Modelling pine wilt disease (PWD) for current and future climate scenarios as part of a pest risk analysis for pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner and Buhrer) Nickle in Germany

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Pine wood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, causes pine wilt disease (PWD) in Pinus species given suitable climatic conditions. A model was run...     

Protein efficiency ratios and net protein ratios of selected protein foods

As a part of a cooperative study initiated to assess bothin vitro andin vivo protein quality methods, the protein efficiency ratio (PER) and net protein ratios (NPR) of 15 different protein sources were determined. Male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a 10% protein diet. Fourteen-day NPR and relative NPR (RNPR) values and 14- and 28-day PER and relative PER (RPER) values were calculated for each protein source. When protein quality values were expressed relative to ANRC casein, the 14- and 28-day PER data ranked the protein sources essentially in the same order. RPER values of nonfat dried skim milk (unheated) and tuna were more than 100% that of casein; nonfat dried skim milk (heated), chickpeas, and breakfast sausage were between 50 and 70% of that of casein; and pinto beans and rice-wheat gluten cereal did not support substantial growth of the rat. The NPR method did not always rank the protein sources in the same order as the PER method. For the poor quality proteins, RNPR values were much higher than the RPER values; however, the RNPR and RPER values agreed closely for high quality protein sources.A preliminary report of this work was given at the Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Washington, D.C., March 29–April 2, 1987. Fed. Proc. 1987; 46: 889.     

Taxon-specific responses of soil bacteria to the addition of low level C inputs

The addition of small or trace amounts of carbon to soils can result in the release of 2-5 times more C as CO₂ than was added in the original solution. The identity of the microorganisms responsible for these so-called trigger effects remains largely unknown. This paper reports on the response of individual bacterial taxa to the addition of a range of ¹⁴C-glucose concentrations (150, 50 and 15 and 0 μg C g⁻¹ soil) similar to the low levels of labile C found in soil. Taxon-specific responses were identified using a modification of the stable isotope probing (SIP) protocol and the recovery of [¹⁴C] labelled ribosomal RNA using equilibrium density gradient centrifugation. This provided good resolution of the ‘heavy’ fractions ([¹⁴C] labelled RNA) from the ‘light’ fractions ([¹²C] unlabelled RNA). The extent of the separation was verified using autoradiography. The addition of [¹⁴C] glucose at all concentrations was characterised by changes in the relative intensity of particular bands. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the rRNA response in both the ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ fractions differed according to the concentration of glucose added but was most pronounced in soils amended with 150 μg C g⁻¹ soil. In the ‘heavy RNA’ fractions there was a clear separation between soils amended with 150 μg C g⁻¹ soil and those receiving 50 and 15 μg C g⁻¹ soil indicating that at low C inputs the microbial community response is quite distinct from that seen at higher concentrations. To investigate these differences further, bands that changed in relative intensity following amendment were excised from the DGGE gels, reamplified and sequenced. Sequence analysis identified 8 taxa that responded to glucose amendment (Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Bradyrhizobium, Actinobacteria, Nitrosomonas, Acidobacteria and an uncultured β-proteobacteria). These results show that radioisotope probing (RNA-RIP) can be used successfully to study the fate of labile C substrates, such as glucose, in soil.     

Site-specific Approaches to Cotton Insect Control. Sampling and Remote Sensing Analysis Techniques

When insect population density varies within the same cotton field, estimation of abundance is difficult. Multiple population densities of the same species occur because cotton fields (due to edaphic and environmental effects) are apportioned into various habitats that are colonized at different rates. These various habitats differ temporally in their spatial distributions, exhibiting varying patterns of interspersion, shape and size. Therefore, when sampling multiple population densities without considering the influence of habitat structure, the estimated population mean represents a summary of diverse population distributions having different means and variances. This single estimate of mean abundance can lead to pest management decisions that are incorrect because it may over- or under-estimate pest density in different areas of the field. Delineation of habitat classes is essential in order to make local control decisions. Within large commercial cotton fields, it is too laborious for observers on the ground to map habitat boundaries, but remote sensing can efficiently create geo-referenced, stratified maps of cotton field habitats. By employing these maps, a simple random sampling design and larger sample unit sizes, it is possible to estimate pest abundance in each habitat without large numbers of samples. Estimates of pest abundance by habitat, when supplemented with ecological precepts and consultant/producer experience, provide the basis for spatial approaches to pest control. Using small sample sizes, the integrated sampling methodology maps the spatial abundance of a cotton insect pest across several large cotton fields.     

Echinococcus granulosus in wildlife in and around the Kosciuszko National Park, south-eastern Australia

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the distribution of Echinococcus granulosus in wild dogs and foxes and hydatidosis in wildlife coexisting with foxes and wild dogs in and around Kosciuszko National Park. DESIGN: Prospective and ad hoc surveys by necropsy of definitive and intermediate hosts. PROCEDURE: Wild dogs and foxes were trapped at one location in the Kosciuszko National Park and at 7 locations around the periphery of the Park. Feral pigs, macropodid marsupials, wombats, and feral goats were collected at some of the same locations. The animals were humanely killed, their small intestines removed in the field, the contents collected, preserved and examined microscopically. All internal organs of intermediate hosts were examined for hydatid cysts. Unidentified lesions were examined histologically. RESULTS: Echinococcus granulosus tapeworms were found in wild dogs from all locations. Prevalence ranged up to 100% with worm burdens up to 300,000 worms. Prevalence in foxes ranged up to 50% in animals recovered from 5 locations. The worm burdens were usually less than 50 E. granulosus per fox. Hydatid cysts were found in all macropodid species. Prevalence (69%) and cyst fertility (100%) were highest in swamp wallabies (Wallabia bicolour). Prevalence of cysts in feral pigs ranged up to 49%. Less than 22% of the cysts were fertile. No cysts were found in any of the wombats or feral goats. CONCLUSION: Echinococcus granulosus occurs commonly in wildlife in and around the Kosciuszko National Park. High numbers of fertile cysts in swamp wallabies, a favoured dietary item for wild dogs in this region, suggests swamp wallabies are pivotal in maintaining transmission. Physical contact with wild dogs and foxes or accidental contact with wild canid faeces is a public health risk.     

Genetic effects of nine <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gossypium barbadense</Emphasis> L. chromosome substitution lines in top crosses with five elite Upland cotton <Emphasis Type="Italic">G. hirsutum</Emphasis> L. cultivars

Crosses between Gossypium barbadense L and Gossypium hirsutum L. (Upland cotton) have produced limited success in introgressing fiber quality genes into the latter. Chromosome substitution lines (CSBL) have complete chromosomes or chromosome arms from G. barbadense, line 3-79, substituted for the corresponding chromosome or arms in G. hirsutum in a near isogenic background of TM-1. We top crossed nine CSBL and their parents (TM-1 and 3-79) with five cultivars. Parental lines and their F₂ populations were evaluated in four environments for agronomic and fiber quality traits. The CSBL and their F₂ hybrids showed wide ranges for both agronomic and fiber traits of economic importance. Genetic analysis showed that additive variances were larger than dominance variances for lint percentage, boll weight, lint yield, fiber length, strength, elongation, micronaire, and yellowness; whereas, dominance variances were larger than additive variances only for uniformity of fiber length and equal for fiber reflectance. For all traits, except boll weight and lint yield, significant additive effects of one or more chromosomes from 3-79 in TM-1 background were greater than the corresponding TM-1 chromosome. In addition, we identified specific chromosomes from G. barbadense (3-79) that carry alleles for improvements in specific fiber quality traits in Upland cotton. Favorable additive effects of individual chromosomes or chromosome segments from 3-79 relative to corresponding chromosomes or chromosomes segments from TM-1 were identified in this study as follows: Lint percentage, chromosome/arms 10, 16-15; longer fibers, chromosome/arms 01, 11sh, 26Lo; more uniform fibers, chromosomes/arms 01, 11sh, 10, 17-11; stronger fibers, chromosome/arms 01, 11sh, 12sh, 26Lo, 17-11; fiber elongation, chromosomes/arms 01, 11sh, 26Lo, 10, 17-11; reduced fiber micronaire, chromosome/arms 01, 12sh, 4-15, 16-15, 17-11; fibers with more reflectance, chromosome/arms 10, 4-15, 16-15, 17-11; fiber with less yellowness, chromosome arms 4-15, 17-11. Based on the present study, we concluded that by using CSBL, favorable fiber quality alleles can be introgressed into Upland cotton, thus greatly improving the breeder’s ability for improvement of Upland cotton for a variety of traits. These data should provide useful genetic information to the cotton breeding industry at large.     

Genetic analysis without replications: model evaluation and application in spring wheat

Genetic data collected from various plant breeding and genetic studies may not be replicated in field designs although field variation is always present. In this study, we addressed this problem using spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) trial data collected from two locations. There were no intralocation replications and an extended additive-dominance (AD) model was used to account for field variation. We numerically evaluated the data from simulations and estimated the variance components. For demonstration purposes we also analyzed three agronomic traits from the actual spring wheat data set. Results showed that these data could be effectively analyzed using an extended AD model, which was more comparable to a conventional AD model. Actual data analysis revealed that grain yield was significantly influenced by systematic field variation. Additive effects were significant for all traits and dominance effects were significant for plant height and time-to-flowering. Genetic effects were predicted and used to demonstrate that most spring wheat lines developed by the South Dakota State University breeding program (SD lines) exhibited good general combining ability effects for yield improvement. Thus, this study provides a general framework to appropriately analyze data in situations where field crop data are collected from non-replicated designs.     

Genotypic comparisons of chromosomes 01, 04, and 18 from three tetraploid species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gossypium</Emphasis> in topcrosses with five elite cultivars of <Emphasis Type="Italic">G. hirsutum</Emphasis> L.

Upland cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. is the most widely planted cultivated cotton in the United States and the world. The other cultivated tetraploid species G. barbadense L. is planted on considerable less area; however, it produces extra long, strong, and fine fibers which spins into superior yarn. The wild cotton tetraploid species G. tomentosum Nuttall ex Seemann, native to the Hawaiian Archipelago also exhibits traits, such as drought tolerance, that would also be desirable to transfer to Upland cotton. Long-term breeding efforts using whole genome crosses between Upland and these species have not been successful in transferring very many desirable alleles into Upland cotton. Our chromosome substitution lines (CSL) have one chromosome or chromosome arm from an alien species backcrossed into the Upland cotton line,TM-1, via aneuploid technology. Five Upland cultivars were crossed with CS-B01, CS-T01, CS-B04, CS-T04, CS-B18 and CS-T18 and TM-1 the recurrent parent of the CSLs. This provided an opportunity to determine the effects of chromosomes 01, 04, and 18 from the three species in crosses with the five cultivars. Predicted genotypic mean effects of the parents, F₂, and F₃ generations for eight agronomic and fiber traits of importance were compared. The predicted hybrid mean effects for the three chromosomes from each species were different for several of the traits across cultivars. There was no single chromosome or species that was superior for all traits in crosses. Parental and hybrid lines often differed in the effect of a particular chromosome among the three species. The predicted genotypic mean effects for F₂ and F₃, with a few exceptions, generally agree with our previous results for additive and dominance genetic effects of these CSL.     

Effects of chromosome 5sh from Gossypium barbadense L. on flower production in G. hirsutum L.

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) yield is directly determined by mature bolls that developed from squares and flowers. The first four to six weeks of flowering accounts for the majority of lint yield in upland cotton (G. hirsutum L.) for most cultivated areas of the southern USA cotton belt. In this study, we evaluated 13 cotton chromosome substitution lines (CS-B) and their chromosome specific-F₂ hybrids, TM-1, 3–79, and six cultivars for the number of flowers produced during the first four weeks of flowering. Results showed that CS-B05sh produced more flowers than TM-1 and 3–79 from 10 July to 5 August. The results suggest that when the short arm of chromosome 5 was substituted from 3–79 (G. barbadense L.) into TM-1 (G. hirsutum) a positive genetic association with flower numbers during this flowering period was exhibited. CS-B05sh had comparable flower numbers with three cultivars, Deltapine 90, Phytogen 355, and Stoneville 474 and more flowers than, Sure Grow 747, Sure Grow 125, and Deltapine 5415. Different patterns for additive and dominance effects on cumulative flowers were observed across weeks of flowering. Dominance effects were more apparent during the early part of the flowering period while additive effects were more apparent towards the end of the flowering period.