Isolates of Verticillium dahliae Pathogenic to Crucifers Are of at Least Three Distinct Molecular Types

ABSTRACT Diverse isolates of the soilborne wilt fungi Verticillium dahliae and V. albo-atrum were studied to understand the nature and origins of those infecting cruciferous hosts. All isolates from cruciferous crops produced microsclerotia, and the majority produced long conidia with a high nuclear DNA content; these isolates were divided into two groups by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis. One group could be subdivided by other criteria such as rRNA sequences and mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Two crucifer isolates were short spored and had a low nuclear DNA content. The results are consistent with the crucifer isolates being interspecific hybrids. The long-spored isolates are best regarded as amphihaploids (or allodiploids) with the AFLP groups probably each representing separate interspecific hybridization events. The short-spored crucifer isolates appear to be derived from interspecific hybrids and are here called 'secondary haploids'. Molecular evidence suggests that one parent in the crosses was similar to V. dahliae. The other parent of the amphihaploids seems to have been more similar to V. albo-atrum than to V. dahliae, but was distinct from all isolates of either species so far studied. The implications for the taxonomy of crucifer isolates are discussed and the use of the name V. longisporum, proposed elsewhere for just some of these isolates, is discouraged.     

Further contributions to the genetic aspect of congenital sensorineural deafness in Dalmatians

Sensorineural deafness is a common congenital disorder in Dalmatians and is genetically transmitted. Different modes of inheritance have been proposed and the objective of this study was to study these by segregation analyses using maximum likelihood procedures. Data from 33 complete Dalmatian families were collected and data from 56 single Dalmatians added. This resulted in a total of 575 dogs with 357 known phenotypes. All dogs were clinically evaluated and electrophysiologically tested with brainstem auditory evoked responses.The prevalence of deafness was 16.5% (9.4% unilaterally deaf, 7.1% bilaterally deaf). Females were 4.4% more affected than males but this difference was not significant. Within the same litter, different phenotypic expressions of deafness occurred, which suggested different expressions of the disease. In addition, two data sets were analysed: the first included normal, uni- and bilaterally deaf dogs, the second had normal and deaf Dalmatians. We found that a recessive allele at a single biallelic major locus fitted our data best, although an incomplete penetrance of the recessive homozygotes was observed.     

Searching for veterinary evidence: strategies and resources for locating clinical research.

This article offers information regarding selected veterinary information resources, along with basic search strategies for locating clinical evidence within these resources. No one database provides adequate indexing and abstracting to all literature relevant to the veterinary clinical question. An understanding of a database's syntax and field structure is necessary to formulate a functional search strategy and evaluate the outcome of search results. Flexibility when identifying, selecting, and combining search terms is also required to avoid overlimiting a search.     

Integrated disease management of ascochyta blight in pulse crops

Ascochyta blight causes significant yield loss in pulse crops worldwide. Integrated disease management is essential to take advantage of cultivars with partial resistance to this disease. The most effective practices, established by decades of research, use a combination of disease-free seed, destruction or avoidance of inoculum sources, manipulation of sowing dates, seed and foliar fungicides, and cultivars with improved resistance. An understanding of the pathosystems and the inter-relationship between host, pathogen and the environment is essential to be able to make correct decisions for disease control without compromising the agronomic or economic ideal. For individual pathosystems, some components of the integrated management principles may need to be given greater consideration than others. For instance, destruction of infested residue may be incompatible with no or minimum tillage practices, or rotation intervals may need to be extended in environments that slow the speed of residue decomposition. For ascochyta-susceptible chickpeas the use of disease-free seed, or seed treatments, is crucial as seed-borne infection is highly effective as primary inoculum and epidemics develop rapidly from foci in favourable conditions. Implemented fungicide strategies differ according to cultivar resistance and the control efficacy of fungicides, and the effectiveness of genetic resistance varies according to seasonal conditions. Studies are being undertaken to develop advanced decision support tools to assist growers in making more informed decisions regarding fungicide and agronomic practices for disease control.     

Determinants of equity-based entry mode choice in the forest sector: the case of China

The focus of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the global forest sector has shifted from developed to developing economies (currently accounting 73% of total) during the past two decades. China has been the main global driver with its annual FDI soaring from USD 130 million in 2002 to USD 550 million in 2010. In light of international economic and business theories, choice of foreign entry mode is considered the most critical issue in corporate expansion strategy, which, however, has not been empirically studied in the forest sector. To fill this gap, our paper focuses on modeling two equity-based entry mode choices (i.e. wholly owned subsidiary or joint ventures) of foreign investment projects in China based on data from 109 activities of the Top 100 forest, paper, and packaging industry companies. By using logistic modeling, the main determinants of corporate entry mode choice are found to be cultural and geographical distance between the corporate home country and China, duration of corporate presence in China, and spatial concentration of local-level forest industry. Instead, investment project size and local resource availability are found to have no significant impact on corporate entry mode choice in China.