Landscape composition and life-history traits influence bat movement and space use: Analysis of 30 years of published telemetry data

Aim Animal movement determines home range patterns, which in turn affect individual fitness, population dynamics and ecosystem functioning. Using temperate bats, a group of particular conservation concern, we investigated how morphological traits, habitat specialization and environmental variables affect home range sizes and daily foraging movements, using a compilation of 30 years of published bat telemetry data. Location Northern America and Europe. Time period 1988–2016. Major taxa studied Bats. Methods We compiled data on home range size and mean daily distance between roosts and foraging areas at both colony and individual levels from 166 studies of 3,129 radiotracked individuals of 49 bat species. We calculated multi-scale habitat composition and configuration in the surrounding landscapes of the 165 studied roosts. Using mixed models, we examined the effects of habitat availability and spatial arrangement on bat movements, while accounting for body mass, aspect ratio, wing loading and habitat specialization. Results We found a significant effect of landscape composition on home range size and mean daily distance at both colony and individual levels. On average, home ranges were up to 42% smaller in the most habitat-diversified landscapes while mean daily distances were up to 30% shorter in the most forested landscapes. Bat home range size significantly increased with body mass, wing aspect ratio and wing loading, and decreased with habitat specialization. Main conclusions Promoting bat movements through the landscape surrounding roosts at large spatial scales is crucial for bat conservation. Forest loss and overall landscape homogenization lead temperate bats to fly further to meet their ecological requirements, by increasing home range sizes and daily foraging distances. Both processes might be more detrimental for smaller, habitat-specialized bats, less able to travel increasingly longer distances to meet their diverse needs

4×10 Gbit/s bidirectional transmission over 2 km of conventional graded-index OM1 multimode fiber using mode group division multiplexing

International audienceWe demonstrate 4 × 10 Gbit/s error-free bidirectional transmission over 2 km of conventional OM1 graded-index multimode fiber using OOK modulation and direct detection. We also perform field transmission to show reach and capacity boosts on legacy multimode infrastructure. Such transmission is enabled by selective mode group division multiplexing, based on multi-plane light conversion over 4 mode groups of the multimode fiber

Natural killer cell responses to dendritic cells infected by the ANRS HIV-1 vaccine candidate, MVA HIV

International audienceInnate mechanisms are critical for the development of the host immune responses to antigen. Particularly, early interaction between natural killer (NK) cells and dendritic cells (DC) greatly impacts the establishment of both innate and adaptive immune responses. In this study, using an autologous in vitro co-culture system we analyzed the NK cell response against MVAHIV-infected DC as well as the subsequent ability of these MVAHIV-primed NK cells to control HIV-1 infection in autologous DC. We found that NK cells responded early to MVAHIV- or MVAWT-infected DC in terms of degranulation and cytokine production. After a 4-day priming of NK cells by MVAHIV- or MVAWT-infected DC we observed an enhanced proliferation and modulation in the NK cell receptor repertoire expression. Interestingly, we found that MVAHIV-primed NK cells had a significant higher ability to control HIV-1 infection in autologous DC compared to MVAWT-primed NK cells; and this enhanced anti-HIV-1 activity appeared to be HIV-specific as MVAHIV-primed NK cells did not have a better ability to control other viral infections or respond against tumoral cells. Furthermore, we observed that NK cell receptors NKG2D and NKp46 modulate the priming of NK cells. This data provides evidence that in vitro NK cells can be primed by viral vector-infected DC, in the context of a NK/DC culture, to specifically target viral infected cells

Polyherbal formulations with wide spectrum antimicrobial activity against reproductive tract infections and sexually transmitted pathogens

Problem: Recent reports indicate high incidence of genital infections, most of which are sexually transmitted. Although specific drugs and antibiotics are available for some, a safe spermicidal formulation with wide spectrum antimicrobial action would be a desirable addition to the presently available spermicides. Methods: Formulations at different dilutions were tested in culture systems on standard strains and clinical isolates including some isolates resistant to drugs. The effect on (HSV)-2 and Chlamydia trachomatis was determined in vivo in progestin sensitized mice. The effect on HIV-1 was investigated in two standardized systems. Results: Polyherbal cream inhibited the growth in culture of clinical isolates of Candida albicans, Candida krusei and Candida tropicalis. Both the polyherbal cream and the Praneem polyherbal pessary inhibited urinary tract Escherichia coli (including multidrug resistant strains), and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (including 2 strains resistant to penicillin). Both formulations manifested virucidal activity against HIV-1 at > 2 and 50% dilutions (in two different test systems) on contact for 1-2 min. Intravaginal inoculation of the cream and the pessary suspensions before inoculation of the pathogen prevented lesions and vaginal transmission of HSV-2 and C. trachomatis in progestin sensitized mice. Conclusions: Polyherbal formulations have wide spectrum antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral effect against the tested sexually transmitted pathogens

Short-term impact of biogas digestates on soils microbial communities

International audienceAnaerobic digestion of organic waste is considered a key process to produce renewable energy to meet the growing sustainable energy demand. Digestates can be used in agriculture as soil amendments and improve crop yields. However, their use at large scale in agricultural fields still requires to prove their innocuity on soil biota, especially on microorganisms that play important roles in soil ecosystem. Here, we designed a microcosm experiment to compare the short-term (42-days) effects of four different digestates (derived from cattle manure, energy crop, food residues or slurry with bio-waste) on the soil microbial communities. Each digestate was applied on three contrasting soils representing a range of physicochemical characteristics (BOU, silty clay loam texture; PDL, loam texture and PACA, sandy loam texture). These soils are termed BOU, PDL and PACA hereafter, respectively. None of them had a historical record of digestate application; BOU and PDL were under annual cropping systems, while PACA was a vineyard soil. In addition, selected soils had never received digestates inputs before. Amended microcosms were compared to a control (undigested cattle manure). The effect of digestate inputs on the soil microbial communities was assessed using molecular DNA-based tools (quantification of extracted soil DNA and high-throughput sequencing) to measure microbial biomass and diversity, respectively. The impact of the digestates depended on the soil type. No digestate significantly affected the microbial biomass or diversity of the soil presenting the highest organic matter content (P > 0.05), as compared to the cattle manure. In the other soils, digestate addition led to lower microbial biomass compared to undigested manure. The intensity of this effect was dependent on the digestate type, and so were the microbial diversity indicators. Our results show that 42 days after biogas residue application, the effect of digestates on the soil microbial community structure depends on both the soil type and the digestate characteristics. To summarized, our results suggest that the soil microbial communities of coarse-textured soils with an acidic pH and a low C/N ratio are more sensitive to nitrogen-rich digestate inputs

Short-term impact of biogas digestates on soils microbial communities

International audienceAnaerobic digestion of organic waste is considered a key process to produce renewable energy to meet the growing sustainable energy demand. Digestates can be used in agriculture as soil amendments and improve crop yields. However, their use at large scale in agricultural fields still requires to prove their innocuity on soil biota, especially on microorganisms that play important roles in soil ecosystem. Here, we designed a microcosm experiment to compare the short-term (42-days) effects of four different digestates (derived from cattle manure, energy crop, food residues or slurry with bio-waste) on the soil microbial communities. Each digestate was applied on three contrasting soils representing a range of physicochemical characteristics (BOU, silty clay loam texture; PDL, loam texture and PACA, sandy loam texture). These soils are termed BOU, PDL and PACA hereafter, respectively. None of them had a historical record of digestate application; BOU and PDL were under annual cropping systems, while PACA was a vineyard soil. In addition, selected soils had never received digestates inputs before. Amended microcosms were compared to a control (undigested cattle manure). The effect of digestate inputs on the soil microbial communities was assessed using molecular DNA-based tools (quantification of extracted soil DNA and high-throughput sequencing) to measure microbial biomass and diversity, respectively. The impact of the digestates depended on the soil type. No digestate significantly affected the microbial biomass or diversity of the soil presenting the highest organic matter content (P > 0.05), as compared to the cattle manure. In the other soils, digestate addition led to lower microbial biomass compared to undigested manure. The intensity of this effect was dependent on the digestate type, and so were the microbial diversity indicators. Our results show that 42 days after biogas residue application, the effect of digestates on the soil microbial community structure depends on both the soil type and the digestate characteristics. To summarized, our results suggest that the soil microbial communities of coarse-textured soils with an acidic pH and a low C/N ratio are more sensitive to nitrogen-rich digestate inputs

Short-term impact of biogas digestates on soils microbial communities

International audienceAnaerobic digestion of organic waste is considered a key process to produce renewable energy to meet the growing sustainable energy demand. Digestates can be used in agriculture as soil amendments and improve crop yields. However, their use at large scale in agricultural fields still requires to prove their innocuity on soil biota, especially on microorganisms that play important roles in soil ecosystem. Here, we designed a microcosm experiment to compare the short-term (42-days) effects of four different digestates (derived from cattle manure, energy crop, food residues or slurry with bio-waste) on the soil microbial communities. Each digestate was applied on three contrasting soils representing a range of physicochemical characteristics (BOU, silty clay loam texture; PDL, loam texture and PACA, sandy loam texture). These soils are termed BOU, PDL and PACA hereafter, respectively. None of them had a historical record of digestate application; BOU and PDL were under annual cropping systems, while PACA was a vineyard soil. In addition, selected soils had never received digestates inputs before. Amended microcosms were compared to a control (undigested cattle manure). The effect of digestate inputs on the soil microbial communities was assessed using molecular DNA-based tools (quantification of extracted soil DNA and high-throughput sequencing) to measure microbial biomass and diversity, respectively. The impact of the digestates depended on the soil type. No digestate significantly affected the microbial biomass or diversity of the soil presenting the highest organic matter content (P > 0.05), as compared to the cattle manure. In the other soils, digestate addition led to lower microbial biomass compared to undigested manure. The intensity of this effect was dependent on the digestate type, and so were the microbial diversity indicators. Our results show that 42 days after biogas residue application, the effect of digestates on the soil microbial community structure depends on both the soil type and the digestate characteristics. To summarized, our results suggest that the soil microbial communities of coarse-textured soils with an acidic pH and a low C/N ratio are more sensitive to nitrogen-rich digestate inputs

The short-term response of soil microbial communities to digestate application depends on the characteristics of the digestate and soil type

International audienceAnaerobic digestion of organic waste is a key process to produce renewable energy and meet the growing demand for sustainable energy. The residues of anaerobic digestion – called digestates – can be used as soil amendments to improve crop yields. However, the effect of digestates on the soil biota, especially on microorganisms, needs to be better documented before a large scale use of digestates in agriculture. In addition, how the quality and composition of the digestate may affect soil microbial communities has not been properly addressed yet. We designed a microcosm experiment under controlled experimental conditions to compare effects (42 days) of four digestates produced from varying intakes (cattle manure and/or energy crop and/or food residues and/or slurry) on soil microbial communities; a control microcosm made of undigested cattle manure was also used. Each digestate was applied on three contrasting soils representing contrasted pedo-climatic conditions (especially soil type and climate). These three soils presented different prokaryotic and fungal communities structures. The effect of digestate inputs on the soil microbial biomass and diversity was assessed using molecular DNA-based tools (quantification of extracted soil DNA and high-throughput sequencing, respectively) in comparison to the untreated cattle manure control condition. Our results show that 42 days after digestate application, significant differences of soil microbial communities were observed according to the digestate characteristics; these differences were soil-dependent. Thus, in the silty clay loam soil, no effect of digestates was observed on soil microbial biomass or diversity (P > 0.05), as compared to the undigested cattle manure. In the two other soil types (loam and sandy loam), soil microbial biomass decreased (around −40 %, P 0.05). Digestate application resulted in higher fungal diversity (around +35 %; P < 0.001) in soils with low C/N ratio (9.14 in average). The microbial community structure of coarse-textured soil appeared more impacted by organic inputs than fine-textured soils. To conclude, our results show that different soil types, harboring distinct microbial community structures, responded differently to different digestates application. This response was also digestate-dependent

Assessing the Impacts of Assimilating IASI and MOPITT CO Retrievals using CESM-CAM-chem and DART

International audienceWe show the results and evaluation with independent measurements from assimilating bothMOPITT (Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere) and IASI (Infrared AtmosphericSounding Interferometer) retrieved profiles into the Community Earth System Model (CESM). Weused the Data Assimilation Research Testbed ensemble Kalman filter technique, with the fullatmospheric chemistry CESM component Community Atmospheric Model with Chemistry. Wefirst discuss the methodology and evaluation of the current data assimilation system with coupledmeteorology and chemistry data assimilation. The different capabilities of MOPITT and IASIretrievals are highlighted, with particular attention to instrument vertical sensitivity and coverageand how these impact the analyses. MOPITT and IASI CO retrievals mostly constrain the COfields close to the main anthropogenic, biogenic, and biomass burning CO sources. In the case ofIASI CO assimilation, we also observe constraints on CO far from the sources. During thesimulation time period (June and July 2008), CO assimilation of both instruments stronglyimproves the atmospheric CO state as compared to independent observations, with the higherspatial coverage of IASI providing better results on the global scale. However, the enhancedsensitivity of multispectral MOPITT observations to near surface CO over the main source regionsprovides synergistic effects at regional scales

Genome evolution across 1,011 Saccharomyces cerevisiaeSaccharomyces\ cerevisiae isolates

International audienceLarge-scale population genomic surveys are essential to explore the phenotypic diversity of natural populations. Here we report the whole-genome sequencing and phenotyping of 1,011 $Saccharomyces\ cerevisiae$ isolates, which together provide an accurate evolutionary picture of the genomic variants that shape the species-wide phenotypic landscape of this yeast. Genomic analyses support a single ‘out-of-China’ origin for this species, followed by several independent domestication events. Although domesticated isolates exhibit high variation in ploidy, aneuploidy and genome content, genome evolution in wild isolates is mainly driven by the accumulation of single nucleotide polymorphisms. A common feature is the extensive loss of heterozygosity, which represents an essential source of inter-individual variation in this mainly asexual species. Most of the single nucleotide polymorphisms, including experimentally identified functional polymorphisms, are present at very low frequencies. The largest numbers of variants identified by genome-wide association are copy-number changes, which have a greater phenotypic effect than do single nucleotide polymorphisms. This resource will guide future population genomics and genotype–phenotype studies in this classic model system