Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Landes Bioscience
Résumé : International audience
In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field.
Autophagy

hal-00735751
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00735751
PUBMED : 22966490

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag/EDP Sciences
Résumé : International audience
Background : This study examines the radial trend in wood stiffness of tropical rainforest trees. The objective was to determine if the type of growing environment (exposed plantation or dense primary forest) would have an effect on this radial trend. Methods : The axial elastic modulus of wood samples, representing a pith to bark cross-section, of six trees from several French Guianese species (two of Eperua falcata, one of Eperua grandiflora, two of Carapa procera and one of Symphonia gloubulifera) was measured using a dynamic "forced vibration" method. Results : Primary forest trees were observed to have a decrease in wood stiffness from pith to bark, whereas plantation trees, from the same genus or species, displayed a corresponding increase in wood stiffness. Juvenile wood stiffness appears to vary depending on the environment in which the tree had grown. Conclusion : We suggest that the growth strategy of primary forest trees is to produce wood resistant to selfbuckling so that the height of the canopy may be obtained with the maximum of efficiency. In contrast, the growth strategy of the trees growing in an exposed plantation is to produce low-stiffness wood, important to provide flexibility in wind. Further experiments to study the behaviour of more species, with more individuals per species, growing across a range of physical environments, are required.
ISSN: 1286-4560

hal-00644335
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644335
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644335/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00644335/file/McLean_al.pdf
DOI : 10.1007/s13595-011-0085-z

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
Radial trends of vibrational properties, including the specific dynamic modulus (E'/r) and damping coefficient (tand), were investigated for 3 tropical rainforest hardwood species, Simarouba amara, Carapa procera and Symphonia globulifera by free-free flexural vibration test. The microfibril angle (MFA) was estimated through X-Ray diffraction. Consistent patterns of radial variations were observed for all studied properties. E'/r was found to decrease from pith to bark, which is strongly related to the increasing pith-bark trend of MFA. The variation of tand along the radius can be partly explained by MFA, and partly by the gradient of extractives due to heartwood formation. The coupling effect of MFA and extractives could be separated through the analysis of log(tand) - log(E'/r) diagram. For the studied species, the extractive content putatively associated to heartwood formation generally tends to decrease the wood damping coefficient. However, this weakening effect of extractives was not observed for inner part of the heartwood, suggesting the mechanical action of extractives was reduced during their chemical ageing.
ISSN: 1435-0211

hal-00797055
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00797055/file/Radial_variations_vibrational_Zhang_al.pdf