Serologic evidence of avian influenza H9N2 and paramyxovirus type 1 infection in emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) in India

An avian influenza (AI) surveillance was undertaken in Maharashtra state, India during the period 2010-2011. There are no reports of AI surveillance in emus from India. A total of 202 blood samples and 467 tracheal and cloacal swabs were collected from eight emu farms. A hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay was performed for detection of antibodies against AI H5N1, H7N1, H9N2, and avian paramyxovirus type 1 (APMV-1) viruses. A microneutralization (MN) assay was performed to confirm the presence of neutralizing antibodies against AI H9N2 and to compare with HI assays. A total of 28.2% and 28.7% of samples were positive for antibodies against AI H9N2 by HI and MN assays, respectively, using > or = 1:40 as a cut-off titer; 15.3% samples were positive for APMV-1 by HI assay using a > or = 1:10 cut-off titer. Seropositivity of AI H9N2 was nil in the grower (<1 yr) age group and highest (78%) in the breeder (2-3 yr) age group, whereas seropositivity against APMV-1 was observed in all age groups. Performance of both HI and MN assays was similar, suggesting the utility of using the MN assay along with HI assay for surveillance studies. This is the first report of the seroprevalence of AI H9N2 and APMV-1 in emus in India.     

Ecological Risk Assessment of Alfalfa Medicago Varia L.) Genetically Engineered to Express a Human Metallothionein (hMT) Gene

The objectives of these studies were two-fold: (1) to determine efficacy of low and high expression hMT gene constructs by assessing accumulation of Cu in shoots of parental and transgenic plants of alfalfa (Medicago varia L.) exposed to different concentrations of CuSO₄ by addition of CuSO₄ solutions to soil and (2) to identify potential unintended effects of the genetic engineering on root and shoot biomass, shoot nutrient content, arbuscular mycorrhizal infection and on the metabolic functions of microbial communities in the rhizosphere. In the absence of exogenous CuSO₄ additions to soil shoot biomass and the macronutrient (C, P, K, Ca, Mg and N) content of plants expressing hMT were not significantly different from the parental control. In the 0.5 mM and 1.0 mM CuSO₄ treatments transgenic plants expressing the commonly used transgenic β-glucuronidase (GUS) marker had significantly higher Fe content than the parental genotype. Significant differences were observed in the carbon substrate utilization patterns of rhizosphere microbial communities among the transgenic plants; no significant differences were observed in the percent mycorrhizal infection of parental and transgenic plants. Shoot biomass increased significantly in all genotypes treated with 0.5 mM CuSO₄ and decreased in all genotypes at CuSO₄ concentrations of 1.5 mM and 2.0 mM. Root dry weights decreased significantly in all genotypes at concentrations of 1.0 mM, 1.5 mM and 2.0 mM CuSO₄. The largest decreases in root dry weight were observed in hMT genotypes grown in soil treated with 1.5 and 2.0 mM CuSO₄. In plants treated with 1.5 mM CuSO₄, shoots of transgenic plants expressing the hMT gene accumulated nominally, but not statistically significantly higher levels of Cu in shoot tissue. Our results were surprising with regard to lack of sufficient efficacy of the current hMT constructs for significant accumulation of Cu from soil treated with CuSO₄. However, our results suggest the utility of applying adverse levels of CuSO₄ or other environmental stressors to identify potential unintended effects of genetic engineering that may not be apparent under typically more optimal plant growth test conditions.     

Effect of dietary fibres on bioavailability of vitamin A and thiamine

Different sources of dietary fibre (cellulose, pectin, Isabgol, cabbage and guava) were fed to weaning rats for 5 weeks to study their effect on serum vitamins. Both the plant foods (cabbage and guava) were analysed for dietary fibre. Guava was found to be a good source of dietary fibre constituting 51.77% of dry pulp, whereas cabbage contained only 16.17%. Cellulose was the major component of dietary fibre in both the plant foods. The concentration of vitamin A and thiamine in the serum of fibre-fed rats was significantly lower than that of rats on a fibre-free diet. However, the amount of vitamin A in serum decreased significantly with the increase in level of dietary fibre, but the decrease was non-significant in the case of thiamine.     

Variation in a wild groundnut species, Arachis duranensis Krapov. & W.C. Gregory

Forty-two accessions of Arachis duranensis, a wild groundnut species that has been reported as a source of resistance to several groundnut diseases, were studied for 30 quantitative traits including total protein content, oil content, and reaction to groundnut rust. Protein profiles were also investigated for variation at the molecular level. Principal component analysis was applied to 28 traits that showed significant variation. Of these, only five characters, namely, height of the main stem, length of apical leaflet on the main stem, length of isthmus between pods, width of seed, and reaction to groundnut rust, accounted for more than 61.4% of the total variation. Protein profiles of these accessions were broadly similar, except some accessions which differed in few bands. The importance of these variations in strategies for germplasm collection and breeding is discussed.Submitted as Journal Article No. 1507 by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru P.O. 502 324 A.P. India.     

Substitution of mineral fertilizers with biofertilizer: an alternate to improve the growth,yield and functional biochemical properties of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Camarosa

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to substitute mineral fertilizers with biofertilizers in strawberry to work out the yield, quality of strawberry and soil fertility. A 25% substitution of mineral fertilizer with biofertilizer increased the number of fruits/plant along with improving Juice content (89.55%), Total soluble solids (10.35°B), total sugar (6.69%), ascorbic acid (43.80?mg 100?g^?1), anthocyanin content (81.05?mg 100?g^?1), total phenol (5.97?mg Gallic acid equiv. g^?1), flavonoids (0.12?mg g^?1) and antioxidant capacity (2.13?µmol. Trolox equiv. 100?g^?1). The available N and K content in post-harvest soils were improved significantly with 75% RDF + Azospirillium @ 2?g plant^?1 + PSB @ 2?g plant^?1 + topdressing of 25% K treatments (200.10 and 211.70?kg ha^?1, respectively). Viable count of soil microorganisms (Bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi) was also estimated maximum (4066, 190 and 11.33?×?10⁴ cfu g^?1?dry soil, respectively) with substitution of 25% of mineral fertilizer either with Azotobacter or Azospirillum.     

Development of a method to assess binding of astaxanthin to Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. muscle proteins

Several methods were examined to characterize the binding between astaxanthin and salmon muscle protein(s) in order to provide tools for evaluation of the role of muscle proteins on astaxanthin retention in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. flesh. The methods included gel filtration chromatography, displacement of a hydrophobic probe and ultrafiltration. With gel filtration chromatography, aggregation of astaxanthin under the experimental conditions was a major problem for the separation of bound astaxanthin from free astaxanthin because the apparent molecular weight of aggregated astaxanthin or astaxanthin micelles was in the range of protein–astaxanthin complexes. Displacement of the fluorescent probe 8‐anilino‐1‐naphthalenesulphonate (ANS) was not effective as astaxanthin quenched the fluorophore so that displacement could not be observed. An ultrafiltration method was developed using 200‐mM sodium cholate for dispersion of astaxanthin aggregates. This allowed unbound astaxanthin to be separated from bound astaxanthin using a 30‐kDa filter. After salmon muscle proteins were solubilized in different fractions by sequential extraction using low ionic strength solutions, the astaxanthin binding of different fractions was assessed using the ultrafiltration method. The significant difference (P<0.05) observed in the astaxanthin binding of the various fractions suggests an application of this assay to detect differences in affinity of proteins for astaxanthin. The results also suggest that proteins other than actomyosin or actin can bind astaxanthin in Atlantic salmon flesh. This method can be used for the identification of astaxanthin‐binding proteins in salmon flesh and other tissues.     

A cannulation technique for urine collection from haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus L.

Urine collection from fish is an integral part of metabolic studies designed to measure the excretion of various biochemical compounds. The techniques developed for urine collection in salmonids cannot be applied to gadoid fish due to the anatomical differences in their urinary system. The anterior ureter of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus L.) is an elongated duct that originates from the anterior part of the trunk kidney and courses dorsal‐posterior to the region of the uropore. The posterior ureter originates from the middle of the caudal kidney, and eventually fuses with the anterior ureter before forming a small urinary bladder. After the two ureters join together, a short common duct empties into the urinary bladder and terminates at the uropore behind the anus. Just before the end, the terminal posterior ureter takes a sharp U‐shaped turn, which makes cannulation difficult. We investigated the development of a cannulation technique for urine collection in three different‐sized groups of juvenile haddock. In anaesthetized fish, a catheter was inserted in the uropore in a posterior direction to follow the U‐shaped course of the ureter. After insertion of the catheter into the uropore, the externalized segment of tubing was connected to a needle attached to a syringe. Urine was then aspirated from each of the 20 fish at 15 μL min^?1 for 5 min to measure urine volume and urinary phosphate concentration. The results were reproducible and this cannulation technique has potential for use in other gadoid metabolic studies.     

Genetic Variation and Chromosomal Mosaicism in the Natural Populations of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. from Rajasthan,India

ABSTRACT

Meiotic investigations were carried out in four different accessions of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. collected from various parts of Rajasthan, India. Chromosome associations, chiasma analysis and distinct pattern of chromosome/chromatids at anaphase I and II were studied in detail. The study revealed that all the accessions had the gametic chromosome number, except one (B. aegyptiaca BSJO-25160) that had n = 18. BSJO-25160 accession was characteristic in exhibiting chimeric nature as revealed through chromosome mosaicism, which resulted in variant chromosome number ranging from n = 9 to n = 16 in different pollen mother cells analyzed. The evolutionary implications of chromosome mosaicism/chimerism and its role in the development of anueploid series are discussed in detail.     

Breaking the intergeneric crossing barrier in papaya using sucrose treatment

A breeding programme was undertaken using Carica papaya var. Surya and Vasconcellea cauliflora with a view to raise progenies resistant to ‘papaya ringspot virus’ (PRSV). Earlier studies have clearly demonstrated the cross incompatibility between these two genera. Hence, an attempt was made to break this barrier using sucrose. The pollen of V. cauliflora was collected and pollination was carried out by smearing sucrose solution in the concentrations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5% on to the stigmatic surface of the flower. At 5% sucrose concentration, maximum viable seed set (13.73) was obtained. Sucrose at 5% was observed to break the intergeneric barrier by enhancing the pollen germination. There was drastic reduction in the effect of sucrose with the decrease in the concentration levels. The pollen germination studies carried out with and without sucrose clearly demonstrated the efficacy of sucrose in enhancing pollen germination and pollen tube growth. The intervarietal hybridization carried out between the varieties Surya and Pusa Dwarf showed 91.7% set of the fruits with 300 viable seeds per fruit. The hybridity of the progenies was confirmed using ISSR primers by the amplification of DNA from progenies and parents. Four primers UBC 807, 810, 814 and 861 clearly amplified male specific bands, which were present in progenies, but absent in female parent.