Jesús Salvador López-Bucio

Background: MASLD is a disorder linked to lipid metabolism and obesity, increasingly prevalent among sedentary people and leading to hepatic fibrosis. Cyclodipeptides (CDPs) have promising anti-obesogenic and liver-protective potential. Methods: CDP treatment was evaluated in a chronic MASLD model using female Wistar rats fed an obesogenic diet, with assessments of insulin resistance, glucose tolerance, liver damage, oxidative stress, and the expression of genes related to metabolic function. Results: MASLD CDP-treated rats showed low visceral adipose tissue (VAT) content, improved insulin responsiveness and glucose tolerance, reduced steatosis, and reversed oxidant stress and the NRF2, GPX1, and GCLC expression. Furthermore, MASLD-related dysregulation of genes involved in lipid metabolism was restored, including vLDL transport (MTTP, APOB, and RASAL2), β-oxidation (PPAR-α, ACOX1, and FOXO1), lipogenesis (ACC1 and SREBP 1C), and fatty acid transport (PSD3 and CD36). In accordance, genes of key signaling pathways were also restored, including mTOR, TSC1, and TSC2, along with fibrosis and inflammation TGF-β, Fas, NF-κB, and IL-6. In VAT of MASLD animals, crown-like structures and adiposity density were diminished by CDP treatment, with increased expression of genes associated with beige-like adipose tissue remodeling, including PGC-1α, UCP1, NRF1, ATP6v1, CEBP-α, COX4i1, PPARγ, and CS. Consistently, the UCP1 and PGC-1α protein expression was increased in the VAT of MASLD animals treated with CDPs. Conclusions: The anti-MASLD effects of CDPs were associated with reversal of key pathogenic markers in the liver and VAT, suggesting remodeling of white adipose tissue (WAT) toward a beige-like adipose tissue phenotype. The findings suggest that CDPs may modulate adipose tissue structure and adipogenesis, underscoring their therapeutic relevance for MASLD.

Phosphorylation, carried out by kinases, is a pivotal mechanism for all cell signal transduction pathways. In eukaryotic cells, Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPK) form modules with three kinases (MAPKKK, MAPKK, and MAPK) that are sequentially activated, participating in multiple signaling mechanisms. The second kinase forming a typical module is called MAP kinase kinase (MAPKK or MKK), which receives the signal from MAPKKK and transmits it to MAPK. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome has 10 MKKs and they are classified into four different groups (A, B, C, and D). To date, several aspects of the MKK functioning are known, but there is little information about MKK expression in plant tissues. Here, each MKK upstream region was fused to the UidA reporter, and these pMKK1-10:UidA constructions were used to reveal the MKK expression patterns in the tissues of the seedlings during their early development. This experimental expression analysis was complemented with a detailed bioinformatic analysis focused on identifying the cis-regulatory elements present in these upstream promoter regions.

Sustained plant growth and biomass production require proper availability of soil nutrients, which are both perceived and absorbed by root cells. Either nutrient deficiency or excess can lead to ph...

Lipid droplets are abundant in adaxial epidermal cells in onion (Allium cepa). Its presumptive functions are energy storage, cellular metabolism and organellar coordination, but how cells integrate lipid droplet dynamics with nuclei remains unknown. Here, we analyzed lipid droplet occurrence and distribution in fresh preparations of hydrated white onion and red onion epidermal cells through differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy and assess the inter-organellar connection through these oil bodies. Large extensions of membrane-bound cytoplasmic organelles were found to interact with the nuclear envelope, and these peripheral tubular structures were found to transport lipid droplets. The lipid content of vesicles could be confirmed by BODIPY493/503 staining and confocal microscopy, whereas Lugol staining allowed visualization of a wide membranal network that extends throughout the cell. Thus, lipid droplet dynamics may account for the regulation of the nuclear shape and/or function and membrane interactions enable the transport of lipid droplets among organelles in onion bulb epidermal cells.

Whitefly infestation is a major threat to horticultural crops. The control of these sap-sucking insects could be performed by application of insecticides, which may be toxic to untarget species such as honeybees and other beneficial insects. Safety of consumers is a priority and urges the development of alternatives to control pathogens and pests, thus identification of novel natural and/or synthetic products to control insect pests not harmful for humans or pollinators is an urgent need. The persistent seasonal, yearly occurrence of whitefly infestations, offered the opportunity to test promising biostimulant, non toxic molecules as dissuasive products. In this report, we show that whitefly infestation in avocado trees in the field causes the spread of chlorotic halos, blade distortion and wilt of leaves. Through serial aspersions of N-vanillyl-octanamide (ABX-I), a synthetic capsaicinoid to the avocado trees, a clear repellent effect was observed against adult whiteflies that approached the trees at sunny hours but did not feed on leaves. The number of whiteflies resting on leaves decreased in the following days after capsaicinoid application. These data reveal the possibility to control whitefly pest via application of a capsaicinoid-related compound.

Key message The role of the root cap in the plant response to phosphate deprivation has been scarcely investigated. Here we describe early structural, physiological and molecular changes prior to the determinate growth program of the primary roots under low Pi and unveil a critical function of the transcription factor SOMBRERO in low Pi sensing. Abstract Mineral nutrient distribution in the soil is uneven and roots efficiently adapt to improve uptake and assimilation of sparingly available resources. Phosphate (Pi) accumulates in the upper layers and thus short and branched root systems proliferate to better exploit organic and inorganic Pi patches. Here we report an early adaptive response of the Arabidopsis primary root that precedes the entrance of the meristem into the determinate developmental program that is a hallmark of the low Pi sensing mechanism. In wild-type seedlings transferred to low Pi medium, the quiescent center domain in primary root tips increases as an early response, as revealed by WOX5:GFP expression and this correlates with a thicker root tip with extra root cap cell layers. The halted primary root growth in WT seedlings could be reversed upon transfer to medium supplemented with 250 µM Pi. Mutant and gene expression analysis indicates that auxin signaling negatively affects the cellular re-specification at the root tip and enabled identification of the transcription factor SOMBRERO as a critical element that orchestrates both the formation of extra root cap layers and primary root growth under Pi scarcity. Moreover, we provide evidence that low Pi-induced root thickening or the loss-of-function of SOMBRERO is associated with expression of phosphate transporters at the root tip. Our data uncover a developmental window where the root tip senses deprivation of a critical macronutrient to improve adaptation and surveillance.

En este trabajo se desarrolló un nanomaterial a base de una estructura de hidróxido doble laminar HDL (ZnAl) impregnado de moléculas orgánicas de timol; se estudió el efecto fungistático in vitro e in vivo ante dos hongos fitopatógenos Colletotrichum gloeosporioides y Botrytis cinerea causantes de enfermedades en plantas como la antracnosis y el moho gris. La síntesis de este nanomaterial se llevó a cabo por el método de reconstrucción del óxido mixto ZnAl-(O) pasando por una combustión; la caracterización fisicoquímica del material se efectuó por difracción de rayos-X XRD, análisis termogravimétrico TGA, espectroscopía infrarroja por transformada de Fourier FTIR y microscopía electrónica de barrido MEB. Se realizó un análisis de conservación de la molécula orgánica timol en presencia del hongo fitopatógeno B. cinerea y sin la acción bioquímica de este, mediante cromatografía líquida de alta eficacia HPLC. Concluyendo que el nanomaterial híbrido sintetizado HDL-T puede ser una alternativa para mitigar problemas agrícolas derivado de hongos fitopatógenos sin dañar el medio ambiente y evitando problemas sanitarios; esto por la protección que el HDL le brinda al timol retardando así su descomposición y haciéndole mucho más manejable.

Plant diseases caused by pathogenic fungi result in considerable losses in agriculture. The use of fungicides is an important alternative to combat these pathogens, but may affect both the environment and human health. Plants produce many bioactive compounds to defend themselves from biotic challenges and an increasing number of secondary metabolites have been identified, which may be used to control fungal infections. Here, the bioactivity of a synthetic capsaicinoid, N-vanillyl-octanamide, also termed ABX-I, in the growth of five phytopathogenic fungi was assessed in vitro. The compound inhibited growth of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Botrytis cinerea, Colletotrichum acutatum, Fusarium sp., and Rhizoctonia solani AG2, while the magnitude of this effect differed from capsaicin. To investigate if ABX-I could effectively protect crops against phytopathogens, fungal challenges were performed in tomato leaves and fruits, as well as avocado fruits co-infiltrated with Botrytis cinerea or Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, respectively. In both tomato leaves and fruits and avocado fruits, ABX-I decreased the fungal damage not only in vegetative but also in edible tissues, and diminished decay symptoms compared with untreated fruits, which were highly sensitive to the pathogens. Furthermore, ABX-I spray application to tomato or avocado plants did not compromise growth and development, whereas it repressed spore germination and growth of C. gloeosporioides, which suggests its potential as an affordable and promising resource to control fungal diseases in the agronomic sector.