Miniaturized Microscale Solid-Phase Extraction-Based Module for Highly Efficient DNA Extraction and Purification from Grapevine Samples

Several developments over the last few years are being directed toward improving DNA-based analysis to simplify, miniaturize, and reduce the time and cost of analysis, with the objective to allow its use in decentralized settings. One of the most interesting fields is DNA extraction and purification, a key step for ensuring good analytical performance. In this sense, microscale solid phase extraction (μSPE) offers paramount advantages for an improved DNA yield. In this work, we have developed a miniaturized module for DNA purification based on μSPE using a borosilicate glass microfiber filter as the solid phase. We also established a protocol for highly efficient DNA purification from vegetable samples, including leaves and grapes from four different varieties from the PDO Douro and two varieties from the Minho wine regions. The protocol demonstrated excellent performance when compared with a commercial kit with a DNA recovery yield of around 50%.

Innovation co-development for viticulture and enology: Novel tele-detection web-service fuses vineyard data

Spin.Works has been developing its MAPP.it platform and implementing features in close cooperation with the internal R&D group of Sogrape Vinhos, Portugal's largest winemaker and a long-standing MAPP.it user. Borne of such cooperation were a number of tools that are currently available or in late-stage development in MAPP.it: Information register and filtering capabilities for all plots in a property; combining high spatial resolution data from drone with high temporal resolution data from satellite; availability of past years' data enabling inquiry into historical comparisons and trends; simple statistical analysis such as plant distribution perpercentile, dynamic cut-off points for zoning tools or smoothing; identification, counting, and georeferencing of gaps in the vineyards (dead or otherwise lost plants); plot variability measurement; high degree of exportability and interoperability, such as ability to download both raster and vector data or export maps/analysis as pdf files; mobile app enabling in-field data consultation and analysis, as well as georeferenced notes and photos. Using MAPP.it, Sogrape has streamlined its viticulture management, supporting more efficient daily planning from vineyard managers, evaluating the effect of management decisions on annual and monthly time-frames, explaining the underpinning reasons for observed vineyard block variability and scheduling harvests according to plant vigour and maturity levels (combination of MAPP.it and maturity control data). MAPP.it and Sogrape will continue to cooperate in the eco-development of the plat form to improve the features and functionality of the MAPP.it service taking advantage of developments in satellite data availability and computer support edgeomatic analysis, hopefully leading to easy, quick, and accurate methods for estimating water stress risk, carbon balance potentials, and ecosystem management with nature and biodiversity conservation indicators.

Effect of Barrel-to-Barrel Variation on Color and Phenolic Composition of a Red Wine

Tangible variation of sensory characteristics is often observed in wine aged in similar barrels. Barrel-to-barrel variation in barrel-aged wines was investigated in respect of the most important phenolic compounds of oenological interest. A red wine was aged in 49 medium-toasted oak (Quercus petraea) barrels, from four cooperages, for 12 months. The resulting wines were evaluated for chromatic characteristics, anthocyanin-related parameters, total phenols, flavonoids and non-flavonoids phenols, flavanol monomers, and oligomeric and polymeric proanthocyanidins. PCA and ANOVA were applied to investigate the relationships between barrels and to assess cooperage and individual barrel effect. Three cooperages influenced the wine similarly during aging. Anthocyanin-related parameters showed the highest variation, 25–37%, other phenolics varied 3–8.5%, and with two exceptions, chromatic characteristics changed 1.7–3%. The relationship between the number of barrels and the expected variation for each analytical parameter was calculated, as reference for future measurements involving barrel lots, either in wine production or experimental design.

Sustainability evaluation of a Portuguese “terroir” wine

The challenges of sustainability are transversal to all human activities, and the wine sector has its own role to play in the march for a more sustainable development. The proper definition of the most adequate measures and/or policies must be based on an objective and quantitative evaluation of the sustainability of a product or process. In this work the sustainability of a “terroir” wine is assessed taking into account its life cycle and using the following indicators: carbon and water footprint, material intensity, solid waste generated, worker turnover rate, investment in H&S training and EBITDA. All indicators are expressed per functional unit of 0.75 L of wine. The evaluation used data from the company complemented with data/information from the literature or life cycle inventory databases. To account for climatic variability, data from three consecutive years was used. Average values of 3.51 kgCO2eq and 481.4 L per functional unit were obtained for the carbon and water footprint respectively, both values within the range of values reported in the literature.

Evaluation of total polyphenol content of wines by means of voltammetric techniques: Cyclic voltammetry vs differential pulse voltammetry

Taking advantage of the low oxidation potential of polyphenolic compounds, voltammetric techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) are used rather indiscriminately. In this work, we report Total Polyphenols results (TPP) obtained by these two techniques from a set of nine samples of red and Tawny Port wine. The CV and DPV voltammograms display significant correlations with the physical-chemical parameters used to characterize red and Tawny Port wines, particularly with polyphenols. Although data obtained from CV and DPV for a single polyphenol are directly proportional, important deviations are found between voltammetric results from wines. Results from CV tend to be larger than those from DPV. This difference, that can reach 50% of the TPP value, was related to the presence of total sulphur dioxide. In view of the present study, the polyphenol quantification in wines should be performed by DPV to minimize the interference of SO₂.

Flow Cytometry and Fluorescence Microscopy as Tools for Structural and Functional Analysis of Vacuoles Isolated from Yeast and Plant Cells

A series of optimized protocols to isolate vacuoles from both yeast and plant cells, and to characterize the purified organelles at a functional and structural level, are described. For this purpose, we took advantage of the combined use of cell fractionation techniques with different fluorescence-based approaches namely flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy and spectrofluorimetry. These protocols altogether constitute valuable tools for the study of vacuole structure and function, as well as for the high-throughput screening of drug libraries to identify new molecules that target the vacuole.

[Perineal Groove: A Rare Congenital Anomaly]

Perineal groove is a rare congenital anorectal malformation, with incidence yet undetermined. It is almost exclusive to the female newborn and its embryogenic origin remains uncertain. We present a case-report of a newborn girl that was discharged from the nursery without complications. At her first appointment at primary care we noted a wet sulcus connecting the posterior vaginal commissure and the anus. This case report emphasizes the rarity of the perineal groove and the importance of a good quality history and physical examination at primary care.

A method for the isolation of protoplasts from grape berry mesocarp tissue

As single cell systems, protoplasts have been used in physiological, biochemical and molecular studies aiming towards the investigation, improvement or modification of plants. In grapevine, protoplasts have been isolated from several source tissues but not from grape berry, a major challenge given the uniqueness of grape fruit for human diet and wine production. Also, as the ripe grape berry has long been considered a 'small bag of sugary water' without cell compartmentation and/or membrane integrity, the isolation of intact cells from the mesocarp is of special scientific significance. Protoplasting from grape berry mesocarp cells was achieved with cellulase and pectolyase digestion, followed by differential and gradient centrifugations; however, given the special characteristics of berry tissue, cell wall digestion and protoplast purification were performed in a special environment to maintain their integrity and viability. Light and epifluorescence microscopy revealed the spatial organization of the cytoplasm, where an intricate acidic vacuolar apparatus predominates supporting the idea that berry softening during ripening is not strictly associated with loss in compartmentation and/or membrane integrity. Following the worldwide economical and social importance of wine in modern days, grape berry protoplasts are a major advance for both basic research of fruit ripening and biotechnological applications.

Purification and functional characterization of protoplasts and intact vacuoles from grape cells

Background

During grape berry ripening, the vacuoles accumulate water, sugars and secondary metabolites, causing great impact in plant productivity and wine quality. However, the molecular basis of these compartmentation processes is still poorly understood. As in many species, the major bottleneck to study these aspects in grapevine is to obtain highly purified vacuoles with a good yield. The present paper describes an isolation method of protoplasts and intact vacuoles from grape berry cells and their functional characterization by transport and cytometric assays.

Findings

Protoplasts were prepared by enzymatic digestion of grape cells, and vacuoles were released and purified by a Ficoll step gradient centrifugation. The tonoplast stained strongly with the fluorescent dye FM1-43 and most vacuoles maintained an internal acidic pH, as assessed by Neutral Red. Flow cytometry analysis of vacuole samples incubated with the calcium-sensitive fluorescent probe Fluo-4 AM revealed a well-defined sub-population of intact vacuoles. As assessed by the pH-sensitive probe ACMA, intact vacuoles generated and maintained a pH gradient through the activity of V-ATPase and V-PPase and were able to transport Ca²⁺ via a proton-dependent transport system.

Conclusions

Highly pure, intact and functional protoplast and vacuole populations from grape cells were obtained with the present method, which revealed to be fast and efficient. The capacity of the vacuole population to sequester protons and accumulate Ca²⁺ strongly suggests the intactness and physiological integrity of these extremely fragile organelles. Grapevine protoplasts and vacuoles may be used as models for both basic research and biotechnological approaches, such as proteomics, solute uptake and compartmentation, toxicological assessments and breeding programs.

Activity of tonoplast proton pumps and Na+/H+ exchange in potato cell cultures is modulated by salt

The efficient exclusion of excess Na from the cytoplasm and vacuolar Na(+) accumulation are the main mechanisms for the adaptation of plants to salt stress. This is typically carried out by transmembrane transport proteins that exclude Na(+) from the cytosol in exchange for H(+), a secondary transport process which is energy-dependent and driven by the proton-motive force generated by plasma-membrane and tonoplast proton pumps. Tonoplast enriched-vesicles from control and 150 mM NaCl-tolerant calli lines were used as a model system to study the activity of V-H(+)-PPase and V-H(+)-ATPase and the involvement of Na(+) compartmentalization into the vacuole as a mechanism of salt tolerance in Solanum tuberosum. Both ATP- and pyrophosphate (PP(i))-dependent H(+)-transport were higher in tonoplast vesicles from the salt-tolerant line than in vesicles from control cells. Western blotting of tonoplast proteins confirmed that changes in V-H(+)-PPase activity are correlated with increased protein amount. Conversely, immunodetection of the A-subunit of V-H(+)-ATPase revealed that a mechanism of post-translational regulation is probably involved. Na(+)-dependent dissipation of a pre-established pH gradient was used to measure Na(+)/H(+) exchange in tonoplast vesicles. The initial rates of proton efflux followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics and the V(max) of proton dissipation was 2-fold higher in NaCl-tolerant calli when compared to the control. H(+)-coupled exchange was specific for Na(+) and Li(+) and not for K(+). The increase of both the pH gradient across the tonoplast and the Na(+)/H(+) antiport activity in response to salt strongly suggests that Na(+) sequestration into the vacuole contributes to salt tolerance in potato.

Supercritical fluids are superior media for catalysis by cross-linked enzyme microcrystals of subtilisin Carlsberg

We report on the performance of cross-linked enzyme microcrystals (CLECs) of subtilisin Carlsberg in supercritical fluids (SC-fluids). The catalytic activity of CLECs in SC-ethane was found to be 2- to 10-fold greater than in hexane under the same conditions, using CLECs dried by propanol washing. Air-dried CLECs and lyophilized powders showed much lower activities, reflecting the same hydration hysteresis effects as in organic solvents. Reaction rates were much lower in SC-CO(2), especially at higher water activity, probably as a result of acid-base effects of carbonic acid on the enzyme.

Effect of pressure on the catalytic activity of subtilisin Carlsberg suspended in compressed gases

We studied the effect of pressure up to 300 bar on the catalytic efficiency of subtilisin Carlsberg suspended in compressed propane, near-critical ethane, near-critical carbon dioxide and tert-amyl alcohol, at constant temperature and fixed enzyme hydration. Increasing pressure lowered the catalytic efficiency of the enzyme in all the solvents, resulting in positive activation volumes, delta V#. The delta V# values in compressed propane and in tert-amyl alcohol were similar and larger in magnitude than the value reported in the literature for the same reaction in an aqueous buffer, although within the range of typical delta V# values in aqueous media. In the near-critical fluids, the delta V# were much larger, e.g., an increase in pressure of only 200 bar causing a sixfold decrease in the catalytic efficiency of subtilisin in carbon dioxide. These data should reflect the proximity of ethane and carbon dioxide to the critical point, and the resulting condensation of solvent molecules about the solutes, yielding negative solute partial molar volumes.