Genesee: A late season golden nematode resistant variety

Genesee is a late season, golden nematode and scab resistant table-stock variety with a bright, white skin. It is also resistant to Verticillium wilt, and early blight.     

Reba: A mid to late season golden nematode resistant variety for use as tablestock or chipstock

Reba has a bright clear skin, attractive shape and cooking qualities that make it suitable for tablestock. The chip color from 7° storage has been equal to that of Monona. The specific gravity of Reba is .013 less than Atlantic and .007 greater than Monona. In upstate New York and Pennsylvania trials, Reba has produced a marketable yield about 9% greater than Atlantic. On Long Island and New Jersey, Reba has yielded about 14% greater than Superior. Reba is resistant to race Ro1 of the golden nematode, as resistant to scab as Monona, and moderately resistant to Verticillium wilt.     

Simplified extraction method for ELISA and PCR detection of potato leafroll luteovirus primary infection in dormant potato tubers

This report describes a simple, rapid and inexpensive procedure for sampling large numbers of dormant tubers for analysis of potato leafroll luteovirus (PLRV) infection. The procedure uses a common electric drill to simultaneously remove and macerate tuber-eye samples for detection of PLRV by the enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By using these sampling and analysis approaches, 19 of 20 different PLRV isolates were detected in dormant tubers from plants with primary infections. Results from the dormant tuber analysis, were verified by planting the tubers and testing leaf tissue by ELISA and PCR. Similar sampling and testing done on healthy dormant tubers and sprouts from the tubers consistently gave negative results as expected.     

Activity patterns of Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) in the staging area of the Pascagoula River during fall outmigration

Environmental cues that are associated with individual movement of threatened Gulf Sturgeon from upriver areas to nearshore and offshore winter feeding areas have been described throughout much of their range in the Gulf of Mexico. In this study, we focus on small‐scale movement of Gulf Sturgeon between summer ‘holding’ areas and the fall staging area in the Pascagoula River system (Mississippi, USA). We evaluated a set of logistic regression models using Akaike's Information Criterion and found that relative changes in barometric pressure, time of day, and water temperature were cues for small‐scale Gulf Sturgeon movements during fall outmigration. Numerous environmental cues appear to drive the activity of Gulf Sturgeon in staging areas, indicating the complexity of abiotic factors affecting the observed staging patterns during emigration. The identification of the environmental drivers that are associated with Gulf Sturgeon movement is particularly important if these known saline transition zones change spatially annually with variable rainfall or due to water withdrawals and are used by Gulf Sturgeon making osmotic adjustments while moving downriver.     

Pike: A full season scab and golden nematode resistant chipstock variety

Pike is a chipstock variety released jointly by the Cornell and Pennsylvania Experiment Stations in March 1996. Pike has a specific gravity comparable to Atlantic and the ability to produce light-colored chips after 7 C storage. Most of the chip color data were taken in December, January, and February. It has scab resistance comparable to that of Superior and is golden nematode resistant. It is a full season variety, somewhat earlier than Snowden. In 23 trials in New York, internal necrosis and hollow heart of Pike was 5% compared to 18% for Atlantic. When grown at high temperatures, Pike is susceptible to a unique expression o f heat necrosis that is net-like in appearance which is different from the internal brown spot of Atlantic. The yield has been about 95% of the yield of Atlantic.     

Evaluation of flusulfamide for the control of bacterial ring rot of potato

The potential of flusulfamide (2’, 4-dichloro- α, α, α, trifluoro-4’-nitro-m-toluenesulfonanilide) as a control agent for bacterial ring rot of potato was evaluated by testing the bactericidal activity of this compound against the causal agent,Clavibacter michiganensis subsp.sepedonicus inin vitro tests, followed by greenhouse and field trials involving treatment of inoculated seed tubers. In thein vitro tests, significant reduction in the size and number ofC. m. sepedonicus colonies was observed with complete inhibition of growth occurring at flusulfamide concentrations of 100 mg/1 or greater. In the greenhouse and field trials, tubers of potato cultivar Russet Burbank were inoculated with the causal organism of bacterial ring rot,C. m. sepedonicus, in one of three different ways (cutting, dipping, injection) and subsequently treated by dipping in an aqueous solution containing varying concentrations of flusulfamide. The “dip” and “cut” methods of inoculation were intended to simulate transmission that would occur during normal production practices, while the “inject” treatment was intended to assess the effect of flusulfamide on existing infections. In both the greenhouse and field experiments, foliar disease incidence and infection rates were reduced, but not eliminated, in plants that were inoculated by cutting or dipping and treated with flusulfamide, whereas plants that had been inoculated by injection showed little effect of treatment with flusulfamide. Based on the results of these experiments, flusulfamide appears to have protective rather than curative properties againstClavibacter michiganensis subsp.sepedonicus.     

Tissue culture methods for the screening and analysis of putative virus-resistant transgenic potato plants

ABSTRACT Following regeneration, putative virus-resistant transgenic plants are usually transferred from tissue culture to a greenhouse or growth chamber to screen for resistance to infection and disease development using mechanical, graft, or insect vector inoculation methods. To reduce initial screening costs and time, we developed mechanical and graft inoculation methods suitable for tissue culture use. The in vitro methods were validated by comparing them with similar greenhouse screens using putative potato virus Y strain o (PVY degrees ) replicase-mediated resistant regenerants of the potato cultivar Atlantic. Five transgenic lines were tested, with similar results obtained from in vitro and greenhouse experiments. Two of the transgenic lines, A1 and A3, showed the greatest resistance to PVY degrees infection, as indicated by low enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay values and infection rates. In vitro mechanical inoculation methods were also used to infect wild-type tomato and tobacco plants with cucumber mosaic virus and potato virus Y. Potato plants were also infected with the phloem-restricted potato leafroll virus, a low-titer virus, using in vitro graft inoculation methods. These results suggest the potential usefulness of these simple, effective, and economical techniques for screening large numbers of putative virus-resistant plants.     

Perinatal development of lymphoid tissue and its associated epithelium in the ovine pharyngeal tonsil: a morphological study

The perinatal development of lymphoid tissue and its associated epithelium in the pharyngeal tonsil of sheep was investigated by light and electron microscopy. The lymphoid cells first appeared in the subepithelium in a scattered form at about 92 days gestation. These cells proliferated rapidly during the last trimester of gestation, and had formed many dense aggregates at the time of parturition. At birth, the epithelium overlying the aggregates was extensively infiltrated with lymphocytes and showed early transformation of follicle-associated epithelium. The lymphoid tissue and its associated epithelium did not, however, fully develop until after birth, when well-differentiated follicle-associated epithelium and lymphoid follicles with vigorous lymphopoiesis were present. In 1-2 week old lambs, these structures were ultrastructurally similar to those seen in adult sheep although their size was smaller. The results of this study suggest that the lymphoid tissue of the ovine pharyngeal tonsil and its associated epithelium are morphologically ready to cope with antigens in the extra-uterine environment at birth, but that their full development and maturation are dependent postnatal antigen stimulation.