Diagnosis of paratuberculosis in goats by cell mediated immune response,conventional and molecular diagnostic techniques

In the present study efficacy of single intradermal Johnin test, acid fast staining of faecal smear and IS 900 faecal polymerase chain reaction tests was evaluated in 200 goats for detection of Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis. Two hundred goats comprising 150 goats from an organised farm in Trichur district and 50 goats reared under field condition at farmers premise from Malappuram district of Kerala state formed the study population. Faecal smear from all the 200 goats was stained by Ziehl–Neelsen acid fast stain and faecal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) specific for M. avium subsp paratuberculosis (MAP); IS 900 was performed on all samples. All the animals were subjected to single intradermal Johnin test. Out of 200 goats screened for paratuberculosis, six goats (3%), 11 goats (5.5%) and 42 goats (21%) were found positive by Ziehl–Neelsen acid fast staining of faecal smear, single intradermal Johnin test and IS 900 PCR respectively. Results of the present study indicate that amplification of IS 900 insertion element was the most specific and sensitive diagnostic detection method. Single intradermal Johnin test and Ziehl–Neelsen acid fast staining did not show any significant difference.     

Influence of different land uses on soil nitrogen transformations after conversion from an Indian dry tropical forest

The effects of alternate land uses, such as grassland, cropland and mine spoil on mineral nitrogen (N), N-transformation rate and microbial biomass N (MBN) in dry tropical forest soils of India were studied. The mean annual mineral N in the forest, grassland, cropland and mine spoil ecosystems, respectively ranged from 15.24 to 19.58, 17.8 to 18.56, 16.49 to 19.85 and 10.52 to 13.44 µg g^− 1, net nitrification rate from 14.15 to 23.4, 10.11 to 11.38, 8.07 to 9.16, 10.52 to 13.44 µg g^− 1mo^− 1; net N-mineralization rate from 17.38 to 26.36, 13.99 to 15.41, 10.99 to 12.5, 5.43 to 7.68 µg g^− 1mo^− 1and and microbial biomass N from 41.25 to 58.87, 34.47 to 47.95, 27.88 to 30.43 and 22.95 to 25.26 µg g^− 1, respectively. The values were within the range reported by previous studies in different tropical environments. The mean annual net nitrification rates declined after conversion into grassland, cropland and mine spoil by 43, 54 and 78%, respectively, net N mineralization by 33, 46 and 70%, and microbial biomass N by 29%, 42% and 52%, respectively.The MBN was positively related to root biomass and total plant biomass, while microbial-N and inorganic N are reciprocally, while nitrification and N-mineralization are directly related to seasonal soil moisture and temperature. The microbial biomass N, nitrification and N-mineralization are negatively related to smaller fraction (< 0.1 mm) of the soil. Above- and below-ground biomass also have had their impact on microbial biomass N, and thereby N-mineralization. Thus, in dry tropical forests, land-use change affects remarkably the nitrogen transformation process in soil.     

Optimizing embryo age and media for enhancing hybrid seedling recovery in sour orange (Citrus aurantium) × Sacaton citrumelo (C. paradisi × Poncirus trifoliata) crosses through embryo rescue

In citrus, development of new hybrids is difficult due to failure of the germination of zygotic embryos. Hence, this study was conducted to standardize embryo age and media for maximizing the germination and subsequent seedling growth in sour orange × Sacaton citrumelo crosses followed by the identification of simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers for distinguishing the hybrids. A factorial experiment in complete randomized design was conducted with two each embryo age (110–120 and 130–140 days after pollination) and culture media (G‐B5 supplemented with 1.5 mg/L GA₃ plus malt extract and G‐B5 plus malt extract) for in vitro embryo culture of sour orange × Sacaton citrumelo progenies. Older embryos germinated well in both media, though highest on M1 medium (100%). In fact, M1 medium gave higher plantlet survival in both age groups. The seedling growth of older embryos had highest root length (37.80 mm) and shoot length (24.20 mm) in M1 medium at 60 days after inoculation (DAI). Three SSR markers (TAA45, CAC15 and CAC39) showed polymorphism between female and male parents and were able to identify their hybrids.     

Pyrogenic carbon soluble fraction is larger and more aromatic in aged charcoal than in fresh charcoal

Recent studies show that pyrogenic matter is one of the most stable compounds in the soil but less inert than previously expected. One potential pathway yielding losses from soil is solubilisation of pyrogenic compounds. In batch experiments, we estimated the proportion and molecular composition of soluble (<0.45 μm) and colloidal fractions (0.45-5 μm) extractable from a freshly pyrolysed charcoal and a 10 year old wildfire charcoal. These fractions represented a very small fraction (<2.7 g kg⁻¹) of chars. The benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCA) pattern indicated that 40-55 times more condensed structures were released from the aged char than from the fresh char. This study shows that the soluble fraction of the char is small, and tends to increase with the residence time in the soil.