S-Genotype Diversity in Wild Cherry Populations in the Czech Republic

Abstract Wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) S-genotyping is aimed to uncover and thus make it possible to select appropriate genotypes applicable in establishing commercial plantations and advanced forest tree breeding activities. The general and long-term aim is to increase genetic gain in economically valuable traits while maintaining sufficient genetic variability (represented by diverse S-alleles in population). We genotyped 123 accessions from wild cherry growing areas in the Czech Republic using polymerase chain reaction based length polymorphisms detection of S-RNase and SFB genes. The studied plant material revealed 18 different S-haplotypes, 54 S-genotypes corresponded to 25 defined incompatibility groups of cultivated sweet cherry. Eighteen unique S-genotypes were designated to group '0' as a universal pollinator. Eleven new incompatibility groups were found out, of which four were cross-compatible with sweet cherry cultivars. The most frequent was a new incompatibility group S14S21 followed by the group S12S14. The haplotypes S14 (13%) and S1 (10%) were the most frequent whereas S20 was less frequent in the wild populations of cherry. The present study of S-genotyping in the wild cherry population reveals the genetic diversity structure of natural populations and hopefully will help define the breeding strategy including more accurate planning activities such as the optimal seed design of orchards

Study of correlation among ploidy level and steroid glycoalkaloids content in resistance in cultivated and uncultivated potato species from an in vitro genebank

The present research was carried out with the aim to determine the correlation between ploidy level, steroid glycoalkaloids (SGAs) content and resistance against Late blight (Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary), and Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)) in cultivated and wild Solanum species preserved in the Potato Gene Bank of Czech Republic. In this study 27 species were included which consist of five cultivated and 22 wild species, with a total of 31 genotypes (four species represented by two accessions). In this study 70.97% of genotypes were evaluated as diploid, 3.23% were triploid, 19.35% tetraploid and 6.45% hexaploid as depicted from counting of chromosomes. The highest concentration, of foliage α-solanine (5,450 mg kg-1 ) and α-chaconine (9,420 mg kg-1 ) of dry matter was found in the specie S. yungasense 00070, whereas lowest 1.1 mg kg-1 and 2.3 mg kg-1 in S. pinnatisectum 00051, respectively, Tukey’s test of one way anova was performed for getting significance from the data obtained and found significant variation among species of steroid glycoalkaloids (SGA) content in dry weight at level of P ≤ 0.01. Leaf damages by Leptinotarsa decemlineata under field experiment circumstances were also recorded. In vitro study, S. bulbocastanum PIS 06-17 and S. bulbocastanum 00240 shown resistant to P. infestans upon inoculation of aggressive isolates and strong resistance was observed in S. stoloniferum 00295, S. sucrense 0062 and S. yungasense 0070. Nevertheless, there was no correlation of ploidy level, SGA contents and resistance to the CPB (r = 0.00) and late blight (r = 0.076) found in the investigated Solanum species

Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum and Encephalitozoon cuniculi in Animals from Captivity (Zoo and Circus Animals)

Problems with parasitic infections are common in zoological gardens and circuses. In some animals it can lead to several disorders such as systemic disease, reproductive disorders (abortions and neonatal mortality), and even to death if severe illness is untreated. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of three common parasites in 74 animals from three zoos, and four circuses in Southern Italy. Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Encephalitozoon cuniculi were detected in 51%, 12%, and 20% of animals, respectively. Co‐infections of T. gondii and N. caninum were reported in seven animals (9%) and co‐infection of T. gondii and E. cuniculi in one animal. T. gondii, N. caninum and E. cuniculi seroprevalence differed in type of diet (P ≤ 0.0001; P ≤ 0.037 and P ≤ 0.004, respectively). T. gondii and E. cuniculi seroprevalence also differed in animal families (P ≤ 0.0001) and according to type of housing (P ≤ 0.003), respectively. Statistical differences were not found in other characteristics (gender, age, country of birth, origin, and contact with cats or dogs). This is the first serological study focusing on protozoan and microsporidian parasites in zoo and circus animals from Southern Italy and the first detection of antibodies to E. cuniculi in camels in Europe

Internal stresses in steel plate generated by shape memory alloy inserts

Neutron strain scanning was employed to investigate the internal stress fields in steel plate coupons with embedded prestrained superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy inserts. Strain fields in steel were evaluated at T = 21 °C and 130 °C on virgin coupons as well as on mechanically and thermally fatigued coupons. Internal stress fields were evaluated by direct calculation of principal stress components from the experimentally measured lattice strains as well as by employing an inverse finite element modeling approach. It is shown that if the NiTi inserts are embedded into the elastic steel matrix following a carefully designed technological procedure, the internal stress fields vary with temperature in a reproducible and predictable way. It is estimated that this mechanism of internal stress generation can be safely applied in the temperature range from −20 °C to 150 °C and is relatively resistant to thermal and mechanical fatigue. The predictability and fatigue endurance of the mechanism are of essential importance for the development of future smart metal matrix composites or smart structures with embedded shape memory alloy components

Numerical implementation of incremental minimization principle for materials with multiple rate-independent dissipative mechanisms

The financial support via projects No. GA22-20181S and No. GF21-06569K provided by the Czech Science Foundation is gratefully acknowledged

Failure of noninvasive prediction of pulmonary hypertension in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Background. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) in patients with advanced idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a complication connected with unfavorable prognosis. Great efforts have been made in attempting to establish a reliable non-invasive method which would enable detection of this complication. In this context a formula using pulmonary function parameters was published with outstanding results. Methods. We tested the formula in 27 IPF patients who underwent a lung function examination, cardiac ultrasonography and catheterisation on the same day. Results. Pulmonary hypertension was detected by catheterisation in 17 patients (63%). In our group, contrary to the published data, the aforementioned formula was neither useful for detecting patients with a high probability of PH nor as a means of calculating the mean pulmonary artery pressure in individual patients (p=0.502 and p=0.833, respectively). Ultrasound examination reached borderline correlation with the values measured by catheterisation when we compare patients with relevant results (r=0.531, p=0.051). However, the examination gave no usable results in 13 patients (48%). Conclusion. Our data suggests that no reliable, noninvasive method is currently available for detecting and confirming PH in IPF patients. We did not confirm the usefulness of the published formula. Further carefully organised studies will be necessary to verify or refute it

Elucidating the mechanism of ferrocytochrome c heme disruption by peroxidized cardiolipin

The interaction of peroxidized cardiolipin with ferrocytochrome c induces two kinetically and chemically distinct processes. The first is a rapid oxidation of ferrocytochrome c, followed by a slower, irreversible disruption of heme c. The oxidation of ferrocytochrome c by peroxidized cardiolipin is explained by a Fenton-type reaction. Heme scission is a consequence of the radical-mediated reactions initiated by the interaction of ferric heme iron with peroxidized cardiolipin. Simultaneously with the heme c disruption, generation of hydroxyl radical is detected by EPR spectroscopy using the spin trapping technique. The resulting apocytochrome c sediments as a heterogeneous mixture of high aggregates, as judged by sedimentation analysis. Both the oxidative process and the destructive process were suppressed by nonionic detergents and/or high ionic strength. The mechanism for generating radicals and heme rupture is presented

De-excitation of the strongly coupled band in 177Au and implications for core intruder configurations in the light Hg isotopes

Excited states in the proton-unbound nuclide 177Au were populated in the 92Mo(88Sr, p2n) reaction and identified using the Jurogam-II and GREAT spectrometers in conjunction with the RITU gas-filled separator at the University of Jyväskylä Accelerator Laboratory. A strongly coupled band and its decay path to the 11/2− α-decaying isomer have been identified using recoil-decay tagging. Comparisons with cranked HartreeFock-Bogoliubov (HFB) calculations based on Skyrme energy functionals suggest that the band has a prolate deformation and is based upon coupling the odd 1h11/2 proton hole to the excited 0+ 2 configuration in the 178Hg core. Although these configurations might be expected to follow the parabolic trend of core Hg(0+2 ) states as a function of neutron number, the electromagnetic decay paths from the strongly coupled band in 177Au are markedly different from those observed in the heavier isotopes above the midshell. This indicates that a significant change in the structure of the underlying A+1Hg core occurs below the neutron midshell