Disaggregation of SMOS soil moisture to 100m resolution using MODIS optical/thermal and sentinel-1 radar data: evaluation over a bare soil site in morocco

The 40 km resolution SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) soil moisture, previously disaggregated at a 1 km resolution using the DISPATCH (DISaggregation based on Physical And Theoretical scale CHange) method based on MODIS optical/thermal data, is further disaggregated to 100 m resolution using Sentinel-1 backscattering coefficient (σ°). For this purpose, three distinct radar-based disaggregation methods are tested by linking the spatio-temporal variability of σ° and soil moisture data at the 1 km and 100 m resolution. The three methods are: (1) the weight method, which estimates soil moisture at 100 m resolution at a certain time as a function of σ° ratio (100 m to 1 km resolution) and the 1 km DISPATCH products of the same time; (2) the regression method which estimates soil moisture as a function of σ° where the regression parameters (e.g., intercept and slope) vary in space and time; and (3) the Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) method, which estimates 100 m resolution soil moisture from the cumulative probability of 100 m resolution backscatter and the maximum to minimum 1 km resolution (DISPATCH) soil moisture difference. In each case, disaggregation results are evaluated against in situ measurements collected between 1 January 2016 and 11 October 2016 over a bare soil site in central Morocco. The determination coefficient (R2) between 1 km resolution DISPATCH and localized in situ soil moisture is 0.31. The regression and CDF methods have marginal effect on improving the DISPATCH accuracy at the station scale with a R2 between remotely sensed and in situ soil moisture of 0.29 and 0.34, respectively. By contrast, the weight method significantly improves the correlation between remotely sensed and in situ soil moisture with a R2 of 0.52. Likewise, the soil moisture estimates show low root mean square difference with in situ measurements (RMSD = 0.032 m3 m−3).This work is a contribution to the REC project funded by the European Commission Horizon 2020 Programme for Research and Innovation (H2020) in the context of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) action under grant agreement no: 645642. In addition, this work has been partially funded by a public grant of Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (DI-14-06587) and AGAUR-Generalitat de Catalunya (DI-2015-058)

Contribution des isotopes de l’environnement pour la comprehension du fonctionnement de l’aquifere mio-plioquaternaire du Haouz de Marrakech (Maroc)

The study area «Haouz plain» is Located at the center of Morocco, it extend on a surface of 2800 km2, limited by the Jbilet hills in the North, the High-Atlas range in the South, R' dat wadi in the East and the Essaouira-Chichaoua plateau in the West. The area climate is semi-arid, characterized by low precipitations varying between 160 mm/year and 250mm/year and important variation in temperature between the winter and the summer with respectively 5°C and 45°C. Its hydrographic network is represented by the Tensift system which receives all the affluents of central and Westem Haouz. These affluents are characterized by weak flows with important seasonal variations. The Haouz plain is a sedimentary basin, being along the northern edge of the high atlas, it presents a geologic succession going from the primary to the recent Quaternary. The mio-plioquatemary formations, stemming from the dismantling of the atlasic chain, refuge an important and generalized water table on al1 the plain. This water table shows very variable hydrodynarnic characteristics, reflecting the complexity of the deep structures of the plain, 1986) and also the lithological variability of the mio-plioquatemary formations. The Haouz plain includes also the deep resemoirs of the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene which finish some meters at the north of the Atlas, thus having a very limited extension and thereafter a low productivity. Five representative samples of water taken on the haouz water table were analyzed by the ABHT, the projection of these contents on the potability diagram enabled us to show that water of the water table generally has a good quality to passable. In the east quality becomes poor related to the existence of a zone arranged for agriculture (piezometer 1903/44). The nastiest potability is obsemed on the piezometer 3828/44 located at north of Marrakech at elazouzia zone of spreading of wom water of this city. The representation of the percentages of anions and major cations shows the prevalence of ions Ca2+ and HCO; and makes it possible to show up the Bicarbonate calcic facies of the water table. During these last decades, the use of stable isotopes, such oxygen 18 and deuterium, became necessary for the study of subsoil waters, it makes possible the estimation of the surfaces of refills, the determination of water origin. The samples taken on water points well distributed in the area of study allowed us a better comprehension of the function of the plioquatemary water table. The relation oxygen 18, deuterium shows that water is aligned on a line of slope 8.09, slightly different from the world meteoric line, thus characterizing precipitations of oceanic origin which did not endure notable isotopic fractionation therefore not important evaporation. Using the isotopic measures for the sarnples taken in January 2002 on wells well distributed in the area of study, allows us to show a variation of the contents of 018 with the altitude of the zones of refill. Thus we could delimit the surfaces of refill between 1500 and 800meters height. The relation oxygen-18 deuterium (δ2H = 8,9032 δ18O + 14,214 (R2 = 0,7449 ) translated an Atlantic mode of precipitations without remarkable evaporation.Parmi les aquifères régionaux importants de très grande extension au Maroc, celui du Haouz qui s’étend sur une superficie de 6.000 km2, circule au niveau du remplissage mioplioquaternaire issue du démantèlement de la chaîne Atlasique. Ce dernier présente un faciès constitué de galets, graviers, argiles, marnes et calcaires, dont la puissance atteint les 100 mètres. Cet aquifère joue un rôle très important dans l’alimentation en eau potable des habitants de la plaine du Haouz d’une population de plus de 4 millions d’habitants, en sus d’un complément a l’irrigation de 80.000 ha. Le climat aride de type continental, qui y règne se caractérise par des amplitudes thermiques assez importantes entre l’hiver et l’été. La pluviométrie présente une moyenne de 250 mm par an. La piézométrie de la zone étudiée est caractérisée par un écoulement général du sud vers le nord ouest en direction de l’oued Tensift, également principal collecteur des eaux de surface de la région. Une campagne de mesures isotopiques de plus d’une vingtaine d’échantillons prélevés en janvier 2002 au niveau de puits bien répartis dans la zone d’étude, au pu montrer une variation des teneurs en O" avec l’altitude des zones de recharge. En outre, la relation oxygene-18 deutérium (δ2H = 8,9032 δ18O + 14,214 (R2 = 0,7449 traduit un régime atlantique des précipitations, sans évaporation, ce qui implique que la recharge se fait rapidement, probablement a travers les formations miocènes gréseuses largement fissurées a l’affleurement de l’aquifère mío-plioquatemaire. Un gradient altitudinal moyen de -0,26 ‰ par 100 mètres est déterminé pour la plaine du Haouz, très proche des autres valeurs trouvées pour d’autres régions au Maroc, confirmant la validité régionale de celui-ci. Les variations des teneurs en oxygene-18 peuvent être interprétées en termes de différence d’altitude entre les altitudes de recharge et d’émergence

Backbone resonance assignments of the monomeric DUF59 domain of human Fam96a

Proteins containing a domain of unknown function 59 (DUF59) appear to have a variety of physiological functions, ranging from iron-sulfur cluster assembly to DNA repair. DUF59 proteins have been found in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes, however Fam96a and Fam96b are the only mammalian proteins predicted to contain a DUF59 domain. Fam96a is an 18 kDa protein comprised primarily of a DUF59 domain (residues 31-157) and an N-terminal signal peptide (residues 1-27). Interestingly, the DUF59 domain of Fam96a exists as monomeric and dimeric forms in solution, and X-ray crystallography studies of both forms unexpectedly revealed two different domain-swapped dimer structures. Here we report the backbone resonance assignments and secondary structure of the monomeric form of the 127 residue DUF59 domain of human Fam96a. This study provides the basis for further understanding the structural variability exhibited by Fam96a and the mechanism for domain swapping

Diets containing sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) meals are hypocholesterolemic in young rats

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Stem rust resistance in wheat is suppressed by a subunit of the mediator complex

Stem rust is an important disease of wheat that can be controlled using resistance genes. The gene SuSr-D1 identified in cultivar 'Canthatch' suppresses stem rust resistance. SuSr-D1 mutants are resistant to several races of stem rust that are virulent on wild-type plants. Here we identify SuSr-D1 by sequencing flow-sorted chromosomes, mutagenesis, and map-based cloning. The gene encodes Med15, a subunit of the Mediator Complex, a conserved protein complex in eukaryotes that regulates expression of protein-coding genes. Nonsense mutations in Med15b.D result in expression of stem rust resistance. Time-course RNAseq analysis show a significant reduction or complete loss of differential gene expression at 24h post inoculation in med15b.D mutants, suggesting that transcriptional reprogramming at this time point is not required for immunity to stem rust. Suppression is a common phenomenon and this study provides novel insight into suppression of rust resistance in wheat. Stem rust is an important disease of wheat and resistance present in some cultivars can be suppressed by the SuSr-D1 locus. Here the authors show that SuSr-D1 encodes a subunit of the Mediator Complex and that nonsense mutations are sufficient to abolish suppression and confer stem rust resistance

Multiple FadD Acyl-CoA Synthetases Contribute to Differential Fatty Acid Degradation and Virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

A close interconnection between nutrient metabolism and virulence factor expression contributes to the pathophysiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a successful pathogen. P. aeruginosa fatty acid (FA) degradation is complicated with multiple acyl-CoA synthetase homologs (FadDs) expressed in vivo in lung tissue during cystic fibrosis infections. The promoters of two genetically linked P. aeruginosa fadD genes (fadD1 and fadD2) were mapped and northern blot analysis indicated they could exist on two different transcripts. These FadDs contain ATP/AMP signature and FA-binding motifs highly homologous to those of the Escherichia coli FadD. Upon introduction into an E. coli fadD-/fadR- double mutant, both P. aeruginosa fadDs functionally complemented the E. coli fadD-/fadR- mutant, allowing degradation of different chain-length FAs. Chromosomal mutagenesis, growth analysis, induction studies, and determination of kinetic parameters suggested that FadD1 has a substrate preference for long-chain FAs while FadD2 prefers shorter-chain FAs. When compared to the wild type strain, the fadD2 mutant exhibited decreased production of lipase, protease, rhamnolipid and phospholipase, and retardation of both swimming and swarming motilities. Interestingly, fadD1 mutant showed only increased swarming motility. Growth analysis of the fadD mutants showed noticeable deficiencies in utilizing FAs and phosphatidylcholine (major components of lung surfactant) as the sole carbon source. This defect translated into decreased in vivo fitness of P. aeruginosa in a BALB/c mouse lung infection model, supporting the role of lipids as a significant nutrient source for this bacterium in vivo

Rapid cloning of disease-resistance genes in plants using mutagenesis and sequence capture

Wild relatives of domesticated crop species harbor multiple, diverse, disease resistance (R) genes that could be used to engineer sustainable disease control. However, breeding R genes into crop lines often requires long breeding timelines of 5–15 years to break linkage between R genes and deleterious alleles (linkage drag). Further, when R genes are bred one at a time into crop lines, the protection that they confer is often overcome within a few seasons by pathogen evolution1. If several cloned R genes were available, it would be possible to pyramid R genes2 in a crop, which might provide more durable resistance1. We describe a three-step method (MutRenSeq)-that combines chemical mutagenesis with exome capture and sequencing for rapid R gene cloning. We applied MutRenSeq to clone stem rust resistance genes Sr22 and Sr45 from hexaploid bread wheat. MutRenSeq can be applied to other commercially relevant crops and their relatives, including, for example, pea, bean, barley, oat, rye, rice and maize