Eric G. Cosio

Pontifical Catholic University of Peru | PUCP · Department of Science

Monitoring actual evapotranspiration (ET) is critical for the accurate assessment of water availability and water resources management, especially in areas with dry climates and frequent droughts. The Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) has been used over several land and climate conditions, and is able to estimate ET at field scale w...

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key process linking surface and atmospheric energy budgets, yet its drivers and patterns across wetlandscapes are poorly understood worldwide. Here we assess the ET dynamics in 12 wetland complexes across South America, revealing major differences under temperate, tropical, and equatorial climates. While net radiation i...

Aldoximes are well-known metabolic precursors for plant defense compounds such as cyanogenic glycosides, glucosinolates, and volatile nitriles. They are also defenses themselves produced in response to herbivory; however, it is unclear whether aldoximes can be stored over a longer term as defense compounds and how plants protect themselves against...

Understanding tropical secondary forest canopy greenness and responses to climatic conditions is important for climate change mitigation, particularly in the tropics where secondary forest growth is a substantial carbon sink and a promoted natural climate solution. We here test three hypotheses: (a) Forest canopy greenness is higher in younger, sec...

Tropical forests face increasing climate risk1,2, yet our ability to predict their response to climate change is limited by poor understanding of their resistance to water stress. Although xylem embolism resistance thresholds (for example, [Formula: see text]50) and hydraulic safety margins (for example, HSM50) are important predictors of drought-i...

• A novel methodology was developed for the application of the geeSEBAL model to very large scales, overcoming the issues associated to domain size selection; • Development of a 20-yr (2002-2021) actual evapotranspiration dataset with complete spatial coverage for South America, providing 8-day evapotranspiration data at 500 m, hereon named geeSEBA...

Ant-plant defensive mutualism is a widely studied phenomenon, where ants protect their host-plants (myrmecophytes) against herbivores in return for the provision of nesting sites and food. However, few studies addressed the influence of ant colonization and herbivory on the plant’s metabolism. We chose the Amazonian plant Tococa quadrialata, living...

p>While tropical forests are undergoing rapid transformation as a result of direct human impacts, many deforested areas are reverting to forest through natural or human-assisted regeneration. This situation provides a window of opportunity to implement forest management strategies to achieve environmental objectives while promoting social developme...

Plants use secondary metabolites such as polyphenols for chemical defense against pathogens and herbivores. Despite their importance in plant pathogen interactions and tolerance to diseases, it remains challenging to detect polyphenols in complex plant tissues. Here, we create molecular sensors for plant polyphenol imaging that are based on near-in...

Biosensors Molecular sensors for plant polyphenol imaging based on near-infrared fluorescent single wall carbon nanotubes are presented by Sebastian Kruss et al. in their Research Article (e202108373).

Biosensoren Molekulare Sensoren für die Bildgebung von Polyphenol in Pflanzen basierend auf nahinfrarotfluoreszierenden einwandigen Kohlenstoffnanoröhren werden von Sebastian Kruss et al. in ihrem Forschungsartikel (e202108373) vorgestellt.

Tropical tree species span a range of life‐history strategies within a fast–slow continuum. The position of a species within this continuum is thought to reflect a negative relationship between growth and storage, with fast‐growing species allocating more carbon to growth and slow‐growing species investing more in storage. For tropical species, the...

Plants use secondary metabolites such as polyphenols for chemical defense against pathogens and herbivores. Despite their importance in plant pathogen interactions and tolerance to diseases, it remains challenging to detect polyphenols in complex plant tissues. Here, we create molecular sensors for plant polyphenol imaging that are based on near‐in...

In traditional, small-scale agriculture in the Andes, potatoes are frequently co-cultivated with the Andean edible tuber Tropaeolum tuberosum, commonly known as mashua, which is believed to exert a pest and disease protective role due to its content of the phenylalanine-derived benzylglucosinolate (BGLS). We bioengineered the production of BGLS in...

Pflanzen nutzen Sekundärmetabolite, wie Polyphenole, zur chemischen Verteidigung gegenüber Pathogenen und Herbivoren. Trotz ihrer wichtigen Rolle bei der Reaktion von Pflanzen auf Pathogene bleibt die Detektion von Polyphenolen in komplexen Pflanzengeweben eine Herausforderung. Hier berichten wir vom Aufbau molekularer Sensoren zur Visualisierung p...

Combination of single-point standard addition calibration and natural internal standardization was investigated as a practical strategy for the quantification of terpenes in Pisco samples using HS-SPME-GC-MS. All GC-MS data were acquired under simultaneous Full Scan and SIM modes using two quantification strategies identified as “reference strategy...

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) are major substrates for plant metabolism and have been implicated in mediating drought-induced tree mortality. Despite their significance, NSC dynamics in tropical forests remain little studied. We present leaf and branch NSC data for 82 Amazon canopy tree species in six sites spanning a broad precipitation gradi...

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a key process linking surface and atmospheric energy budgets, yet its drivers and patterns across wetlandscapes are poorly understood worldwide. Here we assess the ET dynamics in 12 wetlands complexes across South America, revealing major differences under temperate, tropical, and equatorial climates. While net radiation...

Postharvest processing of maca (Lepidium meyenii Walp., Brassicaceae), a traditional high-altitude Andean root crop, involves slow field drying prior to milling into flour. The progressive tissue dehydration and release of hydrolytic enzymes and substrates from cellular compartments results in the slow accumulation of free monosaccharides, fatty ac...

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a small fraction of the solar spectrum, which acts as a key environmental modulator of plant function affecting metabolic regulation and growth. Plant species endemic to the Andes are well adapted to the harsh features of high-altitude climate, including high UV radiation. Maca (Lepidium meyenii Walpers) is a member of...

Increased ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation due to global change can affect plant growth and metabolism. Here, we evaluated the capacity of quinoa to resist under short acute UVB irradiation. Quinoa was daily exposed for 30 or 60 min to 1.69 W m-2 UVB. The results showed that 30 min exposure in 9 d-course did not cause severe alterations on photosynthe...

Fig. S1 Bar plot showing the R dark measurements made on cut and uncut branches. Fig. S2 Results of measurement of R dark from 06:00 to 18:00 h on four genera in Peru and French Guiana (FG).

We constructed a whole carbon budget for a catchment in the Western Amazon Basin, combining drainage water analyses with eddy covariance measured terrestrial CO2 fluxes. As fluvial C export can represent permanent C export it must be included in assessments of whole site C balance, but is rarely done. The footprint area of the flux tower is drained...

We examined whether variations in photosynthetic capacity are linked to variations in the environment and/or associated leaf traits for tropical moist forests ( TMF s) in the Andes/western Amazon regions of Peru. We compared photosynthetic capacity (maximal rate of carboxylation of Rubisco ( V cmax ), and the maximum rate of electron transport ( J...

Leaf dark respiration (Rdark) represents an important component controlling the carbon balance in tropical forests. Here, we test how nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) affect Rdark and its relationship with photosynthesis using three widely separated tropical forests which differ in soil fertility. Rdark was measured on 431 rainforest canopy trees, f...

• Leaf aging is a fundamental driver of changes in leaf traits, thereby, regulating ecosystem processes and remotely-sensed canopy dynamics. • We explore leaf reflectance as a tool to monitor leaf age and develop a spectra-based partial least squares regression (PLSR) model to predict age using data from a phenological study of 1,099 leaves from 1...

Maca, Lepidium meyenii Walpers (Brassicaceae), is an annual herbaceous plant native to the high plateaus of the Peruvian central Andes. Its underground storage hypocotyls have been a traditional medicinal agent and dietary staple since pre-Columbian times. Reported properties include energizing and fertility-enhancing effects. Published reports hav...

Leaf dark respiration (Rdark ) is an important yet poorly quantified component of the global carbon cycle. Given this, we analyzed a new global database of Rdark and associated leaf traits. Data for 899 species were compiled from 100 sites (from the Arctic to the tropics). Several woody and nonwoody plant functional types (PFTs) were represented. M...

Background/Question/Methods As an integral part in carbon cycle, photosynthetic capacity has been increasingly incorporated in vegetation-climate models for predicting ecosystem productivity. To predict variations in photosynthetic capacity over large spatial and temporal scales, assumptions are made on the relationship between photosynthetic cap...

The Neotropical ant Pseudomyrmex triplarinus is involved in an obligate and complex symbiotic association with Triplaris americana trees. The ants inhabit trunk and branch domatia and respond aggressively to foreign invaders. Their degree of host specificity and basis for recognition of host trees has not been studied. We determined that, in contra...

Tropical rainforests are rapidly disappearing. The earth is warming and its climate is changing. Species are going extinct at an alarming rate. Many people live in poverty, with limited access to the basics of life such as clean water, adequate nutrition, shelter, health care, and education. Much has been written on these topics, and the reader may...

A (1 --> 3)-beta-glucan synthase activity was identified in cell membrane preparations from the oomycete Phytophthora sojae, a soybean pathogen. The activity could be solubilized using the zwitterionic detergent CHAPS at relatively low concentrations (3 mg/ml). High salt concentrations were not effective in removing the activity from the membranes....

Microsomal preparations of six species of the plant family Fabaceae were screened for high-affinity binding of branched (1 3), (1 6)--glucans. Oligoglucosides of this type are specific elicitors of phytoalexin accumulation in soybean (Glycine max L.), a member of this family. The species studied were alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), broadbean (Vicia f...

Inducible plant defenses against potential pathogens are thought to be activated by signal compounds released during early stages of the infection process. In the incompatible interaction between soybean (Glycine max L.) and the oomycete Phytophthora megasperma f.sp. glycinea (= Phytophthora sojae) a rapid, localized phytoalexin response is activat...

Plants are equipped with a wide array of constitutive deterrents that include both toxic chemicals and mechanical barriers. In addition to these, there is a complex system of inducible defense responses aimed at stopping herbivores and pathogens. This chapter describes signals, their perception, and transduction in a typical plant defense response....

A hepta-β-glucoside elicitor of phytoalexin accumulation binds with high affinity to the plasma membrane of soybean (Glycine max) cells. One component of the elicitor-binding sites is a protein with an apparent Mr of 70 000 in SDS-PAGE as recently identified by photoaffinity labelling using a photosensitive 125I-labelled 2-(4-azidophenyl) ethylamin...

Soybean (Glycine max L.) tissues respond to infection with the fungus Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea, the pathogen causing stem and root rot in this plant, by the rapid, cultivar-specific activation of a phytoalexin defence response. The phytoalexin response is also expressed in cultured soybean cells following treatment with an elicitor d...

An in-vitro culture system allowing the simultaneous germination of cysts was used to study the early host-independent release of phytoalexin elicitors by Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea, a soybean pathogen. Significant elicitor activity could be detected in the culture medium as early as 2 h after germination of P.m. f. sp. glycinea, race...

A putative receptor protein for a hepta-beta-glucoside phytoalexin elicitor was identified by photoaffinity labeling of detergent-solubilized proteins from soybean root membranes. Incubation of partially purified beta-glucan-binding proteins with a photolabile 125I-labeled 2-(4-azidophenyl)ethyl-amino conjugate of the heptaglucoside elicitor, follo...

A putative receptor protein for a hepta-β-glucoside phytoalexin elicitor was identified by photoaffinity labeling of detergent-solubilized proteins from soybean root membranes. Incubation of partially purified β-glucan-binding proteins with a photolabile 125I-labeled 2-(4-azidophenyl)ethyl-amino conjugate of the heptaglucoside elicitor, followed by...

The biochemical mechanisms of resistance of plants against attack by microorganisms include a wide range of inducible defense responses. One inducible defense mechanism is the production of phytoalexins at the site of attempted infection. A host-parasite system in which phytoalexins have been implicated as one defense factor is soybean (Glycine max...

Soybean membranes possess high-affinity binding sites for fungal beta-glucans that elicit phytoalexin synthesis. The ability of 1,3-1,6-beta-glucans, released by acid hydrolysis from mycelial walls of Phytophthora megasperma f.sp. glycinea, to compete for the putative phytoalexin elicitor receptors increases with their average degree of polymerizat...

Soybean membranes contain high-affinity binding sites for fungal beta-glucans. These sites may play a role in the recognition by soybean tissues of fungal phytoalexin elicitors. We have solubilized beta-glucan-binding activity from microsomal membranes using two C12-alkyl zwitterionic detergents, Zwittergent 3-12 (ZW 3-12) and the lysolecithin anal...

One inducible defence mechanism of soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill) against potential pathogens is the production of isoflavonoid phytoalexins at the site of attempted infection (Ebel 1986; Ebel and Grisebach 1988). Mechanisms underlying phytoalexin formation in this plant and their role in defence have been studied in some detail in two experiment...

Plants possess a variety of defence mechanisms which render them resistant to pathogen attack. One such mechanism is the inducible accumulation of low-molecular-weight antimicrobial compounds known as phytoalexins at the site of attempted infection. The production of isoflavonoid phytoalexins and their role in defence have been studied in some deta...

The majority of polyacetylenes, or polyines, of higher plants occur in members of the plant families Asteraceae, Araliaceae, and Apiaceae. Like many other hydrophobic secondary metabolites, they accumulate outside of plant cells, in intercellular spaces. They share this characteristic with volatile oils, resins, and latices, all of which have prove...

We have recently reported the existence of binding sites in soybean membranes for a β-glucan fraction derived from the fungal pathogen Phytophthora megasperma f. sp. glycinea, which may play a role in the elicitor-mediated phytoalexin response of this plant [Schmidt, W. E. & Ebel, J. (1987) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 84, 4117–4121]. The specificity...

Growth hormone levels were analysed in three crown gall tumor cultures of Chaenactis douglasii (Asteraceae) in relation to polyacetylene accumulation and differentiation. All three tumor cultures, CD-5, CD-7 and CD-8, originated from transformation of stem cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain A277, yet they displayed different morphologies. On...

Thiarubrines are dithiacyclohexadiene polyacetylenes displaying considerable antimicrobial activity. A culture that accumulates these compounds was obtained by selection of red-colored areas from crown gall tumor cultures of Chaenactis douglasii. The tumors were induced by A. tumefaciens strain A277. The main acetylenic products found were two thia...

Mature soybean (Glycine max L. cv Harosoy 63) leaves normally contain kaempferol-3-glycosides but they accumulate no other flavonoids. Whole leaves sprayed with the diphenyl ether herbicide Acifluorfen and maintained in the light developed small necrotic lesions and accumulated isoflavone aglycones, isoflavone glucosides, and pterocarpans. Isoflavo...

Hexokinase (ATP: D-hexose-6-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.1.1) activity was determined in subcellular fractions prepared from pea (Pisum sativum) leaf homogenates. About 60% of the total detectable activity of hexokinase was found associated with a particulate fraction consisting essentially of mitochondria and chloroplasts and free of cytosol contami...

Soybean (Glycine max L.) strains which accumulate kaempferol 3-(2(G)-glucosylgentiobioside) in their leaves fix CO(2) at rates significantly lower than those lacking this compound (Buttery, Buzzell 1976 Crop Sci 16: 547-550), and kaempferol aglycone is a well known inhibitor of photosynthesis in vitro. However, since neither kaempferol nor any of i...

Mesophyll cells were isolated from developing sink leaves (25 to 30 mm in length) of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Will. Leaf strips were incubated for two h in a buffered medium containing osmoticum and 0.2% Pectolyase Y-23. Gently stirring the leaf strips released from 7 to 16% of the total leaf mesophyll cells. Other pectinase enzymes, eff...

Mature soybean (Glycine maxL.cvHarosoy 63)leaves normally contain kaempferol-3-glycosides butthey accumulate noother flavonoids. Wholeleaves sprayed with thediphenyl ether herbicide Acifluorfen and maintained inthelight developed small necrotic lesions andaccumulated isoflavone aglycones, isoflavone glucosides, andpterocarpans. Isoflavon- oidaccumu...

The affinity of soybean β-glucan-binding sites for a synthetic heptaglucan elicitor was tested in a ligand-competition assay against a ¹²⁵I-labeled 1,3-1,6-β-glucan preparation (avg. DP=20). Half-maximal displacement of label (ICââ) was obtained at 9nM heptaglucan, the highest affinity of all fractions tested to date. Displacement followed a...