Little is known about postnatal enteric nervous system (ENS) development, but some reports suggest that the postnatal bowel may contain neural stem cells. Therefore, we created an in vitro model of desegregation using an enzymatic and mechanical tissue technique. This approach yielded a group of cells from the small intestine of lactating and adult mice, which ex vivo attach to the culture dish; actively proliferate; and express nestin, vimentin, and the pro‐neural transcription factors neurogenin‐2 (ngn‐2), Sox‐10, and Mash‐1. In the conditions grown, double immunostains suggest that they differentiate into various cell types, particularly neurons, smooth muscle, and glia including 04 protein–positive cells. They also express the neurotrophic‐protein tyrosine kinase (Trk) receptors TrkA, TrkB, and TrkC; the low‐affinity neurotrophin receptor p75NTR; and the glial‐derived neurotrophic factor receptors (GFR)α‐1, GFRα‐2, and GFRα‐3. The neurons expressed several sensory and motor neurotransmitters present in the central and enteric nervous systems, including calcitonin gene‐related peptide, neuropeptideY, peptideYY, substance P, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, and galanin; along with glia, these neurons formed elaborate intercellular connections. They also express c‐KIT, CD34, CD20, and CD45RO, suggesting they either have a hematogenous origin or may differentiate toward hematogenous lines. These findings suggest that these cells may be enteric neural stem cells (ENSCs); may normally be present in the small intestine; and may have the capacity to proliferate and differentiate into neurons, glia, and smooth muscle. Further identification and purification of intestinal ENSCs will provide a means to study the regulation of their differentiation and should give insight into the mechanisms involved in development and remodeling of the ENS. The possible therapeutic application of postnatal stem cells such as ENSCs needs to be evaluated, including their use for transplantation in the central nervous system.

Osmotic variations in the soil can affect bacterial growth diminishing the number of inoculated bacteria. In a scenario of water deficit having tolerant bacteria would be beneficial to achieve a better response of the plant to stress. Thus, selection of more resistant bacteria could be useful to design new inoculants to be used in arid zones. In this sense, a group of Azospirillum isolates deposited in INTA collection was characterized in order to select strains tolerant to osmotic stress. The results obtained demonstrated that Az19 strain has similar in vitro PGPR characteristics to Az39, the most used strain in Argentina for inoculants industries, with the advantage of a better tolerance to osmotic and salt stress. Inoculation of maize plants with this strain resulted in a better response against water deficit compared to Az39 strain, encouraging us to further study the behavior of this strain in greenhouse and field trials in view of developing new inoculants suitable for areas with water deficit.

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A survey of entomopathogenic nematodes was conducted in sugar cane crops in a total of 14 soils, and positive results were obtained for strain MC5-2014 in the municipality of Tepalcingo, Morelos, in soil with a sandy loam texture and a pH of 6.4. Species determination was performed via morphological and morphometric techniques by searching for a tubular stoma with a swollen cylindrical pharyngeal body and a metacorpus in the basal part. The range of body length ( L ) was 750 to 1200 μm in females and 720 to 910 μm in males, while the corresponding maximum widths ( W ) of the body were 30 to 60 μm and 20 to 30 μm, respectively. Males exhibited bursa with a 1 + 1 + 3 + 3 distribution of papillae, and females exhibited a vulva located at the mid-body. For molecular identification, the ITS region of ribosomal DNA was used. Virulence tests (LC 50 ) were conducted with Galleria mellonella , and a value of 4.732 was obtained for infective juveniles (IJs). Taking taxonomic and molecular characteristics into account, the isolate was determined to be Oscheius myriophila . The isolation of this strain represents the first geographic report of O. myriophila in Mexico, and it should be noted that the cultivation of sugar cane occurs with constant application of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers as well as harvesting activities such as burning of the crop for harvest. The O. myriophila isolate has the potential to be used in the future as a method of biological control in our country.