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Scedosporium species are opportunistic pathogens causing various infections, including disseminated infections in severely immunocompromised patients. Preventive measures aiming to reduce the risk of exposure to these fungi require a better knowledge on their ecology and on the sources of contamination of the patients. In this context, 99 soil samples from the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra and Fez-Meknes regions in Morocco were analyzed. Samples were inoculated on the highly selective Scedo-Select III culture medium, and seven chemical parameters of the soils were measured. Scedosporium species were detected in 48 of the samples, with the highest density in soils from wastewater treatment plants and landfills, followed by those from roadsides and polluted riverbanks, thus confirming the impact of human activities on their ecology. Scedosporium apiospermum was the most common species, followed by S. boydii and S. aurantiacum. Analysis of the chemical parameters of the soils revealed the presence of Scedosporium species was mainly associated with a moderate electrical conductivity, a pH range of 7.0 to 7.6, a nutrient-rich content and a moderate phosphorus amount. Thereby, these results demonstrated the relatively high occurrence of Scedosporium in Morocco and highlighted the impact of phosphorus content on their ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article informs that Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious contagious disease caused by a strain of coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. It mentions that the symptoms are fever, cough and difficulty in breathing and, acute respiratory distress syndrome that can lead to death. It also informs about all the efforts made by different countries government and the Ministry of Internal Affairs for reducing the spread of COVID-19.

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are beneficial bacterial that colonize plant roots and enhance plant growth by a wide variety of mechanisms. Seven isolates of bacteria were successfully isolated and phenotypically, biochemically, physiological and molecular characterized. Subsequently to investigate the effect of PGPR isolates on the growth of carob tree, a pot culture experiement was conducted as Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CITT), Meknes, Morocco. All the isolates were gram negative, rods, motile, able to grow on YDC medium and citrate simmons positive, degrade glucose, fructose and mannitol, capable of hydrolyzing esculin and starch. All strains are able to produce (74-150µgml-1) of indole acetic acid, nitrogen fixatin and all isolate are unable to produce ammonia, chitinase and cellulase, the strains 2018-3, 2018-4 and 2018-5 showed protease activity. The pecentage of solibilization of phosphate varied between 15% to 45%, the maximum phosphate solubilization was identified by stain 2018-4. Sequencing of 16SrRNA genes led to the identification of two family of bacteria: Bacillaceae and Pseudomonadaceae. The species of bacteria are: Bacillus thuringiensis, two of Bacillus flexus, two of Pseudomonas gessardii, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thaonhiensis. The analysis the result showed that the highest vegetative growth was obtained from stain 2018-4 such as plant height (13.6cm), root length (13.65cm), fresh weight of the aerial part (1.09g) and fresh weight of the root part (0.42g) in comparison to untreated plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Two relevant periods controlling almond flowering were evinced, using PLS regression. • Temperature increase during chilling period could delay flowering dates in almond. • A good fit of data was obtained using PLS regression to predict almond dormancy phases. Determining the flowering and the dormancy phases in fruit trees is a crucial process because of their substantial role in some agricultural practices and crop managements. However, few of these studies were conducted on almond flowering and dormancy, particularly in mild climate areas. This study aimed to simulate the dormancy phases, closely involved in the determination of flowering time of almond species in response to temperature variations. To reach this objective, Partial Least Squares analysis was used. In this regard, climatic and flowering data were collected from Ain Taoudjate in Morocco during the period from 1974 to 2014. In fact, a significant temperature increase was highlighted, inducing a decrease in amounts of chill during the studied period. Using Partial Least Squares analysis, a good fit of data was obtained, particularly using mean and maximal temperatures. Two relevant periods controlling the flowering process were highlighted in Tuono cultivar, in concordance with the sequential model in prediction of flowering times. The first long chilling period started from October 01st to January 11th. During this period, temperatures correlated positively with flowering dates, inducing consequently a delayed flowering dates because of low and slow accumulation of chilling requirements. However, the second short forcing period extended from January 18th to March 09th, during which flowering dates were negatively correlated with temperatures. In fact, the accumulation of certain threshold of Growing Degree Hours and Chill Portions during the two periods respectively could delay flowering, particularly in the context of chilling privation in the coming future, causing a serious problem for fruit trees. Significantly, temperatures during the chilling period seemed to affect effectively the flowering dates of almond than temperatures during the forcing period. In this investigation, we demonstrated that Partial Least Squares showed a good fit in explanation of the flowering process and can be used for prediction of dormancy phases and flowering process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]