Evaluation of β‐carotene assimilation in leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)

Although leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are commonly kept under human care, their vitamin requirements are largely unknown. Many invertebrate preys display a low vitamin A concentration; thus, gut‐loading insects with vitamin A or carotenoids is a common practice. The objective of this prospective experimental study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with β‐carotene, including prey gut‐loading, leads to sufficient vitamin A hepatic storage and prevents epithelial squamous metaplasia development in leopard geckos. Ten clinically healthy female leopard geckos were randomly divided in two groups with various supplementations: a group receiving vitamin A supplementation and a group receiving β‐carotene. Insects were gut‐loaded continuously with a supplement containing vitamin A or β‐carotene, depending on the group. Oral supplementation with cod liver oil or carrot juice was administered weekly to each lizard from “vitamin A group” and “carotenoid group” respectively. After 10 weeks of supplementation, surgical hepatic biopsies were obtained in three geckos of each group while the two remaining geckos were euthanized to undergo complete necropsy. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was determined for each lizard (n = 10) by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography. Histopathology revealed hepatocellular vacuolization and vitellogenic follicles in five females. Epithelial squamous metaplasia was not observed in any of the geckos. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was significantly higher in the carotenoid‐supplemented group than in the vitamin A‐supplemented group (p = 0.03). Our results suggest that in leopard geckos, dietary supplementation with β‐carotene allows sufficient vitamin A hepatic storage.     

Single step genomic evaluation for female fertility in Nordic Red dairy cattle

Joint Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Sweden) genetic evaluation of female fertility is currently based on the multiple trait multilactation animal model (BLUP). Here, single step genomic model (ssGBLUP) was applied for the Nordic Red dairy cattle fertility evaluation. The 11 traits comprised of nonreturn rate and days from first to last insemination in heifers and first three parities, and days from calving to first insemination in the first three parities. Traits had low heritabilities (0.015–0.04), but moderately high genetic correlations between the parities (0.60–0.88). Phenotypic data included 4,226,715 animals with records and pedigree 5,445,392 animals. Unknown parents were assigned into 332 phantom parent groups (PPG). In mixed model equations animals were associated with PPG effects through the pedigree or both the pedigree and genomic information. Genotype information of 46,914 SNPs was available for 33,969 animals in the pedigree. When PPG used pedigree information only, BLUP converged after 2,420 iterations whereas the ssGBLUP evaluation needed over ten thousand iterations. When the PPG effects were solved accounting both the pedigree and the genomic information, the ssGBLUP model converged after 2,406 iterations. Also, with the latter model breeding values by ssGBLUP and BLUP became more consistent and genetic trends followed each other well. Models were validated using forward prediction of the young bulls. Reliabilities and variance inflation of predicted genomic breeding values (values for parent averages in brackets) for the 11 traits ranged 0.22–0.31 (0.10–0.27) and 0.81–0.95 (0.83–1.06), respectively. The ssGBLUP model gave always higher validation reliabilities than BLUP, but largest increases were for the cow fertility traits.     

湖南省推进兽医社会化服务发展的探索与实践

湖南省主动适应兽医工作新形势,积极推进兽医社会化服务发展,创新服务体制机制,扎实稳妥开展兽医社会化服务试点。本文总结了湖南省推进兽医社会化服务发展取得的成效,包括防疫效果提升、人员待遇提高、职能定位明确,发展空间拓宽等,分析了改革试点中存在的社会化服务组织发展困难、财政投入不足、监管体系能力薄弱等问题,提出了加强统筹协调、注重组织培育、加强财政保障、强化绩效评估等发展建议,为全面推进兽医社会化服务提供了借鉴。     

槟榔间作香露兜对土壤养分和养分吸收的影响

为了研究槟榔间作香露兜对土壤养分和养分吸收的影响,采用盆栽试验的方法,对槟榔单作、槟榔间作香露兜和香露兜单作3种种植模式的土壤理化性质和养分吸收进行比较研究。结果表明：槟榔间作香露兜后,相对于单作槟榔,土壤EC值和碱解氮含量显著降低47.15%和25.74%,土壤速效磷含量显著增加32.32%,其中碱解氮与过氧化氢酶和过氧化物酶极显著负相关,速效磷与总根长、根系总表面积、根体积、根数目、脲酶和酸性磷酸酶显著正相关,速效磷与过氧化氢酶和过氧化物酶极显著正相关;槟榔地上部N浓度以及香露兜地上部P和K浓度分别显著增加41.56%、26.56%和25.69%;而槟榔和香露兜根系以及地上部N、P和K养分含量均高于单作,其中根系槟榔P和K含量和香露兜K含量显著增加;同时,间作后槟榔和香露兜对N的吸收效率均高于单作,香露兜的P和K的吸收效率高于单作并略高于槟榔的吸收效率,其中P和K的吸收效率与总根长、总表面积、根体积、根数目均显著正相关,氮的吸收效率与根系形态无显著相关关系。综上所述,槟榔间作香露兜增加了土壤中速效磷含量,促进了槟榔和香露兜对氮、磷和钾养分的吸收,土壤速效磷含量的增加、养分吸收效率的提高均与根系形态显著正相关。     

基于转录组分析的九种苍耳分子标记筛选和鉴定

为实现我国非重要的检疫性杂草——苍耳属Xanthium杂草快速高效的分子鉴定,利用Illumina二代测序平台对白苍耳X.albinum、意大利苍耳X.italicum、直刺苍耳X.ripicola、刺苍耳X.spinosum、柱果苍耳X.cylindricum、宾州苍耳X.pennsylvanicum、蝟实苍耳X.echinatum、苍耳X.sibiricum和北美苍耳X.strumarium共9种苍耳属杂草进行转录组测序,获得的unigene序列数分别为103 362、93 506、87 452、83 822、70 994、66 397、57 598、57 164和57 134个。利用生物信息分析方法对9种苍耳属杂草转录组进行简单重复序列（simple sequence repeat,SSR）和物种间的特异性序列预测和筛选。经过PCR试验验证,筛选获得了可以有效鉴定上述9种杂草的6对SSR引物和13对特异性引物,提高了苍耳属杂草鉴定的准确率。     

The role of models for multicriteria evaluation and multiobjective design of cropping systems for managing weeds

Weeds are both harmful for crop production and important for biodiversity, while herbicides can pollute the environment. We thus need new cropping systems optimising all cultural techniques, reconciling agricultural production, herbicide reduction and biodiversity conservation. Here, we show how to (i) develop models quantifying the effects of cropping systems on weed dynamics, (ii) integrate interactions between weeds and other organisms, (iii) predict the impact on production and biodiversity and (iv) use the model for multicriteria evaluation and multiobjective design of cropping systems. Among the existing weed dynamics models, we chose the one closest to our requirements to illustrate these different steps, that is, FlorSys which predicts multispecific weed dynamics as a function of cultural techniques and pedoclimate. We have illustrated the development of interaction submodels with the example of a crop pathogen whose propagation is increased when infecting grass weeds. To evaluate the weed flora impact, predicted weed densities were translated into indicators of harmfulness (crop yield loss, technical harvest problems, harvest pollution, field infestation, crop disease increase) and biodiversity (weed species richness and equitability, trophic resources for birds, insects and pollinators). Simulations were run over several years and with different weather scenarios (i) to optimise cultural techniques to control harmful weeds, (ii) to analyse the impact of changing agricultural practices (e.g. simplified tillage and rotations, no‐till, temporary crops) on weed density, species and trait composition and (iii) to evaluate cropping systems for their ability to reconcile agricultural production and biodiversity, thus identifying levers for designing sustainable cropping systems.     

Evaluation of the temporal distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium graminearum</Emphasis> airborne inoculum above the wheat canopy and its relationship with Fusarium head blight and DON concentration

With the aim of unravelling the role of airborne Fusarium graminearum inoculum in the epidemic of Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by this species in wheat spikes, a network of Burkard air samplers was set up in five wheat fields distributed in Belgium from 2011 to 2013. Each year from April to July, the daily amounts of F. graminearum inoculum above the wheat canopy were quantified using a newly developed TaqMan qPCR assay. The pattern of spore trapping observed was drastically different per year and per location with a frequency of detection between 9 and 66% and a mean daily concentration between 0.8 and 10.2 conidia-equivalent/m³. In one location, air was sampled for a whole year. Inoculum was frequently detected from the wheat stem elongation stage until the end of the harvesting period, but high inoculum levels were also observed during the fall. Using a window-pane analysis, different periods of time around wheat flowering (varying in length and starting date) were investigated for their importance in the relation between airborne inoculum and FHB parameters (FHB severity, frequency of F. graminearum infection and DON). For almost all the combinations of variables, strong and significant correlations were found for multiple window lengths and starting times. Inoculum quantities trapped around flowering were highly correlated with F. graminearum infection (up to R?=?0.84) and DON (up to R?=?0.9). Frequencies of detection were also well correlated with both of these parameters. DON concentrations at harvest could even be significantly associated with the F. graminearum inoculum trapped during periods finishing before the beginning of the anthesis (R?=?0.77). Overall, these results highlight the key role of the airborne inoculum in F. graminearum epidemics and underline the importance of monitoring it for the development of disease forecasting tools.     

Evaluation of the durability of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Barley yellow dwarf virus</Emphasis>-resistant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zhong ZH</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">TC14</Emphasis> wheat lines

Serial passage experiments (SPE) of a Barley yellow dwarf virus-PAV (BYDV-PAV) isolate were performed on Zhong ZH and TC14 wheat lines to evaluate the durability of their resistance to BYDV. At different passage numbers (from the 2nd to the 114th), biological properties of the produced isolates were recorded either by monitoring infection percentages and virus titers of the first 3 weeks of viral infection or by measuring their impact on yield components. Statistical analyses using the area under pathogen progress curves and the area under concentration progress curves demonstrated that these two resistant lines induce, after only a few passages, a selection of variant(s) with significantly modified infection abilities. Isolates resulting from SPE performed on these lines induced important decreases of yield components. These results indicate that the use of Zhong ZH and TC14 lines in BYDV-resistant breeding programmes should be approached with caution.