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International audience; Burkina Faso is faced by an increase of droughts since 1970’s, even if floods are also recurrent: rains are more sparse and torrential, due to the climate change. In this context, water becomes a higher problem, particularly for farmers, who constitute 80% of the people in employment. At the same time, the country knows a rural exodus, which contributes to increase the pressure on the water resource in cities, especially in Ouagadougou. Yet, cultivated areas extend, even when they need great quantities of water and increase the pressure on the resource too. How farmers achieve to cultivate in this context of water rarefaction? What strategies are set up for water access and by who? In the framework of an interdisciplinary research program (funded by the national Network of human sciences House in France), we studied urban agriculture in Ouagadougou, associating different sources: field surveys, non-participative observations, interviews of farmers and public managers and analysis of official documents. In this proposal, we focus on the results we obtained about the strategies set up for water access, in spots of market gardening – the main agriculture category in Ouagadougou.First, we have to specify the context, in which the strategies are set up. Indeed, agriculture in Ouagadougou, like in other African cities, is faced to another difficulty: it is not recognized as an urban activity. Consequently, farmers are not supported by authorities and they set up alone their strategies to develop and even maintain their activity. The access to water resources is crucial for them and solidarity can be observed at the occasion of irrigation works, more than for other activities. The water access influences the localization of cultivated lands, what confirms its importance. First, these plots were localized near dams. Nowadays they also appear near canals. These two sources can be associated in some sites and completed by a third one: water is extracted from wells too. Here appear the strategies set up by farmers: they multiply water sources, using all they can find. They cultivate at the nearest and thus even in dams and canals, when water becomes sparser and goes away during the dry season. They also adapt sometimes their crops to the water availability, choosing others during the rainy season, when their spots are flooded. But the most original strategy for water access is the use of the canals water. Indeed, theses canals collect rainwater but also waste water, poured out by households and industries. This water has the advantage to be fertile and thus provide nutrients to soil, which is not very fertile in Ouagadougou. But it has a great disadvantage to be contaminated by bacterium, metallic and chemical elements. It is used without preliminary treatment and can thus contaminate crops, becoming then a source of risk for the public health. This strategy coming from the bottom is interesting because it is a solution facing water rarefaction in a climate change context, providing a new source of water. But it needs to be improved to go beyond its limits, maybe thanks to the phytoremediation, what we begin studying.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T17:48:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-03-16 Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) region Champagne-Ardenne in France Direction Generale de l'Armement (PRECIP-CLOUD project) European Union's Framework Program MUSIC project LEFE project Overshoots a grande echelle Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) Centre de Calcul ROMEO In order to better understand the water vapor (WV) intrusion into the tropical stratosphere, a mesoscale simulation of the tropical tropopause layer using the BRAMS (Brazilian version of Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS)) model is evaluated for a wet season. This simulation with a horizontal grid point resolution of 20kmx20km cannot resolve the stratospheric overshooting convection (SOC). Its ability to reproduce other key parameters playing a role in the stratospheric WV abundance is investigated using the balloon-borne TRO-Pico campaign measurements, the upper-air soundings over Brazil, and the satellite observations by Aura Microwave Limb Sounder, Microwave Humidity Sounder, and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 12. The BRAMS exhibits a good ability in simulating temperature, cold-point, WV variability around the tropopause. However, the simulation is typically observed to be warmer by approximate to 2.0 degrees C and wetter by approximate to 0.4 ppmv at the hygropause, which can be partly affiliated with the grid boundary nudging of the model by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts operational analyses. The modeled cloud tops show a good correlation (maximum cross-correlation of approximate to 0.7) with Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 12. Furthermore, the overshooting cells detected by Microwave Humidity Sounder are observed at the locations, where 75% of the modeled cloud tops are higher than 11km. Finally, the modeled inertia-gravity wave periodicity and wavelength are comparable with those deduced from the radio sounding measurements during TRO-Pico campaign. The good behavior of BRAMS confirms the SOC contribution in the WV abundance, and variability is of lesser importance than the large-scale processes. This simulation can be used as a reference run for upscaling the impact of SOC at a continental scale for future studies. UFR Sci Exactes & Naturelles, GSMA, CNRS, UMR 7331, Reims, France CNRS, CNRM, Meteo France, UMR3589, Toulouse, France UPMC Univ Paris 06, Sorbonne Univ, PSL Res Univ,ENS, LMD,IPSL,CNRS,UMR 8539,Ecole Polytech,Univ Paris, Palaiseau, France Ecole Polytech, ENS, CNRS, LMD,IPSL,UPMC, Paris, France INSU, Div Tech, Pl Aristide Briand, Meudon, France UPMC Univ Paris 06, UVSQ Univ Paris Saclay, CNRS, LATMOS,IPSL, Guyancourt, France Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Pesquisas Meteorol, Bauru, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Pesquisas Meteorol, Bauru, Brazil Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR): ANR-2010-BLAN-609-01 European Union's Framework Program: 603608 MUSIC project: ANR-14-CE01-0014 Centre de Calcul ROMEO: 669

International audience; Like many African cities, Ouagadougou is having a great increase of its cultivated area. More generally, urban agrosystems are now highlighted worldwide, at least in scientific community. In this connection, urban nature, whatever its form is, is praised, because it contributes to the life quality in city and offers many ecosystem services (air quality improvement, recreational activities, etc.). These services are associated more particularly to urban agrosystems, adding provisioning services. We are questioning some of these services in the framework of an interdisciplinary research conducted in Ouagadougou. Our first results confirm that, in this city, agrosystems offer provisioning and cultural services, not only to gardeners. Market gardening, the main agriculture in Ouagadougou, supplies city markets with fruits and vegetables up to 90%. The cultivated areas also prove to be life places, where the people cultivate, harvest but also sell, buy, talk together, even pray and eat. We can argue that some of these services come from facilities (prayer places, restaurants) but the same idea can be given for recreational activities in urban parks. Beyond and despite these confirmations, our research shows that, in Ouagadougou, like in other African cities, urban agrosystems are not accepted by all; they are even condemned by authorities, who highlight the negative sides. And indeed, urban agriculture also has disservices, linked to the way it is practiced. In Ouagadougou, agriculture faces two difficulties: the soil poverty and the water rarity. Gardeners use the nearby resources, all the more they receive no support from authorities. They then use spent waters to irrigate their plots and waste to fertilize soil. But consequently, the products coming from theses agrosystems present public health risks. Some efforts have to be made to reduce these disservices and increase services, in order that these agrosystems fully contribute to poverty alleviation and, in the same way, to the life quality in Ouagadougou.

International audience; Depuis toujours, la ville africaine est marquée par l’omniprésence d’espaces de nature, qui prennent souvent la forme de parcelles agricoles. Il s’agit de maraichage, de petit élevage, de céréaliculture et, depuis une vingtaine d’années, de floriculture. Ces activités sont un élément essentiel dans les stratégies de survie des ménages les plus pauvres et offrent de nombreux services écosystémiques. Malgré tout, elles n’ont pas la faveur des élites locales en raison des nombreux problèmes qu’elles posent (pollution, santé publique, insalubrité, etc.). Dans le cadre de plusieurs programmes et actions de recherche, nous avons étudié cette pratique urbaine à Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) et à Yaoundé (Cameroun), en interrogeant sa place dans la ville d’aujourd’hui pour imaginer celle de demain. Dans les deux villes, les élites locales ambitionnent de faire de ces zones aujourd’hui agricoles des maillons d’une trame verte conçue, planifiée et gérée à des fins écologiques, récréatives, culturelles et esthétiques. Cela exclut les pratiques agricoles, qui seraient dès lors vouées à disparaître (cas du Yaoundé) ou à être fortement réduites (cas de Ouagadougou). De nos recherches, il ressort en effet qu’aux problèmes liés aux pratiques agricoles s’ajoutent le concept d’urbanité et de ce qui fait Ville pour les élites et les gestionnaires locaux. La raison est à chercher dans l’histoire : la ville moderne, héritage de la période coloniale, se doit d’être à l’opposé des pratiques précoloniales et donc de l’agriculture. Le projet urbain n’est dès lors pas compatible avec l’activité agricole fut-elle en parfaite adéquation avec les modes de vie. Sont privilégiées les pratiques horticoles et les cultures ornementales. Toutefois, les populations développent des stratégies d’adaptation pour maintenir leurs zones de culture. Aussi, la conjonction des deux et leur hybridation dessinent les contours du jardin de demain dans la ville africaine.

International audience; L’urbanisation est croissante à l’échelle mondiale et les pays en voie de développement, comme le Burkina Faso, y sont particulièrement confrontés, d’autant plus qu’à l’exode rural s’ajoute une augmentation exponentielle de leur population depuis trois décennies. Cette situation a pour corollaire la densification de l’espace urbain et l’intensification de la pauvreté d’une frange croissante des ménages urbains qu’exacerbe une crise économique persistante. L’urbanisation entraîne aussi une production importante de déchets domestiques et industriels, dont la prise en charge reste un problème récurrent pour les municipalités. Dans les villes africaines, la paupérisation des citadins s’accompagne d’une insécurité alimentaire qui pousse de nombreux citadins à pratiquer une agriculture qui prend la forme de productions végétales (vivrière et horticole) et de petits élevages (Mougeot, 2006). Les productions qui en résultent occupent une place croissante dans l’économie des ménages les plus fragiles, dans l’approvisionnement de la ville aussi. Elles devancent les productions importées des zones rurales et de l’étranger, notamment pour les produits périssables comme les légumes feuilles, les fruits, etc. (Dongmo et al., 2005 ; Temple et Moustier, 2004). Le sous-développement des transports et l’inefficacité du système de commercialisation des produits agricoles ont en effet augmenté l’importance de cette agriculture urbaine. Ouagadougou, capitale du Burkina Faso, est particulièrement concernée : les surfaces agricoles ont progressé de 255 %, entre 1996 et 2009 (Kêdowidé, 2011). Malgré tout, dans cette ville, l’agriculture se heurte à des difficultés. En raison d’un sol pauvre (affleurement latéritique) et d’un climat sec, elle est fortement dépendante de la ressource en eau et des amendements organiques (Kêdowidé et al., 2010). Or, elle est surtout pratiquée par les populations les plus pauvres qui utilisent les ressources les plus accessibles (en terme de coût et de proximité géographique). Comment l’agriculture s’insère et se maintient-elle alors à Ouagadougou ? Quel rôle joue-t-elle ? Dans le cadre d’un programme de recherche financé par le Réseau National des Maisons des Sciences de l’Homme – AURA (Agriculture urbaine en Afrique) –, nous nous sommes intéressés aux relations qu’entretiennent l’agriculture et la ville de Ouagadougou, en termes de pratiques, de production et en interrogeant particulièrement le rôle de l’agriculture dans l’assainissement de la ville. Nous avons réalisé des observations et des relevés de terrain sur deux sites de maraîchage, agriculture la plus rependue dans l’agglomération de Ouagadougou. Nous les avons associés à des entretiens menés auprès de responsables burkinabè et surtout de Ouagalais rencontrés sur les sites sélectionnés. Les premiers résultats de cette recherche, qui seront présentés dans cette communication, montrent le rôle majeur du maraîchage à Ouagadougou : il se révèle être une activité essentielle à la ville. Il est en effet au cœur d’un secteur économique et social important, au-delà des cultivateurs, depuis les fournisseurs de graines et de plants jusqu’aux revendeurs de récoltes, en passant par les pousseurs et porteurs. Au delà de l’approvisionnement de la ville en denrées alimentaires, cette agriculture joue un rôle en matière d’assainissement, par la réutilisation des eaux usées et des déchets (sacs plastiques pour les pépinières, déchets organiques pour la fertilisation, déchets végétaux pour le paillage, etc.). Parfois, les cultures se font directement dans des zones de décharge. Cette agriculture urbaine participe ainsi fortement au métabolisme urbain et se révèle précurseur en la matière à l’heure où, dans les pays du nord, on réfléchit à des solutions pour privilégier un fonctionnement en boucle fermée de la ville. A Ouagadougou, ceci ne procède toutefois pas d’une volonté organisée d’assainissement de la ville par la puissance publique. En effet, l’agriculture urbaine ne reçoit pas de soutien, ni d’accompagnement de la part des pouvoirs publics ; au contraire, elle est condamnée par les autorités. Elle ne fait pas partie des choix possibles pour l’aménagement urbain dans des pays où « le béton figure la modernité » (Guèye et al., 2009). Les acteurs évoquent surtout les points négatifs, dont les pollutions environnementales engendrées (ensablement des sources d’eau pour les parcelles proches de barrages ou de canaux ; utilisation importante de produits chimiques ; recours à des eaux insalubres), et ils dénoncent les problèmes de santé publique, liés à la réutilisation des déchets et des eaux usées. Dans l’état des lieux dressés pour le Schéma Directeur d’Aménagement du « Grand Ouaga » (AAPUIARDCADE, 2009), on reconnaît bien la place majeure occupée par le maraîchage mais on souligne « on pourrait se poser des questions sur la qualité des eaux utilisées sur certains sites de maraîchage ». Ce problème, bien réel, limite la portée de ce modèle comme apport de l’agriculture au métabolisme urbain. Malgré tout, bien que critiquée, l’agriculture urbaine est omniprésente à Ouagadougou. Les pouvoirs publics ont adopté le « laisser faire ». L’agriculture urbaine est bien arrangeante, dans la mesure où ces terres cultivées représentent une réserve foncière facilement mobilisable dans un contexte d’expansion et de densification urbaines.

International audience

The occurrence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was monitored at a broad spatial scale in French agricultural soils, from various soil types and under various land uses to evaluate the ability of soil to be a natural habitat for that species. To appreciate the impact of agricultural practices on the potential dispersion of P. aeruginosa, we further investigated the impact of organic amendment at experimental sites in France and Burkina Faso. A real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) approach was used to analyze a set of 380 samples selected within the French RMQS ("Réseau de Mesures de la Qualité des Sols") soil library. In parallel, a culture-dependent approach was tested on a subset of samples. The results showed that P. aeruginosa was very rarely detected suggesting a sporadic presence of this bacterium in soils from France and Burkina Faso, whatever the structural and physico-chemical characteristics or climate. When we analyzed the impact of organic amendment on the prevalence of P. aeruginosa, we found that even if it was detectable in various manures (at levels from 10(3) to 10(5) CFU or DNA targets (g drywt)(-1) of sample), it was hardly ever detected in the corresponding soils, which raises questions about its survival. The only case reports were from a vineyard soil amended with a compost of mushroom manure in Burgundy, and a few samples from two fields amended with raw urban wastes in the sub-urban area of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. In these soils the levels of culturable cells were below 10 CFU (g drywt)(-1).

Aims: Heart failure (HF) is characterized by regionalized contractile alterations resulting in loss of the transmural contractile gradient across the left ventricular free wall. We tested whether a regional alteration in mitochondrial oxidative metabolism during HF could affect myofilament function through protein kinase A (PKA) signaling. Results: Twelve weeks after permanent left coronary artery ligation that induced myocardial infarction (MI), subendocardial (Endo) cardiomyocytes had decreased activity of complex I and IV of the mitochondrial electron transport chain and produced twice more superoxide anions than sham Endo and subepicardial cells. This effect was associated with a reduced antioxidant activity of superoxide dismutase and Catalase only in MI Endo cells. The myofilament contractile properties (Ca2+ sensitivity and maximal tension), evaluated in skinned cardiomyocytes, were also reduced only in MI Endo myocytes. Conversely, in MI rats treated with the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for 4 weeks, the generation of superoxide anions in Endo cardiomyocytes was normalized and the contractile properties of skinned cardiomyocytes restored. This effect was accompanied by improved in vivo contractility. The beneficial effects of NAC were mediated, at least, in part, through reduction of the PKA activity, which was higher in MI myofilaments, particularly, the PKA-mediated hyperphosphorylation of cardiac Troponin I. Innovation: The Transmural gradient in the mitochondrial content/activity is lost during HF and mediates reactive oxygen species-dependent contractile dysfunction. Conclusions: Regionalized alterations in redox signaling affect the contractile machinery of sub-Endo myocytes through a PKA-dependent pathway that contributes to the loss of the transmural contractile gradient and impairs global contractility. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 18, 1009-1020.

The properties and morphologies of blends of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and glycerol-plasticized thermoplastic starch (TPS) were investigated. Bis-pyrrolidone-type monomers (obtained from itaconic acid) with various sizes of alkylidene spacers were synthesized and polycondensed with various diamines. The resultant polycondensates were used as compatibilizers to improve interfacial adhesion in PBS/starch blends. The presence of long hydrophobic -CH2- sequences in the compatibilizers improved the elongation-at-break during tensile tests. The enhanced compatibilization induced by these copolymers is presumably because of the hydrophobic interaction with PBS and the hydrophilic hydrogen bonding with starch. The uncompatibilized TPS/PBS exhibited a dispersed morphology with blends of low- and high-starch content, whereas the compatibilized blends presented a co-continuous phase. Bis-pyrrolidone-type monomers (obtained from itaconic acid, which is a renewable chemical identified in the top 12 value-added chemicals from biomass) with alkylidene spacers of variable size were synthesized and polycondensed with various diamines. The resulting polycondensates were used as compatibilizers to improve interfacial adhesion in poly (butylene succinate) (PBS)/plasticized starch blends. The interfacial adhesion between PBS and plasticized starch was improved using these polycondensates.

International audience; A new and efficient synthesis of tricyclic pyridoquinonoxalinone 1 an analog of Makaluvamine A and its intermediates 2 and 3 has been developed starting from 5,8-dimethoxy-4,4-dimethyl[1,2,3,4]tetrahydroquinoline 4. The synthesis was accomplished in 11 steps and 4% overall yield from commercially available 2,5-dimethoxyaniline.

International audience; Phelipanche ramosa is a major parasitic weed of Brassica napus. The first step in a host-parasitic plant interaction is stimulation of parasite seed germination by compounds released from host roots. However, germination stimulants produced by B. napus have not been identified yet. In this study, we characterized the germination stimulants that accumulate in B. napus roots and are released into the rhizosphere. Eight glucosinolate-breakdown products were identified and quantified in B. napus roots by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Two (3-phenylpropanenitrile and 2-phenylethyl isothiocyanate [2-PEITC]) were identified in the B. napus rhizosphere. Among glucosinolate-breakdown products, P. ramosa germination was strongly and specifically triggered by isothiocyanates, indicating that 2-PEITC, in particular, plays a key role in the B. napus–P. ramosa interaction. Known strigolactones were not detected by ultraperformance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, and seed of Phelipanche and Orobanche spp. that respond to strigolactones but not to isothiocyanates did not germinate in the rhizosphere of B. napus. Furthermore, both wild-type and strigolactone biosynthesis mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana Atccd7 and Atccd8 induced similar levels of P. ramosa seed germination, suggesting that compounds other than strigolactone function as germination stimulants for P. ramosa in other Brassicaceae spp. Our results open perspectives on the high adaptation potential of root-parasitic plants under host-driven selection pressures.

Organic substrates recycling in the sub-urban agriculture of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) for soils fertilization: description of the different actors and their practices. This study aimed to establish an overview of the main actors of the sub-urban agriculture of Ouagadougou, their practices and expectations, and to characterize the used organic substrates (OS). For that, a farm survey was carried out on the most representative sites with 64 persons (cereal farmers, truckers and nurserymen) randomly chosen. OS were sampled with each actor, when available. Thus, 27 samples were taken and characterized through chemical analyses and laboratory incubations to follow organic carbon mineralization. The results highlighted that 35% of cereal farmers, 69% of truckers and 95% of nurserymen were 20 to 40 years old, that a large proportion of cereal farmers and truckers were not sent to school while 70% of nurserymen had at least primary education. Sub-urban agriculture was the only activity for 43% of farmers, 83% of truckers and 91% of nurserymen. Moreover, 71% of cereal farmers and 73% of nurserymen used municipal wastes as source of organic matter against only 17% of truckers, the majority of them using animal manures. The main criterion of choice of OS was their availability without any other consideration. Even if a large majority of the actors think that composts of OS were better than brut OS, a minority of them used currently composts. The best ways for an adoption and utilization of OS composts were to facilitate their accessibility and to promote these composts, composting techniques and their interests through advertising in mass media. Chemical analyses and laboratory incubations showed a great variability of the SUW, both in the same group and actors' groups. However, in case of total organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorous contents, the following tendencies were observed: Content(truckers) > Content(farmers) > Content(nurserymen). For the sum of major elements Ca, K, Mg, Na (SME), it was observed that SME(truckers) approximate to SME(farmers) > SME(nurserymen). In addition, except a few atypical substrates, OS used by nurserymen were largely stabilized compared to those of cereal farmers and truckers.

Le concept de " paternalisme sportif " semble, durant la plus grande partie du XXe siècle, trouver un terrain d'application naturel dans le bassin minier du Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Ici l'entreprise, érigée en véritable institution, presque maîtresse du territoire, paraît peser de tout son poids sur l'organisation du sport, comme le démontre le cas du Racing Club de Lens, club de football professionnel contrôlé par la compagnie éponyme entre les années 1930 et les années 1960. Cet encadrement est une réalité, mais, lorsqu'on l'observe attentivement, il conduit très vite à questionner la signification d'un " paternalisme sportif " aux traits beaucoup plus contournés qu'on pourrait le penser. Dans cette perspective, il s'agit d'abord d'examiner les formes d'un encadrement qui ne réduit pas aux Mines, se conjugue au pluriel et connaît en outre de fortes variations. On se tournera ensuite vers les problèmes multiples que pose la réception de cet encadrement par les populations concernées.

Autotrophic photosynthesis in developing plants of Striga hermonthica, a C3 plant, parasitizing Sorghum bicolor a C4 plant, has been quantified by measuring the C-13/C-12 isotope ratio (delta C-13). This parameter has been determined in cellulose and chlorophyll extracted from plants 8 weeks after emergence. It is shown that these components are both proportionately high in autotrophic carbon in the leaf material, thus confirming the previous hypothesis that St. hermonthica photo-assimilate is directed primarily towards the synthesis of new photosynthetic capacity. (c) 2008 Phytochemical Society of Europe. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International audience; Airborne remote sensing is a useful tool for the production of biocenosis maps. The use of an image processing system, integrating bathymetric data, makes it possible to considerably refine the charting, through a layer of water of variable thickness and quality. Other limiting factors may have an impact on the quality of results. The identification of these factors makes it possible to propose a scale of reliability. Four examples of aerial teledetection surveys provide the basis for ( i ) assessing the reliability of the maps, ( ii ) determining the reasons for this variation in reliability, and ( iii ) using the scale as a means for assessing the reliability of a given map. The factors used are such that the reliability scale could subsequently be applied to the cartography of other marine assemblages.

Loripes lucinalis. a small bivalve belonging to the Lucinacea superfamily living in reducing coastal sediments, possesses chemoautotrophic sulphur-oxidizing bacteria in its gill. Here, a population of putative sulphur-oxidizing bacteria is described colonizing the bivalve's inner periostracal secretion. The bacteria, were particularly abundant in the vicinity of the anterior and posterior inhalant syphons. Most of the bacteria observed were oval to rod-shaped and measured 3.9 +/- 1.2 mum on average. Histology and negative transmission electron microscopy staining revealed that these bacteria contain refractile spherules similar to those seen in the endocellular gill symbionts of L. lucinalis.

Background The c-myb proto-oncogene is the founding member of a family of transcription factors involved principally in haematopoiesis, in diverse organisms, from zebrafish to mammals. Its deregulation has been implicated in human leukaemogenesis and other cancers. The expression of c-myb is tightly regulated by post-transcriptional mechanisms involving microRNAs. MicroRNAs are small, highly conserved non-coding RNAs that inhibit translation and decrease mRNA stability by binding to regulatory motifs mostly located in the 3'UTR of target mRNAs conserved throughout evolution. MYB is an evolutionarily conserved miR-150 target experimentally validated in mice, humans and zebrafish. However, the functional miR-150 sites of humans and mice are orthologous, whereas that of zebrafish is different. Results We identified the avian mature miRNA-150-5P, Gallus gallus gga-miR-150 from chicken leukocyte small-RNA libraries and showed that, as expected, the gga-miR-150 sequence was highly conserved, including the seed region sequence present in the other miR-150 sequences listed in miRBase. Reporter assays showed that gga-miR-150 acted on the avian MYB 3'UTR and identified the avian MYB target site involved in gga-miR-150 binding. A comparative in silico analysis of the miR-150 target sites of MYB 3'UTRs from different species led to the identification of a single set of putative target sites in amphibians and zebrafish, whereas two sets of putative target sites were identified in chicken and mammals. However, only the target site present in the chicken MYB 3'UTR that was identical to that in zebrafish was functional, despite the additional presence of mammalian target sites in chicken. This specific miR-150 site usage was not cell-type specific and persisted when the chicken c-myb 3'UTR was used in the cell system to identify mammalian target sites, showing that this miR-150 target site usage was intrinsic to the chicken c-myb 3'UTR. Conclusion Our study of the avian MYB/gga-miR-150 interaction shows a conservation of miR-150 target site functionality between chicken and zebrafish that does not extend to mammals.