Lulo (Solanum quitoense Lam.) is an exotic fruit from the Andes Mountains with a high export potential. However, the browning that is produced during harvest and the postharvest processes alters the organoleptic and nutritional properties of this fruit, which has made its management as a fresh fruit difficult. The browning processes are regulated by the enzyme family of the polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) located in the thylakoids of the chloroplast. When there is damage at the tissue level, the phenolic compounds found in the vacuoles enter into contact with the polyphenol oxidase. This enzyme produces polymerization among the phenolic compounds, as well as between them and the proteins and cell walls. This study analyzed the polyphenol oxidase in lulo var. Castilla at the genetic level, based on DNA and RNA samples. The results showed a high level of homology with other polyphenol oxidases from plants. The highest degree of homology was found with Solanum melongena L., which belongs to the same clade, Leptostemonum. The tyrosinase and two copper-binding domains, characteristic of the polyphenol oxidase, the conserved residues that maintain the natural environment, the sequence of a signal peptide for targeting chloroplast, and the UTRA domain of transcription regulation for recognizing small molecules were identified. Southern blot was used to analyze the number of gene copies, identifying at least eight ones in the lulo genome.

Introducción: Los polimorfismos indel en la región promotora y los polimorfismos de tamaño en el intrón 2 del gen transportador de serotonina se han asociado con el trastorno afectivo bipolar 1 (TAB 1) en diferentes poblaciones. El objetivo fue analizar las frecuencias genotípicas y alélicas en ambas regiones del gen en un estudio de casos y controles en Risaralda y Quindío (Colombia) para encontrar una asociación con TAB 1 y compararlas con estudios similares. Métodos: Se analizaron 133 pacientes y 120 controles. Con PCR se analizaron los polimorfismos indel L y S de la región promotora y los de tamaño (VNTR) STin 2.10 y STin 2.12 del segundo intrón del gen SLC6A4. Resultados: Las frecuencias genotípicas y alélicas en los polimorfismos S y L fueron muy similares en casos y controles. Sin embargo, el genotipo LL se encontró incrementado no significativamente en la población general con TAB 1 (OR=1,89; IC95%= 1,1-3,68) y al separarla por género. Los OR para este genotipo en la población general (OR=1,89; IC95%=1,1-3,68) en mujeres (OR=2,22; IC95%=1,04-5,66) y en hombres (OR=1,62; IC95%=0,71-4,39). En los polimorfismos VNTR STin 2.10 y STin2.212 tampoco se observaron diferencias significativas entre las frecuencias genotípicas y alélicas. Conclusiones: No encontramos asociación entre los polimorfismos de las regiones 5-HTTLPR y el intrón 2 del gen transportador de serotonina en los pacientes con TAB 1, ni en la población total, ni al separarla por género. Nuestros resultados son similares a los encontrados en poblaciones caucásicas y difieren de los encontrados en asiáticas y brasileras.

Introduction: The indel polymorphisms in the promoting region and the 2nd intron polymorphisms in the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) have been associated to bipolar disorder 1 (BD1) in several population studies. The objective was to analyze the genotypic and allelic frequencies in both gene regions in a study of cases and controls with individuals from Risaralda and Quindío (Colombia) so as to establish possible associations to BD1, and compare results with previous and similar studies. Methods: 133 patients and 120 controls were studied. L and S indel polymorphisms in the promoting region were analyzed by PCR, together with VNTR STin2.10 and STin 2.12 VNTRs polymorphisms in the 2nd intron of the SL-C6A4 gene Results: Genotypic and allelic frequencies for the S and L polymorphisms were similar both in cases and controls. However, the LL genotype was significantly increased both in BD1 population (OR=1.89; CI95%=1.1-3.68), and when discriminated by gender. This particular genotype in general population is OR=2.22; IC95%=1.04-5.66 for women, and OR=1.62; IC 95%=0.71-4.39 for men. No significant genotypic and allelic differences were found for VNTR STin2.10 and STin 2.12. polymorphisms. Conclusions: No association was found between polymorphisms of 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms and the 2nd intron of the serotonin transporting gene in general patients with BD1, nor when compared by gender. Our results are similar to those reported for Caucasian populations and differ from those of Asian and Brazilian populations.