Laparo-uterotomy in Squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus)

A laparo-uterotomy technique is described in the Squirrel monkey for obtaining endometrium for electron microscopic studies which has proved successful in our hands. Sernylan used in combination with Nembutal has proved a very effective and safe anaesthetic with no apparent ill effect after repeated administration.
Résumé. On décrit une technique d'utérotomie après laparotomie chez le sagouin; elle nous a donné des résultats satisfaisants et a permis de prélever l'endomètre pour des études au microscope électronique. Le Sernylan associé au Nembutal s'est avéré comme anesthésique très eficace et inoffensif, sans aucun effet secondaire adverse, meme aprés administration répétée.
Zusammenfassung. Eine Laparouterotomiemethode beim Rollaffen zum Erlangen von Endometrium für elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen, die sich bei uns als erfolgreich erwjes, wird beschrieben. Kombiniert mit Nembutal angewendetes Sernylan erwies sich als ein sehr wirksames und sicheres Anacstheticum ohne bemerkbare Nebenwirkung nach wiederholter Anwendung.     

Effects of Rapid Cooling Prior to Freezing on the Quality of Canine Cryopreserved Spermatozoa

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of rapid cooling prior to freezing on frozen-thawed canine sperm quality. In experiment 1, centrifuged ejaculates from 6 dogs were pooled, split into 4 aliquots and cryopreserved by the Uppsala procedure using different cooling rates (control, cooling speed 18 C/90 min and average cooling rate 0.2 C/min; rapid, cooling speed 18 C/8 min and average cooling rate 2.25 C/min) in combination with 2 glycerol addition protocols (fractionated or unfractionated). In experiment 2, centrifuged ejaculates from 4 dogs were processed individually using the same cooling rates described in experiment 1 in combination with an unfractionated glycerol addition protocol. Each of the experiments was replicated 5 times. Sperm quality was evaluated after 30 and 150 min of post-thawing incubation at 38 C. Total motility (TM), progressive motility (PM) and quality of movement parameters were assessed using a computerized system, and sperm viability (spermatozoa with intact plasma and acrosome membranes) was assessed using flow cytometry (H-42/PI/FITC-PNA). Values for TM, PM, viable spermatozoa and the quality of movement parameters after thawing were not significantly affected by the cooling rate. The interaction between the cooling rate and the added glycerol protocol was not significant. There were significant differences among the males (P<0.01) in the sperm quality parameters evaluated after thawing. The interaction between the males and the cooling rate was not significant. In conclusion, canine spermatozoa can be cryopreserved using the Uppsala method at an average cooling rate of 2.25 C/min prior to freezing together with addition of fractionated or unfractionated glycerol.     

Food interrelationships between brown trout, Salmo trutta L., and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum), in a small put-and-take stillwater fishery

Abstract. The food of brown trout, Salmo trutta L., and rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum). in a small stillwater put-and-take fishery in Surrey, England was examined by stomach content analysis of fish caught by angling between the months of April and September 1985. Overall, brown and rainbow trout tended to utilize different food sources. Mann-Whitney U-tests showed most major food items to be eaten in significantly different amounts, the most important exceptions being chironomid pupae and adult Diptera. In all months except April, rainbow trout utilized mainly midwater food, particularly Cladocera. Brown trout fed mainly on benthic food organisms and fish. Spearman rank correlations showed diets to be dissimilar during this period, with significant negative correlations in May and August. These results indicate an absence of interspecific competition for food, and imply spatial separation of brown and rainbow trout. In April both brown and rainbow trout fed extensively on the temporary bottom fauna, mainly trichopteran and megalopteran larvae, and diets were significantly positively correlated.     

Influence de la fertilisation azotée sur la receptivityéďun sol au piétin-échaudage,le développement de la maladie au champ et les populations de Pseudomonas fluorescents1

Différents travaux montrent que le piétin-échaudage est moins grave quand le blé reçoit une fertilisation azotée sous forme ammoniacale plutôt que sous forme nitrique. Les hypothèses avancées pour expliquer ce phénomène sont une réduction du pH de la rhizosphère, ayant un effet direct sur le développement du champignon, ou indirect par stimulation ?une partie de la microflore, ou encore une incidence de la forme ?azote sur la physiologie de la plante. Dans un essai conduit au champ, trois modalités expérimentales ont été combinées: cultivars, traitement fongicide de semences, fertilisation azotée. Les résultats présentés ici portent sur ce dernier facteur à deux niveaux (sulfate ?ammonium ou ammonitrate). Deux notations, à partir de plantes prélevées au champ, ont renseigné sur ?évolution du piétin-échaudage: seule la fertilisation azotée a eu un effet signiflcatif sur le développement de la maladie, le sulfate ?ammonium réduisant de moitié la fréquence de plantes attaquées (15 contre 32%), sans diminuer la gravité des attaques. Parallèlement, des tests réalisés sur échantillons de sols prélevés en décembre, mars et mai, ont indiqué qu'à ces trois périodes les sols fertilisés avec du sulfate ?ammonium étaient moins réceptifs que ceux fertilisés avec de ?ammonitrate. Enfin, les analyses sur une fraction bactérienne de la microflore ont montré que les Pseudomonas fluorescents étaient quatre fois plus nombreux pour le sulfate ?ammonium que pour ?ammonitrate.     

Development and physiology of infection by the downy mildew fungus Peronospora parasitica (Pers. ex Fr.) Fr. in susceptible and resistant Brassica species

The growth of two isolates of the downy mildew fungus Peronospora parasitica , one obtained from cauliflower ( Brassica oleracea ) and the other from oilseed rape ( B. napus ) was assessed in their respective hosts of origin, and also in the alternative combination. Both isolates were capable of infecting either host, but there were marked contrasts in the time course and extent of mycelial development, the amounts of associated host-cell necrosis, and eventual intensity of sporulation. Oilseed rape, which was partially resistant to the isolate from cauliflower, exhibited extensive necrosis of mesophyll cells, in conjunction with reduced mycelial development, and delayed and reduced sporulation by the pathogen. The isolate from oilseed rape was virulent on both host species. Pathogenesis in the susceptible combinations was accompanied by large increases in electrolyte leakage, and increased activity of the enzymes β-glucosidase, ribonuclease, and peroxidase. Effects on chlorophyll content were variable and activities of acid phosphatase and acid phosphodiesterase were unaffected. Electrophoretic analyses of extracts from fungal sporangia and infected seedlings indicated that the large increases in β-glucosidase were of pathogen origin, while evidence from inhibitor studies suggested that enhanced ribonuclease activity was due to a new post-infectional form of the enzyme. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to pathogenesis and host resistance mechanisms.     

Laboratory production of oospores of Peronospora parasitica (crucifer downy mildew) and the recovery and characterization of sexual progeny from crosses between isolates with different host specificity

The production of viable oospores of Peronospora parasitica under laboratory conditions and the recovery of isolates (referred to as sexual progeny) from these oospore populations are described. Oospores were produced when isolates of opposite sexual compatibility type, specialized to the same or different Brassica species, were grown together in seedling cotyledons of a host line capable of supporting growth of both isolates. Recovery of sexual progeny from oospore populations produced from two out of four pairings between isolates specialized to the same host species (homologous pairings) proved relatively easy. On the basis of their characterization with respect to virulence, response to phenylamide fungicides, sexual compatibility type and isoenzyme polymorphisms, there was evidence that the sexual progeny from these homologous pairings could be of hybrid origin. For the first time in a member of the Peronosporaceae, it proved possible to recover and successfully characterize a few sexual progeny from pairings between isolates specialized to different host species (heterologous pairings). However, the majority of such isolates sporulated weakly and as a consequence proved difficult to maintain and were lost. Nevertheless, some evidence for the hybrid nature of progeny from heterologous pairings was obtained.     

Achievements and future perspectives of embryo transfer technology in pigs

Commercial embryo transfer (ET) has unprecedented productive and economic implications for the pig sector. However, pig ET has been considered utopian for decades mainly because of the requirements of surgical techniques for embryo collection and embryo deposition into recipients, alongside challenges to preserve embryos. This situation has drastically changed in the last decade since the current technology allows non‐surgical ET and short‐ and long‐term embryo preservation. Here, we provide a brief review of the improvements in porcine ET achieved by our laboratory in the past 20 years. This review includes several aspects of non‐surgical ET technology and different issues affecting ET programmes and embryo preservation systems. The future perspectives of ET technology are also considered. We will refer only to embryos produced in vivo since they are the only type of embryos with possible short‐term use in pig production.     

The identification of a gene for race-specific resistance to Peronospora parasitica (downy mildew) in Brassica napus var. oleifera (oilseed rape)

The oilseed rape cultivar Cresor was resistant to 14 isolates of Peronospora parasitica derived from crops of Brassica napus in the UK. Segregation for resistance to one isolate among F₂ plants and F₃ progeny of crosses between Cresor and the susceptible cultivars Victor and Jet Neuf indicated that resistance was controlled by a single gene. There was evidence that genetic background and environment could influence the phenotypic expression of this resistance. Two sexual progeny isolates derived from a homothallic isolate of P. parasitica avirulent on Cresor were completely virulent on this cultivar. This suggested that the parental isolate was heterozygous at a matching locus or loci for avirulence and demonstrated the race-specific nature of the resistance.     

Isolation of R-type progeny of Tapesia yallundae from apothecia on wheat stubble in England

Apothecia of Tapesia yallundae were collected from a set-aside straw stubble site in Lincolnshire in March 1993. Single ascospore isolates were obtained which produced colonies with morphologies and growth rates characteristic of the R-pathotype of Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides. Isolates were confirmed to be R-type by the use of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. These observations confirm that T. yallundae is the teleomorph of the R-type of P. herpotrichoides and represent the first detection of the sexual stage of the R-type in the UK.