The effects of replacing <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dichantium</Emphasis> hay with banana (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Musa paradisiaca)</Emphasis> leaves and pseudo-stem on carcass traits of Ovin Martinik sheep

A study was done to evaluate banana (Musa paradisiaca) as a forage (leaves and pseudo-stems) for feeding Ovin Martinik lambs (OMK), with the aim to test its impact on carcass quality. Forty four intact OMK male were used after weaning with an initial mean live weight of 14.4 (± 3.3) kg, reared in individual pens. Animals were offered either Dichantium hay (control diet, Dh) or cut chopped leaves and pseudo-stems of banana (experimental diet, Blps). They were fed 200—250 g.d⁻¹ of commercial concentrate. Lambs were slaughtered according to 3 classes of slaughter weight (SW): SW20, SW23 and SW26. Growth and carcass performances of both groups were not significantly different, 77 vs. 81 g.d⁻¹ and 42% vs. 43% hot carcass yield, for Dh vs. Blps, respectively. There was a significant (P < 0.05) decrease (31.0 vs. 29.7%) for the dry matter content of the shoulder for lambs fed the banana diet. However, there was no effect observed for the other chemical component (CP, lipid and mineral 585, 317 and 95 g.kg⁻¹DM, respectively). The shoulder (20% of the carcass whatever the SW) was precocious as demonstrated by the allometry coefficient relative to carcass weight (0.894) significantly (P < 0.01) less than 1. It was concluded that, the use of Blps had no significant effect on growth, carcass weights and yields of the OMK lambs, irrespective of the class of the slaughter weight. From these initial results, the use of banana foliages and pseudo-stems could be recommended as sources of forages.     

Effects of fungicide treatment,N-fertilisation and harvest date on arabinoxylan,endoxylanase activity and endoxylanase inhibitor levels in wheat kernels

Fungicide treatment had a significant impact on endoxylanase activity and XIP levels, but did not affect arabinoxylan (AX) and TAXI levels. The different response of TAXI and XIP type inhibitors to fungicide treatment is interesting. N-fertilisation did not affect AX levels, but significantly increased TAXI and XIP type inhibitor levels. Wheat-associated microbial endoxylanase activity levels were also affected by nitrogen supply, but levels of the endogenous enzyme did not change, except when sprouting occurred. The weather conditions before harvest had no influence on total AX (TOT-AX) and inhibitor levels, but had a large impact on both microbial and endogenous endoxylanase activity and water extractable AX (WE-AX) levels. Under most conditions, endoxylanase activity levels were related to those of α-amylases, liquefaction numbers (LN) and specific weights. WE-AX levels were often weakly but significantly correlated with endoxylanase activity levels, indicating that it is possible that part of the WE-AX in wheat originates from AX degradation by endoxylanases in the field. These results clearly indicate that agronomic circumstances significantly affect the levels of AX, endoxylanases and their inhibitors in wheat, and consequently could affect wheat quality.     

Map-based cloning of the fertility restoration locus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rfm1</Emphasis> in cultivated barley (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hordeum vulgare</Emphasis>)

Hybridization technology has proven valuable in enhancing yields in many crops, but was only recently adopted in the small grain cereals. Hybrid varieties in barley (Hordeum vulgare) rely on the cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system msm1 derived from Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum. The major restorer gene described for the msm1 system is known as Rfm1 and maps to the top of chromosome 6H. To gain further insight into mechanisms underlying male fertility restoration in barley, we used a map-based cloning approach to identify the nuclear gene involved in the restoration mechanism of this hybridization system. Taking advantage of the available genomic resources in barley in combination with a custom-made non-gridded BAC library developed from a restorer line, we cloned and sequenced the Rfm1 restorer locus. The characterization and annotation of the nucleotide sequence for the Rfm1 restorer allele allowed for the identification of the candidate gene for Rfm1. The Rfm1 locus carries a tandem repeat of a gene encoding a pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein. Surprisingly, Rfm1 belongs to the PLS-DYW subfamily of PPR genes known for their involvement in RNA editing in plants organelles, but that to date have not been identified as restorer genes.     

Citrus x aurantium essential oil as feed additive improved growth performance,survival, metabolic,and oxidative parameters of silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen)

The effects of dietary supplementation of graded level (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 ml/kg diet) of Citrus aurantium essential oil (EOCA) on the growth, metabolic, and oxidative parameters of silver catfish (Rhamdia quelen) were investigated in a 60‐day growth trial. Fish fed with 2.0 ml EOCA per kg exhibited significantly better growth performance than those fed the control diet. Glucose, lactate, and protein levels in liver and muscle were altered significantly by dietary addition of EOCA. Hepatic lipid peroxidation levels, measured using thiobarbituric acid reactive substance and lipid hydroperoxides assays, were reduced in animals receiving the diet containing EOCA. Superoxide dismutase activity was higher, while glutathione S‐transferase activity was lower in the liver of fish receiving 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 ml EOCA per kg of diet than in control. The nonprotein thiols content was higher in fish receiving the EOCA‐containing diet. Thus, dietary addition of EOCA improved growth, biochemical, and antioxidant parameters in silver catfish and could be useful as dietary supplement.     

A Phospholipid-Protein Complex from Antarctic Krill Reduced Plasma Homocysteine Levels and Increased Plasma Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO) and Carnitine Levels in Male Wistar Rats

Seafood is assumed to be beneficial for cardiovascular health, mainly based on plasma lipid lowering and anti-inflammatory effects of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, other plasma risk factors linked to cardiovascular disease are less studied. This study aimed to penetrate the effect of a phospholipid-protein complex (PPC) from Antarctic krill on one-carbon metabolism and production of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) in rats. Male Wistar rats were fed isoenergetic control, 6%, or 11% PPC diets for four weeks. Rats fed PPC had reduced total homocysteine plasma level and increased levels of choline, dimethylglycine and cysteine, whereas the plasma level of methionine was unchanged compared to control. PPC feeding increased the plasma level of TMAO, carnitine, its precursors trimethyllysine and γ-butyrobetaine. There was a close correlation between plasma TMAO and carnitine, trimethyllysine, and γ-butyrobetaine, but not between TMAO and choline. The present data suggest that PPC has a homocysteine lowering effect and is associated with altered plasma concentrations of metabolites related to one-carbon metabolism and B-vitamin status in rats. Moreover, the present study reveals a non-obligatory role of gut microbiota in the increased plasma TMAO level as it can be explained by the PPC’s content of TMAO. The increased level of carnitine and carnitine precursors is interpreted to reflect increased carnitine biosynthesis.     

Resistance profiles of Botrytis cinerea populations to several fungicide classes on greenhouse tomato and strawberry in Lebanon

Tomato and strawberry are the most important protected crops in Lebanon and are seriously affected by grey mould disease, caused by Botrytis cinerea. In the present study, the fungicide sensitivity assays revealed medium to high frequencies of B. cinerea isolates resistant to benzimidazoles, dicarboximides, and anilinopyrimidines on tomato and strawberry. Fludioxonil- and boscalid-resistant mutants were uncommonly found at generally low frequency on both crops. Resistance to fenhexamid was detected in only one site on tomato but in most sites on strawberry with high frequencies, and the occurrence of resistance to QoI fungicides was ascertained on both crops. The majority of the tested isolates (>90%) exhibited multiple fungicide resistance, and isolates resistant to the seven antibotrydial fungicide classes were detected on strawberry in three locations. A high level of resistance was shown by B. cinerea mutants resistant to boscalid, fenhexamid, and QoI fungicides, while two levels of moderate and high resistance to anilinopyrimidines were identified. Genetic analysis revealed point mutations in the target genes commonly associated with resistance in B. cinerea isolates, with all mutants resistant to dicarboximides, fenhexamid, boscalid, and QoI fungicides carrying single-nucleotide polymorphims in BcOS1 (I365S/N, Q369P, and N373S), Erg27 (F412V/I), SdhB (H272R/Y), and cytb (G143A) genes, respectively. The general incorrect use of fungicides has caused the development and spread of fungicide resistance as a widespread phenomenon on protected tomato and strawberry in Lebanon. The implementation of appropriate antiresistance strategies is highly recommended.     

Enzyme activities in apple orchard agroecosystems: How are they affected by management strategy and soil properties

This study under field experimental conditions in apple orchard agroecosystems investigated the effects of pest management strategies (i.e. none, organic, conventional and integrated) on enzyme activities, in relation to soil properties. Enzyme activities chosen are implicated in the major biogeochemical nutrient cycles such as C (cellulase, fluoresceine diacetate hydrolase, β-galactosidase, β-glucosidase, phenol oxidase), N (arylamidase), P (acid and alkaline phosphomonoesterases, phosphodiesterase and phosphotriesterase) and S (arylsulfatase). Redundancy analyses and decomposition of the variances were performed to clarify how enzyme activities are affected by management strategy and soil properties. Results showed that the effects and their proportion attributable to management strategy and soil properties varied considerably depending on enzyme activity. Phenol oxidase activity was the only case where total variance was principally explained by management strategy (i.e. conventional and integrated) rather than by soil properties, and thus it seems to be an attractive potential indicator to assess soil quality in this agrochemical context.     

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.     

Sequence-optimised E2 constructs from BVDV-1b and BVDV-2 for DNA immunisation in cattle

We report DNA immunisation experiments in cattle using plasmid constructs that encoded glycoprotein E2 from bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV)-1 (E2.1) and BVDV-2 (E2.2). The coding sequences were optimised for efficient expression in mammalian cells. A modified leader peptide sequence from protein gD of BoHV1 was inserted upstream of the E2 coding sequences for efficient membrane export of the proteins. Recombinant E2 were efficiently expressed in COS7 cells and they presented the native viral epitopes as judged by differential recognition by antisera from cattle infected with BVDV-1 or BVDV-2. Inoculation of pooled plasmid DNA in young cattle elicited antibodies capable of neutralising viral strains representing the major circulating BVDV genotypes.