New genetic markers to identify European resistant abalone to vibriosis revealed by high-resolution melting analysis,a sensitive and fast approach

Increasing temperature of seawater is often associated with increased exposure incidence of disease in field and in aquaculture populations. Numerous episodic mass mortalities of the abalone Haliotis tuberculata have been observed along the northern Brittany coast of France caused by a complex interaction between the host, pathogen and environmental factors. Here, we evaluated the potential of high-resolution melting (HRM) analysis for mutation genotyping and development of genetic markers for resistance to vibriosis in the gastropod species H. tuberculata. Small amplicon assays were developed and revealed genetic polymorphism between surviving and susceptible abalone obtained after two successive infections of aquaculture families in controlled conditions. Together with specific COI haplotypes, we identified particular genotypes in nascent polypeptide-associated complex subunit alpha and ferritin genes linked to the susceptibility or resistance of abalone to vibriosis. Selection of genitors based on these genes may increase the proportion in offspring of resistant individuals of more than 76 %. Finally, HRM assays constitute a very efficient genotyping tool to validate the genetic markers on a representative number of individuals of wild populations and thus identify future resistant genitors for aquaculture or conservation purposes.     

Elimination of pharmaceutical pollutants by solar photoelectro-Fenton process in a pilot plant

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, the simultaneous degradation of antibiotics (ampicillin, sulfamethazine, and tetracycline; and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories...     

A new Jurassic theropod from China documents a transitional step in the macrostructure of feathers

Genuine fossils with exquisitely preserved plumage from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of northeastern China have recently revealed that bird-like theropod dinosaurs had long pennaceous feathers along their hindlimbs and may have used their four wings to glide or fly. Thus, it has been postulated that early bird flight might initially have involved four wings (Xu et al. Nature 421:335–340, 2003; Hu et al. Nature 461:640–643, 2009; Han et al. Nat Commun 5:4382, 2014). Here, we describe Serikornis sungei gen. et sp. nov., a new feathered theropod from the Tiaojishan Fm (Late Jurassic) of Liaoning Province, China. Its skeletal morphology suggests a ground-dwelling ecology with no flying adaptations. Our phylogenetic analysis places Serikornis, together with other Late Jurassic paravians from China, as a basal paravians, outside the Eumaniraptora clade. The tail of Serikornis is covered proximally by filaments and distally by slender rectrices. Thin symmetrical remiges lacking barbules are attached along its forelimbs and elongate hindlimb feathers extend up to its toes, suggesting that hindlimb remiges evolved in ground-dwelling maniraptorans before being co-opted to an arboreal lifestyle or flight.     

Occurrence and Trend of Hepatitis A Virus in Bivalve Molluscs Production Areas Following a Contamination Event

The aim of this study was to assess the trend of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in a coastal zone impacted by a contamination event, providing data for the development of management strategies. A total of 352 samples, including four bivalve mollusc species (Mytilus galloprovincialis, Solen vagina, Venus gallina and Donax trunculus), were taken over a period of 6 months from 27 production areas of the coast and analysis were performed according to ISO/TS 15216-1:2013. HAV presence was detected in 77 samples from 11 production areas and all positive results were related to samples collected in the first 3 months of the surveillance, during which HAV prevalence was 39.9% and values as high as 5096 genome copies/g were detected. A progressive reduction of viral contamination was evident during the first trimester of the monitoring, with prevalence decreasing from 78.8% in the first month, to 37.8% in the second and 3.9% in the third and quantitative levels reduced from an average value of 672 genome copies/g to 255 genome copies/g over a period of 4 weeks (virus half-life: 21.5 days). A regression analysis showed that, during the decreasing phase of the contamination, the data fitted a reciprocal quadratic model (Ra² = 0.921) and, based on the model, a residual presence of HAV could be estimated after negativization of the production areas. The statistical analysis of the results per shellfish species and per production area showed that there were limited differences in contamination prevalence and levels among diverse bivalve species, while a statistically significant difference was present in quantitative levels of one production area. These data could be useful for the development of both risk assessment models and code of practice for the management of viral contamination in primary production.     

Land Use and Water Quality Along a Mekong Tributary in Northern Lao P.D.R.

Improving access to clean water has the potential to make a major contribution toward poverty reduction in rural communities of Lao P.D.R. This study focuses on stream water quality along a Mekong basin tributary, the Houay Xon that flows within a mountainous, mosaic land-use catchment of northern Lao P.D.R. To compare direct water quality measurements to the perception of water quality within the riparian population, our survey included interviews of villagers. Water quality was found to vary greatly depending on the location along the stream. Overall, it reflected the balance between the stream self-cleaning potential and human pressure on the riparian zone: (i) high bacteria and suspended load levels occurred where livestock are left to free-range within the riparian zone; (ii) very low oxygen content and high bacteriological contamination prevailed downstream from villages; (iii) high concentrations of bacteria were consistently observed along urbanized banks; (iv) low oxygen content were associated with the discharge of organic-rich wastewater from a small industrial plant; (v) very high suspended load and bacteria levels occurred during flood events due to soil erosion from steep cultivated hill slopes. Besides these human induced pollutions we also noted spontaneous enrichments in metals in wetland areas fed by dysoxic groundwater. These biophysical measurements were in agreement with the opinions expressed by the majority of the interviewees who reported poor and decreasing water quality in the Houay Xon catchment. Based on our survey, we propose recommendations to improve or maintain stream water quality in the uplands of northern Lao P.D.R.     

A System Method for the Assessment of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Mountain Watershed Areas: The Case of the “Giffre” Watershed (France)

In the last fifty years, many mountain watersheds in temperate countries have known a progressive change from self-standing agro-silvo-pastoral systems to leisure dominated areas characterized by a concentration of tourist accommodations, leading to a drinking water peak during the winter tourist season, when the water level is lowest in rivers and sources. The concentration of water uses increases the pressure on “aquatic habitats” and competition between uses themselves. Consequently, a new concept was developed following the international conferences in Dublin (International Conference on Water and the Environment – ICWE) and Rio de Janeiro (UN Conference on Environment and Development), both in 1992, and was broadly acknowledged through international and European policies. It is the concept of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). It meets the requirements of different uses of water and aquatic zones whilst preserving the natural functions of such areas and ensuring a satisfactory economic and social development. This paper seeks to evaluate a local water resources management system in order to implement it using IWRM in mountain watersheds. The assessment method is based on the systemic approach to take into account all components influencing a water resources management system at the watershed scale. A geographic information system was built to look into interactions between water resources, land uses, and water uses. This paper deals specifically with a spatial comparison between hydrologically sensitive areas and land uses. The method is applied to a French Alps watershed: the Giffre watershed (a tributary of the Arve in Haute-Savoie). The results emphasize both the needs and the gaps in implementing IWRM in vulnerable mountain regions.     

Kinetics and reversibility of micropollutant sorption in sludge

The fate of micropollutants throughout wastewater treatment systems is highly dependent on their sorption interactions with sludge matter. In this study, both the sorption and desorption kinetics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in activated sludge were shown to be very rapid in comparison to biodegradation kinetics. It was concluded that PAH transfer does not limit their biodegradation and that their fate is governed by the sorption/desorption equilibrium state. The effect of contact time between sludge and PAHs was also investigated. It was shown that aging did not influence the sorption/desorption equilibrium although PAH losses during aging suggest that sequestration phenomena had occurred. This implies that for PAH sorption assessment within treatment processes there is no need to include a contact time dimension. As a consequence, thanks to an innovative approach taking into account sorption equilibria and sequestration, this work has demonstrated that studies in the literature which, in main, deal with micropollutant sorption in sewage sludge with only a short contact time can be extrapolated to real systems in which sorption, desorption and aging occur.