Articles publicats (Agrotecnio Center)
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Agrotecnio aims to become a reference in Europe addressing all the key elements of the food production chain in an integrated way focusing on target crops and animals of commercial importance, rather than model systems. This later aspect sets our centre apart from other centers which focus on fundamental science and/or model plant and animal systems. As a result we should be able to address fundamental and important questions in the crop/animal of interest and results from our research will be directly and immediately applicable to our target organism. [Més informació]
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- ItemOpen AccessGenetic gains in wheat yield and its physiological determinants under contrasting growing conditions(Elsevier, 2026) Marchese, Sofia I.; Slafer, Gustavo A.; Savin, Roxana; Aparicio, Nieves; Tamagno, SantiagoUnderstanding the physiological bases behind genetic gains in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield as well as its interplay with environmental conditions are essential to guide breeding strategies for improvement and adaptability. In this study we investigated the physiological drivers of yield differences between traditional and modern bread wheat cultivars and assessed their responsiveness under contrasting growing conditions. Eleven cultivars representing different breeding eras were tested in three field experiments throughout the 2022/23 season in a high-yield condition and two low-yield environments differing in their water input (rainfed and irrigated) and photothermal conditions. Differences between genotypes and environment were significant whereas yield, grain number per m2, and harvest index showed stagnation after 2000 in favourable and resource-limited environments. Yield increases were strongly associated with higher grain number per m2, primarily driven by more grains per spike. In contrast, average grain weight and spike density showed little variation across breeding eras. Relative yield gains were 0.67 and 0.71% y⁻¹ under high-yielding irrigated and rainfed conditions, respectively. Gains in biomass accumulation and fruiting efficiency also contributed to yield improvements, with both traits expressing genetic progress even under low-potential conditions. Interestingly, crop responses differed between stress types despite similar yield penalties. Under rainfed conditions, genetic gains were maintained though reduced, whereas no consistent trend was detected under late sowing. This suggests that the expression of genetic gain may depend on the nature of the stress imposed, being maintained under resource limitation but not under stress associated with altered photothermal conditions and strong constraints.
- ItemOpen AccessA modified-live PRRSV vaccine administered at weaning confers partial protection against a highly virulent PRRSV-1 strain throughout the grower-finisher period(Elsevier, 2026) Pey La Haba, Ariadna, Carlos; Curto, P. , Josep Lluís; Gurri, E.; Aulinas, E.; Ramirez, G.; Molín, Jéssica; Fraile Sauce, Lorenzo José; Stoian, A.M.M.; Stoian, A.M.M.Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) remains one of the most economically important diseases affecting the swine industry. In 2020, a highly virulent PRRSV-1 strain, commonly known as Rosalía, emerged in Spain, causing significant production losses and raising concerns regarding the level of protection provided by commercially available vaccines. This study evaluated the duration of immunity conferred by the modified-live virus vaccine Porcilis® PRRS following vaccination at weaning and subsequent heterologous challenge with a highly virulent PRRSV-1 Rosalía-like strain (Lleida 029_22) during the grower-finisher period. Vaccinated animals exhibited milder clinical signs, a shorter duration of pyrexia, reduced lung lesions and maintained average daily weight gain (ADWG) following challenge, whereas non-vaccinated animals showed an approximate 50% reduction in ADWG. Vaccination also significantly reduced viremia, viral shedding via the nasal, oral and rectal routes, and viral loads in tissues at necropsy. However, PRRSV infection and viral shedding were not completely prevented, remaining detectable in vaccinated pigs until the end of the study. Vaccinated pigs also developed earlier and more sustained PRRSV-specific antibody responses than non-vaccinated animals. Overall, these findings demonstrate that Porcilis® PRRS confers partial long-term protection against a highly virulent heterologous PRRSV-1 Rosalía-like strain throughout the grower-finisher period, supporting vaccination at weaning as an effective strategy to mitigate the impact of PRRSV infection later in production.
- ItemOpen AccessEpidemiology of diplodia shoot blight outbreaks in pine forests after hailstorm event(Elsevier, 2026) Serradó, Francesc, Carlos; Caballol, Maria, Josep Lluís; Rigo, Tomeu; Vieites-Blanco, Cristina; Rodríguez-Puerta, Francisco; Oliva Palau, JonàsDiplodia shoot blight caused by Diplodia sapinea is an emerging disease in European pine forests. Outbreaks can occur after hailstorms. However, key epidemiological aspects associated with these events are not fully understood. We assessed the risk of outbreaks in native Pinus nigra stands in the Pyrenees (north-east Spain), combining radar maps, meteorological data and ground assessments. A total of 886 storms that occurred between 2022 and 2024 were screened to identify those associated with outbreaks. Disease development was studied using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to analyse changes in the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI). Diplodia shoot blight outbreaks were positively associated with low records of accumulated precipitation in the 10 days preceding hailstorm events. Disease development showed monomolecular growth, with NDVI losses reaching 80% approximately 40 days after a hailstorm. NDVI assessments correlated well with field disease assessments (R2 = 0.70), whereas hailstorm estimation map accuracy was low (0.51). Our findings suggest that water stress is a prerequisite for Diplodia shoot blight outbreaks following a hailstorm. Monomolecular disease development seems consistent with a predominant expansion of the endophytic inoculum over the role of the new infections occurring in hail wounds. Under the studied conditions, symptoms should appear 2–3 weeks after a hailstorm or not at all. Although NDVI measurements reliably assessed Diplodia shoot blight outbreaks, the gross scale of hailstorm maps (1 km2 pixels) makes them unreliable for detecting outbreaks. Our findings have implications for pest management, particularly in the context of climate change, with increasing temperatures and hailstorm risk.
- ItemOpen AccessElectrostatics and charge regulation drive phosphate accumulation in cationic dendrimers(Frontiers, 2026) Blanco, Pablo M.; Dannert, Corinna; Balaji, Ganesh; Rey-Castro, Carlos; Garcés, Josep Lluís; Pineda, Sebastian P.; Košovan, Peter; Dias, Rita S.Branched polycations such as poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers have been extensively investigated for applications including drug delivery and gene transfection, where phosphate-buffered solutions are commonly employed to maintain pH. Experimental and simulation studies have reported phosphate accumulation around PAMAM and attributed it, at least in part, to phosphate-specific interactions. Here, we investigate whether such specific interactions are necessary to explain phosphate association. Combining constant-pH molecular simulations, potentiometric titrations, and Site Binding theory, we study the coupled ionization of G2 PAMAM dendrimers and phosphate ions in aqueous solution. By employing a coarse-grained model that intentionally excludes phosphate-specific short-range interactions, we isolate the effects of electrostatics and charge regulation. The simulations quantitatively reproduce the ionization behavior of PAMAM and phosphate and reveal a strongly asymmetric charge-regulation response: phosphate has only a minor effect on PAMAM ionization, whereas PAMAM significantly enhances phosphate ionization in its vicinity. This coupling drives phosphate accumulation around PAMAM, with maximum adsorption at circumneutral pH where both species are highly charged. At phosphate concentrations comparable to those used in phosphate-buffered saline, the adsorbed phosphates reduce the effective charge of the PAMAM−phosphate complex. The qualitative agreement with previous experimental observations demonstrates that phosphate accumulation does not necessarily require phosphate-specific interactions but can emerge as a generic consequence of electrostatic attraction and coupled ionization equilibria. More broadly, the results highlight that multivalent buffer ions can act as active regulators of macromolecular electrostatics rather than merely as pH-control agents or passive screening species.
- ItemOpen AccessPre-Flowering Heat Wave Sensitivity on Yield and ItsComponents in Two Spring Barley Near-Isogenic Lines forPPD-H1 Alleles(John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2026) Parrado Marrades, Jorge Damian; Savin, Roxana; Slafer, Gustavo ARising temperatures associated with climate change increasingly threaten cereal yields. Most previous studies have focused onchronic high temperatures, which primarily affect yield indirectly through modifications of crop phenology. In contrast, the ef-fects of short-term heat waves on reproductive development and yield formation remain poorly understood. In barley (Hordeumvulgare L.), development and reproduction are tightly regulated by photoperiod sensitivity, mainly controlled by the PPD-H1gene, which may modulate plant responses to thermal stress. Here, we quantified the impact of a pre-flowering heat wave onyield formation and spike fertility in near-isogenic lines of spring barley differing at the PPD-H1 locus, across four contrastingenvironmental backgrounds combining sowing date and photoperiod conditions. Heat waves were imposed for 10 days at the flagleaf stage under field and outdoor conditions, increasing daily maximum temperatures with minimal effects on mean temper-ature and phenology. Across environments, the heat wave consistently reduced grain yield. Yield losses were primarily drivenby reductions in grain number rather than grain weight and were markedly greater in the photoperiod-insensitive ppd-H1 linethan in the photoperiod-sensitive Ppd-H1 line. Differences in flowering time between near-isogenic lines were small or absentunder most conditions, indicating that the contrasting heat wave responses were largely independent of phenological escape andinstead reflected direct effects on reproductive development. The lower resilience of ppd-H1 was associated with both reducedfloret fertility at flowering and increased grain abortion, particularly in apical spikelets, whereas spike fertility in Ppd-H1 plantswas largely preserved. Our results demonstrate that the wild-type Ppd-H1 allele confers enhanced tolerance to short-term heatstress immediately before flowering by stabilising spike fertility and grain set. This study highlights the importance of photo-period genes not only in shaping phenology but also in conferring intrinsic resilience of reproductive processes to heat waves,providing valuable insights for breeding barley cultivars adapted to increasingly variable thermal environments.