Unveiling the potential and specificity of the Mahoran ethnopharmacopoeia: A field survey

International audienceEthnopharmacological relevance: A significant portion of Mahoran people relies on traditional medicine to addresstheir healthcare needs. However, very few studies have been carried out on this subject, and few data areavailable on the practices, plants used, and ailments most commonly treated by their traditional medicine.Aim of the study: Within this context, the aim of this study was to identify the diseases most commonly treated bytraditional Mahoran medicine, as well as the plants most commonly used against these various ailments.Materials and methods: From January to April 2023, a semi-structured survey was carried out in Mayotte island. Atotal of 103 participants were interviewed including 65 non specialists, 21 knowledgeable, and 17 specialists. Athorough literature review was performed on the most cited plant species to evaluate the benefit-risk of eachremedy.Results: Participants mentioned using 474 remedies (prepared mostly with herbal ingredients) to treat 65 dis-eases. These diseases belong to various health categories of which the most represented ones were digestivesystem, respiratory system, genital system, general, and muscular system. The two most common ailments citedby participants were stomachache (41/103) and cough (36/103). A total of 154 plant species were identified,with Coleus amboinicus, Citrus aurantiifolia, Moringa oleifera, and Ocimum gratissimum being the main plants re-ported. Massage therapy was the second most important traditional practices reported after the use of herbalremedies.Conclusion: Our survey confirms the importance of traditional medical pratices in Mayotte island. The followingplants: Aerva lanata, Cardiospermum halicacabum, Coleus madagascariensis Paullinia pinnata, and Woodfordia fru-ticosa stand out from the others in terms of their use and number of citations, and it would be interesting to studytheir pharmacological and toxicological properties. Traditional medicine in Mayotte also possesses specificities,notably with the use of particular ingredients such as salt, coral stone, or even white clay. Furthermore,throughout the study, we noticed that chronic diseases such as diabetes or hypertension were extensively treated.This could be linked to the fact that the prevalence of these diseases is quite high on the island

Tropical Palm Endophytes Exhibit Low Competitive Structuring When Assessed Using Co-occurrence and Antipathogen Activity Analysis

International audienc

Characterization of Influenza D Virus Reassortant Strain in Swine from Mixed Pig and Beef Farm, France

Influenza D virus was isolated from pigs on a mixed pig and beef farm in France. Investigation suggested bull-to-pig transmission and spread among pigs. The swine influenza D virus recovered was a reassortant of D/660 and D/OK lineages. Reported mutations in the receptor binding site might be related to swine host adaptation

Isolation, purification and chemical characterization of a new angucyclinone compound produced by a new halotolerant Nocardiopsis sp. HR-4 strain

International audienceA halotolerant Actinobacteria strain HR-4 was isolated from a salt lake soil sample in Algerian Sahara. Analysis of 16S rDNA gene sequence showed that strain HR-4 belonged to the genus Nocardiopsis. The similarity level ranges between 97.45 and 99.20% with Nocardiopsis species and Nocardiopsis rosea being the most closely related one. Morphological, physiological and phylogenetic characteristics comparisons showed significant differences with the nearest species. These data strongly suggest that strain HR-4 represents novel species. The antimicrobial activity of strain HR-4 showed an antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria as well as an antifungal one. Two major natural products including a new one were isolated from the culture broth using various separation and purification procedures. The chemical structure established on the basis of spectroscopic studies NMR and by comparing with spectroscopic data from the literature of the two compounds affirm that they are classified in the group of Angucyclinones. This is the first report of a production of this type of molecules by the genus Nocardiopsis. The new natural compound was established as (-)-7-deoxy-8-O-methyltetrangomycin with a new configuration

Table_1_Tropical Palm Endophytes Exhibit Low Competitive Structuring When Assessed Using Co-occurrence and Antipathogen Activity Analysis.xlsx

Leaf-inhabiting fungal and bacterial endophytes are at their most diverse in tropical rainforest plant hosts, with some influencing host plant fitness as either symbionts or pathogens. Endophyte activity and community composition is thought to depend on competition amongst co-occurring species for resources. Here, we reveal the strength of competitive interactions between endophytes by combining e-DNA metabarcoding to characterize the community with culturing assays to ascertain their potential activity. The endophyte community associated with the understory palm Astrocaryum sciophilum was determined by extracting eDNA from 120 leaflets of eight plants located in a lowland rainforest in French Guiana. This revealed 516 fungal and 606 bacterial Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Co-occurrence analysis of the most abundant OTUs revealed that direct fungal-fungal interactions were overall more negative than bacterial-bacterial interactions. This was confirmed by C-score calculations for the whole endophyte community, revealing significantly greater levels of species segregation for fungi but not bacteria when compared with simulated random communities. Following the culturing of 131 fungal, and 66 bacterial Astrocaryum endophytes collected from the same leaves, Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations of ethyl acetate culture extracts were evaluated against the fungus Trichophyton rubrum and the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, a minority of extracts demonstrated antipathogen activity, with greater antifungal activity expression for both fungi and bacteria when compared with antibacterial activity. In order to explore whether this activity translated into competitive structuring of the community, a BLAST was conducted to match metabarcoding sequences with Sanger derived culture sequences. This demonstrated that cultures displaying antipathogen activity were significantly more likely to co-occur with fungi if they were bacteria, and bacteria if they were fungi. Nevertheless, overall correlation values averaged around zero. These results indicate that for Astrocaryum palms, fungal endophytes are likely to play a greater role in determining colonization success of subsequent endophytes whether these be fungal or bacterial, but that overall endophyte communities do not display strong patterns of community structuring through competition. Endophyte communities are thus likely to reach relative stasis in mature leaves, where the diverse community of fungi and bacteria amongst other factors prevent the subsequent establishment of pathogens.</p

Table_2_Tropical Palm Endophytes Exhibit Low Competitive Structuring When Assessed Using Co-occurrence and Antipathogen Activity Analysis.xlsx

Leaf-inhabiting fungal and bacterial endophytes are at their most diverse in tropical rainforest plant hosts, with some influencing host plant fitness as either symbionts or pathogens. Endophyte activity and community composition is thought to depend on competition amongst co-occurring species for resources. Here, we reveal the strength of competitive interactions between endophytes by combining e-DNA metabarcoding to characterize the community with culturing assays to ascertain their potential activity. The endophyte community associated with the understory palm Astrocaryum sciophilum was determined by extracting eDNA from 120 leaflets of eight plants located in a lowland rainforest in French Guiana. This revealed 516 fungal and 606 bacterial Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Co-occurrence analysis of the most abundant OTUs revealed that direct fungal-fungal interactions were overall more negative than bacterial-bacterial interactions. This was confirmed by C-score calculations for the whole endophyte community, revealing significantly greater levels of species segregation for fungi but not bacteria when compared with simulated random communities. Following the culturing of 131 fungal, and 66 bacterial Astrocaryum endophytes collected from the same leaves, Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations of ethyl acetate culture extracts were evaluated against the fungus Trichophyton rubrum and the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, a minority of extracts demonstrated antipathogen activity, with greater antifungal activity expression for both fungi and bacteria when compared with antibacterial activity. In order to explore whether this activity translated into competitive structuring of the community, a BLAST was conducted to match metabarcoding sequences with Sanger derived culture sequences. This demonstrated that cultures displaying antipathogen activity were significantly more likely to co-occur with fungi if they were bacteria, and bacteria if they were fungi. Nevertheless, overall correlation values averaged around zero. These results indicate that for Astrocaryum palms, fungal endophytes are likely to play a greater role in determining colonization success of subsequent endophytes whether these be fungal or bacterial, but that overall endophyte communities do not display strong patterns of community structuring through competition. Endophyte communities are thus likely to reach relative stasis in mature leaves, where the diverse community of fungi and bacteria amongst other factors prevent the subsequent establishment of pathogens.</p

Table_5_Tropical Palm Endophytes Exhibit Low Competitive Structuring When Assessed Using Co-occurrence and Antipathogen Activity Analysis.xlsx

Leaf-inhabiting fungal and bacterial endophytes are at their most diverse in tropical rainforest plant hosts, with some influencing host plant fitness as either symbionts or pathogens. Endophyte activity and community composition is thought to depend on competition amongst co-occurring species for resources. Here, we reveal the strength of competitive interactions between endophytes by combining e-DNA metabarcoding to characterize the community with culturing assays to ascertain their potential activity. The endophyte community associated with the understory palm Astrocaryum sciophilum was determined by extracting eDNA from 120 leaflets of eight plants located in a lowland rainforest in French Guiana. This revealed 516 fungal and 606 bacterial Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Co-occurrence analysis of the most abundant OTUs revealed that direct fungal-fungal interactions were overall more negative than bacterial-bacterial interactions. This was confirmed by C-score calculations for the whole endophyte community, revealing significantly greater levels of species segregation for fungi but not bacteria when compared with simulated random communities. Following the culturing of 131 fungal, and 66 bacterial Astrocaryum endophytes collected from the same leaves, Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations of ethyl acetate culture extracts were evaluated against the fungus Trichophyton rubrum and the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, a minority of extracts demonstrated antipathogen activity, with greater antifungal activity expression for both fungi and bacteria when compared with antibacterial activity. In order to explore whether this activity translated into competitive structuring of the community, a BLAST was conducted to match metabarcoding sequences with Sanger derived culture sequences. This demonstrated that cultures displaying antipathogen activity were significantly more likely to co-occur with fungi if they were bacteria, and bacteria if they were fungi. Nevertheless, overall correlation values averaged around zero. These results indicate that for Astrocaryum palms, fungal endophytes are likely to play a greater role in determining colonization success of subsequent endophytes whether these be fungal or bacterial, but that overall endophyte communities do not display strong patterns of community structuring through competition. Endophyte communities are thus likely to reach relative stasis in mature leaves, where the diverse community of fungi and bacteria amongst other factors prevent the subsequent establishment of pathogens.</p

Table_3_Tropical Palm Endophytes Exhibit Low Competitive Structuring When Assessed Using Co-occurrence and Antipathogen Activity Analysis.xlsx

Leaf-inhabiting fungal and bacterial endophytes are at their most diverse in tropical rainforest plant hosts, with some influencing host plant fitness as either symbionts or pathogens. Endophyte activity and community composition is thought to depend on competition amongst co-occurring species for resources. Here, we reveal the strength of competitive interactions between endophytes by combining e-DNA metabarcoding to characterize the community with culturing assays to ascertain their potential activity. The endophyte community associated with the understory palm Astrocaryum sciophilum was determined by extracting eDNA from 120 leaflets of eight plants located in a lowland rainforest in French Guiana. This revealed 516 fungal and 606 bacterial Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Co-occurrence analysis of the most abundant OTUs revealed that direct fungal-fungal interactions were overall more negative than bacterial-bacterial interactions. This was confirmed by C-score calculations for the whole endophyte community, revealing significantly greater levels of species segregation for fungi but not bacteria when compared with simulated random communities. Following the culturing of 131 fungal, and 66 bacterial Astrocaryum endophytes collected from the same leaves, Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations of ethyl acetate culture extracts were evaluated against the fungus Trichophyton rubrum and the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, a minority of extracts demonstrated antipathogen activity, with greater antifungal activity expression for both fungi and bacteria when compared with antibacterial activity. In order to explore whether this activity translated into competitive structuring of the community, a BLAST was conducted to match metabarcoding sequences with Sanger derived culture sequences. This demonstrated that cultures displaying antipathogen activity were significantly more likely to co-occur with fungi if they were bacteria, and bacteria if they were fungi. Nevertheless, overall correlation values averaged around zero. These results indicate that for Astrocaryum palms, fungal endophytes are likely to play a greater role in determining colonization success of subsequent endophytes whether these be fungal or bacterial, but that overall endophyte communities do not display strong patterns of community structuring through competition. Endophyte communities are thus likely to reach relative stasis in mature leaves, where the diverse community of fungi and bacteria amongst other factors prevent the subsequent establishment of pathogens.</p

Table_4_Tropical Palm Endophytes Exhibit Low Competitive Structuring When Assessed Using Co-occurrence and Antipathogen Activity Analysis.xlsx

Leaf-inhabiting fungal and bacterial endophytes are at their most diverse in tropical rainforest plant hosts, with some influencing host plant fitness as either symbionts or pathogens. Endophyte activity and community composition is thought to depend on competition amongst co-occurring species for resources. Here, we reveal the strength of competitive interactions between endophytes by combining e-DNA metabarcoding to characterize the community with culturing assays to ascertain their potential activity. The endophyte community associated with the understory palm Astrocaryum sciophilum was determined by extracting eDNA from 120 leaflets of eight plants located in a lowland rainforest in French Guiana. This revealed 516 fungal and 606 bacterial Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). Co-occurrence analysis of the most abundant OTUs revealed that direct fungal-fungal interactions were overall more negative than bacterial-bacterial interactions. This was confirmed by C-score calculations for the whole endophyte community, revealing significantly greater levels of species segregation for fungi but not bacteria when compared with simulated random communities. Following the culturing of 131 fungal, and 66 bacterial Astrocaryum endophytes collected from the same leaves, Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations of ethyl acetate culture extracts were evaluated against the fungus Trichophyton rubrum and the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, a minority of extracts demonstrated antipathogen activity, with greater antifungal activity expression for both fungi and bacteria when compared with antibacterial activity. In order to explore whether this activity translated into competitive structuring of the community, a BLAST was conducted to match metabarcoding sequences with Sanger derived culture sequences. This demonstrated that cultures displaying antipathogen activity were significantly more likely to co-occur with fungi if they were bacteria, and bacteria if they were fungi. Nevertheless, overall correlation values averaged around zero. These results indicate that for Astrocaryum palms, fungal endophytes are likely to play a greater role in determining colonization success of subsequent endophytes whether these be fungal or bacterial, but that overall endophyte communities do not display strong patterns of community structuring through competition. Endophyte communities are thus likely to reach relative stasis in mature leaves, where the diverse community of fungi and bacteria amongst other factors prevent the subsequent establishment of pathogens.</p