DDT in Biota of Paranagu�� Bay, Southern Brazil: Recent Input and Rapid Degradation

The presence of recent dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) inputs is established for Paranaguá Bay biota, i.e. bivalves, fish and one sponge. Values ranged from 6.9 to 156.2 ng ??DDT/g dry weight. Three fish species analysed showed ??DDT values from 36.8 to 92.1 ng/g dry weight. The highest contents (up to 156.2 ng ??DDT/g dry weight) were found for mangrove oysters (Crassostrea rhizophorae) at locations affected by sewage discharge from Paranaguá City. Turtles as herbivores were not affected by this input with values of 0.7 and 2.2 ng ??DDT/g dry weight. The areal distribution of samples suggests that usage of DDT is widespread around the bay. Fresh DDT input is degraded to DDE and DDD within approximately 5 months.     

Anatomical description of arterial segments of the spleen of deer

With 2 figures SUMMARY: The anatomosurgical segmentation of the arteries of the spleen was studied in 31 deer of the species Mazama gouazoubira and Blastocerus dichotomus by means of vascular injection with latex and vinyl acetate and radiographic examination. The arteria lienalis penetrated through the hilus lienis in 87% of the cases, whereas an extrahilar artery was present in the other cases. An extraparenchymal division of the lineal artery into two, three or four segmental arteries was observed in 74% of the cases. Anastomoses between intraparenchymal arterial branches were rare and of a reduced calibre.     

Malassezia dermatitis in dogs in Brazil: diagnosis,evaluation of clinical signs and molecular identification

Skin carriage and quantification of Malassezia yeasts were evaluated in 180 healthy dogs (group 1) and 117 dogs with clinical signs (pruritus, erythema, lichenification/seborrhoea, excoriations and alopecia) that could be related to Malassezia dermatitis (group 2) in Brazil. The lesions in the group 2 dogs were evaluated using CADESI‐03 scores. Samples were collected from five different anatomical areas. Direct examination was performed using the tape strip technique, and results were expressed as the mean number of yeasts per ×1000 microscopic field per dog. For mycological culture, a single piece of sterilized carpet was applied to the same areas sampled for cytology, and transferred onto Dixon’s modified medium. Yeast populations were expressed as mean colony forming units (CFU)/plate. Malassezia isolates were characterized by polymerase chain reaction–restriction endonuclease analysis of the large subunit (LSU) of ribosomal RNA gene. The probability of culturing Malassezia from dogs with skin lesions was significantly higher (P < 0.001) than from healthy dogs. There was a linear trend between CADESI‐03 score and mean CFU/plate. Group 2 dogs with positive cultures had higher CADESI‐03 scores than those with negative cultures (P < 0.05). Almost all isolates were identified as Malassezia pachydermatis. Only one isolate (group 2) was identified as Malassezia furfur. These data suggest that dogs with skin disorders harbouring Malassezia yeasts in quantities higher than 120 mean CFU/plate should be considered as having Malassezia dermatitis. The presence of Malassezia appears to exacerbate clinical lesions in dogs.     

Metaphylactic effect of minerals on the immune response,biochemical variables and antioxidant status of newborn calves

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether injectable zinc and copper affect host immune responses and antioxidant status of newborn calves. For this study, 19 newborn calves were divided into two groups. The control group consisted of 10 animals; and the treated group consisted of nine animals that received copper edetate (Cu‐ed) and zinc edetate (Zn‐ed) subcutaneously at the first day of life at doses of 0.3 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg respectively. Blood and faecal samples were collected for laboratory analyses (seric biochemistry, proteinogram, antioxidant enzymes and parasitological examination) on days 10, 20 and 30 after birth. On day 10, treated animals showed increased levels of total proteins, as well as increased globulin levels compared to the control group, a finding probably related to the increase in ceruloplasmin and IgG heavy chain. Thirty days after mineral metaphylactic administration, IgG light chain and acid glycoprotein levels significantly increased in treated animals (p < .05). There were no significant differences between groups regarding the biochemical analyses (triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose and urea). On the other hand, the superoxide dismutase and catalase activities increased on day 10 after treatment. In the control group, eight animals showed severe diarrhoea and one died 8 days after birth. Two animals from this group showed mild diarrhoea. Only three treated animals had severe diarrhoea, and six showed signs of mild diarrhoea. All animals that showed severe diarrhoea (control = 8; treated = 3) had hyperthermia (over 39.5°C), and therefore, antibiotic therapy was administered (sulfadiazine and trimethoprim) for five consecutive days. In summary, Zn‐ed and Cu‐ed decreased the frequency and intensity of diarrhoea, modulated superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymes and also heightened the immune responsiveness of newborn calves, suggesting a new approach to improve cattle performance and minimize the occurrence of diarrhoea.     

Assessing the accuracy of prediction for milk fatty acids by using a small reference population of tropical Holstein cows

Fatty acids (FA) have been related to effects on human health, sensory quality and shelf life of dairy products, cow's health and methane emission. However, despite their importance, they are not regularly measured in all dairy herds yet, which can affect the accuracy of estimated breeding values (EBV) for these traits. In this case, an alternative is to use genomic selection. Thus, the aim was to assess the use of genomic information in the genetic evaluation for milk traits in a tropical Holstein population. Monthly records (n = 36,457) of milk FA percentage, daily milk yield and quality traits from 4,203 cows as well as the genotypes of 755 of these cows for 57,368 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were used. Polygenic and genomic–polygenic models were applied for EBV prediction, and both models were compared through the EBV accuracy calculated from the prediction error and Spearman's correlation among EBV rankings. Prediction accuracy was assessed by using cross‐validation. In this case, the accuracy was the correlation between the genomic breeding values (GEBV) obtained as the sum of SNP effects and the EBV obtained in the polygenic model in each validation group. For all traits, the use of the genomic–polygenic model did not alter the animals' ranking, with correlations higher than 0.87. Nevertheless, through this model, the accuracy increased from 1.5% to 6.8% compared to the polygenic model. The correlations between GEBV and EBV varied from 0.52 to 0.68. Therefore, the use of a small group of genotyped cows in the genetic evaluation can increase the accuracy of EBV for milk FA and other traditional milk traits.     

Standardization of a set of microsatellite markers for use in cultivar identification studies in olive (Olea europaea L.)

The comparability of eight olive microsatellite profiles in 17 cultivars generated by four laboratories using different DNA genotyping platforms was tested. In total, 54 alleles were identified, from a minimum of 3 alleles (DCA15) to a maximum of 12 (DCA9), averaging 6.75 alleles per marker. A representative sample of the olive genetic variability can be obtained by selecting a relatively low number of sufficiently different cultivars. Initial comparison of the data generated, revealed the presence of a few discrepancies between the laboratories, most of them due to easily identifiable rounding errors. However, 94.9% of the genotypes were in agreement between at least two laboratories after the harmonisation of the results and only in seven cases it was not possible to determine the genotype. No discrepancies between the four laboratories were observed at all in 106 genotypes (77.9%), while 18 (13.2%) showed discrepancies at one allele and 12 (8.8%) at two alleles. Most of the differences (73.8%) were due to results obtained by only one different laboratory each time. Markers DCA3, DCA8, DCA11, DCA13, DCA14 and DCA15 showed the highest concordance percentage between datapoints scored from all partners, while DCA4 and DCA9 produced less concordant results. Forty-three percent of the discrepancies were due to heterozygous/homozygous misreadings, that is often related to the presence of stutter peaks. The determining factors for obtaining reproducible results seem to be the utilization of unique sources of plant material, the employment of the same reference cultivars by all the laboratories, the standardization of PCR conditions and the selection of the markers with the most robust amplification pattern.     

Timing of copper sprays to protect mechanical wounds against infection by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri,causal agent of citrus canker

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Copper sprays are the most important measure for control of citrus canker. Mechanical wounds caused by cultural practices are entry points for the causal...     

Determining the impact of initial population densities of Meloidogyne paranaensis on phenotyping coffee genotypes to nematode resistance: a meta-analysis of studies from 2008 to 2019

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Meloidogyne paranaensis is one of the highly aggressive nematode species that infect coffee crops in Brazil, causing extensive yield losses. The main...     

Traditional knowledge, genetic and morphological diversity in populations of Spondias tuberosa Arruda (Anacardiaceae)

Plant domestication is an evolutionary process whose artificial selection and management change the landscape, modeling plants to satisfy the human needs, affecting the phenotype component(s) of the species under manipulation. This study aimed at examining and comparing two rural communities: Malhada de Areia e Carão, municipally of Altinho, Pernambuco regarding the knowledge, perception of morphological variations (size fruit, flavor fruit, shape fruit, yield pulp and fruit color), morphological characteristics of preference at the time of collection; evaluation on the inter- and intrapopulation morphological differences of species and assessment of diversity, variability and local genetic structure of Spondias tuberosa populations under different management regimes based on the ISSR analysis. The results pointed to the maintenance of local genetic and morphological diversity, being it strongly related to the management practices of the species, especially the S. tuberosa tolerance in open areas for farming and pasture. Thus, it is emphasized the importance of this study in Brazil by being the first time that aspects related to management and perceived diversity, morphology and genetics of a highlighted perennial species from the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil are evaluated from the perspective of domestication studies on its incipient status. Moreover, it provides interesting data that will contribute to the conservation strategies and breeding programs.