Associations between candidate SNPs in the calpain 1, calpastatin and leptin genes and meat tenderness among Swedish beef populations

Abstract

The contribution of three candidate genes to the variation in meat tenderness was tested in muscle samples from 243 pure-bred, young, beef bulls of Angus, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin and Simmental breeds, raised in Swedish commercial herds. The animals were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the calpain 1 (CAPN1), calpastatin (CAST) and leptin genes. The frequent calpain 1 CAPN1:c.947G>C G allele showed an unfavourable association with tenderness. The calpastatin CAST:c.155C>T T allele, which was the most common allele, showed a favourable association with Warner–Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and compression tests. An association was observed between the leptin UASMS2C>T SNP and compression tests.     

Field studies with in‐feed medication of pigs in the Netherlands using the anthelmintic thiophanate with particular reference to efficacy against Ascaris suum

Summary

Studies on the efficacy in pigs of low level in‐feed medication with the anthelmintic thiophanate at a minimum intake of 6 mg/kg/day for fourteen days are reported. A trial was conducted to compare a group of medicated fattening pigs with a similar unmedicated group on premises known to have a high challenge of Ascaris spp. Daily growth rate was improved whilst feed conversion ratio and the liver condemnation rate were reduced in the treatment group.

Routine medication of a whole herd using this regime contributed to a great improvement of the herd production when assessed by the above criteria. User studies in various geographical areas of the Netherlands involving 1500 adult pigs and 1200 fattening pigs medicated with thiophanate in‐feed for fourteen days demonstrated that the compound eliminated the faecal worm egg output and was readily accepted and tolerated by pigs.     

The Genera Rhoptropus and Phelsuma (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) in Southern Africa: A Case of Convergence and a Reconsideration of the Biogeography of Phelsuma

The genus Rhoplropella Hewitt, 1937 is shown to be a junior synonym of Phelsuma Gray, 1825 and the genera Phelsuma and Rhoplropus Peters, 1869 are compared. It is pointed out that Phelsuma ocettata shows a great deal of convergence with Rhoplropus but that both of these forms exhibit their own distinctive derived character combinations. The distribution pattern of Phelsuma on the main-land of Africa and on Madagascar is reviewed inthe light of current theories of biogeography and past continental relationships. It is suggested that the distribution of Phelsuma may represent a track which is also occupied by other reptilian genera.     

Vegetation responses to seasonal weather conditions and decreasing grazing pressure in the arid Succulent Karoo of South Africa§

The Succulent Karoo biome is a renowned centre of biodiversity and endemism in the arid winter rainfall region of South Africa that is threatened by climate change. On 20 permanently marked plots within a biodiversity observatory, species richness and cover were assessed annually from 2002 to 2017 during the growing season. We were interested, firstly, in whether the vegetation showed any trends in response to the strong decrease in grazing pressure, which occurred at the beginning of the monitoring period, and secondly, in the effect of seasonal climate on the vegetation. We analysed the responses of species richness and cover in four life forms to seasonal rainfall and the standardised precipitation–evapotranspiration index (SPEI) using linear mixed-effect models. Time had a positive effect on richness of annual species and a negative effect on cover of shrubs and annuals, which increased in response to SPEI and less strongly to rainfall during autumn and winter. Habitat did not have any effect and geophytes and perennial herbs did not show any significant response. The importance of SPEI during autumn and winter is discussed in relation to potential germination cues and the projected decrease in rainfall and increase in temperature during these seasons.     

Coarse root–shoot allometry of Pinus radiata modified by site conditions in the Western Cape province of South Africa

The relationship between root and shoot growth and how it is modified by chronic or episodic drought stress is so far not well understood. Allometric partitioning theory (APT) supposes a constant root–shoot allometry. Optimal partitioning theory (OPT) assumes that plants’ root growth is enhanced under water limitation. However, recent studies show that fine and coarse roots react differently. This paper draws attention to the root–shoot allometry of adult Monterey pines (Pinus radiata D.Don) and its dependency on site conditions in South Africa. For assessment of the root–shoot-diameter relationship as an allometric relationship in general and for comparison with APT we used a sample of nine radiata pines from Jonkershoek and three maritime pines (Pinus pinaster Aiton) from Napier. In order to test for a site-dependency of the root–shoot allometry we sampled increment cores from stem and coarse roots of 48 radiata pines along a gradient from moist to dry sites in the Western Cape province. Tree ring analysis revealed an allometric relationship between root diameter (dr) and shoot diameter (ds) (ln(dr) = a + α _dr,ds × ln(ds)). Despite strong variation of the allometric exponent α _dr,ds we found a systematic deviation from 1.0 as would be predicted by APT. We also found α _dr,ds to decrease with drought stress, which is contradictory to both APT and OPT. However, on sites with more pronounced drought stress we detected greater allometric factors a. We hypothesise that fine root growth, and also fine root mortality, is higher on dry sites. On these sites coarse roots seem to be less necessary for matter transport compared with moist and fertile sites. On the latter, fine roots are less ephemeral and require larger coarse roots for transport. We conclude that combined root shoot tree ring analyses have the potential for improving understanding and modelling ecosystems and better assessment of forest functions such as resource use efficiency, stand stability and belowground carbon storage.     

The use of species–stem curves in sampling the development of the Zambian miombo woodland species in charcoal production and slash-and-burn regrowth stands

The use of fixed-area plot methods was considered unsuitable to compare the responses and recovery over time of different miombo woodland species to different land-use practices (i.e. charcoal production and slash-and-burn agriculture). Young regrowth stages have many stems and the older more advanced stages have fewer stems. Different land-use practices in miombo woodland impact on the recovery potential of the woodlands. Timber harvesting does not result in significant change in stocking of the woodland compared to changes in regrowth after vegetation clearing for either charcoal production or slash-and-burn agriculture. After such clearing the woodland regrowth changes from an initial high stocking to a much lower stocking over time. This study in Zambian Copperbelt miombo woodland assessed the feasibility to use species–stem curves to determine the optimum number of stems or plants to record at a sampling point in order to compare species recovery over time in regrowth stands 2–15 years after ending the slash-and-burn and charcoal production activities. The results show that 34 and 31 stems or plants for slash-and-burn and charcoal production regrowth stands, respectively, would adequately capture the representative number of species to describe the plant community of these regrowth stands. The research has also revealed that the use of fixed-area methods would result in the measuring of too many plants in one category (younger stands) with too few in the other category (advanced stands). Therefore, the study explains why, and concludes that, variable plot size is an appropriate method for sampling species recovery in regrowth stands.     

Biological control of the false root-knot nematode Nacobbus aberrans by Pseudomonas protegens under controlled conditions

The use of antagonistic biological agents, such as fungi and bacteria, offers an economical and safe strategy to manage plant–parasitic nematodes in infested fields. The false root-knot nematode, Nacobbus aberrans, is a damaging parasite of many agronomic and horticultural crops in South and North America. The management of this nematode is challenging and often not profitable for farmers. In greenhouse tests, conducted in Argentina, applications of the strain Pseudomonas protegens CHA0 and its isogenic derivative ARQ1 (used as control) at a rate of 10⁸ cfu ml⁻¹ suppressed infection and reproduction of N. aberrans on tomato roots. However, neither of the strains promoted plant root or shoot growth of the treated plants. Root colonization by the bacteria was assessed by specific PCR–RFLP protocols and fluorescence microscopy. The results obtained in this preliminary study were encouraging and showed the potential of P. protegens CHA0 to be used for the management of the false root-knot nematode on tomato.     

Effect of thinning on cultivar differences of green stem disorder in soybean

ABSTRACT

Green stem disorder (GSD) in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) negatively affects harvest efficiency and seed appearances. Breeding GSD-insensitive cultivars is expected to be an effective countermeasure to GSD. However, it is difficult to stably detect cultivar differences in GSD under conventional field conditions because the occurrences of GSD largely vary by location and year. The thinning effect, which had been reported to promote GSD, may help accurate phenotyping for occurrences of GSD in breeding. To verify this possibility, the thinning treatment was applied to four cultivars, the GSD severity values of which were evaluated in an independent study by another group. As a result, the cultivar differences in GSD severity were generally comparable between the present and previous studies. However, the difference was more evident, with the thinning treatment exhibiting the GSD score of 2.8 of ‘Hatsusayaka’ compared with the GSD score of 3.6 of ‘Sachiyutaka’, while the scores of those cultivars were similar without the thinning treatment. A positive correlation between GSD severity and N concentration in the main stem could be seen but the increasing rate of GSD score with the N concentration in the main stem differed between cultivars. Thus, although more cultivars need to be tested to prove, the thinning treatment could be useful as a phenotyping technique in the breeding of GSD-insensitive cultivars.     

Modeling the fate of dietary 17B-estradiol and its metabolites in an American eel (Anguilla rostrata) recirculating aquaculture system

Recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) is being applied in many aquaculture industries as it provides an opportunity to produce fish in a contained system with minimal use of water. In proposed RAS-based farming of the American eel, 17β-estradiol (E2) is being investigated as an in-feed drug to feminize and increase growth of farmed eels. This creates potential for release of E2 and its metabolites from the eel RAS and information is needed to monitor and manage eel farm effluents to reduce impact on the environment. In the current study, the concentrations of E2 and its metabolites (i.e., estrone (E1) and estriol (E3)) were monitored from different compartments in the RAS and analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). E2 levels ranged from 8 to 25 ng/L in the water recirculating within the RAS and declined to 2–6 ng/L in the weeks post-treatment. E1 levels were within similar ranges as E2, whereas E3 levels were below 2 ng/L throughout the study. The results were used to develop a computational model to describe the fate of E2 and its metabolites in the RAS, and to delineate the influences of metabolism and hydrodynamics for the removal of E2 by RAS processes. The rapid removal of uneaten feed and feces downstream of inventory tanks was found to be the most significant mechanism for the removal of 2–6% of the E2 added in feed daily, producing a concentrated effluent stream suitable for strategic treatment strategies. Greater than 94% of E2 added to the system with feed was either metabolized by the eels and/or bacteria in the biofilters of the RAS or was sufficiently bound to solids fractions in the solid samples to resist organic extraction and detection. Additionally, reducing daily water exchange from 23 to 7% of the system water inventory resulted in an increase of only 1 ng/L in E1 concentrations within the RAS system while a negligible change in the concentration of E2 was observed.     

Determination of Optimal Nitrogen,Phosphorus, and Zinc Doses in a Multifactoral Pot Experiment

The effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and zinc (Zn) fertilization on the yield of ryegrass was studied in a greenhouse experiment. The treatment combination was set according to the Box–Wilson method. By performing multiple regression analysis, the yield was described as a function of fertilizer doses by a polynomial of the second degree. The R² value of the regression was 0.863. Based on the regression equation, we calculated the optimal fertilizer doses and evaluated the effects of fertilizers by means of three-dimensional graphs. According to the graphs, it can be stated that the yield-increasing effect of N is dominant, but P and Zn doses also influenced yield. The optimum concentrations of the doses were N, 120; P₂O₅, 89; and Zn, 2.8 mg kg^?1. Optimal dry matter (12–14 g pot^?1) can be produced with a large range of Zn and P concentrations and a relatively large N range. At doses more than the optimal dose for each element, a slight depression can be observed.