Publications by authors named "Dutilleul P"

The Lepidopteran pest Trichoplusia ni and the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma brassicae represent a fascinating biological system, important for sustainable agricultural practices but challenging to observe. We present a nondestructive method based on micro-CT scanning technology (CT: computed tomography) for visualizing the internal parts of caterpillar embryos and of emerging parasitoids from infected eggs. Traditional methods of microscopic observation of the opaque egg contents require staining or dissection.

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Typically, root system architecture (RSA) is not visible, and realistically, high-throughput methods for RSA trait phenotyping should capture key features of developing root systems in solid substrates in 3D. In a published 2-D study using thin rhizoboxes, vermiculite as a growing medium, and photography for imaging, triplicates of 137 soybean cultivars were phenotyped for their RSA. In the transition to 3-D work using X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning and mineral soil, two research questions are addressed: (1) how different is the soybean RSA characterization between the two phenotyping systems; and (2) is a direct comparison of the results reliable? Prior to a full-scale study in 3D, we grew, in pots filled with sand, triplicates of the Casino and OAC Woodstock cultivars that had shown the most contrasting RSAs in the 2-D study, and CT scanned them at the V1 vegetative stage of development of the shoots.

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Article Synopsis
  • The growth of large data sets from modern technology demands updated statistical models for effective analysis, which is particularly relevant for plant CT scanning to study tree branching and leaf canopies.
  • The study presents a method to analyze tree branching structures by representing branches as 3D line segments classified in a hierarchical order, focusing on four key characteristics: position, orientation, length, and number of offspring.
  • Through statistical modeling of CT scanned trees, it is found that the length of trunk branches significantly influences the overall structure and characteristics of the tree, highlighting its importance in understanding tree growth patterns.
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Several Peronospora species are carried by wind over short and long distances, from warmer climates where they survive on living plants to cooler climates. In eastern Canada, this annual flow of sporangia was thought to be the main source of Peronospora destructor responsible for onion downy mildew. However, the results of a recent study showed that the increasing frequency of onion downy mildew epidemics in eastern Canada is associated with warmer autumns, milder winters, and previous year disease severity, suggesting overwintering of the inoculum in an area where the pathogen is not known to be endogenous.

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Unlabelled: Biochar pores in the micrometer range (1-100 µm) derive from cellular structures of the plant biomass subjected to pyrolysis or can be the result of mechanical processing, such as pelleting. In this study, synchrotron X-ray microtomography was used to investigate the internal pore structure of softwood pellet biochar produced by slow pyrolysis at 550 and 700 °C. The microtomographic data sets consisted of 2025 images of 2560 × 2560 voxels with a voxel side length of 0.

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Transgenic crops that produce insecticidal proteins from (Bt) can suppress pests and reduce insecticide sprays, but their efficacy is reduced when pests evolve resistance. Although farmers plant refuges of non-Bt host plants to delay pest resistance, this tactic has not been sufficient against the western corn rootworm, In the United States, some populations of this devastating pest have rapidly evolved practical resistance to Cry3 toxins and Cry34/35Ab, the only Bt toxins in commercially available corn that kill rootworms. Here, we analyzed data from 2011 to 2016 on Bt corn fields producing Cry3Bb alone that were severely damaged by this pest in 25 crop-reporting districts of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota.

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The use of thermally treated biomass, including biochar, as soil amendments can improve soil fertility by providing nutrients, stable C and improving soil water-holding capacity. However, if the degree of carbonization is low, these soil amendments can lower crop productivity as a result of high salinity or organic compounds. The overall effect of these soil amendments is mediated by complex relationships between production conditions, soil properties and environmental conditions.

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Article Synopsis
  • High alpha-chain content in gelatin contributes to its superior quality, leading to the production of a new fish skin gelatin rich in alpha-chains through an optimized mild alcalase treatment process.
  • The study achieved optimal conditions for production by using specific amounts of alcalase and water extraction methods, resulting in a gelatin with unique amino acid composition and notable thermal properties.
  • The resulting gelatin hydrogel demonstrated excellent temperature stability and emulsifying capabilities, making it suitable for various applications in food, pharmaceuticals, and biological industries.
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The cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV) transmitted by Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) has caused significant reductions in fall melon (Cucumis melo L.) yields in Yuma County, Arizona. In a recent landscape-based study, we found evidence that cotton and spring melon fields increased abundance of B.

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The objective of this experiment was to assess whether or not the application of lipo-chitooligosaccharide (Nod Bj V [C18:1, MeFuc]) (LCO) would increase yield factors under conditions that would inhibit canola (Brassica napus L.) productivity. The seed application reduced the percentage of plants that were unproductive by 15.

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Non-medical applications of computed tomography (CT) scanning have flourished in recent years, including in Plant Science. This Perspective article on CT scanning of root systems and leaf canopies is intended to be of interest to three categories of readers: those who have not yet tried plant CT scanning, and should find inspiration for new research objectives; readers who are on the learning curve with applications-here is helpful advice for them; and researchers with greater experience-the field is evolving quickly and it is easy to miss aspects. Our conclusion is that CT scanning of roots and canopies is highly demanding in terms of technology, multidisciplinarity and big-data analysis, to name a few areas of expertise, but eventually, the reward for researchers is directly proportional!

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Numerous approaches have been used to improve the tissue-implant interface of titanium (Ti) and titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V). They all aim at increasing cell migration and attachment to the metal, preventing unspecific protein adsorption and improving post-implantation healing process. Promising methods for titanium and titanium alloy surface modification are based on the immobilization of biologically active organic molecules.

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Seeds and young seedlings often encounter high soluble salt levels in the upmost soil layers, impeding vigorous growth by affecting root establishment. Computed tomography (CT) scanning used at low X-ray doses can help study root development in such conditions non-destructively, because plants are allowed to grow throughout the experiment. Using a high-resolution Toshiba XVision CT scanner, we studied corn (Zea mays L.

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Article Synopsis
  • Plant adaptations for survival involve managing light through structural, morphological, and physiological changes, which are crucial for photosynthesis and overall growth.
  • Using computed tomography (CT) scans, researchers examined the crown traits of 15 miniature conifer species, focusing on differences between needlelike and scalelike leaves to understand their light interception and shade tolerance.
  • Significant differences in crown traits and their correlations with shade tolerance were found, highlighting that leaf type impacts these traits, with distinct patterns observed between the two groups, suggesting varying growth strategies among species.
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The research work was aimed at the development of a process to yield gelatin-gum Arabic multinuclear microcapsules of krill oil (KO), via complex coacervation. On the basis of the experimental results of the screening trials, a three-level-by-three-factor Box-Behnken design was used to evaluate the effects of the ratio of the core material to the wall (RCW; x1), the stirring speed (SP; x2) and the pH (x3) on the encapsulation efficiency (EE). The experimental findings indicated that x3 has the most significant linear and quadratic effects on the EE of KO and a bilinear effect with x1, whereas x2 did not have any significant effect.

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Tree growth, as measured via the width of annual rings, is used for environmental impact assessment and climate back-forecasting. This fascinating natural process has been studied at various scales in the stem (from cell and fiber within a growth ring, to ring and entire stem) in one, two, and three dimensions. A new approach is presented to study tree growth in 3D from stem sections, at a scale sufficiently small to allow the delineation of reliable limits for annual rings and large enough to capture directional variation in growth rates.

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Theory indicates that landscape composition affects transmission of vector-borne crop diseases, but few empirical studies have investigated how landscape composition affects plant disease epidemiology. Since 2006, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) has vectored the cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV) to cantaloupe and honeydew melons (Cucumis melo L.) in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, causing significant reductions in yield of fall melons and increased use of insecticides.

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Spatial distribution of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to fungicide resistance was studied for Botrytis cinerea populations in vineyards and for B. squamosa populations in onion fields. Heterogeneity in this distribution was characterized by performing geostatistical analyses based on semivariograms and through the fitting of discrete probability distributions.

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Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) threaten the health of humans, livestock, and wildlife. West Nile virus (WNV), the world's most widespread arbovirus, invaded the United States in 1999 and rapidly spread across the county. Although the ecology of vectors and hosts are key determinants of WNV prevalence across landscapes, the factors shaping local vector and host populations remain unclear.

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Background: Many polyphagous pests sequentially use crops and uncultivated habitats in landscapes dominated by annual crops. As these habitats may contribute in increasing or decreasing pest density in fields of a specific crop, understanding the scale and temporal variability of source and sink effects is critical for managing landscapes to enhance pest control.

Methodology/principal Findings: We evaluated how local and landscape characteristics affect population density of the western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus (Knight), in cotton fields of the San Joaquin Valley in California.

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The refuge strategy is used worldwide to delay the evolution of pest resistance to insecticides that are either sprayed or produced by transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops. This strategy is based on the idea that refuges of host plants where pests are not exposed to an insecticide promote survival of susceptible pests. Despite widespread adoption of this approach, large-scale tests of the refuge strategy have been problematic.

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A plantation of native trees was established in Panama in 2001 to study the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Five years later, mixed-species plots had experienced enhanced tree growth compared with monocultures. Searching for underlying mechanisms, we developed a neighborhood model isolating size and identity effects.

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ABSTRACT A generalized two-dimensional Gaussian model is proposed to describe disease foci of head blight of wheat in plots (100 to 2,500 m(2)) originating from small areas (1 to 16 m(2)) inoculated with Gibberella zeae-colonized corn kernels. These anisotropic, asymmetrical foci arose from ascospores produced in perithecia. The model is Z = exp[-(AX(2) + BY(2) + CXY + DX + EY + F)], in which Z = the incidence of seed or spikelet infection at point (X,Y) located in the plot, exp = the exponential function, X = the abscissa or spatial coordinate of the point along a given axis (approximately parallel to the average wind vector during the period of spore release in these experiments), Y = the ordinate or spatial coordinate of the point along the axis perpendicular to the X axis (approximately perpendicular to the wind direction in these experiments), A and B = the quadratic coefficients of the second-order polynomial AX(2) + BY(2) + CXY + DX + EY + F, C = the bilinear coefficient, D and E = the linear coefficients, and exp(-F) = the incidence of seed or spikelet infection at the focus peak in which X = 0 and Y = 0.

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Common scab caused by Streptomyces scabies is a major bacterial disease of potato (Solanum tuberosum). Its best known symptom is superficial lesions on the surface of progeny potato tubers, observed at harvesting. In this study, effects of S.

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