Growth characteristics of potato plants useful in studies of population dynamics and biological control of aphids

During three growing seasons, certain information was recorded weekly that was related to several characteristics of the aerial growth of five varieties of field-growing potatoes, viz. the number of stems and leaves per plant, the length of stems, and leaf area. Conversions of aphid numbers recorded from stratified subsamples of plants in the field to the number of aphids per plant or per unit of leaf area became possible by knowing the number of leaves and the leaf area per plant at the time of each aphid count. The numbers and areas of leaves per plant varied greatly among varieties as well as within and among years. The range in average maximum area of leaves per plant was 533 to 2,523 in.² for the years 1967 to 1969. The comparable range for number of leaves per plant for the years 1967 and 1969 was 53 to 145. Consideration was given to the probable influence upon the magnitude of errors of estimate of aphid abundance that might result in making conversions of field counts of aphids to the numbers of aphids per plant or per unit of leaf area.     

Genetic diversity of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae isolates of abattoir pigs

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia, is present in swine herds worldwide. However, there is little information on strains infecting herds in Canada. A total of 160 swine lungs with lesions suggestive of enzootic pneumonia originating from 48 different farms were recovered from two slaughterhouses and submitted for gross pathology. The pneumonic lesion scores ranged from 2% to 84%.Eighty nine percent of the lungs (143/160) were positive for M. hyopneumoniae by real-time PCR whereas 10% (16/160) and 8.8% (14/160) were positive by PCR for M. hyorhinis and M. flocculare, respectively. By culture, only 6% of the samples were positive for M. hyopneumoniae (10/160). Among the selected M. hyopneumoniae-positive lungs (n = 25), 9 lungs were co-infected with M. hyorhinis, 9 lungs with PCV2, 2 lungs with PRRSV, 12 lungs with S. suis and 10 lungs with P. multocida. MLVA and PCR-RFLP clustering of M. hyopneumoniae revealed that analyzed strains were distributed among three and five clusters respectively, regardless of severity of lesions, indicating that no cluster is associated with virulence. However, strains missing a specific MLVA locus showed significantly less severe lesions and lower numbers of bacteria. MLVA and PCR-RFLP analyses also showed a high diversity among field isolates of M. hyopneumoniae with a greater homogeneity within the same herd. Almost half of the field isolates presented less than 55% homology with selected vaccine and reference strains.     

Role of marine biology in glacial-interglacial CO2 cycles

It has been hypothesized that changes in the marine biological pump caused a major portion of the glacial reduction of atmospheric carbon dioxide by 80 to 100 parts per million through increased iron fertilization of marine plankton, increased ocean nutrient content or utilization, or shifts in dominant plankton types. We analyze sedimentary records of marine productivity at the peak and the middle of the last glacial cycle and show that neither changes in nutrient utilization in the Southern Ocean nor shifts in plankton dominance explain the CO2 drawdown. Iron fertilization and associated mechanisms can be responsible for no more than half the observed drawdown.     

Influence of gravity waves on the internal rotation and Li abundance of solar-type stars

The Sun's rotation profile and lithium content have been difficult to understand in the context of conventional models of stellar evolution. Classical hydrodynamic models predict that the solar interior must rotate highly differentially, in disagreement with observations. It has recently been shown that internal waves produced by convection in solar-type stars produce an asymmetric, shear layer oscillation, similar to Earth's quasi-biennial oscillation, that leads to efficient angular momentum redistribution from the core to the envelope. We present results of a model that successfully reproduces both the rotation profile and the surface abundance of lithium in solar-type stars of various ages.     

Marine polysaccharides: a source of bioactive molecules for cell therapy and tissue engineering

The therapeutic potential of natural bioactive compounds such as polysaccharides, especially glycosaminoglycans, is now well documented, and this activity combined with natural biodiversity will allow the development of a new generation of therapeutics. Advances in our understanding of the biosynthesis, structure and function of complex glycans from mammalian origin have shown the crucial role of this class of molecules to modulate disease processes and the importance of a deeper knowledge of structure-activity relationships. Marine environment offers a tremendous biodiversity and original polysaccharides have been discovered presenting a great chemical diversity that is largely species specific. The study of the biological properties of the polysaccharides from marine eukaryotes and marine prokaryotes revealed that the polysaccharides from the marine environment could provide a valid alternative to traditional polysaccharides such as glycosaminoglycans. Marine polysaccharides present a real potential for natural product drug discovery and for the delivery of new marine derived products for therapeutic applications.