| 1. |
- Almeida, Joana R., et al.
(författare)
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Structure-Antifouling Activity Relationship and Molecular Targets of Bio-Inspired(thio)xanthones
- 2020
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Ingår i: Biomolecules. - : MDPI. - 2218-273X. ; 10:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The development of alternative ecological and effective antifouling technologies is still challenging. Synthesis of nature-inspired compounds has been exploited, given the potential to assure commercial supplies of potential ecofriendly antifouling agents. In this direction, the antifouling activity of a series of nineteen synthetic small molecules, with chemical similarities with natural products, were exploited in this work. Six (4,5,7,10,15and17) of the tested xanthones showed in vivo activity toward the settlement ofMytilus galloprovincialislarvae (EC50: 3.53-28.60 mu M) and low toxicity to this macrofouling species (LC50> 500 mu M and LC50/EC50: 17.42-141.64), and two of them (7and10) showed no general marine ecotoxicity (Artemia salinamortality) after 48 h of exposure. Regarding the mechanism of action in mussel larvae, the best performance compounds4and5might be acting by the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity (in vitro and in silico studies), while7and10showed specific targets (proteomic studies) directly related with the mussel adhesive structure (byssal threads), given by the alterations in the expression ofMytiluscollagen proteins (PreCols) and proximal thread proteins (TMPs). A quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) model was built with predictive capacity to enable speeding the design of new potential active compounds.
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| 2. |
- Amorim, B. S., et al.
(författare)
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- Advanced understanding of phylogenetic relationships, morphological evolution and biogeographic history of the mega-diverse plant genus Myrcia and its relatives (Myrtaceae: Myrteae)
- 2019
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Ingår i: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. - : Elsevier BV. - 1055-7903 .- 1095-9513. ; 138, s. 65-88
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- - Myrcia is the largest exclusively Neotropical genus of the plant family Myrtaceae with c. 770 species. Although several studies have elucidated the relationships within particular sections of the genus, to date no phylogeny has been produced that includes a broad taxonomic and geographic representation. Here we present a phylogenetic hypothesis of Myrcia and close relatives comprising 253 species and based on two nuclear and seven plastid markers. We combine previously available sequence data with 234 new sequences of the genus Myrcia for this study. We use this phylogeny to investigate the evolution of selected morphological traits and to infer the biogeographic history of the genus. Our results yield a highly supported phylogenetic tree where the Myrceugenia group is sister to the Myrcia and Plinia groups. Five Myrcia species previously considered unplaced emerge in a newly circumscribed clade. The monophyly of two Myrcia sections previously considered uncertain, Aulomyrcia and Gomidesia, are confirmed with strong support. Flowers with free calyx lobes, 2-locular ovaries, and anthers with symmetrical thecae are ancestral features of Myrcia. The Myrcia sect. Gomidesia is highly supported and recovered as monophyletic, with asymmetric anthers that retain their curvature after dehiscence as a morphological synapomorphy. The Atlantic Forest is the most likely ancestral area of the genus and most of its internal clades, from where multiple lineages colonized different regions of South and Central America, in particular the Brazilian Cerrado through multiple unidirectional range expansions. The southern Atlantic Forest is the ancestral area for Myrcia sect. Gomidesia, with lineages reaching the northern Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, Yungas, and other savanna vegetation of South America. Our results provide a solid backbone for further evolutionary and taxonomic work and clarify several previously uncertain relationships in this mega-diverse plant group, and shed light on its geographical range evolution. © 2019
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| 3. |
- Araujo, Mario Jorge, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of Sample Preparation Methods for Shotgun Proteomic Studies in Aquaculture Species
- 2021
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Ingår i: Proteomes. - : MDPI. - 2227-7382. ; 9:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Proteomics has been recently introduced in aquaculture research, and more methodological studies are needed to improve the quality of proteomics studies. Therefore, this work aims to compare three sample preparation methods for shotgun LC-MS/MS proteomics using tissues of two aquaculture species: liver of turbot Scophthalmus maximus and hepatopancreas of Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis. We compared the three most common sample preparation workflows for shotgun analysis: filter-aided sample preparation (FASP), suspension-trapping (S-Trap), and solid-phase-enhanced sample preparations (SP3). FASP showed the highest number of protein identifications for turbot samples, and S-Trap outperformed other methods for mussel samples. Subsequent functional analysis revealed a large number of Gene Ontology (GO) terms in turbot liver proteins (nearly 300 GO terms), while fewer GOs were found in mussel proteins (nearly 150 GO terms for FASP and S-Trap and 107 for SP3). This result may reflect the poor annotation of the genomic information in this specific group of animals. FASP was confirmed as the most consistent method for shotgun proteomic studies; however, the use of the other two methods might be important in specific experimental conditions (e.g., when samples have a very low amount of protein).
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| 4. |
- Araújo, Mário J, et al.
(författare)
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Proteomics reveals multiple effects of titanium dioxide and silver nanoparticles in the metabolism of turbot, Scophthalmus maximus
- 2022
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Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 308
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silver (Ag) NPs are among the most used engineered inorganic nanoparticles (NPs); however, their potential effects to marine demersal fish species, are not fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the proteomic alterations induced by sub-lethal concentrations citrate-coated 25 nm ("P25") TiO2 or polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coated 15 nm Ag NPs to turbot, Scophthalmus maximus. Juvenile fish were exposed to the NPs through daily feeding for 14 days. The tested concentrations were 0, 0.75 or 1.5 mg of each NPs per kg of fish per day. The determination of NPs, Titanium and Ag levels (sp-ICP-MS/ICP-MS) and histological alterations (Transmission Electron Microscopy) supported proteomic analysis performed in the liver and kidney. Proteomic sample preparation procedure (SP3) was followed by LC-MS/MS. Label-free MS quantification methods were employed to assess differences in protein expression. Functional analysis was performed using STRING web-tool. KEGG Gene Ontology suggested terms were discussed and potential biomarkers of exposure were proposed. Overall, data shows that liver accumulated more elements than kidney, presented more histological alterations (lipid droplets counts and size) and proteomic alterations. The Differentially Expressed Proteins (DEPs) were higher in Ag NPs trial. The functional analysis revealed that both NPs caused enrichment of proteins related to generic processes (metabolic pathways). Ag NPs also affected protein synthesis and nucleic acid transcription, among other processes. Proteins related to thyroid hormone transport (Serpina7) and calcium ion binding (FAT2) were suggested as biomarkers of TiO2 NPs in liver. For Ag NPs, in kidney (and at a lower degree in liver) proteins related with metabolic activity, metabolism of exogenous substances and oxidative stress (e.g.: NADH dehydrogenase and Cytochrome P450) were suggested as potential biomarkers. Data suggests adverse effects in turbot after medium/long-term exposures and the need for additional studies to validate specific biological applications of these NPs.
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| 5. |
- Campos, Alexandre, et al.
(författare)
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Proteomic research in bivalves Towards the identification of molecular markers of aquatic pollution
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Proteomics. - : Elsevier. - 1874-3919 .- 1876-7737. ; 75:14, s. 4346-4359
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biomonitoring of aquatic environment and assessment of ecosystem health play essential roles in the development of effective strategies for the protection of the environment, human health and sustainable development. Biomarkers of pollution exposure have been extensively utilized in the last few decades to monitor the health of organisms and hence assess environmental status. However, the use of single biomarkers against biotic or abiotic stressors may be limited by the lack of sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, more recently, the search for novel biomarkers has been focused on the application of OMICS methodologies. Environmental proteomics focuses on the analysis of an organisms proteome and the detection of changes in the level of individual proteins/peptides in response to environmental stressors. Proteomics can provide a more robust approach for the assessment of environmental stress and therefore exposure to pollutants. This review aims to summarize the proteomic research in bivalves, a group of sessile and filter feeding organisms that play an important function as "sentinels" of the aquatic environment. A description of the main proteomic methodologies is provided. The current knowledge in bivalves toxicology, achieved with proteomics, is reported describing the main biochemical markers identified. A brief discussion regarding future challenges in this area of research emphasizing the development of more descriptive gene/protein databases that could support the OMICs approaches is presented. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanThis article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Farm animal proteomics.
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| 6. |
- Diez-Quijada, Leticia, et al.
(författare)
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In Vitro Toxicity Evaluation of Cyanotoxins Cylindrospermopsin and Microcystin-LR on Human Kidney HEK293 Cells
- 2022
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Ingår i: Toxins. - : MDPI. - 2072-6651. ; 14:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cyanotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by different types of cyanobacteria. Among them, Cylindrospermopsin (CYN) and Microcystins (MCs) stand out due to their wide geographical distribution and toxicity in various organs, including the kidney, which is involved in their distribution and elimination. However, the renal toxicity caused by CYN and MCs has hardly been studied. The aim of this work was to assess the cytotoxicity effects caused by CYN and MC-LR in the renal cell line HEK293, and for the first time, the influence of CYN on the gene expression of selected genes in these cells by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). CYN caused an upregulation in the gene expression after exposure to the highest concentration (5 mu g/mL) and the longest time of exposure (24 h). Moreover, shotgun proteomic analysis was used to assess the molecular responses of HEK293 cells after exposure to the individuals and combinations of CYN + MC-LR. The simultaneous exposure to both cyanotoxins caused a greater number of alterations in protein expression compared to single toxins, causing changes in the cellular, lipid and protein metabolism and in protein synthesis and transport. Further studies are needed to complete the toxicity molecular mechanisms of both CYN and MC-LR at the renal level.
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| 7. |
- Dominguez-Perez, Dany, et al.
(författare)
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Proteomic Analyses of the Unexplored Sea Anemone Bunodactis verrucosa
- 2018
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Ingår i: Marine Drugs. - : MDPI. - 1660-3397. ; 16:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cnidarian toxic products, particularly peptide toxins, constitute a promising target for biomedicine research. Indeed, cnidarians are considered as the largest phylum of generally toxic animals. However, research on peptides and toxins of sea anemones is still limited. Moreover, most of the toxins from sea anemones have been discovered by classical purification approaches. Recently, high-throughput methodologies have been used for this purpose but in other Phyla. Hence, the present work was focused on the proteomic analyses of whole-body extract from the unexplored sea anemone Bunodactis verrucosa. The proteomic analyses applied were based on two methods: two-dimensional gel electrophoresis combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF and shotgun proteomic approach. In total, 413 proteins were identified, but only eight proteins were identified from gel-based analyses. Such proteins are mainly involved in basal metabolism and biosynthesis of antibiotics as the most relevant pathways. In addition, some putative toxins including metalloproteinases and neurotoxins were also identified. These findings reinforce the significance of the production of antimicrobial compounds and toxins by sea anemones, which play a significant role in defense and feeding. In general, the present study provides the first proteome map of the sea anemone B. verrucosa stablishing a reference for future studies in the discovery of new compounds.
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| 8. |
- Feng, Shaohong, et al.
(författare)
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Dense sampling of bird diversity increases power of comparative genomics
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 587:7833
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whole-genome sequencing projects are increasingly populating the tree of life and characterizing biodiversity(1-4). Sparse taxon sampling has previously been proposed to confound phylogenetic inference(5), and captures only a fraction of the genomic diversity. Here we report a substantial step towards the dense representation of avian phylogenetic and molecular diversity, by analysing 363 genomes from 92.4% of bird families-including 267 newly sequenced genomes produced for phase II of the Bird 10,000 Genomes (B10K) Project. We use this comparative genome dataset in combination with a pipeline that leverages a reference-free whole-genome alignment to identify orthologous regions in greater numbers than has previously been possible and to recognize genomic novelties in particular bird lineages. The densely sampled alignment provides a single-base-pair map of selection, has more than doubled the fraction of bases that are confidently predicted to be under conservation and reveals extensive patterns of weak selection in predominantly non-coding DNA. Our results demonstrate that increasing the diversity of genomes used in comparative studies can reveal more shared and lineage-specific variation, and improve the investigation of genomic characteristics. We anticipate that this genomic resource will offer new perspectives on evolutionary processes in cross-species comparative analyses and assist in efforts to conserve species. A dataset of the genomes of 363 species from the Bird 10,000 Genomes Project shows increased power to detect shared and lineage-specific variation, demonstrating the importance of phylogenetically diverse taxon sampling in whole-genome sequencing.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Kehoe, Laura, et al.
(författare)
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Make EU trade with Brazil sustainable
- 2019
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 364:6438, s. 341-
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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