Evaluation of genetic resources in the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Asparagus</Emphasis> for resistance to <Emphasis Type="Italic">Asparagus virus 1</Emphasis> (AV-1)

Forty-four Asparagus officinalis cultivars, gene bank accessions and breeding lines as well as thirty-four accessions of wild relatives of Asparagus were evaluated for resistance to Asparagus virus 1. Three different test strategies were developed for the assessment of individual plants: (1) natural infection under field conditions, or two vector-mediated infection assays using the green peach aphid Myzus persicae (2) in an insect-proof gauze cage or (3) in a climate chamber. The AV-1 infections were verified by DAS-ELISA and RT-PCR approaches. All tested 660 individual plants of A. officinalis germplasm were susceptible to AV-1 infection. In contrast, in 276 plants of 29 Asparagus wild accessions no virus infection could be detected. These resistant accessions comprised of nineteen diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid species of both the Eurasian clade and the African clade of the asparagus germplasm. Data of the AV-1 resistance evaluation are discussed in relation to the genetic distance of the resistance carrier and potential application in breeding.     

Characterization of the village goat production systems in the rural communities of the Eastern Cape,KwaZulu-Natal,Limpopo and North West Provinces of South Africa

Expansion of goat improvement programs requires exploration of the factors that influence the production system and breeding initiatives. Characterization of goat breeds or populations is crucial in providing information on prevalent goat types and their attributes and may suffice as a guideline on conservation, development, and selection for improved productivity. This study investigated the existing village goat production system and phenotypic diversity of the different village populations from four South African provinces. The study further investigated the use of phenotypic attributes to classify goats to breeds or populations. Data was collected from 142 households in 26 villages of the Eastern Cape (n?=?2 villages), KwaZulu-Natal (n?=?6 villages), Limpopo (n?=?13 villages), and North West (n?=?5 villages) provinces through a survey. Individual interviews and focus group discussions revealed that the mean goat herd size per household was least in Limpopo at 13.2?±?12.40 and highest in Eastern Cape (34.18?±?28.36). Flocks had more (p?<?0.05) adults than kids, and the distribution of breeding animals was biased towards does and less bucks. Goats were kept mainly for meat, for selling, and for ritual ceremonies. The goat production system was mainly scavenging. Goat health was a major challenge across households and villages. Qualitative traits such coat, horn, ears, and wattle characteristics were recorded for populations of village goats (n?=?319) and a feral Tankwa breed (n?=?50). The dominant coat pattern was plain (74.53%) with black as the most common coat color (31.98%). Across breeds, a majority (88.08%) of the goats had horns, and 7.59% had wattles while 56.64% had beard. Adult goats (<3 years; n?=?398) were further analyzed for five quantitative traits of chest girth, height, length, and pin bone and there were significant (p?<?0.05) breed differences in all. A stepwise discriminatory procedure was used to rank the quantitative traits according to their discriminatory power to separate breeds or populations. Significant traits were then subjected to canonical discriminant analysis for principle component analysis. Based on the quantitative traits, the Tankwa, Xhosa, and Tswana goats formed their own cluster separated from commercial meat type breeds and the Venda and Zulu ecotypes. The discriminant function analysis correctly classified 90.41% of the Zulu goats and 82.93% of the Xhosa village populations. None of the Savanna goats were correctly classified. The study demonstrated diversity in village goat populations and production systems, which would allow for within population selection in genetic improvement programs. The heterogeneity in the phenotypic traits in the village goats is reflective of the role of village production systems in the maintenance of animal diversity in local populations.     

Impact of okra leaf curl disease on morphology and yield of okra

The impact of okra leaf curl disease on four accessions of a local okra cultivar and four commercial okra cultivars was assessed in field conditions from June to October in 2007 and 2008. Disease incidence varied from 68.5% to 72.5% among accessions of the local cultivar while commercial cultivars were much less infected (8.7–16.2%). Diseased plants of the local cultivar suffered more reduced growth (58% reduction) than those of the commercial cultivars (39.6%). The number of marketable fruits per plant, the fruit length, fruit diameter and fruit weight which were subject to reductions of 26–61%, 19–64%, 6–42% and 23–63%, respectively. The overall yield losses were significantly higher in accessions of the local cultivar (26–55%) than in the commercial ones (4.4–9.6%). The average economic losses for one hectare of crop were estimated at of 11,100 USD and 1950 USD, respectively for the local and the commercial cultivars.     

Linking nest histories,remotely sensed land use data and wildlife crime records to explore the impact of grouse moor management on peregrine falcon populations

Wildlife crime can be difficult to quantify, and its true impact on populations can be underestimated if rates are under-recorded. The illegal killing of birds of prey is an important form of wildlife crime, which in the UK, is often associated with land managed for the recreational shooting of red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus. In the UK, increases in peregrine falcons Falco peregrinus following recovery from organo-chlorine pesticides have not been uniform, with slow growth and localised declines in some areas, including those managed for red grouse shooting. In this study, we combined 1081 peregrine nest histories across northern England between 1980 and 2006 with a remotely sensed map of grouse moor management, to test whether breeding performance was lower in areas with active management for grouse shooting. Productivity of pairs on grouse moors was 50% lower than pairs breeding on non-grouse moor habitat. However, clutch size and brood size of successful nests did not differ between habitat types, suggesting that food constraints were unlikely to explain this difference. Population models suggested source-sink dynamics, with populations on grouse moors unable to sustain themselves without immigration. Population data confirmed that growth rates were indeed lower on grouse moors than on non-grouse moor sites. Analysis of wildlife crime data confirmed that persecution of the species was more frequent on grouse moors than in other habitat types. This population will be more secure, and better able to function as a barometer of environmental health and climate change, if illegal persecution of the species ceases on areas of land managed for grouse shooting.     

Avian CD154 enhances humoral and cellular immune responses induced by an adenovirus vector-based vaccine in chickens

Recombinant adenoviral vectors have emerged as an attractive system for veterinary vaccines development. However, for poultry vaccination a very important criterion for an ideal vaccine is its low cost. The objective of this study was to test the ability of chicken CD154 to enhance the immunogenicity of an adenoviral vector-based vaccine against avian influenza virus in order to reduce the amount of antigen required to induce an effective immune response in avian. Chickens were vaccinated with three different doses of adenoviral vectors encoding either HA (AdHA), or HA fused to extracellular domain chicken's CD154 (AdHACD). Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay and relative quantification of IFN-γ showed that the adenoviral vector encoding for the chimeric antigen is able to elicit an improved humoral and cellular immune response, which demonstrated that CD154 can be used as a molecular adjuvant allowing to reduce in about 50-fold the amount of adenoviral vector vaccine required to induce an effective immune response.     

Comparison of two assays, a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) and a coproantigen reduction test (CRT), for the diagnosis of resistance to triclabendazole in Fasciola hepatica in sheep

A sheep trial was performed to evaluate two diagnostic assays, a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) and a coproantigen reduction test (CRT), for the diagnosis of resistance of Fasciola hepatica to triclabendazole (TCBZ). The FECRT defines successful TCBZ treatment as a 95% or greater reduction in fluke faecal egg counts (FECs) at 14 days post-treatment (dpt). The CRT defines effective TCBZ treatment as faeces negative for Fasciola coproantigens at 14dpt, as measured by the commercial BIO K201 coproantigen ELISA (Bio-X Diagnostics, Jemelle, Belgium). Forty-nine indoor-reared sheep were split into four trial groups and each sheep was infected with 200 metacercariae of 1 of 4 F. hepatica isolates, previously described as susceptible (Cullompton and Fairhurst) and resistant (Leon and Oberon) to TCBZ action, respectively. TCBZ treatment was administered at 12 weeks post-infection (wpi) to one sub-group in each infected sheep group, and these sheep were culled at 4 weeks post-treatment (wpt). Untreated sheep sub-groups, were culled at a parallel time-point, that is, at 16wpi. Necropsy was performed to confirm treatment efficacy. Individual faecal samples were collected twice-weekly throughout the trial period, sub-sampled and examined by a standardised egg sedimentation protocol and by the BIO K201 ELISA. Results supported the use of both the FECRT and the CRT for the diagnosis of resistance of F. hepatica to TCBZ. In addition, the study confirmed the TCBZ susceptibility of the Cullompton and Fairhurst F. hepatica isolates and the TCBZ resistance of the Oberon F. hepatica isolate. However, the Leon F. hepatica isolate was found to be susceptible, rather than resistant, to TCBZ action.     

Digit innervation of the thoracic limb of Criollo horses: Anatomical description and consequences to perineural blocks

Criollo horse breeding is an important economic activity in South America. Because of their athletic performance, these animals tend to show great incidence of musculoskeletal disorders, many of them diagnosed by means of perineural blocks. However, incorrect interpretation of these blocks may be due to anatomical differences in nerve distribution. The objective of this study was to describe the innervation of the digit region of thoracic limbs in Criollo horses, in order to improve the interpretation of tests for claudication diagnosis based on nerve block. Thirty thoracic limbs from Criollo horses were dissected. It could be observed that in 90% of the limbs, dorsal branches of the palmar nerve originated proximally to the proximal sesamoid bone. In 93% of the cases, the palmar digital nerve and the dorsal branches communicated; in 87% of the cases, communication between branches of the dorsal branch was observed; and in 27% (8/30) of the limbs, the palmar metacarpal nerve and the dorsal branch presented communications. None of the specimens showed complete symmetry in the distribution of nerves in contralateral limbs. The high frequency of communication between the nerves may be a particularity of the Criollo breed that may interfere with the interpretation of perineural blocks. Based on the anatomical position, it may be inferred that divergent results in Criollo horses may occur when abaxial sesamoid nerve block is used. Palmar digital nerve block may be less influenced by these variations, provided it is performed as distal as possible from the ungular cartilage.     

First report of 16Sr II‐C subgroup phytoplasma association with Acacia mangium in Tripura,India

Leaf yellowing symptoms were observed on Acacia mangium in the Sipahijala district of Tripura, India, during June 2017. Symptomatic and asymptomatic leaf samples (three of each) were collected from roadside trees of A. mangium for DNA extraction using the CTAB method. Amplicons of ~1.25 kb and ~480 bp were detected in all the symptomatic samples using the phytoplasma‐specific universal 16S rRNA and secA gene primers. Pair wise sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, virtual RFLP and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the phytoplasma strain associated with A. mangium belonged to phytoplasma subgroup 16SrII‐C. This is the first report of an association between the 16SrII‐C subgroup and A. mangium leaf yellowing.     

Experimental Escherichia coli endotoxin-induced sensitisation and abortion in sows

Subcutaneous injection of 235 micrograms endotoxin from E coli 08: K87, K88ab into two sows 14 days before the expected farrowing date elicited a toxic shock reaction but the sows recovered and farrowed normally. No reaction was observed in two other sows which had received endotoxin-free 0.9 per cent saline. In a subsequent pregnancy, the same four sows were injected subcutaneously with 23 mg of the same endotoxin preparation. Those which had previously received endotoxin exhibited a severe shock reaction and aborted after 28 and 40 hours, respectively, while the other two sows showed a milder reaction and farrowed normally.