Search results for "RICH"
showing 10 items of 3360 documents
Effect of addition of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage on the biological leavening, physical, nutritional, antioxidant and sensory aspects of bread
2019
The addition of active compounds to enhance the functional properties of foods is a quite common practice. Recently, bread became one of the target foods to incorporate functional ingredients such as those deriving from Opuntia spp. So far, only Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes in powder has been tested. The addition of fresh O. ficus-indica mucilage (in substitution to water) did not influence the biological leavening of the doughs. The resulting breads showed a biological role of the cactus mucilage, because their antioxidant activity was higher than that of control wheat bread. The sensory analysis indicated a general appreciation of the breads enriched with O. ficus-indica mucilage by the …
A Metabarcoding Survey on the Fungal Microbiota Associated to the Olive Fruit Fly.
2017
The occurrence of interaction between insects and fungi is interesting from an ecological point of view, particularly when these interactions involve insect pests and plant pathogens within an agroecosystem. In this study, we aimed to perform an accurate analysis on the fungal microbiota associated to Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) through a metabarcoding approach based on 454 pyrosequencing. From this analysis, we retrieved 43,549 reads that clustered into 128 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), of which 29 resulted in the “core” associate fungi of B. oleae. This fungal community was mainly represented by sooty mould fungi, such as Cladosporium spp., Alternaria spp. and Aureobasidium spp., by pl…
Essentiality Is a Strong Determinant of Protein Rates of Evolution during Mutation Accumulation Experiments in Escherichia coli
2016
[EN] The Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution is considered the most powerful theory to understand the evolutionary behavior of proteins. One of the main predictions of this theory is that essential proteins should evolve slower than dispensable ones owing to increased selective constraints. Comparison of genomes of different species, however, has revealed only small differences between the rates of evolution ofessential and nonessential proteins. In some analyses, these differences vanish once confounding factors are controlled for, whereas in other cases essentiality seems to have an independent, albeit small, effect. It has been argued that comparing relatively distant genomes may entai…
Further insights in the Tardigrada microbiome: phylogenetic position and prevalence of infection of four new Alphaproteobacteria putative endosymbion…
2019
Abstract Data from a previous study showed that microbiomes of six tardigrade species are species-specific and distinct from associated environmental microbes. We here performed a more in-depth analyses of those data, to identify and characterize new potential symbionts. The most abundant bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) found in tardigrades are classified, and their prevalence in other environments is assessed using public databases. A subset of OTUs was selected for molecular phylogenetic analyses based on their affiliation with host-associated bacterial families in tardigrades. Almost 22.6% of the most abundant OTUs found do not match any sequence at 99% identity in the IMNGS…
Snake richness predicts breeding distribution of short-toed snake eagle in central Italy.
2017
Birds of prey, as top predators, play a key role in ecosystem functioning by regulating prey populations and, by means of cascade effects, promoting biodiversity. This makes them adequate sentinels of ecosystem health. Here we analyse the relationship between the occurrence of breeding short-toed snake eagle (Circaetus gallicus) and both the richness of potential prey species and landscape characteristics by taking into account two different spatial scales (i.e. nest-site scale and landscape scale). The short-toed snake eagle offers an interesting case study for investigating the relationships between top predators, prey diversity, and habitats, because it is an extremely specialised raptor…
A self-inducible heterologous protein expression system in Escherichia coli
2016
AbstractEscherichia coli is an important experimental, medical and industrial cell factory for recombinant protein production. The inducible lac promoter is one of the most commonly used promoters for heterologous protein expression in E. coli. Isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG) is currently the most efficient molecular inducer for regulating this promoter’s transcriptional activity. However, limitations have been observed in large-scale and microplate production, including toxicity, cost and culture monitoring. Here, we report the novel SILEX (Self-InducibLe Expression) system, which is a convenient, cost-effective alternative that does not require cell density monitoring or IPTG inducti…
Opposite trends in the genus Monsonia (Geraniaceae): Specialization in the African deserts and range expansions throughout eastern Africa
2017
The African Austroerate Flora stands out by its important species richness. A distinctive element of this flora is Monsonia (Geraniaceae), mostly found in the Namib-Karoo but also in the Natal-Drakensberg, the Somalian Zambezian and the Saharo-Arabian regions. Here, we reconstruct the evolution and biogeographic history of Monsonia based on nuclear and plastid markers, and examine the role of morphological and niche evolution in its diversification using species distribution modeling and macroevolutionary models. Our results indicate that Monsonia first diversified in the Early Miocene c.21 Ma, coinciding with the start of desertification in southwestern Africa. An important diversification…
Discovery of a Major QTL Controlling Trichome IV Density in Tomato Using K-Seq Genotyping
2021
[EN] Trichomes are a common morphological defense against pests, in particular, type IV glandular trichomes have been associated with resistance against different invertebrates. Cultivated tomatoes usually lack or have a very low density of type IV trichomes. Therefore, for sustainable management of this crop, breeding programs could incorporate some natural defense mechanisms, such as those afforded by trichomes, present in certain Solanum species. We have identified a S. pimpinellifolium accession with very high density of this type of trichomes. This accession was crossed with a S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme and a S. lycopersicum var. lycopersicum accessions, and the two resulting F2 …
From microbial eukaryotes to metazoan vertebrates: Wide spectrum paleo-diversity in sedimentary ancient DNA over the last ~14,500 years
2018
Most studies that utilize ancient DNA have focused on specific groups of organisms or even single species. Instead, the whole biodiversity of eukaryotes can be described using universal phylogenetic marker genes found within well-preserved sediment cores that cover the post-glacial period. Sedimentary ancient DNA samples from Lake Lielais Svētiņu, eastern Latvia, at a core depth of 1,050 cm in ~150 year intervals were used to determine phylotaxonomy in domain Eukaryota. Phylotaxonomic affiliation of >1,200 eukaryotic phylotypes revealed high richness in all major eukaryotic groups-Alveolata, Stramenopiles, Cercozoa, Chlorophyta, Charophyta, Nucletmycea, and Holozoa. The share of organisms t…
The long journey of Orthotrichum shevockii (Orthotrichaceae, Bryopsida): From California to Macaronesia
2019
Biogeography, systematics and taxonomy are complementary scientific disciplines. To understand a species' origin, migration routes, distribution and evolutionary history, it is first necessary to establish its taxonomic boundaries. Here, we use an integrative approach that takes advantage of complementary disciplines to resolve an intriguing scientific question. Populations of an unknown moss found in the Canary Islands (Tenerife Island) resembled two different Californian endemic species: Orthotrichum shevockii and O. kellmanii. To determine whether this moss belongs to either of these species and, if so, to explain its presence on this distant oceanic island, we combined the evaluation of…