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Aim of the study: To demonstrate if a population of Pyrenean chamois Rupicapra p. pyrenaica can live at low altitudes all year long. This could enlarge dramatically its potential habitat. Area of study: A hunting ground in Sobrarbe County, Pyrenees, Spain, in 2022. Material and methods. We interviewed local hunters to find out when the presence of the subspecies in the area dates back. We performed block counts from April to December in the target area for calculating the size of the population. Main results: There was a presence of at least 15 years of the subspecies living at 600 m asl. The population was at least 18 animals, reproduces, and shows a normal demographic structure of kids, yearlings, adult females, and adult males. Research highlights: Low-altitude chamois populations living in forests could be a result of important ecological changes in high mountain pastures producing migrations to newly suitable areas as low-altitude forests. The potential habitat of the subspecies should be broadened.

The fruit size of a cultivated olive tree is consistently larger than its corresponding wild relatives because fruit size is one of the main traits associated with olive tree domestication. Additionally, large fruit size is one of the main objectives of modern olive breeding programs. However, as the long juvenile period is one main hindrance in classic breeding approaches, obtaining genetic markers associated with this trait is a highly desirable tool. For this reason, GWAS analysis of both genetic markers and the genes associated with fruit size determination, measured as fruit weight, was herein carried out in 50 genotypes, of which 40 corresponded to cultivated and 10 to wild olive trees. As a result, 113 genetic markers were identified, which showed a very high statistically significant correlation with fruit weight variability, p < 10−10. These genetic markers corresponded to 39 clusters of genes in linkage disequilibrium. The analysis of a segregating progeny of the cross of “Frantoio” and “Picual” cultivars allowed us to confirm 10 of the 18 analyzed clusters. The annotation of the genes in each cluster and the expression pattern of the samples taken throughout fruit development by RNAseq enabled us to suggest that some studied genes are involved in olive fruit weight determination.

Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO) is one of the most widespread and devastating olive diseases in the world. Harnessing host resistance to the causative agent is considered one of the most important measures within an integrated control strategy of the disease. Aiming to understand the mechanisms underlying olive resistance to VWO, the metabolic profiles of olive leaves, stems and roots from 10 different cultivars with varying levels of susceptibility to this disease were investigated by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The distribution of 56 metabolites among the three olive tissues was quantitatively assessed and the possible relationship between the tissues’ metabolic profiles and resistance to VWO was evaluated by applying unsupervised and supervised multivariate analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to explore the data, and separate clustering of highly resistant and extremely susceptible cultivars was observed. Moreover, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were built to differentiate samples of highly resistant, intermediate susceptible/resistant, and extremely susceptible cultivars. Root models showed the lowest classification capability, but metabolites from leaf and stem were able to satisfactorily discriminate samples according to the level of susceptibility. Some typical compositional patterns of highly resistant and extremely susceptible cultivars were described, and some potential resistance/susceptibility metabolic markers were pointed out.

Transcription is carried out in most eukaryotes by three multimeric complexes (RNA polymerases I, II and III). However, plants contain two additional RNA polymerases (IV and V), which have evolved from RNA polymerase II. RNA polymerases II, IV and V contain both common and specific subunits that may specialise some of their functions. In this study, we conducted a search for the genes that putatively code for the specific subunits of RNA polymerases IV and V, as well as those corresponding to RNA polymerase II in olive trees. Based on the homology with the genes of Arabidopsis thaliana, we identified 13 genes that putatively code for the specific subunits of polymerases IV and V, and 16 genes that code for the corresponding specific subunits of polymerase II in olives. The transcriptomic analysis by RNA-Seq revealed that the expression of the RNA polymerases IV and V genes was induced during the initial stages of fruit development. Given that RNA polymerases IV and V are involved in the transcription of long non-coding RNAs, we investigated their expression and observed relevant changes in the expression of this type of RNAs. Particularly, the expression of the intergenic and intronic long non-coding RNAs tended to increase in the early steps of fruit development, suggesting their potential role in this process. The positive correlation between the expression of RNA polymerases IV and V subunits and the expression of non-coding RNAs supports the hypothesis that RNA polymerases IV and V may play a role in fruit development through the synthesis of this type of RNAs.

Proyecto de Innovación Docente para analizar los recursos audiovisuales utilizados en las asignaturas "Estructura y Empresa de Radio", obligatoria troncal de 2º curso, y "Estructura y Empresa de Televisión, obligatoria troncal de 4º curso; ambas del grado en comunicación audiovisual de la Facultad de Ciencias de la Información UCM, bajo la dirección del Departamento de Ciencias de la Comunicación Aplicada.

Se evaluó la variabilidad dental de los cráneos y mandíbulas de 182 jabalíes del Pirineo occidental (PO) y del valle medio del Ebro (VME), Aragón, España. En concreto si había diferencias en la frecuencia y distribución por edad y sexo entre áreas, y si las diferencias podían estar relacionadas con sus hábitats (adquiridas) o eran hereditarias (congénitas). La variabilidad incluía: hiperdontia e hipodontia (más o menos dientes de lo normal), persistencia (presencia de dientes temporales en adultos), rotación y malposición (desviaciones de los dientes de los ejes vertical u horizontal, respectivamente), diastema (espacio anormal entre dos dientes), lesiones, pérdida de dientes y sarro. La variabilidad adquirida como el sarro y las lesiones fueron significativamente más frecuentes en el PO, lo que podría deberse a diferencias en la dieta entre las áreas (por ejemplo, en el PO el alimento subterráneo conseguido a partir de las hozaduras fue más importante que en el VME). Entre las congénitas, las áreas diferían significativamente en la frecuencia de diastema, que podría ser una característica hereditaria en el VME. En general, la incidencia de rotaciones (100 %) y malposición (90 %) fue alta, lo que sugiere que éstas son características de la dentición, más que anomalías. Entre las congénitos, el diastema (y la hipodontia frecuentemente asociada) fue la más común, lo que interpretamos como una incipiente adaptación hacia una reducción en el número de dientes como respuesta a un cambio a una dieta predominantemente vegetariana., The skulls and mandibles of 182 wild boars from the Western Pyrenees (WP) and the Middle Ebro Valley (MEV), Aragon, Spain, were assessed for dental variability. We evaluated whether there were differences in the frequency and age and sex distribution between areas, and whether any differences might be related to their environments (acquired) or were heritable (congenital). Variability included hyperdontia and hypodontia (more or fewer teeth than is normal), persistence (presence of deciduous teeth in adults), rotation and malposition (teeth deviations from the vertical or horizontal axes, respectively), diastema (abnormal space between two teeth), injuries, tooth loss, and tartar. Acquired variability such as tartar and injuries were significantly more frequent in the WP, which might have been due to differences in diet between the areas (e.g., in WP, rooting was considerable). Among the congenital, the areas differed significantly in the frequency of diastema, which might have been a hereditary characteristic in the MEV. Overall, the incidence of rotations (100%) and malposition (90%) were high, which suggests that these are characteristics of the dentition, rather than abnormalities. Among the congenital, diastema (and the frequently associated hypodontia) was the most common, which we interpret as an incipient adaptation towards a reduction in the number of teeth as a response to a shift to a predominantly vegetarian diet.

Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata has a relatively low commercial value due to the low size and pulp to stone ratio of its drupes compared to commercial olive cultivars. Nevertheless, this subspecies could represent a valid source of useful traits for olive breeding. In the current work, the drupe metabolic composition (secoiridoids, flavonoids, simple phenols, triterpenic acids, etc.) of a progeny of 27 cuspidata genotypes coming from free pollination and their female parent was evaluated by applying a powerful LC-MS method. A total of 62 compounds were detected within the profiles; 60 of them were annotated and 27 quantified. From a quantitative point of view, the genotypes from the progeny of cuspidata showed quite different metabolic profiles to olive common cultivars ("Arbequina", "Frantoio", "Koroneiki" and "Picual") used as controls. Cuspidata drupes were richer in terms of several bioactive compounds such as rutin, hydroxytyrosol glucoside, a few interesting secoiridoids and the compounds of m/z 421 and 363. The relationships among several secondary metabolites determined in the progeny inferred from the results of both PCA and cross-correlation analysis were explained according to metabolic biosynthesis pathways in olive drupes. These outcomes underlined the potential of cuspidata genetic resources as a source of potentially interesting variability in olive breeding programs.