Micropropagation of Agave angustifolia "Espadín" Used in the Production of Mezcal.

This chapter presents the methodological approach for the in vitro propagation of Agave angustifolia "espadin," the base material to produce mezcal. The protocol used in each stage of the crop is addressed in detail, considering the changes in the culture medium and the characteristics of the plant material at each stage. The importance of integrated management between the multiplication and growth phase, as part of the in vitro selection strategy, is mentioned.

BioMINT: A Temporary Immersion System for Agave Micropropagation.

Agaves are cultivated in Mexico as a source of industrial products such as fibers, nutritional supplements, and alcoholic beverages. Due to the demand for plant material, its long-life cycle, and the need to avoid predation on its natural populations, in vitro micropropagation represents a good option for agaves. Plant tissue culture has been successfully used to micropropagate selected elite individuals from plants of various Agave species of economic interest.

Phylogenomic and Microsynteny Analysis Provides Evidence of Genome Arrangements of High-Affinity Nitrate Transporter Gene Families of Plants.

Nitrate transporter 2 (NRT2) and NRT3 or nitrate-assimilation-related 2 (NAR2) proteins families form a two-component, high-affinity nitrate transport system, which is essential for the acquisition of nitrate from soils with low N availability. An extensive phylogenomic analysis across land plants for these families has not been performed. In this study, we performed a microsynteny and orthology analysis on the NRT2 and NRT3 genes families across 132 plants () to decipher their evolutionary history.

Active telomerase during leaf growth and increase of age in plants from var. Azul.

In plants, previous studies show that telomerase activity contributes to the maintenance of telomeric length for the proper development of organs and tissues. In this work, we investigated telomerase activity in during several years of cultivation. We found that during growth of the leaf there are two crucial phases: (1) the onset of cell elongation in 3 years and (2) differentiation of vascular bundles in 6 years.

Genetic variation, multiple paternity, and measures of reproductive success in the critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).

The Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico contains some of the largest breeding groups of the globally distributed and critically endangered hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). An improved understanding of the breeding system of this species and how its genetic variation is structured among nesting areas is required before the threats to its survival can be properly evaluated. Here, we genotype 1195 hatchlings and 41 nesting females at 12 microsatellite loci to assess levels of multiple paternity, genetic variation and whether individual levels of homozygosity are associated with reproductive success.

Plant tissue culture and molecular markers.

Tissue culture can be used to propagate elite material or to generate new variability by employing somaclonal variation. Genetic stability of the process must be evaluated analyzing DNA profiles by the use of molecular markers. Several techniques have been reported for the screening of genetic variation on tissue culture derived material; however, a highly informative and good relation among the time-cost-information is obtained using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) in automatic sequencer.

Ecotoxicological effects of POPs on ariidae Ariopsis felis (Linnaeus, 1766) from three coastal ecosystems in the Southern Gulf of Mexico and Yucatan Peninsula.

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are still used for agricultural and disease vector control, as well as for industrial purposes. In the last decades, various studies have shown that fish are sensitive to the toxicological effects of certain POPs, including a large class of endocrine- disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In the present study, the relationship between of POPs and their effects using vitellogenin gene expression as biomarker of effect in hardhead catfish Ariopsis felis (Linnaeus, 1766) from three ecosystems in the Southern Gulf of Mexico and Yucatan Peninsula are discussed.

Culture-induced variation in plants of Coffea arabica cv. caturra rojo, regenerated by direct and indirect somatic embryogenesis.

Amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to evaluate the stability of DNA in regenerated plantlets of Coffea arabica obtained by direct (DSE) and indirect somatic embryogenesis (ISE). Cluster analysis using the unweighted pair-group method (UPGMA), showed no specific grouping pattern related to the type of embryogenesis. These results suggest that the somatic embryogenesis (SE) process has a mechanism for the selection of normal and competent cells.