Gustavo Turqueto Duarte

SCK CEN - Belgian Nuclear Research Centre | SCK CEN · Unit for Biosphere Impact Studies

RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has opened up the possibility of studying virtually any organism at the whole transcriptome level. Nevertheless, the absence of a sequenced and accurately annotated reference genome may be an obstacle for applying this technique to non-model organisms, especially for those with a complex genome. While de novo transcriptome...

Nitrogen (N) is fundamental to plant growth, development, and yield. Genes underlying N utilization and assimilation are well-characterized, but mechanisms underpinning plasticity of different phenotypes in response to N remain elusive. Here, using Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, we dissected the genetic architecture of plasticity in early and lat...

Chronic ionising radiation exposure is a main consequence of radioactive pollution of the envi-ronment. The development of functional genomics approaches coupled with morphological and physiological studies allows new insights into plant adaptation to life under chronic irradiation. Using morphological, reproductive, physiological, and transcriptom...

In present times, the levels of ionizing radiation (IR) on the surface of Earth are relatively low, posing no high challenges for the survival of contemporary life forms. IR derives from natural sources and naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM), the nuclear industry, medical applications, and as a result of radiation disasters or nuclear...

Our understanding of the long-term consequences of chronic ionising radiation for living organisms remains scarce. Modern molecular biology techniques are helpful tools for researching pollutant effects on biota. To reveal the molecular phenotype of plants growing under chronic radiation exposure, we sampled Vicia cracca L. plants in the Chernobyl...

Our understanding of the long-term consequences of chronic ionising radiation for living organisms remains scarce. Modern molecular biology techniques are helpful tools for researching pollutant effects on biota. To reveal the molecular phenotype of plants growing under chronic radiation exposure, we sampled Vicia cracca L. plants in the Chernobyl...

Hormone signaling fine-tuning involves feedback regulatory loops. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays key functions in development and tolerance to abiotic stress. ABA is sensed by the PYR/PYL/RCAR receptors and it also represses their gene expression. Conversely, ABA induces PP2C phosphatases expression, which are negative regulators of the ABA signaling pa...

Organisms can rapidly mitigate the effects of environmental changes by changing their phenotypes, known as phenotypic plasticity. Yet, little is known about the temperature-mediated plasticity of traits that are directly linked to plant fitness such as flower size. We discovered substantial genetic variation in flower size plasticity to temperature...

Pinus species are highly suitable for monitoring anthropogenic pollutants, including air contaminants, heavy metals and radionuclides. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is one of the most widely distributed conifers in the world, and is characterized by a high sensitivity to environmental pollutants and an increased ability to accumulate pollutants...

Adjustment to energy starvation is crucial to ensure growth and survival. In Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), this process relies in part on the phosphorylation of the circadian clock regulator bZIP63 by SUCROSE non‐fermenting RELATED KINASE1 (SnRK1), a key mediator of responses to low energy. We investigated the effects of mutations in bZIP63 o...

Five herbaceous plant species (Aquilegia vulgaris L., Capsella bursa-pastoris L., Dactylis glomerata L., Taraxacum officinale Wigg., and Trifolium repens L.) were sampled at twelve plots in the radioactively contaminated Chernobyl exclusion zone. These plots comprise dose rates from 0.27 to 12.5 μGy/h. The sensitivity of each plant species to chron...

Nitrogen (N) is fundamental to plant growth, development, and yield. Genes underlying N utilization and assimilation are well characterized, but mechanisms underpinning plasticity of different phenotypes to varying amounts of N in the soil remain elusive. Here, using Arabidopsis thaliana accessions, we dissected the genetic architecture of plastici...

Living organisms possess many mechanisms to sense nutrients and favorable conditions, which allow them to grow and develop. Photosynthetic organisms are very diverse, from green unicellular algae to multicellular flowering plants, but most of them are sessile and thus unable to escape from the biotic and abiotic stresses they experience. The Target...

At low intensity, certain stress conditions may have a positive effect on growth and development of plants (eustress). Growth stimulation of barley plants after gamma irradiation of seeds in low doses was observed as an increase in root and shoot lengths. Hydrogen peroxide concentrations in shoots of irradiated plants were significantly higher than...

In this paper the main results of long-term (2003–2016) observations on Scots pine populations inhabiting sites affected by the Chernobyl accident are presented. Populations growing for many years under chronic radiation exposure are characterized by the enhanced mutation rates, increased genetic diversity, changes in the gene expression and in the...

The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is a conserved energy sensor that regulates growth in response to environmental cues. However, little is known about the TOR signaling pathway in plants. We used Arabidopsis lines affected in the lethal with SEC13 protein 8 (LST8-1) gene, a core element of the TOR complex, to search for suppressor mutations. Two...

Radioactive contamination of the natural areas is one of the most long-lasting anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is a promising organism for radiation-related research because of its high radiosensitivity, but the genome size of Pinacea species has imposed obstacles for high-throughput studies so far. In thi...

Sulfur is an essential macronutrient for plants that is incorporated into sulfur-containing amino acids or metabolites crucial for plant growth and stress adaptation. A recent publication shows a connection between sulfur sensing, growth processes, and the conserved eukaryotic target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase signaling pathway.

Large-scale radiation accidents at the Mayak production association and at the Chernobyl NPP caused contamination of large territories of Russia by radioactive fallouts. The increased level of mutagenesis found in plants and animals inhabiting radioactively contaminated lands raise the question about possible ecological consequences of chronic expo...

The Target Of Rapamycin (TOR) kinase is a conserved energy sensor that regulates growth in response to environmental cues. However, little is known about TOR pathway regulatory elements or substrates in plants. We used Arabidopsis lines affected in the LST8 gene, a core element of the TOR complex, to search for suppressors of lst8-1-1 (sol) mutants...

Genetic and epigenetic changes were investigated in chronically irradiated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) populations from territories that were heavily contaminated by radionuclides as result of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. In comparison to the reference site, the genetic diversity revealed by electrophoretic mobility of AFLPs was...

Key message The manuscript by Alves et al. entitled “Genome-wide identification and characterization of tRNA-derived RNA fragments in land plants” describes the identification and characterization of tRNAderived sRNA fragments in plants. By combining bioinformatic analysis and genetic and molecular approaches, we show that tRF biogenesis does not r...

Small RNA (sRNA) fragments derived from tRNAs (3'-loop, 5'-loop, anti-codon loop), named tRFs, have been reported in several organisms, including humans and plants. Although they may interfere with gene expression, their biogenesis and biological functions in plants remain poorly understood. Here, we capitalized on small RNA sequencing data from di...

In plants, sugars such as glucose act as signalling molecules that promote changes in gene expression programmes that impact on growth and development. Recent evidence has revealed the potential importance of controlling mRNA decay in some aspects of glucose-mediated regulatory responses suggesting a role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in these responses. I...

Nitrate reductase (NR) has emerged as a potential NO source in plants. Indeed, the Arabidopsis thaliana NR double-deficient mutant (nia1 nia2) produces low NO and develops abnormal susceptibility to bacterial infection. We have employed quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions to analyze the effects of NO gas on the expression of defense-r...

Glucose modulates plant metabolism, growth, and development. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), Hexokinase1 (HXK1) is a glucose sensor that may trigger abscisic acid (ABA) synthesis and sensitivity to mediate glucose-induced inhibition of seedling development. Here, we show that the intensity of short-term responses to glucose can vary with ABA...

The family Calliphoridae consists of myiasis-causing flies, including species of economic, forensic, and medical importance. In this study, the complete control regions (CRs) of mitochondrial DNA from 15 calliphorid species were sequenced and structurally characterized. The CRs had a high content of adenines (A) and thymines (T) and varied in lengt...