Ergovaline does not alter the severity of ryegrass staggers induced by lolitrem B

AIM: To investigate a possible interaction between lolitrem B and ergovaline by comparing the incidence and severity of ryegrass staggers in sheep grazing ryegrass (Lolium perenne) containing lolitrem B or ryegrass containing both lolitrem B and ergovaline.

METHODS: Ninety lambs, aged approximately 6 months, were grazed on plots of perennial ryegrass infected with either AR98 endophyte (containing lolitrem B), standard endophyte (containing lolitrem B and ergovaline) or no endophyte, for up to 42 days from 2 February 2010. Ten lambs were grazed on three replicate plots per cultivar. Herbage samples were collected for alkaloid analysis and lambs were scored for ryegrass staggers (scores from 0–5) weekly during the study. Any animal which was scored ≥4 was removed from the study.

RESULTS: Concentrations of lolitrem B did not differ between AR98 and standard endophyte-infected pastures during the study period (p=0.26), and ergovaline was present only in standard endophyte pastures. Ryegrass staggers was observed in sheep grazing both the AR98 and standard endophyte plots, with median scores increasing in the third week of the study. Prior to the end of the 42-day grazing period, 22 and 17 animals were removed from the standard endophyte and AR98 plots, respectively, because their staggers scores were ≥4. The cumulative probability of lambs having scores ≥4 did not differ between animals grazing the two pasture types (p=0.41).

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: There was no evidence for ergovaline increasing the severity of ryegrass staggers induced by lolitrem B. In situations where the severity of ryegrass staggers appears to be greater than that predicted on the basis of concentrations of lolitrem B, the presence of other tremorgenic alkaloids should be investigated.     

Polygalacturonase isoenzymes and oxalic acid produced by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in soybean hypocotyls as elicitors of glyceollin

The polygalacturonases (PG) and oxalic acid produced by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in infected soybean hypocotyls were investigated as elicitors of the phytoalexin glyceollin I.Purification to homogeneity through isoelectrofocusing and ion-exchange fast protein liquid chromatography revealed three endo-PG isoenzymes (PG-I, PG-II and PG-IV) and one exo-PG (PG-III) in 6-day-old etiolated soybean hypocotyls infected with the B-24 isolate of S. sclerotiorum.PG-I and PG-III, in the range of concentrations tested (0·15–1·2 reducing units ml⁻¹), did not act as elicitors of glyceollin I synthesis. Some elicitor activity was shown by PG-II at 0·6–1·2 reducing units ml⁻¹. PG-IV, at lower doses (0·038–0·30 reducing units ml⁻¹), was even more effective in inducing phytoalexin synthesis. However higher concentrations of PG-IV induced tissue softening and decreased phytoalexin accumulation.PG-II and PG-IV released heat-stable elicitors from purified soybean cell walls supporting the evidence that uronides are intermediate inducers in elicitation by endo-PGs. Oxalic acid was an active elicitor of glyceollin I over the range of concentrations tested (0·31–20 m ) with the maximum at a concentration of 5 m . The inability of oxalic acid to release uronides from purified cell walls makes it unlikely that uronide intermediate elicitors are involved in elicitation by oxalic acid.     

Tolerance ofsclerotinia sclerotiorum to glyceollin i,a soybean phytoalexin

Glyceollin I was fungistatic rather than fungicidal towardSclerotinia sclerotiorum. Within the mycelial mat apical cells were more vulnerable than mature cells.S. sclerotiorum removed large amounts of glyceollin from solution by a non-energy-requiring process. Contribution from Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica.     

Akabane disease in sheep

Perinatal lamb mortality, associated with malformations of the CNS due to Akabane viral infection, occurred in 4 of 9 flocks of ewes lambing on 3 farms between 26 May and 14 November, 1976. Cases were restricted to ewes conceiving prior to the second week of March and lambing between 26 May and 19 July. As judged by seroconversion in sentinel flocks on 2 of the farms, field infection with Akabane virus occurred mainly between mid-February and mid-April. Malformations of the CNS occurred in 42.5%, 51.2%, 100% and 31.0% of the dead lambs examined in the affected flocks respectively. Prevalence in the 4 affected flocks, expressed as the proportion of ewes lambing which delivered at least one malformed foetus, was 6.1%, 8.4%, 88.9% and 5.7% respectively. Lamb mortality due to malformations of the CNS was 7.1%, 5.5%, 92.3% and 5.7% of lambs born. Age-specific prevalence was calculated for 3 of the 4 flocks and 2-year-old ewes accounted for 71.4% and 76.9% of total cases respectively in 2 flocks, whereas in one flock malformations occurred at equivalent frequencies throughout several older age groups. Birthweights of affected lambs were usually significantly lighter than those of unaffected lambs of similar sex and birth-type, and their mean duration of gestation was slightly, and significantly, prolonged. Micrencephaly (88.1% of cases) and hydrocephalus (68.7% of cases) were the outstanding pathological features of the malformations with hydranencephaly, microgyria, porencephaly and attenuation of the spinal cord occurring at much lower frequencies.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Pyrosequencing of the rabies virus glycoprotein gene to demonstrate absence of vaccine-associated rabies cases following oral vaccination

Replication competent vaccines have been used successfully for the control of terrestrial rabies, mainly in wildlife; however, these vaccine strains occasionally may induce rabies. In this study, a pyrosequencing protocol for the rapid identification of vaccine-associated rabies viruses was applied to the 2008–2011 Italian epidemic. There was no evidence of vaccine-associated rabies cases following oral vaccination of foxes with the SAG2 and SADB19 vaccine strains.