Leaf Morphological and Epidermal Traits Variability along an Environmental Gradients in Ten Natural Populations of .

The species belonging to the genus possess ecological, economic, and medicinal value. They show a very high ecological plasticity. This research is a contribution to the study of the intraspecific diversity and variability of 10 populations of in different bioclimates.

The Role of Gorse ( Pourr. Scrubs) in a Mediterranean Shrubland Undergoing Climate Change: Approach by Hyperspectral Measurements.

The goal of this study was to observe the neighbor effect of Gorse, a plant of the Fabaceae family, on three typical species of Mediterranean shrubland: kermes oak, white Cistus and rosemary. For this purpose, a hyperspectral analysis and the application of vegetation indices (VIs) were carried out. We provide the spectral signature of Gorse, which differs mainly from that of its companion species in the band between 700 and 1350 nm.

The Optical Response of a Mediterranean Shrubland to Climate Change: Hyperspectral Reflectance Measurements during Spring.

Remote sensing techniques in terms of monitoring plants' responses to environmental constraints have gained much attention during recent decades. Among these constraints, climate change appears to be one of the major challenges in the Mediterranean region. In this study, the main goal was to determine how field spectrometry could improve remote sensing study of a Mediterranean shrubland submitted to climate aridification.

Response of Downy Oak Willd.) to Climate Change: Transcriptome Assembly, Differential Gene Analysis and Targeted Metabolomics.

Global change scenarios in the Mediterranean basin predict a precipitation reduction within the coming hundred years. Therefore, increased drought will affect forests both in terms of adaptive ecology and ecosystemic services. However, how vegetation might adapt to drought is poorly understood.

Resistance of native oak to recurrent drought conditions simulating predicted climatic changes in the Mediterranean region.

The capacity of a Quercus pubescens forest to resist recurrent drought was assessed on an in situ experimental platform through the measurement of a large set of traits (ecophysiological and metabolic) studied under natural drought (ND) and amplified drought (AD) induced by partial rain exclusion. This study was performed during the third and fourth years of AD, which correspond to conditions of moderate AD in 2014 and harsher AD in 2015, respectively. Although water potential (Ψ) and net photosynthesis (Pn) were noticeably reduced under AD in 2015 compared to ND, trees showed similar growth and no oxidative stress.

Leaf and canopy photosynthesis of a chlorophyll deficient soybean mutant.

The photosynthetic, optical, and morphological characteristics of a chlorophyll-deficient (Chl-deficient) "yellow" soybean mutant (MinnGold) were examined in comparison with 2 green varieties (MN0095 and Eiko). Despite the large difference in Chl content, similar leaf photosynthesis rates were maintained in the Chl-deficient mutant by offsetting the reduced absorption of red photons by a small increase in photochemical efficiency and lower non-photochemical quenching. When grown in the field, at full canopy cover, the mutants reflected a significantly larger proportion of incoming shortwave radiation, but the total canopy light absorption was only slightly reduced, most likely due to a deeper penetration of light into the canopy space.

Challenges and advances for transcriptome assembly in non-model species.

Analyses of high-throughput transcriptome sequences of non-model organisms are based on two main approaches: de novo assembly and genome-guided assembly using mapping to assign reads prior to assembly. Given the limits of mapping reads to a reference when it is highly divergent, as is frequently the case for non-model species, we evaluate whether using blastn would outperform mapping methods for read assignment in such situations (>15% divergence). We demonstrate its high performance by using simulated reads of lengths corresponding to those generated by the most common sequencing platforms, and over a realistic range of genetic divergence (0% to 30% divergence).

Inter-population variability of terpenoid composition in leaves of Pistacia lentiscus L. from Algeria: a chemoecological approach.

Three different altitudes were selected to study the variability of terpenoid composition from leaves of female plants of Pistacia lentiscus L. throughout the elevation gradient. GC-MS analyses showed that terpenoid contents change with altitude.

Depollution potential of three macrophytes: exudated, wall-bound and intracellular peroxidase activities plus intracellular phenol concentrations.

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential role of three macrophyte species (Iris pseudacorus, Typha latifolia and Phragmites australis) for detoxication of xenobiotics, and to study their variations with seasons or concentrations of sewage sludge from the food industry. For this purpose, some aspects of the green liver concept were explored through peroxidase measurements in three compartments in roots: intracellular, cell wall and extracellular. In addition, phenol concentrations were also measured in order to assess heavy metal detoxication potential.

Variations in allelochemical composition of leachates of different organs and maturity stages of Pinus halepensis.

We investigated changes in the occurrence of allelochemicals from leachates of different Pinus halepensis organs taking into account the stages of pine stand age (i.e., young < 15-years-old, middle age +/- 30-years, and old > 60-years-old).

Compost may affect volatile and semi-volatile plant emissions through nitrogen supply and chlorophyll fluorescence.

The use of composted biosolids as an amendment for forest regeneration in degraded ecosystems is growing since sewage-sludge dumping has been banned in the European Community. Its consequences on plant terpenes are however unknown. Terpene emissions of both Rosmarinus officinalis (a terpene-storing species) and Quercus coccifera (a non-storing species) and terpene content of the former, were studied after a middle-term exposure to compost at intermediate (50tha(-1): D50) and high (100tha(-1): D100) compost rates, in a seven-year-old post-fire shrubland ecosystem.

Comparative morphology of leaf epidermis in eight populations of Atlas Pistachio (Pistacia atlantica Desf., Anacardiaceae).

A comparative analysis was undertaken to conduct a micromorphological study of Pistacia atlantica leaves by comparing different populations grown under different climatic conditions. Leaf epidermis of eight wild populations was investigated under scanning electron microscope. Micromorphological characteristics (epidermis ornament, stomata type, waxes as well as trichomes) of the adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces were examined.

Plant coexistence alters terpene emission and content of Mediterranean species.

There is evidence that secondary metabolism may modulate plant interactions and is modified by different biotic stress agents, such as herbivores or pathogens. However, it is poorly understood whether secondary metabolism is altered during competition among plants. The intraspecific and interspecific coexistence of some Mediterranean potted seedlings, namely Rosmarinus officinalis, Pinus halepensis, Cistus albidus and Quercus coccifera was investigated through their terpene accumulation within leaves (except for Q.

Effect of intraspecific competition and substrate type on terpene emissions from some Mediterranean plant species.

Competition is an important factor that has been extensively reported in the Mediterranean area. There is evidence that leaf terpene accumulation may vary between plants growing on calcareous and siliceous soils. In the present study, leaf terpene emissions from potted seedlings of Pinus halepensis, Cistus albidus, and Quercus coccifera, growing under natural environmental conditions on calcareous and siliceous substrates, were studied by using a bag enclosure method.

Composition and some biological activities of the essential oils from an African pasture grass: Elionurus elegans Kunth.

The volatile oils of the aerial parts and roots from a pasture plant, Elionurus elegans, were studied by GC-MS analyses. Both organs studied contained only terpenic constituents. The main components found in the extract essential oils of the aerial parts were campherenone (43.