Factors associated with development of Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) in dogs in 5 Canadian small animal clinics

This study investigated the association between presence of respiratory pathogens and development of Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) in dogs in 5 Canadian small animal clinics. In total, 86 dogs were tested using a commercial PCR respiratory panel; 64 dogs were considered as cases and 22 were control dogs matched by veterinary clinic. No control animals (0/22) were positive for canine parainfluenza virus (CPIV), whereas 27/64 (42%) CIRDC cases were positive. Furthermore, 81% of case dogs tested positive for Mycoplasma cynos, compared with 73% of control dogs. Canine respiratory corona virus (CRCoV) was detected in no control dogs compared with 9.4% of clinical dogs. No animals were positive for any influenza virus type A present in the diagnostic panel. Presence of CPIV was associated (P < 0.01) with the occurrence of CIRDC after adjustment for demographic factors and presence of CRCoV (P = 0.09).     

Bioaccumulation of Copper by Zea mays: Impact on Root, Shoot and Leaf Growth

In the present study, the growth and the Cu²⁺accumulation by roots, shoots and leaves of Zea mays were examined using copper sulphate in the range of 10^?4 to 10^?2 M. Plants of Z. mays did not show inhibition of growth in the presence of 10^?4 to 10^?2 M Cu²⁺; however, it was observed growth effects on root when different Cu²⁺ solution concentrations were used. Only the seedlings exposed to 10^?2 M exhibited substantial root growth reduction, yielding only 56% of length with respect to the control. Seedlings exposed to 10^?4 M Cu²⁺ exhibited 16% and 42% growth increase in shoots and leaves, respectively, when compared with the controls. The seedlings treated with 10^?3 and 10^?2 M Cu²⁺ were inhibited in shoot and leaf growth. The fresh weights in roots, shoots and leaves significantly decreased at 10^?2 M Cu²⁺. The tolerance index, based on root length, was not significantly different for the three different treatments with copper. However, the total accumulation rate was very low at 10^?4 and 10^?3 M compared to 10^?2 Cu treatments. The capacity of copper accumulation by roots, shoots and leaves of Z. mays plants increased concomitant to the copper concentration, arriving to 382 times more in roots, 157 in shoots and only 16 in leaves, all compared to the controls. Cu could be accumulated by roots, shoots and leaves when the initial concentrations were 10^?3 and 10^?4 M. However, when it was 10^?2 M, the metal could not be accumulated by leaf and shoot levels; the roots could increase their copper accumulation capacity three times compared to the control. Z. mays has potential ability to accumulate Cu without being overly sensitive to Cu toxicity.     

Grain weight responses to post-anthesis spikelet-trimming in an old and a modern wheat under Mediterranean conditions

Average grain weight is a major yield component contributing to its variation, especially in Mediterranean regions where grain weight is frequently exposed to terminal stresses affecting grain growth. Most of the literature agrees that wheat grain growth is hardly limited by the source. However, no source–sink ratios studies seem to have been conducted in the Mediterranean region to determine to what degree wheat grain growth is actually limited by the source in these particular regions. We conducted two field experiments in Catalonia (north-eastern Spain), where an old cultivar (Anza) and a more recently released one (Soissons) were sown in a range of different nitrogen and water availabilities and sowing dates. This was to analyse the degree of source limitation for grain growth. Sink size was modified by removing half of the spikelets c. 10 days after anthesis, virtually doubling the availability of assimilates per grain effectively growing.

Trimming the spikes did not produce significant changes in grain growth rate or duration of grain filling. Consequently, grain weight did not respond noticeably to the reduction in sink demand and any eventual response has been far from representing a strong competition among grains during grain filling.     

Pericarp total protein profiles as molecular markers of tomato fruit quality traits in two segregating populations

The tomato fruit quality results of biochemical and physiological changes that occur during the ripening process. Although, the pericarp total protein profiles are less polymorphic than DNA-based markers the polymorphism in those could be directly associated with fruit quality traits. The aim of this work was to identify associations between polymorphic polypeptides from fruit pericarp at two ripening stages and fruit quality traits evaluated in two segregating populations of tomato. A cross between a normal ripening cultivar of Solanum lycopersicum (C, Caimanta) and a genotype carrying the nor (non ripening) gene (N) as well as a cross between Caimanta and a cherry type tomato of S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme (Ce) showed genetic variance for several fruit quality traits such as fruit weight, shape, solids soluble content, acidity, color and fruit shelf life. The quantitative variations observed at phenotypic level had correspondence with the polymorphism detected in the protein profiles. Indeed, the polymophic polypeptides associated with quality fruit traits and fruit shelf life would be useful to assist tomato breeding programs as protein molecular markers.     

Radical scavenging capacity and antimutagenic properties of purified proteins from Solanum betaceum fruits and Solanum tuberosum tubers

In this study, antioxidant activities in free-radical-mediated oxidative systems and the genotoxic/antigenotoxic effects of two proteins with molecular mass around 17 kDa, purified from Solanum betaceum fruits (cyphomine) and Solanum tuberosum tubers (solamarine), were investigated. Both proteins inhibited uric acid formation with IC(50) values between 55 and 60 μg/mL, and both proteins were able to reduce oxidative damage by scavenging hydroxyl radicals and superoxide anion in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the DPPH? reduction assay showed SC(50) values of 55-73 μg/mL. Cyphomine and solamarine were able to retain their antioxidant activity after heat treatment at 80 °C for 15 min. Allium cepa and Salmonella /microsome assays showed no genotoxic and mutagenic effects. Solamarine showed an antimutagenic effect against a direct mutagen (4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine). Consequently, the present study showed that the investigated proteins are promising ingredients for the development of functional foods with a beneficial impact on human health and an important source for the production of bioactive peptides.     

New insights into virus yellows distribution in Europe and effects of beet yellows virus,beet mild yellowing virus,and beet chlorosis virus on sugar beet yield following field inoculation

Beet yellows virus (BYV), beet mild yellowing virus (BMYV), beet chlorosis virus (BChV), and beet mosaic virus (BtMV) cause virus yellows (VY) disease in sugar beet. The main virus vector is the aphid Myzus persicae. Due to efficient vector control by neonicotinoid seed treatment over the last decades, there is no current knowledge regarding virus species distribution. Therefore, Europe-wide virus monitoring was carried out from 2017 to 2019, where neonicotinoids were banned in 2019. The monitoring showed that closterovirus BYV is currently widely spread in northern Europe. The poleroviruses BMYV and BChV were most frequently detected in the northern and western regions. The potyvirus BtMV was only sporadically detected. To study virus infestation and influence on yield, viruses were transmitted to sugar beet plants using viruliferous M. persicae in quadruplicate field plots with 10% inoculation density simulating natural infection. A plant-to-plant virus spread was observed within 4 weeks. A nearly complete infection of all plants was observed in all treatments at harvest. In accordance with these findings, a significant yield reduction was caused by BMYV and BChV (−23% and −24%) and only a moderate reduction in yield was observed for BYV (−10%). This study showed that inoculation at low densities mimics natural infection, and quick spreading induced representative yield effects. Within the background of a post-neonicotinoid era, this provides the basis to screen sugar beet genotypes for the selection of virus tolerance/resistance and to test the effectiveness of insecticides for the control of M. persicae with a manageable workload.     

Dislocation-driven deformations in graphene

The movement of dislocations in a crystal is the key mechanism for plastic deformation in all materials. Studies of dislocations have focused on three-dimensional materials, and there is little experimental evidence regarding the dynamics of dislocations and their impact at the atomic level on the lattice structure of graphene. We studied the dynamics of dislocation pairs in graphene, recorded with single-atom sensitivity. We examined stepwise dislocation movement along the zig-zag lattice direction mediated either by a single bond rotation or through the loss of two carbon atoms. The strain fields were determined, showing how dislocations deform graphene by elongation and compression of C-C bonds, shear, and lattice rotations.     

Physiological attributes associated with yield and stability in selected lines of a durum wheat population

Further increasing yield potential remains one of the main objectives of wheat breeding, even in stressful environments. In general, past genetic gains were associated with increases in harvest index, and future gains should be related to greater biomass. Identifying genetic sources for such improvement may be relevant. Researchers of TRITIMED identified DH lines of durum wheat apparently possessing not only high yield potential but also good yield stability. We aimed to determine physiological attributes responsible for yield and stability among a set of genotypes derived from two parents (Cham 1 and Lahn) and four of the most promising lines of the DH population (2401, 2408, 2410, 2517). Seven field trials were carried out within the Mediterranean agricultural region of the Ebro Valley, under a wide range of conditions (ca 2–10 mg ha⁻¹). In four of these experiments, sub-plots were included with source-sink manipulations imposed after anthesis. Cham 1, a cultivar known for high yields in semi-arid conditions, showed the highest yield potential. Although it showed less yield stability than Lahn, even under the lowest yielding conditions its yield was not significantly lower than that of Lahn. RILs 2408, 2410, 2004 and 2517 slightly outyielded Lahn in high-yielding conditions, but under poorer environments they tended to yield less. Interestingly, yield differences were closely related to their biomass rather than harvest index. Thus yield differences relating to the number of grains per m² were due to differences in spike dry matter at anthesis, reflecting in part genotypic differences in crop growth from jointing to anthesis. In general grain weight did not respond to spike trimming after anthesis, although in two experiments the grain weight of Cham 1 did so. Thus, even the highest-yielding cultivar possessed grains that overall seemed more limited by its constitutive capacity to grow than by the availability of resources to reach this capacity (though occasionally they may be co-limited). Overall, the most interesting feature was the empirical evidence that improvement of biomass within elite material is a worthwhile objective.