Pearl millet populations characterized by Fusarium prevalence, morphological traits, phenolic content, and antioxidant potential

Background: Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) has become increasingly attractive due to its health benefits. It is grown as food for human consumption and fodder for livestock in Africa and Asia. This study focused on five pearl millet populations from different agro-ecological zones from Tunisia, and on characterization by morphological traits, total phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, and occurrence of Fusarium. Results: Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences between populations for the quantitative traits. The highest grain weights occurred in the pearlmillet cultivated in Zaafrana and Gergis of Tunisia. Early flowering and earlymaturing populations cultivated in the center (Zaafrana, Rejiche) and south (Gergis) of Tunisia tended to have a higher grain yield. The Zaafrana population showed the highest value of green fodder potentiel (number andweight of leaves/cultivar and theweight of tillers and total plant/cultivar) followed by Gergis and Rejiche. The Kelibia population showed the highest total phenolic and flavonoid content. Rejiche exhibited the greatest antioxidant activity. Trans-cinnamic, protocatechuic, and hydroxybenzoic acids were the major phenolic compounds in all the extracts. Three Fusarium species were identified in Tunisian pearl millet populations based on morphologic and molecular characterization. Fusarium graminearum and Fusarium culmorum occurred most frequently. The average incidence of the three Fusarium species was relatively low (<5%) in all populations. The lowest infection rate (0.1%) was recorded in the samples from Zaafrana. Conclusion: Chemometric analysis confirmed the usefulness of the above traits for discrimination of pearl millet populations, where a considerable variation according to geographical origin and bioclimatic conditions was observed. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industr

The female menstrual cycle does not influence testosterone concentrations in male partners

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The time of ovulation has since long been believed to be concealed to male heterosexual partners. Recent studies have, however, called for revision of this notion. For example, male testosterone concentrations have been shown to increase in response to olfactory ovulation cues, which could be biologically relevant by increasing sexual drive and aggressiveness. However, this phenomenon has not previously been investigated in real-life human settings. We therefore thought it of interest to test the hypothesis that males' salivary testosterone concentrations are influenced by phases of their female partners' menstrual cycle; expecting a testosterone peak at ovulation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Thirty young, healthy, heterosexual couples were recruited. During the course of 30-40 days, the women registered menses and ovulation, while the men registered sexual activity, physical exercise, alcohol intake and illness (confounders), and obtained daily saliva samples for testosterone measurements. All data, including the registered confounders, were subjected to multiple regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In contrast to the hypothesis, the ovulation did not affect the testosterone levels, and the resulting testosterone profile during the menstrual cycle was on the average flat. The specific main hypothesis, that male testosterone levels on the day of ovulation would be higher than day 4 of the cycle, was clearly contradicted by a type II error(β)-analysis (< 14.3% difference in normalized testosterone concentration; β = 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Even though an ovulation-related salivary testosterone peak was observed in individual cases, no significant effect was found on a group level.</p

Spatially structured genetic diversity of the Amerindian yam (Dioscorea trifida L.) assessed by SSR and ISSR markers in Southern Brazil

Dioscorea trifida L. (Dioscoreaceae) is among the economically most important cultivated Amerindian yam species, whose origin and domestication are still unresolved issues. in order to estimate the genetic diversity maintained by traditional farmers in Brazil, 53 accessions of D. trifida from 11 municipalities in the states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Mato Grosso and Amazonas were characterized on the basis of eight Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) and 16 Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) markers. the level of polymorphism among the accessions was high, 95 % for SSR and 75.8 % for ISSR. the SSR marker showed higher discrimination power among accessions compared to ISSR, with D parameter values of 0.79 and 0.44, respectively. Although SSR and ISSR markers led to dendrograms with different topologies, both separated the accessions into three main groups: I-Ubatuba-SP; II-Iguape-SP and Santa Catarina; and III-Mato Grosso. the accessions from Amazonas State were classified in group II with SSR and in a separate group with ISSR. Bayesian and principal coordinate analyzes conducted with both molecular markers corroborated the classification into three main groups. Higher variation was found within groups in the AMOVA analysis for both markers (66.5 and 60.6 % for ISSR and SSR, respectively), and higher Shannon diversity index was found for group II with SSR. Significant but low correlations were found between genetic and geographic distances (r = 0.08; p = 0.0007 for SSR and r = 0.16; p = 0.0002 for ISSR). Therefore, results from both markers showed a slight spatially structured genetic diversity in D. trifida accessions maintained by small traditional farmers in Brazil.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Univ São Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr, Dept Genet, BR-13400970 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biol Sci, BR-09972270 São Paulo, BrazilUniv Calif Davis, Dept Plant Sci MS1, Sect Crop & Ecosyst Sci, Davis, CA 95616 USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Biol Sci, BR-09972270 São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2007/04805-2Web of Scienc

Association analysis of low-phosphorus tolerance in West African pearl millet using DArT markers

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is a food security crop in the harshest agricultural regions of the world. While low soil phosphorus (P) availability is a big constraint on its production, especially in West Africa (WA), information on genomic regions responsible for low-P tolerance in pearl millet is generally lacking. We present the first report on genetic polymorphisms underlying several plant P-related parameters, flowering time (FLO) and grain yield (GY) under P-limiting conditions based on 285 diversity array technology markers and 151 West African pearl millet inbred lines phenotyped in six environments in WA under both high-P and low-P conditions. Nine markers were significantly associated with P-related traits, nine markers were associated with FLO, whereas 13 markers were associated with GY each explaining between 5.5 and 15.9 % of the observed variation. Both constitutive and adaptive associations were observed for FLO and GY, with markers PgPb11603 and PgPb12954 being associated with the most stable effects on FLO and GY, respectively, across locations. There were a few shared polymorphisms between traits, especially P-efficiency-related traits and GY, implying possible colocation of genomic regions responsible for these traits. Our findings help bridge the gap between quantitative and molecular methods of studying complex traits like low-P tolerance in WA. However, validation of these markers is necessary to determine their potential applicability in marker-assisted selection programs targeting low-P environments, which are especially important in WA where resource-poor farmers are expected to be the hardest hit by the approaching global P crisis

L’effet du sexe et de l’orientation sexuelle sur les jugements de responsabilité et l’attribution de sanctions dans les homicides conjugaux

International audienceIntroduction: Anglo-Saxon research shows that the evaluation of Intimate PartnerViolence varies according to the gender of the perpetrator and the victim. Objective: Thepurpose of this research was to clarify, in the French context, the effects of gender and sexualorientation on the perception of and reaction to Intimate Partner Homicide. Method: Wepresented 201 subjects with a intimate partner homicide in a between-subjects procedure inwhich the sex of the perpetrator and the victim was varied and which involved opposite- orsame-sex couples. The subjects were then asked to judge the perpetrator and the victim anddecide on punishment. Results: The results show that the judgments of responsibility andpunishment assignments are the most severe when the perpetrator is a man, the victim awoman, the least severe when the perpetrator is a woman, the victim a man. This differenceis more present for women than for men. It is noted that the judgments for the author in thecouples of same sex (lesbian and especially gay) are more moderate, being most oftenbetween those of the couples of opposite sex. Conclusion: in discussion, the impact of thesociological reality of Intimate Partner Violence, gender representations and penalphilosophies on these judgments and the interest of sensitizing individuals to these genderrelatedeffects are evoked.Introduction : Les recherches anglo-saxonnes mettent en évidence que l’évaluation desviolences conjugales varie selon le sexe de l’auteur et de la victime. Objectif : la présenterecherche avait pour but de préciser, dans le contexte français, les effets liés au sexe et àl’orientation sexuelle sur la perception et la réaction face aux homicides conjugaux. Méthode :nous avons présenté à 201 sujets un homicide conjugal dans lequel on faisait varier le sexe del’auteur et de la victime et qui impliquait des couples de sexe opposé ou de même sexe. Lessujets devaient ensuite juger l’auteur et la victime et décider du type de sanction. Résultats :les résultats montrent que les jugements de responsabilité et les attributions de sanctionssont les plus sévères quand l’auteur est un homme, la victime une femme, les moins sévèresquand l’auteur est une femme, la victime un homme. Cet écart est plus présent chez lesfemmes que chez les hommes. On note que les jugements pour l’auteur dans les couples demême sexe (lesbien et surtout gay) sont plus modérés, se situant le plus souvent entre ceuxdes couples de sexe opposé. Conclusion : en discussion, on évoque l’impact de la réalitésociologique des violences conjugales, des représentations de genre et des philosophiespénales sur ces jugements et l’intérêt de sensibiliser les individus à ces effets liés au sexe

Enzyme diversity in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) 1. West Africa.

Summary. The survey of enzyme polymorphism in West African pearl millet cultivars reported by No new enzyme diversity was observed. Intrapopulation diversity ranged from 70%-90% of the total diversity, depending on their regions of origin. Four principal groups were distinguished in the following decreasing order of diversity: early-maturing cultivars from West and East Africa, late -maturing cultivars from West and East Africa, cultivars from India, and cultivars from southern Africa. The early-maturing cultivars were distributed between two principal focal points from East Africa in the East to Mali in the West. In the center were found millets from Niger which were most diverse. Indian and southern African cultivars were distinct, with the former appearing relatively similar to those of Niger, and the latter somewhat similar to late-maturing cultivars from West Africa, a diverse group that included late-maturing cultivars from East Africa. Based on the results obtained, an evolutionary hypothesis proposed here includes: multiple domestications in the Sahel, creation of early-maturing cultivars and their migration eastwards to India plus a southwards migration to Sudanian zone, and creation of late-maturing cultivars and their migration simultaneously westwards, eastwards, and southwards to southern Africa

Conservation de l’igname sauvage dioscorea praehensilis dans les forets sacrees du departement de l’atlantique (sud du benin) et dans les jardins de cases

Un inventaire de l’igname sauvage comestible, D. praehensilis, a été fait dans dix sept forêts sacrées de l’Atlantique (forêt dense semi-décidue à Triplochiton scleroxylon et à Celtis mildbraedii). La conservation et la domestication de cette espèce proche génétiquement des ignames cultivées ont été étudiées chez 101 paysans de 22 villages et de trois ethnies différentes, Adja, Aïzo et Fon (les Aïzo étant dominants). La densité en D. praehensilis est de 68 tiges/ha dans les grandes forêts, 12 tiges / ha dans les forêts de taille moyenne, et 10 tiges / ha dans les petites forêts. Abandonnée de nos jours, la domestication de D. praehensilis est connue par 32 % des informateurs. Appelée « Gban », les ignames issues d’anciennes domestications de D. praehensilis sont gérées dans un système agroforestier traditionnel (jardins de case ou champ) sous forme de paraculture. Trois modes d’obtention ont été recensés : l’héritage (77 %), l’achat des tubercules (17 %) et le don (6 %). Les « conservateurs » de gban sont en majorité des paysans âgés. Les tuteurs vivants sont des arbres utilisés en agroforesterie (manguiers, neems, etc.). La diversité génétique et les caractéristiques agronomiques de ces ignames sont encore inconnues.A terme, la disparition des forêts sacrées, l’abandon de la domestication et le grand âge des conservateurs conduisent à la perte de ce patrimoine