A review on breeding and genetic strategies in Iranian buffaloes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bubalus bubalis</Emphasis>)

The aim of current study was to review breeding progress and update information on genetic strategies in Iranian buffaloes. Iranian buffalo is one of the vital domestic animals throughout north, north-west, south and south-west of Iran with measurable characteristics both in milk and meat production. The species plays an important role in rural economy of the country due to its unique characteristics such as resistance to diseases and parasites, having long productive lifespan and showing higher capability of consuming low-quality forage. In Iran, total production of milk and meat devoted to buffaloes are 293,000 and 24,700 tons, respectively. Selection activities and milk yield recording are carrying out by the central government through the Animal Breeding Centre of Iran. The main breeding activities of Iranian buffaloes included the estimation of genetic parameters and genetic trends for performance traits using different models and methods, estimation of economic values and selection criteria and analysis of population structure. Incorporating different aspects of dairy buffalo management together with improved housing, nutrition, breeding and milking, is known to produce significant improvements in buffalo production. Therefore, identifying genetic potential of Iranian buffaloes, selection of superior breeds, improving nutritional management and reproduction and developing the education and increasing the skills of practical breeders can be useful in order to enhance the performance and profitability of Iranian buffaloes.     

苹果柱型基因Co的一个AFLP 标记的SCAR转换

 将苹果柱型基因的一个AFLP 标记成功地转换成了简单实用的SCAR 标记。首先对AFLP 标记片段进行序列测定, 然后根据序列特点设计了两对特异引物CoA1/ CoA2 和CoA1/ CoA3 , 每条引物长20 bp。PCR 结果表明CoA1/ CoA2 可以扩增出216 bp 和148 bp 两条带, 其中216 bp 的为柱型性状的特征带; CoA1/CoA3 可以扩增出273 bp 和205 bp 的两条带, 其中273 bp 的为柱型性状的特征带。两对引物在杂交后代中扩增出的特征带与柱型性状的分离重组率都很低(CoA1/ CoA2 为6. 3 % ±2. 5 %; CoA1/ CoA3 为7. 3 % ±2. 6 %) , 所以它们都可以作为该SCAR 标记的特异引物所用。     

Contrasting phenology and female cone characteristics of the two Macaronesian island endemic cedars (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Juniperus cedrus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">J. brevifolia</Emphasis>)

Phenology and female cone characteristics of the two endemic cedars (Juniperus cedrus and J. brevifolia) from the Macaronesian islands were studied. Despite their closely taxonomic affinity and their evolution under insular conditions, different trends were recorded. Mature J. cedrus female cones were present throughout the year, while those from J. brevifolia were only present in summer and autumn. J. cedrus female cone size was significantly larger than that of J. brevifolia, a trend consistent with the presence of larger vertebrates (lizards and birds) in the Canary Islands. However, water content was four times higher in J. brevifolia female cones, which can be related with the higher rainfall existing in the Azores. J. cedrus has two or three seeds per cone, whereas J. brevifolia frequently had three. Seeds from J. cedrus were clearly larger and heavier, coinciding with the female cone size trend. However, tetrazolium tests revealed higher viability values in J. brevifolia. The relatively low percentage of filled seeds in J. cedrus could be a consequence of the climatic stress and limits to pollination due to fragmented populations as described for other Juniperus species. In summary, our results reveal that some environmental factors such as the harsh conditions, high population fragmentation and the dependence on large dispersers have compromised the fitness of J. cedrus in the Canary Islands.     

Chemical fertilizer reduction and soil fertility maintenance in rice-fish coculture system

In the long run, whether the use of chemical fertilizers could be reduced and soil fertility could be maintained through rice-fish coculture is less well known. At the pilot site of the rice-fish coculture system, which is one of the five “globally important agricultural heritage systems” (GIAHS), we conducted a 4-year study to compare fertilizer use, rice yield, and soil fertility in rice-fish coculture and rice monoculture. Based on the survey data from 21 villages, rice yield did not differ between rice monoculture and rice-fish coculture, but less chemical fertilizers were used in rice-fish coculture than in rice monoculture. Survey data from 145 farms also showed that rice-fish coculture farms with high input of feed for fish used less chemical fertilizers for rice production than farms with low input of feed for fish. In the 4-year field experiment, although less fertilizer was used in rice-fish coculture, rice yield, soil organic matter, soil total nitrogen, and soluble phosphorus did not differ between rice-fish coculture and rice monoculture. Our results suggest that rice-fish coculture can reduce chemical fertilizers application, enhance land productivity, and maintain soil fertility. Our results also suggest that rice-fish coculture could reduce the risk of non-point source pollution by reducing the input of chemical fertilizers.     

非洲猪瘟病毒p30蛋白单克隆抗体制备及线性抗原表位定位

【目的】制备非洲猪瘟病毒（African swine fever virus,ASFV）p30蛋白的单克隆抗体（monoclonal antibodies,MAbs）并初步分析其所识别的线性抗原表位,为ASFV及其抗体检测方法的建立及p30蛋白结构和功能的研究奠定基础。【方法】将原核表达并纯化的p30重组蛋白作为免疫原,免疫6—8周龄BALB/c雌鼠,每两周免疫1次,共免疫3次,首次免疫是抗原与等体积的弗氏完全佐剂乳化后免疫,第二次和第三次免疫与等体积的弗氏不完全佐剂乳化,3次免疫后1 w断尾采血,间接酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测血清抗体效价,选择血清效价最高的小鼠进行加强免疫,3 d后取小鼠脾淋巴细胞与SP2/0骨髓瘤细胞按照4﹕1的比例使用PEG进行常规细胞融合。利用重组p30蛋白作为包被抗原,间接ELISA筛选阳性杂交瘤细胞,有限稀释法进行克隆纯化,直至筛出能够稳定分泌抗体的MAbs。将ASFV接种于猪肺泡巨噬细胞,以筛选的MAbs为一抗、兔抗鼠HRP-IgG为二抗,进行间接免疫荧光试验（IFA）。将感染和未感染ASFV的细胞沉淀处理后进行 SDS-PAGE并转印至硝酸纤维素膜,分别以IFA鉴定为阳性的MAbs上清为一抗、兔抗鼠HRP-IgG为二抗,进行Western blotting分析,筛选获得p30 MAbs。根据已知序列设计引物扩增p30ab与p30bc两段截短基因,其中p30ab代表由第86—153位氨基酸残基的截短体,p30bc代表由第120—187位氨基酸残基的截短体,原核表达部分重叠的截短p30蛋白,最终获得重组蛋白GST-p30ab与重组蛋白GST-p30bc。分别以GST-p30ab和GST-p30bc融合蛋白为包被抗原,以5株MAbs为一抗,以兔抗鼠HRP-IgG为二抗, 通过间接ELISA方法初步定位p30蛋白的抗原表位。【结果】以纯化的重组蛋白为包被抗原,经间接ELISA试验筛选出25株可分泌抗重组 p30蛋白的杂交瘤细胞株。IFA结果显示,5株MAbs（8F4、1D3、1H2、6C3和8E11）与ASFV感染的猪肺泡巨噬细胞IFA 试验呈阳性;Western blotting结果显示,5株MAbs均能够与ASFV感染的细胞呈阳性反应,与未感染病毒的细胞呈阴性反应。试验构建的p30截短体重组蛋白GST-p30ab以可溶和包涵体两种形式表达,而GST-p30bc仅以包涵体形式表达,以两组截短体融合蛋白为包被抗原,通过间接ELISA检测出MAbs 8F4、1H2和6C3与两个重组蛋白均能有效结合,证明MAbs 8F4、1H2和6C3抗原识别区域为两组截短蛋白重叠区域,即第120—153位氨基酸;MAbs 8E11与1D3则只能与GST-p30ab蛋白结合, 证明MAbs 8E11与1D3抗原识别区域为两个重组蛋白的非重叠区域,即第86—119位氨基酸。【结论】本研究可溶性地表达了p30蛋白的第86—153位氨基酸截短体重组蛋白,制备了5株p30 MAbs,定位到2个p30蛋白抗原表位。结合ELISA和IFA,可建立十分可靠的ASFV及其抗体的检测手段。     

School food environments and the obesity issue: content,structural determinants,and agency in Canadian high schools

To understand the phenomenon of the rapidly increasing prevalence of overweight and obese children and youth, it is especially important to examine the school food environment, the role of structural factors in shaping this environment, and the resulting nutrition and health outcomes. The paper examines research on school food environments in the US and Canada. It notes evidence of widespread availability of poor nutrition products in both environments and delineates reasons for the situation, and examines initiatives presently being undertaken in a number of jurisdictions in both countries to encourage healthy eating in schools. Empirical data are presented from a pilot study of high schools in the Canadian province of Ontario. The study documents the extent of student purchasing of nutrient-poor foods and beverages, and the structural factors internal and external to the school that appear responsible for the availability of such products in food environments in this critical institutional sphere. The paper also examines positive local initiatives in high schools that seek to encourage healthy eating in schools.

油茶分子育种现状与趋势

作为重要的木本油料树种,培育高产、优质品种一直是油茶育种工作重点.传统育种周期长且存在盲目性等缺点,已无法满足当前油茶育种需求,而分子育种可以快速选择目标性状,加速育种进程,实现精确、高效育种.本文总结了近年来油茶分子标记、多组学研究及重要农艺性状关键基因挖掘等相关研究进展,同时分析了现存问题,并对未来发展方向作出展望,以期为今后油茶分子育种提供技术参考.     

Population genetic structure and landscape connectivity of the Eastern Yellowbelly Racer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Coluber constrictor flaviventris</Emphasis>) in the contiguous tallgrass prairie of northeastern Kansas,USA

The tallgrass prairie of North America has undergone widespread habitat loss and fragmentation (<4% remains). The Flint Hills region of Kansas and Oklahoma is the largest tallgrass prairie remaining and therefore provides an opportunity to study the population genetic structure of grassland species in a relatively contiguous landscape and set a baseline for evaluating changes when the habitat is fragmented. We adopted a landscape genetics approach to identify how landscape structure affected dispersal, population genetic structure, and landscape connectivity of the Eastern Yellowbelly Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris) across a 13,500-km² landscape in northeastern Kansas, USA. The racer population had high allelic diversity, high heterozygosity, and was maintaining migration-drift equilibrium. Autocorrelation between genetic and geographic distance revealed that racers exhibited restricted dispersal within 3 km, and isolation-by-distance. Significant isolation-by-distance occurred at broad regional scales (>100 km), but because of sufficient gene flow between locations, we were unable to define discrete subpopulations using Bayesian clustering analyses. Resistance distance, which considers the permeability of habitats, did not explain significant variation in genetic distance beyond Euclidean distance alone, suggesting that racers are not currently influenced by landscape composition. In northeastern Kansas, racers appear to be an abundant and continuously distributed snake that perceives the landscape as well connected with no cover type currently impeding snake dispersal or gene flow.     

不同贮藏温度对小黑麦花粉活力的影响

在室温、4℃、-20℃和液氮(-196℃)下贮藏小黑麦的花粉,研究不同温度对新小黑麦1号、3号、4号和5号花粉活力的影响,结果表明:室温条件下保存3 h,小黑麦花粉活力均在80%左右,3~4 h后花粉活力降低很快,7~8h后花粉活力几乎全无。4℃保存可适当延长花粉活力,保存8 h后,新小黑麦1号、5号花粉的活力降低到60%,而3号和4号降低为80%左右。48 h左右花粉活力降至0%。与4℃相比,-20℃保存下不同品种小黑麦花粉活力降低更快,4 h后花粉活力降低到50%~65%,16 h后花粉活力接近0%。液氮超低温冷冻保存下小黑麦花粉活力相对稳定,保存10天后活力仍然很高,其活力相对保持率在92%左右,理论上可以长时间保存花粉。     

Responses of native legume desert trees used for reforestation in the Sonoran Desert to plant growth-promoting microorganisms in screen house

Three slow-growing legume trees used for desert reforestation and urban gardening in the Sonoran Desert of Northwestern Mexico and the Southwestern USA were evaluated whether their growth can be promoted by inoculation with plant growth-promoting bacteria (Azospirillum brasilense and Bacillus pumilus), unidentified arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (mainly Glomus sp.), and supplementation with common compost under regular screenhouse cultivation common to these trees in nurseries. Mesquite amargo (Prosopis articulata) and yellow palo verde (Parkinsonia microphylla) had different positive responses to several of the parameters tested while blue palo verde (Parkinsonia florida) did not respond. Survival of all tree species was over 80% and survival of mesquite was almost 100% after 10 months of cultivation. Inoculation with growth-promoting microorganisms induced significant effects on the leaf gas exchange of these trees, measured as transpiration and diffusive resistance, when these trees were cultivated without water restrictions.