The Marek��s disease virus (MDV) protein encoded by the UL17 ortholog is essential for virus growth

Marek’s disease virus type 1 (MDV-1) shows a strict dependency on the direct cell-to-cell spread for its propagation in cell culture. As MDV-1 shows an impaired nuclear egress in cell culture, we wished to address the characterization of capsid/tegument genes which may intervene in the maturation of intranuclear capsids. Orthologs of UL17 are present in all herpesviruses and, in all reported case, were shown to be essential for viral growth, playing a role in capsid maturation and DNA packaging. As only HSV-1 and PrV UL17 proteins have been characterized so far, we wished to examine the role of MDV-1 pUL17 in virus replication. To analyze MDV-1 UL17 gene function, we created deletion mutants or point mutated the open reading frame (ORF) to interrupt its coding phase. We established that a functional ORF UL17 is indispensable for MDV-1 growth. We chose to characterize the virally encoded protein by tagging the 729 amino-acid long protein with a repeat of the HA peptide that was fused to its C-terminus. Protein pUL17 was identified in infected cell extracts as an 82 kDa protein which localized to the nucleus, colocalizing with VP5, the major capsid protein, and VP13/14, a major tegument protein. By using green fluorescent protein fusion and HA tagged proteins expressed under the cytomegalovirus IE gene enhancer/promoter (P_{CMV IE}), we showed that MDV-1 pUL17 nuclear distribution in infected cells is not an intrinsic property. Although our results strongly suggest that another viral protein retains (or relocate) pUL17 to the nucleus, we report that none of the tegument protein tested so far were able to mediate pUL17 relocation to the nucleus.     

Altered pesticide use on transgenic crops and the associated general impact from an environmental perspective

The large-scale commercial cultivation of transgenic crops has undergone a steady increase since their introduction 10 years ago. Most of these crops bear introduced traits that are of agronomic importance, such as herbicide or insect resistance. These traits are likely to impact upon the use of pesticides on these crops, as well as the pesticide market as a whole. Organizations like USDA-ERS and NCFAP monitor the changes in crop pest management associated with the adoption of transgenic crops. As part of an IUPAC project on this topic, recent data are reviewed regarding the alterations in pesticide use that have been observed in practice. Most results indicate a decrease in the amounts of active ingredients applied to transgenic crops compared with conventional crops. In addition, a generic environmental indicator -- the environmental impact quotient (EIQ) -- has been applied by these authors and others to estimate the environmental consequences of the altered pesticide use on transgenic crops. The results show that the predicted environmental impact decreases in transgenic crops. With the advent of new types of agronomic trait and crops that have been genetically modified, it is useful to take also their potential environmental impacts into account.     

Does oxidation affect the water functionality of myofibrillar proteins?

Water-binding properties of myofibrils extracted from porcine muscle, and added hemoglobin with and without exposure to H2O2, were characterized using low-field proton NMR T2 relaxometry. The effects of pH and ionic strength in the samples were investigated as pH was adjusted to 5.4, 6.2, and 7.0 and ionic strength was adjusted to 0.29, 0.46, and 0.71 M, respectively. The formation of dityrosine as a measure of oxidative protein cross-linking revealed a significant increase in dityrosine concentrations upon H2O2 activation. The formation of dityrosine was strongly pH-dependent and increased with decreasing pH. In addition, increased levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were observed upon addition of H2O2, implying that lipid oxidation was enhanced, however, with a different oxidation pattern as compared to the myofibrillar proteins. Low-field NMR relaxation measurements revealed reduced T2 relaxation times upon H2O2 activation, which corresponds to reduced water-holding capacity upon oxidation. However, a direct relationship between degree of oxidation and T2 relaxation time was not observed with various pH values and ionic strengths, and further studies are needed for a complete understanding of the effect of oxidation on myofibrillar functionality.     

Screening of quinalphos,trifluralin and dichlorvos residues in fresh water of aquaculture systems in Mekong Delta,Vietnam

To develop an easy and reliable method for detecting pesticides and their residues in the Mekong Delta, a GC‐MS analytical method was developed and validated according to European guidelines (SANTE/11945/2015) for the determination of residues of three pesticides (quinalphos, trifluralin and dichlorvos) in water. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.002 and 0.007 μg/L, respectively, for quinalphos and trifluralin, and 0.016 and 0.053 μg/L, respectively, for dichlorvos and quinalphos. The repeatability, the within‐laboratory reproducibility as well as the trueness met the European criteria. The recovery rate ranged between 72% (for dichlorvos and quinalphos) and 82% (for trifluralin). The developed method was then applied for the analysis of 33 water samples, collected in April 2013, at the beginning of the rainy season in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Thirteen samples were from rice field, 10 were collected from cat fish ponds and from red tilapia cages. Results showed that only 9% of total water samples analysed contained residues of pesticides, but only in water from rice fish systems. From the 13 samples taken in these systems, quinalphos was detected in three samples. The other two pesticides were not detected. A comparison between analytical results obtained from GC‐MS and an alternative method, that is GC‐ECD indicated that GC‐ECD is less sensitive than GC‐MS, with LOQ ranging from 0.37 to 1.18 (depending on the pesticide). However, for samples with concentrations above these LOQ, no significant difference was observed between the results obtained from the two analytical methodologies.     

Environmental variability controls recruitment but with different drivers among spawning components in Gulf of St. Lawrence herring stocks

The factors affecting herring recruitment are still poorly understood, complicating the prediction of stock dynamics and the choice of operational management strategies. We investigated effects of intrinsic (SSB) and extrinsic factors (physical and biological environments, including competition and predation) on recruitment of the spring and fall spawning components of each of the two herring stocks occurring in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence between 1971 and 2014. Effects of potential explanatory factors on recruit (age 2) abundance were tested using Generalized Additive Models. Model fit was significantly improved by incorporating both physical and biological environmental variability, but effects of herring SSB and predation were not significant. Indices of zooplankton abundance and phenology explained more variance in recruitment than physical indices. Our results emphasize the dominance of bottom‐up processes over SSB in the regulation of herring recruitment. Environmental variability did not seem to act uniformly on the recruitment of either stock or their respective spawning components. A long‐term trend of decreasing recruitment in spring spawners was associated with a long‐term decline in abundance of cold water copepods. In fall spawners, optimal recruitment was dependent on warmer environmental conditions combined with an adequate supply (species composition and phenology) of zooplankton. These results provide the first empirical evidence that spring and fall spawning herring are adapted to contrasting environmental conditions and shed light on the potential mechanisms linking herring recruitment to key zooplankton community characteristics and phenology. Management strategies can be improved by incorporating this new knowledge on environmental drivers of herring recruitment.     

Chromium speciation in natural waters draining contaminated land,Glasgow, U.K.

Historically, solid waste from chromite ore processing has been disposed of at a number of sites in Glasgow, Scotland. Leachate from these sites has been implicated as a source of chromium (Cr) contamination to both groundwaters and stream waters in the south east area of the city. In this study, chromium speciation has been determined in ground-, stream-, river- and pore waters, to assess the extent of contamination and the associated risk. The speciation of chromium is important, as the trivalent species of chromium (Cr(III)) is an essential form of the element, while hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a known carcinogen to humans via inhalation. Concentrations of total chromium have also been determined in sediments from the River Clyde, to assess the significance of local concentrations relative to those elsewhere in the catchment. High concentrations of Cr(VI) were found in groundwaters and streamwaters in the area immediately surrounding the contaminated sites, and high concentrations of chromium were also found in River Clyde sediments downstream of these sites. However, these concentrations rapidly decrease away from the chromium-contaminated south eastern side of the city. Data from porewaters suggest that some reduction of Cr(VI) occurs naturally in the sediments, indicating that the risk posed by high concentrations of Cr(VI) should be decreased over the longer term.     

Genetic progress of upland rice (Oryza sativa L.) lines for disease resistance

The rice crop is affected by diseases throughout its cycle, impacting negatively on grain yield and quality. The control of the disease impact can be accomplished via crop breeding, using highly multiple resistant genotypes. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of multiple-character and specific selection of multiple resistance to major culture-associated diseases (neck blast, leaf scald and grain discoloration) in rice lines of the Upland Rice Genetic Breeding Program. The experiments were conducted in 35 sites during 12 agricultural years, where 124 lines were evaluated for the severity of fungal diseases, under natural field conditions. Multiple parameters were calculated based on the diseases´ scores: genetic, phenotypic and environmental variances, heritability, selection gain, renewal rate, and genetic and renewal progress. Genetic variance for the disease resistance was identified in the population, and the selection gain for multiple-character selection was of 3.16 year⁻¹ throughout the breeding process with a renewal rate of over 35%. The programme has showed efficiency in selecting multiple resistant genotypes to the mentioned diseases, highlighting genotypes with high potential for market release.