Molecular and morphological analyses reveal a new species of Laetisaria (Corticiaceae, Corticiales) from France, lichenicolous on Physcia

Axenic cultures of lichen photobionts isolated from bark‐inhabiting lichen thalli of the Physcietum adscendentis Ochsner were identified by light microscopy and sequence comparisons of internal transcribed spacer rDNAs to investigate principles of lichenization within a defined lichen sociological unit. The photobiont identity of eight lichen species is reported for the first time (photobiont species in square brackets): Lecania cyrtella (Ach.) Th. Fr. [Trebouxia arboricola Puym.], Lecania naegelii (Hepp) Diederich & v. d. Boom [Dictyochloropsis symbiontica Tscherm.‐Woess], Candelaria concolor (Dicks) B. Stein [Trebouxia jamesii (Hildreth & Ahmadjian) Gärtner], Candelariella cf. reflexa (Nyl.) Lettau [T. jamesii], Lecanora spec. [T. arboricola], Phaeophyscia orbicularis (Neck.) Moberg [T. impressa Ahmadjian], Physcia adscendens (Fr.) H. Olivier [T. impressa] and Lecidella elaeochroma (Ach.) M. Choisy [T. arboricola] and could be confirmed for another two species, Physcia stellaris (L.) Nyl. [Trebouxia impressa] and Xanthoria parietina (L.) Th. Fr. [Trebouxia arboricola]. The observation that pioneer lichens without vegetative propagules, growing on smooth bark, had Trebouxia arboricola as photobiont can be explained by the assumption of a free‐living population of Trebouxia arboricola. Species of photobionts from Xanthoria parietina were morphologically and genetically different from those of Physcia adscendens and Phaeophyscia orbicularis, respectively; a finding that does not support the previous assumption that Xanthoria parietina takes over its algal partner from a Physcia species, at least at the sites investigated.

Lichens that grow on the bark of mature trees were studied at 35 sites along an air pollution gradient east of Edmonton, Alberta. Data on species composition, richness, and cover were recorded in October 1999 in a matrix of sites that extends from a known source of pollutants (the Strathcona Industrial Area) east across Strathcona County. Air pollution is affecting the corticolous lichen community. Lichen species richness and total cover increased with distance from the pollution source. Species richness in areas distant from pollution was roughly twice that in areas near the Strathcona Industrial Area. Xanthoria fallax and Phaeophyscia orbicularis were the most pollution tolerant lichens. Xanthoria hasseana, Ochrolechia arborea, Physcia adscendens, Parmelia sulcata, and Melanelia albertana were rare or absent near the pollution source and common in more distant areas. Most of the 15 species assessed were sensitive to air quality to some degree. Some lichens near the refineries and in Sherwood Park showed abnormal coloration and poor thallus integrity indicative of stress. We discuss implications for human health.

Abstract. Three years of greenhouse gas measurements, obtained using a gas chromatograph (GC) system located at the Puy de Dôme station at 1465 m a.s.l. in central France, are presented. The GC system was installed in 2010 at Puy de Dôme and was designed for automatic and accurate semicontinuous measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulfur hexafluoride mole fractions. We present in detail the instrumental setup and the calibration strategy, which together allow the GC to reach repeatabilities of 0.1 μmol mol−1, 1.2 nmol mol−1, 0.3 nmol mol−1 and 0.06 pmol mol−1 for CO2, CH4, N2O and SF6, respectively. The analysis of the 3-year atmospheric time series revealed how the planetary boundary layer height drives the mole fractions observed at a mountain site such as Puy de Dôme where air masses alternate between the planetary boundary layer and the free troposphere. Accurate long-lived greenhouse gas measurements collocated with 222Rn measurements as an atmospheric tracer allowed us to determine the CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions in the catchment area of the station. The derived CO2 surface flux revealed a clear seasonal cycle, with net uptake by plant assimilation in the spring and net emission caused by the biosphere and burning of fossil fuel during the remainder of the year. We calculated a mean annual CO2 flux of 1310 ± 680 t CO2 km−2. The derived CH4 and N2O emissions in the station catchment area were 7.0 ± 4.0 t CH4 km−2 yr−1 and 1.8 ± 1.0 t N2O km−2 yr−1, respectively. Our derived annual CH4 flux is in agreement with the national French inventory, whereas our derived N2O flux is 5 times larger than the same inventory.

We present an analysis of decadal in situ and remote sensing observations of water vapor over the Cézeaux and puy de Dôme, located in central France (45° N, 3° E), in order to document the variability, cycles and trends of surface and tropospheric water vapor at different time scales and the geophysical processes responsible for the water vapor distributions. We use meteorological stations, GPS (Global Positioning System), and lidar datasets, supplemented with three remote sources of water vapor (COSMIC-radio-occultation, ERA-interim-ECMWF numerical model, and AIRS-satellite). The annual cycle of water vapor is clearly established for the two sites of different altitudes and for all types of measurement. Cezeaux and puy de Dôme present almost no diurnal cycle, suggesting that the variability of surface water vapor at this site is more influenced by a sporadic meteorological system than by regular diurnal variations. The lidar dataset shows a greater monthly variability of the vertical distribution than the COSMIC and AIRS satellite products. The Cézeaux site presents a positive trend for the GPS water vapor total column (0.42 ± 0.45 g·kg−1/decade during 2006–2017) and a significant negative trend for the surface water vapor mixing ratio (−0.16 ± 0.09 mm/decade during 2002–2017). The multi-linear regression analysis shows that continental forcings (East Atlantic Pattern and East Atlantic-West Russia Pattern) have a greater influence than oceanic forcing (North Atlantic Oscillation) on the water vapor variations.

European bat lyssavirus type 1 a (EBLV-1 a) was first identified in central France from a serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus) collected at the end of 2002. Rabies was diagnosed by...

We previously reported high prevalence of hepatitis C virus genotype 5a (HCV 5) (14%) in Central France. To identify the risk factors associated with HCV5 infection and to characterize local HCV5 lineages. A case-control study and phylogenetic analysis were conducted. In all, 131 HCV5 and 343 HCV non 5 infected patients were enrolled. No HCV5 patient was born in sub-Saharan Africa and only two were injection drug user. HCV5 contamination was associated with living in a rural area called Vic le Comte (VLC) in non-transfused patients (OR = 17.7), with transfusion in patients living outside VLC (OR = 3.8) and with receiving injections in patients from VLC (OR = 3.1). More than 80% of the patients from outside VLC were contaminated by transfusion and those from VLC mainly by an iatrogenic factor - injections performed before 1972 by the local physician. Phylogenetic analysis of HCV5 isolates evidenced no distinct genetic cluster, but close relationships between the isolates of spouse pairs and between blood donors and recipients. Our results suggest that HCV5 spread in our district by iatrogenic route before 1972 and then via transfusion to the whole district. Collaborative studies are underway to study viral sequences from different parts of Africa and Europe to estimate the origin of our HCV 5a strains.

HCV genotype 5 (HCV 5) is rarely found outside of South Africa. However, a high prevalence has been reported in three European countries in limited geographical areas of Spain, Belgium and France. Two studies, supported by the ANRS, one epidemiological and the other using molecular virology, were made to investigate an epidemic in Auvergne, central France, where HCV 5 accounts for 14.2% of HCV infections. The origin of this outbreak was traced by phylogenetic analyses comparing local strains with those collected elsewhere in France. A Bayesian evolutionary method estimated the date of the most recent common ancestor of HCV 5 sequences in France to be 1939 [95% CI = 1921- 1956] and in central France 1954 [95% CI = 1942-1967]. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the concomitant roles of transfusion, iatrogenic transmission (as the result of injections given by a country physician in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s) and intra-familial transmission in the local spread of HCV 5a.

Temporal variations of antimicrobial resistance genes in aerosols: A one-year monitoring at the puy de Dôme summit (Central France)

Abstract. Ice crystal formation in mixed-phase clouds is initiated by specific aerosol particles, termed ice-nucleating particles (INPs). Only a tiny fraction of all aerosol particles are INPs, providing a challenge for contemporary INP measurement techniques. Models have shown that the presence of INPs in clouds can impact their radiative properties and induce precipitation formation. However, for a qualified implementation of INPs in models, measurement techniques able to accurately detect the temperature-dependent INP concentration are needed. Here we present measurements of INP concentrations in ambient air under conditions relevant to mixed-phase clouds from a total of 10 INP methods over 2 weeks in October 2018 at the Puy de Dôme observatory in central France. A special focus in this intercomparison campaign was placed on having overlapping sampling periods. Although a variety of different measurement principles were used, the majority of the data show INP concentrations within a factor of 5 of one another, demonstrating the suitability of the instruments to derive model-relevant INP data. Lower values of comparability are likely due to instrument-specific features such as aerosol lamina spreading in continuous-flow diffusion chambers, demonstrating the need to account for such phenomena when interpreting INP concentration data from online instruments. Moreover, consistently higher INP concentrations were observed from aerosol filters collected on the rooftop at the Puy de Dôme station without the use of an aerosol inlet.

Abstract. In this work we present an analysis of the occurrence of nucleation events during more than three years of measurements at two different rural altitude sites, the puy de Dôme research station (1465 m a.s.l.) and the Opme station (660 m a.s.l.), central France. The collected database is a unique combination of scanning mobility particle sizer (10–400 nm), air ion spectrometers (from 0.8 to 42 nm for NTP-conditions), and, neutral clusters and air ion spectrometers (from 0.8 to 42 nm for NTP-conditions) measurements at these two different altitudes nearly located research stations, from February 2007 to June 2010. The seasonality of the frequency of nucleation events was studied at the puy de Dôme station and maximum of events frequency was found during early spring and early autumn. During the measurement period, neither the particle formation rates (J2= 1.382 ± 0.195 s−1) nor the growth rates (GR1.3−20 nm = 6.20 ± 0.12 nm h−1) differ from one site to the other on average. Hovewer, we found that, on 437 sampling days in common to the two sites, the nucleation frequency was higher at the puy de Dôme station (35.9 %, 157 days) than at the low elevation station of Opme (20.8 %, 91 days). LIDAR measurements and the evolution of the potential equivalent temperature revealed that the nucleation could be triggered either (i) within the whole low tropospheric column at the same time from the planetary boundary layer to the top of the interface layer (29.2 %, 47 events), (ii) above the planetary boundary layer upper limit (43.5 %, 70 events), and (iii) at low altitude and then transported, conserving dynamic and properties, at high altitude (24.8 %, 40 events). This is the first time that the vertical extent of nucleation can be studied over a long observational period, allowing for a rigorous statistical analysis of the occurrence of nucleation over the whole lower troposphere. This work highlights the fact that nucleation can occur over a large vertical extent, at least the whole low tropospheric column, and also the fact that it occurs twice as frequently as actually detected in the planetary boundary layer. The role of sulfuric acid and ions in the nucleation process was investigated at the altitude station and no correlation was found between nucleation events and the estimated sulfuric acid concentrations. However, the contribution of ion-induced nucleation was found to be relatively high (12.49 ± 2.03 % of the total nucleation rate).

Molecular typing of VTEC strains isolated from food, feed and animals

Lidar ratio calculations from in situ aerosol optical, microphysical and chemical measurements: Observations at puy de Dôme, France and analysis with CALIOP

Abstract. A Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyser (HTDMA) was used to evaluate the hygroscopic properties of aerosol particles measured at the Puy de Dôme research station in central France, periodically from September 2008 to January 2010, and almost continuously from October 2010 to December 2012. This high-altitude site is ideally situated to allow for both the upper part of the planetary boundary layer and the lower free troposphere to be sampled. The aim of the study is to investigate both the influence of year-to-year, seasonal and diurnal cycles, as well as the influence of air mass type on particle hygroscopicity and mixing state. Results show that particle hygroscopicity increases with particle size and depends both on air mass type and on season. Average growth factor values, GFs, are lowest in winter (1.21 ± 0.13, 1.23 ± 0.18 and 1.38 ± 0.25 for 25, 50 and 165 nm particles, respectively) and highest in autumn (1.27 ± 0.11, 1.32 ± 0.12 and 1.49 ± 0.15 for 25, 50 and 165 nm particles, respectively). Particles are generally more hygroscopic at night than during the day. The seasonal and diurnal variations are likely to be strongly influenced by boundary layer dynamics. Furthermore, particles originating from oceanic and continental regions tend to be more hygroscopic than those measured in African and local air masses. The high hygroscopicity of oceanic aerosol can be explained by large proportions of inorganic aerosol and sea salts. Aerosols measured at the Puy de Dôme display a high degree of external mixing, and hygroscopic growth spectra can be divided into three different hygroscopic modes: a less-hygroscopic mode (GF < 1.3), a hygroscopic mode (GF~1.3–1.7) and a more-hygroscopic mode (GF > 1.7). The majority of particles measured can be classified as being in either the less-hygroscopic mode or the hygroscopic mode, and only few of them have more-hygroscopic properties. The degree of external mixing, evaluated as the fraction of time when the aerosol is found with two or more aerosol populations with different hygroscopic properties, increases with particle size (average yearly values are 20, 28 and 45 {%} for 25, 50, and 165 nm particles, respectively). The degree of external mixing is more sensitive to season than to air mass type, and it is higher in the cold seasons than in the warm seasons. With more than two years of nearly continuous measurements, this study gathers the results from one of the longest data sets of hygroscopic growth factor measurements to date, allowing a statistically relevant hygroscopic growth parameterization to be determined as a function of both air mass type and season.

Abstract:The connectivity of environmental compartments through chemical and biological exchanges is often difficult to study. However, understanding the functioning of fluxes is essential in the context of climate change and the assessment of anthropogenic impacts. These exchanges can be realized through water cycle fluxes establishing interactions between the atmosphere, surface water and land.To examine the interactions between the atmosphere, surface water and land via water fluxes, we conducted a large scale field study at the watershed level, involving multiple disciplines from chemistry to meteorology and microbiology. The chemical and biological contents of water from the atmosphere (cloud and rain), to mid-mountain hydrological continuum (streams, wetlands and lake) and soil (agricultural plots) were assessed in the natural and agricultural area from Puy De Dôme (Central France) along an altitudinal gradient from puy de Dôme Mountain summit (1465 m asl) to the plain (~ 600 m asl). We set up experimental procedures for sampling, handling and analysing each environmental matrix, and the environmental context was characterized through meteorological and hydrological measurements and models. The biological and chemical variables included: isotopes of water (1H/2H and 16O/18O; laser spectroscopy), major ions (Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, NO3-, SO4-, IC), amino acids (LC-MS), bacterial diversity (16S metabarcoding and high-throughput sequencing) and microbial enzymatic activity associated with the nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus cycles (fluorimetric activity assays for whole Beta-Glucosidase, Leucine Aminopeptidase and Phosphatase activities).The multi-compartment analysis revealed significant differences between the compartments by the chemical variables, highlighting the compartment specificity. We estimated a chemical flux of major ions and amino acids from the atmosphere to the surface (soil and surface water). Bacterial diversity analysis showed a core community in these compartments, confirming their connectivity. Thereafter, we tried to explain bacterial diversity by the chemical variables from the studied compartments. Our analysis on microbial enzymatic activity showed an enzymatic activity associated with the nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus cycles in clouds and rain.Here, our study contributes to the understanding of atmosphere-surface interaction through field observations and atmospheric models and we attempted to better understand environmental fluxes. Our field study emphasized the importance of considering the interaction of environmental compartments in future investigations for future and gobal assessments of anthropogenic impacts, such as agrosystem effects to natural ecosystems. Key words:Field observations, Environmental interaction, Chemical flux, Microbial diversity, Atmosphere, Surface water, Soil.

<p><span>Humans are part of nature, so natural landscapes can contain human impacts. The limit of this natural anthropomorphic influence, where landscape stops being natural, is not defined clearly, but major infrastructure, urbanization etc. are clearly non-natural elements. When a natural feature becomes important for humans, such as the iconic Puy de Dôme volcano in central France, it tends to attract human modification. The Puy de Dôme was a Druidic and Roman sacred site, with added temples and paths. Yet, outside these, the majority of the mountain remained in a natural state, evolving by erosion, slope movement, and accumulating debris on its lower flanks. The natural state can still be seen in the detailed morphometry of its flanks. Since the turn of the 20</span><sup><span>th</span></sup><span> century, increased human activity has further modified the site, with the construction of a spiral cog railway track, and infrastructure: restaurants, observatories, military and communication buildings, including the iconic spike – that inhabitants are so attached to. Despite this increased activity, the essential natural values of the mountain have been mostly maintained, although the spiral railway track has cut / modified the natural drainage to some extent. With UNESCO World Heritage inscription in 2018, visitation is on the increase, and with more visitors, further pressure has been seen. Occasional debris flows and landslides have also become newsworthy events, impacting the railway operation. New slope stability plans have been drawn up for the cog railway and the footpaths, which have included large scale bolting of outcrops, wire meshing and rock removal. These have been implemented only very partially due to opposition from ecology and geoheritage actors. </span></p><p><span>To provide a clear picture of the natural state of the Puy de Dôme and to guide natural protection and risk management, a full geomorphological and morphometric analysis is needed. This abstract gives the first results of this work, presenting the geomorphology and morphometry, including a geomorphon and shape analysis, and 3-D Virtual Reality LiDAR topography. The resulting information allows us to determine the state of 'naturality' of the Puy de Dôme and establish the natural system and determine its anthropogenic influences. The volcano, since its eruption 11,000 years ago, has been slowly evolving under different climatic regimes, that have contributed to its present shape. Ongoing processes, which include natural-compatible pastoral and forest activity continue to shape the dome. </span></p><p><span>Despite the human presence, the volcano is large enough to presently maintain its natural evolution in the long term and adapt to changing climatic conditions. However, there are many sites of concern, where installations have the potential to alter this, and to generate enhanced risk to the geological nature and to visitors. With our analysis, we can propose management strategies that can minimize impact, can be monitored, and which can protect the geoheritage and the fragile ecology, while allowing continued access to the site. Human access needs to respect and to be adapted to the natural conditions.</span></p>