DNA Quantity and Quality in Remnants of Traffic-Killed Specimens of an Endangered Longhorn Beetle: A Comparison of Different Methods

The sampling of living insects should be avoided in highly endangered species when the sampling would further increase the risk of population extinction. Nonlethal sampling (wing clips or leg removals) can be an alternative to obtain DNA of individuals for population genetic studies. However, nonlethal sampling may not be possible for all insect species. We examined whether remnants of traffic-killed specimens of the endangered and protected flighless longhorn beetle Iberodorcadion fuliginator (L., 1758) can be used as a resource for population genetic analyses. Using insect fragments of traffic-killed specimens collected over 15 yr, we determined the most efficient DNA extraction method in relation to the state of the specimens (crushed, fragment, or intact), preservation (dried, airtight, or in ethanol), storage duration, and weight of the sample by assessing the quantity and quality of genomic DNA. A modified cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide method provided the highest recovery rate of genomic DNA and the largest yield and highest quality of DNA. We further used traffic-killed specimens to evaluate two DNA amplification techniques (quantitative polymerase chain reaction [qPCR] and microsatellites). Both qPCR and microsatellites revealed successful DNA amplification in all degraded specimens or beetle fragments examined. However, relative qPCR concentration and peak height of microsatellites were affected by the state of specimen and storage duration but not by specimen weight. Our investigation demonstrates that degraded remnants of traffic-killed beetle specimens can serve as a source of high-quality genomic DNA, which allows to address conservation genetic issues.     

Sensory-cue enhancement of the bird repellency of methiocarb

Methiocarb can be an effective, non-lethal repellent to bird pests in numerous agricultural situations world-wide. It elicits a conditioned aversion response (based on an internal physiological reaction) which birds presumably associate with a treated food crop and then avoid. However, in developing countries its cost is often prohibitive. Studies on Quelea quelea also indicate that repellency occurs at levels lower than birds can discriminate by taste. The cost of using methiocarb can be reduced by incorporating inexpensive sensory cues that birds associate with its soporific effects. In the laboratory, methiocarb/sensory-cue combinations applied to heads of sorghum significantly enhanced the repellent response to quelea. Likewise, field tests in Africa and the Philippines comparing a 1% methiocarb treatment with a 0·5% methiocarb/1·0% wattle tannin formulation applied to ripening sorghum, millet, and wheat resulted in equivalent protection and significantly less damage when compared with untreated heads. The results have practical implications to farmers, particularly in developing countries, for protecting their crops economically.     

Nitrogen yield and nitrogen fixation of winter faba beans

Introducing autumn-sown legumes into Central European farming systems could be beneficial for addressing two challenges for European agriculture, i.e., the substantial deficit of protein sources for livestock and expected changes in agroclimatic conditions. Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conucted under Pannonian climate conditions in eastern Austria to assess nitrogen (N) yield and N fixation of several winter faba bean varieties from different European countries as compared to a spring faba bean. Winter wheat was used as a reference crop for estimating atmospheric N fixation. Winter faba beans were susceptible to frost damage especially in the harder of the two winters. Winter faba bean varieties could not achieve a higher grain yield and a higher grain N yield than the spring faba bean but had a higher grain N concentration (except for one variety). Grain yield and grain N yield of faba beans were severely impaired by drought in one year (with a mean of varieties of 8.3 g N m^?2, winter wheat: 6.4 g N m^?2); in the other year, grain N yield of faba beans considerably surpassed that of winter wheat (with a mean of varieties of 21.5 g N m^?2, winter wheat: 8.8 g N m^?2). After harvest, faba beans left higher nitrate residues in the soil, especially in the subsoil, and higher amounts of N in above-ground residues compared to winter wheat. Faba beans showed high N fixation under optimum conditions (with a mean of varieties of 21.9 g N m^?2) whereas drought considerably impaired N fixation (with a mean of varieties of 6.3 g N m^?2; with no differences between autumn- and spring-sown faba beans). In conclusion, growing winter faba bean varieties in eastern Austria did not result in higher grain yield, grain N yield, and N fixation compared to growing a spring faba bean.     

Control of root zone pH is not effective in preventing Pythium aphanidermatum disease in cucumber

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Pythium aphanidermatum is the most wide-spread root pathogen in greenhouse cucumber. Although environmental condi-tions are known to affect the disease...     

Fat clogging, fat cell count and fat cell size in swine in relation to age and feeding intensity

Growth dependent changes of fat gain, the number of fat cells in the cutlet muscle and the size of the fat cells in the bacon of the back were studied in dependence on feeding intensity with a total of 145 male castrates of the genotype (L X E) XSF. Between their 5th and 32nd weeks of life the animals were butchered at intervals of 3 weeks and the parameters were determined. The gain of fat and the intramuscular fat content were highest in the high-level variant (daily weight gain 720 g) and lowest in the low-level variant (daily weight gain 530 g). The diameter of the fat cells in the middle layer of the bacon of the back increased up to an age of 26 weeks and then remained constant. Differences between the feeding groups were registered; the animals of the high-level group had the biggest fat cells from the 14th week onwards. A nutrition-caused difference between the number of fat cells per mm2 of the cutlet muscle could not be found. The calculated total number of fat cells in the cutlet muscle increased due to growth up to an age of 26 weeks. The results provided basic knowledge of fat gain and influences on it in pigs and they indicate possibilities of making statements on fat retention determining the microstructure of the fat tissue of the living animal by means of biopsy.     

Zur bildlichen Darstellung der gemeinsamen Sehnenscheide des M. flexor hallucis longus und des M, tibialis caudalis beim Pferd

The possibilities for imaging soft tissue structures, especially fluid-filled cavities such as articulations, bursae or tendon sheaths, have been improved markedly by sonography in recent years. Ultrasonic examinations were performed on the common tendon sheath of the musculus flexor hallucis longus and the musculus tibialis caudalis, from the medioplantar aspect of the tarsus, in 12 sound adult draft- and warm blood horses, and in 5 animals with a distended common sheath. The diagnostic precision of the sonographic examination of the tendon sheath is excellent and is superior to conventional radiography. A nuclear magnetic resonance tomogram of an isolated equine tarsus is presented for comparison method.