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International audience; Plague is an often fulminant and fatal disease caused by the bacterial pathogen Yersinia pestis. Three major historical plague pandemics have heavily influenced human societies, and recent evidence demonstrates that plague has also influenced human biology. Plague is still endemic in several continents and remains a potential public health risk. In this article, we examine the current situation of plague around the world and the different players that participate in plague ecosystems. We discuss in particular the recent research that allows us to understand plague in pre-historical times, as well as how past pandemics have modulated the evolution of human immune genes. We also highlight future challenges that await us in the study of this deadly but fascinating disease.

International audience; The genus Yersinia includes a large variety of nonpathogenic and life-threatening pathogenic bacteria, which cause a broad spectrum of diseases in humans and animals, such as plague, enteritis, Far East scarlet-like fever (FESLF), and enteric redmouth disease. Like most clinically relevant microorganisms, Yersinia spp. are currently subjected to intense multi-omics investigations whose numbers have increased extensively in recent years, generating massive amounts of data useful for diagnostic and therapeutic developments. The lack of a simple and centralized way to exploit these data led us to design Yersiniomics, a web-based platform allowing straightforward analysis of Yersinia omics data. Yersiniomics contains a curated multi-omics database at its core, gathering 200 genomic, 317 transcriptomic, and 62 proteomic data sets for Yersinia species. It integrates genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic browsers, a genome viewer, and a heatmap viewer to navigate within genomes and experimental conditions. For streamlined access to structural and functional properties, it directly links each gene to GenBank, the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), UniProt, InterPro, IntAct, and the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) and each experiment to Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA), or the Proteomics Identifications Database (PRIDE). Yersiniomics provides a powerful tool for microbiologists to assist with investigations ranging from specific gene studies to systems biology studies. IMPORTANCE The expanding genus Yersinia is composed of multiple nonpathogenic species and a few pathogenic species, including the deadly etiologic agent of plague, Yersinia pestis. In 2 decades, the number of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic studies on Yersinia grew massively, delivering a wealth of data. We developed Yersiniomics, an interactive web-based platform, to centralize and analyze omics data sets on Yersinia species. The platform allows user-friendly navigation between genomic data, expression data, and experimental conditions. Yersiniomics will be a valuable tool to microbiologists.

The Balearic Promontory (Spain) is of key importance to understand the tectonic kinematics of the westernmost Mediterranean, because its continued marine sedimentation has recorded the contrasting effects expected from competing geodynamic models proposed for the region. Near the center of this promontory, between the islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, the Miocene to Pleistocene stratigraphy of the Central Mallorca Depression presents an ideal record of the tectonic deformation that has received only limited attention. We use a widespread dataset of 2D seismic reflection profiles to identify, interpret and map the main prominent reflectors and extrapolate the thickness of the pre-Messinian and Pliocene-Quaternary sedimentary units. We then quantify the timing and style of deformation related to the various fault systems. Our results reveal for the first time a series of aligned small depressions bounded by extensional and strike-slip faults and filled with Plio-Quaternary sediment, perfectly aligned with the sub-basins of the onshore Mallorca Graben. A subsidence analysis confirms this correlation. We identify non-cylindrical deformation within the Plio-Quaternary unit that is remarkably similar to that observed onshore, suggesting continuous fault zones from the Central Mallorca Depression to Mallorca Island. We interpret an intra-PQ unconformity as the marker of a transition from extensional to strike-slip tectonic regime. The strike-slip stage is represented by both transpressional and transtensional structures, interpreted as restraining/releasing bends respectively and step overs along the faults. We show that these offshore faults in the Central Mallorca Depression overlap well with seismic epicenters and suggest major active strike-slip corridors that have an onshore continuity both until eastern Mallorca and in the southwestern Ibiza margin. The role of previous tectonic inherited structures (rifting, Betic thrusts, post-orogenic collapse) on the deformation reported here is discussed and we propose a tentative sketch that integrates our results in a Miocene to Present-day evolution at regional scale., This research is partly carried out under the SALTGIANT ETN, a European project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 765256. SALTGIANT ESRs and PIs are all thanked for the numerous exchanged discussions and comments during workshops, courses and fieldtrips. We are grateful to Antonio Cap? and Juan Forn?s for inspiring discussions on arguments about the study area. Part of the seismic data covering the Balearic Promontory and shown in this work were provided courtesy of WesternGeco and Spectrum companies that we acknowledge. We acknowledge Schlumberger Company for providing the academic license of the seismic interpretation software Petrel. The authors are grateful to Guillermo Booth-Rea and Rob Govers whose reviews and suggestions greatly improved the original manuscript. This paper is dedicated to our colleague Guillem Mas who suddenly and dramatically passed away during the writing of the manuscript. He showed us the field in Mallorca in 2019, where the idea of this work came from.

espanolLas Serres de Tramuntana y de Llevant, (Mallorca) tienen gran numero de canchales de origen periglaciar, la mayoria de ellos activos. Debido a sus caracteristicas geologicas y geomorfologicas, y a su singularidad se proponen 5 emplazamientos de canchal como Lugares de Interes Geologico (LIG). Esta propuesta se basa en su elevado interes cientifico y didactico como ejemplos representativos de procesos sedimentologicos y geomorfologicos asociados al periglaciarismo insular manifestado en morfologias de canchales, y asociados un patrimonio etnologico correspondiente al comercio del hielo en Mallorca a traves de las “cases de neu” que se situan en los apices de dichas morfologias. EnglishThe Serres de Tramuntana and Llevant, (Mallorca) have a large number of periglacial scree, most of them active. Five canchal sites are proposed as Places of Geological Interest (LIG) due to their geological, geomorphological and unique characteristics. This proposal is based on its high scientific and didactic interest as representative examples of sedimentological and geomorphological processes associated with insular periglacialism manifested in morphologies of scree. An ethnological heritage linked to the ice trade in Mallorca is also associated through the “cases de neu” that are located in the apices of these morphologies.

International audience; Plague is a vector-borne disease caused by Yersinia pestis. Transmitted by fleas from rodent reservoirs, Y. pestis emerged less than 6000 years ago from an enteric bacterial ancestor through events of gene gain and genome reduction. It is a highly remarkable model for the understanding of pathogenic bacteria evolution, and a major concern for public health as highlighted by recent human outbreaks. A complex set of virulence determinants, including the Yersinia outer membrane proteins (Yops), the broad range pro-tease Pla, pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and iron capture systems play critical roles in the molecular strategies that Y. pestis employs to subvert the human immune system, allowing unrestricted bacterial replication in lymph nodes (bubonic plague) and in lungs (pneumonic plague). Some of these immunogenic proteins as well as the capsular antigen F1 are exploited for diagnostic purposes, which are critical in the context of the rapid onset of death in the absence of antibiotic treatment (less than a week for bubonic plague and less than 48 h for pneumonic plague). In here, we review recent research advances on Y. pestis evolution, virulence factors function, bacterial strategies to subvert mammalian innate immune responses, vaccination and problems associated to pneumonic plague diagnosis.

The colonization of foreign species into the Mediterranean Sea has increased in number and geographic coverage over the past decades. For instance, the marine mollusc Haminoea cyanomarginata has scattered across the Central and Eastern Mediterranean since its description in the Red Sea by Heller and Thompson in 1983. In this study, we add the first records of the species in the Western Mediterranean basin and review the progression of its colonization from the Red Sea. The new records were obtained through the online database of the NGO called Catalan Opisthobranch Research Group (Spain), thus highlighting how citizen science platforms can provide an early warning for marine scientists and managers in relation to exogenous species.

espanolSe definen el concepto y naturaleza de la piedra calcarenita denominada mares de la isla de Mallorca, a partir de sus caracteristicas intrinsecas y de uso. Se realiza una clasificacion y caracterizacion tipologica a partir de la cronoestratigrafia y contexto geologico de esta piedra utilizada como material de construccion. Se proporcionan datos historicos y etnologicos sobre su produccion y aplicaciones. El mares de Mallorca, junto con las canteras donde se extrae, ademas de constituir un valioso patrimonio historico-etnologico-cultural, constituyen tambien un importante patrimonio geologico-natural que registra y nos permite seguir la evolucion y la historia geologica de la isla de Mallorca a traves de los ultimos 15 millones de anos, desde el Mioceno medio (Langhiense-Serravalliense) hasta el Pleistoceno superior. EnglishThe mares calcarenite stone of Mallorca, together with the quarries where it is extracted, is both a valuable ethnic-cultural heritage and an important natural-geological heritage which records and allows us to study the evolution and geological history of the island of Mallorca during the last 15 Ma, from the middle Miocene (Langhian-Serravallian) to the upper Pleistocene. In this paper, the concept and nature of the mares sandstone is defined by its intrinsic characteristics and use. First a typological classification is made from the chronostratigraphy and geological context of this stone which has been used as building material. We also provide historical and ethnological data concerning its production and applications.

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) was an extraordinary geological event that affected the whole Mediterranean region, as well as global marine circulation between 5.97 and 5.33 Ma. In the Mediterranean, the crisis was mainly characterized by isolation from the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in a new hydrological budget leading to the accumulation of large amounts of evaporites and large-scale erosion of its margins. The nature of the majority of the evaporites and erosional surfaces is still unknown, thus representing a challenge which forms the subject of debate in the scientific community. The Neogene Mallorca basins (Balearic Islands) are well situated to provide a stratigraphic record which expresses the sequence of events related to the MSC, being especially suitable for testing possible geological models or scenarios. New research on the island of Mallorca provides data about the MSC and Zanclean reflooding in the central part of the Western Mediterranean (Balearic Basin), with obvious repercussions for both academia and industry. The main aim of this study is to describe the features which characterize sedimentation during the Miocene-Pliocene transition on the island of Mallorca, to establish how this stratigraphic record relates to the different proposed MSC scenarios for the whole of the Mediterranean. In this regard, a stratigraphic analysis was carried out on a total of 100 exposures and boreholes corresponding to the Neogene basins of Mallorca. The results indicate that, on the island of Mallorca, the development of the MSC is most consistent with models that represent the main phase of desiccation occurring after the accumulation of marginal evaporites (Primary Lower Gypsum), the Terminal Carbonate Complex and the Lago Mare deposits.

International audience; Over the long course of evolution from a probable environmental reservoir, the pathogen that we know today as Mycobacterium tuberculosis has become fully capable of adapting to the life inside host cells by evading and modifying their responses to infection. Factors contributing to the success of this pathogen are numerous and thanks to a large body of work accumulated over the past decades, we are closer to understanding the remarkable complexity of tuberculosis pathogenesis. The unique type VII secretion systems and various complex lipids of the cell envelope have emerged as some of the most important and most studied factors in this regard. This review attempts to summarize recent findings on these and other virulence factors, while discussing their evolution in different closely related tuberculosis-causing bacteria as well, with the aim of exploring the processes which led M. tuberculosis to becoming one of the deadliest infections agents.

Gibert, J.M. de, Mas, G. & Ekdale, A.A. 2012: Architectural complexity of marine crustacean burrows: unusual helical trace fossils from the Miocene of Mallorca, Spain. Lethaia, Vol. 45, pp. 574–585. Unusual helical trace fossils occur in Tortonian shelfal calcarenites in the island of Mallorca. Their morphology may be either simple (ichnogenus Gyrolithes) or, more commonly, consist of two concentric helical burrows (ichnogenus Lapispira). They bear a very characteristic pelleted lining and are associated and probably connected to Thalassinoides and Ophiomorpha burrow systems very abundant in the same unit. These features allow the interpretation that the tracemaker was a thalassinidean shrimp. The complex and compound nature of these trace fossils is comparable to that seen in other modern and fossil crustacean burrow systems, and it reflects the behavioural plasticity of the architects. □Trace fossils, ichnology, ichnofabrics, crustacean burrows, Miocene, shallow marine, Lapispira.