Glomus-wetland rice mycorrhizas influenced by nursery inoculation techniques under high fertility soil conditions

 We investigated the effect of nursery inoculation techniques on mycorrhizal colonization and sporulation, growth responses, and nutrient (N and P) uptake to determine the suitable nursey inoculation method of wetland rice (Oryza sativa L.) under high-fertility soil conditions. Seedlings were produced in dry-nursery (DN, watered to 60% of –0.03 MPa) and wet-nursery (WN, 3–5 cm water from the soil surface) conditions with or without arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (Glomus spp.) inoculation. Soil was γ-ray sterilized before use in this experiment. Mycorrhizal fungal colonization was 56% in DN and 23% in WN plants at 6 weeks of growth. The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization was significantly higher in plants of DN origin than in WN plants after transplantation to the pots, irrespective of growing stages. Mycorrhizal colonization was significantly decreased to 28% in DN plants and to 25% in WN plants at harvest. The grain yield was significantly influenced by nursery conditions. N and P acquisition of wetland rice plants inoculated with Glomus spp. was significantly greater than that of non-inoculated plants at maturity, especially in those originating from DN conditions. P translocation from shoots to grain was accelerated by mycorrhizas. Received: 6 April 1997     

Influence of long-term vaccination of a breeding herd of pigs against PCV2 on reproductive parameters

The objective of the study was to evaluate an efficacy of sows vaccination protocols in the herd with serious problems affecting efficacy of reproduction. The study was performed in a large pig herd with about 1200 sows. Before vaccination against PCV2, farrowing rate in this farm was about 65%. Sows, boar and replacement gilts were immunized using Circovac vaccine (Merial, France) according to producer's recommendations. Parameters of production were analyzed since 2007 until 2010 in selected batches of sows inseminated at the same weeks of the year (17th, 18th, 19th and 20th) to eliminate seasonal variability. In total, 940 sows were subjected to the study. No significant changes in management during these years were introduced. The applied protocol of sow herd long-term vaccination proved to be very efficient. All measured production parameters: reproduction rate, number of piglets born alive, birth weight of piglets and number of piglets weaned per a litter improved after implementation of immunization program. Moreover, further improvement was observed with vaccination in the following reproduction cycles. The most spectacular effect of vaccination regarded average farrowing rate that increased from 64.76% in control group to 86.93% after basic vaccination. Two years after implementation of vaccination program this parameter reached 93.6%. Number of piglets weaned per sow per a litter improved from 10.31 to 11.74 after one year of vaccination and remained relatively stable through the following year. Simultaneously, the percentage of newborn piglets with birth weight < 1 kg decreased significantly (p < 0.05). To summarize, vaccination against PCV2 influenced positively the insemination rate, number of piglets born alive and weaned per litter as well as birth body weight and percentage of piglets weighing < 1 kg.     

Assessment and up-scaling of CO2 exchange by patches of the herbaceous vegetation mosaic in a Portuguese cork oak woodland

Long-term eddy covariance measurements over a montado oak woodland in southern Portugal have documented a vulnerability to predicted decreases in springtime rainfall, since water availability during spring limits annual CO₂ gain, the growth of fodder for animals, and the production of cork by Quercus suber. The current study examined CO₂ exchange of three different herbaceous vegetation components distributed over montado landscapes and within the footprint of long-term landscape eddy covariance monitoring studies. Simultaneous measurements with eddy covariance at two sites and with manually operated chambers at multiple locations revealed that slow drainage of shallow basins, the onset of drying at higher sites and a high release of CO₂ below tree canopies significantly influenced the overall course of montado ecosystem gas exchange during the spring.Hyperbolic light response models were employed to up-scale and compare herbaceous gas exchange with landscape net ecosystem CO₂ flux. The up-scaling demonstrates the importance of the herbaceous understory in determining annual carbon balance of the montado and suggests a relatively small additional CO₂ uptake by the tree canopies and boles, i.e., by the aboveground tree compartment, during springtime. Annual flux totals obtained during the extremely dry year 2005 and a normal precipitation year 2006 for the oak woodland and a nearby grassland were essentially the same, indicating that both ecosystems similarly exploit available resources. Based on comparisons with additional temperate grasslands, we can visualize the montado herbaceous cover as a typical European grassland canopy, but where temperature fluctuations in winter control uptake, and where total production depends on springtime rainfall as it controls phenological events and eventually dieback of the vegetation. On the other hand, tree canopies remain active longer during late spring and early summer, modifying the montado response from that of grassland. Uncertainties in flux estimates via both chamber and eddy covariance methodologies currently prevent a full understanding of vegetation/atmosphere coupling, of the recycling of CO₂ between the understory communities and trees, and of relationships between exchange rates of individual components of the vegetation mosaic and overall carbon and water balances in montado landscapes.     

Field evidence for the large pine weevil,Hylobius abietis as a vector of Heterobasidion annosum

Mycological analysis of the excrements of adult weevils (Hylobius abietis L.), trapped in the baited pitfall traps in South Bohemia, Czechosovakia, demonstrated the presence of viable spores which suggest a positive role of the weevils as vectors of H. annosum.     

Outbreak of clinical listeriosis in sheep: evaluation from possible contamination routes from feed to raw produce and humans

We report the results of clinical and microbiological investigations on Listeria monocytogenes infections in a flock of 55 sheep and describe the implications for the safety of the raw milk and raw-milk cheeses produced in the on-farm dairy. The outbreak was caused by feeding grass silage, which was contaminated with 5 log10 CFU L. monocytogenes/g. Clinically, although having been fed from the same batch of silage, abortive (nine ewes), encephalitic (one ewe) and septicaemic (four ewes) forms of listeriosis were observed during the outbreak phase. As the starting point of feeding the contaminated silage was known we could calculate an incubation period of 18+/-2 and 26 days for the abortive and the encephalitic form of listeriosis, respectively. Pathologically, the septicaemic cases suffered from Listeria accumulation at comparable numbers in visceral organs but not in the brain. Only a single ewe developed central nervous symptoms and a rhomb-encephalitis was immunohistologically confirmed. In this case the infection proceeded from the nasal mucosa into the brain, with no infections of the liver, spleen and other visceral organs. Sampling of the cheese production chain, the farm environment and the persons living at the farm revealed the exposure of a farm-worker to an isolate genetically indistinguishable from the outbreak clone, obviously through the consumption of faecally contaminated bovine raw milk. The cheese under processing was free of Listeria because, as a result of intensive consultations, the farmer ensured a proper acidification of the cheese. The epidemiological findings suggest that food safety matters should be assessed in any case where infection of food-producing animals with potential human pathogens is observed.     

Avian riboflavin deficiency: an acquired tomaculous neuropathy

The finding of tomacula, focal areas of sausage-shaped hypermyelination in peripheral nerves, is reported for the first time in avian riboflavin deficiency. Day-old, meat-type chickens were fed a riboflavin-deficient diet (1.8 mg/kg) and were killed on postnatal days 6, 11, 16, and 21, while control chickens were fed a conventional diet containing 5.0 mg/kg riboflavin. Tomacula were found in sciatic and brachial nerves from day 11 onward, became more frequent and prominent with increasing time, and preceded the onset of segmental demyelination.     

Determination of S-RNase genotypes and isolation of four novel S-RNase genes in Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) native to China

Summary

Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) originated in China with more than 500 cultivars. Most cultivars are self-incompatible. It is essential to identify S-genotypes for production and breeding. The S-genotypes of 17 Japanese apricot cultivars native to China were determined using the Prunus S-RNase consensus primer pair, Pru-C2 and PCE-R, which were designed from the second and third conserved regions of Prunus S-RNases, respectively. Eleven S-RNase alleles (S₁ S₂, S₇, S₁₂, S₁₄, S₁₅, S₁₈, S₂₀, S₂₂, S₂₃ and S₂₆) and four new S-RNase alleles (S₃₀, S₃₁, S₃₂ and S₃₃) with GenBank Accession Numbers JN232975, JN232976, JN232977, JN232978 were identified. Furthermore, the S-genotypes of four Japanese apricot cultivars were confirmed by field-testing for cross-pollination. The results of this study enrich the information available on S-genotypes in Japanese apricot and provide a reasonable basis for the appropriate arrangement of pollination trees in orchard practice.