Sterilization of exopolysaccharides produced by deep-sea bacteria: impact on their stability and degradation

Polysaccharides are highly heat-sensitive macromolecules, so high temperature treatments are greatly destructive and cause considerable damage, such as a great decrease in both viscosity and molecular weight of the polymer. The technical feasibility of the production of exopolysaccharides by deep-sea bacteria Vibrio diabolicus and Alteromonas infernus was previously demonstrated using a bioproduct manufacturing process. The objective of this study was to determine which sterilization method, other than heat sterilization, was the most appropriate for these marine exopolysaccharides and was in accordance with bioprocess engineering requirements. Chemical sterilization using low-temperature ethylene oxide and a mixture of ionized gases (plasmas) was compared to the sterilization methods using gamma and beta radiations. The changes to both the physical and chemical properties of the sterilized exopolysaccharides were analyzed. The use of ethylene oxide can be recommended for the sterilization of polysaccharides as a weak effect on both rheological and structural properties was observed. This low-temperature gas sterilizing process is very efficient, giving a good Sterility Assurance Level (SAL), and is also well suited to large-scale compound manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry.     

Issues and challenges in landscape models for agriculture: from the representation of agroecosystems to the design of management strategies

Context

Agroecosystems produce food and many other services that are crucial for human well-being. Given the scales at which the processes underlying these services take place, agricultural landscapes appear as appropriate spatial units for their evaluation and management. The design of sustainable agricultural landscapes that value these services has thus become a pressing issue but faces major challenges stemming from the diversity of processes, their interactions and the number of scales at stake. Agricultural landscape modelling can provide a key contribution to this design but must still overcome several difficulties to offer reliable tools for decision makers.

Objectives

Our study aimed at shedding light on the main scientific and technical difficulties that make the building of landscape models that may efficiently inform decision-makers a complex task, as well as translating them in terms of challenges that can be further investigated and discussed.

Methods

We examine current issues and challenges and indicate future research needs to overcome the scientific and technical obstacles in the development of useful agricultural landscape models.

Results

We highlight research perspectives to better couple landscape patterns and process models and account for feedbacks, integrate the decisions of multiple stakeholders, consider the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of data and processes, explore alternative landscape organisations and assess multiobjective performance.

Conclusion

Coping with the issues and challenges discussed in this paper should improve our understanding of agroecosystems and give rise to new hypotheses, thereby informing future research.

     

Plasticity of animal genome architecture unmasked by rapid evolution of a pelagic tunicate

Genomes of animals as different as sponges and humans show conservation of global architecture. Here we show that multiple genomic features including transposon diversity, developmental gene repertoire, physical gene order, and intron-exon organization are shattered in the tunicate Oikopleura, belonging to the sister group of vertebrates and retaining chordate morphology. Ancestral architecture of animal genomes can be deeply modified and may therefore be largely nonadaptive. This rapidly evolving animal lineage thus offers unique perspectives on the level of genome plasticity. It also illuminates issues as fundamental as the mechanisms of intron gain.     

Genetic analysis of grain mold resistance in white seed sorghum genotypes

Grain molds in rainy season sorghums can cause poor grain quality resulting in economic losses. Grain molds are a major constraint to the sorghum production and for adoption of the improved cultivars. A complex of fungi causes grain mold. Information on genetics of grain mold resistance and mechanisms is required to facilitate the breeding of durable resistant cultivars. A genetic study was conducted using one white susceptible, three white resistant/tolerant sources, and one colored resistant source in the crossing programme to obtain four crosses. P₁, P₂, F₁, BC₁, and BC₂, and F₂ families of each cross were evaluated for the field grade and threshed grade scores, under sprinkler irrigation. Generation mean analyses and frequency distribution studies were carried out. The frequency distribution studies showed that grain mold resistance in the white-grained resistance sources was polygenic. The additive gene action and additive × additive gene interaction were significant in all the crosses. Simple recurrent selection or backcrossing should accumulate the genes for resistance. Epistasis gene interactions were observed in colored resistance × white resistance cross. Gene interaction was influenced by pronounced G × E. Pooled analysis showed that environment × additive gene interaction and environment × dominant gene interaction were significant. The complex genetics of mold resistance is due to the presence of different mechanisms of inheritance from various sources. Evaluation of segregating population for resistance and selection for stable derivatives in advanced generations in different environments will be effective.     

Sources,distribution and transport of atrazine in the St. Lawrence River (Canada)

A Lagragangian sampling strategy was chosen in order to evaluate the main sources of atrazine to the St. Lawrence River, Canada. Lagrangian sampling was carried out during six sampling trips, one at every hydrological season except winter from the period of the summer low flow of 1990 to the spring freshet of 1992. Loadings of atrazine are subject to annual variations induced by different climatic and hydrological conditions. Loadings of atrazine are also dependent on season. Results emphasize the persistence of atrazine as it was found in significant amounts at the end of the growing season and in the following spring. Variations in loadings of atrazine along the river as well as the lateral distribution of atrazine concentrations in a downstream direction suggest inputs within the province of Quebec. The Great Lakes and the international corridor of the St. Lawrence River contribute 68% of the loading exported to the estuary, while Quebec tributaries account for 8% of the inputs. The inportance of the unmeasured sources within the river itself (24%) stresses the need for further research on internal processes and contaminant transfer in the aquatic environment.     

Biophysical connectivity of snapper spawning aggregations and marine protected area management alternatives in Cuba

The ability of larvae to move beyond the spatial range of adult migrations can be critical to the resilience of populations that aggregate to spawn. We reviewed the literature and unpublished information on larval transport modeling, reef fish spawning aggregations, and marine protected area (MPA) management to identify alternatives for Cuban spawning site conservation. Larval transport information is available at annual and decadal scales for eight Cuban sites for five species of snappers. Connectivity patterns were examined: (a) within Cuban regions, (b) among Cuban regions, and (c) among other countries. We compared this information with the distribution of protected areas relative to spawning sites, site management attributes, and potential alternatives. Of eight focal spawning sites, seven are in protected areas and one is proposed. Southeast and north‐central Cuba had highest estimated within‐region retention levels. Southwest and northwest sites exported relatively more larvae out‐of‐region. Southern regions produced larvae that reached Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Haiti. All northern regions can export larvae to the southern Bahamas. The regions and sites within are geomorphologically diverse with variable fishing and socio‐economic attributes. Information on stock status and protected area efficacy is limited and field assessments of aggregation status are needed for multispecies spawning sites. Few management plans address spawning conservation or network connectivity opportunities for MPAs. An alternative is development of one or more regional workgroups of protected area specialists, fishery scientists, expert fishers, and other stakeholders. Temporal closures of fisheries before and during spawning season could also amplify effectiveness of current gear‐ and zoning‐based management tools.