254 research outputs found
Eco-efficience des itinĂ©raires techniques viticoles : intĂ©rĂȘt et adaptations de lâanalyse du cycle de vie pour la prise en compte des spĂ©cificitĂ©s de la viticulture de qualitĂ©
In order to contribute to the effort of eco-efficiency improvement of the wine sctor, especially in the Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) contaxt, we worked to identify in which conditions Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an appropriate method for environmental assessment, at plot scale, of quality vineyard Technical Management Routes (TMRs), to permit the choice of the most eco-efficient technical operations and TMRs.A methodological framework for LCA suited to this objective was designed and tested on five real and contrasted TMRs, oriented towards a same qualitative objective. These cases were chosen thanks to an original statistical analysis chain, Typ-iti, on the basis of a survey, among the TMRs producing Chenin blanc grapes for PDO dry white wines in the Middle Lore Valley. Five groups were identified and characterized, threee in conventional viticulture, and two in organic viticulture.The methodological framework that was established includes i) the studied system definition including productive and non-productive phases, ii) the choice of the most suitable and available models for calculation of pollutant direct emissions in the vineyard, iii) the customization of the organic pesticide emision calculation model, Pest LCI 2.0, to viticulture specific needs iv) the inclusion of grape quality in the LCA by two functional units including an original grape quality index.LCA proves to be a method complex but powerful, usable at parcel scale for grape production TMRs choice. It revealed i) contrasted eco-efficiencies for the 5 contrasted TMRs, ii) the viticultural practices responsible for these contrasts, iii) solutions for eco-efficiency improvement and quantification of their eco-efficiency effects.The important effect of the production year on the results, highlighted here on one case, must be taken into account in any viticulture LCA. Numerous perspectives of methodological improvement are discussed here in order to increase relevance and completeness of the results as well as genericity of the method and its accessibility for viticulture development stakeholders.Afin dâaccompagner les acteurs des filiĂšres viticoles, notamment dâAOC, dans la nĂ©cessaire amĂ©lioration de lâĂ©co-efficience de leurs produits, nous avons voulu identifier dans quelles conditions lâAnalyse du Cycle de Vie est une mĂ©thode appropriĂ©e Ă l'Ă©valuation environnementale des itinĂ©raires techniques viticoles (ITKv) de production de raisins de qualitĂ©, Ă lâĂ©chelle parcellaire, afin de pouvoir choisir les plus performants. Pour Ă©tablir et tester un cadre mĂ©thodologique de lâACV, adaptĂ© Ă cet objectif, des ITKv rĂ©els et variĂ©s visant un mĂȘme objectif qualitatif sont nĂ©cessaires. Nous proposons ici une chaĂźne de traitement dâenquĂȘte originale, Typ-iti, qui permet le choix de cas rĂ©els reprĂ©sentant chaque groupe. Cinq groupes ont ainsi Ă©tĂ© identifiĂ©s parmi les ITKv de production de raisins de Chenin blanc pour vins blancs secs dâAOC en Moyenne VallĂ©e de la Loire, dont trois en viticulture conventionnelle et deux en viticulture biologique. Cinq cas rĂ©els ont Ă©tĂ© choisis pour les reprĂ©senter. LâACV est ici dĂ©clinĂ©e pour la viticulture sur la base de ces cinq cas, par lâĂ©tablissement dâun cadre mĂ©thodologique qui comprend : i) la dĂ©finition de limites du systĂšme incluant les phases non productives et productives, ii) le choix des modĂšles disponibles les plus pertinents, pour le calcul des Ă©missions directes de polluants Ă la vigne, iii) lâadaptation fine du modĂšle dâĂ©missions de pesticides organiques Pest LCI 2.0 aux spĂ©cificitĂ©s viticoles, iv) la proposition et le test dâunitĂ©s fonctionnelles basĂ©es sur un indicateur de qualitĂ© du raisin original permettant la prise en compte de la qualitĂ© dans les ACV de raisins destinĂ©s Ă la production de vins de qualitĂ©. LâACV a rĂ©vĂ©lĂ©, Ă lâĂ©chelle parcellaire, i) des Ă©co-efficiences contrastĂ©es pour les cinq ITKv contrastĂ©s, ii) les pratiques responsables de ces contrastes, iii) des solutions dâamĂ©lioration et leurs effets quantifiĂ©s sur les performances environnementales. La gĂ©nĂ©ricitĂ© des rĂ©sultats de ces cas aux groupes quâils reprĂ©sentent varie selon lâhomogĂ©nĂ©itĂ© des groupes et avec les catĂ©gories dâimpacts selon quâelles sont, ou non, conditionnĂ©es par le milieu. Lâeffet important du millĂ©sime sur les rĂ©sultats, mis en Ă©vidence ici sur un cas, mĂ©rite dâĂȘtre pris en compte dans toute ACV viticole. De nombreuses perspectives dâamĂ©liorations mĂ©thodologiques sont discutĂ©es ici pour accroĂźtre la pertinence et la complĂ©tude des rĂ©sultats ainsi que la gĂ©nĂ©ricitĂ© de la mĂ©thode et pour son application auprĂšs dâacteurs du dĂ©veloppement des filiĂšres viticoles
Increasing cell biomass in Saccharomyces cerevisiae increases recombinant protein yield: the use of a respiratory strain as a microbial cell factory
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recombinant protein production is universally employed as a solution to obtain the milligram to gram quantities of a given protein required for applications as diverse as structural genomics and biopharmaceutical manufacture. Yeast is a well-established recombinant host cell for these purposes. In this study we wanted to investigate whether our respiratory <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>strain, TM6*, could be used to enhance the productivity of recombinant proteins over that obtained from corresponding wild type, respiro-fermentative strains when cultured under the same laboratory conditions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we demonstrate at least a doubling in productivity over wild-type strains for three recombinant membrane proteins and one recombinant soluble protein produced in TM6* cells. In all cases, this was attributed to the improved biomass properties of the strain. The yield profile across the growth curve was also more stable than in a wild-type strain, and was not further improved by lowering culture temperatures. This has the added benefit that improved yields can be attained rapidly at the yeast's optimal growth conditions. Importantly, improved productivity could not be reproduced in wild-type strains by culturing them under glucose fed-batch conditions: despite having achieved very similar biomass yields to those achieved by TM6* cultures, the total volumetric yields were not concomitantly increased. Furthermore, the productivity of TM6* was unaffected by growing cultures in the presence of ethanol. These findings support the unique properties of TM6* as a microbial cell factory.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The accumulation of biomass in yeast cell factories is not necessarily correlated with a proportional increase in the functional yield of the recombinant protein being produced. The respiratory <it>S. cerevisiae </it>strain reported here is therefore a useful addition to the matrix of production hosts currently available as its improved biomass properties do lead to increased volumetric yields without the need to resort to complex control or cultivation schemes. This is anticipated to be of particular value in the production of challenging targets such as membrane proteins.</p
VineyardFACE: Investigation of a moderate (+20 %) increase of ambient CO2 concentration on berry ripening dynamics and fruit composition of Cabernet-Sauvignon
Climate change and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration are a concern for agriculture, including viticulture. Studies on elevated carbon dioxide have already been conducted on grapevines, mainly taking place in greenhouses using potted plants or using field grown vines under instant and higher CO2 enrichment, i.e., > 650 ppm. The VineyardFACE, located at Hochschule Geisenheim University, is an open field Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experimental set-up designed to study the effects of elevated carbon dioxide using adapted, field-grown vines (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet-Sauvignon). As the carbon dioxide fumigation started in 2014, the long-term effects of elevated carbon dioxide treatment can be investigated on berry ripening parameters and fruit metabolic composition. The present study investigates the effect on fruit composition under a moderate increase (+20 %; eCO2) of carbon dioxide concentration, as predicted for 2050 on Cabernet-Sauvignon. Berry growth, ripening dynamics and composition were determined and primary (sugars, organic acids, amino acids) and secondary metabolites (anthocyanins) were analysed. Compared to previous results of the early adaptive phase of the vines (Wohlfahrt et al., 2020), our results show little effects of eCO2 treatment on primary metabolites composition in berries. However, total anthocyanins concentration in berry skin was lower for eCO2 treatment in the hot and dry season of 2020, although the ratio between anthocyanins derivatives did not differ
Operationalising emission and toxicity modelling of pesticides in LCA: the OLCA-Pest project contribution
Purpose
Current field emission modelling and toxicity characterisation of pesticides suffer from several shortcomings like mismatches between LCI databases and LCIA methods, missing characterisation factors, missing environmental compartments, and environmental impact pathways. The OLCA-Pest project was implemented to address these aspects and to operationalise the assessment of pesticides in LCA. Based on this effort, we propose an approach to integrate pesticide emissions into LCI databases.
Methods
The PestLCI Consensus Model has been developed in order to estimate emission fractions to different environmental compartments. The initial distribution fractions should be linked to the compartments air, agricultural soil, natural soil, and freshwater. Emissions to off-field surfaces are hereby distributed between agricultural soil, natural soil, and freshwater by using surface cover data. Deposition on the crop surface should be recorded in an emission compartment crop with 13 sub-compartments for crop archetypes for both food and non-food uses. Default emission fractions are provided to calculate the emission fractions for different pesticide application scenarios.
Results and discussion
A sensitivity analysis shows the effects of the application technique, drift reduction, crop and development stage, field width, and buffer zone on the initial distribution fractions of field-applied pesticides. Recommendations are given for the implementation of a set of default initial distribution fractions into LCI databases, for the organisation of metadata, and for the modelling of pesticide residues in food along the supply chain (processing, storage). Priorities for further research are: improving the modelling of pesticide secondary emissions, further extending emission modeling (e.g. additional application techniques, including cover crops), considering metal-based pesticides in emission models, and systematically assessing human health impacts associated with pesticide residues in food crops.
Conclusions
The proposed approach allows to preserve the mass balance of the pesticide emitted after application, to make a consistent assessment of ecotoxicity and human toxicity, to define a clear and consistent interface between the LCI and LCIA phases, to estimate initial emission distribution fractions based on existing data, to document metadata transparently and efficiently within crop datasets, and to model the removal of pesticide residues in food during processing.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The flavour of grape colour: anthocyanin content tunes aroma precursor composition by altering the berry microenvironment
Anthocyaninless (white) instead of black/red (coloured) fruits develop in grapevine cultivars without functional VviMYBA1 and VviMYBA2 genes, and this conditions the colour of wines that can be produced. To evaluate whether this genetic variation has additional consequences on fruit ripening and composition, we performed comparisons of microenvironment, transcriptomics, and metabolomics of developing grapes between near-isogenic white- and black-berried somatic variants of Garnacha and Tempranillo cultivars. Berry temperature was as much as 3.5 ÂșC lower in white- compared to black-berried Tempranillo. An RNA-seq study combined with targeted and untargeted metabolomics revealed that ripening fruits of white-berried variants were characterized by the up-regulation of photosynthesis-related and other light-responsive genes and by their higher accumulation of specific terpene aroma precursors, fatty acid-derived aldehyde volatiles, and phenylpropanoid precursor amino acids. MYBA1-MYBA2 function proved essential for flavonol trihydroxylation in black-berried somatic variants, which were also characterized by enhanced expression of pathogen defence genes in the berry skin and increased accumulation of C6-derived alcohol and ester volatiles and Îł-aminobutyric acid. Collectively, our results indicate that anthocyanin depletion has side-effects on grape composition by altering the internal microenvironment of the berry and the partitioning of the phenylpropanoid pathway. Our findings show how fruit colour can condition other fruit features, such as flavour potential and stress homeostasis
Zebularine, a DNA Methylation Inhibitor, Activates Anthocyanin Accumulation in Grapevine Cells
Through its role in the regulation of gene expression, DNA methylation can participate in the control of specialized metabolite production. We have investigated the link between DNA methylation and anthocyanin accumulation in grapevine using the hypomethylating drug, zebularine and Gamay Teinturier cell suspensions. In this model, zebularine increased anthocyanin accumulation in the light, and induced its production in the dark. To unravel the underlying mechanisms, cell transcriptome, metabolic content, and DNA methylation were analyzed. The up-regulation of stress-related genes, as well as a decrease in cell viability, revealed that zebularine affected cell integrity. Concomitantly, the global DNA methylation level was only slightly decreased in the light and not modified in the dark. However, locus-specific analyses demonstrated a decrease in DNA methylation at a few selected loci, including a CACTA DNA transposon and a small region upstream from the UFGT gene, coding for the UDP glucose:flavonoid-3-O-glucosyltransferase, known to be critical for anthocyanin biosynthesis. Moreover, this decrease was correlated with an increase in UFGT expression and in anthocyanin content. In conclusion, our data suggest that UFGT expression could be regulated through DNA methylation in Gamay Teinturier, although the functional link between changes in DNA methylation and UFGT transcription still needs to be demonstrated
Tuberculosis Exacerbates HIV-1 Infection through IL-10/STAT3-Dependent Tunneling Nanotube Formation in Macrophages
The tuberculosis (TB) bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and HIV-1 act synergistically; however, the mechanisms by which Mtb exacerbates HIV-1 pathogenesis are not well known. Using in vitro and ex vivo cell culture systems, we show that human M(IL-10) anti-inflammatory macrophages, present in TB-associated microenvironment, produce high levels of HIV-1. In vivo, M(IL-10) macrophages are expanded in lungs of co-infected non-human primates, which correlates with disease severity. Furthermore, HIV-1/Mtb co-infected patients display an accumulation of M(IL-10) macrophage markers (soluble CD163 and MerTK). These M(IL-10) macrophages form direct cell-to-cell bridges, which we identified as tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) involved in viral transfer. TNT formation requires the IL-10/STAT3 signaling pathway, and targeted inhibition of TNTs substantially reduces the enhancement of HIV-1 cell-to-cell transfer and overproduction in M(IL-10) macrophages. Our study reveals that TNTs facilitate viral transfer and amplification, thereby promoting TNT formation as a mechanism to be explored in TB/AIDS potential therapeutics
Hck contributes to bone homeostasis by controlling the recruitment of osteoclast precursors
ABSTRACT In osteoclasts, Src controls podosome organization and bone degradation, which leads to an osteopetrotic phenotype in src Ű/Ű mice. Since this phenotype was even more severe in src Ű/Ű hck Ű/Ű mice, we examined the individual contribution of Hck in bone homeostasis. Compared to wt mice, hck Ű/Ű mice exhibited an osteopetrotic phenotype characterized by an increased density of trabecular bone and decreased bone degradation, although osteoclastogenesis was not impaired. Podosome organization and matrix degradation were found to be defective in hck Ű/Ű osteoclast precursors (preosteoclast) but were normal in mature hck Ű/Ű osteoclasts, probably through compensation by Src, which was specifically overexpressed in mature osteoclasts. As a consequence of podosome defects, the 3-dimensional migration of hck Ű/Ű preosteoclasts was strongly affected in vitro. In vivo, this translated by altered bone homing of preosteoclasts in hck Ű/Ű mice: in metatarsals of 1-wk-old mice, when bone formation strongly depends on the recruitment of these cells, reduced numbers of osteoclasts and abnormal developing trabecular bone were observed. This phenotype was still detectable in adults. In summmary, Hck is one of the very few effectors of preosteoclast recruitment described to date and thereby plays a critical role in bone remodeling.-VĂ©rollet, C., Gallois, A., Dacquin, R., Lastrucci, C., Pandruvada, S. M. N., Ortega, N., Poincloux, R., Behar, A., Cougoule, C., Lowell, C., Al Saati, T., Jurdic, P., Maridonneau-Parini, I. Hck contributes to bone homeostasis by controlling the recruitment of osteoclast precursors. FASEB J. 27, 3608 -3618 (2013). www.fasebj.org Key Words: osteopetrosis â
cell migration â
podosomes â
Src tyrosine kinases Bone is renewed continuously by a process known as bone remodeling. Bone remodeling is accomplished by 3 cell types: osteocytes, osteoblasts, and osteoclasts (OCs). Osteocytes are the mechanical sensors of bone that regulate osteoclast formation. Osteoblasts synthetize the matrix and promote its mineralization, while OCs are responsible for degradation of bones during bone development, homeostasis, and repair. The formation and degradation of bone are tightly balanced in both time and space. A dysregulation of this tight balance between bone formation and bone degradation may result either in loss of bone mass, such as in osteoporosis, or in contrast, in a progressive increase in bone mass, such as in osteopetrosis. Degrading OCs are large multinucleated giant cells formed by the differentiation and fusion of mononuclear monocyte lineage precursors after stimulation by receptor activator of nuclear factor -B ligand (RANKL) and macrophage colony-stimulationg factor (M-CSF) (1-3). They are characterized by high levels of cathepsin K and tartrate resistant acidic phosphatase (TRAP) activities, whic
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