Discrepancy between spindle anomalies and 2N pollen production insolanum interspecific hybrids

The cytological basis of 2n pollen production was studied in a diploidSolanum progeny coming from a cross between aS. tuberosum S. chacoense hybrid which does not produce2n pollen (T710) and a S.phurejar S. tuberosum hybrid (W5295.7) which does. Both parental clones showed anomalous orientation of spindles at Metaphase II of microsporogenesis, but only clone W5295.7 produced dyads. All plants of the progeny T710 × W5295.7 showed anomalous spindles at Metaphase II, but only 60% of them produced 2n pollen, thus evidencing a discrepancy between spindle anomalies and dyad/2n pollen production. This may suggest that both parallel and fused spindles are a necessary but insufficient condition for 2n pollen production, and that some other mechanisms expected to be more highly correlated with them may be involved in 2n pollen production in this population.     

Relationship between plasma progesterone and pregnancy-associated glycoprotein concentrations during early pregnancy in dairy cows

The relationship between the concentration of plasma progesterone (P4) during embryo attachment or at recognition of pregnancy, and that of pregnancy-associated glycoprotein (PAG) was assessed in dairy cows. The outcome of artificial insemination (AI) was classified as positive (AI+), negative (AI?), or late embryonic mortality (EM) by measuring circulating PAG concentrations and by ultrasonography. Based on P4 concentrations at either day 21 or day 15, AI+ and EM cows were classified into ‘low’ (P4 concentrations < mean) and ‘high’ (P4 concentrations > mean) P4 groups. In both experiments, the threshold of P4 concentration between the ‘low’ and ‘high’ groups was approximately 6 ng/mL. PAG concentrations were lower in the ‘low’ group only when P4 concentrations were below the threshold. The study findings suggest that a possible P4 threshold exists below which PAG secretion may be impaired.     

A micro-method for the determination of Yellow Pigment Content in durum wheat

Colour is an important component of durum wheat quality affecting consumer’s choice. Pasta colour is the result of the carotenoid pigments accumulated in the seed endosperm and of the enzymatic activities responsible for their degradation. Thus, increasing yellow colour is a valuable goal for improving the commercial and nutritional values of durum wheat products. This work reports the set up of a micro-method for the determination of Yellow Pigment Content (YPC) in durum wheat. The novel method, although similar in principle to the Official Method AACC 14-50, allows the use of micro-amount of samples (10–100 mg), a condition that for durum wheat corresponds to a single kernel, and micro-amount of extraction solvent (water-saturated 1-butanol, 250–500 μL). These improvements together with a short extraction time lead to significant benefits from the practical and the economic point of view. The improved method has been validated using nine durum wheat cultivars extracted in 15 min with the ultrasonic bath. The YPC was calculated by reading the absorbance at 435 nm after the manual injection of an aliquot of extract directly into a UV–Vis HPLC detector. The results obtained were comparable and not significantly different from the Official AACC Method 14-50.     

Different mechanisms control lipoxygenase activity in durum wheat kernels

Yellow pigment content (YPC), lipoxygenase (LPX) activity and the polymorphism at the Lpx-B1.1 locus were assessed on an Italian durum wheat germplasm collection and four varieties contrasting for YPC and LPX activity were then characterized in terms of Lpx gene expression, biochemical LPX properties and their performance during pasta processing. The screening of 71 genotypes showed a great genetic variability for YPC (3.68–9.43 μg/g dw) and LPX activity (0.02–7.91 EU/g dw). The Lpx-B1.1 polymorphism was significantly associated with differences in LPX activity. Besides the Lpx-B1.1 deletion, different expression levels of Lpx mRNAs were found associated with differences in LPX activity. The temporal expression of three Lpx genes showed different profiles among the cultivars investigated. Genotypes with high LPX activity showed an anticipated temporal expression for Lpx-1 compared to low LPX activity ones. The LPX activity in the analysed genotypes is most likely due to the contribution of different LPX isoforms observed in the later stage of grain filling.     

Epidemic of infectious laryngotracheitis in Italy: characterization of virus isolates by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequence analysis

Between May 2007 and October 2008, 34 outbreaks of mild to moderate forms of infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) occurred in commercial broiler flocks in Italy. Affected birds showed watery eyes, conjunctivitis, nasal discharge, reduction of feed and water consumption, and gasping with expectoration of blood-stained mucus. The mortality rate was < 10%. Gross lesions consisted of conjunctivitis, excess of mucus, blood, or presence of diphtheritic membranes in trachea. A real-time PCR assay was performed to confirm the presence of ILT virus (ILTV) DNA in tracheal tissue homogenates. Twenty-three ILTV isolates were propagated on the chorion-allantoic membrane of embryonated chicken eggs showing typical plaques. PCR combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism and gene sequencing of isolates showed a high genetic correlation between field strains and chicken embryo origin vaccines.     

Impacts of artificial structures on the freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera in the River Dee,Scotland

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Antimicrobial resistance of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolated from swine

The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the antimicrobial resistance rates and the trend in resistance of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolated from pigs in Italy from 1994 to 2009. A total of 992 A. pleuropneumoniae isolates were tested for their susceptibility to a panel of antimicrobial agents in a disk diffusion method. Resistance to 7 drugs (amoxicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ampicillin, cefquinome, cotrimoxazole, penicillin G and tilmicosin) showed a significant increasing trend over the time, while for 2 drugs (gentamycin and marbofloxacin) a significant decrease was observed. Resistance to the remaining 14 antimicrobial agents tested did not change significantly over the study period. Most of the isolates retained high susceptibility to antimicrobials usually effective against A. pleuropneumoniae such as amphenicols, fluoroquinolones and ceftiofur. However, high rates of resistance were observed for potentiated sulfa drugs, tetracyclines and penicillins which are currently recommended antimicrobials for pig pleuropneumonia therapy. Our results suggest the importance of continued monitoring of A. pleuropneumoniae clinical isolates in order to choose the most appropriate treatment of infections and to control the increase of resistance to currently used antimicrobials.     

Chemical composition and bioactivities of three Chrysanthemum essential oils against Tribolium confusum (du Val) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Essential oils from three species of Chrysanthemum growing in Tunisia (C. coronarium, C. fuscatum, and C. grandiflorum) were first analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (MS) and then evaluated for toxicity and antifeeding action against Tribolium confusum. The essential oils obtained from leaves and flowers shared a similar qualitative composition, but the relative proportions of the constituents were quite different. The essential oil of C. grandiflorum was rich in sesquiterpenoids, while those of C. fuscatum and C. coronarium were rich in monoterpenoids. The main common constituents of all the essential oils were ??-pinene, myrcene, ??-humulene, ??-caryophylene, spathulenol, and caryophyllene oxide. The most effective essential oil was obtained from the leaves of C. grandiflorum, that inhibited the relative growth rate (?0.03?mg/mg/d), efficiency of conversion of ingested food (?50.69%), relative consumption rate, caused an antifeeding effect (66.43%) and a high mortality (80%) of T. confusum larvae. Topical application C. grandiflorum essential oil caused a significant insect mortality that attends 27% after 7?days of treatment. While essential oil from C. coronarium flowers has contact and fumigant toxicity with a mortality of 9 and 13%, respectively. Results analysis highlights a relationship between essential oils composition and insecticidal activity against T. confusum. The study showed that each essential oil has specific chemical composition and act differently according to the nature of attributed test. The use of essential oils from different Chrysanthemum species with different methods helps poor farmers who store small amounts of grains to preserve it against pest infestation.