Salmonella,Campylobacter, Clostridium difficile,and anti‐microbial resistant Escherichia coli in the faeces of sympatric meso‐mammals in southern Ontario,Canada

The role of free‐ranging wildlife in the epidemiology of enteropathogens causing clinical illness in humans and domestic animals is unclear. Salmonella enterica and anti‐microbial resistant bacteria have been detected in the faeces of raccoons (Procyon lotor), but little is known about the carriage of these bacteria in other sympatric meso‐mammals. Our objectives were to: (a) report the prevalence of Salmonella and associated anti‐microbial resistance, Campylobacter spp, Clostridium difficile, and anti‐microbial resistant Escherichia coli in the faeces of striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) and Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana) in southern Ontario; and (b) compare the prevalence of these bacteria in the faeces of these meso‐mammal hosts with raccoons from a previously reported study. Faecal swabs were collected from striped skunks and Virginia opossums on five swine farms and five conservation areas from 2011 to 2013. Salmonella was detected in 41% (9/22) and 5% (5/95) of faecal swabs from Virginia opossums and striped skunks, respectively. None of the Salmonella serovars carried resistance to anti‐microbials. The prevalence of Campylobacter spp., C. difficile, and anti‐microbial resistant E. coli ranged from 6% to 22% in striped skunk and Virginia opossums. Using exact logistic regression, Salmonella was significantly more likely to be detected in faecal swabs of Virginia opossums than skunks and significantly less likely in faecal swabs from skunks than raccoons from a previously reported study. In addition, Campylobacter spp. was significantly more likely to be detected in raccoons than opossums. Salmonella Give was detected in 8/9 (89%) of Salmonella‐positive Virginia opossum faecal swabs. Our results suggest that striped skunks and Virginia opossums have the potential to carry pathogenic enteric bacteria in their faeces. The high prevalence of Salmonella Give in Virginia opossum faecal swabs in this study as well as its common occurrence in other Virginia opossum studies throughout North America suggests Virginia opossums may be reservoirs of this serovar.     

Highly infested soils undermine the use of resistant olive rootstocks as a control method of verticillium wilt

Verticillium wilt of olive (VWO) is probably the most devastating fungal disease for olive trees worldwide, and currently the main cultivars are susceptible or moderately susceptible to this disease. The evaluation of resistant cultivars as rootstocks to control the disease has scarcely been explored, and mainly in short-term studies under controlled conditions, which usually do not correspond with field evaluations. The main objective of this study was to assess the responses to VWO of different scion × rootstock combinations of the olive cultivars Picual, Arbequina, Changlot Real, and Frantoio in a long-term field experiment with a soil highly infested with the defoliating pathotype of Verticillium dahliae. The results showed that grafting the susceptible cultivar Picual onto resistant rootstocks delayed the onset of the disease symptoms; however, after 4 years, it was observed that all combinations that contain Picual (a) were extensively colonized by V. dahliae; (b) developed severe symptoms of the disease; and (c) had plant mortality similar to Picual growing on its own roots. This result highlights the importance of long-term field experiments to evaluate VWO and shows that grafting susceptible olive cultivars onto resistant ones does not provide a durable control of VWO under high inoculum potential, as V. dahliae is able to progress through the resistant rootstock and then extensively colonize and kill the susceptible scion. However, the high inoculum potential observed in this study does not allow us to consider the evaluated resistant cultivars as completely ineffective under lower inoculum densities.     

Preliminary study to examine the utility of using foot burn or hock burn to assess aspects of housing conditions for broiler chicken

1. Eleven broiler chicken farms, representing 4 production system types, were visited during the last 5 d of the flock cycle: bird and flock details were recorded. Litter friability was assessed at 9 sites within the house, atmospheric ammonia was measured at three sites and bird cleanliness was assessed on a numerical rating scale. 2. For these flocks, hock burn, foot burn and breast burn were measured at the processing plant by standardised assessors. 3. Significant correlations were identified between the percentage of birds with foot burn and average litter score, average house ammonia concentrations and feather score. 4. No correlation was found between the percentage of birds with hock burn or breast burn and average litter scores, average ammonia concentrations or feather score. 5. No correlation was found between stocking density and foot burn, hock burn or breast burn.6. If confirmed, these findings may have implications for the draft EU Broiler Directive, for which it is proposed that permitted stocking density on farm may be determined by the incidence and severity of contact dermatitis measured on plant.     

Soluble sugars mediate sink feedback down-regulation of leaf photosynthesis in field-grown Coffea arabica

Source-sink relationships of field-grown plants of Coffea arabica L. cultivar 'Caturra' were manipulated to analyze the contribution of soluble sugars to sink feedback down-regulation of maximal leaf net CO2 assimilation rate (Amax). Total soluble sugar concentration (SSCm) and Amax were measured in the morning and afternoon on mature leaves of girdled branches bearing either high or low fruit loads. Leaf Amax was negatively correlated to SSCm, increased with fruit load and decreased during the day, indicating that limiting sink demand for carbohydrates caused SSCm to accumulate in the leaf tissue which results in down-regulation of Amax. To further analyze source-sink feedback on Amax, we compared Amax of mature, non-sink-limited coffee leaves fed with water or sucrose for 5, 10 or 30 min with that of non-fed control leaves. Sucrose-feeding reduced Amax compared with the control and water-feeding treatments, indicating that down-regulation of Amax is related to phloem sucrose concentration in coffee source leaves, independent of SSCm concentration in other leaf tissues. Although sucrose appeared to be more closely related to the mechanism underlying sink feedback down-regulation of Amax in coffee leaves than SSCm, Amax was closely related to SSCm by a nonlinear equation that may be useful for integrating sink limitations in coffee leaf photosynthetic models.     

Occurrence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in healthy dogs and cats presented to private veterinary hospitals in southern Ontario: A preliminary study

The prevalence and patterns of antimicrobial susceptibility of fecal Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., extended β-lactamase producing E. coli (ESBL-E. coli), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) were determined for healthy dogs (n = 188) and cats (n = 39) from veterinary hospitals in southern Ontario that had not had recent exposure to antimicrobials. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in E. coli was as follows: streptomycin (dogs — 17%, cats — 2%), ampicillin (dogs — 13%, cats — 4%), cephalothin (dogs — 13%, cats — < 1%), and tetracycline (dogs — 11%, cats — 2%). Eleven percent of dogs and 15% of cats had isolates that were resistant to at least 2 antimicrobials. Cephamycinase (CMY)-2 producing E. coli was cultured from 2 dogs. No Salmonella spp., ESBL-E. coli, MRSA, or MRSP isolates were recovered. The observed prevalence of resistance in commensal E. coli from this population was lower than that previously reported in companion animals, but a small percentage of dogs may be a reservoir for CMY-2 E. coli.     

Synthesis of 4-hydroxy-7,8-dimethoxyisochroman-3-one and its plant growth-regulating properties on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Petit Havana)

The synthesis of 6,7-dimethoxy-4-hydroxyisochroman-3-one 10 from 2,3-dimethoxytoluene (11) via glyoxylate 12 is reported. Compound 10 strongly inhibited vegetative growth of tobacco plants, whereas developmental patterns (protein levels, protein profile, pigments, and chlorophylls) were not affected. Morphological changes were observed in the leaves of the treated plants.