Canadian goldenrod residues and extracts inhibit the growth of Streptomyces scabiei, the causal agent of potato common scab

Common scab is one of the most important diseases affecting potato crops worldwide. Using fresh residues and/or bio-products of Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) may offer an alternative to harmful conventional fumigants. In this study, we aimed to: (i) conduct a preliminary investigation of the utilization of S. canadensis to reduce common scab severity (Experiment 1), and (ii) determine the allopathic potentials of S. canadensis extracts on Streptomyces scabiei (also known as S. scabies), the most important soil pathogen responsible for causing common scab in North America (Experiment 2). Compared with control plants, preliminary results showed that adding 1.2 kg of fresh S. canadensis residue per m2 reduced scab severity by about 45% (Experiment 1). Furthermore, hexane and dichloromethane extracts of S. canadensis, at a concentration of 200 µg·mL−1, inhibited the growth of S. scabiei by about 97% (Experiment 2). These results were comparable with those using tetracycline (2.5 µg·mL−1), a known inhibitor of S. scabiei. Both experiments suggested that S. canadensis may represent a new approach for controlling potato common scab. More studies are required to better understand the mechanisms involved in S. canadensis induced reduction of common scab in order to standardize the approaches. La gale commune est une maladie tellurique importante chez la pomme de terre et l’utilisation de résidus et/ou extraits de verge d’or du Canada (Solidago canadensis) pourrait représenter une alternative prometteuse aux pesticides (fumigants) utilisés pour combattre la maladie. Les objectifs de cette recherche étaient i) effectuer une expérience préliminaire afin de mesurer les effets de l’incorporation de résidus frais de S. canadensis sur la sévérité de la gale commune (expérience 1) et ii) déterminer les potentiels allélopathiques des extraits de S. canadensis sur Streptomyces scabiei, un important agent pathogène causant la maladie de la gale commune (expérience 2). Nos résultats préliminaires issus de l’expérience 1 montrent qu’ajouter 1.2 kg m−2 de S. canadensis (résidus frais) permet de réduire significativement de 45% la sévérité de la gale commune. Les extraits de S. canadensis effectués avec l’hexane et le dichlorométhane et à des concentrations de 200 µg mL−1 permettent d’inhiber à 97% la croissance de S. scabiei, résultats comparables à la tétracycline (2.5 µg mL−1), un antibiotique connu pour inhiber la croissance de S. scabiei. Les résultats de cette étude montrent clairement et pour une première fois le potentiel d’utilisation de S. canadensis comme moyen de lutte contre la maladie de la gale commune chez la pomme de terre. D’autres recherche seront toutefois nécessaires pour bien comprendre et cibler les mécanismes impliqués afin de standardiser et d’optimiser cette nouvelle et prometteuse approche

The Normative Problem of Merit Goods in Perspective

In his Theory of Public Finance (1959), Musgrave invented the concept of merit wants to describe public wants that are satisfied by goods provided by the government in violation of the principle of consumer sovereignty. Starting from Musgrave’s mature discussion (1987), I construct two categories to classify the explanations of merit goods. The first strand of thought attempts to justify merit goods within the New welfare economics, by modifying its assumptions to accommodate irrationality, uncertainty, lack of information, and psychic externalities. The second category encompasses more radical departures from consumer sovereignty, drawn from philosophical critiques of economics. In the third part of the paper, I argue that the two strands might be represented by a non-individualistic social welfare function. I also show how this solution echoes Musgrave’s early views on public expenditures before he coined the concept of merit wants. From an historical perspective, the survival of the concept highlights the persistence of a social point of view in welfare economics

Rapport final de la caractérisation de la faune et la flore pour la nouvelle bleuetière d’enseignement et de recherche (BER)

La Corporation d’aménagement forêt Normandin (CAFN) accueille deux sites dédiés à l’enseignement et la recherche sur le bleuet sauvage. Le premier site est déjà aménagé en bleuetière et il se déroule présentement des activités de recherche réalisées par les différents acteurs de la recherche sur le bleuet sauvage. Le deuxième site (d’une superficie de 55 ha) doit être aménagé en bleuetière avant de recevoir des travaux de recherche puisqu’il est présentement sous couvert forestier. Dans le cadre du Fonds d’appui au rayonnement des régions (FARR), l’UQAC et ses partenaires ont obtenu, en avril 2018, une aide financière pour réaliser les travaux d’aménagements qui permettront de transformer la pinède en une bleuetière productive. Le financement permettra de développer davantage la bleuetière d’enseignement et de recherche (BER). Le nouveau secteur développé sera aménagé de façon à assurer la protection de la faune et de la flore et la cohabitation avec les usagers. La première étape du projet d’aménagement consiste à caractériser la faune et la flore présentes dans le milieu afin d’être bien outillé pour planifier les travaux d’aménagement. À la suite de ces études préliminaires, la réalisation de la coupe et les travaux de broyage pourront être réalisés en suivant un plan respectueux de l’environnement. Finalement, comme le désirent les partenaires, une stratégie d’information s’adressant aux producteurs et aux utilisateurs du territoire sera mise en place grâce à la contribution du FARR. Le développement de la future bleuetière permettra de continuer les recherches et les expériences de longues durées sur le bleuet sauvage. Le nouveau site pourra répondre aux préoccupations du secteur afin de trouver des solutions novatrices aux problématiques actuelles, en plus de participer à la formation de professionnels qualifiés dans la région du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

Effects of soil pH and fertilizers on Haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) vegetative growth

Haskap (Lonicera caerulea L.) is a new northern latitude fruit crop that is increasing in popularity. This sudden enthusiasm for haskap increases the need for obtaining baseline knowledge related to establishing it as a crop, such as its optimal soil pH and fertilizer needs. In a greenhouse, one-year-old haskap plants (cultivar: Indigo Treat©) were grown in a local loamy sand. We assessed the impact of pH and fertilizer on haskap vegetative growth through an experiment involving four soil pH and five fertilization treatments of three N sources (ammonium, nitrate, and organic (chicken manure)). Leaf senescence as well as above-ground and root biomass were recorded after 19 weeks of vegetative growth. For cultivar Indigo Treat©, optimal vegetative growth was observed under slightly acidic soil conditions (pH CaCl2 5.5–6 or pH water 5.9–6.5) without application of N. Phosphorus and K fertilizers did not influence vegetative growth. We here discuss the implications for establishing haskap orchards

Paxillin is essential for PTP-PEST-dependent regulation of cell spreading and motility: a role for paxillin kinase linker

The tyrosine phosphatase PTP-PEST has been implicated in the regulation of cell spreading and migration through dephosphorylation of focal adhesion proteins and inhibition of Rac GTPase activity. The focal adhesion adaptor protein paxillin is also necessary for normal cell migration and binds directly to PTP-PEST. In this study, we have utilized PTP-PEST(-/-) and paxillin(-/-) fibroblasts to demonstrate that paxillin is essential for PTP-PEST inhibition of cell spreading and membrane protrusion as well as inhibition of adhesion-induced Rac activation. Furthermore, we show that paxillin-binding is necessary for PTP-PEST stimulation of cell migration. Mutation analysis indicates that PTP-PEST function involves binding to the paxillin C-terminal LIM domains, and signaling through the tyrosine 31 and 118 phosphorylation sites, as well as the LD4 motif of the paxillin N-terminus. Using 'substrate trapping' approaches and immunoprecipitation, we show that the ARF GAP paxillin kinase linker PKL/GIT2, a paxillin LD4 binding partner, is a substrate for PTP-PEST. Additionally, the PKL-paxillin interaction was necessary for PTP-PEST inhibition of cell spreading. These data provide mechanistic insight into how the paxillin-PTP-PEST interaction contributes to integrin signaling events associated with the spatiotemporal regulation of key modulators of the cytoskeleton and cell motility machinery

Greenhouse gas emissions following land application of pulp and paper mill sludge on a clay loam soil

Pulp and paper mill sludge (PPMS) is applied on agricultural soils as an organic fertilizer. Although it is well accepted that land application of PPMS has benefits for soils and crops, information on PPMS-induced soil N2O emissions is still limited. We assessed the effect of substituting mineral N fertilizer for PPMS on soil N2O emissions after a single application at planting on a clay loam cropped to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) over two snow-free seasons in eastern Canada. Fertilization treatments consisted of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of crop N requirements derived from N supplied by PPMS, the remaining N being supplied as urea-N. Soil CO2 and CH4 emissions were also measured and not affected by the fertilizer addition; a slight CH4 oxidation occurred. Area based N2O emissions from PPMS fertilization (4.4 to 12.1 kg N2O-N ha−1) were similar or higher than from urea alone (3.4 and 6.2 kg N2O-N ha−1). Although crop yields were not affected by the type of fertilizer, yield-based N2O emissions, N uptake efficiency and N surplus (applied minus aboveground N uptake in crop biomass) indicated that N availability from the mineral fertilizer was higher than from PPMS for the wheat crop. However, treatments with PPMS had fertilizer-induced N2O emission factors (FIEF, applied N lost as N2O-N; 0.8 to 3.1%) similar to urea alone (−0.3 and 4.5%). Although substituting urea-N with PPMS in agricultural fields might reduce N2O emissions under moderate soil moisture conditions, PPMS land application produced greater N2O emissions under high soil moisture conditions. Further research on a variety of agricultural practices is needed before concluding that including PPMS in the fertilization plan could result in a global GHG abatement as compared to mineral fertilizers under the cool climate of eastern Canada

Correction: 2'-O-methylation of the mRNA cap protects RNAs from decapping and degradation by DXO.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193804.]

The role of the arcuate and middle longitudinal fasciculi in speech perception in noise in adulthood

In this article, we used High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) with advanced anatomically constrained particle filtering tractography to investigate the role of the arcuate fasciculus (AF) and the middle longitudinal fasciculus (MdLF) in speech perception in noise in younger and older adults. Fourteen young and 15 elderly adults completed a syllable discrimination task in the presence of broadband masking noise. Mediation analyses revealed few effects of age on white matter (WM) in these fascicles but broad effects of WM on speech perception, independently of age, especially in terms of sensitivity and criterion (response bias), after controlling for individual differences in hearing sensitivity and head size. Indirect (mediated) effects of age on speech perception through WM microstructure were also found, after controlling for individual differences in hearing sensitivity and head size, with AF microstructure related to sensitivity, response bias and phonological priming, and MdLF microstructure more strongly related to response bias. These findings suggest that pathways of the perisylvian region contribute to speech processing abilities, with relatively distinct contributions for the AF (sensitivity) and MdLF (response bias), indicative of a complex contribution of both phonological and cognitive processes to age‐related speech perception decline. These results provide new and important insights into the roles of these pathways as well as the factors that may contribute to elderly speech perception deficits. They also highlight the need for a greater focus to be placed on studying the role of WM microstructure to understand cognitive aging

Calcium signaling pathway genes RUNX2 and CACNA1C are associated with calcific aortic valve disease

BACKGROUND—: Calcific aortic valve stenosis (AS) is a life-threatening disease with no medical therapy. The genetic architecture of AS remains elusive. This study combines genome-wide association studies, gene expression, and expression quantitative trait loci mapping in human valve tissues to identify susceptibility genes of AS. METHODS AND RESULTS—: A meta-analysis was performed combining the results of 2 genome-wide association studies in 474 and 486 cases from Quebec City (Canada) and Paris (France), respectively. Corresponding controls consisted of 2988 and 1864 individuals with European ancestry from the database of genotypes and phenotypes. mRNA expression levels were evaluated in 9 calcified and 8 normal aortic valves by RNA sequencing. The results were integrated with valve expression quantitative trait loci data obtained from 22 AS patients. Twenty-five single-nucleotide polymorphisms had P<5×10 in the genome-wide association studies meta-analysis. The calcium signaling pathway was the top gene set enriched for genes mapped to moderately AS-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Genes in this pathway were found differentially expressed in valves with and without AS. Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms located in RUNX2 (runt-related transcription factor 2), encoding an osteogenic transcription factor, demonstrated some association with AS (genome-wide association studies P=5.33×10). The mRNA expression levels of RUNX2 were upregulated in calcified valves and associated with eQTL-SNPs. CACNA1C encoding a subunit of a voltage-dependent calcium channel was upregulated in calcified valves. The eQTL-SNP with the most significant association with AS located in CACNA1C was associated with higher expression of the gene. CONCLUSIONS—: This integrative genomic study confirmed the role of RUNX2 as a potential driver of AS and identified a new AS susceptibility gene, CACNA1C, belonging to the calcium signaling pathway