Microbial Biocontrol of Post-harvest Fungal Rot in Apples: Current State of the Science

Our study consists of a careful literature review carried out with the aim of better understanding the models developed in the field of biocontrol of postharvest fungal rot in apples (PHFRA) over the past two decades. It aims, more specifically, to shed light on the progress made by examining the products developed, their nature, their target pathogens, their effectiveness, theirs modes of action and the stage of their development. The post-harvest biocontrol of apples has made remarkable progress during the last twenty years of research. Several products (yeasts, bacteria, filamentous fungi and actinomycetes) have been selected. Some, are already marketed, others are at different stages of development. However, several points limit the optimal use of microbial antagonists in the bio-management of post-harvest apple rots as an alternative to chemicals. It is, in fact, still necessary to develop appropriate formulations of these microbial biocontrol agents, to better study their mechanisms of action, to test them under commercial conditions and against a broad spectrum of pathogens and hosts. However, although sometimes considered less effective than chemical treatments, biocontrol products based on microorganisms have major advantages for an application in an integrated post-harvest apple protection strategy

Use of Plant Extracts in the Control of Post-Harvest Fungal Rots in Apples

Different fungi alter apples in the post-harvest period, causing considerable economic losses and risks to consumer health due to the mycotoxins that some of these fungi produce. The control of these fungal alterations in apples is mainly dependent on the use of chemical fungicides, the effectiveness of which has been well proven. However, this use is subject to restrictions due to growing concerns about risks to human health and the environment and the continued development of pathogen resistance to commonly used fungicides. A new approach to control post-harvest fungi has been implemented through the application of plant extract.It is estimated that there are more than 250,000 higher plant species on Earth that can be evaluated for their antimicrobial bioactive chemical compounds. In recent decades, researchers have evaluated plant extracts and essential oils against fungi responsible for post-harvest apple rot. Interesting results have been obtained. The purpose of this project is to summarize and discuss the results of in vitro and in situ experiments of different literatures concerning the effects of compounds derived from plants on the control of fungi responsible for rotting apples in storage

U-Pb geochronology of the El Jadida rhyolite and relation to possible Lower Cambrian recycling (Coastal block, Moroccan Meseta).

The El Jadida (Mazagan) dome, whose existence was reported as early as 1934 by Yovanovitch and Freys, constitutes one of the first outcrops of the Moroccan Meseta where the Precambrian (PIII?)-Paleozoic (Lower Cambrian?) boundary was established (Gigout, 1951; Cornée et al., 1984). Since then, it is listed as one of the few locations where the basement of the Moroccan Variscan belt can be observed (Hoepffner et al.. 2005; Michard et al., 2010).Despite, the absence of geochronological and biostratigraphic precise data to constrain the time interval recorded here, there are stratigraphic similarities that allow a correlation with the Ediacaran-Cambrian geological record of Anti-Atlas belt (Cornée et al., 1984). In this study, we developed a petrographic, geochemical and U-Pb geochronological study using zircon extracted from: (i) the El Jadida rhyolite with the aim of characterizing the magma source and estimate the age of crystallization; (ii) a microbreccia sampled at the base of the El Jadida Dolomitic Formation for determining provenance

Sedimentary provenance of siliciclastic rocks from the Lalla Mouchaa Calcschists Formation (Coastal Block, Western Rehamna): Evidence of denudation of ca. 2 Ga basement in the Moroccan Meseta.

Paleoproterozoic basement rocks (ca. 2Ga) are scarce along the European and North African Paleozoic mountain chains (Fig.1a). In Morocco, ca. 2.2-2Ga granitic rocks (Gasquet et al., 2008; Kouyaté et al., 2013) have been exclusively reported in the Western Anti-Atlas at southwest of the Anti-Atlas Major Fault, (Choubert, 1963). In Eastern and Central Anti-Atlas and in the Moroccan Meseta, the existence of a Paleoproterozoic basement has only been recognized through indirect evidence (Gasquet et al., 2008; Michard et al., 2010). In the Anti- Atlas belt, ca. 2Ga detrital zircon grains are found in the Ediacaran siliciclastic rocks of the Bou Salda, Saghro and Taghdout groups (Abati et al., 2010). In the Moroccan Meseta, Paleoproterozoic (ca. 2Ga) zircon grains were extracted from gneiss and granitic xenoliths found in Triassic lamprophyre dykes, and from Carboniferous granophyric microgranite intrusions of central Jebilet (Dostal et al., 2005, Essaifi et al., 2003). Recently, a porphyritic rhyolite from the Rehamna Massif was dated at ca. 2.05Ga (Pereira et al., 2015), demonstrating for the first time, the exposure of the Eburnian basement in the Western Meseta. These Eburnian arc-related magmatic rocks, which are exposed to the south of the Permian Sebt Brikiyine granite in the core of anticlines from the Lalla Mouchaa Anticlinorium, are allegedly unconformably overlained by transgressive siliciclastic and carbonate beds (Corsini, 1988; Pereira et al., 2015). At north of the Sebt Brikiyine granite the probable Lower Cambrian sequence (Lalla Mouchaa Calcschists Formation; Guezou & Michard, 1976; Corsini, 1988) comprises a basal unit of microbreccias, arkosic sandstones and siltstones (lower member) that pass towards the top to centimeter-thick beds of calcschists interbedded with limestones and dolomites (upper member) that are conformably overlain by the “Paradoxides Shale Formation” composed of siltstone, greywacke and sandstone with Middle Cambrian fauna. In order to study the potential sources of the Lalla Mouchaa Calcschists Formation (probable Lower Cambrian), we have sampled a microbreccia at the Koudiat El Hamra region, for U-Pb geochronology on detrital zircon. This foliated microbreccia is composed of elongated Kfeldspar and quartz phenocrysts surrounded by a fine-grained matrix. Detrital zircon grains gave 206Pb/238Ub ages that in the Probability density plot curve are distributed by two main age peaks at ca. 2.05Ga and ca. 2.03Ga (Fig.1b), yielding a 206Pb/238U age-weighted mean of ca. 2.04Ga (El Houicha et al., 2018). The obtained U-Pb results point to a provenance from a Paleoproterozoic source, suggesting a possible contribution from rocks of the same age of the 2Ga porphyritic rhyolite exposed at south of the Sebt Brikiyine granite. Thus, there is a possibility that the Paleoproterozoic basement extends bellow the Paleozoic and Neoproterozoic sequences of the Rehamna massif

Recycling of the Proterozoic crystalline basement in the Coastal Block (Moroccan Meseta): New insights for understanding the geodynamic evolution of the northern peri-Gondwanan realm

Detrital zircon age spectra from the siliciclastic rocks of the Lalla Mouchaa Calcschists and El Jadida Dolomitic formations (the Coastal Block of the Moroccan Meseta) are dominated by Paleoproterozoic and Ediacaran ages. The provenance of these two formations is a composite Proterozoic crystalline basement. El Jadida rhyolite (584.2 ± 4.8 Ma) represents the Ediacaran crystalline basement of the El Jadida dome. El Jadida rhyolite is unconformably overlain by the microbreccia, arkosic sandstone and dolostone of the El Jadida Dolomitic Formation with a maximum depositional age of ca. 539 Ma (Lower Cambrian). Detrital zircon-age spectra from El Jadida Dolomitic Formation (ca. 583–582 Ma) suggest direct recycling of El Jadida rhyolite as an exclusive original primary source. However, in the Western Rehamna massif, detrital zircon-age spectra from pre-Middle Cambrian microbreccia and arkosic sandstone of the Lalla Mouchaa Calcschists Formation (ca. 2.05–2.03 Ga) indicate exclusive recycling of the ca. 2.05 Ga-aged crystalline basement rocks (original primary source). Detrital zircon contents of the siliciciclastic rocks from these two formations of the Coastal Block are consistent with derivation from either Eburnian (Paleoproterozoic) or Cadomian/Pan-African (Ediacaran) igneous rocks. The discovery of this composite Proterozoic crystalline basement in the Moroccan Meseta stresses that Cadomian/ Pan-African magmatic arcs were built on an Eburnian basement in a paleoposition close to the West African craton, as part of the northern peri-Gondwanan realm

CONSUMPTION ANALYSIS OF METFORMIN, SULFONYLUREAS, AND OTHER ANTIDIABETICS DRUGS IN MOROCCO (1991-2005)

Objective: Type 2 Diabetes is one of the chronic diseases with a high prevalence and consequently a substantial socio-economic burden in Arab countries. In this paper, we evaluated the antidiabetic drugs consumption in Morocco during the period of 1991 to 2005, drug classes used and the effect of major studies on the consumption of the biguanides.Methods: We used sales data from the subsidiaries of the Intercontinental Marketing Service Health. The consumption volume was converted to Defined Daily Dose (DDD).Results: During 1991-2005 antidiabetic drugs consumption increased from 1.37 to 4.22 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day. In 2005 the sulfonylureas were the most consumed 2.96 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day) followed by the Biguanides (1.06 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day) and glinides 0.1 DDD/1000inhabitants/day. The largest consumption share in volume was held by sulfonylureas 72.22%, followed by the biguanides 22.22%.Conclusion: This study documents progressive changes in the consumption of antidiabetic's between 1991-2005 in Morocco. However, the significant increase in the utilization of antidiabetic's drugs is not the result of increased adherence but of increased patient number, since the use of metformin as first line therapy was still suboptimal and influenced by different studies as the Campbell and UKPDS study.Â

SIMPLE HPLC-UV METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF METFORMIN IN HUMAN PLASMA AND ERYTHROCYTES APPLICATION TO THERAPEUTIC DRUG MONITORING

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a simple, rapid, efficient, cost effective and reproducible, stability indicating reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography method (RP-HPLC) for dosage of metformin in human plasma and erythrocytes. Methods: In this method, the plasma or erythrocyte proteins were precipitated using Perchloric acid: acetonitrile (50 % v/v) mixture and the supernatant liquid were injected into the HPLC system. The separation was achieved with a symmetry C8 column with the mobile phase containing 10 % water and 90 % sodium dihydrogen phosphate buffer (5.8 mM), the pH was adjusted to 3.8 with Phosphoric acid. The temperature was elevated to 25 °C. The detection was done by a UV detector at 232 nm. Results: The retention time was observed at around 4.412 min for metformin and 6.022 for lansoprazole an internal standard (IS). The response was linear over a range of 2-32µg ml-1, the coefficient of determination (r²) was found to be (r² =0. 9988). The lowest limit of quantification and detection was 0.1 µg/ml and 0.3 µg/ml respectively. No endogenous substances were found to interfere with the peaks of the drug. The intra-day and inter-day coefficient of variations was 2.1 % or less for all the selected concentrations. The relative errors at all the studied concentrations were 3.5 % or less. Conclusion: The HPLC method described in this article was simple, selective, reproducible, linear, and precise, it can be applied for therapeutic drug monitoring of metformin in human plasma and erythrocytes

Zircon U-Pb geochronology and geochemistry of Cambrian magmatism in the Coastal Block (Oued Rhebar volcanic complex, Moroccan Meseta): Implications for the geodynamic evolutionary model of North-Gondwana

U-Pb dating (SHRIMP) of magmatic zircons from an intermediate-mafic agglomerate of the Oued Rhebar Volcanic Complex (Coastal Block, Western Meseta) yielded a weighted mean age of 507 ± 5 Ma. The obtained middle Cambrian age (Series 3, Stage 5) seems to be the best estimate for the crystallization of the ORVC volcanic rock, providing a maximum depositional age for the overlying Bouznika volcanosedimentary Formation. The ORVC rock is representative of middle Cambrian crust generation in North-Gondwana, but contains Ediacaran (ca. 546-542 Ma) and early Cambrian (ca. 536-526 Ma) inherited zircon which might be derived from recycling of older continental crust. This geochemistry study corroborates the existence of calcalkaline rhyolites, basaltic andesites and andesites in the ORVC rocks, but also of the existence, albeit to a lesser volume, of tholeiitic basalt. The relative higher volume of calc-alkaline compared to tholeiitic signature might reflect, in some extent, contamination of depleted mantle-derived magmas by the upper continental crust, as has been proposed for the origin of the same age rift-related igneous rocks from North-Gondwana, as the Iberian correlatives

Genetic analysis of partial resistance to bacterial leaf streak ( Xanthomonas campestris pv. cerealis ) in wheat

Genetic variability of partial resistance to bacterial leaf streak was investigated in hexaploid winter wheat (Triticum aestivum. ), using 16 parental genotypes and 48 pure lines (F10) derived from a composite cross programme. Two experiments were undertaken in a controlled growth chamber. Seeds of all genotypes were grown under controlled conditions using a randomized block design with three replications. Each replication consisted of a row of 20 seedlings of each parent and pure line. An Iranian strain of bacterial leaf streak was used for the inoculation of 12‐day‐old seedlings. In a third experiment, eight genotypes from parents and F10 pure lines representing a large variability for partial resistance were inoculated with four other Iranian strains of bacterial leaf streak. A large genetic variability was observed amongst the 64 genotypes for partial resistance to the disease. Partial resistance heritability estimates were rather high (70%), indicating that the resistance factors may be transmitted by crossing. Amongst all genotypes investigated, ‘DC2‐30‐N2’ and ‘IBPT‐66’ displayed the highest partial resistance to the disease. Significant correlations between strains in the third experiment show that a genotype resistant or susceptible to one strain will have similar reactions with other strains. No significant genetic gain was observed for partial resistance in the best pure line of the 48 lines studied, when compared with the best parental line. Increasing the number of pure lines is likely to result in the identification of genotypes that might prove to be more resistant