http://www.international.inra.fr Latest news from INRA Fri, 11 May 2012 12:54:08GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/fascination_plants_day On May 18, the fascination and importance of having plants on our planet will be in the spotlight worldwide. Launched under the umbrella of the European Plant Science Organization (EPSO, Brussels), chaired by an INRA scientist, the Fascination of Plants Day has been adopted by 39 countries, 29 from Europe and 10 from North- and South America, Asia, Australasia and Africa. More than 500 institutions - ranging from botanical gardens to plant research centres - are hosting different kinds of public and media events which are all closely related to basic plant science, agricultural research, environmental conservation, biodiversity, education and arts. The public as well as journalists and the media are invited to attend press conferences, to explore laboratories or to visit greenhouses, field stations or field sites, museums, and other exhibitions. People will have the opportunity to talk with plant scientists and discuss basic and applied research in plant biology. Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:14:22GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/agreenium_website “The Agreenium Portal” www.agreenium.org, was launched on 25 April, 2012. This web portal, a showcase of the Agreenium* members’ research and training, targets in priority the scientific and university community as well as students and young foreign researchers. In particular it allows its members to access training in Master’s Degrees, an international mobility programme for young researchers, as well as on-line documentary resources. Creation of this bilingual platform responds to Agreenium’s most important mission: reinforcing the visibility, recognition, attractiveness and international action capacities of the French research and agronomic and veterinary higher education training programme. Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:58:05GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/bees_disoriented_by_low_level_insecticide_doses For the first time, an interdisciplinary French research team has found a link between bee population decline and an insecticide caused, not directly by insecticide toxicity, but by disorientating bees and reducing their ability to return to the hive. To carry out the study, researchers attached RFID microchips to more than 650 bees. Foraging bees previously fed sugar water with a very low dose of thiamethoxam in a lab were found to have a significant incidence of failing to return to the hive. Thiamethoxam is an insecticide from the neonicotinoid family used to protect crops from certain pests, primarily through seed coating. A simulation based on these results suggests that insecticides may have a substantial impact on bee colonies. The results were published in the journal Science on 29 March 2012. Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:11:09GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/bacteria_quorum_sensing An INRA team of Jouy-en-Josas discovered that the insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis switches from a virulence state in the living host, to a survival state in the host cadaver by a cell-cell communication system called quorum sensing. This system allows the bacteria to adapt and coordinate their behaviour according to their population density. By ensuring survival of these bacteria after the death of their host, this system contributes to their spread into the environment. These findings are published in the journal PLoS Pathogens 12 April 2012. Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:58:25GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/metahit_bacteria_new_organ Every individual hosts 100 trillion gut bacteria which obviously play an important role in digestion of food constituents, but also in education of our immune system and our health in general. Today, scientists consider all these bacteria, known as the gut microbiota, as a true human organ. Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:04:08GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/greenstars GreenStars, laureate of the French call for projects known as the “French Stimulus Initiative” (Investissements d’Avenir*) Institute of Excellence on Carbon-Free Energies, federates a network of collaborative platforms bringing together all the players in the development of micro-algae in France. The primary goal by 2020 is to develop compounds of interest such as efficient biofuels and high added value substances with micro-algae feeding on industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and nutrients contained in waste. Led by INRA in collaboration with 45 partners (public research, SMEs, multinationals, local authorities, competitiveness clusters), GreenStars aims at becoming, within five to ten years, one of the top Institutes of Excellence worldwide in the field of micro-algae bio-refinery. A budget of €160 million for 10 years has been estimated, of which 20% come from public grants. Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:12:59GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/cantogether_fp7 Climate change, the decline in biodiversity, depletion of fossil fuels and water shortages are creating numerous challenges for the agricultural sector in terms of competitiveness, natural and non-renewable resource management (e.g. water, earth, air, phosphorus and fossil fuels) and ecosystem services (e.g. pollination, natural pest control, soil fertility). Cantogether, a European project led by INRA with 27 academic and private partners, was launched on 29 February 2012 to develop new farming systems which combine animal and plant production and are designed to meet these challenges by balancing productivity with the sustainable management of energy, carbon and nutrients. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:35:36GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/wetlands_for_water_purification The wetlands that border watercourses are natural environments of considerable ecological value because they eliminate and consume some of the excess nitrates generated by agriculture and livestock rearing. INRA researchers in Rennes performed a one-year study in the Scorff catchment (Morbihan region) in order to better understand the purifying role of these wetlands and to measure their efficiency. Their results showed that these environments can eliminate more than half of the nitrate fluxes they receive. In addition, the scientists were able to establish criteria, such as the extent of wetlands or river size, which control nitrate fluxes leaving the wet zone. This study has provided valuable data which will enable improvements to the protection of water resources and certain agricultural management tools. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:31:59GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/optimum_management_of_water_resources One of the major societal issues addressed and highlighted by the French Environment Round Table (Grenelle de l'Environnement) was how to manage water resources, even though agricultural researchers had already been working on this subject for many years. In order to reflect the importance of these scientific efforts, INRA researchers have now published a synthetic article that offered a review of the tools developed by agronomists to assist different actors responsible for water management. With respect to both the quantity and quality of water, these tools, which often employ modelling and simulation, are already being implemented to enable the rational and sustainable management of this community asset. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:28:56GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/phenoarch_innovative_platform_drought_tolerance_of_plants The concerns of agriculture faced with climate change mean it is urgent to develop plants that can tolerate harsher environmental constraints such as water deficit, higher temperatures or drier air. To achieve this, INRA scientists in Montpellier are now able to benefit from an experimental platform that is unique in France. It enables a simultaneous quantitative analysis of the behaviour of 1650 plants, cultivated in a greenhouse, that can highlight the most interesting traits to enable the selection and improvement of species of agronomic interest. This operation has been made possible thanks to exceptional funding from INRA and the support of the Languedoc-Roussillon Regional Council and other partners (CNRS, CIRAD, Université Montpellier 2 and Montpellier SupAgro). Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:20:36GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/membrane_contactors The extraction of molecules with a high added value to industry and the elimination of odorant compounds require the selective separation of molecules, if possible at low cost. For the past ten years, INRA researchers in Versailles-Grignon, working in collaboration with their colleagues at AgroParisTech, have been studying an innovative extraction technology, membrane contactors. They have recently defined the conditions required to process citrus essential oils and recover high added-value molecules, oxygenated terpenes. They are also trying to determine whether this technology could be applied to the treatment of waste water generated by industrial processes. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:06:54GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/future_for_lakes The major Alpine lakes have seen several waves of pollution since the early 20th century; in particular, those linked to the outflow of waste water containing phosphorus were very marked as from the 1970s. Pollution control systems were then set up and enabled an improvement in water quality, but they were not able to restore the ecological status of lakes to the level seen prior to 1950. INRA researchers have developed a new approach that can trace the ecological history of lakes by studying the molecular archives of sediment biodiversity, which in the future may enable improvements to the management of their water. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:58:19GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/water_wastage_in_distilleries About 5 litres of water are necessary to produce 1 litre of ethanol from sugar syrups. When it leaves the distillery, the water used to produce this alcohol is eliminated by land spreading. Scientists in an INRA-AgroParisTech Joint Research Unit have developed an intensive valorisation process that is less expensive that current methods. This process combines two purification processes, and is currently being tested in a pilot unit. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:46:25GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/flooding_agricultural_drainage_ditches Networks of agricultural drainage ditches are known to modify the hydrology of agricultural catchments. How is it possible to modulate their density to control runoff, a key process in susceptibility to flooding, soil erosion and pesticide leaching? Thanks to a digital experiment on a region in southern France, scientists have explored the impact of drainage ditch networks with densities ranging from 14 to 392 metres per hectare. They revealed that the existing network of ditches, corresponding to a density of 115 metres/hectare, was one of the best theoretical compromises. Because this lever for landscape development cannot be studied directly, digital experimentation remains the only opportunity to characterise the potential impacts on runoff of a greater density of these networks in agricultural catchments. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:37:32GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/cleaning_procedures_agri_food_industry Ensuring the health safety of processed products is a crucial issue in the agri-food industry. At the same time as minimising their cost and environmental impact, efficient equipment cleaning procedures must be implemented by the industry. Scientists from INRA in Lille and the University of Nantes have been working on this problem, the ultimate objective being to limit water consumption and reduce the effluent generated during cleaning procedures in order to meet criteria for quality, flexibility, health and respect for the environment. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:27:37GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/extracting_water_from_milk In the agri-food industry, drying is a problematic operation: poorly performed, it can render a product non-compliant and cause substantial economic losses. INRA researchers have developed a predictive model for the spray drying of milk, the SD²P® (1) (Spray Drying Parameters Simulation & Determination). This software, which increases the yield of the drying process, has already been the subject of 19 licences with major dairy companies throughout the world. And it is currently being tested by other firms in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:21:23GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/evapotranspiration_of_vine INRA researchers have developed a simple method to map the evapotranspiration of vines using satellite images. A combination of maps of surface temperatures and land cover rates, obtained with a spatial resolution of 90 metres, was able to estimate the daily evapotranspiration of vineyards to an accuracy of a millimetre/day, at the scale of small wine-growing regions. This method could be used to quantify the water requirements of vines and the spatialised management of viticultural practices, such as an aptitude for grass cover. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:03:04GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/reduction_in_pesticide_use The damage caused to the environment and human health by pesticides is a subject of growing concern. For this reason, during the Environment Round Table (Grenelle de l'Environnement), France fixed an objective to significantly reduce the use of these agents. But is this economically viable for farmers? Scientists in two INRA research units at Versailles-Grignon (INRA-AgroParisTech Joint Research Unit for Public Economics and INRA-AgroParisTech Joint Research Unit for Agronomy) have tried to answer this question. Using modelling techniques, the researchers analysed different scenarios under which France could modify its farming practices in order to attain this goal. They showed that for arable crops, it was possible to achieve a 30% reduction in pesticide use without impairing yields or farm income. This work was carried out in the context of INRA's Ecophyto R&D study. Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:51:00GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/integrated_protection_of_rapeseed_against_attack_from_a_harmful_beetle The management of populations of insect rapeseed pests enables a reconciliation of economic profitability and protection of the environment. INRA scientists have recently demonstrated the importance of the landscape and crop management systems to the abundance of pollen or rape beetle, a rapeseed pest, and the damage it causes to plants. Their work opens new opportunities to manage pest insect populations by means of farming practices and non-cultivated habitats in a territory. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:09:48GMT http://www.international.inra.fr/press/terifiq_improving_food_quality In a healthy diet and in specific proportions, salt, fat and sugar are essential ingredients. However, most developed countries are currently confronted by an increase in pathologies such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, which are linked to poorly balanced diets and an excessive consumption of salt, fat and sugar. The European-funded 4-year project TeRiFiQ, launched today and coordinated by INRA, aims to use research and technological innovation to achieve a significant reduction in the levels of these ingredients in foods, and thus contribute to preventing and/or alleviating numerous pathologies that would save many lives.