Intranuclear inclusions in a dog with B‐cell leukemia

A 7‐year‐old Shetland Sheepdog was presented with anorexia. A CBC indicated thrombocytopenia and neutropenia. Bone marrow cytology revealed that 67.7% of all nucleated cells (ANC) were anaplastic large mononuclear cells. These cells were confirmed to be of B‐cell origin based on IgH rearrangement, immunohistochemical, and flow cytometric analysis. Microscopic examination revealed that the neoplastic cells had intranuclear inclusions resembling Dutcher bodies. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that the intranuclear inclusions were immunopositive for IgG antibodies. The periodic acid–Schiff reaction was negative for the presence of polysaccharides and related substances. Although the dog achieved complete remission with a multi‐drug chemotherapy protocol, it ultimately died because of tumor progression and acute renal insufficiency on day 201. This is the first known case of canine acute B‐cell leukemia with intranuclear inclusions resembling Dutcher bodies.     

Feed intake, lactation performance, blood metabolites and fertility in early lactation dairy cows grazing a timothy pasture

The present study was conducted to investigate feed intake, milk yield, milk composition, blood metabolites and fertility in early lactation dairy cows grazing a timothy pasture. Fourteen multiparous Holstein cows that calved between 20 May and 19 July were used over a 3‐year period. The stocking rate was 3.6–4.3 cow/ha. Concentrates were fed separately at 9.5–11.5 kg/day per cow (dry matter basis) from 1 to 13 weeks postparturition. Herbage intake was estimated using chromium oxide as an indigestible marker. The mean contents of crude protein, total digestible nutrients and neutral detergent fiber of pasture during the 3‐year study period were 22.3%, 71.8% and 51.7%, and those of total diet were 18.9%, 77.3% and 40.3%, respectively. The mean herbage dry matter intake was 13.0 kg/day from 2 to 13 weeks postparturition during the study, total dry matter intake was 23.7 kg/day, the total digestible nutrients sufficiency rate was 105%, milk yield was 39.7 kg/day, and milk fat percentage was 3.30%. The decrease in bodyweight postparturition was slight. Urea nitrogen concentrations in serum were below 18.3 mg/dL. The mean days to first estrus and days open were 36 and 104 days, respectively. These results indicate that energy deficiency, decrease in bodyweight and fertility in early lactation barely occur when high producing dairy cows are fed enough grazing grass and suitable concentrates.     

Functional thyroid gland adenoma in a dog treated with surgical excision alone

An 11-year-old male Golden Retriever presented with progressive weight loss, tachycardia, hyperthermia, polyuria and polydipsia. A freely movable mass, 4.5 x 4 cm in size, was palpated at the cranioventral cervical region. Hormonal study revealed high levels of serum thyroid hormones, and a tentative diagnosis of hyperthyroidism due to a thyroid tumor was made. The tumor was removed surgically and diagnosed histopathologically as thyroid gland adenoma. Serum thyroid hormone levels decreased after surgery with improved clinical signs. At 12 months after surgery, the dog maintained a good physical condition with no evidence of recurrence.     

First report of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bean common mosaic virus</Emphasis> in yam bean [<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pachyrhizus erosus</Emphasis> (L.) Urban] in Indonesia

Severe mosaic with leaf malformation and green vein banding was observed on yam bean in West and Central Java, Indonesia. Virions of the causal virus were flexuous filaments, about 700 nm in length, with a coat protein of 30 kDa. The virus was transmitted by mechanical inoculation and by aphids in a nonpersistent manner. The nucleotide sequence of the coat protein gene had the highest identity with that of Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV, genus Potyvirus) isolate VN/BB2-5. Based on demarcation criteria, including the genome sequence and host range, we tentatively designate this isolate as BCMV-IYbn (Indonesian yam bean). The nucleotide sequence reported is available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number AB289438.     

Field evaluation of resistance to kernel infection and mycotoxin accumulation caused by Fusarium head blight in western Japanese wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars

Fusarium head blight (FHB) remains a serious problem that causes yield and grain quality losses, and mycotoxin accumulation in wheat production in western Japan. A 3-year field trial with artificial FHB inoculation was conducted to evaluate varietal characteristics of FHB resistance among 31 wheat cultivars/lines cultivated in western Japan, including one standard line. Severity of FHB, frequency of Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK), deoxynivalenol concentration (DON), nivalenol concentration (NIV), and grain yield showed significant differences among years and among cultivars/lines. Interaction between years and cultivars/lines was also significant in these traits, but F values were larger for cultivars/lines than for the interaction. Correlation analysis showed that cultivars/lines with lower FHB severities tended to have lower FDK, DON and NIV, and a higher yield. Resistance to kernel infection (RKI), residuals calculated by regressing FDK against FHB severity, and resistance to mycotoxin accumulation (RTA), residuals calculated by regressing DON + NIV against FDK, also differed significantly among cultivars/lines. These results indicated that varietal differences in response to FHB symptom development, RKI and RTA exist among wheat cultivars/lines in western Japan. Such information is important to aid producers in controlling the disease and for breeders to improve FHB resistance and reduce mycotoxin accumulation in commercial wheat cultivars.     

Two linked genes on rice chromosome 2 for F1 pollen sterility in a hybrid between Oryza sativa and O. glumaepatula

Hybrid incompatibility plays an important role in establishment of post-zygotic reproductive isolation. To unveil genetic basis of hybrid incompatibilities between diverged species of genus Oryza AA genome species, we conducted genetic dissection of hybrid sterility loci, S22(t), which had been identified in backcross progeny derived from Oryza sativa ssp. japonica (recurrent parent) and South American wild rice O. glumaepatula near the end of the short arm of chromosome 2. The S22(t) region was found to be composed of two loci, designated S22A and S22B, that independently induce F₁ pollen sterility. Pollen grains containing either of the sterile alleles (S22A-glum^s or S22B-glum^s) were sterile if produced on a heterozygous plant. No transmission of the S22A-glum^s allele via pollen was observed, whereas a low frequency of transmission of S22B-glum^s was observed. Cytological analysis showed that the sterile pollen grains caused by S22A could reach the bicellular or tricellular stage, and the nearly-sterile pollen grains caused by S22B could reach the tricellular stage. Our genetic analysis showed repulsion linkage effect is possible to induce strong reproductive barrier by high pollen sterility based on recombination value and transmission ratio of hybrid sterility gene to the progeny was influenced by frequency of competitors on fertilization.     

Promotion of first internode elongation in perennial paddy weeds Sagittaria trifolia and Sagittaria pygmaea tubers by oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide

The semiaquatic plants, S agittaria trifolia and S agittaria pygmaea, are perennial and troublesome weeds of rice paddy fields. These species mainly reproduce vegetatively via tubers, which sprout after the rice paddy fields are irrigated. Sprouting finally leads to the emergence of the shoots from the water in the paddy fields. In both species, the first internode elongates around the time of emergence and this lifts the shoot meristems in the soil, aiding in the establishment of the young plants. Therefore, elongation of the internode is a factor that determines the weed damage to rice caused by these species. In this study, the first internode elongation of both species was characterized. During emergence, S . trifolia and S . pygmaea showed distinct growth patterns. In S . trifolia, the internodes elongated before the emergence of the shoots from the water; whereas, in S . pygmaea, the internodes started to elongate only after emergence. We examined environmental prerequisites for internode elongation, and found that the internode elongation of S . trifolia was induced by submergence and was independent of the soil cover, while that of S . pygmaea required both submergence and covering. Next, we determined which gaseous factors were responsible for internode elongation. Treatment with ethylene, which enhances growth of several other aquatic and semiaquatic plants, did not stimulate internode elongation in either species under an anaerobic condition. Our results suggested that the gaseous factor stimulating internode elongation in S . trifolia and S . pygmaea may be oxygen depletion and carbon dioxide, respectively.     

Estimation of fine root biomass using a minirhizotron technique among three vegetation types in a cool-temperate brackish marsh

The minirhizotron technique is a non-destructive method to evaluate fine roots, which converts two-dimensional image data to three- dimensional root biomass data. Recently, conversion factors in soils at 10-cm depth intervals successfully estimated fine root biomass using image data from the minirhizotron method. However, this technique was conducted only at one forest site and did not consider different vegetation types. Therefore, the objective of this study was to verify a method for calibration of minirhizotron data with the core sampling values obtained by direct measurement of root biomass in wetland ecosystems among three vegetation types. Evaluations by minirhizotron technique and soil-core sampling were made at 30-cm soil depth in a cool-temperate brackish marsh in northern Japan. Linear regression was examined between root volume and weight of fine roots in soil core samples, and the fine root biomass on minirhizotron tubes was calculated from their length and diameter. The technique was well adapted for vegetation types dominated by Phragmites australis, Juncus yokoscensis, and Miscanthus sinensis and Cirsium inundatum. Compared with the fine root biomass estimated by the core sampling method, fine root biomass estimated by the minirhizotron method was overestimated in the 0–10-cm layer. Further, we determined conversion factors based on the ratio of the fine root biomass by the core sampling method to that by the minirhizotron tubes. Estimation of the fine root biomass using the conversion factors for each 10-cm soil depth was well adapted in P. australis vegetation and J. yokoscensis vegetation types as a forest ecosystem; meanwhile, M. sinensis and C. inundatum vegetation types were not well adapted. This study suggests that the minirhizotron technique is available to estimate fine root biomass of single-species dominated vegetation in the brackish marsh using conversion factors for each 10-cm depth.     

Temperature sensitivity of anaerobic labile soil organic carbon decomposition in brackish marsh

The global warming has a potential for acceleration of labile soil organic carbon decomposition. Arrhenius equation is one of the useful equation for predicting temperature sensitivity of carbon decomposition, with the activation energy of rate constant being a key factor. The purpose of this study is the evaluation of temperature sensitivity of labile soil organic carbon decomposition under anaerobic condition in wetland soil using the activation energy of rate constant among different vegetation types. The soil samples were incubated at three different temperatures (10, 20, and 30°C) under anaerobic condition and carbon decomposition rates (sum of CO₂ and CH₄ production) were measured by gas chromatography. The first-order kinetic model with Arrhenius equation was used for approximate of anaerobic carbon decomposition. For determination of activation energy of rate constant, non-linear least-squares method was conducted between observed carbon decomposition rate and predicted carbon decomposition rate which calculated by Arrhenius equation. The activation energy of rate constant of anaerobic labile soil organic carbon decomposition was different among vegetation types. We successfully determined the activation energy of rate constant of CO2 or CH4 production from Phragites, Juncus, and Miscanthus+Cirsium-dominated vegetation soil with Arrhenius equation. Hence, this study suggests that Arrhenius equation was useful for evaluation of temperature sensitivity of labile soil organic carbon decomposition not only aerobic condition, but also anaerobic condition among several vegetation types in the wetland ecosystem. Moreover, gaseous carbon production from soil under Juncus yocoscensis dominated soil appeared higher activation energy and temperature sensitivity than that from soil under other vegetation types.     

Phosphorus and potassium availability from cattle manure ash in relation to their extractability and grass tetany hazard

ABSTRACT

Due to a decrease in phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) mining, manure is incinerated to concentrate P and K in ash. To understand the alternative use of manure-derived ash as P and K sources, laboratory and greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the relationship between extractability and P and K uptake in cattle manure ash (CMA) and that between CMA application and a grass tetany hazard. The results showed that more P was extracted with 2% citric acid (90% of the total P) than with 2% formic acid (72–84% of the total P). Ninety-one percent of the total K was soluble in water. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to test P and K availability to Guinea grass (Megathyrsus maximus). Cattle manure ash or calcium dihydrogen phosphate (CF) was incorporated into sandy soil at 10, 20, and 50 g P₂O₅ m^?2. Two combinations of CMA and CF were tested at 20 g P₂O₅ m^?2. Potassium rates followed K content in CMA applied at different rates of P equivalent to 19, 38, or 96 g K₂O m^?2. In four harvests, there was no significant difference in the total yields between CMA and CF treatments. The total P uptake was significantly lower in the CMA treatment than in the CF treatment, while it was not in the combined CMA and CF treatments. The P uptake in response to different extraction methods indicated that the extraction of P by 2% formic acid without sonication is recommended to predict P availability in CMA. The potassium uptake from CMA application was comparable to that from the KCl application, and excessive K occurred at 38 and 96 g K₂O m^?2. The grass tetany hazard ratio higher than 2.2 was observed at the beginning period at the lowest application rates of CMA and CF. In conclusion, the combination use of CMA and CF was better than the single use of CMA. Moreover, CMA would be an available K source, but the grass tetany hazard still needs to be considered in application rates and pretreatments.