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In Romania are just 4 women's rugby teams, and just 60-70 players, the selection and the competition in rugby is difficult. Also, the lack of skills of coaches in the women's rugby sector creates the need to promote education in and through sport with special focus on skills development of coaches interested in women's rugby. The objective of the study is to highlight the vulnerabilities faced by rugby coaches and female rugby athletes and find solutions for eliminating or diminishing prejudices like parents' fears of letting their girls practice a sport that can be considered harsh. The survey contains 27 questions and was applied online via google forms in four countries: Romania, Poland, Portugal and Spain. The research was carried out over a period of 2 months, in 2020. Participants were 126 rugby specialists: coaches, doctors, teachers, managers, referees. Results aim to provide important data for understanding the challenges faced by coaches and specialists in women's rugby 7: how to select girl athletes, what are the things that determine athletes to continue playing rugby, if their training should be different from that of the boys and how the women's rugby game could be promoted. Possible solutions can be: coaches may need to use a full range of questioning and demonstration strategies (use of experienced players to demonstrate, use of video). Physical differences between male and female children aged ten to twelve years of age are usually minimal. Rugby girls seven needs more media coverage.

En ambientes serranos de Córdoba (Argentina) donde predomina la actividad turística y ganadera basada en especies forrajeras nativas, los incendios que afectan la zona comprometen la recuperación del paisaje natural. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la capacidad germinativa de Eustachys retusa y Schizachyrium condensatum, forrajeras nativas, sometidas a tratamientos pregerminativos y a factores del fuego. A sus semillas se les aplicaron tres repeticiones de los siguientes tratamientos: nitrato de potasio, frío, humo y choques térmicos. Se evaluó la germinación durante 21 días. Se observó un incremento favorable de la germinación en los tratamientos de 90 °C para S. condensatum y una disminución en la germinación de E. retusa en los tratamientos de frío y 120 °C durante 10 min. En el resto de los tratamientos realizados no hubo diferencias significativas con el testigo. En ninguno de los tratamientos S. condensatum alcanzó el 50 % de germinación, mientras que E. retusa resultó siempre mayor al 70 %. Se concluye que las semillas de E. retusa y S. condensatum toleran temperaturas de incendios rasantes o moderados y son capaces de germinar a 120 °C. E. retusa presenta ventajas para colonizar sitios quemados de las serranías cordobesas.

Our knowledge on the diversity of eukaryotic viruses has recently undergone a massive expansion. This diversity could influence host physiology through yet unknown phenomena of potential interest to the fields of health and food production. However, the assembly processes in eukaryotic viromes of terrestrial animals remain elusive. This situation hinders hypothesis-driven tests of virome influence on host physiology. Here, we explore virome assembly at different spatial scales in the eukaryotic virome of the mosquitoCulex pipiens. This mosquito is a vector of human pathogens worldwide. Several new aspects of virome assembly were unveiled through a sampling involving five countries in Africa and Europe and large sample sizes. A group of viruses was conserved inC. pipienspopulations in all countries. This core group represented a relatively large and diverse fraction of the virome. However, core viruses were not shared by all host individuals in a given country, and their infection rates fluctuated between countries and years. Moreover, the distribution of co-infections in individual mosquitoes suggested random co-occurrence of certain core viruses. We also observed differences in the virome depending on geography, with viromes tending to cluster depending on the continent. Thus, our results unveil that taxon conservation in a eukaryotic virome changes with spatial scale. Thus, predictions on virome assembly seem possible at a large geographical scale inC. pipiens.IMPORTANCEThe study of the eukaryotic virome of mosquitoes is an emerging research field. Beyond its fundamental interest, this field could lead to the development of control tools against the transmission of mosquito-borne human pathogens. However, we yet know little on the assembly patterns in the eukaryotic viromes of mosquitoes, as well as of terrestrial animals in general. This situation hampers the design of hypothesis-driven studies on the influence of the virome on pathogen transmission. Here, we have analyzed virome assembly in the mosquito vectorCulex pipienswithin and between countries in Africa and Europe. Our results show that integrating contrasted spatial scales allows to identify deterministic patterns in virome assembly. Such patterns can guide future studies of virome influence on mosquito physiology.

Chondracanthus chamissoi is part of the diet of coastal people from Peru and is exported dehydrated to Asian countries for direct consumption. Although it is considered endemic to Peru and Chile, its range has extended to distant regions, such as Korea, Japan, and France. Using morphological and molecular approaches, we examined specimens from Peru assigned to C. chamissoi (including the taxon of uncertain status Chondracanthus glomeratus) to improve phylogenetic and geographical information and characterize its morphological variability. Twenty-one localities on the Peruvian coast were sampled, obtaining 102 COI and 27 rbcL sequences. To differentiate both entities, morphological characters such as thallus size, consistency, arrangement of main and secondary axes, branching patterns and location of reproductive structures, were analyzed on 46 specimens. While morphological characteristics are clearly contrasting among the two groups, both COI and rbcL phylogenies revealed a well-supported clade with no genetic differentiation between the two morphologies. Therefore, the phylogenies indicate that C. chamissoi and C. glomeratus form a single taxonomic entity with high morphological variability, large geographic distribution and at least two morphological forms. The smaller form of C. chamissoi can be identified as C. chamissoi f. glomeratus. Such morphological variability can be of interest for future aquaculture development. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacion Tecnologica, Grant/Award Number: Convenio de Subvencion Nro. 017-2016-FONDECYT

Purpose The aim of this paper is to describe the tests carried out on a SRSMapCheck array, to verify its reliability and sensitivity for quality assurance (QA) of high gradient treatments as an alternative system to the use of high spatial resolution detectors, such as gafchromic film, whose processing requires meticulous and time‐consuming procedures. Methods In an initial step, general functionality tests were carried out to verify that the equipment meets the manufacturer's specifications. A study of the accuracy of the application of correction factors to compensate for variation in detector response due to dose rate, field size and beam angle incidence has been included. Besides, to assess the ability of the array to detect inaccurately delivered treatments, systematic errors corresponding to the deviation in the position of the leaves and the accuracy of the gantry position, have been introduced. Based on these results, an estimate of sensitivity and specificity values of the device has been completed. The final step included a study applied to high gradient treatment for real cases of spatially fractionated radiotherapy, where the results of SRSMapCheck measurements have been compared with gafchromic films. Results General commissioning tests meet the manufacturer's specifications. dose rate (DR) response variation is better than 1.5% and for DR above 50 MU/min better than 1%. The results for beam incidences are better than 1% for all gantry angles, including beam incidences parallel to the array. Field size response differences are within the range of ±1% for sizes up to 2 × 2 cm2, with a maximum value obtained of 3.5%, for 1 × 1 cm2. From the systematic error study, using a Gamma function Γ (2%, 2 mm), the detector presents a high specificity with a value greater than 90% at its lower limit, while its sensitivity has a moderate mean value of 81%. Sensitivity values increase above 86% when we apply a Gamma function Γ (2%, 1 mm) is applied. Finally, the study of actual cases comprises 17 patients, distributed into 11 lung tumors, 3 gynecological and 3 soft tissue tumors. The gafchromic film showed a lower passing rate with an average value of Γ (2%, 2 mm) = 94.1% compared to Γ (2%, 2 mm) = 98.6% reached by the measurements with the array. Conclusions Gamma function obtained with the SRSMapCheck array always presented a higher value than gafchromic film measurements, resulting in a greater number of plans considered correct. This fact, together with the sensitivity and specificity study carried out, allows us to conclude the recommendation that a restrictive metric must be established, in this way we will improve sensitivity, and therefore we will reduce the rate of incorrect plans qualified as correct. The characteristics of the equipment together with the correction factors applied, led to reliably performing acquisitions for complex treatments with multiple small targets in oblique rotational incidences. The spatial resolution of detectors allows the verification of high gradient dose plans such as those achieved in spatially fractionated radiotherapy (SFRT).

Yellow Stripe-Like (YSL) proteins are a family of plant transporters that are typically involved in transition metal homeostasis. Three of the four YSL clades (I, II and IV) transport metals complexed with the non-proteinogenic amino acid nicotianamine or its derivatives. No such capability has been shown for any member of clade III, but the link between these YSLs and metal homeostasis could be masked by functional redundancy. We studied the role of the clade III YSL protein MtSYL7 in Medicago truncatula nodules. MtYSL7, which encodes a plasma membrane-bound protein, is mainly expressed in the pericycle and cortex cells of the root nodules. Yeast complementation assays revealed that MtSYL7 can transport short peptides. M. truncatula transposon insertion mutants with decreased expression of MtYSL7 had lower nitrogen fixation rates and showed reduced plant growth whether grown in symbiosis with rhizobia or not. YSL7 mutants accumulated more copper and iron in the nodules, which is likely to result from the increased expression of iron uptake and delivery genes in roots. Taken together, these data suggest that MtYSL7 plays an important role in the transition metal homeostasis of nodules and symbiotic nitrogen fixation.

Translational control is an essential process for the cell to adapt to varying physiological or environmental conditions. To survive adverse conditions such as low nutrient levels, translation can be shut down almost entirely by inhibiting ribosomal function. Here we investigated eukaryotic hibernating ribosomes from the microsporidian parasite Spraguea lophii in situ by a combination of cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) and single particle cryoEM. We show that microsporidian spores contain ribosomes primed for host cell invasion and thus shed new light on the infection mechanism of this important pathogen. Prior to host infection, virtually all ribosomes are locked in the 100 S dimeric state, which appears to be formed by a unique dimerization mechanism that is distinct from its bacterial counterparts. Within the dimer, the hibernation factor MDF1 is bound within the E site, locking the L1 stalk in a closed conformation, and thus preventing the translation of mRNAs to polypeptides.

Background West Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV), two closely related flaviviruses, mainly follow an enzootic cycle involving mosquitoes and birds, but also infect humans and other mammals. Since 2010, their epidemiological situation may have shifted from irregular epidemics to endemicity in several European regions; this requires confirmation, as it could have implications for risk assessment and surveillance strategies. Aim To explore the seroprevalence in animals and humans and potential endemicity of WNV and USUV in Southern France, given a long history of WNV outbreaks and the only severe human USUV case in France in this region. Methods We evaluated the prevalence of WNV and USUV in a repeated cross-sectional study by serological and molecular analyses of human, dog, horse, bird and mosquito samples in the Camargue area, including the city of Montpellier, between 2016 and 2020. Results We observed the active transmission of both viruses and higher USUV prevalence in humans, dogs, birds and mosquitoes, while WNV prevalence was higher in horses. In 500 human samples, 15 were positive for USUV and 6 for WNV. Genetic data showed that the same lineages, WNV lineage 1a and USUV lineage Africa 3, were found in mosquitoes in 2015, 2018 and 2020. Conclusion These findings support existing literature suggesting endemisation in the study region and contribute to a better understanding of USUV and WNV circulation in Southern France. Our study underlines the importance of a One Health approach for the surveillance of these viruses.

In this article, we look at educational forms from the point of view of queer theory. We understand educational forms as techno-scientific practices in the sense defined by Donna Haraway (1997, Modest_Witness@Second_Millennium. FemaleMan_Meets_OncoMouse. Routledge). We contemplate the eminently subjugating nature of educational institutions in industrial and post-industrial societies. Our work is based on the introduction of queer theory into the social sciences and its influence on pedagogy, promoting the avoidance of normalising and exclusive subjectivities. We propose a use and understanding of queer that goes beyond the strictly sexual, in order to go as deeply as possible into a critique of bodily abnormality as a form of construction and remission. We also analyse the role that technology plays in building normality and/or making subversions possible, as well as its consequences for bodies and subjectivities in our modernised society.

Phyllophorella was recently described from two localities on the central coast of Peru (12°S), based on the endemic species Phyllophora (Ph.) peruviana. The genus currently accommodates three species, Phyllophorella (P.) peruviana, P. humboldtiana and P. limaensis. Recent field surveys for Phyllophorella on the central coast of Peru led to the discovery of collections outside the originally reported ranges. Morphological, anatomical, and genetic characterization of the specimens confirms range extensions for P. peruviana to 9° S and 15° S, and P. humboldtiana to 12° S and 15° S. A combined phylogenetic analysis of rbcL and COI-5P gene sequences supports the taxonomic status of these two species and reasserts the genus as monophyletic. Anatomically, the two species differ in nemathecial structure. Phyllophorella peruviana displays dome-shaped and well-defined circular nemathecia, whereas in P. humboldtiana they are irregular and diffuse in form. Mature cystocarps were observed for the first time in Phyllophorella, in P. humboldtiana from Lima and Ica, Peru. Phyllophorella, as well as the other genera classified to the family Phyllophoraceae, have a procarpic sexual system, with a carpogonial branch of three cells; the cystocarp develops a thickened cortex, is immersed in the medulla, and lacks a pericarp and an ostiole. This study demonstrates that field work, together with morphological, developmental, and genetic analyses, are useful methods for improving our understanding of seaweed distributions and systematics.

Siete especies de Rhodymenia han sido registradas para la costa de Peru, donde seis de ellas crecen en la costa central: R. corallina, R. howeana, R. multidigitata, R. flabellifolia, R. skottsbergii y R. californica . La mas conflictiva taxonomicamente es R. corallina , de la cual se han segregado R. howeana y R. multidigitata , solo en base a caracteres morfologicos externos (forma del estipe y habito de la fronda). Recolecciones recientes e intensivas de este complejo de especies en la costa central del Peru (9°S hasta 15°S) han permitido reunir varios morfotipos, evidenciando la alta variabilidad morfologica presente, que dificulta el poder diferenciar cada uno de los taxones involucrados. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue esclarecer la taxonomia de este complejo mediante la combinacion de datos morfologicos, tanto vegetativos como reproductivos, y de secuencias geneticas utilizando los marcadores rbc L y COI-5P. Especimenes de Callao, localidad tipo de R. howeana y R. multidigitata , fueron analizados molecularmente junto con material de la costa central (Casma hasta Marcona, 9-15°S) y norte de Peru (Piura, 6°S), asi como del norte chico de Chile (Coquimbo, 30°S), resolviendo dos grupos de Rhodymenia : un primer grupo filogenetico asociado a R. corallina de Chile (Coquimbo, 30°S), distribuido a lo largo de toda la costa central peruana (Casma hasta Marcona, 9-15°S) y un segundo grupo restringido a la costa norte de Peru (Piura a Casma, 6-9°S). Estos grupos se diferencian en caracteres de la morfologia externa y reproductiva. Basado en caracteristicas del soro tetrasporangial, se reconoce a R. howeana para el norte del Peru.

Members of the genus Chondracanthus (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales) inhabit the shores of both hemispheres and have been used for decades in some countries as raw material for carrageenan extraction and in some cases destined for human consumption. This has created potential business opportunities, which has drawn the attention of scientists and producers and increased the number of scientific and applied research studies in the last few years. The broad morphological variation of Chondracanthus species makes necessary the use of molecular tools for species delimitation, which has led to the re-grouping and geographic re-distribution of some entities. The present study is a review of the available literature on members of the genus Chondracanthus, with the exception of Chondracanthus teedei, regarding their identity, distribution, ecology, life history, population structure, chemical traits, handling, and culture.

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n=12,159], Monachus monachus [n=1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications.

RESUMEN Siendo la desnutrición un gran problema en países en desarrollo, que afecta en especial a madres gestantes y a recién nacidos, es necesario recurrir a fuentes de alimentos funcionales que contribuyan a mejorar dicho problema. La espirulina es un alimento ampliamente disponible y con un buen perfil nutricional que podría ser de utilidad, aunque no exista evidencia de su efecto sobre el perfil de ácidos grasos en periodo reproductivo en humanos o animales. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto del consumo de espirulina en ratas Holtzman gestantes-lactantes y vírgenes sobre el perfil hepático de ácidos grasos. Para ello, se consideraron 3 tratamientos: control, 5% y 10% de suplemento de espirulina, evaluándose las variables de relación producto/precursor de las enzimas de elongación e insaturación de ácidos grasos en hígado, peso del hígado y grasa visceral, consumo de alimento y evolución del peso corporal. Se obtuvo un incremento en la concentración de ácidos grasos n-6 y saturados en el hígado de ratas gestantes-lactantes, acompañado de un mayor apetito y aumento del peso de las crías al nacer, sin modificar el peso de las madres. El peso del hígado disminuyó solo en ratas gestantes-lactantes y la grasa visceral aumentó solo en ratas vírgenes. Se concluye que el consumo de espirulina en las ratas gestantes-lactantes mejora su perfil AGPI n-6 hepático y su apetito, así como el peso de las crías al nacer, sin influir en el peso de las madres.

Chondracanthus chamissoi es un alga roja de importancia comercial que es cosechada intensamente a lo largo de la costa peruana, por lo que es necesario que exista un mayor conocimiento que conlleve a desarrollar su cultivo. En este estudio, se cultivaron especímenes de tres localidades: Paiján (7°46’S; 79°25’O), Ancón (11°46’S; 77°11’O) y Mendieta (14°3’S; 76°15’O). Se postula la factibilidad de la metodología de carpósporas como alternativa para desarrollar su cultivo. Además, se propone que existen similitudes en el potencial reproductivo (PR) y los primeros estadios de cultivo (liberación de esporas, asentamiento y crecimiento) entre las localidades. El PR fue mayor para los especímenes de Ancón (320 millones de esporas), seguido de Mendieta (144 millones) y Paiján (12 millones). Sin embargo, el proceso de liberación de esporas para el inicio de los cultivos fue más efectivo para Paiján, con una cantidad de carpósporas liberadas de 6,2 ± 1% de su PR (795.125 ± 141.121 carpósporas por solución), seguido de Mendieta con 0,8 ± 0,12% (1.134.500 ± 181.259) y Ancón con 0,4 ± 0,1% de su PR (1.342.625 ± 387.436). Después de 120 días de cultivo se obtuvo una densidad de 31 plántulas por cm2 para Ancón, 49 para Mendieta y 18 para Paiján. Se concluye que es posible desarrollar el cultivo utilizando la metodología de carpósporas. Asimismo, se constantan diferencias entre el PR y los primeros estadios de cultivo de C. chamissoi proveniente de tres localidades distintas.

International audience; Our understanding of the viral communities associated to animals has not yet reached the level attained on the bacteriome. This situation is due to, among others, technical challenges in adapting metagenomics using high-throughput sequencing to the study of RNA viromes in animals. Although important developments have been achieved in most steps of viral metagenomics, there is yet a key step that has received little attention: the library preparation. This situation differs from bacteriome studies in which developments in library preparation have largely contributed to the democratisation of metagenomics. Here, we present a library preparation optimized for metagenomics of RNA viruses from insect vectors of viral diseases. The library design allows a simple PCR-based preparation, such as those routinely used in bacterial metabarcoding, that is adapted to shotgun sequencing as required in viral metagenomics. We first optimized our library preparation using mock viral communities and then validated a full metagenomic approach incorporating our preparation in two pilot studies with field-caught insect vectors; one including a comparison with a published metagenomic protocol. Our approach provided a fold increase in virus-like sequences compared to other studies, and nearly-full genomes from new virus species. Moreover, our results suggested conserved trends in virome composition within a population of a mosquito species. Finally, the sensitivity of our approach was compared to a commercial diagnostic PCR for the detection of an arbovirus in field-caught insect vectors. Our approach could facilitate studies on viral communities from animals and the democratization of metagenomics in community ecology of viruses.

Invoices document economic transactions and are thus critical to assess tax liabilities. We study a reform in the Dominican Republic that aimed to integrate invoice management into a broader, more comprehensive, risk-based compliance strategy. By rationing authorized invoices based on an extra scrutiny of each taxpayer’s compliance history, the reform led to significant and persistent improvements on filing, payment, and information reporting obligations and a modest increase in reported tax liabilities. Our study shows that deterrence effects over compliance behaviors are strengthened when the tax administration makes explicit and active use of taxpayers’ information, no matter if the invoicing framework is paper-based or electronic.

International audience; During recent years, mass mortalities of cultured scallops became more frequent in Peruvian bays. One of the main drivers related to these mortalities was hypoxic events. This study was designed to understand the hypoxia phenomenon in these bays and to assess how the Peruvian scallop, Argopecten purpuratus, can cope with reduced oxygen levels in seawater based on individual size. First, we analyzed the relationships between dissolved oxygen saturation and other environmental parameters (the Coastal El Niño Index, temperature, salinity and pH) in bottom seawater, the frequency and intensity of hypoxic events in two main culture areas (Sechura and Paracas Bays), and their relationship with scallop mass mortalities. Then, we performed experiments with two size groups of A. purpuratus (31 and 80 mm shell height; seed and commercial size, respectively) to assess their respective survival time under severe hypoxia (1% oxygen saturation) at 16°C and a salinity of 35. Finally, the results of the field records and the experimental data are used to suggest ways to improve scallop cultivation along the Peruvian coast.

Inbreeding, the mating between genetically related individuals, often results in reduced survival and fecundity of offspring, relative to outcrossing. Yet, high inbreeding rates are commonly observed in seaweeds, suggesting compensatory reproductive traits may affect the costs and benefits of the mating system. We experimentally manipulated inbreeding levels in controlled crossing experiments, using gametophytes from 19 populations of Macrocystis pyrifera along its Eastern Pacific coastal distribution (EPC). The objective was to investigate the effects of male-female kinship on female fecundity and fertility, to estimate inbreeding depression in the F1 progeny, and to assess the variability of these effects among different regions and habitats of the EPC. Results revealed that the presence and kinship of males had a significant effect on fecundity and fertility of female gametophytes. Females left alone or in the presence of sibling males express the highest gametophyte size, number, and size of oogonia, suggesting they were able to sense the presence and the identity of their mates before gamete contact. The opposite trend was observed for the production of embryos per female gametes, indicating higher costs of selfing and parthenogenesis than outcrossing on fertility. However, the increased fecundity compensated for the reduced fertility, leading to a stable overall reproductive output. Inbreeding also affected morphological traits of juvenile sporophytes, but not their heatwave tolerance. The male-female kinship effect was stronger in high-latitude populations, suggesting that females from low-latitude marginal populations might have evolved to mate with any male gamete to guarantee reproductive success. ANID/CONICYT FONDECYT de Iniciacion [11170699]; FONDECYTComision Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica y Tecnologica (CONICYT)CONICYT FONDECYT [1160930]; EU-FP7 MARFOR; CONACYT CCC (The Coastal Complexity Crew) project [CB-2013-1, 221662] info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The killer strains of Torulaspora delbrueckii can be used to improve the dominance of this yeast during must fermenta­tion. The present work analyzes its usefulness for traditional spar­kling wine making (base wine and cava). T. delbrueckii killer strain dominated base wine fermentation better than non-killer strains and produced dried wines. The foam ability of T. delbrueckii base wines was very low compa­red to that of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Significant posi­tive correlations of foam parameters were found with the amounts of C4-C16 ethyl esters and proteins, and negative correlations with some antifoam alcohols. The organoleptic quality of T. delbrueckii base wines was considered inap­propriate for cava making. While S. cerevisiae (alone or mixed with T. delbrueckii) completed the second fermen­tation to produce dry sparkling wines with high CO2 pres­sure, T. delbrueckii alone did not complete this fermen­tation, leaving sweet wines with low CO2 pressure. Death due to CO2 pressure was much higher in T. delbrueckii than in S. cerevisiae, making any killer effect of S. cerevi­siae on T. delbrueckii irrelevant. However, the organo­leptic quality of cava inoculated with mixtures of the two yeast species was better than that of wine inocula­ted exclusively with S. cerevisiae, and no deterioration in the quality of the foam was observed.

Mannan defective (mnn) mutants have constituted a fundamental tool in the study of the structure and biosynthesis of mannoproteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. They were isolated by the group of Dr. C.E. Ballou by random mutagenesis, and a selection method using specific antibodies obtained against the wild-type strain. Initially, the mutants were characterized biochemically, and in subsequent years the genes in which they were mutated were identified. All of them encode membrane proteins that catalyze the transfer of mannoses to N-oligosaccharides, sometimes isolated or as part of complexes made up of several proteins. However, the specific mutation of each of these mutants has only been identified in the case of mnn3. In this work, we have completed the characterization of the mutants by sequencing the mutated genes in each of them. As expected, they are point mutations that involve the change of one amino acid for another in the mutated protein, or for a stop signal, resulting in a truncated protein.

Yellow Stripe-Like (YSL) proteins are a family of plant transporters typically involved in transition metal homeostasis. The substrate of three of the four YSL clades (clades I, II, and IV) are metal complexes with non-proteinogenic amino acid nicotianamine or its derivatives. No such transport capabilities have been shown for any member of the remaining clade (clade III), which is able to translocate short peptides across the membranes instead. The connection between clade III YSL members and metal homeostasis might have been masked by the functional redundancy characteristic of this family. This might have been circumvented in legumes through neofunctionalization of YSLs to ensure a steady supply of transition metals for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in root nodules. To test this possibility,Medicago truncatulaclade III transporter MtYSL7 has been studied both when the plant was fertilized with ammonium nitrate or when nitrogen had to be provided by endosymbiotic rhizobia within the root nodules. MtYSL7 is a plasma membrane protein expressed in the vasculature and in the nodule cortex. This protein is able to transport short peptides into the cytosol, although none with known metal homeostasis roles. ReducingMtYSL7expression levels resulted in diminished nitrogen fixation rates. In addition, nodules of mutant lines lackingYSL7accumulated more copper and iron, the later the likely result of increased expression in roots of iron uptake and delivery genes. The available data is indicative of a role of MtYSL7, and likely other clade III YSLs, in transition metal homeostasis.ONE SENTENCE SUMMARYMedicago truncatulaYSL7 is a peptide transporter required for symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legume nodules, likely controlling transition metal allocation to these organs.