Sulfur-based functional groups in agrochemistry

The element sulfur has an outstanding role in the crop protection chemistry because it is used in its elemental form as a multisite fungicide, but is also part of agrochemicals in the form of aromatic or aliphatic sulfur-containing rings or sulfur-based functional groups. This review gives an exhaustive overview over the latter category. Several fundamental agrochemical compound classes are named after a sulfur-based functionality, such as the dithiocarbamate fungicides and sulfonylurea herbicides. Altogether, 16 different sulfur-based functional groups are presented with their typical synthesis approaches and most important representatives in crop protection. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.     

Field Trial Validation of the Efficacy and Acceptability of Firocoxib,a Highly Selective Cox-2 Inhibitor,in a Group of 96 Lame Horses

The objective was to generate evidence for clinical efficacy and acceptability of a second generation coxib, firocoxib, administered orally for 14 days to lame horses under field conditions compared with a classic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, vedaprofen, in a prospective, randomized, controlled, double-blinded, multicenter field trial. Ninety-six client-owned horses with American Association of Equine Practitioners score of at least grade 3 lameness or grade 2 lameness plus at least a score of 2 for either pain on palpation, range of motion, or joint swelling were analyzed. Horses were administered 0.1 mg/kg firocoxib orally at 24 hour intervals (n = 48) or 1.0 mg/kg vedaprofen paste at 12 hour intervals for 14 days (single loading dose of 2.0 mg/kg vedaprofen) (n = 48). Physical examinations and lameness evaluations were conducted on Day 1 (V1, before treatment) and on Days 7 (V2) and 14 (V3). Blood chemistry and hematology profiles were also evaluated. With regard to the primary variable, clinical improvement, 83% of the firocoxib-treated horses improved at V3 compared with 65% of vedaprofen-treated horses improved meeting the criteria defined to demonstrate noninferiority of firocoxib to vedaprofen. Health and behavioral abnormalities for side effect detection occurred at the rate of 2% (1 horse) and 8% (4 horses) for firocoxib- and vedaprofen-treated horses, respectively. Changes in hematology and blood chemistry values from V1 to V3 were not significantly different between treatment groups. Firocoxib, formulated as an oral paste was highly effective, well tolerated, and acceptable for the control of pain and inflammation associated with lameness in horses under field conditions.     

comparison of sulphur and heavy metal contents and their regional distribution in humus and moss samples from the vicinity of Nikel and Zapoljarnij,Kola Peninsula,Russia

Terrestrial moss and humus (the O-horizon) are often used separately for determining and monitoring airborne heavy metal pollution. Here, we directly compare the results of analyses of moss and humus samples taken at a density of one site per 300 km² in a 12 000 km² area (45 samples) around the nickel smelter in Nikel, the nickel ore roasting plant in Zapoljarnij, both in Russia, and the iron ore mine and mill near Kirkenes in Norway. The samples were air dried, digested in conc. HNO₃ and analysed for more than 30 elements by ICP-MS and ICP-AES at the laboratory of the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK). For most elements, observed levels and variations are considerably greater in soil than in moss. The main contaminants, Ni and Cu, reach equally high median levels in the moss and soil, but maximum values are far higher in soil. Both media show comparable regional distribution patterns for the heavy metals, but not for sulphur. Cu and Ni can be used to delineate the limits of contamination in the survey area. Both media show the same picture, with a generally very steep gradient from east to west and background levels being reached 30–50 km from the nickel smelter. When moss is used, Cu/Ni, Cu/S and Ni/S ratios can be used to separate input from the smelting and roasting proccesses in Russia. Both media are well suited to use separately to detect airborne pollution in this heavily contaminated area. The moss data are generally easier to interpret, but moss is not available at the most polluted sites. Levels for many elements other than Cu and Ni are close to the detection levels in moss samples, but not in humus samples. Information gathered from both media thus complement each other in a regional multi-element survey.     

Heterocyclic chemistry in crop protection

An overview is given of the significance of heterocycles in crop protection chemistry, which is enormous as more than two‐thirds of all agrochemicals launched to the market within the last 20 years belong to this huge group of chemicals. This review focuses on two important aspects of heterocyclic agrochemistry: the different roles of heterocyclic scaffolds in crop protection agents and the major possibilities for their synthesis. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Cytoplasmic diversity of Brassica napus L., Brassica oleracea L. and Brassica rapa L. as determined by chloroplast microsatellite markers

Cytoplasmic genomes in most angiosperms are known to be maternally inherited. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) as a natural amphidiploid species hence may carry the B. oleracea L. or the B. rapa L. cytoplasm, depending on the cross direction. The presence of either the B. oleracea or the B. rapa cytoplasm in oilseed rape has been reported to affect agronomically important traits. However, to date little is known about the cytoplasmic composition and genetic diversity of current winter oilseed rape cultivars and breeding material. The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of 40 previously published chloroplast cpSSR markers from Brassica species and Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. for distinguishing the cytoplasms of 49 different genotypes of B. napus and its diploid ancestor species. Results showed that only 14 out of the 40 tested primer combinations were suitable to distinguish the cytoplasms of a test set of 8 Brassica genotypes. With the 14 primer pairs 64 different cpSSR alleles were identified in the set of 49 genotypes. Cluster analysis indicated distinct groups for the cytoplasms of B. napus, B. rapa, and B. oleracea. However, an unambiguous identification and classification of the cytoplasm types was not possible in all cases with the available polymorphic set of cpSSR primer pairs.     

Production of monoclonal antibody for the detection of meat and bone meal in animal feed

For the detection of prohibited meat and bone meal (MBM) in animal feed, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were raised against heat-stable h-caldesmon purified from bovine intestinal smooth muscle. The obtained hybridoma cells were screened against extracts of the bovine MBM and heat-treated smooth muscle, and MAb 5E12 was identified as having the best performance. Antibody 5E12 did not react with animal feed, milk product, plant proteins, and other ingredients used for commercial animal feed except for the gelatin. This antibody diluted to 100-fold was able to detect MBM mixed in animal feed at 0.05% in an ELISA, and it showed strong affinity toward bovine smooth muscle autoclaved at 130 degrees C. Therefore, this antibody can be used in the ELISA system for field testing of the presence of MBM in animal feed.     

Comparative Evaluation of Molecular Diagnostic Tests for Nucleospora salmonis and Prevalence in Migrating Juvenile Salmonids from the Snake River,USA

Abstract

Nucleospora salmonis is an intranuclear microsporidian that primarily infects lymphoblast cells and contributes to chronic lymphoblastosis and a leukemia-like condition in a range of salmonid species. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of N. salmonis in out-migrating juvenile hatchery and wild Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and steelhead O. mykiss from the Snake River in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. To achieve this goal, we first addressed the following concerns about current molecular diagnostic tests for N. salmonis: (1) nonspecific amplification patterns by the published nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) test, (2) incomplete validation of the published quantitative PCR (qPCR) test, and (3) whether N. salmonis can be detected reliably from nonlethal samples. Here, we present an optimized nPCR protocol that eliminates nonspecific amplification. During validation of the published qPCR test, our laboratory developed a second qPCR test that targeted a different gene sequence and used different probe chemistry for comparison purposes. We simultaneously evaluated the two different qPCR tests for N. salmonis and found that both assays were highly specific, sensitive, and repeatable. The nPCR and qPCR tests had good overall concordance when DNA samples derived from both apparently healthy and clinically diseased hatchery rainbow trout were tested. Finally, we demonstrated that gill snips were a suitable tissue for nonlethal detection of N. salmonis DNA in juvenile salmonids. Monitoring of juvenile salmonid fish in the Snake River over a 3-year period revealed low prevalence of N. salmonis in hatchery and wild Chinook salmon and wild steelhead but significantly higher prevalence in hatchery-derived steelhead. Routine monitoring of N. salmonis is not performed for all hatchery steelhead populations. At present, the possible contribution of this pathogen to delayed mortality of steelhead has not been determined.

Received September 14, 2010; accepted November 14, 2010     

Molecular markers and a sequence deletion in intron 2 of the putative partial homologue of LEAFY reveal geographical structure to genetic diversity in the acutely threatened legume genus Clianthus

Clianthus is an acutely threatened, bird-pollinated genus endemic to New Zealand, represented in the wild by only one population of C. puniceus and 11 populations of C. maximus, each with very few individuals (typically <10 per population). A limited number of named Clianthus cultivars of indeterminate origin are commonly grown as ornamentals. Genomic DNA from individual Clianthus plants was extracted for genetic diversity analysis using a range of molecular markers, including amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Data were analysed by the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averaging (UPGMA), the generation of Neighbor-Joining trees, and analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA). Genetic distance between wild populations of C. maximus was highly correlated with geographical distance between populations. Sequencing of intron 2 of a putative partial homologue of the floral meristem identity gene LEAFY (CmLFY) revealed a 7 bp deletion that was exhibited homozygously in the more northern populations of C. maximus, and in all individuals tested from the sole population of C. puniceus. This deletion was not exhibited in more southern populations of C. maximus. Further, one geographically intermediate population contained some plants that were heterozygous for the deletion. Parallel analyses of cultivated Clianthus genotypes, more than half of which were also homozygous for the 7 bp deletion, showed that these were not representative of the broad, but threatened, diversity remaining in the wild. It is argued that wild populations of C. maximus are unlikely to have arisen from the escape of plants from cultivation. Conservation effort should focus on the protection and study of the extant plants in these wild populations, rather than on the introduction of disturbance regimes to uncover potential seed banks.