From whaling to whale watching: Identifying fin whale critical foraging habitats off the Chilean coast

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Does Lupinus angustifolius L. need sulfur fertilization under central European conditions?

In order to answer the question of whether narrow‐leaf lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) needs sulfur (S) fertilization under central European conditions, field trials were carried out at several sites in Germany on long‐term (> 10 years) organically cultivated arable land from 2012 to 2014. The effect of S‐containing fertilizers kieserite, gypsum, epsom salt, and elemental sulfur on S accumulation, yield, yield structure, and nitrogen (N) accumulation in narrow leaf lupin as well as the recovery of fertilized S was investigated. Under the given conditions, the fertilization did not influence seed yields. The S accumulation in shoots ranged from 11.8 kg ha^?1 to 14.1 kg ha^?1. The bulk of the absorbed S was accumulated in the straw (average S harvest index: 0.40). The N : S ratio in the youngest open leaf at BBCH 60–65 was about 20 and the corresponding S concentration was 0.24% in the leaf dry mass. The apparent recovery efficiency of S (RE) of kieserite, gypsum, and epsom salt, whose S form is generally plant‐available, was low with 4.0%, –2.1%, and 6.6%, respectively. The S requirement of the lupin was obviously completely filled by plant‐available S from the soil as well as atmospheric S deposition in all tested environments. Application of kieserite, gypsum, and epsom salt resulted in a partially significant increase in S concentration of seeds and straw, and also partly significantly narrowed the N : S ratios in the plants but did not increase yield. Application of elemental S did not lead to an increase in plant S concentration in the year of application.     

Development of Spontaneous Hygromycin B Resistance in Monilinia fructicola and Its Impact on Growth Rate, Morphology, Susceptibility to Demethylation Inhibitor Fungicides, and Sporulation

ABSTRACT Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation with plasmids carrying the hygromycin B resistance gene hph frequently is being used for inserting genes into fungal spores and mycelial cells and for conducting insertional mutagenesis to identify genes connected to a particular phenotype. In this article, we report that stable hygromycin B resistance can develop spontaneously in germinating conidia from Monilinia fructicola and that the mutants exhibit altered phenotypes. One spontaneously developing hygromycin B-resistant colony developed per 2.5 x 10(5) germinating conidia. Mutants grew significantly slower on potato dextrose agar, were 2.4- to 3.1-fold more sensitive to demethylation inhibitor fungicides, lacked melanization, and did not produce spores. The mode of action of hygromycin B resistance in the mutants seemed to be different from the hph transgene-mediated hygromycin B resistance based on different phenotypic characters. The ability of M. fructicola and possibly other fungi to spontaneously develop hygromycin B resistance associated with an altered phenotype may interfere with the selection of true transformants if hygromycin B is used as selective agent. This is particularly confounding if the hph gene is used as selectable marker in insertional mutagenesis experiments conducted for the identification of genes involved in melanization, sporulation, or fungicide resistance.     

Nature and ecological implications of pathogen-induced systemic resistance in conifers: A novel hypothesis

Coniferous trees are often dominant species in both boreal and temperate forests, wherein they play critical roles in ecosystem function. In natural environments, ecosystem stability appears to be the norm, notwithstanding the co-occurrence of insect and microbial species inherently capable of killing their host trees. Adaptive plasticity of host trees involving inducible mechanisms of resistance against invading organisms is likely to play a crucial role in these interactions. We hypothesize that systemic-induced resistance represents a common and important phenomenon in coniferous trees, allowing for a balanced allocation of resources between growth and defense.     

Deforestation and Cultivation with Maize (Zea mays L.) has a Profound Effect on the Bacterial Community Structure in Soil

In this study, the effect of deforestation and cultivation of maize (Zea mays L.) on the physicochemical characteristics and the bacterial community structure in soil were studied at the national park Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Nevado de Toluca in Mexico. Soil was sampled from three forested areas in the national park, from three deforested areas grazed by animals and from three areas cultivated with maize. The soil was characterized chemically and biologically, whilst the bacterial community structure was investigated through 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The pH in the forest soil decreased from 6·1 to 5·3 in the maize‐cultivated soil, whilst the soil organic C content decreased 1·4 times in the arable soil compared with the forest soil. The microbial biomass C decreased 2·9 times in the arable soil compared with the forest soil, but the metabolic quotient qCO₂ (ratio basal respiration to microbial biomass C) nearly doubled. Deforestation and maize cultivation reduced the abundance of Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, whereas Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Gemmatimonadetes and Firmicutes were resistant to these changes. It was found that soil characteristics were affected negatively by deforestation and nearly half of the organic matter was lost, and on these sloped fields, erosion will be high, further decreasing soil fertility. Although the relative abundance of a number of bacterial groups was reduced by deforestation, others were not affected by land‐use change. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Clinical and parasitological evaluation of dogs naturally infected by Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi submitted to treatment with meglumine antimoniate

Aiming to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment of canine visceral leishmaniasis, to verify the occurrence of a possible disease relapse, and to search for the presence of the parasites after the end of the treatment, seven dogs naturally infected by Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi were used. The dogs were subjected to a treatment with 75 mg/kg meglumine antimoniate subcutaneously every 12 h for 21 days, and followed-up for a period of 6 months. During the whole experimental period the animals wore deltamethrin collars and were kept in a screened kennel to avoid reinfection. Lymph node and bone marrow aspiration biopsy was carried out to search for the parasite at seven moments: before the treatment, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days after the start of the treatment. After the end of the experiment all dogs were humanely euthanized. Then, spleen and liver "imprints" and in vitro cultures were carried out to search for amastigote forms of the parasite. During the treatment all animals presented remission of symptoms. However, two dogs were observed to present new symptoms in the course of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, the presence of amastigote forms of the parasite was evidenced in five of the seven dogs. This enabled us to conclude that the treatment promoted clinical cure but did not eliminate the parasites completely.