Retracted: Effectiveness of carp pituitary extract and luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue administration (by either injection or cholesterol pellet implantation) on spawning performance in female sturgeon,Huso huso

The effectiveness of common carp pituitary extract (CPE), luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRH‐A₂) injections and LHRH‐A₂ implants for spawning induction in female sturgeon, Huso huso was examined. In the first trial, fish were injected with 7% physiological saline (control), 50 mg kg^?1 CPE or LHRH‐A₂ at 3.5, 7, 8 or 10 μg kg^?1. In the second trial, fish were treated with LHRH‐A₂ cholesterol pellet implants containing 0, 3.5, 7, 8 and 10 μg kg^?1 LHRH‐A₂. Ovulated eggs were removed using a minimally invasive surgical technique and were artificially fertilized. Injection of CPE and LHRH‐A₂ at doses of 3.5, 7, 8 and 10 μg kg^?1 resulted in the number of ovulated fish more than LHRH‐A₂ implants (similar doses) or controls, although there was no significant difference at doses of 8 and 10 μg kg^?1 (P ≥ 0.05). The latency period of fish receiving CPE and LHRH‐A₂ injections was approximately 20 h, which was significantly lower than in fish receiving LHRH‐A₂ implants (P ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, there were no significant differences in rates of fertilization or hatching among the progeny produced in any of the treatment groups (P ≥ 0.05). In conclusion, the data from this study could be useful for artificial propagation of not‐fully‐matured females of H. huso at sturgeon hatcheries.     

Antioxidants and glycine can improve the developmental competence of vitrified/warmed ovine immature oocytes

Despite the numerous potential applications of oocyte cryopreservation, the poor success rate has limited its practical applications. In livestock, particularly in ovine, the oocytes have low developmental competence following vitrification/warming process. Considering the occurrence of osmotic and oxidative stresses during the vitrification/warming process, the application of antioxidants and osmolytes may improve the developmental competence of vitrified/warmed oocytes. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of the addition of ascorbic acid (AA) and N‐acetyl cysteine (NAC) as antioxidants and glycine as an organic osmolyte either to the vitrification/warming solutions (VWS) or to the IVM medium on the developmental competence of vitrified/warmed ovine germinal vesicle stage oocytes. The survival rate in the vitrified groups was significantly lower than fresh ones. In vitrified/warmed oocytes, there was no significant difference in survival rate between supplemented and non‐supplemented groups. The addition of AA and/or NAC to the VWS or IVM medium and adding glycine to the IVM medium reduced the proportion of apoptotic oocytes and fragmented embryos, which was reflected as an increase in the proportions of metaphase II stage oocytes and blastocyst production. The best result was achieved by supplementing the IVM medium with NAC. In our study condition, antioxidants and glycine could improve the developmental competence of vitrified/warmed ovine immature oocytes, especially when added during IVM.     

Genotype×tillage interaction and the performance of winter bread wheat genotypes in temperate and cold dryland conditions

Growing concerns for food security and the alleviation of hunger necessitate knowledge-based crop management technologies for sustainable crop production. In this study, 13 winter bread wheat genotypes (old, relatively old, modern, and breeding lines) were evaluated under three different tillage systems, i.e., conventional tillage (CT, full tillage with residue removed), reduced tillage (RT, chisel tillage with residue retained) and no-tillage (NT, no-tillage with residue retained on the soil surface) in farmer's fields under rainfed conditions using strip-plot arrangements in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the west of Iran (Kamyaran and Hosseinabad locations) over two cropping seasons (2018–2019 and 2019–2020).The main objectives were to investigate the effects of tillage systems and growing conditions on the agronomic characteristics, grain yield and stability performance of rainfed winter bread wheat genotypes.Significant (P<0.01) genotype×tillage system interaction effects on grain yield and agronomic traits suggested that the genotypes responded differently to the different tillage systems. The number of grains per spike and plant height were positively (P<0.0) associated with grain yield under the NT system, so they may be considered as targeted traits for future wheat breeding. Using statistical models, the modern cultivars (“Sadra” and “Baran”) were identified as high yielding and showed yield stability across the different tillage systems. As per each tillage system, genotype “Sadra” followed by “Zargana-6//Dari 1-7 Sabalan” exhibited higher adaption to CT; while cultivars “Jam” and “Azar2” showed better performance under the RT system; and cultivars “Varan” and “Baran” tended to have better performance expression in the NT condition.The increased grain yields achieved in combination with lower costs and greater profits from conservation agriculture suggest that adapted cultivar and NT systems should be evaluated and promoted more widely to farmers in the west of Iran as an attractive package of crop management technologies.In conclusion, variations in the performance of genotypes and the significant genotype×tillage system interaction effects on grain yield and some agronomic traits assessed in this study suggest that the development and selection of cultivars adapted to the NT system should be considered and included in the strategies and objectives of winter wheat breeding programs for the temperate and cold dryland conditions of Iran.     

A 40-bp Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism of Murine Double Minute2 (MDM2) Increased the Risk of Breast Cancer in Zahedan,Southeast Iran

Background: MDM2 (Murine Double Minute2) is an oncoprotein that inhibits the P53 activity. Overexpression of MDM2 gene has been reported in several human tumors. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of 40-bp insertion/deletion (ins/del) polymorphism on the promoter of MDM2 and susceptibility to breast cancer in a sample of Iranian population. Methods: This case-control study was carried out on 236 patients with breast cancer and 203 healthy individuals. Genomic DNA was extracted from the whole blood by the salting-out method. The 40-bp ins/del polymorphism was determined by using polymerase chain reaction. Results: The findings indicated that MDM2 ins/del variant increased the risk of breast cancer in co-dominant- (odds ratio [OR] = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.14-3.85, P = 0.018, del/del vs. ins/ins), dominant- (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.02-2.18, P = 0.038, ins/del + del/del vs. ins/ins), and recessive- (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.03-3.34, P = 0.038, del/del vs. ins/ins + ins/del) tested inheritance models. The del allele increased the risk of breast cancer (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.11-1.98, P = 0.008) compared with ins allele. Conclusions: Our result revealed that 40-bp ins/del polymorphism in the promoter of MDM2 increased the risk of breast cancer in an Iranian population. Further investigations with larger sample sizes and diverse ethnicities are needed to verify our findings. Key Words: Breast cancer, Murine Double Minute2 (MDM2), Polymorphism     

Microbial community dynamics during composting of animal manures contaminated with arsenic,copper,and oxytetracycline

Effects of the heavy metal copper(Cu), the metalloid arsenic(As), and the antibiotic oxytetracycline(OTC) on bacterial community structure and diversity during cow and pig manure composting were investigated. Eight treatments were applied, four to each manure type, namely cow manure with:(1) no additives(control),(2) addition of heavy metal and metalloid,(3) addition of OTC and(4) addition of OTC with heavy metal and metalloid; and pig manure with:(5) no additives(control),(6) addition of heavy metal and metalloid,(7) addition of OTC and(8) addition of OTC with heavy metal and metalloid. After 35 days of composting, according to the alpha diversity indices, the combination treatment(OTC with heavy metal and metalloid) in pig manure was less harmful to microbial diversity than the control or heavy metal and metalloid treatments. In cow manure, the treatment with heavy metal and metalloid was the most harmful to the microbial community, followed by the combination and OTC treatments. The OTC and combination treatments had negative effects on the relative abundance of microbes in cow manure composts. The dominant phyla in both manure composts included Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. The microbial diversity relative abundance transformation was dependent on the composting time. Redundancy analysis(RDA) revealed that environmental parameters had the most influence on the bacterial communities. In conclusion, the composting process is the most sustainable technology for reducing heavy metal and metalloid impacts and antibiotic contamination in cow and pig manure. The physicochemical property variations in the manures had a significant effect on the microbial community during the composting process. This study provides an improved understanding of bacterial community composition and its changes during the composting process.     

Sorption and Binding Mechanism of Polysaccharide Cleaving Soil Enzymes by Clay Minerals

Analyses of the sorption of five polysaccharide cleaving soil enzymes by Na-homoionic clay minerals revealed a dependency on the cation exchange capacity of the clays: montmorillonite displayed the highest sorbing capacity, followed by palygorskite and kaolinite. Variation of the experimental conditions using cellulase and montmorillonite showed a maximum sorption at pH 4.8 and temperatures between 25°C and 45°C. Urea had no effect on the sorption, whereas humic acids and acetylation of enzymes lead to a decrease. No sorption was observed in the presence of bivalent cations. A discussion of possible binding mechanisms lead to the conclusion that interactions can be ascribed to van der Waals forces rather than to ionic reactions. It is assumed that the enzymes penetrate into the interlayers of montmorillonite, but not of palygorskite and kaolinite.     

Grouping patterns of rainfed winter wheat test locations and the role of climatic variables

Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) is a member of genus Potyvirus, which causes worldwide soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] yield loss and seed quality deterioration. It is of great significance to find new resistance loci and genes for cultivation of soybean variety. In the present study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population and a genome-wide association study (GWAS) panel, which contained 193 lines and 379 germplasms, respectively, were used for QTL mapping of resistance to SMV. Linkage mapping identified a major QTL, qSMV13, on chromosome 13, conferring resistance to SMV SC3 and SC7 strains, explaining phenotypic variations 71.21 and 76.59?%, respectively. The QTL qSMV13 was located close to the known SMV resistance loci Rsv1-h. GWAS analysis revealed five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with resistance to SC3 on chromosomes 2, 11, 13, 14 and 16. One of the SNP markers, ss715614844, was the right flanking marker of qSMV13. Combining linkage mapping and GWAS analysis enabled us to delimit qSMV13 in a 97.2-kb genomic region containing seven genes. A LRR-RLK protein was proposed as the candidate gene of qSMV13. These results provided selection markers and candidate genes for SMV resistance in soybean molecular breeding programs.

     

Dietary soybean phosphatidylcholine affects growth performance and lipolytic enzyme activity in Caspian brown trout (Salmo trutta Caspius) alevin

The effects of supplemental dietary phosphatidylcholine (PtCho) on the growth performance, survival and digestive enzyme activity of Caspian brown trout (Salmo trutta caspius Kessler 1877) alevins were investigated in this study. Alevin (initial weight 0.8 ± 0.12 g) was fed for 5 weeks with an isoproteic‐ and isolipidic‐formulated diet with increased levels of PtCho from 0 to 60 g kg^?1 dry matter and decreasing levels of soybean oil. The increase in dietary PtCho up to 4% led to an increase in alevin final weight, suggesting that moderate PtCho levels are needed during this stage of Caspian brown trout. Survival was not affected by the dietary PtCho level. Phosphatidylcholine incorporation into the diet caused higher phospholipase A2‐specific activity. Phosphatidylcholine did not show a beneficial effect on the specific activity of amylase and protease. Lipase‐specific activity was significantly higher in the PtCho groups compared with the control group. The hepatosomatic index (HSI) was significantly influenced by the dietary PtCho level. The results of the present study indicated that the dietary supplementation of PtCho in the diet of Caspian brown trout alevin improved growth and lipolytic enzyme activity.     

The impact of land afforestation on carbon stocks surrounding Tehran,Iran

The city of Tehran,like many polluted metropolises of the world,has higher emissions of greenhouse gases than other cities in Iran,due to heavy consumption of fossil fuel and landuse changes.To estimate carbon sequestration in two 40 year-old stands of planted Cupressus arizonica and Fraxinus rotundifolia in degraded lands surrounding Tehran,sampling of above-and below-ground biomass,soil(at two depths of 0-15 and 15-30 cm),and leaf litter was done by systematic random sampling.The total carbon stocks of C.arizonica and F.rotundifolia stands were respectively 328.20 and 150.69 Mg·ha-1.The aboveground biomass with 233.16(71%)Mg·ha-1 in C.arizonica and88.16(58.50%)Mg·ha-1 in F.rotundifolia contributed the most shares to carbon sequestration.The diameter at breast height,total height,basal area,total volume,and biomass of C.arizonica were significantly(p0.01)higher than those of F.rotundifolia.Also the depth of 0-30 cm of soil contributed between 18.29%and 32.15%of total ecosystem carbon,respectively.The economic value of carbon sequestration in the two stands in 2011 was calculated at 3.5 and 2.5 million dollars,respectively.Our results indicate that afforestation of the degraded land surrounding Tehran would sequester more carbon than would continuously degraded land,the current status quo.These stands can absorb atmospheric CO2 at different rates,thus tree species selection and stand development should be considered in planning future afforestation projects.     

Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Arcobacter species isolated from poultry meat in Iran

1. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Arcobacter spp. isolated from different species of retail poultry meat in Iran.

2. From August 2012 to April 2013, a total of 540 raw poultry meat samples from chicken (n = 100), turkey (n = 100), quail (n = 100), partridge (n = 80), duck (n = 50), ostrich (n = 60) and geese (n = 50) were purchased from randomly selected retail outlets in Shahrekord, Isfahan, Sari and Rasht, Iran.

3. Using culture techniques, 71 of 540 poultry meat samples (13.1%) were positive for Arcobacter spp. The highest prevalence of Arcobacter spp. was found in chicken meat (28.0%), followed by quail (12.0%), duck (11.4%), turkey (11.0%), geese (8.0%), partridge (7.5%) and ostrich (3.3%) meat. The number of A. butzleri isolated from poultry meat samples (90.1%) was significantly higher than A. cryaerophilus (7.1%) and A. skirrowii (2.8%). Significantly more poultry meat samples were found to contain Arcobacter spp. by the PCR assay than by the culture method.

4. Susceptibilities of Arcobacter isolates were determined for 14 antimicrobial drugs using the disk diffusion method. All of the 71 Arcobacter isolates tested were resistant to one or more antimicrobial agents. Resistance to cephalothin and vancomycin (95.8%) was the most common finding, followed by resistance to methicillin, azithromycin and ampicillin. All Arcobacter isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, streptomycin, tetracyclin and kanamycin.

5. The results of this study indicated the importance of poultry meat, especially chicken meat, as potential sources of Arcobacter spp. infection in people. Furthermore, the strains indicated resistance to a broad spectrum of antibiotics.