Source of mycorrhizal inoculum influences growth of Faidherbia albida seedlings

Poor land use management and practice inhibit the growth and establishment of tree seedlings in dryland areas.We assessed arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AM)status of Faidherbia albida(Del.)A.Chev.trees grown on different land uses.We quantified the growth and nutrient uptake of F.albida seedlings inoculated with AM from different sources.These efforts were based on soil and fine root samples from the rhizosphere soils of F.albida trees.AM root colonization was determined using the gridline intersect method.Spores were extracted by the wet sieving and decanting method and identified to genus level.The seedling experiment had a completely randomized onefactorial design with four treatments and five replications.Faidherbida albida seedlings were grown in a greenhouse.All in situ F.albida trees were colonized by AM fungi.AM root colonization of F.albida trees was significantly higher(P<0.0086)in area exclosures than on lands used for grazing or cultivation.Spore abundance was significantly higher(P<0.0014)in area exclosures followed by cultivated land and grazing land.Glomus was the dominant genus in all land-uses.AM-inoculated F.albida seedlings grew better(P<0.05)than non-inoculated controls.Seedlings inoculated with AM from area exclosure had significantly(P<0.05)higher growth and nutrient uptake than those inoculated with AM from grazing and cultivated land.This emphasizes the importance of the native soil AM potential for better establishment of seedlings to achieve optimum plant growth improvement and assist in rehabilitation of degraded arid lands.     

Farmer-led approaches to increasing tree diversity in fields and farmed landscapes in Ethiopia

Agroforestry Systems - Increasing tree cover and managing trees better on farms in Ethiopia supports livelihoods and the environment but most tree-planting schemes promote only a few species. This...     

Introduction to the special issue “scaling up of agroforestry innovations: enhancing food,nutrition and income security”

Agroforestry Systems - It is more and more acknowledged that agroecological innovations, such as agroforestry practices, should be co-created through a combination of research and traditional...     

Bartonella quintana in Ethiopian lice

Head and clothing lice from Jimma, Ethiopia were investigated for pathogenic bacteria. Genomic DNA from pools of lice was subjected to PCR analysis for Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp. Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia spp. and Yersinia pestis. All 102 lice pools were negative for the afore mentioned pathogens, with the exception of Bartonella species found among 6 of 65 (9.2%) head lice pools and1 of 33 clothing lice pools. Identification was achieved by sequencing the ribosomal intragenic transcribed spacer region (ITS), revealing all to be Bartonella quintana. Although established as a clothing louse-borne infection, typically causing chronic bacteraemia, trench fever, bacillary angiomatosis and endocarditis, this has only been rarely reported among head lice. The higher numbers of infected head lice pools compared with clothing lice suggests their competence for maintaining this infection within Ethiopia.     

Screening oat germplasm for better adaptation to cold stress in the Southern Great Plains of the United States

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is one of the most important forage crops in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. However, it is more sensitive to cold stress than other small grains. In this study, diverse oat germplasm was evaluated for winter survival across multiple years and locations in the region. Field screening started with an observation trial of 1,861 diverse genotypes in the 2012–2013 season and was followed by four seasons of replicated trials from 2013 to 2017. Selection of good winter survivors was started in 2014–2015 season. All trials were laid out in randomized complete blocks with replications of two in 2013–2014 and 2014–2015, four in 2015–2016, and three in 2016–2017. Winter survival was scored in a 1‐to‐9 scale. Data were analysed for each year and location separately. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis were carried out on combined data of 35 genotypes that were commonly grown in each year and location. Highly significant (p < 0.001) variations were observed among genotypes, environments and genotype‐by‐environment interaction (GEI). The first three interaction principal components (IPCs) were highly significant (p < 0.001), explaining 96% of GEI. Broad sense heritability ranged from 46% to 93%, while heritability for all environments combined was relatively low (24.6%). At the end of the two cycles (2014/2015‐to‐2016/2017) of selection, mean winter survival was improved by more than 38% per cycle compared with the base population mean. Genotypes CIav 4390, CIav 6909 and CIav 7618 showed significantly higher winter survival than the standard checks Okay and Dallas. Genotypes CIav 4390 showed 20% and 35% improvement over the standard checks Okay and Dallas, respectively. Winter survival improvement in oat will remain a difficult task because of high GEI and low heritability. The identified superior genotypes will be used as crossing parents to transfer cold tolerance genes to other elite lines.     

Vaccination of calves with Mycobacteria bovis Bacilli Calmete Guerin (BCG) induced rapid increase in the proportion of peripheral blood γδ T cells

Changes in the proportion of peripheral blood T cell subsets after subcutaneous inoculation of cattle with Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) were studied. Calves were injected with approximately 8 × 10⁶ BCG bacillus and blood samples collected at weekly intervals for flow-cytometric analyses to determine the proportion of CD4⁺, CD8⁺ and γδ T cells. In addition, whole blood samples were stimulated in vitro with M. bovis purified protein derivative (PPD) and the secreted IFN-γ quantified by ELISA. Results showed cellular and cytokine changes which could be categorized into three phases. The first phase occurred within the first 2 weeks after vaccination involving an increase in proportion of WC1⁺ γδ T cells and a concomitant increase in the secretion of IFN-γ. These two responses peaked at 2 weeks and waned thereafter. The second phase involved an increase in the CD4/CD8 ratio as a result of an increase in the proportion of CD4⁺ T cells between 4 and 6 weeks. The third phase involved a decrease in the CD4/CD8 ratio due to an increase in the proportion of CD8⁺ T cells between 8 and 10 weeks. Surprisingly, the IFN-γ response was associated with changes in the γδ rather than the CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ T cells, suggesting that this cytokine was secreted by γδ-T cells. These results are consistent with the reported ability of γδ T cells to act rapidly and bridging the innate and classically adaptive immune responses.     

Understanding patterns of tree adoption on farms in semi-arid and sub-humid Ethiopia

Trees on farms are a widespread feature of landscapes across a large part of Ethiopia with an important role in enhancing the resilience of smallholder livelihoods through the provision of ecosystem services. Despite their importance, little is known about what trees are planted or retained from natural regeneration by different types of farmers that results in the pattern of tree cover found in the region. We address this knowledge gap through analysis of household survey data from semi-arid and sub humid areas of Oromia regional state. A set of composite variables that represent distinctive patterns of tree cover on farms were derived from principal component analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. This revealed two major tree adoption strategies: farmer managed natural regeneration (FMNR) of trees to meet subsistence needs as well as contributing to other ecosystem services; and, high value agroforestry (HVAF) involving planted trees used largely to produce fruits, timber and fodder. Regression analysis further identified fine-scale variation in ecological and socio-economic factors that affect which of these two broad strategies are adopted by farmers. Favorable climatic conditions coupled with institutional arrangements to control free grazing were pre-conditions for HVAF, whereas poor biophysical potential and sloping land provided a positive incentive for farmers to adopt FMNR. Farmers with preferences for tree species with multiple utilities and locational flexibility favored FMNR while adoption of HVAF was more asset-driven. Our findings reveal that farmers integrate many native and exotic tree species on their farms to meet their variable farm conditions, needs and asset profiles in stark contrast to most tree promotion efforts that focus on a few, usually exotic, tree species. We recommend that future agroforestry promotion should embrace a diversity of tree species appropriate to matching the fine scale variation in ecological conditions and farmer circumstances encountered in the field.     

Farmers' perspectives of rodent damage and management from the highlands of Tigray,Northern Ethiopian

A farmers' knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey was conducted in the highlands of Tigray, northern Ethiopia, to better understand rodent damage and rodent management from the farmers' perspective. Farmers (n = 191) from Dogu'a Temben district, were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The large majority of the farmers stated that rodents are the main pests in crop fields (92.1%) and storage (88.5%). The farmers (64.2%) reported they experienced 100–500 kg ha⁻¹ damage in crop fields, which is equivalent to 8.9–44.7% loss in annual production. There was some overlap between the most common crops grown in the highlands and the most common crops susceptible to rodent attack. Farmers identified barley as the crop most susceptible to rodent attack (76.4%) and the booting stage as the crop developmental stage with the highest rodent abundance and damage. Rodenticide application was the most commonly practiced management strategy in crop fields (51.8%); in storage, farmers mainly keep domestic cats around granaries (80.6%). We recommend a reduction in reliance on chemical rodenticide in crop fields and a shift to a more sustainable rodent management approach to reduce rodent numbers and damage.     

Induction, regulation and physiological role of IL-17 secreting helper T-cells isolated from PBMC, thymus, and lung lymphocytes of young pigs

Interleukin-17 (IL-17) producing cells, referred to as Th17, have recently emerged as a third subset of the T helper (Th) cell family. Studies in mice have demonstrated that Th17 cells and their associated cytokines are involved in several autoimmune diseases and host defense against infection. Murine Th17 cells differentiate from naïve CD4⁺ T-cells in the presence of TGFβ and IL-6, however, there are contradicting reports as to the role of TGFβ in the differentiation of human Th17 cells and very little is known about these cells in other animals. We report here the presence of IL-17 secreting lymphocytes in the lung and peripheral blood of pigs. The cDNA of porcine IL-17 gene was cloned and sequenced from activated lung lymphocytes and PBMC from piglets. A 17 kDa recombinant protein was expressed and purified both under denaturing and native conditions from E. coli BL21 cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that TGFβ in the presence of IL-6 and/or IL-1β induces in vitro differentiation of Th17 cells from naïve porcine CD4⁺ thymocytes.