Epidemiology and genetic characterization of BVDV,BHV-1, BHV-4, BHV-5 and Brucella spp. infections in cattle in Turkey

The aim of the study was to determine the epidemiological data of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1), bovine herpesvirus-4 (BHV-4), bovine herpesvirus-5 (BHV-5) and Brucella–associated cattle that were previously reported to have abortion and infertility problems in Ankara, Corum, Kirikkale and Yozgat provinces, Turkey. Whole blood and sera samples were obtained from 656 cattle, and antibodies against Brucella spp. were detected in 45 (6.86%) and 41 (6.25%) animals by Rose Bengal plate and serum tube agglutination tests, respectively. The seropositivity rates against BVDV, BHV-1 and BHV-4 were 70.89%, 41.3% and 28.78%, respectively. RT-PCR and PCR were performed to detect RNA and DNA viruses in blood samples, respectively. The BVDV 5′-untranslated region and BHV-1 gB gene detected in this study were phylogenetically analyzed. The BVDV strains analyzed in this study were closely related to those previously reported from Turkey. The nucleotide sequence from the BHV-1 strain detected in this study is the first nucleotide sequence of BHV-1 circulating in this area of Turkey deposited in the GenBank. The presence of Brucella spp. and prevalence of BHV-1, BHV-4 and BVDV in cattle should be further investigated throughout these regions.     

EFFECTS OF PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING BACTERIA ON YIELD,GROWTH, LEAF WATER CONTENT,MEMBRANE PERMEABILITY,AND IONIC COMPOSITION OF STRAWBERRY UNDER SALINE CONDITIONS

Plant growth promoting effects of Bacillus subtilis EY2, Bacillus atrophaeus EY6, Bacillus spharicus GC subgroup B EY30, Staphylococcus kloosii EY37 and Kocuria erythromyxa EY43 were tested on strawberry cv. ‘Fern’ in terms of fruit yield, growth, chlorophyll reading value, leaf relative water content (LRWC), membrane permeability and ionic composition of leaves and roots under saline conditions. Compared with 0 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) treatment, the average decrease of yield and LRWC were 51.6% and 21.0%, respectively, when 35 mM NaCl was applied. However, EY30, EY37, and EY43 treatments under saline condition (35 mM NaCl) significantly increased fruit yield (54.4%, 51.7% and 94.9%) compared with 35 mM NaCl treatment without plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). The LRWC increased from 72.0% in 35 mM NaCl treatment to 88.4%, 86.6%, 84.2%, 83.5%, and 86.2% by EY2, EY6, EY30, EY37, and EY43 applications, respectively. The lowest membrane permeability among the bacterial strains was obtained from EY37 treatment (37) while it was 33 and 58 in 0 mM NaCl and 35 mM NaCl treatments, respectively. The concentration of all plant tissue nutrients investigated [nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg)] with the exception of root phosphorus (P) and Mg concentration significantly decreased with 35 mM salt treatment. Nitrogen content of leaves varied between 3.04 and 3.14% in bacterial treatments under saline conditions while it was 2.71% in 35 mM NaCl treatment. In contrast sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl) of leaves and Cl content of roots were significantly decreased by root inoculation with all bacterial treatments in comparison to 35 mM NaCl treatment with no inoculation. Treatment with Bacillus EY30, Staphylococcus EY37 and Kocuria EY43 to strawberry plants can ameliorative the deleterious effect of salt stress on fruit yield, growth and nutrition. These results demonstrate that PGPB treatment could be offer an economic and simple means to increased plant resistance for salinity stress.     

Relations between the characteristics of Angora rabbit fibre

Angora rabbit fibre is one of the finest specialty animal fibres with its well-known reputation for fineness, lightness and softness. This study evaluated the Angora fibre shape and morphology in comparison with Cashmere fibre and wool as well as the relation between characteristics of Angora fibre. Unlike other keratinous textile fibres, single Angora fibre composes of two sections named as body and head, each of which has individual surface characteristics. Differences between the scale shapes, scale length and scale frequency of Angora hair types were explained in details. Medullation in Angora fibre was explained for different types of Angora hairs defined as down, awn and bristle. This classification was done according to the fibre fineness starting from the finer one. Relation between fibre shape and comfort factor was also analyzed. The relation between mean fibre diameter (MFD), fibre curvature (FC) and percentage of medullation by volume (MEDV) for Angora rabbit fibre was not as strong as wool and Cashmere fibre. Accordingly, when Angora hair types were analyzed individually, it was observed that relation between FC and MEDV for Angora fibre was stronger than wool and Cashmere fibre. Multiple regression analysis was also performed. Diameter distribution along the snippet length (about 200μm) of Angora fibre is uneven compared to Cashmere fibre and wool.     

Prevalence and molecular mechanism of macrolide and lincosamide resistance in staphylococci isolated from subclinical bovine mastitis in Turkey

Macrolide and lincosamide (ML) resistance and the related resistance genes of staphylococci were assessed from cases of bovine subclinical mastitis. Of the 104 Staphylococcus aureus and 62 coagulase negative staphylococcus (CoNS) isolates, 26 (25%) and 12 (19.4%) were resistant to ML, respectively. While constitutive ML resistance phenotype accounted for 15.4% (16/104) of S. aureus and 8.1% (5/62) of CoNS, inducible ML resistance phenotype accounted for 2.9% (3/104) of S. aureus and 3.2% (2/62) of CoNS. Among erythromycin-resistant isolates, single or various combination of different resistance genes were detected. The results of this study showed that ML resistance was prevalent among staphylococci from subclinical bovine mastitis cases in Hatay, Turkey. Therefore, a continuous surveillance is necessary to minimise the spread of antimicrobial-resistant staphylococci.     

Phenotypic and molecular characterization of Yersinia ruckeri isolates from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, Walbaum, 1792) in Turkey

The aim of the study was the phenotypic and molecular characterization of Yersinia (Y) ruckeri strains, the causative agent of Enteric Redmouth Disease (ERM), by antibiotyping, random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) and sodium dodecylsulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) patterns of whole cell proteins. For this aim, a total of 97 Y ruckeri isolates were analyzed. The isolates were distinguished into ten antibiotypes and six phenotypes according to their resistance properties and whole cell protein profiles, respectively. Also, a glycoprotein band of approximately 25.5 kDa was observed in all Y ruckeri strains tested. In all strains, six different RAPD types were observed. In conclusion, Y ruckeri strains isolated from rainbow trout of fish farms in Turkey showed variation according to their phenotypic and genotypic characteristics, and the use of these three typing techniques in double and triple combinations could be more useful for discriminating the strains.     

Comparison of hematological and biochemical parameters in sheep naturally and persistently infected with a border disease virus

In this study, we investigated the changes occurring in the activities of determining the biochemical and hematological parameters in persistently infected sheep with border disease virus (BDV) and control sheep. While cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, high-density lipoprotein, and glucose parameters were found to be statistically different between control and BDV positive groups (p<0.01), total protein, alkaline phosphotase, creatine kinase, amylase, glucose, and high-density lipoprotein were found to be statistically different between control and persistently infected group (p<0.01). Interestingly, all groups were shown only mean corpuscular volume parameter was different (p<0.01). It was found that cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, amylase, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein parameters were different between PI and infected sheep (p<0.01). It was speculated that BDV might effect also the expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor and determination of the changes in BD and its clinical importance might contribute to the veterinarians and scientists studying in this area.     

Kinesin walks hand-over-hand

Kinesin is a processive motor that takes 8.3-nm center-of-mass steps along microtubules for each adenosine triphosphate hydrolyzed. Whether kinesin moves by a "hand-over-hand" or an "inchworm" model has been controversial. We have labeled a single head of the kinesin dimer with a Cy3 fluorophore and localized the position of the dye to within 2 nm before and after a step. We observed that single kinesin heads take steps of 17.3 +/- 3.3 nm. A kinetic analysis of the dwell times between steps shows that the 17-nm steps alternate with 0-nm steps. These results strongly support a hand-over-hand mechanism, and not an inchworm mechanism. In addition, our results suggest that kinesin is bound by both heads to the microtubule while it waits for adenosine triphosphate in between steps.     

Comparison of the Salt Stress Tolerance of Promising Turkish Winter Squash (Cucurbita maxima Duch.) and Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch.) Lines and Interspecific Hybrids

The objective of this study was to evaluate several selected Cucurbita genotypes for their salt resistance in a rootstock breeding program for grafted watermelon seedling production. Specifically, changes in the relative water content (RWC), leaf area (LA), total chlorophyll content (TCC) and proline concentration (PC) of a commercial cultivar (G32 code), two promising winter squash (G12 and G13 of Cucurbita maxima Duch.) lines, six pumpkin (G3, G27, G28, G29, G30 and G31 of Cucurbita moschata Duch.) lines, and four C. maxima?×?C. mochata hybrids (G14, G15, G40 and G42), were investigated with a control treatment and four levels of salt stress (4, 8, 12 and 16?dS/m). In this study, Cucurbita cultivars which showed significant differences according to RWC, LA, TCC and PC at least significant difference (LSD) tests (P?<?0.05) and had salinity sensitivity index (SSI) value lower than 20%, were assessed as salt tolerant genotypes. The salt tolerant genotypes were grouped with principal component analysis (PCA) in each salt level. At the end of the study, all genotypes for all characteristics were generally tolerant at 4?dS/m salinity level. The G3, G12, G13, G14, G29 and G42 genotypes were resistant at 8?dS/m salinity, while the G15, G31, G32 and G40 were the most resistant genotypes at 12 and 16?dS/m. In conclusion, the selection of more salt resistant cultivars in rootstock breeding programs should be a priority to maintain growth performance in saline environments.

     

Potential of Biosolids from Shrimp Aquaculture as a Fertilizer in Bell Pepper Production

Shrimp biosolids (SB) have value as a fertilizer for bell pepper production, but maximum yields cannot be expected when SB is used alone. Although bell pepper marketable yield increased linearly with SB rate and also with Osmocote (OSM, a slow release encapsulated fertilizer) rate, yield at the highest OSM rate was 92% higher than yield at the highest SB rate. The cultural system that enhanced yield included both the highest rates of SB and OSM which delivered a combined total of 633 N - 253 P - 303 K kg/ha. The sodium in SB needs to be considered carefully whenever this material is used with plants. Apparently, SB persisted in the soil to benefit deeply-rooted crops months after initial application, but it is unknown if continued use of SB may eventually improve soil structure and physical properties.     

Weathering durability of CCB-impregnated wood for clear varnish coatings

Outdoor performances of a polyurethane varnish and an alkyd-based synthetic varnish coated over chromium-copper-boron (CCB)-impregnated Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) [10 (R) × 100 (T) × 150 (L) mm] were investigated. These varnishes were also applied to the wood surface as sole coatings or impregnated into wood as water-repellent (WR) solutions. Outdoor exposure was performed in the Black Sea region of northern Turkey (41°N, 39.43°E) where humid weather predominates throughout the year and accelerates decomposition of coated wood surfaces. The wood panels were exposed at 45° south on their tangential surfaces. After 9 months of exposure to summer, autumn, and the following winter season, the color and glossiness changes of the exposed surface, adhesion of the coating layer to the wood surface, water absorption through the coating layers, mass loss, and the hardness of the board surface were studied. CCB impregnation greatly stabilized the surface color of varnish-coated panels of both wood species. Gradual decreases of adhesion between varnished layers and preimpregnated surfaces were attributed to probable weakening of interactions at the interface of the treated wood and the film layer. A superficial cleaning process of treated wood is suggested to improve glossiness and adhesion. The coated wood surface became harder with time on outdoor exposure until a maximum hardness occurred followed by softening, whereas the uncoated surface softened steadily. Polyurethane varnish yielded a harder surface than synthetic varnish. Mass losses of wood panels after 9 months of exposure were negligible for all treatments compared with the untreated controls, which were totally discolored and eroded on the surface. It is concluded that long-term exterior wood protection has been achieved by a successful combination of an appropriate preservative treatment followed by a compatible surface-coating process.