In recent decades in northwest Vietnam, Arabica coffee has been grown on sloping land in intensive, full sun monocultures that are not sustainable in the long term and have negative environmental impacts. There is an urgent need to reverse this negative trend by promoting good agricultural practices, including agroforestry, to prevent further deforestation and soil erosion on slopes. A survey of 124 farmers from three indigenous groups was conducted in northwest Vietnam to document coffee agroforestry practices and the ecosystem services associated with different tree species used in them. Trees were ranked according to the main ecosystem services and disservices considered to be locally relevant by rural communities. Our results show that tree species richness in agroforestry plots was much higher for coffee compared to non-coffee plots, including those with annual crops and tree plantations. Most farmers were aware of the benefits of trees for soil improvement, shelter (from wind and frost), and the provision of shade and mulch. In contrast, farmers had limited knowledge of the impact of trees on coffee quality and other interactions amongst trees and coffee. Farmers ranked the leguminous tree species Leucaena leucocephala as the best for incorporating in coffee plots because of the services it provides to coffee. Nonetheless, the farmers’ selection of tree species to combine with coffee was highly influenced by economic benefits provided, especially by intercropped fruit trees, which was influenced by market access, determined by the proximity of farms to a main road. The findings from this research will help local extension institutions and farmers select appropriate tree species that suit the local context and that match household needs and constraints, thereby facilitating the transition to a more sustainable and climate-smart coffee production practice.

Edited by Peter CresswellThe stable effector functionLess (SEFL) antibody was designed as an IgG1 antibody with a constant region that lacks the ability to interact with Fc␥ receptors. The engineering and stability and pharmacokinetic assessments of the SEFL scaffold is described in the accompanying article (Jacobsen, F. W., Stevenson, R., Li, C., Salimi-Moosavi, H., Liu, L., Wen, J., Luo, Q., Daris, K., Buck, L., Miller, S., Ho, S-Y., Wang, W., Chen, Q., Walker, K., Wypych, J., Narhi, L., and Gunasekaran, K. (2017) J. Biol. Chem. 292). The biological properties of these SEFL antibodies were assessed in a variety of human and cynomolgus monkey in vitro assays. Binding of parent molecules and their SEFL variants to human and cynomolgus monkey Fc␥Rs were evaluated using flow cytometry-based binding assays. The SEFL variants tested showed decreased binding affinity to human and cynomolgus Fc␥Rs compared with the wild-type IgG1 antibody. In addition, SEFL variants demonstrated no antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro against Daudi cells with cynomolgus monkey peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and had minimal complement-dependent cytotoxicity activity similar to that of the negative control IgG2 in a CD20؉ human Raji lymphoma cell line. SEFL mutations eliminated off-target antibody-dependent monocyte phagocytosis of cynomolgus monkey platelets, and cynomolgus platelet activation in vitro. These experiments demonstrate that the SEFL modifications successfully eliminated Fc-associated effector binding and functions.Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are the largest class of biopharmaceuticals and have diverse clinical applications (1). The choice of therapeutic mAb isotype to develop (IgG1, IgG2, or IgG4) is dependent on the target (cell surface versus soluble), desired biology, safety (risk of immunogenicity and undesired immunological effects), and manufacturability (expression, formulation, and stability). More than 80% of approved therapeutic mAbs are IgG1 isotypes that target cell surface receptors and are effective for oncology indications (2). For these therapeutic approaches, mAb isotypes that can induce cell killing such as complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) 2 and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) are often desirable (3, 4). However, for non-oncologic indications, therapeutic mAbs without cytotoxic effector function may be more appropriate because cell killing may not be a goal of therapy.The Fc portion of IgG has interaction sites for the effector ligands, including Fc␥ receptors (Fc␥RI, Fc␥RII, and Fc␥RIII), C1q complement, and the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn). IgG isotypes differentially engage Fc␥ receptors and C1q binding to recruit immune effector functions and initiate cytotoxic effector functions, (either ADCC or CDC (5)). Historically, IgG2 or IgG4 isotypes were thought to have minimal cytotoxic effector function, and have been selected for applications where cytotoxic effector function is not required or desirable (5). However, recent evidence suggests that IgG2 is...

Cynomolgus monkeys dosed with a therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAbY

The Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of several non-Annex I countries mention agroforestry but mostly without associated mitigation target. The absence of reliable data, including on existing agroforestry practices and their carbon storage, partially constrains the target setting. In this paper, we estimate the mitigation potential of agroforestry carbon sequestration in Vietnam using a nationwide agroforestry database and carbon data from the literature. Sequestered carbon was estimated for existing agroforestry systems and for areas into which these systems can be expanded. Existing agroforestry systems in Vietnam cover over 0.83 million hectares storing a 1346 ± 92 million ton CO2 equivalent including above-, belowground, and soil carbon. These systems could be expanded to an area of 0.93–2.4 million hectares. Of this expansion area, about 10% is considered highly suitable for production, with a carbon sequestration potential of 2.3–44 million ton CO2 equivalent over the period 2021–2030. If neglecting agroforestry’s potential for modifying micro-climates, climate change can reduce the highly suitable area of agroforestry and associated carbon by 34–48% in 2050. Agroforestry can greatly contribute to Vietnam’s 2021–2030 NDC, for example, to offset the greenhouse gas emissions of the agriculture sector.

1. Selection of shade tree species for agroforestry systems must take the complexity of these systems into account. Tree species selection should maximize the provision of ecosystem services while minimizing disservices. Selected species must be adapted to local agroecological conditions and cater to farmers' needs, while considering their preferences and constraints.2. The ShadeTreeAdvice methodology was developed to support said selection process using farmers' local ecological knowledge. It provides the steps to rapidly identify tree species and evaluate their impacts on a range of locally important ecosystem services. Results are uploaded to a decision support tool to tailor tree species recommendations to individual farmers' needs (www.shade treea dvice.org). During the 5 year timeframe between 2016 and 2020, eight studies following this methodology were conducted in various coffee and cocoa growing regions across Africa, Asia and Central America.3. This article looks back at these studies to synthesize their findings and evaluate the methodology. We identified similarities in the use of tree species across different study areas, notably regarding leguminous and fruit tree species. We showed that the method was efficient to evaluate tree species' impacts on soil and climate regulation, crop production, and economic benefits. It was less efficient for evaluating impacts related to incidence of pests and diseases, often associated with knowledge gaps. The method also successfully allowed investigating the links between LEK and socio-economic groups or environmental factors.4. Furthermore, we suggest a series of improvements in the methodology for future studies. These improvements include (i) broadening the scope of studies beyond tree species provision of ecosystem services to include tree species impact on farming practices; (ii) allowing the comparison of tree performances in