Interplot interference and the assessment of barley cultivars for partial resistance to leaf rust,Puccinia hordei

Summary The barley cultivars Akka, highly susceptible, and Vada, partially resistant to barley leaf rust, Puccinia hordei, were evaluated for the amount of leaf rust in five experimental field plot situations over three successive years. The field plot situations were: A) plots well isolated from each other by distance and non-leaf rust contributing host plants; B) adjacent plots of 4×41/2 m (18 rows); C) adjacent plots of 4×11/2 m (6 rows); D) adjacent plots of 4×1/4 m (1 row); E) adjacent plots of only one plant (cultivar mixtures).The sporulating leaf area of each plot was measured from samples of 20 tillers taken at random from each plot. In each year the difference in sporulating area between Akka and Vada was large to very large in the absence of interplot interference in the isolated plots, ranging from 150 to 2100 times. In the adjacent plots the partial resistance of Vada was greatly underestimated, 5 to 16 times in the situation B, 14 to 30 times in C, and 75 to 130 times in D and E.Testing lines or cultivars in adjacent plots is the standard procedure in use in breeding programs and in tests of cultivars for their agricultural value. To avoid such under estimation the following procedure is suggested. A few cultivars representing the known range of partial resistance and whose level of partial resistance is well known are evaluated together with the lines and cultivars whose partial resistance has to be assessed. This is demonstrated with a number of cultivars of which resistance values are know from the recommended variety lists for England and Wales. Cultivars have been assessed in Wageningen over four years together with the check cultivars Akka, Sultan, Julia and Vada representing the range of partial resistance with values (on a 1 to 10 scale) of 1, 3–4, 7 and 8 respectively, based on isolated plots experiments.     

Tree cavities in forests - The broad distribution pattern of a keystone structure for biodiversity

We explored the main factors affecting the global distribution of tree cavities - a habitat component of mostly biotic origin that is crucial for many animal species. We considered the influence of eight environmental variables (ranging from the single-tree to the biogeographic-region scale) on cavity density in a meta-analysis of 103 published studies. The global median density of cavities was 16 ha⁻¹, with densities highest in Australasia and lowest in the Palaearctic region. Two major factors influencing density were identified: cavity density was positively related to the amount of precipitation, and was higher in natural than in managed forests. These effects suggest that the distribution of tree cavities largely reflects the incidence of fungal heart-rot in trees, and that forest management, by affecting wood decay processes, can have a broad-scale impact on tree microhabitat availability. Although air temperature, forest composition and wood hardness had suggestive univariate effects, neither these variables nor biogeographic region explained any additional variation in multifactor models. In regions where woodpeckers are present there was an upper limit to the density of woodpecker-excavated cavities (approximately 10-20 cavities ha⁻¹) that was considerably lower than the highest total cavity densities encountered (up to 140 ha⁻¹). This indicates that primary cavity-nesters are particularly important keystone species in cavity-poor forests where wood decay processes are suppressed either climatically or by forest management.     

Fatty acid composition of various ectomycorrhizal fungi and ectomycorrhizas of Norway spruce

Whole cell fatty acid (WCFA) compositions of three different structures of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi: sporocarps, pure culture mycelia and ectomycorrhizas were analysed to evaluate the potential use of fatty acid profiles as biomarkers for ECM fungi and ectomycorrhiza-associated bacteria. Sporocarps of Amanita muscaria, Amanita rubescens, Lactarius rufus, Lactarius thejogalus, Leccinum scabrum, Paxillus involutus, Russula foetens, Russula rosea, Russula vesca, Suillus grevillei, Tylopilus felleus, Xerocomus badius, Xerocomus subtomentosus, pure cultures of A. muscaria, P. involutus, X. badius, X. subtomentosus, Suillus bovinus Suillus luteus and seven ectomycorrhizal morphotypes of Norway spruce were examined. Our results revealed species-specific composition of fatty acids of fungal sporocarps and pure culture mycelia. Ectomycorrhizal morphotypes distinguished and identified by morphological and molecular methods (PCR-RLFP and sequencing) created specific fatty acid profiles. The dominating fatty acids in pure cultures and sporocarps were 18:2ω6,9, 18:1ω9 and 16:0, whereas ectomycorrhizas also contained plant and bacterial specific fatty acids. Especially, fatty acids specific to Gram-positive bacteria 15:0 anteiso and 17:0 anteiso were present in relatively high amounts and suggested that these bacteria are dominating in the examined Norway spruce mycorrhizosphere. In conclusion, our results show that fatty acid based methods can be useful in studies of ectomycorrhizal fungi, both as a quick method for differentiation of fungal species and also in studies of mycorrhiza-associated microorganisms in the field.     

Spatial changes of soil fungal and bacterial biomass from a sub-alpine coniferous forest to grassland in a humid, sub-tropical region

 Fungal and bacterial biomass were determined across a gradient from a forest to grassland in a sub-alpine region in central Taiwan. The respiration-inhibition and ergosterol methods for the evaluation of the microbial biomass were compared. Soil fungal and bacterial biomass both significantly decreased (P<0.05) with the shift of vegetation from forest to grassland. Fungal and bacterial respiration rates (evolved CO₂) were, respectively, 89.1 μl CO₂ g^–1 soil h^–1 and 55.1 μl CO₂ g^–1 soil h^–1 in the forest and 36.7 μl CO₂ g^–1 soil h^–1 and 35.7 μl CO₂ g^–1 soil h^–1 in the grassland surface soils (0–10 cm). The fungal ergosterol content in the surface soil decreased from the forest zone (108 μg g^–1) to the grassland zone (15.9 μg g^–1). A good correlation (R ²=0.90) was exhibited between the soil fungal ergosterol content and soil fungal CO₂ production (respiration) for all sampling sites. For the forest and grassland soil profiles, microbial biomass (respiration and ergosterol) declined dramatically with depth, ten- to 100-fold from the surface organic horizon to the deepest mineral horizon. With respect to fungal to bacterial ratios for the surface soil (0–10 cm), the forest zone had a significantly (P<0.05) higher ratio (1.65) than the grassland zone (1.05). However, there was no fungal to bacterial ratio trend from the surface horizon to the deeper mineral horizons of the soil profiles. Received: 30 March 2000     

Novel antibiotics as inhibitors for the selective respiratory inhibition method of measuring fungal:bacterial ratios in soil

The use of the selective inhibition (SI) method for measuring fungal:bacterial ratios may be limited due to biocide selectivity and the overlap of antibiotic activity. This study evaluated novel pairs of antibiotics for their specificity in soils of different origins and their potential reduction in inhibition of non-target organisms. Four soils selected for this study were from a semi-arid shrub-steppe, a loblolly pine forest and two grassland sites (restored and farmed prairie plots). Three bactericides were tested: oxytetracycline hydrochloride, streptomycin sulphate, and bronopol. Three fungicides were tested: captan, ketoconazole, and nystatin. The inhibitor additivity ratio and fungal:bacterial ratios were calculated from control and treated soils where inhibition was measured as CO₂ respiration reduction with biocides. We were able to minimize non-target inhibition by the antibiotics to <5% and thus calculate reliable fungal:bacterial ratios using captan to inhibit fungi in all four soils, and bronopol to inhibit bacteria in three of the four soils. The most successful bactericide in the restored prairie was oxytetracycline-HCl. Our results demonstrate that application of novel antibiotics is not uniformly successful in soils of different origin and that the SI technique requires more than just optimization of antibiotic concentration; it also requires optimization of antibiotic selection.     

Mechanisms of stabilization of earthworm casts and artificial casts

Summary Fresh casts were collected from the earthworm species Aporrectodea caliginosa, and artificial casts were also made. The casts were subjected to ageing, drying-rewetting, and sterilization by hexanol vapour. Clay dispersion was determined, as a measure of the lack of stability of the casts. Two soils were used, the topsoil of a recently reclaimed polder soil in the Netherlands and the topsoil from a South Australian duplex soil. For both soils the fresh worm casts had higher dispersible clay than the artificial casts. During ageing, both types of casts became more stable. There are strong indications that this was mainly due to changes on the surface of the casts. Fungi developed on the surface of 6-day-old worm casts made of Australian soil. This gave a higher stability to the casts compared to artificial casts of the same age without fungal growth. With both types of casts, hexanol inhibited fungal growth on the surface of the casts, reducing the stabilizing effect of ageing. The fungus did not develop on Dutch soil casts until after 42 days, and the development of a higher stability with age was also less marked than in the Australian soil. When the casts were subjected to a drying and rewetting cycle before analysis, they became much more stable than the casts that were analyzed wet. The drying-rewetting cycle removed most of the differences between the worm casts and the artificial casts, and also removed any effects of ageing.Dedicated to the late Prof. Dr. W. Kühnelt     

禽致病菌ESBLs和AmpC酶的检测及药敏分析

用全自动微生物鉴定系统(VITEK-32)鉴定了禽分离致病菌,分别进行了β-内酰胺酶(BLA)、超广谱β-内酰胺酶(ESBLs)、AmpC酶的检测,并用试管两倍稀释法测定了各种抗生素对非产酶菌、产ESBLs菌及产AmpC菌的抗菌活性。结果表明,鉴定分离的20株致病菌有大肠埃希菌15株、阴沟肠杆菌1株、铜绿假单胞菌1株、法氏柠檬酸杆菌1株、肺炎克雷伯菌1株及鹑鸡肠球菌1株,其中法氏柠檬酸杆菌、肺炎克雷伯菌及鹑鸡肠球菌系兽医上首次检出。报道所分离的20株致病菌均产β-内酰胺酶,其中产ESBLs 9株,同时产ESBLs和AmpC酶1株。产酶菌株对抗生素的耐药性严重,而抗生素/抑制剂联用能降低药物对细菌的MICs。     

病原体溯源技术研究进展及在寄生虫上的应用

病原体是导致人和动植物感染疾病的根源,带来一系列的安全隐患。病原体溯源研究对于基因型鉴定、分类地位准确化、流行病学调查及疾病的防控具有重大意义。近年来,分子生物学技术已被广泛用于病原溯源研究。作者主要对病原体溯源技术的最新研究进展及其在寄生虫上的应用作一综述。     

鹦鹉常见细菌病的病原菌分离与鉴定

鹦鹉饲养过程中常见的细菌病主要包括大肠杆菌病、传染性鼻炎、禽霍乱、传染性眼炎等。通过对鹦鹉常见疫病的病原菌进行分离鉴定,探讨了鹦鹉常见细菌病的主要致病菌的类型以及行之有效的防治方案。试验结果表明,引起鹦鹉常见细菌病的主要致病菌有大肠杆菌、鸡副嗜血杆菌、多杀性巴氏杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌和耐药性链球菌。