Co-Infection with Multiple Variants of Canine Parvovirus Type 2 (CPV-2)

Veterinary Research Communications - Battilani, M., Gallina, L., Vaccari, F. and Morganti, L., 2007. Co-infection with multiple variants of canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2). Veterinary Research...     

Biochar as a strategy to sequester carbon and increase yield in durum wheat

Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils is a climate change mitigation option since most of cultivated soils are depleted of soil organic carbon and far from saturation. The management practices, most frequently suggested to increase soil organic carbon content have variable effects depending on pedo-climatic conditions and have to be applied for a long time periods to maintain their sink capacity. Biochar (BC), a carbon rich product obtained through carbonization of biomass, can be used for carbon sequestration by applying large amounts of carbon very resistant to decomposition. The BC remains into soil for a long time and there is evidence that the BC stores atmospheric carbon from centennial, to millennial timescales. However most of the agronomic studies on BC application have been made in tropical and sub-tropical climates, while there is a substantial lack of studies at mid-latitudes and in temperate climates. This paper presents the results on an investigation of large volume application of BC (30 and 60 t ha^?1) on durum wheat in the Mediterranean climate condition, showing the viability of BC application for carbon sequestration on this crop. BC application also has positive effects up to 30% on biomass production and yield, with no differences in grain nitrogen content. Moreover no significant differences between the two BC treatments were detected, suggesting that even very high BC application rates promote plant growth and are, certainly, not detrimental. The effect of the biochar on durum wheat was sustained for two consecutive seasons when BC application was not repeated in the second year.     

Protective effect of the AT137RQ and ARQK176 PrP alleles against classical scrapie in Sarda breed sheep

The susceptibility of sheep to scrapie is under the control of the host’s prion protein (PrP) gene and is also influenced by the strain of the agent. PrP polymorphisms at codons 136 (A/V), 154 (R/H) and 171 (Q/R/H) are the main determinants of susceptibility/resistance of sheep to classical scrapie. They are combined in four main variants of the wild-type ARQ allele: VRQ, AHQ, ARH and ARR. Breeding programmes have been undertaken on this basis in the European Union and the USA to increase the frequency of the resistant ARR allele in sheep populations. Herein, we report the results of a multi-flock study showing the protective effect of polymorphisms other than those at codons 136, 154 and 171 in Sarda breed sheep. All ARQ/ARQ affected sheep (n = 154) and 378 negative ARQ/ARQ controls from four scrapie outbreaks were submitted to sequencing of the PrP gene. The distribution of variations other than those at the standard three codons, between scrapie cases and negative controls, was statistically different in all flocks. In particular, the AT₁₃₇RQ and ARQK₁₇₆ alleles showed a clear protective effect. This is the first study demonstrating a protective influence of alleles other than ARR under field conditions. If further investigations in other sheep breeds and with other scrapie sources confirm these findings, the availability of various protective alleles in breeding programmes of sheep for scrapie resistance could be useful in breeds with a low frequency of the ARR allele and would allow maintaining a wider variability of the PrP gene.     

State-of-the-art review of goat TSE in the European Union, with special emphasis on PRNP genetics and epidemiology

Scrapie is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of sheep and goats. It is also the earliest known member in the family of diseases classified as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) or prion diseases, which includes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), and chronic wasting disease in cervids. The recent revelation of naturally occurring BSE in a goat has brought the issue of TSE in goats to the attention of the public. In contrast to scrapie, BSE presents a proven risk to humans. The risk of goat BSE, however, is difficult to evaluate, as our knowledge of TSE in goats is limited. Natural caprine scrapie has been discovered throughout Europe, with reported cases generally being greatest in countries with the highest goat populations. As with sheep scrapie, susceptibility and incubation period duration of goat scrapie are most likely controlled by the prion protein (PrP) gene (PRNP). Like the PRNP of sheep, the caprine PRNP shows significantly greater variability than that of cattle and humans. Although PRNP variability in goats differs from that observed in sheep, the two species share several identical alleles. Moreover, while the ARR allele associated with enhancing resistance in sheep is not present in the goat PRNP, there is evidence for the existence of other PrP variants related to resistance. This review presents the current knowledge of the epidemiology of caprine scrapie within the major European goat populations, and compiles the current data on genetic variability of PRNP.     

Animal transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and genetics

The genotype of the host plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). In this respect, the most important factor is represented by the gene of the prion protein (PrP). The present work summarizes the currently available knowledge on the genetic basis of TSEs focusing, in particular, on sheep scrapie. Interest in this disease has grown markedly following the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, both for scientific and health reasons. In Italy, specific research grants from the Ministry of Health and the National Research Council (CNR), together with cooperation between the Istituto Superiore di Sanità and the Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali, have allowed us to study the PrP genotype and to investigate the genetic susceptibility to scrapie in the most important Italian sheep breeds, with special reference to Sarda, Comisana and Massese. The PrP genotype in relation to scrapie susceptibility was also studied in goats of Ionica breed.     

Novel H1N2 swine influenza reassortant strain in pigs derived from the pandemic H1N1/2009 virus

Swine influenza monitoring programs have been in place in Italy since the 1990 s and from 2009 testing for the pandemic H1N1/2009 virus (H1N1pdm) was also performed on all the swine samples positive for type A influenza. This paper reports the isolation and genomic characterization of a novel H1N2 swine influenza reassortant strain from pigs in Italy that was derived from the H1N1pdm virus. In May 2010, mild respiratory symptoms were observed in around 10% of the pigs raised on a fattening farm in Italy. Lung homogenate taken from one pig showing respiratory distress was tested for influenza type A and H1N1pdm by two real time RT-PCR assays. Virus isolation was achieved by inoculation of lung homogenate into specific pathogen free chicken embryonated eggs (SPF CEE) and applied onto Caco-2 cells and then the complete genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was performed from the CEE isolate. The lung homogenate proved to be positive for both influenza type A (gene M) and H1N1pdm real time RT-PCRs. Virus isolation (A/Sw/It/116114/2010) was obtained from both SPF CEE and Caco-2 cells. Phylogenetic analysis showed that all of the genes of A/Sw/It/116114/2010, with the exception of neuraminidase (NA), belonged to the H1N1pdm cluster. The NA was closely related to two H1N2 double reassortant swine influenza viruses (SIVs), previously isolated in Sweden and Italy. NA sequences for these three strains were clustering with H3N2 SIVs. The emergence of a novel reassortant H1N2 strain derived from H1N1pdm in swine in Italy raises further concerns about whether these viruses will become established in pigs. The new reassortant not only represents a pandemic (zoonotic) threat but also has unknown livestock implications for the European swine industry.     

A wireless sensor network for precision viticulture: The NAV system

In the last decade, wireless technologies have been increasingly applied in precision agriculture. Wireless monitoring systems in particular have been used in precision viticulture in order to understand vineyard variability, and therefore suggest appropriate management practices for improving the quality of the wines.The NAV (Network Avanzato per il Vigneto – Advanced Vineyard Network) system is a wireless sensor network designed and developed with the aim of remote real-time monitoring and collecting of micro-meteorological parameters in a vineyard. The system includes a base agrometeorological station (Master Unit) and a series of peripheral wireless nodes (Slave Units) located in the vineyard. The Master Unit is a typical single point monitoring station placed outside the vineyard in a representative site to collect agrometeorological data. It utilizes a wireless technology for data communication and transmission with the Slave Units and remote central server. The Slave Units are multiple stations placed in the vineyard and equipped with agrometeorological sensors for site-specific environmental monitoring, which store and transmit data to the Master Unit. Software was developed for setup and configuration functionality. A graphical user interface operating on the remote central server was implemented to collect and process data and provide real-time control. The devices were tested in a three-step process: hardware functionality and data acquisition, energy consumption and communication. The NAV system is a complete monitoring system that gave flexibility for planning and installation, which fully responded to the objectives of the work in terms of energy efficiency and performance.     

Soil organic carbon stock assessment for the different cropland land uses in Italy

The aim of this work was to quantify the soil organic C (SOC) stock in the top 30 cm of mineral soil for the whole Italian territory, according to the different land use types of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) cropland category (arable land, agroforestry, vineyards, olive groves, orchards and rice fields), as a basis for future land use scenarios and to address mitigation policy at country level. A database for SOC stock was created with the data from the national project denominated SIAS and partly from regional map reports. All data were referred to the year 2000 since they were derived from surveys conducted from 1995 to 2005. The data were stratified according to the Italian climatic regions, the landscape position and the IPCC cropland subcategories. Taking into account the uncertainty in the estimate, the mean SOC stock values of the different subcategories show significant differences (p < 0.05) among climatic regions and landscapes, ranging from 41.9 ± 15.9 Mg C ha⁻¹ in the vineyards to 63.3 ± 27.9 Mg C ha⁻¹ in the rice fields. Generally, a small decrease of the SOC stock from the temperate regions toward the Mediterranean ones is observed. Taking into account the mean value of each subcategory and the country area they occupied in 2000, the total C stored in the upper 30 cm of soil was estimated at 490.0 ± 121.7 Tg C. The resulting estimate represents the 17% of the value reported by another study for the soil of the whole country down to 50 cm depth, suggesting the importance of preserving this large C pool. Considering the cropland category as a whole, the estimated mean SOC stock is 52.1 ± 17.4 Mg C ha⁻¹, similar to that reported for other European countries, 50–60 Mg C ha⁻¹. In conclusion, the assessment of the mean SOC stock of the different cropland land uses, landscape position and climate regions could notably help when assessing the impact of different agricultural practices and future stock change evaluation.     

In vitro activity of VEGF-E produced by orf virus strains isolated from classical and severe persistent contagious ecthyma

Proliferative orf virus infections in adult sheep have increased in Italy in the past few years: these extreme cases are frequently fatal and difficult to differentiate from other infectious diseases of sheep such as blue tongue. A probable explanation for the proliferative and highly vascularized nature of the lesions was found in the expression of the VEGF-E gene encoded by the orf virus. To investigate a possible role of the viral VEGF in the pathogenesis of severe persistent orf virus lesions, the activity of four VEGF-E variants was compared by an angiogenesis in vitro model. Similar angiogenic activity was found between strains isolated from the classical and the proliferative forms of the disease, even if the latter was able to develop a higher number of vessels during the first 24 h of infection. Our in vitro findings seems to exclude that the VEGF variants encoded by the strain isolated from the atypical form of the disease could be the responsible for the histopathological aspect of the proliferative lesions.