Proyectos

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La historia de la humanidad ha estado siempre acompañada de emergencias sanitarias, como las provocadas por grandes pandemias (Huremović 2019). Casi la totalidad de estas pandemias han sido causadas por virus emergentes y reemergentes zoonóticos (Morse et al. 2012)(Grubaugh et al. 2019), las cuales han generado consecuencias devastadoras para la salud humana y para la economía global. Actualmente, la epidemiología de SARS-CoV-2 hace patente la necesidad de contar con capacidades técnicas instaladas en diferentes áreas geográficas para poder detectar, diagnosticar y monitorear este patógeno en sus potenciales hospederos animales (Gardy and Loman 2018). Esta necesidad fue puesta de manifiesto durante la actual pandemia causada por el virus SARS-CoV-2, agente causal de la enfermedad denominada COVID-19. Por ejemplo, los hospedadores naturales del SARS-CoV-2 son especies de murciélagos del sudeste Asiático, y el virus ha circulado naturalmente en estas especies por más de la mitad del siglo XX (Zhou et al. 2020). Por lo tanto, el objetivo de esta propuesta es implementar el equipamiento, conocimiento biotecnológico y perfeccionamiento de científicos para que puedan realizar estudios que se aboquen al descubrimiento de virus respiratorios en especies animales de las cuales no existe conocimiento al respecto - principalmente fauna silvestre -, y de especies relevantes por cuanto a su cercanía con los seres humanos. En particular, el estudio cimentará las capacidades para la detección y diagnóstico de SARS-CoV-2 y otros coronavirus en animales, lo que a su vez fortalecerá el sistema de vigilancia epidemiológica frente a otros virus emergentes y re-emergentes del eje ChilePerú, salvaguardando de esta forma la salud pública binacional.

El cromatógrafo permite evaluar aspectos tan importantes como la calidad de la fruta, cantidad y tipos de azúcares que tiene, o algunos compuestos nutricionales que puedan ser de valor en la investigación y en la valorización de los productos agrícolas

El objetivo es diseñar e implementar una estrategia transdisciplinaria de vinculación entre los apicultores de la región y la Universidad de O´Higgins, que permita construir una “Hoja de Ruta” para resolver las brechas existentes en el sector y definir las líneas de investigación aplicada a desarrollarse. Esto permitirá mejorar la asociatividad de los apicultores, mejorar la salud de las colmenas, los servicios de polinización y por ende la productividad apícola regional.

El objetivo es diseñar e implementar una estrategia transdisciplinaria de vinculación entre los apicultores de la región y la Universidad de O´Higgins, que permita construir una “Hoja de Ruta” para resolver las brechas existentes en el sector y definir las líneas de investigación aplicada a desarrollarse. Esto permitirá mejorar la asociatividad de los apicultores, mejorar la salud de las colmenas, los servicios de polinización y por ende la productividad apícola regional.

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Crop pests and diseases lead to massive production loss, creating a global food supply and economic loss. Modern agriculture controls diseases by extensive application of chemicals, however this strategy brings undesired effects, such as human health problems by exposure to these chemicals, environmental contamination and development of pesticide resistant pathogens. Agricultural industry is an economically important activity in Chile, compromising close to 10% of the labor force. The fruit industry (excluding table grapes) corresponds to 8.5% of the arable lands (342,654.2 hectares), where Prunus persica (peach and nectarines, called hereinafter as Peach) has an important place. Peach orchards are affected by several diseases such as, bacterial canker caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae and brown rot blossom blight caused by the fungi Monilinia fructicola and M. laxa, which are controlled mainly by using pesticides. In this context, the need to better understand peach immunity has arisen for developing alternative or supplementary strategies to control crop diseases. Plant immunity relies on the capacity of each individual cell to recognize pathogen threat, through cell surface and intracellular receptors, initiating immune responses to defend themselves. Cell surface receptors are called Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) by their ability of recognizing characteristic microbial-derived molecules called microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). Upon MAMP recognition Pattern Triggered Immunity (PTI) is activated, defense responses are elicited enabling the plant to ward off pathogen colonization. MAMPs are distinctive molecules present in bacteria or fungi, non-strain specific, such as bacterial flagellin and fungal endoxylanases, which are recognized by specific PRRs, forming the MAMP/PRR recognition system that triggers the defense. The presence of PRRs is tightly correlated with higher broad pathogen resistance. In fact, transgenic Citrus sinensis, Medicago truncatula, Triticum avium, Nicotiana benthamiana, and Solanum lycopersicum carrying exogenous PRR present higher pathogen resistance. Moreover, Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) linking resistance to pathogens with PRRs in Phaseolus vulgaris and Hordeum vulgare. These evidences highlight the potential of exploiting MAMP/PRR recognition system in modern agriculture. We are focused to study in Peach two well described MAMP/PRR recognition model systems: flg22/FLS2 and xyn11/LeEIX2 recognition system. In the case of Flg22/FLS2 recognition system a conserved flagellin peptide, named flg22, is recognized by the PRR FLS2, activating oxidative burst, hormone production and transcriptional activation of Pathogen related (PR) genes. In xyn11/LeEIX2 recognition system a conserved peptide of endoxylanases type 11, named hereinafter xyn11, is recognized by the PRR EIX2, activating oxidative burst, ethylene production, expression of PR proteins and hypersensitive response. These recognition systems are agriculturally important because they can recognize the bacteria Bacillus sp, Pseudomonas sp and Xanthomonas sp and the fungi Trichoderma viridea and Botrytis cinerea. Remarkably, Bacterial Canker caused by Pseudomonas syringae is a current problem for Peach crops in Chile, as well, grey mold caused by Botrytis cinerea infection is a common post-harvesting disease for fruits. Peach immunity is poorly described, however transcriptomic analysis showed more than 20 PRR like proteins induced by Xanthomonas arboricola infection and QTL analysis have identified two RLK genes associated to peach resistance against Monilinia spp, the causal agent of brown rot blossom blight, one of the most economically important peach diseases. However, no functional analyses have described MAMP/PRR recognition systems in peach to date. We expect to generate novel and valuable information regarding Peach immunity, characterizing peach flg22/FLS2 and xyn11/LeEIX2 recognition systems, as well as the defense responses triggered by them and their involvement in resistance to Pseudomonas syringae and Botrytis ciniera. In addition, we will explore whether these recognition systems, particularly xyn11/LeEIX2 participate in Monilinia spp recognition.

Cumplo un rol de Investigador Asociado. Which are the molecular and physiological mechanisms involved in priming and defense activation in cherry plants upon Pss infection? Are these mechanisms differentially activated between susceptible and resistance cherry varieties? Do susceptible and resistance cherry varieties present a differential priming under different PRIs exposure? Even more, the increasing of aridity and drought in the North of the country, the advancing desert toward the South and a reduction in water resources in the central zone of Chile, are expected along the XXI century. In this scenario of climate change, other question arises: Which are the molecular and physiological mechanisms involved in priming and defense activation in cherry plants upon Pss infection combined with water deficit? Through this proposal, we intend to answer to these questions, in order to establish the basis for optimize the control of the bacterial canker in cherry fruit tree, by strategies that provide for the use of resistance inductors. We propose two hypotheses: a) Cherry cultivars with differential susceptibility to bacterial canker, caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, present genetic differences in the molecular machinery of plant immunity; b) Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae infection is enhanced by water restriction due to an alteration of the molecular machinery of plant immunity. The aims of this proposal is to obtain a better understanding of the plant-pathogen molecular interactions of sweet cherry bacterial canker in relationship with water deficit, using mainly omics strategies.