Classification of guppies’ (Poecilia reticulata) gender by computer vision

Labor costs of guppy growers and breeders are largely those of manual sorting (by strain, quality and gender) and counting fish. In most farms, female and male fish are grown together and sold either separately or together. Sorting fish according to gender is important for marketing as well as for breeding programs, so that a device for sorting and counting fish can potentially reduce production costs and improve quality.

A project aiming to develop sorting and counting technologies for ornamental fish growers included development and testing of image-processing algorithms for sorting guppy fish (Poecilia reticulata) by gender. The algorithms are derived from shape and color differences between female and male guppies. An algorithm for the determination of landmarks on fish contours was developed and found to be accurate in accordance with human judgment, enabling extraction of specific shape and color features of the tail and the body.

The algorithms were applied to three sets of images of guppies of the “Red-Blond” strain. Gender identification accuracy was approximately 90% using shape features, approximately 96% using color features and was slightly improved when both color and shape features were used.

Some of the components used are essential for future development of a computer vision based system for sorting and grading ornamental fish by strain and quality.     

柑橘溃疡病拮抗芽孢菌株的筛选及其控病作用

从柑橘根际土壤中获得192个细菌分离物，通过平板拮抗测试，筛选出对柑橘溃疡病菌（Xanthomonas axonopdis pv. citri）有较强拮抗作用的6个芽孢菌株，抑菌圈直径达12.0～25.0mm，其中菌株G32对柑橘溃疡病菌抑制效果最好，稳定性高；温室控病试验表明，菌株G32的控病效果最佳，提前喷施拮抗菌其预防效果达60.7%，接种溃疡病菌后喷施的治疗效果为53.2%；根据其形态特征、培养性状、生理生化特性及16S rDNA序列比对分析，将G32鉴定为枯草芽孢杆菌Bacillus subtilis。     

两种生测方法对6种杀柑橘木虱药剂毒力测定结果比较

为了寻找杀虫剂对柑橘木虱成虫毒力的测定方法，分别用点滴法和药膜法测定了吡虫啉、联苯菊酯、高效氯氰菊酯、高效氟氯氰菊酯、毒死蜱、丁硫克百威等6种杀虫剂对柑橘木虱成虫的室内毒力。结果表明：用点滴法测出的6种药剂的LC50和LC95高于用药膜法的测定结果，工效只有药膜法的50%，药膜法具有快速、所有药剂都可用的优点，适宜于抗性监测和在丙酮中溶解度低的化合物的毒力测定；点滴法所用药剂不含助剂，具有准确性好，适宜于新的化合物的毒力测定的优点，但具有工效低和在丙酮中溶解度低的原药不能用的缺点。     

基于R语言的中国柑橘主要病虫害空间分布图

运用R语言的G IS功能包生成了中国柑橘主要病虫害的空间分布图,结果发现:中国柑橘主要病虫害呈现出各种不同的空间分布规律,其形成的原因除了病虫害本身的生物学特性外,还与气候因子的空间规律有关;R语言生成的病虫害空间分布图直观明显,作图质量较佳。     

甜橙新品种——桂橙一号的选育

桂橙一号是冰糖橙优良芽变株系,成熟期11月下旬,平均单果质量154.0g,大小较均匀,可食率75.66%,可溶性固形物含量14.6%,全糖12.47%,酸0.38%,风味浓郁,有蜜香,甜脆化渣,树形开张,丰产稳产,商品性好,适应性强,果实耐贮藏。     

Effect of maturity and storage temperature on the development of peteca in lemons (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. F.) cv. Eureka

To evaluate the effect of maturity and storage temperature on the development of the physiological disorder peteca, lemons cv. Eureka were harvested from a grove with northern exposure located in Mallarauco (33°45′ Latitude South) Metropolitan Region of Chile, at 2 levels of maturity (silver or yellow). After storage for 60 d at 3 or 7 °C, under 90% R.H., fruits were evaluated visually for incidence of epidermal and subepidermal peteca. At that time, the concentration of galacturonic acid and degree of methylation were measured in the albedo, and calcium, hydrogen peroxides and total oxalate concentrations, peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activities were determined in the juice and albedo. Yellow lemons at 3 °C developed more epidermal peteca than fruit stored at 7 °C, and that silver fruit stored at 3 and 7 °C, with these last lemons presenting a higher pectin quality than fruit stored at 3 °C. Maturity and temperature interacted significantly on the concentrations of peroxide and calcium in the albedo, which in average were much higher than in the juice, while for PPO and peroxidases, this interaction was highly significant both in juice and albedo, with higher activity in the albedo. These biochemical evaluations suggest that peteca is a result of some kind of stress on the fruit. It is concluded that yellow lemons are more prone to develop peteca than silver fruit. They will develop greater incidence of the disorder when stored at temperatures as low as 3 °C for 60 d, and that this condition affects the degree of methylation in the albedo, which would end up altering the quality of pectins.     

柑橘天然杂种秭归橘橙来源探究

秭归橘橙为天然柑橘杂种,果实无核、早熟,但其亲本来源未得到深入的分析和验证。为探明秭归橘橙的亲本,应用倍性检测、形态学标记和AFLP、cpSSR、nSSR等分子标记,对其进行遗传鉴定。倍性检测证实秭归橘橙为二倍体,叶形指数、气孔密度和大小、花粉育性和花粉形态分析表明秭归橘橙形态特征上偏向于甜橙,而其花粉染色活力介于甜橙与红橘之间。AFLP聚类分析表明秭归橘橙介于橙和橘之间。cpSSR、nSSR确认秭归橘橙的母本为甜橙(Citrus sinensis[L.]Osbeck),父本为橘类(C.reticulate Blanco)。     

Over-expression of the citrus gene CtNH1 confers resistance to bacterial canker disease

Citrus canker is a devastating disease, caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri (Xac). It is well established that the NPR1 gene plays a pivotal role in systemic acquired resistance (SAR) in Arabidopsis. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of an NPR1 homolog from citrus, namely Citrus NPR1 homolog 1 (CtNH1). Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicate that CtNH1 is closely-related to the Arabidopsis NPR1 gene and its orthologs from rice, grapevine, and cacao. When over-expressed in citrus, CtNH1 confers resistance to Xac and leads to constitutive expression of the pathogenesis-related (PR) gene chitinase 1 (Chi1), suggesting that CtNH1 is orthologous to NPR1.     

柑桔成花的抑制或促进处理对芽内游离氨基酸代谢的影响

赤霉素或环剥处理分别对暗柳橙的花芽分化起阻遏或促进怍用。赤霉素处理使芽内总游离氨基酸,特别是碱性氨基酸含量明显下降。环剥处理则使上述氨基酸含量增多。赤霉素处理,绝大多数种类氨基酸减少,尤其是组氨酸、精氨酸、酪氨酸等。环剥处理,相当种类的氨基酸增多,尤其是苏氨酸、组氨酸、谷氨酸等。氨基酸变化可能与芽内合成特异蛋白质有关,与基因的表达与阻遏有关。但也可能是营养芽或生殖芽两者本身在代谢上的差异。本研究为进一步阐明花芽分化的实质原因提供了生物化学对比性背景资料。