The advantages of using a combination of LDL and glutamine in comparison with TRIS egg yolk and Equex® STAMP extenders in the cryopreservation of canine semen

Twenty semen samples taken from 5 dogs were frozen in liquid nitrogen at ?196 °C in four different extenders: one control extender based on 20% egg yolk, 6% LDL alone (low density lipoproteins: the active cryoprotective principle in chicken egg yolk), 6% LDL combined with 20 mmol glutamine, and Equex® (a reference extender that we wish to compare with the LDL-glutamine combination). After thawing, spermatozoal motility was evaluated using a HAMILTON THORNE CERROS 12 image analyzer; the percentage of motile spermatozoa was 27.7% in the egg yolk extender (p < 0.05), 49.9% with 6% LDL alone (p > 0.05), 54.7% in the 6% LDL + 20 mmol glutamine extender, and 47.9% with Equex® (p > 0.05). The motility parameters (VAP, VCL, VSL and ALH) were also superior in the 6% LDL + 20 mmol glutamine extender in comparison with the other extenders.Finally, the spermatozoa were generally better protected during freezing with the 6% LDL + 20 mmol glutamine association than with the egg yolk, 6% LDL, or Equex extenders in terms of the flagellar plasma membrane (HOS test), DNA (Acridine orange test), and acrosome integrity (Spermac® test: no significant difference). The Equex® extender obtained the best results for the acrosome, followed by 6% LDL + 20 mmol glutamine (FITC-PSA test: p < 0.05 between each extender).     

Prevalence of anti-Yersinia antibodies in European brown hares in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany

Yersinia (Y.) pseudotuberculosis infections may lead to significant lethality in European brown hare (Lepus europaeus, Pallas) populations especially during the cold and wet seasons. In recent decades, also Y. enterocolitica was isolated from hares found dead. Consequently, a Western-blot technique proved to be valuable for the detection of antibodies against all pathogenic Yersinia isolates was applied to monitor the prevalence of antibodies in hare populations in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany. A total of 89.6% of the 230 animals tested was seropositive. Further investigations should be performed to elucidate the role of subclinical yersiniosis in the decline of European brown hare populations in Germany.     

Spread of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sugarcane yellow leaf virus</Emphasis> in initially disease-free sugarcane is linked to rainfall and host resistance in the humid tropical environment of Guadeloupe

Sugarcane yellow leaf virus, the causal agent of yellow leaf, is transmitted from plant to plant by aphids. Understanding and evaluating the epidemic risks due to spread of yellow leaf by aphids is an important feature for sugarcane production. Four distinct sugarcane trials were set up with disease-free plants to study the relationship between spread of yellow leaf, the vector dynamics and environmental conditions that may favour yellow leaf epidemics. The study was performed by surveys of vector populations and determination of plant infections. Sugarcane cultivar SP71-6163, highly susceptible to yellow leaf, was analyzed spatially at different dates in all four trials and compared to commercial cultivars in two of the four trials. These surveys allowed us to identify a correlation between the aphid dynamics in the field and yellow leaf progress. Additionally, a negative correlation was found between rainfall during the first weeks after transferring sugarcane plants to the field and aphid dispersal within the field. This later result revealed an impact of rainfall on aphid invasion and subsequent plant infection by SCYLV. If aphids are the key factor for disease spread, plant response varied also according to cultivar resistance with high variation depending on rain conditions.     

Seroprevalence of brucellosis, tularemia, and yersiniosis in wild boars (Sus scrofa) from north-eastern Germany

Brucellosis and tularemia are classical zoonotic diseases transmitted from an animal reservoir to humans. Both, wildlife and domestic animals, contribute to the spreading of these zoonoses. The surveillance of the animal health status is strictly regulated for domestic animals, whereas systematic disease monitoring in wildlife does not exist. The aim of the present study was to provide data on the prevalence of anti-Brucella, anti-Francisella and anti-Yersinia antibodies in wild boars from North-Eastern Germany to assess public health risks. A total of 763 sera of wild boars from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania hunted in 1995/1996 were tested using a commercially available Brucella suis ELISA, an in-house lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-based Francisella ELISA, and commercially available Western blot kits for the detection of anti-Francisella and anti-Yersinia antibodies. The Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 LPS is able to induce serological cross-reactions indistinguishable from brucellosis due to a similar immunodominant epitope in the Brucella O-polysaccharide. The Yersinia Western blot assay was, therefore, based on five recombinant Yersinia outer proteins which have been proved to be specific for the serodiagnosis of yersiniosis. Anti-Brucella, anti-Francisella and anti-Yersinia antibodies were detected in 22.0%, 3.1%, and 62.6% of the wild boars, respectively. The high seroprevalence of tularemia and brucellosis in wild boars indicates that natural foci of these zoonoses are present in wildlife in Germany. However, the impact of transmission of zoonotic pathogens from wildlife to livestock is unknown. Only careful and systematic monitoring will help to prevent the (re)emergence of these zoonotic diseases in domestic animals and consequently human infection.     

Pathophysiological changes occurring during Escherichia coli endotoxin and Pasteurella multocida challenge in piglets: relationship with cough and temperature and predicitive value for intensity of lesions

The aims of this study were (1) to correlate cough and body temperature (BT) with the severity of bronchopneumonia in pigs, (2) to determine whether these clinical signs can be used to early diagnose bronchopneumonia and (3) to assess the predictive values of cough and BT regarding lung lesions. Bronchopneumonia was induced by administering E. coli endotoxin (LPS) combined with Pasteurella multocida type A (PmA) in the trachea of 13 piglets. Saline-instilled negative controls (n = 8), PmA inoculated (n = 6) and LPS instilled (n = 5) groups were also constituted. Cough and BT were recorded daily while the bronchopneumonia severity was assessed using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytology, cytokines and measurement of lung lesion volume. Changes in expiratory breathing pattern were also measured (Penh). The combination of LPS and PmA induced a subacute bronchopneumonia characterised by macrophage, neutrophil, and lymphocyte infiltration, changes in Penh and an increase in the mRNA level of IFN-gamma while IL8, IL-18 and TNF-alpha mRNA levels remained unchanged. The daily body weight gain of infected animals was significantly reduced. Cough and BT changes were proportional to the intensity of the lung inflammatory process, functional respiratory changes and to the extent of macroscopic lesions. When comparing the individual values of cough and BT to thresholds defined for both parameters, an early diagnosis of pneumonia was possible. Considering the pooled data of each group, it was possible to define thresholds allowing an early segregation between the groups of diseased and healthy piglets. The daily values of cough and BT were predictive for the volume of lung lesions recorded at the end of the trial. In conclusion, cough and BT appear as potential indicators for the intensity and the evolution of the respiratory disease. They also seem to be good predictors for the magnitude of lung lesions and weight gain recorded at the study endpoint.     

Messung und Dokumentation mikromorphologischer Veränderungen in Pflanzen am Beispiel CCC-behandelten Sommerweizens mit Hilfe der quantitativen Bildanalyse

Measurement and documentation of micromorphological changes in plant tissue by means of quantitative image analysis as illustrated with CCC treated spring wheat
Growth regulators are used in crop production to influence extension growth of plants and stability of tissues. Knowledge about the mode of action and efficiency of these compounds are based on physiological and morphological studies with the respective plant tissues. Technical deficiencies in both fields quite often hinder the appropriate insight into tissue reaction. In the present study a computer assisted quantitative image analysis system was applied to support precise and fast measurement and documentation of micromorphological effects in plant tissue.
Spring wheat (cv. Arkas and Sappo) were treated with 0.75 and 1 I ha⁻¹ CCC at EC 30. For morphological studies plants were harvested at EC 61. Tissue microcuts out of the 1st and 2nd internodium of wheat stem were stained with alcoholic safranin solution and measured with the interactive image analysis system "IBAS I" (Zeiss and Kontron).
Stem diameter and stem wall thickness did not change after CCC treatment, while thickness of the selerenchyma ring of the stem was increased significantly. After CCC application average length of cells in the respective tissue decreased up to 15 %, length of internodium up to 27 %. Thickness of cell walls were reduced in the stem tissue of CCC-treated plants and the number of parenchyma cells increased.
According to this investigation stem stabilizing effects of CCC treated wheat stem are based on the increased size of the lignified selerenchyma ring and on increased number but smaller cells in the parenchyma tissue. With the image analysis system used all measurements could be performed at high precision and quickly so that each given parameter is based on at least several hundred single data.     

Modellversuch zur Beschreibung von Konkurrenzvorgängen zwischen Sommerweizen und einer aus Capsella bursa-pastoris L., Stellaria media L. und Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. bestehenden Mischverunkrautung

Investigation to Describe the Competition between Spring Wheat and a Weed Population Consisting of Capsella bursa-pastoris L., Stellaria media L. and Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.
When controlling weeds in cereals using economic threshold as criteria, weed populations must be evaluated for their potential to cause damage at a very early stage. As well as information of actual weed density or weed ground cover, further knowledge about the species specific growth and competition between weed populations is important.
For this purpose the growth and competition between the weeds Capsella bursa-pastoris L., Stellaria media L., Alopecurus myosuroides Huds. and spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) as a model of a typical weed mixture in cereals were studied in a container experiment. The growth with time of individual species was documented using true colour image processing. In that these measurements are non-invasive, the system lends itself specially to time-dependent analyses. The increasing amount of ground covered by leaves between two observation times served as a parameter to evaluate the increase in biomass over this time period and could be used as a evaluation of the competitiveness of the weed species studied.
The results can be summarized as follows: 1) Stellaria media L. proved to be the most competitive of the studied species. 2) The competition to spring wheat from each weed species was similar. 3) A multi species weed population had a tendenci to a lower competitiveness to spring wheat, than a weed population of only-one species.
The importance of this and other similar studies for the improvement for the prediction of economic weed thresholds to estimate weed populations in early stages will be indicated.     

Effect of air humidity on the growth and morphology of Hydrangea macrophylla L.

Hydrangea macrophylla cv. Leuchfeuer is grown in the greenhouse under two different conditions of relative humidity (vapour pressure deficits (vpd) of 1.6 and 0.6 kPa). The relative humidity does not affect the initiation or the release of new pairs of leaves. However, it modifies the size of the plant and the total leaf area. After 79 days of growth, a decrease in the relative humidity from 80% to 50% leads to a 38% decrease in height growth and a 30% decrease in leaf growth. The effect of relative humidity on the growth of H. macrophylla influences the management of the size of the plant and, therefore, the quality of the product marketed. It is likely that it will have an effect on floral development as well.