Search results for "I+D+I"

2020

Fucoxanthin and its derivatives are the main light-harvesting pigments in the photosynthetic apparatus of many chromalveolate algae and represent the most abundant carotenoids in the world's oceans, thus being major facilitators of marine primary production. A central step in fucoxanthin biosynthesis that has been elusive so far is the conversion of violaxanthin to neoxanthin. Here, we show that in chromalveolates, this reaction is catalyzed by violaxanthin de-epoxidase-like (VDL) proteins and that VDL is also involved in the formation of other light-harvesting carotenoids such as peridinin or vaucheriaxanthin. VDL is closely related to the photoprotective enzyme violaxanthin de-epoxidase t…

Polyamine Biosynthesis Engineering as a Tool to Improve Plant Resistance to Abiotic Stress

2015

Polyamines (PAs) are small polycationic molecules which are present in all living organisms. PAs have been involved in a wide array of metabolic plant processes, extending from development to stress protection. Most of this knowledge has been achieved through the observation of PA homeostasis and manipulation of plant PA levels mediated by different approaches. This chapter summarizes the approaches undertaken to demonstrate the relationship between PAs and the stress response and, in particular, how the genetic manipulation of polyamine levels has evolved in a useful tool for the enhancement of plant stress tolerance in many species, including crops. This chapter also includes the most rec…

Unravelling the scientific debate on how to address wolf-dog hybridization in Europe

2019

Anthropogenic hybridization is widely perceived as a threat to the conservation of biodiversity. Nevertheless, to date, relevant policy and management interventions are unresolved and highly convoluted. While this is due to the inherent complexity of the issue, we hereby hypothesize that a lack of agreement concerning management goals and approaches, within the scientific community, may explain the lack of social awareness on this phenomenon, and the absence of effective pressure on decision-makers. By focusing on wolf x dog hybridization in Europe, we hereby (a) assess the state of the art of issues on wolf x dog hybridization within the scientific community, (b) assess the conceptual base…

2018

One of the most relevant characteristics of the extant Southern Ocean fauna is its resiliency to survive glacial processes of the Quaternary. These climatic events produced catastrophic habitat reductions and forced some marine benthic species to move, adapt or go extinct. The marine benthic species inhabiting the Antarctic upper continental shelf faced the Quaternary glaciations with different strategies that drastically modified population sizes and thus affected the amount and distribution of intraspecific genetic variation. Here we present new genetic information for the most conspicuous regular sea urchin of the Antarctic continental shelf, Sterechinus neumayeri. We studied the pattern…

Karyotype variability and inter-population genomic differences in freshwater ostracods (Crustacea) showing geographical parthenogenesis

2018

Transitions from sexual to asexual reproduction are often associated with polyploidy and increased chromosomal plasticity in asexuals. We investigated chromosomes in the freshwater ostracod species Eucypris virens (Jurine, 1820), where sexual, asexual and mixed populations can be found. Our initial karyotyping of multiple populations from Europe and North Africa, both sexual and asexual, revealed a striking variability in chromosome numbers. This would suggest that chromosomal changes are likely to be accelerated in asexuals because the constraints of meiosis are removed. Hence, we employed comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) within and among sexual and asexual populations to get insigh…

Variation in gene expression within clones of the earthworm Dendrobaena octaedra

2017

Gene expression is highly plastic, which can help organisms to both acclimate and adapt to changing environments. Possible variation in gene expression among individuals with the same genotype (among clones) is not widely considered, even though it could impact the results of studies that focus on gene expression phenotypes, for example studies using clonal lines. We examined the extent of within and between clone variation in gene expression in the earthworm Dendrobaena octaedra, which reproduces through apomictic parthenogenesis. Five microsatellite markers were developed and used to confirm that offspring are genetic clones of their parent. After that, expression of 12 genes was measured…

Epigenetic and Genetic Contributions to Adaptation in Chlamydomonas

2017

Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation or histone modifications, can be transmitted between cellular or organismal generations. However, there are no experiments measuring their role in adaptation, so here we use experimental evolution to investigate how epigenetic variation can contribute to adaptation. We manipulated DNA methylation and histone acetylation in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii both genetically and chemically to change the amount of epigenetic variation generated or transmitted in adapting populations in three different environments (salt stress, phosphate starvation, and high CO2) for two hundred asexual generations. We find that reducing the …

Electrochemical detection of nitric oxide in plant cell suspensions

2016

SPE IPM UB; Nitric oxide is a hydrophobic radical acting as a physiological mediator in plants. Because of its unique properties, the detection of NO in plant tissues and cell suspensions remains a challenge. For this purpose, several techniques are used, each having certain advantages and limitations such as interferences with other species, questionable sensitivity, and/or selectivity or ex situ measurement. Here we describe a very attractive approach for tracking NO in plant cell suspensions using a NO-sensitive homemade platinum/iridium-based electrochemical microsensor. This method constitutes the absolute real-time proof of the production of free NO in physiological conditions.

Species’ ecological functionality alters the outcome of fish stocking success predicted by a food-web model

2018

Fish stocking is used worldwide in conservation and management, but its effects on food-web dynamics and ecosystem stability are poorly known. To better understand these effects and predict the outcomes of stocking, we used an empirically validated network model of a well-studied lake ecosystem. We simulate two stocking scenarios with two native fish species valuable for fishing. In the first scenario, we stock planktivorous fish (whitefish) larvae in the ecosystem. This leads to a 1% increase in adult whitefish biomasses and decreases the biomasses of the top predator (perch). In the second scenario, we also stock perch larvae in the ecosystem. This decreases the planktivorous whitefish an…

Random Genetic Drift and Selective Pressures Shaping the Blattabacterium Genome

2018

AbstractEstimates suggest that at least half of all extant insect genera harbor obligate bacterial mutualists. Whereas an endosymbiotic relationship imparts many benefits upon host and symbiont alike, the intracellular lifestyle has profound effects on the bacterial genome. The obligate endosymbiont genome is a product of opposing forces: genes important to host survival are maintained through physiological constraint, contrasted by the fixation of deleterious mutations and genome erosion through random genetic drift. The obligate cockroach endosymbiont, Blattabacterium – providing nutritional augmentation to its host in the form of amino acid synthesis – displays radical genome alterations…