Integrated pest management of Tuta absoluta: practical implementations across different world regions

Journal of Pest Science - The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), has invaded most Afro-Eurasian countries and is threatening worldwide tomato...     

Herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs – a pilot study

Background

The major indication for antibiotic use in Danish pigs is treatment of intestinal diseases post weaning. Clinical decisions on antibiotic batch medication are often based on inspection of diarrhoeic pools on the pen floor. In some of these treated diarrhoea outbreaks, intestinal pathogens can only be demonstrated in a small number of pigs within the treated group (low pathogen diarrhoea). Termination of antibiotic batch medication in herds suffering from such diarrhoea could potentially reduce the consumption of antibiotics in the pig industry. The objective of the present pilot study was to suggest criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs.Data previously collected from 20 Danish herds were used to create a case series of clinical diarrhoea outbreaks normally subjected to antibiotic treatment. In the present study, these diarrhoea outbreaks were classified as low pathogen (<15% of the pigs having bacterial intestinal disease) (n =5 outbreaks) or high pathogen (≥15% of the pigs having bacterial intestinal disease) (n =15 outbreaks). Based on the case series, different diagnostic procedures were explored, and criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea were suggested. The effect of sampling variation was explored by simulation.

Results

The diagnostic procedure with the highest combined herd-level sensitivity and specificity was qPCR testing of a pooled sample containing 20 randomly selected faecal samples. The criteria for a positive test result (high pathogen diarrhoea outbreak) were an average of 1.5 diarrhoeic faecal pools on the floor of each pen in the room under investigation and a pathogenic bacterial load ≥35,000 per gram in the faecal pool tested by qPCR. The bacterial load was the sum of Lawsonia intracellularis, Brachyspira pilosicoli and Escherichia coli F4 and F18 bacteria per gram faeces. The herd-diagnostic performance was (herd-level) diagnostic sensitivity =0.99, diagnostic specificity =0.80, positive predictive value =0.94 and negative predictive value =0.96.

Conclusions

The pilot study suggests criteria for herd diagnosis of low pathogen diarrhoea in growing pigs. The suggested criteria should now be evaluated, and the effect of terminating antibiotic batch medication in herds identified as suffering from low pathogen diarrhoea should be explored.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2046-0481-67-24) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Gonadotropin‐induced Puberty Does Not Impair Reproductive Performance of Gilts over Three Parities

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive performance of three parities of gilts treated or not treated with gonadotropin to induce puberty. Sixty gilts received 600 IU of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) followed by 2.5 mg of porcine luteinizing hormone (LH) 72 h later. Fifty‐nine other gilts were exposed only to a mature boar for 15 min twice daily. Artificial insemination (AI) was performed at 0, 12 and 24 h after the detection of oestrus, and gestation was confirmed by ultrasound after 35 days. Sows were inseminated at the first post‐weaning oestrus. The total numbers of piglets born, piglets born alive, stillborn, mummified foetuses, as well as pregnancy and farrowing rates were evaluated for each of the three parities. Culling rates, farrowing intervals and weaning‐to‐oestrous intervals (WEI) were also analysed. Mean age at puberty and oestrous manifestation were not significantly different between treatments (p = 0.0639; 179.20 ± 17.52 compared with 173.96 ± 16.94, 91.66% compared with 94.92%) across the experimental period. However, females that underwent puberty induction showed modest increases both in the number of total pigs born and in the number of piglets born alive. In conclusion, puberty induction through exogenous gonadotropin administration in field conditions did not induce a more concentrated first oestrous manifestation, but trended to a modest increase in the number of pigs born alive in the first parity and a reduced culling rate during the first gestation.     

Genomic characterization of multidrug-resistant extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from grain culture soils

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli, mainly extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), has been widely reported in infections worldwide. In agricultural soils, manure is a hotspot for the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and pathogenic bacteria; however, MDR bacteria have also been reported in soils with no history of manure use. In addition, cross-resistance and co-resistance have been described as responsible for the metal-driven selection of bacteria resistant to antimicrobials. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze three MDR E. coli isolates obtained from Brazilian grain culture soil samples with no history of manure use by whole-genome sequencing. The MDR E. coli isolates were recovered from soils from corn and coffee fields, and presented resistance to β-lactams, quinolones, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, sulphonamides, and dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor. Resistome analysis showed ARGs to several antimicrobials (i.e., β-lactams, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, sulphonamides, trimethoprim, phenicols, fosfomycin, and macrolides) as well as several metal resistance genes and antibacterial biocide resistance genes. In addition, known mutations in quinolone-resistance-determining regions of GyrA (Ser83Leu and Asp87Asn), ParE (Ser458Thr), and ParC (Ser80Ile) were also detected. Virulome analysis showed the presence of virulence genes (lpfA, mcmA, gad, mchF, iroN, cma, and iss) associated with ExPEC. Multidrug-resistant ExPEC isolates were assigned to phylogenetic group B1. The presence of MDR B1-ExPEC in soil samples shows the ability of these isolates to survive in soils. This study reports for the first time some sequence types (i.e., ST345, ST448, and ST1146) of MDR E. coli in Brazilian soils. Therefore, these findings contribute to the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance and surveillance studies based on whole-genome sequencing worldwide.     

Development of a potentiometric method to measure the resistance to oxidation of white wines and the antioxidant power of their constituents

This work describes a new potentiometric method to evaluate the resistance to oxidation of white wines. Reduction and oxidation titrations were made, and coefficient of variation obtained were 10.87 and 2.65%, respectively. The antioxidant powers of ascorbic acid (Aas) and sulfur dioxide (SO(2)) were evaluated by this method, SO(2) proving to be much less active in this respect than ascorbic acid. The two agents did not demonstrate any antioxidant synergy. A relationship between oxygen present and ascorbic acid was found by the proposed method (1 mmol of O(2) <--> 0.84 mmol of Aas). This method enables the distinction of different wines on the basis of their resistance to oxidation.     

Carotenoid, chlorophyll, and chlorophyll-derived compounds in grapes and port wines

Carotenoids and chlorophyll-derived compounds in grapes and Port wines were investigated by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-DAD-MS (ESP+) analysis. A total of 13 carotenoid and chlorophyll-derived compounds are formally reported in grapes, 3 are identified for the first time, pheophytins a and b and (13Z)-beta-carotene, and 3 others remain unknown. In Port wines 19 compounds with carotenoid or chlorophyll-like structures are present, 8 still unidentified. The young wines showed higher total carotenoid content and chlorophyll-like compounds compared to aged Ports, with lutein and beta-carotene as major carotenoids. Among samples analyzed of monovarietal Vitis vinifera L. cultivar wines produced with the five most important Douro varieties, Tinta Roriz contained the highest levels of carotenoids and Touriga Franca the lowest. The forced-aging study indicated that lutein was more sensitive to temperature than beta-carotene. Additionally, aged wines showed higher ratios of beta-carotene/lutein concentrations compared to new Ports. Rates of degradation of chlorophyll derivative compounds were higher than those for carotene and lutein.     

Essential oils from plants and in vitro shoots of Hypericum androsaemum L

The essential oil yields obtained by hydrodistillation of the aerial parts of Hypericum androsaemum cultivated plants varied from 0.94 to 4.09 mg/g of biomass dry weight, depending of the harvest time. The respective analyses performed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed more than 80 compounds, 72 of which were identified. Most of the compounds were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, which, depending of the harvest time, corresponded to 43-78% of the total essential oil. The other compounds were distributed as monoterpene hydrocarbons, oxygen-containing sesquiterpenes, n-alkanes, 1-alkenes, and oxygen-containing monoterpenes, these being a minor group. In H. androsaemum in vitro shoots, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons represented >80% of the respective essential oil. Differences in the essential oil composition were found depending on the harvest time and origin, in vivo versus in vitro, of the plant material. The essential oil sampled in November was characterized by the highest levels of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and a high number of n-alkanes and 1-alkenes, from C(18) to C(28), whereas that sampled in June of the following year showed the highest levels of n-nonane and 1-octene as well as monoterpene hydrocarbons, the second most representative group.