Analysis of genetic diversity of the critically endangered Onobrychis conferta subsp. conferta using cross-genera transferability of SSR markers developed from related legume species

The use of transferable cross-species/genera SSR markers is an alternative strategy to ensure availability of markers in genomic resources-limited crops, such as critically endangered species. Eighteen microsatellite markers derived from the genomes of Medicago truncatula Gaertn., Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Onobrychis viciifolia Scop. were tested for transferability and used to study the genetic diversity of the three remaining populations of the critically endangered species Onobrychis conferta subsp. conferta, collected from their natural habitats. All pairs of primers tested were found to be polymorphic and reproducible. A total of 257 alleles were obtained from 134 loci, resulting in an average of 1.93 alleles per locus. The average number of alleles per accession was 51.4, yielding an average of 14.27 alleles per SSR marker and accession. The lowest number of alleles was recorded in O. conferta from Aïn Dyssa, with 37 alleles, while the highest was observed in O. viciifolia, with 63 alleles. Each SSR amplified 3-16 alleles. The MTIC343 primer yielded the highest number of loci (16 loci). The mean Polymorphism Information Content (PIC), Marker Index (MI), and Resolving Power (Rp) were 0.36, 2.22, and 4.58, respectively, indicating a high level of polymorphism in the studied SSR markers. UPGMA cluster analysis grouped genotypes into two main clusters in corroboration with the morphological distinction of sections. Our study demonstrated that O. conferta subsp. conferta genomes could be successfully examined using other legume SSR markers, providing a valuable tool to detect polymorphism for future genetic studies, breeding programs, and conservation strategies, addressing the lack of available SSR markers in this genus. These microsatellite loci may help to further survey the adaptive evolution and genetic variation of Onobrychis conferta conservation

Efficient Indirect Interatomic Coulombic Decay Induced by Photoelectron Impact Excitation in Large He Nanodroplets

Ionization of matter by energetic radiation generally causes complex secondary reactions which are hard to decipher. Using large helium nanodroplets irradiated by XUV photons, we show that the full chain of processes ensuing primary photoionization can be tracked in detail by means of high-resolution electron spectroscopy. We find that elastic and inelastic scattering of photoelectrons efficiently induces interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) in the droplets. This type of indirect ICD even becomes the dominant process of electron emission in nearly the entire XUV range in large droplets with radius $\gtrsim40~$nm. Indirect ICD processes induced by electron scattering likely play an important role in other condensed phase systems exposed to ionizing radiation as well, including biological matter

Long-lasting XUV activation of helium nanodroplets for avalanche ionization

We study the dynamics of avalanche ionization of pure helium nanodroplets activated by a weak extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) pulse and driven by an intense near-infrared (NIR) pulse. In addition to a transient enhancement of ignition of a nanoplasma at short delay times $\sim200$~fs, long-term activation of the nanodroplets lasting up to a few nanoseconds is observed. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the short-term activation is caused by the injection of seed electrons into the droplets by XUV photoemission. Long-term activation appears due to electrons remaining loosely bound to photoions which form stable `snowball' structures in the droplets. Thus, we show that XUV irradiation can induce long-lasting changes of the strong-field optical properties of nanoparticles, potentially opening new routes to controlling avalanche-ionization phenomena in nanostructures and condensed-phase systems

Observation of interatomic Coulombic decay induced by double excitation of helium in nanodroplets

Interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) plays a crucial role in weakly bound complexes exposed to intense or high-energy radiation. So far, neutral or ionic atoms or molecules have been prepared in singly excited electron or hole states which can transfer energy to neighboring centers and cause ionization and radiation damage. Here we demonstrate that a doubly excited atom, despite its extremely short lifetime, can decay by ICD; evidenced by high-resolution photoelectron spectra of He nanodroplets excited to the 2s2p+ state. We find that ICD proceeds by relaxation into excited He$^*$He$^+$ atom-pair states, in agreement with calculations. The ability of inducing ICD by resonant excitation far above the single-ionization threshold opens opportunities for controlling radiation damage to a high degree of element specificity and spectral selectivity.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, to be submitted to PR

Comparison of HTK-Custodiol and St-Thomas solution as cardiac preservation solutions on early and midterm outcomes following heart transplantation.

The choice of the cardiac preservation solution for myocardial protection at time of heart procurement remains controversial and uncertainties persist regarding its effect on the early and midterm heart transplantation (HTx) outcomes. We retrospectively compared our adult HTx performed with 2 different solutions, in terms of hospital mortality, mid-term survival, inotropic score, primary graft dysfunction and rejection score. From January 2009 to December 2020, 154 consecutive HTx of adult patients, followed up in pre- and post-transplantation by 2 different tertiary centres, were performed at the University Hospital of Lausanne, Switzerland. From 2009 to 2015, the cardiac preservation solution used was exclusively St-Thomas, whereafter an institutional decision was made to use HTK-Custodiol only. Patients were classified in 2 groups accordingly. There were 75 patients in the St-Thomas group and 79 patients in the HTK-Custodiol group. The 2 groups were comparable in terms of preoperative and intraoperative characteristics. Postoperatively, compared to the St-Thomas group, the Custodiol group patients showed significantly lower inotropic scores [median (interquartile range): 35.7 (17.5-60.2) vs 71.8 (31.8-127), P < 0.001], rejection scores [0.08 (0.0-0.25) vs 0.14 (0.05-0.5), P = 0.036] and 30-day mortality rate (2.5% vs 14.7%, P = 0.007) even after adjusting for potential confounders. Microscopic analysis of the endomyocardial biopsies also showed less specific histological features of subendothelial ischaemia (3.8% vs 17.3%, P = 0.006). There was no difference in primary graft dysfunction requiring postoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The use of HTK-Custodiol solution significantly improved midterm survival (Custodiol versus St-Thomas: hazard ratio = 0.20, 95% confidence interval: 0.069-0.60, P = 0.004). This retrospective study comparing St-Thomas solution and HTK-Custodiol as myocardial protection during heart procurement showed that Custodiol improves outcomes after HTx, including postoperative inotropic score, rejection score, 30-day mortality and midterm survival