Metabolic adaptations of mullet Rhinomugil corsula (Hamilton) with special reference to energy utilization

While the respiratory quotient (R.Q.) of Rhinomugil corsula in air-saturated water remains near unity at all levels of random activity, the ammonia quotient (A.Q. = volume or mole: mole relation of ammonia excreted to oxygen consumed) is higher at lower levels of activity, indicating relatively higher protein utilization in less active fish. The mean routine R.Q. values of R. corsula in air-saturated water at temperatures of 30 and 35°C are 0.91 and 0.95 respectively. Assuming that the major sources of ammonia excreted are certain predominant free amino acids, an estimate of caloric break-up of routine meta-bolism of R. corsula suggests that the fish is completely aerobic in air-saturated water and that it derives 14, 44 and 42% of energy from proteins, carbohydrates and fats respectively from a total of 567 cal/kg fish/h at 30°C (15, 55 and 30% at 35°C). At oxygen concentrations below air saturation, R.Q. and A.Q. values of R. corsula increase with decrease in ambient oxygen indicating an increase in anaerobic metabolism and protein utilization. The correlation between the trends of R.Q. and A.Q. levels are similar to that observed earlier in Tilapia mossambica. During hypoxia (1.6 mg O₂/l at 30°C) R. corsula derives about half its energy for sustenance and activity anaerobically. The mullet does not appear to accumulate an oxygen debt during hypoxia.     

萤光假单胞细菌根部定殖对水培系统中香石竹镰刀菌枯萎病的作用

 本文报道萤光假单胞菌(fluorescent Pseudomas spp.) WCSX 13.WCS 417andWCS 358在水培系统中香石竹根部的定殖及其对香石竹镰刀菌枯萎病的抑制作用。细菌处理两周后,WCS 417在感病品种Lena和中抗品种Pallas根部的定殖分别为8.8×10²cfu/cm和9.8×10²cfu/cm,而WCS 358分别为0.9×10²cfu/cm和0.13×10²cfu/cm。在通气的三角瓶中水培的Pallas品种,人工接种病原菌香竹石尖镰孢Fusarium oxyspotum f.sp.dianthi (Prill.&Del.) Snyd.&Hans.(Fod)6周后,用WCSX·13和WCS 417根部处理的病指分别为0.19和0.31,未细菌处理的对照为0.58,细菌处理植株的根部及茎内组织的病原菌种群密度低于对照。营养膜技术(NFT)栽培的Lena品种,WCS 417细菌处理的发病率比对照减少13%。     

Epidemiological study of Culicoides hypersensitivity in horses in Israel

The variations with breed, gender, age and coat colour in the prevalence of Culicoides hypersensitivity were studied in 408 horses on 18 farms in Israel. Data were gathered by means of questionnaires and the diagnoses were confirmed by direct physical examinations. The prevalence of Culicoides hypersensitivity was 28 per cent. The disease was rare on farms more than 800 m above sea level but was more prevalent at lower altitudes. The most important factors affecting the prevalence of Culicoides hypersensitivity were the farm, breed and age, but gender and colour were not significantly correlated with its prevalence.     

Control of Fusarium wilt in carnation grown on rockwool by Pseudomonas sp. strain WCS417r and by Fe-EDDHA

In carnations grown on rockwool disease incidence of fusarium wilt caused byFusarium oxysporum f.sp.dianthi (Fod) was reduced when Fe-EDDHA instead of Fe-DTPA was used as iron source in the nutrient solution. Addition ofPseudomonas sp. strain WSC417r intensified this reduction in the cultivar Pallas, moderately resistant to Fusarium, but not in the susceptible cultivar Lena. Treatment of plants with Fe-EDDHA instead of Fe-DTPA as iron source resulted in higher numbers and percentages on the roots, ofin vitro antagonistic fluorescent pseudomonads. However, differences were only significant at 56 days after planting for cv. Lena and at 14 and 28 days after planting for cv. Palas. Both chelators, at different concentrations, had no effect on root colonization by eitherPseudomonas sp. strain WCS417r orFod strain WCS816. However, when coinoculated, reduced numbers of propagules ofFusarium were found at concentrations of Fe-EDDHA lower than 10^–5 M.Higher concentrations of the siderophore fusarine produced byFod strain WCS816 were demonstrated when Fe-EDDHA instead of Fe-DTPA was used as iron source in culture media. At equal concentrations, no such differences were found in the amount of siderophore produced by WCS417r. Germ tube length ofFod was less with Fe-EDDHA than with Fe-DTPA. The reduction of germ tube length was stronger when the purified siderophore of WCS417r was added in excess to the culture media with Fe-EDDHA than those with Fe-DTPA. Therefore, the observed reduction of germ tube growth can not completely be explained by iron deprivation. It appeared that EDDHA exhibited a toxic effect for conidia ofFod strain WCS816 as well.we conclude that the observed disease reduction by Fe-EDDHA is a consequence of a limitation of iron availability forFod. This limitation is possibly intensified by the increase in number or percentage of antagonistic fluorescent pseudomonads that strongly compete for iron. The additional effect after bacterization withPseudomonas strain WCS417r in Fe-EDDHA treated carnations of cv. Pallas is likely to be due, at least partly, to a direct competition for iron between the siderophores ofFod strain WCS816 and ofPesudomonas sp. strain WCS417r.Samenvatting Verwelkingsziekte in anjers op steenwol, veroorzaakt doorFusarium oxysporum f. sp.dianthi (Fod), werd gereduceerd indien het ijzer-chelaat Fe-EDDHA in plaats van Fe-DTPA werd toegevoegd aan de nutriëntenvloeistof. Bacterisatie metPseudomonas sp. stam WCS417r had een additioneel effect bij de matig resistence cultivar Pallas maar niet bij de vatbare cultivar Lena. Toevoeging van Fe-EDDHA in plaats van Fe-DTPA aan planten als ijzerbron resulteerde op de wortels in hogere aantallen en percentages fluorescerende pseudomonaden, diein vitro antagonistisch waren ten opzichte vanFod. De verschillen waren echter alleen significant 56 dagen na planten voor de cultivar Lena en 14 en 28 dagen na planten voor de cultivar Pallas. Beide chelaten vertoonden bij verschillende concentraties geen effect op de kolonisatie van de wortel door beide microorganismen. Echter, wanneer beide micro-organismen gezamelijk werden toegevoegd nam de wortelkolonisatie doorFod stam WCS816 af bij concentraties lager dan 10^–5 M Fe-EDDHA. Er werd meer van het siderofoor fusarine doorFod stam WCS816 geproduceerd bij concentraties lager dan 10^–4 M Fe indien Fe-EDDHA in plaats van Fe-DTPA als ijzerbron aan het cultuurmedium was toegevoegd. Er werd geen effect van beide chelaten gevonden op de siderofoorproduktie door WCS417r. Indien een overmaat van het gezuiverde siderofoor van WCS417r werd toegevoegd aan Fe-EDDHA werden een sterkere afname van de kiembuislengte gevonden dan toevoeging aan Fe-DTPA. De reductie van de kiembuislengte bleek niet volledig verklaard te kunnen worden door een afname van de ijzerbeschikbaarheid. Het chelaat EDDHA heeft ook een toxisch effect op conidiën van fusarium.Wij concluderen, dat de waargenomen reductie van de verwelkingziekte door Fe-EDDHA een gevolg is van de afname van de ijzerbeschikbaarheid voorFod. Dit wordt waarschijnlijk versterkt door de ontwikkeling van een antagonistische, fluorescerendePseudomonas-populatie die sterk concurreren om ijzer. Het additioneel effect dat door bacterisatie metPseudomonas sp. WCS417r van de met Fe-EDDHA behandelde matig resistante anjers (Pallas) werd verkregen is voor een deel het gevolg van een directe concurrentie om ijzer tussen de sideroforen vanFod stam WCS816 en vanPseudomonas sp. stam WCS417r.     

On farm observations to increase genetic gain in breeding schemes for village poultry production – A simulation study

To improve genetic gain of breeding programs for village poultry production, breeding schemes with observations obtained in village production systems using individual (VIO) and group recording (VGO) were examined under different levels of genotype-by-environment-interactions (GxE). GxE was modeled by varying the correlation between traits measured in the breeding station and village environments for bodyweight (r_{g_BW}) and egg production (r_{g_EP}). Relative and absolute genetic gains obtained from VIO and VGO were used for comparison between the schemes. Results showed that village observations significantly improved genetic gains compared to the scheme without birds tested in the village. The improvement was only slightly larger with individual observations than with group observations. Higher r_{g_BW} and r_{g_EP} led to lower relative genetic gain, but a higher absolute gain of VIO and VGO. It is recommended to apply a breeding scheme using group recording of village performance when strong GxE in breeding for village poultry is expected.     

Comparative genome and proteome analysis of Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster

Comparison of the genomes and proteomes of the two diptera Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster, which diverged about 250 million years ago, reveals considerable similarities. However, numerous differences are also observed; some of these must reflect the selection and subsequent adaptation associated with different ecologies and life strategies. Almost half of the genes in both genomes are interpreted as orthologs and show an average sequence identity of about 56%, which is slightly lower than that observed between the orthologs of the pufferfish and human (diverged about 450 million years ago). This indicates that these two insects diverged considerably faster than vertebrates. Aligned sequences reveal that orthologous genes have retained only half of their intron/exon structure, indicating that intron gains or losses have occurred at a rate of about one per gene per 125 million years. Chromosomal arms exhibit significant remnants of homology between the two species, although only 34% of the genes colocalize in small "microsyntenic" clusters, and major interarm transfers as well as intra-arm shuffling of gene order are detected.     

Genome-wide experimental determination of barriers to horizontal gene transfer

Horizontal gene transfer, in which genetic material is transferred from the genome of one organism to that of another, has been investigated in microbial species mainly through computational sequence analyses. To address the lack of experimental data, we studied the attempted movement of 246,045 genes from 79 prokaryotic genomes into Escherichia coli and identified genes that consistently fail to transfer. We studied the mechanisms underlying transfer inhibition by placing coding regions from different species under the control of inducible promoters. Our data suggest that toxicity to the host inhibited transfer regardless of the species of origin and that increased gene dosage and associated increased expression may be a predominant cause for transfer failure. Although these experimental studies examined transfer solely into E. coli, a computational analysis of gene-transfer rates across available bacterial and archaeal genomes supports that the barriers observed in our study are general across the tree of life.     

Dynamic complex formation during the yeast cell cycle

To analyze the dynamics of protein complexes during the yeast cell cycle, we integrated data on protein interactions and gene expression. The resulting time-dependent interaction network places both periodically and constitutively expressed proteins in a temporal cell cycle context, thereby revealing previously unknown components and modules. We discovered that most complexes consist of both periodically and constitutively expressed subunits, which suggests that the former control complex activity by a mechanism of just-in-time assembly. Consistent with this, we show that additional regulation through targeted degradation and phosphorylation by Cdc28p (Cdk1) specifically affects the periodically expressed proteins.     

A serosurvey of Hepatozoon canis and Ehrlichia canis antibodies in wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Israel

A seroepidemiological survey was conducted to investigate the prevalence of antibodies reactive with Ehrlichia canis and Hepatozoon canis antigens in free-ranging red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Israel. Of 84 fox sera assayed, 36% were seropositive for E. canis by the indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test and 24% were positive for H. canis using an enzyme-linked immunosrbent assay (ELISA). Canine ehrlichiosis and hepatozoonosis appear to be endemic in the wild red fox populations in Israel, and foxes may serve as a reservoir for infection of domestic dogs and other wild canine species.