Artigos - Periódicos Diversos

URI permanente desta seçãohttps://sbicafe.ufv.br/handle/123456789/14736

Navegar

Agora exibindo 1 - 20 de 37

Alterations in leaf anatomy and physiology caused by the red mite (Oligonychus ilicis) in plants of Coffea arabica
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2007-06-15) Fahl, Joel I.; Queiroz-Voltan, Rachel B.; Carelli, Maria Luiza C.; Schiavinato, Marlene A.; Prado, Ana K. S.; Souza, Júlio C.
Three degrees of red mite infestation (Oligonychus ilicis McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae) were evaluated with regard to leaf anatomy, photosynthetic gas exchange and leaf ethylene production, in a commercial crop of approximately 12-year-old trees of Coffea arabica 'Catuaí Vermelho'. As a complementary study, foliar anatomy was also evaluated in a recuperated crop of C. arabica 'Mundo Novo' that had presented a high degree of red mite infestation during the dry period of the prior growing season. The red mite-infested leaves were bronze-coloured, with intensity proportional to the degree of internal damage. On feeding, the red mite introduces its stylet in the adaxial epidermis and, as a result, chloroplasts are destroyed in the feeding area. The number of chlorophyll-free cells in the palisade parenchyma was proportional to the intensity of attack by red mites. The cells of the spongy parenchyma, localized below the feeding areas of the mites, did not show any alterations, having intact chloroplasts, with the exception of some leaves that suffered from intense attack. Net photosynthesis rate declined, but only in leaves under intense red mite attack, due to destruction of chloroplasts in the attacked cells. Nevertheless, transpiration and stomatal conductance were unaffected by red mite. The concentrations of ethylene produced by the leaves were similar regardless of three levels of attack, suggesting that red mite infestation does not lead to leaf abscission. In addition, anatomical studies of 'Mundo Novo' leaves of plants that visually recovered from red mite attack showed that, even with scars present, they continued attached on the plant.
Aspects of nitrogen metabolism in coffee plants
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06) Carelli, Maria Luiza Carvalho; Fahl, Joel Irineu; Ramalho, José D. Cochicho
Coffee plants are highly N-demanding plants. Despite the importance of N nutrition for the development, acclimation and yield of coffee plants, there are few reports concerning N metabolism in this species. In this review, our intention is to summarize the information available in the literature and to point out the influence of environmental conditions on N assimilation, as well as comment and discuss some apparently contradictory results and raise and enlighten queries about N assimilation in coffee plants.
Atrativo para as abelhas Apis mellifera e polinização em café (Coffea arabica L.)
(Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia / Universidade de São Paulo, 2004-04-29) Malerbo-Souza, Darclet Teresinha; Nogueira-Couto, Regina Helena; Couto, Leoman Almeida; Souza, Julio César de
O presente experimento foi conduzido em Jaboticabal, SP, e teve como objetivos estudar uma cultura de café (Coffea arabica L., var. Mundo Novo), quanto à biologia floral, a freqüência e comportamento dos insetos na flor, testar o produto Bee-HereR (Hoescht Shering Agrevo do Brasil Ltda) quanto a sua atratividade para as abelhas Apis mellifera e verificar a produção de frutos com e sem a visita dos insetos. Para isso, foram verificados o tempo do desenvolvimento e quantidade de açúcar solúvel do néctar das flores; freqüência das visitações dos insetos, no decorrer do dia, por meio de contagem do número de insetos visitando as flores, a cada 60 minutos, das 8 às 17 horas, 10 minutos em cada horário; tempo (em segundos) e tipo de coleta (néctar e/ou pólen) dos insetos mais freqüentes; perda de botões florais; porcentagem de flores que se transformaram em frutos; tempo de formação e contagem dos grãos de café, observando-se a porcentagem de frutificação em flores visitadas ou não pelos insetos. Também foram realizados testes por pulverização utilizando-se o produto Bee-HereR , diluído em xarope e em água, em diferentes horários. A flor durou, em média, cerca de 3 dias desde sua abertura até o murchamento. A quantidade de açúcares do néctar apresentou diferença significativa entre os horários, sendo maior às 8 horas (em média, 102,18 ± 8,75 mg de carboidratos totais por flor). A abelha A. mellifera foi o inseto mais freqüente nas flores de café, coletando, principalmente, néctar no decorrer do dia. A perda de botões florais causada pelas chuvas foi, em média, 26,50 ± 11,70%. O tempo para a formação do fruto foi 6 meses e o número de frutos decorrentes do tratamento descoberto foi maior (38,79% e 168,38%, em 1993 e 1994, respectivamente) que do tratamento coberto. Apesar da eficiência do produto Bee-HereR ser afetada pelas condições climáticas, ele pode ser usado para atrair as abelhas A. mellifera na cultura.
Autonomy and network modulation of photosynthesis and water relations of Coffea arabica in the field
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2008-08-07) Camargo-Bortolin, Lívia H.G. de; Prado, Carlos H.B. A.; Souza, Gustavo M.; Novaes, Paula
The degree of connection between leaf gas exchange and leaf water potential, and the autonomy of these variables in relation to meteorological conditions were determined in three cultivars of Coffea arabica during clear and cloudy days. High values of vapor pressure deficit, air temperature and photosynthetic photon flux density resulted in low leaf autonomy during a clear day, irrespective the degree of connection among leaf physiological variables. Tight synchronization between physiological and meteorological variables was considered one important cause of net photosynthesis (P N) decreasing during a clear day. In contrast, diurnal P N was around three times higher on a cloudy day, when all cultivars presented high autonomy. Principal component analyses corroborated autonomy results revealing unambiguous opposition between leaf physiological and meteorological vectors, besides less leaf physiological variability throughout the clear day. Despite these general responses during clear and cloudy days, there were significant differences among studied cultivars. Leaf autonomy was an important reference to evaluate C. arabica under environmental stress and should be taken into account when selecting cultivars under field conditions.
Avaliação do efeito da cafeína no teste vestibular
(ABORL-CCF Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial, 2006-07-26) Felipe, Lilian; Simões, Lilia Correia; Gonçalves, Denise Utsch; Mancini, Patrícia Cotta
Há controvérsias sobre a interferência da cafeína no teste vestibular. O café é a fonte mais rica em cafeína. Enquanto em alguns serviços os pacientes são orientados a suspender a ingestão de café 24 a 48 horas antes da realização do teste, outros não consideram necessária a suspensão da ingestão dessa bebida. OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito da cafeína no resultado do teste vestibular. FORMA DE ESTUDO: clínico com coorte transversal. MATERIAL E MÉTODO: Estudo comparativo, transversal, pareado. O teste vestibular foi realizado em duplicidade, com intervalo máximo de cinco dias entre um e outro exame. No primeiro teste, os pacientes foram orientados a não ingerir café 24 horas antes do exame; no segundo teste, os pacientes foram orientados a beber café como de costume. Todos os participantes tinham indicação clínica de se submeter ao teste vestibular e tinham o hábito de tomar café. RESULTADOS: Participaram do estudo 19 mulheres com idade média de 49,5 anos. O consumo médio de café foi de três xícaras por dia. As queixas de ansiedade e cefaléia foram associadas ao teste realizado com suspensão do café. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante nos resultados dos exames realizados com e sem ingestão de café. CONCLUSÃO: A ingestão moderada de café não interferiu no resultado do teste vestibular. Considerando ser recomendável que o paciente esteja tranqüilo ao se submeter ao teste vestibular e que a meia-vida da cafeína é de apenas seis horas, sugerimos que a orientação para a suspensão súbita e completa da ingestão moderada de café antes do teste vestibular para os indivíduos habituados à ingestão diária seja reavaliada.
Biological activities of the fermentation extract of the endophytic fungus Alternaria alternata isolated from Coffea arabica L.
(Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, 2009-12) Fernandes, Maurette dos Reis Vieira; Silva, Tales Alexandre Costa e; Pfenning, Ludwig Heinrich; Costa-Neto, Cláudio Miguel da; Heinrich, Tassiela Andréa; Alencar, Severino Matias de; Lima, Marisa Aparecida de; Ikegaki, Masaharu
A total of 22 endophytic fungi isolated from coffee (Coffea arabica L.) were cultivated in vitro and their crude extracts tested. The screening was carried out using the agar diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. The most effective isolate was Alternaria alternata, and subsequently, its extract was assayed. The total phenolic content was 3.44 μg GAE/mg of the crude extract. For the antibacterial and antifungal activity assays, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations (MBC and MFC) were determined. The ranges of MIC values were 50-100 μg/mL for S. aureus and 400-800 μg/mL for E. coli. The extract did not show activity in the tested concentrations for C. albicans. The fungal crude extract was assayed for antioxidant activities. Its ability to scavenge DPPH radicals and antioxidant activity by β-carotene/linoleic acid system oxidation was not significant. In addition, antitumor activity was studied using the MTT assay. At a dilution of 400 μg/mL, the extract displayed a cytotoxic activity of approximately 50% towards HeLa cells in vitro. The results indicate that endophytic fungi could be a promising source of bioactive compounds and warrant further study.
Bioreactors in coffee micropropagation
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06) Etienne, Hervé; Dechamp, E.; Barry-Etienne, D.; Bertrand, Bernóit
In coffee, bioreactors are the most promising way for scaling-up micropropagation processes, particularly somatic embryogenesis. The availability of an efficient somatic embryogenesis process would allow the rapid mass production of heterozygous materials such as selected Coffea canephora clones and F1 Arabica hybrid varieties. For the last fifteen years, bioreactors (mechanically or pneumatically agitated bioreactors, temporary immersion bioreactors) have mostly been used on coffee to optimize the mass regeneration of somatic embryos from embryogenic tissues. This review presents the main results, obtained with several bioreactor models, concerning the different steps of the micropropagation process : i) the multiplication of embryogenic tissues, ii) the somatic embryo mass regeneration and iii) the production of pre-germinated embryos and plantlets in bioreactors. The literature shows that scaling-up can be successful, since very efficient embryo production has been achieved for both C. arabica and C. canephora. Moreover, it was proven that the pre-germinated coffee embryos - i.e. embryonic axis elongation (10-12 mm), root tip formation, cotyledon expansion and greening - obtained in temporary immersion bioreactors were photoautotrophic and able to regenerate vigorous plantlets after sowing under nursery conditions. The feasibility to apply the bioreactor technology in an industrial micropropagation procedure is also discussed in the particular socio-economic context of coffee growing.
Brazilian coffee genome project: an EST-based genomic resource
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06) Vieira, Luiz Gonzaga Esteves; Andrade, Alan Carvalho; Colombo, Carlos Augusto; Moraes, Ana Heloneida de Araújo; Metha, Ângela; Oliveira, Angélica Carvalho de; Labate, Carlos Alberto; Marino, Celso Luis; Monteiro-Vitorello, Claúdia de Barros; Monte, Damares de Castro; Giglioti, Éder; Kimura, Edna Teruko; Romano, Eduardo; Kuramae, Eiko Eurya; Lemos, Eliana Gertrudes Macedo; Almeida, Elionor Rita Pereira de; Jorge, Érika C.; Albuquerque, Érika V. S.; Silva, Felipe Rodrigues da; Vinecky, Felipe; Sawazaki, Haiko Enok; Dorry, Hamza Fahmi A.; Carrer, Helaine; Abreu, Ilka Nacif; Batista, João A. N.; Teixeira, João Batista; Kitajima, João Paulo; Xavier, Karem Guimarães; Lima, Liziane Maria de; Camargo, Luis Eduardo Aranha de; Pereira, Luiz Filipe Protasio; Coutinho, Luiz Lehmann; Lemos, Manoel Victor Franco; Romano, Marcelo Ribeiro; Machado, Marcos Antonio; Costa, Marcos Mota do Carmo; Sá, Maria Fátima Grossi de; Goldman, Maria Helena S.; Ferro, Maria Inês T.; Tinoco, Maria Laine Penha; Oliveira, Mariana C.; Sluys, Marie-Anne Van; Shimizu, Milton Massao; Maluf, Mirian Perez; Eira, Mirian Therezinha Souza da; Guerreiro Filho, Oliveiro; Arruda, Paulo; Mazzafera, Paulo; Mariani, Pilar Drummond Sampaio Correa; Oliveira, Regina L.B.C. de; Harakava, Ricardo; Balbao, Silvia Filippi; Tsai, Siu Mui; Mauro, Sonia Marli Zingaretti di; Santos, Suzana Neiva; Siqueira, Walter José; Costa, Gustavo Gilson Lacerda; Formighieri, Eduardo Fernandes; Carazzolle, Marcelo Falsarella; Pereira, Gonçalo Amarante Guimarães
Coffee is one of the most valuable agricultural commodities and ranks second on international trade exchanges. The genus Coffea belongs to the Rubiaceae family which includes other important plants. The genus contains about 100 species but commercial production is based only on two species, Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora that represent about 70 % and 30 % of the total coffee market, respectively. The Brazilian Coffee Genome Project was designed with the objective of making modern genomics resources available to the coffee scientific community, working on different aspects of the coffee production chain. We have single-pass sequenced a total of 214,964 randomly picked clones from 37 cDNA libraries of C. arabica, C. canephora and C. racemosa, representing specific stages of cells and plant development that after trimming resulted in 130,792, 12,381 and 10,566 sequences for each species, respectively. The ESTs clustered into 17,982 clusters and 32,155 singletons. Blast analysis of these sequences revealed that 22 % had no significant matches to sequences in the National Center for Biotechnology Information database (of known or unknown function). The generated coffee EST database resulted in the identification of close to 33,000 different unigenes. Annotated sequencing results have been stored in an online database at http://www.lge.ibi.unicamp.br/cafe. Resources developed in this project provide genetic and genomic tools that may hold the key to the sustainability, competitiveness and future viability of the coffee industry in local and international markets.
Coffee biotechnology
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06-14) Santos-Briones, César De Los; Hernández-Sotomayor, S. M. Teresa
In the last three decades, interest has turned to in vitro cell culture in different areas of coffee research. In vitro techniques have been applied not only for coffee improvement through genetic transformation but also to study various aspects in coffee cells such as chemical (caffeine synthesis and the production of coffee aroma), physiological and more recently, biochemical aspects. The most important advances obtained to date on in vitro coffee techniques in fields like biochemistry, physiology, regeneration systems and genetic engineering, are presented and discussed.
Coffee carbohydrates
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06-14) Redgwell, Robert; Fischer, Monica
This review summarises recent advances in the chemistry, physiology and molecular properties of coffee carbohydrates with a particular focus on the cell wall polysaccharides. The results of detailed chemical studies have demonstrated novel structural features of both the galactomannans and the arabinogalactan polysaccharides of the green and roasted coffee bean. For the first time immunological probes based on monoclonal antibodies for specific polysaccharide epitopes were used to reveal the patterns of distribution of the galactomannans, arabinogalactans and pectic polysaccharides in the coffee bean cell wall. Finally, the results of physiological and molecular studies are presented which emphasise the growing awareness of the potential role the metabolic status of the green bean may play in final coffee beverage quality.
Coffee leaf miner resistance
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06) Guerreiro Filho, Oliveiro
The coffee leaf miner, Leucoptera coffeella, is a common pest of coffee plantations in Brazil. Though it is effective, chemical control substantially increases the cost of production and constitutes a significant risk for the environment. Resistant coffee cultivars have been and continue being developed through classic and molecular selection techniques. Basic knowledge about the biology of this insect, the damage it causes to the plants, the identification of sources of resistance, the development of efficient selection methods and knowledge about the genetics of resistance have contributed to the efficiency of the ongoing genetic improvement programs. Recently, coffee genomics studies have also promoted an improvement in the efficiency of the development of cultivars resistant to this insect. We present a short review of each of these aspects of the search for resistance.
Coffee resistance to the main diseases: leaf rust and coffee berry disease
(Sociedade Brasileira de Fisiologia Vegetal, 2006-06-14) Silva, Maria do Céu; Várzea, Victor; Guerra-Guimarães, Leonor; Azinheira, Helena Gil; Fernandez, Diana; Petitot, Anne-Sophie; Bertrand, Benoit; Lashermes, Philippe; Nicole, Michel
Considerable success has been obtained in the use of classical breeding to control economically important plant diseases, such as the coffee leaf rust and the coffee berry disease (CBD). There is a strong consensus that growing genetically resistant varieties is the most appropriate cost effective means of managing plant diseases and is one of the key components of crop improvement. It has also been recognized that a better knowledge of both, the pathogens and the plant defence mechanisms will allow the development of novel approaches to enhance the durability of resistance. After a brief description of concepts in the field of plant disease resistance, we attempt to give a view of the research progress on coffee leaf rust and CBD concerned with the pathogens infection and variability, coffee breeding for resistance and coffee resistance mechanisms.
Coffee seed physiology
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06) Eira, Mirian T. S.; Silva, E. A. Amaral da; Castro, Renato D. De; Dussert, Stéphane; Walters, Christina; Bewley, J. Derek; Hilhorst, Henk W. M.
Considerable advances in our understanding of coffee seed physiology have been made in recent years. However, despite intense research efforts, there are many aspects that remain unclear. This paper gives an overview of the current understanding of the more important features concerning coffee seed physiology, and provides information on recent findings on seed development, germination, storage and longevity.
Comunidade de Consumo de Apreciação e Sua Dinâmica
(Fundação Escola de Comércio Álvares Penteado, 2017) Quintão, Ronan Torres; Brito, Eliane Pereira Zamith; Belk, Russel W.
Objetivo: O estudo tem como objetivo identificar e explicar as forças e tensões entre os membros da comunidade de consumo de apreciação e sua dinâmica. Delineamento/metodologia/abordagem: Adotando uma abordagem naturalista de investigação, foi realizada uma extensa pesquisa de campo, observando e entrevistando consumidores e profissionais em cafeterias independentes na América do Norte: Toronto, Montreal, Seattle e Nova York, de agosto de 2013 a julho de 2014. Achados: A pesquisa descreve a comunidade de consumo de apreciação e explica suas forças, que são a educação, a emulação e as tensões entre os membros da comunidade. Originalidade/valor: Nossos resultados explicam o comportamento do consumidor amador e a relação desses amadores com os profissionais e com o público durante suas práticas de consumo. Contribuímos para o avanço do estudo de comunidades de consumo heterogêneas, revelando as tensões entre os membros da comunidade e a produção de capital subcultural e social. Nossa pesquisa contribui para o campo da cultura de consumo, aumentando o conhecimento desse fenômeno social de consumo.
Cytogenetics of coffee
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06) Pinto-Maglio, Cecília A. F.
The genus Coffea L. has around 100 native species distributed in tropical and subtropical areas in Africa, and the most important economic species are C. arabica and C. canephora. C. arabica is exceptional in the genus since it is the only species so far analyzed which is self-compatible, and a natural polyploid with 2n=4x=44 chromosomes; it is considered to be a segmental allopolyploid because it presents a disomic inheritance and a regular meiotic behavior. All other species in the genus are self-incompatible diploids with 2n=2x=22. Cytogenetic studies in Coffea, undertaken since 1912, have followed various phases: initial studies were limited only to establishing chromosome counts. Subsequent studies characterized the karyotypes of various species using conventional cytological techniques. As the somatic metaphase chromosomes of coffee are very small (1 - 3 µm) and morphologically symmetrical, these studies resulted in uniform karyotypes that show almost no differences among species. Since genetic improvement of coffee trees has progressed mainly by means of interspecific hybridizations involving wild species, analyses of microsporogenesis in species and hybrids were needed to establish their genetic affinity and relationships. The first successful attempts to differentiate coffee chromosomes longitudinally were made by mapping pachytene chromomeric patterns and by C and NOR banding techniques. From 1998 onwards, the use of banding techniques with the fluorochromes DAPI and CMA3, and also the cytomolecular technique FISH using rDNA probes, has increased the longitudinal differentiation of coffee chromosomes. The use of the GISH technique with total genomic DNA has revealed the parental species that originated C. arabica species.
Cytology, biochemistry and molecular changes during coffee fruit development
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2006-06-14) Castro, Renato D. De; Marraccini, Pierre
In commercial coffee species (Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora), fruit development is a lengthy process, characterized by tissue changes and evolutions. For example, soon after fecundation and up to mid development, the fruit is mainly constituted of the pericarp and perisperm tissue. Thereafter, the perisperm gradually disappears and is progressively replaced by the endosperm (true seed). Initially present in a "liquid" state, the endosperm hardens as it ripens during the maturation phase, as a result of accumulation of storage proteins, sucrose and complex polysaccharides representing the main reserves of the seed. The last step of maturation is characterized by the dehydration of the endosperm and the color change of the pericarp. Important quantitative and qualitative changes accompany fruit growth, highlighting the importance of its study to better understand the final characteristics of coffee beans. Following a description of the coffee fruit tissues, this review presents some data concerning biochemical, enzymatic and gene expression variations observed during the coffee fruit development. The latter will also be analyzed in the light of recent data (electronic expression profiles) arising from the Brazilian Coffee Genome Project.
Ecophysiology of coffee growth and production
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2007-12) DaMatta, Fábio M.; Ronchi, Cláudio P.; Maestri, Moacyr; Barros, Raimundo S.
After oil, coffee is the most valuable traded commodity worldwide. In this review we highlighted some aspects of coffee growth and development in addition to focusing our attention on recent advances on the (eco)physiology of production in both Coffea arabica and C. canephora, which together account for 99% of the world coffee bean production. This review is organized into sections dealing with (i) climatic factors and environmental requirements, (ii) root and shoot growth, (iii) blossoming synchronisation, fruiting and cup quality, (iv) competition between vegetative and reproductive growth and branch die-back, (v) photosynthesis and crop yield, (vi) physiological components of crop yield, (vii) shading and agroforestry systems, and (viii) high-density plantings.
Effects of fruiting on the growth of Arabica coffee trees as related to carbohydrate and nitrogen status and to nitrate reductase activity
(Sociedade Brasileira de Fisiologia Vegetal, 2001) AMARAL, JOSÉ A.T.; MATTA, FÁBIO M. DA; RENA, ALEMAR B.
Active vegetative and reproductive growth in field-grown trees of Coffea arabica L. in Viçosa (20º45’S, 650 m altitude), south-eastern Brazil, occur concurrently. The overall patterns of branch growth and leaf area gain were to a certain extent altered by fruit removal, with growth rates being remarkably greater in de-fruited trees. The content of N-NO3 was not affected by fruiting, whilst that of amino-N was greater in de-fruited than fruiting trees most of the time, but the differences were not large enough to have significantly contributed to the increased growth rates in de-fruited trees. Leaf nitrate reductase activity was greater in plants bearing fruit than in non-bearing ones most of the time; activity was roughly inversely associated with growth. Although the roots contained much more nitrate than the leaves, the root nitrate reductase activity was much lower and not affected by fruiting. Much of the restrictive effects of fruiting on vegetative growth appeared to be associated to starch exhaustion, in addition to the outstanding effect of supra-optimum temperatures per se.
Ethylene production and acc oxidase gene expression during fruit ripening of Coffea arabica L.
(Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology, 2005-09) Pereira, Luiz Filipe Protasio; Galvão, Rafaelo M.; Kobayashi, Adilson K.; Cação, Sandra Maria B.; Vieira, Luiz Gonzaga Esteves
The phytohormone ethylene is involved in several physiological and developmental processes in higher plants, including ripening of fruits, abscission of organs and tissues, senescence, wound response as well as in other abiotic stresses. The enzyme 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate oxidase (ACO) catalyzes the last step of ethylene biosynthesis. The production of ethylene and the expression of a Coffea arabica ACO gene during the last stages of fruit maturation were investigated. A rapid increase of ethylene production at the green-yellow stage of fruit ripening, after the end of endosperm formation, and a decrease of ethylene production at the cherry stage indicates a climacteric phase during ripening. An ACC oxidase (Ca-ACO) from coffee fruit cDNA was cloned and characterized using primers previously reported. The cDNA is homologous to previously described ACC oxidase cDNA in Coffea. The nucleotide and amino acid deduced sequences of the clone showed high homology with ACO from climacteric fruits. Northern blots were performed to determine the Ca-ACO transcription pattern from different tissues and from fruits at different ripening stages. Coffee fruits at an early ripening stage (green) showed the lowest level of Ca-ACO transcript accumulation. The transcript levels of Ca-ACO did not change significantly during the later stages, suggesting the presence of post- transcriptional control mechanisms. These results, taken together, strongly suggest a climacteric nature of coffee fruit ripening.
European strategic trade policy and Brazilian export growth during the nineteenth century
(Departamento de Economia da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Contabilidade da Universidade de São Paulo (FEA-USP), 2022-04-04) Absell, Christopher David
Until the Amazonian rubber boom, cane sugar and coffee were the two most important export commodities for Brazil during the nineteenth century. Despite inherent differences in methods of cultivation, both sugar and coffee at once benefitted and suffered from the characteristics of Brazil’s factor endowment in land, labour and capital. Yet these two export commodities demonstrated divergent growth patterns across the nineteenth century. The difference was not one of relative productivity and thus price competitiveness disadvantage, but of the imperfectly competitive nature of the international market for each commodity. European governments actively practised strategic trade policy to transfer profits from foreign to domestic or colonial firms. These market distortions were exogenous, imposed by consumer markets, and took the form of European colonial tariff preferences and subsidies to domestic production. Coffee suffered less from imperfect competition, thus remaining more profitable to Brazilian agricultural producers in the long run.