UGT72, a Major Glycosyltransferase Family for Flavonoid and Monolignol Homeostasis in Plants.

Plants have developed the capacity to produce a diversified range of specialized metabolites. The glycosylation of those metabolites potentially decreases their toxicity while increasing their stability and their solubility, modifying their transport and their storage. The UGT, forming the largest glycosyltransferase superfamily in plants, combine enzymes that glycosylate mainly hormones and phenylpropanoids by using UDP-sugar as a sugar donor.

Algae: Study of Edible and Biologically Active Fractions, Their Properties and Applications.

The beneficial properties of algae make them perfect functional ingredients for food products. Algae have a high energy value and are a source of biologically active substances, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and macro- and microelements. They are also rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins, mycosporine-like amino acids, polysaccharides, polyphenols, carotenoids, sterols, steroids, lectins, halogenated compounds, polyketides, alkaloids, and carrageenans.

Agro-Fruit-Forest Systems Based on Argan Tree in Morocco: A Review of Recent Results.

The argan tree, (L.) Skeels, is a horticultural forestry species characterized by its endemicity and adaptation to arid and semi-arid zones in the southwest of Morocco. Despite its limited geographical distribution, argan tree presents large genetic diversity, suggesting that improvement of argan is possible.

Arabidopsis Growth-Promotion and Root Architecture Responses to the Beneficial Rhizobacterium Strain STM196 Are Independent of the Nitrate Assimilatory Pathway.

STM196, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium isolated from roots of oilseed rape, stimulates growth. We have previously shown that the and genes are required for this growth promotion response. Since these genes are members of the family of nitrate transporters, the nitrogen assimilatory pathway could be involved in growth promotion by STM196.

Molecular signature of phylogenetic relationships and demographic history of Tunisian Mactra stultorum: Evidence from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data.

The genetic structure of Mactra stultorum is inferred from partial sequence of a mitochondrial cox1gene and of the internal transcribed spacer region ITS1. The samples with two colors of shell (white and brown) were collected from three sites belonging to the Tunisian coasts: Kalaât El Andalous (KA) and Soliman (SM) and Gabes (GM)). The phylogenetic trees obtained from the 2 markers are similar and subdivided samples into 3 distinct clades; clade (1) regrouped GM, clade (2) regrouped KS (KS contains samples from SM and KAa) and clade (3) is formed by KAb.

Microalgae Xanthophylls: From Biosynthesis Pathway and Production Techniques to Encapsulation Development.

In the last 20 years, xanthophylls from microalgae have gained increased scientific and industrial interests. This review highlights the essential issues that concern this class of high value compounds. Firstly, their chemical diversity as the producer microorganisms was detailed.

Rivers and landscape ecology of a plant virus, Rice yellow mottle virus along the Niger Valley.

To investigate the spread of (RYMV) along the Niger River, regular sampling of virus isolates was conducted along 500 km of the Niger Valley in the Republic of Niger and was complemented by additional sampling in neighbouring countries in West Africa and Central Africa. The spread of RYMV into and within the Republic of Niger was inferred as a continuous process using a Bayesian statistical framework applied previously to reconstruct its dispersal history in West Africa, East Africa, and Madagascar. The spatial resolution along this section of the Niger River was the highest implemented for RYMV and possibly for any plant virus.

Ethnoveterinary knowledge of sheep and goat farmers in Benin (West Africa): effect of socioeconomic and environmental factors.

Sheep and goats are two of the main animal species raised in Benin and one of the main sources of income for people living in rural areas. Faced with the inaccessibility of synthetic veterinary products and their low purchasing power, the majority of breeders use ethnoveterinary practices to treat small ruminants diseases. The specific objectives of the current study were (1) to document the traditional knowledge regarding the disorder groups treated and the medicinal plants used in the health and zootechnical management of small ruminants in Benin and (2) to assess the effect of gender, ethnicity, agro-ecological zone and herd size associated with them.

Beneficial Microorganisms to Control the Gray Mold of Grapevine: From Screening to Mechanisms.

In many vineyards around the world, () causes one of the most serious diseases of aerial grapevine (.) organs. The control of the disease relies mainly on the use of chemical products whose use is increasingly challenged.

Lipid exchanges drove the evolution of mutualism during plant terrestrialization.

Symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) improves plant nutrition in most land plants, and its contribution to the colonization of land by plants has been hypothesized. Here, we identify a conserved transcriptomic response to AMF among land plants, including the activation of lipid metabolism. Using gain of function, we show the transfer of lipids from the liverwort to AMF and its direct regulation by the transcription factor WRINKLED (WRI).

First report of banana bunchy top virus in banana (Musa spp.) and its eradication in Togo.

Banana (including plantain; Musa spp.) is a vegetatively propagated semi-perennial crop in fields and backyard gardens in Togo. Banana bunchy top disease (BBTD), caused by banana bunchy top virus (BBTV, genus Babuvirus) is the most economically important viral disease, infection of which causes severe stunting and production losses of 90-100% within two seasons.

Tissue folding at the organ-meristem boundary results in nuclear compression and chromatin compaction.

Artificial mechanical perturbations affect chromatin in animal cells in culture. Whether this is also relevant to growing tissues in living organisms remains debated. In plants, aerial organ emergence occurs through localized outgrowth at the periphery of the shoot apical meristem, which also contains a stem cell niche.

Molecular and Structural Characterizations of Lipases from by Functional Genomics.

Microalgae have been poorly investigated for new-lipolytic enzymes of biotechnological interest. In silico study combining analysis of sequences homologies and bioinformatic tools allowed the identification and preliminary characterization of 14 putative lipases expressed by . These proteins have different molecular weights, subcellular localizations, low instability index range and at least 40% of sequence identity with other microalgal lipases.

Potential of Exopolysaccharide from to Contend with Bacterial Proliferation, Biofilm Formation, and Breast Cancer.

Exopolysaccharide (EPS) from marine microalgae are promising sources of a new generation of drugs. However, lot of them remain to be discovered and tested. In this study, EPS produced by and its oligomers prepared by High Pressure Homogenizer have been tested for different biological activities, i.

Maturation and Conversion of Somatic Embryos Derived from Seeds of Olive ( L.) cv. Dahbia: Occurrence of Secondary Embryogenesis and Adventitious Bud Formation.

Maturation and conversion of somatic embryos are two crucial steps that hamper the development of efficient somatic embryogenesis systems in olive. Herein, a simple and efficient protocol for the maturation and conversion of olive somatic embryos is reported. Globular somatic embryos derived from seeds of cv.

Screening of Native Plants Growing on a Pb/Zn Mining Area in Eastern Morocco: Perspectives for Phytoremediation.

Screening of native plant species from mining sites can lead to identify suitable plants for phytoremediation approaches. In this study, we assayed heavy metals tolerance and accumulation in native and dominant plants growing on abandoned Pb/Zn mining site in eastern Morocco. Soil samples and native plants were collected and analyzed for As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Sb, Pb, and Zn concentrations.

Diversity of pathogenic Pseudomonas isolated from citrus in Tunisia.

The damages observed in Tunisian citrus orchards have prompted studies on the Pseudomonas spp. responsible for blast and black pit. Prospective orchards between 2015 and 2017 showed that the diseases rapidly spread geographically and to new cultivars.

You Want it Sweeter: How Glycosylation Affects Plant Response to Oxidative Stress.

Oxidative stress is a cellular threat which puts at risk the productivity of most of crops valorized by humankind in terms of food, feed, biomaterial, or bioenergy. It is therefore of crucial importance to understand the mechanisms by which plants mitigate the deleterious effects of oxidizing agents. Glycosylation of antioxidant molecules and phytohormones modifies their chemical properties as well as their cellular and histological repartition.

Plays a Role in Lignification of Secondary Cell Walls in .

Lignin is present in plant secondary cell walls and is among the most abundant biological polymers on Earth. In this work we investigated the potential role of the gene family in regulating lignification in . Chemical determination of floral stem lignin contents in , and mutants revealed no significant differences compared to WT plants.

Coordination of five class III peroxidase-encoding genes for early germination events of Arabidopsis thaliana.

The Class III peroxidases (CIII Prxs) belong to a plant-specific multigene family. Thanks to their double catalytic cycle they can oxidize compounds or release reactive oxygen species (ROS). They are either involved in different cell wall stiffening processes such as lignification and suberization, in cell wall loosening or defense mechanisms.

Characterization of the UDP-glycosyltransferase UGT72 Family in Poplar and Identification of Genes Involved in the Glycosylation of Monolignols.

Monolignols are the building blocks for lignin polymerization in the apoplastic domain. Monolignol biosynthesis, transport, storage, glycosylation, and deglycosylation are the main biological processes partaking in their homeostasis. In , members of the uridine diphosphate-dependent glucosyltransferases UGT72E and UGT72B subfamilies have been demonstrated to glycosylate monolignols.

Alterations in the phenylpropanoid pathway affect poplar ability for ectomycorrhizal colonisation and susceptibility to root-knot nematodes.

This study investigates the impact of the alteration of the monolignol biosynthesis pathway on the establishment of the in vitro interaction of poplar roots either with a mutualistic ectomycorrhizal fungus or with a pathogenic root-knot nematode. Overall, the five studied transgenic lines downregulated for caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT), caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT), cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR), cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) or both COMT and CAD displayed a lower mycorrhizal colonisation percentage, indicating a lower ability for establishing mutualistic interaction than the wild-type. The susceptibility to root-knot nematode infection was variable in the five lines, and the CAD-deficient line was found to be less susceptible than the wild-type.

Plant Cell Wall Proteomes: Bioinformatics and Cell Biology Tools to Assess the Bona Fide Cell Wall Localization of Proteins.

The purification of plant cell walls is challenging because they constitute an open compartment which is not limited by a membrane like the cell organelles. Different strategies have been established to limit the contamination by proteins of other compartments in cell wall proteomics studies. Non-destructive methods rely on washing intact cells with various types of solutions without disrupting the plasma membrane in order to elute cell wall proteins.