Quantitative Assessment of the Risk Linked to the Consumption of Braised Beef Meat “<i>Choukouya</i>” Contaminated with Pathogenic <i>Clostridium perfringens</i>in Côte D’Ivoire

Inadequate handling, processing and sales of meat products have resulted in microbial contamination responsible for most infectious human food-borne illness. The study conducted a stochastic assessment of the risk of infection linked to the consumption of braised beef meat “Choukouya” contaminated by Clostridium perfringens in C?te d’Ivoire. We conducted “Choukouya” consumers (n = 900) and vendors (n = 300) survey to characterize the actors behavior. 189 samples of “Choukouya” were collected and microbiologically analyzed according to French standard protocols NF V 08-061 and XPV 08-061. A risk model was developed and the risk of infection linked to the consumption of “Choukouya” was estimated by Monte Carlo simulation procedure. The consumer’s surveys showed that the percentage of population consuming “Choukouya” was 74.4%, with an average consumption of 114.3 ± 0.5 g/person/intake. The microbiological analysis revealed the isolation of 70% of Clostridium perfringens in the vegetative form and 60.3% in sporulated form with an average loading of 3.7 ± 2.6 log10·cfu/g and 1.1 ± 1.0 log10·cfu/g respectively. The probability of ingesting a dose greater than 109 bacteria of Clostridium prefringens varied between 7.36% and 7.93%. The braised beef meat “Choukouya” sold in the streets of cities in C?te d’Ivoire represents a real risk of infection, and Clostridium perfringens is one of the causes. This risk could be mitigated by the establishment of good hygiene practices and adequate handling processes in this informal sector.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Agronomic Traits in Upland Rice

Genome-wide association study(GWAS)was performed for 16 agronomic traits including nitrogen use efficiency(NUE)and yield-related components using a panel of 190 mainly japonica rice varieties and a set of 38390 single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)markers.This panel was evaluated under rainfed upland conditions in Madagascar in two consecutive cropping seasons with two contrasted nitrogen input levels.Using another set of five grain traits,we identified previously known genes(GW5,GS3,Awn1 and Glabrous1),thus validating the pertinence and accuracy of our datasets for GWAS.A total of 369 significant associations were detected between SNPs and agronomic traits,gathered into 46 distinct haplotype groups and 28 isolated markers.Few association signals were identified for the complex quantitative trait NUE,however,larger number of quantitative trait loci(QTLs)were detected for its component traits,with 10 and 2 association signals for nitrogen utilization efficiency and nitrogen uptake efficiency,respectively.Several detected association signals co-localized with genes involved in nitrogen transport or nitrogen remobilization within 100 kb.The present study thus confirmed the potential of GWAS to identify candidate genes and new loci associated with agronomic traits.However,because of the quantitative and complex nature of NUE-related traits,GWAS might have not captured a large number of QTLs with limited effects.

Variability and Synchronism of Leaf Appearance and Leaf Elongation Rates of Eleven Contrasting Rice Genotypes

Leaf appearance and leaf elongation rates in rice play an essential role in determining the development of the plants’ architecture which affects their adaptability to varying environments. This study aimed to characterize the rates of leaf appearance and elongation on all leaves of the main culms of rice plants for 11 contrasting varieties and to determine if the decrease in the leaf appearance rate was related to a simultaneous decrease in the rate of leaf elongation. Forty four 13-L pots were sown with one plant from one genotype and laid out in 4 randomized complete blocks. The experiment, conducted inside a greenhouse, was repeated twice. The increase in length of the leaves expanding on the main stems was monitored daily until flag leaf. Data were used to estimate the rates of leaf appearance and leaf elongation. Significant variability in the rate of leaf appearance, rate of leaf elongation, and leaf length was found across varieties. The kinetics of leaf appearance had linear phases intermediated by a curvilinear phase, without sharp changes in the phyllochron duration. Maximal leaf elongation rate (LER) of all genotypes (except for one) increased linearly with leaf rank until it reached its maximum value at leaf 8 to 10 (11 - 12 for Azucena) where it stabilized before decreasing linearly with leaf rank for the last leaves. Finally, both rates of leaf appearance and leaf elongation evolved with time more smoothly than expected so no sharp decrease in LER occurred at the time of the decrease in leaf appearance rate of the last leaves. However, the trilinear model fits the data well enough to remain useful in efficiently comparing the leaf appearance kinetics of contrasting varieties.

ENABLING CROP DIVERSIFICATION TO SUPPORT TRANSITIONS TOWARD MORE SUSTAINABLE EUROPEAN AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS

European cropping systems are often characterized by short rotations or even monocropping,leading to environmental issues such as soil degradation,water eutrophication,and air pollution including greenhouse gas emissions,that contribute to climate change and biodiversity loss.The use of diversification practices(i.e.,intercropping,multiple cropping including cover cropping and rotation extension),may help enhance agrobiodiversity and deliver ecosystem services while developing new value chains.Despite its benefits,crop diversification is hindered by various technical,organizational,and institutional barriers along value chains(input industries,farms,trading and processing industries,retailers,and consumers)and within sociotechnical systems(policy,research,education,regulation and advisory).Six EU-funded research projects have joined forces to boost crop diversification by creating the European Crop Diversification Cluster(CDC).This Cluster aggregates research,innovation,commercial and citizen-focused partnerships to identify and remove barriers across the agrifood system and thus enables the uptake of diversification measures by all European value-chain stakeholders.The CDC will produce a typology of barriers,develop tools to accompany actors in their transition,harmonize the use of multicriteria assessment indicators,prepare policy recommendations and pave the way for a long-term network on crop diversification.