A <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> strain as probiotic in poultry: selection based on in vitro functional properties and enzymatic potentialities

We have proposed and validate an in vitro probiotic selection, based on enzymatic potentialities associated to well-established probiotic functional properties. A new Bacillus subtilis HB2 isolate, selected based on its high extracellular enzyme production, was chosen as a probiotic candidate for application as animal feed supplement. The HB2 strain showed an excellent acid and bile salts tolerance, a strong adhesion to chick enterocytes and produced antimicrobials against pathogens. An in vivo trial in poultry farming was conducted to evaluate the HB2 probiotic performance. After 35 days, HB2 achieved the higher growth performance than the control groups. The mortality and the feed conversion ratio were significantly decreased. Finally, the HB2 treated group showed wet litter and less severe ammonia odor in the atmosphere. Our study provides new insights into the importance of enzymatic potentialities, associated with the common functional properties, as a novel approach for probiotic selection.     

Molecular Diagnostic and Prognostic Subtyping of Gliomas in Tunisian Population

It has become increasingly evident that morphologically similar gliomas may have distinct clinical phenotypes arising from diverse genetic signatures. To date, glial tumours from the Tunisian population have not been investigated. To address this, we correlated the clinico-pathology with molecular data of 110 gliomas by a combination of HM450K array, MLPA and TMA-IHC. PTEN loss and EGFR amplification were distributed in different glioma histological groups. However, 1p19q co-deletion and KIAA1549:BRAF fusion were, respectively, restricted to Oligodendroglioma and Pilocytic Astrocytoma. CDKN2A loss and EGFR overexpression were more common within high-grade gliomas. Furthermore, survival statistical correlations led us to identify Glioblastoma (GB) prognosis subtypes. In fact, significant lower overall survival (OS) was detected within GB that overexpressed EGFR and Cox2. In addition, IDH1R132H mutation seemed to provide a markedly survival advantage. Interestingly, the association of IDHR132H mutation and EGFR normal status, as well as the association of differentiation markers, defined GB subtypes with good prognosis. By contrast, poor survival GB subtypes were defined by the combination of PTEN loss with PDGFRa expression and/or EGFR amplification. Additionally, GB presenting p53-negative staining associated with CDKN2A loss or p21 positivity represented a subtype with short survival. Thus, distinct molecular subtypes with individualised prognosis were identified. Interestingly, we found a unique histone mutation in a poor survival young adult GB case. This tumour exceptionally associated the H3F3A G34R mutation and MYCN amplification as well as 1p36 loss and 10q loss. Furthermore, by exhibiting a remarkable methylation profile, it emphasised the oncogenic power of G34R mutation connecting gliomagenesis and chromatin regulation.     

Socioeconomic Factors Drive Fire-Regime Variability in the Mediterranean Basin

In recent decades, fires in Mediterranean Europe have become larger and more frequent. This trend has been driven by socioeconomic changes that have generated rural depopulation and changes in traditional land use. Within the Mediterranean Basin, the most contrasting socioeconomic conditions are found by comparing southern European with North African countries, and thus our hypothesis is that this difference generates contrasting fire regimes between the two regions. Specifically, we predict that current fire regimes in Mediterranean Africa resemble past fire regimes in the Mediterranean Europe when rural activities dominated the landscape. To test our hypothesis, we compared fire statistics from the western Rif (northern Morocco, 1988–2015) and from Valencia (eastern Spain, 1880–2014). The results suggest that the Rif has a typical Mediterranean fire regime with fires occurring in the hot, dry summer season. However, fires are very small and the annual proportion of burnt area is very low, compared to the current regime in Valencia (post-1970s). The current Rif fire size class distribution matches the fire regime in Valencia prior to the 1970s before the collapse of the rural population and when fires were fuel-limited. The shift in the recent decades in fire regime observed in different countries of the Mediterranean Europe (from small, fuel-limited fires to drought-driven fires) can be identified when moving from the southern to the northern rim of the basin. That is, most spatial and temporal variability in fire regimes of the Mediterranean Basin is driven by shifts in the amounts of fuel and continuity imposed by changes in socioeconomic drivers.     

Variability in the 11S globulin fraction of seed storage proteins ofHelianthus (Asteraceae)

The seed storage globulins from sixHelianthus and four hybrids were studied using mono and bidimensional gel SDS electrophoresis (+ 2 mercaptoethanol). The polypeptide composition of each subunit was determined. Different pairs are specifically expressed according to the species studied. Three typical patterns were discriminated. All the studied species exhibit five subunits: two of them are expressed in all the species (₁₁ and ₂₂). The subunit corresponding to the ₁₁ pair is present inH. petiolaris and in the three populations ofH. annuus studied. The _2b2 pair is common toH. annuus andH. argophyllus. H. petiolaris presents two specific _2a2 and ₄₄ pairs andH. annuus a specific ₃₃ pair. InH. argophyllus _{11 33} or ₄₄ are never observed but are replaced by ₁₃ and ₃₁ pairs. Some globulins, poorly represented, are of forms but present chains of higher molecular weights (in the range 54–56 kDa). Expressing variations in the banding patterns between these species by the use of a similarity index reveals complete identity between the three populations ofH. annuus. Identity between the twoH. petiolaris studied is also observed.H. annuus andH. argophyllus appear to be closer to each other thanH. petiolaris concerning the seed storage globulins.     

Homozygous <Emphasis Type="Italic">KCNMA1</Emphasis> mutation as a cause of cerebellar atrophy,developmental delay and seizures

Dominant gain-of-function mutations of the KCNMA1 gene, encoding the pore-forming subunit of the large conductance voltage- and Ca²⁺-activated K+ channel, have been described in a few patients with the syndrome of epilepsy, paroxysmal dyskinesias and developmental delay. In this report, we describe the loss-of-function phenotype of this newly described disease gene. In two siblings from a consanguineous family with epilepsy, developmental delay and severe cerebellar atrophy, combined exome/autozygome analysis identified a homozygous frameshift duplication in KCNMA1 (c.2026dupT; p. (Tyr676 Leufs^*7)) in both children. Our report defines a novel autosomal recessive KCNMA1-related epileptic phenotype that encompasses cerebellar atrophy without paroxysmal dyskinesia, and highlights the sensitivity of the developing brain to both increased and decreased activity of the KCNMA1-encoded channels.     

Population parameters and exploitation rate of Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus (Cichlidae) in Lakes Doukon and Togbadji,Benin

Growth, mortality, recruitment and relative yield per recruit of Sarotherodon galilaeus galilaeus from Lakes Doukon and Togbadji were studied. Data on total length, total weight and sex were recorded on a monthly basis between January and December 2013 for S. g. galilaeus captured by local fishers. The estimated asymptotic lengths L_∞ were 26.2 and 23.6?cm for Lakes Doukon and Togbadji, respectively, while the growth rate K was 0.73 in Lake Doukon and 0.87 in Lake Togbadji. Estimates of fishing mortality, 0.27 and 0.47 y^?1 for Doukon and Togbadji, respectively, were low relative to natural mortality, 1.51 and 1.74 y^?1, respectively. Sizes at first sexual maturity were 12.8 and 13.2?cm for females and males, respectively, in Lake Doukon, and 11.5 and 12.4?cm for females and males, respectively, in Lake Togbadji. The size at first capture was estimated at 13.3 and 12.7?cm for Lakes Doukon and Togbadji, respectively, which, in the light of the size at maturity estimates, indicates that fish spawn at least once before capture. The current exploitation rates of 0.15 for Lake Doukon and 0.21 for Lake Togbadji suggest that their stocks of S. g. galilaeus are not overexploited in either lake.     

Large intra-individual variability of plasma cytokines in healthy young men: a two 24-h study over a month

Cytokine levels in blood are not yet fully considered as biomarkers for disease even if some significant progresses have been made in linking certain cytokines to some diseases. The aim of this study was to look for the stability of some cytokines in blood collected in two different days separated by one month. Fifteen healthy young men aged 20–30 years were selected for this study. Each subject participated in two 24-h sessions spaced a month apart. Blood sample was taken at 11:00, 17:00, 22:00, 01:00, 04:00, 06:00, and 08:00. Concentrations of interleukin-6, interleukin-1-receptor antagonist, soluble IL-2 receptor, interleukin-1 beta, and interleukin-2 were measured in serum. The circadian pattern of each variable was compared between the two days. The results show that there is no reliability for the measured cytokines. This study shows that cytokine levels measured in blood are neither reliable variables nor considered as stable markers in healthy subjects.     

A putative role for fusaric acid in biocontrol of the parasitic angiosperm Orobanche ramosa

Fusarium spp. are ubiquitous fungi found in soil worldwide as both pathogenic and nonpathogenic strains. The signals leading to disease or the absence of disease are poorly understood. We recently showed that fusaric acid (FA), a nonspecific toxin produced by most Fusarium spp., could elicit various plant defense responses at 100 nM without toxic effect. In this study, we checked for the effect of FA on root and root hairs, probable first site of contact between the fungi and the host. Large FA concentrations reduce root and root-hair growth and induce a rapid transient membrane hyperpolarization, followed by a large depolarization, due to the inhibition of H(+)-ATPase currents. Nanomolar concentrations of FA induced only an early transient membrane hyperpolarization of root hairs compatible with the induction of a signal transduction pathway. FA at 10(-7) M failed to induce salicylic acid- and jasmonic acid/ethylene-dependent defense-related genes but inhibited the germination of the angiosperm parasite Orobanche ramosa in contact of FA-pretreated Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings. These data suggest that FA at nontoxic concentrations could activate signal transduction components necessary for plant-defense responses that could contribute to biocontrol activity of Fusarium spp.     

DNA structures from phosphate chemical shifts

For B-DNA, the strong linear correlation observed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) between the ³¹P chemical shifts (δP) and three recurrent internucleotide distances demonstrates the tight coupling between phosphate motions and helicoidal parameters. It allows to translate δP into distance restraints directly exploitable in structural refinement. It even provides a new method for refining DNA oligomers with restraints exclusively inferred from δP. Combined with molecular dynamics in explicit solvent, these restraints lead to a structural and dynamical view of the DNA as detailed as that obtained with conventional and more extensive restraints. Tests with the Jun-Fos oligomer show that this δP-based strategy can provide a simple and straightforward method to capture DNA properties in solution, from routine NMR experiments on unlabeled samples.