Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

Introduction: Lifestyle and diet are among the most influential factors shaping the composition of the gut microbiota, potentially programming offspring toward the development of diseases in adulthood. Objective: To evaluate the effect of maternal cafeteria diet consumption during the perinatal period on body weight, dietary intake, and gut microbiota in male C57BL/6 mice offspring. Material and method: Female C57BL/6 mice were fed either a standard or cafeteria diet throughout the perinatal period (9 weeks). After weaning (day 21), ten male offspring per group were selected and maintained on a control diet until week 8, when fecal samples were collected for microbiota analysis. Results: The cafeteria group exhibited lower food intake and body weight compared to the control group. A significant increase in Parabacteroides distasonis, Mucispirillum schaedleri, and Lactobacillus reuteri, and a decrease in Akkermansia muciniphila were observed in the cafeteria group. Moreover, weight gain was negatively correlated with the abundance of Rikenella and Mucispirillum. Conclusion: These findings suggest that maternal consumption of a cafeteria-style diet may program the gut microbiota composition of the offspring.

It is a momentous honor for the academic community of the Faculty of Public Health and Nutrition (FaSPyN) to present this Special Issue of the Public Health and Nutrition Journal (ReSPyN). This volume commemorates two significant milestones: the 25th anniversary of our journal, an essential vehicle for scientific dissemination, and the 50th anniversary of FaSPyN's institutional existence, half a century dedicated to training leaders, generating knowledge, and collaborating in protecting the health of the population through excellence.

The RESPYN Public Health and Nutrition Journal emerged completely electronically in its structure, promoting an innovative publication model after 25 years. Which marked a milestone in a process of differentiating itself in the publishing sector in Mexico.

Necrotrophic fungi are pathogens that cause tissue death in plants, which negatively impacts their growth and productivity. This study focused on identifying the presence of Lasiodiplodia theobromae in CCN-51 cacao plants in the Simón Bolívar canton in Ecuador. We sampled cacao pods exhibiting necrotic lesions and obtained fungal isolates for morphological and molecular characterization. Techniques, such as culturing on selective media, microscopy, and DNA sequencing were used to confirm the fungal identity. We compared our results with international databases and assessed the genetic variability of the isolates. Morphological characterization placed the fungal isolates within the family Botryosphaeriaceae, and molecular analysis using ITS and EF1-α regions confirmed the species as Lasiodiplodia theobromae, with 100% DNA quality for amplicon analysis and 100% sequence similarity in GenBank. We constructed phylogenetic trees using maximum likelihood methods, which revealed high genetic similarity and recent divergence among sequences despite their varied geographic origins. The fungal isolates specifically confirmed the presence of L. theobromae as the causal agent of necrotic lesions in CCN-51 cacao pods from Simón Bolívar. These findings underscore the importance of studying necrotrophic fungi in cacao plants to inform control strategies, improve crop resistance, and support sustainable production, essential to the global cacao trade.

Coffee is a very important crop both nationally and globally, with Peru being the leading exporter of organic coffee, is native to Africa, and the most important species is Coffea arabica. The objective of this work was to carry out a literature review about the germplasm used and the genetic improvement methods used in coffee cultivation, with the purpose of proposing an improvement scheme that includes the application of traditional methods and biotechnological tools for improvement of coffee cultivation. Information from genetic improvement programs in Brazil, Colombia and Central America and other institutions dedicated to the management, research and commercialization of coffee cultivation was used. The most used methods for genetic improvement are Pedigree, backcrossing and the production of F1 hybrids through somatic embryogenesis. In Brazil, Colombia and other countries, molecular markers are being used to develop cultivars with rust resistance in a shorter period. Finally, the breeding strategy to be implemented is the pyramiding of genes for rust resistance using molecular markers. This strategy consists of introgressing the SH3 gene present in the C. liberica species into the catimor cultivar, which is highly productive and has the rust resistance genes SH6, SH7, SH8 and SH9. This proposal is of great importance in countries like Peru, where coffee represents a strategic export product. Breeding schemes that incorporate gene pyramiding using molecular markers not only improve the efficiency of selecting cultivars with resistance to coffee rust but can also accelerate breeding programs by reducing lengthy phenotypic evaluation cycles. In practice, this could translate into more productive cultivars that are resistant to biotic and abiotic factors and adapted to different types of environments. This would mark a new stage in coffee genetic improvement in Peru, based on precision agriculture and sustainability.  

The Vaccinium genus consists of a variety of berries with high nutritious components consumed worldwide leading to the development of micropropagation protocols to supply the demand. Mortiño, the Andean Blueberry (Vaccinium floribundum Kunth) is a wild berry that grows in high-altitude grasslands with nutritious and commercial potential in Ecuador. In this study, the use of PPMTM (Plant Preservative Mixture™) was effective controlling contamination for the in vitro establishment of Vaccinium floribundum Kunth in contrast to a conventional method using EtOH and Clorox. Stems were defoliated and cut into 1 cm segments, then immersed in liquid MS (Murashige & Skoog) supplemented with 5% v/v PPMTM without pH adjustment for 5 hours under constant shaking. After immersion, segments were transferred to flasks containing WPM (Woody Plant Media) medium supplemented with an additional 2 mlL-1 PPMTM. Persistent microbial contaminants in the in vitro explants were isolated and identified through molecular methods and gene sequences analyzed using the GenBank database resulted in the identification of three bacterial species: Methylobacterium sp., Methylobacterium radiotolerans, and Bacillus pumilus. In addition, three fungal species were also discovered: Xylaria sp., Xylaria feejeensis, and Diaporthe lutecens. Additionally, a multiplication assay was made with the aseptic stems from the sterilization protocol to evaluate four different growth regulators: 2ip, kinetin, zeatin and meta-topolin. kinetin showed very low responses with a mean of 1.2 shoots per stem. The highest number of shoots per stem (9 shoots) was obtained with 5 mg L-1 2ip. The use of zeatin and meta-topolin facilitated shoot proliferation with the following concentrations: 3 mg L-1 zeatin + 0.5 mg L-1 NAA (1-Naphthaleneacetic Acid) and 3 mg L-1 Meta-topolin + 0.5 mg L-1 NAA. These findings demonstrate the successful establishment of an in vitro disinfection and multiplication protocol for V. floribundum. 

The cultivation of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is affected by rust (Hemileia vastatrix), causing losses of over 70% in production. The use of endophytic fungi is a biological strategy for disease control. The objective of this study was to evaluate the endophytic activity of 14 fungal strains and their effect on the growth of coffee plants var. Caturra. Coffee seeds were inoculated with a concentration of 1×106 conidia mL-1 of water, planted and organized in a completely randomized experimental design, with three repetitions of eight plants per strain. At 30, 60, and 120 days after seedling emergence, samples of five leaf segments per plant, 5 mm in diameter, were taken to evaluate endophytic activity. The start of fungal growth (days), initial fungal growth (%) and total fungal growth (%) were recorded. To evaluate the effect of fungal strains on the growth of coffee plants, plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf pairs, number of branches and chlorophyll content index were evaluated. Analysis of Variance and Tukey's mean separation test (p ≤ 0.05) were performed. Three strains of A. uredinophilum (CHE-CNRCB 435, 616, and 988), two of S. lanosoniveum (CHE-CNRCB 438 and 544), and three of Trichoderma (CHE-CNRCB 398, 1057, and 1062) showed endophytic activity higher than 70%. The three Trichoderma spp. strains induced better growth in coffee plants.

The agricultural sector faces risks from damage caused by phytopathogens, and many farmers rely on synthetic fungicides to combat them. However, excessive use of these products pollutes the environment and promotes pathogen resistance. This study evaluated the mycelial growth inhibition of 57 plant extracts against Botrytis cinerea, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, and Fusarium sp., and their efficacy in controlling Erysiphe necator in the field. It also evaluated their phytotoxic effect on wheat seeds and the identification of metabolites present in the extracts. The most effective extracts were those of Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Conyza sumatrensis, Dysphania ambrosioides, Minthostachis mollis, Salvia sp., Pimpinella anisum, and Syzygium aromaticum. The P. anisum extract exhibited the greatest inhibition of B. cinerea growth in tomatoes, while the most effective extracts against E. necator were P. anisum, C. sumatrensis, and S. aromaticum. Furthermore, the A. artemisiifolia extract exhibited phytotoxic effects on wheat seed growth. Flavonoids, tannins, steroids, triterpenoids, alkaloids, leucoanthocyanidins, coumarins, and saponins were identified as the main metabolites in the extracts. These results offer viable alternatives for controlling phytopathogenic fungi using plant extracts, contributing to a more sustainable agriculture that is less dependent on chemicals.

During corn storage, significant losses occur due to pest attacks, especially the weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky. This study aimed to evaluate the feeding preference of Sitophilus zeamais on seeds of stored corn genotypes. The tests were carried out in the laboratory of the Center for Scientific and Technological Development in Pest and Disease Management (NUDEMAFI) at the Center for Agricultural Sciences and Engineering of the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES) in Alegre, in an air-conditioned room with a maximum temperature of 26.4 and a minimum of 26.2 ºC (± 2 ºC) and humidity between 70% and 75%. A host preference test with free choice was performed on insects from Nudemafi breeding, aged 5 to 10 days, in six (6) arenas with six (6) replicates using a completely randomized design (CRD). After 96 hours, the following were evaluated for each genotype: number of insects attracted, insect weight, number of infested seeds, percentage of seed loss, and 60 days after infestation, the percentage of emerged insects, physical and bromatological composition were determined. The results showed significant differences in the preference of Sitophilus zeamais adults in relation to the maize genotypes analyzed; the lowest food preference was observed in the Purple genotype (4.1%), followed by AG1051, which obtained 8.3% respectively. The genotypes presented antixenosis due to the effect of the nutritional properties and physical hardness of the seed.