A cross-sectional study to show Eperythrozoon ovis infection is prevalent in Western Australian sheep farms

A serological survey and risk factor study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of Eperythrozoon ovis infection in Western Australian weaner sheep, the prevalence of farms with infected sheep, and to identify factors affecting initiation and maintenance of infection on the farm. The study was conducted on 91 farms, purposively chosen from 41 randomly selected regional shires stratified by sheep number and rainfall zones. Twenty sheep were selected systematically from a mixed-sex flock on each farm and tested for serum antibody to E ovis using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Information on putative risk factors was collected using an interview questionnaire. Antibody to E ovis was detected in 4.5% of sheep on 47% of the farms sampled. The prevalence of E ovis infection in sheep was estimated at the 95% confidence level to be between 3.6 and 5.5%, and the prevalence of farms with infected sheep was estimated to be between 37.5 and 56.5%. Most farms with serological evidence of infection occurred in the Great Southern agricultural region (79.5%), south-east of Perth through to Albany (latitude 32 to 34 degrees S, longitude 116 to 120 degrees E), and in the Northern region (12.8%) surrounding Geraldton (latitude 29 degrees S, longitude 114 degrees E). There were significantly more farms (P less than 0.05) with evidence of infection in the Great Southern region compared to the Central region between Geraldton and Perth, and on farms in the region south compared to north of latitude 32 degrees S. None of the putative risk factors examined in the questionnaire were associated with serological evidence of infection on the farm.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effectiveness of insecticide-treated and non-treated trap plants for the management of Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in greenhouse ornamentals

The effectiveness of trap cropping as an integrated control strategy against western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), was explored in potted chrysanthemum, Dendranthema grandiflora (Tzvelev), greenhouse crops. The efficacy of flowering chrysanthemum trap plants, either treated with the insecticide spinosad or untreated, to regulate F. occidentalis populations was tested at different spatial scales (small cage, large cage and commercial greenhouse) and for different time periods (1 or 4 weeks). It was demonstrated that flowering chrysanthemums as trap plants lower the number of adult F. occidentalis in a vegetative chrysanthemum crop and, as a result, reduce crop damage. In the 4 week large-cage trial and the commercial trial, significant differences between the control and the trap plant treatments started to appear in the third week of the experiment. Larvae were only significantly reduced by the presence of trap plants in the 1 week small-cage trials. There were no significant differences between treatments with spinosad-treated and untreated trap plants in the number of F. occidentalis on the crop. This suggests that there was minimal movement of adult F. occidentalis back and forth between the trap plants and the crop to feed and oviposit. It is concluded that the trap plant strategy is a useful tool for integrated pest management against F. occidentalis in greenhouses.     

巴美肉羊INHA和INHBA基因多态性与产羔数关系研究

为了研究INHA和INHBA这两个基因对巴美肉羊产羔数的影响,采用PCR-SSCP技术检测抑制素α亚基(α-inhibin,INHA)和βA亚基(βA-inhibin,INHBA)基因在巴美肉羊中的单核苷酸多态性。结果发现,引物1,4,6扩增片段有多态性,其余3对引物的扩增片段均不存在多态性。引物1,巴美肉羊有2种基因型AB型和AA型,平均产羔数AB型比AA型多0.17只(P<0.01)。引物4,巴美肉羊存在3种基因型(CC、DD和CD),巴美肉羊平均产羔数DD型比CC型多0.44只(P<0.01)。引物6,巴美肉羊有3种基因型(EE、FF和EF),EE型比EF型平均产羔数多0.21只(P<0.01),结果表明,抑制素α亚基(α-inhibin,INHA)和βA亚基(βA-inhibin,INHBA)基因是影响巴美肉羊产羔数的重要基因。     

Salmonella monitoring programs in Australian feed mills: a retrospective analysis

The availability of safe, commercially prepared stock feed for production animals is an important step in ensuring animal health and welfare and the safety of food animal products for human consumption. Animal feed quality assurance programs include microbiological monitoring of raw materials, mill equipment and finished feed. Over a period of 16 years, 23,963 samples for Salmonella culture and serotyping were collected from 22 stock feed mills. A multivariable generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was used to identify mill and sample type factors that increase the odds of detecting Salmonella. The odds of detecting a Salmonella positive sample was greatest in samples from raw materials and in mills that processed restricted animal material (RAM). The percentage of positive samples ranged from 7.2% in 2003 to 2.8% in 2017. Of the 1,069 positive samples, 976 were serotyped with 61 different Salmonella serotypes isolated. The serotype most frequently isolated from raw materials was S. Agona, (n = 108) whilst S. Anatum was the serotype most frequently isolated from equipment and finished feed (n = 156). The diversity of Salmonella serotypes differed between mills and different stages of the production line. Microbiological monitoring in the commercial preparation of animal feed in Australian stock feed mills guides the implementation of quality control measures and risk mitigation strategies thereby reducing the prevalence and diversity of potentially zoonotic bacteria such as Salmonella, enhancing food safety for both animal and consumer.     

玉米大斑病菌对广州地区甜玉米的致病性观测

通过对桂甜和华珍两个甜玉米品种的玉米大斑病病斑扩展速率及病情指数的研究结果表明,不同品种对玉米大斑病菌的抗性存在明显的差异;病斑的产孢特性显示,病斑首次产孢量显著高于再次产孢量。通过比较不同温度下的菌丝生长量,分析出广州地区玉米大斑病菌的主要构成属于高温型。     

虫生真菌在准格尔旗沙棘木蠹蛾上的流行

为了了解沙棘木蠹蛾Holcocerus hippophaecolus幼虫的虫生真菌的物种多样性和流行情况,对内蒙古准格尔旗某沙棘林中的虫生真菌进行了调查,采集到11个虫生真菌标本。经实验室显微观察鉴定,其中1个为雷州被毛孢Hirsutella leizhouensis侵染,1个为一种被毛孢Hirsutella sp.侵染,9个为球孢白僵菌Beauveria bassiana侵染;分离纯化得到7株球孢白僵菌菌株。     

浅析伊图里河林业局森林资源消长趋势

文章通过对伊图里河林业局1994年、2005年两次二类调查数据的分析,详细阐述了森林资源消长变化总趋势,在此基础上对伊图里河林业局森林资源现状及其特点进行了分析,提出了对森林资源管理利用的建议。     

Evidence that moxidectin is a greater risk factor than ivermectin in the development of resistance to macrocyclic lactones by Ostertagia spp in sheep in south eastern Australia

AIM: To determine associations between resistance of Ostertagia (= Teladorsagia) spp to macrocyclic lactone (ML) anthelmintics and history of use of anthelmintics, by type, on commercial sheep farms in temperate regions of southern South Australia and Victoria, Australia.

METHODS: Faecal egg count reduction tests (FECRTs) were conducted during a 2.5-year period (from August 2001 to January 2004) and records of the type of anthelmintic used in the 5 years preceding the FECRTs were collected from commercial sheep farms (n=103) in southern South Australia and Victoria, and data analysed retrospectively. ML resistance was defined as <95% reduction of Ostertagia spp 10–14 days after treatment with ivermectin (IVM), orally, at half the manufacturer's recommended dose rate. Use of anthelmintics in the preceding 5 and 10 years on each property was classified according to the nett number of years each of the following classes of drug had been used: IVM oral liquid (IVO), IVM controlled-release capsules (CRCs), abamectin (ABA), moxidectin (MOX) or a non-ML an- thelmintic. The prevalence of ML resistance, by property, was analysed for associations with prior use of anthelmintics.

RESULTS: Resistance by Ostertagia spp to ML anthelmintics was evident on 51/103 (49.5%) properties. The prevalence of resistance was lowest (23%) on properties on which MOX had not been used, and was significantly higher (64–77%) on properties on which MOX had been used for ≥2 of the preceding 5 years (p<0.001). In contrast, the prevalence of resistance was highest (70–74%) on the properties on which IVM, or IVM and/ or ABA, had not been used in the previous 5 years (on which the use of MOX was predominant), and was markedly lower (20– 42%) on properties that had used IVM or IVM and/or ABA for at least one of the preceding 5 years. Prevalence of resistance was higher for properties on which the only ML anthelmintic used was MOX (19/29=66%) than for those on which the only ML used was IVO (2/19=11%; p<0.001). Properties on which the only ML used was MOX were 2.72 times more likely to have resistance than properties on which the only ML used was IVO (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01–5.08).

CONCLUSION: Use of MOX for ≥2 of the preceding 5 years was associated with a higher prevalence of resistance to ML by Ostertagia spp on sheep farms in south eastern Australia than the use of IVO.     

Precambrian sponges with cellular structures

Sponge remains have been identified in the Early Vendian Doushantuo phosphate deposit in central Guizhou (South China), which has an age of approximately 580 million years ago. Their skeletons consist of siliceous, monaxonal spicules. All are referred to as the Porifera, class Demospongiae. Preserved soft tissues include the epidermis, porocytes, amoebocytes, sclerocytes, and spongocoel. Among thousands of metazoan embryos is a parenchymella-type of sponge larvae having a shoe-shaped morphology and dense peripheral flagella. The presence of possible amphiblastula larva suggests that the calcareous sponges may have an extended history in the Late Precambrian. The fauna indicates that animals lived 40 to 50 million years before the Cambrian Explosion.     

纯种日本和牛与西门塔尔杂交牛与西门塔尔牛肉品质对比分析

[目的]旨在研究和牛杂交牛(日本和牛♀×西门塔尔牛♂)与西门塔尔牛的肉品质性能。[方法]选择相同月龄、体重相近的和牛杂交牛和西门塔尔牛各5头,屠宰后选取背最长肌分析肉品质特性。[结果]结果表明,和牛杂交牛的粗脂肪显著高于西门塔尔牛(P0.05);粗蛋白、成人必需氨基酸和鲜味氨基酸相比西门塔尔牛表现出良好的优势(P0.05);饱和脂肪酸含量降低,单不饱和脂肪酸和多不饱和脂肪酸含量相比西门塔尔牛有所升高(P0.05)。[结论]说明和牛杂交牛具有较好的营养价值,其肉品质略优于西门塔尔牛。