Collection and preliminary evaluation of native turfgrass accessions in Italy

Despite a raising interest on turfs in Italy, all theavailable varieties of this kind in the Country are of foreign origin, and areoften poorly adapted to the prevailing climatic conditions. This prompted tobegin a collection activity of indigenous turfgrass species, with the ultimategoal of identifying promising materials for future breeding based on localgenetic resources. The collection was carried out in three areas of Italy, viz.the northern Po Plain, the coastal region of Liguria, and the island of Sardiniathat are characterised, respectively, by subcontinental, warm temperate, andtypical Mediterranean climate. Altogether, 141 sites were visited, yielding 226accessions belonging to eight species of potential interest for turfs:Poa pratensis, Poa trivialis,Festuca rubra, Festuca arundinacea,Lolium perenne, Agrostis stolonifera,Agrostis tenuis, and Cynodon dactylon,this last being a warm-season grass. Poa pratensis andCynodon dactylon were mostly collected in northern Italyand Sardinia, respectively, whereas Festuca arundinacea andLolium perenne were rather ubiquitous. The collection sitesranged from 0 to 1040 m asl, but sites over 750 m wereonly visited in the inner part of Sardinia. All the accessions, collected aswhole plants, were transplanted at Lodi, northern Italy, where they are beingevaluated. Their preliminary evaluation for traits of importance for turf use,such as sward colour and overall quality, highlighted the great variation andthe occurrence of interesting accessions in all species. Other characters wererecorded, bearing specific importance in individual species, and in all casespromising accessions were identified. The germplasm of Festucarubra, Festuca arundinacea, and Loliumperenne proved highly infected by endophytic (symbiotic) fungi of thegenus Neotyphodium.     

Geographic variation in tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum spp. turgidum convar. durum) landraces from two provinces in Ethiopia

There is considerable wealth of genetical and morphological variation in tetraploid wheat collected from Ethiopia by past expeditions. Several authors have speculated on the reasons for this concentration of diversity so far removed from the centre of origin of wheats in West Asia. The present study reports results of evaluation carried out on material collected in the early 1970's from Ethiopia. The landraces from the two provinces Shewa and Tigray were found to be distinctly different. This divergence was attributed to the differences in environmental conditions between them. Wide differentiation among landraces within each province was also present. The Ethiopian farmer's practice of growing composite cultivars in the field has resulted in bulk samples of Ethiopian landraces containing several agrotypes. The proportion of total variance due to differences among agrotypes within landraces was by far the greatest found in this study, followed in most cases by the variation among landrace populations within provinces which exceeded, in turn, the variation between province gene pools. The optimal strategy for further germplasm collections and implications for improvement and conservation in locally-based community gene banks are discussed.     

Performance of durum wheat landraces in a Mediterranean environment (eastern Sicily)

Summary The evaluation aimed at identifying landrace genotypes adapted to the rather unfavourable growing conditions of durum wheat in Sicily, to be used as parental material in a breeding programme. The trial was carried out in three seasons experiencing varying climatic conditions, and included 75 landraces, 25 of which were selected under severe drought in Syria. Wide differences were observed for most traits among genotypes and seasons of evaluation. Yields of the best performing entries identified in each season never significantly differed from that of the best check variety. The top-yielding landraces were consistently better than the remaining entries for the three yield components, viz. number of spikes per plant, number of kernels per spike and mean kernel weight. In the driest season they were also significantly earlier in heading, confirming the importance of earliness under drought. An analytical breeding approach relying on an array of morpho-physiological traits as selection criteria did not seem appropriate for the given environment, as the variable stress level enhanced the importance of specific traits under specific situations. The genotypic response was largely season-specific. Nonetheless, five landraces were in the best group in all seasons. The selection made in Syria also appeared somewhat effective in Sicily, particularly in the less favourable seasons.     

Climatic adaptation in subterranean clover populations

Summary Long-term persistence and, hence, agronomic success as a pasture of the annual species subterranean clover depend primarily on seed yield and seed survival over seasons. In natural populations, plant characteristics influencing seed setting and formation of seed reserves in the soil are expected to be adjusted to the prevailing environmental conditions of the sites of origin. Knowledge on plant/environment relationships may provide information on adaptive strategies of persistence, and guidelines for selecting adapted varieties to specific conditions. On pure lines from a number of populations such relationships were assessed for flowering time, seed yield, burr fertility, individual seed weight, initial hardseededness, and rate of hardseededness breakdown over summer. Flowering time decreased on decreasing annual rainfall, i.e., on shortening the growing season, as adaptive response to the need of producing adequate seed before the onset of the dry season. Individual seed weight decreased on decreasing rainfall, and increasing temperatures. Hard-seed maintenance over summer was higher in populations from hot and dry environments, where the marked effect of temperature on hardseededness breakdown exerts a strong selective pressure. Within-population variation, assessed on flowering time, was particularly wide, with early genotypes occurring even in populations from long-season environments. The adaptive relevance of maintaining high levels of within-population polymorphism to cope with unpredictable climatic fluctuations is discussed. Number of constituent lines as a measure of the population structure, and intra-population variation were both influenced by altitude and rainfall, tending to decrease as the climatic selective pressure becomes severe, under both low-rainfall, hot conditions and high-elevation, cold-prone environments.     

Nutritional strategies for heifers under grazing system: productive and nutritional performance,metabolic profile and ovarian activity

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of nutritional strategies on productive and nutritional performance, metabolic profile, and ovarian activity in heifers under grazing in the tropics in Brazil. Forty Nellore heifers averaging 8.5?±?0.06 months and 248.6?±?3.3 kg body weight (BW) were distributed in a completely randomized 2?×?2 factorial design with four treatments and ten replicates. The evaluated strategies consisted of different amounts of energetic-protein supplement: (1) 4 g/kg of BW of supplement in the pre-weaning and post-weaning; (2) 4 g/kg of BW of supplement pre-weaning and 6 g/kg in the post-weaning; (3) 6 g/kg of BW of supplement in the pre-weaning and 4 g/kg of BW in the post-weaning and; (4) 6 g/kg of BW of supplement in the pre-weaning and post-weaning. Crude protein (CP) and organic matter (OM) intake were increased (P?<?0.05) by increasing the amounts of supplement in the post-weaning. Additionally, increasing supplement amounts in the post-weaning increased the digestibility of OM and CP (P?<?0.05). Means insulin and glucose concentrations were greater (P?<?0.05) for heifers that received higher amounts of supplement in the post-weaning. Average daily gain and fat thickness in the rump were increased (P?<?0.05) by increasing supplement amounts in the post-weaning. Amounts of supplement did not influence the body growth of heifers. However, follicular number, diameter, and progesterone concentration were greater (P?<?0.05) for heifers that received higher amounts of supplement in the post-weaning. In summary, increasing supplement amounts in the post-weaning improve the performance, energy and metabolic status, and ovarian activity in beef heifers under grazing in the tropics. Due to higher intake of supplement, the heifers receiving 6 g/kg of BW post-weaning had greater responses, independently of the supplement amount received pre-weaning.

     

Benoxacor induction of terbuthylazine detoxification in Zea mays and Festuca arundinacea

The action of safener benoxacor on the detoxification of terbuthylazine (TBA) in Zea mays and Festuca arundinacea was ascertained by the investigation of the effects of benoxacor on the activity of glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) in the shoots of the two plant species. TBA treatment generally reduced GST activity toward 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) in corn and did not affect the enzyme activity in festuca. When applied alone, benoxacor stimulated GST activity in both plants; however, when it was applied in mixture with TBA, generally, an enhancement of the enzyme activity was found in corn but not in festuca in comparison with the respective TBA-treated samples. The enhancement of GST activity in response to the benoxacor treatment in both corn and festuca resulted to be concomitant with decreases in apparent K(M) in both the plant species, with V(max) unaffected, and with an increased expression of proteins having molecular masses in the characteristic range of plant GSTs. After the benoxacor treatment, increased GST activity toward TBA as a substrate was observed in both corn and festuca. As a consequence, lesser amounts and persistence of TBA residues were found in shoots of corn and festuca treated with the TBA and benoxacor mixture compared to TBA-only-treated samples. Therefore, benoxacor enhances TBA detoxification in both corn and festuca; the induction of detoxifying activity in a nondomesticated grass is discussed in view of its use in vegetating buffer strips around crops to prevent TBA pollution.     

Vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids in bovine muscle and the oxidative stability of beef from cattle receiving grass or concentrate-based rations

The present study was designed to assess the balance between antioxidant and prooxidant components and the oxidative stability of beef from cattle fed exclusively grazed pasture (PAS) or a barley-based concentrate offered indoors (CONC) for 11 mo, or fed grass silage indoors for a 5-mo winter period, followed for the remaining 6-mo summer period by grazed pasture (SiP) or by grazed pasture plus concentrate at 50% of the dietary DM (SiPC). Muscle prooxidant and antioxidant components were determined by measuring fatty acids and α-tocopherol concentration of LM, respectively. Lipid oxidation and color stability were monitored in ground LM, packaged in a high-oxygen modified atmosphere, over 11 d of refrigerated storage. Vitamin E concentration decreased (P < 0.0005) with an increasing proportion of concentrate in the diet (2.59, 2.45, 1.76, and 1.15 μg/g for PAS, SiP, SiPC, and CONC, respectively). A greater proportion of PUFA was found in LM from cattle in the PAS, SiP, and SiPC groups compared with animals in the CONC group (9.62, 11.04, 8.96, and 6.94%, respectively; P < 0.0005). A greater concentration of highly peroxidizable PUFA was found in LM from heifers in the PAS, SiP, and SiPC groups compared with those in the CONC group (0.84, 0.85, 0.87, and 0.65 mg/g of muscle, respectively; P = 0.02). Dietary treatment affected lipid oxidation (P < 0.0005), with greater 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substance values in beef from heifers in the SiPC group than in beef from those in the PAS, SiP, and CONC groups. Dietary treatment affected myoglobin oxidation (P = 0.002) during storage, with greater metmyoglobin accumulation in beef from animals receiving concentrate (CONC and SiPC treatments) than in beef from cattle in the PAS and SiP groups. Consequently, feeding concentrate impaired meat color stability over the storage duration, with greater H* (hue angle) values (P < 0.0005) in meat from heifers in the SiPC and CONC groups compared with meat from those in the PAS and SiP groups. The results of the present study confirm a positive effect of grass-based feeding systems on meat color stability compared with concentrate-based dietary strategies. It appears that vitamin E in muscle alone does not explain the resistance of meat to oxidative deterioration because a clear interaction with highly peroxidizable PUFA exists.     

Importance of heat shock proteins in maize

Abiotic and biotic stress conditions cause extensive losses to maize production, mainly due to protein dysfunction in these conditions. In higher plants, the occurrence of heat-shock proteins (HSPs) in response to different environmental stresses is a universal phenomenon and has been well documented. Many studies have demonstrated that most HSPs are involved in many regulatory pathways, act as molecular chaperones for other cell proteins, and have strong cytoprotective effects. Although many functional roles for HSPs are known, the mechanisms for these multiple functions are not entirely understood. Here we reviewed the correlation among HSP genes/proteins and plant tolerance, especially maize, in different environmental stresses. Due to the low availability of information regarding the expression of HSP genes in response to different stresses in maize, we decided to mine databases in order to generate new insights related to this topic.     

Evaluation of antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. isolated from broiler carcasses

1. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter strains (C. jejuni, C. coli and C. lari) isolated from broiler carcasses processed in the State of Paraná, Brazil.

2. Rates of microbial resistance and susceptibility were assessed by both Disk Diffusion (DD) and Etest (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) techniques. Antibiotics were tested using DD (12 antibiotics) and/or MIC (7 antibiotics) methods.

3. A total of 95.8% of the strains were resistant to at least two agents. In terms of multidrug resistance, 75% of strains were resistant to three or more groups of antibiotics. The highest rates of resistance were detected for cefalotin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and nalidixic acid. A high rate of susceptibility of the strains to erythromycin (95.8%) was found confirming that this is considered the agent of choice for treating campylobacteriosis. Comparison of the microbial resistance and susceptibility, as determined simultaneously by the two methods, found the techniques to be statistically equivalent for 5 out of the 6 antibiotics tested.

4. The results of this study suggest the need for adopting measures to control the use of antibiotics in broiler production to prevent multidrug resistance of Campylobacter strains and reduce the risk of serious human diseases caused by the consumption of contaminated chicken meat.