Production and Analysis of Transgenic White Clover (\u3cem\u3eTrifolium Repens\u3c/em\u3e) Plants Over-Expressing Organic Acid Biosynthetic Genes

Aluminium (Al) toxicity is a major environmental limitation for plant production in acid soils, which represent more than one third of the world’s agricultural land. Al-induced secretion in roots of organic acids (OA), such as malate and citrate, chelates the toxic Al cation excluding it from the root. This mechanism of Al-tolerance appears also to be associated with enhanced P-use efficiency. The development of transgenic plants for enhanced synthesis and secretion of OA from roots is a promising approach to confer Al-tolerance and enhanced P-acquisition efficiency. In order to understand the association between OA biosynthesis and secretion from roots in white clover (Trifolium repens L.), the physiological consequences of over-expressing 3 key white clover OA biosynthetic genes, individually and in combination, were assessed in transgenic plants

The Arabidopsis NOT4A E3 ligase promotes PGR3 expression and regulates chloroplast translation

Chloroplast function requires the coordinated action of nuclear- and chloroplast-derived proteins, including several hundred nuclear-encoded pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins that regulate plastid mRNA metabolism. Despite their large number and importance, regulatory mechanisms controlling PPR expression are poorly understood. Here we show that the Arabidopsis NOT4A ubiquitin-ligase positively regulates the expression of PROTON GRADIENT REGULATION 3 (PGR3), a PPR protein required for translating several thylakoid-localised photosynthetic components and ribosome subunits within chloroplasts. Loss of NOT4A function leads to a strong depletion of cytochrome b6f and NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH) complexes, as well as plastid 30 S ribosomes, which reduces mRNA translation and photosynthetic capacity, causing pale-yellow and slow-growth phenotypes. Quantitative transcriptome and proteome analysis of the not4a mutant reveal it lacks PGR3 expression, and that its molecular defects resemble those of a pgr3 mutant. Furthermore, we show that normal plastid function is restored to not4a through transgenic PGR3 expression. Our work identifies NOT4A as crucial for ensuring robust photosynthetic function during development and stress-response, through promoting PGR3 production and chloroplast translatio

COVID-19 and Sick Leave: An Analysis of the Ibermutua Cohort of Over 1,651,305 Spanish Workers in the First Trimester of 2020

Objectives: The worldwide SARS-COV2 pandemic has impacted the health of workers and companies. The aim is to quantify it according to sick leave. Methods: Using ICD-9 codes, we analyzed Ibermutua records of all sick leaves during the first trimester of 2020, compared to during the same months of 2017, 2018, and 2019. We stratified the analysis by causes, patient sex, activity sectors, and regional data. All sick leaves were adjusted by the number of Ibermutua-affiliated persons in each period. Results: In March 2020, there was an unprecedented (116%) increase in total sick leaves, mainly due to infectious and respiratory diseases. Men and women were equally affected. All activity sectors were impacted, with the highest increase (457%) observed among health-related workers, especially due to contagious disease. The incidences of sick leaves were heterogeneous among different regions. Cost-analysis of sick leaves during the first trimester of 2020 compared with in previous years showed 40.3% increment (mean 2,813 vs. 2,005 euro per 100 affiliated workers). Conclusions: The SARS-COV2 pandemic is having a huge impact on workers' health, as shown by data regarding sick leaves in March 2020. This is associated with greater economic burden for companies, both due to the cost associated with sick leaves and the losses in productivity due to confinement

VRN2-PRC2 facilitates light-triggered repression of PIF signaling to coordinate growth in <i>Arabidopsis</i>

VERNALIZATION2 (VRN2) is a flowering plant-specific subunit of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), a conserved eukaryotic holoenzyme that represses gene expression by depositing the histone H3K27me3 mark in chromatin. Previous work established VRN2 as an oxygen-regulated target of the N-degron pathway that may function as a sensor subunit connecting PRC2 activity to the perception of endogenous and environmental cues. Here we show that VRN2 is enriched in the hypoxic shoot apex and emerging leaves of Arabidopsis, where it negatively regulates growth by establishing a stable and conditionally repressed chromatin state in key PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR (PIF)-regulated genes that promote cell expansion. This function is required to keep these genes poised for repression via a light-responsive signalling cascade later in leaf development. Thus, we identify VRN2-PRC2 as a core component of a developmentally and spatially encoded epigenetic mechanism that co-ordinates plant growth through facilitating the signal-dependent suppression of PIF signalling

Occupation-Related Differences in the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome

OBJECTIVE—To investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the Spanish working population and determine how the prevalence varies according to occupation and sex

VRN2-PRC2 facilitates light-triggered repression of PIF signalling to coordinate growth in Arabidopsis

VERNALIZATION2 (VRN2) is a flowering plant-specific subunit of the polycomb-repressive complex 2 (PRC2), a conserved eukaryotic holoenzyme that represses gene expression by depositing the histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) mark in chromatin. Previous work established VRN2 as an oxygen-regulated target of the N-degron pathway that may function as a sensor subunit connecting PRC2 activity to the perception of endogenous and environmental cues. Here, we show that VRN2 is enriched in the hypoxic shoot apex and emerging leaves of Arabidopsis, where it negatively regulates growth by establishing a stable and conditionally repressed chromatin state in key PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR (PIF)-regulated genes that promote cell expansion. This function is required to keep these genes poised for repression via a light-responsive signaling cascade later in leaf development. Thus, we identify VRN2-PRC2 as a core component of a developmentally and spatially encoded epigenetic mechanism that coordinates plant growth through facilitating the signal-dependent suppression of PIF signaling

Improving care of women at risk of unsafe abortion: implementing a risk-reduction model at the Uruguayan-Brazilian border

OBJECTIVE: To describe the initial stages of the implementation of a risk-reduction model designed by Iniciativas Sanitarias to shield women from unsafe abortion in a traditional community on the Uruguay-Brazil border. METHODS: This mixed-design study was conducted first between 22 and 26 March 2010, and then between 2 and 7 May 2011, in Rivera, Uruguay, to gather information from women seen at health centers, healthcare providers, and local policy makers before the project started and midway through the project. RESULTS: At baseline most women and providers considered abortion justifiable only on narrow grounds, yet favored the implementation of a risk-reduction model that would include preabortion as well as postabortion counseling, the former providing information on different abortion methods and their risks. By the midterm assessment, the counseling service had assisted 87 women with unwanted pregnancies. Of the 52 who came for a postabortion visit, 50 had self-administered misoprostol, with no complications. Women were highly satisfied with the counseling. At baseline, misoprostol seemed to be available from both pharmacists and informal sellers. At midterm, it was still available from informal vendors but pharmacists said they did not provide misoprostol. The risk-reduction initiative heightened public attention to the abortion issue but the controversy it generated did not seriously impede its implementation. CONCLUSION: It is feasible to implement the proposed risk-reduction model in a traditional community such as Rivera, not only in Uruguay but in any country irrespective of its abortion laws.http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0020-7292/PIIS0020729212002408.pd

Clovers

Legumes constitute one of the most important global groups of agricultural species, providing a major source of protein and oil for humans and animals as well as fixing nitrogen and improving the fertility of soils. Gene technology can assist plant improvement efforts in clovers (Trifolium spp.), aiming to improve forage quality, yield, and adaptation to biotic and abiotic stresses. An efficient and reproducible protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of a range of Trifolium species, using cotyledonary explants and different selectable marker genes, is described. The protocol is robust and allows for genotype-independent transformation of clovers. Stable meiotic transmission of trans genes has been demonstrated for selected transgenic clovers carrying single T-DNA inserts recovered from Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. This methodology can also be successfully used for &#039;isogenic transformation&#039; clovers: the generation of otherwise identical plants with and without the transgene from the two cotyledons of a single seed