Patricia M Valdespino

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | LBL · Berkeley Synchrotron Infrared Structural Biology Program (BSISB- MBIB)

Microbialites are modern analogues of ancient microbial consortia that date as far back as the Archaean Eon. Microbialites have contributed to the geochemical history of our planet through their diverse metabolic capacities that mediate mineral precipitation. These mineral-forming microbial assemblages accumulate major ions, trace elements and biom...

Maritime Antarctica has shown the highest increase in temperature in the Southern Hemisphere. Under this scenario, biogeochemical cycles may be altered, resulting in rapid environmental change for Antarctic biota. Microbes, that drive biogeochemical cycles often form biofilms or microbial mats in continental meltwater environments. Limnetic microbi...

Coralline algae are worldwide carbonate builders, considered to be foundational species and biodiversity hotspots. Coralline habitats face increasing pressure from human activities and effects related to Global Change, yet their ecological properties and adaptive responses remain poorly understood. The relationships of the algal microbiota with the...

Dissolved organic phosphorus utilization by different members of natural communities has been closely linked to microbial alkaline phosphatases whose affiliation and diversity is largely unknown. Here we assessed genetic diversity of bacterial alkaline phosphatases phoX and phoD, using highly diverse microbial consortia (microbialites and bacteriop...

As long as lakes and reservoirs are an important component of the global carbon cycle, monitoring of their metabolism is required, especially in the tropics. In particular, the response of deep reservoirs to water-level fluctuations (WLF) is an understudied field. Here, we study community metabolism through oxygen dynamics in a deep monomictic rese...

Nitrogen and phosphorous loading drives eutrophication of aquatic systems. Lakes and reservoirs are often effective N and P sinks, but the variability of their biogeochemical dynamics is still poorly documented, particularly in tropical systems. To contribute to the extending of information on tropical reservoirs and to increase the insight on the...

Nitrogen and phosphorous loading drives eutrophication of aquatic systems. Lakes and reservoirs are often effective N and P sinks, but information is needed on the variability of their biogeochemical dynamics, especially for tropical systems. A long-term N and P mass balance (2003-2018) in a small tropical eutrophic reservoir lake, Valle de Bravo (...

Ramon Margalef was a pioneering scientist who introduced an interdisciplinary approach to ecological studies. His studies were among the first to incorporate various concepts in the literature of aquatic ecology, covering topics such as organisms, ecosystem interactions and evolution. To bring Margalef’s approach into current scientific studies, in...

Bacterioplankton is an often-underestimated component in aquatic environments, which has major implications for ecosystem functioning. Recent studies highlight its activity and diversity in lake systems. Lake Alchichica is no exception in this matter, and although most microbial surveys have addressed the activity and abundance of phytoplankton, th...

The white rocks delineating the littoral of Lake Alchichica have called the attention of locals, foreigners, explorers and curious scientists over the years. More recently, science has revealed that these mineral constructions are hotspots of previously hidden microbial diversity. The metabolism of diverse microbial assemblages mediates the formati...

The protozoan assemblage of Lake Alchichica is composed of euryhaline species, which reflects the hyposaline nature of the lake. In this, microaerophilic and anaerobic species are biomass-dominating components. They occupy resource-rich niches during the prolonged period of stratification. The relevance of protozoa in the microbial food webs has be...

Physical processes play important roles in controlling eutrophication and oligotrophication. In stratified lakes, internal waves can cause vertical transport of heat and nutrients without breaking the stratification, through boundary mixing events. Such is the case in tropical Valle de Bravo (VB) reservoir lake, where strong diurnal winds drive int...

Las algas rojas coralinas (rodofitas) habitan las costas, coloreando estas regiones con una hermosa tonalidad roja o rosada, y son tan duras y afiladas que, de ser pisadas, causarían dolor al pie descalzo. Entre sus diminutas ramas, muchos organismos se desarrollan y encuentran refugio. La fotosíntesis de las algas coralinas conduce a la formación...

Physical processes play important roles in controlling eutrophication and oligotrophication. In stratified lakes, internal waves can cause vertical transport of heat and nutrients without breaking the stratification, through boundary mixing events. Such is the case in tropical Valle de Bravo (VB) lake, where strong diurnal winds drive internal wave...

Los estromatolitos del lago de Alchichica, México están sorprendiendo a la ciencia. Al estudiarlos estamos aprendiendo sobre la gran diversidad biológica y endemismos en el Centro de México. Los microbios involucrados median la formación de carbonatos. Estos biominerales pueden inspirar la creación de nuevos biomateriales y tecnologías para captura...

The objective of this study is to identify and analyze integrons and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in samples collected from diverse sites in terrestrial Antarctica. The metagenomic analysis allowed us to identify novel predicted intI integrases and gene cassettes (GCs), which mostly encode unknown functions. Abstract The objective of this st...

Caracterización del metabolismo de especies terrestres y marinas de México

Physical processes play important roles in controlling eutrophication and oligotrophication. In stratified lakes, internal waves can cause vertical transport of heat and nutrients without breaking the stratification, through boundary mixing events. Such is the case in tropical Valle de Bravo (VB) lake, where strong diurnal winds drive internal wave...

Physical processes play important roles in controlling eutrophication and oligotrophication. In stratified lakes, internal waves (IW) can cause vertical transport of heat and nutrients without breaking the stratification, through boundary mixing (BM) events. Such is the case in tropical Valle de Bravo (VB) lake, where strong diurnal winds drive IW,...

En los eventos de enseñanza y aprendizaje de nuestra vida, hay personajes que juegan papeles clave. Maestros, tutores, familiares, novelas, canciones, columnas periodísticas, a menudo nos ayudan a entender las cuestiones que rondan nuestra cabeza. Pero con frecuencia los rechazamos porque son mensajes o actitudes de gente mayor y el desfase generac...

La fotosíntesis de las algas calcificantes es un relevante conductor de la formación de carbonatos en las costas. El carbono inmovilizado en los talos calcificados de estas algas es un componente estructural de diferentes tipos de carbonatos. Entre ellos, la calcita magnesiana es el mineral más comúnmente reportado. El contenido de otros cationes (...

Les hemos llamado rocas vivas, texcales, tufas, arrecifes microbianos. Son ensambles de microbios "buenos" mediando la precipitación de minerales. Solo viven en algunos sitios del mundo, en México los encontramos por ejemplo en el lago de Alchichica, acompáñanos a conocer estos fascinantes sistemas.

Extant stromatolites have been considered ecological similes to their ancient counterparts. We now know that these microbial assemblages are composed of a great diversity of microbes, which couple and intertwine their metabolic capabilities to create self-sustained microbial ecosystems. Presently, stromatolites thrive in a vast diversity of aquatic...

Científicas mexicanas por una luz de sincrotrón en México. International Day of Light. May 16, 2020. La idea de construir un sincrotrón en México, es decir, de que líneas experimentales de sincrotrón estén bajo la creatividad de manos, de mentes mexicanas, es sin duda emocionante. Es el sincrotrón un espacio de participación de mujeres en la cien...

Bacteria and other types of microbes interact with their hosts in several ways, including metabolic pathways, development, and complex behavioral processes such as mate recognition. During the mating season, adult males of the lesser long-nosed agave pollinator bat Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) develop a structure calle...

Bacteria and other types of microbes interact with their hosts in several ways, including metabolic pathways, development, and complex behavioral processes such as mate recognition. During the mating season, adult males of the lesser long-nosed agave pollinator bat Leptonycteris yerbabuenae (Phyllostomidae: Glossophaginae) develop a structure calle...

Un rasgo emblemático y característico del lago Alchichica es un anillo de “rocas blancas” que se aprecia en casi toda la periferia del lago. Estas “rocas” se denominan localmente como “texcales” que literalmente quiere decir piedras en náhuatl, y no sólo otorgan una vista hermosa, sino que también son la huella de una reserva única de diversidad mi...

El conocimiento del mundo microbiano cada día crece, sorprendiéndonos y cuestionando los paradigmas de la Biología y la Química. Contrario a lo que solemos pensar, los microbios no viven solos sino en asociación con otros, formando en ocasiones capas tan delgadas como la punta de una aguja. Estas delgadas biopelículas están por todas partes y sus c...

https://youtu.be/v5Ahxk39mog

Microbialites are rock-like underwater structures that look like reefs but are made entirely of millions of microbes. These structures are very ancient and can be found in different environments on every continent on Earth. Mexico has many microbialite reefs, in desert valleys, crater-lakes, and coastal lagoons. Science helps us to understand the m...

Analysis of environmental samples for bacterial antibiotic resistance genes may have different objectives and analysis strategies. In some cases, the purpose was to study diversity and evolution of genes that could be grouped within a mechanism of antibiotic resistance. Different protocols have been designed for detection and confirmation that a fu...

The relevance of inland waters in the global carbon cycle has been stressed recently, particularly because of a reassessment of their capacity for carbon exportation to the atmosphere and to the sediments. Global surveys have also highlighted the acute lack of information on tropical systems, which are exposed to crescent problems in the Global Cha...

The relevance of inland waters in the global carbon cycle has been stressed recently, particularly because of a reassessment of their capacity for carbon exportation to the atmosphere and to the sediments. Global surveys have also highlighted the acute lack of information on tropical systems, which are exposed to crescent problems in the Global Cha...

Through a nested suite of methods here we contrast the coexistence of different ecosystem states in a tropical coastal lagoon, the Laguna Larga, with increasing eutrophication stress between 2007 and 2009. Water temperature averaged 27.4°C in the lagoon and showed a slight positive trend during the study period. Salinity averaged 35.0±6.2, exhibiti...

Long-term and seasonal changes in production and respiration were surveyed in the Valle de Bravo reservoir, Mexico, in a period during which high water-level fluctuations occurred (2006–2015). We assessed the community metabolism through oxygen dynamics in this monomictic water-body affected by strong diurnal winds. The multiple-year data series al...

Microbialites are modern analogs of ancient microbial consortia that date as far back as the Archaean Eon. Microbialites have contributed to the geochemical history of our planet through their diverse metabolic capacities that mediate mineral precipitation. These mineral-forming microbial assemblages accumulate major ions, trace elements and biomas...

Women in science Background, current situation of women in science What do science have to say: we are different! The higher the diversity in nature, the better the solution We are not listening…we have silenced their voices Drivers of change: us (indoors change) an them (innovation needs everybody) Why to give women a chance?

Cyanobacteria and major biogeochemical cycles, Role of cyanobacteria in mineral precipitations, Potential of exploration of cyanobacteria using SR-FTIRS in micro and nano scales, Challenges and perspectives

Microbes biogeochemical processes from molecular to ecosystem scales

Microbes can modulate ecosystem function since they harbor a vast genetic potential for biogeochemical cycling. The spatial and temporal dynamics of this genetic diversity should be acknowledged to establish a link between ecosystem function and community structure. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity of bacterial phosphorus utilizatio...

Microbialites are an example of complex and diverse microbial assemblages where several metabolic pathways are interconnected for biomass formation coupled to mineral precipitation. Lake Alchichica (Mexico) is an oligotrophic environment where nitrogen (N) and phosphorus alternately limit productivity, and massive microbialite growths are found alo...

At least four main groups of intracellular signaling pathways or submodules concur in the cell division and proliferation module: those for the control of the cell cycle, those for the metabolism programming, those for cytoskeleton remodeling, and those for DNA replication and repair. Precise signaling pathways that control cell proliferation modul...

A partir del consenso de la existencia de un cambio climático planetario es fundamental y urgente identificar los efectos y señales de este proceso, dado que los ecosistemas responden de formas distintas al cambio ambiental. Para entender y estudiar estas señales y efectos, analizamos el tipo de información que proporciona el estudio de los sistema...

A partir del consenso de la existencia de un cambio climático planetario es fundamental y urgente identificar los efectos y señales de este proceso, dado que los ecosistemas responden de formas distintas al cambio ambiental. Para entender y estudiar estas señales y efectos, ¡preguntemos a los lagos! fue la propuesta de un grupo de científicos hace...

Los desafíos que enfrenta la humanidad ante el calentamiento climático global hacen necesario y urgente entender los ecosistemas desde un punto de vista funcional. En esta perspectiva se preve que los ciclos biogoequímicos de los principales elementos de la vida (carbono, nitrógeno, fósforo o azufre) sean afectados. En este capítulo se resume la in...

El Reporte Mexicano de Cambio Climático es una iniciativa surgida desde el ámbito académico, impulsada y realizada por el Programa de Investigación en Cambio Climático de la UNAM, que se dio a la tarea de convocar, por primera ocasión, al más grande contingente de investigadores provenientes de las diversas disciplinas académicas, instituciones y e...

Los desafíos que enfrenta la humanidad ante el calentamiento climático global hace fundamental entender los procesos de los ecosistemas desde un punto de vista funcional para avanzar en el conocimiento sobre la interacción de la variabilidad climática y los ciclos biogeoquímicos. En los ecosistemas terrestres, la suma total de carbono que ingresa a...

Microbes play a fundamental role in remineralization of phosphorus. We are starting to understand the identity of the microorganisms harboring the genetic potential for the transformation of the different forms of phosphorus in the ecosystems. In this exploration, the study of the diversity of particular genetic markers in microbial communities of...

Las aguas continentales constituyen un recurso de importancia estratégica para las naciones, por lo que resulta esencial conocerlas a detalle: su abundancia, distribución, función, problemáticas, vulnerabilidad y capacidad de recuperación o resiliencia. La generación y el análisis oportuno de esta información permitirán planear las estrategias de a...

Cancer is a complex disease with both genetic and epigenetic origins. The growing field of epigenetics has contributed to our understanding of oncogenesis and tumor progression, and has allowed the development of novel therapeutic drugs. First-generation epigenetic inhibitor drugs have obtained modest clinical results in two types of hematological...

Nowadays cellular physiology is best understood by analyzing their interacting molecular components. Proteins are the major components of the cells. Different proteins are organized in form of functional clusters, pathways or networks. These molecules are ordered in clusters of receptor molecules of extracellular signals, transductors, sensors and...

Regenerative medicine is a medical multidisciplinary area with the aim of morphologic and functional restoration of tissues or organs in order to re-establish normal function. The main bases of regenerative medicine are the use of autologous stem or progenitor cells and the ex vivo construction of physical-mechanical tissue structuring organization...

Our concept of "individual organisms" is changing based on the close relationships we have with the microbes that inhabit our bodies. All plants and animales are biological systems or holobionts. http://www.cyd.conacyt.gob.mx/272/articulos/planta-animal-u-holobionte.html Nuestro concepto de "individuos" está cambiando a la luz de las estrechas rela...

LOS LAGOS, CENTINELAS DEL CAMBIO CLIMÁTICO: EFECTOS SOBRE EL CICLO DEL FÓSFORO

http://aguasimple.org.mx/index.php?option=com_content&view=article…alud-de-tu-lago-en-cinco-pasos&catid=33:notas-de-agua-v3&Itemid=6

The cellular differentiation process involves complex genetic, epigenetic and signaling pathways systems. The analysis of a specific model of cellular differentiation may contribute to understand the global mechanisms. The cellular differentiation process based on the experimental reprogramming of somatic cells (terminally differentiated cells) to...

Cellular differentiation is a highly complex process and we need a deeper understanding of their mechanisms. Reprogramming somatic cells follows the inverse order to the physiologic differentiation process. Reprogramming somatic cells may be used as a simplistic model to understand the cellular differentiation process. The generation of induced plu...

En publicaciones anteriores de NUESTRO LAGO explicamos que en la superficie de nuestro lago el crecimiento de microalgas produce materia orgánica que al hundirse agota el oxígeno en la capa del fondo (2° capítulo, marzo de 2005; número 3) y libera nutrientes de nitrógeno y fósforo que favorecenel crecimiento de nuevas masas de microalgas y bacteria...

Biological processes in human health and disease can be studied by macroscopic, microscopic and nanoscopic scales.Human Genome, HapMap and 1000 Genomas Projects have advanced in the structural analysis of the human genome. Recently the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements Project has initiated the analysis of the main human genome functional components, ex...

• Primary forests in the seasonally dry tropical regions of Mexico are disappearing under land-use pressure, creating a mosaic of secondary forests of different ages. • In this study we measured the aboveground litterfall phosphorus (P) fluxes, litter-layer and soil P pools to compare the P cycles in primary and secondary seasonally dry tropical fo...

El dogma de la era genética está atravesando una silen-ciosa revolución. Estamos empezando a pensar tanto en términos de secuencias de genes y de su respuesta en el contexto ambiental. La Epigenética ofrece la posibilidad de reprogramar el genoma sin necesidad de modificar el material genéti-co. Este nuevo conocimiento nos da pistas para entender e...