Publications by authors named "Carlos A Ricart"

The present study was conducted to decipher the proteome of in vivo-produced pre-implantation ovine embryos. Ten locally adapted Morana Nova ewes received hormonal treatment and were inseminated 12 hr after ovulation. Six days later, 54 embryos (morula and blastocyst developmental state) were recovered from eight ewes and pooled to obtain sufficient protein for proteomic analysis.

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Royal jelly (RJ) triggers the development of female honeybee larvae into queens. This effect has been attributed to the presence of major royal jelly protein 1 (MRJP1) in RJ. MRJP1 isolated from royal jelly is tightly associated with apisimin, a 54-residue α-helical peptide that promotes the noncovalent assembly of MRJP1 into multimers.

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The protozoan parasite causes Chagas disease, one of the major neglected infectious diseases. It has the potential to infect any nucleated mammalian cell. The secreted/excreted protein repertoire released by trypomastigotes is crucial in host-pathogen interactions.

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Replication of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, displays peculiar features, such as absence of chromosome condensation and closed mitosis. Although previous proteome and subproteome analyses of T. cruzi have been carried out, the nuclear subproteome of this protozoan has not been described.

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It is estimated that several million people are currently infected worldwide by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease. After mammalian host infection, a fundamental event is the differentiation from infective trypomastigotes into replicative amastigotes (amastigogenesis) inside host-cells. To unravel the particularities of both forms, it is essential to identify molecules presented in each form.

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An endo-β-1,4-xylanase (X22) was purified from crude extract of Emericella nidulans when cultivated on submerged fermentation using sugarcane bagasse as the carbon source. The purified protein was identified by mass spectrometry and was most active at pH and temperature intervals of 5.0-6.

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Chagas disease is a tropical neglected disease endemic in Latin America caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The parasite has four major life stages: epimastigote, metacyclic trypomastigote, bloodstream trypomastigote, and amastigote. The differentiation from infective trypomastigotes into replicative amastigotes, called amastigogenesis, takes place in vivo inside mammalian host cells after a period of incubation in an acidic phagolysosome.

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Chagas' disease is a neglected infectious illness, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. It remains a challenging health issue in Latin America, where it is endemic, and so far there is no immunoprophylatic vaccine or satisfactory chemotherapic treatment for its chronic stage. The present work addressed the analysis of the plasma membrane (PM) subproteome from T.

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The present study was carried out to evaluate the ability of Trichoderma harzianum (ALL 42-isolated from Brazilian Cerrado soil) to promote common bean growth and to modulate its metabolism and defense response in the presence or absence of the phytopathogenic fungi Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium solani using a proteomic approach. T. harzianum was able to promote common bean plants growth as shown by the increase in root/foliar areas and by size in comparison to plants grown in its absence.

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The present work aims at characterizing T. harzianum secretome when the fungus is grown in synthetic medium supplemented with one of the four substrates: glucose, cellulose, xylan, and sugarcane bagasse (SB). The characterization was done by enzymatic assays and proteomic analysis using 2-DE/MALDI-TOF and gel-free shotgun LC-MS/MS.

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Sugarcane bagasse was used as an inexpensive alternative carbon source for production of β-xylanases from Aspergillus terreus. The induction profile showed that the xylanase activity was detected from the 6th day of cultivation period. Two low molecular weight enzymes, named Xyl T1 and Xyl T2 were purified to apparent homogeneity by ultrafiltration, gel filtration and ion exchange chromatographies and presented molecular masses of 24.

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Trypanosoma cruzi is a protozoan that causes Chagas' disease, a neglected infectious illness that affects millions of people, mostly in Latin America. Here, the cell surface subproteome of the T. cruzi epimastigote life form was characterized.

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Trichoderma harzianum is a mycoparasitic filamentous fungus that produces and secretes a wide range of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes used in cell wall degradation. Due to its potential in biomass conversion, T. harzianum draws great attention from biofuel and biocontrol industries and research.

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Plant cell wall-degrading enzymes produced by microorganisms possess important biotechnological applications, including biofuel production. Some anaerobic bacteria are able to produce multienzymatic complexes called cellulosomes while filamentous fungi normally secrete individual hydrolytic enzymes that act synergistically for polysaccharide degradation. Here, we present evidence that the fungus Trichoderma harzianum, cultivated in medium containing the agricultural residue sugarcane bagasse, is able to secrete multienzymatic complexes.

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Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a fungal pathogen with a broad distribution in Latin American countries. The mycelia-to-yeast morphological transition of P. brasiliensis is involved in the virulence of this pathogen, and this event is essential to the establishment of infection.

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Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a thermodimorphic fungus and the causative agent of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM). The ability of P. brasiliensis to uptake nutrients is fundamental for growth, but a reduction in the availability of iron and other nutrients is a host defense mechanism many pathogenic fungi must overcome.

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A protein species preferentially expressed in yeast cells with a molecular mass of 80 kDa and isoeletric point (pI) of 7.79 was isolated from the proteome of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and characterized as an aconitase (ACO) (E.C.

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The triatomine bugs are obligatory haematophagous organisms that act as vectors of Chagas disease by transmitting the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. Their feeding success is strongly related to salivary proteins that allow these insects to access blood by counteracting host haemostatic mechanisms. Proteomic studies were performed on saliva from the Amazonian triatomine bugs: Rhodnius brethesi and R.

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Dipetalogaster maxima is a blood-sucking Hemiptera that inhabits sylvatic areas in Mexico. It usually takes its blood meal from lizards, but following human population growth, it invaded suburban areas, feeding also on humans and domestic animals. Hematophagous insect salivary glands produce potent pharmacologic compounds that counteract host hemostasis, including anticlotting, antiplatelet, and vasodilatory molecules.

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Trichoderma harzianum ALL42 were capable of overgrowing and degrading Rhizoctonia solani and Macrophomina phaseolina mycelia, coiling around the hyphae with formation of apressoria and hook-like structures. Hyphae of T. harzianum ALL42 did not show any coiling around Fusarium sp.

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The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a social insect that shows complex and integrated behaviors. Its ability to read and respond to several sets of extrinsic and intrinsic signals is fundamental for the modulation of individual activities and social systems. For instance, A.

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RP-HPLC fractionation of the electrically stimulated skin secretion of the arboreal South American frog Hypsiboas albopunctatus ("spotted treefrog") led to the isolation of a cytolytic C-terminally amidated peptide. This novel peptide, named hylin a1 (Hy-a1), consists of 18 amino acid residues (IFGAILPLALGALKNLIK-NH(2)). The alpha-helical structure of the synthetic hylin a1 peptide was confirmed by CD spectroscopy in the presence of 60% (v/v) TFE.

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Background: Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellate protozoan, is the etiological agent of Chagas disease, a chronic illness that causes irreversible damage to heart and digestive tract in humans. Previous 2-DE analyses of T. cruzi proteome have not focused on basic proteins, possibly because of inherent difficulties for optimizing 2-DE in the alkaline pH range.

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Neutrophils constitute the first line of host defense against pathogens. In the present study 2-D gel electrophoresis-mass spectrometry technology was employed to analyze the human resting neutrophils proteome. One hundred and two conserved spots were subjected to peptide mass fingerprinting, yielding 22 identifications.

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Background: Bothrops atrox is responsible for the majority of snakebite accidents in the Brazilian Amazon region. Previous studies have demonstrated that the biological and pharmacological activities of B. atrox venom alter with the age of the animal.

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