Genetic diversity and relationships between wild and cultivated olives (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Olea europaea</Emphasis> L.) in Sardinia as assessed by SSR markers

The genetic relationships within and between wild and cultivated olives were examined and clarified in an isolated and restricted area, such as the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Wild (21 individuals) and cultivated olive trees (22 local cultivars from a germplasm collection and 35 ancient trees) were genotyped by means of 13 SSR loci. Five cases of synonymy were observed and nine distinct genotypes were identified in the collection. Five novel genotypes were also detected among the ancient trees. Differences on the allelic composition and heterozygosity levels were found between wild and cultivated trees. Model-based clustering method classified the olive trees into two major gene pools: (a) wild genotypes and (b) local cultivars from the collection and from heritage olives. Regarding the cultivated plant material, we observed that: (a) most of the Sardinian cultivars shared the same allelic profiles with the ancient cultivated trees and (b) the majority of these cultivars and all the novel genotypes were not related to any other cultivars included in this study. These findings as well as the detection of unique alleles and a certain wild genetic background at some cultivars revealed by the Bayesian analysis may indicate their autochthonous origin. The synonymy cases found between local cultivars and Italian mainland cultivars indicate interchange of genetic material among these growing areas, suggesting thus a possible allochthonous origin. The information obtained can assist in the management of an olive collection and sheds some light on the survival of true oleasters and the origin of Sardinian cultivars.     

Assessing foraging strategies of herbivores in Mediterranean oak woodlands: a review of key issues and selected methodologies

Montados are agro-silvo-pastoral ecosystems, typical of the Southwest Iberian Peninsula, of high socio-economic and conservation importance, where grazing is a dominant activity. Montados are characterized by an open tree canopy of Quercus sp. and a diverse undercover of shrubs and grasslands that constitute the plant food resources for grazing animals. Plant food resources of Montados are highly variable, both spatially and seasonally, in quantity and quality. Reliable and easy to use methods to monitor grazing are necessary to allow proper understanding of foraging strategies of grazing animals and to set sustainable grazing management. We describe the main characteristics of the plant food resources available for grazing animals, striking its variability, and revise the potential of using N-alkanes and saliva proteome methods to assess foraging strategies in Montados. In a scenario of dynamic multiple choices, we discuss the use of n-alkane methodology for the simultaneous estimation of diet composition and voluntary intake and saliva proteome as a mean of increasing the knowledge on diet adjustments.     

Serotype- and serogroup-specific detection of African horsesickness virus using phage displayed chicken scFvs for indirect double antibody sandwich ELISAs

There is an ongoing need for standardized, easily renewable immunoreagents for detecting African horsesickness virus (AHSV). Two phage displayed single-chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies, selected from a semi-synthetic chicken antibody library, were used to develop double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (DAS-ELISAs) to detect AHSV. In the DAS-ELISAs, the scFv previously selected with directly immobilized AHSV-3 functioned as a serotype-specific reagent that recognized only AHSV-3. In contrast, the one selected with AHSV-8 captured by IgG against AHSV-3 recognized all nine AHSV serotypes but not the Bryanston strain of equine encephalosis virus. Serving as evidence for its serogroup-specificity. These two scFvs can help to rapidly confirm the presence of AHSV while additional serotype-specific scFvs may simplify AHSV serotyping.     

Reshaping forest management in southern Patagonia: a qualitative assessment

Abstract

The intensive forest use has caused a significant transformation around the world. Sustainable forest management (SFM) has emerged as an alternative to address concerns regarding resource use, conservation, and socioeconomic benefits. Evidence suggests that its application remains inconsistent. In Argentina, the national government passed a law addressing management aiming to provide guidelines and incentives to steer practices into a sustainable framework. The objectives were: (a) understand what the concept of SFM means to participants in Tierra del Fuego; (b) identify and assess how different factors influence the adoption of SFM; (c) review the stakeholder perceptions on recent regulatory changes; and (d) identify the steps required for improving management. We conducted 52 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and parties at the national level. New regulatory arrangements were implemented for a short-time before this research was undertaken, and we could not evaluate the success of reform. The study provided deep insight into the policy-making process, and the views held by different stakeholders. The historical mismanagement of the resource, together with an unfavorable past relationship with authorities, has promoted short-term perspectives which resulted in behaviors inconsistent with SFM. Moreover, the characteristic demographic composition brings a social component not identified in the broader literature as relevant for SFM adoption.     

Thinning increases cone production of stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) stands in the Northern Plateau (Spain)

Context

Edible stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) nut is a forest product which provides the highest incomes to the owners of stone pine forests.

Aim

The objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of first thinning on growth and cone production in an artificially regenerated stand in order to determine optimum intensity.

Methods

A thinning trial was installed in 2004 to compare two thinning regimes (heavy and moderate) and a control treatment. From 2004 to 2012, six inventories of forest attributes were carried out, and the cone crop was harvested annually. We evaluated the effect of thinnings on growth using repeated measures analysis of variance with a mixed model approach. With regards to cone production, we first estimated the probability of finding cones in a tree by applying a generalized mixed model and then estimated cone production by using a mixed model, including climatic variables.

Results

We found that thinning had a positive influence on tree diameter increment. Thinning increased the probability of finding cones and cone production. However, significant differences between heavy and moderate thinnings were not found.

Conclusion

We recommend early silvicultural treatments in stone pine stands to favor the development of trees and larger edible pine nut production.     

Cellular structure and chemical composition of cork from the Chinese cork oak (Quercus variabilis)

Quercus variabilis Blume, the Chinese cork oak, is an oak species with a thick cork outer bark. The cork is exploited at a limited scale in China and considered of lower quality than the commercial cork from Quercus suber. We studied an industrial cork granulate feedstock of Q. variabilis in relation to cellular structure and chemical composition and compared it to Q. suber cork under a material’s perspective. The cork of Q.variabilis has 1.1 % ash, 9.6 % extractives, 34.8 % suberin and 19.1 % lignin. The monosaccharide composition with shows a predominance of hemicelluloses: glucose 42.8 % of total neutral sugars, xylose 27.5 %, arabinose 15.4 %, galactose 9.0 %, mannose 4.0 %, rhamnose 1.2 %. The FT-IR spectrum shows the indicative peaks of suberin. The composition is overall similar to that of Q. suber cork. Q. variabilis cork has the typical cellular characteristics of bark cork tissues with a regular and radially aligned structure of cells without intercellular voids. Solid volume fraction was estimated at approximately 16 %. Compared with Q. suber, the Q. variabilis cork cells are smaller, the cell wall undulation and the overall row alignment less homogeneous, the cell surface is irregular and the solid volume proportion higher. The characteristics of Q. variabilis cork support its use as a cellular material for sealing, insulation and energy absorption, but the overall quality is lower than that of Q. suber cork. The negative impact of the higher density and structural lower uniformity at tissue and cell level should be evaluated for processing and product performance.     

A Conus regularis Conotoxin with a Novel Eight-Cysteine Framework Inhibits CaV2.2 Channels and Displays an Anti-Nociceptive Activity

A novel peptide, RsXXIVA, was isolated from the venom duct of Conus regularis, a worm-hunting species collected in the Sea of Cortez, México. Its primary structure was determined by mass spectrometry and confirmed by automated Edman degradation. This conotoxin contains 40 amino acids and exhibits a novel arrangement of eight cysteine residues (C-C-C-C-CC-CC). Surprisingly, two loops of the novel peptide are highly identical to the amino acids sequence of ω-MVIIA. The total length and disulfide pairing of both peptides are quite different, although the two most important residues for the described function of ω-MVIIA (Lys2 and Tyr13) are also present in the peptide reported here. Electrophysiological analysis using superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons indicates that RsXXIVA inhibits Ca_V2.2 channel current in a dose-dependent manner with an EC₅₀ of 2.8 μM, whose effect is partially reversed after washing. Furthermore, RsXXIVA was tested in hot-plate assays to measure the potential anti-nociceptive effect to an acute thermal stimulus, showing an analgesic effect in acute thermal pain at 30 and 45 min post-injection. Also, the toxin shows an anti-nociceptive effect in a formalin chronic pain test. However, the low affinity for Ca_V2.2 suggests that the primary target of the peptide could be different from that of ω-MVIIA.     

Replication characteristics of swine influenza viruses in precision-cut lung slices reflect the virulence properties of the viruses

Precision-cut lung slices of pigs were infected with five swine influenza A viruses of different subtypes (A/sw/Potsdam/15/1981 H1N1, A/sw/Bad Griesbach/IDT5604/2006 H1N1, A/sw/Bakum/1832/2000 H1N2, A/sw/Damme/IDT5673/2006 H3N2, A/sw/Herford/IDT5932/2007 H3N2). The viruses were able to infect ciliated and mucus-producing cells. The infection of well-differentiated respiratory epithelial cells by swine influenza A viruses was analyzed with respect to the kinetics of virus release into the supernatant. The highest titres were determined for H3N2/2006 and H3N2/2007 viruses. H1N1/1981 and H1N2/2000 viruses replicated somewhat slower than the H3N2 viruses whereas a H1N1 strain from 2006 multiplied at significantly lower titres than the other strains. Regarding their ability to induce a ciliostatic effect, the two H3N2 strains were found to be most virulent. H1N1/1981 and H1N2/2000 were somewhat less virulent with respect to their effect on ciliary activity. The lowest ciliostatic effect was observed with H1N1/2006. In order to investigate whether this finding is associated with a corresponding virulence in the host, pigs were infected experimentally with H3N2/2006, H1N2/2000, H1N1/1981 and H1N1/2006 viruses. The H1N1/2006 virus was significantly less virulent than the other viruses in pigs which was in agreement with the results obtained by the in vitro-studies. These findings offer the possibility to develop an ex vivo-system that is able to assess virulence of swine influenza A viruses.