Achieving diversity in the face of constraints: lessons from metabolism

Metabolic engineering of plants can reduce the cost and environmental impact of agriculture while providing for the needs of a growing population. Although our understanding of plant metabolism continues to increase at a rapid pace, relatively few plant metabolic engineering projects with commercial potential have emerged, in part because of a lack of principles for the rational manipulation of plant phenotype. One underexplored approach to identifying such design principles derives from analysis of the dominant constraints on plant fitness, and the evolutionary innovations in response to those constraints, that gave rise to the enormous diversity of natural plant metabolic pathways.     

光照在家禽生产中的科学运用

光对家禽非常重要。家禽不仅需要光的帮助来寻找饲料、水、产蛋窝,而且生殖系统也受到光的控制。为了掌握其机理,我们从光和家禽两方面来做介绍。     

Racing prognosis of horses following surgically repaired olecranon fractures

Olecranon fracture is a common orthopedic problem in juvenile horses. Prognosis for complete fracture healing when various methods of internal fixation are used is good; however, the impact of olecranon fracture stabilization on the likelihood that foals will start on a racecourse is unknown. Medical records of foals undergoing internal fixation for an olecranon fracture were reviewed. The dam's foaling records were obtained and lifetime racing records were then retrieved for both the affected foals and 1 of their siblings. Twenty-two of 24 repaired fractures healed completely, subsequently, 16 of the foals started in at least 1 race. Statistical calculations suggest that when compared with their siblings, the occurrence of olecranon factures requiring internal fixation in juvenile racehorses will not significantly reduce the likelihood that they will race; however, the siblings had significantly more lifetime race starts and higher career earnings.     

Comparative genome and proteome analysis of Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster

Comparison of the genomes and proteomes of the two diptera Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster, which diverged about 250 million years ago, reveals considerable similarities. However, numerous differences are also observed; some of these must reflect the selection and subsequent adaptation associated with different ecologies and life strategies. Almost half of the genes in both genomes are interpreted as orthologs and show an average sequence identity of about 56%, which is slightly lower than that observed between the orthologs of the pufferfish and human (diverged about 450 million years ago). This indicates that these two insects diverged considerably faster than vertebrates. Aligned sequences reveal that orthologous genes have retained only half of their intron/exon structure, indicating that intron gains or losses have occurred at a rate of about one per gene per 125 million years. Chromosomal arms exhibit significant remnants of homology between the two species, although only 34% of the genes colocalize in small "microsyntenic" clusters, and major interarm transfers as well as intra-arm shuffling of gene order are detected.     

Theileria taurotragi in Zambia

Theileria sp. (Bwengwa) of low virulence was isolated by feeding R. appendiculatus ticks collected from the field on a susceptible calf and subsequently transmitted between cattle by R. appendiculatus ticks- Theileria sp. (Bwengwa) was shown to be T. taurotragi on parasitological, clinical and serological grounds. T. taurotragi is the fourth Theileria sp. shown to be present in Zambia.     

Prevalence of trypanosomiasis in cattle in South-West Zambia

Summary A trypanosomiasis survey was conducted in South-West Zambia. From a total of 3,346 cattle sampled 342 cattle showed a positive trypanosomiasis parasitaemia. During the survey trypanosome species and PCV values were also recorded. With simple statistical analysis populations with higher and lower prevalence rates were differentiated. The results indicated that the Kwando River Basin Tsetse Fly Belt and the Kafue River Basin Tsetse Fly Belt infested a larger area than originally assumed and that a link-up between both belts occurred or will occur in the near future.

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Prevalencia De Tripanosomiasis En Ganado En El Sudoccidente De Zambia

Resumen Se llevó a cabo una encuesta sobre la prevalencia de tripanosomiasis en el Sudoccidente de Zambia. De 3.346 animales examinados, 342 mostraron parasitémia. Durante le encuesta, se diferenciaron las especies de tripanosomas encontrados y se estimaron los hematocritos. Se diferenciaron también, mediante análisis estadísticos sensillos, las poblaciones de gando con tasas de prevalencia mayores y menores. Los resultados indican, que la cuenca del río Kwando y la del río Kafue, en donde existe la mosca tsetse, tienen una influencia mayor sobre la prevalencia de la enfermedad, que lo que originalmente se pensó y que la unión de las dos hoyas se producirá en un futuro cercano.

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Prevalence De La Trypanosomose Bovine En Zambie Du Sud-Ouest

Résumé Une enquête sur la trypanosomose a été conduite dans le sud-ouest de la zambie. Sur un total de 3346 bovins examinés, 342 ont montré une parasitémie à trypanosomes. Au cours de cette enquête, on a noté les espèces de trypanosomes et les valeurs de l'hématocrite. On a pu différencier, par une méthode statistique simple, les populations à haute et basse prévalence. Les résultats indiquent que les ceintures glossiniennes des bassins, des rivières Kwando et Kafue étaient plus étendues qu'on ne le pensait antérieurement, et qu'une liaison entre les deux ceintures se produisait ou se produirait dans le futur proche.