Genetic variation of the durum wheat landrace Haurani from different agro-ecological regions

The durum wheat landrace Haurani (Triticum durum Desf.) is grown under contrasting climatic regions of Syria from Deir Ezzor, in the North-East (230 m altitude, 150 mm mean annual rainfall), to Qunaytra, in the South-West (1060 m altitude, 825 mm mean annual rainfall). In order to assess the genetic variation between and within Haurani populations, samples from eight provinces of Syria (Daraa, Damascus, Qunaytra, Deir Ezzor, Hassakeh, Aleppo, Homs and Hama) were analysed by RFLPs and seed storage proteins of glutenin subunits as markers. The analyses showed the presence of genetic polymorphisms in all populations with the highest values in those from Homs and Hassakeh. Moreover, the results point out differences in genetic distances between populations; some populations were further apart, such as Damascus and Aleppo, whereas others were closer to each other, for instance Homs and Hama. Cluster analysis identified two distinct groups of populations, characterized by geographical proximity, with similar rainfall and altitude. It is suggested that the similarity of landraces at locations close to each other might be the result of more frequent seed exchanges between farmers or of gene flow due to 5% estimated outcross rate of Haurani.     

Intensity of browsing on trees and shrubs under experimental variation of cattle stocking densities in southern Bolivia

Mountain forests are traditionally used for cattle grazing during the dry season in southern Bolivia. To evaluate browsing intensity and damage to young trees and shrubs, a forest grazing area was monitored for about 3 months in both 2006 and 2007. Three similar paddocks of about 3 ha each, consisting of grassland and forest in a ratio of about 1:3 were stocked with 0.9, 1.6 and 2.6 tropical livestock units per ha (equivalents of 250 kg of body weight), reflecting low, medium and high stocking densities. Six 5 m × 5 m plots were mapped out within each paddock in 2006. Three additional plots per paddock were added in 2007. Within plots, the individuals of 18 woody species were coded and evaluated weekly for intensity of browsing. Intensity was quantified using five-scale categories reflecting the proportions of plant tissue removed (0 = no browsing, 1 = 1–25%, 2 = 26–50%, 3 = 51–75% and 4 = 76–100%). Across all plant species, the average category of browsing intensity, as determined in the post-grazing evaluation, was affected (P < 0.001) by stocking density. Browsing intensity increased in an approximately linear manner from 1.58 to 2.18 and 2.77 with low, medium and high stocking density, respectively. There was no significant difference between years. Most woody species followed the same general response pattern to stocking density, although some species were only noticeably browsed at high stocking density while a few others were intensively browsed at all stocking densities. The onset of browsing on woody species was observed only after some weeks had passed, indicating that herbaceous plants were preferred as a forage resource. The proportion of fatally damaged individuals, as assessed about 8 months after grazing in 2006, were 10.6%, 8.6% and 11.4% for low, medium and high stocking density, respectively. The percentage of completely browsed individuals increased with stocking density, but 80% of those plant individuals recovered following a resting period of 8 months. However, although most woody species recovered from browsing and fatal damage was infrequent, long-term changes in woody plant species composition and structure caused by grazing cannot be excluded. High stocking density in particular may reduce the vigour of heavily browsed species.     

Comparison between the radical scavenging activity and antioxidant activity of six distilled and nondistilled mediterranean herbs and aromatic plants

Thirty-six different extracts of six herbs and aromatic plants (fennel, common melilot, milfoil, lavandin cv. Super, spike lavender, and tarragon) were evaluated for their radical scavenging activity by the DPPH*, NBT/hypoxanthine superoxide, and *OH/luminol chemiluminescence methods, and for their antioxidant activity by the beta-carotene blenching test. The total phenolic content was also determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The plant material included cultivated plants and their wastes after being distilled for essential oils. Both remarkably high phenolic content and radical scavenging activities were found for the ethyl acetate and dichloromethane fractions among the different plant extracts. In general, the distilled plant material was found to exhibit a higher phenolic content as well as antioxidant and radical scavenging activities than the nondistilled material. Ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts, and even some crude extract, of both distilled and nondistilled plants exhibited activities comparable to those of commercial extracts/compounds, thus making it possible to consider some of them as a potential source of antioxidants of natural origin.     

Species distribution models applied to plant species selection in forest restoration: are model predictions comparable to expert opinion?

An expert on local flora usually is the best option for plant species selection in most ecological restoration projects; although species selection often needs to be dealt with swiftly as well as on a limited budget, and obtaining the opinion of a local expert may not always be an economically viable alternative. In such cases, species distribution models (SDM) may offer a faster and more cost effective alternative. We asked six experts to rank native tree species according to their suitability at 24 forest sites. The predictive performance of the suitability rankings was evaluated by assessing their ability to discriminate present from absent species in the observed tree assemblages at each evaluation site. We used the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to calculate the probability that the estimated suitability for a species present at a particular evaluation site is greater than the estimate for an absent species (both picked at random). Suitability rankings were also obtained from the predictions of SDM and the same procedure was used to estimate the predictive performance of the set of models at each site. The experts offered concordant suitability rankings at almost every evaluation site. There were no significant differences in the predictive performance of the SDM and four of the experts, although the SDM performed slightly better than the other two experts. Our results point to the suitability of the proposed species distribution modeling approach to obtain fast and cost effective recommendations for species selection in forest restoration projects.     

Current knowledge about the processes of luteolysis and maternal recognition of pregnancy in camelids

Camelids have many unique reproductive features that considerably differ from those of other domestic species. Females are induced ovulators with subsequent development of a corpus luteum (CL) with a short lifespan. Plasma progesterone concentration starts to increase on day 4, peaks on day 8–9 and, in non-pregnant animals, basal concentration is reached around day 10–11 post-induction of ovulation. Luteolytic pulses of prostaglandin F_2α (PGF_2α) are firstly detected on day 7 or 8 (approximately on day 5–6 after ovulation), with maximal luteolytic peaks observed between days 9 and 11 post-mating, in coincidence with a high endometrial expression of cyclooxygenase 2, a limiting enzyme in prostaglandins synthesis. Unlike other species, oxytocin seems not to be involved in the luteolytic process in these species. The CL is the main source of progesterone secretion, and its function is required to support pregnancy. Despite constant research efforts, aspects of reproduction and maternal recognition of pregnancy in camelids remain not fully understood. A transient decrease and subsequent recovery in plasma progesterone concentration are observed after day 9 post-mating in pregnant animals in association with a pulsatile release of PGF_2α and a transitory decrease in CL vascularization. Thus, embryo recognition should occur between days 8 and 12 post-mating. In camels, conceptus tissues exhibit aromatizing activity with the capacity to synthesize large amounts of oestradiol. Similarly, llama blastocysts secrete oestradiol-17β during the preimplantation stage, with a higher production during the elongation period. An increase in the endometrial expression of oestrogen receptor α is also observed on day 12 post-mating. All these evidences suggest that oestrogen could be the signal released by the embryo at the time of its recognition in camelids. Besides, nearly 98% of pregnancies are carried out in the left horn. A decrease in the endometrial expression of mucin 1 and 16 genes has been reported, suggesting that these changes are crucial for successful embryo implantation; however, no differences have been observed between horns. Thus, maternal recognition of pregnancy in camelids is a particularly complex process that must occur in a concise time to allow the rescue of the CL and embryo survival.     

Subtilase cytotoxin encoding genes are present in human, sheep and deer intimin-negative, Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O128:H2

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O128:H2 is recognised worldwide to be an important non-O157 STEC associated with human illness and in particular with causing haemolytic uraemic syndrome. This serotype is commonly isolated from sheep and is being increasingly isolated from deer. We determined the virulence profile and genetic relationships of one human, six sheep and five deer intimin-negative STEC O128:H2 strains isolated in Spain over a 7-year period. Our goals were to establish the presence of other virulence-associated factors, such as SubAB, in intimin-negative STEC O128:H2 strains involved in human disease and in that case, to determine if sheep and/or deer represent a reservoir of SubAB-positive STEC O128:H2. All the strains lacked the eae gene and carried subtilase cytotoxin (SubAB) encoding genes (subAB) and tia genes, but not saa gene, suggesting the presence of the recently identified new variant of SubAB, encoded on a putative pathogenicity island together with tia. We report for the first time the presence of subtilase cytotoxin encoding genes in intimin-negative STEC O128:H2 strains pathogenic for humans and how this finding might explain their clinical relevance despite neither carrying eae nor stx subtypes associated with severe clinical outcomes, but only stx1c and stx2b. Multilocus sequence typing analysis revealed that STEC O128:H2 strains from sheep and deer belong to the clonal lineage of STEC O128:H2 strains involved in diarrhoeal and haemorrhagic diseases in humans. Our results indicate that sheep and deer represent a reservoir of SubAB-positive STEC O128:H2 strains and thus a potential source of human infection.     

Proteome-determined type-specific proteins of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis

Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (M. a. paratuberculosis) is a pathogen of ruminants, causing paratuberculosis (characterized by severe emaciation). The disease is endemic in many countries including the UK and places a severe economic burden on the global livestock industry. Two types of M. a. paratuberculosis can be classified by pulsed-field electrophoresis (I/III and II), which are phenotypically distinct and appear to have different host preferences. Proteomes of Type I and Type II M. a. paratuberculosis were analyzed by 2-D gel electrophoresis to determine if any significant differences existed between the subtypes. Seven different strains of Type I and 18 strains of Type II were analyzed and compared to detect type-specific differences. These 'type-specific' differences existed regardless of growth phase and were also exhibited in cells isolated directly from pathogenic lesions. Twenty-three spots predominated on the Type I profile, from which 17 proteins were identified. Twenty-one spots predominated on the Type II profile, from which 16 proteins were identified. None of the proteins identified as differentially represented on the profiles of Type I or Type II corresponded to open reading frames of the defining genomic regions as previously described for the Type I (sheep) and Type II (cattle). Sequence polymorphisms existing in Type I and II strains were identified in some open reading frames or regulatory regions of genes that correspond to proteins expressed in a type-specific fashion. The consequence of these is discussed in relation to protein expression and their impact on the type phenotype is discussed.     

Seasonal and temporal changes in species use of the landscape: how do they impact the inferences from multi-scale habitat modeling?

Context

Multi-scale approaches to habitat modeling have been shown to provide more accurate understanding and predictions of species-habitat associations. It remains however unexplored how spatial and temporal variations in habitat use may affect multi-scale habitat modeling.

Objectives

We aimed at assessing how seasonal and temporal differences in species habitat use and distribution impact operational scales, variable influence, habitat suitability spatial patterns, and performance of multi-scale models.

Methods

We evaluated the environmental factors driving brown bear habitat relationships in the Cantabrian Range (Spain) based on species presence records (ground observations) for the period 2000–2010, LiDAR data on forest structure, and seasonal estimates of foraging resources. We separately developed multi-scale habitat models for (i) each season (spring, summer, fall and winter) (ii) two sub-periods with different population status: 2000–2004 (with brown bear distribution restricted to the main population nuclei) and 2005–2010 (with expanding bear population and range); and (iii) the entire 2000–2010 period.

Results

Scales of effect remained considerably stable across seasonal and temporal variations, but not the influence of certain environmental variables. The predictive ability of multi-scale models was lower in the seasons or periods in which populations used larger areas and a broader variety of environmental conditions. Seasonal estimates of foraging resources, together with LiDAR data, appeared to improve the performance of multi-scale habitat models.

Conclusions

We highlight that the understanding of multi-scale behavioral responses of species to spatial patterns that continually shift over time may be essential to unravel habitat relationships and produce reliable estimates of species distributions.