Resultados de investigación

(A, D, G. J) Representative histological sections of follicle-enclosed oocytes at previtellogenesis, including the primary growth (A) and cortical alveoli (D) stages, vitellogenic (G) and maturing and hydrating (J) stage stained with hematoxylin and eosin. (B-C, E-F, H-I, K-L) Bright field (BF) images and immunostaining of total Aqp1ab2 or Aqp1ab2_v1 (red) in follicles in each of the different stages using the sole-specific α-Aqp1ab2-Nt and α-Aqp1ab2_v1 antisera. Sections were counterstained with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI; blue) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA; green). Control sections incubated with preabsorbed antisera were negative (S1 Fig). The arrows and arrowheads, indicate granulosa and theca cells, respectively, surrounding the oocyte. Abbreviations: o, oocyte; y, yolk globule; gv, germinal vesicle; ve, vitelline envelope; cp, capillary; ca, cortical alveoli. Scale bars, 10 μm (A-D, H, I, L, K, and inset in I and L), 50 μm (G, J), 20 μm (E, F), 5 μm (inset in E and F)., With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)., Peer reviewed

(A) Representative immunoblots of protein extracts from follicles at the previtellogenic, vitellogenic), hydrating, and mature stage (2.5 follicle equivalents/lane) using the α-Aqp1ab2-Nt antisera. The blots show extracts from three different pools of follicles collected from three different females. The arrowheads indicate the Aqp1ab2-WT, Aqp1ab2_v1 and Aqp1ab2_v2 proteins according to their apparent molecular masses. In all blots, molecular mass markers (kDa) are on the left. (B) Relative amount of the Aqp1ab2_v1 (left) and Aqp1ab2_v2 (right) isoforms with respect to the Aqp1ab2-WT at the different development stages based on the blots shown in A. Bars (mean ± SEM; n = 3 fish) with different superscript are statistically significant (one-way ANOVA; P < 0.05)., With the institutional support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S)., Peer reviewed

Additional file 1: Supplementary Table 1. Detailed sequencing data obtained in this study., Horizon 2020 Framework Programme Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Generalitat Valenciana Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Peer reviewed

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production sector and nowadays provides more food than extractive fishing. Studies focused on the understanding of how teleost growth is regulated are essential to improve fish production. Cysteamine (CSH) is a novel feed additive that can improve growth through the modulation of the GH/IGF axis; however, the underlying mechanisms and the interaction between tissues are not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of CSH inclusion in diets at 1.65 g/kg of feed for 9 weeks and 1.65 g/kg or 3.3 g/kg for 9 weeks more, on growth performance and the GH/IGF-1 axis in plasma, liver, stomach, and white muscle in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) fingerlings (1.8 ± 0.03 g) and juveniles (14.46 ± 0.68 g). Additionally, the effects of CSH stimulation in primary cultured muscle cells for 4 days on cell viability and GH/IGF axis relative gene expression were evaluated. Results showed that CSH-1.65 improved growth performance by 16% and 26.7% after 9 and 18 weeks, respectively, while CSH-3.3 improved 32.3% after 18 weeks compared to control diet (0 g/kg). However, no significant differences were found between both experimental doses. CSH reduced the plasma levels of GH after 18 weeks and increased the IGF-1 ones after 9 and 18 weeks. Gene expression analysis revealed a significant upregulation of the ghr-1, different igf-1 splice variants, igf-2 and the downregulation of the igf-1ra and b, depending on the tissue and dose. Myocytes stimulated with 200 µM of CSH showed higher cell viability and mRNA levels of ghr1, igf-1b, igf-2 and igf-1rb compared to control (0 µM) in a similar way to white muscle. Overall, CSH improves growth and modulates the GH/IGF-1 axis in vivo and in vitro toward an anabolic status through different synergic ways, revealing CSH as a feasible candidate to be included in fish feed., Peer reviewed

Peer reviewed

1 file, The global trade in seahorses is increasing and new rearing techniques are currently available for a few species. One of the main bottlenecks in seahorse production is reproduction success, which is dependent upon the administration of high quality diets to breeders. However, very little is known about the most adequate diets, on how they should be administered and on how they might affect newborn performance. In this study, three homogeneous groups of adult seahorses Hippocampus guttulatus were maintained in captivity. Each group was fed on one of the following diets since the onset of the breeding period: Unenriched adult Artemia (Diet A), unenriched adult Artemia and mysidaceans (Diet AM) and mysidaceans (Diet M). As a positive control we used a wild pregnant male. The mixed diet AM provided the highest overall breeding success and reasonable fatty acid profiles, and better resembled newborn from a wild male. The use of only mysidaceans (Diet M) provided the worse results in spite of the high DHA content. Significant differences were observed in newborn characteristics and fatty acid profiles among dietary groups and along the breeding season, especially in total n-3 HUFA and DHA. Monospecific diets including Artemia or mysidaceans very likely suffered nutritional deficiencies, which were reflected in morphological alterations of the muscle tissue (diet A) or abnormal early mortalities in newborn (diet M). Three progressive stages were identified along the whole breeding period: Initial mixed capital-income period (100 - 120 days since the onset of the breeding period), followed by an inflexion period (short transitional stage - income sources), and finally a long period characterized by the use of income sources and the progressive exhaustion of body reserves. Special attention should be deserved to the progressive changes in fatty acid profiles along the breeding season, resulting in a decrease in newborn performance. Considering the time required for a diet to be reflected in newborn, we recommend Hippocampus guttulatus breeders to be fed on a high quality diet for at least three months prior the breeding period, Peer reviewed

Figure S1: Absorption spectra and standard curve of CIP at different concentrations in inorganic α-MEM solution at 25 ◦C.; Figure S2. (a,d) Optical micrographs, (b,e) 3D rendering and (c,f) variation of surface topography in 3D of (a–c) drug-free and (d–f) CIP-loaded HHC systems; Figure S3: Zwitterionic chelate complex of ciprofloxacin with Mg2+ and Ca2+ cations (M) released by PEO coating and Mg alloy; Figure S4: (a) Evolution of OCP for HHC and HH+CIP during 1 and 24 h of immersion. (b,c) Nyquist and Bode diagrams for HHC and HHC+CIP specimens after 1 h and 24 h of immersion in inorganic α-MEM solution at 37 ◦C; Table S1. Fitted electrical parameters of EIS spectra of HHC and HHC+CIP specimens after 1 h and 24 h of immersion in inorganic α-MEM solution at 37 ◦C. Chi-square range: 0.001446-0.003891, Peer reviewed

[Introduction]: Drought-associated tree mortality has been increasing worldwide since the last decades, impacting structure and functioning of forest ecosystems, with implications for energy, carbon and water fluxes. However, the understanding of the individual vulnerability to drought-induced mortality is still limited., [Methods]: We aimed to identify the factors that triggered the mortality of the widely distributed Pinus sylvestris L. in an extensive forest area in central Spain. We compared radial growth patterns in pairs of alive and recently dead individuals that co-occur in close proximity and present similar age and size, thereby isolating the effects of size and environment from the mortality process. Temporal dynamics of growth, growth synchrony, and growth sensitivity to water availability (precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration) were compared between alive and recently dead trees., [Results and discussion]: Over the last 50 years, although we did not detect significant differences in growth between alive and dead trees, an increase in the growth synchrony and sensitivity to water availability (i.e. slope of the climatic water balance in the growth model) was observed in all trees as drought intensity increased. 20 years before mortality, dead individuals showed lower growth synchrony and growth sensitivity to water availability than alive ones, without significant differences in growth. Recorded reduction in growth synchrony and growth sensitivity to water availability in dead trees suggests a decoupling between tree growth and climate, which could increase the risk of hydraulic failure and/or carbon starvation under increasingly arid conditions. Thus, the use of reduced growth sensitivity to water availability as potential early-warning signal of tree mortality, together with reduced growth synchrony, should be further explored, particularly in pine species in seasonally dry areas., Peer reviewed

The role of plant traits in shaping community assembly along environmental gradients is a topic of ongoing research. It is well accepted that plant traits of aboveground organs tend to be conservative in stressful conditions. However, there is limited understanding of how belowground traits respond. Plants may have similar strategies above and belowground, but an intriguing possibility is that there is a trade-off between above and belowground traits of communities to both ensure efficient resource-use and limit niche overlap along the gradient. To test this, we asked whether the response of above and belowground traits of communities is coordinated or not along a stress gradient in Mediterranean sand dune communities. We analyzed 80 vegetation plots in Central Italy to test for coordinated vs independent patterns in above vs belowground plant traits using community weighted mean and standardized effect size of functional richness. Our results show that plant communities close to the sea, which experience high stress, were characterized by high convergence towards aboveground resource conservation and conservative water-use strategies but belowground resource acquisition, consistent with a strong effect of habitat filtering and an above-belowground tradeoff favoring adaptation to harsh and dry conditions. At the opposite end of the gradient with lower stress, plants exhibited higher trait diversity for both above and belowground traits, but overall a dominance of aboveground fast resource acquisition and generally acquisitive water-use strategies, combined with conservative fine-root traits. This suggests that fast growth rate aboveground was compensated by more conservative fine-root strategies, but processes such as competition limited niche overlap overall. Our findings provide new insights into the relationship between functional traits and environmental gradients in plant communities, shedding light on the trade-offs between the above and belowground dimensions., Peer reviewed

1 file, Supporting information for the article https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GB006229, Text S1 to S6.-- Figures S1 to S16, Peer reviewed