Transgenic wheats with elevated levels of Dx5 and/or Dy10 high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits yield doughs with increased mixing strength and tolerance

To test the effects of independently increasing the in vivo levels of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) Dx5 and Dy10 on wheat flour properties, we increased the copy numbers of their corresponding genes by genetic transformation. Thirteen transformants with increases in one or both subunits were chosen for biochemical and functional characterization by solvent fractionation, RP-HPLC, SDS-sedimentation, and micro-mixing. Increases in Dx5 and Dy10 contents ranged from 1.4- to 3.5-fold and 1.2- to 5.4-fold, respectively, and generally resulted in increased polymeric protein, increased mixing times and tolerances, and lower peak resistances. Increases in Dx5 content had larger effects on most parameters than comparable increases in Dy10. Flours with more than 2.6-times the native levels of Dx5 could not be mixed under standard 2-g mixograph conditions, while flours with 5.4 times the native levels of Dy10 could be mixed if sufficient time was allowed. Increases in Dx5 and Dy10 had additive effects on mixing behavior. These experiments demonstrate that dough mixing strength and tolerance can be increased by raising the levels of native HMW-GS Dx5 or Dy10, but that the effects of the two subunits are quantitatively and qualitatively different.     

Laryngeal obstruction caused by lymphoma in an adult dairy cow

A Holstein cow was presented for inspiratory dyspnea. Endoscopic evaluation revealed swollen arytenoids and a presumptive diagnosis of bilateral arytenoidal chondritis was made. A partial arytenoidectomy was performed, the right arytenoid was submitted for histopathology, and a diagnosis of laryngeal lymphoma was made. Due to the poor prognosis, the cow was euthanized.     

Genetic diversity of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae isolates of abattoir pigs

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the causative agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia, is present in swine herds worldwide. However, there is little information on strains infecting herds in Canada. A total of 160 swine lungs with lesions suggestive of enzootic pneumonia originating from 48 different farms were recovered from two slaughterhouses and submitted for gross pathology. The pneumonic lesion scores ranged from 2% to 84%.Eighty nine percent of the lungs (143/160) were positive for M. hyopneumoniae by real-time PCR whereas 10% (16/160) and 8.8% (14/160) were positive by PCR for M. hyorhinis and M. flocculare, respectively. By culture, only 6% of the samples were positive for M. hyopneumoniae (10/160). Among the selected M. hyopneumoniae-positive lungs (n = 25), 9 lungs were co-infected with M. hyorhinis, 9 lungs with PCV2, 2 lungs with PRRSV, 12 lungs with S. suis and 10 lungs with P. multocida. MLVA and PCR-RFLP clustering of M. hyopneumoniae revealed that analyzed strains were distributed among three and five clusters respectively, regardless of severity of lesions, indicating that no cluster is associated with virulence. However, strains missing a specific MLVA locus showed significantly less severe lesions and lower numbers of bacteria. MLVA and PCR-RFLP analyses also showed a high diversity among field isolates of M. hyopneumoniae with a greater homogeneity within the same herd. Almost half of the field isolates presented less than 55% homology with selected vaccine and reference strains.     

Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) infects Atlantic salmon erythrocytes

Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) belongs to the Reoviridae family and is the only known fish virus related to the Orthoreovirus genus. The virus is the causative agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI), an emerging disease in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.). PRV is ubiquitous in farmed Atlantic salmon and high loads of PRV in the heart are consistent findings in HSMI. The mechanism by which PRV infection causes disease remains largely unknown. In this study we investigated the presence of PRV in blood and erythrocytes using an experimental cohabitation challenge model. We found that in the early phases of infection, the PRV loads in blood were significantly higher than in any other organ. Most virus was found in the erythrocyte fraction, and in individual fish more than 50% of erythrocytes were PRV-positive, as determined by flow cytometry. PRV was condensed into large cytoplasmic inclusions resembling viral factories, as demonstrated by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. By electron microscopy we showed that these inclusions contained reovirus-like particles. The PRV particles and inclusions also had a striking resemblance to previously reported viral inclusions described as Erythrocytic inclusion body syndrome (EIBS). We conclude that the erythrocyte is a major target cell for PRV infection. These findings provide new information about HSMI pathogenesis, and show that PRV is an important factor of viral erythrocytic inclusions.     

Distribution of glyphosate-resistant and glyphosate-susceptible hairy fleabane (Conyza bonariensis) in central California and their phenological development

Glyphosate-resistant (GR) hairy fleabane was first documented in California in 2007. A preliminary study comparing plants from this population to a glyphosate-susceptible (GS) population determined that they developed more rapidly than the GS plants. However, it was not known if this was a general characteristic of all GR populations. Therefore, seeds of hairy fleabane were collected from 122 locations in central California. Plants from each location were grown and tested for resistance using a shikimate enzyme assay. Seeds from 90 locations germinated of which 27 % were determined as GR, 21 % as GS, and 52 % as intermediate/mixed. Plants from five GR and five GS populations, as determined by the assay, were randomly selected for comparisons and were grown in 2010/2011. Time taken by each plant to reach key phenological stages was recorded and converted into growing degree day (GDD) using a base temperature of 4.2 °C. The biomass of each plant was recorded at seed set. The five GR and GS plants had similar phenological development rates and biomass. Therefore, the differences previously identified between the two populations were not present in the additionally tested populations. The phenological development was hence described by a common GDD model with the plants requiring 374, 711, 970, 1289, and 1551 GDD, to reach the rosette, bolting, first bud, first flower, and first seed stages, respectively. This study shows widespread distribution of GR hairy fleabane in central California, provides useful information on biology of this weed for management, and suggests possible label changes to herbicide manufacturers.     

Using landscape metrics to characterize towns along an urban-rural gradient

Landscape Ecology - Urban-rural gradients are useful tools when examining the influence of human disturbances on ecological, social and coupled systems, yet the most commonly used gradient...     

Transgenic sugar beet tolerant to glyphosate

Phenology (i.e. the influence of environment on ontogeny) is the most important single factor influencing crop adaptation. The timing of flowering is particularly important since it largely determines when annual cereal, pulse and oilseed crops will subsequently be ripe for harvest. Two environmental factors are of overriding importance in the induction of flowering – photoperiod (daylength) and temperature. In seeking to predict times from sowing to flowering, f, it has proved profitable to analyse photothermal responses in terms of the rate of progress from sowing to flowering, 1/f. This paper summarises the advantages of a model based on rates rather than the traditional approach based on f. Over a wide range of photothermal regimes, the model involves just six coefficients, all of which (and their derivatives) have clearly defined biological meaning. Of paramount importance too is that the coefficients are not affected by the environment; they are genetic characters which determine phenotypic responses to the environment in a quantitative and predictable way.