High performance liquid chromatography determination of ergosterolas a measure of ectomycorrhiza infection in Scots pine

A technique for determining the ergosterol content in mycorrhizal pine roots using HPLC was developed. Pure cultures of different my corrhizal fungi contained very similar and constant amounts of ergosterol, and calculations of fungal biomass in mycorrhizal roots based on ergosterol readings agreed well with results using other methods. The extraction and sample purification were simple and reliable. Consequently, the technique is considered practical wherever accurate estimates of the intensity of mycorrhizal infection are required.     

Chronic cryptosporidiosis in Australian elapid snakes: control of an outbreak in a captive colony

An outbreak of chronic cryptosporidiosis resulting in hypertrophic gastritis occurred in a captive colony of Australian elapid snakes. Two species of the genus Notechiswere involved: Notechis ***ater(Black Tiger Snake) and Notechis scutatus (Eastern or Mainland Tiger Snake). The infection was eventually fatal in all 9 affected snakes. Typical histopathological findings of the stomach included mucosal thickening with cystic dilatation of gastric glands, moderate oedema and fibrosis of the lamina propria, and a mild to moderate patchy infiltration of inflammatory cells. Procedures implemented to contain the outbreak included the use of a formaldehyde-based disinfectant, prompt removal of faecal matter, uneaten and regurgitated food from enclosures, and examination of faecal specimens for Cryptosporidium oocysts and other pathogens.     

Comparison of predictions of baking volume using large deformation rheological properties

Three large deformation rheological tests, the Kieffer dough extensibility system, the D/R dough inflation system and the 2 g mixograph test, were carried out on doughs made from a large number of winter wheat lines and cultivars grown in Poland. These lines and cultivars represented a broad spread in baking performance in order to assess their suitability as predictors of baking volume. The parameters most closely associated with baking volume were strain hardening index, bubble failure strain, and mixograph bandwidth at 10 min. Simple correlations with baking volume indicate that bubble failure strain and strain hardening index give the highest correlations, whilst the use of best subsets regression, which selects the best combination of parameters, gave increased correlations with R²=0.865 for dough inflation parameters, R²=0.842 for Kieffer parameters and R²=0.760 for mixograph parameters.     

Rapid Quality Assessment of Wheat Cultivars Registered in Poland Using the 2‐g Mixograph and Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Baking and 2‐g mixograph analyses were performed for 55 cultivars (19 spring and 36 winter wheat) from various quality classes from the 2002 harvest in Poland. An instrumented 2‐g direct‐drive mixograph was used to study the mixing characteristics of the wheat cultivars. A number of parameters were extracted automatically from each mixograph trace and correlated with baking volume and flour quality parameters (protein content and high molecular weight glutenin subunit [HMW‐GS] composition by SDS‐PAGE) using multiple linear regression statistical analysis. Principal component analysis of the mixograph data discriminated between four flour quality classes, and predictions of baking volume were obtained using several selected mixograph parameters, chosen using a best subsets regression routine, giving R² values of 0.862–0.866. In particular, three new spring wheat strains (CHD 502a‐c) recently registered in Poland were highly discriminated and predicted to give high baking volume on the basis of two mixograph parameters: peak bandwidth and 10‐min bandwidth.     

Seed globulins in the Old World Lupinus species: Comparative study by HPLC

Seed globulins isolated from 58 accessions representing 12 Old World Lupinus species were studied using two techniques of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC): reversed-phase (RP-HPLC) and ion-exchange (IE-HPLC). Differences in quantitative and qualitative composition of globulins between smooth-seeded and rough-seeded lupins appear to be significant. Each investigated species/subspecies is distinguished by its specific protein HPLC pattern of globulins. The number of globulin peaks recorded in particular species varied from four to eight. In total, 72 retention times of protein peaks were distinguished in the investigated taxa. Chromatographic data were subjected to statistical analysis using hierarchical UPGMA grouping of the examined taxa. Heterogeneous smooth-seeded lupins proved to be distantly related to rather homogeneous rough-seeded lupins except for the new species L. anatolicus. Within the rough-seeded lupins three subgroups are distinguished: (1) L. atlanticus, L. cosentinii and L. digitatus, (2) L. palaestinus and L. pilosus and (3) L. princei. The obtained data are discussed with reference to taxonomic relationships in the Old World lupins.