Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto ospC Alleles Associated with Human Lyme Borreliosis Worldwide in Non-Human-Biting Tick Ixodes affinis and Rodent Hosts in Southeastern United States

Comparative analysis of ospC genes from 127 Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto strains collected in European and North American regions where Lyme disease is endemic and where it is not endemic revealed a close relatedness of geographically distinct populations. ospC alleles A, B, and L were detected on both continents in vectors and hosts, including humans. Six ospC alleles, A, B, L, Q, R, and V, were prevalent in Europe; 4 of them were detected in samples of human origin. Ten ospC alleles, A, B, D, E3, F, G, H, H3, I3, and M, were identified in the far-western United States. Four ospC alleles, B, G, H, and L, were abundant in the southeastern United States. Here we present the first expanded analysis of ospC alleles of B. burgdorferi strains from the southeastern United States with respect to their relatedness to strains from other North American and European localities. We demonstrate that ospC genotypes commonly associated with human Lyme disease in European and North American regions where the disease is endemic were detected in B. burgdorferi strains isolated from the non-human-biting tick Ixodes affinis and rodent hosts in the southeastern United States. We discovered that some ospC alleles previously known only from Europe are widely distributed in the southeastern United States, a finding that confirms the hypothesis of transoceanic migration of Borrelia species.     

High-efficiency Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in Quercus robur: selection by use of a temporary immersion system and assessment by quantitative PCR

An efficient protocol for genetic transformation of somatic embryos of Quercus robur by selection in a temporary immersion system is reported. The transformation frequency was 5 times higher than achieved by conventional culture on semi-solid medium, ranging between 6 and 26 % for the four genotypes evaluated. Clumps of globular or torpedo somatic embryos were precultured for 7–10 days, inoculated with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105:p35SGUSINT and cocultivated for 4 days before being cultured for 4 weeks on semi-solid selection medium supplemented with 25 mg L^?1 kanamycin. Explants were transferred to RITA^® bioreactors and subjected to a two-step selection protocol involving immersion in liquid medium supplemented with 25 mg L^?1 kanamycin, for 18 weeks, and then with 75 mg L^?1 kanamycin. Putatively transformed explants appeared after serial transfer to selection medium over 12–16 weeks. The presence of neomycin phosphotransferase II and β-glucuronidase genes in the plant genome was confirmed by histochemical and molecular analysis, and the copy number was determined by Southern blotting and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Transformed somatic embryos were germinated and transferred to soil for acclimatization, approximately 8 months after inoculation of the original tissue with bacteria. As the limiting factor for recovery of plants from oak embryogenic lines is the low embryo conversion rate, axillary shoot lines were established from transformed germinated embryos. Transformed embryos and shoots were cultured in medium with or without kanamycin and the responses to several morphogenetic processes (recovery after cryopreservation, germination, shoot proliferation, and rooting) were evaluated.     

Short-term temperature impact on soil heterotrophic respiration in limed agricultural soil samples

This study sought to investigate the hourly and daily timescale responses of soil CO₂ fluxes to temperature in a limed agricultural soil. Observations from different incubation experiments were compared with the results of a model combining biotic (heterotrophic respiration) and abiotic (carbonate weathering) components. Several samples were pre-incubated for 8–9 days at three temperatures (5, 15 and 25 °C) and then submitted to short-term temperature (STT) cycles (where the temperature was increased from 5 to 35 °C in 10 °C stages, with each stage being 3 h long). During the temperature cycles (hourly timescale), the soil CO₂ fluxes increased significantly with temperature under all pre-incubation temperature (PIT) treatments. A hysteresis effect and negative fluxes during cooling phases were also systematically observed. At a given hourly timescale temperature, there was a negative relationship of the CO₂ fluxes with the PIT. Using the combined model allowed the experimental results to be clearly described, including the negative fluxes and the hysteresis effect, showing the potentially large contribution of abiotic fluxes to total fluxes in limed soils, after STT changes. The fairly good agreement between the measured and simulated flux results also suggested that the biotic flux temperature sensitivity was probably unaffected by timescale (hourly or daily) or PIT. The negative relationship of the CO₂ fluxes with the PIT probably derived from very labile soil carbon depletion, as shown in the simulations. This was not, however, confirmed by soil carbon measurements, which leaves open the possibility of adaptation within the microbial community.     

Dating the “red beds” of the Eastern Moroccan High Plateaus: Evidence from late Late Cretaceous charophytes and dinosaur eggshells

A new locality in the poorly known “red beds” of Tendrara (High Plateaus, Morocco) has yielded four charophytes species (Feistiella anluensis, Lamprothamnium stipitatum, Peckisphaera portezueloensis, Platychara caudata) and dinosaur eggshells (Pseudomegaloolithus atlasi). These red beds, which overly the Cenomanian-Turonian marine deposits, generally assigned to “Senonian” based on geometric position, are directly dated by these fossils: the charophytes species and dinosaur oospecies association indicates a Campano-Maastrichtian or Maastrichtian age for these calm floodplain deposits.     

Synthesis of new N-(arylcyclopropyl)acetamides and N-(arylvinyl)acetamides as conformationally-restricted ligands for melatonin receptors

N-(Arylcyclopropyl)acetamides and N-(arylvinyl)acetamides or methyl ureas have been prepared as constrained analogues of melatonin. The affinity of these new compounds for chicken brain melatonin receptors and recombinant human MT₁ and MT₂ receptors was evaluated using 2-[¹²⁵I]-iodomelatonin as radioligand. Strict ethylenic or cyclopropyl analogues of the commercialized agonist agomelatine (Valdoxan®) were equipotent to agomelatine in binding bioassays. However, the ethylenic analogue was more effective than the cyclopropyl one in the melanophore aggregation bioassay, but was still less potent than the disubstituted 2,7-dimethoxy-naphtalenic compounds.     

Modulation of adipose tissue inflammation by bioactive food compounds

Adipose tissue has an important endocrine function in the regulation of whole-body metabolism. Obesity leads to a chronic low-grade inflammation of the adipose tissue, which disrupts this endocrine function and results in metabolic derangements, such as type-2 diabetes. Dietary bioactive compounds, such as polyphenols and certain fatty acids, are known to suppress both systemic and adipose tissue inflammation and have the potential to improve these obesity-associated metabolic disorders. Mechanistically, polyphenolic compounds including non-flavonoids, such as curcumin and resveratrol, and flavonoids, such as catechins (tea-polyphenols), quercetin and isoflavones, suppress nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases (MAPK) pathways while activating the 5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway in adipose tissue. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), such as oleic acid, also impart anti-inflammatory effects through several mechanisms. These include activation of AMPK and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), as well as suppression of toll-like receptors (TLRs) and NF-κB pathway. This review discusses the major molecular mechanisms of dietary polyphenols and fatty acids, alone or in combination, which are responsible for adipose tissue-associated anti-inflammatory effects.     

Anoctamin 1 dysregulation alters bronchial epithelial repair in cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) airway epithelium is constantly subjected to injury events due to chronic infection and inflammation. Moreover, abnormalities in CF airway epithelium repair have been described and contribute to the lung function decline seen in CF patients. In the last past years, it has been proposed that anoctamin 1 (ANO1), a Ca^2 +-activated Cl^? channel, might offset the CFTR deficiency but this protein has not been characterized in CF airways. Interestingly, recent evidence indicates a role for ANO1 in cell proliferation and tumor growth. Our aims were to study non-CF and CF bronchial epithelial repair and to determine whether ANO1 is involved in airway epithelial repair. Here, we showed, with human bronchial epithelial cell lines and primary cells, that both cell proliferation and migration during epithelial repair are delayed in CF compared to non-CF cells. We then demonstrated that ANO1 Cl^? channel activity was significantly decreased in CF versus non-CF cells. To explain this decreased Cl^? channel activity in CF context, we compared ANO1 expression in non-CF vs. CF bronchial epithelial cell lines and primary cells, in lung explants from wild-type vs. F508del mice and non-CF vs. CF patients. In all these models, ANO1 expression was markedly lower in CF compared to non-CF. Finally, we established that ANO1 inhibition or overexpression was associated respectively with decreases and increases in cell proliferation and migration. In summary, our study demonstrates involvement of ANO1 decreased activity and expression in abnormal CF airway epithelial repair and suggests that ANO1 correction may improve this process.     

Massive Sorghum Collection Genotyped with SSR Markers to Enhance Use of Global Genetic Resources

Large ex situ collections require approaches for sampling manageable amounts of germplasm for in-depth characterization and use. We present here a large diversity survey in sorghum with 3367 accessions and 41 reference nuclear SSR markers. Of 19 alleles on average per locus, the largest numbers of alleles were concentrated in central and eastern Africa. Cultivated sorghum appeared structured according to geographic regions and race within region. A total of 13 groups of variable size were distinguished. The peripheral groups in western Africa, southern Africa and eastern Asia were the most homogeneous and clearly differentiated. Except for Kafir, there was little correspondence between races and marker-based groups. Bicolor, Caudatum, Durra and Guinea types were each dispersed in three groups or more. Races should therefore better be referred to as morphotypes. Wild and weedy accessions were very diverse and scattered among cultivated samples, reinforcing the idea that large gene-flow exists between the different compartments. Our study provides an entry to global sorghum germplasm collections. Our reference marker kit can serve to aggregate additional studies and enhance international collaboration. We propose a core reference set in order to facilitate integrated phenotyping experiments towards refined functional understanding of sorghum diversity.