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Abstract Drought and heat stress are two critical threats to crop growth and sustainable agriculture worldwide. In the last decade, many studies focused on the response of crops to a single stress, nevertheless studying the response of plants to a combination stress may be critical to our understanding of stress tolerance in plants and the development of tolerant genotypes. Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) is a warm-season grass known in arid and semiarid regions for its tolerance to heat and drought stress, productivity, and forage quality. However, in our previous works, several accessions have exhibited different responses to abiotic stresses. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of combination of drought and heat stresses on biochemical parameters and plant growth and to compare the impacts of the stresses separately and when combined. We found that sensitive genotype exhibited higher lipid peroxidation content, lower total reducing power values and reduced catalase and superoxide dismutase activities than tolerant under drought or heat stress or combination stress. In this study, heat stress had a predominant effect on buffel grass genotypes over drought stress, which explained why simultaneous application of heat and drought revealed similar biochemical and growth responses to the heat stress. Antioxidant metabolism seems to be critical for tolerate abiotic stress. This study may provide useful information to perform a rapid and low-cost characterization in new buffel grass germplasm and to identify genotypes with better growth performance under drought and heat conditions. Highlights • Changes in oxidative damage and growth performance were observed between genotypes. • Drought, heat and combined stress enhanced lipid peroxidation in sensitive genotypes. • The sensitivity of genotypes may be related with a decreased activity of CAT and SOD. • Catalase activity in tolerant genotypes appears to play an important role in all stress conditions. • Heat stress had a predominant effect on buffel grass genotypes subjected to combined stress [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract: Four somaclonal mutants (S1, S4, S6 and M10) and their parental Cenchrus ciliaris L. cultivar Biloela were characterized under salinity conditions at germination and vegetative growth stages. Seeds of all somaclonal mutants had higher germination percentages than cv. Biloela seeds in the control and salt treatments. At 150mM, germination was significantly higher in M10, S6 and S4 (72.3%, 66.3% and 61.8%, respectively) than in cv. Biloela (35.5%). Mutants grown under salinity along with cv. Biloela for 35days had a different relative growth rate. S6 had the highest growth rate, indicating its potential tolerance to salt stress, whereas M10 was the most sensitive, with Bi, S4 and S1 being intermediate tolerant genotypes. Catalase enzyme activity (CAT) in M10 decreased in response to salt stress and was significantly associated with malondialdehide content, suggesting salt injury, whereas higher levels of CAT activity in S6 during salt stress were associated with increased salinity tolerance. The present results indicate that somaclonal variation and in vitro mutagenesis offer an effective tool for improvement of C. ciliaris because the somaclonal mutants showed differential tolerance to salt stress with respect to their parental and could be a better choice for use in a breeding program. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Background Bone metastases (BMs) are associated with significant morbidity and shorter survival in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Our purpose was to identify prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in RCC patients with BMs. Methods Data from patients with BMs from RCC treated at Gustave Roussy between April 1992 and March 2016 were retrospectively collected. Age, sex, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group-Performance Status, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) risk groups, histology, number and site of bone lesions, concomitant metastases (presence and sites), therapy for BMs (radical resection or palliative surgery, radiotherapy and other local and systemic treatments) and time from diagnosis to BMs were analysed. Synchronous solitary bone metastasis (SSBM) was defined as a single BM without concomitant visceral lesions at the initial diagnosis of RCC. OS was calculated from the date of BMs diagnosis to death or last follow-up using Kaplan–Maier method and modelled with Cox regression analysis. Results From 1750 patients with diagnosis of RCC followed at Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, 300 patients with BMs were identified. Median time from diagnosis to BMs was 32.4 months (range 0–324 months). In 64 patients (21%), bone was the only metastatic site, and 22 patients (7%) had an SSBM and 236 patients (79%) had concomitant metastases in other sites. Median OS was 23.2 months (95% confidence interval 19.9–26.2). SSBM patients had better OS than those with concomitant metastases (40 vs 20 months; P < 0.001). At multivariate analysis, concomitant metastases remained predictor of poor prognosis, while MSKCC risk group, radical resection and SSBM were predictors of better OS. Conclusions This study suggests that MSKCC score, numbers of BMs and radical resection are important prognostic factors for RCC patients with BMs. Additionally, in the presence of solitary BM without concomitant metastases at the initial diagnosis of RCC, bone surgery should be considered to achieve local tumour control and likely increase OS. Highlights • Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for 3% of all cancers and commonly occurs in Western countries. • Most common metastases in RCC occurs to lung, followed by bone involvement in 20–35%, lymph nodes and liver. • Bone metastases are very destructive in RCC patients, leading to mainly osteolytic lesions that compromise bone integrity. • Skeletal involvement is associated with skeletal-related events, which may require surgical intervention and other therapy. • The presence of bone metastases in RCC has negative impact on progression free survival and overall survival of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L. syn. Pennisetum ciliare (L.) Link) is a species that is highly tolerant to drought and is used primarily as forage in drier regions throughout the subtropics and tropics. It reproduces mainly by apomixis and the acquisition of obligate sexual genotypes or facultative apomicts with high levels of sexuality is required for performing crosses and plant improvement. The aim of this study was to obtain sexual genotypes from controlled crosses using obligate apomictic cultivars and a sexual line. Twelve putative hybrid F1 plants were selected morphologically and two of them were identified as sexual genotypes by PCR using specific primers for reproductive mechanism. Cytoembryological analysis showed 65.5 and 71.3% meiotic embryo sacs in these plants and their hybrid nature was corroborated by AFLP. Both highly sexual genotypes could be used as female parents in crosses for obtaining improved cultivars of buffel grass. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We evaluated survival percentage under salt stress in 46 diploid and tetraploid clones of rhodesgrass (Chloris gayana K.) with the aim of obtaining salt tolerant clones. Fifteen clones were selected at 600mM NaCl under hydroponic conditions. Survival percentage of the selected clones ranged between 50–100% and 50–75% for diploid and tetraploid clones, respectively. Genetic diversity among the 15 salt-tolerant clones was assessed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). All tetraploid clones showed genetic diversity, whereas the diploid group included some genetically related clones. Clones tolerant at 600mM NaCl and showed genetic diversity are proposed as parents for new synthetic varieties of each rhodesgrass ploidy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]