Resumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a interação genótipo x ambiente (GxA) em progênies de polinização aberta de Eucalyptus saligna, para seleção simultânea para maior estabilidade e adaptabilidade para volume de madeira, bem como comparar as estratégias de seleção por análises conjunta e individuais em três ambientes. Foram instalados três experimentos, em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições e parcelas de seis plantas, com 102 a 122 progênies. Três anos após o plantio, foram avaliados a taxa de sobrevivência e o volume de madeira. Os parâmetros genéticos foram estimados pelos métodos da máxima verossimilhança restrita e melhor predição linear não viciada (REML/Blup), e a análise de estabilidade e adaptabilidade foi realizada pela média harmônica do desempenho relativo dos valores genéticos (MHPRVG). A maior taxa de sobrevivência (82%) foi observada em Sabinópolis e o maior volume (120 m³ ha-1) em Lençóis Paulista. As herdabilidades médias das progênies para as duas variáveis avaliadas foram consideradas altas, e as correlações genéticas entre taxa de sobrevivência e volume foram baixas para todos os locais. A interação GxA foi significativa e do tipo complexa, com correlação genotípica entre ambientes de 47%, o que indica que o ordenamento das melhores progênies foi diferente para cada local estudado. A análise de estabilidade e adaptabilidade indicou a possibilidade de selecionar progênies com comportamento plástico nos três ambientes; contudo, para melhoria da qualidade das características avaliadas, é necessária a seleção de progênies específicas para cada ambiente.

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate the genotype x environment (GxE) interaction in open-pollinated Eucalyptus saligna progenies for simultaneous selection for greater stability and adaptability for wood volume, as well as to compare the selection strategies through combined and individual analyses in three environments. Three experiments were conducted in a randomized complete block design, with four replicates and six plants per plot, with 102 to 122 progenies. Three years after planting, survival rate and wood volume were evaluated. The genetic parameters were estimated by the maximum restricted likelihood and best linear unbiased prediction (REML/Blup) methods, and the stability and adaptability analysis was conducted using the harmonic mean of the relative performance of genetic values (HMRPGV). The highest survival rate (82%) was observed in Sabinópolis and the highest volume (120 m³ ha-1) in Lençóis Paulista. The mean heritability of progenies for the two analyzed variables was considered high, and the genetic correlations between survival rate and volume were weak for all sites. The G×E interaction was significant and of the complex type, with genotype correlation between sites of 47%, indicating that the ranking of the best progenies differed in each studied environment. The analysis of stability and adaptability indicated the possibility of selecting progenies with good performance in the three environments; however, to improve the quality of the evaluated characteristics, it is necessary to select specific progenies for each environment.

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is mainly associated with two diseases: tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (TSP/HAM) and adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma. This retrovirus infects five-10 million individuals throughout the world. Previously, we developed a database that annotates sequence data from GenBank and the present study aimed to describe the clinical, molecular and epidemiological scenarios of HTLV-1 infection through the stored sequences in this database. A total of 2,545 registered complete and partial sequences of HTLV-1 were collected and 1,967 (77.3%) of those sequences represented unique isolates. Among these isolates, 93% contained geographic origin information and only 39% were related to any clinical status. A total of 1,091 sequences contained information about the geographic origin and viral subtype and 93% of these sequences were identified as subtype “a”. Ethnicity data are very scarce. Regarding clinical status data, 29% of the sequences were generated from TSP/HAM and 67.8% from healthy carrier individuals. Although the data mining enabled some inferences about specific aspects of HTLV-1 infection to be made, due to the relative scarcity of data of available sequences, it was not possible to delineate a global scenario of HTLV-1 infection.

This study was carried out to evaluate the molecular pattern of all available Brazilian human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 Env (n = 15) and Pol (n = 43) nucleotide sequences via epitope prediction, physico-chemical analysis, and protein potential sites identification, giving support to the Brazilian AIDS vaccine program. In 12 previously described peptides of the Env sequences we found 12 epitopes, while in 4 peptides of the Pol sequences we found 4 epitopes. The total variation on the amino acid composition was 9 and 17% for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and class II Env epitopes, respectively. After analyzing the Pol sequences, results revealed a total amino acid variation of 0.75% for HLA-I and HLA-II epitopes. In 5 of the 12 Env epitopes the physico-chemical analysis demonstrated that the mutations magnified the antigenicity profile. The potential protein domain analysis of Env sequences showed the loss of a CK-2 phosphorylation site caused by D197N mutation in one epitope, and a N-glycosylation site caused by S246Y and V247I mutations in another epitope. Besides, the analysis of selection pressure have found 8 positive selected sites (w = 9.59) using the codon-based substitution models and maximum-likelihood methods. These studies underscore the importance of this Env region for the virus fitness, for the host immune response and, therefore, for the development of vaccine candidates.

The analysis of genetic data for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is essential to improve treatment and public health strategies as well as to select strains for vaccine programs. However, the analysis of large quantities of genetic data requires collaborative efforts in bioinformatics, computer biology, molecular biology, evolution, and medical science. The objective of this study was to review and improve the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 and HTLV-1 viruses isolated in Brazil using bioinformatic tools available in the Laboratório Avançado de Sáude Pública (Lasp) bioinformatics unit. The analysis of HIV-1 isolates confirmed a heterogeneous distribution of the viral genotypes circulating in the country. The Brazilian HIV-1 epidemic is characterized by the presence of multiple subtypes (B, F1, C) and B/F1 recombinant virus while, on the other hand, most of the HTLV-1 sequences were classified as Transcontinental subgroup of the Cosmopolitan subtype. Despite the high variation among HIV-1 subtypes, protein glycosylation and phosphorylation domains were conserved in the pol, gag, and env genes of the Brazilian HIV-1 strains suggesting constraints in the HIV-1 evolution process. As expected, the functional protein sites were highly conservative in the HTLV-1 env gene sequences. Furthermore, the presence of these functional sites in HIV-1 and HTLV-1 strains could help in the development of vaccines that pre-empt the viral escape process.