CONTROLLING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IS A GLOBAL CONCERN. THE ONE HEALTH INITIATIVE HAS PROVIDED A STRATEGY TO DEAL WITH THIS PROBLEM EFFICIENTLY WITHIN A COUNTRY. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE GLOBAL NATURE OF THE PROBLEM IT IS PARAMOUNT NOT ONLY TO FOCUS ON SPECIFIC COUNTRIES, BUT TO ESTABLISH WAYS TO AVOID THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IN DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS. IN THIS LETTER, WE PROPOSE A ONE HEALTH - ONE WORLD APPROACH THAT WOULD ENABLE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TO CONNECT BY SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT INFECTIONS, OUTBREAKS AND SURVEILLANCE. WE BELIEVE SUCH A STRATEGY SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED WORLDWIDE IN ORDER TO MITIGATE THE DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE.

CAFFEIC ACID (CA) IS A POLYPHENOL BELONGING TO THE PHENYLPROPANOID FAMILY, COMMONLY FOUND IN PLANTS AND VEGETABLES. IT WAS FIRST IDENTIFIED BY HLASIWETZ IN 1867 AS A BREAKDOWN PRODUCT OF CAFFETANNIC ACID. CA IS BIOSYNTHESIZED FROM THE AMINO ACIDS TYROSINE OR PHENYLALANINE THROUGH SPECIFIC ENZYME-CATALYZED REACTIONS. EXTENSIVE RESEARCH SINCE ITS DISCOVERY HAS REVEALED VARIOUS HEALTH BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH CA, INCLUDING ITS ANTIOXIDANT, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND ANTICANCER PROPERTIES. THESE EFFECTS ARE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS ABILITY TO MODULATE SEVERAL PATHWAYS, SUCH AS INHIBITING NFKB, STAT3, AND ERK1/2, THEREBY REDUCING INFLAMMATORY RESPONSES, AND ACTIVATING THE NRF2/ARE PATHWAY TO ENHANCE ANTIOXIDANT CELL DEFENSES. THE CONSUMPTION OF CA HAS BEEN LINKED TO A REDUCED RISK OF CERTAIN CANCERS, MITIGATION OF CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIOTHERAPY-INDUCED TOXICITY, AND REVERSAL OF RESISTANCE TO FIRST-LINE CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS. THIS SUGGESTS THAT CA COULD SERVE AS A USEFUL ADJUNCT IN CANCER TREATMENT. STUDIES HAVE SHOWN CA TO BE GENERALLY SAFE, WITH FEW ADVERSE EFFECTS (SUCH AS BACK PAIN AND HEADACHES) REPORTED. THIS REVIEW COLLATES THE LATEST INFORMATION FROM GOOGLE SCHOLAR, PUBMED, THE PHENOL-EXPLORER DATABASE, AND CLINICALTRIALS.GOV, INCORPORATING A TOTAL OF 154 ARTICLES, TO UNDERSCORE THE POTENTIAL OF CA IN CANCER PREVENTION AND OVERCOMING CHEMORESISTANCE.

THE REMOVAL OF ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS, ESPECIALLY TRIMETHYLAMINE (TMA), HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVED USING CARBON ACTIVATE. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE REPORT THE FORMATION OF CARBON ACTIVATE (CA-SM) ISOLATED FROM SUB-BITUMINOUS COAL IN SMALL MANTLES (SM) AT THE MINE ?MANTOS NEGROS? (LEBU, CHILE). THIS COAL WAS SUBJECTED TO THERMAL OXIDATION WITH CO2 AT 950 °C AND THEIR TMA ADSORPTION CAPACITY EVALUATED. SM AND CA-SM WERE PHYSICALLY AND CHEMICALLY CHARACTERIZED SHOWING THAT THE ACTIVATED CARBON INCREASED THE SURFACE POROSITY AS WELL AS THE IODINE INDEX FROM 2.5 MG I2/G TO 434 MG I2/G COAL. THE PROXIMAL AND ELEMENTARY ANALYSES OF CASM SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF SULFUR, NITROGEN AND HYDROGEN, AND INCREASED COMPOSITION OF CARBON AND OXYGEN. THESE RESULTS TOGETHER WITH FTIR AND BOEHM TITRATION SUGGEST THAT THE SURFACE COMPOSITION OF THE ACTIVATED CARBON IS ACIDIC IN NATURE. THE ADSORPTION OF TMA BY CA-SM WAS EVALUATED IN DISSOLUTION AT DIFFERENT PH AND EXPOSURE TIME CONDITIONS. WE FOUND THAT TMA CAN BE FULLY ABSORBED (50 ML TMA AT 4 MG/L AND 0.2000G OF CA-SM) UNDER NEUTRAL AND BASIC PH AFTER 60 MINUTES OF EXPOSURE. THE FEASIBILITY OF PRODUCING ACTIVATED CARBON FROM SUB-BITUMINOUS COAL FROM PROVINCE OF ARAUCO, CHILE, IS A PROMISING ALTERNATIVE TO DEVELOP COAL-BASED PRODUCTS DISPLAYING ADSORBENT PROPERTIES USEFUL TO CONTROL AMINE-DERIVED CONTAMINANTS PRODUCED IN THE FISHING INDUSTRY.

FUNGI HAVE A UNIQUE METABOLIC PLASTICITY ALLOWING THEM TO PRODUCE A WIDE RANGE OF NATURAL PRODUCTS. SINCE THE DISCOVERY OF PENICILLIN, AN ANTIBIOTIC OF FUNGAL ORIGIN, SUBSTANTIAL EFFORTS HAVE BEEN DEVOTED GLOBALLY TO SEARCH FOR FUNGAL-DERIVED NATURAL BIOACTIVE PRODUCTS. ANDEAN REGION FORESTS REPRESENT ONE OF THE FEW UNDISTURBED ECOSYSTEMS IN THE WORLD WITH LITTLE HUMAN INTERVENTION. WHILE THESE FORESTS DISPLAY A RICH BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, MYCOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL STUDIES IN THESE ENVIRONMENTS HAVE BEEN SCARCE. THIS REVIEW AIMS TO SUMMARISE ALL THE EFFORTS REGARDING THE CHEMICAL OR BIOACTIVITY ANALYSES OF AGARICOMYCETES (BASIDIOMYCOTA) FROM SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA ENVIRONMENTS. OVERALL, HEREIN WE REPORT A TOTAL OF 147 FUNGAL SPECIES, 21 OF THEM SHOWING CHEMICAL CHARACTERISATION AND/OR BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY. IN TERMS OF CHEMICAL CORES, FURANS, CHLORINATED PHENOL DERIVATIVES, POLYENES, LACTONES, TERPENES AND HIMANIMIDES HAVE BEEN REPORTED. THESE NATURAL PRODUCTS DISPLAYED A RANGE OF BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING ANTIOXIDANT, ANTIMICROBIAL, ANTIFUNGAL, NEUROPROTECTIVE AND OSTEOCLAST-FORMING SUPPRESSING EFFECTS.

FUNGAL BIOTRANSFORMATION IS AN ATTRACTIVE SYNTHETIC STRATEGY TO PRODUCE HIGHLY SPECIFIC COMPOUNDS WITH CHEMICAL FUNCTIONALITY IN REGIONS OF THE CARBON SKELETON THAT ARE NOT EASILY ACTIVATED BY CONVENTIONAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY METHODS. IN THIS WORK, CLADOSPORIUM ANTARCTICUM ISOLATED FROM SEDIMENTS OF GLACIER COLLINS IN ANTARCTICA WAS USED TO OBTAIN NOVEL DRIMANE SESQUITERPENOIDS ALCOHOLS WITH ACTIVITY AGAINST CANDIDA YEAST FROM DRIMENDIOL AND EPIDRIMENDIOL. THESE COMPOUNDS WERE PRODUCED BY THE HIGH-YIELD REDUCTION OF POLYGODIAL AND ISOTADEONAL WITH NABH4 IN METHANOL. CLADOSPORIUM ANTARCTICUM PRODUCED TWO MAJOR PRODUCTS FROM DRIMENDIOL, IDENTIFIED AS 9?-HY-DROXYDRIMENDIOL (1, 41.4 MG, 19.4% YIELD) AND 3?-HYDROXYDRIMENDIOL (2, 74.8 MG, 35% YIELD), WHEREAS THE BIOTRANSFORMATION OF EPIDRIMENDIOL YIELDED ONLY ONE PRODUCT, 9?-HYDROXYEPIDRIMENDIOL (3, 86.6 MG, 41.6% YIELD). THE PRODUCTS WERE PURIFIED BY COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPHY AND THEIR STRUCTURE ELUCIDATED BY NMR AND MS. THE ANTIFUNGAL ACTIVITY OF COMPOUNDS 1?3 WAS ANALYZED AGAINST CANDIDA ALBICANS, C. KRUSEI AND C. PARAPSILOSIS, SHOWING THAT COMPOUND 2 HAS A MIC LOWER THAN 15 ?G/ML AGAINST THE THREE-PATHOGENIC YEAST. IN SILICO STUDIES SUGGEST THAT A POSSIBLE MECHANISM OF ACTION FOR THE NOVEL COMPOUNDS IS THE INHIBITION OF THE ENZYME LANOSTEROL 14?-DEMETHYLASE, AFFECTING THE ERGOSTEROL SYNTHESIS.

FUNGAL POLYSACCHARIDES POSSESS AN IMPORTANT BIOACTIVE POTENTIAL, INCLUDING ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTICARCINOGENIC ACTIVITY. THE AIM OF THIS WORK WAS TO DETERMINE THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AND CYTOTOXICITY AGAINST TUMOUR AND NON-TUMOUR CELL LINES ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES (NAAPS) OF THE FUNGUS OTHOPHELLINUS ANDINOPATAGONICUS. THE EFFECT OF NAAPS ON TUMOUR CELLS LINES WAS EVALUATED BY MTT ASSAY AND FLOW CYTOMETRY. THE ANALYSES DETERMINED THAT GLUCOSE WAS THE MOST ABUNDANT MONOMER AND IR SPECTRUM SHOWED THE TYPICAL PEAKS OF ?-GLUCANS IN THE NAAPS. THE CELL VIABILITY ASSAYS REVEALED SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY OF NAAPS AGAINST HL-60, HCT-116 AND MCF-7 TUMOUR CELL LINES (IC50 = 767,16 ?G ML-1, 1256 ?G ML-1 AND 4241,7 ?G ML-1, RESPECTIVELY); BUT A MUCH LOWER CYTOTOXICITY AGAINST THE NON-TUMOUR CELL LINE HGF-1 (OUTSIDE THE RANGE OF THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION TESTED (>10 MG ML-1)). NAAPS AFFECTED THE CELL CYCLE OF HL-60 TUMOUR CELLS, INCREASING THE PERCENTAGE OF CELLS IN THE SUB G1 PHASE AND REDUCING IT IN THE S/G2/M PHASES. MOREOVER, LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF NAAPS ALSO SHOWED AN EFFECTIVE CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY AGAINST TUMOUR CELL LINES WHILE THE NON-TUMOUR CELL LINE WAS UNAFFECTED, MAINTAINING A VIABILITY CLOSE TO 100%. THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF THE HIGHEST NAAPS CONCENTRATION TESTED WAS 6.24% AND 4.63%, FOR DPPH AND ABTS METHOD, RESPECTIVELY

ALZHEIMERS DISEASE (AD) IS AN IRREVERSIBLE AND PROGRESSIVE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER THAT SLOWLY DESTROYS MEMORY. THE PRECISE MECHANISM OF AD IS STILL NOT ENTIRELY UNDERSTOOD AND REMAINS UNDER DISCUSSION; IT IS BELIEVED TO BE A MULTIFACTORIAL DISEASE IN WHICH A NUMBER OF MECHANISMS ARE INVOLVED IN ITS PATHOGENESIS. WORLDWIDE, NEAR 37 MILLION PEOPLE SUFFER FROM THE EFFECTS OF AD. AS A CAUSE OF DEATH FOR ELDERLY, IT IS PREDICTED THAT AD WILL RANK THIRD IN THE COMING YEARS, JUST BEHIND CANCER AND HEART DISEASE. UNFORTUNATELY, AD REMAINS AN INCURABLE CONDITION. DESPITE THE DEVASTATING PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH AD, THERE ARE ONLY FOUR FDA APPROVED DRUGS FOR PALLIATIVE TREATMENT OF THIS PATHOLOGY. HENCE, RENEWED SCIENTIFIC EFFORTS ARE REQUIRED NOT ONLY TO UNCOVER MORE INSIGHTS INTO THE AD PROCESS BUT ALSO TO DEVELOP MORE EFFICIENT PHARMACOLOGICAL TOOLS AGAINST THIS DISEASE. DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND MULTIPLE MECHANISMS AT PLAY IN THE PROGRESSION OF AD, THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRUGS BY RATIONAL DESIGN IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. THE EXISTING DRUGS TO FIGHT AGAINST ALZHEIMERS HAVE HAD LIMITED SUCCESS, MAINLY DUE TO THEIR ABILITY TO MODULATE ONLY ONE OF THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN AD. AS OPPOSED TO SINGLE-TARGETED STRATEGIES, THE IDENTIFICATION OF SMALL MOLECULES ABLE TO AFFECT MULTIPLE PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN ALZHEIMERS IS A PROMISING STRATEGY TO DEVELOP MORE EFFICIENT MEDICINES AGAINST THIS DISEASE. CENTRAL TO EXISTING EFFORTS TO DEVELOP PHARMACEUTICALS CONTROLLING AD IS THE DISCOVERY OF NEW CHEMICALS DISPLAYING STRONG NEUROACTIVITY. BENZOFURANS ARE PRIVILEGED OXYGEN CONTAINING HETEROCYCLES THAT HAVE A STRONG NEUROPROTECTIVE BEHAVIOR, INHIBITING SEVERAL OF THE IMPORTANT EVENTS INVOLVED IN THE AD PROCESS. IN THIS REVIEW, AN APPROACH IS PRESENTED THAT RELIES ON EXPANDING THE NEUROPROTECTIVE CHEMICAL SPACE OF BENZOFURAN SCAFFOLDS BY ACCESSING THEM FROM ANDEAN-PATAGONIAN FUNGI AND SYNTHETIC SOURCES (CHEMICAL LIBRARIES).

MANY FUNGI ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE DEVELOPED MORPHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS TO COPE WITH EXPOSURE TO UV-B RADIATION, BUT IN MOST SPECIES, SUCH RESPONSES AND THEIR PROTECTIVE EFFECTS HAVE NOT BEEN EXPLORED. HERE, WE STUDY THE ADAPTIVE RESPONSE TO UV-B RADIATION IN THE WIDESPREAD, SAPROTROPHIC FUNGUS SERPULA HIMANTIOIDES, FREQUENTLY FOUND COLONIZING CONIFEROUS WOOD IN NATURE. WE REPORT THE MORPHOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL RESPONSES OF S. HIMANTIOIDES TO CONTROLLED INTENSITIES OF UV-B RADIATION, UNDER IN VITRO CULTURE CONDITIONS. ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION INDUCED A DECREASE IN THE GROWTH RATE OF S. HIMANTIOIDES BUT DID NOT CAUSE GROSS MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES. INSTEAD, WE OBSERVED ACCUMULATION OF PIGMENTS NEAR THE CELL WALL WITH INCREASING INTENSITIES OF UV-B RADIATION. NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY (HPLC-MS) ANALYSES REVEALED THAT XEROCOMIC ACID WAS THE MAIN PIGMENT PRESENT, BOTH BEFORE AND AFTER UV-B EXPOSURE, INCREASING FROM 7 MG/LITER TO 15 MG/LITER AFTER EXPOSURE. WE SHOW THAT XEROCOMIC ACID IS A PHOTOPROTECTIVE METABOLITE WITH STRONG ANTIOXIDANT ABILITIES, AS EVIDENCED BY DPPH (2,2-DIPHENYL-1-PICRYLHYDRAZYL), ABTS [2,2-AZINO-BIS(3-ETHYLBENZOTHIAZOLINE-6-SULFONIC ACID) DIAMMONIUM SALT], AND OXYGEN RADICAL ABSORBANCE CAPACITY (ORAC) ASSAYS. FINALLY, WE ASSESSED THE CAPACITY OF XEROCOMIC ACID AS A PHOTOPROTECTIVE AGENT ON HEK293 CELLS AND OBSERVED BETTER PHOTOPROTECTIVE PROPERTIES THAN THOSE OF ?-CAROTENE. XEROCOMIC ACID IS THEREFORE A PROMISING NATURAL PRODUCT FOR DEVELOPMENT AS A UV-PROTECTIVE INGREDIENT IN COSMETIC AND PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS.

GLOBAL DISSEMINATION OF MCR-LIKE GENES REPRESENTS A SERIOUS THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH SINCE IT JEOPARDIZES THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COLISTIN, AN ANTIBIOTIC USED AS A LAST-RESORT TREATMENT AGAINST HIGHLY ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT BACTERIA. IN 2017, A MCR-1-POSITIVE ISOLATE OF ESCHERICHIA COLI WAS FOUND IN CHILE FOR THE FIRST TIME. HEREIN WE REPORT THE GENETIC FEATURES OF THIS STRAIN (UCO-457) BY WHOLE-GENOME SEQUENCING (WGS) AND CONJUGATION EXPERIMENTS. THE UCO-457 STRAIN BELONGED TO ST4204 AND CARRIED A 285?KB INCI2-TYPE PLASMID CONTAINING THE MCR-1 GENE. MOREOVER, THIS PLASMID WAS TRANSFERRED BY CONJUGATION TO AN E. COLI J53 STRAIN AT HIGH FREQUENCY. THE ISOLATE HARBORED THE CMA, IRON, AND ISS VIRULENCE GENES AND DID CARRY RESISTANCE GENES TO TRIMETHOPRIM/SULFAMETHOXAZOLE AND FLUOROQUINOLONES. OTHER ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE DETERMINANTS SUCH AS ?-LACTAMASES-ENCODING GENES WERE NOT DETECTED, MAKING THE ISOLATE HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO THESE ANTIBIOTICS. OUR RESULTS REVEALED THAT SUCH SUSCEPTIBLE ISOLATES COULD BE ACTING AS PLATFORMS TO DISSEMINATE PLASMID-MEDIATED COLISTIN RESISTANCE. BASED ON THIS EVIDENCE, WE CONSIDER THAT MCR-LIKE PREVALENCE DESERVES URGENT ATTENTION AND SHOULD BE EXAMINED NOT ONLY IN HIGHLY RESISTANT BACTERIA BUT ALSO IN SUSCEPTIBLE ISOLATES.

POLYSACCHARIDES FROM WOOD-ROOTING FUNGI HAVE ATTRACTED ATTENTION DUE TO THEIR BROAD PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES. HEREIN, WE REPORT THE ANTITUMOR AND IMMUNOMODULATORY ACTIVITIES OF ACID POLYSACCHARIDES ISOLATED FROM FUNGI GLOEOSOMA MIRABILE. THE POLYSACCHARIDE EXTRACTS DISPLAYED SIGNIFICANT ANTIPROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY AGAINST CANCER CELL LINES (MCF-7, HCT-116, U-937) IN A DOSE-DEPENDENT MANNER AND INDUCTION OF IL-6 IN MACROPHAGE RAW 264.7. FURTHERMORE, FLOW CYTOMETRY ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT HIGH POLYSACCHARIDE CONCENTRATIONS INDUCED APOPTOSIS BY 83% IN HL-60 CELLS. BASED ON GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY?MASS SPECTROMETRY (GC-MS) AND FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRA-RED (FT-IR) SPECTROSCOPY STUDIES, ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES FROM G. MIRABILE WERE MAINLY COMPOSED OF ARABINOSE, ?-D-GALACTOPYRANOSE AND METHYL ?-D-GALACTOPYRANOSIDE.

FUNGAL POLYSACCHARIDES POSSESS A BROAD BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY, INCLUDING CYTOTOXIC AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES. THIS WORK AIMED TO EVALUATE THE CYTOTOXIC AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF THE ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES OF PHYLLOPORIA BOLDO STRAIN (NAMED PBAP40). CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITY OF POLYSACCHARIDE WAS EVALUATED DETERMINING THE VIABILITY OF THREE TUMOR CELL LINES BY MTT ASSAY. THE EFFECT OF ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDE ON THE CELL CYCLE OF HL-60 CELL LINE WAS EVALUATED BY FLOW CYTOMETRY, AND THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY WAS DETERMINED BY DPPH AND ABTS ASSAYS. PBAP40 SHOWED CYTOTOXIC EFFECTS IN TUMOR CELL LINES. RESULTS SUGGEST THAT P. BOLDO ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES ARRESTED TUMOR CELLS IN THE CELL CYCLE SUB G1 PHASE. THE ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES OF PBAP40 STRAIN WERE NOT CYTOTOXIC FOR THE NON-TUMOR CELL LINE. PBAP40 ALSO SHOWED EXCELLENT ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY. THE FT-IR ANALYSIS OF THE ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES INDICATED THE PRESENCE OF GLUCANS BEARING ?- AND ?- TYPE GLYCOSIDIC BONDS.

THIS STUDY ADDRESSES FOR THE FIRST TIME THE CHEMISTRY AND BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF POLYSACCHARIDES ISOLATED FROM DIDYMOSPHENIA GEMINATA. FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY (FTIR) AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY (HPTLC) TECHNIQUES WERE USED TO CHARACTERIZE THE CRUDE AND ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES OF D. GEMINATA; GALACTOSE AND XYLOSE WERE FOUND TO BE THE MAIN MONOMER COMPONENTS. THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AS WELL AS THE EFFECT ON THE EXPRESSION OF IL-6 AND TNF-? IN RAW 264.7 MURINE CELL LINES WERE DETERMINED FOR BOTH TYPES OF POLYSACCHARIDES. THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF CRUDE POLYSACCHARIDES PROVED TO BE STRONGER THAN ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES BY MEANS OF QUENCHING EXPERIMENTS OF ABTS·+ AND TROLOX EQUIVALENT ANTIOXIDANT CAPACITY (TEAC) (P < 0.05). CRUDE POLYSACCHARIDES INDUCED AN INCREASE IN BOTH IL-6 AND TNF-? CONTENTS. ACIDIC POLYSACCHARIDES PRODUCED A SIMILAR EFFECT ON THESE CYTOKINES, BUT TO A LESSER EXTENT. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT POLYSACCHARIDES FROM D. GEMINATA COULD BE EXPLORED AS NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT AND IMMUNOMODULATORY AGENTS IN MEDICINE AND THE NUTRACEUTICAL INDUSTRY. THIS INVESTIGATION SUGGESTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TURN THE INVASIVE MATS OF D. GEMINATA, WHICH CURRENTLY CAUSE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, INTO A SOURCE OF POLYSACCHARIDES WITH NUTRACEUTICAL APPLICATION.

MILLIONS OF TONS OF PLASTICS ENTER WILD HABITATS, ESPECIALLY THE OCEANS, EVERY YEAR. DESPITE EXTENSIVE EFFORTS, THIS AMOUNT IS PREDICTED TO INCREASE OVER IN THE NEAR FUTURE, LEADING TO A CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE TO THE ENVIRONMENT. SMALL PLASTIC FRAGMENTS, INCLUDING MICROPLASTICS, ARE CURRENTLY WIDELY DISTRIBUTED IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS AND CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO POLLUTION OF THE OCEANS. THIS PROBLEM IS PARTICULARLY POIGNANT IN CHILE, A COUNTRY WITH MORE THAN 4,000 KM OF COASTLINE ALONG THE PACIFIC OCEAN HOME TO DIVERSE ENVIRONMENTS, INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES AND UNIQUE BIODIVERSITY. IN THIS REVIEW, WE COMPILE INFORMATION REGARDING MICROPLASTICS POLLUTION IN CHILEAN ENVIRONMENTS IN TERMS OF TRANSPORT, DISTRIBUTION AND BIOACCUMULATION ALONG THE COUNTRY, SOCIETAL ACTIONS SUCH AS ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND EDUCATION TO TACKLE THE PLASTIC PROBLEM, AND THE TROJAN EFFECT ASSOCIATED WITH IT. FINALLY, WE IDENTIFY CRITICAL SCIENTIFIC GAPS, SUCH AS THE TRANSPORT OF HARMFUL CHEMICALS AND MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED, AND DEFINE POTENTIAL FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS.

ANTIBIOTICS ARE EXTENSIVELY USED FOR GROWTH PROMOTION PURPOSES IN INTENSIVE AQUACULTURE. IN CHILE, THE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS IN SALMON FARMING IS EXCESSIVE, APPROXIMATELY 62 TIMES MORE THAN IS USED IN NORWAY. IN THE SALMON INDUSTRY, ANTIBIOTICS SUCH AS OXYTETRACYCLINE (OTC) ARE ADMINISTERED IN THE DIET, BOTH IN THE JUVENILE STAGE IN FRESHWATER AND IN THE FATTENING PROCESS OF SALMON IN MARINE SECTORS. WE HAVE INVESTIGATED THE FJORDS OF CHILE, WHERE MANY SALMON FARMS ARE LOCATED, SEARCHING FOR FUNGI ABLE TO DEGRADE THIS TETRACYCLINE ANTIBIOTIC. WE HAVE EVALUATED THE OTC DEGRADATION ABILITY OF THE FOLLOWING; PENICILLIUM COMMUNE, EPICOCCUM NIGRUM, TRICHODERMA HARZIANUM, ASPERGILLUS TERREUS AND BEAUVERIA BASSIANA, ISOLATED FROM SEDIMENTS IN SALMON FARMS FROM SOUTHERN CHILE. IN ALL THESE FUNGAL STRAINS, THE AMOUNT OF OTC DECREASED IN THE CULTURE MEDIUM, AS ADSORBED IN THE MYCELIA, AFTER THE THIRD DAY OF EXPOSURE. THESE STRAINS WERE CAPABLE OF DEGRADING OTC AT REMARKABLE RATES UP TO 78%, BY THE 15TH DAY. THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY SHOWING THAT THE MYCELIUM OF THESE FUNGAL STRAINS HAS THE ABILITY TO DEGRADE OTC. WE BELIEVE THE KNOWLEDGE PRODUCED BY THESE RESULTS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO SERVE AS A BASIS FOR IMPLEMENTING A BIOREMEDIATION PROCESS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

ARISTOTELIA CHILENSIS OR MAQUI IS A TREE NATIVE TO CHILE USED IN THE FOLK MEDICINE OF THE MAPUCHE PEOPLE AS AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENT FOR THE TREATMENT OF DIGESTIVE AILMENTS, FEVER, AND SKIN LESIONS. MAQUI FRUITS ARE BLACK BERRIES WHICH ARE CONSIDERED A ?SUPERFRUIT? WITH NOTABLE POTENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS, PROMOTED TO BE AN ANTIOXIDANT, CARDIOPROTECTIVE, AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY. MAQUI LEAVES CONTAIN NON-IRIDOID MONOTERPENE INDOLE ALKALOIDS WHICH HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN SHOWN TO ACT ON NICOTINIC ACETYLCHOLINE RECEPTORS, POTASSIUM CHANNELS, AND CALCIUM CHANNELS. HERE, WE ISOLATED A NEW ALKALOID FROM MAQUI LEAVES, NOW CALLED MAKOMAKINOL, TOGETHER WITH THE KNOWN ALKALOIDS ARISTOTELINE, HOBARTINE, AND 3-FORMYLINDOLE. MOREOVER, THE POLYPHENOLS QUERCETINE, ETHYL CAFFEATE, AND THE TERPENES, DIHYDRO-?-IONONE AND TERPIN HYDRATE, WERE ALSO OBTAINED. IN LIGHT OF THE REPORTED ANALGESIC AND ANTI-NOCICEPTIVE PROPERTIES OF A. CHILENSIS, IN PARTICULAR A CRUDE MIXTURE OF ALKALOIDS CONTAINING ARISTOTELINE AND HOBARTINOL (PMID 21585384), WE THEREFORE EVALUATED THE ACTIVITY OF ARISTOTELINE AND HOBARTINE ON NAV1.8, A KEY NAV ISOFORM INVOLVED IN NOCICEPTION, USING AUTOMATED WHOLE-CELL PATCH-CLAMP ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY. ARISTOTELINE AND HOBARTINE BOTH INHIBITED NAV1.8 WITH AN IC50 OF 68 ± 3 ?M AND 54 ± 1 ?M, RESPECTIVELY. HOBARTINE CAUSED A HYPERPOLARIZING SHIFT OF THE VOLTAGE-DEPENDENCE OF THE ACTIVATION, WHEREAS ARISTOTELINE DID NOT CHANGE THE VOLTAGE-DEPENDENCE OF THE ACTIVATION OR INACTIVATION. THE INHIBITORY ACTIVITY OF THESE ALKALOIDS ON NAV CHANNELS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE REPORTED ANALGESIC PROPERTIES OF ARISTOTELIA CHILENSIS USED BY THE MAPUCHE PEOPLE.

FUNGI ARE A PROLIFIC SOURCE OF BIOACTIVE MOLECULES. DURING THE PAST FEW DECADES, MANY BIOACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN ISOLATED FROM MARINE FUNGI. CHILE IS A COUNTRY WITH 6435 KM OF COASTLINE ALONG THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND HOUSES A UNIQUE FUNGAL BIODIVERSITY. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES THE FIELD OF FUNGAL NATURAL PRODUCTS ISOLATED FROM ANTARCTIC AND CHILEAN MARINE ENVIRONMENTS AND THEIR BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES.

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD) IS A NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY PROGRESSIVE COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT AND MEMORY LOSS. ONE OF THE HALLMARKS IN AD IS AMYLOID-? PEPTIDE (A?) ACCUMULATION, WHERE THE SOLUBLE OLIGOMERS OF A? (A?OS) ARE THE MOST TOXIC SPECIES, DETERIORATING THE SYNAPTIC FUNCTION, MEMBRANE INTEGRITY, AND NEURONAL STRUCTURES, WHICH ULTIMATELY LEAD TO APOPTOSIS. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO DRUGS TO ARREST AD PROGRESSION, AND CURRENT SCIENTIFIC EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON SEARCHING FOR NOVEL LEADS TO CONTROL THIS DISEASE. LIGNANS ARE COMPOUNDS EXTRACTED FROM CONIFERS AND HAVE SEVERAL MEDICINAL PROPERTIES. EUDESMIN (EU) IS AN EXTRACTABLE LIGNAN FROM THE WOOD OF ARAUCARIA ARAUCANA, A NATIVE TREE FROM CHILE. THIS METABOLITE HAS SHOWN A RANGE OF BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES, INCLUDING THE ABILITY TO CONTROL INFLAMMATION AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECTS.

A CHECKLIST COMPILES THE INFORMATION KNOWN ABOUT A PARTICULAR TAXONOMIC GROUP IN A SPECIFIC REGION. BOTH THE COMPARISON OF THE SOURCES USED, AND THE DEFINITION OF THE CRITERIA USED FOR THE ELABORATING THE CHECKLIST MAKE THE FINAL RESULT A USEFUL MATERIAL FOR DECISION MAKING ON BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION. THE APHYLLOPHOROID FUNGI (BASIDIOMYCOTA, AGARICOMYCOTINA) ARE AN ARTIFICIAL CATEGORY THAT MAINLY INCLUDES POLYPORES, CORTICIOIDS AND CLAVARIOIDS. TRADITIONALLY, THE TAXONOMY, SYSTEMATICS, AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE GROUP HAVE BEEN POORLY TREATED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. THIS PAPER PRESENTS UPDATED DATA ON 16 SPECIES OF APHYLLOPHOROID FUNGI FROM CHILE, INCORPORATING NEW RECORDS IN NEW LOCALITIES, AND NEW DATA ON THE ECOLOGY OF THE GROUP. IT ALSO ADDS NEW INFORMATION ON THE RECENTLY DESCRIBED SPECIES. SPECIES INVENTORIES AND THE CONSTANT MONITORING OF THE NEW DATA GENERATED ON A GIVEN TAXONOMIC GROUP, TOGETHER WITH THE VALUE OF BIOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS, PLAY AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ROLE IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION.

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF 12 SPECIES IN ALEURODISCUS SENSU LATO (STEREACEAE, RUSSULALES) DESCRIBED FROM THE PATAGONIAN FORESTS OF CHILE AND ARGENTINA WERE INVESTIGATED BASED ON SEQUENCES OF NUC RDNA INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER REGION ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 (ITS) AND THE D1-D2 DOMAINS OF NUC 28S RDNA (28S). A NEW GENUS AND A NEW SPECIES ARE PRESENTED, AND 10 NEW COMBINATIONS PROPOSED. THE GENUS GLOEOSOMA IS SHOWN TO BE PHYLOGENETICALLY WELL SUPPORTED AND MORPHOLOGICALLY CIRCUMSCRIBED; IT INCLUDES G. VITELLINUM (TYPE SPECIES), G. MIRABILE, COMB. NOV., G. ZEALANDICUM, COMB. NOV., AND GLOEOSOMA DECORTICANS, SP. NOV., WHICH IS NEWLY DESCRIBED FROM CHILE. THE NEW GENUS STEREODISCUS IS PROPOSED TO ACCOMMODATE A GROUP OF TAXA CHARACTERIZED BY AN AUSTRAL DISTRIBUTION AND MORPHOLOGICALLY BY SMOOTH, THIN-WALLED, AMYLOID BASIDIOSPORES AND A LACK OF GLOEOCYSTIDIA AND ACANTHOCYSTIDIA; THREE SPECIES DEVELOP STEREUM-LIKE BASIDIOMATA AND TWO SPECIES PRESENT DISCOID ONES. THE NEW GENUS INCLUDES THE SPECIES FORMERLY KNOWN AS ALEURODISCUS ANTARCTICUS, A. LIMONISPORUS, A. PARMULIFORMIS, A. PATAGONICUS, AND A. TRIVIALE. SPECIMENS OF STEREODISCUS PARMULIFORMIS (A. PARMULIFORMIS) FROM NEW ZEALAND (WHERE IT WAS ORIGINALLY DESCRIBED) AND SOUTHERN CHILE ARE SHOWN TO BE PHYLOGENETICALLY CONSPECIFIC, WHICH CONFIRMS ITS PRESENCE IN PATAGONIA. GLOEOSOMA AND STEREODISCUS ARE SHOWN TO BE DISTANTLY RELATED TO ALEURODISCUS S. STR. AND OTHER GENERA IN STEREACEAE. THE NEW COMBINATIONS ALEUROCYSTIDIELLUM BERNICCHIAE, ALEUROCYSTIDIELLUM HALLENBERGII, AND ACANTHOBASIDIUM QUILAE ARE PROPOSED BASED ON MORPHOLOGY AND PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSES, AND ALEURODISCUS CERUSSATUS IS SHOWN TO BE A CRYPTIC SPECIES COMPLEX.

THE PRODUCTION OF HALOGENATED HYDROQUINONE METABOLITES SUCH AS DROSOPHILIN A, DROSOPHILIN A METHYL ETHER AND CHLORONEB WAS INVESTIGATED IN THE ANDEAN-PATAGONIAN FUNGUS PHYLLOPORIA BOLDO. THESE CHLORINATED COMPOUNDS WERE DETECTED IN BOTH FRUITING BODIES AND LIVING CULTURES. GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY (GC-MS) QUANTIFICATION OF THESE MOLECULES WAS PERFORMED IN LIQUID MEDIA GIVING SIMILAR VALUES IN COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS REPORTS. WE OBSERVED THE CONCENTRATION OF DROSOPHILIN A, DROSOPHILIN A METHYL ETHER AND CHLORONEB INCREASED IN LIQUID CULTURE SUPPLEMENTED WITH KCL. FURTHERMORE, CHLORINATED HYDROQUINONE COMPOUNDS WERE NOT DETECTED USING LIQUID MEDIA SUPPLEMENTED WITH KBR. INSTEAD, BROMINATED AROMATIC MOLECULES WERE OBSERVED AND QUANTIFIED BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY. WE CONSIDER THESE RESULTS ARE RELEVANT FOR THE USE OF THESE HALOGENATING MICROORGANISMS IN BIOTRANSFORMATION PROCESSES.