Identification of markers associated with genes for rust resistance in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lens culinaris</Emphasis> Medik.

Lentil rust caused by Uromyces vicia-fabae (Pers.) Schroet is one of the most important diseases of lentil in South Asia, North Africa and East Africa. This disease is usually observed during late flowering and early podding stages. Early infection accompanied by favorable environmental conditions can result in complete crop failure and huge economic losses. Therefore, breeding for resistance against this pathogen is one of the major challenges for the breeders in those regions. It is important to identify resistance sources and to determine the location of the genes for resistance in the lentil genome. Since field screening is often difficult due to the unpredictable nature of the disease, selectable molecular markers can be useful tools to assist lentil breeding and complement field screening and selection for resistance. To map the genes for resistance, a recombinant inbred line (RILs) population composed of 220 RILs was developed from a cross between a rust resistant line, ILL-4605, and a susceptible line from Bangladesh, ILL-5888. Phenotyping of the RIL population was carried out during 2006–2007 and 2008–2009 cropping seasons at the Pulse Research Center, Ishurdi, Bangladesh. There was a lack of uniformity of disease pressure in the 2006–2007 cropping year causing inconsistencies between replicates. Nevertheless, we were able to choose clearly resistant and clearly susceptible RILs for selective genotyping using markers previously placed on our lentil genetic map. One of the 62 markers used for selective genotyping proved to be linked to the gene for resistance. The identified sequence related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) marker, F7XEM4a, was estimated to be 7.9 cM from the gene for resistance. The F7XEM4a marker could be used for marker assisted selection for resistance; however, additional markers closer to the resistance gene are needed.     

Screening techniques and sources of resistance to foliar diseases caused by major necrotrophic fungi in grain legumes

Summary Necrotrophic pathogens of the cool season food legumes (pea, lentil, chickpea, faba bean and lupin) cause wide spread disease and severe crop losses throughout the world. Environmental conditions play an important role in the development and spread of these diseases. Form of inoculum, inoculum concentration and physiological plant growth stage all affect the degree of infection and the amount of crop loss. Measures to control these diseases have relied on identification of resistant germplasm and development of resistant varieties through screening in the field and in controlled environments. Procedures for screening and scoring germplasm and breeding lines for resistance have lacked uniformity among the various programs worldwide. However, this review highlights the most consistent screening and scoring procedures that are simple to use and provide reliable results. Sources of resistance to the major necrotrophic fungi are summarized for each of the cool season food legumes. Marker-assisted selection is underway for Ascochyta blight of pea, lentil and chickpea, and Phomopsis blight of lupin. Other measures such as fungicidal control and cultural control are also reviewed. The emerging genomic information on the model legume, Medicago truncatula, which has various degrees of genetic synteny with the cool season food legumes, has promise for identification of closely linked markers for resistance genes and possibly for eventual map-based cloning of resistance genes. Durable resistance to the necrotrophic pathogens is a common goal of cool season food legume breeders.     

Tertiary trisomics in lentil

Summary Tertiary trisomics have been selected among derivatives of hybrids between the cultivated lentil and its wild progenitor Lens orientalis, and between the cultivated species and L. ervoides. Hybrids heterozygotes to a single translocation were more useful as a source of trisomic plants then those heterozygotes to a number of translocations. The trisomic plants were weeker compared to the euploid plants and many have not reached maturity. The meiosis, fertility and transmission rate of the extra chromosome were studied in a single trisomic line.     

Pregnancy Diagnosis in Cats Using a Rapid, Bench-top Kit to Detect Relaxin in Urine

Relaxin is a pregnancy-specific hormone in the queen and is produced by the placenta. Both serum and urinary relaxin levels can be used to diagnose and monitor pregnancy in the cat; however, only serum levels are commonly measured in practice. The present study aimed to assess whether urine could be used for the rapid diagnosis of pregnancy at an early stage in domestic cats using a bench-top kit to detect relaxin. Paired serum and urine samples were collected during the first month of gestation in six cats. The samples were tested by applying neat serum, urine or urine diluted in non-pregnant cat serum to the Witness Relaxin kit. Relaxin concentrations in the paired samples were also measured by radioimmunoassay. All undiluted urine samples from pregnant cats tested negative using the bench-top kit; however, the kit was able to detect relaxin in urine after dilution with non-pregnant cat serum. Using this as the test sample, the kit was accurate at diagnosing pregnancy from 28 days after mating and some samples tested positive at 21 days after mating. This preliminary work could lead to the development of a home pregnancy test for cats.     

Multi-atom resonant photoemission: A method for determining near-neighbor atomic identities and bonding

Measurements and theoretical calculations are reported for an interatomic multi-atom resonant photoemission (MARPE) effect that permits direct determination of near-neighbor atomic identities (atomic numbers). MARPE occurs when the photon energy is tuned to a core-level absorption edge of an atom neighboring the emitting atom, with the emitting level having a lower binding energy than the resonant level. Large peak-intensity enhancements of 33 to 105 percent and energy-integrated effects of 11 to 29 percent were seen in three metal oxides. MARPE should also be sensitive to bond distance, bonding type, and magnetic order, and be observable via the secondary processes of x-ray fluorescence and Auger decay.     

The Impact of Reproductive Technologies on Stallion Mitochondrial Function

The traditional assessment of stallion sperm comprises evaluation of sperm motility and membrane integrity and identification of abnormal morphology of the spermatozoa. More recently, the progressive introduction of flow cytometry is increasing the number of tests available. However, compared with other sperm structures and functions, the evaluation of mitochondria has received less attention in stallion andrology. Recent research indicates that sperm mitochondria are key structures in sperm function suffering major changes during biotechnological procedures such as cryopreservation. In this paper, mitochondrial structure and function will be reviewed in the stallion, when possible specific stallion studies will be discussed, and general findings on mammalian mitochondrial function will be argued when relevant. Especial emphasis will be put on their role as source of reactive oxygen species and in their role regulating sperm lifespan, a possible target to investigate with the aim to improve the quality of frozen–thawed stallion sperm. Later on, the impact of current sperm technologies, principally cryopreservation, on mitochondrial function will be discussed pointing out novel areas of research interest with high potential to improve current sperm technologies.