Instituto de Química del Noroeste Argentino

The pepper Bs2 resistance gene confers resistance to susceptible Solanaceae plants against pathogenic strains of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria carrying the avrBs2 avirulence gene. Previously, we generated Bs2-transgenic Citrus sinensis plants that exhibited enhanced resistance to citrus canker caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri (Xcc), although the underlying mechanisms remained unknown. To elucidate the molecular basis of the early defense response, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis of Bs2-expressing and non-transgenic plants 48 h after Xcc inoculation. A total of 2022 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 1356 up-regulated and 666 down-regulated genes. In Bs2-plants, 36.8% of the up-regulated DEGs were associated with defense responses and biotic stress. Functional annotation revealed major changes in genes encoding receptor-like kinases, transcription factors, hormone biosynthesis enzymes, pathogenesis-related proteins, secondary metabolism, and cell wall modification. Among hormone-related pathways, genes linked to ethylene biosynthesis and signaling were the most strongly regulated. Consistently, endogenous ethylene levels increased in Bs2-plants following Xcc infection, and treatment with an ethylene-releasing compound enhanced resistance in non-transgenic plants. Overall, our results indicate the Bs2 expression activates a complex defense network in citrus and may represent a valuable strategy for controlling canker and other Xanthomonas-induced diseases.

Abstract Sugarcane is one of the most important crops worldwide because it is key for the economy of numerous countries and because of the size of its cultivated land area. It can play a major role in a circular bioeconomy because it can be a raw material for a variety of products not only in the food and beverage industries but also for animal feed, biodegradable packaging, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and bioplastics. Furthermore, it is a source of bioenergy both through bioelectricity from its biomass and ethanol as a biofuel. The aim of this chapter is to present its importance, progress to date, and its future potential in Latin America, where it has been an important crop for centuries. Circularity is key as there are environmental concerns such as water use and pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and agrochemical use. Different cases throughout the region of sustainable management practices addressing those issues are presented. Some practices are somewhat common in the region, whereas others are carried out only in some countries or companies. Hence, the future pathway includes the adoption of best practices in the region and beyond, as well as new areas that require research and development to attain their potential.

Abstract Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego (Austral Andes) are the most glacierised regions in the Southern Hemisphere, where glaciers have experienced significant mass changes in recent decades. Understanding glacier–climate–water interactions is crucial for addressing future climate challenges. Open-access data play a key role in advancing geoscience research, improving models and assessing the impacts of hazards and sea-level rise impacts. Here, we present QFuego-Patagonia, a free glacier-related GIS dataset and web portal covering Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, which provides essential geospatial information across four scientific topics: Glaciology, Atmosphere, Terrain Models, and Glacial Geology and Geomorphology. This initiative aims to foster interdisciplinary research and collaboration, synthesise current knowledge and establish an advanced glacier data repository that will be continuously updated as new data and insights become available.

Understanding the genetic diversity and population structure of sugarcane germplasm banks is essential for generating progenies with maximum variability. In this study, 350 accessions from the EEAOC germplasm bank were genotyped using DArT-seq markers. Genetic diversity, population structure, and variability were assessed through Bayesian analysis, principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Additionally, different sizes of core collections were evaluated. After filtering, 74,969 high-quality SNPs were retained, and two outlier genotypes were excluded. The mean observed heterozygosity (HO) was 0.28, while the mean expected heterozygosity (HE) was 0.3. Polymorphic information content (PIC) values ranged from 0 to 0.38 (mean 0.22), and the mean discrimination power (Dj) was 0.28. Structure and PCoA analyses consistently revealed three genetic clusters. AMOVA indicated that most of the genetic variation was found within subpopulations, while 10.25% was attributable to differences among them (p < 0.0001), where ΦFST suggested moderate genetic differentiation. Core collection analysis showed that a subset of 35 genotypes (10%) captured nearly 96% of the total genetic diversity, while a 30% core captured over 98%. These results provide valuable information for the effective management and utilization of sugarcane genetic resources and support the design of breeding strategies to develop superior cultivars.

The increasing prevalence of Parkinson’s disease (PD) requires innovative multi-targeted disease-modifying therapies to counteract the toxicity associated with the amplification, propagation, and accumulation of alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) aggregates in the brain. Tetracyclines, particularly doxycycline, have demonstrated multimodal neuroprotective effects, both in vitro and in vivo. The non-antibiotic derivative of doxycycline 4-dedimethylamino-12a-deoxydoxycycline (DDOX), has been recently shown to rescue neurons from oxidative injury. Here, we demonstrate that DDOX showcases a diverse range of mechanisms targeting α-Syn aggregates. Notably, DDOX inhibited the aggregation of α-Syn and the seeding ability of α-Syn pre-formed fibrils (PFF) in biophysical and cellular assays. In addition, the compound ameliorated the relocalization of total and phospho-α-Syn, triggered by exogenous α-Syn PFF. Surprisingly, DDOX drastically mitigated lysosomal stress induced by these aggregates. Moreover, we determined that DDOX effectively impeded the internalization of fluorescently labeled α-Syn PFF. Biophysical techniques and molecular docking simulations suggest that DDOX binds to hydrophobic patches on α-Syn fibrils. Our findings reveal novel neuroprotective attributes of tetracyclines, wherein a direct extracellular interaction between DDOX and α-Syn aggregated species mitigates their intracellular impact. These results provide a promising foundation for DDOX, a drug that aims to interfere with the intracellular seeding, propagation and uptake of α-Syn fibrils in neurodegenerative conditions.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-025-15991-w.

Abstract. The implementation of short-lived halogen (SLH) sources and atmospheric chemistry in the Community Earth System Model v1 (CESM1), has extended the capabilities of this state-of-the-art model to study how SLH chemistry alters the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere and, consequently, the Earth’s climate. In this manuscript, we summarize 15 years of research and developments of SLH chemistry in CESM1 and present a complete revision of the porting of the original SLH implementation into the latest released version of CESM (v2), hereafter CESM2-SLH. This includes a detailed description of all offline and online sources of organic and inorganic SLH, as well as the gas-phase and heterogeneous recycling of chlorine, bromine and iodine in the troposphere and stratosphere, including their species-independent atmospheric sinks. In doing so, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of how changes in model parameters and coupled dynamics within the Community Atmosphere Model v6 (CAM6) affect SLH abundances and their implications. The new CESM2-SLH implementation offers various component sets (compsets) and resolutions, all of which result in equivalent global budgets and zonal distributions of organic and inorganic chlorine, bromine and iodine, which in turn, lead to SLH impacts on atmospheric composition that are consistent with previous CESM1 results. The released CESM2-SLH version includes specific namelist options, input files and technical notes detailing the most important SLH updates implemented over the CESM2/CAM6 routines. Our results show that the global tropospheric burden and tropical stratospheric injection of organic and inorganic chlorine, bromine and iodine species in CESM2-SLH are in agreement with observational assessments and previous modelling studies using CESM1, resulting in significant reductions in global ozone abundance (−21–28 % at the surface, −17–22 % in the troposphere and −2–3 % in the stratosphere) as well as in OH and NO2 (ranging between −2–9 % and −1–10 %, respectively), depending on the specific model configuration and resolution. Based on this, we encourage the wider CESM community to consider the released CESM2-SLH scheme to obtain a more realistic representation of the background influence of natural and anthropogenic short-lived halogen sources and chemistry in air quality and Earth’s climate studies.