Micro-scale interactions between Arabidopsis root hairs and soil particles influence soil erosion.

Soil is essential for sustaining life on land. Plant roots play a crucial role in stabilising soil and minimising erosion, although these mechanisms are still not completely understood. Consequently, identifying and breeding for plant traits to enhance erosion resistance is challenging.

Population genomics of the widespread African savannah trees Afzelia africana and Afzelia quanzensis reveals no significant past fragmentation of their distribution ranges.

Premise: Few studies have addressed the evolutionary history of tree species from African savannahs. Afzelia contains economically important timber species, including two species widely distributed in African savannahs: A. africana in the Sudanian region and A.

Potential of milk mid-infrared spectra to predict nitrogen use efficiency of individual dairy cows in early lactation.

Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) at both the individual cow and the herd level has become a key target in dairy production systems, for both environmental and economic reasons. Cost-effective and large-scale phenotyping methods are required to improve NUE through genetic selection and by feeding and management strategies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility of using mid-infrared (MIR) spectra of milk to predict individual dairy cow NUE during early lactation.

Imaging Wheat Canopy Through Stereo Vision: Overcoming the Challenges of the Laboratory to Field Transition for Morphological Features Extraction.

Stereo vision is a 3D imaging method that allows quick measurement of plant architecture. Historically, the method has mainly been developed in controlled conditions. This study identified several challenges to adapt the method to natural field conditions and propose solutions.

Short communication: Investigation of the temporal relationships between milk mid-infrared predicted biomarkers and lameness events in later lactation.

This study reports on the exploration of temporal relationships between milk mid-infrared predicted biomarkers and lameness events. Lameness in dairy cows is an issue that can vary greatly in severity and is of concern for both producers and consumers. Metabolic disorders are often associated with lameness.

Diagnosing the pregnancy status of dairy cows: How useful is milk mid-infrared spectroscopy?

Pregnancy diagnosis is an essential part of successful breeding programs on dairy farms. Milk composition alters with pregnancy, and this is well documented. Fourier-transform mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy is a rapid and cost-effective method for providing milk spectra that reflect the detailed composition of milk samples.

Supplementation of Non-Starch Polysaccharide Enzymes Cocktail in a Corn-Miscellaneous Meal Diet Improves Nutrient Digestibility and Reduces Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Finishing Pigs.

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of the addition of the non-starch polysaccharide enzymes cocktail (NSPEC) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and gas emissions in a corn-miscellaneous meal-based diet for finishing pigs. The NSPEC is a combination of cellulase, xylanase, β-glucanase, β-mannanase, α-galactosidase and pectinase optimized by assessing the in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of corn-miscellaneous meal diet using an in vitro method of simulating digestion in the stomach and intestine of growing pigs. Growth performance and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients and energy were measured.

Comprehensive comparison of Yarrowia lipolytica and Pichia pastoris for production of Candida antarctica lipase B.

The large-scale production of recombinant proteins (rProt) is becoming increasingly economically important. Among the different hosts used for rProt production, yeasts are gaining popularity. The so-called non-conventional yeasts, such as the methylotrophic Pichia pastoris and the dimorphic Yarrowia lipolytica, are popular choices due to their favorable characteristics and well-established expression systems.

Patterns of local, intercontinental and interseasonal variation of soil bacterial and eukaryotic microbial communities.

Although ongoing research has revealed some of the main drivers behind global spatial patterns of microbial communities, spatio-temporal dynamics of these communities still remain largely unexplored. Here, we investigate spatio-temporal variability of both bacterial and eukaryotic soil microbial communities at local and intercontinental scales. We compare how temporal variation in community composition scales with spatial variation in community composition, and explore the extent to which bacteria, protists, fungi and metazoa have similar patterns of temporal community dynamics.

Comparative analysis of borate fusion versus sodium carbonate extraction for quantification of silicon contents in plants.

Studies of plant-silicon (Si) interaction benefit from safe, affordable and accurate methods to measure acid-insoluble silica (phytoliths) for a large number of plant samples. This study aimed to evaluate the comparability between two chemical methods to dissolve leaf silica, borate fusion and 1% sodium carbonate (NaCO) extraction, in combination of two detection methods (ICP, molybdenum-blue colorimetry).We compared the results obtained by these methods, using dried leaf samples of five tropical tree species that differ widely in Si concentrations (4 to 100 mg g DW).

A Novel Noncoding RNA Involved in Heat Stress Tolerance in .

is an extremely resistant bacteria that has evolved masterful strategies to enable survival under various environmental stress conditions. Heat stress is a major environmental stress factor that can cause denaturation of proteins, membrane disruption, and oxidative stress. Previous studies have examined the mechanisms of the heat stress response by analyzing changes in protein levels; however, little is known about the role of small noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), which are known to play important regulatory functions in bacteria during various environmental stress response.

Highlighting convergent evolution in morphological traits in response to climatic gradient in African tropical tree species: The case of genus Benn.

Adaptive evolution is a major driver of organism diversification, but the links between phenotypic traits and environmental niche remain little documented in tropical trees. Moreover, trait-niche relationships are complex because a correlation between the traits and environmental niches displayed by a sample of species may result from (a) convergent evolution if different environmental conditions have selected different sets of traits, and/or (b) phylogenetic inertia if niche and morphological differences between species are simply function of their phylogenetic divergence, in which case the trait-niche correlation does not imply any direct causal link. Here, we aim to assess the respective roles of phylogenetic inertia and convergent evolution in shaping the differences of botanical traits and environmental niches among congeneric African tree species that evolved in different biomes.

Antitumor astins originate from the fungal endophyte living within the medicinal plant .

Medicinal plants are a prolific source of natural products with remarkable chemical and biological properties, many of which have considerable remedial benefits. Numerous medicinal plants are suffering from wildcrafting, and thus biotechnological production processes of their natural products are urgently needed. The plant is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and contains unique active ingredients named astins.

Linking first lactation survival to milk yield and components and lactation persistency in Tunisian Holstein cows.

Genetic parameters were estimated for first lactation survival defined as a binary trait (alive or dead to second calving) and the curve shape traits of milk yield, fat and protein percentages using information from 25 981 primiparous Tunisian Holsteins. For each trait, shape curves (i.e.

Green pyomelanin-mediated synthesis of gold nanoparticles: modelling and design, physico-chemical and biological characteristics.

Background: Synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) and their incorporation in materials are amongst the most studied topics in chemistry, physics and material science. Gold NPs have applications in medicine due to their antibacterial and anticancer activities, in biomedical imaging and diagnostic test. Despite chemical synthesis of NPs are well characterized and controlled, they rely on the utilization of harsh chemical conditions and organic solvent and generate toxic residues.

approach to evaluate the fermentation pattern of inulin-rich food in obese individuals.

Alterations of the gut microbiome have been associated with obesity and metabolic disorders. The gut microbiota can be influenced by the intake of dietary fibres with prebiotic properties, such as inulin-type fructans. The present study tested the hypothesis that obese individuals subjected for 12 weeks to an inulin-enriched v.

RNA-Seq-Based Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Highlights New Features of the Heat-Stress Response in the Extremophilic Bacterium .

is best known for its extraordinary resistance to diverse environmental stress factors, such as ionizing radiation, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, desiccation, oxidation, and high temperatures. The heat response of this bacterium is considered to be due to a classical, stress-induced regulatory system that is characterized by extensive transcriptional reprogramming. In this study, we investigated the key functional genes involved in heat stress that were expressed and accumulated in cells (R48) following heat treatment at 48 °C for 2 h.

prebiotic potential of agricultural by-products on intestinal fermentation, gut barrier and inflammatory status of piglets.

The inclusion of fibre-rich ingredients in diets is one possible strategy to enhance intestinal fermentation and positively impact gut ecology, barrier and immunity. Nowadays, inulin-type fructans are used as prebiotics in the feed of piglets to manipulate gut ecology for health purposes. Likewise, some by-products could be considered as sustainable and inexpensive ingredients to reduce gut disorders at weaning.

Antifungal Activities of Lipopeptides to Two Strains Possessing Different Tebuconazole Sensitivity.

Within the framework of biocontrol development, three natural substances produced by , called lipopeptides, have been studied: fengycin (F), surfactin (S), and mycosubtilin (M). Their antifungal properties were tested , in liquid medium, on two strains of , ascomycete fungi causing apple scab. These two strains were, respectively sensitive and less sensitive to tebuconazole, an active substance of the triazole family.

Norine: update of the nonribosomal peptide resource.

Norine, the unique resource dedicated to nonribosomal peptides (NRPs), is now updated with a new pipeline to automate massive sourcing and enhance annotation. External databases are mined to extract NRPs that are not yet in Norine. To maintain a high data quality, successive filters are applied to automatically validate the NRP annotations and only validated data is inserted in the database.

Targeting Hsp20 Using the Novel Small Non-coding RNA Regulates Heat Tolerance in .

Small non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are a class of regulatory molecules, which remain understudied in bacteria. In the extremophilic bacterium , although hundreds of ncRNAs have been identified, few have been characterized in detail. In this study, we report the identification and characterization of a novel heat-inducible ncRNA named .

Effects of sex and fasting/refeeding on hepatic AMPK signaling in chickens (Gallus gallus).

The alpha-1 isoform of chicken AMPK situates on the Z-chromosome, in contrast, the other isoforms in birds and the mammalian AMPKα1 are located on the autosomes. The present study aimed to investigate the role of hepatic AMPK signaling in adaptation to nutritional status and the potential sex-specific response in chickens. Hepatic genes and proteins were compared between the two sexes immediately after hatching.

Baby-SPIME: A dynamic in vitro piglet model mimicking gut microbiota during the weaning process.

The study aimed to adapt the SHIME® model, developed to simulate human digestion and fermentation, to a baby-SPIME (baby Simulator of Pig Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem). What constitutes a unique feature of this model is its twofold objective of introducing an ileal microbial community and mimicking a dietary weaning transition. This model should then be ideally suited to test the dietary weaning strategies of piglets in vitro.

Efficient expression vectors and host strain for the production of recombinant proteins by Yarrowia lipolytica in process conditions.

Background: The oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica is increasingly used as an alternative cell factory for the production of recombinant proteins. Recently, regulated promoters from genes EYK1 and EYD1, encoding an erythrulose kinase and an erythritol dehydrogenase, respectively, have been identified and characterized in this yeast. Hybrid promoters up-regulated by polyols such as erythritol and erythrulose have been developed based on tandem copies of upstream activating sequences from EYK1 (UAS1) and XPR2 (encoding extracellular protease, UAS1) promoters.

Characterization of a nontoxic pyomelanin pigment produced by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica.

In this study, we report on the ability of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica W29 to produce an extracellular melanin-like brown pigment at high yield (0.5 mg/ml) in culture medium supplemented with L-tyrosine. This pigment has been characterized as pyomelanin and its synthesis was found to occur by the so-called HGA-melanin pathway.