The prevalence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) antibodies in dromedary camels in Israel

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, MERS‐CoV, was identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and as of January 29, 2018, there were 2,123 laboratory‐confirmed MERS‐CoV cases reported to WHO (WHO, 2018, https://www.who.int/emergencies/mers-cov/en/ ). Multiple studies suggest that dromedary camels are a source for human MERS‐CoV infection. MERS‐CoV‐specific antibodies have been detected in the serum of dromedary camels across Northern Africa and across the Arabian Peninsula. Israel's geographic location places Israel at risk for MERS‐CoV infection. To date, MERS‐CoV‐related illness has not been reported and the burden of MERS‐CoV infection in the Israeli population is unknown. The seroprevalence of MERS‐CoV‐specific antibodies in Israeli dromedary camels is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of MERS‐CoV seropositivity in dromedary camels in Israel. The prevalence of MERS‐CoV antibodies in Israeli camels was examined in 71 camel sera collected from four farms across Israel by MERS‐CoV‐specific microneutralization (Mnt) assay and confirmed by MERS‐CoV‐specific immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Although this study cannot rule out potential antibody cross‐reactivity by IFA, the presence of bovine coronavirus‐specific antibodies do not appear to impact detection of MERS‐CoV antibodies by Mnt. MERS‐CoV neutralizing antibodies were detectable in 51 (71.8%) camel sera, and no association was observed between the presence of neutralizing antibodies and camel age or gender. These findings extend the known range of MERS‐CoV circulation in Middle Eastern camels. The high rate of MERS‐CoV‐specific antibody seropositivity in dromedary camels in the absence of any reported human MERS cases suggests that there is still much to be learned about the dynamics of camel‐to‐human transmission of MERS‐CoV.     

Shift in nesting ground of the long-legged buzzard (Buteo rufinus) in Judea, Israel – An effect of habitat change

Until the 1980s, at least 31 pairs of long-legged buzzards (Buteo rufinus) nested along the streams of the Judean Mountains in Israel, mostly on rocky cliffs, which – according to existing literature – is the common nesting style of this bird. During the past 40 years, however, nesting in these areas has substantially decreased, with many pairs of buzzards now nesting on trees in the Judean Foothills.We suggest that the geographical shift in nesting area, and with it the dramatic change from nesting on cliffs to nesting on trees, is probably due to the increase in land cover (as a result of afforestation, expansion of human settlements and recovery of the Mediterranean chaparral) that has taken place in the Judean Mountains during the last four decades. Buzzards forage in open habitats and the change in land cover has hindered their ability to locate prey. Since there are no cliffs appropriate for nesting in the Judean Foothills, the buzzards were thus forced to adapt to a new style of nesting. This hypothesis is further supported by our observations that within their new nesting grounds in the Judean Foothills, breeding success was significantly related to the area of the open habitat within the territory.These findings have important scientific and ecological implications. We recommend that foresters should take into consideration the effect of afforestation on open-landscape raptors, and while planning new forests will consider also their needs, particularly leaving large open swaths of land as foraging grounds for such raptors.     

Use of nitric oxide to reduce postharvest water loss from horticultural produce

Summary

Eleven types of fruit and vegetables and five types of flowers were held in an atmosphere containing a range of concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) gas in nitrogen for 2 h then stored for 24 h in air at 20°C and 60% r.h. Each type of produce was weighed before treatment, and after 24 h, and the rate of water loss calculated. Treatment with NO was found to result in 20% less water loss than in produce stored in air.     

Fruit cracking in Cereus peruvianus,a new cactus crop

Summary

Fruit of Cereus peruvianus (L.) Miller, a newly developed cactus crop, is subject to cracking. Fruit growth follows a double sigmoid curve, with a significant size increase in the first and third stages and moderate increase in the middle stage. Peel and seed grow in the first two stages, while pulp growth and maturation (e.g. peel colour change and stretching, sugar accumulation, fruit softening) occur in the final stage. Sensitive, moderately sensitive, and tolerant clones are subject to 100, 50–60 and 6–9% cracking, respectively, correlated to relative growth rate of the pulp in the third stage. Fruit cracking, lengthwise splitting of the peel, and exposure of the pulp occurred in fully mature fruits towards the end of their growth. Continuous monitoring of fruit growth revealed expansion and cracking during the day and shrinkage during the night, as expected for CAM plants. Cracking was not correlated with the threshold cracking turgor, which declined during ripening in all clones. GA₃ sprays during colour break reduced cracking in the two most susceptible clones to 20% and 60%, while paclobutrazol increased cracking. Cracking rates were the same in two ecozones differing in salinity, temperatures and relative humidity. It is suggested that breeding and hormone treatments could reduce cracking significantly.     

The effect of light and of explant orientation on the regeneration and subsequent growth of bulblets on Lilium longiflorum Thunb,bulb-scale sections cultured in vitro

Lilium longiflorum, cultivar ‘Osnat’, bulb-scale sections were cultured in the light and in the dark with explants placed with their dorsal (abaxial) side on the medium, and in the dark with their ventral (adaxial) side up or down, or in the upright or inverted position. Scale sections regenerated bulblets, roots and callus. In all cases, bulblets developed only on the ventral side of the scale. Light did not affect the regeneration capacity of the scale piece but did significantly affect bulblet growth. Bulblets developing in the light were small and bore many leaves. In the dark, a smaller number of bulblets, which were much larger but bore fewer leaves, developed. In the light, leaf dry weight was double that of bulb dry weight, whereas in the dark this proportion was reversed. In contrast to light, explant orientation greatly affected regeneration percentage. Scale sections planted with their ventral side down regenerated fewer and smaller bulbs, less root, but much more callus than those with their dorsal side down. The upright and inverted positions also reduced the number of bulblets regenerated and increased callus formation.     

Embryonal recombination and germline inheritance of recombined FRT loci mediated by constitutively expressed FLP in tobacco

FLP site-specific recombination has been shown in transgenic plants to excise DNA sequences between target FRT sites, and thereby activate transgenes in plants. In previous reports, crossing of tobacco plants expressing FLP recombinase from a CaMV-35s promoter with plants containing the target FRT sites, hybrid plants with deletion sectors were generated, which were infrequently transmitted to progeny. In this report we evaluate the occurrence of recombination in F₁ hybrid seed derived from crosses of different FLP and FRT-reporter target lines and the germinal transmission of recombined loci from these hybrids to F₂ progeny. Twenty hybrids were generated from crosses of independent five FLP-active lines and four FRT-reporter target lines. In one hybrid, FLP deletions occurred at an early stage, prior to seed maturation, and the deletions from this hybrid were more efficiently transmitted to F₂ progeny. The demonstration of FLP-mediated recombination activity and germinal inheritance of the recombined FRT loci are supported by both molecular and enzymatic evidence. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.