Highly Diverse Phytophthora infestans Populations Infecting Potato Crops in Pskov Region, North-West Russia

There is limited understanding of the genetic variability in Phytophthora infestans in the major potato cultivation region of north-western Russia, where potato is grown primarily by small households with limited chemical treatment of late blight. In this study, the mating type, sensitivity to metalaxyl, and genotype and population genetic diversity (based on 12 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers) of 238 isolates of P. infestans from the Pskov region during the years 2010–2013 were characterized. The aim was to examine the population structure, phenotypic and genotypic diversity, and the prevalent reproductive mode of P. infestans, as well as the influence of the location, time, and agricultural management practices on the pathogen population. The frequency of the A2 mating was stable over the four seasons and ranged from 33 to 48% of the sampled population. Both mating types occurred simultaneously in 90% of studied fields, suggesting the presence of sexual reproduction and oospore production in P. infestans in the Pskov region. Metalaxyl-sensitive isolates prevailed in all four years (72%), however, significantly fewer sensitive isolates were found in samples from large-scale conventional fields. A total of 50 alleles were detected in the 141 P. infestans isolates analyzed for genetic diversity. Amongst the 83 SSR multilocus genotypes (MLGs) detected, 65% were unique and the number of MLGs varied between locations from 3 to 20. These results, together with the high genotypic diversity observed in all the locations and the lack of significance of linkage disequilibrium, suggest that sexual recombination is likely responsible for the unique MLGs and the high genetic diversity found in the Pskov region population, resembling those of north-eastern European populations

Leveraging the macro-level environment to balance work and life: an analysis of female entrepreneurs' job satisfaction

This study investigates the interactive effect of female entrepreneurs’ experience of work–life imbalance and gender-egalitarian macro-level conditions on their job satisfaction, with the prediction that the negative linear relationship between work–life imbalance and job satisfaction may be buffered by the presence of women-friendly action resources, emancipative values, and civic entitlements. Data pertaining to 7,392 female entrepreneurs from 44 countries offer empirical support for these predictions. Female entrepreneurs who are preoccupied with their ability to fulfill both work and life responsibilities are more likely to maintain a certain level of job satisfaction, even if they experience significant work–life imbalances, to the extent that they operate in supportive macro-level environments

Proximate Compositions Evaluation and Variability among Cultivars of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Nigeria

Genetic variability among the fruits of 22 date palm cultivars was studied using 6 nutritional characters to enable us classify the available germplasm into distinct groups on the basis of their genetic diversity using their nutritional characteristics from proximate composition. The main date palm-growing areas of Nigeria were surveyed in 2011 with the objective of characterizing cultivars as to the quality and economic value of their fruits. Descriptive statistics and some multivariate analysis techniques were used to classify the 22 date palm cultivars. The genotypes based on studied traits were grouped into three clusters. Discriminant function analysis was used to confirm the accuracy of grouping that was produced by cluster analysis. Sugar and crude protein content were identified as important traits that could be used to differentiate the genotypes as revealed by both principal component and discriminant analysis. Genetic distance between Daushenga 1 and Saberari 2 exhibited the greatest dissimilarity followed by Daushenga 1 and Hausawa. Hence the use of these parents for hybridization should be given greater emphasis for the production of transgressive segregants with high nutritional potential. The level of variability observed suggested a high diversity among the cultivars. The result of the principal component analysis indicated that the contribution of the first three factors with Eigen value greater than one accounted for 73.03% of the total variation. The moderately high ash content shows that date palm fruit can effectively serve as a source of inorganic minerals and good adsorbent in the removal of metallic ions, odour, colours and other particulate matter from aqueous medium of water and waste water thus making date palm fruit an effective material precursor in water and waste water treatment among other uses. The high soluble carbohydrate content indeed gives an indication that it compares favourably with other fast energy giving food stuffs and thus it can be added to some food content as an additive .This work identified the existence of inherent variability in the local germplasm collections, and the traits that could be used to exploit the observed variability, eliciting important relationships among the traits in the process