Phylogenetic Analyses of Phytopathogenic Isolates of Verticillium spp

ABSTRACT To better understand the genetic relationships between Verticillium dahliae isolates from lettuce and other phytopathogenic Verticillium spp. isolates from various hosts and geographic locations, the complete intergenic spacer (IGS) region of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) and the beta-tubulin gene were amplified and sequenced. The sequences of the complete IGS region and the beta-tubulin gene were used alone and in combination to infer genetic relationships among different isolates of Verticillium with the maximum-likelihood distance method. Phylogenetic analyses set sequences into four distinct groups comprising isolates of V. albo-atrum, V. tricorpus, and V. dahliae from cruciferous and noncruciferous hosts. Within the four Verticillium groups, isolates of V. dahliae from cruciferous hosts displayed the closest affinity to V. dahliae from noncruciferous hosts. Isolates of V. dahliae from noncruciferous hosts could be further divided into four subgroups based on sequence similarities within the IGS region. Cross-pathogenicity tests demonstrated that most Verticillium isolates were as virulent on other hosts as on their hosts of origin. A phenogram based on the cross pathogenicity of individual isolates resembled those derived from the IGS and beta-tubulin sequence comparisons. On the basis of the data presented, the potential origin of some isolates of V. dahliae pathogenic on lettuce is proposed.     

Comparative analysis of multi-criteria probabilistic FR and AHP models for forest fire risk(FFR) mapping in Melghat Tiger Reserve(MTR) forest

A comparative study of Frequency Ratio(FR)and Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)models are performed for forest fire risk(FFR)mapping in Melghat Tiger Reserve forest,central India.Identification of FFR depends on various hydrometeorological parameters altitude,slope,aspect,topographic position index,normalized differential vegetation index,rainfall,air temperature,land surface temperature,wind speed,distance to settlements,and distance by road are integrated using a GIS platform.The results from FR and AHP show similar trends.The FR model was significantly higher accurate(overall accuracy of 81.3%,kappa statistic 0.78)than the AHP model(overall accuracy 79.3%,kappa statistic 0.75).The FR model total forest fire risk areas were classified into five classes:very low(7.1%),low(22.2%),moderate(32.3%),high(26.9%),and very high(11.5%).The AHP fire risk classes were very low(6.7%),low(21.7%),moderate(34.0%),high(26.7%),and very high(10.9%).Sensitivity analyses were performed for AHP and FR models.The results of the two different models are compared and justified concerning the forest fire sample points(Forest Survey of India)and burn images(2010-2016).These results help in designing more effective fire management plans to improve the allocation of resources across a landscape framework.     

Long-term effects of intensive rice–wheat and agroforestry based cropping systems on build-up of nutrients and budgets in alluvial soils of Punjab,India

ABSTRACT

A detailed study was conducted to investigate the long-term effects of rice–wheat and poplar-based agro-forestry systems existing on a large area for last 25 years on the distribution of macro as well as micronutrients in surface soils, as well as their profiles. To achieve these objectives, profile soil samples (0–150 cm) were collected from 10 randomly scattered locations each from rice–wheat and poplar-based agro-forestry systems and analyzed for various physico-chemical properties. The results of our investigation revealed that pH, EC, OC available N, P and K reported significantly higher levels in agro-forestry as compared to rice–wheat system. On the other hand, DTPA-extractable and total Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn were significantly higher in D1 (0–15 cm), D2 (15–30 cm) and D3 (30–45 cm) depths of rice–wheat system which may be attributed to the reduced conditions prevailing during rice crop. Nutrient budgeting also assessed the impact of crop removal and fertilizer inputs along with recycling of crop residue and leaf litter. Also, the build-up of available nutrient status in surface layer (0–15 cm) and soil profiles (0–150 cm) continuously under these two systems helped in maintaining agricultural sustainability and soil fertility over a long period of time.     

Premature seed germination induced by very-long-chain fatty acids causes jelly seed disorder in the mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivar ‘Amrapali’ in India

Jelly seed (JS) in ‘Amrapali’ mango (Mangifera indica L.) is a physiological disorder, the cause of which has long remained obscure. The disorder is distinguished by the appearance of jelly-like tissue in the pulp adjoining the stone, although the fruit show no external symptoms. The objective of this study was to determine the causative factor inducing the JS disorder in ‘Amrapali’ mango. Studies showed, for the first time, that JS in ‘Amrapali’ mango arose at the start of germination-associated events in the seed of developing fruit. The trigger for premature seed germination originated from reduced synthesis of very-long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) in the seed of developing fruit. This then promoted the production of cytokinins, leading to the onset of premature germination-associated events in the seed. Consequently, a large increase in the activities of pectinolytic enzymes in JS pulp occurred that led to the rapid degradation of pectin and excessive softening of the pulp, to the consistency of jelly. The application of plant growth regulators to developing fruit showed that gibberellic acid (GA₃) increased the incidence of JS, while paclobutrazol reduced the incidence of JS, confirming that the onset of early germination during fruit maturation and ripening played a primary role in the incidence of the JS disorder.     

Herd-level risk factors for bovine viral diarrhea infection in cattle of Tamil Nadu

A cross-sectional study was carried out to identify risk factors for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection in 62 randomly selected dairy herds which were tested for BVD serum antibodies by using an indirect ELISA kit (IDEXX). Results from the chi-square test analysis were interpreted by analyzing by chi-square test. A sum of 500 sera samples were screened and 66 animals (13.20%) showed positive for BVDV antibody. Within herd, BVD seroprevalence was 12–65%. This study concluded that epidemiological risk factors like location, herd size, housing patterns like, tail to tail system, roofing pattern, distance between the manure pit and farm, and distance between farms were significantly associated with BVDV serological status (P?<?0.05).     

Use of modeled photosynthesis and decomposition to describe tree growth at the northern tree line

Growth of subarctic Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees was investigated by a combination of process-based models and dendroecological approaches. Tree ring width indices were strongly autocorrelated and correlated with simulated photosynthetic production of the previous year and with organic matter N mineralization of the current year. An autoregressive model, with photosynthesis and N mineralization as external inputs, explained growth of the trees well. However, relationships for the period 1950-1992 differed significantly from relationships for the period 1876-1949; the slope of the regression of tree ring width index and photosynthesis was lower for the 1950-1992 period. Also, the autocorrelation structure of the data changed. First-order autocorrelation decreased and second-order autocorrelation increased from the earlier to the later period. This means that growth is becoming less sensitive to variations in photosynthetic production, whereas the relationships between growth and N mineralization are remaining fairly constant. We postulate that, although photosynthesis has increased in response to increasing CO2 concentrations, tree growth rate cannot parallel the increase in photosynthesis because potential growth rate is limited directly by temperature.     

Zur Wirkung der Partikelgröße der Imaginalnahrung auf die Eizahl vonTribolium castaneum (Hbst.) (Col., Tenebrionidae)

Whole and intact wheat grains or those broken into 2 or 8 equal pieces and supplemented with yeast provided as adult food to individuals ofTribolium castaneum considerably reduced the egg output in these beetles although their larvae were reared on finely powdered yeast-supplemented whole wheat flour. However, egg fertility in all the three dietary situations was 100%.     

Biology of Termites

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Biology of Termites

     

Amelioration of Sodic Soil for Wheat Cultivation Using Bioaugmented Organic Soil Amendment

A novel bioaugmented organic amendment (SF_OA) [consisted of vermicompost (pre‐enriched with plant growth promoting fungi) mixed with pressmud and Azadirachta indica (A. Juss.) seed cake] was developed to reclaim sodic soil and support wheat production. A field trial of the SF_OA application with/without chemical fertilizers conducted in completely randomized design with four replications to compare growth, yield and seed protein contents of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) on sodic soil. The favourable changes occurred in different properties of amended soils were studied. A combined application of chemical fertilizer and SF_OA significantly (p < 0·05) increased the number of spikelet per plant (63%) and weight of grains per ear (65%) in the amended soil compared with the control. Likewise, the grain yield, weight of 1000 grains and seed protein contents of wheat were significantly (p < 0·05) increased in the combined application compared with other treatments. The expression of protein bands with molecular weights of 36, 52 and 66 kDa were higher in seeds of wheat under the combined treatment. The improvement in wheat production was attributed to significant favourable changes in different soil characteristics such as bulk density, total organic C, alkaline phosphatase, β‐glucosidase, dehydrogenase and cellulase activities that were increased by 234%, 181%, 234%, 176%, 189% and 150%, respectively, in case of amended soil under the combined treatment compared with the control. The tested SF_OA may be recommended as soil amendment for reclaiming sodic soil and supporting wheat cultivation with better crop growth and yield in combination with chemical fertilizers on sodic soil. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ameliorative influence of sesame lignans on lipid profile and lipid peroxidation in induced diabetic rats

Sesame lignans are working as antioxidants in various physiological functions. In the present study, the antioxidative effect of sesame lignans is examined in chemically induced diabetes mellitus (DM) in rats against lipid profile and lipid peroxidations. DM was induced in four groups of rats by injection of alloxan. The control groups (non-diabetic and diabetic) received a diet containing sunflower oil while the rest of the three experimental diabetic groups received a diet containing 0.25% alpha-tocopherol (D-Toc), 0.5% sesame lignan (D-SL), and 0.25% alpha-tocopherol+0.25% sesame lignan (D-Toc-SL) in sunflower oil for 4 weeks. Lipid profile and lipid peroxidations of plasma, erythrocyte membrane (EM), and liver tissues were measured. The total cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, plasma lipid peroxidation, and also LDL-peroxidation decreased, and HDL cholesterol increased significantly (P<0.05) in all the experimental groups as compared to the control diabetic sunflower oil group. The triacylglycerol (TAG) level in plasma decreased significantly in the D-SL and D-Toc-SL groups as compared to control diabetic group. Significant decrease in TAG level was observed in the D-SL group as compared to the D-Toc group. LDL peroxidation also decreased significantly in the D-Toc-SL group as compared to the D-Toc group. EM lipid peroxidation and liver lipid peroxidation decreased significantly in the D-Toc, D-SL, and D-Toc-SL groups as compared to the control diabetic group. Liver TAG level decreased more significantly in the D-SL and D-Toc-SL groups than in the control diabetic group. So, sesame lignans at 0.5% level and sesame lignan + alpha-tocopherol significantly ameliorate the alteration in lipid profile and the adverse free radical generative influence of DM induced by alloxan.