Starch gel electrophoresis of lactate dehydrogenase and glucose phosphate isomerase of poultry coccidia using the LKB multiphor

A modification of thin-layer starch gel horizontal electrophoresis is described. The original method of Wraxall and Culliford (1986) is improved so that the preparation of starch gel is as simple as preparing the agarose gel. Thus the commercially supplied kits and instruments for the agarose gel electrophoresis can be also used for the starch gel electrophoresis. Furthermore, a method of preparing the permanent dry enzymograms from the starch gels with visualized enzymes is presented. The described procedure was used in the LDH and GPI analyses of poultry coccidia.     

Enzyme variants of Eimeria parasitizing the domestic fowl and possibilities of species diagnostics.

Electrophoretic variation of the enzymes lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and glucosephosphate isomerase (GPI) of Eimeria parasitizing the domestic fowl in Czechoslovakia is summarized and the differentiation of species of poultry coccidia is discussed. A new method for evaluation of zymograms of coccidial enzymes is presented. This method enables the results of different experiments to be compared by calculating standardized rates of mobility of each enzyme band relative to the positions of reference variants coded LDH-8 or GPI-9.     

Differentiation of species of Eimeria from the fowl using a computerized image-analysis system

Oocysts of Eimeria species from the fowl have been identified using a computerized image-analysis system (Leitz T.A.S. Plus Image-Analyser). The system enabled semiautomatic measurement of oocyst dimensions with subsequent species of diagnosis based on graphic statistical evaluation of size and shape of measured parasites. E. mitis, E. acervulina, E. brunetti, E. maxima, E. tenella and complex of E. necatrix and E. praecox were distinguishable both in pure cultures and in mixtures. It was not possible to distinguish E. praecox from E. necatrix using this system.     

Genetic diversity of Brassica napus L. Germplasm from China and Europe assessed by some agronomically important characters

Summary The genetic diversity and relationships among 63 rapeseed accessions, including 34 Chinese, 22 Czech, 2 Swedish, 2 German, one French and 2 Canadian accessions, were evaluated by nine agronomically important characters in the field at Yangling, Shaanxi, China. Significant differences between Chinese and European group in plant height, setting position of the first primary branch, number of siliques of the terminal raceme, thousand seed weight and seed yield per plant were detected. There were significant variations in nine agronomic characters among the tested rapeseed accessions. Ward’s minimum variance cluster analysis based on Mahalanobis distances on the raw data of nine agronomic characters clearly separated the European accessions from the Chinese ones. However, the Chinese accessions with erucic acid free and/or low glucosinolates could not be separated from those Chinese accessions with both high erucic acid and glucosinolates. In general, cluster analysis of the 63 accessions based on the selected agronomic characters was consistent with known pedigree information and geographic origin, as well as the previous RAPD results of these accessions. The European rapeseed could be important germplasm resources for enriching the genetic background of Chinese rapeseed, and vice versa.     

Trade-off between height growth and spring flushing in common beech (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Fagus sylvatica</Emphasis> L.)

• Introduction   

The annual development cycle of boreal and temperate trees results from an evolutionary trade-off between two opposing forces. These are namely, the adjustment of leaf phenology to the timing of frost occurrence at the beginning and/or the end of the growth season countered by an effective adjustment to the duration of the growth season to maximise photosynthesis and biomass production during the growing season.     

Regional synthesis of Mediterranean atmospheric circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum

Atmospheric circulation leaves few direct traces in the geological record, making reconstructions of this crucial element of the climate system inherently difficult. We produced a regional Mediterranean synthesis of paleo-proxy data from the sea surface to alpine altitudes. This provides a detailed observational context for change in the three-dimensional structure of atmospheric circulation between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, approximately 23,000 to 19,000 years ago) and the present. The synthesis reveals evidence for frequent cold polar air incursions, topographically channeled into the northwestern Mediterranean. Anomalously steep vertical temperature gradients in the central Mediterranean imply local convective precipitation. We find the LGM patterns to be analogous, though amplified, to previously reconstructed phases of enhanced meridional winter circulation during the Maunder Minimum (the Little Ice Age).     

Protein heterogeneity in European wheat landraces and obsolete cultivars

Identity and present degree of genetic homogeneity and heterogeneity, respectively of 52 European wheat accessions, maintained in the collection of wheat genetic resources, have been characterized using analyses of glutenins by sodiumdodecylsulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Six of the analyzed wheat accessions were observed to be homogeneous, while 46 (88.5%) of them were heterogeneous in protein profiles. Heterogeneous accessions possessed 2 to 13 different protein lanes. Together, 17 high molecular weight glutenin subunit (HMW-GS) alleles have been found. The most frequent HMW-GS alleles at the Glu-A1, Glu-B1, and Glu-D1 complex loci were 1, 7+9, and 2+12, respectively. However, also low frequented HMW-GS alleles or allelic combinations, such as 7+15, 13+16, 20, 6, 7, and 9 were observed. Furthermore, another new allele encoding HMW glutenin subunit with relative molecular weight 98.6 kDa has been found in one of the lines of the cultivar Eritrospermum 917. The Glu-score in the examined accessions varied in broad range, some of the lines reached the maximum value 10.     

UN ECE ICP Materials: Dose-Response Functions on Dry and Wet Acid Deposition Effects After 8 Years of Exposure

The main results of the International Co-operative Programme on Effects on Materials, including Historic and Cultural Monuments (ICP Materials) within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) are summarised. The 8-year field exposure programme involves 39 test sites in 12 European countries and in the United States and Canada. Dose-response functions (DRF) expressing the effect of dry and wet deposition as individual terms have been obtained for a wide range of materials including bronze, copper, weathering steel, zinc, aluminium, nickel, tin, stone materials, paint coatings and glass materials. The DRF's includes parameters that are easily available on different geographical scales and can be used for mapping areas of increased corrosion rates and for calculation of costs.     

Structure and diversity of small-mammal communities of lowland forests in the rural central European landscape

Small-mammal communities were monitored over 4 years in South Moravian rural lowland forests in order to study relationships with various forest habitat types. Early successional sites (plantations) and forest edges maintained communities with higher abundance and diversity. Lowest total abundance was observed in unmanaged lowland forest and highest abundance in plantations with irregular undergrowth management. Low diversity was typical of non-fruiting monocultures. In plantations, both diversity and abundance were affected by herb layer removal, with sites subject to regular cutting, displaying lower levels. Significant differences in diversity and species richness were only detected between early and late successional sites, with the former showing higher values. Two basic small-mammal community groups were determined; (1) those inhabiting sites with a thick herb undergrowth and an open tree canopy (plantation) and (2) those inhabiting stands with sparse or no herb layer and a closed canopy (high forest). Forest stands support long-term populations of dominant small forest-dwelling mammal species and, as such, serve as reservoirs, even in rural landscapes dominated by intensive arable farming. Managed early succession lowland forests represent important refuges for a number of small open-habitat mammals negatively affected by intensive farming.