The location of nitrite reductase and other enzymes related to amino acid biosynthesis in the plastids of root and leaves

RESP-708

Plant biotechnology: aspects of its application in industry

Plant biotechnology can serve industrial concerns in two ways; it can lead to new products and to new ways of producing an existing product (i.e. ‘processes'). The technology can be used in any business involved in using or selling plant products. In the agricultural input business molecular genetics is having most effect on the introduction of new variation into crop plants. The first products are likely to involve the introduction of insect and disease resistance and herbicide tolerance; some genes transferred will change product quality. Future applications will involve the control of more complex traits. Biotechnology will also enhance plant breeding via improved technologies (e.g. RFLPs and tissue culture); also the production of hybrids is likely to be enhanced and extended. Early products will also include the production of rDNA microbial products for control of pests and diseases. Of considerable concern to businesses is whether or not they can make sufficient financial return on plant biotechnology. The reasons behind this concern are the time it takes to introduce a product to the market; the expenditure on meeting regulatory requirements; the overall level of public acceptance of the products and the level of return from the farmer. To ensure a fair return on investment there also needs to be a secure structure of intellectual property protection (patents, plant breeders rights, etc.). Continued success in the application of plant science to agricultural improvement depends on a proper economic environment as well as the advancement of the scienc

Antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from poultry in the South-East Queensland region

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns of 125 Campylobacter jejuni and 27 Campylobacter coli isolates from 39 Queensland broiler farms. Methods: Two methods, a disc diffusion assay and an agar-based MIC assay, were used. The disc diffusion was performed and interpreted as previously described (Huysmans MB, Turnidge JD. Disc susceptibility testing for thermophilic campylobacters. Pathology 1997; 29: 209–16), whereas the MIC assay was performed according to CLSI (formerly NCCLS) methods and interpreted using DANMAP criteria. Results: In both assays, no C. jejuni or C. coli isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin or chloramphenicol, no C. coli were resistant to nalidixic acid, and no C. jejuni were resistant to erythromycin. In the MIC assay, no C. jejuni isolate was resistant to nalidixic acid, whereas three isolates (2.4%) were resistant in the disc assay. The highest levels of resistance of the C. jejuni isolates were recorded for tetracycline (19.2% by MIC and 18.4% by disc) and ampicillin (19.2% by MIC and 17.6% by disc). The C. coli isolates gave very similar results (tetracycline resistance 14.8% by both MIC and disc; ampicillin resistance 7.4% by MIC and 14.8% by disc). Conclusions: This work has shown that the majority of C. jejuni and C. coli isolates were susceptible to the six antibiotics tested by both disc diffusion and MIC methods. Disc diffusion represents a suitable alternative methodology to agar-based MIC methods for poultry Campylobacter isolates