Biology subjects

Cardoso, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Cardoso, M..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Rp-vasa: a bona fide Primordial Germ Cell marker that drives embryonic expression in the Chagas disease vector Rhodnius prolixus

Rhodnius prolixus is an insect vector of the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of debilitating Chagas disease, which is transmitted to humans during blood feeding. Identifying germline markers is a critical step in advancing vector control and transgenic technologies of these medically important insects. Transmission of genetic traits to the next generation requires proper differentiation of the germline that gives rise to gametes. Germline precursors are established during early stages of development as the primordial germ cell (PGC) population. Among the genes required for this process, vasa homologues exert a conserved role in germline specification. Here, we characterize and validate the genomic structure of the R. prolixus Rp-vasa locus and assess its expression during early embryogenesis. We observe widespread Rp-vasa expression in preblastoderm embryos. Later, during the cellular blastoderm and at the beginning of gastrulation, Rp-vasa and Rp-piwi2 expression is restricted to PGCs, morphologically identifiable as a cluster of cells at the posterior of the embryo. We also report, for the first time, the use of R. prolixus regulatory sequences to drive the expression of exogenous genes. We identify the Rp-vasa regulatory region and show that these cis-regulatory sequences are sufficient to drive Cas9 and dsRed expression in the early embryo. Together, these findings demonstrate that Rp-vasa has great potential for use as a PGC marker and as a driver for gene expression in transgenic and gene editing approaches for Triatomine vectors.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Atlas-Based Spatio-temporal MRI Phenotyping of 3D Fungal Spread in Grapevine Wood

In perennial crops, inner wood degradation by pathogens often escapes detection until irreversible damage has occurred. Grapevine trunk disease (GTD) is a well-known example in viticulture that alters plants from within, years before foliar symptoms arise, making early assessment difficult. To overcome this limitation, we present a novel non-destructive 3D + t pipeline for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) spatial quantification and monitoring of early internal tissue degradation resulting from fungal colonization. This pipeline integrates (i) anatomical alignment and rigid time-series registration of volumetric MRI scans, (ii) a generalized cylindrical coordinate transformation for cross-sectional trunk anatomy normalization, (iii) supervised classification to segment water-depleted (diseased/non-functional) regions, and (iv) population-level statistical analyses including construction of population mean images, probabilistic atlases of lesions, and 3D lesion descriptors. Applied to multiple Vitis vinifera cultivars inoculated with a fungal trunk pathogen, our approach enables time-lapse comparisons between cultivar and treatment in vivo. The results reveal consistent early degradation signals across individuals and cultivar-dependent lesion differences. By combining high-resolution MRI with advanced image processing and statistical atlas tools, this method provides a new paradigm for 3D plant phenotyping of internal disease progression. This methodological innovation allows non-invasive quantification of disease development and comparative assessment of host responses in woody plants, demonstrating its potential to advance understanding and management of GTDs.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2023

Multilevel Plasticity and Altered Glycosylation Drive Aggressiveness in Hypoxic and Glucose-Deprived Bladder Cancer Cells

Bladder tumours with aggressive characteristics often present with microenvironmental niches marked by low oxygen levels (hypoxia) and limited glucose supply due to inadequate vascularization. The molecular mechanisms facilitating cellular adaptation to these stimuli remain largely elusive. Employing a multi-omics approach, we discovered that hypoxic and glucose- deprived cancer cells enter a quiescent state supported by mitophagy, fatty acid {beta}-oxidation, and amino acid catabolism, concurrently enhancing their invasive capabilities. Reoxygenation and glucose restoration efficiently reversed cell quiescence without affecting cellular viability, highlighting significant molecular plasticity in adapting to microenvironmental challenges. Furthermore, cancer cells exhibited substantial perturbation of protein O-glycosylation, leading to simplified glycophenotypes with shorter glycosidic chains. Exploiting glycoengineered cell models, we established that immature glycosylation contributes to reduced cell proliferation and increased invasion. Our findings collectively indicate that hypoxia and glucose deprivation trigger cancer aggressiveness, reflecting an adaptive escape mechanism underpinned by altered metabolism and protein glycosylation, providing grounds for clinical intervention.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2022

An end-to-end workflow based on multimodal 3D imaging and machine learning for non-destructive diagnosis of grapevine trunk diseases

Quantifying healthy and degraded inner tissues in plants is of great interest in agronomy, for example, to assess plant health and quality and monitor physiological traits or diseases. However, detecting functional and degraded plant tissues in-vivo without harming the plant is extremely challenging. New solutions are needed in ligneous and perennial species, for which the sustainability of plantations is crucial. To tackle this challenge, we developed a novel approach based on multimodal 3D imaging and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based image processing that allowed a noninvasive diagnosis of inner tissues in living plants. The method was successfully applied to the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) in vineyards where sustainability was threatened by trunk diseases, while the sanitary status of vines cannot be ascertained without injuring the plants. By combining MRI and X-ray CT 3D imaging with an automatic voxel classification, we could discriminate intact, degraded, and white rot tissues with a mean global accuracy of over 91%. Each imaging modality contribution to tissue detection was evaluated, and we identified quantitative structural and physiological markers characterizing wood degradation steps. The combined study of inner tissue distribution versus external foliar symptom history demonstrated that white rot and intact tissue contents are key measurements in evaluating vines sanitary status. We finally proposed a model for an accurate trunk disease diagnosis in grapevine. This work opens new routes for precision agriculture and in-situ monitoring of wood quality and plant health across plant species.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Metabolomics, Transcriptomics and Functional Glycomics Reveals Bladder Cancer Cells Plasticity and Enhanced Aggressiveness Facing Hypoxia and Glucose Deprivation

Bladder cancer constitutes one of the deadliest genitourinary diseases, especially when diagnosed at late stages. These tumours harbour microenvironmental niches characterized by low levels of oxygen (hypoxia) and limited glucose supply due to poor vascularization. However, the synergic contribution of these features to disease development is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrated that cells with distinct histopathological and molecular backgrounds responded similarly to such stimuli. Cancer cells arrested proliferation, significantly increased invasive capacity in vitro and enhanced tolerance to cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Reoxygenation and access to glucose restored basal proliferation and invasion levels without triggering stress-induced apoptosis, denoting significant cellular plasticity in adapting to microenvironmental cues. Whole transcriptomics showed major molecular reprogramming, supporting main functional alterations. Metabolomics evidenced fatty acids {beta}-oxidation as main bioenergetic pathway rather than anaerobic glycolysis generally adopted by hypoxic cells. Joint pathway analysis also suggested relevant alterations in mucin-type O-glycan biosynthesis. Glycomics confirmed a major antagonization of O-glycosylation pathways, leading to simple cell glycophenotypes characterized by the accumulation of immature short-chain O-glycans such as Tn and STn antigens at the cell surface. Glycoengineered models reflecting simple cell glycophenotypes were developed and functional studies in vitro and in vivo showed that Tn and STn overexpression decreased proliferation and promoted chemoresistance, reinforcing their close link with tumour aggressiveness. Collectively, we have demonstrated that hypoxia and glucose deprivation trigger more aggressive cell behaviours, in what appears to be an escape mechanism from microenvironmental stress. We propose that, altered glycosylation may be used to target these subpopulations, paving the way for precision oncology.

cancer biology↗