http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42 2026-06-27T17:22:33Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42253 Title: Functional charactherisation of a key transcription factor regulating parasitism-related genes in the plant-parasitic nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Authors: Mendonça, Madalena; Vicente, C.S.L.; Eves-van den Akker, Sebastian; Espada, Margarida Abstract: Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) are major economic and ecological threats to crops and forest species worldwide. The pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a quarantine organism responsible for the pine wilt disease (PWD), which leads to the decline of conifer species in Europe and East Asia. The lack of effective control measures for PWD highlights the urgent need for innovative and sustainable strategies targeting the parasite, including a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms of PWN parasitism. Interactions between the PWN and the host are mediated by parasitism proteins, primarly produced in specialised cells, known as gland cells (GC), that play a crucial role in nematode migration, defence and host immunity response. Based on a nematode transcriptomic comparative analysis (Espada et al., 2016, 2018), we were able to select seven predicted genes encoding for transcription factors (TF), that were putatively more expressed in the GC tissues, compared to the whole-nematode body. Therefore, we hypothesised that these molecules may be involved in the regulation of the expression in parasitism genes. All seven candidate genes are expressed in the GCs and were validated by in situ hybridisation (ISH). One of the candidate TF, BXY_079, was successfully knocked down by RNA interference. Transcriptomic data from the silenced TF, revealed that several parasitism-related genes were also significantly downregulated. When analysed together with PWN life-stage transcriptomic data (Tanaka et al., 2019), these genes were found to be highly expressed during parasitic juvenile stages of PWN and are predicted to encode lytic functions that are associated with nematode feeding and migration during host interaction. Moreover, yeast one-hybrid functional analysis showed that BXY_079 binds to the promoters of genes involved in both lytic functions and cell signalling regulation, proving the direct regulation of the predicted parasitism-related genes. We suggest that silencing this regulatory element could simultaneously disrupt the expression of several parasitism-related genes and potentially reduce PWN infection. Exploring regulatory molecules in PPN could have a major biotechnological impact on the forestry system, as these regulators represent promising targets for genetic editing to achieve effective nematode resistance in plants. 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42252 Title: Análise de expressão relativa em resposta ao silenciamento de um fator de transcrição no nemátode fitoparasita, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Authors: Susano, Gustavo Abstract: O nemátode da madeira do pinheiro (NMP) é um fitoparasita migratório originário da América do Norte onde não causa danos significativos, porém, é uma espécie invasora que infeta coníferas (em Portugal, pinheiro-bravo), causando a doença da murchidão do pinheiro. O NMP é um organismo de quarentena em muitos países, tendo sido detetado pela primeira vez na Europa em 1999, na Península de Setúbal e tem um impacto ne-gativo nos ecossistemas florestais e na economia. Em estudos anteriores, com recurso a sequenciação de RNA (RNAseq), foram identificados os genes altamente expressos quando o nemátode infecta a planta comparativamente ao controlo. Um fator de trans-crição da família dos zinc finger foi considerado importante durante a interação com o hospedeiro e a sua expressão foi silenciada. Neste trabalho pretende-se validar a ex-pressão relativa de um conjunto de genes que, preditivamente, têm um decréscimo da expressão e compreender as vias metabólicas a que pertencem. Através da técnica de RT-qPCR (PCR em tempo real) foi possível validar a expressão de dois genes e verificar que têm uma diminuição da expressão quando o fator de transcrição foi silenciado. 2026-02-12T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42251 Title: O primeiro serviço pós-parto é o carro-chefe da reprodução - e sabemos como dirigi-lo Authors: Consentini, Carlos; Prata, Alexandre; Souza, Alexandre; Carvalho, Paulo; Ferreira, Tiago; Gonzales, Bruno; Carneiro, Tiago; Belli, Rodrigo; Melo, Leonardo; Santos, Vanda; Wiltbank, Milo; Sartori, Roberto Editors: Fontes, Flávia Abstract: O objetivo do manejo reprodutivo é maximizar o número de vacas que emprenham no início da lactação, permitindo atingir um intervalo entre partos (IEP) adequado para cada sistema de produção. Para isso, a efi ciência reprodutiva deve ser constantemente monitorada por meio de indicadores-chave, com destaque para a taxa de serviço (TS), taxa de concepção (TC) e taxa de prenhez a cada 21 dias (TP21d). Esses indicadores são, em geral, mensurados em intervalos de 21 dias, utilizando softwares de gerenciamento ou planilhas específi cas adotadas pelos técnicos de campo. 2026-05-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10174/42204 Title: Enhancing rural prosperity through social capital Authors: Noll, Dominik; Rivera, Maria; Wiesinger, Georg; Oedl-Wieser, Theresia; Giray, Handan; Bettoni, Maddalena Editors: Semih Akçomak, Ibrahim; Peiró-Palomino, Jesus Abstract: The link between social capital and economic development has received much attention in recent decades. While economic development is proven to have positive effects on social inclusion and quality of life, this happens mostly at the expense of environmental sustainability. Research should thus not only focus on the link between social capital and economic development but also prosperity, understood as ecological sustainability, social inclusion, and quality of life at large. Typically, the term prosperity has been associated almost exclusively with economic growth, but evidence has shown that this could only be achieved at the expense of environmental sustainability and that GDP as an indicator falls short in accounting for the general well-being of all humans. Prosperity should include factors such as social cohesion and engagement, achieved through cooperation and trust, environmental sustainability, and knowledge, which increases the ability people have to increase their resilience, and quality of life. All these factors are supported by, powered by, and geared towards social capital, which is one of the key building blocks of the “social web”. With our contribution, we aim at expanding the focus from the link of social capital and economic development to the impact of social capital on prosperity. We do so by providing theoretical and practical information about eight illustrative case studies from Austria, Portugal, Spain and Türkiye that serve as best practice examples for increasing the prosperity of rural regions through the building of social capital. The empirical analysis of these best practice examples shows that in all cases, social, economic, and environmental sustainability are core elements. Thus, future research must look beyond the impact of social capital on economic development, by integrating indicators that show if social capital is a valuable tool to reach this new form of prosperity, incorporating all three dimensions of sustainability. 2025-05-14T23:00:00Z