Abstract Objective: Characterize Compostela’s Soursop Production Chain, describe the risks that represent areas of opportunity, and propose an Intervention Order that settled the critical control points that must be implemented to promote Mexican soursop on international markets. Methodology: The approach to calculate the optimal intervention order for the Soursop Production Chain was designed based on direct and indirect information sources and consisted of five phases. Results: Compostela’s SPC is made up of three primary links: production, processing, and marketing, involving actors for each specific task. High-risk weak points and Critical Control Points were identified. Implementing these Critical Control Points would significantly improve the Soursop Production Chain’s revenue. An intervention order designed to configure the Soursop Production Chain as a successful regional development option was built based on the relevance analysis of each Critical Control Point. Limitations: Available information regarding soursop production and post-harvest is relatively scarce. Gathering this type of information represents an area of opportunity that requires consulting the actors that make up the chain. Conclusions: Compostela’s soursop presence in international high value markets is limited by risks in the Soursop Production Chain. This fruit’s perishable nature stands out as the main risk, which is aggravated by phytosanitary risks, poor interlink coordination, outdated handling techniques, and poor storage and transportation infrastructure. A conservative estimate suggests that by implementing this Intervention Order, Soursop Production Chains’s profits would increase at least 175 % in a short to medium term.

Resumen Objetivo: Caracterizar la cadena productiva de guanábana en el municipio de Compostela, Nayarit, México y describir las áreas de oportunidad y sus riesgos para proponer un orden de intervención de esa cadena productiva que establezca los puntos críticos de control que deben implementarse para impulsar la comercialización de guanábana mexicana en el mercado internacional. Metodología: Partiendo de fuentes de información directas e indirectas, se construyó una base metodológica que consta de cinco fases diseñadas para calcular el OI óptimo. Resultados: La Cadena Productiva de Guanábana de Compostela se compone de tres eslabones primarios: producción, procesamiento y comercialización, compuestos por actores que cumplen labores específicas. Se identificaron puntos débiles de alto riesgo, así como los Puntos de Control Críticos en la Cadena Productiva de la Guanábana. Con base en el análisis de relevancia de cada Punto Crítico de Control se elaboró un Orden de Intervención diseñado para configurar a la Cadena Productiva de la Guanábana como una opción de desarrollo regional exitosa. Limitaciones: La información disponible del sistema productivo y poscosecha de la guanábana es relativamente escaza. Generar este tipo de información representa un área de oportunidad que requiere el acercamiento con los actores que conforman la cadena. Conclusiones: La presencia de guanábana de Compostela en mercados internacionales de alto valor se ve limitada por riesgos presentes en su cadena productiva. La naturaleza perecedera del fruto destaca como el riesgo principal y se agrava por riesgos fitosanitarios, mala coordinación entre eslabones, técnicas de manejo desactualizadas e infraestructura de almacenamiento y transporte deficiente. Se estima que implementar el Orden de Intervención incrementaría las ganancias de la Cadena Productiva de la Guanábana al menos 175 % en un corto a mediano plazo.

ABSTRACT The future of the bivalve mollusk production sector worldwide is still challenged by emergence and propagation of new diseases, mainly vibriosis, and the conventional methods that have been used to eradicate pathogens from hatcheries, such as antibiotics and chemotherapies have shown collateral effects. In order to reduce the use of conventional methods, homeopathy for aquaculture emerges as a novel solution to strengthen marine organism's defense against diseases. This study evaluated the effect of five homeopathic treatments on the immunomodulatory response and general condition index of Argopecten ventricosus juveniles, used as model organisms due to their susceptibility to vibriosis compared to other commercial bivalves. The experimental design included three replicates of five homeopathic treatments at decimal (D) or centesimal (C) dynamization (T1: ViA 1D + ViP 1D, T2: ViA 7C + ViP 7C, T3: AcF 1D + MsS 1D, T4: PhA 7C + SiT 7C and T5: ViT 31C) and three control groups (C1: Dynamized Ethanol (1C), C2: Diluted Ethanol (1:99) and C3: No medication). The maximum immunomodulatory response was attributed to treatments T1 and T2 with the highest increase in hemocyte count, catalase activity in mantle and superoxide dismutase activity in gills, followed by treatments T3 and T5. Treatment T4 did not show a definite effect on an immune response but increased energetic reserves in the mantle, muscle and the digestive gland, important storage tissues in mollusk bivalves. This study has demonstrated that some homeopathic treatments can activate an immunomodulatory response and improve the general condition index in A. ventricosus.

RESUMO: Plantas pertencentes ao gênero Jatropha têm despertado interesse devido ao seu alto teor de óleo que poderia ser usado para produzir biodiesel. Também é amplamente relatado que os principais ácidos graxos das oleaginosas da Jatropha são os ácidos oléico e linoleico. No entanto, existem poucos estudos relacionados a espécies nativas de pinhão-manso do noroeste do México que estão adaptados a condições áridas, e a expressão de genes envolvidos na síntese de ácidos graxos para essas espécies ainda é desconhecida. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a expressão de cinco genes, ACP1, KASII, D9SD, FAD2-1 e FAD2-2, que estão envolvidos na síntese de ácidos oleico e linoleico em sementes selvagens maduras de Jatropha cinerea, espécies nativas do Deserto de Sonora, usando RT-PCR semi-quantitativa. Sementes de J. cinerea foram coletadas aleatoriamente em Bahía de Kino, Sonora (México), região caracterizada por ambientes agressivos como solos salinos e mudanças extremas de temperatura, e sementes de J. curcas maduras de uma variedade não-tóxica de Veracruz, México, usado como referência. Análise RT-PCR de três repetições biológicas foram consideradas para garantir dados consistentes. Nossa análise mostrou uma maior expressão dos genes KASII e FAD2-1 em sementes de J. cinerea comparado a J. curcas, enquanto a expressão de ACP1, D9SD e FAD2-2 foi maior em J. curcas. Além disso, as sequências dos genes Actin e FAD2-1 obtidas são as primeiras relatadas para J. cinerea, fornecendo, assim, informações para o desenvolvimento de novos estudos.

ABSTRACT: Plants belonging to genus Jatropha has arisen interest because of its high oil content that could be used to produce biodiesel. It is also widely reported that the main fatty acids in Jatropha oilseed are oleic and linoleic acids. However, there are scarce studies related to native species of Jatropha from Northwestern Mexico which are adapted to arid conditions, and the expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis for these species is still unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the expression of five genes, ACP1, KASII, D9SD, FAD2-1 and FAD2-2, which are involved in the oleic and linoleic acids synthesis in mature wild-seeds of Jatropha cinerea, a native species from Sonoran Desert, using semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The J. cinerea seeds were randomly collected in Bahía de Kino, Sonora (México) which is a region characterized by its harsh environments such as saline soils and extreme temperature changes and J. curcas mature seeds from a non-toxic variety from Veracruz, Mexico were used as a reference. The RT-PCR analysis of three biological replicates were considered to ensure data consistent. Our analysis showed a higher expression of KASII and FAD2-1 genes in J. cinerea seeds compared to J. curcas, meanwhile the expression of ACP1, D9SD and FAD2-2 were higher in J. curcas. Furthermore, Actin and FAD2-1 genes sequences here obtained are the first reported for J. cinerea, thus providing information to develop further studies.