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Research Interests: Biology and Drosophilidae
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Este trabajo recopila información sobre la expresión de los genes y proteínas de choque térmico en respuesta a los cambios de temperatura. Está enfocado en las especies más representativas de los órdenes de insectos más estudiados, a... more
Este trabajo recopila información sobre la expresión de los genes y proteínas de choque térmico en respuesta a los cambios de temperatura. Está enfocado en las especies más representativas de los órdenes de insectos más estudiados, a través de las cuales se compara la variación de la expresión de los genes Hsp y proteínas Hsp entre los órdenes y poblaciones de insectos y se expone su posible vínculo con la adaptación ambiental.
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Research Interests: Biology and Drosophilidae
The guarani group of Drosophila genus (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is formed by 24 species however the relationship of these species is not clear. In the present study are described the karyotypes of Drosophila sachapuyu Peñafiel and Rafael,... more
The guarani group of Drosophila genus (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is formed by 24 species however the relationship of these species is not clear. In the present study are described the karyotypes of Drosophila sachapuyu Peñafiel and Rafael, 2018 and Drosophila zamorana Peñafiel and Rafael, 2018, two Andean species members of the guarani group. Mitotic chromosomes from cerebral ganglia of third stand larval were obtained by thermal shock and cell suspension techniques. The karyotype of D. sachapuyu, presents 2n = 10 (4R, 1V; X = R, Y = R) while D. zamorana exhibits karyotype 2n = 12 (5R, 1V; X = V, Y = R).
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Vaccinium floribundum Kunth, a wild native species of berry in Ecuador, presents a lot of phenolic compounds, specifically anthocyanins; hence it is considered a natural nutraceutical due to all its nutritional properties. The comparison... more
Vaccinium floribundum Kunth, a wild native species of berry in Ecuador, presents a lot of phenolic compounds, specifically anthocyanins; hence it is considered a natural nutraceutical due to all its nutritional properties. The comparison of the expression of genes is involved in the biosynthesis pathway of anthocyanin of several populations. The aim of the research was to analyze the expression levels of three genes involved in the biosynthesis of anthocyanin in this species collected in two areas of the province of Pichincha: Machachi population of the Mejía canton, with geographic coordinates 0 ° 31′04.8 ″ S 78 ° 37′07.4 ″ W and altitude 3200 meters above sea level, and Pintag population of the Quito cantón, with geographic coordinates 0 ° 24′00.0 ″ S 78 ° 24′00.0 ″ W and altitude 3000 meters above sea level. The gene expression analysis was performed using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique and reverse transcription (RT-qPCR). For the population of Machachi, the...
Research Interests: Biology, Gene expression, Population, Gene, Dehydrogenase, and 3 moreBerry, Anthocyanin, and Chalcone synthase
Research on nanomaterial exposure-related health risks is still quite limited; this includes standardizing methods for measuring metals in living organisms. Thus, this study validated an atomic absorption spectrophotometry method to... more
Research on nanomaterial exposure-related health risks is still quite limited; this includes standardizing methods for measuring metals in living organisms. Thus, this study validated an atomic absorption spectrophotometry method to determine fertility and bioaccumulated iron content in Drosophila melanogaster flies after feeding them magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4NPs) dosed in a culture medium (100, 250, 500, and 1000 mg kg−1). Some NPs were also coated with chitosan to compare iron assimilation. Considering both accuracy and precision, results showed the method was optimal for concentrations greater than 20 mg L−1. Recovery values were considered optimum within the 95–105% range. Regarding fertility, offspring for each coated and non-coated NPs concentration decreased in relation to the control group. Flies exposed to 100 mg L−1 of coated NPs presented the lowest fertility level and highest bioaccumulation factor. Despite an association between iron bioaccumulation and NPs concent...
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Drosophila melanogaster hemolymph cells are confirmed as a model to study the activation of immune system due to foreign stimuli like iron nanoparticles. The toxicity of nanoparticles is a cause for concern due to their effect on human... more
Drosophila melanogaster hemolymph cells are confirmed as a model to study the activation of immune system due to foreign stimuli like iron nanoparticles. The toxicity of nanoparticles is a cause for concern due to their effect on human health and the environment. The aim of this study was to detect the activation of cellular immune response in Drosophila larvae through the observation of hemolymph composition, DNA damage and larval viability, after the exposure to 500 ppm and 1000 ppm chitosan-coated magnetite nanoparticles for 24 hours. Our results showed activation of cellular immune response after exposure to the nanoparticles owing to the increment of hemocytes, the emergence of lamellocytes and the presence of apoptotic hemocytes. In addition, chitosan-coated magnetite nanoparticles produce DNA damage detected by comet assay as well as low viability of larvae. No DNA damage is showed at 500 ppm. The cellular toxicity is directly associated with 1000 ppm.
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En el presente estudio se describen catorce nuevas especies del género Drosophila descubiertas recientemente en el Volcán Pasochoa, las nuevas especies pertenecen a cinco grupos de especies del género l. grupo repleta: Drosophila shuyu;... more
En el presente estudio se describen catorce nuevas especies del género Drosophila descubiertas recientemente en el Volcán Pasochoa, las nuevas especies pertenecen a cinco grupos de especies del género l. grupo repleta: Drosophila shuyu; 2. grupo tripunetata: Drosophila pataeorona, Drosophila quillu, Drosophila ninarumi, Drosophila surueueho, Drosophila iehubamba y Drosophila ureu; 3. grupo flavopilosa: Drosophila suni, Drosophila taxohuayeu y Drosophila sisa; 4. grupo guarani: Drosophila euseungu; 5. grupo annulimana: Drosophila yana y dos especies no agrupadas: Drosophila eondormaehay y Drosophila pugyu.
Research Interests: Biology and Drosophilidae
<p><b>A)</b> Interspecific cross and backcrosses used in experiments <b>B)</b> Selective PCR AFLP band patterns using primers with selective nucleotides GG (<i>Eco</i>RI) and CTG... more
<p><b>A)</b> Interspecific cross and backcrosses used in experiments <b>B)</b> Selective PCR AFLP band patterns using primers with selective nucleotides GG (<i>Eco</i>RI) and CTG (<i>Mse</i>I). The arrows indicate two instability markers detected in hybrids from backcross 1 as an example. MWM, molecular weight marker; Dk, <i>D. koepferae</i>; Db, <i>D. buzzatii</i>; HF1, F1 hybrids; BC1, backcross 1.</p
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Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Flow Cytometry, Biology, Drosophila melanogaster, and 15 moreGenome Size, Transposable Elements, Medicine, Drosophila, Fluorescence in situ hybridization, Genome evolution, Female, Animals, Male, Genome, Introgression, Hybrids, Interspecific competition, Backcrossing, and Retroelements
An adapted amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) protocol is presented for detection of hybrid instability in the genome of interspecific hybrids between Drosophila buzzatii and D. koepferae species. Analyses of 15 AFLP... more
An adapted amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) protocol is presented for detection of hybrid instability in the genome of interspecific hybrids between Drosophila buzzatii and D. koepferae species. Analyses of 15 AFLP instability markers (new bands detected in hybrids) show that up to 81% are the result of transposable element (TE) activity. Twenty TEs associated with AFLP instability markers have been detected by this method in backcross hybrids and segmental hybrids, demonstrating its validity in detecting transposition events occurring during the hybridization process. New insertions of Helena TE have been observed in the hybrid genome after hybridization of the TGTCG22 instability marker by FISH. The AFLP marker technique proved to be an efficient method that improves upon traditional and bioinformatic tools previously used to detect TE mobilization. This newly adapted AFLP protocol may also be applied to a large number of organisms outside the Drosophila genus, making...
Research Interests: Genetics, Polymorphism, Adaptation, Biology, Horizontal Gene Transfer, and 15 moreMedicine, Biological Sciences, Drosophila, Instability, Fluorescence in situ hybridization, Hybrid, Female, Animals, Male, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Genome, Genomic instability, Genetic Markers, Genome Instability, and Backcrossing
Research Interests: Engineering, Genetics, Chemistry, Genomics, Nonparametric Statistics, and 15 moreBiology, Hybridization, Drosophila melanogaster, Genetic Networks, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, Drosophila, Fluorescence in situ hybridization, Hybrid, Animals, Genome, Genomic instability, Invertebrate Genomics, Genome Instability, and Genomic databases
ABSTRACT An unusual new species of Zygothrica, Z. desallei, is described from Ecuador. This species possesses three supernumerary crossveins extending from vein R2 + 3 to the costa. Such a phenotype, while observed in other drosophilid... more
ABSTRACT An unusual new species of Zygothrica, Z. desallei, is described from Ecuador. This species possesses three supernumerary crossveins extending from vein R2 + 3 to the costa. Such a phenotype, while observed in other drosophilid genera such as Jeannelopsis and Scaptomyza (Tantalia), has not been previously observed in Zygothrica.
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En el Bosque Pasochoa, se encontraron tres nuevas especies del género Drosophila las cuales son descritas en el presente artículo.