Resistance to common bacterial blight in Phaseolus vulgaris L. recombinant inbred lines under natural infection of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli

Among the main causes of poor yield in common beans are fungal, viral and bacterial diseases. Common bacterial blight, caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Xap), is one of the major bacterial diseases leading to significant losses in Brazil. Chemical control is ineffective, therefore, the use of resistant varieties becomes an interesting alternative. The objective of the present work was to evaluate disease resistance under natural infection of the pathogen in 109 recombinant inbred lines (F₇) of P. vulgaris originated from the cross HAB-52 (susceptible — snapbean) × BAC-6 (resistant — common bean) in two different environments, as well as to calculate genetic parameters to assist in the selection of promising materials to be used in the CBB resistance breeding program. The data of the genetic parameters were compared to those calculated for the F₃ generation originated from the same cross. The heritability results for DI (disease index) and VI (variation index) in F₃ were 26.85% and 0.26, respectively, whereas in F₇ they were 91.77% and 1.36, respectively. These results demonstrate a potential to be explored for this advanced population, that in the future, along with other pathogen variability studies and tests in other environments, may provide more information regarding a more precise evaluation of promising genotypes to be used in common bean breeding programs aiming to obtain CBB resistant varieties. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Critical disease components of common bacterial blight to effectively evaluate resistant genotypes of snap bean

Common bacterial blight (CBB) caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli (Xap) is the main bacterial disease of snap bean. The present work aimed to select snap bean genotypes that are resistant to CBB based on three components of resistance: area under the disease progress curve, latent period, and lesion diameter on pods (DL). A completely randomized two-factor factorial design with six replications was used to evaluate leaves and pods of 14 snap bean and three common bean genotypes (PI 207262, BAC-6 and A-794) with high resistance to CBB. Two Xap isolates, 1394-98 and 775-90, were used to inoculate leaves and pods. Data were analyzed using nonparametric statistics. Significant differences were observed among the evaluated genotypes for all of the components of resistance, except for DL. The snap bean UENF 1482 demonstrated good performance in two disease resistance components. For this reason, this genotype can be recommended for use in breeding programs that aim to generate snap bean genotypes resistant to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. phaseoli.     

Effect of Urtica dioica extract intake upon blood lipid profile in the rats

Aqueous (150 mg/kg/day) and to a lesser extent petroleum ether (20 mg/kg/day) extract of Urtica dioica given for 30 days to rats fed with normal or high-fat diet, improved the blood lipid profile. Significant decreases in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio and plasma total apo B were observed. Assessment of GOT, GPT and LDH activities showed that no liver damage has occurred during the study period.     

A new type of pterocarpanquinone that affects Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites in vitro

Toxoplasma gondii, the agent of Toxoplasmosis, is an obligate intracellular protozoan able to infect a wide range of vertebrate cells, including nonprofessional and professional phagocytes. Therefore, drugs must have intracellular activities in order to control this parasite. The most common therapy for Toxoplasmosis is the combination of sulfadiazine and pyrimethamine. This treatment is associated with adverse reactions, thus, the development of new drugs is necessary. In previous studies, naphthoquinone derivatives showed anti-cancer activity functioning as agents capable of acting on groups of DNA, preventing cancer cells duplication. These derivatives also display anti-parasitic activity against Plasmodium falciparum and Leishmania amazonensis. The derivative pterocarpanquinone tested in this work resulted from the molecular hybridization between pterocarpans and naphtoquinone that presents anti-tumoral and anti-parasitic activities of lapachol. The aim of this work was to determine if this derivative is able to change T. gondii growth within LLC-MK2 cells. The drug did not arrest host cell growth, but was able to decrease the infection index of T. gondii with an IC(50) of 2.5 μM. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy analysis showed morphological changes of parasites including membrane damage. The parasite that survived tended to encyst as seen by Dolichos biflorus lectin staining and Bag-1 expression. These results suggest that pterocarpanquinones are drugs potentially important for the killing and encystment of T. gondii.     

Alteration of virulence factors and rearrangement of pAsa5 plasmid caused by the growth of Aeromonas salmonicida in stressful conditions

Aeromonas salmonicida, a fish pathogen, is the causative agent of furunculosis. It was already shown that growing this bacterium in stressful conditions such as temperature above 22°C might lead to virulence attenuation. Unfortunately, many veterinary microbiology services and reference centers still routinely cultivate A. salmonicida at 25°C. Here we tested the presence of virulence factors by growth on specific medium as well as the integrity of the pAsa5 plasmid, which bears an important virulence factor, the type III secretion system (TTSS), by PCR analysis in twenty strains, most of which were grown at 25°C in their laboratory of origin. The analysis revealed that strains, which encountered the more stressful growth conditions displayed the most frequent absence of A-layer protein and secreted proteolytic activity. Moreover, many strains had lost parts of the pAsa5 plasmid in which the TTSS region was almost always affected. To confirm the effect of stressful growth conditions on the plasmid, three strains with an intact pAsa5 were cultured at 25°C for two weeks. A low but significant fraction of the tested colonies displayed pAsa5 rearrangements. The rearrangement always affected the TTSS region and led to a loss of virulence in the Dictyostelium discoideum co-culture assay. These results demonstrate that the instability of pAsa5 did not lead to its complete loss as previously proposed but to a more complex rearrangement phenomenon and emphasizes the necessity to grow A. salmonicida in appropriate conditions to preserve the complete virulence of the bacterium.     

Factors associated with seroprevalence of Neospora caninum in dairy cattle in southeastern Brazil

Neosporosis is an infectious disease caused by Neospora caninum, an obligate intracellular cyst-forming protozoan considered a major cause of miscarriage in dairy cattle in many parts of the world. This cross-sectional study evaluated the relationship between reproductive abnormalities and seropositivity to N. caninum in 1,204 dairy cows from 40 farms located in the state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. Producers were interviewed, and blood samples were collected to perform indirect immunofluorescence tests (IFAT 1:200). Association between reproductive abnormalities and seropositivity in cattle was evaluated with generalized estimating equations. The true herd-level seroprevalence of N. caninum was 95 % (83.3–99.1), while the individual-level true seroprevalence was 21.6 % (19.2–24.2). Several reproductive abnormalities were significantly associated with seropositivity to N. caninum: occurrence of repeated estrus (p?=?0.02; OR?=?3.84; 95 % CI?=?1.239–11.893), repeated miscarriages (p?=?0.001; OR?=?2.54; 95 % CI?=?1.423–5.402), and temporary anestrus (p?=?0.001; OR?=?3.44; 95 % CI?=?1.976–5.994). Furthermore, loose dogs (p?=?0.041; OR?=?2.20; 95 % CI?=?1.033–4.672) when fed raw meat (p?=?0.001; OR?=?1.91; 95 % CI?=?1.443–2.519) are risk factors for N. caninum infection. We observed that seropositivity to N. caninum in cattle increases risk of miscarriage by almost twice throughout the reproductive life of cows (p?=?0.004; OR?=?1.978; 95 % CI?=?1.249–3.131). Serologic evidence in this study indicates that N. caninum infection is widely distributed among dairy herds and significantly associated with reproductive disorders, especially miscarriage, repeated estrus, and temporary anestrus.     

Soil Contamination by Toxic Metals Near an Antarctic Refuge in Robert Island,Maritime Antarctica: A Monitoring Strategy

The anthropogenic effects of Antarctic refuge buildings and research stations on the surrounding soils are scarcely investigated, especially when the structures are small-sized, and sporadically used or visited. The Coppermine Peninsula (Robert Island, South Shetland Islands archipelago) possesses one of the richest flora in Antarctica, being classified as an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA). There, a small refuge (Luis Risopatrón) has been seasonally occupied for scientific purposes since 1957, although no studies on the anthropic disturbances in the surroundings soils are reported. The aim of this study was the determination of the potentially toxic metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) mass fractions in surface soils (n?=?40) collected at the surroundings of the Luis Risopatrón refuge. Enrichment factors (EF) and geoaccumulation index (I _geo) were also calculated, using Zr as the reference element, in order to evaluate the anthropogenic impacts of these small buildings in the studied area. The main contaminants were Pb and Zn, which presented EF and I _geo values ranging from 1.0 to 18.3 and from ?1.8 to 3.5. The mass fractions of these elements determined after an aqua regia extraction varied from 5.4 to 102 mg kg^?1 Pb and from 43 to 210 mg kg^?1 Zn. These results highlight that a small refuge can show environmental disturbance from low to moderate, with few hotspots with heavily contaminated soils. Environmental monitoring strategy for similar refuges anywhere in Antarctica is recommended.     

Analysis of phenolic and other aromatic compounds in honeys by solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The solid-phase microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for the analysis of phenolic and other aromatic compounds in honey samples from different floral origin. Different parameters affecting the efficiency of the extraction, such as the type of the stationary phase of the fiber, NaCl and acetic acid addition, and extraction time, were optimized for the detection of the maximum number of compounds in the shortest analysis time. A total of 31 compounds were detected, with most of them identified and quantified by GC-MS. The principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the data matrix; the results allowed for the differentiation between honeydew and nectar honeys on the basis of the salicylic acid concentration. It was found that this acid has a high contribution in the honeydew group (71.2-705.9 microg/100 g of honey) compared to the nectar honey group (0-47.6 microg/100 g of honey). The comparison of data in each honey group enabled us to characterize the floral source of some honeys using some aromatic compounds as markers.     

Identification of a major QTL in cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) associated with resistance to witches' broom disease

The witches’ broom disease caused by the fungus Crinipellis perniciosa is the main limiting factor for cocoa production in South America and the Caribbean. In Brazil, this disease affects almost all cocoa‐growing regions, causing serious economic, social and ecological damage. The aim of this study was to map genomic regions associated with resistance to C. perniciosa using an F₂ population derived from a cross between ‘Scavina‐6’(resistant) and ‘ICS‐1’(susceptible). The phenotypic index was determined as the average number of vegetative witches’ brooms per canopy area of each plant, the witches’ brooms were counted and eliminated during six field evaluations between May 1998 and August 1999. A total of 124 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and 69 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were mapped along 25 linkage groups covering 1713 cM of cocoa genome. After employing single factor and composite interval mapping analyses, a major quantitative trait loci (QTL) flanked by the marker AV14.940 was identified in the linkage group 11, explaining almost 35% of the resistance to witches’ broom. The present result suggests that this QTL acts as a major dominant component of resistance to this pathogen, with great potential for use in marker‐assisted selection procedures in cocoa breeding programmes.     

Tissue composition and allometric growth of carcass of lambs Santa Inês and crossbreed with breed Dorper

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This study aimed to assess the tissue composition and allometric growth of carcasses of Santa Inês and crossbred Dorper x Santa Inês lambs confined...