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ß-Glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) is a prominent member of the GH1 family of glycoside hydrolases. The properties of this ß-glucosidase appear to include resistance to temperature, urea, and iodoacetamide, and it is activated by 2-ME, similar to other members. ß-Glucosidase from chayote (Sechium edule) was purified by ionic-interchange chromatography and molecular exclusion chromatography. Peptides detected by LC-ESI-MS/MS were compared with other ß-glucosidases using the BLAST program. This enzyme is a 116 kDa protein composed of two sub-units of 58 kDa and shows homology with Cucumis sativus ß-glucosidase (NCBI reference sequence XP_004154617.1), in which seven peptides were found with relative masses ranging from 874.3643 to 1587.8297. The stability of ß-glucosidase depends on an initial concentration of 0.2 mg/mL of protein at pH 5.0 which decreases by 33% in a period of 30 h, and then stabilizes and is active for the next 5 days (pH 4.0 gives similar results). One hundred µg/mL ß-D-glucose inhibited ß-glucosidase activity by more than 50%. The enzyme had a Km of 4.88 mM with p-NPG and a Kcat of 10,000 min(-1). The optimal conditions for the enzyme require a pH of 4.0 and a temperature of 50 °C.

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Many plant processes depend on differential gene expression, which is generally controlled by complex proteins called transcription factors (TFs). In peach, 1533 TFs have been identified, accounting for about 5.5% of the 27,852 protein-coding genes. These TFs are the reference for the rest of the Prunus species. TF studies in Prunus have been performed on the gene expression analysis of different agronomic traits, including control of the flowering process, fruit quality, and biotic and abiotic stress resistance. These studies, using quantitative RT-PCR, have mainly been performed in peach, and to a lesser extent in other species, including almond, apricot, black cherry, Fuji cherry, Japanese apricot, plum, and sour and sweet cherry. Other tools have also been used in TF studies, including cDNA-AFLP, LC-ESI-MS, RNA, and DNA blotting or mapping. More recently, new tools assayed include microarray and high-throughput DNA sequencing (DNA-Seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq). New functional genomics opportunities include genome resequencing and the well-known synteny among Prunus genomes and transcriptomes. These new functional studies should be applied in breeding programs in the development of molecular markers. With the genome sequences available, some strategies that have been used in model systems (such as SNP genotyping assays and genotyping-by-sequencing) may be applicable in the functional analysis of Prunus TFs as well. In addition, the knowledge of the gene functions and position in the peach reference genome of the TFs represents an additional advantage. These facts could greatly facilitate the isolation of genes via QTL (quantitative trait loci) map-based cloning in the different Prunus species, following the association of these TFs with the identified QTLs using the peach reference genome.

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En el cultivo de camarones L. vannamei se producen afecciones sanitarias y productivas por la presencia de protozoos ciliados epibiontes. En Cuba no existen referencias de cómo varía su manifestación a medida que avanza el cultivo, por lo que se realizó un estudio con el objetivo de determinar la prevalencia general y específica y el grado de severidad de las afecciones por protozoos epibiontes durante el ciclo de engorde del camarón. Para ello, se examinó durante tres ciclos un total de 2880 ejemplares (juveniles y adultos) en la camaronera Tunas de Zaza, provincia de Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Se expuso la tendencia de los parámetros evaluados, a partir de muestreos semanales y el análisis en fresco y por las características evidentes para cada especie. Los resultados se analizaron mediante modelos de tendencia, partiendo del método de mínimos cuadrados. Las posibles diferencias entre las prevalencias específicas se analizaron mediante las pruebas no paramétricas de Kruskall Wallis y la U de Mann Whitney, utilizando el programa estadístico SPSS, V15. Los resultados muestran que los géneros de protozoos epibiontes observados que mostraron un mayor grado de severidad (GS) en sus lesiones fueron: Epistylis sp., con mayor prevalencia (GS: 1 a 4), seguido por Acineta sp. (GS: 1 a 4); Zoothamnium sp. (GS: 1 a 2) y Ascophrys (GS: 1), con un comportamiento en ascenso a medida que avanzaba el cultivo.

In shrimp (L. vannamei) farming, alterations in health and in productive performance occur. These disorders result from the presence of ciliated epibionts protozoan. In Cuba, there is no data available on how their expression varies as the culture progresses. The purpose of this study was to determine the general prevalence, the specific prevalence, and the degree of severity of the effects caused by epibionts protozoan during the fattening cycle of shrimp. To conduct the study, 2880 shrimp samples (juvenile and adults) were evaluated at the Tunas de Zaza shrimp farm for three cycles. The trend of the evaluated parameters was studied, based on weekly analysis of fresh samples and the obvious characteristics of each species. The results were analyzed using trend models, based on the least squares method. The possible differences among specific prevalence were tested by the Kruskall Wallis and Mann Whitney U nonparametric tests, using the statistical program SPSS V15. The results show that the genera of epibionts protozoa observed which exhibited greater degrees of severity (DS) in their lesions were Epistylis sp., with higher frequency (DS: 1 to 4), followed by Acineta sp. (DS: 1 to 4), Zoothamnium sp. (DS: 1 to 2), and Ascophrys (GS: 1), with a rising behavior as the culture progressed.

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BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Concentric lamellar calcifications known as psammoma bodies (PB) are found in benign and malignant tumours. Whether or not the inorganic element concentrations in psammomas are similar to serous adenocarcinoma of the ovary and thyroid papillary cancer tissues has not yet been ascertained. We undertook this retrospective study to establish if there is any difference in the concentrations of inorganic ions found in psammomas in serous adenocarcinoma of the ovary, and those found in thyroid papillary cancer tissue. METHODS: PB samples from patients with adenocarcinoma of the ovary (n = 10) and with thyroid papillary cancer (n = 10) were analyzed through inductively-coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP). RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the concentrations of inorganic elements in PB from thyroid papillary cancer than in those PB from ovarian cancer. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the concentrations of inorganic elements may be due to the variation in environmental pollution. Our study had limitation of small sample size. Our results suggest that some inorganic elements can participate in the origin of psammoma bodies.

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Mariano Flores Rubio, emblemático estomatólogo peruano y generador de conceptos importantes en el marco odontológico nacional e internacional nos dijo adiós, intempestivamente, hace unas semanas. Tuvimos el privilegio de divulgar sus ideas y más que importante colaborador fue un buen amigo de esta casa. Su hermano Manuel y Gilberto Domínguez Del Río, han preparado sendas semblanzas dedicadas al prestigioso académico. Descanse en paz, doctor Mariano.

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