The minor role of pigs in outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease of northern Thailand

SUMMARY: A study was undertaken in northern Thailand to examine the involvement of pigs in outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Data were collected by surveying selected villages, by serological monitoring of pigs and by investigating outbreaks. Fifty-three of 58 villages (91%) surveyed reported that pigs did not develop FMD during the most recent outbreak. The source of 49/60 (82%) outbreaks was attributed to either recent purchases of infected cattle and buffalo or commingling of cattle and buffalo with stock from an infected neighbouring village. One of 60 villages (1.7%) reported that the source was introduced infected pigs. There was no association between the various hypothesised risk factors relating to the management of pigs and the frequency of FMD outbreaks in the survey. The percentage of seropositive pigs during 3 rounds of serological monitoring conducted at 6-monthly intervals in selected villages was 3.5%, 2.6% and 0%, respectively. No clinically affected pigs were observed in 11 outbreak investigations. It was concluded that pigs did not commonly become infected when there were outbreaks of FMD in village cattle and buffalo in northern Thailand. This was probably due to the pig feeding and housing practices employed by villagers that protected pigs from exposure to virus from infected cattle or buffalo, or their products.     

Borrelia burgdorferi infection in cats in the UK

Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blotting techniques, cats from the north west of England and North Wales were tested for antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi. Seropositivity to B burgdorferi in these cats was similar (4.8 per cent) to that found in dogs and horses in the UK from non-endemic areas. Cross-reactive antibodies to Leptospira interrogans serovars did not affect the cat B burgdorferi ELISA data. Clinical signs of Lyme disease were generally absent; lameness was rarely reported. As in other species, it must be considered that high levels of serum anti-borrelia antibodies are not diagnostic for clinical Lyme disease.     

Genetic structure of a Pyrenophora teres f. teres population over time in an Australian barley field as revealed by Diversity Arrays Technology markers

Net form of net blotch caused by Pyrenophora teres f. teres (Ptt) is a major foliar disease of barley (Hordeum vulgare) worldwide. Knowledge of the evolution of Ptt pathogen populations is important for development of durable host-plant resistance. This study was conducted to investigate changes in genetic structure of a Ptt population within a barley field during three cropping years. The susceptible barley cultivar Henley was inoculated with Ptt isolate NB050. Leaf samples were collected during the years 2013–15 and 174 single spore Ptt isolates stored. Genotyping using Diversity Arrays Technology markers identified that 25% of isolates were clones of the inoculated isolate and 75% of isolates were multilocus genotypes (MLGs) differing from the original inoculated genotype. The novel genotypes probably originated from a combination of windborne spores from neighbouring fields, infected seed and sexual recombination in the field. The rapid change in the genotypic composition of the Ptt population in this study suggests adaptive potential of novel genotypes and demonstrates the need for barley breeders to use multiple sources of host-plant resistance to safeguard against resistance being overcome.     

A terminal mesozoic "greenhouse": lessons from the past

The late Mesozoic rock and life records implicate short-term (up to 10(5) to 10(6) years) global warming resulting from carbon dioxide-induced "greenhouse" conditions in the late Maestrichtian extinctions that terminated the Mesozoic Era. Oxygen isotope data from marine microfossils suggest late Mesozoic climatic cooling into middle Maestrichtian, and warming thereafter into the Cenozoic. Animals adapting to climatic cooling could not adapt to sudden warming. Small calcareous marine organisms would have suffered solution effects of carbon dioxide-enriched waters; animals dependent upon them for food would also have been affected. The widespread terrestrial tropical floras would likely not have reflected effects of a slight climatic warming. In late Mesozoic, the deep oceanic waters may have been triggered into releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a chain reaction of climatic warming and carbon dioxide expulsion. These conditions may be duplicated by human combustion of the fossil fuels and by forest clearing.     

Microfungal community structure in anthropogenic birch stands in central Finland

We describe the soil microfungal communities in 30-year-old birch (Betula pendula Roth) stands planted either on former spruce forest soil (BS) or on former arable soil (BF) and compare these with the soil microfungal communities in spruce forests (S), arable fields (F) and old deciduous forests (D). Fungi were isolated from 0- to 3-cm and 3- to 6-cm samples collected in September 1997 and May 1998. Principal components analysis differentiated fungal communities in the S and BS sites from those in the other site types. The Morisita-Horn index of similarity indicated that fungal communities in the F and BF sites were less similar to those in the other site types. Fungal communities of the BS and S sites were more similar in the 3- to 6-cm layer than in the 0- to 3-cm layer, suggesting that it takes >30 years to replace the spruce litter and associated fungal community. Similarity between fungal communities in the F and BF sites was low, indicating significant changes in the fungal community composition following afforestation of field soil by birch. Fungal communities in the BS and BF sites were more similar to each other than those of their original site types. Fungal communities of the BS, BF and S sites were more similar to those of the D sites than those of the F sites were to the D sites. Differences between the fungal communities of the different site types were attributed primarily to litter quality, earthworm community, and secondarily to organic matter, pH, KCl-extractable NH₄⁺, and PO₄^3-.     

Constituents of Agave americana and Agave barbadensis

An investigation of Agave americana and Agave barbadensis resulted in the isolation of a new homoisoflavanoid, 7-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxybenzyl)-chroman (3), together with known compounds 7-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxybenzyl)-chroman-4-one (1), 5,7-dihydroxy-3-(4-methoxybenzyl)-chroman-4-one (2), cantalasaponin-1 (4), and 2-hydroxy-butanedioic acid-1-methyl ester (5).