Molecular markers for improving control of soil-borne pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium oxysporum</Emphasis> in sugar beet

Fusarium spp. cause severe damage in many agricultural crops, including sugar beet, with Fusarium oxysporum historically being considered as the most damaging of all species. Sugar beet needs to be protected from this class of soil-borne pathogens in order to ensure an optimal sugar yield in the field. Genetic control of the disease is crucial in managing these pathogens. Identification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers linked to resistance can be a powerful tool for the introgression of valuable genes needed to develop Fusarium-resistant varieties. A candidate gene approach was carried out to identify SNP markers linked to putative Fusarium resistance sources in sugar beet. Five resistant analogue genes (RGAs) were screened by means of high resolution melting (HRM) analysis in a set of sugar beet lines, considered as resistant and susceptible to Fusarium oxysporum. HRM polymorphisms were observed in 80% of amplicons. Two HRM polymorphisms were significantly associated with Fusarium resistance (P < 0.05). The amplicons that showed association were sequenced and two SNPs were identified. The association was further validated on 96 susceptible and 96 resistant plants using competitive allele-specific PCR (KASPar) technology. The selected SNPs could be used for marker-assisted breeding of Fusarium resistance in sugar beet.     

Characterization of common bean wild populations for their in situ conservation in Northwestern Argentina

In situ conservation of wild species is a method of conservation that allows keeping populations in their natural environments, and set the strategies for maintaining the natural populations. The Active Bank of Northwestern Argentina (BANOA) is in charge of the in situ conservation of wild populations of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Northwestern Argentina (NOA), and has an ex situ collection of 401 landraces and 221 wild accessions from the NOA. We evaluated the phenotypic diversity of 68 common bean wild populations from the NOA both in protected and unprotected areas, finding a moderate variation among them. Ten phenotypic reproductive characteristics related to pod and seed displayed significant differences in the analysis of variance; these traits together with the seed weight were the basis for the multivariate analysis. The cluster analysis ordered the populations in 12 groups but trends in geographical distribution or phenotypical variation were not recognized. For the conservation in situ of the wild bean populations, their diversity should be considered. Two types of populations can be highlighted: (i) candidates for in situ conservation in order to preserve the novel variation generated by convergence with cultivated sympatric germplasm (populations 433, 437, 471, 509, 513 and 517) and (ii) those whose phenotype represents clearly the wild status and should be preserved in situ as such in their current status (populations 480, 495, 496, 525 and 533).     

Induced expression of selected plant defence related genes in pot azalea, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhododendron simsii</Emphasis> hybrid

A set of putative marker genes to study plant defense responses against Polyphagotarsonemus latus, a key pest in the production of Rhododendron simsii hybrids, was selected and validated. Genes belonged to the biosynthetic pathway of phytohormones jasmonic acid (JA) (RsLOX, RsAOS, RsAOC, RsOPR3 and RsJMT) and salicylic acid (SA) (RsPAL and RsICS). Furthermore, RsPPO, a putative marker gene for oxidative stress response was successfully cloned from R. simsii. A CTAB-based extraction protocol was optimized to assure excellent RNA quality for subsequent RT-qPCR analysis. The RT-qPCR protocol was extensively tested and RsRG7 and RsRG14 were selected as reference genes from a geNorm pilot study. Validation of the marker genes was done after application with elicitors [methyl jasmonate (MeJA), coronatine, β-aminobutyric acid and acibenzolar-Smethyl] or wounding. Both 100 μM MeJA and 0.1 μM coronatine had a significant effect on the expression of all marker genes. Foliar application of MeJA on the shoots resulted in a significantly earlier response when compared to root application and subsequent sampling of the shoots. Expression patterns after MeJA treatment were generally the same in six R. simsii genotypes: ‘Nordlicht’, ‘Elien’, ‘Aiko Pink’, ‘Michelle Marie’, ‘Mevrouw Gerard Kint’ and ‘Sachsenstern’. Wounding resulted in the same expression patterns as MeJA treatment except for RsJMT. None of the genotypes showed a significant induction of the latter gene 6 h upon wounding. Findings of these experiments indicated that the tolerant genotype ‘Elien’ has low basal expression levels of RsPPO. This might be the first step towards the breeding of mite-tolerant genotypes.     

浙江省商品有机肥中重金属含量变化趋势及风险管控对策

  【目的】  有机肥是农业生产的重要肥源,了解有机肥质量安全现状,可为有机肥合理施用和管控提供参考。  【方法】  于2017年采集浙江省96家有机肥生产企业共99个商品有机肥样品,研究分析其Hg、As、Cd、Pb、Cr、Cu、Zn和Ni 8种重金属含量、分布特征、污染成因及施用风险。并与2013年文献进行比较,分析重金属含量的变化。  【结果】  1) 商品有机肥中Hg、As、Cd、Pb、Cr、Cu、Zn、Ni的平均含量分别为0.17、5.5、0.63、17.3、33.2、213.8、660.5、17.7 mg/kg,变异系数为54.9%～151.3%,含量差异较大。相比2013年,Cd、Pb、Cr、Hg和As含量在2017年均有所降低,降幅为23.0%～72.7%,其中Hg和As含量大体呈逐年下降趋势,2017年较2009年平均含量分别下降74.2%和51.8%,Cr和Pb平均含量较2010年分别下降74.9%和54.4%,Cd平均含量在近4年降幅明显,2017年较2013年下降72.7%。但商品有机肥中As仍有8.1%超标,Cu、Zn含量偏高,Ni含量有增加趋势。Cu、Zn、Ni是浙江省商品有机肥主要风险因子。2) 主成分和相关性分析表明,Cu-Zn、Cr-Ni-Hg、Cd-Pb重金属污染来源具有同源性。Cu、Zn、As以饲料添加来源为主,Cr、Hg、Ni主要来源于饲料原料本身,Cd、Pb则以饲料原料本身、生产粘结剂或生产环境来源为主。3) 商品有机肥成分配方复杂,猪粪原料占比较大,其次为鸡粪和牛粪。根据NY 525—2012有机肥重金属限量标准,以猪粪为主要原料的有机肥As超标率9.6%,以鸡粪、羊粪为主要原料的有机肥未出现重金属超标,根据德国腐熟堆肥重金属限量标准,以猪粪和鸡粪为主要原料的有机肥Cu、Zn超标样品较多,Ni只在以猪粪和鸡粪为主要原料的有机肥中出现超标。4) 长期施用含重金属商品有机肥,存在土壤重金属积累风险。按有机肥年施肥量30 t/hm2推算,Cu、Zn和Cd风险相对较大,安全使用年限分别为14、18、34 年。  【结论】  浙江省商品有机肥总体质量安全程度较高,有机肥中Cr、Pb、Hg、As、Cd含量近年来得到较好的控制,但Cu、Zn、Ni含量偏高,部分As含量超标,长期施用条件下存在土壤重金属累积风险,因此需加强对有机肥中重金属的管控,制定商品有机肥中Cu、Zn、Ni限量标准,以保障土壤长期可持续利用。     

Terrestrial-marine continuum of sedimentary natural organic matter in a mid-latitude estuarine system

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Humic acids (HA) have several environmental roles, but are particularly important in aquatic environments, being recognized as redox active natural organic matter...     

Short-term effects of aglime on inorganic- and organic-derived CO2 emissions from two acid soils amended with an ammonium-based fertiliser

Purpose

Aglime application can promote carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from acid soils. However, the controlling mechanisms are still poorly understood, particularly the role of fertiliser-ammonium oxidation. This study therefore assessed the effects of aglime on soil inorganic C (SIC)– and soil organic C (SOC)–derived CO₂ emissions from acid soils amended with ammonium.

Materials and methods

Ammonium at three N rates [0% (A0), 0.005% (A1), and 0.2% (A2) w/w] and labelled aglime (Ca¹³CO_3,¹³C 5.94% aa) at three rates [0% (L1), 0.067% (L1), and 0.392% (L2) w/w] were applied to two contrasting acid soils (Nariva series, Mollic Fluvaquents; and Piarco series, Typic Kanhaplaquults) and incubated in 1-l media bottles for 23 days. A calcareous soil (Princes Town series, Aquentic Eutrudepts, carbonate δ¹³C of ??4.79‰) was included as a control that only received ammonium at the three rates.

Results and discussion

The application of ammonium at the A2 rate significantly (p?<?0.05) increased cumulative SIC-CO₂ emissions by 15.8 and 27.1% in comparison to the A0 rate for the Nariva and Piarco soils, respectively, when they were limed at the L2 rate. The lower rate of ammonium (A1), however, had no effect on these emissions, which suggests that enough acidity may not have been generated at this rate to significantly enhance the release of SIC-CO₂. Furthermore, no effect of ammonium rates was observed on SIC-CO₂ emissions from the calcareous soil, which refutes the hypothesis that this amendment plays a greater role in regulating these emissions from calcareous soils compared with acid soils. Also, in contradiction to another hypothesis, the aglime-induced priming effect on SOC decomposition was more apparent in the low-C Piarco soil. This effect was also significantly (p?<?0.05) greater at the L2 rate (above the lime requirement for Piarco), which demonstrates the negative impact that over-liming could have on the sequestration of C in this soil. Our results also showed that ammonium addition may also help to reduce the magnitude of the aglime-induced priming effect in the Piarco soil when it is not over-limed.

Conclusions

Overall, the findings of this study suggest that ammonium fertiliser broadcast at conventional rates may not serve as a significant regulator of SIC-CO₂ emissions from highly to moderately acidic soils amended with aglime. Our findings also indicate a need to consider nitrogen management as an important factor regulating the effects of aglime on SOC-CO₂ emissions.

     

基于随机森林算法和气象因子的砀山酥梨始花期预报

准确预报始花期是制定砀山酥梨花期管理措施和赏花活动方案的重要基础。该文利用1983-2018年砀山酥梨始花期的定位观测物候数据和平行观测的气象资料,采用线性趋势法,揭示始花期演变趋势;采用相关分析,筛选影响始花期的关键气象因子,依据不同预报日期构成特征变量集;采用随机森林算法（Random Forest, RF）,自3月11日开始预报到3月25日终止预报,每日训练1个预报模型。结果表明,1）1983－2018年始花期呈极显著提早发生趋势,每10a约提前2.750 d（P＜0.001）。2）16个逐日气象预报模型中,共计有200个气象因子与始花期早迟密切相关,相关系数在0.469～0.789之间;各气象预报模型的训练集与测试集的平均正确率（Nd）分别为92.9%和75.5%、平均均方根误差（RMSE）分别为1.693～2.870和2.240～7.237、平均决定系数（R2）分别为0.891和0.701。3）2019年试验预报中,提前15日准确预报出当年始花期。该文研究表明RF在梨树始花期逐日气象预报中有一定业务应用潜力,预报准确率基本满足气象服务需求。     

Equine metacarpophalangeal joint surface contact changes during walk, trot and gallop

Changes in the staining pattern for the metacarpophalangealjoint in the walking, trotting and galloping positions were studied. For this purpose, horse limbs from the third metacarpal bone distally were harvested and placed in the mid-stance position on a hydraulic press that applied the load required to obtain the palmar fetlock angles corresponding to the walking (218 degrees), trotting (226 degrees) and galloping positions (240 degrees), and a 1:1000 diluted aqueous dilution of methylene blue was injected into the fetlock joint.Based on the results, increasing the palmar fetlockangle in the anatomical specimen caused the contact zones of the proximal phalanx and the proximal sesamoidean bones with the third metacarpal bone joint surface to shift dorsally, thereby increasing the contact surface area between the involved bones.In the galloping position, the proximal phalanx wasfound to extend beyond the dorsal boundary of the third metacarpal bone joint surface and its basal portion to depart from the metacarpus in such a way that the distal sesamoidean ligaments forced the basilar zone of the proximal sesamoidean bones to separate.These phenomena may obviously assist in explaining the intricate biomechanics of the joint as well as its associated pathologies.     

Presence of Cocaine in the Tissues of the European Eel, Anguilla anguilla, Exposed to Environmental Cocaine Concentrations

The presence of illicit drugs and their metabolites in surface waters has to be considered a new type of hazard, still unknown, for the aquatic ecosystem, due to the potent pharmacological activities of all the illicit drugs. Our research was therefore aimed at evaluating the impact of illicit drugs on the aquatic fauna, till now still undervalued. To this aim, we verified the ability of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), a well-known biomonitor of environmental contamination, to bioaccumulate cocaine, one of the most abundant illicit drugs found in surface waters. Silver eels were exposed to a nominal cocaine concentration of 20?ng/l for 1?month; at the same time, control, carrier, and post-exposure recovery groups were made. Brains, gills, liver, kidney, muscle, gonads, spleen, digestive tract, and sections of dorsal skin were assayed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Cocaine was found in the tissues of the treated eels and, at low concentrations, in almost all tissues of post-exposure recovery eels. These results indicate that cocaine is able to accumulate into the eel tissues; its presence suggests potential risks for eels since cocaine could affect their physiology and contribute to their decline, and for humans consuming contaminated fish.     

15N-甘氨酸单剂量终产物法研究妊娠和非妊娠母猪整体蛋白质周转代谢

采用15N-甘氨酸单剂量终产物法研究了妊娠和非妊娠母猪在不同阶段整体蛋白质代谢的周转速率以及氨基酸利用效率的差异。结果表明:刚配种时,妊娠母猪与非妊娠母猪蛋白质代谢参数差异不显著(P>0.05);妊娠30d时,妊娠母猪蛋白质合成速率,降解速率、周转速率显著低于非妊娠母猪(P<0.05),但沉积速率提高了25%(P<0.05);妊娠后期,妊娠母猪氨基酸代谢库氮流量、周转速率以及蛋白质合成速率和降解速率显著(P<0.01)提高,蛋白质的沉积速率增加了71.1%(P<0.01)。