Publicaciones

The application of thermal treatments could serve as a biosecurity tool to avert snake introduction, which often leads to irreversible ecological impacts. Here, we tested the applicability of conductive heating and thermal fumigation to prevent the spread of the California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae), a damaging species established on the island of Gran Canaria, likely to reach other vulnerable regions, and included among the most concerning invasive species of the European Union. We exposed 24 individuals to a thermal gradient to determine species selected temperatures, range of preferred temperatures and voluntary thermal maximum and used other 24 individuals to analyse their response to conductive heating, thermal fumigation and control (no heat) treatments. Lampropeltis californiae selected temperatures of 27.80 ± 1.05 °C (ranging 26.86 °C ± 1.21 °C to 28.68 °C ± 1.25 °C) and a voluntary thermal maximum of 32.50 ± 3.69 °C. Conductive heating and thermal fumigation performed equally well, inducing the exit of 83.33% and 91.67% of all individuals after 14.36 ± 9.25 min and 11.13 ± 8.60 min of exposition, and at a body temperature of 35.66 ± 3.53 °C and 35.57 ± 2.41 °C, respectively. Control treatments produced the exit of 29.17% of all individuals, which came out of the box in 24.80 ± 8.83 min and at a body temperature of 28.60 ± 1.38 °C. Thermal treatments could serve as an effective tool to prevent the inadvertent transportation of L. californiae and other invasive snakes threatening numerous regions around the globe.

The tribe Raymondionymini has long been neglected in phylogenetic studies. The tribe is characterized by uncertain monophyly, fluctuating taxonomic status, and a composition prone to instability. All raymondionymine weevils are wingless and have eyes either completely absent or, rarely, consisting of a single ommatidium. With body lengths predominantly below three millimeters, they inhabit deep soil environments and are infrequently collected. The core of this tribe comprises nine genera distributed in Europe and around the Mediterranean region and encompassing 76 species, while six additional genera include 17 species distributed in USA (California), Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Russian Far East, and Madagascar. Here, we present eight new mitogenomes, complemented by one publicly available, encompassing all but two Mediterranean genera of raymondionymine weevils. We used publicly available Curculionoidea mitogenomes to compile an all-inclusive dataset with 391 terminals and a reduced dataset with 61 terminals representing main families of Curculionoidea and subfamilies within Curculionidae. Our maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses, employing both DNA and amino acids datasets under alternative partition schemes, consistently produced congruent phylogenies. Our results show that the Mediterranean raymondionymines form a strongly supported clade, and their easternmost and morphologically distinct genus Ubychia is sister to the rest of them. Most notably, our results consistently recover a sister relationship between the clade of Mediterranean raymondionymine weevils and a clade encompassing all remaining Curculionidae. Consequently, we propose a revision of weevil taxonomy: (i) Our target group is removed from the non-monophyletic subfamily Brachycerinae; (ii) this clade is resurrected to its former subfamily level within Curculionidae, as the subfamily Raymondionyminae stat. rev; (iii) the nine Mediterranean genera Alaocephala, Alaocyba, Coiffaitiella, Derosasius, Ferreria, Raymondiellus, Raymondionymus, Tarattostichus, and Ubychia compose Raymondionyminae stat. rev; (iv) and non-Mediterranean genera Alaocybites, Bordoniola, Gilbertiola, Homosomus, Neoubychia, and Schizomicrus are considered as “incertae sedis” pending further phylogenetic corroboration. We hypothesize that the remaining Brachycerinae and the non-Mediterranean representatives within Raymondionyminae constitute a series of species-poor early-diverging lineages representing currently unrecognized subfamilies of Curculionidae.

Acanthamoeba is a ubiquitous genus of amoebae that can trigger a severe and progressive ocular disease known as Acanthamoeba Keratitis (AK). Furthermore, current treatment protocols are based on the combination of different compounds that are not fully effective. Therefore, an urgent need to find new compounds to treat Acanthamoeba infections is clear. In the present study, we evaluated staurosporine as a potential treatment for Acanthamoeba keratitis using mouse cornea as an ex vivo model, and a comparative proteomic analysis was conducted to elucidate a mechanism of action. The obtained results indicate that staurosporine altered the conformation of actin and tubulin in treated trophozoites of A. castellanii. In addition, proteomic analysis of treated trophozoites revealed that this molecule induced overexpression and a downregulation of proteins related to key functions for Acanthamoeba infection pathways. Additionally, the ex vivo assay used validated this model for the study of the pathogenesis and therapies of AK. Finally, staurosporine eliminated the entire amoebic population and prevented the adhesion and infection of amoebae to the epithelium of treated mouse corneas.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been used extensively to determine the surface ice flow velocity of tidewater glaciers and investigate changes in seasonal or annual ice dynamics at medium spatial resolution (⩾100 m). However, assessing tidewater glacier behaviour at these resolutions risks missing key details of glacier dynamics, which is particularly important for determination of strain rates that relate to crevasse formation, depth, and ice damage. Here we present surface ice velocity and strain maps with a 16 m posting derived from high-resolution (1 m) PAZ Ciencia spotlight mode SAR imagery for Narsap Sermia, SW Greenland, for October 2019 to February 2021. Results reveal fine details in strain rate, including an area of compression proximal to the terminus, with an upstream shift of strains through time. The velocity evolution of Narsap Sermia shows distinct seasonal changes starting in summer 2020, which are largely modulated by the subglacial drainage system. Comparison of our results with medium-resolution velocity products shows that while these can capture general strain and velocity patterns, our high-resolution data reveals considerably larger ranges of strain values. This is likely to have implications for tuning strain rate dependent calving and ice damage parameterisations within numerical models.

Islands provide excellent settings for studying the evolutionary history of species, since their geographic isolation and relatively small size limit gene flow between populations, and promote divergence and speciation. The endemic Bolle's Laurel Pigeon Columba bollii is an arboreal frugivorous bird species distributed on laurel forests in four islands of the Canary archipelago. To elucidate the population genetics, we genotyped ten microsatellite loci using DNA obtained from non-invasive samples collected across practically all laurel forest remnants, and subsequently grouped into eight sampling sites. Analyses including F-statistics, Bayesian clustering approaches, isolation by distance tests and population graph topologies, were used to infer the genetic diversity and the population differentiation within and among insular populations. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of null alleles on data analysis. Low genetic diversity was found in all populations of Bolle’s Laurel Pigeon, with no significant differences in diversity among them. However, significant genetic differentiation was detected among all populations, with pigeons from La Palma and El Hierro exhibiting the closest affinity. Bayesian clustering supported population separation between islands, and also detected fine-scale structure within the Tenerife and La Gomera populations. Our results suggest that, despite columbids have a high movement ability, they can show signature of genetic divergence among populations, particularly on oceanic islands. Geological history of the islands and distribution range of habitats could have close influence on the evolutionary trajectories of these birds. This approach can provide practical tools to implement appropriate conservation measures for range-restricted species and their habitat.

Cancer remains one of the most difficult diseases to treat, requiring continuous research into innovative therapeutic strategies. Conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy are effective to a certain extent but often have significant side effects and carry the risk of resistance. In recent years, the concept of dual-acting therapeutics has attracted considerable attention, particularly the combination of DNA alkylating agents and antimicrobial peptides. DNA alkylation, a well-known mechanism in cancer therapy, involves the attachment of alkyl groups to DNA, leading to DNA damage and subsequent cell death. Antimicrobial peptides, on the other hand, have been shown to be effective anticancer agents due to their ability to selectively disrupt cancer cell membranes and modulate immune responses. This review aims to explore the synergistic potential of these two therapeutic modalities. It examines their mechanisms of action, current research findings, and the promise they offer to improve the efficacy and specificity of cancer treatments. By combining the cytotoxic power of DNA alkylation with the unique properties of antimicrobial peptides, dual-action therapeutics may offer a new and more effective approach to fighting cancer.

Iron emissions from human activities, such as oil combustion and smelting, affect the Earth's climate and marine ecosystems. These emissions are difficult to quantify accurately due to a lack of observations, particularly in remote ocean regions. In this study, we used long-term, near-source observations in areas with a dominance of anthropogenic iron emissions in various parts of the world to better estimate the total amount of anthropogenic iron emissions. We also used a statistical source apportionment method to identify the anthropogenic components and their sub-sources from bulk aerosol observations in the United States. We find that the estimates of anthropogenic iron emissions are within a factor of 3 in most regions compared to previous inventory estimates. Under- or overestimation varied by region and depended on the number of sites, interannual variability, and the statistical filter choice. Smelting-related iron emissions are overestimated by a factor of 1.5 in East Asia compared to previous estimates. More long-term iron observations and the consideration of the influence of dust and wildfires could help reduce the uncertainty in anthropogenic iron emissions estimates.

Chagas disease is caused by a protozoan parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi. The infection produces a first clinical phase, commonly asymptomatic or showing non-specific symptoms, and a second chronic phase characterized by cardiac and digestive dysfunctions in some individuals with the disease. This disease affects 7 million people and has been categorized by the World Health Organisation as a neglected tropical disease. In addition, the drugs used to combat it were developed in the 1970s and present major toxicity problems and limited efficacy in the chronicity of the disease. This has led to research into new active compounds that are effective against the disease, with studies on cyanoderivatives showing promising activity. In this work, eight active E-cyanoacrylamides/5-imino pyrrolones were studied. Compounds B and F showed excellent activity, while compounds C and G stood out for their lower cytotoxicity. After correlating the activity and cytotoxicity of the compounds, it was observed that compounds B, C, and G obtained the most favourable results. Various cell death studies were carried out with these compounds, and it was determined that all of them produced programmed cell death, with compound B standing out as being at a late stage in the process.

Contrary to differentiated cells, cancer cells predominantly convert glucose to lactate even under conditions of adequate oxygen supply (“Warburg effect”). The initial enzyme implicated in this route is hexokinase, which transforms D-glucose into D-glucose-6-phosphate. We proposed the use of different polyphenols (resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, pterostilbene, phloretin) and their derivatives (α-glucosides and acylated α-glucosides) to inhibit this enzyme. For this study, we used Saccharomyces cerevisiae hexokinase, whose two isoforms show high resemblance at the active site with human hexokinase HK2. To monitor the reactions, a method of anion-exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) was developed. Remarkably, most of the assayed compounds inhibited the enzyme more than 50 % in the standard assay. Among them, phloretin 4’-O-(6’’-O-octanoyl)-α-D-glucopyranoside showed the highest inhibition and was studied in depth to determine the inhibition pattern and inhibition constant. The Ki for glucose was calculated to be 22.1±0.4 μM. Computational models of inhibition were carried out with the three molecules displaying the highest inhibition, and correlated adequately with the observed inhibitory effects on the enzyme. The inhibitory effect of several of the assayed polyphenols on hexokinase and their lack of toxicity renders them promising candidates as adjuvant drugs for cancer therapy.

Mimicry, that is, the imitation of any unpalatable or defensive species by another, has been of central interest to evolutionary research since Darwin's lifetime. Two ant species, Camponotus guanchus Santschi, 1908 and Crematogaster alluaudi Emery, 1893, endemic to the Canary Islands, occur in two color-morphs: While the head of workers is always reddish and the gaster blackish, the mesosoma (inclusive waist) is either fully reddish or fully blackish. In addition to the obvious morphological and coloration similarities, we provide evidence of mimicry: (i) Ca. guanchus was found only within the area of Cr. alluaudi. (ii) Color morphs are geographically non-randomly distributed: Workers of both species from 16 localities of syntopic occurrences shared in eight cases a blackish and in eight cases a reddish mesosoma. Hence, Ca. guanchus mimics both local color-morphs of Cr. alluaudi. We consider a fascinating analogy with the Mediterranean mimicry system in Camponotus lateralis (Olivier, 1792) and its model species of the Crematogaster scutellaris (Olivier, 1792) group on an island scale. Additionally, we present two endemic bug species, Perenotus stysi (Ribes et al., 2008) and P. malobae Roca-Cusachs & Goula, 2016, as mimics of those Cr. alluaudi workers having a reddish mesosoma. Our distribution, coloration, frequency, and behavioral data as well as the analogy with Ca. lateralis and the Cr. scutellaris group suggest a Batesian-mimicry system in which Ca. guanchus, Perenotus stysi, and P. malobae mimic the unpalatable and aggressive Cr. alluaudi as an antipredator adaptation.