Julien Crovadore

University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland · Faculty of Engineering and Architecture

Flaxseeds are typically consumed either as whole flaxseed, ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, partially defatted flaxseed meal, or as a milk alternative. They are considered a rich source of vitamins , minerals, proteins and peptides, lipids, carbohydrates, lignans, and dietary fiber, which have shown hypolipidemic, antiatherogenic, anticholesterolemic...

Next-generation sequencing is increasingly used in conservation biology to resolve complex interactions between species, either diet or gut parasites studies. We applied a recent long metabarcoding method to elucidate the green whip snake’s (Hierophis viridiflavus) prey consumption based on DNA extracted from stomach contents. Illegally introduced...

Thirty bacterial strains, isolated from soils or endophytes to diverse plant species, belonging to the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Paenibacillus and Kokuria were tested by inoculating potted hemp (Cannabis sativa L) indoors cultures of the cannabidiol (CBD) variety Silver Haze V1. Plants were grown for four week and growth assessment allowed to s...

Chemical fertilizers certainly allowed a radical increase in crop yields in the 20th century but also caused environmental problems. Searching sustainable solutions for biological fertilisation is therefore essential. Legumes (Fabaceae) develop a symbiotic relationship with bacteria of the Rhizobiaceae family and form underground organs called nodu...

The bacterial canker, caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa), is the most severe disease of cultivated Actinidia species. However, Actinidia arguta, the species known as kiwaï seems to express some tolerance. The pathogen is systemic and therefore is not easily controlled by agrochemical products. Our objective was searching, selecting...

Firstly detected in Europe in 2008, Drosophila suzukii has since spread throughout the continent. This dipteran causes significant damage in commercial thin-skinned fruit crops, in which it lays large numbers of eggs during ripening. The development of an integrated pest management strategy is therefore acutely needed against this pest. It should i...

Most plant productions require the prior production of seeds, carried out by specialized companies, with in-depth knowledge of seed crops, their pathogens and pests. These pathogens and pests often remain unknown to the agricultural world. They are very little studied and control strategies do not exist. The present study is typical of such a situa...

Landscape fragmentation caused by road infrastructures represents a major threat to the genetic diversity of a region. The resulting genetic isolation between subpopulations may lead to consanguinity, and consequently to population collapse and extinction. However, the construction of wildlife crossings can help maintain connectivity. In the presen...

Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are soil bacteria colonizing the rhizosphere and the rhizoplane which have an effect on plant growth through multiple chemical compounds. Rhizobacteria with beneficial effects for plants could therefore be used to reduce the dependence on synthetic chemical fertilizers in conventional agriculture. Within...

If chemical fertilizers allowed a radical increase in crop yields, their intensive use also resulted in environmental problems. The search for more sustainable solutions is essential. Legumes in the Fabaceae family develop a symbiotic relationship with bacteria of the Rhizobiaceae family and form underground organs called nodules. Bacteria from the...

Honeybees are insects essential to the life cycle of many entomophilic plants providing 30% of total pollination. Following the first decline of wild colonies of Apis mellifera in the 1970s attributed to the parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, a second wave of decline, described as Collapse Colony Disorder (CCD), touched the honeybee colonies from t...

Thirty bacterial strains, isolated from soils or endophytes to diverse plant species, belonging to the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Paenibacillus and Kokuria were tested by inoculating potted hemp (Cannabis sativa L) indoors cultures of the cannabidiol (CBD) variety Silver Haze V1, over a four -week growth period, for selecting the best candidates...

Agriculture is in need of alternative products to conventional phytopharmaceutical treatments from chemical industry. One solution is the use of natural microorganisms with beneficial properties to ensure crop yields and plant health. In the present study, we focused our analyses on a bacterium referred as strain B25 and belonging to the species Ba...

Fungi were isolated in pure cultures from decaying giant sequoias in Geneva (Switzerland). Isolates were genetically identified by ITS rDNA sequencing. Young giant sequoia trees were artificially infected with a pure culture of Botryosphaeria parva. Henle-Koch’s Postulates demonstrated that Botryosphaeria parva was pathogenic to Sequoiadendron giga...

Apilactobacillus kunkeei is a fructophilic lactic acid bacterium found in fructose-rich environments such as flowers, fruits, fermented food, honey, and hon-eydew, as well as in the guts of fructose-feeding insects. We report here the draft genome sequences of three Apilactobacillus kunkeei strains isolated from the gut microbial community of three...

Any agricultural production requires the prior production of seeds, carried out by specialized companies, which own in-depth knowledge of seed crops as well as of their pathogens and pests. These pathogens and pests often remain unknown to the agricultural world. They are very little studied and control strategies do not exist. The present study is...

Carpocoris fuscispinus is an indigenous stink bug belonging to the Pentatomidae family. It is common to prairies and not considered a pest to crops. Two years ago, the insect was for the first time identified as a major pest of leek an onion seedstalks by a swiss seed producer. The content of maturing seeds is sucked out while on the seedstalk, cau...

Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi is an endophytic fungus, recently identified in Europe and Switzerland, as the main agent of chestnut brown rot but also as a chestnut canker agent. It seems to be the main cause of the high mortality occurring in chestnut nurseries and orchards. Previous works showed that it was possible to detect the presence of G. smith...

High‐throughput sequencing has become an accurate method for the identification of species present in soil, water, faeces, gut or stomach contents. However, information at the species level is limited due to the choice of short barcodes and based on the idea that DNA is too degraded to allow longer sequences to be amplified. We have therefore devel...

Bacillus licheniformis is a well-known industrial bacterium. New strains show interesting properties of biostimulants and biological control agents for agriculture. Here, we report the draft genome sequence, obtained with an Illumina MiniSeq system, of strain UASWS1606 of the bacterium Bacillus licheniformis, which is being developed as an agricult...

Molecular technologies, such as metabarcoding, have become powerful tools for conservation purposes. Here, we present a non-invasive study analyzing the diet of one population of European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) during its whole activity period and of four other populations during the same period, based on faecal sample, and using for the fi...

Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) include species in the genera Bacillus, Paenibacillus, and Pseudomonas. We report here the draft genome sequences of the strains Pseudomonas koreensis UASWS1668 and Bacillus megaterium UASWS1667, isolated from a horse chestnut tree, and Paenibacillus sp. strain UASWS1643, isolated from a tomato stem. Auxi...

In Switzerland, chestnut forests cover about 27,100 ha, plus some 6800 ha of mixed stands. Due to environmental and historical reasons, most of these still existing forests are located in the Swiss Southern Alps, whereas in the northern parts of the country the chestnut cultivation and the related knowledge strongly regressed since the Little Ice A...

The reduction of synthetic fungicides in agriculture is necessary to guarantee a sustainable production that protects the environment and consumers' health. Downy mildew caused by the oomycete Plasmopara viticola is the major pathogen in viticulture worldwide and responsible for up to 60% of pesticide treatments. Alternatives to reduce fungicides a...

Synthetic pesticides applied in viticulture represent a relatively high amount compared to other agricultural crops, which is due to the high sensitivity of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) to fungal. To promote sustainable vineyard-ecosystems and meet consumer acceptance alternatives to reduce fungicides are utterly needed. Amongst most potent natura...

Poire à Botzi is currently the only fresh fruit variety to benefit in Switzerland from a protected designation of origin (AOP). This pear is produced from the variety Petite poire à grappe and gives small sized fruits of different colors, harvested in August. It is an old variety, which is growing in the Canton Fribourg, and is usually consumed as...

The reduction of synthetic fungicides in agriculture a major challenge in maintaining sustainable production, protecting the environment and consumers’ health. Downy mildew caused by the oomycete Plasmopora viticola is the major pathogen in viticulture worldwide and responsible for up to 60% of pesticide treatments. Alternatives to reduce fungicide...

Routine identification of pathogens by MALDI-TOF MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry) is based on the fingerprint of intracellular proteins. This work evaluated the use of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of extracellular pathogen factors. A Staphylococcus aureus isolate from a food contaminant was ex...

Routine identification of pathogens by MALDI-TOF MS (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry) is based on the fingerprint of intracellular proteins. This work evaluated the use of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of extracellular pathogen factors. A Staphylococcus aureus isolate from a food contaminant was ex...

Facing the mundialization of an intensive agricultural model, heavily dependent of chemical entrants, with documented effects on the ecosystems and human health, researching alternative methods for an environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture is a major issue. Among these alternatives, the use of microorganisms promoting plant growth and...

To fight the numerous pests and pathogens causing heavy production losses, the agriculture mainly relies on the use of chemical pesticides, with the disadvantages of a low sustainability, since they provoke contaminations of soils and waters and can be recovered as chemical residues in raw vegetal products and food, raising public concern about hea...

Isolated from a decaying Platanus x acerifolia in Geneva in 2012, Bacillus methylotrophicus B25 has found its way to the European biostimulant market early 2018, under the commercial name Hélès, through a collaboration between the French company Biovitis and hepia HES-SO. We detail here the results of in vitro assays showing the capacities of the s...

Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi is an endophytic fungus, recently identified in Europe and Switzerland, as the main agent of chestnut brown rot but also as a chestnut canker agent. It seems to be the main cause of the high mortality occurring in chestnut nurseries and orchards. Previous works showed that it was possible to detect the presence of G. smith...

We report here the draft genome sequence of strain 4014 of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a common human pathogen, isolated from soil in France. This sequence predicts resistance to multiple antibiotics, including vancomycin.

We report here the draft genome sequence of Pseudomonas sp. strain 1239, a bacterium that is potentially usable as a biostimulant for agriculture or in depollution. Its genome encodes resistance to mercury, heavy metals, and several antibiotics. It is potentially able to produce marinocine, a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

We report the draft genome sequence of strain 1312 of Pseudomonas putida, which could be interesting to develop as a biostimulant for agriculture and soil depollution treatments.

We report here the draft genome sequences of Arthrobacter sp. strains 4041 and 4042, both of which possibly belong to the diverse Arthrobacter agilis species and are potentially usable as plant biostimulants for agriculture and as depolluting bacteria for the environment.

Les rhizobactéries favorisant la croissance des plantes (Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria, PGPR) sont des bactéries du sol colonisant la rhizosphère et la rhizoplane. Entre 2 et 5 % des rhizobactéries d’un sol exercent un effet de promotion de croissance ou du développement de la plante, via la production et la sécrétion de multiples composés c...

La pyrale du buis (Cydalima perspectalis), arrivée en 2007 en Europe, cause d’importants dégâts sur les buis, autant chez les particuliers que dans les forêts. Quant à la processionnaire du pin (Thaumetopoea pityocampa), espèce indigène, elle peut provoquer des lésions épidermiques, oculaires ou respiratoires à la suite du contact avec ses soies ur...

Le développement des nouveaux outils de séquençage d’ADN ouvrent de nouvelles portes pour des avancées dans le monde de la microbiologie, mais amène également de nouvelles difficultés. Ce projet avait pour but d’explorer pour la première fois les microbiotes endophytes de tomates cerises. Pour ce faire, des échantillons de diverses origines ont é...

Détectée en Europe en 2008, Drosophila suzukii s’est depuis répandue sur tout le continent. Ce diptère cause des dégâts importants dans les cultures commerciales de fruits à épiderme mince, à l’intérieur desquels il pond abondamment durant leur phase de maturation. Les méthodes de lutte prophylactiques, physiques, et biologiques semblent bien se co...

L’agriculture moderne repose en grande partie sur les produits phytosanitaires chimiques. Cette dépendance est due aux nombreux ravageurs et pathogènes qui causent de lourdes pertes de production. Bien qu’une très large palette de produits chimiques montre une bonne efficacité, ces produits deviennent inefficaces sur le long terme et ont un effet n...

Face à la mondialisation d'un modèle agricole intensif, fortement dépendant des intrants chimiques, avec des effets documentés sur les écosystèmes et la santé humaine, la recherche de méthodes alternatives pour une agriculture respectueuse de l'environnement et durable est un problème majeur. Parmi ces alternatives, l’utilisation de micro-organisme...

Isolé d'un platane dépérissant à Genève en 2012, cette souche endophyte B25 de Bacillus methylotrophicus a trouvé sa voie sur le marché européen des biostimulants début 2018, sous le nom commercial HÉLÈS, grâce à une collaboration entre la société française Biovitis et hepia HES-SO. Nous détaillons ici les résultats d'essais in-vitro montrant les c...

Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi is a fungus recently identified in Europe and Switzerland as the main agent of chestnut fruit rot and canker. As an endophytic fungus, it may evolve as a pathogen under conditions not yet described. It appeared to be associated with early and high mortality occurring in young chestnut orchards. In order to develop an effec...

Metagenomic studies of soils allow to reveal different microbiota compositions in various organic or conventional agricultural systems. The present study combined biostimulants trials and metagenomics, with the expectation that a potential yield increase could be linked to a microbiota variation. The tests were carried out in a perennial cropping s...

La Petite poire à grappe est une ancienne variété de poire fribourgeoise, qui est la seule en Suisse, à bénéficier aujourd’hui du label AOP. Elle se consomme principalement sous forme de poires cuites, notamment lors de la fête traditionnelle de la Bénichon. Cette poire est produite à partir de la variété « Petite poire à grappe » et donne des frui...

During the past century, agriculture went through significant ameliorations which resulted in a general yield increase, to which chemical pesticides greatly contributed. However, their negative environmental impacts had been early documented, and it is now established that these chemicals cannot represent a solution for a sustainable agriculture. C...

Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi is a fungus recently identified in Europe and Switzerland as the main agent of chestnut fruit rot and canker. As an endophytic fungus, it may evolve as a pathogen under conditions not yet described. It appeared to be associated with early and high mortality occurring in young chestnut orchards. In order to develop an effec...

The modern agriculture mainly relies on the use of chemical pesticides, to fight the numerous species of pests and pathogens causing heavy production losses. Although efficient, these chemical products carry the defect of a low sustainability, since they provoke contaminations of soils and waters and can be recovered as chemical residues in raw veg...

Anaerobic digestion is a common method for reducing the amount of sludge solids in used waters and enabling biogas production. The wet oxidation process (WOX) improves anaerobic digestion by converting carbon into methane through oxidation of organic compounds. WOX produces effluents rich in ammonia, which must be removed to maintain the activity o...

Plusieurs pathogènes causent d’important dégâts aux cultures de châtaigniers (Castanea sativa) en Europe et en Suisse. Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi, un champignon endophyte, a été récemment identifié comme étant un agent causal du chancre du châtaignier (d’abord uniquement attribué à Cryphonectria parasitica) et comme l’organisme responsable de la pou...

De nombreux insecticides de synthèse sont décriés actuellement pour leurs effets néfastes sur ’environnement, la biodiversité ou encore la santé humaine. Par ailleurs, le modèle d’une agro-industriel basé sur l’utilisation de nombreux intrants comme les produits phytosanitaires est de plus en plus dénoncé par les sociétés civiles au profit de agric...

L’agriculture moderne repose en grande partie sur les produits phytosanitaires chimiques. Cette dépendance est due aux nombreux ravageurs, maladies et virus qui causent de lourdes pertes de production. Bien qu’une très large palette de produits chimiques montre une bonne efficacité, ces produits sont généralement d’une durabilité limitée. Par aille...

Due to increasing costs of municipal sludge management (dewatering, storage, and transport to landfill), further disposal of sludge is becoming an escalating problem. Sludge treatments represent 50% of current operating costs of wastewater treatment and therefore a major source of energy savings. Anaerobic digestion is the most commonly used dispos...

We report here the whole-genome sequences of 14 strains of Bradyrhizobium canariense , isolated from root nodules of Lupinus microanthus and Lupinus angustifolius , and 1 strain of Bradyrhizobium japonicum isolated from root nodules from Lupinus angustifolius in Algeria. These sequences add to the known diversity of this agronomically important gen...

We report here the metagenomes of soil samples from a perennial cropping system of asparagus that was treated with two biostimulants. Two treatments were compared to an untreated control. Control soil samples were taken at the beginning and at end of the experiment.

Microbiota of beehive products are very little known. We report here for the first time six metagenomes of royal jelly, pollen, and different types of honey from wild and cultivated lavender, chestnut, and fir honeydew. Four metagenomes of epiphytic and endophytic microbiota of lavender and rose flowers are also reported.

We report here the metagenomes and metatranscriptomes of activated sludge bioreactors, enriched or not enriched with aerobic granules, at an initial state and after 1 month of incubation. Data showed that the added granular biomass expressed higher levels of expression of genes involved in ammonia elimination.

Two fungi causes chestnut diseases (on Castanea sativa species) in Switzerland: Cryphonectria parasitica, the chestnut canker agent arrived in Ticino in 1940 and now endemic, and Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi, a fungus recently identified in Europe and Switzerland as the main agent inducing chestnut brown rot but also causing chestnut canker. In order...

Gnomoniopsis smithogilvyi is a fungus, recently identified in Europe and Switzerland, as the main agent of chestnut brown rot but also as a chestnut canker agent on the Castanea sativa species. This detailed analysis made it possible to determine the rate of presence of these two pathogenic fungi in the propagation material used at the Ticino Canto...

We report here the draft genome sequence of strain ELI 1980 of Rhodo-pseudomonas palustris, commercialized as a biostimulant for agriculture. The genome was reconstructed from the metagenome of a commercial product containing this strain as its major component.

Since the first report of the stain canker agent Ceratocystis platani in 2001 in Geneva, dieback of London plane trees (Platanus × acerifolia) has focused greater attention and an epidemiological monitoring has been implemented, as part of a compelling state directive for stain canker management. Genetic identification was carried out in order to a...

Des biostimulants bactériens (Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. putida) et fongiques (Trichoderma harzianum, Glomus intraradices) ont été appliqués à une culture de tomates en pleine terre sous tunnel, en conditions de production commerciale. Leurs effets ont été mesurés sur la croissance de la plante, la hauteur de la plante, le diamètre de tige, la flo...