Combined Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli Rapid Testing and Molecular Epidemiology in Conventional Broiler Flocks

Campylobacter spp. are important causes of bacterial zoonosis, most often transmitted by contaminated poultry meat. From an epidemiological and risk assessment perspective, further knowledge should be obtained on Campylobacter prevalence and genotype distribution in primary production. Consequently, 15 Austrian broiler flocks were surveyed in summer for their thermophilic Campylobacter spp. contamination status. Chicken droppings, dust and drinking water samples were collected from each flock at three separate sampling periods. Isolates were confirmed by PCR and subtyped. We also compared three alternative methods (culture‐based enrichment in Bolton broth, culture‐independent real‐time PCR and a lateral‐flow test) for their applicability in chicken droppings. Twelve flocks were found to be positive for thermophilic Campylobacter spp. during the entire sampling period. Seven flocks (46.6%) were contaminated with both, C. jejuni and C. coli, five flocks harboured solely one species. We observed to a majority flock‐specific C. jejuni and C. coli genotypes, which dominated the respective flock. Flocks within a distance <2 km shared the same C. jejuni genotypes indicating a cross‐contamination event via the environment or personnel vectors. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of C. jejuni revealed that the majority of isolates were assigned to globally distributed clonal complexes or had a strong link to the human interface (CC ST‐446 and ST4373). The combination of techniques poses an advantage over risk assessment studies based on cultures alone, as, in the case of Campylobacter, occurrence of a high variety of genotypes might be present among a broiler flock. We suggest applying the lateral‐flow test under field conditions to identify ‘high‐shedding’ broiler flocks at the farm level. Consequently, poultry farmers and veterinarians could improve hygiene measurements and direct sanitation activities, especially during the thinning period. Ultimately, real‐time PCR could be applied to quantify Campylobacter spp. directly from chicken droppings and avoid non‐interpretable results achieved by culture‐dependent methods.     

姜田土壤特性对南方根结线虫密度的影响

对山东省姜田土壤特性与南方根结线虫密度进行了逐步回归和通径分析 ,同时进行了曲线拟合处理。表明 :土壤总空隙度 37.91%、有机质含量 3.16 %、有效磷含量 130 .6 9× 10 - 6 、有效铁含量 14 5 .93× 10 - 6 和有效锰含量 4 8.6 0× 10 - 6 时南方根结线虫密度最低 ,有效钾含量在 2 4 3.6 2× 10 - 6 时南方根结线虫密度最高。提出适当降低土壤总空隙度和有效钾含量 ,尽可能提高土壤中有机质、有效磷、有效铁和锰含量的土壤改良方案。     

天竺葵病害及其防治

概述天竺葵主要病害的病原物、症状及其防治措施,并列出77种天竺葵病害种类名录。     

基于主要表型性状的不同采集地斑茅种质资源遗传多样性分析

为提高斑茅种质资源利用效率,本研究对来自不同地区的76份斑茅种质资源的株高、茎径、节间长、叶长、叶宽、锤度6个表型性状进行遗传多样性分析。结果表明,来自不同地区的斑茅,6个表型性状平均变异系数在14.6%~53.4%之间,其中株高和节间长的变异系数相对较高,分别为53.4%和37.7%;锤度和叶长的变异系数相对较低,分别为19.1%和14.6%。株高、茎径、叶宽、叶长、节间长之间表现为极显著正相关,其中株高与节间长的相关系数最大,为0.818;锤度与株高、节间长呈负相关,相关系数分别为-0.232和-0.263。主成分分析表明,前2个主成分方差累计贡献率高达72.58%,其中第1主成分方差贡献率达到51.21%,第2主成分贡献率为21.37%。采用聚类分析方法,不同的种质资源被分为8大类群,第Ⅴ和Ⅵ类群的种质综合性状表现最好,这2个类群是优良的斑茅种质资源,可在甘蔗育种中加以挖掘利用。     

Trichoderma species associated with green mould disease of Pleurotus ostreatus and their sensitivity to prochloraz

Green mould disease causes serious economic losses in Pleurotus ostreatus crops worldwide, including in Italy, where prochloraz is the only chemical fungicide allowed to control the disease. The effectiveness of the doses 0.01, 0.05, 0.25 and 1.25 μL L⁻¹ (field dose) of prochloraz (Sponix Flow, 450 g L⁻¹), against colony growth rate and spore germination of Trichoderma pleuroti, T. pleuroticola and T. guizhouense strains on wheat straw extract agar plates were evaluated. Complete inhibition of Trichoderma pleuroti and T. pleuroticola growth was shown by the field dose of prochloraz, and also by the 0.25 μL L⁻¹ dose for T. pleuroti. Complete inhibition of spore germination occurred for all Trichoderma strains at field dose, and at 0.25 μL L⁻¹ for T. pleuroti strains. In in vivo assays, the effect of prochloraz doses 0.05, 0.25 and 1.25 μL L⁻¹ on colonization of straw substrate by T. pleuroti, T. pleuroticola and T. guizhouense inoculated at two spore densities (10² and 10⁵ spores mL⁻¹) immediately after P. ostreatus spawn was studied. Trichoderma pleuroti and T. pleuroticola were both responsible for green mould disease, whereas T. guizhouense was not pathogenic. Trichoderma pleuroti was more aggressive than T. pleuroticola. Prochloraz was effective against T. pleuroti at the field dose, and against T. pleuroticola at 0.25 and 1.25 μL L⁻¹. The study on Trichoderma × Pleurotus interaction type showed that Trichoderma species were active against the mycelial growth of P. ostreatus by competition for space and nutrients, and neither hyphal interaction nor effect by volatile or nonvolatile metabolites occurred.     

Occurrence of Mycobacterium spp. in ornamental fish in Italy

The occurrence of Mycobacterium spp. in freshwater and marine ornamental fish was studied in Italy from June 2002 to May 2005. Two surveys were carried out, one of aquarium fish sent to the Laboratory for diagnosis, and the other of prevalence of infection by mycobacteria in ornamental fish imported into Italy. Bacterial isolation was carried out from the spleen, kidney and liver, and the isolates were subsequently identified by biochemical tests. In the first survey, 387 fish were examined and Mycobacterium spp. were isolated from 181 (46.8%) fish. In the second survey 127 batches of ornamental fish from different countries were examined. Mycobacterium spp. were isolated from 38 (29.9%) batches. The following species were found: M. fortuitum, M. peregrinum, M. chelonae, M. abscessus, M. marinum, M. gordonae, M. nonchromogenicum and M. interjectum. There was a high prevalence of infection independent of the presence of macroscopic lesions. Mycobacterium fortuitum and M. chelonae were more prevalent than M. marinum in the samples examined.     

Molecular identification and genetic analysis for 24 turf-type Cynodon cultivars by Sequence-Related Amplified Polymorphism markers

Bermudagrass (Cynodon ssp.) germplasm is genetically diverse and widely distributed in the world. The study was conducted to identify and assess the molecular variation and relationship among 24 cultivars developed in China, Australia and the USA. Sequence-Related Amplified Polymorphism (SRAP) was applied to cultivars identification in this study for the first time. Thirty of the 90 SRAP primer combinations generated a total of 274 clearly bands encompassing 249 (91%) polymorphic. Each bermudagrass cultivar has its unique binary code and can be distinguished from the others. Three distinct clusters were obtained by unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages based on the polymorphic markers. Coefficients of genetic distance among the genotypes ranged from 0.57 to 0.97. The results demonstrated that SRAP marker is a stable molecular marker technique for the identification of bermudagrass cultivars and their genetic relationships.