Screening oat germplasm for better adaptation to cold stress in the Southern Great Plains of the United States

Oat (Avena sativa L.) is one of the most important forage crops in the Southern Great Plains of the United States. However, it is more sensitive to cold stress than other small grains. In this study, diverse oat germplasm was evaluated for winter survival across multiple years and locations in the region. Field screening started with an observation trial of 1,861 diverse genotypes in the 2012–2013 season and was followed by four seasons of replicated trials from 2013 to 2017. Selection of good winter survivors was started in 2014–2015 season. All trials were laid out in randomized complete blocks with replications of two in 2013–2014 and 2014–2015, four in 2015–2016, and three in 2016–2017. Winter survival was scored in a 1‐to‐9 scale. Data were analysed for each year and location separately. Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) analysis were carried out on combined data of 35 genotypes that were commonly grown in each year and location. Highly significant (p < 0.001) variations were observed among genotypes, environments and genotype‐by‐environment interaction (GEI). The first three interaction principal components (IPCs) were highly significant (p < 0.001), explaining 96% of GEI. Broad sense heritability ranged from 46% to 93%, while heritability for all environments combined was relatively low (24.6%). At the end of the two cycles (2014/2015‐to‐2016/2017) of selection, mean winter survival was improved by more than 38% per cycle compared with the base population mean. Genotypes CIav 4390, CIav 6909 and CIav 7618 showed significantly higher winter survival than the standard checks Okay and Dallas. Genotypes CIav 4390 showed 20% and 35% improvement over the standard checks Okay and Dallas, respectively. Winter survival improvement in oat will remain a difficult task because of high GEI and low heritability. The identified superior genotypes will be used as crossing parents to transfer cold tolerance genes to other elite lines.     

Agronomic performance of winter wheat grown under highly divergent soil moisture conditions in rainfed and water‐managed environments

Even in the temperate climates of Europe, increasing early season drought and rising air temperature are presenting new challenges to farmers and wheat breeders. Sixteen winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes consisting of three hybrids, six line cultivars and two breeding lines from Germany as well as five line cultivars from France, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and the Ukraine (referred to as “exotic” lines) have been included in this study. The genetic materials were evaluated over three growing seasons under a range of soil moisture regimes at the three North German sites Braunschweig (irrigated and drought‐stressed), Warmse (rainfed) and Söllingen (rainfed). The average grain yields in the twelve growth environments (water regime × season combinations) ranged from 6.1 to 13.5 t ha^?1. The exotic lines showed little evidence of specific phenological adaptation to drought although they are frequently faced with water scarcity in their countries of origin. The hybrids and German lines exhibited higher regression coefficients (b_i) to environmental means than the exotic lines, indicating particular adaptation to favourable growing conditions. The phenotypical correlations of grain yield between the various environments were high, ranging for instance from 0.6 to 0.8 for the irrigated and drought‐stressed environments at Braunschweig. It is thus expected that in the foreseeable future continued selection aiming at high yield potential will suffice as a means to counter the expected increase in droughts.     

Crude protein in low‐fish meal diets for juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei can be reduced through a well‐balanced supplementation of essential amino acids

The use of supplemental essential amino acids (EAAs) has been shown to provide an opportunity to minimize excess levels of crude protein (CP) in animal feeds. The present study investigated the effect of reducing the amount of CP in low‐fish meal diets (5%) for juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei. Four sets of diets were prepared containing (% on a fed basis, mean ± SD) 31.24 ± 0.71, 33.70 ± 0.41, 36.90 ± 0.44, and 39.63 ± 0.14% CP, with each protein level containing a total dietary methionine (Met) (Met + Cys) level of 0.56 ± 0.02 (1.07 ± 0.23), 0.71 ± 0.01 (1.22 ± 0.20), 0.88 ± 0.02 (1.38 ± 0.22), or 1.04 ± 0.02% (1.55 ± 0.18%). Shrimp of 1.00 ± 0.08 g were stocked in 84 outdoor tanks of 1 m³ at a rate of 100 shrimp/m² and raised for 75 days. Final survival ranged from 83 to 97% and was unaffected by Met content. Both survival and yield were significantly depressed when shrimp were fed the 31% CP diet. Shrimp grew at a weekly rate of between 0.79 and 0.97 g, achieving a final body weight (BW) in excess of 10.8 g. There was a significant interaction between CP and Met over BW. Shrimp fed 0.56% Met achieved the lowest BW at harvest. Increasing CP beyond 34% did not enhance BW. With a dietary Met content of 0.71%, the highest BW was achieved with 34% CP compared to other levels. There was a significant improvement in Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) when CP was raised from 31 to 34%. Similarly, dietary Met levels above 0.71% resulted in a significantly better FCR compared to 0.56%. Our study has shown that, if dietary Met (Met + Cys) meets a minimum of 0.71% (1.22%), levels of CP could be reduced from 40 to 34% without adverse effects on shrimp performance.     

Characterization and growth conditions of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains with different virulence degrees that cause acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease in Litopenaeus vannamei

The phenotypic characteristics and growth kinetics at several temperatures, salinities, and pH values of three Vibrio parahaemolyticus (Vp) strains with different virulence and one nonpathogenic strain were evaluated. Independent of the virulence of the strain, a high metabolic diversity was found, which yielded different colored phenotypes on the CHROMagar? Vibrio. All strains were resistant to ampicillin and carbenicillin, and Vp AHPND+ organisms were the most sensitive to enrofloxacin. The exponential growth of Vp strains started at 1–2 hr of incubation, although no relationship was observed between the bacterial density and degree of virulence. Moreover, the growth of the most virulent strain was independent of the nutrients in the incubation media during the initial hour postinoculation. No strain grew at 4°C in 0% NaCl and pH 4, but only Vp AHPND+ grew at 44°C. For all strains, the lag phase was proportional to the NaCl concentration, and the growth was better at pH 8–9. However, the Vp AHPND? strain displayed a greater variability, was more sensitive to extreme conditions, and showed a lag phase of 9 hr independent of the pH.     

Detection of full and limited amphidromous migratory dynamics of fish in Caribbean rivers

All native fishes living in the Caribbean island rivers are considered diadromous but few species have been validated as diadromous. In Guadeloupe (Lesser Antilles) as well as in the other tropical islands, the riverine habitats are subject to strong anthropogenic pressure due to resource modifications or dams. The management of fish biodiversity requires knowledge concerning their life history traits and behaviour that are still unknown for most species at a local scale and at the whole distribution area of the species. In a Guadeloupe river, we inferred the migratory patterns of four freshwater fishes common to Caribbean rivers by the analysis of otolith microchemistry. We found two species Eleotris perniger (Eleotridae) and Sicydium plumieri (Gobiidae) to be completely amphidromous with a marine larval phase and a freshwater adult phase. Agonostomus monticola (Mugilidae) was also found to be amphidromous in this system. The fourth species Gobiesox cephalus (Gobiesocidae) showed elemental ratios suggesting an estuarine larval phase and was defined as “limited amphidromous”. The identification of such life history traits, with limited dispersion abilities, argues for specific management measures in tropical island rivers at a basin scale for the conservation of biodiversity.     

Tulathromycin enhances humoral but not cellular immune response in pigs vaccinated against swine influenza

The effect of a standard, single dose therapy with tulathromycin was investigated on the postvaccinal humoral and cellular immune response in pigs vaccinated against swine influenza. Forty‐five pigs, divided into 3 groups, were used (control not vaccinated (C, n = 15), control vaccinated (CV, n = 15), and experimentally received tulathromycin (TUL, n = 15)). For vaccination of pigs, an inactivated, commercial vaccine was used. Pigs from TUL group received single dose of tulathromycin intramuscularly, at the recommended dose (2.5 mg/kg body weight). Pigs from TUL and CV groups were vaccinated at 8 and 10 weeks of age. The specific humoral and cellular immune response against swine influenza virus (SIV) was evaluated. The results of present study showed that humoral postvaccinal response after vaccination against SIV can be modulated by treatment with tulathromycin. In pigs from TUL group, the significantly higher titers of anti‐SIV‐specific antibodies were observed 4 and 6 weeks after booster dose of vaccine. Simultaneously, T‐cell‐mediated immune response against SIV was not affected by tulathromycin. Our recent study confirmed the importance of defining the modulatory activity of tulathromycin because of its influence on the immune response to vaccines. Since the antibodies against hemagglutinin are crucial for the protection against SIV, the present observations should prompt further studies on the practical significance of recent results in terms of clinical implications (postvaccinal protection) in the field conditions.     

Yield potential and salt tolerance of quinoa on salt‐degraded soils of Pakistan

Quinoa is recently introduced to Pakistan as a salt‐tolerant crop of high nutritional value. Open field trials were conducted to evaluate its performance on normal and salinity/sodicity‐degraded lands at two locations of different salinity/sodicity levels, S₁ (UAF Farm, Normal Soil), S₂ (Paroka Farm UAF, saline sodic), S₃ (SSRI Farm, normal) and S₄ (SSRI Farm, saline sodic) during 2013–2014. Two genotypes (Q‐2 and Q‐7) were grown in lines and were allowed to grow till maturity under RCBD split‐plot arrangement. Maximum seed yield (3,062 kg/ha) was achieved by Q‐7 at normal field (S₁) soil which was statistically similar with yield of same genotype obtained from salt‐affected field S₂ (2,870 kg/ha). Furthermore, low yield was seen from both genotypes from both S₃ and S₄ as compared to S₁ and S₂. Q‐7 was best under all four conditions. Minimum yield was recorded from Q‐2 (1,587 kg/ha) at S₄. Q‐7 had higher SOD, proline, phenolic and K⁺ contents, and lower Na⁺ content in leaves as compared to Q‐2. High levels of antioxidants and K⁺/Na⁺ of Q‐7 helped to withstand salt stress and might be the cause of higher yields under both normal and salt‐affected soils. Seed quality (mineral and protein) did not decrease considerably under salt‐affected soils even improved seed K⁺, Mg²⁺ and Mn²⁺.     

Nutritional Contribution of Biofloc within the Diet of Growout and Broodstock of Litopenaeus vannamei,Determined by Stable Isotopes and Fatty Acids

The relative contributions of feed sources were determined through the isotopic signal (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) and fatty acid profile of feed items, shrimp muscle, and eggs of Litopenaeus vannamei reared in a biofloc system. In the growout phase, the isotope analysis showed the biofloc particle size class ≥250 μm contributed 55–100%; size ≥50 < 250 μm contributed 0–22%; and artificial feed contributed 0–45%. Principal component analysis applied to fatty acid profiles showed that biofloc ≥250 μm and artificial feed were the most important items in shrimp growout. For the egg production, isotope analysis suggested that the most important feed sources according to their relative contributions were polychaetes (0–100%), followed by artemia biomass (0–86%) and semi‐moist feed (0–66%), with lower contributions from squid, mussel, and the muscle of L. vannamei broodstock that had been cultured in biofloc. In terms of fatty acids, the most important items were artemia, polychaetes, and semi‐moist feeds. This work clarified the importance of feed sources for shrimp during culture in biofloc systems and during reproduction. Analysis of stable isotopes and fatty acids can be successfully used to trace the assimilation of nutrients during the nutrition of shrimp.     

The Effect of Kefir as a Dietary Supplement on Nonspecific Immune Response and Disease Resistance in Juvenile Rainbow Trout,Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum 1792)

In this study, juvenile rainbow trout fed with commercial pellets containing kefir provided increased nonspecific immune response and improved disease resistance against lactococcosis and yersiniosis. Kefir was used as a feed supplement at 2, 5, and 10% inclusion rates and several nonspecific immune parameters were observed at day(s) 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 following the treatment. A total of four experimental groups, including control, was established. The various parameters including hematocrits, nitroblue tetrazolium positive neutrophils, total leukocytes, serum lysozyme activity, total serum protein, and immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels were examined. As a result of this study, kefir‐fed fish had an increase in measured nonspecific immune parameters, especially in the group received the 10% kefir treatment. The challenged fish fed with kefir‐supplemented diet showed a better survival rate against Lactococcus garvieae than Yersinia ruckeri. Kefir supplementation reduced fish mortality significantly against L. garvieae.