Fumonisin B-glucose reaction products are less toxic when fed to swine

The effects of fumonisin B-glucose reaction products in swine diets was examined. Pigs were fed diets containing 528 micromol of total fumonisin B/kg (FB), 528 micromol of total FB-glucose adducts/kg (FB-G, 122 micromol of unreacted FB/kg), or 0 micromol of total FB/kg for 15 days to test the efficacy of the FB-G reaction products in detoxifying FB. Weight gain in FB pigs was lower than in FB-G or controls, which was correlated with feed intake reduction in FB pigs. Serum aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, and total bilirubin in FB pigs were higher than in FB-G or control pigs. Serum sphinganine/shingosine ratios in FB pigs were higher than in FB-G or control pigs. Microscopic examination of tissues from FB pigs showed generalized liver necrosis and apoptosis with marked cellular pleomorphism and disorganized hepatic cords. The liver and kidneys in the FB-G group appeared to be normal. Tissues of controls were free of lesions. Results suggest that dietary FB-G products are less toxic to swine and may provide an detoxification approach in instances of widespread FB grain contamination (p < 0.05).     

Fat extraction from acid- and base-hydrolyzed food samples using accelerated solvent extraction

This paper describes a new in-cell method for pursuing accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) prior to lipid analysis from food samples. It is difficult to pursue direct ASE with acid- or base-hydrolyzed samples due to the corrosive nature of the reagents and material limitations. In this study ion exchange based materials were used to remove acid or base reagents in-cell without compromising the recovery of lipids. The performance data are presented here for the new methods for lipid extraction for a variety of food samples and compared to the Mojonnier method. NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRM-1546 and SRM-1849) were used to validate the ASE methods. Excellent fat recoveries were obtained for the ASE methods. The new methods presented here enhance the utility of ASE and eliminate labor intensive protocols.     

Assessing waterbird conservation objectives: An example for the Burry Inlet, UK

We use an individual-based model to assess the conservation objectives for knot Calidris canutus L. and oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus L. on the Burry Inlet Special Protection Area (SPA), UK. Population monitoring has identified a decline in oystercatcher numbers, but cannot determine whether this is due to a decline in site quality. Long term data on cockle stocks show that the biomass of the large-sized cockles consumed by oystercatcher declined after 2004, whereas a similar decline was not observed in the smaller cockles consumed by knot. The model postdicts that during the winters of 2005/2006 to 2008/2009 the site was unable to support the number of oystercatcher present at the time it was designated (i.e. the SPA population). Large cockle biomass remained low during 2009/2010, but increases in mussel biomass meant that the model postdicted that the site could support the SPA population of oystercatcher. Knot food supplies remained high during most years, except 2008/2009 during which the model postdicted that the SPA population could not be supported. The model postdicted that the stock reserved for oystercatchers after shellfishing needed to be 2-4 times the amount consumed by the birds in order to support the bird population. We recommend that where necessary, the conservation objectives of waterbirds should be assessed using a combination of thorough population size and behaviour monitoring to identify sites with population declines, and individual-based modelling on these sites to determine whether reduction in site quality may contribute to the site-specific population decline.     

Resistance to septoria nodorum blotch in the Aegilops tauschii accession RL5271 is controlled by a single gene

Septoria nodorum blotch is the most important leaf disease of wheat in Western Australia. A potentially useful source of resistance has been identified in an accession of Aegilops tauschii. To study the genetics of resistance of this source a cross was made between the resistant Ae. tauschii accession, RL5271, and a susceptible accession, CPI110889. The resistant parent took significantly longer to develop symptoms, developed significantly fewer lesions and expressed significantly lower levels of disease than the susceptible parent. The F1 mean response for disease severity indicated there was no complete dominance. The F3 families were classified using three approaches. In the first approach the individual F3 plant response was used to classify the F3 families. In the second approach the F3 family means and standard errors were used to classify the F3 families. In the final approach Best Linear Unbiased Predictors of disease score and standard error for each F3 family derived from a REML analysis were used to classify the F3 families. The genotypic ratios generated by each of the approaches suggested that resistance is controlled by a single gene. The effectiveness of the resistance and its simple genetic control in the Ae. tauschii, accession RL5271 may be a useful resistance source for use in a bread wheat breeding program. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Regulation of amino acid biodegradation in soil as affected by depth

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and in particular free amino acids represent a key pool in the terrestrial soil C and N cycle. The factors controlling the rate of turnover of this pool in soil, however, remain poorly understood. We investigated the factors regulating the rate of amino acid turnover at different depths (up to 1.2 m) in five low-input, acid soil profiles. Within the root zone (0–60 cm), amino acids constituted 8% of the DON and represented only a small fraction of plant available N. In all the soil profiles, the rate of amino acid mineralisation decreased progressively with depth. The average half-life of the exogenously added amino acids in the soil was 5.8 h in topsoils (0–10 cm), falling to 20 h at a depth of 50 cm and to 33 h at 100 cm. Generally, the rate of amino acid mineralisation correlated positively with total soil C and N, soil microbial activity (basal soil respiration rate) and soil content. The relatively rapid rates of microbial amino acid assimilation in subsoils below the root zone (>60 cm) indicate that long-term transport of amino acids (e.g. from soil to freshwaters) will be low. Based upon the C-to-N ratio of the amino acid substrate and the microbial C assimilation efficiency, we estimate that approximately 40–60% of the amino acid-N will be excreted as . In conclusion, the rapid rate of free amino acid turnover and their low concentration in soil solution indicate that the formation of inorganic N ( and ) in soil is limited primarily by the rate of free amino acid appearance in soil and not by the rate of amino acid mineralisation.     

Soluble organic nitrogen in agricultural soils

 The existence of soluble organic forms of N in rain and drainage waters has been known for many years, but these have not been generally regarded as significant pools of N in agricultural soils. We review the size and function of both soluble organic N extracted from soils (SON) and dissolved organic N present in soil solution and drainage waters (DON) in arable agricultural soils. SON is of the same order of magnitude as mineral N and of equal size in many cases; 20–30 kg SON-N ha^–1 is present in a wide range of arable agricultural soils from England. Its dynamics are affected by mineralisation, immobilisation, leaching and plant uptake in the same way as those of mineral N, but its pool size is more constant than that of mineral N. DON can be sampled from soil solution using suction cups and collected in drainage waters. Significant amounts of DON are leached, but this comprises only about one-tenth of the SON extracted from the same soil. Leached DON may take with it nutrients, chelated or complexed metals and pesticides. SON/DON is clearly an important pool in N transformations and plant uptake, but there are still many gaps in our understanding. Received: 10 June 1999     

Microscopic observations of bacterial sorption in soil cores

 Bacterial cells may be immobilized in soil through adsorption to a variety of soil particles. These associations affect the interaction of native soil microbes with their nutrient sources and control at least in part the distribution of foreign bacteria entering the soil system. To observe the relationship between soil structure and adsorption of amended bacterial cells, a series of intact cores of Freehold fine sandy loam were inoculated with suspensions of Arthrobacter crystallopoietes cells at concentrations ranging from 10⁶ to 10⁸ cells per ml. The cells were cultivated in a glucose-based medium to induce spherical cell formation. Following inoculation, the soil cores were rinsed with sterile water (30–40 ml h^–1), flushed with thiazine red R to stain the bacterial cells, and then prepared for examination by common micromorphological techniques. The use of fluorescence, polarizing, and reflected light microscopy of soil thin sections, allowed direct, qualitative determinations of microbial distribution and associations with soil components. A. crystallopoietes cells were detected throughout the length of the soil columns. Soil pores did not appear to be clogged by the spherical A. crystallopoietes cells. Adsorption of amended bacteria was governed by the presence of both variably charged mineral oxides and organic matter within the intergrain microaggregates and occurred along coated mineral surfaces. Amendment of non-inoculated soil columns with 0.2% (w/v) solution of glucose demonstrated that the staining and sectioning procedure was sufficiently sensitive to detect growth of indigenous bacterial populations and their distributions within the soil matrix. Received; 6 April 1997     

Quantification of the group B soyasaponins by high-performance liquid chromatography

High-performance liquid chromatographic methods were developed for the isolation and quantitative determination of the group B soyasaponins, including 2,3-dihydro-2,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (DDMP)-conjugated soyasaponins alphag, betag, and betaa, and their non-DDMP counterparts, soyasaponins V, I, and II, respectively, with formononetin used as the internal standard. The limits of quantification for soy products were 0.11-4.86 micromol/g. The within-day and between-days assay coefficients of variation were <9.8 and < 14.3%, respectively. The group B soyasaponin concentrations in 46 soybean varieties ranged from 2.50 to 5.85 micromol/g. Soy ingredients (soybean flour, toasted soy hypocotyls, soy protein isolates, textured vegetable protein, soy protein concentrates, and Novasoy) and soy foods (commercial soy milk, tofu, and tempeh) contained the group B soyasaponins from 0.20 to 114.02 micromol/g. There was no apparent correlation between isoflavone and soyasaponin concentrations in the soy products examined.