Tissue culture of ornamental cacti

Cacti species are plants that are well adapted to growing in arid and semiarid regions where the main problem is water availability. Cacti have developed a series of adaptations to cope with water scarcity, such as reduced leaf surface via morphological modifications including spines, cereous cuticles, extended root systems and stem tissue modifications to increase water storage, and crassulacean acid metabolism to reduce transpiration and water loss. Furthermore, seeds of these plants very often exhibit dormancy, a phenomenon that helps to prevent germination when the availability of water is reduced. In general, cactus species exhibit a low growth rate that makes their rapid propagation difficult. Cacti are much appreciated as ornamental plants due to their great variety and diversity of forms and their beautiful short-life flowers; however, due to difficulties in propagating them rapidly to meet market demand, they are very often over-collected in their natural habitats, which leads to numerous species being threatened, endangered or becoming extinct. Therefore, plant tissue culture techniques may facilitate their propagation over a shorter time period than conventional techniques used for commercial purposes; or may help to recover populations of endangered or threatened species for their re-introduction in the wild; or may also be of value to the preservation and conservation of the genetic resources of this important family. Herein we present the state-of-the-art of tissue culture techniques used for ornamental cacti and selected suggestions for solving a number of the problems faced by members of the Cactaceae family

Surface-Ocean Color and Deep-Ocean Carbon Flux: How Close a Connection?

Seven years of simultaneous, quasi-continuous data collected by the Nimbus-7 Coastal Zone Color Scanner and by a deep-ocean sediment trap in the Sargasso Sea allow the derivation of empirical relationships between remotely sensed ocean color and the sinking of particulate carbon into the deep sea. In agreement with earlier observations, the results indicate a 1.5-month lag between surface-ocean events observed by the satellite and arrival of a record of those events, carried by sinking particles, at a depth of 3200 m. In addition, the results suggest that the sea-surface area most influential on particle-flux characteristics recorded by the sediment trap in the Sargasso Sea lies to the northeast of the trap\u27s mooring site. The results point towards possible ways of quantifying the role of marine biota in the regulation of atmospheric carbon dioxide through use of satellite observations

Níveis de concentrado na dieta de novilhos f1 Limousin x Nelore: consumo, conversão alimentar e ganho de peso Concentrate levels in the diet for crossbreed Limousin x Nellore bulls: intake, feed: gain ratio and weight gain

Utilizaram-se 45 bovinos F1 Limousin x Nelore, inteiros, com, em média, 14 meses de idade e peso vivo inicial de 330 kg, para avaliar os efeitos de diferentes níveis de concentrado na matéria seca (25,0; 37,5; 50,0; 62,5; e 75,0%) e dois métodos de balanceamentos de rações (o primeiro, tendendo a ser isoprotéico e o segundo, variando proteína com energia) sobre os consumos de matéria seca (CMS) e fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), conversão alimentar (CA), ganhos diários de peso vivo (GMDPV), corpo vazio (GMDPVZ) e carcaça (GCAR). Cinco animais foram abatidos no início do experimento, como referência, para estimar o peso corporal vazio inicial dos animais que permaneceram no confinamento. Os animais receberam alimentação à vontade até atingirem o peso de abate preestabelecido de 500 kg. Foi utilizado o feno de capim-coastcross como fonte de volumoso na dieta. O delineamento foi o inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 2 x 5, com quatro repetições. As formas de balanceamento resultaram em igual desempenho dos animais. Os consumos de MS responderam de maneira quadrática, estimando-se os máximos de 8,04 kg MS, 1,99% PV e 89,22 g MS/kg0,75 para os níveis de 41,42; 36,71; e 37,96% de concentrado, respectivamente. Conversão alimentar, consumo de FDN e dias de confinamento decresceram e o GMDPVZ cresceu linearmente, com o aumento dos níveis de concentrado na ração. Os GMDPV e GCAR apresentaram resposta quadrática, com máximos de 1,16 e 0,81 kg para 61,11 e 64,47% de concentrado, respectivamente.<br>Forty five crossbreed F1 Limousin x Nellore young bulls, averaging 14 months of age and initial 330 kg LW, were used to evaluate the effects of different concentrate levels (25.0, 37.5, 50.0, 62.5 and 75.0% as DM basis) and two diet balance methods (one, almost isoprotein and the second, changing protein as energy of the diet change) on the intakes of dry matter (DMI) and neutral detergent fiber (NDFI), feed: gain ratio (FG), daily gains of live weight (ALWDG) empty body weight (EBWDG) and carcass weight (CARG). Five animals were slaughtered in the beginning of the experiment as reference, to estimate the initial empty body weight of animals that remained in feedlot. The animals were full fed up to the slaughter weight of 500 kg. The coast-cross grass hay was used as forage source in the diet. A completely randomised design in a 2 x 5 factorial arrangement, with four replicates was used. The two diet balance methods resulted on equal animal performances. The dry matter intake showed a quadratic response, and a maximum values of 8.04 kg DM, 1.99% LW, and 89.22g DM/kg0.75 for the concentrate levels of 41.42, 36.71, and 37.96%, respectively were estimated. The feed: gain ratio, NDFI and days in fed decreased and ALWDG linearly increased as the concentrate levels in the diet increase. The ALWDG and CARG showed quadratic response, with maximum of 1.16 and 0.81 for 61.11 and 64,47% of concentrate level in the diet