Assessing seed desiccation responses of native trees in the Caribbean

New Forests - Native trees from the Caribbean were tested for seed desiccation responses, by adapting the “100-seed test” protocol. Ninety-seven seed lots of 91 species were collected...     

Effect of Oil Overlay on Inhibition Potential of Roscovitine in Sheep Cumulus‐Oocyte Complexes

Inhibitors of cyclin‐dependent kinases, as roscovitine, have been used to prevent the spontaneous resumption of meiosis in vitro and to improve the oocyte developmental competence. In this study, the interference of oil overlay on the reversible arrest capacity of roscovitine in sheep oocytes as well as its effects on cumulus expansion was evaluated. For this, cumulus‐oocyte complexes (COCs) were cultured for 20 h in TCM 199 with 10% foetal bovine serum (Control) containing 75 μm roscovitine (Rosco). Subsequently, they were in vitro matured (IVM) for further 18 h in inhibitor‐free medium with LH and FSH. The culture was performed in Petri dishes under mineral oil (+) or in 96 well plates without oil overlay (?) at 38.5°C and 5% CO₂. At 20 and 38 h, the cumulus expansion and nuclear maturation were evaluated under stereomicroscope and by Hoechst 33342 staining, respectively. No group presented cumulus expansion at 20 h. After additional culture with gonadotrophins, a significant rate of COCs from both Control groups (+/?) exhibited total expansion while in both Rosco groups (+/?) the partial expansion prevailed. Among the oocytes treated with roscovitine, 65.2% were kept at GV in the absence of oil overlay while 40.6% of them reached MII under oil cover (p < 0.05). This meiotic arrest was reversible, and proper meiosis progression also occurred in the Control groups (+/?). So, the culture system without oil overlay improved the meiotic inhibition promoted by roscovitine without affecting the cumulus expansion rate or the subsequent meiosis progression.     

Chemotherapy of Canine Hemangiosarcoma With Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide

Sixteen dogs with a histologic diagnosis of hemangiosarcoma were treated with surgery and doxorubicin/ cyclophosphamide. The patients' characteristics, ie, age, size, and breed, were similar to those of previous studies. Historic controls for surgery alone were used to evaluate efficacy of the chemotherapy. The results show a trend of improved survival in dogs with localized disease (Stage I) receiving combination therapy. The median survival was 250 days, with a mean of 403 days. The survival times for dogs with stage I, II, and III disease was also improved with combination therapy, when compared to historical controls treated with surgery alone. The overall median survival was 202 days with a mean of 285 days. Toxicities included mild to moderate neutropenia (9 of 16) and clinical signs, such as lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever (13 of 16). Three dogs had severe neutropenia requiring hospitalization and supportive care. One dog died from sepsis and related complications. Chemotherapy with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide appears to improve survival with acceptable morbidity in patients with early stage disease. (Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1993; 7:370–376. Copyright © 1993 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)     

Analysis of genomic and functional RFLP derived markers associated with sucrose content,fiber and yield QTLs in a sugarcane (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharum</Emphasis> spp.) commercial cross

Expressed sequence tags derived markers have a great potential to be used in functional map construction and QTL tagging. In the present work, sugarcane genomic probes and expressed sequence tags having homology to genes, mostly involved in carbohydrate metabolism were used in RFLP assays to identify putative QTLs as well as their epistatic interactions for fiber content, cane yield, pol and tones of sugar per hectare, at two crop cycles in a progeny derived from a bi-parental cross of sugarcane elite materials. A hundred and twenty marker trait associations were found, of which 26 at both crop cycle and 32 only at first ratoon cane. A sucrose synthase derived marker was associated with a putative QTL having a high negative effect on cane yield and also with a QTL having a positive effect on Pol at both crop cycles. Fifty digenic epistatic marker interactions were identified for the four traits evaluated. Of these, only two were observed at both crop cycles.     

Characterization of novel sugarcane expressed sequence tag microsatellites and their comparison with genomic SSRs

Microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are one of the most suitable markers for genome analysis as they have great potential to aid breeders to develop new improved sugarcane varieties. The development of SSR derived from expressed sequence tags (EST) opens new opportunities for genetic investigations at a functional level. In the present work, the polymorphism obtained with a subset of 51 EST–SSRs derived from sucest was compared with those generated by 50 genomic SSRs (gSSR) in terms of number of alleles, polymorphism information content, discrimination power and their ability to establish genetic relationships among 18 sugarcane clones including three Saccharum species (S. officinarum, S. barberi, S. sinense). The majority of EST–SSRs loci had four to six alleles in contrast to the seven to nine observed for the gSSRs loci. Approximately, 35% of the gSSRs had PIC values around 0.90 in contrast to 15% of the EST–SSRs. However, the mean discrimination power of the two types of SSR did not differ significantly as much as the average genetic similarity (GS) based on Dice coefficient. The correlation between GS of the two types of SSRs was high (r = 0.71/P = 0.99) and significant. Although differences were observed between dendrograms obtained with each SSR type, both were in good agreement with pedigree information. The S. officinarum clone IJ76‐314 was grouped apart from the other clones evaluated. The results here demonstrate that EST–SSRs can be successfully used for genetic relationship analysis, extending the knowledge of genetic diversity of sugarcane to a functional level.     

Conserving seeds of useful wild plants in Mexico: main issues and recommendations

The efficient storage and germination of seeds underpin the effective use of plants for livelihoods and sustainable development. A total of 204 wild species useful for local communities of the Tehuacán–Cuicatlán Valley were collected and stored in seed banks in country for long term conservation, and 66 % (i.e., 134) duplicated in the U.K., as an effective means of ex situ conservation. Of the 204 species, 147 (122 of which also duplicated in the U.K.) were previously listed as useful plants in the ethnofloristic inventory of the Valley. Based on literature surveys, we found that one of the major impediments to the use of stored seeds of wild species is the lack of knowledge of how to germinate the seed. In detailed studies, we found that seeds of 18 useful plant species from 10 different families germinated readily and could be propagated. In contrast, four species (Actinocheita filicina, Bursera submoniliformis, Karwinskia mollis and Lippia graveolens) produced dormant seeds and therefore further studies are needed before their use can be maximised in large scale propagation programmes in support of conservation and livelihoods. Overall, this large-scale study on useful wild plant species in Mexico confirms that conventional seed banking can effectively support sustainable development and livelihood programmes.