Expression of the Aeluropus littoralis AlSAP gene enhances rice yield under field drought at the reproductive stage

We evaluated the yields of Oryza sativa L. 'Nipponbare' rice lines expressing a gene encoding an A20/AN1 domain stress-associated protein, AlSAP, from the halophyte grass Aeluropus littoralis under the control of different promoters. Three independent field trials were conducted, with drought imposed at the reproductive stage. In all trials, the two transgenic lines, RN5 and RN6, consistently out-performed non-transgenic (NT) and wild-type (WT) controls, providing 50–90% increases in grain yield (GY). Enhancement of tillering and panicle fertility contributed to this improved GY under drought. In contrast with physiological records collected during previous greenhouse dry-down experiments, where drought was imposed at the early tillering stage, we did not observe significant differences in photosynthetic parameters, leaf water potential, or accumulation of antioxidants in flag leaves of AlSAP-lines subjected to drought at flowering. However, AlSAP expression alleviated leaf rolling and leaf drying induced by drought, resulting in increased accumulation of green biomass. Therefore, the observed enhanced performance of the AlSAP-lines subjected to drought at the reproductive stage can be tentatively ascribed to a primed status of the transgenic plants, resulting from a higher accumulation of biomass during vegetative growth, allowing reserve remobilization and maintenance of productive tillering and grain filling. Under irrigated conditions, the overall performance of AlSAP-lines was comparable with, or even significantly better than, the NT and WT controls. Thus, AlSAP expression inflicted no penalty on rice yields under optimal growth conditions. Our results support the use of AlSAP transgenics to reduce rice GY losses under drought conditions. (Résumé d'auteur

Historical summer distribution of the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis): a hypothesis based on environmental preferences of a congeneric species

Aim: To obtain a plausible hypothesis for the historical distribution of North Atlantic right whales (NARWs) (Eubalaena glacialis) in their summer feeding grounds. Previously widespread in the North Atlantic, after centuries of hunt- ing, these whales survive as a small population off eastern North America. Because their exploitation began before formal records started, information about their historical distribution is fragmentary

Surveillance strategies for Classical Swine Fever in wild boar – a comprehensive evaluation study to ensure powerful surveillance

Surveillance of Classical Swine Fever (CSF) should not only focus on livestock, but must also include wild boar. To prevent disease transmission into commercial pig herds, it is therefore vital to have knowledge about the disease status in wild boar. In the present study, we performed a comprehensive evaluation of alternative surveillance strategies for Classical Swine Fever (CSF) in wild boar and compared them with the currently implemented conventional approach. The evaluation protocol was designed using the EVA tool, a decision support tool to help in the development of an economic and epidemiological evaluation protocol for surveillance. To evaluate the effectiveness of the surveillance strategies, we investigated their sensitivity and timeliness. Acceptability was analysed and finally, the cost-effectiveness of the surveillance strategies was determined. We developed 69 surveillance strategies for comparative evaluation between the existing approach and the novel proposed strategies. Sampling only within sub-adults resulted in a better acceptability and timeliness than the currently implemented strategy. Strategies that were completely based on passive surveillance performance did not achieve the desired detection probability of 95%. In conclusion, the results of the study suggest that risk-based approaches can be an option to design more effective CSF surveillance strategies in wild boar

Desarrollo y caracterización de seis marcadores microsatélites para el alga roja chilena pyropia orbicularis

Indexación: Scopus.Mariculture of edible Porphyra/Pyropia species, which are cosmopolitan red foliose algae, represent an important source of income for the pharmaceutical and food industries. In Chile, the most common alga of this complex is Pyropia orbicularis (Bangiales, Rhodophyta). Here we report 6 microsatellite markers obtained from P. orbicularis through a genomic library from 10 individuals of the gametophytic phase by next generation (Illumina) sequencing. Polymorphism analyses were done from 10 individuals of the conchocelis phase, revealing an allelic diversity ranging from three to six alleles per locus, and observed heterozygosity (HO) and expected heterozygosity (HE) ranging from 0.200 to 0.995, and 0.250 to 0.610, respectively. A large proportion of genetic variance (61%) in P. orbicularis was among individuals within population, and 39% genetic variance was among populations. Nonetheless, these results should be interpreted with caution; further research using larger sample sizes is required. These polymorphic markers could be useful in future studies on population genetic structure, for conservation and applied purposes.https://revistas.uv.cl/index.php/rbmo/article/view/235

SHR overexpression induces the formation of supernumerary cell layers with cortex cell identity in rice

The number of root cortex cell layers varies among plants, and many species have several cortical cell layers. We recently demonstrated that the two rice orthologs of the Arabidopsis SHR gene, OsSHR1 and OsSHR2, could complement the A. thaliana shr mutant. Moreover, OsSHR1 and OsSHR2 expression in A. thaliana roots induced the formation of extra root cortical cell layers. In this article, we demonstrate that the overexpression of AtSHR and OsSHR2 in rice roots leads to plants with wide and short roots that contain a high number of extra cortical cell layers. We hypothesize that SHR genes share a conserved function in the control of cortical cell layer division and the number of ground tissue cell layers in land plants

Beyond traditional surveillance: applying syndromic surveillance to developing settings – opportunities and challenges

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>All countries need effective disease surveillance systems for early detection of outbreaks. The revised International Health Regulations [IHR], which entered into force for all 194 World Health Organization member states in 2007, have expanded traditional infectious disease notification to include surveillance for public health events of potential international importance, even if the causative agent is not yet known. However, there are no clearly established guidelines for how countries should conduct this surveillance, which types of emerging disease syndromes should be reported, nor any means for enforcement.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The commonly established concept of syndromic surveillance in developed regions encompasses the use of pre-diagnostic information in a near real time fashion for further investigation for public health action. Syndromic surveillance is widely used in North America and Europe, and is typically thought of as a highly complex, technology driven automated tool for early detection of outbreaks. Nonetheless, low technology applications of syndromic surveillance are being used worldwide to augment traditional surveillance.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>In this paper, we review examples of these novel applications in the detection of vector-borne diseases, foodborne illness, and sexually transmitted infections. We hope to demonstrate that syndromic surveillance in its basic version is a feasible and effective tool for surveillance in developing countries and may facilitate compliance with the new IHR guidelines.</p