Development of a marker assisted selection program for cacao

ABSTRACT Production of cacao in tropical America has been severely affected by fungal pathogens causing diseases known as witches' broom (WB, caused by Moniliophthora perniciosa), frosty pod (FP, caused by M. roreri) and black pod (BP, caused by Phytophthora spp.). BP is pan-tropical and causes losses in all producing areas. WB is found in South America and parts of the Caribbean, while FP is found in Central America and parts of South America. Together, these diseases were responsible for over 700 million US dollars in losses in 2001 (4). Commercial cacao production in West Africa and South Asia are not yet affected by WB and FP, but cacao grown in these regions is susceptible to both. With the goal of providing new disease resistant cultivars the USDA-ARS and Mars, Inc. have developed a marker assisted selection (MAS) program. Quantitative trait loci have been identified for resistance to WB, FP, and BP. The potential usefulness of these markers in identifying resistant individuals has been confirmed in an experimental F(1) family in Ecuador.     

Mechanical injury and fungal infection induce acquired resistance in Norway spruce

Norway spruce trees (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) pretreated by wounding and fungal infection showed highly enhanced resistance to a subsequent challenge inoculation with the pathogenic bluestain fungus Ceratocystis polonica (Siem.) C. Moreau. This is the first time the effectiveness of the constitutive and inducible defenses has been shown to depend on prior wounding and infection in conifers, although such acquired resistance has previously been found in several angiosperms. Trees that were pretreated with a combination of 12 bark wounds (1.6 x 10 cm), four fungal inoculations and four sterile inoculations 1-15 days before mass inoculation with C. polonica at 400 inoculations per square meter over a 0.8 m stem section had significantly shorter necroses in the phloem, less bluestained sapwood, and less dead cambium than untreated control trees. Pretreatment with four fungal or sterile inoculations alone did not lead to enhanced resistance. Pretreatment by bark wounding alone seemed to provide an intermediate degree of resistance compared to bark wounding, fungal inoculations and sterile inoculations combined. All trees had a marked increase in the number of resin ducts in the year of inoculation compared with previous years, suggesting that formation of traumatic resin ducts play an important role in the development and maintainance of enhanced resistance.     

First report of Pseudomonas aeruginosa causing tumor disease of Populus koreana in China

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In May 2018, a bacterial tumor disease was observed on Populus koreana in Shuangyang county, Changchun city, Jilin Province. Based on physiological...     

Comparison of the indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the complement fixation test (CFT) for the serodiagnosis of bovine brucellosis

Complement fixation and ELISA tests were carried out on 8772 bovine sera. Results showed that ELISA titres were, on average, approximately sixteen times higher than the corresponding C.F. titres. The specificity of ELISA appeared comparable to that of the C.F.T. There was no evidence to show that the ELISA could detect infection earlier than the C.F.T.     

玉米群体辐射传输特征

实验观测分析了玉米群体总辐射的透过率、截获率、反射率和消光系数,结果表明玉米群体总辐射透过率、反射率和消光系数具有明显日变化特征;玉米雄穗开花前后其群体透过率和截获率有明显变化;日际反射率随玉米生育期而异,初期达0.23,之后逐渐下降至0.14左右;生育期平均反射率约为0.19;总辐射和净辐射的消光系数分别为0.51和0.41。提出了总体消光系数的概念,该系数在观测期较稳定,约为0.26,依此利用入射总辐射可算出作物群体冠层辐射截获量。     

动物源性饲料与食品安全

<正>动物源性饲料产品是指以动物或动物副产品为原料,经工业化加工制作的单一饲料。由于其具有蛋白质含量丰富及生物学价值高等特点,被饲料生产企业和广大养殖者广为利用。但动物源性饲料产品原料多为食品加工业的副产品或下脚料,来源复杂,     

Zur Behandlung und Wuchsleistung der Kiefer

European Journal of Forest Research - Anhand yon Wuchsmodellen wird die Bestandesentwicktung der Kiefer bei unterschied-licher Begrüindungsdichte und Bestandesbehandlung dargestellt. Neben...     

Changes in the chemical properties and characteristics of humus in soddy-podzolic soil due to main pipeline construction

The multiyear dynamics of the acid–base parameters and humus characteristics of soddy-podzolic soil affected by main pipeline (MP) construction was studied. Distinctions between the properties of technogenically disturbed soil and soil unaffected by MP construction observed 1, 10, 15, and 30 years after construction have been characterized. The deterioration of physical and chemical properties and clearly displayed features of technogenic degradation of humus have been identified throughout the entire observation period.     

Scale-dependent habitat use in three species of prairie wetland birds

We evaluated the influence of scale on habitat use for three wetland-obligate bird species with divergent life history characteristics and possible scale-dependent criteria for nesting and foraging in South Dakota, USA. A stratified, two-stage cluster sample was used to randomly select survey wetlands within strata defined by region, wetland density, and wetland surface area. We used 18-m (0.1 ha) fixed radius circular-plots to survey birds in 412 semipermanent wetlands during the summers of 1995 and 1996. Variation in habitat use by pied-billed grebes (Podilymbus podiceps) and yellow-headed blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus), two sedentary species that rarely exploit resources outside the vicinity of nest wetlands, was explained solely by within-patch variation. Yellow-headed blackbirds were a cosmopolitan species that commonly nested in small wetlands, whereas pied-billed grebes were an area-sensitive species that used larger wetlands regardless of landscape pattern. Area requirements for black terns (Chlidonias niger), a vagile species that typically forages up to 4 km away from the nest wetland, fluctuated in response to landscape structure. Black tern area requirements were small (6.5 ha) in heterogeneous landscapes compared to those in homogeneous landscapes (15.4–32.6 ha). Low wetland density landscapes composed of small wetlands, where few nesting wetlands occurred and potential food sources were spread over large distances, were not widely used by black terns. Landscape-level measurements related to black tern occurrence extended past relationships between wetlands into the surrounding matrix. Black terns were more likely to occur in landscapes where grasslands had not been tilled for agricultural production. Our findings represent empirical evidence that characteristics of entire landscapes, rather than individual patches, must be quantified to assess habitat suitability for wide-ranging species that use resources over large areas.