Papers by Carlos Fernando Prada Quiroga
Arachnids are the most abundant land predators. Despite the importance of their functional roles ... more Arachnids are the most abundant land predators. Despite the importance of their functional roles as predators and the of necessity to understand their diet for conservation and nutrient fluxes, the trophic ecology of many arachnid species is not fully understood. In the case of the wandering spider, Phoneutria boliviensis F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897, only selected field and laboratory observational studies about their diet exist. By using a DNA metabarcoding approach, we compared the prey found in the gut content of males and females from three distant Colombian populations of P. boliviensis. By DNA metabarcoding of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), we detected and identified 234 prey records belonging to 96 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), as prey for this wandering predator. Our results broaden the known diet of P. boliviensis with at least 75 prey taxa not previously registered in fieldwork or laboratory experimental trials. These results suggest that P. boliviensis feeds predominantly on invertebrates (Diptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Orthoptera) and opportunistically on small squamates. Intersex and interpopulation differences are observed. Assuming that prey preference does not vary between populations, these differences are likely associated with a higher local prey availability. Finally, we suggest that DNA metabarcoding can be used for evaluating subtle differences in the diet of distinct populations of P. boliviensis, particularly when predation records in the field cannot be established or quantified using direct observation Deciphering a potentially hyperdiverse diet of wandering spider, (Phoneutria boliviensis; Araneae: Ctenidae) by DNA metabarcoding of gut contents
PeerJ
Background Virulence factors (VF) are bacteria-associated molecules that assist to colonize the h... more Background Virulence factors (VF) are bacteria-associated molecules that assist to colonize the host at the cellular level. Bacterial virulence is highly dynamic and specific pathogens have a broad array of VFs. The genus Helicobacter is gram-negative, microaerobic, flagellated, and mucus-inhabiting bacteria associated with gastrointestinal inflammation. To investigate about their pathogenicity, several Helicobacter species have been characterized and sequenced. Since the variability and possible origin of VF in the genus are not clear, our goal was to perform a comparative analysis of Helicobacter species in order to investigate VF variability and their evolutionary origin. Methods The complete genomes of 22 Helicobacter species available in NCBI were analyzed, using computational tools. We identifyed gain and loss events in VF genes, which were categorized in seven functional groups to determine their most parsimonious evolutionary origin. After verifying the annotation of all VF ...
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020
Conservation efforts have allowed American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) populations to recover t... more Conservation efforts have allowed American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) populations to recover to the point that dispersal movements are beginning to be documented. The environmental authority of San Andres Island in Colombia reported, for the first time, the arrival of two C. acutus from unknown localities in 2012 and 2018. The former was sacrificed, and the latter was captured and kept in captivity to determining its potential origin. We used wildlife forensics to establish the origin of the animal that arrived in 2018 based on two mitochondrial genes (COI and Cytb). Additionally, five other samples from Tayrona National Natural Park (TNNP), and Salamanca Island Road Park (SIRP) were sequenced for molecular attribution of these populations to the currently described lineages. Phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses showed that the American crocodile found in San Andrés belongs to a continental evolutionary lineage endemic to Colombia, showing also a strong genetic similarity wi...
Resumen Actualmente, la resistencia a los antimicrobianos es de gran interés a nivel mundial, deb... more Resumen Actualmente, la resistencia a los antimicrobianos es de gran interés a nivel mundial, debido a su impacto en la salud animal y humana y en la contaminación ambiental y a su costo económico. Se presentan diversos datos sobre la utilización de antibacterianos en la explotación pecuaria; sobre el porcentaje de antibacterianos detectados en el estiércol o en la orina animal, el tiempo que tarda en su degradación en el ambiente y la consecuente contaminación de varios ambientes, y sobre el impacto en la fauna salvaje. Se han descrito diferentes hipótesis sobre la resistencia a antimicrobianos, pero actualmente existen evidencias que indican que la utilización desmesurada de los antibacterianos en la medicina humana y la producción pecuaria es el factor determinante para el desarrollo de dicho mecanismo en los microorganismos. Palabras clave: contaminación de alimentos; farmacorresistencia bacteriana; medicina veterinaria; profilaxis antibiótica. (Fuente: DeCS). Abstract Currently...
A partir de 1957, ocorreu um processo de hibridacao no continente Americano entre as abelhas Euro... more A partir de 1957, ocorreu um processo de hibridacao no continente Americano entre as abelhas Europeias pre-existentes e as Africanas recem introduzidas. Desde a chegada da abelha Africanizada a Colombia em 1978 e seu total estabelecimento depois de quatro anos, esparsos sao os estudos populacionais que demonstram o grau de hibridacao entre os enxames Africanizados originados no Brasil e as abelhas residentes naquele pais. A analise das alozimas de Hk-1 e Mdh-1 permitiram demonstrar que: i) as frequencias dos alelos destes locos em amostras de Apis mellifera da Colombia sao muito similares as apresentadas pelas abelhas do Brasil; ii) as populacoes Africanizadas da Colombia sao heterogeneas, apresentando niveis distintos de introgressao dos genes Africanos nas populacoes Europeias residentes; iii) estas populacoes encontram-se em equilibrio genetico de acordo com o modelo de Hardy-Weinberg e nao apresentam desequilibrio de ligacao para estes locos, evidenciando que o processo de Afric...
The evolution of the vertebrate mitochondrial genome has been the focus of numerous genetic and e... more The evolution of the vertebrate mitochondrial genome has been the focus of numerous genetic and evolutionary studies over the last several decades. Initially, sampling was heavily biased toward taxonomic orders of greatest economic or health importance, but recent advances in DNA sequencing technology have facilitated a much broader phylogenetic sampling from which we can clarify general evolutionary trends such as patterns of gene rearrangement. Toward this end, we performed a comparative genomic analysis of the 2,831 vertebrate mitochondrial genomes representing 12 classes that are available in the NCBI database. Using a combination of bioinformatics methods, we determined that there is a great variation in the proportion of rearrangement by gene and by taxonomic class, with higher rates being observed in Reptilia, Amphibia, Petromyzonti, Mammalia, and Actinopteri. Further, within each class, there is large variation in proportion of reorganization among different orders or even t...
Gene, 2021
The evolution of the Hexapoda mitochondrial genome has been the focus of several genetic and evol... more The evolution of the Hexapoda mitochondrial genome has been the focus of several genetic and evolutionary studies over the last decades. However, they have concentrated on certain taxonomic orders of economic or health importance. The recent increase of mitochondrial genomes sequencing of diverse taxonomic orders generates an important opportunity to clarify the evolution of this group of organisms. However, there is no comparative study that investigates the evolution of the Hexapoda mitochondrial genome. In order to verify the level of rearrangement and the mitochondrial genome evolution, we performed a comparative genomic analysis of the Hexapoda mitochondrial genome available in the NCBI database. Using a combination of bioinformatics methods to carefully examine the mitochondrial gene rearrangements in 1198 Hexapoda species belonging to 32 taxonomic orders, we determined that there is a great variation in the rate of rearrangement by gene and by taxonomic order. A higher rate o...
Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance is a serious public health problem that is increasing. Amo... more Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance is a serious public health problem that is increasing. Among the most important factors related to the spread of multi-resistant bacteria are the inappropriate use of antibiotics and the insufficient implementation of prevention and control measures. Additionally, bacteria have the ability to mutate or create mechanisms for transfer of resistance genes via plasmids, transposons and integrons. Materials and methods: A critical review of the literature on major resistance genes in Gram negative bacteria and its impact on public health was conducted. Data have been collected from Medline, Embase, Lilacs, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciELO, the Cochrane Library and Lilacs. Results: A review of literature that describes and analyzes the main antibiotic resistance genes present in gram-negative bacilli is presented, as well as their origin, evolution, and subsequent spread to hundreds of species of microorganisms by Horizontal gene transfer which justifie...
Con el fin de ampliar el conocimiento sobre el mecanismo molecular de como se generan las inversi... more Con el fin de ampliar el conocimiento sobre el mecanismo molecular de como se generan las inversiones fijadas en el genero Drosophila, hemos llevado a cabo un estudio de las inversiones fijadas en el cromosoma 2 de D. uniseta mediante la cartografia comparativa de 82 clones BAC de D. buzzatii. Los resultados muestran que el cromosoma 2 de las dos especies difiere en al menos cinco inversiones. Dos de estas inversiones, 2f2 y 2x3, habian pasado desapercibidas en estudios citologicos previos debido a que son solapantes y ocupan aproximadamente el mismo segmento cromosomico. Las otras tres inversiones, 2e2, 2t6 y 2u6, ya estaban descritas en D. uniseta. Se han identificado los clones BAC que contienen los puntos de rotura de las cinco inversiones y se han observado una coincidencia de tres puntos de rotura entre las cinco inversiones. Hemos secuenciado los extremos de los clones BAC que contienen los puntos de rotura y hemos secuenciado completamente el BAC 1B03, que contiene los punto...
There is a growing number of beta-lactamase extended spectrum bacteria, which inactivate a wide v... more There is a growing number of beta-lactamase extended spectrum bacteria, which inactivate a wide variety of beta-lactam drugs (ESBLs), including third-generation cephalosporins, penicillins, and monobactams, which are commonly identified in nosocomial infections. Genetic variability and molecular approaches have been widely used for bacterial phylogeny and have been applied in bacterial identification. The bacterial isolates were obtained from June 2014 to December 2014 in a second-level hospital in the state of Boyacá-Colombia. Phenotypic identification was performed using the BioMerieux VITEK-2 system® following the standards of the Institute of Clinical and Laboratory Standards. ESBLs genes, including TEM, SHV, CTXM and AmpC, were analyzed, and 11 strains with drug resistance were analyzed. From the isolates, 100% expressed the blaCTX gene, while 18.2% expressed blaSHV and 27.3% expressed blaTEM. The researchers observed two different amplifications of AmpC genes, one that was 170...
Arachnids are the most abundant land predators. Despite the importance of their functional roles ... more Arachnids are the most abundant land predators. Despite the importance of their functional roles as predators and the necessity to understand their diet for conservation, the trophic ecology of many arachnid species has not been sufficiently studied. In the case of the wandering spider, Phoneutria boliviensis F. O. Pickard‐Cambridge, 1897, only field and laboratory observational studies on their diet exist. By using a DNA metabarcoding approach, we compared the prey found in the gut content of males and females from three distant Colombian populations of P. boliviensis. By DNA metabarcoding of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), we detected and identified 234 prey items (individual captured by the spider) belonging to 96 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), as prey for this wandering predator. Our results broaden the known diet of P. boliviensis with at least 75 prey taxa not previously registered in fieldwork or laboratory experimental trials. These results suggest that P. bol...
Ciencia y Agricultura, Aug 10, 2017
Salud Uninorte
The increased incidences of Healthcare-associated Infections (HAI) caused by multidrug-resistant ... more The increased incidences of Healthcare-associated Infections (HAI) caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria, have led to an enlarged number of morbidity and mortality cases. Besides, other factors that are affected are patients, families and institutions providing health services. Therefore, the permanent study of the subject is necessary to identify possible strategies that contribute to the reduction of the issue. A critical review of the literature based on the origin of antibiotics, the evolution of their respective resistance, and the impact on public health from a historical and current perspective was developed. The search of the literature was carried out in the bibliographic databases: Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, SciELO, The Cochrane Library and Lilacs. The reviewed literature showed, from the historical viewpoint, the discovery of antibiotics to the last-generation antibiotics. The rapid coevolution of genes for antibiotics resistance and its subsequent spread to hundreds of species of microorganisms by Horizontal Transfer gene (HTG) was also reviewed. It is also discussed how the expansion in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) generates a series of factors that increase health-care associated infections care (HAI) and their impact on public health. The development of antibiotics from the discovery to recent changes in the behavior and response of the microorganisms with the generation of AMR shortly after, is one of the most fantastic examples of the evolution that exists in nature.
Revista Investigación en Salud Universidad de Boyacá
La vitamina A es esencial para el desarrollo de las células germinales masculinas, la fertilidad ... more La vitamina A es esencial para el desarrollo de las células germinales masculinas, la fertilidad y la espermatogénesis normal. El ácido retinoico, metabolito activo de la vitamina A, es necesario para la maduración de las espermatogonias y la entrada correcta de las células germinales en la profase meiótica en los testículos. La expresión de Stra8, fundamental en la meiosis y la espermatogénesis normal, está directamente relacionada con la disponibilidad del ácido retinoico. Este artículo se centra en el proceso de espermatogénesis y la interacción de la vitamina A con el ciclo seminífero, a fin de explicar la relación existente entre la disminución de los aportes de vitamina A, y las alteraciones presentadas en la espermatogénesis de humanos y algunos animales. También, se consideran los efectos de otros genes implicados en la síntesis de la vitamina A, su transporte y su degradación, y se discuten los posibles mecanismos celulares que pueden verse afectados por la falta de señaliz...
Revista Investigación en Salud Universidad de Boyacá
Introducción: La resistencia bacteriana de los bacilos Gram negativos tiene un importante impacto... more Introducción: La resistencia bacteriana de los bacilos Gram negativos tiene un importante impacto económico y social en salud pública. Ha incrementado la morbilidad y la mortalidad en los últimos años, conllevando incremento de costos en salud; es un hecho significativo que orienta la implementación de acciones de prevención y estudio, mediante la identificación de los perfiles regionales como estrategia de vigilancia y contención de la resistencia. Objetivo: Caracterizar fenotípicamente la resistencia en cepas de bacilos Gram negativos aislados de infecciones, en un centro hospitalario de segundo nivel en el departamento de Boyacá, Colombia. Métodos: Se hizo un estudio descriptivo de corte transversal. La identificación bacteriana y las pruebas de sensibilidad se determinaron mediante el método automatizado VITEK®. Los fenotipos de resistencia a β-lactamasas de espectro extendido y carbapenemasas, se confirmaron siguiendo la metodología del Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institu...
Revista Investigación en Salud Universidad de Boyacá
Introducción. Las betalactamasas de espectro extendido (BLEE) son un grupo de enzimas que confier... more Introducción. Las betalactamasas de espectro extendido (BLEE) son un grupo de enzimas que confieren resistencia bacteriana a un amplio espectro de antibióticos betalactámicos codificados en plásmidos y que deben estudiarse como herramientas de vigilancia del comportamiento de microorganismos frente al uso de antibióticos. Objetivo. Determinar los genes que codifican la resistencia en bacilos gramnegativos con fenotipo BLEE aislados de urocultivos, en una institución prestadora de servicios de salud del departamento de Boyacá. Métodos. Se llevó a cabo un estudio observacional, descriptivo y de corte transversal. Se identificaron 19 cepas resistentes con fenotipo BLEE, siguiendo los lineamientos del Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI M100-S23), y se estableció el índice de concordancia para la identificación microbiológica. Por medio de la estandarización de la técnica de reacción en cadena de la polimerasa (PCR), se determinó la presencia de los genes blaTEM, blaSHV, b...
Universidad y Salud, 2016
ResumenIntroducción: La resistencia antimicrobiana es un grave problema de salud pública que se e... more ResumenIntroducción: La resistencia antimicrobiana es un grave problema de salud pública que se encuentra en aumento. Entre los factores más importantes relacionados con la diseminación de bacterias multirresistentes está el uso inapropiado de antibióticos y la aplicación insuficiente de las medidas de prevención y control. Adicionalmente, las bacterias tienen la capacidad de mutar o generar mecanismos de transferencia de genes de resistencia mediante plásmidos, transposones e integrones. Materiales y métodos: Se hizo una revisión crítica de la literatura sobre los principales genes de resistencia Gram negativos y su impacto en la salud pública. Fueron utilizadas las bases de datos de Medline, Embase, Lilacs, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SciELO, the Cochrane Library y Lilacs. Resultados: Se presenta una revisión de literatura que describe y analiza los principales genes de resistencia a antibióticos presentes en bacilos gram negativos, su origen, evolución y diseminación a microorganismos...
Genetics and Molecular Biology, 2009
As yet, certain aspects of the Africanization process are not well understood, for example, the r... more As yet, certain aspects of the Africanization process are not well understood, for example, the reproductive behavior of African and European honeybees and how the first Africanized swarms were formed and spread. Drone congregation areas (DCAs) are the ideal place to study honeybee reproduction under natural conditions since hundreds of drones from various colonies gather together in the same geographical area for mating. In the present study, we assessed the genetic structure of seven drone congregations and four commercial European-derived and Africanized apiaries in southern Brazil, employing seven microsatellite loci for this purpose. We also estimated the number of mother-colonies that drones of a specific DCA originated from. Pairwise comparison failed to reveal any population sub-structuring among the DCAs, thus indicating low mutual genetic differentiation. We also observed high genetic similarity between colonies of commercial apiaries and DCAs, besides a slight contribution from a European-derived apiary to a DCA formed nearby. Africanized DCAs seem to have a somewhat different genetic structure when compared to the European.
Población y Salud en Mesoamérica, 2016
Objetivo: Reunir evidencias de la variación en la frecuencia de las mutaciones de BRCA1 y BRCA2 y... more Objetivo: Reunir evidencias de la variación en la frecuencia de las mutaciones de BRCA1 y BRCA2 y la historia familiar en pacientes con cáncer de glándula mamaria (CGM) y cáncer de ovario (CO) de diferentes orígenes geográficos. Método: En este trabajo se realizó una revisión sistemática, siguiendo los parámetros del protocolo PRISMA, para estimar la prevalencia de mutaciones en los genes BRCA 1/2 en pacientes con CGM y CO, la incidencia de la historia familiar y la prevalencia observada en casos esporádicos en este tipo de cáncer. Resultados: Se observa una heterogeneidad en la frecuencia de las mutaciones de estos genes en los estudios de historia familiar, con una variación entre 0.0 y 0.48 en pacientes y familiares con CGM y CO similares a los previamente reportados. Discusión: Este amplio rango de la frecuencia se debe al origen de la población estudiada, el número de individuos analizados y la metodología de genotipificación utilizada. La revisión revela que el CGM y CO famili...
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Papers by Carlos Fernando Prada Quiroga