Relationships between elm spanworm, Ennomos subsignaria, juvenile density and defoliation on mature sycamore maple in an urban environment

Using field surveys, we established sampling procedures for estimating defoliation resulting from elm spanworm, Ennomos subsignaria (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), feeding on mature sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus L. (Aceraceae), in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. We also determined whether densities of E. subsignaria eggs, egg masses, early- or late-instar larvae could predict the amount of defoliation at the end of the larval feeding period. Defoliation estimates acquired by sampling branches from only the lower, mid or upper crown explained ≥80% of the variation in tree-level defoliation, suggesting that density–defoliation relationships established using defoliation data from any crown level would also be useful for predicting tree-level defoliation. In linear regressions, egg and egg mass densities explained ≤20% of variation in defoliation and thus only provide a crude relative estimate of the amount of defoliation that will occur. Early- and late-instar larval density in the lower crown explained 53 and 29%, respectively, of the variation in defoliation in the lower crown, where defoliation levels were highest. Thus monitoring early-instar density in the lower crown should provide pest managers with reliable information for decisions regarding whether to apply suppression tactics while allowing enough time to implement these tactics, if necessary.     

Aboveground biomass and nutrient accumulation dynamics in young black alder, silver birch and Scots pine plantations on reclaimed oil shale mining areas in Estonia

The growth, aboveground biomass production and nutrient accumulation in black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) plantations during 7 years after planting were investigated on reclaimed oil shale mining areas in Northeast Estonia with the aim to assess the suitability of the studied species for the reclamation of post-mining areas. The present study revealed changes in soil properties with increasing stand age. Soil pH and P concentration decreased and soil N concentration increased with stand age. The largest height and diameter of trees, aboveground biomass and current annual production occurred in the black alder stands. In the 7-year-old stands the aboveground biomass of black alder (2100 trees ha⁻¹) was 2563 kg ha⁻¹, in silver birch (1017 trees ha⁻¹) and Scots pine (3042 trees ha⁻¹) stands respective figures were 161 and 1899 kg ha⁻¹. The largest amounts of N, P, K accumulated in the aboveground part were in black alder stands. In the 7th year, the amount of N accumulated in the aboveground biomass of black alder stand was 36.1 kg ha⁻¹, the amounts of P and K were 3.0 and 8.8 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. The larger amounts of nutrients in black alder plantations are related to the larger biomass of stands. The studied species used N and P with different efficiency for the production of a unit of biomass. Black alder and silver birch needed more N and P for biomass production, and Scots pine used nutrients most efficiently. The present study showed that during 7 years after planting, the survival and productivity of black alder were high. Therefore black alder is a promising tree species for the reclamation of oil shale post-mining areas.     

Restrictions of the efficiency of haploid plant production in apple cultivar Idared,through parthenogenesisin situ

Summary For haploid plant production in Idared apple, parthenogenesisin situ was induced by irradiated pollen. The most important restrictions were seed set, embryo germination and green plant recovery from germinated embryos. The efficiency of green plant production was strongly influenced by irradiation dose, picking time and quality of the irradiated pollen. 250 Gy pollen was more efficient for green plant production than 500 Gy pollen. Using 250 Gy pollen with reduced germination capacity resulted in a five-fold lower green plant yield. Delaying picking of the fruits (140 instead of 70 days after pollination) had a significant positive effect. Up to 20 plants per 1000 pollinated flowers, showing no expression of a marker gene present in the pollen parent, were obtained in some treatments. Induction efficiency was high when seed weight was high. This offers the possibility of selecting seeds with the best chances for haploid plant production. Heavy seeds generally contained visual normal developed embryos, which germinated better than those from lighter seeds and gave normal plant development. Delayed picking increased the proportion of large seeds, suggesting that pollination with irradiated pollen retards embryo development. From treatments with irradiated pollen of poor quality more small seeds were harvested.     

Salinity tolerance of non‐native suckermouth armoured catfish (Loricariidae: Pterygoplichthys) in south‐eastern Mexico: implications for invasion and dispersal

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Recombinant origin of the retrovirus XMRV

The retrovirus XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus) has been detected in human prostate tumors and in blood samples from patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, but these findings have not been replicated. We hypothesized that an understanding of when and how XMRV first arose might help explain the discrepant results. We studied human prostate cancer cell lines CWR22Rv1 and CWR-R1, which produce XMRV virtually identical to the viruses recently found in patient samples, as well as their progenitor human prostate tumor xenograft (CWR22) that had been passaged in mice. We detected XMRV infection in the two cell lines and in the later passage xenografts, but not in the early passages. In particular, we found that the host mice contained two proviruses, PreXMRV-1 and PreXMRV-2, which share 99.92% identity with XMRV over >3.2-kilobase stretches of their genomes. We conclude that XMRV was not present in the original CWR22 tumor but was generated by recombination of two proviruses during tumor passaging in mice. The probability that an identical recombinant was generated independently is negligible (~10(-12)); our results suggest that the association of XMRV with human disease is due to contamination of human samples with virus originating from this recombination event.     

Determination of macrophage chemotaxis to atherosclerotic plaque extract in domestic turkeys with hypertension

The chemotactic activity of turkey peritoneal macrophages in response to an atherosclerotic plaque extract from a hypertensive strain of turkeys was determined. Atherosclerotic plaque extract stimulated macrophage chemotaxis, whereas normal aortic extract did not stimulate macrophage chemotaxis. However, differences were not revealed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic analysis of extracts of atherosclerotic plaque and normal aorta. Chemotactic activity was diminished with pronase treatment, suggesting the chemo-attractant is a protein. Seemingly, atherosclerotic plaque of turkeys contains a macrophage chemotaxin.     

An investigation into human pandemic influenza virus (H1N1) 2009 on an Alberta swine farm

On May 2, 2009 the Canadian Food Inspection Agency notified the World Organization for Animal Health that an emerging novel influenza A virus (pandemic H1N1 2009) had been confirmed on a swine farm in Alberta. Over a 4-week period pigs in this farrow-to-finish operation were clinically affected by respiratory disease consistent with an influenza A virus infection and the presence of active viral infection was confirmed in all production areas by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Despite clinical recovery of animals, there was reluctance by purchasers to receive animals from this operation due to concerns about the effect on both domestic and international markets. The owner decided to depopulate the entire herd due to impending welfare issues associated with overcrowding and economic concerns resulting from the inability to market these animals. Carcasses were rendered or composted and did not enter the human food or animal feed chain. The source of virus in this herd was determined to be an infected human. Zoonotic transmission to 2 individuals responding to the outbreak was suspected and recommendations to prevent occupational exposure are discussed.