Physiological Responses of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosa rubiginosa</Emphasis> to Saline Environment

The aim of this work was to analyse the response of Rosa rubiginosa to salinity induced by different concentrations of sodium chloride and calcium chloride (0, 25, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM). Besides salt accumulation and pH changes, other parameters were investigated including photosynthetic activity, leaf water content, the dynamics of necrosis and chlorosis appearance and leaf drying. The study was complemented with microscopic analysis of changes in leaf anatomy. R. rubiginosa was more sensitive to the salinity induced by calcium chloride than by sodium chloride. Plant response to salinity differed depending of the salt concentration. These differences were manifested by higher dynamics of necrosis and chlorosis appearance and leaf drying. CaCl₂ showed greater inhibition of the photosynthetic apparatus and photosynthetic activity. Treatment with CaCl₂ caused more visible deformation of palisade cells, reduction in their density and overall reduction in leaf thickness. The study demonstrated higher accumulation of CaCl₂ in the soil, and thus greater limitations in water availability resulting in reduced leaf water content and quicker drying of leaves as compared with NaCl-treated plants.     

Effect of Quinoa Seeds (Chenopodium quinoa) in Diet on some Biochemical Parameters and Essential Elements in Blood of High Fructose-Fed Rats

The effect of Chenopodium quinoa seeds on lipid profile, glucose level, protein metabolism and selected essential elements (Na, K, Ca, Mg) level was determined in high—fructose fed male Wistar rats. Fructose decreased significantly LDL [42%, p < 0.01] and activity of alkaline phosphatase [20%, p < 0.05], and increased triglycerides level [86%, p < 0.01]. The analysis of blood of rats fed quinoa indicated, that these seeds effectively reduced serum total cholesterol [26%, p < 0.05], LDL [57%, p < 0.008] and triglycerides [11%, p < 0.05] when compared to the control group. Quinoa seeds also significantly reduced the level of glucose [10%, p < 0.01] and plasma total protein level [16%, p < 0.001]. Fructose significantly decreased HDL [15%, p < 0.05] level in control group but when the quinoa seeds were added into the diet the decrease of HDL level was inhibited. Quinoa seeds did not prevent any adverse effect of increasing triglyceride level caused by fructose. It was shown in this study that quinoa seeds can reduce most of the adverse effects exerted by fructose on lipid profile and glucose level.     

Relationships between local stand density and local species composition and nutrient content in the topsoil of pure and mixed stands of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.)

This study examined topsoil samples from the humic mineral horizon in four pure silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) and five mixed stands with beech (Fagus sylvatica L.), spruce (Picea abies L.; Karst.) and pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). In every stand, 60–70 sampling locations were chosen using a stratified random scheme that represented a gradient in local stand density and local species composition. One working hypothesis was that stand density and species composition affect the content of nutrients in the mineral humic soil horizon. Specifically, the analysis statistically tested for relationships between general and species-specific local stand density measures (basal area, sum of tree diameters weighted by distance, canopy openness) and the contents of total C, total N (in four stands), base cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺, Na⁺) and Mn²⁺ (in nine stands). A considerable variation in nutrient concentrations was observed; the coefficients of variation ranged from 0.21 to 0.38 for N, from 0.20 to 0.94 for the sum of base cations and from 0.56 to 0.95 for Mn. However, no clear relationship emerged between local stand density and the concentration of N and base cations; in five stands, manganese showed a negative correlation with local stand density. In the mixed fir-beech stand, significantly higher concentrations of Ca, K and Mn were found in the vicinity of beeches, and species-specific stand density explained up to 15, 29 and 34% of total variation in the content of these elements, respectively. Similar tendencies also appeared in the mixed stands with pine, although the relationships were weak. The results obtained for two fir-spruce stands were ambiguous. In sum, in the stands studied, small canopy gaps and inter-crown openings might not be considered ‘‘nutrient hot spots’’, and the admixed species, except for beech, had an insignificant effect on nutrient content in the humic mineral horizon.     

Cytometric analysis of lymphocytes T and B in rabbits infected with non-haemagglutinogenic strains of RHD virus (rabbit haemorrhagic disease)--Rainham, Frankfurt and Asturias

The present paper refers to the cytometric analysis of lymphocytes T (with receptor CD5+), Th (with receptor CD4+), Tc/Ts (with receptor CD8+), lymphocytes CD25+ and lymphocytes B with receptor CD19+ in rabbits experimentally infected with strains of RHD virus--Rainham, Frankfurt and Asturias, not having haemagglutinogenic capacities, which makes them unique, as haemagglutinogenic capacity is a classic and typical property of most strains of this virus. The study was performed in the dynamic system, drawing blood samples from animals at hour 0, namely before the administration of the viral antigen, and then at 4, 8, 12, 24 and 36 h after the infection. The study indicated that Rainham and Asturias strains of RHD virus cause a similar amount of changes as the most immunogenic haemagglutinogenic strains CAMP V-561 and CAMP V-562 of the RHD virus do. In contrast, the Frankfurt strain of the RHD virus is characterised with 5-6-fold lower reactivity in this respect and is most similar to the least immunogenic haemagglutinogenic strain CAMP V-558 of the RHD virus.     

The influence of experimental Yersinia enterocolitica infection on the pregnancy course in sows--preliminary studies. III. Histopathological lesions

The aim of the study was to evaluate the anatomo- and histopathological lesions in internal organs of sows and their stillborn piglets after experimental Y. enterocolitica infection in different phases of pregnancy. Twelve pregnant sows were divided into 4 groups, infected per os on 33 (n = 3), 54 (n = 3) and 89 (n = 3) day of pregnancy with the pathogenic Y. enterocolitica strain isolated from the aborted swine fetus, and uninfected control group. Histopathological examinations of internal organs and intestine samples of stillborn piglets, slaughtered sows and samples of placentas were performed. Anatomo- and histopathological lesions were the most intense in the group of sows infected in the final phase of pregnancy, where the highest number of stillborn piglets was also found. Lesions of internal organs in stillborn piglets suggested a severe generalized bacterial infection. Although the analysis of experimental Y. enterocolitica infection of pregnant sows revealed that the most intense clinical, anatomopathological and histopathological abnormalities were recorded in the group of animals infected in the final phase of pregnancy. Infection in the first phase of pregnancy could have had an influence on the formation of the granulomatous inflammation. Differences in anatomopathological lesions between infected and control animals suggest that the period of pregnancy in which the infection appears could have had an influence on the course of yersiniosis in pigs.     

The role of complement activity in the sensitivity of Salmonella O48 strains with sialic acid-containing lipopolysaccharides to the bactericidal action of normal bovine serum

Sialic acids are important constituents of animal tissue glycoconjugates and are also present in the antigens of some bacterial strains. Capsular polysaccharides with sialic acid (NeuAc) have been extensively studied with regard to sensitivity to the bactericidal action of serum, whereas little is known in this regard about lipopolysaccharides (LPS) which contain NeuAc. Strains of Salmonella O48, able to infect animals and containing the same structures of LPS with NeuAc, were examined for their susceptibility to the bactericidal action of normal bovine serum (NBS). The strains showed varied sensitivity to the bactericidal action of NBS, which indicates that the expression of LPS containing NeuAc residues is not critical for the strains' resistance to the serum's activity. In this study the mechanisms of complement activation responsible for killing serum-sensitive Salmonella O48 rods by NBS were also established. Three such mechanisms were distinguished: activation of the classical/lectin pathways, important (decisive) in the bactericidal mechanism of complement activation, parallel activation of the classical/lectin and alternative pathways, and independent activation of the classical and lectin or the alternative pathway.     

Identification of Neofabraea species causing bull's eye rot of apple in Poland and their direct detection in apple fruit using multiplex PCR

Based on partial sequence analysis of the β‐tubulin gene, 19 isolates of fungi causing bull's eye rot on apple in Poland were classified into species: Neofabraea alba, N. perennans and N. kienholzii. To the authors’ knowledge, the detection of N. kienholzii is the second in Europe and the first in Poland. Species affiliation of these fungi was confirmed by a new species‐specific multiplex PCR assay developed on the basis of previously published methods. The new protocol allowed for the specific identification of bull's eye rot‐causing species, both from pure cultures and directly from the skin of diseased or apparently healthy apples. In 550 samples of diseased fruits collected from nine cold storage rooms located in three regions of Poland, in 2011 and 2012, N. alba was detected as the predominant species causing bull's eye rot, occurring on average in 94% of the tested samples. Neofabraea perennans was found in a minority of apple samples, N. kienholzii was found only in two apple samples, while N. malicorticis was not detected in any sample tested. In tests on 120 apparently healthy fruits, only N. perennans was detected in a single sample. The results of genetic diversity analyses of bull's eye rot‐causing fungi based on the β‐tubulin gene sequence and an ISSR (inter‐simple sequence repeat) PCR assay with two primers were consistent, showing the expected segregation of tested isolates with respect to their species boundaries. However, the genetic distance between N. perennans and N. malicorticis was very low, as reported previously.     

Identification and characterization of bacteria isolated from crown galls on stone fruits in Poland

Eighty stone fruit nurseries located in different regions of Poland were examined for the presence of crown gall affected plants. The disease was observed in 39 nurseries, and galls were sampled for bacterial isolation. Out of 1213 isolates, 409 were pre‐identified as Agrobacterium/Rhizobium spp. with 23S rDNA‐based multiplex PCR, and out of these, 315 were pathogenic when tested on sunflowers. Sequence analysis of three housekeeping genes (fusA, recA, rpoD) revealed that 366 strains belonged to Rhizobium rhizogenes, 23 to Agrobacterium tumefaciens species complex, and the rest of the strains were allocated to new phylogenetic lineages. Of these, the most numerous was the lineage allocated in the Pararhizobium genus. Positive results obtained from pathogenicity tests were generally in agreement with results obtained by PCR with primers complementary to T‐DNA except for two strains, which were positive for PCR but negative for the pathogenicity test. All detected Ti plasmids were nopaline‐type. Independent of their pathogenicity, 59% of tested strains were not sensitive to agrocin 84 in in vitro tests. Analysis of biochemical and physiological features distinguished 50 groups with different phenotypic profiles, but the tested traits were not consistent for strains classified to one taxon. This finding shows limited value of biochemical tests in identification procedures. The bacteria causing tumours were heterogeneous and strains classified to different taxa were found even in a single tumour.