New records of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) from Spain

Five mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) species were identified as new records for Spain: Phenacoccus madeirensis (Green), Phenacoccus solani Ferris, Dysmicoccus boninsis (Kuwana), Hypogeococcus pungens Granara de Willink and Ferrisia malvastra (McDaniel).     

Salmonella typhimurium DT104 in farmed rabbits

A total of 1,000 rectal samples were collected from rabbits coming from 25 rabbit farms in southern Italy. All samples were processed for isolation of Salmonella spp. by standard culture method based on the ISO 6579:2002 method. Salmonella spp. was isolated from 1/25 rabbit farms analyzed. In particular, four out of 1,000 rectal swab samples, taken from young rabbits, were serotyped as S. Typhimurium and phage typed as S. Typhimurium DT104. All the isolates were resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline (ACSSuT pentaresistance type). The findings of the present study suggest the rabbit as potential carrier of S. Typhimurium DT104.     

Symbioses of Cyanobacteria in Marine Environments: Ecological Insights and Biotechnological Perspectives

Cyanobacteria are a diversified phylum of nitrogen-fixing, photo-oxygenic bacteria able to colonize a wide array of environments. In addition to their fundamental role as diazotrophs, they produce a plethora of bioactive molecules, often as secondary metabolites, exhibiting various biological and ecological functions to be further investigated. Among all the identified species, cyanobacteria are capable to embrace symbiotic relationships in marine environments with organisms such as protozoans, macroalgae, seagrasses, and sponges, up to ascidians and other invertebrates. These symbioses have been demonstrated to dramatically change the cyanobacteria physiology, inducing the production of usually unexpressed bioactive molecules. Indeed, metabolic changes in cyanobacteria engaged in a symbiotic relationship are triggered by an exchange of infochemicals and activate silenced pathways. Drug discovery studies demonstrated that those molecules have interesting biotechnological perspectives. In this review, we explore the cyanobacterial symbioses in marine environments, considering them not only as diazotrophs but taking into consideration exchanges of infochemicals as well and emphasizing both the chemical ecology of relationship and the candidate biotechnological value for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.     

Evaluation of resistance in different cowpea cultivars to Callosobruchus maculatus infestation

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] seeds are an important source of nutrients for human and animal. However, part of the seed production is lost due to insect attacks, mainly by the weevil Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a major pest of stored cowpeas. An efficient method for controlling seed infestation is the use of insect-resistant cultivars. In this work, we studied the resistance of different cowpea Brazilian cultivars (BRS) to infestation and damage by C. maculatus. Our results showed that some cultivars interfered in female oviposition. The time necessary for the larvae to perforate the seed coat of some cultivars increased up to 40 %. No relationship between seed coat thickness, textures, or pigmentation and the larval ability of crossing seed coats was observed. Larval survival was also affected by cowpea cultivars. In BRS Xiquexique, only 30 % of the larvae survived at 20 days after oviposition. The weight of larvae developed into BRS Pajeu, and BRS Xiquexique cultivars decreased about 50 %. Cysteine protease, α-glucosidase, and α-amylase activities decreased in larvae developed in some cultivars, mainly in Pajeu, Guariba, Tucumaque, and Xiquexique. Adult emergence also decreased in Xiquexique, Pajeu, Tucumaque, and Paraguaçu BRS cultivars. A direct relationship between higher infestation and lower seed germination and seedling growth potential was observed. From these data, we would recommend the use of Pajeu, Guariba, Tucumaque, and Xiquexique BRS cultivars as a way to reduce cowpea infestation, and suggest that their resistance mechanism is related to the diminishment of larval digestive abilities.     

Rhodamine-pink as a genetic marker for yeast populations in wine fermentation

Winemaking with selected yeasts requires simple techniques to monitor the inoculated yeast. New high-concentration rhodamine-resistant mutants and low-concentration rhodamine-pink mutants, easy to detect by replica-plate assay, were obtained from selected wine yeasts. The rhodamine-pink mutations were dominant and were located at the pdr5 locus that encodes for the Pdr5 ATP-binding cassette multidrug resistance transporter. The mutants were genetically stable but had lost the killer phenotype of the parent yeast strain. They were genetically improved by elimination of recessive growth-retarding alleles followed by crossing with selected killer wine yeasts. Several spore-clones were selected according to their must fermentation kinetics and the organoleptic quality of the wine. Some spore-clones were tested in industrial winemaking, and they were easily monitored during must fermentation using a simple color-plate assay. They accounted for >96% of the total yeasts in the must, and the resulting wine had as good a quality as those made with standard commercial wine yeasts. The rhodamine-pink yeasts may also be detected by direct seeding onto rhodamine agar or by observation under fluorescence microscopy. These possibilities greatly reduce the time of analysis and make the monitoring procedure for rhodamine-pink yeasts faster, easier, and cheaper than for the genetically marked wine yeasts obtained previously.     

Effects of organic chromium supplementation to finishing lambs diet on growth performance,carcass characteristics and meat quality

The objective of this study was to evaluate supplemental organic chromium(Cr) to finishing lambs on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and meat quality. Eighteen Suffolk lambs(age(4.5±0.2) mon;(25.8±3.6) kg body weight(BW)) were randomly assigned to three levels of supplemental organic Cr(0.0, 0.2 and 0.4 mg kg–1 dry matter(DM)) in a complete random design. Growth performance was evaluated for 70 d, and then lambs were slaughtered to study carcass characteristics and chemical composition of meat. Orthogonal contrasts were performed(contrast one-average level 0.2 ppm Cr vs. average level 0.4 ppm Cr; contrast two-level 0 vs. average levels(0.2+0.4) ppm Cr). Orthogonal polynomials were used to estimate the linear and quadratic effects of Cr concentrations. Growth and carcass performance were not affected by supplemental organic Cr. Muscle conformation and leg perimeter linearly increased(P0.05) as organic Cr level increased in the diet. Kidney fat decreased linearly(P0.05) as supplemental Cr increased. In Longissimus dorsi(LD), the ash content decreased linearly, and shear force(kg cm–2) increased(P0.05) as organic Cr level increased in the diet. It is concluded that organic Cr did not affect growth performance, but it improved positively the muscle conformation, reduced kidney fat, whereas in LD there was an increment in shear force in finishing carcass lambs.