Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé :  
1. Despite considerable interest in the application of plant functional traits to questions of community assembly and ecosystem structure and function, there is no consensus on the appropriateness of sampling designs to obtain plot-level estimates in diverse plant communities. 2. We measured 10 plant functional traits describing leaf and stem morphology and ecophysiology for all trees in nine 1-ha plots in terra firme lowland tropical rain forests of French Guiana (N = 4709). 3.We calculated, by simulation, the mean and variance in trait values for each plot and each trait expected under seven sampling methods and a range of sampling intensities. Simulated sampling methods included a variety of spatial designs, as well as the application of existing data base values to all individuals of a given species. 4. For each trait in each plot, we defined a performance index for each sampling design as the proportion of resampling events that resulted in observed means within 5% of the true plot mean, and observed variance within 20%of the true plot variance. 5. The relative performance of sampling designs was consistent for estimations of means and variances. Data base use had consistently poor performance for most traits across all plots, whereas sampling one individual per species per plot resulted in relatively high performance. We found few differences among different spatial sampling strategies; however, for a given strategy, increased intensity of sampling resulted in markedly improved accuracy in estimates of trait mean and variance. 6. We also calculated the financial cost of each sampling design based on data from our 'every individual per plot' strategy and estimated the sampling and botanical effort required. The relative performance of designs was strongly positively correlated with relative financial cost, suggesting that sampling investment returns are relatively constant. 7. Our results suggest that trait sampling for many objectives in species-rich plant communities may require the considerable effort of sampling at least one individual of each species in each plot, and that investment in complete sampling, though great, may be worthwhile for at least some traits.
Functional Ecology

hal-01032175
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032175
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2009.01600.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : 1. Niche theory proposes that species differences underlie both coexistence within communities and the differentiation in species composition among communities via limiting similarity and environmental filtering. However, it has been difficult to extend niche theory to species-rich communities because of the empirical challenge of quantifying niches for many species. This has motivated the development of functional and phylogeny-based approaches in community ecology, which represent two different means of approximating niche attributes. 2. Here, we assess the utility of plant functional traits and phylogenetic relationships in predicting community assembly processes using the largest trait and phylogenetic data base to date for any set of species-rich communities. 3. We measured 17 functional traits for all 4672 individuals of 668 tree species co-occurring in nine tropical rain forest plots in French Guiana. Trait variation was summarized into two ordination axes that reflect species niche overlap. 4. We also generated a dated molecular phylogenetic tree based on DNA sequencing of two plastid loci (rbcL and matK) comprising 97% of the individuals and 91% of the species in the plots. 5. We found that, on average, co-occurring species had greater functional and, to a lesser extent, phylogenetic similarity than expected by chance. 6. We also found that functional traits and their ordination loadings showed significant, albeit weak, phylogenetic signal, suggesting that phylogenetic distance provides pertinent information on niche overlap in tropical tree communities. 7. Synthesis. We provide the most comprehensive examination to date of the relative importance of environmental filtering and limiting similarity in structuring tropical tree communities. Our results confirm that environmental filtering is the overriding influence on community assembly in these species-rich systems.
ISSN: 0141-6707

hal-01032423
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032423
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-2745.2012.01966.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Recent evolutionary studies clearly indicate that evolution is mainly driven by changes in the complex mechanisms of gene regulation and not solely by polymorphism in protein-encoding genes themselves. After a short description of the cis-regulatory mechanism, we intend in this review to argue that by applying newly available technologies and by merging research areas such as evolutionary and developmental biology, population genetics, ecology and molecular cell biology it is now possible to study evolution in an integrative way. We contend that, by analysing the effects of promoter sequence variation on phenotypic diversity in natural populations, we will soon be able to break the barrier between the study of extant genetic variability and the study of major developmental changes. This will lead to an integrative view of evolution at different scales. Because of their sessile nature and their continuous development, plants must permanently regulate their gene expression to react to their environment, and can, therefore, be considered as a remarkable model for these types of studies. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0168-9452

hal-01032399
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032399
DOI : 10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.09.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD American Association for the Advancement of Science
Résumé : International audience
Most eukaryotic organisms are arthropods. Yet, their diversity in rich terrestrial ecosystems is still unknown. Here we produce tangible estimates of the total species richness of arthropods in a tropical rainforest. Using a comprehensive range of structured protocols, we sampled the phylogenetic breadth of arthropod taxa from the soil to the forest canopy in the San Lorenzo forest, Panama. We collected 6144 arthropod species from 0.48 hectare and extrapolated total species richness to larger areas on the basis of competing models. The whole 6000-hectare forest reserve most likely sustains 25,000 arthropod species. Notably, just 1 hectare of rainforest yields >60% of the arthropod biodiversity held in the wider landscape. Models based on plant diversity fitted the accumulated species richness of both herbivore and nonherbivore taxa exceptionally well. This lends credence to global estimates of arthropod biodiversity developed from plant models.
ISSN: 0036-8075

hal-00817285
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00817285
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00817285/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00817285/file/1226727Revisedtext.pdf
DOI : 10.1126/science.1226727

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : One critical challenge for plants is to maintain an adequate nutrient supply under fluctuating environmental conditions. This is particularly true for epiphytic species that have limited or no access to the pedosphere and often live in harsh climates. Bromeliads have evolved key innovations such as epiphytism, water-absorbing leaf trichomes, tank habit and Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) photosynthesis that enable them to survive under various environmental conditions. Bromeliads encompass diverse ecological types that live on different substrates (they can be terrestrial, epilithic or epiphytic) and vary in their ability to retain water (they can be tank-forming or tankless) and photosynthetic pathway (i.e. C3 or CAM). In this review, we outline the nutritional modes and specializations that enable bromeliads to thrive in a wide range of nutrient-poor (mostly nitrogen-depleted) environments.Important FindingsBromeliads have evolved a great diversity of morphologies and functional adaptations leading to the existence of numerous nutritional modes. Focusing on species that have absorptive foliar trichomes, we review evidence that bromeliads have evolved multi-faceted nutritional strategies to respond to fluctuations in the supply of natural nitrogen (N). These plants have developed mutualistic associations with many different and functionally diverse terrestrial and aquatic microorganisms and metazoans that contribute substantially to their mineral nutrition and, thus, their fitness and survival. Bacterial and fungal microbiota-assisted N provisioning, protocarnivory, digestive mutualisms and myrmecotrophic pathways are the main strategies used by bromeliads to acquire nitrogen. The combination of different nutritional pathways in bromeliads represents an important adaptation enabling them to exploit nutrient-poor habitats. Nonetheless, as has been shown for several other vascular plants, multiple partners are involved in nutrient acquisition indicating that there have been convergent adaptations to nutrient scarcity. Finally, we point out some gaps in the current knowledge of bromeliad nutrition that offer fascinating research opportunities.
ISSN: 1752-9921

hal-01532637
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01532637
DOI : 10.1093/jpe/rtv052
PRODINRA : 384521

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
Résumé : International audience
Although heterokaryons have been reported in nature, multicellular organisms are generally assumed genetically homogeneous. Here, we investigate the case of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that form symbiosis with plant roots. The growth advantages they confer to their hosts are of great potential benefit to sustainable agricultural practices. However, measuring genetic diversity for these coenocytes is a major challenge: Within the same cytoplasm, AMF contain thousands of nuclei and show extremely high levels of genetic variation for some loci. The extent and physical location of polymorphism within and between AMF genomes is unclear. We used two complementary strategies to estimate genetic diversity in AMF, investigating polymorphism both on a genome scale and in putative single copy loci. First, we used data from whole-genome pyrosequencing of four AMF isolates to describe genetic diversity, based on a conservative network-based clustering approach. AMF isolates showed marked differences in genome-wide diversity patterns in comparison to a panel of control fungal genomes. This clustering approach further allowed us to provide conservative estimates of Rhizophagus spp. genomes sizes. Second, we designed new putative single copy genomic markers, which we investigated by massive parallel amplicon sequencing for two Rhizophagus irregularis and one Rhizophagus sp. isolates. Most loci showed high polymorphism, with up to 103 alleles per marker. This polymorphism could be distributed within or between nuclei. However, we argue that the Rhizophagus isolates under study might be heterokaryotic, at least for the putative single copy markers we studied. Considering that genetic information is the main resource for identification of AMF, we suggest that special attention is warranted for the study of these ecologically important organisms.
ISSN: 1759-6653

Droits : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
hal-01224215
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01224215
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01224215/document
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01224215/file/Genome%20Biol%20Evol-2015-Boon-505-21.pdf
DOI : 10.1093/gbe/evv002

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Eperua falcata (Aublet), a late-successional species in tropical rainforest and one of the most abundant tree in French Guiana, has developed an original strategy concerning N-acquisition by largely preferring nitrate, rather than ammonium (H. Schimann, S. Ponton, S. Hattenschwiler, B. Ferry, R. Lensi, A.M. Domenach, J.C. Roggy, Differing nitrogen use strategies of two tropical rainforest tree species in French Guiana: evidence from N-15 natural abundance and microbial activities, Soil Biol, Biochem. 40 (2008) 487-494). Given the preference of this species for nitrate, we hypothesized that root exudates would promote nitrate availability by (a) enhancing nitrate production by stimulating ammonium oxidation or (b) minimizing nitrate losses by inhibiting denitrification. Root exudates were collected in situ in monospecific planted plots. The phytochemical analysis of these exudates and of several of their corresponding root extracts was achieved using UHPLC/DAD/ESI-QTOF and allowed the identification of diverse secondary metabolites belonging to the flavonoid family. Our results show that (i) the distinct exudation patterns observed are related to distinct root morphologies, and this was associated with a shift in the root flavonoid content, (ii) a root extract representative of the diverse compounds detected in roots showed a significant and selective metabolic inhibition of isolated denitrifiers in vitro, and (iii) in soil plots the abundance of nirK-type denitrifiers was negatively affected in rhizosphere soil compared to bulk. Altogether this led us to formulate hypothesis concerning the ecological role of the identified compounds in relation to N-acquisition strategy of this species. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
ISSN: 0981-9428

hal-01032437
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032437
DOI : 10.1016/j.plaphy.2013.05.003

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé :  
Cross-species analyses of plant functional traits have shed light on factors contributing to differences in performance and distribution, but to date most studies have focused on either leaves or stems. We extend these tissue-specific analyses of functional strategy towards a whole-plant approach by integrating data on functional traits for 13 448 leaves and wood tissues from 4672 trees representing 668 species of Neotropical trees. Strong correlations amongst traits previously defined as the leaf economics spectrum reflect a tradeoff between investments in productive leaves with rapid turnover vs. costly physical leaf structure with a long revenue stream. A second axis of variation, the 'stem economics spectrum', defines a similar tradeoff at the stem level: dense wood vs. high wood water content and thick bark. Most importantly, these two axes are orthogonal, suggesting that tradeoffs operate independently at the leaf and at the stem levels. By simplifying the multivariate ecological strategies of tropical trees into positions along these two spectra, our results provide a basis to improve global vegetation models predicting responses of tropical forests to global change.
Ecology Letters

hal-01032142
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032142
DOI : 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2010.01517.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé :  
The chloroplast genome has been widely used to describe genetic diversity in plant species. Its maternal inheritance in numerous angiosperm species and low mutation rate are suitable characters when inferring historical events such as possible recolonization routes. Here we have studied chloroplast DNA variation using PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) with seven pairs of primers and four restriction enzymes in 14 populations of Vouacapoua americana (Caesalpiniaceae) a neotropical tree sampled throughout French Guiana. Population diversity (Hs), total gene diversity (Ht) and differentiation among populations (GST) were estimated using Nei's method as 0.09, 0.87 and 0.89, respectively. This is consistent with the limited gene flow associated with synzoochory in this species. The genetic structure observed in the north of French Guiana suggests that historical events such as contractions and recent recolonizations have had a large impact on the distribution of genetic diversity in this species.
ISSN: 0962-1083

hal-01032176
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032176
DOI : 10.1046/j.1365-294x.2000.01027.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Ecological Society of America
Résumé : Although niche-based and stochastic processes, including dispersal limitation and demographic stochasticity, can each contribute to community assembly, it is difficult to quantify the relative importance of each process in natural vegetation. Here, we extend Shipley's maxent model (Community Assembly by Trait Selection, CATS) for the prediction of relative abundances to incorporate both trait-based filtering and dispersal limitation from the larger landscape and develop a statistical decomposition of the proportions of the total information content of relative abundances in local communities that are attributable to trait-based filtering, dispersal limitation, and demographic stochasticity. We apply the method to tree communities in a mature, species-rich, tropical forest in French Guiana at 1-, 0.25- and 0.04-ha scales. Trait data consisted of species' means of 17 functional traits measured over both the entire meta-community and separately in each of nine 1-ha plots. Trait means calculated separately for each site always gave better predictions. There was clear evidence of trait-based filtering at all spatial scales. Trait-based filtering was the most important process at the 1-ha scale (34%), whereas demographic stochasticity was the most important at smaller scales (37-53%). Dispersal limitation from the meta-community was less important and approximately constant across scales (similar to 9%), and there was also an unresolved association between site-specific traits and meta-community relative abundances. Our method allows one to quantify the relative importance of local niche-based and meta-community processes and demographic stochasticity during community assembly across spatial and temporal scales.
ISSN: 0012-9658

hal-01032424
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032424

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
The segmentation of digital images of plants is a tricky operation. In the example of a plant image on a unhomogeneous background, i.e. taken in its environment, the colorimetric diversity of the elements of a scene or the large number of forms can amplify the phenomena of over-segmentation. Global segmentation methods such as Mean Shift are then in this case the ones which will give the best results. These methods take into account the totality of the pixels of an image before classifying a point. On the other hand, complexity is increased, because it is necessary to go through the whole image treated, in order to find the mode of the point which one wishes to classify. In this article, we plan to couple the global segmentation with a local method which would take over in the event of obvious classification of a given point. The Mean Shift method is used for this purpose in association with Markov's chains.
Applied Imagery Pattern Recognition (AIPR)
Washington DC, United States

hal-00637143
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00637143
DOI : 10.1109/AIPR.2011.6176338

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : For their survival, plants need to grow in height to access light resource while ensuring their mechanical stability. Growth in height amplifies the mechanical constraints due to wind and gravity. Nevertheless these constraints represent morphogenetic signals that plants respond to by modifying their growth. There are two regulatory processes of growth by mechanical signals: thigmomorphogenesis and gravitropism. Thigmomorphogenesis expresses by a reduction of growth in height and an increase of growth in girth under the effect of mechanical signals. This is a way for plants to grow with controlling slenderness of their axes to avoid buckling (beating down). In some cases (storm, sudden exposure to a new mechanical environment) this process is not sufficient to prevent buckling, gravitropism then acts to restore axes orientation in case of no lethal buckling. With measuring several traits, we have demonstrated that these processes have a fundamental ecological role in the control of tree habit and the vertical structuration of ecosystems. As studies of climate changes seem to predict a higher frequency of storms it is important to study the diversity of their efficiency.
Colloque Adaptation au Changement Climatique de l'Agriculture et des Ecosystèmes

hal-00797377
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797377

Résumé : En raison de la nature symbiotique des micro-organismes endophytes, cette étude visait à étudier l'activité antibactérienne, antifongique et cytotoxique chez les métabolites secondaires des extraits endophytes foliaires de plantes de l'Amazonie brésilienne et du Cerrado. Dans ce travail de thèse 147 micro-organismes cultivables ont été isolés (130 champignons, 3 bactéries e 14 champignons non-identifiés ou inconnus) à partir de 28 plantes (4 espèces collectées au Brésil et 24 en Guyane Française). Tous les micro-organismes furent identifiés par analyse moléculaire des régions spécifiques de l'ADNr en utilisant des techniques de séquençage génomique. Des champignons endophytes de l’ordre des Xylariales furent ceux de plus importante fréquence d’isolation dans cette étude, représentés par 25 isolats. Des extraits bruts à l’AcOEt furent produits à partir de cultures de chaque micro-organisme isolé. Une proportion relative signifiante (23,1%) des extraits démontra une activité sur Candida albicans ATCC 10213, pendant que 4% furent actifs sur Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213. Le potentiel cytotoxique des extraits fut évalué pour des lignées cellulaires humaines KB (carcinome cervical utérin), MDA-MB-435 (mélanome), et MRC-5 (fibroblastes de poumon normal), résultant en proportion signifiante avec activité d’inhibition de la prolifération cellulaire (24,4%, 23,1% e 16,3%, respectivement).Dix-huit métabolites secondaires furent isolés et identifiés à partir du fractionnement des extraits bruts de huit endophytes. Dix-sept de ces substances furent déjà décrites précédemment dans la littérature: l’acide piliformique (24) et la griséofulvine (25) isolés à partir de Xylaria cubensis SNB-GCI02; La phomopirone (26), la pyrenocine (27), l’alterpérilenol (28) et la novae-zelandine (29), isolés de Lewia infectoria SNB-GTC2402; 5-métilmelleina (31) et la dihidrosporothrioride (32) isolées à partir de Xylaria sp. SNB-GTC2501; La mycoleptodiscine (34) et la mycoleptodiscine B (35) isolées à partir de Mycoleptodiscus sp. SNB-GTC2304; le mycoepoxidiène (36) et la altiloxina A (37) isolés à partir de Diaporthe pseudomangiferae SNB-GSS10; L’acremonisol (40), le semicochliodinol (41) et le cochliodinol (42) isolés à partir de Chaetomium globosum SNB-GTC2114; la colletofragarone A2 (43) isolée à partir de Colletotrichum sp. SNB-GTC0201; la flavoglaucine (44) isolée à partir de Eurotium rubrum BBS01. Parmi ces substances, la flavoglaucine (44) isolée à partir de E. rubrum BBS01 démontra une activité comparable au contrôle fluconazol en C. albicans (CIM de 4 µg.mL-1). La substance (44) présenta IC50 >10 µM sur cellules normales MRC-5, ce qui en fait un candidat pour des études ultérieures. Dans ce travail, fut identifié pour la première fois l’activité de la colletofragarone A2 (43) isolée à partir de Colletotrichum sp. SNB-GTC0201. La substance inédite nommée pyrrocidine C (30) fut isolée à partir de L. infectoria SNB-GTC2402 et identifiée par des analyses spectroscopiques (Casella et al., 2013). La pyrrocidine C (30) fut active en S. aureus ATCC 10213 (CIM de 2 µg.mL-1) et ne fut pas considérées cytotoxique pour les cellules normales MRC-5 (IC50 >10 µM), démontrant une sélectivité dans l’action antimicrobienne. Ces résultats démontrent la grande diversité des endophytes fongiques chez les plantes de l'Amazonie brésilienne et du Cerrado et la grande chimiodiversité associée aux métabolites secondaires de ces micro-organismes. Des champignons endophytes tropicaux, comme ceux présentés dans cette étude, peuvent apparaître comme une nouvelle source de substances antimicrobiennes et cytotoxiques.
Because of the symbiotic nature of endophytes, this survey aims to investigate the probality of discovering antibacterial, antifungal and cytotoxic activities in secondary metabolites of leaf endophytes isolated from plants of Amazon and Cerrado biomes. In this study, 147 cultivable microorganisms were isolated (130 fungi, 3 bacteria and 14 unidentified or unknown microbes) from 28 plant species (4 species collected in Brazil and 24 in French Guyana). All endophytes were identified by molecular analyses of specific rDNA regions, with genomic sequencing techniques. Fungal endophytes belonging to Xylariales order were the most frequently isolated in this study, represented by 25 isolates. Crude AcOEt extracts were produced from cultures of each isolated endophyte. A significant relative proportion (23,1%) of extracts showed activity in Candida albicans ATCC 10213, while 4% were active in Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213. The cytotoxic potencial of the extracts was evaluated for human cell lines KB (uterin cervical carcinome), MDA-MB-435 (melanoma) and MRC-5 (normal lung fibroblasts), and a significant proportion of them showed cellular proliferation inhibition (24,4%, 23,1% e 16,3%, respectively).Eighteen secondary metabolites were isolated by the fractionation of eight endophytic extracts. Seventeen of these substances had already been previously described in the literature: piliformic acid (24) and griseofulvin (25) isolated from Xylaria cubensis SNB-GCI02; phomopiron A (26), pyrenocin A (27), alterperilenol (28) and novae-zelandin A (29) isolated from Lewia infectoria SNB-GTC2402; 5-metilmellein (31) and dihidrosporothriorid (32) isolated from Xylaria sp. SNB-GTC2501; mycoleptodiscin A (34) and mycoleptodiscin B (35) isolated from Mycoleptodiscus sp. SNB-GTC2304; mycoepoxidien (36) and altiloxin A (37) isolated from Diaporthe pseudomangiferae SNB-GSS10; acremonisol A (40), semicochliodinol A (41) and cochliodinol (42) isolated from Chaetomium globosum SNB-GTC2114; colletofragaron A2 (43) isolated from Colletotrichum sp. SNB-GTC0201; flavoglaucin (44) isolated from Eurotium rubrum BBS01. Among these substances, flavoglaucin (44), isolated from E. rubrum BBS01, showed comparable antifungal activity with the positive control fluconazol in C. albicans (MIC of 4 µg.mL-1). Flavoglaucin (44) also showed IC50 >10 µM in normal MRC-5 cells, becoming a good candidate for further studies. In this work, the cytotoxic activity of colletofragaron A2 (43), isolated from Colletotrichum sp. SNB-GTC0201 was described for the first time. The unpublished substance named pyrrocidin C (30) isolated from L. infectoria SNB-GTC2402 was identified by spectroscopic analyses (Casella et al., 2013). The pyrrocidin C (30) was active in S. aureus ATCC 10213 (MIC of 2 µg.mL-1), and was not considered cytotoxic for normal MRC-5 cells (IC50 >10 µM), showing selectivity in antimicrobial activity. These results demonstrate the great endophytic fungal diversity in plants of Amazon and Cerrado biomes, along with the chemodiversity associated to the secondary metabolites of these endophytes. Tropical fungal endophytes, like those seen in this work, may emerge as a new source of antimicrobial and cytotoxic substances.
Devido à natureza simbiótica dos micro-organismos endofíticos, este estudo teve como objetivo investigar a atividade antibacteriana, antifúngica e citotóxica em metabólitos secundários de extratos de fungos endofíticos foliares de plantas do bioma Amazônia e Cerrado. Neste trabalho de tese foram isolados 147 micro-organismos cultiváveis (130 fungos, 3 bactérias e 14 fungos não-identificados ou desconhecidos) a partir de 28 plantas (4 espécies coletadas no Brasil e 24 na Guiana Francesa). Todos os micro-organismos foram identificados por análise molecular de regiões específicas de DNAr, com uso de técnicas de sequenciamento genômico. Fungos endofíticos da ordem Xylariales foram os de maior frequência de isolamento neste estudo, representados por 25 isolados. Extratos brutos em AcOEt foram produzidos a partir de culturas de cada micro-organismo isolado. Uma proporção relativa significante (23,1%) dos extratos demonstrou atividade em Candida albicans ATCC 10213, enquanto 4% foram ativos em Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213. O potencial citotóxico dos extratos foi avaliado para as linhagens celulares humanas KB (carcinoma cervical uterino), MDA-MB-435 (melanoma), e MRC-5 (fibroblastos de pulmão normal), resultando em proporção significante com atividade de inibição da proliferação celular (24,4%, 23,1% e 16,3%, respectivamente). Dezoito metabólitos secundários foram isolados a partir do fracionamento de oito extratos brutos endofíticos. Dezessete destas substâncias já tinham sido descritas anteriormente na literatura: ácido pilifórmico (24) e griseofulvina (25) isoladas de Xylaria cubensis SNB-GCI02; phomopirona A (26), pyrenocina A (27), alterperilenol (28) e novae-zelandina A (29) isoladas de Lewia infectoria SNB-GTC2402; 5-metilmelleina (31) e Dihidrosporothriolida (32) isoladas de Xylaria sp. SNB-GTC2501; mycoleptodiscina A (34) e mycoleptodiscina B (35) isoladas de Mycoleptodiscus sp. SNB-GTC2304; mycoepoxidieno (36) e altiloxina A (37) isoladas de Diaporthe pseudomangiferae SNB-GSS10; acremonisol A (40), semicochliodinol A (41) e cochliodinol (42) isoladas de Chaetomium globosum SNB-GTC2114; colletofragarona A2 (43) isolada de Colletotrichum sp. SNB-GTC0201; flavoglaucina (44) isolada de Eurotium rubrum BBS01. Dentre estas substâncias, a flavoglaucina (44) isolada de E. rubrum BBS01, demonstrou atividade comparável ao controle fluconazol em C. albicans (CIM de 4 µg.mL-1). Esta substância (44) apresentou IC50 >10 µM em células normais MRC-5, tornando-se candidata para estudos posteriores. Neste trabalho foi identificado pela primeira vez a atividade citotóxica da colletofragarona A2 (43), isolada de Colletotrichum sp. SNB-GTC0201. A substância inédita nomeada pyrrocidina C (30) foi isolada a partir de L. infectoria SNB-GTC2402 e identificada através de análises espectroscópicas (Casella et al., 2013). A pyrrocidina C (30) foi ativa em S. aureus ATCC 10213 (CIM de 2 µg.mL-1), e não foi considerada citotóxica para as células normais MRC-5 (IC50 >10 µM), demonstrando seletividade na ação antimicrobiana. Estes resultados demonstram a grande diversidade fúngica endofítica em plantas do bioma Amazônia e Cerrado, e a quimiodiversidade associada aos metabólitos secundários destes micro-organismos. Fungos endofíticos tropicais, como os vistos neste trabalho, podem emergir como uma nova fonte de substâncias antimicrobianas e citotóxicas.

http://www.theses.fr/2014AGUY0836/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : Characterizing the trophic relationships between large herbivores and the outstanding plant diversity in rainforest is a major challenge because of their elusiveness. This is crucial to understand the role of these herbivores in the functioning of the rainforest ecosystems. We tested a non-invasive approach based on the high-throughput sequencing of environmental samples using small plant plastid sequences (the trnL P6 loop) and ribosomal ITS1 primers, referred to as DNA metabarcoding, to investigate the diet of the largest neotropical herbivore, the lowland tapir. Sequencing was performed on plant DNA extracted from tapir faeces collected at the Nouragues station, a protected area of French Guiana. In spite of a limited sampling, our approach reliably provided information about the lowland tapir's diet at this site. Indeed, 95.1% and 74.4% of the plant families and genera identified thanks to the trnL P6 loop, respectively, matched with taxa already known to be consumed by tapirs. With this approach we were able to show that two families and eight new genera are also consumed by the lowland tapir. The taxonomic resolution of this method is limited to the plant family and genera. Complementary barcodes, such as a small portion of ITS1, can be used to efficiently narrow identifications down to the species in some problematic families. We will discuss the remaining limitations of this approach and how useful it is at this stage to unravel the diet of elusive rainforest herbivores and better understand their role as engineers of the ecosystem.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01190578
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01190578
PRODINRA : 209109
PUBMED : 23560107
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0060799

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé :  
Tree species-rich tropical rainforests are characterized by a highly variable quality of leaf litter input to the soil at small spatial scales. This diverse plant litter is a major source of energy and nutrients for soil microorganisms, particularly in rainforests developed on old and nutrient-impoverished soils. Here we tested the hypothesis that the variability in leaf litter quality produced by a highly diverse tree community determines the spatial variability of the microbial respiration process in the underlying soil. We analyzed a total of 225 litter-soil pairs from an undisturbed Amazonian rainforest in French Guiana using a hierarchical sampling design. The microbial respiration process was assessed using substrateinduced respiration (SIR) and compared to a wide range of quality parameters of the associated litter layer (litter nutrients, carbon forms, stoichiometry, litter mass and pH). The results show that the variability of both litter quality and SIR rates was more important at large than at small scales. SIR rates varied between 1.1 and 4.0 mg g_1 h_1 and were significantly correlated with litter layer quality (up to 50% of the variability explained by the best mixed linear model). Total litter P content was the individual most important factor explaining the observed spatial variation in soil SIR, with higher rates associated to high litter P. SIR rates also correlated positively with total litter N content and with increasing proportions of labile C compounds. However, contrary to our expectation, SIR rates were not related to litter stoichiometry. These data suggest that in the studied Amazonian rainforest, tree canopy composition is an important driver of the microbial respiration process via leaf litter fall, resulting in potentially strong plant-soil feedbacks. .
ISSN: 0038-0717

hal-01032139
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032139
DOI : 10.1016/j.soilbio.2011.01.018

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
Gravitropism is necessary for plants to control the orientation of their axes while they grow in height. In woody plants, stem re-orientations are costly because they are achieved through diameter growth. The functional diversity of gravitropism was studied to check if the mechanisms involved and their efficiency may contribute to the differentiation of height growth strategies between forest tree species at the seedling stage. Seedlings of eight tropical species were grown tilted in a greenhouse, and their up-righting movement and diameter growth were measured during three months. Morphological, anatomical and biomechanical traits were measured at the end of the survey. Curvature analysis was used to analyse the up-righting response along the stems. Variations in stem curvature depend on diameter growth, size effects, the increase in self-weight, and the efficiency of the gravitropic reaction. A biomechanical model was used to separate these contributions. Results showed that (1) gravitropic movements were based on a common mechanism associated to similar dynamic patterns, (2) clear differences in efficiency (defined as the change in curvature achieved during an elementary diameter increment for a given stem diameter) existed between species, (3) the equilibrium angle of the stem and the anatomical characters associated to the efficiency of the reaction also differed between species, (4) the differences in gravitropic reaction were related to the light requirements: heliophilic species, compared to more shade-tolerant species, had a larger efficiency and an equilibrium angle closer to vertical. This suggests that traits determining the gravitropic reaction are related to the strategy of light interception and may contribute to the differentiation of ecological strategies promoting the maintenance of biodiversity in tropical rain forests.
ISSN: 0022-0957

hal-00797023
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797023/file/Functional_diversity_gravitropic_Almeras_al.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : Genetic variation is generally considered a prerequisite for adaptation to new environmental conditions. Thus the discovery of genetically depauperate but geographically widespread species is unexpected. We used 12 paternally inherited chloroplast microsatellites to estimate population genetic variation across the full range of an emblematic circum-Mediterranean conifer, stone pine (Pinus pinea L.). The same chloroplast DNA haplotype is fixed in nearly all of the 34 investigated populations. Such a low level of variation is consistent with a previous report of very low levels of diversity at nuclear loci in this species. Stone pine appears to have passed through a severe and prolonged demographic bottleneck, followed by subsequent natural- and human-mediated dispersal across the Mediterranean Basin. No other abundant and widespread plant species has as little genetic diversity as P. pinea at both chloroplast and nuclear markers. However, the species harbors a nonnegligible amount of variation at adaptive traits. Thus a causal relationship between genetic diversity, as measured by marker loci, and the evolutionary precariousness of a species, cannot be taken for granted
ISSN: 0014-3820

hal-01032062
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032062
DOI : 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00294.x

Éditeur(s) : Université des Antilles Études caribéennes
Résumé : En Amérique centrale, l’élevage des abeilles sans dard est une pratique vieille d’au moins deux millénaires, qui a connu son apogée à la fin de l’ère maya. Les Méliponinés, sous-famille à laquelle appartiennent ces abeilles, rassemblent près de 500 espèces distribuées pour l’essentiel en zone intertropicale. La plupart d’entre elles nichent dans des cavités d’arbres secs ou sous terre, et affectionnent les forêts ombrophiles où elles assurent un rôle actif dans la pollinisation des plantes sauvages. Sur l’île de Cuba, une seule espèce de méliponinés (Melipona beecheii) est présente, elle a probablement été introduite durant l’époque précolombienne à partir de souches génétiques originaires de la péninsule du Yucatán. Dans les campagnes autour de La Havane, les abeilles mélipones continuent d’être un vecteur de socialisation, car leur domestication correspond souvent à une tradition familiale et parce que les bénéficiaires des produits de la ruche sont des familiers du méliponiculteur. En forêt, en revanche, le miel donne davantage lieu à des pratiques de cueillette. Depuis une vingtaine d’années, la prise de conscience du rôle de l’abeille dans le fonctionnement des écosystèmes et la valeur des services qu’elles seraient susceptibles de rendre à l’agriculture sont à l’origine d’une évolution rapide des représentations sociales associées à l’insecte. Cette évolution contribue à diversifier les profils des éleveurs, à détacher les pratiques du poids des traditions d’élevage ou de cueillette, et à concevoir la méliponiculture comme une activité de loisir voire à envisager son intégration dans une logique marchande.
In central America, stingless beekeeping is a practice older than two thousand years which reached its peak at the end of the Maya era. The melipona sub-family which these bees belong to gather more than 500 species mainly in the intertropical area. Most of them nest in cavities, in dead wood or underground, and have a liking for ombrophile forests where they provide the pollinisation of wild plantes in Cuba. There is only are single species (Melipona beecheii) probably introduced during the pre-colombian era, from genetic strains deriving from the Yucatan peninsula. In the countryside surrounding Havana, the melipona bees are still a vector of socialization, knowing their domestication often results from a familial tradition and is profitable to the beekeeper’s relatives. On the other hand, in the forest, honey is the fruit of gathering. For twenty years now people have been aware of the essential function of bees in the ecosystem and of the valuable services they are able to provide agriculture. This awareness has launched a quick evolution in the social representation of the insect. Thanks to this evolution the beekeepers’ profiles are becoming more diverse, traditions in beekeeping or gathering, weigh less heavily on practices, and the meliponiculture can be regarded as a space-time activity or even a trade one.
Cuba

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
urn:doi:10.4000/etudescaribeennes.6967
http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/6967

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Public Library of Science
Résumé : We examined tree-soil habitat associations in lowland forest communities at Paracou, French Guiana. We analyzed a large dataset assembling six permanent plots totaling 37.5 ha, in which extensive LIDAR-derived topographical data and soil chemical and physical data have been integrated with precise botanical determinations. Map of relative elevation from the nearest stream summarized both soil fertility and hydromorphic characteristics, with seasonally inundated bottomlands having higher soil phosphate content and base saturation, and plateaus having higher soil carbon, nitrogen and aluminum contents. We employed a statistical test of correlations between tree species density and environmental maps, by generating Monte Carlo simulations of random raster images that preserve autocorrelation of the original maps. Nearly three fourths of the 94 taxa with at least one stem per ha showed a significant correlation between tree density and relative elevation, revealing contrasted species-habitat associations in term of abundance, with seasonally inundated bottomlands (24.5% of species) and well-drained plateaus (48.9% of species). We also observed species preferences for environments with or without steep slopes (13.8% and 10.6%, respectively). We observed that closely-related species were frequently associated with different soil habitats in this region (70% of the 14 genera with congeneric species that have a significant association test) suggesting species-habitat associations have arisen multiple times in this tree community. We also tested if species with similar habitat preferences shared functional strategies. We found that seasonally inundated forest specialists tended to have smaller stature (maximum diameter) than species found on plateaus. Our results underline the importance of tree-soil habitat associations in structuring diverse communities at fine spatial scales and suggest that additional studies are needed to disentangle community assembly mechanisms related to dispersal limitation, biotic interactions and environmental filtering from species-habitat associations. Moreover, they provide a framework to generalize across tropical forest sites.
ISSN: 1932-6203

hal-01260289
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01260289
PRODINRA : 342930
DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0141488

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag (Germany)
Résumé : International audience
Myrmecophytic symbioses are widespread in tropical ecosystems and their diversity makes them useful tools for understanding the origin and evolution of mutualisms. Obligate ant-plants, or myrmecophytes, provide a nesting place, and, often, food to a limited number of plant-ant species. In exchange, plant-ants protect their host plants from herbivores, competitors and pathogens, and can provide them with nutrients.
Oecologia

hal-00955375
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00955375
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00955375/document
DOI : 10.1007/s00442-010-1739-5
OATAO : 11094