Effects of Interspecific Competition on the Inheritance of Quantitative Traits in White Clover *)

Analysis of a half diallel cross among four white clover cultivars, grown as monocultures and in mixtures (duocultures) with two separate perennial rye-grass cultivars, confirmed that for stolon and leaf number a higher proportion of the genetic variance in duocultures was non-additive. For canopy height and dry weight, however, this proportion was less affected by inter-specific competition. An additive-dominance model of gene action sufficed for all four characters in monocultures, but in duocultures epis-tasis was just one of the factors complicating the genetic picture. This, coupled with short-term reversals in the direction of dominance, merely illustrates the complexity of breeding white clover cultivars. Possible future developments in the breeding of white clover are discussed in the light of these results.     

Estimating the component of soil respiration not dependent on living plant roots: Comparison of the indirect y-intercept regression approach and direct bare plot approach

Distinguishing between root and non-root derived CO₂ efflux is important when determining rates of soil organic matter turnover, however, in practice they remain difficult to separate. Our aim was to evaluate two methods for determining the component of below-ground respiration not dependent on plant roots (i.e., basal soil respiration; R_b). The first approach estimated R_b indirectly from the y-intercept of linear regressions between below-ground respiration (BGR) and root biomass. The second approach involved direct measurements of soil respiration from bare plots. To compare the contrasting approaches, BGR and crop biomass measurements were collected throughout the year in a range of agricultural systems. We found that both methods were very closely correlated with each other. Values of R_b determined by the intercept approach, however, were slightly higher than those determined by measurement of bare plots. Both approaches showed a seasonal trend with estimates of R_b lowest in winter months at 0.02 t C ha⁻¹ month⁻¹ for the y-intercept approach and 0.11 t C ha⁻¹ month⁻¹ for the bare plots approach, even after the data had been corrected for the influence of soil temperature. Highest rates of R_b occurred from the height to the end of the crop growing season (0.8-1.5 t C ha⁻¹ month⁻¹). The annual CO₂ efflux due to R_b was estimated to be 8.1 t C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ from the y-intercept approach and 6.8 t C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ from bare plots. Annual BGR was 12.1 t C ha⁻¹ y⁻¹. We conclude that both methods provide similar estimates of R_b, however, logistically the bare plots approach is much easier to undertake than the y-intercept approach.     

Toxocara vitulorum in beef calves kept on effluent-irrigated pastures in Zimbabwe

Faeces from 20 calves aged 13 +/- 5 days were examined for Toxocara vitulorum eggs fortnightly for a period of 20 weeks. The age of calves when eggs were first detected varied from 24 to 110 days (mean 41 +/- 20 days). The mean egg count varied from 257 to 19,821 g-1 of faeces with a highest count of 68,400. The patency period of T. vitulorum lasted from 14 to 112 days (mean 65 +/- 30 days). None of the calves showed clinical signs of illness.     

Physiological and biochemical consequences of electroimobilisation in conscious sheep

An electroimmobilisation device has been developed to facilitate the automated shearing of sheep, but there is little information on its effects on the body. We have studied its effects on the cardiovascular system and on intermediary metabolism in sheep. Electroimmobilisation caused statistically significant increases in mean arterial pressure, heart rate, cardiac output, renal and hepatic and hindquarter glucose and lactate flux, organ and whole body oxygen flux, hindquarter blood flow and core temperature and decreases in arterial and posterior vena cava blood pH, renal and hepatic blood flow and PaCO2. Notably, no change occurred in PaO2. The metabolic changes demonstrated the capacity of sheep to respond to the increased muscular and cardiovascular work induced by electroimmobilisation. Pulmonary function was not compromised during electroimmobilisation as judged from blood gas changes, and the acid/base changes were rapidly reversed after electroimmobilisation. The recovery to control conditions for all perturbations generally took no longer than 30 min, consistent with a rapid and physiologically adequate reversal by the animal's homeostatic mechanisms.     

Vaccination of cows with rough Escherichia coli mutants fails to protect against experimental intramammary bacterial challenge

Vaccination of cows with rough Escherichia coli mutants fails to protect against experimental intramammary bacterial challenge. Vaccine A, a heat-killed Re mutant of strain K12, (UB 1574), was administered as a single parenteral and local dose to 5 cows with 3 control animals and Vaccine B, a heat-killed mutant of O111:B4 (J5) was administered as three parenteral doses into 5 cows with 5 control animals. Following intramammary challenge with a smooth wild-type strain (P4), an acute, severe clinical mastitis developed in all 14 quarters (9 vaccine A and 5 vaccine B) of the vaccinated animals which was indistinguishable from that in the 11 quarters of the control animals. Following vaccine B there was an elevation in serum IgG1 and IgG2 antibody to the common core antigen of endotoxin which, in contrast to the control animals, showed a further increase after intramammary infection.     

Tomato Production and Soil Salt Distribution under Line-Source Trickle Irrigation1

Yield of red cherry tomatoes and soil salt distribution as affected by different amounts and salinities of irrigation water was studied in a field plot experiment during the summer of 1988 at Utah State University. Four different amounts of fresh water and two amounts of saline water were imposed with line source trickle irrigation on a sandy loam soil in lysimeters. Tomato yield and seasonal evapotranspiration increased in a linear fashion with increasing irrigation water. Tomato yields with fresh water (EC = 0.33 dS/m) were significantly higher than with saline (EC = 4.0 dS/m) water. There were no significant differences in seasonal evapotranspiration between the two salinity levels with two levels of deficit irrigation. Soil water depletion and availability decreased as the soil water salinity increased. Soil water salinities increased with both vertical and horizontal distance from trickle lines and reached a maximum at the bottom of the wetted area and between trickle lines.     

Subcellular distribution of copper in the liver of fetal deer in the last month of gestation

Fetal deer, in the last month of gestation, accumulate high concentrations of copper in the liver. Livers from fetal deer in late gestation were homogenised and fractionated by continuous sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The distribution of copper closely followed that of DNA; approximately two thirds of the metal was localised to the nuclear fractions with the remaining third in the cytosolic fractions. The fractionation procedure was repeated with digitonin, a lysosomal perturbant: lysosomes were disrupted and the marker enzyme, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, shifted from the particulate fractions to the cytosolic fractions; the distribution of copper was unaffected. Differential centrifugation of homogenate confirmed that approximately two thirds of the copper was associated with the nuclear fraction. Further confirmation of a nuclear localisation of copper was provided by X-ray microanalysis of purified nuclei.     

Clinical exercise testing in the normal Thoroughbred racehorse

To evaluate normal cardiorespiratory and metabolic responses of Thoroughbred horses to a standardised treadmill exercise test, we examined 28 horses ranging in age from 1 to 4 years. The group consisted of eight yearlings, eight 2-year-olds and twelve 3 and 4-year-olds. All horses except the yearlings were in training, and either racing or ready to race, at the time of examination. None of the horses had histories of performance problems. On the first day the horses received a full physical examination, resting electrocardiogram, upper respiratory tract endoscopy and either one or two acclimatisation runs on the treadmill. The following day they were given an exercise test on a treadmill inclined at 6 degrees (+10% slope). The test consisted of 3 min at 4 m/sec, 90 sec at 6 m/sec and 60 sec intervals at 8, 10, 11, 12 and 13 m/sec. During the last 15 sec of each step, blood samples were collected for plasma lactate determination, expired respiratory gases were obtained using an open flow mask system for measurement of oxygen uptake, and heart rate was measured using telemetry electrocardiogram. From these measurements, various derived values were calculated, which have been used by others as indices of exercise capacity. These values included: V200 (speed at HR of 200 bpm), VHRmax (speed at which horses reached maximum HR), VO2-200 (oxygen uptake at a HR of 200 bpm), VO2max (maximum oxygen uptake), VLA4 (speed at which horses reached a plasma lactate of 4 mmol/l) and HRLA4 (HR at which horses reached a plasma lactate of 4 mmol/l). The yearlings had significantly lower values than the older age groups for most of the derived values.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Histologic and histochemical changes in articular cartilages of immature beagle dogs dosed with difloxacin, a fluoroquinolone

The histologic and histochemical features of quinolone-induced arthropathy were studied using 14 skeletally immature Beagle dogs (3 to 4 months old) dosed orally with difloxacin at 300 mg/kg body weight once daily for 1, 2, 5, or 7 days. A placebo was given to eight other age-matched Beagle dogs that served as controls. A scoring technique that included lesion size and histologic features was used to determine the progression of lesions. Articular-epiphyseal cartilage complexes on the femoral and humeral heads and tibial tarsal bone were identified as predilection sites. Within predilection sites on femoral and humeral heads, lesions developed in specific areas. Lesions appeared within 2 days of the onset of treatment, and lesion scores increased with time. Grossly, the lesions were raised, fluid-filled vesicles on the articular surface. Histologic changes included vesicle formation with loss of proteoglycan, clumping of unmasked collagen, and degeneration and necrosis of chondrocytes. In lesions with higher scores, chondrocytes were often in clusters or they were undergoing metaplasia toward spindle-shaped cells. Although dissolution of matrix and necrosis of chondrocytes were typical of all lesions, smaller lesions had histologically normal chondrocytes adjacent to small vesicles. In sections stained with toluidine blue, proteoglycan was aggregated with collagen fibrils or was absent from the matrix adjacent to vesicles. Unique features, such as biomechanical forces, may predispose specific areas of articular cartilage to develop lesions.