Assessing general combining ability for gangrene resistance by means of a glasshouse seedling test

Summary A seedling progeny test for resistance to gangrene (Phoma foveata) was used to evaluate progenies from a 15×15 half diallel set of crosses, including 14 selfs and 25 reciprocal crosses, which was originally made to investigate the inheritance of resistance to late blight and cyst nematodes. Nine out of the 14 selfs were more susceptible than the crosses involving their parents, so that overall the selfs were slightly more susceptible than the crosses, thus providing evidence of non-additive gene action in favour of resistance. However, when the selfs were omitted from the analysis, all of the variation between progenies could be attributed to differences in the General Combining Abilities (GCAs) of their parents. The four parents with the best GCAs for gangrene resistance all had sizeable contributions fromSolanum tuberosum subsp.andigena in their pedigrees.     

Comparative susceptibility of some potato cultivars to dry rot caused byFusarium sulphureum andF. solani var.coeruleum

Summary The susceptibility of 15 potato cultivars to dry rot caused byFusarium sulphureum andf. solani var.coeruleum was examined over 8 years. Tubers were wounded, inoculated, incubated at 10°C for 7–8 weeks and the size of the rot assessed.F. sulphureum was the more aggressive species. There was little correlation between the rank order of susceptibility of the cultivars to the two pathogens, but a higly significant correlation between years. Two years' tests are deemed sufficient to assess susceptibility to both species.     

Assessing progenies of potato for resistance to skin spot (Polyscytalum pustulans) in the glasshouse

Summary Crosses were made between six parents differing in susceptibility to skin spot and glasshouse-grown tubers from true seedlings of the nine resulting progenies assessed for resistance to the disease. The assessment was evaluated by a two-year comparison with the behaviour of field-grown tubers of the progenies and their parents. The correlations between progenies in the glasshouse and field were r=0.911 and 0.753 and those between the mid-parental values and the progeny means were high (r>0.864), indicating that parental differences were heritable. It is concluded that correlations were sufficient for glasshouse-grown tubers to be used for assessing large numbers of progenies in genetical studies and for eliminating highly susceptible progenies at an early stage in a breeding programme. R.L. Wastie died 16.01.96.     

A glasshouse progeny test for resistance to tuber blight (Phytophthora infestans)

Summary The susceptibility to tuber blight (Phytophthora infestans) of seedling progenies from ten crosses involving resistant and susceptible parents was assessed by inoculating tubers grown in the glasshouse and in the field. The mean level of tuber blight in each progeny corresponded with the resistance category of the cross, and the rank order of increasing susceptibility was almost identical in both tests. It is suggested that two samples of ten glasshouse-grown seedlings, each seedling providing two tubers harvested as the plants begin flowering, is an adequate sample size on which to predict the tuber blight susceptibility of a progeny.

---

Zusammenfassung Die Anf?lligkeit gegen Knollenbraunf?ule von 10 Nachkommen, einmal von Knollen im Gew?chshaus angezogener S?mlinge (1984), zum anderen von im Feld gewachsener Pflanzen (1985), wurde verglichen. Vier Nachkommen von resistenten Eltern, drei von anf?lligen Eltern und drei aus ‘resistent x anf?llig’-Kreuzungen (Tabelle 1) wurden in zwei Blocks von 40 Pflanzen 9 Wochen lang in 10 cm-T?pfen angezogen. Acht Proben von 10 Pflanzen wurden von jedem Nachkommen entnommen (und zwei Knollen von jedem Topff zu Beginn der Blüte Anfang September), durch Tauchen in eine Zoosporen-Suspension vonPhytophthora infestans inokuliert, und 8 Tage danach die Anzahl der infizierten Knollen festgestellt. Der mittlere Grad von Braunf?ule bei jedem Nachkommen entsprach der Resistenzgruppe der Kreuzung (Tabellen 2 und 3). Im Gew?chshaus angezogene Knollen der gleichen Nachkommen wurden im Feld in zwei Wiederholungen (Blocks) mit 16 bzw. 23 S?mlingen je Nachkommen ausgepflanzt. Die beiden Blocks wurden mit Schwester-Knollen bepflanzt, so dass jeder S?mling in beiden Blocks vorhanden war. Die Knollen wurden nach 16 Wochen geerntet, danach inokuliert und wie zuvor geschildert ausgewertet. Die Rangfolge mit ansteigender Anf?lligkeit war in beiden Tests fast identisch (Tabelle 2). Daraus wird geschlossen, dass zwei Partien von 10 S?mlingen mit je 2 Knollen eine angemessene Probengr?sse zur Vorhersage der Knollenf?ule-Anf?lligkeit eines Nachkommens darstellen (Tabelle 4). Der Test ist schnell und einfach in der Handhabung und erm?glicht in Verbindung mit einer Prüfung der Krautf?uleanf?lligkeit die M?glichkeit einer Auslese sowohl auf Krautf?ule als auch auf Knollen-Braunf?ule im gleichen Jahr.

---

Résumé La sensibilité de 10 lignées au mildiou du tubercule est évaluée à partir de tubercules issues de plantules cultivées en serre (1984) et en plein champ (1985). Quatre lignées de parents résistants, 3 de parents sensibles et 3 de croisements résistant x sensible (tableau 1) sont cultivés dans deux blocs de 40 plantes mises en pots de 10 cm pendant 9 semaines. Huit échantillons de dix plantes sont prélevés dans chaque lignée et deux tubercules sont retirés de chaque pot au premier stade de la floraison début septembre, puis inoculés par trempage dans une suspension de zoospores deP. infestans; le nombre de tubercules contaminés est enregistré après 8 jours. Le niveau moyen de contamination dans chaque lignée correspond à la catégorie de résistance du croisement (tableaux 2 et 3). Les tubercules issus de la serre et appartenant aux mêmes lignées sont plantés en plein champ dans deux blocs, chacun comprenant deux échantillons de 16 à 23 plantules par lignée. Les deux blocs sont plantés avec des tubercules d'un même pied, de sorte qu'il y a deux répétitions pour chaque plantule. Les tubercules sont récoltés après 16 semaines puis inoculés et notés comme précédemment. Le classement par ordre croissant de sensibilité est pratiquement identique dans les deux tests (tableau 2). En conclusion, deux lots de 10 plantules, chacune produisant deux tubercules, constituent un échantillon approprié pour analyser la sensibilité d'une lignée au mildiou des tubercules (tableau 4). Le test est simple et rapide, et combiné au test sur feuille, il offre la possibilité de détecter la résistance au mildiou des feuilles et des tubercules dans la même année.

     

Successful management of suspected acorn (Quercus petraea) toxicity in a dog

A 7-year-old neutered male Labrador retriever dog was referred to a tertiary care veterinary hospital because of gastrointestinal signs and icterus. The dog developed a hepatopathy and acute kidney injury after ingesting acorns (Quercus petraea) 4 days prior to referral. The dog required hospitalization in an intensive care unit but made a full clinical recovery and was discharged after 6 days. This report documents that dogs can be affected by this toxicity and highlights the need for veterinarians to consider acorns as a potential cause of acute hepatotoxicity and renal injury. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported case of acorn toxicity in a dog.     

A high-resolution radiation hybrid map of the human genome draft sequence

We have constructed a physical map of the human genome by using a panel of 90 whole-genome radiation hybrids (the TNG panel) in conjunction with 40,322 sequence-tagged sites (STSs) derived from random genomic sequences as well as expressed sequences. Of 36,678 STSs on the TNG radiation hybrid map, only 3604 (9.8%) were absent from the unassembled draft sequence of the human genome. Of 20,030 STSs ordered on the TNG map as well as the assembled human genome draft sequence and the Celera assembled human genome sequence, 36% of the STSs had a discrepant order between the working draft sequence and the Celera sequence. The TNG map order was identical to one of the two sequence orders in 60% of these discrepant cases.