Genetic Diversity Analysis of Onion (Allium cepa L.) from the Arid Region of Tunisia Using Phenotypic Traits and SSR Markers

The present study was carried out to evaluate and characterize, for the first time, the genetic potential of a collection of onion (Allium cepa L.) local accessions from the arid region of southern Tunisia. The genetic diversity among 135 onion individuals, belonging to 23 accessions, was evaluated using microsatellite (SSR) markers and phenotypic information. A total of 35 alleles were generated with 11 SSRs. The polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.08 to 0.95, with an average PIC of 0.43. The expected heterozygosity averaged 0.37, and the observed heterozygosity averaged 0.42. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 79% of genetic variation existed within individuals. Structure and cluster analysis grouped the accessions into two major clusters: landraces and pre-breeding lines. For the phenotypic traits evaluated, field trials were conducted in two different environments. Significant differences among accessions were shown, and for most traits, there was also a significant environmental effect and a significant interaction between environment and accession. Great variability was found for all the traits that could be exploited to create new varieties of onion adapted to local conditions by selecting appropriate parents in hybridization breeding.Esta investigación fue financiada en parte por el laboratorio de investigación LR21AGR03-Producción y Protección para una Horticultura Sostenible, financiado por el Ministerio de Educación Superior e Investigación Científica de Túnez y parcialmente financiado por el proyecto A11-20R financiado por el Gobierno de Aragón y por el programa AGROALNEXT apoyado por MCIN con financiación de la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU (PRTR-C17.I1).diversitylandracesmicrosatellitesbreedingphenotypicG × E interactionPublishe

Pilot-scale petroleum refinery wastewaters treatment systems: performance and microbial communities' analysis

This study evaluated firstly the performance of the Continuous Stirred Tank bioReactor system (CSTR) for the treatment of highly toxic petroleum refinery wastewaters at the pilot-scale. The reduction of the COD, BOD5, phenols, and the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) reached 82.10%, 85.87%, 91.63%, and 81.11%, respectively at high hydraulic residence time (HRT = 10 days). Decreasing HRT to 5 and 2.5 days led to a decrease in the efficiency of the process and a decrease in biomass concentration was also observed (<1000 mg/l). We investigated to test Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) configuration inoculated with the same microbial consortium of CSTR. Therefore, the removal efficiency reached 89.14% of COD and biomass concentration increased to 2800 mg/l at HRT = 1 day. Microbial biomass showed high acclimatization to the toxic wastewater. Communities' abundance and composition in CSTR and MBR were then performed using culture-independents approaches (qPCR, Illumina Miseq sequencing, and DGGE) based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results showed that major genera affiliated with Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were commonly shared in both bioreactors. The MBR presented a higher bacterial abundance and diversity than the CSTR. Furthermore, dominant genera belonging to Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were exclusively detected in CSTR and MBR, respectively. Six potential hydrocabonclastic bacteria were isolated from the CSTR. This study demonstrates the occurrence of specific acclimated bacterial communities in MBR different from those identified in CSTR, improving the petroleum hydrocarbon wastewater treatment. The results would be useful in developing an MBR system for treating toxic stripped wastewater at a larger scale

La grossesse en hémodialyse chronique: à propos de 25 cas survenus dans le Sud Tunisien

Introduction:&nbsp;la survenue de grossesse au cours de l´hémodialyse chronique est rare. Néanmoins, avec l´évolution des techniques de dialyse, une amélioration de la fertilité est possible. Le but de notre travail est de rapporter notre expérience concernant la survenue d'une grossesse chez les patientes dialysées et de dégager les facteurs impliqués dans sa réussite. Méthodes:&nbsp;notre étude rétrospective a porté sur 25 grossesses spontanées survenues chez 19 patientes traitées par hémodialyse périodique dans différents centres d´hémodialyse du sud tunisien sur une période de 34 ans. Résultats:&nbsp;l´âge maternel de survenue de grossesse était en moyenne égal à 35,6 ans [23-44ans] avec une ancienneté moyenne en hémodialyse de 4,22 ans [1-17 ans]. Sept patientes (37%) avaient une diurèse résiduelle (&gt;500 ml/24h). Le volume horaire hebdomadaire de dialyse était ≥16 heures par semaine dans 7 cas et ≥20 heures dans 4 cas. Le succès de la grossesse (nouveau-né survivant au moins 28 jours) était estimé à 56%. L´âge gestationnel médian était de 34 semaines d´aménorrhée [28-38 SA]. Le poids néonatal moyen est égal à 1970g [1500g-2300g]. L´étude analytique a montré une corrélation significative entre l´augmentation des heures de dialyse par semaine et la réussite de la grossesse (R= 0,59; p= 0,002). Conclusion:&nbsp;on souligne qu´avec une prise en charge adéquate et notamment la majoration du nombre de séances de dialyse, les complications materno-fœtales peuvent être minimisées et la balance risque-bénéfice vire vers donner la chance à une femme dialysée de devenir maman

Table1_Role of biochar in anaerobic microbiome enrichment and methane production enhancement during olive mill wastewater biomethanization.pdf

The current research work attempted to investigate, for the first time, the impact of biochar addition, on anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewater with different initial chemical oxygen demand loads in batch cultures (10 g/L, 15 g/L, and 20 g/L). Methane yields were compared by applying one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post-hoc Tukey’s analysis. The results demonstrated that adding at 5 g/L biochar to olive mill wastewater with an initial chemical oxygen demand load of 20 g/L increased methane yield by 97.8% and mitigated volatile fatty acid accumulation compared to the control batch. According to the results of microbial community succession revealed by the Illumina amplicon sequencing, biochar supplementation significantly increased diversity of the microbial community and improved the abundance of potential genera involved in direct interspecies electron transfer, including Methanothrix and Methanosarcina. Consequently, biochar can be a promising alternative in terms of the recovery of metabolic activity during anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewater at a large scale.</p

Table2_Role of biochar in anaerobic microbiome enrichment and methane production enhancement during olive mill wastewater biomethanization.pdf

The current research work attempted to investigate, for the first time, the impact of biochar addition, on anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewater with different initial chemical oxygen demand loads in batch cultures (10 g/L, 15 g/L, and 20 g/L). Methane yields were compared by applying one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post-hoc Tukey’s analysis. The results demonstrated that adding at 5 g/L biochar to olive mill wastewater with an initial chemical oxygen demand load of 20 g/L increased methane yield by 97.8% and mitigated volatile fatty acid accumulation compared to the control batch. According to the results of microbial community succession revealed by the Illumina amplicon sequencing, biochar supplementation significantly increased diversity of the microbial community and improved the abundance of potential genera involved in direct interspecies electron transfer, including Methanothrix and Methanosarcina. Consequently, biochar can be a promising alternative in terms of the recovery of metabolic activity during anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewater at a large scale.</p

Image1_Role of biochar in anaerobic microbiome enrichment and methane production enhancement during olive mill wastewater biomethanization.jpeg

The current research work attempted to investigate, for the first time, the impact of biochar addition, on anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewater with different initial chemical oxygen demand loads in batch cultures (10 g/L, 15 g/L, and 20 g/L). Methane yields were compared by applying one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by post-hoc Tukey’s analysis. The results demonstrated that adding at 5 g/L biochar to olive mill wastewater with an initial chemical oxygen demand load of 20 g/L increased methane yield by 97.8% and mitigated volatile fatty acid accumulation compared to the control batch. According to the results of microbial community succession revealed by the Illumina amplicon sequencing, biochar supplementation significantly increased diversity of the microbial community and improved the abundance of potential genera involved in direct interspecies electron transfer, including Methanothrix and Methanosarcina. Consequently, biochar can be a promising alternative in terms of the recovery of metabolic activity during anaerobic digestion of olive mill wastewater at a large scale.</p

Evidence for Association of the E23K Variant of KCNJ11 Gene with Type 2 Diabetes in Tunisian Population: Population-Based Study and Meta-Analysis

Aims. Genetic association studies have reported the E23K variant of KCNJ11 gene to be associated with Type 2 diabetes. In Arab populations, only four studies have investigated the role of this variant. We aimed to replicate and validate the association between the E23K variant and Type 2 diabetes in Tunisian and Arab populations. Methods. We have performed a case-control association study including 250 Tunisian patients with Type 2 diabetes and 267 controls. Allelic association has also been evaluated by 2 meta-analyses including all population-based studies among Tunisians and Arabs (2 and 5 populations, resp.). Results. A significant association between the E23K variant and Type 2 diabetes was found (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.14–2.27, and P=0.007). Furthermore, our meta-analysis has confirmed the significant role of the E23K variant in susceptibility of Type 2 diabetes in Tunisian and Arab populations (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.15–1.46, and P<10-3 and OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.13–1.56, and P=0.001, resp.). Conclusion. Both case-control and meta-analyses results revealed the significant association between the E23K variant of KCNJ11 and Type 2 diabetes among Tunisians and Arabs