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Undergraduate health education must integrate problems that influence the health situation of each territory. However, there are gaps in the training of health professionals to work in care of people with leprosy. Innovative strategies may contribute to the dissemination and approach of leprosy, as is the case of digital information and communication technologies (DICT). The objective is to identify how leprosy has been approached in the teaching-learning process in undergraduate health courses and how DICT has been integrated in this context. This is an integrative literature review, carried out in the SciELO, LILACS, BVS and MEDLINE databases, with publications between 2011 and 2020. The teaching of leprosy was proved to be limited in the training of health professionals. However, pedagogical strategies were used, such as extracurricular activities, practical experience and problematization, in Medicine, Nursing and Physiotherapy courses. There are no studies that explore the potential of DICT in teaching on leprosy. La educación en salud de pregrado debe integrar problemas que inciden en la situación de salud de cada territorio. Sin embargo, existen lagunas en la formación de los profesionales de la salud para trabajar en la atención de personas con lepra. Las estrategias innovadoras pueden contribuir a la difusión y el abordaje de la lepra, como es el caso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación digitales (TICD). El objetivo es identificar cómo se ha abordado la lepra en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje en los cursos de pregrado en salud y cómo se ha integrado el TICD en este contexto. Esta es una revisión integrativa de la literatura, realizada en las bases de datos SciELO, LILACS, BVS y MEDLINE, con publicaciones entre 2011 y 2020. La enseñanza de la lepra se mostró limitada en la formación de los profesionales de la salud. Sin embargo, se utilizaron estrategias pedagógicas, como actividades extracurriculares, experiencia práctica y problematización, en los cursos de Medicina, Enfermería y Fisioterapia. No existen estudios que exploren el potencial de las TIC en la enseñanza de la lepra. O ensino na graduação em saúde deve integrar problemas mais frequentes que influenciam a situação de saúde do território. No caso da hanseníase, percebem-se lacunas na formação de profissionais para atuar no cuidado às pessoas com essa condição. Estratégias inovadoras poderão contribuir para a divulgação e abordagem da hanseníase, como é o caso das tecnologias digitais de informação e comunicação (TDIC). Objetiva-se identificar como a hanseníase tem sido abordada no processo de ensino-aprendizagem em cursos de graduação em saúde e como as TDIC podem ser integradas nesse contexto. Trata-se de revisão integrativa da literatura, realizada nas bases de dados SciELO, LILACS, BVS e MEDLINE, com publicações entre 2011 e 2020. O ensino da hanseníase mostra-se limitado na formação dos profissionais da saúde. No entanto, estratégias pedagógicas, como atividades extracurriculares, vivência prática e problematização, foram utilizadas em cursos de Medicina, Enfermagem e Fisioterapia. Não há estudos que explorem as potencialidades das TDIC no ensino da hanseníase.

The livestock performance in tropical regions has been limited by environmental conditions that causes heat stress and favors the development of parasites and diseases, impairing animal health. Heat stress disturbs animal homeostasis and afects animal production and fertility, with negative impacts on meat and milk quality. Flies and ticks proliferate easily under hot-humid weather, which makes difcult the control of their population, resulting in an increased parasitism. Tropical pastures usually have high dry matter production, but it is challenging to keep high production and quality under diferent environmental conditions throughout the year, constraining animal performance. Several strategies have been adopted in an attempt to overcome such hurdles in the tropical regions, but defnitive solutions are yet to be implemented. In the last 20 years, biotechnologies, such as in vitro embryo production and genomic selection, have played an important role on cattle production in tropical countries. Genome editing (GnEd) is the novel tool in the toolbox for cattle production. GnEd with genomic selection ofers the opportunity to boost the genetic gain in breeding programs of tropical cattle in fewer generations. It can be applied for disease resistance, to control parasite population, and to improve pasture quality and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, favoring animal health and nutrition. Moreover, there is a perspective for the use of GnEd to control cattle methane emission by editing genes of methanogens present in the rumen. Although GnEd can already be applied to improve some traits, studies are still required for the identifcation of candidate genes in animals, tropical pastures, parasites, and microorganisms that can be targeted by gene editing in order to ofer a robust contribution to the improvement of cattle production in the hot regions. Some examples of the use of GnEd are presented in this review, focusing on new perspectives of using GnEd to increase cattle production under the challenges of the tropical environments. Made available in DSpace on 2022-03-22T13:00:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Genome-editing.pdf: 3034362 bytes, checksum: 710e9d57d3d55119b9a76cef0de78148 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2022

Embryo development in eggs of the spittlebug Mahanarva spectabilis (Distant) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) passes through four phases (known as S1 to S4) being stopped at S2 during diapause. Studies about the molecular basis of diapause in spittlebugs are nonexistent. Here, we analyzed proteins from non-diapausing (ND), diapausing (D) and post-diapausing (PD) eggs of the spittlebug M. spectabilis. In total, we identified 87 proteins where 12 were in common among the developmental and diapause phases and 19 remained as uncharacterized. Non-diapausing eggs (S2ND and S4ND) showed more proteins involved in information storage and processing than the diapausing ones (S2D). Eggs in post-diapausing (S4PD) had a higher number of proteins associated with metabolism than S2D. The network of protein interactions and metabolic processes allowed the identification of different sets of molecular interactions for each developmental and diapause phases. Two heat shock proteins (Hsp65 and Hsp70) along with two proteins associated with intracellular signaling (MAP4K and a serine/threonine-protein phosphatase) were found only in diapausing and/or post-diapausing eggs and are interesting targets to be explored in future experiments. These results shine a light on one key biological process for spittlebug survival and represent the first search for proteins linked to diapause in this important group of insects.

Signal perception in plants is determinant to trigger specific physiological changes that confer resistance during the early stages of the insect attack. Thus, molecular characterization of both insect effectors and plant hormonal regulators are essential in developing forage grasses resistant to infestation by spittlebug Mahanarva spectabilis. We evaluated the presence of effectors in the salivary glands of M. spectabilis that could enable the infestation of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum). The presence of an NTPDase-like enzyme was confirmed, and higher activity was observed in females that hydrolyzed ADP. High levels of long chain fatty acids, such as octadecanoid acid (19.5%), prostaglandin A2 (4.7%), eicosanoid acid and the phytohormone salicylic acid (~4.0 μg/g) were also detected in the salivary glands. After 24 h of infestation, the phytohormone profiles were altered in leaves damaged by M. spectabilis, suggesting that the insect effectors modulate the plant response. Our results suggest that the plant response modulation may be the result of crosstalk between the salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid and zeatin pathways, induced by molecules from the salivary glands. This shows that the spittlebugs can interfere with jasmonic acid and zeatin accumulation in elephant grass plants.

The spittlebugs Mahanarva spectabilis economically challenges cattle production of neotropical regions, due to its voracious feeding on tropical grasses. Here, we evaluated biochemical responses of the interaction between M. spectabilis and the widely cultivated tropical grasses Brachiaria spp. (i.e., brizantha and decumbens) and elephant grasses (cvs. Roxo de Botucatu and Pioneiro), regarding lipoxygenases, protease inhibitors, phytohormones, and proteolytic activities in the midgut of M. spectabilis. The M. spectabilis-infested grasses increased lipoxygenases activity, except for cv. Pioneiro. The levels of the phytohormones jasmonic and abscisic acids were similarly low in all genotypes and increased under herbivory. Furthermore, salicylic acid concentration was constitutively higher in Brachiaria sp., increasing only in spittlebug-infested B. decumbens. M. spectabilis infestations did not induce increases of protease inhibitors in any forage grass type. The trypsin activity remained unaltered, and the total proteolytic activity increased only in B decumbens-fed insects. Our findings revealed that most forage grasses exposed to spittlebugs activate the lipoxygenases pathway, resulting in increased abscisic and jasmonic acids. However, greater amounts of these hormones do not induce protease inhibitory activity in response to spittlebug attack. This knowledge certainly helps to guide future projects aiming at reducing the impact of spittlebugs on forage production. Made available in DSpace on 2021-09-15T12:00:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Differential-defense.pdf: 966114 bytes, checksum: 1aff97283378e2d95870009591ee6794 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021

The world population is expected to be larger and wealthier over the next few decades and will require more animal products, such as milk and beef. Tropical regions have great potential to meet this growing global demand, where pasturelands play a major role in supporting increased animal production. Better forage is required in consonance with improved sustainability as the planted area should not increase and larger areas cultivated with one or a few forage species should be avoided. Although, conventional tropical forage breeding has successfully released well-adapted and high-yielding cultivars over the last few decades, genetic gains from these programs have been low in view of the growing food demand worldwide. To guarantee their future impact on livestock production, breeding programs should leverage genotyping, phenotyping, and envirotyping strategies to increase genetic gains. Genomic selection (GS) and genomewide association studies play a primary role in this process, with the advantage of increasing genetic gain due to greater selection accuracy, reduced cycle time, and increased number of individuals that can be evaluated. This strategy provides solutions to bottlenecks faced by conventional breeding methods, including long breeding cycles and difficulties to evaluate complex traits. Initial results from implementing GS in tropical forage grasses (TFGs) are promising with notable improvements over phenotypic selection alone. However, the practical impact of GS in TFG breeding programs remains unclear. The development of appropriately sized training populations is essential for the evaluation and validation of selection markers based on estimated breeding values. Large panels of single-nucleotide polymorphism markers in different tropical forage species are required for multiple application targets at a reduced cost. In this context, this review highlights the current challenges, achievements, availability, and development of genomic resources and statistical methods for the implementation of GS in TFGs. Additionally, the prediction accuracies from recent experiments and the potential to harness diversity from genebanks are discussed. Although, GS in TFGs is still incipient, the advances in genomic tools and statistical models will speed up its implementation in the foreseeable future. All TFG breeding programs should be prepared for these changes. Made available in DSpace on 2021-08-10T02:06:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Genomic-selection-tropical.pdf: 2481038 bytes, checksum: c1c166bd9f912ae4d0970aee8c98aa94 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2021

Background Elephant grass [Cenchrus purpureus (Schumach.) Morrone] is used for bioenergy and animal feed. In order to identify candidate genes that could be exploited for marker-assisted selection in elephant grass, this study aimed to investigate changes in predictive accuracy using genomic relationship information and simple sequence repeats for eight traits (height, green biomass, dry biomass, acid and neutral detergent fiber, lignin content, biomass digestibility, and dry matter concentration) linked to bioenergetics and animal feeding. Results We used single-step, genome-based best linear unbiased prediction and genome association methods to investigate changes in predictive accuracy and find candidate genes using genomic relationship information. Genetic variability (p Setaria viridis, Panicum hallii, and Panicum virgatum, and these regions are located close to candidate genes involved in the biosynthesis of cell wall molecules (xyloglucan and lignin), which support their association with biomass digestibility. Conclusions The markers and candidate genes identified here are useful for breeding programs aimed at changing biomass digestibility in elephant grass. These markers can be used in marker-assisted selection to grow elephant grass cultivars for different uses, e.g., bioenergy production, bio-based products, co-products, bioactive compounds, and animal feed.

Improving rainfed wheat cultivation in central Brazil, where the Cerrado biome (Brazilian savanna) is predominant, remains a bottleneck for future increases in domestic wheat production. In the Cerrado, the limited water availability during the wheat-growing season is an obstacle to increase wheat yield. To address this issue, the physiological and molecular drought response of wheat and the environmental conditions of this region must be better understood. In this review, we characterized the impact of drought on rainfed wheat production in the Cerrado. Based on the peculiarities of this environment, we suggest that certain traits should be prioritized in selection. These traits and their molecular basis are important to raise wheat yields in the Cerrado and also to improve food security in Brazil, one of the top wheat-importing countries in the world.

Pasture is the main food source for more than 200 million cattle heads in Brazil. Although Brazilian forage breeding programs have successfully released well-adapted, high-yielding cultivars over the years, the use of genomic tools in these programs is currently limited. These tools are required to tackle the main challenges for tropical forage breeding in Brazil. In this context, this notes lists the main research priorities raised at the workshop ?Breeding Forages in the Genomic Era?, which are necessary to accelerate the use of genomic tools for next-generation breeding of tropical forages and allow breeders to increase genetic gains. Additionally, an online discussion forum (hosted at http://www.cnpgl.embrapa.br/genfor) has been launched to strengthen collaborations among research groups. The research priorities and more synergistic collaborations will assist researchers and decision-makers in delivering a sustainable increase in production of animal products, especially beef and milk, which are required to feed a rising world population. Made available in DSpace on 2022-08-09T17:20:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Research-priorities-for-next-generation-breeding-of-tropical-forages-in-Brazil.pdf: 495832 bytes, checksum: 2a65a468a3dc7f51c1da73d47a5bc803 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018

Barley is a major cereal grown widely and used in several food products, beverage production and animal fodder. Genetic diversity is a key component in breeding programs. We have analyzed the genetic diversity of barley accessions using microsatellite markers. The accessions were composed of wild and domesticated barley representing genotypes from six countries and three breeding programs in Brazil. A total of 280 alleles were detected, 36 unique to Brazilian barley. The marker Bmag120 showed the greatest polymorphism information content (PIC), with the highest mean value found on chromosome three, and the lowest on chromosomes four and six. The wild accessions presented the highest diversity followed by the foreign genotypes. Genetic analysis was performed using Principal Coordinates Analysis, UPGMA clustering, and Bayesian clustering analysis implemented in Structure. All results obtained by the different methods were similar. Loss of genetic diversity has occurred in Brazilian genotypes. The number of alleles detected in genotypes released in 1980s was higher, whereas most of the cultivars released thereafter showed lower PIC and clustered in separate subgroups from the older cultivars. The use of a more diverse panel of genotypes should be considered in order to exploit novel alleles in Brazilian barley breeding programs.

Aluminium (Al) toxicity can severely reduce root growth and consequently affect plant development and yield. A mechanism by which many species resist the toxic effects of Al relies on the efflux of organic anions (OAs) from the root apices via OA transporters. Several of the genes encoding these OA transporters contain transposable elements (TEs) in the coding sequences or in flanking regions. Some of the TE-induced mutations impact Al resistance by modifying the level and/or location of gene expression so that OA efflux from the roots is increased. The importance of genomic modifications for improving the adaptation of plants to acid soils has been raised previously, but the growing number of examples linking TEs with these changes requires highlighting. Here, we review the role of TEs in creating genetic modifications that enhance the adaptation of plants to acid soils by increasing the release of OAs from the root apices. We argue that TEs have been an important source of beneficial mutations that have co-opted OA transporter proteins with other functions to perform this role. These changes have occurred relatively recently in the evolution of many species and likely facilitated their expansion into regions with acidic soils.

BRS Citrino is a highly productive canning peach that has a round to conic shape. The flesh has a sweet acid flavor with a slight bitterness, giving a good quality product when canned. It is adapted to southern Rio Grande do Sul, where the production of processed peaches is concentrated. Made available in DSpace on 2021-05-06T02:12:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 1984-7033-cbab-18-02-234.pdf: 425894 bytes, checksum: 78ef0b76704abce1cb8ec4a193efedba (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018

Expression of pectinolytic genes is regulated by catabolic repression limiting the productionof pectin lyase (PL) if the natural inducer, pectin, is missing from the growth medium. Here,we report the isolation of Penicillium griseoroseum mutants resistant to 2-deoxy-d-glucose(DG) that show resistance to catabolite repression and overproduce PL. Three spontaneousand nine UV-induced mutants were obtained. Some mutants produced sectors (segmentsmorphologically different) that were also studied. The mutants were analyzed for pectinasesproduction on pectinase-agar plates and five mutants and two sectors showing larger clear-ing zones than the wild type were selected for quantitative assay. Although PL productionhigher than the wild type has been found, phenotype instability was observed for most ofthe mutants and, after transfers to nonselective medium, the DG resistance was no longerpresent. Only mutants M03 and M04 were stable maintaining the DG-resistance phenotype.When growing for 120 h in liquid medium containing glucose with or without pectin, bothmutants showed higher PL production. In the presence of glucose as sole carbon source, themutant M03 produced 7.8-fold more PL than the wild type. Due its phenotypic stability andPL overproduction, the mutant M03 presents potential for industrial applications. Made available in DSpace on 2022-08-09T13:20:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pectin-lyase-overproduction-by-Penicillium-griseoroseum-mutants.pdf: 1104899 bytes, checksum: f7c88d8afc05cd4267f56ba0a16f927a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. The online supplementary material (composed of Table S1, Fig. S1, and Fig. S2) was omitted in the published online version. The supplementary material is available in this version.

Background and Aims: Expected increases in world population will continue to make demands on agricultural productivity and food supply. These challenges will only be met by increasing the land under cultivation and by improving the yields obtained on existing farms. Genetic engineering can target key traits to improve crop yields and to increase production on marginal soils. Soil acidity is a major abiotic stress that limits plant production worldwide. The goal of this study was to enhance the acid soil tolerance of wheat by increasing its resistance to Al3+ toxicity. Methods: Particle bombardment was used to transform wheat with TaALMT1, the Al3+ resistance gene from wheat, using the maize ubiquitin promoter to drive expression. TaALMT1 expression, malate efflux and Al3+ resistance were measured in the T1 and T2 lines and compared with the parental line and an Al3+-resistant reference genotype, ET8. Key Results: Nine T2 lines showed increased TaALMT1 expression, malate efflux and Al3+ resistance when compared with untransformed controls and null segregant lines. Some T2 lines displayed greater Al3+ resistance than ET8 in both hydroponic and soil experiments. Conclusions: The Al3+ resistance of wheat was increased by enhancing TaALMT1 expression with biotechnology. This is the first report of a major food crop being stably transformed for greater Al3+ resistance. Transgenic strategies provide options for increasing food supply on acid soils.

The aluminum (Al3+) tolerance of barley cultivars predominately from Brazil was compared to that of cultivars from other countries, wild barley accessions, and a transgenic line (L5) over-expressing TaALMT1, the major Al3+ tolerance gene from wheat. After screening conventional germplasm for Al3+ tolerance in hydroponics, 18 genotypes were further characterized in a short-term soil experiment. Among the Brazilian cultivars, Antarctica 01 and BRS Mariana showed the greatest relative root length (RRL) in acid soil. However, these cultivars were significantly less tolerant than the foreign cultivars Dayton (USA) and Murasakimochi (Japan) and the transgenic line L5 which out-performed all conventional genotypes. In long-term growth trials, the transgenic line produced the greatest relative root and relative shoot dry weight. Relative grain yield was greatest in the transgenic line and Dayton. All genotypes were also scored for two genetic markers linked to HvAACT1, the major Al3+ tolerance gene in barley. One marker detects a 1-kb insertion in the promoter that increases gene expression and leads to increased Al3+-activated citrate efflux from root apices. The other marker detects a 21-bp indel downstream of the coding region. The 1-kb insertion was only detected in Dayton and Murasakimochi that were the best performing cultivars among the non-transgenic germplasm. Interestingly, the Brazilian cultivars with an intermediate level of tolerance, Antarctica 01 and BRS Mariana, lacked the 1-kb insertion but had enhanced HvAACT1 expression compared to an Al3+-sensitive cultivar. No clear correlation was observed between Al3+ tolerance and the 21-bp indel marker in the short-term soil trials. We conclude that improved Al3+ tolerance in barley could be achieved by combining the best allele of HvAACT1 along with TaALMT1 as a transgene.

Wheat blast, caused by Magnaporthe oryzae (Triticum haplotype - MoT), is an important disease of wheat in Brazil. In this study, we designed 38 new SSR markers based on the genome sequence of different MoT isolates, compared the informativeness of those markers with other 52 from the literature and mapped the polymorphic ones. Among the 90 SSR markers, 53 were polymorphic resulting in, on average, 3.02 alleles per locus and polymorphism information content (PIC) of 0.41. Most (81.1 %) of the polymorphic markers presented 11 or more motif repeats. Seventeen highly informative markers were detected and mapped in all chromosomes except for chromosome 5. On average, polymorphic markers on chromosome 6 showed the highest PIC followed by chromosomes 2 and 7. Clustering analysis showed a clear separation of one isolate from rice from the rest of the isolates from wheat. In each of the three clusters detected, the MoT isolates were similar among them regardless of the year and location sampled, suggesting that the pathogen is widely dispersed across wheat growing regions in Brazil. The highly informative markers detailed here should be useful for population biology studies of the wheat blast pathogen.

Repeated blocks in the TaALMT1 promoter as well as a transposon insertion in the TaMATE1B upstream region have been correlated with the level of gene expression, organic acid efflux, and ultimately aluminum (Al3+) resistance in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, we investigated the allelic polymorphism related to the TaALMT1 and TaMATE1B promoter regions in 300 Brazilian wheat genotypes and the correlation of that variation with root growth on acid soil. In addition, SSR markers were used to determine the genetic variability of the genotypes. Seven TaALMT1 promoter alleles (Types I–VII) were detected based on size of PCR products. The most common alleles were Type V and Type VI (71.3 and 11.9 %, respectively), and these are generally associated with higher levels of TaALMT1 expression and Al3+ resistance. The promoter alleles Type I and Type II, which are usually associated with Al3+ sensitivity, were detected in 12.2 % of the genotypes. The insertion in the TaMATE1B promoter, associated with greater Al3+ resistance, was identified in 80 genotypes. Combination among the alleles allowed the separation in 12 haplotypes were 68 genotypes presented the TaALMT1 promoters Type V and Type VI along with the transposon insertion in the TaMATE1B promoter. However, the most represented haplotype was Type V without the insertion (176 genotypes). Short-term soil experiment, performed in 33 genotypes representing the 12 haplotypes, revealed that the higher relative root length was observed in some genotypes presenting TaALMT1 promoters Type V or Type VI and the transposon insertion in the TaMATE1B promoter. Moreover, when comparing genotypes inside the same haplotype, the transposon insertion was significantly advantageous for a few materials. However, the majority the genotypes presenting the insertion in the TaMATE1B promoter did not outperform the genotypes without the insertion but showing the same TaALMT1 promoter. Analysis using SSR markers, with an average PIC of 0.60, showed high genetic diversity among the genotypes belonging to different haplotypes. The alleles and the genetically diverse genotypes reported here should be considered for wheat-breeding programs aiming increments in wheat Al3+ resistance.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the natural levels of the plant defence compound DIMBOA (2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one) in young leaves of eight hexaploid Brazilian wheat genotypes and the impact of the genotypes upon development of cereal aphids, Rhopalosiphum padi and Sitobion avenae. HPLC analysis revealed that the DIMBOA levels varied from 5.376 (in BRS Guabiju) to 30.651 mmol kg FW−1 (in BRS Timbauva) with two genotypes outperforming Solstice, a UK variety used as reference. Bioassays were conducted to evaluate the development and fecundity of both aphids when grown on the wheat genotypes. Although BRS Guabiju and BRS Timbauva were among the genotypes showing the highest susceptibility and resistance, respectively, against both aphid species, no correlation could be found between DIMBOA levels and antibiosis effects. The cultivar BRS 327 was among the genotypes showing lower intrinsic rate of population increase for the two aphid species. Elucidating the role of secondary metabolites in plant resistance to aphids and the characterization of the genotypes that allowed reduced development of R. padi and S. avenae are important steps to achieve a better natural resistance in hexaploid Brazilian wheat.

Este estudo pretende averiguar como é que as pessoas reagiram perante a introdução de novos produtos neste setor, designados de combustíveis não aditivados ou combustíveis simples. Foi efetuado um levantamento de leis que exercem influência neste setor e que foram consideradas relevantes para o estudo, acompanhando uma revisão teórica centrada nos processos de compra dos consumidores e nos fatores que influenciam estas escolhas. Realizou-se também um questionário aplicado a consumidores de combustíveis, obtendo-se uma amostra de 327 consumidores de uma população de 547733 pessoas, com o objetivo de conhecer as opiniões das pessoas acerca deste mercado e seus produtos. Durante o estudo verificou-se que os consumidores se encontram pouco satisfeitos com os preços praticados. Foi possível concluir ainda que os consumidores consideram importante a inclusão destes produtos no mercado e que na altura de escolher qual a variedade de combustível que pretendem adquirir, é o preço que exerce maior influência na escolha. Com esta informação os intervenientes podem realizar campanhas de sensibilização mais específicas e eficazes. Assim, os consumidores passariam a disponibilizar de mais e melhor informação quando adquirissem estes produtos. Futuramente este estudo poderia ser levado a um nível nacional ou procurar saber as opiniões dos revendedores relativamente aos mesmos, ao invés dos consumidores., This study seeks to find out how people reacted to the introduction of new products in this sector, called non-additive fuels or simple fuels. A survey was made of laws that influence this sector and were considered relevant to the study, following a theoretical review focused on consumer buying processes and the factors that influence these choices. A questionnaire was also applied to fuel consumers, obtaining a sample of 327 consumers from a population of 547733, in order to know people's opinions about the fuel market and its products. During the study it was found that consumers were dissatisfied with the prices charged, but that simple fuels are important to the market. It was also possible to conclude that consumers consider it important to include these products on the market and that when choosing which variety of fuel to buy, it’s the price that exerts the greatest influence on the choice. In this way, consumers would be able to acquire more and better information, enabling them to make the best possible choices when they want to buy fuel. In the future this study could be taken to a national level or seek out the opinions of the resellers regarding them, rather than the consumers., Orientação: Felipa Cristina Henriques Rodrigues Lopes dos Reis

Infection constitutes a serious adverse event in patients submitted to deep brain stimulation, often leading to removal of the device. We set to evaluate the potential role of immunoscintigraphy withTc-labelled antigranulocyte antibody fragments (Tc-sulesomab) in the management of infection following DBS.Tc-sulesomab immunoscintigraphy seems to correlate well with the presence and extent of infection, thus contributing to differentiate between patients who should remove the hardware entirely at presentation and those who could undergo a more conservative approach. Also,Tc-sulesomab immunoscintigraphy has a role in determining the most appropriate timing for reimplantation. Finally, we propose an algorithm for the management of infection following DBS surgery, based on the results of theTc-sulesomab immunoscintigraphy.

This report describes the cloning, sequence and expression analysis of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene of Moniliophthora perniciosa, the most important pathogen of cocoa in Brazil. Southern blot analysis revealed the presence of a single copy of the GAPDH gene in the M. perniciosa genome (MpGAPDH). The complete MpGAPDH coding sequence contained 1,461 bp with eight introns that were conserved in the GAPDH genes of other basidiomycete species. The cis-elements in the promoter region of the MpGAPDH gene were similar to those of other basidiomycetes. Likewise, the MpGAPDH gene encoded a putative 339 amino acid protein that shared significant sequence similarity with other GAPDH proteins in fungi, plants, and metazoans. Phylogenetic analyses clustered the MPGAPDH protein with other homobasidiomycete fungi of the family Tricholomataceae. Expression analysis of the MpGAPDH gene by real-time PCR showed that this gene was more expressed (~1.3X) in the saprotrophic stage of this hemibiotrophic plant pathogen than in the biotrophic stage when grown in cacao extracts.

Somatic embryos of the commercial soybean (Glycine max) cultivar IAS5 were co-transformed using particle bombardment with a synthetic form of the Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxin crystal protein gene cry1Ac, the beta-glucuronidase reporter gene gusA and the hygromycin resistance gene hpt. Hygromycin-resistant tissues were proliferated individually to give rise to nine sets of clones corresponding to independent transformation events. The co-bombardment resulted in a co-transformation efficiency of 44%. Many histodifferentiated embryos and 30 well-developed plants were obtained. Twenty of these plants flowered and fourteen set seeds. The integration and expression of the cry1Ac, gusA and hpt transgenes into the genomes of a sample of transformed embryos and all T0, T1, T2 and T3 plants were confirmed by Gus activity, PCR, Southern and western blot, and ELISA techniques. Two T0 plants out of the seven co-transformed plants produced seeds and were analyzed for patterns of integration and inheritance until the T3 generation. Bioassays indicated that the transgenic plants were highly toxic to the velvetbean caterpillar Anticarsia gemmatalis, thus offering a potential for effective insect resistance in soybean.

Magnaporthe oryzae, the causal agent of wheat blast, was characterized on a molecular level with 38 newly isolated genomic SSR loci. Among the 31 wheat isolates analyzed, 15 polymorphic loci were detected, with an average of 1.7 alleles per locus, 28.9% of them being highly or reasonably informative. The number of polymorphic loci was higher in isolates from Londrina in the Brazilian state of Parana´ and Coromandel in Minas Gerais compared with Goiânia in Goiás and São Borja in Rio Grande do Sul. The rice isolate was clearly different from the wheat isolates, and the size difference in polymorphic SSR loci between one isolate from wheat and one isolate from rice was associated with the number of repeats. Some isolates collected from different states and in different years demonstrated similarities of 100%. The markers developed here are useful for the genetic analysis of M. oryzae isolated from wheat, and isolates representing the variability detected in the field can be used to search for better wheat blast resistance. Genetic variability Magnaporthe oryzae Microsatellite Wheat blast

Summary Al3+ tolerance of barley was enhanced in transgenic plants by expression of the SbMATE gene from sorghum and the FRD3 gene from Arabidopsis, which increased citrate efflux in roots., Malate and citrate efflux from root apices is a mechanism of Al3+ tolerance in many plant species. Citrate efflux is facilitated by members of the MATE (multidrug and toxic compound exudation) family localized to the plasma membrane of root cells. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is among the most Al3+-sensitive cereal species but the small genotypic variation in tolerance that is present is correlated with citrate efflux via a MATE transporter named HvAACT1. This study used a biotechnological approach to increase the Al3+ tolerance of barley by transforming it with two MATE genes that encode citrate transporters: SbMATE is the major Al3+-tolerance gene from sorghum whereas FRD3 is involved with Fe nutrition in Arabidopsis. Independent transgenic and null T3 lines were generated for both transgenes. Lines expressing SbMATE showed Al3+-activated citrate efflux from root apices and greater tolerance to Al3+ toxicity than nulls in hydroponic and short-term soil trials. Transgenic lines expressing FRD3 exhibited similar phenotypes except citrate release from roots occurred constitutively. The Al3+ tolerance of these lines was compared with previously generated transgenic barley lines overexpressing the endogenous HvAACT1 gene and the TaALMT1 gene from wheat. Barley lines expressing TaALMT1 showed significantly greater Al3+ tolerance than all lines expressing MATE genes. This study highlights the relative efficacy of different organic anion transport proteins for increasing the Al3+ tolerance of an important crop species.

The objective of this work was to determine the genetic variability available for triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) crop improvement in Brazil. Forty-two wheat genomic microsatellites were used to estimate the molecular diversity of 54 genotypes, which constitute the base of one of the major triticale breeding programs in the country. Average heterozygosity was 0.06 and average and effective number of alleles per locus were 2.13 and 1.61, respectively, with average allelic frequency of 0.34. The set of genomic wheat microsatellites used clustered the genotypes into seven groups, even when the germplasm was originated primarily from only two triticale breeding programs, a fact reflected on the average polymorphic information content value estimated for the germplasm (0.36). The 71.42% transferability achieved for the tested microsatellites indicates the possibility of exploiting these transferable markers in further triticale genetic and breeding studies, even those mapped on the D genome of wheat, when analyzing hexaploid triticales. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a variabilidade disponível para o melhoramento de triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) no Brasil. Quarenta e dois microssatélites de trigo foram empregados para estimar a diversidade molecular de 54 genótipos, que constituem a base de um dos principais programas de melhoramento da espécie no país. A heterozigosidade média foi 0,06, e os números médio e efetivo de alelos por lócus foram de 2,13 e 1,61, respectivamente, com freqüência alélica média de 0,34. O conjunto de microssatélites de trigo possibilitou reunir os genótipos em sete grupos, mesmo que o germoplasma utilizado seja originado de apenas duas instituições de pesquisa, o que refletiu em baixo índice de polimorfismo médio (0,36). A taxa de transferência dos marcadores testados (71,42%) indica a possibilidade de uso desses microssatélites de trigo, até mesmo os mapeados no genoma D da espécie, na análise de triticales hexaplóides em futuros trabalhos de genética e melhoramento de triticale.

Penicillium brevicompactum is a filamentous fungus that presents a potential for industrial use due its efficient pectinase production. A heterologous transformation system was developed for P. brevicompactum based on the complementation of a nitrate reductase mutant. Nitrate reductase mutants were obtained by resistance to chlorate in a rate of 23.24% when compared to other mutations that lead to the chlorate resistance. One mutant named 4457-18X was chosen for the transformation experiments with the pNH24 vector containing de Fusarium oxysporum nitrate reductase gene. A frequency of approximately 3 transformants/µg DNA was obtained using the circular vector pNH24. This frequency was multiplied about 10 fold using the linearized vector with the Xba I restriction enzyme. Southern analysis of the transformants showed a tendency of the linearized vector to diminish the number of integrations compared to the use of the circular vector. The integration was random and stable in the analyzed transformants. The establishment of a transformation system for P. brevicompactum is fundamental for genetic manipulation of this microorganism.Penicillium brevicompactum é um fungo filamentoso que apresenta um potencial para a aplicação industrial devido a sua eficiente produção de enzimas do complexo pectinolítico. Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um sistema de transformação heterólogo para P. brevicompactum baseado na complementação de um mutante nitrato redutase. Mutantes nitrato redutase foram obtidos pela resistência ao clorato de sódio em uma taxa de 23,24%. O mutante denominado 4457-18X foi escolhido para os experimentos de transformação com o vetor pNH24, que contém o gene da nitrato redutase de Fusarium oxysporum. Uma freqüência de cerca de 3 transformantes/mg de DNA foi obtida utilizando-se o vetor pNH24 na forma circular e um aumento de cerca de 10 vezes nessa freqüência foi alcançado com a utilização desse vetor linearizado com a enzima de restrição Xba I. A análise dos transformantes pela técnica de hibridização revelou uma tendência do vetor linearizado diminuir o número de integrações em relação ao vetor circular. A integração foi aleatória e estável nos transformantes analisados. O estabelecimento de um sistema de transformação para P. brevicompactum é essencial para a manipulação genética desse microrganismo.