Abstract: High-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene has considerably helped revealing the essential role of bacteria living on insect cuticles in the ecophysiology and behaviour of their hosts. However, our understanding of host-cuticular microbiota feedbacks remains hampered by the difficulties of working with low bacterial DNA quantities as with individual insect cuticle samples, which are more prone to molecular biases and contaminations. Herein, we conducted a methodological benchmark on the cuticular bacterial loads retrieved from two Neotropical ant species of different body size and ecology: Atta cephalotes (~15 mm) and Pseudomyrmex penetrator (~5 mm). We evaluated the richness and composition of the cuticular microbiota, as well as the amount of biases and contamination produced by four DNA extraction protocols. We also addressed how bacterial community characteristics would be affected by the number of individuals or individual body size used for DNA extraction. Most extraction methods yielded similar results in terms of bacterial diversity and composition for A. cephalotes (~15 mm). In contrast, greater amounts of artefactual sequences and contaminations, as well as noticeable differences in bacterial community characteristics were observed between extraction methods for P. penetrator (~5 mm). We also found that large (~15 mm) and small (~5 mm) A. cephalotes individuals harbour different bacterial communities. Our benchmark suggests that cuticular microbiota of single individual insects can be reliably retrieved provided that blank controls, appropriate data cleaning, and individual body size and functional role within insect society are considered in the experiment.

Abstract: La leptospirose est une zoonose cosmopolite causée par les bactéries du genre Leptospira. Si sa répartition est vaste sur le globe, le climat chaud et humide de la zone intertropicale est particulièrement propice à son expansion. Dans la plupart des départements et territoires français d’outremer, la leptospirose est considérée comme un problème de santé publique. En Guyane, département français situé au nord-est de la forêt amazonienne, elle est considérée comme rare. L’objectif de cette revue est de faire l’état des lieux des connaissances sur la leptospirose humaine et animale en Guyane française et dans les pays environnants. Une recherche exhaustive a été conduite, à travers la littérature médicale indexée et informelle en français, anglais, espagnol et portugais. Ainsi, respectivement dix et quatre publications ont pu être identifiées sur la leptospirose humaine et animale en Guyane, publiées entre 1940 et 1995, sous formes de cas cliniques ou de séries de cas. Les publications concernant cette maladie dans les autres pays du plateau des Guyanes, Venezuela oriental, Guyana, Suriname, et État brésilien de l’Amapá, étaient également rares voire inexistantes. En revanche, les données récentes du centre national de la leptospirose français ont montré une augmentation récente et brutale du nombre de cas dans le département, probablement en partie due à la mise en place d’outils diagnostiques tels que la sérologie IgM Elisa. Il est en fait probable que la leptospirose soit une maladie négligée dans la région, du fait de l’absence d’outils diagnostiques rapidement disponibles, de la méconnaissance des cliniciens de cette pathologie et de l’existence de nombreux autres pathogènes à présentation clinique similaire (paludisme, arboviroses, fièvre Q, toxoplasmose amazonienne). La mise en place d’études de plus grande ampleur sur la leptospirose animale et humaine est nécessaire et urgente pour connaître le véritable poids de cette maladie dans notre région.

Abstract: Ethanol extract of Bagassa guianensis was tested as corrosion inhibitor for zinc in ASTM medium using polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results obtained show that this plant extract could serve as an effective inhibitor for the corrosion of zinc in sodium chloride media. The extract obtained give inhibition around 85%. Polarization curves show that Bagassa guianensis extract affects the anodic and cathodic reactions and the corrosion potential values were shifted to the positive potentials in the presence of the crude extract in the ASTM medium. The experimental data obtained from EIS method show a frequency distribution and therefore a modelling element with frequency dispersion behavior, a constant phase element (CPE alpha,Q ) has been used. Graphical methods are illustrated by synthetic data to determine the parameter of CPE (alpha, Q). Studies on the phytochemical constituents of thetotal extract were also established. Electrochemical studies, on the chemical families present in the crude extract, were also carried out to find the main constituents responsible for corrosion inhibition properties of the plant extract.

Abstract: A thorough understanding of how tropical forests respond to climate is important to improve ecosystem process models and to reduce uncertainties in current and future global carbon balance calculations. The Amazon rainforest, a major contributor to the global carbon cycle, is subject to strong intra- and interannual variations in climate conditions. Understanding their effect on carbon fluxes between the ecosystem and the atmosphere and on the resulting carbon balance is still incomplete. We examined the long-term (over a 12-year period; 2004–2015) variations in gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (RE) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) in a tropical rainforest in French Guiana and identified key climatic drivers influencing the changes. The study period was characterized by strong differences in climatic conditions among years, particularly differences in the intensity of the dry and wet seasons, as well as differences in annual carbon fluxes and balance. Annual average GPP varied from 3384.9?g?C?m-2?yr?1 (95% CI [3320.7, 3445.9]) to 4061.2?g?C?m-2?yr?1 (95% CI [3980.1, 4145.0]). RE varied even more than GPP, with a difference of 933.1?C?m-2?yr?1 between the minimum (3020.6?g?C?m-2?yr?1; 95% CI [2889.4, 3051.3]) and maximum (3953.7?g?C?m-2?yr?1; 95% CI [3887.6, 4019.6]) values. Although NEE showed large interannual variability (nine-fold), from ?65.6?g?C?m-2?yr?1 (95% CI [?4.4, ?126.0]) to ?590.5?g?C?m-2 yr?1 (95% CI [?532.3, ?651.6]), the forest remained a carbon sink over the 12-year period. A combination of global radiation (Rg), relative extractable water (REW) and soil temperature (Ts) explained 51% of the daily variations for GPP, 30% for RE and 39% for NEE. Global radiation was always the best predictor of these variations, but soil water content and temperature did also influence carbon fluxes and balance. Seasonally, Rg was the major controlling factor for GPP, RE and NEE during the wet season. During the dry season, variations in carbon fluxes and balance were poorly explained by climate factors. Yet, REW was the key driver of variations in NEE during the dry season. This study highlights that, over the long-term, carbon fluxes and balance in such tropical rainforest ecosystems are largely controlled by both radiation and water limitation. Even though variations in Rg have a greater impact on these fluxes, water limitation during seasonal droughts is enough to reduce ecosystem productivity, respiration and carbon uptake. The reduced precipitation expected in tropical rainforest areas under future climatic conditions will therefore strongly influence carbon fluxes and carbon uptake. This study also highlights the importance for land surface or dynamic global vegetation models to consider the main drivers of carbon fluxes and balance separately for dry and wet seasons.

Abstract: Wood maturation strains can be estimated from the change in curvature that occurs when a stem grown staked in tilted position is released from the stake.
Trees have a motor system to enable upright growth in the field of gravity. This motor function is taken on by reaction wood, a special kind of wood that typically develops in leaning axes and generates mechanical force during its formation, curving up the stem and counteracting the effect of gravity or other mechanical disturbances. Quantifying the mechanical stress induced in wood during maturation is essential to many areas of research ranging from tree architecture to functional genomics. Here, we present a new method for quantifying wood maturation stress. It consists of tilting a tree, tying it to a stake, letting it grow in tilted position, and recording the change in stem curvature that occurs when the stem is released from the stake. A mechanical model is developed to make explicit the link between the change in curvature, maturation strain and morphological traits of the stem section. A parametric study is conducted to analyse how different parameters influence the change in curvature. This method is applied to the estimation of maturation strain in two different datasets. Results show that the method is able to detect genotypic variations in motor power expression. As predicted by the model, we observe that the change in stem curvature is correlated to stem diameter and diameter growth. In contrast, wood maturation strain is independent from these dimensional effects, and is suitable as an intrinsic parameter characterising the magnitude of the plant’s gravitropic reaction.