Loja Province Research Articles

Phytometabolite Dehydroleucodine Induces Cell Cycle Arrest, Apoptosis, and DNA Damage in Human Astrocytoma Cells through p73/p53 Regulation.

Accumulating evidence supports the idea that secondary metabolites obtained from medicinal plants (phytometabolites) may be important contributors in the development of new chemotherapeutic agents to reduce the occurrence or recurrence of cancer. Our study focused on Dehydroleucodine (DhL), a sesquiterpene found in the provinces of Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe. In this study, we showed that DhL displayed cytostatic and cytotoxic activities on the human cerebral astrocytoma D384 cell line. With lactone isolated from Gynoxys verrucosa Wedd, a medicinal plant from Ecuador, we found that DhL induced cell death in D384 cells by triggering cell cycle arrest and inducing apoptosis and DNA damage. We further found that the cell death resulted in the increased expression of CDKN1A and BAX proteins. A marked induction of the levels of total TP73 and phosphorylated TP53, TP73, and γ-H2AX proteins was observed in D384 cells exposed to DhL, but no increase in total TP53 levels was detected. Overall these studies demonstrated the marked effect of DhL on the diminished survival of human astrocytoma cells through the induced expression of TP73 and phosphorylation of TP73 and TP53, suggesting their key roles in the tumor cell response to DhL treatment.

Landslide susceptibility near highways is increased by 1 order of magnitude in the Andes of southern Ecuador, Loja province

Abstract. Mountain roads in developing countries are known to increase landslide occurrence due to often inadequate drainage systems and mechanical destabilization of hillslopes by undercutting and overloading. This study empirically investigates landslide initiation frequency along two paved interurban highways in the tropical Andes of southern Ecuador across different climatic regimes. Generalized additive models (GAM) and generalized linear models (GLM) were used to analyze the relationship between mapped landslide initiation points and distance to highway while accounting for topographic, climatic, and geological predictors as possible confounders. A spatial block bootstrap was used to obtain nonparametric confidence intervals for the odds ratio of landslide occurrence near the highways (25 m distance) compared to a 200 m distance. The estimated odds ratio was 18–21, with lower 95% confidence bounds >13 in all analyses. Spatial bootstrap estimation using the GAM supports the higher odds ratio estimate of 21.2 (95% confidence interval: 15.5–25.3). The highway-related effects were observed to fade at about 150 m distance. Road effects appear to be enhanced in geological units characterized by Holocene gravels and Laramide andesite/basalt. Overall, landslide susceptibility was found to be more than 1 order of magnitude higher in close proximity to paved interurban highways in the Andes of southern Ecuador.

Malagoniella cupreicollis (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) primeros registros para el Ecuador

It is the first record of Malagoniella (Megathopomima) cupreicollis (Waterhouse 1890) for Ecuador, related to dry scrub from Loja province. We registered this specie from two localities with pit fall traps baited with pig dung.

Effects of photoperiod, plant growth regulators and culture media on in vitro growth of seedlings of Cyrtochilum loxense (Lindl.) Kraenzl. an endemic and endangered orchid from Ecuador

Cyrtochilum loxense (Lindl.) Kraenzl. is an endemic and seriously endangered orchid species endemic in the Loja Province (Southern Ecuador). The main goals of this research were to analyze how culture media, plant growth regulators and photoperiod affect the growth of C. loxense. Eight month old plants (approximate 1 – 1.5 cm in height) obtained by in vitro germination, were cultivated on MS media or Knudson C; MS with three levels of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) (2/0.5; 1/0.5 y 0.5/ 0.5 mg-1L); and three photoperiodic regimes (24/0, 16/8, 8/16 h) on MS with and without plant growth regulators. No significant differences of shoot induction were observed on media with or without plant growth regulators, and all tested photoperiods. The highest growth (1.2 cm) was observed in plantlets cultivated on growth regulator-free media with a 16/8 photoperiod. Also the shoot and root formation was better in this species in absence of plant growth regulators. Probably this response is due to the endogenous hormone levels in the tissues or due to the kind and concentrations of PGRs used were too low to induce positive morphogenetic responses.

Are recent graduates enough prepared to perform obstetric skills in their rural and compulsory year? A study from Ecuador

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to assess the possible mismatch of obstetrical skills between the training offered in Ecuadorian medical schools and the tasks required for compulsory rural service.SettingPrimary...

Begomovirus diversity in tomato crops and weeds in Ecuador and the detection of a recombinant isolate of rhynchosia golden mosaic Yucatan virus infecting tomato

Viral diseases caused by begomoviruses are of economic importance due to their adverse effects on the production of tropical and subtropical crops. In Ecuador, despite reports of significant infestations of Bemisia tabaci in the late 1990s, only very recently has a begomovirus, tomato leaf deformation virus (ToLDeV, also present in Peru), been reported in tomato. ToLDeV is the first monopartite begomovirus discovered that originated in the Americas, and its presence in Ecuador highlights the need for a wider survey of tomato-infecting begomoviruses in this country. Tomato and weed samples were collected in 2010 and 2011 in six provinces of Ecuador, and begomovirus genomes were cloned and sequenced using a rolling-circle-amplification-based approach. Most tomato samples from the provinces of Guayas, Loja, Manabi and Santa Elena were infected with tomato leaf deformation virus (ToLDeV). One sample from Manabi had a triple infection with ToLDeV, rhynchosia golden mosaic Yucatan virus (RhGMYuV) and an isolate that was a recombinant between the two. A new begomovirus was detected in another tomato sample from Manabi. Samples of Rhynchosia sp. from the provinces of Guayas and Manabi were infected by RhGMYuV. These results indicate not only the prevalence of ToLDeV in tomato in Ecuador but also the presence of other viruses, albeit at a much lower frequency.

La sequía en el Ecuador

Desde 1944, año en que se creó la Caja Nacional de Riego, el Ecuador todavía no logra una Ley de Riego para las regiones pobres en zonas secas o alejadas de las fuentes naturales de agua. Solamente en las provincias del Guayas, Manabí y Los Ríos las deficiencias de riego alcanzan a un millón de hectáreas según el MAGAP en el último Censo Agropecuario. Sin embargo, podríamos regar 150 mil ha de esa gran área seca y poblada, solamente con descargar 145m3/s de la Presa Daule Peripa (3036 Hm3 anuales), que, de otro modo, paradójicamente se perdería diariamente una parte de ese volumen en el Océano. Una extensión similar en las estribaciones de Bolívar y Loja y en el valle interandino, han agotado sus fuentes de agua originales, a pesar de que existen cuencas vecinas en las estribaciones cuyos inmensos ríos vierten al Océano Atlántico. En el otro extremo de la paradoja, está el paradigma mediático sobre las inundaciones como el único riesgo existente de tipo Hidro meteorológico, mientras las ciudades como Guayaquil se saturan de inmigrantes de esas provincias que huyen por falta de agua para sus tierras y ganado.

Costume and history in highland Ecuador

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Ann Pollard Rowe Chapter 1. Ecuador before the Incas The Geography of Ecuador Karen Olsen Bruhns An Introduction to the Archaeology of Ecuador Karen Olsen Bruhns Costume in Ecuador before the Incas Karen Olsen Bruhns Evidence for Pre-Inca Textiles Ann Pollard Rowe Chapter 2. Ecuador under the Inca Empire The Incas in Quito John Howland Rowe Costume under the Inca Empire Ann Pollard Rowe Chapter 3. Ecuador under the Spanish Empire An Introduction to the History of Colonial Ecuador Suzanne Austin Colonial Costume Lynn A. Meisch Chapter 4. Historical Developments in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Ecuador Margaret Young-Sanchez Chapter 5. Carchi Province (Ecuador) and the Department of Narino (Colombia) Joanne Rappaport Chapter 6. Costume in Imbabura Province Otavalo Lynn A. Meisch Natabuela Ann Pollard Rowe Eastern Imbabura and Northeastern Pichincha Provinces Lynn A. Meisch and Ann Pollard Rowe Chapter 7. Costume in Southern Pichincha Province Ann Pollard Rowe Chapter 8. Costume in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Bolivar Provinces Ann Pollard Rowe Chapter 9. Costume in Chimborazo and Canar Provinces Ann Pollard Rowe Chapter 10. Azuay Province The Cholos of Azuay: Historical Introduction Margaret Young-Sanchez Historic Costume in Azuay Lynn A. Meisch and Ann Pollard Rowe Chapter 11. Saraguro Costume in Loja Province Lynn A. Meisch Conclusions Ann Pollard Rowe Notes Glossary Ann Pollard Rowe References Cited Contributors Index

Molecular differentiation of Entamoeba spp. in a rural community of Loja province, South Ecuador

Although previous epidemiological surveys in Ecuador indicate the presence of Entamoeba histolytica, prevalence data of this parasite remain scarce. Most of the studies were based on microscopic examination, which does not allow a morphological differentiation from the non-pathogenic Ent. dispar and Ent. moshkovskii. In the present study, 674 stool samples from a South Ecuadorian rural community were screened for Entamoeba spp. Subsequently, molecular identification was performed on 101 samples containing Ent. histolytica/Ent. dispar/Ent. moshkovskii cysts . The study indicated the absence of Ent. histolytica in this South Ecuadorian community and confirmed the difficulty of differentiating Entamoeba spp. based on morphological features.

Mammalia, Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae, Lonchophylla hesperia G. M. Allen, 1908: second record of the Western Nectar Bat in Ecuador after 70 years

Herein we report the second record for Lonchophylla hesperia in Ecuador, and the first one since 1939. We captured an adult male in a mountainous dry valley at Comunidad San Jacinto, Catamayo Valley, Loja Province, southwestern Ecuador. The dominant landscape consists of agricultural lands, mainly of corn fields and pastures; while the natural forest is restricted to small patches. A description of the species’ shelter and a predictive distribution model in Peru and Ecuador are presented, indicating the areas between the two countries were the habitat is climatically suitable for its presence.

First Report of Potato yellowing virus (Genus Ilarvirus) in Solanum phureja from Ecuador.

A bacilliform virus, named Potato yellowing virus (PYV), causing chlorosis of leaves was reported in 1992 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) fields in Peru (1) and symptomless wild potatoes (S. fernandezianum) in Chile (4). PYV is reported as an alfamo-like virus (1) (family Bromoviridae) but no sequence information is available for this virus, making its taxonomic position inside the Bromoviridae uncertain (currently this family is organized into five genera: Alfamovirus, Bromovirus, Cucumovirus, Ilarvirus, and Oleavirus). Herein we report the presence of PYV in native potatoes (Solanum phureja) collected from Ecuador where the crop constitutes an important source of income in rural communities. Forty accessions of S. phureja collected in Ecuador in June 1986 and maintained in vitro at the International Potato Center (CIP) germplasm bank were analyzed by double-antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA with antiserum raised against a Peruvian isolate of PYV (1). PYV was detected in six accessions (15% of the material) corresponding to cultivars Chaucha Tomate and Chaucha Blanca (from the province of Cañar), Chaucha Negra Ojona and Chaucha Amarilla (Loja Province), and Cuica and Chaucha (Azuay Province). Mechanical inoculation of the indicator plant Physalis floridiana with leaf extracts of these six plants, a PYV isolate from Peru (1) (positive control), and an additional four plants testing negative for PYV (negative controls) induced symptoms of mosaic and leaf deformation only with the six clones from Ecuador and the PYV isolate from Peru. To further confirm the presence of the virus, we used universal PCR primers designed for the Bromoviridae (Ilar1F5: 5'-GCNGGWTGYGGDAARWCNAC-3' and Ilar1R7: 5'-AMDGGWAYYTGYTYNGTRTCACC-3') that target the helicase motif (RNA1) (3). Total RNA was extracted from 200 mg of leaf material (from potato and mechanically inoculated P. floridiana) using Trizol (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) following the manufacturer's instructions and cDNA was synthesized using random hexamer primers. We obtained a reverse transcription-PCR amplified band only from samples that were DAS-ELISA positive to PYV. To identify the virus at the genus level, we cloned the PCR fragments (265 nucleotides) from four of the samples from Ecuador and the Peruvian isolate into plasmid vectors (pGEM-T Easy Vector cloning system; Promega, Madison, WI) for Sanger sequencing (Macrogen, Seoul, Korea). Phylogenetic analysis grouped PYV sequences with those of the genus Ilarvirus. Among the ilarviruses, Fragaria chiloensis latent virus (2) was the closest relative of PYV, with which it shares 77% nucleotide and 85% amino acid sequence identity. PYV isolates from Ecuador split into two different variants (91% identity) that shared 93% nucleotide and 99% amino acid sequence identity with the Peruvian isolate. Collectively, the data suggest that PYV is a distinct ilarvirus and that it is more widely spread among South American potatoes than previously suggested. The GenBank Accession Numbers for the sequences described are: HQ141053 (Loja1), HQ141054 (Azuay), HQ141055 (Cañar), and HQ141056 (Loja2) for the isolates from Ecuador and HQ141057 (PYV-Cañete) for the isolate from Peru.

Adiciones a La Flora De Briófitas Del Ecuador

Abstract Based on a floristic study of bryophytes from southern Ecuador, we report eight species new to the country (Mastigolejeunea auriculata, Metzgeria cylindra, M. saccata, Plagiochila martiana, Porella leiboldii, Riccia crassifrons, Sematophyllum steyermarkii, Zoopsidella caledonica), nine new to southern Ecuador and several new to the provinces of El Oro, Loja or Zamora Chinchipe. Metzgeria saccata and Zoopsidella caledonica are recorded for the first time in the New World. Fissidens hydropogon and Lepidopilum caviusculum, two rare rheophytic mosses collected by Richard Spruce in the province of Pastaza (rio Bombanasa) in 1857 and never seen again since, are newly reported from the province of Zamora Chinchipe (rio Nangaritza).

Sex, Subdivision, and Domestic Dispersal of Trypanosoma cruzi Lineage I in Southern Ecuador

BackgroundMolecular epidemiology at the community level has an important guiding role in zoonotic disease control programmes where genetic markers are suitably variable to unravel the dynamics of local transmission. We evaluated the molecular diversity of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, in southern Ecuador (Loja Province). This kinetoplastid parasite has traditionally been a paradigm for clonal population structure in pathogenic organisms. However, the presence of naturally occurring hybrids, mitochondrial introgression, and evidence of genetic exchange in the laboratory question this dogma.Methodology/Principal FindingsEighty-one parasite isolates from domiciliary, peridomiciliary, and sylvatic triatomines and mammals were genotyped across 10 variable microsatellite loci. Two discrete parasite populations were defined: one predominantly composed of isolates from domestic and peridomestic foci, and another predominantly composed of isolates from sylvatic foci. Spatial genetic variation was absent from the former, suggesting rapid parasite dispersal across our study area. Furthermore, linkage equilibrium between loci, Hardy-Weinberg allele frequencies at individual loci, and a lack of repeated genotypes are indicative of frequent genetic exchange among individuals in the domestic/peridomestic population.Conclusions/SignificanceThese data represent novel population-level evidence of an extant capacity for sex among natural cycles of T. cruzi transmission. As such they have dramatic implications for our understanding of the fundamental genetics of this parasite. Our data also elucidate local disease transmission, whereby passive anthropogenic domestic mammal and triatomine dispersal across our study area is likely to account for the rapid domestic/peridomestic spread of the parasite. Finally we discuss how this, and the observed subdivision between sympatric sylvatic and domestic/peridomestic foci, can inform efforts at Chagas disease control in Ecuador.

Descubrimiento de dos poblaciones sobrevivientes de Sapos Arlequín (Amphibia: Bufonidae: Atelopus) en los Andes de Ecuador

Reportamos la presencia de nuevas poblaciones de sapos arlequines pertenecientes a las especies Atelopuspalmatus y A. nepiozomus en las provincias de Pastaza y Loja respectivamente. Estos nuevos hallazgos permiten re-evaluar y corroborar el estado de conservación de estas especies. La información aquí reportada es una contribución al conocimiento del género Atelopus sobre el cual existe todavía importantes vacíos de información sobre su taxonomía, sistemática e historia natural.

Phenotypic Variability of Rhodnius ecuadoriensis Populations at the Ecuadorian Central and Southern Andean Region

Rhodnius ecuadoriensis is an important vector of Chagas disease in Ecuador. Whereas only sylvatic and peridomestic populations are common in Manabi province, this species occupies domestic, peridomestic, and sylvatic habitats in Loja province where high reinfestation of houses was observed. To explore the existence of phenetic changes linked to the domiciliation of the species, this study set out to analyze the wing and antennal phenotypes of R. ecuadoriensis in these two provinces where the vector presents different affinity for domestic habitats. The antennal phenotype and the wing size and shape distinguish the two geographical populations of R. ecuadoriensis. In Manabí, sylvatic and peridomestic specimens were very similar. In Loja, sylvatic and nonsylvatic (domestic and peridomestic) populations showed distinctive characteristics. Remarkable sexual dimorphism of wing and antenna, exclusive of domestic specimens, and high metric disparity in the wing shape of the domestic females point out the existence of a particular situation in this habitat. The results of this phenotypic analysis and previous evidence of behavioral differences support the hypothesis of disruptive selection acting upon R. ecuadoriensis populations.

A new species of Mountain Viscacha (Chinchillidae: Lagidium Meyen) from the Ecuadorean Andes

A new species of mountain viscacha, Lagidium ahuacaense, is described based on a specimen and a mitochondrial cytochrome b (cyt b) sequence obtained from a second individual from Cerro El Ahuaca, Loja Province, Ecuador. In several external and craniodental measurements, the new species differed significantly from the three congeneric species (greatest length of skull, basilar, nasal length, palatilar length, length of diastema, least interorbital breadth, breadth of rostrum and skull height). The cyt b sequence of the Ecuadorean viscacha differed by 14 exclusive nucleotide substitutions from all other sequences of Lagidium examined. Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) genetic distances of the Ecuadorean sequence were 8.1–11.0% to L. peruanum, 7.9–9.9% to L. viscacia and 9.7% to L. wolffsohni. The single known population of the newly described species may not comprise more than a few dozen individuals and warrants urgent conservation actions.

Presence ofRhodnius ecuadoriensisin Sylvatic Habitats in the Southern Highlands (Loja Province) of Ecuador

The main vectors of Chagas disease in Ecuador are Triatoma dimidiata and Rhodnius ecuadoriensis. The latter species occupies domestic and peridomestic habitats, as well as sylvatic ecotopes--particularly associated with Phytelephas aequatorialis palm trees--in the western coastal region of Ecuador. In the southern highlands, however, such palm tree habitats are uncommon, and sylvatic populations of R. ecuadoriensis have not previously been reported to date. This study was carried out in five rural communities in Loja Province in southern Ecuador, where manual triatomine searches were conducted in various sylvatic habitats. A total of 81 squirrel nests (Sciurus stramineus) and > 200 bird nests and other habitats were searched. One hundred three R. ecuadoriensis individuals were found in 11 squirrel nests (infestation index = 13.6%, density = 2 bugs per nest searched, crowding = 9.5 bugs per infested nest, colonization index = 72.7% of infested nests with nymphs). No triatomines were found in bird nests or other sylvatic habitats. The presence of sylvatic R. ecuadoriensis in the southern highlands of Ecuador has important implications for the long-term control of Chagas disease in the region because of the possibility of reinfestation of dwellings after insecticide-based control interventions.

Shadows of the colonial past – diverging plant use in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador

This paper examines the traditional use of medicinal plants in Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador, with special focus on the Departments of Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Cajamarca, and San Martin, and in Loja province, with special focus on the development since the early colonial period. Northern Peru represents the locus of the old Central Andean "Health Axis." The roots of traditional healing practices in this region go as far back as the Cupisnique culture early in the first millennium BC.Northern Peru and Southern Ecuador share the same cultural context and flora but show striking differences in plant use and traditional knowledge. Two hundred fifteen plant species used for medicinal purposes in Ecuador and 510 plant species used for medicinal purposes in Peru were collected, identified,. and their vernacular names, traditional uses, and applications recorded. This number of species indicates that the healers, market vendors, and members of the public interviewed in Peru still have a very high knowledge of plants in their surroundings, which can be seen as a reflection of the knowledge of the population in general. In Ecuador much of the original plant knowledge has already been lost.In Peru, 433 (85%) were Dicotyledons, 46 (9%) Monocotyledons, 21 (4%) Pteridophytes, and 5 (1%) Gymnosperms. Three species of Giartina (Algae) and one species of the Lichen genus Siphula were used. The families best represented were Asteraceae with 69 species, Fabaceae (35), Lamiaceae (25), and Solanaceae (21). Euphorbiaceae had 12 species, and Poaceae and Apiaceae each accounted for 11 species. In Ecuador the families best represented were Asteraceae (32 species), Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, and Solanaceae (11 species each), and Apiaceae, Fabaceae, Lycopodiaceae (9 species each). One hundred eighty-two (85%) of the species used were Dicotyledons, 20 Monocotyledons (9.3%), 12 ferns (5.5%), and one unidentified lichen was used.Most of the plants used (83%) were native to Peru and Ecuador. Fresh plants, often collected wild, were used in two thirds of all cases in Peru, but in almost 95% of the cases in Ecuador. The most common applications included the ingestion of herb decoctions or the application of plant material as poultices.Although about 50% of the plants in use in the colonial period have disappeared from the popular pharmacopoeia, the overall number of plant species used medicinally has increased in Northern Peru, while Southern Ecuador shows a decline of plant knowledge since colonial times.

Estudio florístico de los páramos de pajonal meridionales de Ecuador

El presente trabajo es un estudio de la flora de los páramos de pajonal seriales de distintos macizos montañosos de los Andes del Sur de Ecuador (provincias de Azuay y Loja) comprendidos entre los 2850 m y 3635 m. Fueron identificadas 43 familias de plantas vasculares, 120 géneros y 216 especies. La flora local es comparada con la de otros páramos de pajonal andinos; la riqueza florística (géneros y especies) es analizada por tramos altitudinales y se establece la flora característica de cada tramo del territorio estudiado. De forma complementaria, discutimos las influencias biogeográficas de la flora de los páramos de pajonal.

TRACING THE GENETIC BASE OF CHERIMOYA (ANNONA CHERIMOLA) COMMERCIAL CULTIVARS THROUGH AFLP ANALYSIS OF DIVERSITY AT THE SPECIES' PUTATIVE CENTER OF ORIGIN

Cherimoya is an Andean fruit whose economic importance is increasing worldwide. Loja province, in southern Ecuador, is considered to be this species' center of origin due to the presence of great morphological variation of the fruit. This study analyzes the genetic diversity in this region at the molecular level and compares it with representative cherimoya cultivars. Principal coordinate and cluster analysis separated commercial cultivars and some Loja genotypes from the majority of Loja accessions; indicating that there is a relationship between commercial cultivars and native material from Loja province; however, a different genetic pool is present in Loja that could be used in a breeding program for this species. The genetic variation among cherimoya cultivars is limited in comparison to that of material from the Loja province.