Phosphorus Fractionation and Short-term Mobility in the Surface Sediment of a Polymictic Shallow Lake Treated with a Low Dose of Alum (Courtille Lake,France)

Lake Courtille was a polymictic eutrophic lake prone to large pH variations and sediment resuspension. Short term P release (96 hr) under laboratory resuspension conditions for two sedimentsample types, surface sediments which represent sediment accumulated over several years and trap sediments which representcurrent year sediment, was studied. The experiments were carriedout in oxic conditions at different pH values. According to phosphorus fractionation, Fe-bound-P, Al-bound-P and Organic-bound-P comprised the largest phosphorus pool (80% of Total Phosphorus). Phosphorus release was from the Fe-P, Al-P and organic fractions. These represent 35% of the total phosphorus content at pH 10. At circumneutral pH, in oxic conditions, a lower quantity of P was released (roughly 4% of total P sediment content) than at pH 10. The organic matter mineralization occurring at the end of summer can also influenceP release as illustrated by the difference in total phosphoruscontent between sediment samples of 2000 and of the last five years. This type of P release was observed in Lake Courtille. High soluble reactive phosphorus content was measured in the water column at the end of summer. Aluminium treatment was thus not efficient in preventing P release. Moreover, a higher alum dose was needed to reduce P content in the water column in order to decrease primary productivity and subsequent organic matter sedimentation.     

Soil conservation policy measures to control wind erosion in northwestern Europe

Wind erosion is not as significant or a widespread problem in Europe as in dryer parts of the world, but it can cause major damage in small areas. The hazard is greatest in the lowlands of northwestern Europe with more than 3 million ha at high-potential wind erosion risk. Crop damage and off-site damage have prompted farmers and policymakers to pay more attention to wind erosion control. A great variety of measures have been developed in the last decades. Most farmers, however, only use measures to protect their high value crops. In existing policies, little attention is paid to the off-site effects and long-term effects of wind erosion. There are no direct policy measures at a European level to control soil erosion, and few measures exist in individual Member States. Agricultural or environmental EC policies offer different policy tools to approach the wind erosion problems related to agricultural practices. Tools like subsidies for the re-afforestation of arable land can help regional policy makers with the implementation of wind erosion control measures. A case study concerning the ‘Code of Good Agricultural Practice’ shows that regional differences result in different control measures that fits best given the physical, social and economic context. The formulation of the practical details of such code should therefore remain a task of the local or regional government. The main objectives of a Code of Good Agricultural Practice could be formulated at national or European level.     

Bioaccumulation of ivermectin from natural and artificial sediments in the benthic organism <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lumbriculus variegatus</Emphasis>

Purpose  

Although ivermectin is a widely used lipophilic parasiticide, data on its potential bioaccumulation in aquatic invertebrates are scarce. In this study, bioaccumulation patterns of radiolabeled ³H-ivermectin from sediments into tissues of the sediment-dwelling worm Lumbriculus variegatus were investigated and assessed.     

The biodiversity of dictyostelids in mountain forests: A case study in the French Alps

Forest management can seriously modify the biodiversity of forest dwelling species, but the consequences are poorly known for certain taxa, particularly soil fauna, for which few studies have been published. We compared the biodiversity of dictyostelids cellular slime moulds in a managed and an unmanaged forest in the French Alps and analysed the influence of environmental factors on species richness and abundance of dictyostelids. To our knowledge, this study is the first one undertaken in the European Alps. We must better understand the influence of various environmental factors on the biodiversity of these organisms if we want to accurately define their functional role in the soil. In our study, dictyostelids showed lower levels of diversity compared to previously published results. The mean species richness of dictyostelids was marginally higher in unmanaged than in managed forests and biodiversity indices were significantly correlated with elevation and pH. This suggests that environmental factors have a predominant effect on the biodiversity of dictyostelids and that the effect of forest management is secondary.     

Metaphase-I analysis of a Triticum aestivum x T. monococcum hybrid by the C-banding technique

Summary The meiotic pairing behaviour at metaphase I of a Triticum aestivum×Triticum monococcum hybrid has been studied by means of the C-banding technique to ascertain the homology between the chromosomes in the A genome of the two species. The technique allowed the A and B genome chromosomes and the 2D, 3D and 5D chromosomes to be identified. Differences in the level of chromosome pairing in the A genome were noted. The T. monococcum 4A chromosome did not pair with any of the T. aestivum chromosomes in any of the metaphase I cells analysed. Two reciprocal translocations between the 2B and 2D chromosomes on one side and the 2A and 3D on the other side have been identified. The usefulness of the C-banding technique in the study of chromosome homology among species related to wheat is discussed.     

转基因抗虫棉对农户生产行为的影响分析

以河北主产棉区340个农户2002-2003年的问卷调查和关键人物访谈为依据,分析了转基 因抗虫棉对农户生产行为的影响。结果表明,转基因抗虫棉的应用影响或改变了农户的植棉意向、抗 虫棉种子选择,棉田害虫防治及植棉技术需求等生产行为。     

The Panama Tall and the Maypan hybrid coconut in Jamaica: did genetic contamination cause a loss of resistance to Lethal Yellowing?

We applied Bayesian population assignment methods to assess the trueness to type of four populations of the coconut cultivar Panama Tall (PNT) located in Jamaica and found that two of them presented a high percentage of off-types, while genetic contamination was low in the two others. The PNT is the pollen parent of the MAYPAN hybrid, which used to be planted in Jamaica to control an epidemic disease: Lethal Yellowing. The main source of contamination was the susceptible Jamaica Tall, thus increasing the susceptibility in the resulting MAYPAN progeny. The incidence of genetic contamination seems however to be insufficient to be the only cause of the latest outbreak of the disease. Neither the MAYPAN nor its parents can be said resistant in the present context of Jamaica.     

Improvements to the hemagglutination inhibition test for serological assessment of recombinant fowlpox-H5-avian-influenza vaccination in chickens and its use along with an agar gel immunodiffusion test for differentiating infected from noninfected vaccinated animals

In general, avian influenza (AI) vaccines protect chickens from morbidity and mortality and reduce, but do not completely prevent, replication of wild AI viruses in the respiratory and intestinal tracts of vaccinated chickens. Therefore, surveillance programs based on serological testing must be developed to differentiate vaccinated flocks infected with wild strains of AI virus from noninfected vaccinated flocks in order to evaluate the success of vaccination in a control program and allow continuation of national and international commerce of poultry and poultry products. In this study, chickens were immunized with a commercial recombinant fowlpox virus vaccine containing an H5 hemagglutinin gene from A/turkey/Ireland/83 (H5N8) avian influenza (AI) virus (rFP-H5) and evaluated for correlation of immunological response by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) or agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) tests and determination of protection following challenge with a high pathogenicity AI (HPAI) virus. In two different trials, chickens immunized with the rFP-H5 vaccine did not develop AGID antibodies because the vaccine lacks AI nucleoprotein and matrix genes, but 0%-100% had HI antibodies, depending on the AI virus strain used in the HI test, the HI antigen inactivation procedure, and whether the birds had been preimmunized against fowlpox virus. The most consistent and highest HI titers were observed when using A/turkey/Ireland/83 (H5N8) HPAI virus strain as the beta-propiolactone (BPL)-inactivated HI test antigen, which matched the hemagglutinin gene insert in the rFP-H5 vaccine. In addition, higher HI titers were observed if ether or a combination of ether and BPL-inactivated virus was used in place of the BPL-inactivated virus. The rFP-H5 vaccinated chickens survived HPAI challenge and antibodies were detected by both AGID and HI tests. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the rFP-H5 vaccine allowed easy serological differentiation of infected from noninfected birds in vaccinated populations of chickens when using standard AGID and HI tests.     

Mechanisms of resistance to fungicides in field strains of Botrytis cinerea

Field strains of Botrytis cinerea Pers ex Fr, the causal agent of grey mould diseases, were collected from French vineyards between 1993 and 2000. Several phenotypes have been characterized according to the inhibitory effects of fungicides towards germ-tube elongation and mycelial growth. Two types of benzimidazole-resistant strains (Ben R1 and Ben R2) could be detected; negative cross-resistance to phenylcarbamates (e.g. diethofencarb) was only found in Ben R1. Benzimidazole resistance was related to point mutations at codon 198 (Ben R1) or 200 (Ben R2) of the beta-tubulin gene. Most dicarboximide-resistant strains were also weakly resistant to aromatic hydrocarbon fungicides (e.g. dicloran) but remained sensitive to phenylpyrroles (e.g. fludioxonil). These resistant field strains (Imi R1) contained a single base pair mutation at position 365 in a two-component histidine kinase gene, probably involved in the fungal osmoregulation. Three anilinopyrimidine-resistant phenotypes have been identified. In the most resistant one (Ani R1), resistance was restricted to anilinopyrimidines, but no differences were observed in the amino-acid sequences of cystathionine beta-lyase (the potential target site of these fungicides) from Ani R1 or wild-type strains. In the two other phenotypes (Ani R2 and Ani R3), resistance extended to various other groups of fungicide, including dicarboximides, phenylpyrroles and sterol biosynthesis inhibitors. This multi-drug resistance was probably determined by over-production of ATP-binding cassette transporters. The hydroxyanilide fenhexamid is a novel botryticide whose primary target site is the 3-keto reductase involved in sterol C-4 demethylations. Apart from the multi-drug-resistant strain Ani R3, three other fenhexamid-resistant phenotypes have been recognized. For two of them (Hyd R1 and Hyd R2) fenhexamid-resistance seemed to result from P450-mediated detoxification. Reduced sensitivity of the target site could be the putative resistance mechanism operating in the third resistant phenotype (Hyd R3). Increased sensitivity to inhibitors of sterol 14 alpha-demethylase recorded in Hyd R1 strains was related to two amino-acid changes at positions 15 and 105 of this enzyme.