Geographic origin determination of Brazilian Cannabis sativa L. (Marihuana) by multi-element concentration.

The Marihuana Polygon production of Cannabis sativa L. supplies the northeastern region of Brazil and represents 30% of the nation's market. The international trend of indoor cultivation is also occurring in Brazil, and the Brazilian Federal Police (BFP) has been increasing its apprehension of cannabis seeds sent by mail. The present work aims to assess the utility of the multi-element composition of different cannabis plant parts and soil samples where the plants were cultivated to determine their geographic origin. Statistical tools were applied to classification of marijuana samples from distinct geographic regions within northeastern Brazil, including indoor cultivated samples. The multi-element quantification was determined using inductively-coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and the data were compared by the Kruskal-Wallis H test, and subsequently, multiple discriminant analysis (MDA). The results of the multi-element concentration of cannabis plant samples were also subjected to a principal component analysis (PCA) and an orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The cannabis plant samples from the Marihuana Polygon could be clearly separated from those cultivated indoors, and the distance between them was detectable. The MDA revealed that phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, selenium, and arsenic concentrations were used as variables for this separation. Our results demonstrate that multi-element composition analysis can be used to indicate the origin or cultivation location of cannabis plants. Routine laboratory analyses consisting of multi-element composition combined with statistical analyses provide a reliable tool by which C. sativa movement, cultivation, and interdiction efforts in Brazil may be assessed.

Relationship between honeybee nutrition and their microbial communities.

The microbiota and the functional genes actively involved in the process of breakdown and utilization of pollen grains in beebread and bee guts are not yet understood. The aim of this work was to assess the diversity and community structure of bacteria and archaea in Africanized honeybee guts and beebread as well as to predict the genes involved in the microbial bioprocessing of pollen using state of the art 'post-light' based sequencing technology. A total of 11 bacterial phyla were found within bee guts and 10 bacterial phyla were found within beebread. Although the phylum level comparison shows most phyla in common, a deeper phylogenetic analysis showed greater variation of taxonomic composition. The families Enterobacteriaceae, Ricketsiaceae, Spiroplasmataceae and Bacillaceae, were the main groups responsible for the specificity of the bee gut while the main families responsible for the specificity of the beebread were Neisseriaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Acetobacteraceae and Lactobacillaceae. In terms of microbial community structure, the analysis showed that the communities from the two environments were quite different from each other with only 7 % of species-level taxa shared between bee gut and beebread. The results indicated the presence of a highly specialized and well-adapted microbiota within each bee gut and beebread. The beebread community included a greater relative abundance of genes related to amino acid, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism, suggesting that pollen biodegradation predominantly occurs in the beebread. These results suggests a complex and important relationship between honeybee nutrition and their microbial communities.

Production of selenium-enriched biomass by Enterococcus durans.

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for several organisms, and there is an increased interest about adequate sources for dietary selenium supplementation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the selenium bioaccumulation capacity of an Enterococcus strain. The isolate LAB18s was identified as Enterococcus durans by the VITEK® 2 system and analysis of both 16S rDNA gene sequence (JX503528) and the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer (ITS). After 24-h incubation, E. durans LAB18s bioaccumulated elevated Se(IV) concentrations, reaching 2.60 and 176.97 mg/g in media containing initial amounts of 15 and 240 mg/l sodium selenite, respectively. The isolate grew optimally and had high selenium bioaccumulation at initial pH of 7.0 and 30 °C. Time course studies showed that E. durans LAB18s displayed the highest bioaccumulation of Se(IV) after 6 h of incubation. Analyses from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated the presence of filaments connecting the cells of E. durans LAB18s cultivated in the presence of sodium selenite. It was demonstrated that a considerable amount of Se(IV) was absorbed by E. durans LAB18s. Therefore, this strain may represent an alternative source of organic dietary selenium.