Effect of Light Intensity on Color Performance of False Clownfish,Amphiprion ocellaris Cuvier

Color performance of false clownfish, Amphiprion ocellaris Cuvier, was examined under three levels of light intensity (20–50 , 600–850 , and 2700–3500 lx) for 5 wk. The experiment was conducted in nine rectangular glass aquaria (25 × 25 × 20 cm) with three replicates. Each aquarium was stocked with 36 fish, and 3 fish were randomly sampled from each aquarium every other week. Digital images were taken weekly on each individual fish after it was anesthetized in MS‐222. The color performance in hue, saturation, and brightness was quantified using image analysis. In addition to the whole‐body analysis, each fish image was divided into ventral and dorsal parts to assess the body position‐dependent effect. Furthermore, color differences between dorsal fin, anal fin, ventral fin, and caudal fin were also quantified. The whole body was brighter at low light than at medium or at high light intensity. Irrespective of light intensity, the dorsal side was more orange but less bright than the ventral side. Brighter light strengthened overall orange color on fish fins. The dorsal fin and ventral fins appeared more orange than the anal and caudal fins regardless of light intensity and exposure duration. Similar to body color, low light also led to brighter fins, especially for caudal and dorsal fins. Our results indicate that ambient light could regulate fish color performance but could not change the pigment dominance by β‐carotene. Light intensity is unlikely to change the contrast between dorsal and ventral sides, but dim light tends to make fish body brighter, and bright light strengthens orange color on fins.     

Effect of biochar-amended urea on nitrogen economy of soil for improving the growth and yield of wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) under field condition

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate effect of biochar-amended urea on nitrogen economy of soil for improving the growth and yield of wheat under field condition. Experiment plan was comprised of twelve treatments with four replications including treatments without application of urea and biochar (control) and urea only. Biochar was applied at 1–10% of the weight of urea fertilizer applied each treatment. Results showed that application of biochar at 10% with recommended dose of urea significantly improved plant height, spike length, number of tillers, number of spikelet per spike, 1000 grain weight, grain yields, biomass yield, harvesting index, nitrogen (N) concentration and uptake in grain and straw, and agronomic efficiency of nitrogen by 6.0%, 11.1%, 32.0%, 55.3%, 5.4%, 38.0%, 19.0%, 9.0%, 19.0%, 26.0%, 65.0%, 50.0%, and 63.0%, respectively, as compared to treatment comprised of recommended rate of nitrogen without biochar.     

Livestock feed resources availability,feeding practices,and nutrient balances in high Himalaya (Gurez) valley of Kashmir

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Assessment of the ruminant livestock feed sources availability, existing feeding practices, and nutrient balances was embarked at different zones of Gurez...     

Potential Inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 and Functional Food Components as Nutritional Supplement for COVID-19: A Review

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The severe acute respiratory syndrome is a viral respiratory infection and commonly called as COVID-19, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2...     

Alteration of wheat vernalization requirement by alien chromosome-mediated transposition of MITE

Under the changing climate, early flowering is advantageous to escape terminal heat and drought. Previously during evaluation of 14 chromosome introgression lines (ILs), we found three ILs that flowered a month earlier than their wheat background Chinese Spring (CS). This paper describes the cause of the early flowering in the ILs and provides insight into the evolution of spring wheat from the winter wheat. We used specific molecular markers for Vrn genes to determine its allelic composition. Phenotypic evaluations carried out under field conditions and in a growth chamber. Unlike the winter vrn-A1 allele of CS, the spring Vrn-A1 allele of the ILs had insertions of 222 and 131-bp miniature inverted-repeat transposable element (MITE) in the promoter region. Sequence analysis indicated that the 222-bp insertion is similar to an insertion in the spring genotype, Triple Dirk D. Our results ruled out any possibility of outcrossing or contamination. Without vernalization, Vrn-A1 is highly expressed in the ILs compared to CS. We attribute the early flowering of the ILs to the insertion of the MITE in the promoter of Vrn-A1. The alien chromosome might mediate this insertion.     

Expression of seed storage proteins responsible for maintaining kernel traits and wheat flour quality in common wheat under heat stress conditions

Heat stress during grain filling has been documented to decrease wheat grain yield and quality in arid regions worldwide. We studied the effect of heat stress on wheat flour quality in heat tolerant cultivars to define the effects of heat stress on flour quality and to identify germplasm combining traits for heat tolerance and good flour quality. We studied the kernel phenotypic traits, the expression of seed storage proteins (SSPs), and the resulting flour quality under heat and normal conditions. Under heat stress, all cultivars yielded narrow-shaped seeds, and increased protein contents as compared to the control plants grown under normal conditions. The specific sedimentation values used to estimate the gluten quality varied between cultivars. We identified cultivars that could maintain good flour quality under heat stress conditions: ‘Imam’, which possessed the Glu-D1d allele responsible for the suitable bread-making; ‘Bohaine’, which displayed high expression level of SSPs; and ‘Condor’, which possessed slight variations in the ratio of each SSP under heat stress conditions. Combining the desirable traits from these cultivars could yield a wheat cultivar with heat tolerance and good flour quality.     

应用SNP精准鉴定大豆种质及构建可扫描身份证

为加强大豆种质资源管理及品种保护, 本研究构建了一套基于单核苷酸多态性(SNP)标记的快速鉴定体系。选用分布于13个基因的23个SNP标记对599份大豆表型精准鉴定种质进行基因型分析。结果表明, SNP标记的遗传多样性指数范围0~0.722, 其中3个SNP在供试材料中不存在碱基差异, 2个SNP为特异等位变异。从具有多态性的20个SNP中选出14个(GlySNP14)用于种质鉴定, 其中12个为高多态性SNP, 2个为特异性SNP。模拟结果表明, GlySNP14的种质鉴别能力(750份种质)高于任意相同数目标记构成的SNP随机组合(最多361份种质)。GlySNP14在599份种质中共形成了176个单倍型, 其中100份种质具有独特的单倍型。结合这些种质的其他属性, 构建了100份种质由38个数字组成的身份证, 前10位数字为种质属性信息码, 包括品种类别、来源地等; 11~38位数字为品种分子指纹码, 代表品种的特异分子信息, 并最终以一维码和二维码的形式表示, 为种质资源简易管理与保护利用提供了有效途径。     

Assessing the immobilization efficiency of organic and inorganic amendments for cadmium phytoavailability to wheat

Purpose

Rapid industrialization in China accelerated environmental pollution by xenophores and trace metals particularly cadmium. Numerous studies have been conducted to address soil contamination using organic and inorganic amendments under pot or incubation conditions, but few were performed under field conditions, particularly in the wheat-growing areas. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of pre-applied soil amendments for Cd immobilization, changes in soil pH, and metal uptake by wheat.

Materials and methods

In this study, 12 treatments, i.e., control (CK), lime, DaSan Yuan (DASY), DiKang No. 1 (DEK1), biochar, Fe-biochar, Yirang, CaMgP, and green stabilizing agents (GSA-1, GSA-2, GSA-3, and GSA-4), were evaluated for Cd immobilization in incubation and field experiments. Changes in soil pH and available metal content with amendments were monitored from 30 to 150 days of incubation. Single extraction method and DTPA-extractable and sequential extraction procedures were employed to assess the variations in available Cd contents of field soil. The impact of soil amendments on Cd uptake and bioaccumulation in food part of wheat was measured at harvesting stage in a contaminated site.

Results and discussion

Lime treatment increased soil pH by 32% and reduced available Cd to 0.213 mg kg^?1, as compared to CK (control) in the incubation experiment (0.343 mg kg^?1). Effects of the amendments on wheat growth, soil pH, and Cd phytoavailability were reported. Wheat biomass was highest in treatment GSA-2 (13,880 kg ha^?1) and GAS-4 resulted in an increase in grain yield (5350 kg ha^?1). Soil pH of the treated field at harvesting stage increased up to 6.50, 6.50, and 6.47 by application of GSA-4, GSA-2, and lime, respectively. Cadmium contents in wheat grain were declined significantly in the treatments of GSA-2, GSA-4, and lime.

Conclusions

Results of this study revealed a significant decrease in available Cd concentration with the application of amendments. Composite amendments were more effective in terms of metal uptake and bioaccumulation in wheat. In addition, our results indicate the effectiveness of composite amendments in stabilizing Cd in contaminated soil.

     

Enhancement of aluminum tolerance in wheat by addition of chromosomes from the wild relative Leymus racemosus

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is the key factor limiting wheat production in acid soils. Soil liming has been used widely to increase the soil pH, but due to its high cost, breeding tolerant cultivars is more cost-effective mean to mitigate the problem. Tolerant cultivars could be developed by traditional breeding, genetic transformation or introgression of genes from wild relatives. We used 30 wheat alien chromosome addition lines to identify new genetic resources to improve wheat tolerance to Al and to identify the chromosomes harboring the tolerance genes. We evaluated these lines and their wheat background Chinese Spring for Al tolerance in hydroponic culture at various Al concentrations. We also investigated Al uptake, oxidative stress and cell membrane integrity. The L. racemosus chromosomes A and E significantly enhanced the Al tolerance of the wheat in term of relative root growth. At the highest Al concentration tested (200 μM), line E had the greatest tolerance. The introgressed chromosomes did not affect Al uptake of the tolerant lines. We attribute the improved tolerance conferred by chromosome E to improved cell membrane integrity. Chromosome engineering with these two lines could produce Al-tolerant wheat cultivars.     

Levo-Carnitine Reduces Oxidative Stress and Improves Contractile Functions of Fast Muscles in Type 2 Diabetic Rats

Background: Metabolic derangements in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are likely to affect skeletal muscle contractile functions adversely. Levo-carnitine improves muscle contractile functions in healthy humans and rats and corrects metabolic derangements in T2DM. Therefore, it is likely to improve muscle contractile functions in T2DM as well. This study was designed to determine the effect of levo-carnitine on serum levo-carnitine levels, oxidative stress and contractile parameters of fast muscle in T2DM. Methods: Ninety Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three equal groups. Healthy rats served as the controls, while T2DM was induced in diabetic and carnitine groups. The carnitine group was administered levo-carnitine 200 mg/kg/day intraperitoneally for 6 days. At 28^th day, extensor digitorum longus muscles were removed and their functions were assessed using iWorx data acquisition unit (AHK/214). Blood obtained by intra-cardiac sampling at 28^th day was used for estimation of serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and levo-carnitine levels. Results: Maximum isometric twitch tension, time-to-peak twitch tension and time-to-relax to 50% of the peak twitch tension were not significantly different amongst the groups. Carnitine group showed significant improvement in maximum fused tetanic tension, maximum fused tetanic tension after fatigue protocol and recovery from fatigue after 5 minutes of rest period compared to the diabetic group. Serum MDA levels were reduced, while serum levo-carnitine levels were elevated significantly in carnitine group as compared to the diabetic group. Conclusion: Levo-carnitine supplementation increases serum levo-carnitine levels which decreases oxidative stress. This action improves contractile force but delays fatigue in fast muscles of diabetic rats. Key Words: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), Levo-carnitine, Fast muscles, Contractile functions, Oxidative stress