Genetic variation and stability of agronomic and quality traits in soybean varieties grown in western Canada between 2013 and 2018

Non-Peer ReviewedSoybean is one of the major crops of the world, but relatively new to western Canada, especially areas west of Morden, Manitoba. Expansion of soybean production to these Canadian Prairies has been slow due to a lack of adapted very-early maturing cultivars. Evaluation of stability and adaptability of a genotype to a broad range of environments is beneficial to recommend cultivars for known conditions of cultivation. Diverse soybean varieties were evaluated over multiple locations in Saskatchewan for six years (2013-2018). Significant effects of genotype, environment, and genotype and environment interaction were detected for phenology, agronomic and quality traits. Broad sense heritability estimates are medium to high for most of these traits in many site-years. Varieties with good performance stability for yield, quality and days to maturity were detected over the study period. Results from this study suggests some recommendations for soybean breeding and expansion in western Canada

Early post-operative thrombosis of the prosthetic mitral valve in patient with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is one of the most common immune-mediated adverse drug reactions, with frequencies as high as 2-3% for certain groups of post-cardiac surgery patients. We report on an 50-year-old woman with early post-operative thrombosis of the prosthetic mitral valve due to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Non-invasive imaging (two-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography; 2D-TEE) allowed the exact localisation of thrombotic masses and revealed the increase of the mean diastolic mitral gradient. The HIT diagnosis was proved by the clinical scoring system, and with the identification of heparin platelet factor 4-induced antibodies. After the withdrawal of LMWH therapy and the start of intravenous lepirudin treatment, the patient's medical condition improved continuously. Follow-up echocardiography showed a step-wise decrease in the severity of the mean diastolic mitral valve gradient and a complete resolution of thrombus formations. Perhaps we may remind ourselves that, whilst HIT is one of the most common immune-mediated adverse drug reactions for certain groups of post-cardiac surgery patients, it can be managed successfully. We would also stress the importance of serial 2D-TEE examinations in the early post-operative period

Scaling of polymers in aligned rods

We study the behavior of self avoiding polymers in a background of vertically aligned rods that are either frozen into random positions or free to move horizontally. We find that in both cases the polymer chains are highly elongated, with vertical and horizontal size exponents that differ by a factor of 3. Though these results are different than previous predictions, our results are confirmed by detailed computer simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Fungicides application timing, sequencing, and tank mixing for controlling blight in chickpea

Non-Peer ReviewedTotal crop losses can result from ascochyta blight on chickpea (caused by Ascochyta rabiei). A study was conducted to investigate effective fungicide application strategies in particular fungicide application timing as well as product choices, sequencing and mixtures for blight control. In addition, this study is expected to provide information on resistance management through fungicide rotations, mixtures or sequences. Fungicide trials were conducted in Saskatoon and Swift Current using Bravo 500, Quadris, Headline, BAS510 and Dithane in various sequences or tank mixes on cultivars Myles and CDC Yuma. Only Bravo 500 is registered on chickpea. Quadris had emergency registration in 2002. Applications were timed at the seedling stage, pre-flower, early-flower, late-flower and the podding stages. These results relate to the trial at Swift Current. Cultivar CDC Yuma developed higher infection levels than Myles. The level of disease control by each fungicide treatment was dependent on cultivar. The above average rainfall in Swift Current increased the level of blight severity and consequently it required several sprays especially on cultivar CDC Yuma to protect the crop. Cool wet weather towards the end of the season also delayed maturity and affected yield and seed quality. Disease severity was 97% and 82% in the untreated plots of CDC Yuma and Myles, respectively. In treated plots, it ranged from 13-50% in Myles and 15-96% in CDC Yuma. The yields varied from 434 to1956 kg/ha for CDC Yuma and 1430 to 2627 kg/ha for Myles. When spraying started before symptoms (per calender sprays with five applications), the high rate of Dithane at 2.44 kg a.i./ha reduced disease severity and increased yield more than the low rate of Dithane at 1.68kg a.i./ha. Sequencing Headline and Dithane in the per calender spray was better than per calender sprays with Dithane alone on both cultivars. However, per calender spray with a high rate of Dithane alone compared well with some treatments which included Headline or Quadris on Myles. Almost all other sequences were effective on Myles, but on CDC Yuma the most effective were those that included mostly Headline and in some cases Quadris. In general, at least three sprays to Myles and most treatments with at least four sprays to CDC Yuma reduced blight to less than 50% and also increased yields by up to 84% in Myles and up to 351% in CDC Yuma. The results suggest that there could be a range of different fungicides and sequences one might use to adequately protect chickpea, but this will depend on the registration of products other than Bravo 500

First Record of Mink Frog, Rana septentrionalis, from Insular Newfoundland

Two populations of the Mink Frog (Rana septentrionalis) were identified near Corner Brook Newfoundland during wider surveys for anurans on the west coast of the island. This brings to six the number of anuran species which are known to have been introduced to insular Newfoundland, with four known to be currently extant

Genomics-Integrated Breeding for Carotenoids and Folates in Staple Cereal Grains to Reduce Malnutrition

Globally, two billion people suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Cereal grains provide more than 50% of the daily requirement of calories in human diets, but they often fail to provide adequate essential minerals and vitamins. Cereal crop production in developing countries achieved remarkable yield gains through the efforts of the Green Revolution (117% in rice, 30% in wheat, 530% in maize, and 188% in pearl millet). However, modern varieties are often deficient in essential micronutrients compared to traditional varieties and land races. Breeding for nutritional quality in staple cereals is a challenging task; however, biofortification initiatives combined with genomic tools increase the feasibility. Current biofortification breeding activities include improving rice (for zinc), wheat (for zinc), maize (for provitamin A), and pearl millet (for iron and zinc). Biofortification is a sustainable approach to enrich staple cereals with provitamin A, carotenoids, and folates. Significant genetic variation has been found for provitamin A (96–850 mg and 12–1780 mg in 100 g in wheat and maize, respectively), carotenoids (558–6730 mg in maize), and folates in rice (11–51 mg) and wheat (32.3–89.1 mg) in 100 g. This indicates the prospects for biofortification breeding. Several QTLs associated with carotenoids and folates have been identified in major cereals, and the most promising of these are presented here. Breeding for essential nutrition should be a core objective of next-generation crop breeding. This review synthesizes the available literature on folates, provitamin A, and carotenoids in rice, wheat, maize, and pearl millet, including genetic variation, trait discovery, QTL identification, gene introgressions, and the strategy of genomics-assisted biofortification for these traits. Recent evidence shows that genomics-assisted breeding for grain nutrition in rice, wheat, maize, and pearl millet crops have good potential to aid in the alleviation of micronutrient malnutrition in many developing countries

Nucleon distribution amplitudes from lattice QCD

We calculate low moments of the leading-twist and next-to-leading twist nucleon distribution amplitudes on the lattice using two flavors of clover fermions. The results are presented in the MSbar scheme at a scale of 2 GeV and can be immediately applied in phenomenological studies. We find that the deviation of the leading-twist nucleon distribution amplitude from its asymptotic form is less pronounced than sometimes claimed in the literature.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. RevTeX style. Normalization for \lambda_i corrected. Discussion of the results extended. To be published in PR

Fitness consequences of different migratory strategies in partially migratory populations: a multi-taxa meta-analysis

1.Partial migration – wherein migratory and non-migratory individuals exist within the same population – represents a behavioural dimorphism; for it to persist over time, both strategies should yield equal individual fitness. This balance may be maintained through trade-offs where migrants gain survival benefits by avoiding unfavourable conditions, while residents gain breeding benefits from early access to resources. 2.There has been little overarching quantitative analysis of the evidence for this fitness balance. As migrants – especially long-distance migrants – may be particularly vulnerable to environmental change, it is possible that recent anthropogenic impacts could drive shifts in fitness balances within these populations. 3.We tested these predictions using a multi-taxa meta-analysis. Of 2939 reviewed studies, 23 contained suitable information for meta-analysis, yielding 129 effect sizes. 4.Of these, 73% (n=94) reported higher resident fitness, 22% (n=28) reported higher migrant fitness, and 5% (n=7) reported equal fitness. Once weighted for precision, we found balanced fitness benefits across the entire dataset, but a consistently higher fitness of residents over migrants in birds and herpetofauna (the best-sampled groups). Residency benefits were generally associated with survival, not breeding success, and increased with the number of years of data over which effect sizes were calculated, suggesting deviations from fitness parity are not due to sampling artefacts. 5.A pervasive survival benefit to residency documented in recent literature could indicate that increased exposure to threats associated with anthropogenic change faced by migrating individuals may be shifting the relative fitness balance between strategies

Fine spatial-scale variation in scavenger activity influences avian mortality assessments on a boreal island

Bird-window collisions are the second leading cause of human-related avian mortality for songbirds in Canada. Our ability to accurately estimate the number of fatalities caused by window collisions is affected by several biases, including the removal of carcasses by scavengers prior to those carcasses being detected during surveys. We investigated the role of scavenger behavior in modifying perceived carcass removal rate while describing habitat-specific differences for the scavengers present in a relatively scavenger-depauperate island ecosystem. We used motion activated cameras to monitor the fate of hatchling chicken carcasses placed at building (under both windows and windowless walls) and forest (open and closed canopy) sites in western Newfoundland, Canada. We recorded the identity of scavengers, timing of events, and frequency of repeat scavenging at sites. Using 2 treatments, we also assessed how scavenging varied with 2 levels of carcass availability (daily versus every third day). Scavenger activities differed substantially between forest and building sites. Only common ravens (Corvus corax) removed carcasses at building sites, with 25 of 26 removals occurring under windows. Burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.) dominated scavenging at forest sites (14 of 18 removals), completely removing carcasses from sight in under 24 hours. Availability had no effect on removal rate. These findings suggest that ravens look for carcasses near building windows, where bird-window collision fatalities create predictable food sources, but that this learning preceded the study. Such behavior resulted in highly heterogeneous scavenging rates at fine spatial scales indicating the need for careful consideration of carcass and camera placement when monitoring scavenger activity. Our observations of burying beetle activity indicate that future studies investigating bird collision mortality near forested habitats and with infrequent surveys, should consider local invertebrate community composition during survey design. The high incidence of invertebrate scavenging may compensate for the reduced vertebrate scavenger community of insular Newfoundland

Developing more environmentally friendly and nutritious pea varieties

Non-Peer ReviewedPhytate is the major storage form of phosphorus in crop seeds, but is not well digested by humans and non-ruminant animals. In addition, phytate chelates several essential micronutrients which are also excreted contributing to phosphorus pollution in the environment. Environmental and nutritional concerns led to the development of cultivars with the low phytate trait. The present study is aimed at biochemical and molecular characterization of two low phytate pea mutant lines, 1-150-81 and 1-2347-144 developed at the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan in collaboration with Dr. Victor Raboy, USDA, Idaho. Biochemical characterization is in progress for the two low phytate lines, their progenitor, CDC Bronco and CDC Meadow that were grown in replicated field trials at Saskatoon and Rosthern, SK in 2010 and 2011. Samples of developing seeds were collected 7 days after pollination and at weekly intervals thereafter until maturity. The concentration of phytate-phosphorus, isomeric forms of phytatephosphorus and inorganic phosphorus in these developing cotyledons and seed coats will be assessed using colorimetric and HPLC methods. In this way, the pattern of phytate-phosphorus and inorganic phosphorus accumulation will be determined in developing seeds. Molecular characterization will include cloning, sequencing and mapping of the gene(s) associated with the low phytate trait. Molecular markers will be developed based on the gene sequences. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) were developed from crosses between the two low phytate lines and CDC Meadow. One set of RILs was evaluated in a field trial in Saskatchewan in 2011, and will be evaluated again in 2012. The RILs will be genotyped using available microsatellite markers or SNP markers and phenotyped using colorimetric and HPLC assays. These data will then be used to identify the molecular marker(s) for the trait. The study will aid us to understand the nature of the low phytate mutation(s). Significant potential benefits that we could expect out of the project include improved bioavailability of phosphorus, iron and zinc in foods and feeds, less phosphorus excretion and environmental pollution and a substantial saving in feed costs