Pulmonary artery and aortic pressure changes during high intensity treadmill exercise in the horse: effect of frusemide and phentolamine.

Intravenous frusemide (1.0 mg/kg bwt) or phentolamine (0.33 mg/kg bwt) was given to 7 horses 1 h before exercise and their effects on pulmonary artery and aortic pressure changes during strenuous exercise were examined. Short-term near-maximal treadmill exercise (10 m/sec, 3 degrees incline) produced increases in heart rate, mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), mean aortic pressure (AP), and packed cell volume (PCV). Frusemide did not affect heart rate, PAP or PCV during exercise. Frusemide significantly decreased mean AP by 10 to 15 mmHg during exercise. Phentolamine produced an increase in heart rate relative to control only early in exercise but not during later, more strenuous, exercise. Phentolamine had no statistically significant effect on AP, PAP, or PCV, but a significant reduction was observed between 180 and 230 sec of exercise when PAP and AP were standardised against heart rate. Frusemide did not prevent horses from haemorrhaging during exercise in this study. Treatment with phentolamine did not sufficiently reduce the PAP and AP to test our hypothesis that a reduction in PAP and AP would eliminate EIPH.     

Hemagglutination and hemagglutination inhibition of turkey red blood cells with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae

The ability of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae to agglutinate RBC was evaluated to develop an in vitro cytadsorption assay. Using swine RBC in a microtitration hemagglutination test, no agglutination or partial agglutination was detected. Comparison of RBC from various other species indicated that improved hemagglutination was obtained with RBC from turkeys. This hemagglutination was detected only when mycoplasma cells used in the assay had been frozen and thawed, heated at 50 C for 30 minutes, or treated with trypsin. Treatment of RBC with trypsin or neuraminidase enhanced hemagglutination. Possible surface lectin activity in M hyopneumoniae was evaluated by use of carbohydrates in a blocking assay; hemagglutination was not inhibited by any of 13 carbohydrates evaluated. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae convalescent porcine serum and monoclonal antibodies against 2 M hyopneumoniae immunogens of molecular weights of 64,000 and 41,000 inhibited hemagglutination.     

Comparison of a commercial H1N1 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and hemagglutination inhibition test in detecting serum antibody against swine influenza viruses.

Recently a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for detecting antibody against H1N1 swine influenza virus (SIV) has been made available to diagnosticians and veterinary practitioners. Because the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test has been considered the standard test for SIV serology, diagnostic performance of the new ELISA was evaluated using positive (n = 60) and negative (n = 188) serum samples from young pigs with known status of SIV infection and compared with that of the HI test. Both ELISA and HI test identified all negative animals correctly. None of the serum samples (n = 64) from pigs inoculated with H3N2 SIV was positive by ELISA for SIV antibody. The H1N1 SIV antibody detectable by ELISA appears to develop more slowly in comparison with antibody detectable by HI test. Although antibody was detected by HI test in all inoculated animals (n = 20) by day 7 postinoculation (PI), antibody was detected by ELISA in 0%, 75%, and 100% of the inoculated animals on days 7, 14, and 28 PI, respectively. Discrepancy in test results between the 2 serologic tests appeared to be because of differences in antibody isotypes detected by each test. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay mainly detected IgG antibody, whereas the HI test detects IgM antibody very efficiently as well as IgG antibody. Collectively, the commercial ELISA is highly specific for antibody to H1N1 SIV but may not identify positive animals at the early stage of infection as effectively as the HI test, particularly when SIV is introduced to a na?ve swine population.     

Identification of QTL Affecting Protein and Amino Acid Contents in Rice

The phenotypes of protein and amino acid contents were measured in an F9 recombinant inbred line population derived from a cross between Zhenshan 97B and Delong 208. A total of 48 and 64 QTLs were identified in 2004 and 2005, respectively. The contribution of each QTL to the phenotypic variation ranged from 4.0% to 43.7%. Most QTLs co-localized, forming 29 QTL clusters on the chromosomes with three major ones detected in both years, which were mapped on chromosomes 1, 7 and 9, respectively. The two QTL clus...     

SUSTAINABLE NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PACKAGE FOR COST-EFFECTIVE BIOENERGY BIOMASS PRODUCTION

Commercial fertilizer (particularly nitrogen) costs account for a substantial portion of the total production costs of cellulosic biomass and can be a major obstacle to biofuel production. In a series of greenhouse studies, we evaluated the feasibility of co-applying Gibberellins (GA) and reduced nitrogen (N) rates to produce a bioenergy crop less expensively. In a preliminary study, we determined the minimum combined application rates of GA and N required for efficient biomass (sweet sorghum, Sorghum bicolor) production. Co-application of 75 kg ha^?1 (one-half of the recommended N rate for sorghum) and a modest GA rate of 3 g ha^?1 optimized dry matter yield (DMY) and N and phosphorus (P) uptake efficiencies, resulting in a reduction of N and P leaching. Organic nutrient sources such as manures and biosolids can be substituted for commercial N fertilizers (and incidentally supply P) to further reduce the cost of nutrient supply for biomass production. Based on the results of the preliminary study, we conducted a second greenhouse study using sweet sorghum as a test bioenergy crop. We co-applied organic sources of N (manure and biosolids) at 75 and 150 kg PAN ha^?1 (representing 50 and 100% N rate respectively) with 3 g GA ha^?1. In each batch of experiment, the crop was grown for 8 wk on Immokalee fine sand of minimal native fertility. After harvest, sufficient water was applied to soil in each pot to yield ～1.5 L (～0.75 pore volume) of leachate, and analyzed for total N and soluble reactive P (SRP). The reduced (50%) N application rate, together with GA, optimized biomass production. Application of GA at 3 g ha^?1, and the organic sources of N at 50% of the recommended N rate, decreased nutrient cost of producing the bioenergy biomass by ～$375 ha^?1 (>90% of total nutrient cost), and could reduce offsite N and P losses from vulnerable soils.     

园林植物高新技术育种研究综述和展望

随着我国园林绿化市场的持续升温,园林植物育种领域的研究不断得到重视,在传统育种技术的基础上,以现代生物技术、航天和离子注入诱变育种为核心的高新技术育种得到较大程度的发展。本文阐述了基因工程和细胞工程技术在园林植物株型和花型、花色和香味、生长发育、延缓衰老、抗病虫、抗逆境等方面的研究现状;综述了航天育种和离子注入育种等高新技术的研究基础,及其在园林植物种质创新领域的研究进展;并介绍了国内有关研究单位的一些相关研究情况。分析了园林植物育种技术的发展趋势,并重点对园林植物现代生物技术、航天和离子注入育种作了展望。     

A network model framework for prioritizing wetland conservation in the Great Plains

Context

Playa wetlands are the primary habitat for numerous wetland-dependent species in the Southern Great Plains of North America. Plant and wildlife populations that inhabit these wetlands are reciprocally linked through the dispersal of individuals, propagules and ultimately genes among local populations.

Objective

To develop and implement a framework using network models for conceptualizing, representing and analyzing potential biological flows among 48,981 spatially discrete playa wetlands in the Southern Great Plains.

Methods

We examined changes in connectivity patterns and assessed the relative importance of wetlands to maintaining these patterns by targeting wetlands for removal based on network centrality metrics weighted by estimates of habitat quality and probability of inundation.

Results

We identified several distinct, broad-scale sub networks and phase transitions among playa wetlands in the Southern Plains. In particular, for organisms that can disperse >2 km a dense and expansive wetland sub network emerges in the Southern High Plains. This network was characterized by localized, densely connected wetland clusters at link distances (h) >2 km but <5 km and was most sensitive to changes in wetland availability (p) and configuration when h = 4 km, and p = 0.2–0.4. It transitioned to a single, large connected wetland system at broader spatial scales even when the proportion of inundated wetland was relatively low (p = 0.2).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that redundancy in the potential for broad and fine-scale movements insulates this system from damage and facilitates system-wide connectivity among populations with different dispersal capacities.

     

Root architecture of sorghum genotypes differing in root angles under different water regimes

Plant root architecture offers the potential for increasing soil water accessibility, particularly under water-limited conditions. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the root architecture in two genotypes of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) differing in root angles and to assess the influence of different deficit irrigation regimes on root architecture. The response of two sorghum genotypes, ‘Early Hegari-Sart’ (EH; steep root angle) and ‘Bk7’ (shallow root angle) to four irrigation treatments was investigated in two replicated outdoor studies using large pots. The results indicated that EH possessed steeper brace and crown root angles, fewer brace roots, greater root biomass, and root length density than Bk7 at deeper soil depths (i.e., 15–30 and 30–45 cm) compared with a shallower depth (i.e., 0–15 cm). Across the soil profile, EH had greater root length density and length of roots of small diameter (<1 mm) than Bk7. Accordingly, EH showed more rapid soil-water capture than Bk7. Different levels of irrigation input greatly affected root architecture. Severe deficit irrigation (25% of full crop transpiration throughout the season) increased the angle and number of crown roots, root biomass, and root length density compared with 75 and 100% of full crop transpiration treatments. Consequently, root system architecture can be effectively manipulated through both genotypic selection and irrigation management to ensure optimal performance under different levels of soil available water.     

Isolation of Mycoplasma salivarium from swine

Mycoplasma salivarium, a common human oropharyngeal mycoplasma, was isolated from nasal and pharyngeal secretions of 14 of 284 swine in a barrier-maintained, disease-free herd. M. salivarium was recovered from one boar 6 times over a 26-month period and one time only from 13 other swine. Human isolates of M. salivarium were compared with the swine isolates by DNA-DNA hybridization and SDS-PAGE of the cell proteins and the strains were shown to be closely related. One of eight of the swine from which M. salivarium was isolated had complement-fixing antibodies and another culture-positive animal had metabolic-inhibiting antibodies to M. salivarium. Overt disease was not associated with the organism. These results support previous findings that mycoplasmas closely related to M. salivarium may be isolated from the nasopharynges of swine and they further indicate that the organism can establish persistently in swine without evidence of overt disease.     

Effectiveness of Coniothyrium minitans and Trichoderma atroviride in suppression of sclerotinia blossom blight of alfalfa

The effects of the mycoparasites Coniothyrium minitans and Trichoderma atroviride on the suppression of alfalfa blossom blight caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum were evaluated under indoor and field conditions. When T. atroviride (9·0 × 10⁴ conidia/floret) + S. sclerotiorum (6·0 × 10³ ascospores/floret) or C. minitans (9·0 × 10⁴ conidia/floret) + S. sclerotiorum (6·0 × 10³ ascospores/floret) were applied to detached young alfalfa florets, T. atroviride effectively inhibited saprophytic growth of S. sclerotiorum, whereas C. minitans showed no inhibition under the same conditions. When T. atroviride (6·9 × 10⁴ conidia/floret) + S. sclerotiorum (6·0 × 10³ ascospores/floret) or C. minitans (6·9 × 10⁴ conidia/floret) + S. sclerotiorum (6·0 × 10³ ascospores/floret) was applied to young alfalfa petals in vivo just after pollination, the percentage of pod formation was higher for T. atroviride+S. sclerotiorum than that for C. minitans+S. sclerotiorum, and the percentage of pod rot was lower for T. atroviride+S. sclerotiorum than that for C. minitans+S. sclerotiorum. However, when they were applied to senescent petals attached to developing pods of alfalfa at 9·2 × 10⁴ conidia/floret together with S. sclerotiorum at 4·5 × 10³ ascospores/floret at 14 days after pollination, C. minitans was more effective than T. atroviride in suppressing sclerotinia pod rot and seed rot of alfalfa. Field experiments showed that three applications of C. minitans (5·4 × 10⁶ conidia mL⁻¹) or T. atroviride (5·4 × 10⁶ conidia mL⁻¹) at a 7-day interval to blossoms of alfalfa effectively suppressed sclerotinia pod rot in two out of three annual trials. Coniothyrium minitans effectively suppressed sclerotinia seed rot in all three years, whereas T. atroviride was not effective against seed rot in any of the trial years. The efficacy of C. minitans was not significantly different (P > 0·05) from benomyl (250 µg ai mL⁻¹). This study suggests that C. minitans has potential as a biocontrol agent to control blossom blight of alfalfa caused by S. sclerotiorum.