Browsing by Author "González, Mauricio"
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- ItemBacterial communities associated to Chilean altiplanic native plants from the Andean grasslands soils(2019) Fernandez-Gomez, Beatriz; Maldonado, Jonathan; Mandakovic, Dinka; Gaete, Alexis; Gutiérrez Ilabaca, Rodrigo Antonio; Maass, Alejandro; Cambiazo, Verónica; González, Mauricio
- ItemConvergent and divergent responses of the rhizosphere chemistry and bacterial communities to a stress gradient in the Atacama Desert(2023) Dussarrat, Thomas; Latorre H., Claudio; Barros Santos, Millena C.; Aguado Norese, Constanza; Prigent, Sylvain; Díaz, Francisca P.; Rolin, Dominique; González, Mauricio; Müller, Caroline; Gutiérrez Ilabaca, Rodrigo Antonio; Pétriacq, PierrePlants can modulate their rhizosphere chemistry, thereby influencing microbe communities. Although our understanding of rhizosphere chemistry is growing, knowledge of its responses to abiotic constraints is limited, especially in realistic ecological contexts. Here, we combined predictive metabolomics with bacterial sequencing data to investigate whether rhizosphere chemistry responded to environmental constraints and shaped bacterial communities across an elevation gradient in the Atacama Desert. We found that metabolic adjustments of rhizosphere chemistry predicted the environment of four plant species independently of year, identifying important rhizosphere metabolic biomarkers. Inter-species predictions unveiled significant biochemical convergences. Subsequently, we linked metabolic predictors to variation in the abundance of operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Chemical response influenced distinct and common bacterial families between species and vegetation belts. The annotation of chemical markers and correlated bacterial families highlighted critical biological processes such as nitrogen starvation, metal pollution and plant development and defence. Overall, this study demonstrates a unique metabolic set likely involved in improving plant resilience to harsh edaphic conditions. Besides, the results emphasise the need to integrate ecology with plant metabolome and microbiome approaches to explore plant-soil interactions and better predict their responses to climate change and consequences for ecosystem dynamics.
- ItemDNA sequencing in the classroom: complete genome sequence of two earwig (Dermaptera; Insecta) species(2023) Kobayashi, Sanae; Maldonado, Jonathan E.; Gaete, Alexis; Araya, Ingrid; Aguado-Norese, Constanza; Cumplido, Nicolás; Díaz, Sebastián; Espinoza, Alonso; Fernández, Edelmira; Gajardo, Felipe; González-Ordenes, Felipe; Hauyon, Khantati; Maldonado, Piedad; Maldonado, Rodrigo; Pochet, Isabel; Riveros, Aníbal; Sandoval, Paula; Sepúlveda-González, Ailynne; Stuardo, Camila; Tapia-Reyes, Patricio; Thornton, Carolina; Undurraga, Soledad; Varas, Macarena; Valdivieso, Camilo; Gutiérrez Ilabaca, Rodrigo Antonio; Orellana, Ariel; Montecino, Martín; Maass, Alejandro; González, Mauricio; Allende, Miguel L.; Hodar, Christian; Irles, PaulaBackground Despite representing the largest fraction of animal life, the number of insect species whose genome has been sequenced is barely in the hundreds. The order Dermaptera (the earwigs) suffers from a lack of genomic information despite its unique position as one of the basally derived insect groups and its importance in agroecosystems. As part of a national educational and outreach program in genomics, a plan was formulated to engage the participation of high school students in a genome sequencing project. Students from twelve schools across Chile were instructed to capture earwig specimens in their geographical area, to identify them and to provide material for genome sequencing to be carried out by themselves in their schools. Results The school students collected specimens from two cosmopolitan earwig species: Euborellia annulipes (Fam. Anisolabididae) and Forficula auricularia (Fam. Forficulidae). Genomic DNA was extracted and, with the help of scientific teams that traveled to the schools, was sequenced using nanopore sequencers. The sequence data obtained for both species was assembled and annotated. We obtained genome sizes of 1.18 Gb (F. auricularia) and 0.94 Gb (E. annulipes) with the number of predicted protein coding genes being 31,800 and 40,000, respectively. Our analysis showed that we were able to capture a high percentage (≥ 93%) of conserved proteins indicating genomes that are useful for comparative and functional analysis. We were also able to characterize structural elements such as repetitive sequences and non-coding RNA genes. Finally, functional categories of genes that are overrepresented in each species suggest important differences in the process underlying the formation of germ cells, and modes of reproduction between them, features that are one of the distinguishing biological properties that characterize these two distant families of Dermaptera. Conclusions This work represents an unprecedented instance where the scientific and lay community have come together to collaborate in a genome sequencing project. The versatility and accessibility of nanopore sequencers was key to the success of the initiative. We were able to obtain full genome sequences of two important and widely distributed species of insects which had not been analyzed at this level previously. The data made available by the project should illuminate future studies on the Dermaptera.
- ItemGenomes of the Orestias pupfish from the Andean Altiplano shed light on their evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships within Cyprinodontiformes(2024) Morales, Pamela; Gajardo, Felipe; Valdivieso, Camilo; Valladares, Moisés A.; Di Genova, Alex; Orellana, Ariel; Gutiérrez Ilabaca, Rodrigo Antonio; González, Mauricio; Montecino, Martin; Maass, Alejandro; Méndez, Marco A.; Allende, Miguel L.To unravel the evolutionary history of a complex group, a comprehensive reconstruction of its phylogenetic relationships is crucial. This requires meticulous taxon sampling and careful consideration of multiple characters to ensure a complete and accurate reconstruction. The phylogenetic position of the Orestias genus has been estimated partly on unavailable or incomplete information. As a consequence, it was assigned to the family Cyprindontidae, relating this Andean fish to other geographically distant genera distributed in the Mediterranean, Middle East and North and Central America. In this study, using complete genome sequencing, we aim to clarify the phylogenetic position of Orestias within the Cyprinodontiformes order. Results We sequenced the genome of three Orestias species from the Andean Altiplano. Our analysis revealed that the small genome size in this genus (~ 0.7 Gb) was caused by a contraction in transposable element (TE) content, particularly in DNA elements and short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs). Using predicted gene sequences, we generated a phylogenetic tree of Cyprinodontiformes using 902 orthologs extracted from all 32 available genomes as well as three outgroup species. We complemented this analysis with a phylogenetic reconstruction and time calibration considering 12 molecular markers (eight nuclear and four mitochondrial genes) and a stratified taxon sampling to consider 198 species of nearly all families and genera of this order. Overall, our results show that phylogenetic closeness is directly related to geographical distance. Importantly, we found that Orestias is not part of the Cyprinodontidae family, and that it is more closely related to the South American fish fauna, being the Fluviphylacidae the closest sister group. Conclusions The evolutionary history of the Orestias genus is linked to the South American ichthyofauna and it should no longer be considered a member of the Cyprinodontidae family. Instead, we submit that Orestias belongs to the Orestiidae family, as suggested by Freyhof et al. (2017), and that it is the sister group of the Fluviphylacidae family, distributed in the Amazonian and Orinoco basins. These two groups likely diverged during the Late Eocene concomitant with hydrogeological changes in the South American landscape.
- ItemIncreased copper levels in in vitro and in vivo models of Niemann-Pick C disease(2012) Vázquez Rodríguez, Mary Carmen; Martínez Contreras, Pablo Alberto; Álvarez Rojas, Alejandra; González, Mauricio; Zanlungo Matsuhiro, Silvana
- ItemOverexpression of amyloid precursor protein increases copper content in HEK293 cells(2009) Suazo, Miriam; Hodar, Christián; Morgan, Carlos; Cerpa Nebott, Francisco Waldo; Cambiazo, Verónica; Inestrosa Cantín, Nibaldo; González, MauricioAmyloid precursor protein (APP) is a transmembrane glycoprotein widely expressed in mammalian tissues and plays a central role in Alzheimer’s disease. However, its physiological function remains elusive. Cu2+ binding and reduction activities have been described in the extracellular APP135–156 region, which might be relevant for cellular copper uptake and homeostasis. Here, we assessed Cu2+ reduction and 64Cu uptake in two human HEK293 cell lines overexpressing APP. Our results indicate that Cu2+ reduction increased and cells accumulated larger levels of copper, maintaining cell viability at supra-physiological levels of Cu2+ ions. Moreover, wild-type cells exposed to both Cu2+ ions and APP135–155 synthetic peptides increased copper reduction and uptake. Complementation of function studies in human APP751 transformed Fre1 defective Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells rescued low Cu2+ reductase activity and increased 64Cu uptake. We conclude that Cu2+ reduction activity of APP facilitates copper uptake and may represent an early step in cellular copper homeostasis.
- ItemPartners to survive: Hoffmannseggia doellii root‐associated microbiome at the Atacama Desert(2022) Maldonado, Jonathan E.; Gaete, Alexis; Mandakovic, Dinka; Aguado‐Norese, Constanza; Aguilar, Melissa; Gutiérrez Ilabaca, Rodrigo Antonio; González, Mauricio
- ItemStructural and functional analysis of the ASM p.Ala359Asp mutant that causes acid sphingomyelinase deficiency(2016) Acuña, Mariana; Castro Fernández, Víctor; Latorre, Mauricio; Castro, Juan; Schuchman, Edward H.; Guixé, Victoria; González, Mauricio; Zanlungo Matsuhiro, Silvana