Reduced titer of BNYVV in transgenic sugar beets expressing the BNYVV coat protein

Summary Rhizomania is a disease of sugar beet caused by the furovirus beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV). Coat protein mediated resistance has been reported for a number of viral diseases. This approach to virus resistance was therefore attempted for control of rhizomania. Two constructs of the coat protein gene of BNYVV were introduced into sugar beet by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The mRNA level was estimated to be 0.01% of the poly A⁺ RNA. Expression of the coat protein gene was under the detection limit of our western blotting protocol i.e. below 0.01 g/50 g (0.02% of the total soluble protein). One transformation event per construct was tested in a greenhouse assay and in rhizomania infested soil in a field trial. In the greenhouse assay, transgenic plants showed a strong reduction of virus multiplication when compared to non-transgenic plants. This result was confirmed in the field trial, where a significant difference in virus multiplication was shown between plants with and without the coat protein gene.     

Diseases associated with hypercobalaminemia in dogs in United Kingdom: A retrospective study of 47 dogs

Cobalamin concentration is often assessed in clinical practice but little is known about the significance of hypercobalaminemia. The objective of this retrospective study was to identify the conditions associated with hypercobalaminemia in dogs and to investigate association with clinicopathological variables. Medical records of dogs having serum cobalamin measured between 2016 and 2018 were reviewed. One hundred sixty dogs were included and 47 (29%) showed hypercobalaminemia. Dogs with hypercobalaminemia had gastrointestinal (57%), hepatic (11%), neurological (11%), endocrine (9%), renal (4%), pancreatic (2%), and miscellaneous (6%) diseases. Overall, 11% had neoplasia. This distribution was not significantly different from that for hypocobalaminemic and normocobalaminemic dogs. There were significantly more dogs with hyperfolatemia in the hypercobalaminemia group. These results suggest that in clinical practice hypercobalaminemia is commonly identified in gastrointestinal and hepatic disease in dogs, but can also be seen with endocrine and neurological conditions. The frequency of hyperfolatemia alongside hypercobalaminemia may reflect common metabolic pathways.     

Effect of electrical stunning at slaughter on the quality of farmed turbot (Psetta maxima)

Food quality aspects of farmed turbot (Psetta maxima) were compared following two methods of slaughter: the current commercial method, by immersion in an ice slurry, which is then dewatered after approximately 20 min, or by first humanely, electrically stunning the fish using a prototype commercial stunner, before immersion in an ice slurry, which is dewatered after 20 min. Quality was assessed for up to 10 days of storage on ice following slaughter. No differences were found between the slaughter methods in terms of an overall carcass quality: overall appearance, haemorrhage, damage, burst gall bladder, staining of the body cavity by leakage from the gut or damage to the spine. No detectable difference was found between the treatments using the industry standard freshness scoring system, the Quality Index Method. Both groups of fish were classified as ‘Fresh’ after 10 days of storage on ice. Using objective measurements of colour, no differences between fish from either treatment were found in fillet colour. Changes in flesh pH were similar in electrically stunned and traditionally killed fish with a mean pH (±SE) at 2 h post‐mortem of 6.80±0.027 declining to 6.44±0.032 at 24 h post‐mortem. Humane electrical stunning of turbot at slaughter neither detectably improved nor decreased product quality as measured between 1 and 10 days of storage on ice.     

Genotypic characterisation and cluster analysis of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from domestic pets, human clinical cases and retail food

The genetic similarity of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from pets, compared to human clinical cases and retail food isolates collected in Ireland over 2001-2006 was investigated by cluster analysis of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) fingerprinting profiles. Comparison of the PFGE profiles of 60 pet isolates and 109 human isolates revealed that seven (4.1%) profiles were grouped in clusters including at least one human and one pet C. jejuni isolate. In total six (1.6%) of 60 pet and 310 food profiles were in clusters with at least one food and one pet C. jejuni isolate. The detection of only a small number of genetically indistinguishable isolates by PFGE profile cluster analysis from pets and from humans with enteritis in this study suggests that pets are unlikely to be an important reservoir for human campylobacteriosis in Ireland. However, genetically indistinguishable isolates were detected and C. jejuni from pets may circulate and may contribute to clinical infections in humans. In addition, contaminated food fed to pets may be a potential source of Campylobacter infection in pets, which may subsequently pose a risk to humans.     

Susceptibility to IVM in a field strain of Haemonchus contortus subjected to four treatments in a closed sheep-goat flock in Kenya

Susceptibility to IVM (IVM) of “strain A” Haemonchus contortus which had been exposed to IVM four times over a 2-year period was compared to IVM susceptibility of “strain C” H. contortus which had no prior field exposure to IVM, by in vivo and in vitro methods. In vivo, the percentage reduction in faecal egg counts (FEC) and the total worm counts (TWC) were compared between control animals (lambs and kids) and animals treated with low dose IVM (20 μg/kg). In vitro susceptibility to IVM was evaluated by larval migration inhibition (LMI) after the two strains of H. contortus were exposed to different concentrations of IVM. The dose response, measured as the proportion of larvae inhibited from migrating, was used to estimate LD₅₀. Although differences in response to IVM in the in vivo determinations were not significant, “strain A” H. contortus had a significantly higher LD₅₀ than “strain C” in the LMI assay. Coincident with the conduct of the in vivo experiment, it was observed that “strain A” H. contortus established and survived better than “strain C” in the control lambs.     

A size-based stock assessment model for invasive blue catfish in a Chesapeake Bay sub-estuary during 2001–2016

Stock assessment modeling provides a means to estimate the population dynamics of invasive fishes and may do so despite data limitations. Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) were introduced to the Chesapeake Bay watershed to support recreational fisheries but also consume species of conservation need and economic importance. To assess management tradeoffs, managers need to understand the current status of the population and anticipate future population abundance and trends. A Bayesian size-based stock assessment model was used to estimate blue catfish abundance, fishing mortality, and size structure over time (2001–2016) in the tidal James River. The model estimated population size increases until around 2006, with declines in total abundance after 2011 and large blue catfish (≥80 cm total length) after 2001. These first estimates of blue catfish population dynamics in the Chesapeake Bay region provide inputs for projection models to evaluate prospective management actions and identify monitoring needs.     

Fine-scale effects of habitat loss and fragmentation despite large-scale gene flow for some regionally declining woodland bird species

Habitat loss and associated fragmentation effects are well-recognised threats to biodiversity. Loss of functional connectivity (mobility, gene flow and demographic continuity) could result in population decline in altered habitat, because smaller, isolated populations are more vulnerable to extinction. We tested whether substantial habitat reduction plus fragmentation is associated with reduced gene flow in three ??decliner?? woodland-dependent bird species (eastern yellow robin, weebill and spotted pardalote) identified in earlier work to have declined disproportionately in heavily fragmented landscapes in the Box-Ironbark forest region in north-central Victoria, Australia. For these three decliners, and one ??tolerant?? species (striated pardalote), we compared patterns of genetic diversity, relatedness, effective population size, sex-ratios and genic (allele frequency) differentiation among landscapes of different total tree cover, identified population subdivision at the regional scale, and explored fine-scale genotypic (individual-based genetic signature) structure. Unexpectedly high genetic connectivity across the study region was detected for ??decliner?? and ??tolerant?? species. Power analysis simulations suggest that moderate reductions in gene flow should have been detectable. However, there was evidence of local negative effects of reduced habitat extent and structural connectivity: slightly lower effective population sizes, lower genetic diversity, higher within-site relatedness and altered sex-ratios (for weebill and eastern yellow robin) in 10 × 10?km ??landscapes?? with low vegetation cover. We conclude that reduced structural connectivity in the Box-Ironbark ecosystem may still allow sufficient gene flow to avoid the harmful effects of inbreeding in our study species. Although there may still be negative consequences of fragmentation for demographic connectivity, the high genetic connectivity of mobile bird species in this system suggests that reconnecting isolated habitat patches may be less important than increasing habitat extent and/or quality if these need to be traded off.     

What determines the spatial extent of landscape effects on species?

Context

Landscape ecologists are often interested in measuring the effects of an environmental variable on a biological response; however, the strength and direction of effect depend on the size of the area within which the environmental variable is measured. Thus a central objective is to identify the optimal spatial extent within which to measure the environmental variable, i.e. the “scale of effect”.

Objectives

Our objectives are (1) to provide a comprehensive summary of the hypotheses concerning what determines the scale of effect, (2) to provide predictions that can be tested in empirical studies, and (3) to show, with a review of the literature, that most of these predictions have so far been inadequately tested.

Methods

We propose 14 predictions derived from five hypotheses explaining what determines the scale of effect, and review the literature (if any) supporting each prediction. These predictions involve five types of factors: (A) species traits, (B) landscape variables, (C) biological responses (e.g. abundance vs. occurrence), (D) indirect influences, and (E) regional context of the study. We identify methodological issues that hinder estimation of the scale of effect.

Results

Of the 14 predictions, only nine have been tested empirically and only five have received some empirical support. Most support is from simulation studies. Empirical evidence usually does not support predictions.

Conclusions

The study of the spatial scale at which landscape variables influence biological outcomes is in its infancy. We provide directions for future research by clarifying predictions concerning the determinants of the scale of effect.