Coronavirus avian infectious bronchitis virus

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), the coronavirus of the chicken (Gallus gallus), is one of the foremost causes of economic loss within the poultry industry, affecting the performance of both meat-type and egg-laying birds. The virus replicates not only in the epithelium of upper and lower respiratory tract tissues, but also in many tissues along the alimentary tract and elsewhere e.g. kidney, oviduct and testes. It can be detected in both respiratory and faecal material. There is increasing evidence that IBV can infect species of bird other than the chicken. Interestingly breeds of chicken vary with respect to the severity of infection with IBV, which may be related to the immune response. Probably the major reason for the high profile of IBV is the existence of a very large number of serotypes. Both live and inactivated IB vaccines are used extensively, the latter requiring priming by the former. Their effectiveness is diminished by poor cross-protection. The nature of the protective immune response to IBV is poorly understood. What is known is that the surface spike protein, indeed the amino-terminal S1 half, is sufficient to induce good protective immunity. There is increasing evidence that only a few amino acid differences amongst S proteins are sufficient to have a detrimental impact on cross-protection. Experimental vector IB vaccines and genetically manipulated IBVs--with heterologous spike protein genes--have produced promising results, including in the context of in ovo vaccination.     

Report from the conference, ‘identifying obstacles to applying big data in agriculture’

Precision Agriculture - Data-centric technology has not undergone widespread adoption in production agriculture but could address global needs for food security and farm profitability. Participants...     

Global patterns of diversity in the urban forest: Is there evidence to support the 10/20/30 rule?

Diversity in the urban forest is important as it reduces risks from pests and diseases and from climate change and improves resilience in the supply of ecosystem services. To manage and improve diversity, there has been wide-spread acceptance of the 10/20/30 ‘rule of thumb’ proposed by Santamour, which states that municipal forests should comprise no more than 10% of any particular species, 20% of any one genus or 30% of any single family. While the implementation of targets based on Santamour's rule has contributed to a more diverse and resilient urban forest in many cities, there has been little empirical investigation of actual patterns of diversity occurring globally in different climates and land uses. In this study, we explored diversity and the relative abundance of the most common species, genus and family in 151 urban forest inventories from 108 different cities around the world. Observed patterns showed that relative abundance of the most common taxon was a good predictor of diversity and could be a useful measure of diversity for urban forest managers. Relative abundance of the most common taxon was much higher than the proposed benchmark at the species level, but comparable with proposed benchmarks at the genus and family level. Patterns varied by both climate and land use. Diversity was consistently lower in Continental climates and in streetscapes, and higher in Temperate climates and in urban forests that spanned multiple land uses. Further considerations in setting diversity benchmarks are discussed.     

Antimicrobial therapy of selected diseases in turkeys,laying hens,and minor poultry species in Canada

This paper identifies common poultry diseases requiring antimicrobial therapy, antimicrobials deemed efficacious to treat these diseases, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in these commodity-pathogen combinations, and describes current residue issues and minor use minor species (MUMS) guidelines. Veterinarians with turkey/layer expertise and diagnosticians were surveyed to determine the bacterial and protozoal diseases diagnosed in the last 5 years. Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale were the 3 most frequently diagnosed pathogens of turkeys. In layers, E. coli-peritonitis, and Clostridium perfringens/Eimeria spp. infections were the most common diagnoses. A literature review identified 32 antimicrobials as efficacious and/or recommended for treating these diseases. Surveillance and monitoring indicate the presence of enteric resistant organisms from some of these avian species (including resistance to antimicrobials of very high importance to human medicine). This paper highlights the need for surveillance of pathogen frequency, antimicrobial use (AMU), and AMR particularly in turkeys.     

Seasonal parasitism and host specificity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trissolcus japonicus</Emphasis> in northern China

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), native to China, Japan, and Korea, has emerged as a harmful invasive pest of a variety of crops in North America and Europe. The Asian egg parasitoid Trissolcus japonicus has been identified as the most promising agent for classical biological control of invasive H. halys populations. A 4-year study evaluated the fundamental and ecological host ranges of T. japonicus as well as its phenology and impact on H. halys populations in fruit orchards in its native range in northern China. In laboratory no-choice tests, developmental suitability of eight non-target host species for T. japonicus was demonstrated by the successful production of progeny on the majority (>85%) of non-target host species tested. In field-collected, naturally laid egg masses, T. japonicus was the most abundant parasitoid associated with H. halys and Dolycoris baccarum, but was also sporadically found in Plautia crossota. Furthermore, it was regularly reared from sentinel egg masses of Menida violacea, Arma chinensis, and Carbula eoa. The only species that did not support development in the laboratory and field was Cappaea tibialis. Besides the benefit of having a high impact on H. halys populations in Northern China, the risk assessment conducted in the area of origin indicates that native Pentatomidae in North America and Europe could be negatively impacted by T. japonicus. Whether the benefits of T. japonicus outweigh the possible risks will have to be evaluated based on the outcome of additional host range studies in the two invaded regions.