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International audience; Most commercial peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] cultivars have leaves with extraf loral nectaries (EFNs). Breeders have selected this character over time, as they observed that the eglandular phenotype resulted in high susceptibility to peach powdery mildew, a major disease of peach trees. EFNs are controlled by a Mendelian locus (E), mapped on chromosome 7. However, the genetic factor underlying E was unknown. In order to address this point, we developed a mapping population of 833 individuals derived from the selfing of "Malo Konare", a Bulgarian peach cultivar, heterozygous for the trait. This progeny was used to investigate the E-locus region, along with additional resources including peach genomic resequencing data, and 271 individuals from various origins used for validation. High-resolution mapping delimited a 40.6 kbp interval including the E-locus and four genes. Moreover, three doublerecombinants allowed identifying Prupe.7G121100, a LMI1-like homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-Zip) transcription factor, as a likely candidate for the trait. By comparing peach genomic resequencing data from individuals with contrasted phenotypes, a MITE-like transposable element of the hAT superfamily (mMoshan) was identified in the third exon of Prupe.7G121100. It was associated with the absence or globose phenotype of EFNs. The insertion of the transposon was positively correlated with enhanced expression of Prupe.7G121100. Furthermore, a PCR marker designed from the sequence-variants, allowed to properly assign the phenotypes of all the individuals studied. These findings provide valuable information on the genetic control of a trait poorly known so far although selected for a long time in peach.

Bacterial infections are associated with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), but the mechanism is incompletely understood. In a COPD observational study (NCT01360398), sputum samples were collected monthly at the stable state and exacerbation. Post-hoc analyses of 1307 non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) isolates from 20 patients and 756 Moraxella catarrhalis isolates from 38 patients in one year of follow-up were conducted by multilocus sequence typing (MLST). All isolates came from cultured sputum samples that were analyzed for bacterial species presence, apparition (infection not detected at the preceding visit), or acquisition (first-time infection), with the first study visit as a baseline. Strain apparition or new strain acquisition was analyzed by MLST. The odds ratio (OR) of experiencing an exacerbation vs. stable state was estimated by conditional logistic regression modelling, stratified by patient. The culture results confirmed a significant association with exacerbation only for NTHi species presence (OR 2.28; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12–4.64) and strain apparition (OR 2.38; 95% CI: 1.08–5.27). For M. catarrhalis, although confidence intervals overlapped, the association with exacerbation for first-time species acquisition (OR 5.99; 2.75–13.02) appeared stronger than species presence (OR 3.67; 2.10–6.40), new strain acquisition (OR 2.94; 1.43–6.04), species apparition (OR 4.18; 2.29–7.63), and strain apparition (OR 2.78; 1.42–5.42). This may suggest that previous M. catarrhalis colonization may modify the risk of exacerbation associated with M. catarrhalis infection. The results confirm that NTHi and M. catarrhalis infections are associated with AECOPD but suggest different dynamic mechanisms in triggering exacerbations.

International audience

International audience

Despite the availability of whole genome sequences of apple and peach, there has been a considerable gap between genomics and breeding. To bridge the gap, the European Union funded the FruitBreedomics project (March 2011 to August 2015) involving 28 research institutes and private companies. Three complementary approaches were pursued: (i) tool and software development, (ii) deciphering genetic control of main horticultural traits taking into account allelic diversity and (iii) developing plant materials, tools and methodologies for breeders. Decisive breakthroughs were made including the making available of ready-to-go DNA diagnostic tests for Marker Assisted Breeding, development of new, dense SNP arrays in apple and peach, new phenotypic methods for some complex traits, software for gene/QTL discovery on breeding germplasm via Pedigree Based Analysis (PBA). This resulted in the discovery of highly predictive molecular markers for traits of horticultural interest via PBA and via Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) on several European genebank collections. FruitBreedomics also developed pre-breeding plant materials in which multiple sources of resistance were pyramided and software that can support breeders in their selection activities. Through FruitBreedomics, significant progresses were made in the field of apple and peach breeding, genetics, genomics and bioinformatics of which advantage will be made by breeders, germplasm curators and scientists. A major part of the data collected during the project has been stored in the FruitBreedomics database and has been made available to the public. This review covers the scientific discoveries made in this major endeavour, and perspective in the apple and peach breeding and genomics in Europe and beyond., This work has been funded under the EU seventh Framework Programme by the FruitBreedomics project No. 265582: Integrated Approach for increasing breeding efficiency in fruit tree crops (http://www.fruitbreedomics.com/).

Coefficient of variation of the predictive ability vs heritability. Figure reporting, for each trait, the coefficient of variation of predictive ability as function of the heritability of the trait in each progeny. Fruit weight in red, Sugar content in green and Titratable acidity in blue. (PDF 5 kb)

Satyanarayana Maddi,1 Umme Kolsum,1 Sarah Jackson,1 Richard Barraclough,2 Barbara Maschera,3 Karen D Simpson,3 Thierry G Pascal,4 Serge Durviaux,4 Edith M Hessel,3 Dave Singh1 1Division of Infection, Immunity and Respiratory Medicine, Medicines Evaluation Unit, University Hospital of South Manchester Foundation Trust, University of Manchester, 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital of South Manchester Foundation Trust, Manchester, 3Refractory Respiratory Inflammation DPU, GlaxoSmithKline Medicines Research Centre, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK; 4Clinical Laboratory Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline Vaccines, Wavre, Belgium Background: Haemophilus influenzae is commonly isolated from the airways of COPD patients. Antibiotic treatment may cause the emergence of resistant H. influenzae strains, particularly ampicillin-resistant strains, including β-lactamase-negative ampicillin resistance (BLNAR) strains. Genetic identification using ftsI sequencing is the optimum method for identifying mutations within BLNAR strains. The prevalence of BLNAR in COPD patients during the stable state has not been reported. We investigated the antibiotic resistance patterns of H. influenzae present in the sputum of stable COPD patients, focusing on ampicillin resistance; the prevalence of enzyme and non-enzyme-mediated ampicillin resistance was determined. A subset of patients was followed up longitudinally to study H. influenzae strain switching and antibiotic sensitivity changes.Patients and methods: Sputum sampling was performed in 61 COPD patients, with 42 samples obtained at baseline; H. influenzae was detected by polymerase chain reaction in 28 samples. In all, 45 patients completed the follow-up for 2years; 24 H. influenzae isolates were obtained.Results: Disk diffusion showed the highest antibiotic resistance in the penicillin antibiotic group (eg, 67% for ampicillin) and macrolides (eg, 46% for erythromycin), whereas all isolates were susceptible to quinolones. Of the 16 isolates resistant to ampicillin, 9 (56%) were ß-lactamase positive. The ß-lactamase-negative isolates were further investigated; none of these fulfilled the phenotypic BLNAR classification criteria of ampicillin minimum inhibitory concentration >1µg/mL, and only one demonstrated an ftsI mutation. Frequent H. influenzae strain switching was confirmed using multilocus sequence typing and was associated with changes in the antibiotic sensitivity pattern.Conclusion: We observed an overidentification of ampicillin resistance by disk diffusion. The majority of ampicillin resistance was due to enzyme production. H. influenzae strain changes during the stable state may be associated with a change in antibiotic sensitivity; this has implications for empirical antibiotic prescribing. Keywords: COPD, BLNAR, ampicillin resistance, MLST&nbsp

Effect of sample size. Figure reporting, for each trait, the coefficient of variation of heritability, predictive ability, and repeatability as functions of sample size. (PDF 6 kb)

El investigador Pascal Thierry Janin viene desarrollando en los últimos años un proyecto para el Instituto de Patrimonio Cultural de España, que tiene por objeto avalar la “Candidatura de la Cultura del Esparto como Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial de la Humanidad”. Con motivo de su visita a Crevillent en septiembre de 2017 y tras conocer su iniciativa, surgió la idea de abordar uno de los aspectos menos conocidos hasta la fecha acerca de la tradición del esparto en Crevillent: las primeras evidencias de su empleo en esta localidad, constatadas a partir del registro arqueológico y que se remontan a la Prehistoria. De este modo presentamos aquí tales evidencias siguiendo un criterio cronológico, hasta época romana, y se concluye el artículo planteando una serie de reflexiones en torno a la necesidad de preservar aspectos esenciales de esta actividad artesanal.

Effect of phenotypic variability. Figure reporting, for each trait, the coefficient of variation of heritability, predictive ability, and repeatability as functions of the coefficient of variation of each phenotipic trait. (PDF 6 kb)