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The Application of a Plant Biostimulant Based on Seaweed and Yeast Extract Improved Tomato Fruit Development and Quality
2020
Plant biostimulants are under investigation as innovative products to improve plant production and fruit quality, without resulting in environmental and food contaminations. Here, the effects of the application of Expando, a biostimulant based on seaweed and yeast extracts, on plant productivity, fruit ripening times, and fruit quality of Solanum lycopersicum var. Micro-Tom were evaluated. After biostimulant treatment, a two-week reduction of ripening times and a concomitant enhancement of the production percentage during the earliest ripening times, in terms of both fruit yield (+110%) and size (+85%), were observed. Concerning fruit quality, proximate analysis showed that tomatoes treated…
Ocean acidification impairs vermetid reef recruitment
2014
Vermetids form reefs in sub-tropical and warm-temperate waters that protect coasts from erosion, regulate sediment transport and accumulation, serve as carbon sinks and provide habitat for other species. The gastropods that form these reefs brood encapsulated larvae; they are threatened by rapid environmental changes since their ability to disperse is very limited. We used transplant experiments along a natural CO2 gradient to assess ocean acidification effects on the reef-building gastropod Dendropoma petraeum. We found that although D. petraeum were able to reproduce and brood at elevated levels of CO2, recruitment success was adversely affected. Long-term exposure to acidified conditions…
Pigmentation polymorphism in the invasive amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus : some insights into its maintenance
2004
Dikerogammarus villosus, a freshwater invasive amphipod, exhibits conspicuous pigmentation polymorphism. This polymorphism is documented in two recently colonized areas, the Saand Moselle rivers (north-eastern France), and some of the mechanisms by which pigmentation polymorphism can arise and be maintained are addressed. Body size, reproductive status, fecundity and mate choice are compared among morphs of D. villosus in field samples collected in summer 2001. Body size and female gonad developmental stage were comparable among the different morphs, suggesting that polymorphism is not the result of changes in pigmentation with age or moult- cycle. Fecundity and reproductive status (paired …
Anthocyanins: Biosynthesis, Distribution, Ecological Role, and Use of Biostimulants to Increase Their Content in Plant Foods—A Review
2021
In the past century, plant biostimulants have been increasingly used in agriculture as innovative and sustainable practice. Plant biostimulants have been mainly investigated as potential agents able to mitigate abiotic stress. However, few information is available about their ability to influence fruit quality or change fruit phytochemical composition. In particular, very little is known about their effects on anthocyanin synthesis and accumulation. Due to the increasing demand of consumers for healthier foods with high nutraceutical values, this review tries to fill the gap between anthocyanin content and biostimulant application. Here, we elucidate the chemical structure, biosynthetic pat…
Water recycling in leaves of Lithops (Aizoaceae)
2016
Lithops plants consist of a pair of succulent leaves inserted on a short stem; each growing season young leaves develop in a cavity formed between the older pair. Young leaves can take up water from the older pair allowing the plant to maintain growth and leaf expansion even without external supply of water. Recycling water between vegetative organs is one of the possible adaptation strategies of plants under drought stress, but it had never been demonstrated experimentally in Lithops. The methodology used to verify the existence of water redistribution from old leaves to young leaves was fluorescence microscopy, using two dyes to follow the water pathway inside the plant: Sulforhodamine G …
Drought Stress Memory at the Plant Cycle Level: A Review
2021
International audience; Plants are sessile organisms whose survival depends on their strategy to cope with dynamic, stressful conditions. It is urgent to improve the ability of crops to adapt to recurrent stresses in order to alleviate the negative impacts on their productivity. Although our knowledge of plant adaptation to drought has been extensively enhanced during the last decades, recent studies have tackled plant responses to recurrent stresses. The present review synthesizes the major findings from studies addressing plant responses to multiple drought events, and demonstrates the ability of plants to memorize drought stress. Stress memory is described as a priming effect allowing a …
Constitutive Activation of the Midgut Response to Bacillus thuringiensis in Bt-Resistant Spodoptera exigua
2010
Bacillus thuringiensis is the most effective microbial control agent for controlling numerous species from different insect orders. The main threat for the long term use of B. thuringiensis in pest control is the ability of insects to develop resistance. Thus, the identification of insect genes involved in conferring resistance is of paramount importance. A colony of Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was selected for 15 years in the laboratory for resistance to Xentari (TM), a B. thuringiensis-based insecticide, reaching a final resistance level of greater than 1,000-fold. Around 600 midgut ESTs were analyzed by DNA-macroarray in order to find differences in midgut gene expression …
Phytotoxic Effects of Commercial Eucalyptus citriodora, Lavandula angustifolia, and Pinus sylvestris Essential Oils on Weeds, Crops, and Invasive Spe…
2019
Background: essential oils are well known for their pharmacological effectiveness as well as their repellent, insecticide, and herbicide activities. The emergence of resistant weeds, due to the overuse of synthetic herbicides, makes it necessary to find natural alternatives for weed control. The aim of this study was to evaluate the phytotoxic effects of Eucalyptus citriodora, Lavandula angustifolia, and Pinus sylvestris, three common commercial essential oils, on weeds (Portulaca oleracea, Lolium multiflorum, and Echinochloa crus-galli), food crops (tomato and cucumber), and the invasive species Nicotiana glauca. Methods: to determine herbicidal effects, essential oils were tested at diffe…
Fatty acid hydroperoxide lyase of green bell pepper: cloning in Yarrowia lipolytica and biogenesis of volatile aldehydes
2004
Publication Inra prise en compte dans l'analyse bibliométrique des publications scientifiques mondiales sur les Fruits, les Légumes et la Pomme de terre. Période 2000-2012. http://prodinra.inra.fr/record/256699; International audience; Fatty acid hydroperoxide lyase (HPO lyase) is a cytochrome P450 acting on fatty acid hydroperoxides in many organisms. The expression of green bell pepper HPO lyase in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica is described for the first time. HPO lyase activity from yeast extract and whole yeast cells is measured and aldehydes production from yeast extract and whole yeast cells is compared. 1200 U/L reaction medium were obtained after 96 h of culture on olive oil rich me…
Spatial structure and β-diversity of phytoplankton in Tibetan Plateau lakes: nestedness or replacement?
2017
Spatial patterns and β-diversity of phytoplankton assemblages depend on the relative importance of species dispersal capacity and species-sorting. Variability in species composition, composed by differences in species richness (nestedness) and/or species replacement, may be caused by niche availability and environmental selection. A field survey was carried out in Tibetan plateau on 38 lakes. Tibetan plateau lakes, located at high elevation, are harsh ecosystems characterized by low temperatures, low available nutrients, high UV amount, and strong salinity gradients. Only well-adapted species can survive in these environments. We therefore hypothesized that environmental filtering was the m…