Comparative study of the characteristics of the carcass and the meat of the Chato Murciano pig and its cross with Iberian pig, reared indoors

The Chato Murciano pig is a breed catalogued as a Special Protection breed in danger of extinction. At present it is commonly reared in an intensive system. We have studied the mineral composition and other characteristics of its carcass and meat. Samples from the Musculus longissimus lumborum were taken from a total number of 43 animals, divided into two groups, Chato Murciano and Chato Murciano crossed with Iberian, reared in a conventional indoor system. The resulting meat of the Chato Murciano pig and its cross with Iberian was especially rich in iron and copper, rich in phosphorus, and marginally poor in calcium and sodium. The evolution of the pH of the carcass was that of pigs which do not produce PSE (pale, soft and exudative) meat. Some relevant positive correlation coefficients between minerals (P ≤ 0.05) have been found.     

The socioeconomics and management of Santiago de Chile''s public urban forests

Santiago, Chile's semi-arid climate and urbanized environment poses a severe limitation for the establishment and maintenance of urban forests. Municipalities, or comunas, are the main stakeholders in the management of Santiago's public urban forests. A tenable hypothesis would be that as the socioeconomic level of a comuna increases, the better the condition of a comuna's urban forest. Unfortunately, there is little comprehensive information on management, public expenditure, and structure of Santiago's public and private urban forests. To examine this hypothesis, Santiago was divided into socioeconomic strata, then using air photo interpretation and stratified field sampling, urban forest structures were quantified by socioeconomic strata. In addition, interview surveys were used to determine municipal urban forest management and expenditures for different public urban forests based on socioeconomic strata. Urban forests in the high socioeconomic strata had fewer public trees, greater tree cover, tree and leaf area density, and leaf area index than lower socioeconomic strata. The percentage of total municipal budget allocated to public urban forest management was consistent among strata, but the total public urban forest budgets were greater in the high socioeconomic strata. Public urban forest structure is related to the socioeconomic strata of Santiago's different comunas.     

Artenspektrum und Befallshäufigkeit von Fusarium spp. in Bt- und konventionellem Mais im Maiszünsler-Befallsgebiet Oderbruch

The European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) is one of the most important pests of maize (Zea mays). Injuries to the plants caused by the larvae of the European corn borer may represent entrance gates for fungal-spores. The cultivation of Bacillus thuringiensis maize (Bt-maize) is one possibility to reduce infestation by the European corn borer. The aim of the present project was to determine and to compare the number of species and the frequency of Fusarium spp. infestation in Bt-maize (cry1Ab) and conventional maize. In 2003, we analysed the Fusarium spp. infestation of samples of chaffed Bt-maize and its isogenic variety on two experimental fields in the Oderbruch region (Germany), an European corn borer infested area. The conventional variety on the first of the experimental fields (previous crop wheat and forking cultivation) showed a small infestation (16%) of Ostrinia nubilalis while in the conventional variety on the second field (previous crop maize and not forking cultivation) the infestation of the European corn borer was almost three times higher (47%). In the conventional variety on both of the experimental fields we found a high Fusarium spp. infestation (70%). Especially species of the section Liseola dominates, among them: F. subglutinans, F. proliferatum und F. verticillioides. The Fusarium infestation in the samples of Bt-maize from the field with previous crop wheat and forking cultivation was just as high as in the conventional variety (70%). The infestation of Fusarium spp. in the samples of Bt-maize from the field with previous crop maize and forking cultivation was more than 20?% lower.     

Assessment of real-time PCR as a method for determining the presence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Verticillium dahliae</Emphasis> in different Solanaceae cultivars

Real-time PCR was used to detect and quantify Verticillium dahliae and to assess the susceptibility of four Capsicum annuum cultivars (Luesia, Padrón, SCM331 and PI201234) and the Capsicum chinense cv. C118 to this pathogen. The symptoms which developed after infection included stunting and yellowing, and were more acute in the cv. SCM331, which also suffered defoliation in later stages of the disease and in C118, which suffered severe stunting. Quantification of the pathogen DNA in roots 23 and 34 days post-inoculation (dpi) revealed that there were significantly higher amounts of Verticillium dahliae DNA in C118 than in the other cultivars, followed by SCM331, Padrón and PI201234. The lowest amounts of fungal DNA in roots were found in Luesia. In hypocotyls, the highest amounts of fungal DNA were found in SCM331, while Luesia, Padrón and PI201234 had much lower amounts, and C118 had intermediate levels. When a compatible versus an incompatible system was studied, using the near-isogenic tomato lines LA3030 (susceptible) and LA3038 (resistant to V. dahliae), we were able to detect fungal DNA in both lines. As expected, the fungus/plant DNA ratio was lower in LA3038 than in LA3030 and it decreased with time in LA3038. The amount of Verticillium dahliae DNA in the roots of LA3030 remained constant between days 23 and 34 post-inoculation, but increased 10-fold in collars. Finally, when real-time PCR was applied as a diagnostic method to samples from pepper plants, soil and water collected from farms in northwest Spain, we were able to detect V. dahliae DNA in these samples even when symptoms of the disease were not evident.     

Influence of the stage of ripeness on phenolic metabolism and antioxidant activity in table grapes exposed to different CO2 treatments

We have analyzed the influence of the stage of ripeness on L-phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) gene expression, accumulation of anthocyanins and total phenolics, and on antioxidant activity in the skin of table grapes treated with 20% CO₂ + 20% O₂ + 60 % N₂ for 3 or 6 d at low temperature (0 °C). The residual effect of high CO₂ treatment after transfer to air was also studied. In early harvested grapes, neither the anthocyanin content nor the accumulation of VcPAL mRNA was affected by any of the CO₂ treatments applied. However, in late harvested grapes, the duration of high CO₂ treatment determined its effect and a 6 d treatment with CO₂ sustained higher levels of total phenolics and anthocyanin accumulation, and VcPAL expression than observed in untreated late harvested grapes. The increased antioxidant capacity was correlated with the total amount of phenolics and anthocyanins. Conversely, in grapes treated for 3 d with CO₂ the phenylpropanoid pathway did not appear to be induced and a relationship between antioxidant activity and anthocyanins was not observed. Thus, further studies are needed to identify the most important antioxidants in these treated fruit.     

A set of primers for analyzing chloroplast DNA diversity in Citrus and related genera

Chloroplast simple sequence repeat (cpSSR) markers in Citrus were developed and used to analyze chloroplast diversity of Citrus and closely related genera. Fourteen cpSSR primer pairs from the chloroplast genomes of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and Arabidopsis were found useful for analyzing the Citrus chloroplast genome (cpDNA) and recoded with the prefix SPCC (SSR Primers for Citrus Chloroplast). Eleven of the 14 primer pairs revealed some degree of polymorphism among 34 genotypes of Citrus, Fortunella, Poncirus and some of their hybrids, with polymorphism information content (PIC) values ranging from 0.057 to 0.732, and 18 haplotypes were identified. The cpSSR data were analyzed with NTSYS-pc software, and the genetic relationships suggested by the unweighted pair group method based on arithmetic means (UPGMA) dendrogram were congruent with previous taxonomic investigations: the results showed that all samples fell into seven major clusters, i.e., Citrus medica L., Poncirus, Fortunella, C. ichangensis Blanco, C. reticulata Swingle, C. aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle and C. grandis (L.) Osbeck. The results of previous studies combined with our cpSSR analyses revealed that: (1) Calamondin (C. madurensis Swingle) is the result of hybridization between kumquat (Fortunella) and mandarin (C. reticulata), where kumquat acted as the female parent; (2) Ichang papeda (C. ichangensis) has a unique taxonomic status; and (3) although Bendiguangju mandarin (C. reticulata) and Satsuma mandarin (C. reticulata) are similar in fruit shape and leaf morphology, they have different maternal parents. Bendiguangju mandarin has the same cytoplasm as sweet orange (C. sinensis), whereas Satsuma mandarin has the cytoplasm of C. reticulata. Seventeen PCR products from SPCC1 and 21 from SPCC11 were cloned and sequenced. The results revealed that mononucleotide repeats as well as insertions and deletions of small segments of DNA were associated with SPCC1 polymorphism, whereas polymorphism generated by SPCC11 was essentially due to the variation in length of the mononucleotide repeats.     

Selective modification of clay minerals for the adsorption of herbicides widely used in olive groves

Ground and surface water contamination by herbicides applied to olive groves in Spain and other Mediterranean countries is demanding strategies to prevent and remediate the environmental problems repeatedly caused by such herbicides. In this study, six different organic cations (L-carnitine, spermine, hexadimethrine, tyramine, phenyltrimethylammonium, and hexadecyltrimethylammonium) were incorporated into Na-rich Wyoming montmorillonite (SWy-2) and Ca-rich Arizona montmorillonite (SAz-1) at two different loadings (50% and 100% of the cation exchange capacity of the clays) as a strategy to enhance the affinity of the clay minerals for three herbicides widely used in olive groves: terbuthylazine, diuron, and MCPA. The modified montmorillonites were characterized and tested as adsorbents of the herbicides through batch adsorption tests. At the experimental conditions used, some of the modified montmorillonites removed more than 95% of the herbicide initially present in aqueous solution, whereas the unmodified clays removed less than 15%. All three herbicides displayed very strong affinities for SAz-1 exchanged with hexadecyltrimethylammonium cations, particularly when these were incorporated at 100% of the cation exchange capacity of the clay mineral. Terbuthylazine and diuron also displayed very strong affinities for SWy-2 exchanged with L-carnitine and spermine, respectively. The chemical characteristics of the organic cation greatly influenced the adsorptive properties of the resultant organoclay. The herbicides were in general reversibly adsorbed by the modified clays. The results indicate that some of the tested modified clays could be suitable for the removal of the assayed herbicides from contaminated water and also as possible supports for the design of slow release formulations of such herbicides to attenuate their environmental impact when used in high-risk scenarios such as olive groves.     

Inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase expression by an acetonic extract from Feijoa sellowiana Berg. fruits

Feijoa sellowiana Berg. fruits and especially the acetonic extract have been shown to possess biological activities, although the responsible compounds have never been identified. The present study was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of an acetonic extract from F. sellowiana Berg. fruits on the nitric oxide (NO) pathway, which plays an important role in inflammation. To this aim the J774 cell line, which expresses inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), has been utilized, and the effects of this extract and its fractions on NO production, iNOS protein expression, and signal pathways involved in its regulation have been evaluated. This study demonstrates that at least some part of the anti-inflammatory activity of the acetonic extract is due to the suppression of NO production by flavone and stearic acid. The mechanism of this inhibition seems to be related to an action on the expression of the enzyme iNOS through the attenuation of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) and/or mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation.     

Different sorption behaviors for wine polyphenols in contact with oak wood

The evolution of polyphenols of enological interest- monomeric anthocyanins, (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, gallic acid, and trans-resveratrol-in the presence of oak wood was investigated in aging-model conditions. Disappearance kinetics showed that, except for gallic acid, all of the wine polyphenols tend to disappear from the model wine in presence of oak wood, to reach an equilibrium after 20 days of contact. At equilibrium, the higher disappearance rates were obtained for monomeric anthocyanins and trans-resveratrol with values of 20 and 50%, respectively. For monomeric anthocyanins, the rate of disappearance seemed to be independent of their nature. In order to evaluate the contribution of sorption to oak wood in the disappearance phenomena, sorption kinetics were determined for trans-resveratrol and malvidin-3-glucoside through the extraction and the quantification of the fraction sorbed to wood. These curves showed that the wood intake of trans-resveratrol and malvidin-3-glucoside followed a two-step behavior, with a higher rate during the first 2 days, likely due to a surface sorption mechanism, and then a slower rate to reach the equilibrium, which could be related to a diffusion mechanism. The comparison of disappeared and sorbed amounts at equilibrium showed that a minor part of the disappeared monomeric anthocyanins were sorbed by wood. In contrast, half of the concentration decrease of trans-resveratrol in wine finds its origin in a sorption mechanism by oak wood. Results in real wine show similar sorption kinetics.