Environmental and anthropogenic factors influencing key cabbage Lepidopteran pests in the southwestern Siberia

The lepidopteran pest community composition on cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) as the main vegetable crop in the conditions of southwestern Siberia was presented. In 2015-2019, the dominant cabbage pests were diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.) and cabbage moth (Mamestra brassicae L.). The continuous application of insecticides against the cabbage pests along with climatic factors led to a change in insect species community composition. This was manifested as an increase in the number of the diamondback moth and a decrease in the abundance of other Lepidoptera species. The mean number of diamondback moths varied from 0.06 (in a year of low numbers) to 1.4 specimens per plant (in years of outbreaks), and for cabbage moth - 0.12 (2015) and 0.43 (2016), respectively. In commercial cabbage field, both egg-laying and caterpillars of Pieris brassicae L. and P. rapae L. were found as a single individual. During the years of research, we noted earlier diamondback moth and cabbage moth appearance dates in the field. More frequent diamondback moth outbreaks were observed. The period of cabbage damage by the diamondback moth lasted longer than usual during the growing seasons due to an increase in the number of insect generations in the conditions of the southwestern Siberia

Ocena aktivnosti disanja u albičnom luvisolu kontaminiranom sa Zn i Ni tokom gajenja jare uljane repice

In almost all industrially developed regions of the Russian Federation, the soil is contaminated with heavy metals (HM) often in concentrations which exceed limits of safety. This contamination causes degradation of agricultural land, which underlines the importance of the complex continuous monitoring of the dynamics of on-going changes in urban ecosystems against the background of natural processes. Quantitative assessment of the environmental sustainability of the soil according to the biological indicators of its condition is of enormous importance, in particular the balance of microbial carbon in soils, which are under varying degrees of anthropogenic pressure. Experiments were carried out to determine the phytoremediation potential of the spring rapeseed plants on soil contaminated with heavy metals. The aim of the study was to assess the respiratory activity of albic luvisol at different levels of its contamination with zinc and nickel under the conditions of a growing experiment with spring rapeseed plants. The experimental data on the respiratory activity of soil artificially contaminated with zinc and nickel in the dose range of 400-800 and 30-60 mg kg-1 of soil respectively, showed that microbial activity had a strong positive correlation with the presence of spring rapeseed plants in the vessels and weak correlation on the presence of toxic elements in the soil. According to the respiratory activity of albic luvisol, it was found that in the first 13 days of vegetation, cultivation of spring rapeseed plants had a positive effect on the sustainability of soil microbiocenosis to complex pollution with zinc and nickel.U skoro svim industrijski razvijenim regionima Ruske Federacije zemljište je kontaminirano teškim metalima, često u koncentracijama koje prelaze sigurne granice. Ova kontaminacija izaziva degradaciju poljoprivrednog zemljišta, što ističe važnost kompleksnog kontinuiranog praćenja dinamike neprekidnih promena u urbanim ekosisemima u odnosu na prirodne procese. Kvantitativna procena ekološke održivosti zemljišta prema biološkim pokazateljima njegovog stanja je od ogromnog značaja, posebno ravnoteža mikrobnog ugljenika u zemljištima koja imaju različit stepen antropogenog pritiska. Eksperimenti su sprovedeni u svrhu određivanja fitoremedijacionog potencijala biljaka uljane repice na zemljištu kontaminiranom teškim metalima. Cilj istraživanja bila je procena respiratorne aktivnosti albičkog luvisola, pri različitim nivoima kontaminacije cinkom i niklom u uslovima vegetativnog eksperimenta sa biljkama uljane repice. Eksperimentalni podaci o respiratornoj aktivnosti tla veštački kontaminiranog cinkom i niklom u rasponu doza od 400-800, odnosno 30-60 mg kg-1 zemljišta, pokazali su da mikrobna aktivnost ima jaku pozitivnu korelaciju sa prisustvom biljaka uljane repice u posudama i slabu u odnosu na prisustvo toksičnih elemenata u tlu. Prema respiratornoj aktivnosti albičkog luvisola, utvrđeno je da je u prvih 13 dana vegetacije gajenje jarih biljaka uljane repice pozitivno uticalo na održivost mikrobiocenoze zemljišta u uslovima kompleksnog zagađenja cinkom i niklom

Construction of stably maintained non-mobilizable derivatives of RSF1010 lacking all known elements essential for mobilization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RSF1010 is a well-studied broad-host-range plasmid able to be mobilized to different bacteria and plants. RSF1010-derived plasmid vectors are widely used in both basic research and industrial applications. In the latter case, exploiting of mobilizable plasmids or even the plasmids possessing negligible mobilization frequency, but containing DNA fragments that could promote conjugal transfer, is undesirable because of biosafety considerations. Previously, several mutations significantly decreasing efficiency of RSF1010 mobilization have been selected. Nevertheless, construction of the RSF1010 derivative lacking all known loci involved in the conjugal transfer has not been reported yet.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Novel non-mobilizable derivatives of RSF1010 lacking all known DNA sequences involved in the mobilization process have been obtained due to the exploiting of λRed-driven recombination between the plasmid and a constructed <it>in vitro </it>linear DNA fragment. To provide auto-regulated transcription of the essential replication gene, <it>repB</it>, the plasmid loci <it>oriT</it>, <it>mobC </it>and <it>mobA </it>were substituted by the DNA fragment containing P_{<it>lac</it>UV5}→<it>lacI</it>. Mobilization of the obtained RSFmob plasmid was not detected in standard tests. The derivative of RSFmob with increased copy number has been obtained after <it>lacI </it>elimination. High stability of both constructed plasmids has been demonstrated in <it>Escherichia coli </it>and <it>Pantoea ananatis</it>. Design of RSFmob allows easy substitution of P_{<it>lac</it>UV5}by any desirable promoter for construction of novel derivatives with changed copy number or host range.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Novel non-mobilizable derivatives of RSF1010 lacking all known DNA sequences involved in the mobilization process and stably maintained at least in <it>E. coli </it>and <it>P. ananatis </it>have been constructed. The obtained plasmids became the progenitors of new cloning vectors answering all biosafety requirements of genetically modified organisms used in scale-up production.</p

Ekološka ocena emisije gasova staklene bašte iz proizvodnje brojlera u centralnom regionu Rusije

With an estimated rise in poultry production and consumption of chicken meat in Russia by 9% up to 2022, as well as development of self-sustainable poultry production, the need has arisen for environmental assessment of this production, and within it especially greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission assessment. The goal of this work is to show a calculation procedure for obtaining estimations for the carbon footprint of the 1 kg of live chicken at the farm gate, taking into account regional typological features of agricultural production in agro-ecosystems. The methodology of carbon footprint (CF) calculation is based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, and on IAGRICO2 calculator, developed for agriculture products. Results have shown that in modern technology of poultry farming, 5.79 kg CO2 e was emitted on average per kg of body mass, and that about 47% of emission was from manure, around 27.5% from crop production (fuel and fertiliser) and 25.5% from fuel and energy needed for heating, sanitation and feeding of chickens. The main distinction of Central Russia is low efficiency of the fertiliser application on crop fields and manure management, storage and utilisation, which has as a result high emissions of the nitrous oxide. This is the field where the implementation of the intensive technologies of precise farming, manure handling, utilisation and management will significantly decrease GHG emission, with preserving yield of crops and quantity and quality of chicken meat.Sa očekivanim porastom proizvodnje u živinarstvu i povećanjem korišćenja pilećeg mesa u Rusiji od 9% do 2022. godine, kao i sa državnom politikom Ruske Federacije o kompletnoj samodovoljnosti u proizvodnji hrane, a naročito živinskog mesa, nastala je potreba za ocenom uticaja živinarstva na životnu sredinu, a posebno emisiju gasova staklene ba te. Cilj ovog rada je prikazati proceduru izračunavanja ugljenikovog otiska (engl. carbon footprint) za 1 kg žive mase na kraju tova brojlera, uzimajući u obzir regionalne tipološke osobine poljoprivredne proizvodnje u agroekosistemima. Metodologija proračuna ugljenikovog otiska bazirana je na metodologiji ocene životnog ciklusa (engl. Life Cycle Analysis - LCA), i na kalkulatoru IAGRICO2, prilagođenom poljoprivrednim proizvodima. Rezultati su pokazali da se u modernoj tehnologiji živinarstva, u proseku emituje 5,79 kg CO2 ekvivalenta po kg telesne mase, te da je oko 47 emisije poreklom iz stajnjaka, oko 27, od proizvodnje useva (upotreba goriva i đubriva) i 25,5%, od goriva i energije potrebne za grejanje, i čišćenje i hranjenje pilića. Glavna odlika centralnog regiona evropske Rusije je niska efikasnost primene azotnih đubriva na poljima, kao i upravljanje skladištenjem i primenom stajnjaka, to ima za posledicu velike količine emitovanog azot-suboksida. Ovo predstavlja polje u kojem bi implementacija intenzivnih tehnologija precizne poljoprivrede i skladištenja i primene stajnjaka mogla značajno smanjiti emisiju gasova staklene bašte, sa očuvanjem prinosa poljoprivrednih kultura i količine i kvaliteta pilećeg mesa

Analysis of the metaphase chromosome karyotypes in imaginal discs of Aedes communis, Ae. punctor, Ae. intrudens, and Ae. rossicus (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes

In this study, cytogenetic analysis of the metaphase chromosomes from imagina

Prostorna analiza tala i utjecaj na produktivnost u gospodarskoj jedinici Mužljanski rit

The paper presents analysis of soil spatial distribution and productivity of Populus x euramericana I-214 forest cultures in forest management unit (hereinafter: FMU) Muzljanski rit. Soil cover in the FMU is heterogeneous in relation to position and altitude in floodplain. Analysis were conducted on eugley and humogley soil types. Eugley, soil type, was delineated according to physiologically active soil depth as &#945;, &#946; or &#946;/&#947; gley soils and humogley was delineated as one soil unit. Cultures of the poplar clones Populus x euramericana I-214 are found on at least two but usually more different site types within the same forest management section (18.43 %). Single forest management section is a by definition a single forest spatial unit having similar ecologic factors. Aim of our research was to enable consistent forest section delineation, based on the interaction of soil productivity properties and distribution as well as Populus x euramericana I-214 productivity dataset. Based on our anaysis (spatial analysis of raster layers of soil systematic unit distribution-soil subunit, digital elevation model and productivity according to inner delineation of FMU Muzljanski rit), the resuts show eugley share in lower systematic soil unit. The results show contribution of lower systematic units of eugley in forest managemet section/culture. We found a raising trend of&nbsp;&#945; and &#946;-gley, as well as humogley. On one side the higher contribution of this sistematic units indicates&nbsp;reduction in the forest culture yield. On the other side higher contribution of&nbsp;&#946;/&#947; gley&nbsp;indicates an increase of culture yeald. The Populus x euramericana I-214 cultures are spatialy concentrated, extending over soil units with different characteristics, pointing in alternative economicaly justified section delineation, based on the soil types.Razumijevanje produktivnosti drveća u gospodarskim jedinicama vezano je za poznavanje više stanišnih čimbenika. U radu se prikazuju istraživanja s obzirom na rasprostranjenost tala, dajući im veću važnost u odnosu na izbor klona, vodni režim, klimatske ekstreme, kao i postupak obnove nasada. Opravdanost navedenog pristupa je vezana za više provedenih istraživanja, u kojima je jedan od osnovnih čimbenika tip tla, a s njime i odgovarajuća vrsta drveća.Pregled prostorne rasprostranjenosti tala omogućeno je razvojem programskih paketa za prostornu analizu geoinformacijskih podataka. U radu je prikazana analiza prostorne raspodjele tala i produktivnosti nasada Populus x euramericana I-214 gospodarske jedinice (GJ) Mužljanski Rit. Definiranju rasprostranjenosti tala u GJ Mužl&#1112;anski rit prethodila je izrada modela terena. Model terena napravljen je na bazi osnovne državne karte (R 1:5000) za definiranje mikrorel&#1112;efa. Svaka poznata točka je osim vrijednosti na x i y osi, dobila vrijednost i na z osi. U programskom paketu ArcGIS je izvršena interpolacija, a rezultat je 3D model terena u GJ Mužljanski rit na površini od približno 1820 ha. Na ovaj način je omogućena analizirati ekvidistance na 10 cm na prostoru gospodarske jedinice. Prostornom analizom su prema Klasifikaciji zeml&#1112;išta Jugoslavije (Škorić i sur., 1985) determinirani različiti tipovi i niže sistematske jedinice tala. Prethodno navedena klasifikacija je nadopunjena podjelom na fiziološki aktivnu dubinu profila prema Wildeu (1940), zbog pretpostavljene različite produktivnosti tala ovisno o vrsti stabala koja će se tamo uzgajati. Postupak je na ovaj način definirao područja niza i greda na prostoru čitave GJ, te je poslužio kao osnova za daljnje analize. Mrežom pedoloških profila su definirani tipovi tala. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju da je pokrov tla u istraživanoj GJ heterogen, te su kao tipovi tla determinirani euglej i humoglej. Podjela na niže sistematske jedinice kod eugleja je vezana za fiziološki aktivnu dubinu profila i to na &#945;, &#946; ili &#946;/&#947; glej (ograničavajući čimbenik je stagnacija podzemne vode u profilu). Posljedica je 18,43% nasada Populus x euramericana I-214 koji se nalazi na dvije ili više različitih vrsta sustavnih jedinica tala, unutar istog odsjeka, u dijelu šume koja tvori glavnu prostornu jedinicu sa sličnom ekologijom. Povećanje ili smanjenje udjela sustavne jedinice tla dovodi do postizanja različite produktivnosti. U radu je utvrđena potreba podjele eugleja kao tipa tla na niže sistematske jedinice. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju da trendovi povećanja udjela &#945; i &#946;-gleja u tlu, kao i humogleja, utječu na smanjenje prinosa nasada Populus x euramericana I-214, dok udio &#946;/&#947;-gleja (u statističkoj značajnosti od 0,3745) pozitivno korelira s volumenom nasada Populus x euramericana I-214. Iz rezultata je također vidljivo da je mali udio &#945; gleja (do 10%) dovoljan po površini odsjeka da bi doveo do smanjenja produktivnosti nasada Populus x euramericana I-214, dok je taj udio kod &#946;-gleja nešto veći te ne bi trebao prelaziti 20%, odnosno najviše 30%. Nasadi Populus x euramericana I-214 prostorno su koncentrirani, što ukazuje na alternativnu ekonomski održivu podjelu na temelju karakteristika tala uz izbor odgovarajuće vrste drveća. Na području niza je u najvećoj mjeri zastupljen euglej (fiziološki &#945; i &#946; glej) i potrebno ih je izbjegavati, budući da i mali udio navedenih sustavnih jedinica zemljišta bitno utječe na produktivnost, a posljedično i na sortimentne strukture nasada Populus x euramericana I-214. U najvećem broju slučajeva, kao zamjenska vrsta na humoglejevima i fiziološki plićim sustavnim jedinicama bio bi hrast lužnjak kao stabilna i vitalna vrsta. Na osnovi prostornog rasprostranjenja tala to se vrlo jasno može definirati, a u konačnici se i ispunjavaju ostale funkcije šuma

Environmental assessment of greenhouse gases emission from sheep breeding in Vojvodina region of Serbia

The aim of this work is to show a calculation procedure for obtaining estimations for the carbon footprint of 1 kg of live weight of ewe, ram and lamb at the farm gate, taking into account regional typological features of agricultural production in agroecosystems. The methodology of carbon footprint (CF) calculation is based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology developed for agricultural products. Results revealed that in modern technology of sheep breeding, 21.41 kg CO2 e was emitted on average per kg of body weight of ewe, 19.13 kg CO2 e was emitted on average per kg of body weight of ram, 3.2 kg CO2 e was emitted on average per kg of body weight of lamb. The main distinction of Vojvodina province is the low efficiency of fertiliser application on crop fields and manure management, storage and utilisation, which has as a result high emissions of nitrous oxide. This is the field where the implementation of intensive technologies of precise farming, manure handling, utilisation and management will significantly decrease GHG emission, with preserving yield of crops and quantity and quality of sheep of all categories

Use of the λ Red-recombineering method for genetic engineering of Pantoea ananatis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pantoea ananatis</it>, a member of the <it>Enterobacteriacea </it>family, is a new and promising subject for biotechnological research. Over recent years, impressive progress in its application to L-glutamate production has been achieved. Nevertheless, genetic and biotechnological studies of <it>Pantoea ananatis </it>have been impeded because of the absence of genetic tools for rapid construction of direct mutations in this bacterium. The λ Red-recombineering technique previously developed in <it>E. coli </it>and used for gene inactivation in several other bacteria is a high-performance tool for rapid construction of precise genome modifications.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, the expression of λ Red genes in <it>P. ananatis </it>was found to be highly toxic. A screening was performed to select mutants of <it>P. ananatis </it>that were resistant to the toxic affects of λ Red. A mutant strain, SC17(0) was identified that grew well under conditions of simultaneous expression of λ <it>gam</it>, <it>bet</it>, and <it>exo </it>genes. Using this strain, procedures for fast introduction of multiple rearrangements to the <it>Pantoea ananatis </it>genome based on the λ Red-dependent integration of the PCR-generated DNA fragments with as short as 40 bp flanking homologies have been demonstrated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The λ Red-recombineering technology was successfully used for rapid generation of chromosomal modifications in the specially selected <it>P. ananatis </it>recipient strain. The procedure of electro-transformation with chromosomal DNA has been developed for transfer of the marked mutation between different <it>P. ananatis </it>strains. Combination of these techniques with λ Int/Xis-dependent excision of selective markers significantly accelerates basic research and construction of producing strains.</p

Hormonal regulation of menstrual function in patients of reproductive age with acromegaly

Background: The frequency of menstrual disorders in patients with acromegaly is 40&ndash;84% and are caused by three main reasons &ndash; the development of normal or hypogonadotropic hypogonadism due to hyperprolactinemia or a mass effect of the tumor and direct effects of GH and IGF-1 on the reproductive system. Nevertheless the exact mechanisms of reproductive dysfunction are not clear now. Hypothalamic structures play significant role in the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-ovary axis, so it&rsquo;s important to study key neuropeptides and evaluate their effects to the pathogenesis of ovarian dysfunction during excessive secretion of growth hormone. Aim: The aim of the work is to study the hormonal regulation of menstrual function in patients of reproductive age with acromegaly in the active stage of the disease. Material and methods: The study included patients with a confirmed diagnosis of acromegaly and healthy women, comparable in age and BMI. Blood serum samples were taken in the morning (8&ndash;9 hours) on an empty stomach for 3&ndash;5 days of the menstrual cycle or on any day with amenorrhea and frozen at -70&deg;C. The hormonal study was carried out by an enzyme immunoassay, in the case of a kisspeptin, with the preliminary extraction of serum samples. Results: The study included 31 patients with acromegaly and 15 healthy women. Between groups there was a statistically significant decrease in levels of LH (p = 0.001), FSH (p = 0.09), inhibin B (p = 0.003), and kisspeptin (p = 0.00005). The frequency of hyperprolactinemia in the cohort of patients was 51.6%. During the correlation analysis, a negative dependence of kisspeptin on the levels of GH and IGF-1 was detected (r = -0.54, p = 0.002 and r = -0.63, p = 0.0002). Conclusions: The severity of the central depression of regulation of menstrual function in patients with acromegaly may be due to the degree of disease activity