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In 23 leukemia patients with proven (n = 17) or possible (n = 6) pulmonary mucormycosis (PM), the presence of reversed halo sign on computed tomography was strongly associated with the positivity of quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays targeting Mucorales in the serum, confirming the value of these two tools for the diagnosis of PM in this setting.

Glutathione transferases (GSTs) are a superfamily of enzymes which have in common the ability to catalyze the nucleophilic addition of the thiol group of reduced glutathione (GSH) onto electrophilic and hydrophobic substrates. This conjugation reaction, which occurs spontaneously but is dramatically accelerated by the enzyme, protects cells against damages caused by harmful molecules. With some exceptions, GSTs are catalytically active as homodimers, with monomers generally constituted of 200 to 250 residues organized into two subdomains. The first is the N-terminal subdomain, which contains an active site named G site, where GSH is hosted in catalytic conformation and which is generally highly conserved among GSTs. The second subdomain, hydrophobic, which binds the substrate counterpart (H site), can vary from one GST to another, resulting in structures able to recognize different substrates. In the present work, we performed all-atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent of human GSTA1 in its APO form, bound to GSH ligand and bound to GS-conjugated ligand. From MD, two probes were analyzed to (i) decipher the local conformational changes induced by the presence of the ligand and (ii) map the communication pathways involved in the ligand-binding process. These two local probes are, first, coarse-grained angles (theta,gamma), representing the local conformation of the protein main chain and, second, dihedral angles chi representing the local conformation of the amino-acid side chains. From the local probes time series, effective free-energy landscapes along the amino-acid sequence were analyzed and compared between the three different forms of GSTA1. This methodology allowed us to extract a network of 33 key residues, some of them being located in the experimentally well-known binding sites G and H of GSTA1 and others being located as far as 30 angstrom from the original binding sites. Finally, the collective motions associated with the network of key residues were established, showing a strong dynamical coupling between residues Gly14-Arg15 and Gln54-Val55, both in the same binding site (intrasite) but also between binding sites of each monomer (intersites).

Conjugated forms of odorants contributing to sweat odor occur not only in human sweat but also in amniotic fluid, colostrum, and milk. However, it is unclear whether the released odorants are detected and hedonically discriminated by human newborns. To investigate this issue, we administered highly diluted solutions of (R)/(S)-3-methyl-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (MSH), (R)/(S)-3-sulfanylhexan-1-ol (SH), (E)/(Z)-3-methylhex-2-enoic acid (3M2H), and (R)/(S)-3-hydroxy-3-methylhexanoic acid (HMHA) to 3-d-old infants while their respiratory rate and oro-facial movements were recorded. Adult sensitivity to these odorants was assessed via triangle tests. Whereas no neonatal stimulus-specific response was found for respiratory rate, oro-facial reactivity indicated orthonasal detection of MSH and SH by male neonates, and of HMHA by the whole group of neonates. Dependent on the dilution of odorants, newborns evinced neutral responses or longer negative oro-facial expressions compared with the reference stimuli. Finally, newborns appeared to be more sensitive to the target odorants than did adults.

Climate change will increase average temperatures and the frequency and intensity of summertime droughts; those shifts will in turn affect forage production in grassland-based livestock farms. Farmers will accordingly likely have to implement adaptation strategies to cope with the effects of climate change. We hypothesized that farmers' resilience strategies would depend on (i) their intention to adapt to climate change, which partly results from previous climate risk exposure, (ii) how they perceive the values and disvalues of multi-species permanent grasslands (PGs), and (iii) that both of the aforementioned factors would vary according to the geographical context of each farm. We carried out 15 semi-structured interviews with dairy cattle farmers in the French Massif Central; the farms were distributed along a range of climatic and topographic conditions. We used (i) the Model of Proactive Private Adaptation to Climate Change to analyze farmers' individual process of adaptation, (ii) the Integrated Nature Futures Framework to analyze farmers' perception of multi-species PGs, and (iii) text analysis to identify the farmers' adaptation strategies. Nine of the farmers felt that they were already adapted to climate change or that they had a plan in place to implement new adaptations in the future. We observed straightforward relationships between these farmers' perception of PGs and their choice of adaptation strategy; those relationships varied, however, with the geographical context of each farm. Farmers in the northern Massif Central and southern uplands highlighted the values of PGs and considered PGs to be central to their adaption strategies. Conversely, farmers in the southern lowlands mostly referred to the disvalues of PGs; they based their adaptation strategies on temporary grasslands and forage crops. Three of the farmers believed that climate change posed a significant risk, but they foresaw little room to maneuver. Despite acknowledging the values of PGs, those individuals did not intend to use PGs to adapt to climate change. The final three farmers did not intend to adapt to climate change; their reasoning stemmed from either a mindset of fatalism or their acknowledged desire to retire soon. Extreme events such as the summertime drought of 2003 and human factors such as intergenerational transmission of farm can accordingly facilitate or inhibit climate change-related adaptation. It is accordingly important to take into account both socio-psychological and environmental factors when analyzing how grassland-based farmers transition to more climate change-resilient systems.

In soils, phosphorus (P) is present in relatively large amounts, but for plants and microorganisms, P remains complexed under unavailable forms. To access the unavailable forms of P, plants interact with soil microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and phosphate degrading bacteria (PDB) that can act synergically to improve plant P nutrition. In practice, we aim to stimulate microorganism properties for phosphate degradation and transport to the plant in agricultural soils. Firstly, 17 bacterial isolates were characterized for their ability to degrade insoluble P complexes and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) traits such as the production of auxins and the formation of biofilms via the production of extracellular polymeric substances. Secondly, two Bacillaceae isolates were selected regarding their compatibility in co-culture and ability to promote PGPR traits. In the greenhouse and in pots containing an agricultural soil, tubers of Solanum tuberosum cv. Jazzy were inoculated with each individual isolate, and both isolates. We showed that bacterial inoculation positively impacted plant P nutrition, growth, and yield as well as indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal rate. Our results suggest that the bacterial consortium synergically interacts with indigenous AMF community to improve plant P nutrition and yield, without changing associated microbial communities.

Resistance to potyviruses in plants has been largely provided by the selection of natural variant alleles of eukaryotic translation initiation factors (eIF) 4E in many crops. However, the sources of such variability for breeding can be limited for certain crop species, while new virus isolates continue to emerge. Different methods of mutagenesis have been applied to inactivate the eIF4E genes to generate virus resistance, but with limited success due to the physiological importance of translation factors and their redundancy. Here, we employed genome editing approaches at the base level to induce non-synonymous mutations in the eIF4E1 gene and create genetic diversity in cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme). We sequentially edited the genomic sequences coding for two regions of eIF4E1 protein, located around the cap-binding pocket and known to be important for susceptibility to potyviruses. We show that the editing of only one of the two regions, by gene knock-in and base editing, respectively, is not sufficient to provide resistance. However, combining amino acid mutations in both regions resulted in resistance to multiple potyviruses without affecting the functionality in translation initiation. Meanwhile, we report that extensive base editing in exonic region can alter RNA splicing pattern, resulting in gene knockout. Altogether our work demonstrates that precision editing allows to design plant factors based on the knowledge on evolutionarily selected alleles and enlarge the gene pool to potentially provide advantageous phenotypes such as pathogen resistance.

Abstract Background Land-use is a major driver of changes in biodiversity worldwide, but studies have overwhelmingly focused on above-ground taxa: the effects on soil biodiversity are less well known, despite the importance of soil organisms in ecosystem functioning. We modelled data from a global biodiversity database to compare how the abundance of soil-dwelling and above-ground organisms responded to land use and soil properties. Results We found that land use affects overall abundance differently in soil and above-ground assemblages. The abundance of soil organisms was markedly lower in cropland and plantation habitats than in primary vegetation and pasture. Soil properties influenced the abundance of soil biota in ways that differed among land uses, suggesting they shape both abundance and its response to land use. Conclusions Our results caution against assuming models or indicators derived from above-ground data can apply to soil assemblages and highlight the potential value of incorporating soil properties into biodiversity models.

Abstract Nudix hydrolases are conserved enzymes ubiquitously present in all kingdoms of life. Recent research revealed that several Nudix hydrolases are involved in terpenoid metabolism in plants. In modern roses, RhNUDX1 is responsible for formation of geraniol, a major compound of rose scent. Nevertheless, this compound is produced by monoterpene synthases in many geraniol-producing plants. As a consequence, this raised the question about the origin of RhNUDX1 function and the NUDX1 gene evolution in Rosaceae, in wild roses or/and during the domestication process. Here, we showed that three distinct clades of NUDX1 emerged in the Rosoidae subfamily (Nudx1-1 to Nudx1-3 clades), and two subclades evolved in the Rosa genus (Nudx1-1a and Nudx1-1b subclades). We also showed that the Nudx1-1b subclade was more ancient than the Nudx1-1a subclade, and that the NUDX1-1a gene emerged by a trans-duplication of the more ancient NUDX1-1b gene. After the transposition, NUDX1-1a was cis-duplicated, leading to a gene dosage effect on the production of geraniol in different species. Furthermore, the NUDX1-1a appearance was accompanied by the evolution of its promoter, most likely from a Copia retrotransposon origin, leading to its petal-specific expression. Thus, our data strongly suggest that the unique function of NUDX1-1a in geraniol formation was evolved naturally in the genus Rosa before domestication.

Significance The possibility of leakage from oil and gas wells has raised environmental concerns. There are 2 major environmental consequences of wellbore leakage: 1) the risk of groundwater contamination from hydrocarbons and brines and 2) the risk of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this study, oil and gas wellbore leakage data from British Columbia (BC) were analyzed in order to quantify the occurrence and pathways of leakage as well as the contribution to GHG emissions. The key results summarize as follows. 1) In total, 2,329 wells in BC (of 21,525 that have been tested for leakage) have had reported leakage during the lifetime of the well. 2) In total, GHG emissions are estimated to reach about 75,000 metric t/y. The study also underlines that the values of leaky wells are likely underreported.

We aimed to compare retinal vascular density in optical coherence tomography Angiography (oct-A) between patients hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome (AcS) and control patients and to investigate correlation with angiogenesis biomarkers. patients hospitalized for an acute coronary syndrome (AcS) in the intensive care Unit were included in the \"high cardiovascular risk\" group while patients without cardiovascular risk presenting in the ophthalmology department were included as \"control\". Both groups had blood sampling and OCT-A imaging. Retina microvascularization density in the superficial capillary plexus was measured on 3 × 3 mm angiograms centered on the macula. Angiopoietin-2, TGF-β1, osteoprotegerin, GDF-15 and ST-2 were explored with ELISA or multiplex method. Overall, 62 eyes of ACS patients and 42 eyes of controls were included. ACS patients had significantly lower inner vessel length density than control patients (p = 0.004). A ROC curve found that an inner vessel length density threshold below 20.05 mm −1 was moderately associated with AcS. Significant correlation was found between serum levels of angiopoietin-2 and osteoprotegerin, and retinal microvascularization in OCT-A (R = − 0.293, p = 0.003; R = − 0.310, p = 0.001). Lower inner vessel length density measured with oct-A was associated with AcS event and was also correlated with higher concentrations of angiopoietin-2 and osteoprotegerin. In spite of the improvements in diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), aging of population and urbanization make CVD one of the world's major disease burdens 1,2. Indeed, CVD remain a main cause of premature deaths and disability worldwide, with an estimated 16.7 million deaths in 2010, and projections show an overwhelming 23.3 million by 2030 3. Cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus lead to systemic inflammation, vascular and cardiac oxidative stress, which contribute to coronary dysfunction and microvascular impairment 4. Thus, coronary macro and microvascular alterations are closely associated and together contribute to the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia 5. The assessment of myocardial microvascularization is then of major interest in order to estimate the risk of acute coronary events; however, only invasive procedures, using intra vascular contrast agents, are currently available 6 .