Background Vitamin C (VC) is an indispensable antioxidant and co-factor for optimal function and development of eukaryotic cells. In animals, VC can be synthesized by the organism, acquired through the diet, or both. In the single VC synthesis pathway described in animals, the penultimate step is catalysed by Regucalcin, and the last step by l-gulonolactone oxidase (GULO). The GULO gene has been implicated in VC synthesis only, while Regucalcin has been shown to have multiple functions in mammals. Results Both GULO and Regucalcin can be found in non-bilaterian, protostome and deuterostome species. Regucalcin, as here shown, is involved in multiple functions such as VC synthesis, calcium homeostasis, and the oxidative stress response in both Deuterostomes and Protostomes, and in insects in receptor-mediated uptake of hexamerin storage proteins from haemolymph. In Insecta and Nematoda, however, there is no GULO gene, and in the latter no Regucalcin gene, but species from these lineages are still able to synthesize VC, implying at least one novel synthesis pathway. In vertebrates, SVCT1, a gene that belongs to a family with up to five members, as here shown, is the only gene involved in the uptake of VC in the gut. This specificity is likely the result of a subfunctionalization event that happened at the base of the Craniata subphylum. SVCT-like genes present in non-Vertebrate animals are likely involved in both VC and nucleobase transport. It is also shown that in lineages where GULO has been lost, SVCT1 is now an essential gene, while in lineages where SVCT1 gene has been lost, GULO is now an essential gene. Conclusions The simultaneous study, for the first time, of GULO, Regucalcin and SVCTs evolution provides a clear picture of VC synthesis/acquisition and reveals very different selective pressures in different animal taxonomic groups.

Os comportamentos das organizações que são vistos pela sociedade como negativos podem ser analisados dentro do conceito do Dark Side, que estuda questões tradicionalmente esquecidas, ignoradas ou suprimidas nos Estudos Organizacionais. Entretanto, os efeitos das práticas organizacionais sobre os animais não humanos não têm sido incluídos nesse campo de estudos, apenas de forma indireta ao se analisar impactos sobre a natureza. Ao mesmo tempo, percebe-se uma demanda social crescente por consideração moral aos animais não humanos. Este trabalho analisa as estratégias de comunicação das maiores marcas da indústria da carne e do leite para responder a essas demandas, além de entrevistas com membros de organizações legisladoras, fiscalizadoras e de treinamento em bem-estar animal. Concluímos que o Dark Side deveria incluir o tratamento dado aos animais não humanos, uma vez que existe essa demanda por parte da sociedade e que as empresas pesquisadas tentam ocultar e/ou distorcer a realidade.

No abstract