R+D+I

Concurs d’idees per a l'ordenació dels Sectors Can Banús i Castell de Mogoda

Expressão dos genes nod de Rhizobium tropici, R. etli e R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli e estabelecimento da nodulação do feijoeiro na presença de exsudatos de sementes de Mimosa flocculosa e Leucaena leucocephala

Na etapa inicial da troca de sinais moleculares entre macro e microssimbiontes, a interação do feijoeiro e estirpes de Rhizobium tropici, R. etli e R. leguminosarum bv. phaseoli foi avaliada pela expressão dos genes nod de estirpes bacterianas, contendo a fusão nodA::gusA. Esta avaliação foi efetuada por meio da atividade da enzima ß-glucuronidase, utilizando, como indutores, exsudatos liberados pelas sementes de Mimosa flocculosa e Leucaena leucocephala. Além disso, avaliou-se o efeito da adição desses exsudatos no estabelecimento da nodulação do feijoeiro, cv. Carioca. Nos testes "in vitro", a mistura de exsudatos de sementes de feijoeiro e M. flocculosa promoveu aumentos sinergísticos significativos na expressão dos genes nod, tanto das estirpes de R. tropici (CIAT 899/pGUS 32 e F 98.5/pGUS 32) quanto de R. etli (CFN 42/pGUS 32). Em condições controladas, a adição dos exsudatos, tanto de M. flocculosa quanto de L. leucocephala, proporcionou aumento significativo na nodulação inicial do feijoeiro, quando foi inoculada a estirpe CFN 42 (R. etli). A nodulação do feijoeiro cultivado em vasos com solo não foi inibida pelo suprimento de N-mineral, quando se inoculou a estirpe CIAT 899 (R. tropici) e foram fornecidos exsudatos de sementes de M. flocculosa.

Integration of genome-wide association studies with biological knowledge identifies six novel genes related to kidney function.

In conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS), analytical approaches leveraging biological information may further understanding of the pathophysiology of clinical traits. To discover novel associations with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of kidney function, we developed a strategy for integrating prior biological knowledge into the existing GWAS data for eGFR from the CKDGen Consortium. Our strategy focuses on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in genes that are connected by functional evidence, determined by literature mining and gene ontology (GO) hierarchies, to genes near previously validated eGFR associations. It then requires association thresholds consistent with multiple testing, and finally evaluates novel candidates by independent replication. Among the samples of European ancestry, we identified a genome-wide significant SNP in FBXL20 (P = 5.6 × 10(-9)) in meta-analysis of all available data, and additional SNPs at the INHBC, LRP2, PLEKHA1, SLC3A2 and SLC7A6 genes meeting multiple-testing corrected significance for replication and overall P-values of 4.5 × 10(-4)-2.2 × 10(-7). Neither the novel PLEKHA1 nor FBXL20 associations, both further supported by association with eGFR among African Americans and with transcript abundance, would have been implicated by eGFR candidate gene approaches. LRP2, encoding the megalin receptor, was identified through connection with the previously known eGFR gene DAB2 and extends understanding of the megalin system in kidney function. These findings highlight integration of existing genome-wide association data with independent biological knowledge to uncover novel candidate eGFR associations, including candidates lacking known connections to kidney-specific pathways. The strategy may also be applicable to other clinical phenotypes, although more testing will be needed to assess its potential for discovery in general.

Gene-Age Interactions in Blood Pressure Regulation: A Large-Scale Investigation with the CHARGE, Global BPgen, and ICBP Consortia.

Although age-dependent effects on blood pressure (BP) have been reported, they have not been systematically investigated in large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs). We leveraged the infrastructure of three well-established consortia (CHARGE, GBPgen, and ICBP) and a nonstandard approach (age stratification and metaregression) to conduct a genome-wide search of common variants with age-dependent effects on systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP), mean arterial (MAP), and pulse (PP) pressure. In a two-staged design using 99,241 individuals of European ancestry, we identified 20 genome-wide significant (p ≤ 5 × 10(-8)) loci by using joint tests of the SNP main effect and SNP-age interaction. Nine of the significant loci demonstrated nominal evidence of age-dependent effects on BP by tests of the interactions alone. Index SNPs in the EHBP1L1 (DBP and MAP), CASZ1 (SBP and MAP), and GOSR2 (PP) loci exhibited the largest age interactions, with opposite directions of effect in the young versus the old. The changes in the genetic effects over time were small but nonnegligible (up to 1.58 mm Hg over 60 years). The EHBP1L1 locus was discovered through gene-age interactions only in whites but had DBP main effects replicated (p = 8.3 × 10(-4)) in 8,682 Asians from Singapore, indicating potential interethnic heterogeneity. A secondary analysis revealed 22 loci with evidence of age-specific effects (e.g., only in 20 to 29-year-olds). Age can be used to select samples with larger genetic effect sizes and more homogenous phenotypes, which may increase statistical power. Age-dependent effects identified through novel statistical approaches can provide insight into the biology and temporal regulation underlying BP associations.

Recherches nouvelles sur les "Evangiles latins de l'enfance" de M. R. James et sur un récit apocryphe mal connu de la naissance de Jésus

Les Evangiles latins de l'enfance ont été peu étudiés depuis l'édition de M. R. James en 1927. La prochaine publication dans la Series apocryphorum des Évangiles irlandais de l'enfance jette un éclairage nouveau sur cette compilation latine qui combine le Protévangile de Jacques, l'Évangile du Pseudo-Matthieu et une 3e Source non identifiée racontant la naissance de Jésus. Les récits irlandais du Leabar Breac et du Liber Flavus Fergusiorum permettent de remonter à un état antérieur à la compilation, pas encore influencé par le Pseudo-Matthieu. Ils conservent parfois des éléments du texte de la Source qui ont disparu dans le latin. Le récit original de cette source inconnue est indépendant du Protévangile de Jacques et pourrait être aussi ancien que lui. C'est ce qui ressort de l'étude par l'A. de quelques motifs caractéristiques : l'impôt lié au recensement, la pauvreté de Joseph, le rôle des fils de Joseph, le lieu de la nativité, l'épisode de la sage-femme.