Identification of sweet cherry cultivars (Prunus avium L.) and analysis of their genetic relationships by chloroplast sequence-characterised amplified regions (cpSCAR)

Ten cpSCAR markers that show polymorphism in Prunus avium were used to fingerprint sweet cherry cultivars. The purpose of the study was also to contribute to identification and to help determine their genetic interrelationships. Samples of ‘0900 Ziraat’, a superior Turkish variety, which were collected in several locations all over Turkey, had identical cpSCAR patterns, and they resembled a common European haplotype, A. ‘Sweetheart’, ‘Summit’ and ‘Canada Giant’ and their haplotype are intermediate between the previously described haplotypes A and B, which were originally found in Central and Eastern European sweet and wild cherries, and those from Northern Turkey, respectively. The data therefore suggests a local maternal descent (within Europe and Asia Minor) of the cultivars analysed. Our results show that chloroplast DNA analysis is a straightforward way to classify cherry cultivars. We compare our results to others previously reported for sweet cherry cultivars, and conclude that cpSCAR diversity data could be considered for phylogenetic studies in this group.     

The efect of Zinc (Zn) application on the available Iron (Fe) contents of calcareous soils in thrace region

This research was carried out in order to determine the effect of zinc (Zn) application on the available iron (Fe) contents of calcareous soils in Thrace Region. For this purpose, an experiment was carried out in greenhouse conditions by maize growing. The effect of increasing rates of Zn application on the biological indices of maize plant was determined. Fe concentration of maize plant decreased with Zn application and dry matter yield and Fe uptake of maize plant increased with Zn application. These decreases and increases were determined to be statistically significant (P<0.01).     

The effect of Zinc application on the methods which can be used to determine available Iron content of soils

This research was carried out in order to find out the effect of zinc application on the methods which can be used to determine available iron content of paddy soils. For this purpose, an experiment was carried out in greenhouse conditions by growing maize. The effect of increasing rates of zinc application on biological indexes of maize plants was determined. Eight chemical extraction methods for available iron content of soils were used and these methods are: 0.005 M DTPA+0.01 M CaCl₂+0.1 M TEA; 0.005 N HCl+0.025 N H₂SO₄; 1 N NH₄Oac; 0.01 N Na₂EDTA+1 N NH₄Oac; 2 N MgCl₂; 0.01 M Na₂EDTA +1 M (NH₄)₂CO₃; 0.01 N Na₂EDTA and 0.005 M DTPA+NH₄HCO₃. The relationships between biological indexes and chemical extraction methods were determined at the end of the experiment. The highest correlation coefficient was determined with the method 0.005 M DTPA+0.01 M CaCl₂+0.1 M TEA. The iron content of maize plants decreased with zinc application and dry matter content increased with zinc application.     

Antimicrobial activity of some endemic plants growing in the Eastern Black Sea Region, Turkey

The Eastern Black Sea Region has an extensive flora because of ample rainfall lasting all year. In this study, antimicrobial effects of 74 crude extracts of 22 endemic plants were investigated. Among the 30 active crude extracts, water-insoluble crude extracts from Betula medwediewii, Heracleum platytaenium, Primula longipes, Anthemis cretica ssp. argaea and Centaurea helenioides were the prominent ones with their MIC values.     

In vitro antibacterial susceptibility of Arcobacter butzleri isolated from different sources

The objective of this study was to determine the antibiotic susceptibility of Arcobacter spp. isolated from various sources. Seventy Arcobacter spp. isolates were tested for their susceptibility to 13 antimicrobial agents. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by using the agar disc diffusion method on Mueller-Hinton agar supplemented with 5% defibrinated sheep blood. The antibiotics tested included enrofloxacin, erythromycin, streptomycin, gentamycin, rifampin, tetracycline, ampicillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, danofloxacin, amoxycillin-clavulonic acid, cefuroxime-sodium, neomycine. Although all the arcobacters tested were susceptible to gentamycin, resistance to three or more antibacterial agents (especially, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, cefuroxime-sodium and rifampin) was observed. A. butzleri isolates were found to be resistant to amoxycillin+clavulonic acid, nalidixic acid and ampicillin, at the rate of 20%, 44.28% and 78.57% respectively. In conclusion, gentamycin, streptomycin and tetracycline may be suitable antibiotics for the treatment or control of disease caused by Arcobacter spp. in veterinary and human medicine.     

Preliminary assessment of dietary mannanoligosaccharides on growth performance and health status of gilthead seabream Sparus auratus

A feeding trial was performed to assess the potential beneficial effect of two levels of mannanoligosaccarides (MOS) on the growth performance, feed utilization, hematological parameters, and liver histopathology of gilthead seabream Sparus auratus (also known as gilthead bream). Mannanoligosaccarides were added at the rates of 2 and 4 g/kg to a fish-meal-based control diet, and each diet was given (twice daily [midmorning and midafternoon] to apparent satiation) to triplicate groups of gilthead seabream growers (mean weight = approximately 170 g) in sea cages. The trial lasted 12 weeks, and the average ambient water temperature ranged from 19.6 degrees C to 24.7 degrees C during the experimental period. At the end of the experiment, fish attained market size (350-450 g) and their health status was evaluated by blood analysis and liver histology. There were no differences in survival rates among fish fed experimental diets. However, there were significant improvements in both growth and feed utilization among fish fed diets supplemented with MOS. Hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Ht) levels and erythrocyte, leukocyte, and thrombocyte (Thr) counts were unaffected by any dietary MOS. The levels of Hb (g/dL; mean +/- SD) and Ht (%; mean +/- SD) were 11.0 +/- 2.5 and 45.6 +/- 6.7 for the control group, 11.1 +/- 1.7 and 39.3 +/- 8.0 for the 2-g/kg group, and 11.2 +/- 1.9 and 40.2 +/- 8.4 for the 4-g/kg group. The mean Thr count ranged from 47.6 to 53.8 x 10(3)/mm3. Despite the apparently higher Thr counts for fish fed diets supplemented with MOS, these differences were not significant. Moreover, no histopathological differences were observed in liver tissue cross sections between control and treatment groups. These results suggest that supplementation of diets with MOS had no significant effects on general fish health.     

Lesions in the thymus and bone marrow in chicks with experimentally induced chicken infectious anemia disease

One-day-old SPF chicks were inoculated with the Cux-l strain of chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV), and the clinical development of disease and its macroscopic and microscopic alterations in the thymus and bone marrow, were observed. Tissue sections of thymus and bone marrow were stained using the streptavidin-biotin peroxidase method and examined under light microscope for evaluation of antigenic intensities in tissues. Those findings were then compared with blood parameters and ELISA results obtained through collected sera during sacrifice procedures. We sought to determine: the localization of viral antigens in thymus and bone marrow tissues after inoculation, the correlation between antigen intensities and hematologic, serologic and histopathologic findings, definitive diagnostic criteria using histopathologic and immunoperoxidase methods, and the reliability of these methods in the diagnosis of CIAV infection. For this purpose, 83, one-day-old SPF chicks were used. The birds were divided into experimental (n = 52) and control (n = 26) groups. A virus dose of TCID50 of 100,000/ml was administered intramuscularly to every bird in the experimental group. Based on the results of this study, we have suggested that clinical examination, along with macroscopic and microscopic evaluation of the thymus and bone marrow, maybe undertaken starting from day 7 post-inoculation (PI). ELISA, might be of value, as it might give consistent results starting from day 14 PI. However, the most reliable results were obtained through examination of thymus and bone marrow sections from infected birds stained by immunoperoxidase technique, as early as day 4 PI.