Fertility of Holstein cows and heifers submitted to timed artificial insemination and receiving one or two doses (12 h apart) of semen

The objective of this retrospective study was to assess the effect of receiving a single (n = 50,285) or double (n = 4392) artificial insemination (AI), 12 h apart, within a timed artificial insemination protocol on pregnancy per AI (P/AI) in nulliparous heifers (inseminated with either sex-sorted or conventional semen) and pluriparous Holstein cows in a commercial dairy herd. Also, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between temperature-humidity index (THI) and time of the first AI and fertility. Fertility of cows receiving two AI with normothermia (THI <68) was higher (p < .05) than cows receiving a single AI (42.9% vs. 36.4%). P/AI of cows receiving two AI with severe heat stress (THI >85) was higher (p < .05) than cows receiving a single AI (21.0% vs. 12.6%). Regardless of heat stress conditions, applying the first AI in the morning increased (p < .05) P/AI in cows with double AI than in cows whose first AI occurred in the afternoon (38.4 vs. 33.3%). With moderate heat stress, and sexed-sorted semen, P/AI to timed AI was higher (65.0 vs. 51.9%; p < .05) in heifers receiving double AI than those serviced once. It was concluded that double AI, 12 h apart, enhanced fertility at timed AI than herd mates with a single AI, particularly with heat stress at breeding.     

Analysis of archive samples of spring and winter barley support an increase in individual Fusarium species in Bavarian barley grain over the last decades

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - A broad range of different Fusarium (F.) species is associated with Fusarium head blight (FHB) on barley and the corresponding negative effects in...     

Molecular characerization of the interaction between the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum and tomato

The fungus Cladosprium fulvum is a biotrophic leaf pathogen of tomato. The fungus develops in the intercellular space without forming specialized feeding structures and does not affect the leaf tissue. The outcome of the C. fulvum-tomato interaction can be described by the gene-for-gene model. Failure of infection is expressed by a hypersensitive response. Two fungal proteins, ECP1 and ECP2, have been isolated and their corresponding genes have been cloned. In a compatible interaction including many physiological races ECP1 and ECP2 are highly produced and a role in pathogenicity is suggestive. The ecp1 gene shows some homology with tumor necrosis factor receptors (TNFRs) while the ecp2 gene shows no homology with sequences known in data bases. However, disruption of one of the two genes showed no reduced pathogenicity of the fungus. Two race-specific elicitors, AVR4 and AVR9, have been isolated and their corresponding genes have been cloned. The avirulence genes Avr4 and Avr9 are only present in C. fulvum avirulent on Cf-4 and Cf-9 cultivars, respectively. The expression of these two genes is, like the expression of the ecp genes, highly induced when the fungus grows in planta. Disruption of the Avr9 gene in wild type avirulent races leads to virulence on tomato genotypes carrying the complementary resistance gene Cf-9. A single base-pair change in the avirulence gene Avr4 leads to virulence on tomato genotypes carrying the Cf-4 resistance gene. Isolation, characterization and possible function of ECP1, ECP2, AVR4, and AVR9 will be discussed.     

Sinapate dehydrodimers and sinapate-ferulate heterodimers in cereal dietary fiber

Two 8-8-coupled sinapic acid dehydrodimers and at least three sinapate-ferulate heterodimers have been identified as saponification products from different insoluble and soluble cereal grain dietary fibers. The two 8-8-disinapates were authenticated by comparison of their GC retention times and mass spectra with authentic dehydrodimers synthesized from methyl or ethyl sinapate using two different single-electron metal oxidant systems. The highest amounts (481 microg/g) were found in wild rice insoluble dietary fiber. Model reactions showed that it is unlikely that the dehydrodisinapates detected are artifacts formed from free sinapic acid during the saponification procedure. The dehydrodisinapates presumably derive from radical coupling of sinapate-polymer esters in the cell wall; the radical coupling origin is further confirmed by finding 8-8 and 8-5 (and possibly 8-O-4) sinapate-ferulate cross-products. Sinapates therefore appear to have an analogous role to ferulates in cross-linking polysaccharides in cereal grains and presumably grass cell walls in general.     

Real-time monitoring of 4-vinylguaiacol,guaiacol, and phenol during coffee roasting by resonant laser ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The formation of 4-vinylguaiacol, guaiacol, and phenol during coffee roasting was monitored in real-time, using resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A model is proposed, based on two connected reaction channels. One channel, termed the "low activation energy" channel, consists of ester hydrolysis of 5-FQA followed by decarboxylation of the ferulic acid to form 4-vinylguaiacol, and finally polymerization at the vinyl group to form partly insoluble polymers (coffee melanoidins). The second "high activation energy" channel opens up once the beans have reached higher temperatures. It leads to formation of guaiacol, via oxidation of 4-vinylguaiacol, and subsequently to phenol and other phenolic VOCs. This work aims at developing strategies to modify the composition of coffee flavor compounds based on the time-temperature history during roasting.