Search results for "Education"

Transcriptome Response of Metallicolous and a Non-Metallicolous Ecotypes of Noccaea goesingensis to Nickel Excess

2020

Root transcriptomic profile was comparatively studied in a serpentine (TM) and a non-metallicolous (NTM) population of Noccaea goesingensis in order to investigate possible features of Ni hyperaccumulation. Both populations were characterised by contrasting Ni tolerance and accumulation capacity. The growth of the TM population was unaffected by metal excess, while the shoot biomass production in the NTM population was significantly lower in the presence of Ni in the culture medium. Nickel concentration was nearly six- and two-fold higher in the shoots than in the roots of the TM and NTM population, respectively. The comparison of root transcriptomes using the RNA-seq method indicated disti…

2017

Both effective population size and life history may influence the efficacy of purifying selection, but it remains unclear if the environment affects the accumulation of weakly deleterious nonsynonymous polymorphisms. We hypothesize that the reduced energetic cost of osmoregulation in brackish water habitat may cause relaxation of selective constraints at mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed 57 complete mitochondrial genomes of Pungitius pungitius collected from brackish and freshwater habitats. Based on inter- and intraspecific comparisons, we estimated that 84% and 68% of the nonsynonymous polymorphisms in the freshwater and brackish …

Genetic variation of naturally growing olive trees in Israel: from abandoned groves to feral and wild?

2016

Background Naturally growing populations of olive trees are found in the Mediterranean garrigue and maquis in Israel. Here, we used the Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) genetic marker technique to investigate whether these represent wild var. sylvestris. Leaf samples were collected from a total of 205 trees at six sites of naturally growing olive populations in Israel. The genetic analysis included a multi-locus lineage (MLL) analysis, Rousset’s genetic distances, Fst values, private alleles, other diversity values and a Structure analysis. The analyses also included scions and suckers of old cultivated olive trees, for which the dominance of one clone in scions (MLL1) and a second in suckers (…

Opportunity costs resulting from scramble competition within the choosy sex severely impair mate choosiness.

2016

12 pages; International audience; Studies on mate choice mainly focus on the evolution of signals that would maximize the probability of finding a good-quality partner. Most models of sexual selection rely on the implicit assumption that individuals can freely compare and spot the best mates in a heterogeneous population. Comparatively few studies have investigated the consequences of the mate-sampling process. Several sampling strategies have been studied from theoretical or experimental perspectives. They belong to two families of decision rules: best-of-n strategies (individuals sample n partners before choosing the best one within this pool) or threshold strategies (individuals sequenti…

Biological control of potato soft rot caused by Dickeya solani and the survival of bacterial antagonists under cold storage conditions

2018

Dickeya and Pectobacterium are responsible for causing blackleg of plants and soft rot of tubers in storage and in the field, giving rise to losses in seed potato production. In an attempt to improve potato health, biocontrol activity of known and putative antagonists was screened using in vitro and in planta assays, followed by analysis of their persistence at various storage temperatures. Most antagonists had low survival on potato tuber surfaces at 4 °C. The population dynamics of the best low‐temperature tolerant strain and also the most efficient antagonist, Serratia plymuthica A30, along with Dickeya solani as target pathogen, was studied with TaqMan real‐time PCR throughout the stora…

Glomeromycotina: what is a species and why should we care?

2018

International audience; A workshop at the recent International Conference on Mycorrhiza was focused on species recognition in Glomeromycotina and parts of their basic biology that define species. The workshop was motivated by the paradigm-shifting evidence derived from genomic data for sex and for the lack of heterokaryosis, and by published exchanges in Science that were based on different species concepts and have led to differing views of dispersal and endemism in these fungi. Although a lively discussion ensued, there was general agreement that species recognition in the group is in need of more attention, and that many basic assumptions about the biology of these important fungi includ…

Tonoplast aquaporins facilitate lateral root emergence\ud

2016

Pôle SPE IPM UB; International audience; Aquaporins (AQPs) are water channels allowing fast and passive diffusion of water across cell membranes. It was hypothesized that AQPs contribute to cell elongation processes by allowing water influx across the plasma membrane and the tonoplast to maintain adequate turgor pressure. Here, we report that, in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the highly abundant tonoplast AQP isoforms AtTIP1;1, AtTIP1;2, and AtTIP2;1 facilitate the emergence of new lateral root primordia (LRPs). The number of lateral roots was strongly reduced in the triple tip mutant, whereas the single, double, and triple tip mutants showed no or minor reduction in growth of the mai…

Potential impact of genetically modified Lepidoptera-resistant Brassica napus in biodiversity hotspots: Sicily as a theoretical model

2018

The general increase of the cultivation and trade of Bt transgenic plants resistant to Lepidoptera pests raises concerns regarding the conservation of animal and plant biodiversity. Demand for biofuels has increased the cultivation and importation of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.), including transgenic lines. In environmental risk assessments (ERAs) for its potential future cultivation as well as for food and feed uses, the impact on wild Brassicaeae relatives and on non-target Lepidoptera should be assessed. Here we consider the potential exposure of butterflies as results of possible cultivation or naturalization of spilled seed in Sicily (Italy). Diurnal Lepidoptera, which are pollinat…

Evolving by deleting: patterns of molecular evolution of Apple stem pitting virus isolates from Poland

2019

In this study, 267 coat protein gene (CP) sequences from 48 Polish isolates of Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV) were determined. The genetic structure of the virus population was analysed and possible mechanisms of molecular evolution explored. We found evidence of recombination within the ASPV population and the presence of 17 ASPV molecular variants that differ in the length, number and arrangement of deletions in the CP. Population genetic analyses showed significant variation among isolates from pear and apple trees, between isolates from the same host species and, more interestingly, within isolates, supporting the existence of significant levels of variability within individual hosts, …

Genome analysis of the monoclonal marbled crayfish reveals genetic separation over a short evolutionary timescale

2021

The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) represents a very recently evolved parthenogenetic freshwater crayfish species that has invaded diverse habitats in Europe and in Madagascar. However, population genetic analyses have been hindered by the homogeneous genetic structure of the population and the lack of suitable tools for data analysis. We have used whole-genome sequencing to characterize reference specimens from various known wild populations. In parallel, we established a whole-genome sequencing data analysis pipeline for the population genetic analysis of nearly monoclonal genomes. Our results provide evidence for systematic genetic differences between geographically separated …