So far in this course we have dealt entirely with the evolution of characters that are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance at a single locus. There are notes on the course website about gametic disequilibrium and how allele frequencies change at two loci simultaneously, but we didn’t discuss them. In every example we’ve considered we’ve imagined that we could understand something about evolution by examining the evolution of a single gene. That’s the domain of classical population genetics. For the next few weeks we’re going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach we’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery. If you know a little about the history of evolutionary biology, you may know that after the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 there was a heated debate between the “biometricians” (e.g., Galton and Pearson) and the “Mendelians” (e.g., de Vries, Correns, Bateson, and Morgan). Biometricians asserted that the really important variation in evolution didn’t follow Mendelian rules. Height, weight, skin color, and similar traits seemed to

Human biochemical genetics

Sustainable production of renewable energy is being hotly debated globally since it is increasingly understood that first generation biofuels, primarily produced from food crops and mostly oil seeds are limited in their ability to achieve targets for biofuel production, climate change mitigation and economic growth. These concerns have increased the interest in developing second generation biofuels produced from non-food feedstocks such as microalgae, which potentially offer greatest opportunities in the longer term. This paper reviews the current status of microalgae use for biodiesel production, including their cultivation, harvesting, and processing. The microalgae species most used for biodiesel production are presented and their main advantages described in comparison with other available biodiesel feedstocks. The various aspects associated with the design of microalgae production units are described, giving an overview of the current state of development of algae cultivation systems (photo-bioreactors and open ponds). Other potential applications and products from microalgae are also presented such as for biological sequestration of CO 2 , wastewater treatment, in human health, as food additive, and for aquaculture.

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Microalgae for biodiesel production and other applications: A review

LEARNING The objectives of BIOS 781 are to present: OBJECTIVES: 1. basic population and quantitative genetic principles, including classical genetics, chromosomal theory of inheritance, and meiotic recombination 2. an exposure to QTL mapping methods of complex quantitative traits and linkage methods to detect co-segregation with disease 3. methods for assessing marker-disease linkage disequilibrium, including case-control approaches 4. methods for genome-wide association and stratification control.

Genetic Data Analysis

Essential oils are aromatic and volatile liquids extracted from plants. The chemicals in essential oils are secondary metabolites, which play an important role in plant defense as they often possess antimicrobial properties. The interest in essential oils and their application in food preservation has been amplified in recent years by an increasingly negative consumer perception of synthetic preservatives. Furthermore, food-borne diseases are a growing public health problem worldwide, calling for more effective preservation strategies. The antibacterial properties of essential oils and their constituents have been documented extensively. Pioneering work has also elucidated the mode of action of a few essential oil constituents, but detailed knowledge about most of the compounds’ mode of action is still lacking. This knowledge is particularly important to predict their effect on different microorganisms, how they interact with food matrix components, and how they work in combination with other antimicrobial compounds. The main obstacle for using essential oil constituents as food preservatives is that they are most often not potent enough as single components, and they cause negative organoleptic effects when added in sufficient amounts to provide an antimicrobial effect. Exploiting synergies between several compounds has been suggested as a solution to this problem. However, little is known about which interactions lead to synergistic, additive, or antagonistic effects. Such knowledge could contribute to design of new and more potent antimicrobial blends, and to understand the interplay between the constituents of crude essential oils. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of current knowledge about the antibacterial properties and antibacterial mode of action of essential oils and their constituents, and to identify research avenues that can facilitate implementation of essential oils as natural preservatives in foods.

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Essential oils in food preservation: mode of action, synergies, and interactions with food matrix components.

http://www.ipb.pt/~htgomes/FCT115275/Ref23.pdf

Sub- and supercritical fluid extraction of functional ingredients from different natural sources: Plants, food-by-products, algae and microalgae: A review

Nicotiana tabacum overexpressing CrSAMT from Citrus reticulata increased production of MeSA, which works as an airborne signal in neighboring wild-type plants, inducing PR1 and increasing resistance to the pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. Xylella fastidiosa is one of the major threats to plant health worldwide, affecting yield in many crops. Despite many efforts, the development of highly productive resistant varieties has been challenging. In studying host plant resistance, the S-adenosyl-l-methionine: salicylic acid carboxyl methyltransferase gene (SAMT) from Citrus reticulata, a X. fastidiosa resistant species, was upregulated in response to pathogen infection. SAMT is involved with the catalysis and production of methyl salicylate (MeSA), an airborne signal responsible for triggering systemic acquired resistance. Here we used tobacco as a model system and generated transgenic plants overexpressing C. reticulata SAMT (CrSAMT). We performed an in silico structural characterization of CrSAMT and investigated its biotechnological potential in modulating the immune system in transgenic plants. The increase of MeSA production in transgenic lines was confirmed by gas chromatography (GC–MS). The transgenic lines showed upregulation of PR1, and their incubation with neighboring wild-type plants activated PR1 expression, indicating that MeSA worked as an airborne signal. In addition, transgenic plants showed significantly fewer symptoms when challenged with X. fastidiosa. Altogether, these data suggest that CrSAMT plays a role in host defense response and can be used in biotechnology approaches to confer resistance against X. fastidiosa.

Overexpression of Citrus reticulata SAMT in Nicotiana tabacum increases MeSA volatilization and decreases Xylella fastidiosa symptoms

The essential oils from the leaves of Crepidospermum rhoifolium, branches of Trattinnickia rhoifolia, leaves and branches of Protium elegans were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC-MS. The main constituents identified in the oils from the leaves and branches of P. elegans were trans-caryophyllene (35.90 % and 6.78 %), caryophyllene oxide (27.09 % and 55.83 %), α-humulene (12.60 % and 2.80 %), respectively. The leaves of C. rhoifolium was rich in α-copaene (19.44 %) and germacrene B (13.12 %) and branches of T. rhoifolia in trans-caryophyllene (29.60 %), α-copaene (16.37 %) and γ-cadinene (15.07 %).

The chemistry of essential oils of Crepidospermum rhoifolium, Trattinnickia rhoifolia and Protium elegans of the Amazon region.

The essential oils of leaves of the Pothomorphe peltata (L.) Miq., collected in vegetative and reproductive periods, showed yields of 0.10–0.20%. Analysis of the oil by GC/MS revealed that the predominant components were those of the sesquiterpene class. The major constituents were β-caryophyllene (39.5–68.0%), germacrene D (6.213.3%), (E)-nerolidol (4.8–11.1%) and α-humulene (2.1–6.5%).

Essential Oil of the Pothomorphe peltata (L.) Miq.

O gengibre (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) pertence a familia Zingiberacea. E uma especiaria de grande importância comercial. Neste trabalho realizou-se extracoes da oleoresina de gengibre com etanol, isopropanol e dioxido de carbono liquido e comparou-se a composicao quimica de cada um dos extratos. A oleoresina obtida tem componentes das classes dos monoterpenos e sesquiterpenos em todas as amostras. Acidos carboxilicos foram encontrados nos extratos obtidos com solvente orgânico, quando o tempo de extracao foi de 2 horas. Os componentes que dao a caracteristica pungente a oleoresina, os gingerois, foram detectados nas amostras obtidas com solvente orgânico, quando o tempo de extracao foi de 6 horas e, nas amostras obtidas com CO2 liquido, com 2 horas de extracao.

COMPARISON OF GINGER (Zingiber officiale Roscoe) OLEORESIN OBTAINED WITH ETHANOL AND ISOPROPANOL WITH THAT OBTAINED WITH PRESSURIZED CO2

INTRODUCTION: Schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease caused by trematode flatworms of the genus Schistosoma, affects more than 200 million people worldwide, and its control is dependent on a single drug, praziquantel. Here, we report the in vitro effect of rotundifolone, a monoterpene isolated from Mentha x villosa (Lamiaceae), on Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. METHODS: The in vitro effect of rotundifolone on adult Schistosoma mansoni was evaluated by analysis of behavior and mortality and through a scanning electron microscopic analysis of ultrastructural changes in the tegument of the worms. RESULTS: At concentrations of 3.54 and 7.09μg/mL-1 rotundifolone, no worm mortality was observed at any of the sampling intervals. A minor reduction in movement of the tail, suckers, and gynecophoral canal membrane was observed after 96 h of exposure to 7.09μg/mL-1 rotundifolone. At 70.96μg/mL-1, a lack of movement was observed from 72h onwards and all worms were deemed dead; similar effects were observed at 48h with 177.4μg/mL-1, and at 24h with 354.8μg/mL-1 and 700.96μg/mL-1. Rotundifolone also caused death of all parasites and separation of coupled pairs into individual males and females after 24h at 354.8μg/mL-1. CONCLUSIONS: The main changes in the tegument induced by the different ROT treatments were: after 24h incubation, bubble lesions spread over the entire body and loss of tubercles occurred in some regions of the ventral region.

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Marcia Ortiz Mayo Marques

Papers

Overexpression of Citrus reticulata SAMT in Nicotiana tabacum increases MeSA volatilization and decreases Xylella fastidiosa symptoms

The chemistry of essential oils of Crepidospermum rhoifolium, Trattinnickia rhoifolia and Protium elegans of the Amazon region.

Essential Oil of the Pothomorphe peltata (L.) Miq.

COMPARISON OF GINGER (Zingiber officiale Roscoe) OLEORESIN OBTAINED WITH ETHANOL AND ISOPROPANOL WITH THAT OBTAINED WITH PRESSURIZED CO2

Ultrastructural study of morphological changes in Schistosoma mansoni after in vitro exposure to the monoterpene rotundifolone