Institut national de la recherche agronomique

About: Institut national de la recherche agronomique is a facility organization based out in Rabat, Morocco. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Gene. The organization has 41515 authors who have published 68362 publications receiving 3292057 citations. The organization is also known as: INRA & Inra.

Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses

Abstract: Demand for organic foods is partially driven by consumers’ perceptions that they are more nutritious. However, scientific opinion is divided on whether there are significant nutritional differences between organic and non-organic foods, and two recent reviews have concluded that there are no differences. In the present study, we carried out meta-analyses based on 343 peer-reviewed publications that indicate statistically significant and meaningful differences in composition between organic and non-organic crops/crop-based foods. Most importantly, the concentrations of a range of antioxidants such as polyphenolics were found to be substantially higher in organic crops/ crop-based foods, with those of phenolic acids, flavanones, stilbenes, flavones, flavonols and anthocyanins being an estimated 19 (95 % CI 5, 33) %, 69 (95 % CI 13, 125) %, 28 (95 % CI 12, 44) %, 26 (95 % CI 3, 48) %, 50 (95 % CI 28, 72) % and 51 (95 % CI 17, 86) % higher, respectively. Many of these compounds have previously been linked to a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including CVD and neurodegenerative diseases and certain cancers, in dietary intervention and epidemiological studies. Additionally, the frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was found to be four times higher in conventional crops, which also contained significantly higher concentrations of the toxic metal Cd. Significant differences were also detected for some other (e.g. minerals and vitamins) compounds. There is evidence that higher antioxidant concentrations and lower Cd concentrations are linked to specific agronomic practices (e.g. non-use of mineral N and P fertilisers, respectively) prescribed in organic farming systems. In conclusion, organic crops, on average, have higher concentrations of antioxidants, lower concentrations of Cd and a lower incidence of pesticide residues than the non-organic comparators across regions and production seasons.

Liver PPARα is crucial for whole-body fatty acid homeostasis and is protective against NAFLD

Abstract: Objective Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is a nuclear receptor expressed in tissues with high oxidative activity that plays a central role in metabolism. In this work, we investigated the effect of hepatocyte PPARα on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Design We constructed a novel hepatocyte-specific PPARα knockout ( Pparα hep−/−) mouse model. Using this novel model, we performed transcriptomic analysis following fenofibrate treatment. Next, we investigated which physiological challenges impact on PPARα. Moreover, we measured the contribution of hepatocytic PPARα activity to whole-body metabolism and fibroblast growth factor 21 production during fasting. Finally, we determined the influence of hepatocyte-specific PPARα deficiency in different models of steatosis and during ageing. Results Hepatocyte PPARα deletion impaired fatty acid catabolism, resulting in hepatic lipid accumulation during fasting and in two preclinical models of steatosis. Fasting mice showed acute PPARα-dependent hepatocyte activity during early night, with correspondingly increased circulating free fatty acids, which could be further stimulated by adipocyte lipolysis. Fasting led to mild hypoglycaemia and hypothermia in Pparα hep−/− mice when compared with Ppar α−/− mice implying a role of PPARα activity in non-hepatic tissues. In agreement with this observation, Pparα −/− mice became overweight during ageing while Ppar αhep−/− remained lean. However, like Ppar α−/− mice, Ppar αhep−/− fed a standard diet developed hepatic steatosis in ageing. Conclusions Altogether, these findings underscore the potential of hepatocyte PPARα as a drug target for NAFLD.

Genome sequence of the progenitor of the wheat D genome Aegilops tauschii

Abstract: Aegilops tauschii is the diploid progenitor of the D genome of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum, genomes AABBDD) and an important genetic resource for wheat. The large size and highly repetitive nature of the Ae. tauschii genome has until now precluded the development of a reference-quality genome sequence. Here we use an array of advanced technologies, including ordered-clone genome sequencing, whole-genome shotgun sequencing, and BioNano optical genome mapping, to generate a reference-quality genome sequence for Ae. tauschii ssp. strangulata accession AL8/78, which is closely related to the wheat D genome. We show that compared to other sequenced plant genomes, including a much larger conifer genome, the Ae. tauschii genome contains unprecedented amounts of very similar repeated sequences. Our genome comparisons reveal that the Ae. tauschii genome has a greater number of dispersed duplicated genes than other sequenced genomes and its chromosomes have been structurally evolving an order of magnitude faster than those of other grass genomes. The decay of colinearity with other grass genomes correlates with recombination rates along chromosomes. We propose that the vast amounts of very similar repeated sequences cause frequent errors in recombination and lead to gene duplications and structural chromosome changes that drive fast genome evolution.

FibrilTool, an ImageJ plug-in to quantify fibrillar structures in raw microscopy images

Abstract: Cell biology heavily relies on the behavior of fibrillar structures, such as the cytoskeleton, yet the analysis of their behavior in tissues often remains qualitative. Image analysis tools have been developed to quantify this behavior, but they often involve an image pre-processing stage that may bias the output and/or they require specific software. Here we describe FibrilTool, an ImageJ plug-in based on the concept of nematic tensor, which can provide a quantitative description of the anisotropy of fiber arrays and their average orientation in cells, directly from raw images obtained by any form of microscopy. FibrilTool has been validated on microtubules, actin and cellulose microfibrils, but it may also help analyze other fibrillar structures, such as collagen, or the texture of various materials. The tool is ImageJ-based, and it is therefore freely accessible to the scientific community and does not require specific computational setup. The tool provides the average orientation and anisotropy of fiber arrays in a given region of interest (ROI) in a few seconds.