Pregnancy and offspring sex ratio following insemination with SexedULTRA and conventional semen in cows in a commercial beef operation

Pregnancy rate per AI (PR/AI) and breeding season pregnancy rates between insemination with sexed semen (SS; at 18 hr after the onset of oestrus) and conventional semen (CS; at 12 hr after the onset of oestrus,) and offspring gender ratio between two groups were compared. Angus cross cows (n = 686, during 2019 and 2020 breeding seasons) were oestrus-synchronized using Select-Synch + CIDR protocol and were observed thrice daily for oestrus until 72 hr after PGF2α administration. Cows expressed oestrus (n = 513) were inseminated with either SS (n = 246; SexedULTRA 4M™; y chromosome-bearing sperm) or CS (n = 267). Cows (n = 173) that failed to express oestrus at 72 hr after PGF2α received 100 μg of GnRH and CS insemination concomitantly. Two weeks later, cows were penned with natural service sires (bull:cow ratio 1:25) for 45 days. Pregnancy was diagnosed 30 days after bull removal. Calves' gender was determined at birth. For cows that expressed oestrus, PR/AI did not differ (p > .1) between SS (65.0%) and CS (66.7%) groups. The overall PR/AI differed (p < .05) between SS (65.0%) and CS (56.4%) groups. The natural service PR differed (p < .001) but breeding season PR (p > .05) did not differ between SS vs. CS groups. Bull:heifer gender ratio following AI was 88:12 and 52:48 for SS and CS groups, respectively, with an overall 66:34 ratio. Bull:heifer gender ratio for the two breeding seasons was 79:21 and 52:48 for SS and CS groups, respectively, with an overall 62:38 ratio. In conclusion, the fertility of SS insemination at 18 hr after onset of oestrus was 97% of CS insemination at 12 hr after onset of oestrus. Though breeding season pregnancy did not differ between SS and groups, preferred calf gender was 25 percentage points greater for SS over CS application. The gender accuracy was 88%.     

Breeding for drought tolerance: Direct selection for yield, response to selection and use of drought-tolerant donors in upland and lowland-adapted populations

Drought is the most important constraint reducing rice yield in rainfed areas. Earlier efforts to improve rice yield under drought mainly focused on improving secondary traits because the broad-sense heritability (H) of grain yield under drought stress was assumed to be low, however gains in yield by selecting for secondary traits have not been clearly demonstrated in rice. In present study, the effectiveness of direct selection for grain yield was assessed under lowland reproductive stage stress at Raipur in eastern India and under upland reproductive stage drought stress at IRRI. The selection under severe stress (in both upland and lowland trials) resulted in greater gains under similar stress levels (yield reduction of 65% or greater under stress) in evaluation experiments than did selection under non-stress conditions, with no yield reduction under non-stress conditions. We observed similar H of grain yield under stress and non-stress conditions, indicating direct selection for yield under drought will be effective under both lowland and upland drought stresses. None of the secondary traits (panicle exsertion, harvest index, leaf rolling, leaf drying) included in our study showed a higher estimate for H than grain yield under stress. Secondary traits as well as indirect selection for grain yield under non-stress situation were predicted to be less effective in improving yield under drought in both lowland and upland ecosystem than direct selection for grain yield under the respective stress situations. The low, but positive values observed for genetic correlation (r_G) between yield under stress and non-stress indicated that it is possible to combine drought tolerance with high-yield potential but low values also indicated that selection for grain yield needs to be carried under stress environments. The study also indicated that under lowland drought stress, the use of highly drought-tolerant donors, as parents in crosses to high yielding but susceptible varieties resulted in a much higher frequency of genotypes combining high-yield potential with tolerance than did crosses among elite lines with high-yield potential but poor tolerance. Breeding strategies that use drought-tolerant donors and that combine screening for yield under managed drought stress with screening for yield potential are likely to result in the development of improved cultivars for drought-prone rainfed rice producing areas.     

Population structure and regeneration patterns of tree species in climate-sensitive subalpine forests of Indian western Himalaya

The population structure of tree species has been explored in order to elucidate regeneration potential of the subalpine forests of Indian western Himalaya. For this study, the subalpine forest area was divided into three strata, i.e., lower altitude （〈3000 m）; mid-altitude （3000-3200 m）; and high altitude （〉3200m）. Considering the major compositional attributes, an increase in altitude came with a significant decline in tree density and the total basal area for all the sites. However, no such clear trends were observed for recruits （i.e., seedlings and saplings）. Seedling density did not exhibit uniform patterns for sites and altitude strata. In general, overall seedling density was greater at the Pindari site compared to the Lata and Tungnath sites. By comparison, significant variation in seedling density along the altitude strata was recorded for the Tungnath and Pindari sites only. Likewise, sapling density patterns varied across the sites and altitude strata, and significant variation in sapling density along the altitude strata was recorded only for the Lata site. At the Pin- daft site, the continuous increase in sapling density along with increasing altitude was revealing. The Pindari forests of exhibited expanding population structure. In contrast, greater accumulation of individuals in the sapling class and sharp decline toward both higher tree classes and lower seedling classes was generally apparent for the Lata and Tungnath sites. This indicates that the replacement in tree size classes from sapling stage is not proportional and the population may decline in the long-term. Considerable variation in patterns of forest and dominant species popula- tion structure were evident across altitude strata. But in all cases irrespective of sites, we found growth at the high-altitude stratum, in the form of entire forests or dominant species. This trend deserves further investigation to explore its relevance under changing climate scenarios.     

Breeding biology of Psettodes erumei (Bloch & Schn.) and Pseudorhombus arsius (Ham. Buch.) Pisces: Pleuronectiformes along Porto Novo coast (S. India)

Studies on the development of ova up to maturity clearly indicated that Psettodes erumei and Pseudorhombus arsius breed only once a year for 3 to 4 months in Porto Novo waters. Psettodes erumei spawns its eggs in two batches, while Pseudorhombus arsius spawns in a single batch. The spawning period of Psettodes erumei was from May to September, with the peak from May to August. Pseudorhombus arsius spawns during April to July, with the peak in April and May. Studies on the gonadosomatic indices confirm the above information. The size at first maturity of Psettodes erumei was 371–390 mm total length, and that of Pseudorhombus arsius was between 161 and 170 mm total length. Females always outnumbered males in both the species. Fecundity studies in both species showed direct correlations with total length and body weight.     

Population genetic structure and diversity of high value vulnerable medicinal plant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acorus calamus</Emphasis> in India using RAPD and chloroplast microsatellite markers

Acorus calamus is a highly valued medicinal plant with global distribution used in several drugs of health care systems. We evaluated the genetic diversity and population structure of 50 populations of A. calamus from different geographical regions in India through RAPD and chloroplast microsatellite markers. From the total screened 82 RAPD primers and 18 cpSSR primers, 10 RAPD and nine cpSSRs were found polymorphic. The selected 10 RAPD primers produced a total of 96 reproducible bands, out of which 65 wer...     

Species-specific myoglobin oxidation

The effect of the lipid oxidation product, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE), on oxidation of oxymyoglobin (OxyMb) from seven different meat-producing species was investigated. Relative to controls, HNE increased OxyMb oxidation within all species (p < 0.05) at both 25 and 4 °C, pH 5.6. The relative effect of HNE was greater for myoglobins (Mbs) that contained 12 ± 1 histidine (His) residues than for those that contained 9 His residues (p < 0.05); HNE efficacy in all species except chicken and turkey decreased with time. Mono-HNE adducts were detected in all species except chicken and turkey. In general, HNE alkylation increased the Mbs' ability to accelerate lipid oxidation in a microsome model. However, neither an HNE nor a Mb species dependent effect was observed. Results suggested that microsome model system associated lipid oxidation overshadowed HNE and species effects on OxyMb oxidation observed in lipid-free systems.     

Detecting Climate Change due to Increasing Carbon Dioxide

The observed interannual variability of temperature at 60 degrees N has been investigated. The results indicate that the surface warming due to increased carbon dioxide which is predicted by three-dimensional climate models should be detectable now. It is not, possibly because the predicted warming is being delayed more than a decade by ocean thermal inertia, or because there is a compensating cooling due to other factors. Further consideration of the uncertainties in model predictions and of the likely delays introduced by ocean thermal inertia extends the range of time for the detection of warming, if it occurs, to the year 2000. The effects of increasing carbon dioxide should be looked for in several variables simultaneously in order to minimize the ambiguities that could result from unrecognized compensating cooling.     

Differential zinc uptake and transport in sorghum varieties suited for different moisture regimes

Zinc absorption and transport were examined in M‐35 a drought resistant, and M‐47, a drought susceptible sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) cultivar. Excised roots were employed to study the mechanisms of uptake at cellular level in these varieties.

The absorption over 0 to 130 μM ZnCl₂ followed a biphasic pattern with a second rise at 90 μM, a feature which was not observed in the absorption by roots of intact seedlings. While there were no differences in the patterns of absorption in the two cultivars, the transport to shoot in M‐35 followed a slower rate up to 90 μM than that in M‐47. When Zn uptake was examined for 6 hours, the absorption and transport showed a number of changes in phase, which were running parallel. The transport of Zn followed a higher rate in M‐47 than that in M‐35.

Phosphate decreased the uptake and also transport of Zn in both the varieties. However, Zn inhibited phosphate absorption and transport in intact seedlings differentially amongst the varieties. Further, the inhibition of Zn uptake was much less in M‐35 than in M‐47, a feature which will perhaps facilitate survival of M‐35 under water stress, a condition which would also limit phosphate availability.     

Warm pool heat budget and shortwave cloud forcing: a missing physics?

Ship observations and ocean models indicate that heat export from the mixed layer of the western Pacific warm pool is small (<20 watts per square meter). This value was used to deduce the effect of clouds on the net solar radiation at the sea surface. The inferred magnitude of this shortwave cloud forcing was large ( approximately - 100 watts per square meter) and exceeded its observed value at the top of the atmosphere by a factor of about 1.5. This result implies that clouds (at least over the warm pool) reduce net solar radiation at the sea surface not only by reflecting a significant amount back to space, but also by trapping a large amount in the cloudy atmosphere, an inference that is at variance with most model results. The excess cloud absorption, if confirmed, has many climatic implications, including a significant reduction in the required tropics to extrattropics heat transport in the oceans.     

An efficient potato pollen extractor for bulk pollen collection

Commercial quantities of hybrid TPS production require bulk collection of pollen from male lines. Current usage of a buzzer system by the potato workers has proved inefficient needing frequent repairs with continuous usage. Described is a modified device utilizing battery operated portable stirrer that allows more efficient extraction of potato pollen in large quantities without the disadvantages of a buzzer system.