ACE inhibition in goats under fixed‐time artificial insemination protocol increases the pregnancy rate and twin births

To assess the effect of the angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition on the efficiency of the fixed‐time artificial insemination (TAI), 69 goats were divided randomly into two groups: enalapril (n = 35) and control (n = 34). In the experiment, all animals underwent the protocol of fixed‐time artificial insemination for 12 days. Enalapril group received enalapril maleate dissolved in saline (Enalapril, Lab Teuto Ltda) subcutaneously at the following doses: 0.2 mg/kg/day in D0‐D2; 0.3 mg/kg/day in D3‐D6 and 0.4 mg/kg/day in D7‐D11. The control group received the corresponding volume of 0.9% saline solution. We performed a single insemination 36 hr after sponge removal using frozen semen from two adult male goats with recognized fertility. The ultrasound pregnancy diagnosis was 30 days after the artificial insemination (AI). There was significant increase in pregnancy rates and twinning as well as a decrease in foetal loss in animals receiving enalapril (p < .01). The use of ACE inhibitors during the TAI protocol was shown to be a promising alternative to increase the efficiency of such reproductive biotechnology.     

Equine foetal gender determination in mid‐ to late gestational mares: A practical inquiry

In recent years, the interest in equine foetal gender determination (FGD) during gestation increased remarkably. Ultrasonographic FGD can be performed in two different periods during gestation. The earliest examination can take place at a gestational age of 60–70 days, whereby the genital tubercle is used to differentiate between male and female foeti. The time window of the second approach is wider (120–210 days), and there are more characteristics to take into consideration. In this article, the feasibility and accuracy of ultrasonographic FGD in mid‐ to late gestation are evaluated. One hundred twenty‐one mares from different breeds with a pregnancy stage between 120 and 270 days were examined once, using B‐scale ultrasonography (Esaote MyLab™ClassC). None of the mares were sedated nor shaved, and the procedure was completed within 15 min. Diagnosis was firstly based on the gonads. The final judgement was made based on all visible foetal reproductive organs. In three cases with a pregnancy stage beyond 257 days, FGD was not possible. All of the examined mares in which a FGD could be performed gave birth to a healthy foal. In 98% of the examinations (116/118), the diagnosis was correctly made. In both cases of misdiagnosis, only one characteristic was seen during the procedure and wrongly interpreted. Beyond 210 days of pregnancy, the extremities can preclude a good visualization of the inguinal region. In conclusion, equine FGD in mid‐ to late gestation is an accessible and accurate technique, although a good ultrasound device is a prerequisite and experience and expertise is necessary.     

Idiopathic eosinophilic colitis lesions of the equine small (descending) colon

Five horses with a primary surgical lesion of the small (descending) colon were diagnosed with eosinophilic colitis based on visual and histopathological examination. These were evident as visibly striking, hyperaemic, focal lesions of the small colon, with serosal petechiation, oedema and marked thickening of the intestinal wall at the site. Areas of focal necrosis were also evident. The gross appearance of the lesions were considered to be sufficiently severe in all cases to merit resection, due to concerns about intestinal necrosis and septic peritonitis. An inability to fully exteriorise the affected portion of intestine to perform a resection and anastomosis necessitated intraoperative euthanasia of one horse. A total of three horses survived to hospital discharge. Eosinophilic colitis lesions are a rare cause of severe small colon disease, but should be considered in cases with similar visual characteristics.     

Heritability of the resistance to pepper huasteco yellow vein virus in wild genotypes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Capsicum annuum</Emphasis>

Pepper huasteco yellow vein virus (PHYVV) is the main virus of pepper crop in Mexico. No resistant cultivars are available and resistance breeding is hampered by the lack of knowledge of heritability (h ²) of PHYVV resistance. This is a continuation of previous studies and the objectives were to analyze the h ² and the behavior of the resistant trait to PHYVV. Four resistant assays were done with three resistant wild lines (UAS12, UAS13 and UAS10) of Capsicum annuum in the S4, S5, S6 and S7 generation under greenhouse conditions. Plants from all tests were inoculated with PHYVV through Bemisia tabaci. Line UAS12 was the most resistant showing a significantly proportion of resistant plants, less disease symptoms and longer incubation time, followed by the lines UAS13 and UAS10 in all assays. Distribution of symptoms showed a bimodal tendency in all the trials, suggesting that two groups of genes are involved in this resistance trait. The lines UAS12, UAS13 and UAS10 showed the same pattern of response to selection with an average of h ² of 0.17, 0.06, 0.02 and 0.00 in the S4, S5, S6 and S7, respectively. These results indicate that all lines responded positively to the selection in the S4, S5 and S6, whereas in the S7 there was no response by the possible exhaustion of variation. Line UAS12 is the most promising genotype and the lines UAS13 and UAS10 are genetic resources that can be supplemented to breed the resistance of PHYVV. These results provides basic information for resistance breeding.     

Pedotransfer functions to assess adsorbed phosphate using iron oxide content and magnetic susceptibility in an Oxisol

Adsorbed phosphate in soils can be chemically extracted; however, this process is both time‐consuming and not cost‐effective if large numbers of samples have to be analysed. Indirect assessment of adsorbed phosphate by pedotransfer functions (PTFs) can help optimize fertilizer strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of adsorbed phosphate (P_ads), iron oxides and magnetic susceptibility (MS) in oxisols and to calibrate PTFs to predict P_ads. A total of 308 soil samples were collected from Hapludox and Eutrudox soils formed from sandstone in Brazil. The contents of clay (196–607 g/kg), iron oxides (40–165 g/kg), MS (1.2–29 × 10^?6 m³/kg) and P_ads (327–842 mg/kg) were in the range of typical values for these highly weathered soils. This study showed that the attributes studied were spatially dependent. Geomorphic surfaces enabled understanding of spatial variability and helped to develop a more efficient sampling scheme to calibrate PTFs. Moreover, the adsorbed phosphate in these oxisols could be predicted by a PTF using iron oxides and MS as predictors. The MS attribute enabled the most accurate prediction (concordance coefficient = 0.95, root‐mean‐square error = 46 mg/kg and relative improvement in root‐mean‐square error = ?4.12) of spatial variability through PTF compared to other predictors.     

Shading effects on canopy and tillering characteristics of continuously stocked palisadegrass in a silvopastoral system in the Amazon biome

In silvopastoral (SP) systems, forage responses depend on the microenvironment in which the plants develop. Our objective was to evaluate canopy and tillering characteristics of shaded 'Marandu' palisadegrass [Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst A Rich) Stapf, syn. Urochloa brizantha] under continuous stocking in a SP system. Treatments were one full sun (FS) and three shaded systems (silvopasture, SP) corresponding to distances from tree groves: 7.5 m north (SP1), and 15 m (SP2) and 7.5 m south (SP3) studied during two rainy seasons (Year 1 and Year 2). The tree in the SP system was Eucalyptus urograndis (hybrid of Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill ex Maiden × Eucalyptus urophylla S. T. Blake). The photosynthetic active radiation was greater in FS (923 μmol m^-2 s^-1), followed by SP2 (811 μmol m^-2 s^-1), SP1 (727 μmol m^-2 s^-1) and SP3 (673 μmol m^-2 s^-1). Forage accumulation in FS was 15% greater than the mean of SP1, SP2 and SP3 (10,663 kg DM/ha). There was no difference in net accumulation of leaf, stem and dead material, averaging 3,302, 3,420 and 4,063 kg DM/ha respectively. Leaf accumulation and accumulation rate were greater in Year 2, and leaf accumulation rate was similar among treatments (19 kg DM ha⁻¹ day⁻¹). Leaf proportion increased 14% from Year 1 to Year 2. Specific leaf area was greater for treatments SP1 and SP3 (193 cm²/g). Tiller population density was similar across treatments in Year 1. Shaded palisadegrass maintains leaf productivity similar to FS under continuous stocking in an SP system.     

Aboveground biomass,transpiration and water use efficiency in eucalypt plantation fertilized with KCl,NaCl and phonolite rock powder

Potassium has important physiological functions in eucalypt plantations, increasing their productivity when applied to soil via mineral fertilizers. There is interest in identifying alternative sources to KCl owing to its high cost and limited reserves. The aim of the study was to test the effect of replacing KCl with NaCl and phonolite rock powder. Two comparisons were made: (1) application of 283 kg ha^?1 of KCl compared with that of 2125 kg ha^?1 of phonolite rock powder (equivalent to 170 kg ha^?1 of K₂O in both treatments); (2) application of 139 kg ha^?1 of NaCl compared with that of 183 kg ha^?1 of KCl (equivalent to 2.33 kmol Na and K, respectively). Radial growth, soil water content, leaf water potential (Ψ), accumulated transpiration, stem volume and biomass increment, as well as water use efficiency (WUE) were evaluated. In the first comparison, both fertilizations presented equal values for all characteristics evaluated. In the second, the accumulated transpiration in trees fertilized with KCl was 17% higher than that in plants fertilized with NaCl. In contrast, the WUE was 20% higher in the trees fertilized with NaCl than in those fertilized with KCl, reflecting the lower water consumption for the same increment in stem volume and biomass. We conclude that phonolite rock powder and NaCl are possible substitutes for conventional K fertilization performed with KCl.

     

Genes related to flooding tolerance during germination and early growth of weedy rice

Evolution of flooding tolerance in weedy rice has occurred in several rice-growing regions, but the genes related to this process and the environmental effects are unknown. The objective of this study was to analyse the expression of genes related to flooding tolerance in response to temperature and flooding during the initial establishment of weedy rice. The experiments were carried out with rice cultivars IRGA 417 and Nipponbare, which are sensitive to flooding, and weedy rice ITJ03 and AV04 genotypes that have high and intermediate tolerance to flooding, respectively. The expression of genes related to reserve mobilisation, anaerobic respiration, escape and quiescence strategies was analysed at periods up to 24 days after sowing. The flooding tolerance of weedy rice genotype ITJ03 was associated with the expression of RAmy3D and OsTPP7 , which are involved in the mobilisation of carbohydrate reserves, ADH1 and ADH2, which participate in anaerobic respiration, and SNRKL1 that triggers rapid elongation of the coleoptile and emergence. Although the genes PDC1, SUS3 and SUB1 are important for flooding tolerance in cultivated rice, their expression was not directly related to flooding tolerance in weedy rice. A temperature of 20°C reduced levels of expression of the RAmy3D, ADH2 and SNRKL1 genes and low temperature had a negative effect on the establishment of weedy rice. Breeding of rice genotypes with tolerance of low temperatures and anaerobic conditions may be a viable strategy to improve the control of weedy rice in paddy fields.     

Replacing Wheat Flour with Debittered and Fermented Lupin: Effects on Bread’s Physical and Nutritional Features

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - In this study the breadmaking potential of lupin flour from L. mutabilis after being debittered (DLF) and solid state fermented (FLF) was evaluated in lupin-wheat...