Crop plants with improved culture and quality traits for food,feed and other uses

The large French research project GENIUS (2012–2019, https://www6.inra.genius-project_eng/) provides a good showcase of current genome editing techniques applied to crop plants. It addresses a large variety of agricultural species (rice, wheat, maize, tomato, potato, oilseed rape, poplar, apple and rose) together with some models (Arabidopsis, Brachypodium, Physcomitrella). Using targeted mutagenesis as its work horse, the project is limited to proof of concept under confined conditions. It mainly covers traits linked to crop culture, such as disease resistance to viruses and fungi, flowering time, plant architecture, tolerance to salinity and plant reproduction but also addresses traits improving the quality of agricultural products for industrial purposes. Examples include virus resistant tomato, early flowering apple and low-amylose starch potato. The wide range of traits illustrates the potential of genome editing towards a more sustainable agriculture through the reduction of pesticides and to the emergence of innovative bio-economy sectors based on custom tailored quality traits.

     

Spatial distribution of discards in mixed fisheries: species trade-offs,potential spatial avoidance and national contrasts

Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries - Since 2015, the European Union gradually implemented the landing obligation (LO). This prohibits at-sea discarding of species under total allowable catch...     

PAX3 Confers Functional Heterogeneity in Skeletal Muscle Stem Cell Responses to Environmental Stress

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Incidence of early posterior shoulder dislocation in brachial plexus birth palsy

Background

Nerve transfers are commonly employed in the treatment of brachial plexus injuries. We report the use of a new donor for transfer, the platysma motor branch.

Methods

A patient with complete avulsion of the brachial plexus and phrenic nerve paralysis had the suprascapular nerve neurotized by the accessory nerve, half of the hypoglossal nerve transferred to the musculocutaneous nerve, and the platysma motor branch connected to the medial pectoral nerve.

Results

The diameter of both the platysma motor branch and the medial pectoral nerve was around 2 mm. Eight years after surgery, the patient recovered 45° of abduction. Elbow flexion and shoulder adduction were rated as M4, according to the BMC. There was no deficit after the use of the above-mentioned nerves for transfer. Volitional control was acquired for independent function of elbow flexion and shoulder adduction.

Conclusion

The use of the platysma motor branch seems promising. This nerve is expendable; its section led to no deficits, and the relearning of motor control was not complicated. Further anatomical and clinical studies would help to clarify and confirm the usefulness of the platysma motor branch as a donor for nerve transfer.     

HER2 status in ovarian carcinomas: a multicenter GINECO study of 320 patients

Background

Despite a typically good response to first-line combination chemotherapy, the prognosis for patients with advanced ovarian cancer remains poor because of acquired chemoresistance. The use of targeted therapies such as trastuzumab may potentially improve outcomes for patients with ovarian cancer. HER2 overexpression/amplification has been reported in ovarian cancer, but the exact percentage of HER2-positive tumors varies widely in the literature. In this study, HER2 gene status was evaluated in a large, multicentric series of 320 patients with advanced ovarian cancer, including 243 patients enrolled in a multicenter prospective clinical trial of paclitaxel/carboplatin-based chemotherapy.

Methodology/Principal Findings

The HER2 status of primary tumors and metastases was evaluated by both immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis of paraffin-embedded tissue on conventional slides. The prognostic impact of HER2 expression was analyzed. HER2 gene was overexpressed and amplified in 6.6% of analyzed tumors. Despite frequent intratumoral heterogeneity, no statistically significant difference was detected between primary tumors and corresponding metastases.

Conclusions/Significance

Our results show that the decision algorithm usually used in breast cancer (IHC as a screening test, with equivocal results confirmed by FISH) is appropriate in ovarian cancer. In contrast to previous series, HER2-positive status did not influence outcome in the present study, possibly due to the fact that patients in our study received paclitaxel/carboplatin-based chemotherapy. This raises the question of whether HER2 status and paclitaxel sensitively are linked.     

Kinetics of the Anti-oxidant Response to Salinity in the Halophyte Cakile maritima

The effects of NaCl stress on the activity of anti-oxidant enzymes （superoxide dismutase, catalase （CAT）, peroxidase （POD）, ascorbate peroxidase （APX）, monodehydroascorbate reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase （DHAR）, and glutathione reductase （GR））, anti-oxidant molecules （ascorbate and glutathione）, and parameters of oxidative stress （malondialdehyde （MDA）, electrolyte leakage, and H2O2 concentrations） were investigated in Cakile maritima, a halophyte frequent along the Tunisian seashore. Seedlings were grown in the presence of salt （100, 200, and 400 mmol/L NaCl）. Plants were harvested periodically over 20 days. Growth was maximal in the presence of 0-100 mmol/L NaCl. At 400 mmol/L NaCl, growth decreased significantly. The salt tolerance of C. maritima, at moderate salinities, was associated with the lowest values of the parameters indicative of oxidative stress, namely the highest activities of POD, CAT, APX, DHAR, and GR and high tissue content of ascorbate and glutathione. However, prolonged exposure to high salinity resulted in a decrease in anti-oxidant activities and high MDA content, electrolyte leakage, and H2O2 concentrations. These results suggest that anti-oxidant systems participate in the tolerance of C. maritima to moderate salinities.