La lechuga y el brócoli son productos de importancia agrícola en Ecuador, cuyo cultivo demanda considerables cantidades de nutrientes minerales obtenidos, generalmente, de fertilización química. Dado que el uso de rizobacterias promotoras de crecimiento vegetal (RPCV) es una alternativa biológica para el desarrollo de estas especies hortícolas, se estudiaron varias cepas de Bacillus spp. mediante pruebas en laboratorio y campo. La fijación biológica de nitrógeno se realizó mediante una evaluación cualitativa en medio de cultivo libre de nitrógeno; la producción de ácido indolacético se realizó en medio Tryptic Soy Broth (TSB) y se cuantificó la concentración de este con el reactivo de Salkowski; la solubilización de fosfatos se realizó en medio NBRIP, y se cuantificó la concentración de fósforo transformado con el reactivo Mo-Blue. Los datos obtenidos mostraron una diferencia significativa entre los tratamientos (p < 0,01), donde B. megaterium y B. licheniformis presentaron mayor capacidad para fijar nitrógeno, producir auxinas y solubilizar fosfatos. La evaluación de campo determinó, por una parte, un incremento en altura de 26,7 % y 13,72 % en lechuga y brócoli respectivamente, con la aplicación semanal de B. licheniformis. Por otra parte, la aplicación semanal de B. megaterium incrementó significativamente el contenido de materia seca, longitud y peso de la raíz tanto en lechuga como en brócoli. Todas las comparaciones se hicieron frente a un testigo. Estos resultados demuestran que las cepas identificadas en la investigación pueden ser consideradas como rizobacterias promotoras de crecimiento vegetal y son una alternativa biológica a los fertilizantes de síntesis química.

Alternaria japonica causes annual losses of up to 25 % of the world broccoli crops, for this reason this research focused on the development of biopreparations containing Bacillus megaterium to prevent the outbreak of this disease caused by Alternaria japonica in the crop of Brassica oleracea var. italica. During the laboratory phase two types of biopreparations were evaluated, the first biopreparation was obtained by liquid fermentation composed of 40 g.L^-1 of fava bean flour and 5 g.L^-1 of ground brown sugar. This showed a maximum cell growth of 3.8 × 10⁸ CFU. mL^-1; while the second biopreparation was obtained by solid fermentation composed of wheat bran and it achieved a maximum cell growth of 4.7 × 10⁹ CFU. g^-1. In the fieldwork phase the aforementioned biopreparations were applied in an open-field crop. At the end of the cultivation period, the degree of the disease in leaves and in the inflorescences was measured and through the statistical analysis, a significant difference was evidenced (α = 0.05). On the broccoli leaves the disease index values ​​do not exceed 15.56 % and the disease index for postharvest florets was around 38 %. The evaluated variables showed a statistical similarity with the chemical treatment, thus determining the effective effect of the biopreparations.

BACKGROUND: Berries such as Rubus has caught the attention of scientists and consumers because of their nutritional quality. Furthermore, the presence of phenolic compounds specifically anthocyanins have added potential of antiaging, anti-carcinogeni

Echinococcosis is a zoonotic parasitic illness that can cause significant disabilities, and even death for sick people. The disease is caused by the larval stage of cestodes belonging to the Echinococcus genus. In this study, multiple hydatid cysts were excised from an infected porcine liver. The identification of the parasitic species was made by the morphometric assessment of rostellar hooks and molecular detection of ribosomal DNA extant in protoscoleces of the hydatid sand. Rostellar hooks presented an average length of 27.4 µm by optical microscopy. Parasite DNA were detected in samples of hydatid sediment and positive controls by polymerase chain reaction. In conclusion, Echinococcus granulosus was recognized in samples of porcine hydatid cysts by microscopic observation, and the E. granulosus sensu lato strain E. canadensis G6/G7 was identified by molecular assay.

Vaccinium floribundum Kunth, a wild native species of berry in Ecuador, presents a lot of phenolic compounds, specifically anthocyanins; hence it is considered a natural nutraceutical due to all its nutritional properties. The comparison of the expression of genes is involved in the biosynthesis pathway of anthocyanin of several populations. The aim of the research was to analyze the expression levels of three genes involved in the biosynthesis of anthocyanin in this species collected in two areas of the province of Pichincha: Machachi population of the Mejía canton, with geographic coordinates 0 ° 31′04.8 ″ S 78 ° 37′07.4 ″ W and altitude 3200 meters above sea level, and Pintag population of the Quito cantón, with geographic coordinates 0 ° 24′00.0 ″ S 78 ° 24′00.0 ″ W and altitude 3000 meters above sea level. The gene expression analysis was performed using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique and reverse transcription (RT-qPCR). For the population of Machachi, the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene had an average concentration of 648.59 ng/µL, followed by the chalcone synthase gene with 143.71 ng/µL, then by the dihydroflavonol 4-reductase gene with 59.58 ng/µL and finally by the anthocyanin synthase gene with 39 ng/µL. For the population of Pintag, the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene has an average concentration of 667.32 ng/µL, followed by the chalcone synthase gene with 157.22 ng/µL, then by the dihydroflavonol 4-reductase gene with 60.42 ng/µL, and finally by the anthocyanin synthase gene with 44.40 ng/µL. Each gene has a similar expression level in both populations, but there are differences when comparing the expression level among genes. Many enzymes, structural genes, and regulatory elements have been observed as transcription factors involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis.