Field Performance of Pinus radiata D. Don Produced in Nursery with Different Types of Containers

We have studied the development in nurseries of containerized Pinus radiata produced with different container systems in order to choose the most suitable system for producing well-balanced plants with an optimal root system. At the end of the production period, significant differences were found in morphological responses among the seedlings to the various container characteristics. Seedlings grown in containers that permitted lateral air puning presented less growth and lower biomass production. However, root deformations were more frequent and severe in plants produced in closed-wall containers. Field performance was likewise mainly affected by container type and plant growth rate, as faster grown plants showed more problems of stability than plants with a balanced root and stem development.     

Temporal sequence of cell wall disassembly events in developing fruits. 2. Analysis of blueberry (Vaccinium species)

Softening and pathogen susceptibility are the major factors limiting the marketing of blueberries as fresh fruits, and these traits are associated with fruit cell wall structure. However, few studies that characterize wall modifications occurring during development and ripening have been reported for this fruit. In this study the ripening-associated modifications of blueberry fruit cell walls (composition, pectin and hemicellulose solubilization, and depolymerization) at five stages of ripeness have been analyzed. Xylose was found to be the most abundant noncellulosic neutral sugar associated with fruit walls, and the observed high Xyl/Glc ratio suggested that xylans, which are usually a minor hemicellulosic fruit wall component, are abundant in blueberry. The pectic matrix showed increased solubilization at early and intermediate stages of ripening, but no changes were detected in late ripening. Furthermore, little reduction in pectin polymer size occurred during blueberry ripening. In contrast, hemicellulose levels decreased as ripening progressed, and a clear depolymerization of these components was observed. A model for cell wall degradation in this fruit is discussed.     

Leaf-trait responses to irrigation of the endemic fog-oasis tree Myrcianthes ferreyrae: can a fog specialist benefit from regular watering?

Myrcianthes ferreyrae is an endemic, endangered species, with a small number of individuals located only in hyperarid, fog-oases known as lomas along the Peruvian desert in southern Peru, where fog is the main source of water. Following centuries of severe deforestation, reforestation with this native species was conducted in the Atiquipa lomas, Arequipa-Perú. On five slopes, five 2-year-old seedlings were irrigated monthly with water trapped by raschel-mesh fog collectors, supplementing natural rainfall with 0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 mm month(-1) from February to August 2008. We measured plant growth, increment in basal diameter, height and five leaf traits: leaf mass area (LMA), leaf carbon isotope composition (δ(13)C), nitrogen per leaf area, total leaf carbon and stomatal density; which are indicative of the physiological changes resulting from increased water supply. Plant growth rates, estimated from the variation of either shoot basal diameter or maximum height, were highly correlated with total biomass. Only LMA and δ(13)C were higher in irrigated than in control plants, but we found no further differences among irrigation treatments. This threshold response suggests an on-off strategy fitted to exploit pulses of fog water, which are always limited in magnitude in comparison with natural rain. The absence of a differential response to increased water supply is in agreement with the low phenotypic plasticity expected in plants from very stressful environments. Our results have practical implications for reforestation projects, since irrigating with 20 mm per month is sufficient to achieve the full growth capacity of this species.     

Influence of the Th2 immune response established by Nippostrongylus brasiliensis infection on the protection offered by different vaccines against Chlamydophila abortus infection

Chlamydophila abortus is the aetiological agent of enzootic abortion in small ruminants in which it infects the placenta to cause abortion during the last trimester of gestation. In a mouse model, a Th1 immune response involving IFN-γ production and CD8⁺ T cells is necessary for the infection to be resolved. The authors previously demonstrated that infection with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, a rodent gastrointestinal nematode extensively used in experimental models to induce Th2 responses, alters the specific immune response against C. abortus infection, increasing bacterial multiplication in liver and reducing specific IFN-γ production. The aim of the present work was to clarify whether a Th2 immune response has any influence on the success of vaccination using both inactivated and attenuated vaccines. The results showed that the Th2 response established prior to vaccination did not influence the induction of protection offered by the vaccines. However, the effectiveness of this protective response can be altered, depending on the adjuvant employed in the inactivated vaccines, when the Th2 response is established after vaccination, just before challenge with C. abortus.     

Phenotype of hepatic infiltrates and hepatic lymph nodes of lambs primarily and challenge infected with Fasciola hepatica, with and without triclabendazole treatment

The phenotype of the hepatic inflammatory infiltrate and hepatic lymph nodes (HLN) was analysed in lambs primarily and challenge infected with Fasciola hepatica. Group 1 was primarily and challenge infected with two doses of 200 metacercariae (mc) each and was non-treated. Trickle infection was administered to five groups: group 2 was challenge infected and non-treated; group 3 was primarily infected and non-treated; group 4 was primarily infected and treated with triclabendazole (TCBZ) at 12 weeks postinfection (wpi); group 5 was treated at 4 wpi and challenge infected and group 6 was treated at 12 wpi and challenge infected. An uninfected group was used as the control. The distribution of T cell subpopulations (CD3, CD4 and CD8), and B cells (CD79alpha, IgM, IgG) was analysed. The hepatic inflammatory infiltrate was represented mainly by CD3 and CD4 T cells, and B cells (CD79alpha, IgG). These infiltrates were more severe (P < 0.05) in primarily (group 3) or challenge (groups 2, 5 and 6) trickle infected lambs than in the group single challenge infected (group 1). Cellular changes in HLN consisted in an increase of CD4 over CD8 T cells and an increase of B cells and IgG+ plasma cells, and they were more severe in primarily and challenge trickle infected groups than in the group infected with two larger doses of mc, although significant differences were not found with respect to all challenge trickle infected groups. The strong local cellular and humoral immune responses did not protect against subsequent infections, neither in non-treated lambs (group 2) nor in lambs treated with TCBZ at 4 wpi (group 5) or 12 wpi (group 6).     

The Post-larval Development of Lateral Musculature in Gilthead Sea Bream Sparus aurata (L.) and Sea Bass Dicentrarchus labrax (L.)

Fibre-type differentiation of lateral musculature has been studied in gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata (L.) and sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax (L.) during post-larval development using ultrastructural, histochemical and morphometric techniques. The study showed three muscle layers: red, intermediate (or pink) and white. Initially, most of the red muscle showed low myosin ATPase (m-ATPase) activity fibres, whereas near the transverse septum some small high m-ATPase activity fibres appeared and later acquired a rosette aspect. Afterwards, during adult growth the red muscle showed a histochemical mosaic appearance. The pink muscle in sea bass was observed at the beginning of juvenile development by the oxidative technique (NADH-RT reaction) whereas in gilthead sea bream it was also observed at the end of larval development. The pink layer consists of high m-ATPase activity fibres. However, along the muscle development other low and moderate m-ATPase activity fibres were observed close to the red and white muscles, respectively. The white muscle of juvenile fish showed a histochemical mosaic appearance near the pink muscle. In adult specimens the mosaic white muscle spread out occupying the whole of the myotome. Morphometric analysis shows a significant increase in mean fibre diameter during post-larval development, as shown by the Student's t-test (hypertrophic growth). Skewness and kurtosis values of fibre diameters point to the generation of a new fibres from the myosatellite cells (hyperplastic growth).     

Incidence of Verticillium wilt of artichoke in eastern Spain and role of inoculum sources on crop infection

Surveys of 94 artichoke fields throughout the artichoke production areas of Comunidad Valenciana (eastern Spain) were conducted from 1999 to 2002 to determine the incidence and distribution of Verticillium wilt.Verticillium dahliae was isolated from 80.9% of the sampled fields, and detected in all artichoke-growing areas, with a mean disease incidence of 53.8% infected plants. The disease was found to cause severe damage to cv. ‘Blanca de Tudela’, which is the most important artichoke cultivar grown in Spain, and was also observed on the seed-propagated cv. ‘Imperial Star’. In field trials to study the role of infected planting material and soil inoculum on infection of artichoke plants during the cropping season,V. dahliae was transmitted from infected stumps to the plants, confirming that the use of infected stumps could have greatly contributed to the dissemination of the pathogen. Inoculum density ofV. dahliae in soil had an effect on crop infection, in that a higher number of microsclerotia per gram of soil resulted in a higher percentage of infected plants. In addition, yield of cv. Blanca de Tudela was significantly affected byV. dahliae infection, showing that a higher percentage of infection corresponded with lower yield. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting July 21, 2005.     

Inheritance of Striga hermonthica adaptive traits in an early‐maturing white maize inbred line containing resistance genes from Zea diploperennis

Striga hermonthica can cause as high as 100% yield loss in maize depending on soil fertility level, type of genotype, severity of infestation and climatic conditions. Understanding the mode of inheritance of Striga resistance in maize is crucial for introgression of resistance genes into tropical germplasm and deployment of resistant varieties. This study examined the mode of inheritance of resistance to Striga in early‐maturing inbred line, TZdEI 352 containing resistance genes from Zea diploperennis. Six generations, P₁, P₂, F₁, F₂, BC₁P₁ and BC₁P₂ derived from a cross between resistant line, TZdEI 352 and susceptible line, TZdEI 425 were screened under artificial Striga infestation at Mokwa and Abuja, Nigeria, 2015. Additive‐dominance model was adequate in describing observed variations in the number of emerged Striga plants among the population; hence, digenic epistatic model was adopted for Striga damage. Dominance effects were higher than the additive effects for the number of emerged Striga plants at both locations signifying that non‐additive gene action conditioned inheritance of Striga resistance. Inbred TZdEI 352 could serve as invaluable parent for hybrid development in Striga endemic agro‐ecologies of sub‐Saharan Africa.     

First detection of spring viraemia of carp virus in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) affected by a septicaemic disease in Mexico

Spring viraemia of carp (SVC) is an infectious disease responsible for severe economic losses for various cyprinid species, particularly common carp (Cyprinus carpio carpio). The causative agent is the SVC virus (SVCV), a member of the Sprivivirus genus, Rhabdoviridae family, and a List 1 pathogen notifiable by the World Organization for Animal Health. This study describes the diagnosis of an SVCV pathogen isolated in October 2015 from wild common carp inhabiting a natural lagoon in central Mexico. While neither an epidemic nor fish mortalities were reported, the collected killed specimens exhibited clinical signs of disease (e.g., exopthalmia, moderate abdominal distension and haemorrhaging, as well as internal haemorrhages and adhesions). Histological results of injuries were consistent with the pathology caused by SVCV. This finding was supported by the isolation of a virus in EPC and BF‐2 cells and subsequent RT‐PCR confirmation of SVCV. The phylogenetic analyses of partial SVCV glycoprotein gene sequences classified the isolates into the Ia genogroup. These findings make this the first report of SVCV detection in Mexico, extending the southern geographical range of SVCV within North America. However, since this pathogen was detected in fish inhabiting a natural body of water without tributaries or effluents, it is difficult to estimate the risk of SVCV for other wild/feral cohabitating cyprinid species in the lagoon. The status of this virus is also unknown for other bodies of water within this region.