Abstract: We report the isolation and identification of a new quassinoid named simalikalactone E (SkE), extracted from a widely used Amazonian antimalarial remedy made out of Quassia amara L. (Simaroubaceae) leaves. This new molecule inhibited the growth of Plasmodium falciparum cultured in vitro by 50%, in the concentration range from 24 to 68 nM, independently of the strain sensitivity to chloroquine. We also showed that this compound was able to decrease gametocytemia with a 50% inhibitory concentration sevenfold lower than that of primaquine. SkE was found to be less toxic than simalikalactone D (SkD), another antimalarial quassinoid from Q. amara, and its cytotoxicity on mammalian cells was dependent on the cell line, displaying a good selectivity index when tested on nontumorogenic cells. In vivo, SkE inhibited murine malaria growth of Plasmodium vinckei petteri by 50% at 1 and 0.5 mg/kg of body weight/day, by the oral or intraperitoneal routes, respectively. The contribution of quassinoids as a source of antimalarial molecules needs therefore to be reconsidered.

Abstract: Microbial-based indicators, such as C and N contents or microbial functions involved in C and N cycles, are currently used to describe the status of soils in disturbed areas. Microbial functions are more accurate indicators but their measurement for studies at the ecosystem level remains problematical because of the huge spatial variability of these processes and, consequently, of the large number of soil samples which must be analyzed. Our goal was to test the capacity of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict respiration and denitrification but also carbon and nitrogen contents of soils submitted to various procedures of restoration. To achieve this objective, we took advantage of an experiment conducted on a reforestation system established after open-cast gold mining in French Guiana. In this experimental station, plantations of various ages and various soil textures were at our disposal. Our results showed that both plantations and soil texture had a strong impact on the recovery of soil functioning: carbon and nitrogen contents, respiration and denitrification increased with age of plantation and clay content. Calibrations were performed between spectral data and microbial-based indicators using partial least squares regression (PLS). The results showed that C and N contents were accurately predicted. Microbial functions were less precisely predicted with results more accurate on clayey soils than on sandy soils. In clayey soils, perturbed or restored soils and the year of plantation were discriminated very efficiently through principal component analyses of spectral signatures (over 80% of variance explained on the first two axes). Near-infrared spectroscopy may thus be extended to the prediction of functional soil parameters, but the capacity of this method must be strengthened by expending the databases with other soils in other contexts. The possibility of using NIRS provides many opportunities for understanding both the temporal dynamics and the spatial variability of the recovery of key microbial functions during soil restoration. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract: While attention on logging in the tropics has been increasing, studies on the long-term effects of silviculture on forest dynamics and ecology remain scare and spatially limited. Indeed, most of our knowledge on tropical forests arises from studies carried out in undisturbed tropical forests. This bias is problematic given that logged and disturbed tropical forests are now covering a larger area than the so-called primary forests. A new network of permanent sample plots in logged forests, the Tropical managed Forests Observatory (TmFO), aims to fill this gap by providing unprecedented opportunities to examine long-term data on the resilience of logged tropical forests at regional and global scales. TmFO currently includes 24 experimental sites distributed across three tropical regions, with a total of 490 permanent plots and 921 ha of forest inventories. To improve our knowledge of the resilience of tropical logged forests, 20 research institutes are now collaborating on studies on the effects of logging on forest structure, productivity, biodiversity and carbon fluxes at large spatial and temporal scales. These studies are carried out in the Tropical managed Forests Observatory (TmFO), an international network including 24 sites and 490 permanent sample plots across South America, Africa and South East Asia.

Abstract: The size-advantage model (SAM) explains the temporal variation of energetic investment on reproductive structures (i. e. male and female gametes and reproductive organs) in long-lived hermaphroditic plants and animals. It proposes that an increase in the resources available to an organism induces a higher relative investment on the most energetically costly sexual structures. In plants, pollination interactions are known to play an important role in the evolution of floral features. Because the SAM directly concerns flower characters, pollinators are expected to have a strong influence on the application of the model. This hypothesis, however, has never been tested. Here, we investigate whether the identity and diversity of pollinators can be used as a proxy to predict the application of the SAM in exclusive zoophilous plants. We present a new approach to unravel the dynamics of the model and test it on several widespread Arum (Araceae) species. By identifying the species composition, abundance and spatial variation of arthropods trapped in inflorescences, we show that some species (i. e. A. cylindraceum and A. italicum) display a generalist reproductive strategy, relying on the exploitation of a low number of dipterans, in contrast to the pattern seen in the specialist A. maculatum (pollinated specifically by two fly species only). Based on the model presented here, the application of the SAM is predicted for the first two and not expected in the latter species, those predictions being further confirmed by allometric measures. We here demonstrate that while an increase in the female zone occurs in larger inflorescences of generalist species, this does not happen in species demonstrating specific pollinators. This is the first time that this theory is both proposed and empirically tested in zoophilous plants. Its overall biological importance is discussed through its application in other non-Arum systems. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Abstract: In 2002, nearly 200 nations signed up to the 2010 target of the Convention for Biological Diversity, ‘to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010’. To assess whether the target was met, it became necessary to quantify temporal trends in measures of diversity. This resulted in a marked shift in focus for biodiversity measurement. We explore the developments in measuring biodiversity that was prompted by the 2010 target. We consider measures based on species proportions, and also explain why a geometric mean of relative abundance estimates was preferred to such measures for assessing progress towards the target. We look at the use of diversity profiles, and consider how species similarity can be incorporated into diversity measures. We also discuss measures of turnover that can be used to quantify shifts in community composition arising, for example, from climate change. © 2017, The Author(s).