0000000000482489
AUTHOR
Vicente Moreno
Tributo al professor Miguel F. Refojo, PhD, DSc (1928---2016)
[Excerpt] July 21, 2016, Professor Miguel F. Refojo passed away at the age of 88 in Needham (Massachusetts). Saying that Miguel was one of the most renowned Spanish scientists of the second half of the XXth Century does not resembles its actual scientific size. Indeed, Miguel (or “Migüel” as most of his American friends pronounced his name) was a World Class scientist and inventor that will be forever linked to the advances in polymer science applied to the ophthalmic environment. His contributions in the biomedical field start “officially” in 1967 according to the National Library of Medline database (Pubmed-Medline). [...]
In vitroplant regeneration and gene transfer in the wild tomatoLycopersicon cheesmanii
SummaryThis paper reports on protocols for in vitro plant regeneration, gene transfer and on shoot salt tolerance from two accessions of L. cheesmanii (Riley). Shoot organogenesis was achieved on media with zeatin or BA/IAA combinations. The two accessions tested, LA1401 and LA530, showed differences in both their aptitude to regenerate and their salt tolerance in vitro. The accession LA530 had a higher organogenic potential than LA1401 (97% vs. 80% of organogenic explants). In contrast, none of the LA530 isolated shoots rooted when cultured in full strength MS-modified medium supplemented with 200.mM NaCl while 93% of shoots from LA1401 formed roots. Finally, Agrobacterium-mediated transfo…
Neutralizing antibodies against rotavirus produced in transgenically labelled purple tomatoes
Edible fruits are inexpensive biofactories for human health-promoting molecules that can be ingested as crude extracts or partially purified formulations. We show here the production of a model human antibody for passive protection against the enteric pathogen rotavirus in transgenically labelled tomato fruits. Transgenic tomato plants expressing a recombinant human immunoglobulin A (hIgA_2A1) selected against the VP8* peptide of rotavirus SA11 strain were obtained. The amount of hIgA_2A1 protein reached 3.6 ± 0.8% of the total soluble protein in the fruit of the transformed plants. Minimally processed fruit-derived products suitable for oral intake showed anti-VP8* binding activity and str…