Molecular markers for genetic diversity studies of European hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778) populations

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Advancement report on population genetic study of brown hare populations in central and eastern European region

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Mitochondrial DNA-based diversity study of Hungarian brown hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas 1778)

The brown hare being an important game species which is widespread across the European continent has been in focus of many population genetic studies. However only a few comprising researches can be found on the diversity of Central-European populations. The aim of our large scale long term ongoing study is to fill this gap of information on the species by describing the genetic history and structure of the brown hare populations of the area using both mitochondrial DNA markers and genomic skin and hair colour regulating genes. This article gives forth a part of our results concerning the mitochondrial DNA diversity of Hungarian brown hares based on amplification of a 512 bp long D-loop sequence. N=39 tissue or hair samples have been collected from 15 sampling sites on the Hungarian Great Plain. We have described a high level of haplotype diversity (Hd=0.879±0.044) based on a 410 bp alignment of our sequences. We have found 17 haplotypes within our sample set with the nucleotid diversity of π=0.01167±0.0022. Our ongoing research shows high genetic diversity for the brown hare in the studied region and a second alignment with 156 sequences downloaded from GenBank indicates a geographic pattern of haplotypes among the studied populations though these results need confirmation by our further analyses

Lack of polymorphism of the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) gene among four different brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas 1778) populations

The brown hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas 1778) is a common palearctic and a popular game species therefore it has been an obvious subject for population genetic studies since the second part of the 20th century. Among the several mitochondrial DNA studies some have been carried out concerning nuclear genes as well. The agouti signaling protein gene (ASIP) is involved in regulating the synthesis of eumelanin and pheomelanin in melanocytes of mammals. Though many studies focused on it in relation with several mammalian species, minimal information is available on this topic concerning the brown hare. Here we present a short communication concerning the agouti signaling protein (ASIP) gene in four different country’s L. europaeus populations, namely Lithuania, Hungary, Serbia and Georgia. N=45 tissue samples have been investigated from overall 17 sampling sites of the different countries. There has not been found any polymorphism among the sequences. In an alignment with other Leporid species’ partial ASIP sequences downloaded from ENA we have found that based on a 178 base pairs long DNA sequence the haplotype of our samples contains three other Lepus species as well. This is concordant with the findings of a previous study focusing predominantly on the European rabbit (Orycto lagus cuniculus Linnaeus 1758) and the several mutations of its ASIP gene

Effect of different arsenic-treatments on the dry weight of vegetative plant parts of green pea in the different phenophase of the plant development

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Food and feed safety assessment of green peas grown in an arseniccontaminated area

Both natural and anthropogenic arsenic contaminations of soil and groundwater are a global problem for all parts of the world, in terms of which, in Hungary, primarily the Great Plain region is affected. Through growing plants on arsenic-contaminated soil, arsenic can enter the food chain, which can mean a serious food safety risk. In Hungary, more than 70% of the vegetable growing areas are located in the Great Plain area affected by natural arsenic contamination. Green peas, the food industrial significance of which is due to the many forms of processing, among other things, are the second most common vegetable, in terms of the growing area. Based on this, the objective of our work was to determine the changes in the arsenic contents of the different plant parts (stem, leaf, pea pod, pea seeds) of green peas grown on arsenic-treated soil. Based on the results obtained, it was investigated how big a food and feed safety risk green peas grown in such areas pose. The effect of soil arsenic contamination on the arsenic uptake of green peas was investigated using pot experiments. During the experiments, arsenic was used separately as As(III) and As(V). In our work, arsenic treatments of 0, 3, 10, 30, 90 and 270 mg/kg were applied. Based on the results it can be concluded that, compared to the BMDL0,5 value determined by the WHO, in none of the cases did the percentage contribution of the consumption of green peas from arseniccontaminated areas to different tumor diseases (pulmonary, bladder and skin cancer) exceed 0.46%. The 2 mg/kg limit value of FVM decree 44/2003. (IV. 26.) on the compulsory regulations of the Hungarian Feed Code regarding undesirable contaminations of feeds [30] for arsenic was exceeded by the measured values for both arsenic forms and for all doses, with the exception of the control experiment in the case of the stem, and the control experiment and the lowest concentration treatment (3 mg/kg) in the case of the leaves. As for the pea pods, As contents above 2 mg/kg were found in the case of the 270 mg/kg treatments, however, in the case of the As(V) treatment, the As content of the pea pods, following a 90 mg/kg dose, was very close to the above mentioned limit value. There has been no limit value designated for foods in the European Union regarding arsenic contamination, because currently there is no database describing the toxicities of organic and inorganic forms of arsenic in the different food groups

Pest, Zala és Bács-Kiskun megyékből származó propolisz minták elemtartalmi összetétele

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