The response of the English churches to the Nazi persecution of the Jews 1933-1945

The background to this thesis is the scholarly debate about bystanders to the Holocaust. Also pertinent is the debate about the conduct of Pius XII in relation to the persecution of the Jews. During the 1930s the Church of England's focus on the persecution of the Jews was complicated by Bishop George Bell's campaign for what were called non-Aryan Christians. He continued his campaign despite being warned that he had exaggerated the numbers of such refugees who would be seeking assistance. The churches in England were challenged to respond to persecution of the Jews by helping fellow- Christians deemed to be of Jewish descent, which confused the understanding about who was being helped. Bell side-stepped calls for him to condemn in outright terms what was happening in Germany. When the Church of England did seek to use its influence with the government, the church had very little suasive force. Specific instances are cited where Archbishop Cosmo Gordon Lang sought government action, but was rebuffed. The persecution of the Jews led to high-profile public meetings and other forms of protest. However, the liberal culture of the times tended to present antisemitic persecution as a challenge to liberal values. This effectively downplayed the persecution's targeting of Jews and its racist basis. Even Jewish requests for church involvement stressed the importance of making the issue a humanitarian one and not a specifically Jewish one. The Council of Christians and Jews also stressed the threat to civilization rather than the threat to Jews. Even so, the CCJ's formation was in itself a response to antisemitism and showed a desire for Christian-Jewish Co-operation and respect. Missionary societies continued to seek to convert the Jews and saw the crisis of the times as an opportunity. Indeed, some missionaries believed it might be the fulfilment of prophecy. The pioneer in Jewish-Christian dialogue, James Parkes, strongly opposed such conversionism. Lang's successor at Canterbury, William Temple, treated the Jewish situation as urgent. He also saw it as challenging Europe's claims to a Christian heritage. Temple's high-profile campaign helped create a wave of Christian support for the Jews, and a flood of petitions. There was a strong tradition of English Catholic antisemitism. Cardinal Arthur Hinsley broke with this to condemn antisemitism with increasing force, though he always mentioned persecution of the Jews in tandem with persecution of Catholics. Evidence suggests that Hinsley may have been compensating for reticence on the part of Pius XII. The thesis also provides a briefer survey of the response of the Quakers, the Methodists and the Baptists

Maintien d'une zone hybride de gueules de loup (Antirrhinum majus) : rôle de quelques interactions biologiques

Les zones hybrides offrent un regard privilégié sur les processus évolutifs. En cas d'hybridation, l'intégrité des espèces parentales ne peut être maintenue que si des forces évolutives compensent le flux de gènes. Je me suis attachée à en comprendre les mécanismes écologiques en étudiant le rôle des espèces en interaction dans la dynamique d'une zone hybride entre Antirrhinum majus pseudomajus, à fleurs magenta, et A. m. striatum, à fleurs jaunes. Les deux sous-espèces présentent une morphologie florale similaire et ont les mêmes pollinisateurs : des bourdons et des xylocopes. L'analyse de la fructification et des dégâts subis par les plantes suggère un rôle des pollinisateurs et des charançons dans la sélection contre les hybrides et donc dans la stabilisation de la zone hybride. Après avoir vérifié que les bourdons perçoivent les variations de couleurs dans la zone hybride, j'ai montré qu'une augmentation de la diversité des couleurs, comme celle causée par l'apparition d'hybrides de générations tardives, entraîne une augmentation de la constance des pollinisateurs et donc de l'homogamie, ce qui contribuerait à l'isolement prézygotique. Enfin, une analyse spatiale suggère une fréquence-dépendance positive de la sélection liée aux taux de visites des pollinisateurs et un moindre taux de visites de certains hybrides, qui contribuerait à l'isolement postzygotique. Les pollinisateurs peuvent donc participer au maintien des différences entre espèces interfertiles, y compris dans les systèmes où les taxons partagent les mêmes pollinisateurs. De plus, le maintien des zones hybrides pourrait, dans certains cas, résulter des actions cumulées de plusieurs agents biologiques.Hybrid zones provide an insight into evolutionary processes. When hybridization occurs, the integrity of the parental species is maintained only if some evolutionary forces balance gene flow. In my research I focus on understanding the ecological mechanisms subjacent to this process. I assess the role of interacting species in the dynamics of a hybrid zone between the magenta flowered Antirrhinum majus pseudomajus and the yellow flowered A. m. striatum. Both subspecies have a similar floral morphology and share the same pollinators: bumblebees and carpenterbees. Analyses of fruit set and plant damage suggest a role of pollinators and of weevils in the selection against hybrids, and hence in the stabilization of the hybrid zone. After verification that bumblebees are able to perceive the flower colour variation in the hybrid zone, I show that an increase in colour diversity, like that occurring as late generation hybrids are formed, leads to an increase in the level of pollinator constancy and hence in homogamy. This may contribute to prezygotic isolation. Finally, a spatial analysis suggests a positive frequency dependence of the selection acting through the pollinators' visitation rates, and a low visitation rate to some hybrids which may contribute to postzygotic isolation. The results indicate that pollinators can play a role in maintaining the differences between interfertile plant species, even in systems where plant taxa share pollinators. Moreover, hybrid zone maintenance may be the result of the accumulated actions of several biotic agents

FReD: the Floral Reflectance Database - a web portal for analyses of flower colour

Background: Flower colour is of great importance in various fields relating to floral biology and pollinator behaviour. However, subjective human judgements of flower colour may be inaccurate and are irrelevant to the ecology and vision of the flower's pollinators. For precise, detailed information about the colours of flowers, a full reflectance spectrum for the flower of interest should be used rather than relying on such human assessments. Methodology/Principal Findings: The Floral Reflectance Database (FReD) has been developed to make an extensive collection of such data available to researchers. It is freely available at http://www.reflectance.co.uk. The database allows users to download spectral reflectance data for flower species collected from all over the world. These could, for example, be used in modelling interactions between pollinator vision and plant signals, or analyses of flower colours in various habitats. The database contains functions for calculating flower colour loci according to widely-used models of bee colour space, reflectance graphs of the spectra and an option to search for flowers with similar colours in bee colour space. Conclusions/Significance: The Floral Reflectance Database is a valuable new tool for researchers interested in the colours of flowers and their association with pollinator colour vision, containing raw spectral reflectance data for a large number of flower species

Maintenance of a snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) hybrid zone (role of some biotic interactions)

TOULOUSE3-BU Sciences (315552104) / SudocSudocFranceF

Morphological identification and DNA barcoding used for diet analysis of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) in its expanding northerly range

International audienceThe gilthead seabream, Sparus aurata, is common in the Mediterranean Sea and along the Atlantic coasts of Portugal, Spain and France. Abundance of S. aurata has recently increased along the Brittany coast, showing good adaptation and acclimatisation to northern waters away from its original distribution range. The physiological adaptations (diet, reproduction, growth) of this fish to colder water could even lead to its colonisation of the English Channel. The ability to eat and digest hard prey makes this fish an important consumer of bivalves. The aim of this study was to make a preliminary evaluation of the diet of the gilthead seabream in its northern range of distribution. Prey items from stomach contents of wild adults from various sites along the East Atlantic coast of France to the English Channel were identified morphologically when it was possible, e.g. in presence of decapod appendices, shells of bivalves, or using DNA barcoding. Diet composition was analysed against sites, fish length and month of sampling using the frequency of occurrence (%F) and weight relative proportion (%W). Results showed that the diet of S. aurata was mainly composed of bivalves, malacostracans and gastropods with a huge dominance of Mytilus sp. (%F = 51.5 and %W = 40.2). This first diet analysis of individuals from the northern range of the species distribution showed its ability, as an opportunistic feeder, to find prey in newly colonised ecosystems and its preference for some organisms, especially mussels

Expression of the retrotransposons Surcouf and Blackbeard in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum under thermal stress

International audienceTransposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA sequences thought to be involved in the genomic response toenvironmental stresses of organisms. The thermal stress behaviour of two retrotransposons (Surcouf and Blackbeard ) wasinvestigated in the genome of two strains of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Using quantitative reversetranscriptase polymerase chain reaction, the retrotransposon expression pattern was investigated after thermal stressesand compared with that of the small heat-shock protein (shsp). While the expression of Blackbeard was not affected bytemperature changes, the retroelement Surcouf was markedly overexpressed in response to high temperature incorrelation with shsp overexpression. An in silico analysis investigated the presence of regulatory heat-inducible motifssuch as heat-shock elements, stress response elements and CCAAT boxes within the promoters of shsp andretrotransposons in the genome of P. tricornutum. The results of mRNA quantification are supported by the presenceof heat-shock response motifs found in the promoters of shsp and the retrotransposon Surcouf

Transcriptional response of stress-regulated genes to cadmium exposure in the cockle Cerastoderma glaucum from the gulf of Gabès area (Tunisia)

International audienceThis study investigates cadmium effects on key messenger RNA (mRNA) expression (MT, MnSOD, CuZnSOD, CAT, ABCB1, HSP70, and CO1) by qPCR in the cockle Cerastoderma glaucum after chronic exposure to two high but environmentally relevant concentrations of CdCl2 (50 μg/L and 5 mg/L) for 12 h to 18 days. Cd accumulation measured in cockles' tissues is significantly higher in both treatment conditions compared to controls and in a dose-dependent manner. Stress on stress tests performed at different times of the experiment clearly demonstrated that exposure to both concentrations of Cd significantly affects cockle survival time in air. Important changes in gene transcription were also highlighted. In particular, MT, HSP70, CAT, and CuZnSOD seem to be relevant biomarkers of Cd exposure because (1) their mRNA levels increase upon exposure and (2) they are highly correlated to Cd accumulation in tissues. Results may be useful for control strategies and for the use of cockles as sentinel organisms

Transcriptional response of stress-regulated genes to industrial effluent exposure in the cockle Cerastoderma glaucum

International audienceThis study assessed the responses of molecular biomarkers and heavy metal levels in Cerastoderma glaucum exposed for 1 week to two industrial effluents (1 %) discharged into the Tunisian coastal area, F1 and F2, produced by different units of production of a phosphate treatment plant. A significant uptake of metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, and Ni) was observed in exposed cockles compared to controls, with an uptake higher for F1 than for F2. A decrease in LT50 (stress on stress test) was also observed after an exposure to the effluent F1. Treatments resulted in different patterns of messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of the different genes tested in this report. Gene transcription monitoring performed on seven genes potentially involved in the tolerance to metal exposure showed that for both exposures, mechanisms are rapidly and synchronically settled down to prevent damage to cellular components, by (1) handling and exporting out metal ions through the up-regulation of ATP-binding cassette xenobiotic transporter (ABCB1) and metallothionein (MT), (2) increasing the mRNA expression of antioxidant enzymes (catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutases, CuZnSOD and MnSOD), (3) protecting and/or repairing proteins through the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) mRNAs, and (4) increasing ATP production (through the up-regulation of cytochrome c oxidase 1 (CO1)) to provide energy for cells to tolerate stress exposure. The tools developed may be useful both for future control strategies and for the use of the cockle C. glaucum as a sentinel species

An introduction to the vast world of transposable elements – what about the diatoms?

International audienceTransposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences that are able to move and replicate within the genomes of virtually all organisms, ranging from animals to plants, and also including protozoans, bacteria and diatoms. Initially considered to be ‘junk DNA’ with no function, TEs are now thought to play a pivotal role in the evolution of genomes and organisms. This review is intended to provide non-specialists with an introduction to the world of TEs by summarizing the information available about these elements, ranging from their impact on genome structure to their potential involvement in the evolution of species. In this review, we propose to bring together what is known about the TEs and provide an overview of recent advances concerning TEs in diatoms