Evaluation of genetic and non-genetic factors on foot and mouth disease (FMD) virus vaccine-elicited immune response in Hardhenu (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bos taurus</Emphasis> x <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bos indicus</Emphasis>) cattle

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is the most contagious disease of mammals and a major threat to animal husbandry sector. In India, vaccination with the inactivated trivalent (O, A and Asia1) vaccine is one proven way for protecting the livestock from FMD. However, many outbreaks have been reported in different parts of the country. Therefore, present study was aimed at elucidating the effects of genetic and non-genetic factors on FMD viral vaccine-elicited immune response in Hardhenu cattle. The effect of season of vaccination was not consistent. The effect of status of animal was significant for all the pre and post AB titres except for pre AB titre of serotype O and post AB titre of Asia1.The estimates of heritability for response to vaccination were low to high ranging from 0.11 to 0.45. The highest heritability estimate was obtained for serotype O and the lowest for Asia1. The heritability estimates for pre and post AB titres ranged from 0.15 to 0.33. All the pre and post AB titres and responses to vaccination had genetic correlations ranged from high negative to high positive among them. Results of this study highlight the variation in vaccine response which needs to be further exploited on large-scale animal data for better immunization and protection against highly contagious viral vesicular disease of cloven-hoofed animals.     

Achieving food and nutritional security through agroforestry: a case of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Faidherbia albida</Emphasis> in sub-Saharan Africa

Faidherbia albida is an ideal agroforestry tree commonly intercropped with annual crops like millet and groundnuts in the dry and densely populated areas of Africa. With its peculiar reverse phenology, it makes growth demands at a different time from that of crops. In addition, it deposits great amount of organic fertilizer on food crops. Leaves entering soils are comparable to fertilization of almost 50 t·ha 1 ·year 1 of manure in dense stands of 50 large trees per ha. These nutrients help maximize agricultural production and reduce the need for a fallow period on poorer soils. Research has shown that millet grown under F. albida yielded 2.5 and 3.4 fold increases in grain and protein, respectively. Animals eat pods which contain mean amounts of crude protein of 20.63% and carbohydrate of 40.1% in seeds. Moreover, the continued existence of F. albida in agroforestry parklands as in Ethiopia and Mali signifies the success of traditional conservation measures. Modern scientists have also developed much interest in the role of agroforestry in maintaining long-term biological balance between agriculture and livestock production systems. To ensure food security, which still remains a major challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, and concurrently minimize environmental degradation, promotion of agroforestry that specifically involves indigenous trees is crucial. We discuss the prospective role of F. albida in alleviating poverty while simultaneously protecting the environment from factors associated with, for example, deforestation and loss of biodiversity. The overall aim is to promote wide-scale adoption of F. albida as a valuable tree crop in farming systems, particularly in those areas where it remains unexploited.     

Drivers of adoption of eucalypt tree farming by smallholders in Thailand

Eucalypt (Eucalyptus spp.) tree farming is a source of income for many smallholders in developing and emerging countries and critical to the resource supply of many pulp and paper companies. These companies rely on smallholders adopting tree farming, sometimes by offering a contract. This paper reports a study from four regions of Thailand, where smallholder eucalypt tree farming is important, which investigated what characteristics of smallholders were associated with greater adoption of tree farming. A total of 461 eucalypt tree farmers and 171 non-tree farmers were randomly selected and surveyed in these regions, using a door-to-door household survey. A logit analysis corroborated hypotheses about the drivers of adoption. Qualitative analyses were used to inform interpretation of the quantitative results and shed light on the role of eucalypt tree farming in smallholders’ livelihood. Results demonstrate that those with suitable land available are more likely to adopt eucalypt tree farming than others. In addition, perception of land tenure security matters in the adoption of tree growing, but holding a formal land tenure document does not. Adoption of eucalypt tree farming in Thailand is not part of a land use intensification strategy. Instead, eucalypts are used as an alternative crop for low productivity land, on which eucalypts are the most profitable crop. Eucalypt tree farming also gives smallholders an opportunity to diversify their income. In addition, this alternative land use has the advantage of requiring low labour inputs between planting and harvest. This is particularly advantageous for many tree growers who have off-farm income or rely on hired labour for farming their land.     

红茶末对淮南麻黄鸡生产及繁殖性能影响

【目的】茶叶加工下脚料—茶末价格低廉,含有多种天然活性及抗氧化物质,试验研究了红茶末对淮南麻黄鸡生产和繁殖性能的影响。【方法】将290日龄淮南麻黄鸡种鸡528只（母鸡480只,公鸡48只）,随机分成4组（每组2个重复）,分别饲喂添加0.0%（对照组）、0.5%、1.5%、2.5%红茶末4种种鸡日粮,试验持续50天。【结果】日粮中添加0.5%的红茶末,除平均蛋重低于对照组0.39g（p<0.01）外,淮南麻黄鸡的产蛋率、饲料利用率、健雏率和出雏公鸡率均有提高的趋势（p>0.05）;种蛋受精率比对照组高6个百分点（p<0.05）;种蛋合格率和雏鸡初生重分别比对照组高4.7和4.8个百分点（p<0.01）。高浓度红茶末（1.5%或2.5%）对淮南麻黄鸡产蛋及繁殖性能有负面影响。【结论】淮南麻黄鸡日粮添加适量红茶末可改善其生产和繁殖性能。     

Avian predation on wild and cultured sea urchin <Emphasis Type="Italic">Strongylocentrotus intermedius</Emphasis> in a rocky shore habitat

ABSTRACT:   The present study reports the annual variation in consumption of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius by avian predators on a rocky shore where the culture of sea urchins has been conducted. Carrion crow and a few gull species were the most abundant avian predators and consumed a large number of sea urchins. Crows consumed mostly natural sea urchins, approximately 36 kg ww/ha per year on the intertidal rocky bench, but the gull species consumed mostly cultured sea urchins, approximately 100 kg ww/ha per year in the culture area. The seasonal variation in the amount of sea urchins consumed by crows was higher than that by the gull species, presumably because of the difference in foraging behavior in association with the seasonal tidal cycle. The natural sea urchins consumed are an allochthonous input from the subtidal to the intertidal habitat, and thus, crow predation may not affect the natural and the cultured populations of the sea urchin. The gull species consumed much of the cultured sea urchin, and thus, may be regarded as an effective predator causing damage to sea urchin culture. The results suggest that further studies are needed to determine why the gull species selectively feed on cultured sea urchins.     

基于新遗传连锁图谱的豇豆抗豆象QTL定位

【目的】豆象是危害豇豆最主要的仓储害虫。发掘豇豆抗豆象基因为抗性品种的选育,以及减少豆象对豇豆生产的危害奠定基础。【方法】以中豇1号(感)和Pant-lobia-1(抗)为亲本构建的包含282个株系的RIL群体为研究材料,利用人工接种法分别对282个株系接种绿豆象和四纹豆象,进行抗豆象表型鉴定,并利用两亲本对3 992个来源于绿豆、小豆和豇豆的SSR标记进行多态性筛选,然后利用筛选到的多态性标记对282个株系进行基因型分析,最后结合RIL群体各株系抗豆象表型鉴定数据和基因型分型数据,采用完备区间作图法(ICIM-ADD)进行抗豆象QTL定位分析,在此基础上构建遗传连锁图谱,并定位豇豆抗豆象基因。【结果】中豇1号和F1籽粒的被害率均为100%,Pant-lobia-1籽粒的被害率分别为22.5%和42.5%。推测Pant-lobia-1对绿豆象和四纹豆象的抗性均为隐性遗传;筛选到182个多态性标记,利用这些多态性标记构建了一个包含11个连锁群的豇豆遗传连锁图谱,图谱总长1 065.23 cM,相邻标记间平均遗传距离为5.85 cM;经2种豆象处理,分别在连锁群1和连锁群5上检测到2个稳定...     

浙北地区小龙虾养殖情况的调查与分析

本文主要概述了小龙虾在浙北地区的养殖情况,通过对养殖户的具体调查,总结了当前小龙虾的养殖中存在的养殖误区,同时对养殖过程中应注意的问题进行了深入分析,并提出了相关解决办法。     

自然环境下重叠果实图像识别算法与试验

针对非结构化自然环境中光照变化和对象重叠特征等外界因素给图像处理带来的难题,提出了一种自然环境下重叠果实的图像识别与边界分割的组合优化算法。该组合优化算法首先对原始图像进行噪声滤波处理,然后利用Sobel算子以及改进算子的最大类方差法(OTSU)来辨识重叠果实目标;接着采用K-means算法对重叠目标的像素进行聚类得到单个目标位置,再结合边缘检测结果的连通域分析及区域生长获得单个目标边界的大致区域;最后利用基于限制区域的分水岭算法,得到目标的精确边界。为了验证所提算法的有效性和适应性,进行了试验研究。试验结果表明:所提出的组合优化算法不仅可以在自然环境下从重叠物体图像背景中识别出重叠目标,而且还可以从重叠目标中分割出单个目标的精确边界。     

A 192bp allele at the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xgwm261</Emphasis> locus is not always associated with the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rht8</Emphasis> dwarfing gene in wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis> L.)

The height-reducing gene Rht8 was introduced into Italian wheats by breeder Nazareno Strampelli from the Japanese landrace Akakomugi, and has been widely used in wheats adapted to southern and eastern European conditions. Following identification of a close linkage to Rht8, microsatellite marker Gwm261 has been used extensively to screen large numbers of diverse international germplasm. A 192bp allele at this locus has been taken as “diagnostic” for Rht8 and used to infer the international distribution of Rht8. In this paper, we report several instances of cultivars and mapping populations that vary for the presence of the 192bp allele at the Xgwm261 locus (Xgwm261 ₁₉₂ ), but with no associated reduction in height, suggesting a lack of association with Rht8. For instance, in the population derived from a cross between Sunco (Rht-B1b, Xgwm261 ₁₆₅ ) and Tasman (Rht-D1b, Xgwm261 ₁₉₂ ), there were significant height differences associated with the segregation of Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b, but no height differences between Xgwm261 genotypes. Similar results were obtained in a population derived from the cross between Molineux (Rht-B1b, Xgwm261 ₁₉₂ ) and Trident (Rht-D1b Xgwm261 ₂₀₈ ). In contrast, the cross between Trident and Chuanmai 18 (Xgwm261 ₁₉₂ ) gave significant height effects at both the Rht-D1 and Xgwm261 loci, with no epistatic interaction between loci. Chuanmai 18 is closely related to the Strampelli wheat Mara (ancestrally derived from Akakomugi) and is therefore likely to carry Rht8. The old Japanese cultivar Norin 10, used by Norman Borlaug to introduce Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b into Mexican wheats, also has a 192bp allele at the Xgwm261 locus, and the sequence of the amplified product is identical to that of Akakomugi. We suggest that the widespread use of Norin 10-derived germplasm during and after the Green Revolution introduced a second haplotype into international germplasm, in which Xgwm261 ₁₉₂ has no association with Rht8. Therefore, the presence of Xgwm261 ₁₉₂ is only indicative of Rht8 in wheat cultivars that have inherited this allele from Akakomugi or a Strampelli wheat ancestor.