Biomass partitioning of plants under soil pollution stress
Polluted sites are ubiquitous worldwide but how plant partition their biomass between different organs in this context is unclear. Here, we identified three possible drivers of biomass partitioning in our controlled study along pollution gradients: plant size reduction (pollution effect) combined with allometric scaling between organs; early deficit in root surfaces (pollution effect) inducing a decreased water uptake; increased biomass allocation to roots to compensate for lower soil resource acquisition consistent with the optimal partitioning theory (plant response). A complementary meta-analysis showed variation in biomass partitioning across published studies, with grass and woody species having distinct modifications of their root: shoot ratio. However, the modelling of biomass partitioning drivers showed that single harvest experiments performed in previous studies prevent identifying the main drivers at stake. The proposed distinction between pollution effects and plant response will help to improve our knowledge of plant allocation strategies in the context of pollution.
(Communications Biology. vol. 5, n° 2399-3642, 17/06/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, EVS, ENS de Lyon, Mines Saint-Étienne MSE, IMT, UL2, UJML, INSA Lyon, INSA, UJM, UJM EPE, ENTPE, ENSAL, CNRS, ALLHiS, UJM, UJM EPE, BioGeCo, UB, INRAE
Impacts des produits phytopharmaceutiques sur la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques. Synthèse de l’expertise scientifique collective
Impacts des produits phytopharmaceutiques sur la biodiversité et les services écosystémiques Synthèse de l'expertise scientifique collective-Mai 2022 Direction de l'expertise scientifique collective, de la prospective et des études (DEPE)
(pp. 136 p., 17/06/2026)
DEPE, INRAE, ECOSYS, INRAE, RiverLy, INRAE, IFREMER, AQUA, INRAE, ISA, UNS, CNRS, INRAE, UniCA, LMGE, CNRS, UCA, UMR BAGAP, ESA, INRAE, Institut Agro, LPED, IRD, AMU, SEBIO, INERIS, URCA, ULH, NU, URCA, CNRS, INERIS, EMMAH, AU, INRAE, MET, ENVL, INRAE, CRIOBE, UPVD, EPHE, PSL, CNRS, CNELIAS, ENS de Lyon, EHESS, AU, AMU, CNRS, LBBE, UCBL, VAS, CNRS, UB, UBFC, INRAE, Institut Agro, LCE, CNRS, UMLP, UBFC, UMR SAVE, UB, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, INRAE, DECOD, IFREMER, INRAE, Institut Agro, Institut Agro, OFB, GREDEG, UNS, CNRS, UniCA, LEREPS, UT Capitole, Comue de Toulouse, UT2J, Comue de Toulouse, ENSFEA, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, UMR Eco&Sols, Cirad, IRD, INRAE, Institut Agro, IODE, UR, CNRS, UPR HORTSYS, Cirad, Cirad-PERSYST, Cirad, UMR MARBEC, IRD, IFREMER, CNRS, UM, DipSO, INRAE, AMURE, IRD, IFREMER, UBO EPE, CNRS, UR EABX, INRAE, IMBE, AU, AMU, CNRS, ICRA, UdG, BRM, IFREMER, URAFPA, UL, INRAE, UR HYCAR, INRAE
Ammonium and sulfate assimilation is widespread in benthic foraminifera
(Frontiers in Marine Science, n° 2296-7745, 17/06/2026)
LPG, UM, UA, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, Nantes univ - UFR ST, Nantes Univ, EPFL, ENTROPIE [Réunion], IRD, UR, CNRS, WHOI, CAGE, UiT, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, UNIL
Genetic and epigenetic interplay allows rapid transgenerational adaptation to metal pollution in zebrafish
Despite still being a matter of debate, there is growing evidence that pollutant-induced epigenetic changes can be propagated across generations. Whereas such modifications could have long-lasting effects on organisms and even on population, environmentally relevant data from long-term exposure combined with follow-up through multiple generations remain scarce for non-mammalian species. We performed a transgenerational experiment comprising four successive generations of zebrafish. Only fish from the first generation were exposed to an environmentally realistic concentration of cadmium (Cd). Using a whole methylome analysis, we first identified the DNA regions that were differentially methylated in response to Cd exposure and common to fish of the first two generations. Among them, we then focused our investigations on the exon 3 (ex3) of the cep19 gene. We indeed recorded transgenerational growth disorders in Cd-exposed fish, and a mutation in this exon is known to cause morbid obesity in mammals. Its methylation level was thus determined in zebrafish from all the four generations by means of a targeted and base resolution method. We observed a transgenerational inheritance of Cd-induced DNA methylation changes up to the fourth generation. However, these changes were closely associated with genetic variations, mainly a single nucleotide polymorphism. This single nucleotide polymorphism was itself at the origin of the creation or deletion of a methylation site and deeply impacted the methylation level of neighboring methylation sites. Cd-induced epigenetic changes were associated with different mRNA transcripts and an improved condition of Cd fish. Our results emphasize a tight relationship between genetic and epigenetic mechanisms and suggest that their interplay and pre-existing diversity can allow rapid adaptation to anthropogenic environmental changes.
(Environmental Epigenetics. vol. 8, n° 2058-5888, 17/06/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, UMS POREA, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, INRAE, CBIB, GeT-PlaGe, GET, GENOTOUL, UT3, ENVT, INSERM, CNRS, Toulouse INP, INRAE, INRAE, IBGC, UB, CNRS
Wave Dissipation and Mean Circulation on a Shore Platform Under Storm Wave Conditions
While wave processes on shore platforms have been recently advanced by a number of field-based studies, few attention has been paid to the role of bed roughness on wave dissipation and wave setup dynamics in these environments. This study reports on a new field experiment conducted under storm wave conditions on a gently sloping shore platform which was instrumented from 10 m water depth up to the shoreline. Data analyses are complemented with numerical simulations performed with a 3D fully coupled modeling system using a vortex force formalism to represent the effects of short waves on the mean circulation. An accurate representation of wave dissipation by both depth-induced breaking and bottom friction is found essential to reproduce the transformation of short waves across the platform and the resulting wave setup. Wave energy dissipation by bottom friction is dominant in the subtidal part of the platform and contributes to about 40% of the total wave energy dissipation. The enhanced wave bottom friction on the platform decreases the wave height before breaking, which reduces the contribution of wave forces to the wave setup compared to a smooth bottom (mechanism 1). Conversely, an idealized analysis of the cross-shore momentum balance reveals that the wave-induced circulation increases the wave setup, this process being enhanced on a rough bottom (mechanism 2). The contribution of mechanism 2 increases with the bottom slope, accounting for up to 26% of the wave setup for a 1:20 sloping shore platform, and overcoming mechanism 1.
(Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface. vol. 127, n° 2169-9003, pp. 105319, 17/06/2026)
LIENSs, INSU - CNRS, ULR, CNRS, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
NiONP-Induced Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Impairment in an In Vitro Pulmonary Vascular Cell Model Mimicking Endothelial Dysfunction
The development and use of nanomaterials, especially of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiONPs), is expected to provide many benefits but also has raised concerns about the potential human health risks. Inhaled NPs are known to exert deleterious cardiovascular side effects, including pulmonary hypertension. Consequently, patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) could be at increased risk for morbidity. The objective of this study was to compare the toxic effects of NiONPs on human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (HPAEC) under physiological and pathological conditions. The study was conducted with an in vitro model mimicking the endothelial dysfunction observed in PH. HPAEC were cultured under physiological (static and normoxic) or pathological (20% cycle stretch and hypoxia) conditions and exposed to NiONPs (0.5–5 μg/cm2) for 4 or 24 h. The following endpoints were studied: (i) ROS production using CM-H2DCF-DA and MitoSOX probes, (ii) nitrite production by the Griess reaction, (iii) IL-6 secretion by ELISA, (iv) calcium signaling with a Fluo-4 AM probe, and (v) mitochondrial dysfunction with TMRM and MitoTracker probes. Our results evidenced that under pathological conditions, ROS and nitrite production, IL-6 secretions, calcium signaling, and mitochondria alterations increased compared to physiological conditions. Human exposure to NiONPs may be associated with adverse effects in vulnerable populations with cardiovascular risks
(Antioxidants. vol. 11, n° 2076-3921, pp. 847, 17/06/2026)
CRCTB, UB, CHU Bordeaux, INSERM, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, DER, ANSES, CHU Bordeaux
Particle tracking as a vulnerability assessment tool for drinking water production
The simulation of concentration values and use of such data for historymatching is often impeded by the computation time of groundwater transport models based on the resolution of the advection-dispersion equation. This is unfortunate because such data are often rich in information and the prediction of concentration values is of great interest for decision making. Particle tracking can be used as an efficient alternative under a series of simplifying assumptions, which are often reasonable at groundwater sinks (wells and drains). Our approach consists of seeding particles around a sink and tracking particles backward, up to the source boundary condition, such as a contaminated stream. This particle tracking approach allows the use of parameter estimation and optimization methods requiring numerous model calls. We present a Python module facilitating the pre-and post-processing operations of a modeling workflow based on the widely used USGS MODFLOW6 and MODPATH7 programs. The module handles particle seeding around the sink and estimation of the mixing ratio of water withdrawn from the sink. This ratio is computed with a mixing law from the particle endpoints, accounting for particle velocities and mixing in the source model cells. We investigate the best practice to obtain robust derivatives with this approach, which is a benefit for the screening methods based on linear analysis. We illustrate the interest of the approach with a real world case study, considering a drinking water well field vulnerable to a contaminated stream. The configuration is typical of many other drinking water production sites. The modeling workflow is fully script-based to make the approach easily reproducible in similar cases.
(Frontiers in Earth Science, 17/06/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, HSM, IRD, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, UM, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, UA, UM
Absence of a strong, deep-reaching Antarctic Circumpolar Current zonal flow across the Tasmanian gateway during the Oligocene to early Miocene
The vigorous eastward flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) connects all major ocean basins and plays a prominent role in the transport of heat, carbon and nutrients around the globe. However, the establishment of a deep circumpolar flow, similar to the present-day ACC, remains controversial thereby obscuring our understanding of its climatic impact. Deciphering the chemical composition of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) within the ACC can provide critical insights about its development and evolution. Here we present new fossil fish teeth/bone debris neodymium isotope (εNd) records from Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 278 and 274 in the southwest Pacific Ocean, with the aim to trace changes in deep water masses across the Tasmanian Gateway between the early Oligocene and early Miocene (~ 33-22 Ma). Site 274 provides the first Nd isotope record proximal to the Ross Sea during the Oligocene (33.5-23.4 Ma). Its Nd isotope composition shows excursions to very radiogenic values, εNd(t) = -3.1 and εNd(t)= - 3.7, at 33.5 Ma and 23.8 Ma, respectively, in response to major steps in Antarctic ice sheet expansion. A shift to lower, more unradiogenic εNd(t) values between 29.7 and 29.1 Ma is linked to an increased influence of proto-CDW upwelling at the site. In contrast, the Nd isotope record from Site 278 in the southern Emerald Basin shows little variability (εNd(t) = -6.0 to -6.7) throughout the Oligocene and early Miocene (30.9-21.8 Ma). Comparison with published data north of the ACC path, demonstrates the presence of two deep water masses in the South Pacific prior to the inferred onset of the ACC (33-30 Ma), one occupying depths between ~2500 and 3000 m (εNd(t)= ~ -3 to -5) and a deep/bottom water mass (> 3000 m) with a more unradiogenic Nd isotope composition (εNd(t)= ~ -6). Site 278 located close to the proto-polar front (proto-PF) indicates that following the inferred onset of the ACC, deep waters bathing the southern Emerald Basin remained more radiogenic in the Southwest Pacific compared to sites along the proto-PF in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean (εNd(t)= ~ -8.1). This indicates a provinciality in Nd isotope compositions of deep waters along the proto-PF across the Tasmanian Gateway. Our data are incompatible with the existence of a modern-like homogenous (lateral and vertical) Nd isotope composition of CDW along the main flow path of the ACC in all oceanic basins in the Oligocene to early Miocene. We attribute distinct Nd isotope compositions of deep waters across the Tasmanian Gateway to reflect a less deep reaching and weaker ACC (proto-ACC) than today. Our findings suggest that the modern strong and deep-reaching ACC flow must have been developed at a later point in the Neogene.
(Global and Planetary Change. vol. 208, n° 0921-8181, pp. 317, p. 18-38., 17/06/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Higher facilitation for stress‐intolerant ecotypes along a metal pollution gradient are due to a decrease in performance in absence of neighbours
The study of variation in plant-plant interactions along metal-pollution gradient is in its infancy, although this is worth to be assessed for both restoration and theoretical perspectives. Additionally, the mechanisms of facilitation at stake in these particular stressed conditions are poorly known. We aim at understanding the importance of species and ecotypes stress-tolerance in competitive and facilitative responses to neighbours along metal-pollution gradients. We addressed this goal in a field experiment conducted in a former mining area located in a subalpine grassland of the French pyrenees. Two ecotypes of Armeria muelleri (a highly tolerant species to metal stress) and Agrostis capillaris (a less stress-tolerant species) were harvested at the highest and lowest levels of pollution within their distribution range and transplanted with and without neighbours along a strong metal-pollution gradient. The relative interaction index (RII) was used to assess both the effect of neighbours at different stress levels and the effect of metallic stress with and without neighbours. With increasing pollution, plant-plant interactions shifted from negative to positive for Agrostis, but did not vary significantly for Armeria. At high pollution level, the unpolluted Agrostis ecotype was more facilitated than the polluted one, and in benign habitats the polluted Armeria ecotype was more sensitive to competition than the less polluted ecotype. Interestingly, the increase in facilitation with increasing metal stress for the stress-intolerant Agrostis ecotype was primarily due to a decrease in performance without neighbours, whereas the increase in competition with decreasing metal stress for the stress-tolerant Agrostis ecotype was primarily due to an increase in performance with neighbours. More generally, these results suggest that the high size-plasticity of competitive (and stress-intolerant) species or ecotypes may explain both their competitive effects in benign habitats through neighbour-trait effects and facilitative responses in stressed habitats in the context of environmental-severity effects.
(Oikos, n° 0030-1299, 17/06/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, UMR ISPA, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, INRAE
Three new deep-sea species of Marphysa (Annelida, Eunicida, Eunicidae) from Papua New Guinea (Bismarck and Solomon seas)
Three new species of Marphysa Quatrefages, 1866, Marphysa banana sp. nov., Marphysa papuaensis sp. nov., and Marphysa zanolae sp. nov. are described from deep-sea sunken vegetation off Papua New Guinea, using both morphology and molecular data (for two species). With the presence of compound spinigers only and the branchiae present over many chaetigers, Marphysa banana sp. nov. belongs to the group B2. This species is characterised by the presence of eyes, the presence of branchiae starting from chaetiger 20, and by the presence of three types of pectinate chaetae and bidentate subacicular hooks starting from chaetigers 13-52. With the presence of compound falcigers only and the branchiae restricted to a short anterior region, Marphysa papuaensis sp. nov. belongs to the group C1. This species has a bilobed prostomium but no eyes, has branchiae from chaetigers 7 to 14-16 with up to 16 filaments. Marphysa papuaensis sp. nov. is also characterised by the presence of bidentate subacicular hooks from chaetiger 20 and by a single type of pectinate chaetae. Finally, Marphysa zanolae sp. nov. belongs to the group C2, with the presence of compound falcigers only and the branchiae present over many chaetigers. This species is characterised by the absence of eyes, by the presence of branchiae with a single long filament starting from chaetiger 31, by unidentate subacicular hooks starting from chaetiger 28 and finally by one type of pectinate chaetae with very long outer teeth.
(Zookeys. vol. 1122, n° 1313-2989, pp. 81-105, 17/06/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, UMS POREA, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, INRAE, AMRI, LECOB, SU, CNRS, OOB, SU, CNRS