4-CPA (4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid) induces the formation and development of defective “fenghou” (vitis vinifera × v. labrusca) grape seeds

For some horticultural plants, auxins can not only induce normal fruit setting but also form fake seeds in the induced fruits. This phenomenon is relatively rare, and, so far, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, “Fenghou” (Vitis vinifera × V. labrusca) grapes were artificially emasculated before flowering and then sprayed with 4-CPA (4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid) to analyze its effect on seed formation. The results show that 4-CPA can induce normal fruit setting in “Fenghou” grapes. Although more seeds were detected in the fruits of the 4-CPA-treated grapevine, most seeds were immature. There was no significant difference in the seed shape; namely, both fruit seeds of the grapevines with and without 4-CPA treatment contained a hard seed coat. However, the immature seeds lacked embryo and endosperm tissue and could not germinate successfully; these were considered defective seeds. Tissue structure observation of defective seeds revealed that a lot of tissue redifferentiation occurred at the top of the ovule, which increased the number of cell layers of the outer integument; some even differentiated into new ovule primordia. The qRT-PCR results demonstrated that 4-CPA application regulated the expression of the genes VvARF2 and VvAP2, which are associated with integument development in “Fenghou” grape ovules. Together, this study evokes the regulatory role of 4-CPA in the division and continuous redifferentiation of integument cells, which eventually develop into defective seeds with thick seed coats in grapes

Infection of inbred BALB/c and C57BL/6 and outbred Institute of Cancer Research mice with the emerging H7N9 avian influenza virus

A new avian-origin influenza virus A (H7N9) recently crossed the species barrier and infected humans; therefore, there is an urgent need to establish mammalian animal models for studying the pathogenic mechanism of this strain and the immunological response. In this study, we attempted to develop mouse models of H7N9 infection because mice are traditionally the most convenient models for studying influenza viruses. We showed that the novel A (H7N9) virus isolated from a patient could infect inbred BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice as well as outbred Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice. The amount of bodyweight lost showed differences at 7 days post infection (d.p.i.) (BALB/c mice 30%, C57BL/6 and ICR mice approximately 20%), and the lung indexes were increased both at 3 d.p.i. and at 7 d.p.i.. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated the existence of the H7N9 viruses in the lungs of the infected mice, and these findings were verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50) detection at 3 d.p.i. and 7 d.p.i.. Histopathological changes occurred in the infected lungs, including pulmonary interstitial inflammatory lesions, pulmonary oedema and haemorrhages. Furthermore, because the most clinically severe cases were in elderly patients, we analysed the H7N9 infections in both young and old ICR mice. The old ICR mice showed more severe infections with more bodyweight lost and a higher lung index than the young ICR mice. Compared with the young ICR mice, the old mice showed a delayed clearance of the H7N9 virus and higher inflammation in the lungs. Thus, old ICR mice could partially mimic the more severe illness in elderly patients. </p

An individual-based probabilistic model for simulating fisheries population dynamics

The purpose of stock assessment is to support managers to provide intelligent decisions regarding removal from fish populations. Errors in assessment models may have devastating impacts on the population fitness and negative impacts on the economy of the resource users. Thus, accuracte estimations of population size, growth rates are critical for success. Evaluating and testing the behavior and performance of stock assessment models and assessing the consequences of model mis-specification and the impact of management strategies requires an operating model that accurately describe the dynamics of the target species, and can resolve spatial and seasonal changes. In addition, the most thorough evaluations of assessment models use an operating model that takes a different form than the assessment model. This paper presents an individual-based probabilistic model used to simulate the complex dynamics of populations and their associated fisheries. Various components of population dynamics are expressed as random Bernoulli trials in the model and detailed life and fishery histories of each individual are tracked over their life span. The simulation model is designed to be flexible so it can be used for different species and fisheries. It can simulate mixing among multiple stocks and link stock-recruit relationships to environmental factors. Furthermore, the model allows for flexibility in sub-models (e.g., growth and recruitment) and model assumptions (e.g., age- or size-dependent selectivity). This model enables the user to conduct various simulation studies, including testing the performance of assessment models under different assumptions, assessing the impacts of model mis-specification and evaluating management strategies

Using Bayesian Bio-economic model to evaluate the management strategies of Ommastrephes bartramii in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) in the Northwest Pacific Ocean is one economically important cephalopod, largely exploited by squid jigging fleets from Chinese Mainland, Japan, and Chinese Taibei. In this study, a Bayesian Bio-economic model was developed using fishery data from Chinese Mainland, Japan, and Chinese Taibei, and relevant fishery economic data from Chinese Mainland. The stock assessment and risk analysis of alternative management strategies for O. bartramii were carried out. Three prior distributions (i.e., uniform, normal and logarithmic normal) for model parameters were assumed in different scenarios. The results showed that the estimated model parameters and reference points such as maximum sustainable yield (MSY), maximum economic yield (MEY), bio-economic balance point (BE) and fishing mortality were similar in the scenarios of normal and logarithmic normal prior assumptions. However, the estimates were larger in the scenario of uniform prior assumption. The fishing mortalities and annual catches from 1996 to 2008 were lower than the reference points F0.1 and MSY in all the three scenarios, indicating that O. bartramii stock is at sustainable exploited level. The results of decision analysis indicated that under the same harvest rate, the catch and biomass in 2023 from the uniform assumption were the highest. However, the highest probability of the collapse was found for squid resources after 2023. Our findings suggested that the harvest rate of 0.4 appeared to be the best management regulation under the uniform assumption, and the MSY would be 200 thousand tons. In addition, the harvest rate of 0.5 would be the best management regulation under the other two assumptions, and the MSY would be 180 thousand tons, which balanced the desire for high yields and the healthy population. The results of this study could be used to provide management suggestions for neon flying squid in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The large-scale deployment of fish aggregation devices alters environmentally-based migratory behavior of skipjack tuna in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Fish aggregation devices (FADs) have been used extensively in the tuna purse seine fishery since the 1980s. This long-term modification of natural habitat has generated discussions as to whether FADs impact movement patterns of tuna species. We examined this question using data collected from the skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) fishery. We used the longitudinal gravitational center of catch (G) to examine temporal variability in skipjack movement in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, and related this to El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. We found that in most cases G for free-swimming school sets changed with the onset of ENSO events, while G for floating-object-associated school sets remained relatively constant. This suggests that skipjack exhibit distinguishable behavioral strategies in response to ENSO events: they either react by moving long distances or they associate with floating objects. There has been no previous attempt to evaluate the interaction between FADs and the environmentally-determined movement of skipjack; this study shows evidence of an interaction, which should be considered when managing skipjack populations

Anomalies for the longitudinal gravitational center of catch by season (<i>G_s</i>) for free-swimming and drifting-floating-object-associated school sets of skipjack tuna and the southern oscillation index (SOI).

<p>Anomalies for the longitudinal gravitational center of catch by season (<i>G_s</i>) for free-swimming and drifting-floating-object-associated school sets of skipjack tuna and the southern oscillation index (SOI).</p

Scatter diagram of the longitudinal gravitational center of catch by month (<i>G_m</i>) free swimming school and drifting-floating-object-associated school sets of skipjack tuna and southern oscillation index (SOI).

<p>The blue points represent free-swimming catch, the red points represent drifting-floating-object-associated catch. The blue and red solid lines are regression lines with dashed 95% confidence intervals.</p

Transcription Factor Pso9TF Assists Xinjiang Wild Myrobalan Plum (Prunus sogdiana) PsoRPM3 Disease Resistance Protein to Resist Meloidogyne incognita

The root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) causes huge economic losses in the agricultural industry throughout the world. Control methods against these polyphagous plant endoparasites are sparse, the preferred one being the deployment of plant cultivars or rootstocks bearing resistance genes against Meloidogyne species. Our previous study has cloned one resistance gene, PsoRPM3, from Xinjiang wild myrobalan plum (Prunus sogdiana). However, the function of PsoRPM3 remains elusive. In the present study, we have investigated the regulatory mechanism of PsoRPM3 in plant defense responses to M. incognita. Our results indicate that fewer giant cells were detected in the roots of the PsoRPM3 transgenic tobacco than wild tobacco lines after incubation with M. incognita. Transient transformations of full-length and TN structural domains of PsoRPM3 have induced significant hypersensitive responses (HR), suggesting that TIR domain might be the one which caused HR. Further, yeast two-hybrid results revealed that the full-length and LRR domain of PsoRPM3 could interact with the transcription factor Pso9TF. The addition of Pso9TF increased the ROS levels and induced HR. Thus, our data revealed that the LRR structural domain of PsoRPM3 may be associated with signal transduction. Moreover, we did not find any relative inductions of defense-related genes PsoEDS1, PsoPAD4 and PsoSAG101 in P. sogdiana, which has been incubated with M. incognita. In summary, our work has shown the key functional domain of PsoRPM3 in the regulation of defense responses to M. incognita in P. sogdiana

Correlation coefficients between the longitudinal gravitational center of catch by season (<i>G_s</i>) and the southern oscillation index (SOI).

<p>A: free-swimming catch; B: drifting-floating-object-associated catch. The lag metric for horizontal axis is season; the dash line represents the correlation 95% confidence intervals which are unadjusted for multiple comparisons.</p