Clonal propagation of guava （Psidium guajava Linn.） by stem cutting from mature stockplants

Introduction Guava (Psidium guajava Linn.), belonging to the Family Myrtaceae, is originated in the tropical South America (Hayes 1970; Pathak and Ojha 1993) and grows wild in Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Brazil, Florida, West Indies, California and also …     

Toxico-pathological effects of cypermethrin upon male reproductive system in rabbits

The objective of this work was to identify the reproductive toxico-pathological effects of cypermethrin (CY) in mature male rabbits. Apparently healthy adult age- and weight-matched rabbits (n = 40) were procured from the local market, kept under similar management conditions and divided into four equal groups. Different doses of CY (50, 100 and 150 mg kg⁻¹ body mass) mixed in mustard oil were injected intraperitonealy at weekly intervals in male rabbits (groups B-D) prior to mating. Group A served as control and each animal in this group received equivalent volume of mustard oil. Treatment was continued for 71 days. Decreased testicular and epididymal sperm counts were recorded mostly in dose and time dependent manner in CY-treated rabbits. The serum testosterone concentrations in CY-treated rabbits were significantly lower than those of control group. Degeneration, arrested spermatogenesis and connective tissue (CT) proliferation in testes, while sperm-less seminal plasma and tailless spermatozoa in epididymis of CY-treated rabbits were observed. It was inferred that CY-induced defects in sperms and pathological alterations in testes and epididymis.     

Bacterial species isolated from cats with lower urinary tract infection and their susceptibilities to cefovecin

Background

The aim of this study was to determine the bacterial species recovered from 61 cats with lower urinary tract infection (LUTI), and their susceptibility to cefovecin in vitro.

Results

The clinical signs and final clinical diagnosis for cats with confirmed LUTI were also reported. After physical examination of the cats, urine samples including ≥5-6 leucocytes in microscopic evaluation were cultured using bacteriological techniques. The isolates were identified by conventional microbiological methods and tested for in vitro susceptibility using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method recommended by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute. Bacterial growth was observed in 16 of 61 urine samples. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that 13 of 16 (81%) isolates were susceptible to cefovecin. The most frequently isolated bacterium from cats with signs of lower urinary tract infection, was Escherichia coli.

Conclusion

Cefovecin was found to be effective in cats with LUTI. Because cefovecin is a new antimicrobial agent in veterinary medicine, there are only few studies about urine culture of cats with LUTI. It is the first study on in vitro activity of cefovecin against bacterial isolates from cats with lower urinary infections in Istanbul, Turkey.     

Cross compatibility between Abelmoschus esculentus and A. moschatus

Interspecific cross compatibility between cultivated and wild okra (Abelmoschus esculentus and A. moschatus) and pollen tube growth behaviour in the crosses among a local cultivar of A. esculentus, A. moschatus and their F₁s were studied. Fruit set was observed in all the crosses except one and seed setting was absent in two of the crosses which set fruit. All seed produced were shrivelled but F₁ plants were obtained from two crosses where cultivated okra was used as the seed parent. The F₁ plants were perennial in nature with very low pollen viability and seed set. A high percentage of pollen germination and profuse pollen tube penetration in the style were observed in the cross A. esculentus × A. moschatus but low pollen tube penetration with abnormal pollen tubes was observed in the reciprocal cross. The number of pollen tubes was very low but they appeared to be normal in the backcross A. esculentus × F₁, but were generally abnormal in the reciprocal cross. Both pre- and postzygotic barriers seemed to occur in crosses between the two species. The present studies indicate that these barriers can be overcome and desirable characters from A. moschatus transferred to cultivated okra using conventional hybridisation techniques. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of atropine and pralidoxime pretreatment on serum and cardiac oxidative stress parameters in acute dichlorvos toxicity in rats

Recent several studies have reported that oxidative stress could be an important component of the mechanism of cardiotoxicity due to organophosphate-induced toxicity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the oxidative and antioxidative parameters in cardiac toxicity of organophosphate poisoning, and determine the effects of atropine and pralidoxime on this parameters. The experimental groups were randomly divided into five groups as control (corn oil), dichlorvos (30 mg/kg), atropine (10 mg/kg), pralidoxime (40 mg/kg), and atropine (10 mg/kg) + pralidoxime (40 mg/kg) groups. Serum cholinesterase levels were suppressed with dichlorvos, and these reductions were inhibited with atropine and/or pralidoxime pretreatment. Serum, but not cardiac, total free sulfhydryl groups and paraoxonase activities were significantly increased in the pralidoxime group when compared to the control group. Serum arylesterase activities were elevated in the dichlorvos, atropine, pralidoxime, and atropine + pralidoxime groups when compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Total oxidant status, oxidative stress index, malondialdehyde and catalase activities in serum and cardiac tissues were not markedly different between the groups. No significant changes were also observed with cardiac myeloperoxidase and serum ceruloplasmin activities. In conclusion, these results showed that acute dichlorvos administration did not cause marked cardiac damage, and oxidative stress probably does not play a major role in dichlorvos-induced poisoning. On the other hand, especially pralidoxime treatment markedly increased the serum total free sulfhydryl groups, paraoxonase and arylesterase activities. However, the underlying mechanisms for these changes are not exactly known.     

Effect of Pre- and Post-Kinetin Treatments on Salt Tolerance of Different Potato Cultivars Growing on Saline Soils

Different potato cultivars were subjected to 10 ⁻⁶M kinetin treatment prior to the transplantation in saline soils (pre-kinetin treatment) and to the plants already growing on the saline soils (post-kinetin treatment). The kinetine when applied before the exposure of plants to saline soils showed promotory effects on growth, tuberization and some biochemical parameters of potato at 0.5 % salinity. The degree of inhibition in number of tubers and yield was reduced at 1 % salinity due to pre-kinetin treatment. The level of proline, reducing sugars and sodium was increased in different plant parts to maintain the osmoregulation. However, kinetin did not play any specific role in reducing down the increase in proline content resulted due to salinity. The level of K⁺ was found to be higher at low salinity in all the cultivars of potato. Higher concentrations of proteins and enhanced activity of starch synthetase at low level of salinity suggest the salutary effect of Na⁺ in metabolic functions of plant cells. The nitrate reductase (NR) activity was appeared to be more sensitive than starch synthetase. This could possibly be due to the localization of the enzyme and the cellular concentration of toxic substances increased under stress. Total Glyoalkaloids (TGA) content was reduced at both the salinity levels irrespective of kinetin treatments. On the contrary Na⁺ content was increased in all the treatments of kinetin at both levels of salinity. During this study cvs. Red Lasoda, Patrones and Atom alue approved to be more tolerant as compare to rest of the cultivars tested. This could be a combined effect of genetic setup, amendments in saline soils and pre-kinetin treatments of plants exposed to various regimes of salinity. Furthermore it is argued that salt tolerance limit can be extended upto certain level of salinity by pre-kinetin treatment in potato plants.     

柚木cry1A(b)基因的遗传转化

1INTRODUCTIONTeakhasworldwidereputationasthemostdurabletimber .Teakisasun loving ,deciduoustree ,whichthrives,inanywell drainedsoil.Ithasagestation periodofbetween 15and 2 5 yearsde pendingontheregionwhereitisgrown .Owingtodwindlingnaturalteakforests ,teakhasbeenafavouritechoiceforagroforestry .However ,duetoitslonggestationperiod ,teakisnotaspopularasrubberoroilpalm .Neverthelessteakplantingisbe comingpopularinPeninsularMalaysiaandSabah .Witharapidgrowthratetogetherwithitssuperiortimbe…     

Potential of indigenous antagonistic rhizobacteria in the biological control of Monosporascus root rot and vine decline disease of muskmelon

ABSTRACT

Monosporascus root rot and vine decline (MRVD) of muskmelon, caused by Monosporascus cannonballus, is an economically important disease worldwide. The objectives of this study were to isolate native rhizobacterial strains and to evaluate their ability to promote plant growth and to provide protection against M. cannonballus. Thirty eight native bacterial isolates from the rhizosphere soil of muskmelon and cucumber were screened for their antagonism against M. cannonballus in a dual culture assay. Among them, five isolates viz., Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (B4), Pseudomonas mendocina (B7), Bacillus endophyticus (B10), Pseudomonas resinovorans B11 and P. aeruginosa AT3, identified based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, showed a significant level of antagonism and the inhibition zone ranged from 5.6 mm to 25.9 mm. Scanning electron microscopic observation of the hyphae of M. cannonballus at the inhibition zone revealed morphological abnormalities including shrinkage, loss of turgidity, pit formation and deformation. These bacterial isolates showed compatibility with one another and with Trichoderma viride. Greenhouse experiments revealed that P. resinovorans B11 was the most effective among the bacterial antagonists in controlling MRVD in melon. When applied as seed treatment and soil application, P. resinovorans B11 reduced the incidence of MRVD by 93.1%, relative to the infected control.     

Changes of astringent sensation of soy milk during tofu curd formation

The effect of isoflavone on soy milk and tofu astringency was investigated, and no consistency was found between an undesirable astringent taste and isoflavone contents. Isoflavone-enriched extract (approximately 39% isoflavones) showed no astringency. Soybean foods having high amounts of isoflavones showed less astringency. About 80% of isoflavones exist freely in both soy milk and tofu, but 55% of phytates (which play an important role in the formation of the tofu curd network) exist freely in the soy milk, and 6-13%, on the basis of coagulation, existed freely in the tofu curds. A 1% potassium phytate solution at pH 7 showed the very same astringency as soy milk; however, calcium phytate at the same concentration and pH showed no undesirable sensation. Thus, it is assumed that the astringent characteristics caused by phytic ions in soy milk are lost upon conversion of phytic ions to their insoluble salt forms during soy milk coagulation.     

Physiological and electroencephalographic changes in goats subjected to transportation,lairage, and slaughter

This preliminary trial investigated the effect of transportation and lairage periods on physiological parameters of goats subjected to slaughter. Nine male Boer cross goats aged 8–12 months were transported for 6 h and kept at lairage for 3, 6, or 16 h (n = 3). Blood samples were collected at pre- (pre-T) and post-transportation (post-T), and post-slaughter (post-S) for determination of hematological parameters, serum enzyme, protein, and cortisol concentrations. Electroencephalogram readings were taken at pre-T, post-T, pre-slaughter (pre-S), and post-S to determine the median frequency (F₅₀) and total power (Ptot) values. At post-T, there were manifestations of stress leukogram; increase in hematocrit, total protein, and muscle enzyme concentrations; and decrease in Ptot (p < 0.05). The high pre-T cortisol concentration suggests that the goats were already under stress before transportation. Stress leukogram became less evident after lairage, indicating that the goats had recovered from the stress of transportation. Although the Ptot increased at post-S especially following 3 h of lairage, F₅₀ values at post-S did not differ from pre-L, suggesting that the pre-slaughter stress may have affected the pain threshold. It is suggested that after 6 h of transportation, goats should ideally be placed in lairage for a minimum period of 3 h before slaughter.