Centro de Biotecnología

Background and aim: Leptospirosis is an infectious zoonotic disease that significantly affects animal health, particularly the reproduction of ruminants. However, some aspects of epidemiology and clinical characteristics have not been clarified. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence and identify risk factors of leptospirosis in female bovines at reproductive age in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest.

A collection of 611 Pseudomonas isolated from 14 sampling sites along the Danube River were identified previously by MALDI-TOF MS with the VITEK MS system and were grouped in 53 clusters by their main protein profiles. The strains were identified in the present study at the phylospecies level by rpoD gene sequencing. Partial sequences of the rpoD gene of 190 isolates representatives of all clusters were analyzed.

We designed and synthesized 21 new indolylarylsulfones (IASs) as new HIV-1 NNRTIs. Among these, IAS 12 exhibited a remarkable antiviral activity against single and double mutants (K103N EC50 = <0.7 nM; Y181C EC50 = <0.7 nM; Y188L EC50 = 21.3 nM; K103N-Y181C EC50 = 6.2 nM), resulting equally or more active than previuosly reported IAS 6 and some approved anti-HIV-1 drugs.

Conformational restriction applied to dihydrobenzylpyrimidin-4-(3 H)-ones (DABOs) by the intoduction of a methyl group at the α-benzylic position is known to massively improve the anti-HIV-1 activity of these compounds. Here, we report the effects of methoxy substitution at the α-benzylic position in S-, NH-, and N, N-DABOs carrying 2,6-difluoro, 2-chloro-6-fluoro, or 2,6-dichloro substituted benzyl moieties.

Social and demographic changes across the world over the past 50 years have resulted in significant outbreaks of arboviruses such as dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV). Despite the increased threat of infection, no approved drugs or fully protective vaccines are available to counteract the spread of DENV and ZIKV. The development of "broad-spectrum" antivirals (BSAs) that target common components of multiple viruses can be a more effective strategy to limit the rapid emergence of viral pathogens than the classic "one-bug/one-drug" approach.

En la provincia de Loja en las zonas de Chaguarpamba, Lozumbe y Hacienda Cristal, se colectaron de forma aleatoria muestras de suelo en plantas de café. Para el aislamiento de los microorganismos rizosféricos se realizaron diluciones seriadas hasta 10-5 y se sembraron por triplicado en placas de Petri con agar nutriente para el crecimiento de los microorganismos, se incubaron a 28 ºC durante 72 horas.

En la provincia de Loja en las zonas de Chaguarpamba, Lozumbe y Hacienda Cristal, se colectaron de forma aleatoria muestras de suelo en plantas de café. Para el aislamiento de los microorganismos rizosféricos se realizaron diluciones seriadas hasta 10-5 y se sembraron por triplicado en placas de Petri con agar nutriente para el crecimiento de los microorganismos, se incubaron a 28 ºC durante 72 horas.

Los Hongos Micorrízicos Arbusculares (HMA) son de importancia en la rizósfera, puesto que, establecen simbiosis con aproximadamente el 80 % de las plantas, dicha asociación coadyuva a una mejor absorción de agua y nutrientes, así como a proteger al sistema radicular de las plantas; es así que los HMA se encuentran en todos los tipos de suelo, presentando alto potencial como biofertilizantes en los diferentes cultivos.

Los biofertilizantes preparados con extractos de microalgas, son una alternativa sostenible en el mejoramiento, producción y protección de los cultivos agrícolas, siendo uno de los campos por explorar y más prometedores de la biotecnología y bioingeniería.

A family of dinuclear iron (II) compounds with iminopyridine-based ligands displays selective cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines. All compounds have IC50 values 2–6 fold lower than that of cisplatin, and 30–90 fold lower than that of carboplatin for the tumor cell lines assayed. Comparing the IC50 values between tumor and non-tumor cell lines, the selectivity indexes range from 3.2 to 34, compound 10, [Fe2(4)2(CH3CN)4](BF4)4, showing the highest selectivity.