Characterisation of a maize-infecting potyvirus from Spain

In order to characterise and classify an unknown maize-infecting potyvirus isolated from fields in northeast Spain, the entire coat protein gene and the C-terminal twothirds of the large nuclear inclusion protein (NIb) gene were cloned and sequenced. Protein sequencing enabled the cleavage site between the two proteins to be deduced and also revealed that on storage the viral coat protein undergoes a specific degradation in which the N-terminal 39 amino acids are removed. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence of the 3 non-coding region of the viral RNA and the predicted amino acid sequence of the coat protein with the equivalent regions of other members of the potyvirus group revealed that the Spanish virus is closely related to maize dwarf mosaic virus strain A.     

Growth response of Ficus benjamina to limited soil volume and soil dilution in a skeletal soil container study

The interactive effects of rooting volume and nutrient availability in a skeletal soil medium designed to meet street tree and pavement needs were observed in a containerized experiment. Benjamin fig (Ficus benjamina L.) was grown in a stone-soil blended skeletal soil material (CU-Soil™) and compared to a loam soil. The same topsoil used as the soil component in the skeletal soil material was used as the sole component in the comparison soil-only treatment.Plants grown in the skeletal soil material had reduced leaf tissue N content and depressed growth compared with plants grown in non-diluted soil. No other mineral deficiencies were found. Leaf number, chlorophyll concentration, shoot weight, and root characteristics were all affected.Reduced growth from soil dilution could be offset by the provision of an enlarged rooting volume for root development. Large containers of skeletal soil were observed to have smaller root systems compared to equivalent net volumes of loam soil at the first two harvest dates of the study. By the end of the study, the large containers of skeletal soil were observed to have developed larger root systems compared to equivalent net volumes of loam soil; resulting in comparable leaf N levels and total plant dry matter. Plants in skeletal soil had lower shoot: root ratios at the end of the study. Investing resources to further root growth in times of nutrient shortages is a probable plant reaction as evidenced by differences in specific root length between treatments. The study allowed a method for directly partitioning the containerization effect by having equivalent amounts of soil over two volumes.     

姬松茸与双孢蘑菇不同菌株的RAPD扩增研究

以4个姬松茸菌株和2个双孢蘑菇菌株为材料，用20个随机引物对它们进行RAPD扩增，通过对供试菌株遗传相似系数的估算和系统聚类分析，构建姬松茸和双孢蘑菇遗传相关树状聚类图谱，结果表明，进行RAPD扩增的20个随机引物中，有12个能产生三种带型，当遗传相似系数升至0.8713时，这6个菌株被分为3类，第一类为菌株18和26，第二类为菌株13和12，第三类为菌株33和45。     

In Vivo Embryo Recovery Rate by Laparoscopic Technique from Rabbit Does Selected for Growth Rate

Rabbit does from R line selected for growth rate present a low reproductive performance and this study aimed to evaluate both the recovery efficacy and viability of recovered embryos after vitrification and the reproductive performance of donor does subjected to in vivo recovery. Does were divided into three groups: 28 does without in vivo recovery (control), 25 does in which in vivo recovery was started in the nulliparous state (group 1) and 30 does with at least one litter before in vivo recovery (group 2). Does were superovulated with a single subcutaneous injection of 50 IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) per female, and were then artificially inseminated 60 h later and immediately administered an intravenous dose of 75 IU of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) per female. Does from group 1 and 2 were recovered in vivo 76-80 h post-insemination by repeated laparoscopies at one to four times and permitted one or two parturitions between recoveries [in vivo (IV) recovery]. At the end of the experiment, about 16 does of all groups were recovered post-mortem (PM recovery). All normal embryos were vitrified, devitrified and then cultivated in vitro to evaluate the viability after thawing. A significant increase in the ovulation rate was found in does recovered PM than in those recovered IV in the nulliparous state. However, no significant differences were observed in the recovery rate, the donor rate, the number of normal embryos recovered with at least one normal embryo per doe and the viability after thawing between the PM and IV groups. A significant decrease in the fertility rate, total born, live born and weaned kids was found for does from group 1 in comparison with does from group 2. Results support the use of repeated laparoscopy to increase the number of recovered embryos per donor doe especially in such R line does, if they are permitted to produce at least one litter before the beginning of in vivo recovery.     

Use of Powdered Egg Yolk vs Fresh Egg Yolk for the Cryopreservation of Ovine Semen

Egg yolk is a common additive to sperm cryopreservation diluents. Because of its animal origin, however, it also represents a potential risk of microbiological contamination in the diluent. This potential contamination can be avoided by using powdered egg yolk, instead of fresh egg yolk, as it is pasteurized. This study was conducted to determine ram sperm cryosurvival was affected by the type of egg yolk used (powdered egg yolk or fresh egg yolk) and by yolk concentration (10, 15 or 20%) in the diluent. Microbiological analyses were also performed to quantify the microbiological contamination in the diluents containing the two types of egg yolk. Sperm cryosurvival was determined by motility and morphology analyses after thawing. Motility parameters were assessed using a computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system, and the percentage of sperm with a normal apical ridge was evaluated using a differential interference contrast microscope. No significant differences were observed between diluents in the percentage of sperm with normal apical ridge. However, higher percentages of total motile cells were observed for samples containing powdered egg yolk (69%) compared to samples containing fresh egg yolk (60%). However, sperm in diluents containing fresh egg yolk, exhibited higher values for average-path velocity, straight-line velocity and beat cross frequency and lower values for amplitude of lateral head displacement (p <0.05), compared to cells in diluents containing powdered egg yolk. Microbiological contamination was similar (<200 CFU/ml) in both diluents, and no bacterial growth was observed in either, when antibiotics were added. Therefore, powdered egg yolk can be effective used in diluents for the freezing of ram semen. However, the in vivo fertility of sperm frozen in diluents containing powdered egg yolk should be tested, as some motility parameters were different for sperm treated with powdered egg yolk compared to fresh egg yolk.     

Aboveground biomass,transpiration and water use efficiency in eucalypt plantation fertilized with KCl,NaCl and phonolite rock powder

Potassium has important physiological functions in eucalypt plantations, increasing their productivity when applied to soil via mineral fertilizers. There is interest in identifying alternative sources to KCl owing to its high cost and limited reserves. The aim of the study was to test the effect of replacing KCl with NaCl and phonolite rock powder. Two comparisons were made: (1) application of 283 kg ha^?1 of KCl compared with that of 2125 kg ha^?1 of phonolite rock powder (equivalent to 170 kg ha^?1 of K₂O in both treatments); (2) application of 139 kg ha^?1 of NaCl compared with that of 183 kg ha^?1 of KCl (equivalent to 2.33 kmol Na and K, respectively). Radial growth, soil water content, leaf water potential (Ψ), accumulated transpiration, stem volume and biomass increment, as well as water use efficiency (WUE) were evaluated. In the first comparison, both fertilizations presented equal values for all characteristics evaluated. In the second, the accumulated transpiration in trees fertilized with KCl was 17% higher than that in plants fertilized with NaCl. In contrast, the WUE was 20% higher in the trees fertilized with NaCl than in those fertilized with KCl, reflecting the lower water consumption for the same increment in stem volume and biomass. We conclude that phonolite rock powder and NaCl are possible substitutes for conventional K fertilization performed with KCl.

     

First report of Thrips setosus in Belgium

The Japanese flower thrips, Thrips setosus, is a polyphagous insect which in Europe has mainly been observed on hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.). The first report of T. setosus in the EPPO region was in the Netherlands (2014). Since then it has been observed in four other countries inside the EPPO region: Germany (2015), the United Kingdom (2016), France (2016) and Croatia (2016). Its dispersal is most likely to be related to trade. Because of its polyphagous nature, there is a risk of spread to other economically important crops. Therefore, T. setosus was included in the national survey project ‘STATREGO’, during which the status of several invasive plant pests and diseases in Belgium was determined.     

水稻粒宽突变体gw87的基因定位及候选基因分析

【目的】对水稻粒宽突变体gw87（grain width 87）进行表型鉴定、遗传分析、基因定位及候选基因分析,为探明该基因调控水稻籽粒大小的分子机制及应用潜力奠定基础。【方法】利用甲基磺酸乙酯诱变籼稻恢复系材料676R,获得一份籽粒宽度和千粒重显著增加的突变体gw87。对该突变体进行表型观察、农艺性状调查及外源油菜素内酯（BL）敏感性、叶绿素含量、光合参数测定,了解其表型特征及生理特性。调查gw87与676R杂交F₁的表型和F₂群体的分离情况,分析其遗传行为;选取该群体中的突变植株进行高通量测序,并利用gw87与粳稻品种日本晴杂交的F₂代作为定位群体,通过MutMap分析和分子标记定位,遴选候选基因并进行DNA和cDNA测序验证。利用qRT-PCR分析gw87和676R中BR合成途径基因OsDWARF4、D11和D2的表达差异。【结果】与野生型亲本676R相比,gw87突变体的株高降低,节间缩短,其中,倒一节间长度缩短最大,并呈现出扭曲的形态;叶片长度减少,宽度增加;单株有效穗数、主穗穗长和结实率显著降低,但籽粒宽度和千粒重显著增大。BL敏感性试验显示,gw87突变体幼苗对外源BL的敏感性降低。光合色素和光合参数测定表明,gw87光合色素含量增加,光合速率也有所增加。遗传分析表明gw87的突变性状是由1对隐性核基因控制。MutMap分析显示gw87突变基因位于第5染色体中部,在该染色体区域仅有1个碱基突变引起编码氨基酸变化;分子标记连锁分析表明该突变基因位于InDel标记X2和X3之间约101 kb的染色体区域;综合这两方面分析结果,最后遴选出gw87候选基因是编码一个含有AP2/EREBP DNA绑定结构域的转录因子基因LOC_Os05g32270。对该候选基因进行DNA和cDNA测序验证,发现gw87突变体中该基因DNA的第1 041位的碱基由G突变为A,导致与该位点相邻的76 bp内含子序列被剪接为外显子,引起阅读框移码,蛋白翻译提前终止。qRT-PCR分析显示gw87突变体中BR合成途径基因的表达量显著上调,表明gw87突变体中BR信号减弱。【结论】gw87是smos1、shb、rla1、ngr5的新等位突变体,但与这些突变体表型不同,gw87籽粒的宽度和千粒重显著增加,可能是LOC_Os05g32270的突变位点不同,导致其编码蛋白的功能活性不同所造成。     

Regional variability in landscape effects on forest bird communities

Landscape Ecology - Functional responses to landscape heterogeneity are context-dependent, hampering the transferability of landscape-scale conservation initiatives. Japan provides a unique...     

Variation in parasitoid attraction to herbivore-infested plants and alternative host plant cover mediate tritrophic interactions at the landscape scale

Landscape Ecology - Tritrophic interactions may be affected by local factors and the broader landscape context. At small spatial scales, carnivorous enemies of herbivorous insects use...