The Tara Pacific expedition—A pan-ecosystemic approach of the “-omics” complexity of coral reef holobionts across the Pacific Ocean

Coral reefs are the most diverse habitats in the marine realm. Their productivity, structural complexity, and biodiversity critically depend on ecosystem services provided by corals that are threatened because of climate change effects—in particular, ocean warming and acidification. The coral holobiont is composed of the coral animal host, endosymbiotic dinoflagellates, associated viruses, bacteria, and other microeukaryotes. In particular, the mandatory photosymbiosis with microalgae of the family Symbiodiniaceae and its consequences on the evolution, physiology, and stress resilience of the coral holobiont have yet to be fully elucidated. The functioning of the holobiont as a whole is largely unknown, although bacteria and viruses are presumed to play roles in metabolic interactions, immunity, and stress tolerance. In the context of climate change and anthropogenic threats on coral reef ecosystems, the Tara Pacific project aims to provide a baseline of the “-omics” complexity of the coral holobiont and its ecosystem across the Pacific Ocean and for various oceanographically distinct defined areas. Inspired by the previous Tara Oceans expeditions, the Tara Pacific expedition (2016–2018) has applied a pan-ecosystemic approach on coral reefs throughout the Pacific Ocean, drawing an east–west transect from Panama to Papua New Guinea and a south–north transect from Australia to Japan, sampling corals throughout 32 island systems with local replicates. Tara Pacific has developed and applied state-of-the-art technologies in very-high-throughput genetic sequencing and molecular analysis to reveal the entire microbial and chemical diversity as well as functional traits associated with coral holobionts, together with various measures on environmental forcing. This ambitious project aims at revealing a massive amount of novel biodiversity, shedding light on the complex links between genomes, transcriptomes, metabolomes, organisms, and ecosystem functions in coral reefs and providing a reference of the biological state of modern coral reefs in the Anthropocene

Energy Resolution Performance of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The energy resolution performance of the CMS lead tungstate crystal electromagnetic calorimeter is presented. Measurements were made with an electron beam using a fully equipped supermodule of the calorimeter barrel. Results are given both for electrons incident on the centre of crystals and for electrons distributed uniformly over the calorimeter surface. The electron energy is reconstructed in matrices of 3 times 3 or 5 times 5 crystals centred on the crystal containing the maximum energy. Corrections for variations in the shower containment are applied in the case of uniform incidence. The resolution measured is consistent with the design goals

Biodegradation of phenol and benzoic acid in batch and sequencing batch reactors

A pure culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa ( ATCC 10145 ) was used for the biodegradation of phenol and benzoic acid. Two sets of small scale (shaker flask) experiments were originally performed: in the first set, phenol was the only carbon source present while in the second, benzoic acid was the sole carbon source. These experiments revealed the kinetics of benzoic acid degradation (they were found to be described by a Monod, non-inhibitory model), as well as of phenol biodegradation (they were found to be described by Andrews\u27inhibitory model) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The kinetic expressions from the small scale experiments were used in predicting biodegradation in a larger scale. For the case of benzoic acid, batch as well as sequencing batch operation of a 4-liter reactor showed very good agreement between experimental data and model predictions. The ultimate objective was to study biodegradation of mixtures of phenol and benzoic acid, and to predict it from the kinetic expressions derived as described above. Assuming simultaneous, non preferential biodegradation of the two substrates, a model was derived for both batch and sequencing batch reactor operation. Unfortunately, the model did not fit the data under these assumptions. Batch data showed a clear preference of Pseudomonas under these assumptions. Batch data showed a clear preference of Pseudomonas aeruginosa for benzoic acid (diauxie phenomenon), and the two substrates were completely but sequentially mineralized. In SBR operation, the two substrates were simultaneously used but the model could not describe the data. It is assumed that in continuous operation the substrates are simultaneously used, but again, there is a certain preference for benzoic acid

Validation d’un modèle amphibien pour l’étude des perturbateurs endocriniens: Validation d’un modèle amphibien pour l’étude des effets métaboliques transgénérationnels des perturbateurs endocriniens

National audiencePour caractériser les effets des PE à des concentrations plus réalistes (compatibles avec celles présentes dans les écosystèmes, notamment l’eau), des Xénopes tropicalis ont été exposés, durant tout leur cycle de développement (de l’œuf à l’âge adulte) à des concentrations faibles de deux polluants : le benzo(a)pyrène et le triclosan, seuls ou en mélange. Parmi les questions qui restent à élucider, figurent celle du contrôle du métabolisme par le système nerveux central et celle des conséquences indirectes d’une exposition aux perturbateurs endocriniens, notamment les effets multi- ou transgénérationnels

GENOTYPAGE CAPSULAIRE ET ANALYSE DU COMPORTEMENT A L'EGARD DES BETA-LACTAMINES DE SOUCHES DE HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAE ISOLEES LORS D'OTITES MOYENNES AIGUES DE L'ENFANT

NANTES-BU Médecine pharmacie (441092101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy for Multidisciplinary Optimization of Expendable Launcher Families

International audienceAfter 30 years of success of Ariane launches, Astrium Space Transportation as prime contractor is preparing the future of launch vehicles with research and development activities. This paper describes the results of the collaboration between INRIA and Astrium to solve the typical multidisciplinary problem of expendable launch vehicle design thanks to the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES). The different disciplines integrated in the Multidisciplinary platform are propulsion system, aerodynamics, mass budget, trajectory integration, control. CMA-ES was tested on a two-liquid-staged launcher with solid boosters. The algorithm produced conclusive results on an optimization problem that proved to be very ill-conditioned. The comparison with Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm NSGA-II gave equivalent results on a bi-level optimization, the trajectory sub- problem being solved separately by a reduced gradient method. The good performance of CMA-ES on a single launcher case allowed us to extend the tests on a launcher family. A launcher family is composed of several launcher configurations sharing common characteristics with different payload targets and optimized together. In these last cases, CMA-ES surpasses NSGA-II in terms of performance and was able to handle multiple error cases during the search of optimum

Impact of micropollutants on the life-history traits of the mosquito Aedes aegypti: On the relevance of transgenerational studies

International audienceHazard assessment of chemical contaminants often relies on short term or partial life-cycle ecotoxicological tests, while the impact of low dose throughout the entire life cycle of species across multiple generations has been neglected. This study aimed at identifying the individual and population-level consequences of chronic water contamination by environmental concentrations of three organic micropollutants, ibuprofen, bisphenol A and benzo[a]pyrene, on Aedes aegypti mosquito populations in experimental conditions. Life-history assays spanning the full life-cycle of exposed individuals and their progeny associated with population dynamics modelling evidenced life-history traits alterations in unexposed progenies of individuals chronically exposed to 1 mg/L ibuprofen or 0.6 mg/L benzo[a]pyrene. The progeny of individuals exposed to ibuprofen showed an accelerated development while the progeny of individuals exposed to benzo[a]pyrene showed a developmental acceleration associated with an increase in mortality rate during development. These life-history changes due to pollutants exposure resulted in relatively shallow increase of Ae. aegypti asymptotic population growth rate. Multigenerational exposure for six generations revealed an evolution of population response to ibuprofen and benzo[a]pyrene across generations, leading to a loss of previously identified transgenerational effects and to the emergence of a tolerance to the bioinsecticide Bacillus turingiensis israelensis (Bti). This study shed light on the short and long term impact of environmentally relevant doses of ibuprofen and benzo[a]pyrene on Ae. aegypti lifehistory traits and insecticide tolerance, raising unprecedented perspectives about the influence of surface water pollution on vector-control strategies. Overall, our approach highlights the importance of considering the entire life cycle of organisms, and the necessity to assess the transgenerational effects of pollutants in ecotoxicological studies for ecological risk assessment. Finally, this multi-generational study gives new insight about the influence of surface water pollution on microevolutionary processes

Are coarse particles unexpected common reservoirs for some atmospheric anthropogenic trace elements? A case study

International audienceWithout specific experimental equipment, it is very difficult to sample long-term atmospheric deposits on a pure state. That is why the composition of air-transferred solid material accumulated for 40 years in the 2 m-high walls, pierced with numerous holes of an outdoor public shelter, Grenoble city, France, was studied. An appropriate fractionation procedure allowed to obtain several fractions which were i) a sand fraction (8.3%) (fraction A), ii) a large mass of organic matter corresponding mostly to large fragments (>250 μm) of plant origin (66.7%) (fraction B) or to pollen fraction C (0.4%), iii) a slowly depositing organo-clay fraction (20%) (fractions D1 and D2) and iv) a solution mixed with non-settable particles (4.3%) (fraction E). The composition of each fraction was determined for 20 elements. The sand fraction showed very high concentrations specifically in Cu, Pb and Fe corresponding respectively to 81.5, 48.2 and 35.2% of the samples content in these elements. In contrast, Cd and Zn were mainly accumulated in the fraction B (67.5 and 62.2%, respectively). The scanning electron microscopy coupled to energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX) study of the fraction A showed the presence of large particles bearing Pb and Fe, particles rich in Cu and typical fly ashes originating mostly from iron industry. Most of these particles had a crystalline shape suggesting that they were formed after emission at a high temperature. The Pb–Fe–Cu deposit seen in fraction A likely originates from the neighbouring road surface contaminated by car traffic for several decades. The 206Pb/207Pb ratio (1.146 ± 0.004) showed that in the coarse sandy fraction A, Pb was represented at 65% by non-gasoline lead and 35% by “gasoline” lead emitted before 1999. The fraction A particles can only be transported on a limited distance by high magnitude events. They constitute a large reservoir for Cu and Pb and may play a major role in the long-term contamination of urban soils