Efficacy of six antitranspirants on black spruce container seedlings

The antitranspirants Plantco, Cloudcover, Vapor Gard and Dow X2-1337 were effective in reducing water loss from black spruce container seedlings. Clearspray and Folicote were unable to reduce moisture loss. Toxicity symptoms and abnormal bud flushing were evident in Vapor Gard treated seedlings. Surfactants failed to increase the effectiveness of Vapor Gard at lower, non-toxic concentrations.     

Quality of life of dogs with skin disease and of their owners. Part 2: administration of a questionnaire in various skin diseases and correlation to efficacy of therapy

A previously validated 15-item questionnaire on dogs' life quality (QoL1) and that of their owners (QoL2) was applied in a multicentre study to owners of 200 dogs with different dermatological conditions, together with a question on the owner-perceived disease severity (S). Factor analysis was applied to the whole questionnaire. The correlation of S with QoL1 and QoL2 scores was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation tests. Owner sex, age, educational level and willingness to pay for a potential definitive cure of the disease were recorded, and compared with quality of life (QoL) scores. In 23 atopic dogs, CADESI-03, pruritus Visual Analogue Scale and QoL scores were obtained before and after therapy, and their correlation was evaluated with linear regression. Factor analysis revealed that three factors (S, QoL1 and QoL2) explained 75% of the variance. Owner-perceived severity correlated significantly with QoL1 and QoL2 (P = 0.002 and P = 0.015, respectively). The five diseases with the worst QoL scores were scabies, pododermatitis, complicated atopic dermatitis, pemphigus foliaceus and endocrine alopecia. Pruritic diseases did not give significantly higher QoL1 or QoL2 scores compared with nonpruritic diseases (P = 0.19, Kruskall-Wallis test). Owner sex, age or educational level did not influence QoL scores. Female sex, a younger age and a higher educational level were significantly associated with more willingness to pay. In atopic dogs, all the scores decreased after therapy, but post-treatment CADESI-03 and Visual Analogue Scale scores did not correlate with QoL1 and QoL2. Questions related to the burden of maintenance therapy showed the lowest improvements in score.     

Pre-symbiotic and symbiotic interactions between Glomus intraradices and two Paenibacillus species isolated from AM propagules. In vitro and in vivo assays with soybean (AG043RG) as plant host

Two indole-producing Paenibacillus species, known to be associated with propagules of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, were examined for their mycorrhization helper bacteria activity at pre-symbiotic and symbiotic stages of the AM association. The effects were tested under in vitro and in vivo conditions using an axenically propagated strain of the AM fungus Glomus intraradices and Glycine max (soybean) as the plant host. The rates of spore germination and re-growth of intraradical mycelium were not affected by inoculation with Paenibacillus strains in spite of the variation of indole production measured in the bacterial supernatants. However, a significant promotion in pre-symbiotic mycelium development occurred after inoculation of both bacteria under in vitro conditions. The Paenibacillus rhizosphaerae strain TGX5E significantly increased the extraradical mycelium network, the rates of sporulation, and root colonization in the in vitro symbiotic association. These results were also observed in the rhizosphere of soybean plants grown under greenhouse conditions, when P. rhizosphaerae was co-inoculated with G. intraradices. However, soybean dry biomass production was not associated with the increased development and infectivity values of G. intraradices. Paenibacillus favisporus strain TG1R2 caused suppression of the parameters evaluated for G. intraradices during in vitro symbiotic stages, but not under in vivo conditions. The extraradical mycelium network produced and the colonization of soybean roots by G. intraradices were promoted compared to the control treatments. In addition, dual inoculation had a promoting effect on soybean biomass production. In summary, species of Paenibacillus associated with AM fungus structures in the soil, may have a promoting effect on short term pre-symbiotic mycelium development, and little impact on AM propagule germination. These findings could explain the associations found between some bacterial strains and AM fungus propagules.     

Proximate Composition and Nutritional Quality of the Meat of the Squat Lobster Munida gregaria (Fabricius 1973)

ABSTRACT

The squat lobster Munida gregaria has been recognized as a potential resource in several countries. However, data about its composition and nutritional value are scarce. This study provides information about the nutrients and nutritional quality of M. gregaria meat. Meat yield, proximate composition, cholesterol content, and fatty acid (FA) and amino acid (AAs) profiles were analyzed, and nutritional quality indexes were estimated. The average meat yield was 9.93%. The yearly average of the proximate composition of the M. gregaria meat (g/100 g meat) was moisture = 77.6, protein = 13.7, lipids = 3.84, and ash = 2.19. The average annual cholesterol content was 6.60 mg/100 g. The predominant FA (%) was C20:5ω3 (23.6), followed by C18:1ω9c (20.9), C22:6ω3 (18.5), and C16:0 (16.3); the unsaturated fatty acids were 72.8% of the total FA. The main AAs (g/100 g protein) were glutamic acid (15.1), leucine (9.47), and aspartic acid (8.51). Regarding the nutritional quality, the polyunsaturated FA/saturated FA ratio (1.99), ω3/ω6 ratio (8.62), atherogenic index (0.26), thrombotic index (0.56), hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic ratio (4.07), and polyene index (2.58) showed that M. gregaria meat provides lipids that are beneficial to the human diet. Moreover, M. gregaria meat provides high-quality proteins, which are well balanced in their essential AAs composition.     

Population growth dynamics and their implications for fish welfare in mixed-size cohorts of Cyprinus Carpio var koi grown in a commercial-scale aquaponics system

Aquaculture International - Information on growth dynamics of koi grown long-term in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) is lacking. The objective of this study was to establish baseline...     

Development of a sensitive and quantitative diagnostic assay for fish nervous necrosis virus based on two-target real-time PCR

The aim of the present work was to develop two new independent SYBR Green I-based real-time PCR assays for both detection and quantification of betanodavirus, an RNA virus that infects several species of marine teleost fish causing massive mortalities in larvae and juveniles. The assays utilized two pairs of primers targeting highly conserved regions of both the RNA molecules forming the betanodavirus genome: RNA1 encoding the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) and RNA2 encoding the coat protein (CP). The specificity of amplifications was monitored by the melting analysis and agarose gel electrophoresis of the amplified products. The applicability of these assays was confirmed with 21 betanodavirus strains, covering all the four main clades. In addition, a BLAST (NCBI) search with the primer sequences showed no genomic cross-reactivity with other viruses. The new assays were able to quantify concentrations of betanodavirus genes ranging from 10¹ to 10⁸ copies per reaction. The intra-assay coefficients of variation (CV) of threshold cycle (C_t) values of the assays were 1.5% and 1.4% for CP and RdRP RNAs, respectively. The inter-assay CVs of C_t values were 2.3% and 2.4% for CP and RdRP RNAs, respectively. Moreover, regression analysis showed a significant correlation (R² > 0.97) between genome number, as determined by real-time PCR assays and the corresponding virus titer expressed as TCID₅₀/ml of two different betanodavirus strains propagated in cell culture. The two assays were compared with a previously established one-step RT-PCR assay and with the classical virus isolation test and found to be more sensitive. In conclusion, the developed real-time RT-PCR assays are a reliable, specific and sensitive tool for the quantitative diagnosis of betanodavirus.     

Anoplophora glabripennis infestation (col.: cerambycidae) in Italy

In June 2007, the Asian longhorned beetle Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) was found at Corbetta, in Lombardy, 23 km west of Milan, Italy. The invasive exotic pest was observed in four host trees, one sycamore maple Acer pseudoplatanus L. and three silver birches Betula pendula Rothmahler. During summer 2007, 20 living and 107 dead A. glabripennis beetles were collected on or around the infested trees. The dissection of the infested material showed that 287 beetles emerged from the trees during previous years and 158 living larvae of varied ages were still developing in April, 2008. Fortunately, it appears that predation by birds on early stage larvae developing under the bark, played a major role in limiting the developing pest population. A. glabripennis is native to China and Korea where it is considered as a serious pest of many deciduous trees including maples, poplars, and willows. During the last decade, it was accidentally introduced into the USA, Canada, Austria, Germany and France in wood packaging material of goods imported from China. The current discovery in Italy is the first record of the Asian pest in this country.     

Assisted Selection by Specific DNA Markers for Genetic Elimination of the Kunitz Trypsin Inhibitor and Lectin in Soybean Seeds

Summary The antinutritional factors found in soybean, lectin (SBL) and Kunitz trypsin inhibitor (SKTI), are usually inactivated by heat treatment. However, residual activity of these factors can be found in several types of soy-derived products. Heat treatment does not completely eliminate these factors, and in addition it may considerably decrease protein solubility. The genetic elimination of these antinutritional factors could be an alternative to the heat treatment. This study aimed to develop soybean lines devoid of SKTI and SBL in their seeds. The population under study was obtained by crossing the normal cv. Monarca with a soybean line lacking SKTI and SBL. Specific DNA primers were designed for the identification of the recessive alleles that condition the absence of SKTI and SBL. F₂ seeds presenting the DNA markers that identify the recessive alleles were selected and the corresponding F₂ plants were backcrossed with the recurrent parent (‘Monarca’), producing the BC₁F₁ generation. The F₂ generation was analyzed by SDS-PAGE in order to confirm the genotypes of the F₂ selected. The segregation tests confirmed that these traits are governed by two genes that segregate independently.