Effects of angling and manual handling on pike behaviour investigated by high‐resolution positional telemetry

Human disturbances such as angling and manual handling may have long‐term effects on the behaviour of pike, Esox lucius L., an ecologically important species. Using continuous high‐resolution positional telemetry, this study compared the swimming activity of handled and unhandled pike in a small lake. Pike pre‐equipped with acoustic transmitters were angled and exposed to a handling protocol including measurements of length and mass. Pike not recaptured constituted an unhandled control group. Results demonstrated that the handling protocol caused temperature‐dependent changes in pike activity, with higher temperatures leading to lower activity of the recaptured pike. The effects, however, were transitory and not detectable after 48‐h post‐release. These findings indicate that pike are relatively resilient to handling and quickly resume pre‐handling activity.     

Mapping loci for chlorosis associated with chlorophyll b deficiency in potato

About 30% of the potato plants from a (Solanum tuberosum × S. berthaultii) × S. tuberosum backcross population had chlorotic, malformed leaves; but a gradation in symptom severity suggested regulation by more than one gene. The study was undertaken to determine whether this was the case, whether any genes previously reported to control chlorosis in potato were involved, and to see how symptoms were related to effects on chlorophyll content. Testing for quantitative trait loci indicated major control by a single recessive gene on chromosome 1, close to one or more loci that have been reported to produce chlorosis in tomato, but distinct from similar genes previously identified in potato. The proposed symbol for the potato gene that confers phenotype with chlorotic and malformed leaves is cml (chlorotic and malformed leaves). The effects of this gene appeared to be accentuated by a second gene, located on chromosome 12. Chlorotic plants showed a 50% decrease in chlorophyll b level in the affected parts of leaves. It is concluded that cml is different from previously reported genes for chlorosis in potato, that at least one other gene modifies the intensity of symptom expression, and that the observed chlorosis is produced through effects on chlorophyll b level.     

Twenty-year survivorship of tree seedlings in wind-created gaps in an upland hardwood forest in the eastern US

New Forests - Wind is a common canopy disturbance in the upland oak (Quercus)- and hickory (Carya)-dominated stands of the Central Hardwood Region of the eastern US. Canopy openings range from...     

Genetic structure of Leptopilina boulardi populations from different climatic zones of Iran

Background  

The genetic structure of populations can be influenced by geographic isolation (including physical distance) and ecology. We examined these effects in Leptopilina boulardi, a parasitoid of Drosophila of African origin and widely distributed over temperate and (sub) tropical climates.     

Role of Solanum dulcamara L. in Potato Late Blight Epidemiology

Four sites with naturally growing Solanum dulcamara were surveyed during 2006 and 2007 for the presence of late blight. Despite 2 years of observations, no late blight was detected among natural populations of bittersweet. Nevertheless, repeated infections occurred on few S. dulcamara plants from a collection growing in a botanical garden in the same years. These plants were used to investigate the possibility of survival of the inoculum between seasons. In the respective years, a set of 21 and 52 S. dulcamara accessions inoculated with Phytophthora infestans under field conditions resulted in a wide range of responses to the disease. More susceptible reactions were found among genotypes collected at greater distance from commercial potato fields indicating the possibility of genetic selection caused by P. infestans. However, both scarceness of natural infections and no overwintering, suggest that bittersweet may not play a role in late blight epidemiology.     

Bioavailability of ferulic acid is determined by its bioaccessibility

Epidemiological studies have linked whole grain consumption to prevention of several chronic diseases. Whole grain is a source of important phytochemicals, such as ferulic acid (FA). FA is the most abundant phenolic and major contributor to the in vitro antioxidant capacity of wheat grain. Several studies have reported highly variable results on FA bioavailability (0.4–98%). The binding of FA to polysaccharides may limit its bioavailability. Therefore, our study aimed at monitoring release features of FA during gastrointestinal (GI) transit. This was termed bioaccessibility. The bioaccessibility of FA was studied from different wheat fractions and breads with the use of a dynamic in vitro system that simulates the upper GI transit and digestion. The results showed low bioaccessibility of FA from the wheat fractions and breads (<1%). However, the bioaccessibility was high when free FA was added to flour (∼60%). The bioaccessibility of FA appeared to be determined by the percentage of free FA. In wheat grain, most of FA is bound to arabinoxylans and other indigestible polysaccharides restricting its release in the small intestine. New processing developments should be considered to increase free FA in the cereal matrix in order to improve its bioavailability and systemic health effect.     

Realised genetic gains and estimated genetic parameters of two Eucalyptus grandis × E. urophylla hybrid breeding strategies

Conventionally, Eucalyptus grandis × E. urophylla (GU) hybrid material is first tested as seedlings in progeny trials for at least four years before ortets are selected and ramets of the selected ortets are propagated to test in clonal trials. The primary constraint with this ‘conventional hybrid breeding strategy’ (CHBS) is the time required to first test the hybrid material as seedlings. In order to address this, an ‘accelerated hybrid breeding strategy’ (AHBS) was investigated to reduce the time spent on testing GU hybrid material as seedlings. However, it is of utmost importance to quantify the impact the AHBS might have on genetic gains and genetic information. With this in mind, two clonal populations have been established with genetic material that derived from the CHBS and the AHBS. The main purpose of this study was to do a comparative study between the CHBS and AHBS, firstly to quantify the genetic gains per unit time for GU hybrid clonal populations that have been derived from the CHBS and AHBS respectively, and secondly to obtain genetic parameters such as heritabilities, the ratio of dominance, clonal within family variance, and the proportion of additive and non-additive genetic variance. The results indicated that the percentage realised volume gains per year was higher for the AHBS (3.7%) than for the CHBS (1.9%) when compared with the GU commercial clone. Thus, shortening the testing time of GU seedlings had a positive impact on volume gains per year. With regard to genetic parameters, both the AHBS and CHBS clonal populations indicated that non-additive genetic variation explained the majority (88% and 71%, respectively) of the genetic variation. Due to the pre-eminence of non-additive genetic variation, the narrow-sense heritabilties for the female and male effects were negligible for both clonal populations. Overall, the majority of the non-additive genetic variation was explained by the proportion of dominance variance, and less by the clone within family effect. These results suggest that, firstly, the time spent on testing GU hybrid material as seedlings should be minimised and, secondly, a hybrid breeding strategy to capture non-additive genetic variation should be adopted.     

EFFECTS OF X‐RAY BEAM ANGLE AND GEOMETRIC DISTORTION ON WIDTH OF EQUINE THORACOLUMBAR INTERSPINOUS SPACES USING RADIOGRAPHY AND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY—A CADAVERIC STUDY

The widths of spaces between the thoracolumbar processi spinosi (interspinous spaces) are frequently assessed using radiography in sports horses; however effects of varying X‐ray beam angles and geometric distortion have not been previously described. The aim of this prospective, observational study was to determine whether X‐ray beam angle has an effect on apparent widths of interspinous spaces. Thoracolumbar spine specimens were collected from six equine cadavers and left‐right lateral radiographs and sagittal and dorsal reconstructed computed tomographic (CT) images were acquired. Sequential radiographs were acquired with each interspinous space in focus. Measurements were performed for each interspinous space in the focus position and up to eight angled positions as the interspinous space moved away from focus (±). Focus position measurements were compared to matching sagittal CT measurements. Effect of geometric distortion was evaluated by comparing the interspinous space in radiographs with sagittal and dorsal reconstructed CT images. A total of 49 interspinous spaces were sampled, yielding 274 measurements. X‐ray beam angle significantly affected measured width of interspinous spaces in position +3 (P = 0.038). Changes in width did not follow a consistent pattern. Interspinous space widths in focus position were significantly smaller in radiographs compared to matching reconstructed CT images for backs diagnosed with kissing spine syndrome (P < 0.001). Geometric distortion markedly affected appearance of interspinous space width between planes. In conclusion, X‐ray beam angle and geometric distortion influence radiographically measured widths of interspinous spaces in the equine thoracolumbar spine, and this should be taken into consideration when evaluating sport horses.     

Single layer centrifugation of fresh dromedary camel semen improves sperm quality and in vitro fertilization capacity compared with simple sperm washing

Single layer centrifugation (SLC) through a colloid is a tool for selecting viable mammalian spermatozoa but has not been used previously for fresh dromedary camel sperm. Semen from six camels (2 ejaculates/male) was diluted 1:5 (v:v) or 1:10 (v:v) in a Tris–citrate–fructose buffer for mechanical liquefaction by gentle pipetting. Following liquefaction, semen was processed either by SLC or by centrifugation without a colloid (control). Total and progressive motilities, CASA kinematics, vitality and acrosome integrity (eosin–nigrosin) and plasma membrane integrity (Hypo‐osmotic swelling test; HOST), and fertilizing ability in a heterologous assay (zona‐free goat oocytes) were evaluated. Both total (p = .003) and progressive motilities (p = .003) were higher in SLC‐processed than in control semen samples, irrespective of dilution. Positive HOST values increased when using colloid in 1:5 (p = .001) and 1:10 dilution (p = .010). Colloid‐selected sperm had higher penetration rates than controls (p < .001 and p = .02 for 1:5 and 1:10 dilutions, respectively). However, only the SLC sperm at 1:5 dilution showed higher percentages of pronuclear formation (p = .02) than controls. Dilution effect was only significant for total motility before in vitro fertilization, with higher values for the 1:5 dilution (p = .033). The recovery rates of motile sperm between dilutions were similar (26.1% vs 35.4%; p = .226). In conclusion, SLC is a promising tool for selecting functional dromedary camel sperm and warrants more research.