CHANGES IN WATER AVAILABILITY HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON THE SUSTAINABILITY AND MAINTENANCE OF AGRICULTURE, WITH WATER FOOTPRINT (WF) BEING A ROBUST METHODOLOGY TO ASSESS THESE TRANSFORMATIONS. THE GUADALUPE VALLEY IS ONE OF THE PLACES WITH THE HIGHEST AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN MEXICO. DESPITE ITS SEMI?ARID CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, IT PROVIDES HIGH?QUALITY CROPS THAT ARE WELL?POSITIONED IN THE WORLD. THE HISTORICAL TREND OF RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURES BETWEEN 1987 AND 2017 WAS ANALYZED TO IDENTIFY CLIMATIC PATTERNS IN THE TERRITORY. THROUGH THE CALCULATIONS OF THE WATER FOOTPRINT OF GRAPEVINE AND OLIVE CROPS, THE SENSITIVITY OF THE CROPS TO RECURRENT WATER DEFICIT AND THEIR ADAPTATION IN THEIR YIELDS TO DROUGHT EPISODES WAS IDENTIFIED.

COASTAL WETLANDS ARE ECOSYSTEMS THAT PROVIDE MULTIPLE BENEFITS TO HUMAN SETTLEMENTS; NONETHELESS, THEY ARE SERIOUSLY THREATENED DUE TO BOTH A LACK OF PLANNING INSTRUMENTS AND HUMAN ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED MAINLY WITH URBAN GROWTH. AN UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR FUNCTIONING AND STATUS IS CRUCIAL FOR THEIR PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION. TWO WETLANDS WITH DIFFERENT DEGREES OF URBANIZATION, ROCUANT-ANDALIÉN (HIGHLY URBANIZED) AND TUBUL-RAQUI (WITH LITTLE URBANIZATION), WERE ANALYZED USING TEMPERATURE, SALINITY, DISSOLVED OXYGEN, PH, TURBIDITY, GRANULOMETRY, FECAL COLIFORM, AND MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGE VARIABLES IN SUMMER AND WINTER. IN BOTH WETLANDS MARKED SEASONALITY IN SALINITY, TEMPERATURE AND SEDIMENT TEXTURE CLASSIFICATION, REGULATED BY OCEANIC INFLUENCE AND CHANGES IN THE FRESHWATER BUDGET, WAS OBSERVED. IN THE ROCUANT-ANDALIÉN WETLAND, THE INCREASES IN PH, DISSOLVED OXYGEN, GRAVEL PERCENTAGE, AND COLIFORM CONCENTRATION WERE STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT. URBANIZATION GENERATED NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON MACROINVERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGE STRUCTURE THAT INHABIT THE WETLANDS; GREATER RICHNESS AND ABUNDANCE (8.5 TIMES GREATER) WERE RECORDED IN THE TUBUL-RAQUI WETLAND THAN IN THE MORE URBANIZED WETLAND. THE MULTIVARIATE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS REFLECTS THE ALTERATION OF THESE COMPLEX SYSTEMS.

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.

EPICOCCUM NIGRUM (STRAIN LQRA39-P) WAS ISOLATED FROM SEDIMENTS COLLECTED IN CHILEAN PATAGONIAN FJORDS USING MICROSCOPY AND MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES. WE ANALYZED ADAPTIVE RESPONSES OF CELL WALL MORPHOLOGY TO SALINITY, TEMPERATURE, AND PH IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN THE ABILITY OF E. NIGRUM TO CO-INHABIT BOTH MARINE AND FRESHWATER ENVIRONMENTS. FOR THIS PURPOSE, E. NIGRUM WAS CULTURED IN A SERIES OF MEDIA WITH VARIATIONS IN SALINITY (FRESHWATER AND SEAWATER), PH (ACIDIC, NEUTRAL, AND BASIC), AND TEMPERATURE (5 TO 25 °C). CHANGES WERE OBSERVED THROUGH TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN INCREASED SALINITY AND CELL WALL THICKENING (> 0.2 ?M) WAS OBSERVED, ALONG WITH A SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PH AND THE PRESENCE OF EXTRACELLULAR POLYMERIC SUBSTANCES (EPS) ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE CELL WALL. THE OBSERVED MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES COULD CONFIRM THAT AN UBIQUITOUS FUNGUS SUCH AS E. NIGRUM REQUIRES ADAPTIVE RESPONSES TO CO-INHABIT FRESHWATER, MARINE, AND TERRESTRIAL SUBSTRATES.

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.

AMID THE GROWING POPULATION, CLIMATE CHANGE AND DECREASING WATER AVAILABILITY, WATER RESOURCES PLANNING FACES THE CHALLENGE OF ACHIEVING EFFICIENT AND EQUITABLE WATER USE, MAINLY IN FOOD PRODUCTION, ITS GREATEST CONSUMER. THE SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURAL WATER CONSUMPTION IN THE CACHAPOAL RIVER BASIN (34°S 71°O) IS ASSESSED USING THE BLUE (WFSBLUE) AND GRAY WATER FOOTPRINT SUSTAINABILITY (WFSGRAY) INDICATORS UNDER CONDITIONS OF CLIMATE VARIABILITY. THE WFSBLUE INDICATOR OF AGRICULTURAL WATER CONSUMPTION SHOWED UNSUSTAINABILITY IN THE UPPER BASIN IN THE DRY YEAR (2007), INDICATING SEVERE WATER SCARCITY IN AUTUMN AND LOW SCARCITY IN SPRING, AND IN THE WET YEAR (2005), IN WHICH MODERATE WATER SCARCITY WAS OBSERVED ONLY IN SPRING, AS A RESULT OF THE DECREASE IN BLUE WATER AVAILABILITY (WABLUE) AND THE INCREASE IN THE BLUE WATER FOOTPRINT (WFBLUE), EXCEEDING ENVIRONMENTAL FLOW REQUIREMENTS AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL CARRYING CAPACITY. AN OPPOSITE SITUATION WAS FOUND IN THE LOWER BASIN, WHERE NO WATER SCARCITY WAS OBSERVED IN THE ANALYZED YEARS. SURFACE WATER QUALITY, BASED ON THE CONCENTRATION OF FERTILIZERS APPLIED TO CROPS, WAS OBSERVED TO BE MORE AFFECTED AND UNSUSTAINABLE (WFSGRAY) IN THE UPPER BASIN IN THE AUTUMN AND WINTER PERIOD OF THE DRY YEAR (2007). CURRENTLY, THE INDICATORS CAN BE APPLIED TO PROVIDE USEFUL INFORMATION ON THE SUSTAINABILITY OF WATER USE IN BASINS IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH AND MEET WATER RESOURCES PROTECTION OBJECTIVES.

WE ISOLATED AND IDENTIFIED A MARINE FUNGUS STRAIN FROM SAMPLES OF SEDIMENTS OBTAINED FROM A SECTOR OF THE PATAGONIAN FJORDS. THE LQRA39-P STRAIN WAS IDENTIFIED AS EPICOCCUM NIGRUM USING MICROSCOPY TECHNIQUES AND CORROBORATED USING MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES. WE EXPECT TO PROVE THAT METABOLIC VARIATION RESPONSES ALLOW UBIQUITOUS FUNGI TO DEVELOP IN MARINE, FRESHWATER, AND TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS. WE ANALYZED VARIATIONS IN THE CONTENT OF FATTY ACIDS AND STEROLS, IN A BATTERY OF CULTURE MEDIA AT DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES, SALINITY AND PH. THE CONTENT OF FATTY ACIDS AND STEROLS WAS ANALYSED USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY COUPLED TO MASS CHROMATOGRAPHY (GC-MS). CHANGES IN TEMPERATURE SHOWED NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE FATTY ACID CONTENT; NEVERTHELESS, STEROL CONTENT WAS SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECTED BY THIS FACTOR AT JUST PH 4, INCREASING DIVERSITY OF STEROLS IN FRESHWATER AT 25°C. SALINITY GENERATED CHANGES IN THE LIPID COMPOSITION (I.E., C16:0; C16:1; C18:2 AND C18:3). AS FOR PH, THIS FACTOR HAS A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON THE COMPOSITION OF FATTY ACIDS AND STEROLS. WE DEMONSTRATE THAT E. NIGRUM IS CAPABLE OF CHANGING ITS COMPOSITION OF STEROLS AND FATTY ACIDS AS AN ADAPTIVE RESPONSE THAT MAY ENABLE CO-INHABITING MARINE AND TERRESTRIAL SUBSTRATES.

FRESHWATER AVAILABILITY HAS DECREASED ALARMINGLY WORLDWIDE, WITH AGRICULTURE PLAYING A VITAL ROLE IN THIS TREND. THE AS-SESSMENT OF THE AGRICULTURAL WATER FOOTPRINT (WFAGRICULTURAL) AND VIRTUAL WATER FLOWS (VWF) IS FUNDAMENTAL NOT ONLY IN LOCAL WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTION, BUT ALSO IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SYNERGIES BETWEEN LOCAL WATER CONSUMPTION AND GLOBAL MARKETS. THUS, THE WFAGRICULTURAL - BROKEN DOWN INTO ITS COMPONENTS (BLUE, GREEN, AND GRAY) - OF THE LEADING 21 CROPS (GROUPED IN FRUIT, LEGUMES, CEREALS, AND VEGETABLES), GROWN IN FOUR BASINS WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITY IN CENTRAL CHILE WAS DETERMINED, ESTIMATED IN TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS 2017-2018. IN ADDITION, DUE TO THEIR GREAT IMPORTANCE IN EXPORTS, VWFS WERE ASSESSED, ESTABLISHING CONNECTIONS AC-CORDING TO THEIR ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT THE GREEN AND GRAY WATER FOOTPRINTS INCREASED SIGNIFI-CANTLY IN THE SOUTH-CENTRAL BASINS, WHILE BLUE WATER CONSUMPTION INCREASED IN THE BASINS OF THE CENTRAL ZONE, REFLECTING AN EVIDENT WFAGRICULTURAL TRANSITION IN ACCORD WITH LATITUDE AND CLIMATE CONDITIONS. FURTHERMORE, VWF SHOWED AN ANNUAL INCREASE OF 44 %, IN ABOUT 116 DESTINATIONS, WITH ASIA, EUROPE, AND NORTH AMERICA BEING THE PREFERRED DESTINATIONS, WITH ANNUAL VARIATIONS OF VWFBLUE-GRAY ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASES IN EXPORTS OF APPLES, CHERRIES, GRAPES, BLUEBERRIES, AND WALNUTS, MARKET PREFERENCES AND GROWING AREAS. THE PRESENT STUDY IS AN INITIAL STEP TOWARD SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IN A COMMODITY EXPORTING COUNTRY, ONE THAT IS RELEVANT IN THE EXPLOITATION OF VIRTUAL WATER YET FACES SEVERE WATER DEFICIT PROBLEMS, DISTRIBUTION, AND LOCAL WATER POLICIES. THEREFORE, CONTRIBUTING TO ENCOURAGING THE EFFICIENCY AND VALUE OF WATER IN THE PROCESS OF A NEW INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK.