was the most resistant apple cultivar among the varieties analyzed. Moreover, Granny Smith showed the lowest pH value from harvest until the end of storage, supporting the thesis that ambient pH could be involved in the interaction between N. alba and apple. In order to find out new technologies able to improve lenticel rot management, the application of a non-destructive device for the determination of chlorophyll content was applied. Results showed that fruit with higher chlorophyll content are less susceptible to BER, and molecular analyses comforted this result. Fruits with higher chlorophyll content showed up-regulation of PGIP and HCT, genes involved in plant defence. Through the application of PTR-MS and SPME GC-MS, 25 volatile organic compounds emitted by N. alba were identified. Among them, 16 molecules were identified as potential biomarkers.

Alba-domain proteins of Trypanosoma brucei are cytoplasmic RNA-binding proteins that interact with the translation machinery

Trypanosoma brucei and related pathogens transcribe most genes as polycistronic arrays that are subsequently processed into monocistronic mRNAs. Expression is frequently regulated post-transcriptionally by cis-acting elements in the untranslated regions (UTRs). GPEET and EP procyclins are the major surface proteins of procyclic (insect midgut) forms of T. brucei. Three regulatory elements common to the 3' UTRs of both mRNAs regulate mRNA turnover and translation. The glycerol-responsive element (GRE) is unique to the GPEET 3' UTR and regulates its expression independently from EP. A synthetic RNA encompassing the GRE showed robust sequence-specific interactions with cytoplasmic proteins in electromobility shift assays. This, combined with column chromatography, led to the identification of 3 Alba-domain proteins. RNAi against Alba3 caused a growth phenotype and reduced the levels of Alba1 and Alba2 proteins, indicative of interactions between family members. Tandem-affinity purification and co-immunoprecipitation verified these interactions and also identified Alba4 in sub-stoichiometric amounts. Alba proteins are cytoplasmic and are recruited to starvation granules together with poly(A) RNA. Concomitant depletion of all four Alba proteins by RNAi specifically reduced translation of a reporter transcript flanked by the GPEET 3' UTR. Pulldown of tagged Alba proteins confirmed interactions with poly(A) binding proteins, ribosomal protein P0 and, in the case of Alba3, the cap-binding protein eIF4E4. In addition, Alba2 and Alba3 partially cosediment with polyribosomes in sucrose gradients. Alba-domain proteins seem to have exhibited great functional plasticity in the course of evolution. First identified as DNA-binding proteins in Archaea, then in association with nuclear RNase MRP/P in yeast and mammalian cells, they were recently described as components of a translationally silent complex containing stage-regulated mRNAs in Plasmodium. Our results are also consistent with stage-specific regulation of translation in trypanosomes, but most likely in the context of initiation.