A focus on the European hamster to illustrate how to monitor endangered species

Agriculture intensification, marked by the generalization of crop monoculture, by the increase in plot size and by the reduction of plant diversity, has led to huge decline in wildlife in European farmlands. In such habitat, research has long been biased towards birds and invertebrates, while very few studies have investigated the effect on small mammals. Considering the European hamster, Cricetus cricetus, we therefore review the different techniques that can be used to investigate the impact of environmental changes and conservation measures in small and endangered wild mammals. We suggest that only a multidisciplinary approach will allow exploration of these effects, combining experimental laboratory work on captive‐bred animals with the monitoring of wild individuals. In particular, individual energy balance has to be investigated and measured as accurately as possible, through either biochemical or bio‐logging techniques. It is, indeed, the most affected physiological trait in a changing environment, as it determines both the reproductive output and the survival of the individual. We also discuss the inconvenience of capture–release approaches for such an endangered species and emphasize the disturbance that experimental protocols could impose on the hamster.     

Potential renal acid load in the diet of children and adolescents: impact of food groups, age and time trends

OBJECTIVE: The impact of acid-base balance on health is widely accepted. Here, we describe the potential renal acid load (PRAL) in the diet of healthy German children and adolescents. DESIGN: The Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) Study is an ongoing longitudinal (open cohort) study (start 1985) collecting detailed data on diet, growth, development and metabolism in infants, children and adolescents. SETTING: Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Dortmund. SUBJECTS: Seven hundred and twenty children and adolescents (351 boys and 369 girls), aged 3-18 years, provided 4187 yearly collected 3-day dietary records between 1995 and 2005. RESULTS: Mean daily PRAL was positive in all age/sex groups (6-21 mEq day-1), and significantly higher in boys than in girls after the age of 8 years, even when calculated as mEq MJ-1. Fruits, vegetables and potatoes had a negative impact on PRAL; cheese, dairy products, cereals/bread and meat/fish/eggs had a positive impact. In a mixed linear model, PRAL, expressed as mEq day-1 and mEq MJ-1, remained stable during the study period, since time trends of PRAL-relevant food groups countervail each other. PRAL intake (mEq MJ-1) was significantly positively associated (P < 0.0001) with fat intake (% of energy intake, %E), but negatively with carbohydrate intake (%E; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of dietary habits in our sample of German children and adolescents showed a moderate excess of acidity. Especially older boys should be encouraged to eat more potatoes and vegetables as good sources of dietary alkalinity. The PRAL concept is compatible with current concepts for a healthy diet.     

Marek’s disease virus and skin interactions

Marek’s disease virus (MDV) is a highly contagious herpesvirus which induces T-cell lymphoma in the chicken. This virus is still spreading in flocks despite forty years of vaccination, with important economical losses worldwide. The feather follicles, which anchor feathers into the skin and allow their morphogenesis, are considered as the unique source of MDV excretion, causing environmental contamination and disease transmission. Epithelial cells from the feather follicles are the only known cells in which high levels of infectious mature virions have been observed by transmission electron microscopy and from which cell-free infectious virions have been purified. Finally, feathers harvested on animals and dust are today considered excellent materials to monitor vaccination, spread of pathogenic viruses, and environmental contamination. This article reviews the current knowledge on MDV-skin interactions and discusses new approaches that could solve important issues in the future.     

Computer tomographic differentiation of intrathoracic neoplasms and inflammation in the dog

The purpose of this study was to elaborate on the advantages and limits of computed tomography (CT) in the differentiation of thoracic lesions, in particular neoplasias. In the course of the investigation CT-scans of the thorax of 31 dogs with lesions in the area of the lungs or mediastinum were evaluated. The lesions were rated by morphology, distribution pattern, attenuation values and contrast-enhancement. Biopsies or the whole body underwent a pathohistological examination. Of the 31 dogs 17 had neoplastic and 14 had inflammatory lesions in the thoracic region. With help of the CT, the exact localisations of the different lesions was possible in most cases. Due to their characteristic morphologies, distribution patterns and attenuation values the differentiation between inflammatory and neoplastic lesions was possible in most cases (n=25/31) on the basis of the CT-scans. Mean non-enhanced CT attenuation values of the neoplastic lesions ranged between 31 and 50 HU, of the inflammatory lesions between -251 and 9 HU. Both neoplastic and inflammatory lesions showed contrast enhancement (between 14 and 38 HU and between 2 and 95 HU respectively). The mediastinal abcesses enhanced mainly on the periphery of the lesion. A differentiation of the various types of neoplastic lesions based on the non-enhanced attenuation values was not successful. Only metastasis could be differentiated because of their distribution pattern.     

Impact of carrot resistance on development of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alternaria</Emphasis> leaf blight pathogen (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Alternaria dauci</Emphasis>)

The interaction between Alternaria dauci and two carrot cultivars differing in their resistance to leaf blight was investigated by microscopy. The fungal development between 1 and 15 days post-inoculation was quite similar in the susceptible cv. Presto and the partially resistant cv. Texto: After conidial germination, leaf adhesion of the pathogen was achieved with mucilaginous filaments; hyphae penetrated the leaves directly with/without the formation of appressoria-like structures or via stomata; the fungus spread by epiphytic hyphae with hyphopodia and subcuticular mycelia. Intense necrotic plant cell reactions occurred under the fungal structures. At 21 days post-inoculation, typical features of fungal development were noted for each cultivar: growing hyphae emerged from stomata in cv. Presto, whereas conidiophores without conidia were observed in cv. Texto. Leaf tissues of both cultivars were strongly damaged and vesicle-like structures (assumed to be plant phenolics) were abundantly present between mesophyll cells. A real-time PCR method was developed for in planta quantification of A. dauci. Between 1 and 15 days post-inoculation, the fungal biomass was equivalent in the two cultivars and was about fourfold higher in cv. Presto than cv. Texto at 21 and 25 days post-inoculation. Taken together, our results indicated that A. dauci was able to colonize both cultivars in a similar manner during the first steps of the interaction, then fungal development in the partially resistant cultivar was restricted due to putative plant defence reactions. The results of this study enhance the overall understanding of infection processes in the A. dauci-carrot pathosystem.     

Anatomical and biochemical trait network underlying genetic variations in tomato fruit texture

Firmness is an indicator of fruit freshness and a main component of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit texture. In this work, the genetic variability in fruit firmness and stiffness was analyzed in pre- and postharvest periods and underlying anatomical and biochemical traits were identified. Three tomato contrasted parental lines and six derived quantitative trait loci (QTL)-NILs harboring texture QTL on chromosome 4 (QTL4) and 9 (QTL9) were analyzed; the seasonal variability was assessed on two distant trusses. Firmness and stiffness were measured by compression and puncture tests at harvest and after 7-day storage at 20 °C. QTL4 poorly influenced the textural variables, on the contrary to QTL9 which increased firmness measured by puncture test and had similar effects in the two genetic backgrounds. According to this test, firmness increased along the season, but ranks among genotypes and QTL effects were hardly affected. Only some of the QTL effects were still significant after storage and firmness losses were not predicted by firmness at harvest. Fruit firmness and stiffness measured by puncture tests correlated with both morphological (locular number, R = −0.89), histological (cell size, R < −0.80) and biochemical (dry matter (R > 0.82) and soluble sugar content (R < −0.74)) fruit traits. In contrast, compression test values hardly correlated with any of the measured traits. This work provided an original comprehensive approach to analyse fleshy fruit firmness and paves the way for a future predictive model.     

Mixing oak and pine trees does not improve the functional response to severe drought in central French forests

Key message

Mixing sessile oak and Scots pine in central France to reduce intraspecific competition for water resources did not improve the ability of these two species to withstand severe drought during the summer.

Context

In order to reduce the impact of increasingly extreme droughts on forests, managers must adapt their practices to future climate conditions. Maintaining a greater diversity of tree species in temperate forest ecosystems is one of the recommended options.

Aims

We addressed how interactions between sessile oak and Scots pine in mixed forests in central France affect their functional response to drought.

Methods

We characterized the carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) in the tree growth rings formed during wet (2001, 2007) or dry (2003, 2004) summers for each of the two species growing both in pure and in mixed stands in order to compare the effect of stand composition on variations in carbon isotope discrimination (Δ¹³C) among contrasted years.

Results

The severe drought in 2003 induced a strong decrease in Δ¹³C for all trees and in all stands as compared to 2001. This decrease was greater in pine than in oak. There was no significant difference between pure and mixed stands in the response of either species to drought.

Conclusion

Mixing sessile oak and Scots pine in stands in central France does not improve the ability of either species to withstand severe drought during the summer.

     

Asynchrony in shoot and root phenological relationships in hybrid walnut

New Forests - Understanding the processes driving plant phenology is crucial for assessing how shifts in climate affect plant productivity and species’ distribution. Despite the key role of...     

Heritabilities and correlations of deformities and growth‐related traits in the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax,L) in four different sites

Skeletal deformities are important traits for aquaculture as they induce slow growing and low market value. We studied their genetic determinism and their interactions with the environment at the ongrowing stage in 5839 European sea bass from a partial factorial mating of 33 sires and 23 dams, reared in four sites. All families were mixed, and fish were first reared in one site (site B) until 35 g mean weight, then distributed to the four sites. A posteriori reconstruction of pedigree with microsatellites was used. Deformities were scored internally at slaughtering, and externally from photographs. Site B, where all fish were initially stocked until 35 g and exposed to forced swimming because of fast water current showed the highest rate of deformities with 83% and 65% from internal and external scoring respectively. Heritability on the underlying scale was h² = 0.25 ± 0.03 across all sites, and varied little between sites, while genetic correlations of deformities between sites were always high (>0.85). Genetic correlations between deformities and daily growth coefficient were variable between sites(r_A = 0.50 ± 0.09, 0.43 ± 0.10, 0.32 ± 0.10, 0.18 ± 0.10 for sites A, B, C, D respectively) and were positively linked with the average growth rate in each site. These results pointed out that there could be a relation between growth rate and the evolution of deformities at the grow‐out stage.