Camel Streptococcus agalactiae populations are associated with specific disease complexes and acquired the tetracycline resistance gene tetM via a Tn916-like element

Camels are the most valuable livestock species in the Horn of Africa and play a pivotal role in the nutritional sustainability for millions of people. Their health status is therefore of utmost importance for the people living in this region. Streptococcus agalactiae, a Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is an important camel pathogen. Here we present the first epidemiological study based on genetic and phenotypic data from African camel derived GBS. Ninety-two GBS were characterized using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), capsular polysaccharide typing and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing. We analysed the GBS using Bayesian linkage, phylogenetic and minimum spanning tree analyses and compared them with human GBS from East Africa in order to investigate the level of genetic exchange between GBS populations in the region. Camel GBS sequence types (STs) were distinct from other STs reported so far. We mapped specific STs and capsular types to major disease complexes caused by GBS. Widespread resistance (34%) to tetracycline was associated with acquisition of the tetM gene that is carried on a Tn916-like element, and observed primarily among GBS isolated from mastitis. The presence of tetM within different MLST clades suggests acquisition on multiple occasions. Wound infections and mastitis in camels associated with GBS are widespread and should ideally be treated with antimicrobials other than tetracycline in East Africa.     

Use of a cyclic high-pressure sodium lamp to inhibit flowering of chrysanthemum and velvet sage

Photoperiod is commonly controlled in the commercial production of ornamental crops to induce or prevent flowering. Flower induction in short-day (SD) plants can be prevented or delayed when the natural daylength is short by providing low-intensity lighting during the dark period. A stationary high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamp with an oscillating aluminum parabolic reflector (cyclic HPS) has been developed to provide intermittent lighting to greenhouse crops. We determined the efficacy of a cyclic HPS lamp at preventing flowering in SD plants garden chrysanthemum [Chrysanthemum × grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitam.] ‘Bianca’, pot chrysanthemum ‘Auburn’, and velvet sage (Salvia leucantha L.) relative to traditional night interruption (NI) lighting strategies. Plants were grown in a glass-glazed greenhouse at a mean daily temperature of 19.5–20.7 °C with natural SD photoperiods. NI lighting was delivered during the middle of the night (2230–0230 h) from a 600 W cyclic HPS lamp mounted at one gable end of the greenhouse or from incandescent (INC) lamps that were illuminated for the entire 4 h (CONT INC) or for 6 min every 30 min for 4 h. Plants under cyclic HPS were grown at lateral distances of 1, 4, 7, 10, or 13 m from under the lamp. Control plants were grown under an uninterrupted 15 h skotoperiod. As the distance from the cyclic HPS lamp increased from 1 to 13 m, the maximum irradiance measured during the NI decreased from 25.4 to 0.3 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ and time to visible inflorescence (VI) and the number of nodes at VI decreased. All species had a VI within 54 d, but ≤10% of plants flowered when grown at a lateral distance of 1 or 4 m from the cyclic HPS lamp or under CONT INC. Plants grown without NI had a VI 2 to 15 d earlier and flowered 7 to 24 d earlier than plants grown at 10 or 13 m from the cyclic HPS. All garden chrysanthemums flowered under cyclic INC, whereas velvet sage and pot chrysanthemum had 15% and 35% flowering, respectively. These results indicate that a cyclic HPS lamp can be used effectively to delay flower induction and prevent flowering in these species when NI is delivered at ≥2.4 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹.     

Highly specific assays to detect isolates of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae biovar 3 and Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidifoliorum directly from plant material

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) is responsible for bacterial canker of kiwifruit. Biovar 3 of Psa (Psa3) has been causing widespread damage to yellow‐ and green‐fleshed kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) cultivars in all the major kiwifruit‐producing countries in the world. In some areas, including New Zealand, P. syringae pv. actinidifoliorum (Pfm), another bacterial pathogen of kiwifruit, was initially classified as a low virulence biovar of Psa. Ability to rapidly distinguish between these pathovars is vital to the management of bacterial canker. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) data were used to develop PCR assays to specifically detect Psa3 and Pfm from field‐collected material without the need to culture bacteria. Genomic data from 36 strains of Psa, Pfm or related isolates enabled identification of areas of genomic variation suitable for primer design. The developed assays were tested on 147 non‐target bacterial species including strains likely to be found in kiwifruit orchards. A number of assays did not proceed because although they were able to discriminate between the different Psa biovars and Pfm, they also produced amplicons from other unrelated bacteria. This could have resulted in false positives from environmental samples, and demonstrates the care that is required when applying assays devised for pure cultures to field‐collected samples. The strategy described here for developing assays for distinguishing strains of closely related pathogens could be applied to other diseases with characteristics similar to Psa.     

Neighbourhood character affects the spatial extent and magnitude of the functional footprint of urban green infrastructure

Landscape Ecology - Urban densification has been argued to increase the contrast between built up and open green space. This contrast may offer a starting point for assessing the extent and...     

Molecular breeding for virus resistant potato plants

To engineer resistance against potato virus X (PVX), the viral coat protein (CP) gene has been introduced into two potato cultivars. Stable expression of the gene in transgenic clones throughout the growing season has been obtained and resulted in considerably increased virus resistance. With varying frequencies depending on the original cultivar used, true-to-type PVX resistant transgenic clones have been obtained. Since deviant light sprout characteristics were invariably associated with aberrations in plant phenotype, they can be used in procedures to early screen for deviations. Furthermore, it has been possible to unequivocally discriminate between the original untransformed and independent transgenic cultivars. Although no relation has been found between the presence, if any, of the CP of potato virus Y (PVY) or potato leafroll virus (PLRV) in CP gene transgenic potato, appreciable levels of resistance to these viruses has been obtained. This suggests that the mechanism by which a viral CP gene in the potato genome evokes resistance, differs amongst various viruses.     

草地早熟禾的选育研究与利用

内蒙古畜牧科学院草原所自 1985年以来 ,对从荷兰、美国、瑞典等国家引进的草地早熟禾 11个品种和国内采集的野生种进行了引种驯化 ,筛选出了瓦巴斯、凯达布鲁克茅 2个品种适应内蒙古地区的气候特点 ,是适宜推广种植的优良品种。利用国内野生种采用单株选择方法培育出了大青山草地早熟禾品种 ,它较原始群体抗性增强 ,叶量增加。目前已有较大的推广利用面积     

Nonendoscopic Antegrade Percutaneous Gastrostomy: The Effect of Preplacement Gastric Insufflation on Tube Position and Intra-Abdominal Anatomy

Nonendoscopic tube gastrostomy was performed on 41 anesthetized dogs using the technique of Fulton and Dennis with or without gastric insufflation prior to tube placement. Immediately after tube placement, dogs were euthanized and postmortem examinations performed. When gastric insufflation was not performed (group I), gastrostomy tubes penetrated the visceral surface of the stomach in 25% of dogs. The deep leaf of the omentum was interposed between stomach and body wall in the majority of these dogs, exposing other intra-abdominal organs to potential injury. Additionally, displacement and tethering of the spleen cranial to the gastrostomy site were observed in 33% of dogs in group I. Similar results were obtained when preplacement gastric insufflation was performed after the orogastric tube was inserted sufficiently far to displace the stomach laterally against the body wall (group II). In contrast, consistent positioning of gastrostomy tubes through the parietal surface of the stomach was achieved when the stomach was insufflated prior to lateralizing the left abdominal wall with the gastric end of the orogastric tube (group III). It was concluded that the blind percutaneous gastrostomy technique is made safer by insufflating the stomach immediately prior to pushing the gastric wall laterally into contact with the parietal peritoneum. J Vet Intern Med 1996;10:15–20. Copyright © 1996 by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine .