The effects of nematode resistant and susceptible spring oat cultivars and aldicarb on the cereal cyst nematode Heterodera avenae and yields in contrasting soil types

The effects of the cereal cyst-nematode, Heterodera auenae Woll. on resistant and susceptible oat cultivars, with and without aldicarb treatment, were compared on a clay-with-flints soil at Rothamsted and a loamy sand at Woburn. At both sites, when H. auenae was extremely scarce, yields were not further enhanced by aldicarb. At Rothamsted aldicarb increased yields by 48–72% when H. auenae averaged 10 eggs/g soil. At Woburn, aldicarb increased yields of both susceptible and resistant varieties by 80–90% with 20 eggs/g. The resistant varieties conferred yield benefits in the following oat crop equal to the residual effects of aldicarb applied before the previous crop, demonstrating that H. auenae was wholly responsible for the yield losses. Nematode resistant oats suffered as much or more damage from root invasion by H. auenae juveniles as the susceptible varieties but the resulting decrease in nematode numbers led to considerable yield improvements in the following year. At Woburn in 1977, when formalin was an added treatment, fewer females were infected by parasitic fungi and post-crop egg numbers were greater.     

Pathogenicity of avian nephritis virus for embryonating hen's eggs

The pathogenicity of avian nephritis virus (ANV) for embryonating hen's eggs was studied by various routes of inoculation. When inoculated with ANV by the yolk sac route, 6-day-old embryos showed the highest susceptibility and all of them died 3 to 14 days postinoculation (PI). They manifested hemorrhage and edema of the whole body (3 to 6 days PI) and stunting (7 to 14 days PI). The 50% egg-infective dose of the virus by yolk sac inoculation coincided well with the virus titer expressed in plaque-forming units determined on the monolayer of chicken kidney cell cultures. The virus could be passed serially through the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of embryonating hen's eggs. In these eggs the CAM presented edematous thickening at the inoculation site, and the embryo stunting. when inoculated by the CAM route, high virus doses killed all embryos, but low virus doses allowed some of the infected embryos to hatch normally. When inoculated by the allantoic cavity route, the virus did not multiply in the allantoic cavity of embryonating eggs, but some of these eggs became infected. Fluorescent antigens were present only in the kidneys and CAM of embryos infected with the virus. The virus was recovered at a low rate from cloacal swabs of chicks from normally hatched eggs inoculated with the virus by the CAM route. These chicks were variable in growth, but had antibodies against the virus and developed nephritis at 36 days of age.     

Transmission of a baculovirus in populations of Oryctes rhinoceros

The transmission of the baculovirus of Oryctes rhinoceros, previously called Rhabdionvirus oryctes, was studied. O. rhinoceros adults became infected with the virus when kept in a mixture of sawdust and ground-up virus-killed larvae or together with other virus-infected adults. In the field, mated females were more frequently infected than unmated females. Adults developing from larvae that had survived exposure to various dosages of the virus were not infected. No virus infections occurred in larvae hatching from eggs surface-contaminated with the virus. Larvae hatching from eggs laid by virus-infected females very rarely were infected.In the O. rhinoceros population the virus is transmitted most frequently during mating, possibly when the uninfected partner contacts virus material excreted by the infected partner. The virus can be transmitted in a similar way when infected and healthy beetles feed together in palm trees. Beetles visiting larval breeding sites containing freshly virus-killed larvae can become infected. Virus-infected beetles can pass the infection to healthy larvae when visiting a breeding site.     

Detection and transmission of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in rainbow trout.

Detection and transmission of Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) was studied at a commercial trout hatchery. Transmission of virus was demonstrated via water, feed and contaminated eggs. If eggs from carrier females were incubated several weeks in virus-free water, the resulting fry did not become infected. However, if fry subsequently became infected they were lifetime carriers. Infectious virus was readily detectable in most tissues of moribund fish; in carriers it was detected in sex products of spawning fish, and in samples from the intestine of post-spawning fish, but not in samples from blood, feces, kidney, or liver. The carrier rate was not significantly different between sexes. It was concluded that adult carriers are the reservoir of infection and that transmission occurs primarily when carriers shed virus and expose susceptable fish or eggs.     

Density-dependent parasitism of Delphacodes kuscheli eggs by Anagrus flaveolus: Influence of egg patchiness and density

Many herbivorous insects display a marked tendency to aggregate and previous work has shown that the parasitoids likely to be more effective for pest control programs are those that concentrate their attacks on denser host patches. However, as herbivore density changes different spatial patterns usually emerge in their distribution. In Tucumán province, Argentina the mymarid Anagrus flaveolus is a native egg parasitoid of Delphacodes kuscheli, which oviposits endophitic eggs and is the only demonstrated vector of the MRCV virus that seriously affects maize (Zea mays). Winter is the critical period for maize colonization from oat (Avena sativa) crops where D. kuscheli overwinters. We analyzed, under field conditions and during the winter critical period, percentage parasitism by A. flaveolus when host patch density increases following two different patterns: an increase in the batch size, and an increase in the number of infested plants with similar mean batch size. In order to generate a heterogeneous egg patchiness, 144 oat plants were arranged in 36 groups of four plants each, and four types of groups were created by placing one, two, three or four infested plants per group. Each group was characterized by the number of infested plants as well as by the number of eggs. If one, two, three or all four plants were infested, the group was denominated G1, G2, G3 or G4, respectively. Considering only G1, the number of eggs per group increased only if the batch size increased. On the other hand, considering all G1, G2, G3 and G4 groups, the increase in patch density from G1 to G4, was essentially due to an increase in the number of infested plants. The groups were symmetrically distributed in the field in a homogeneous 200-m² area (the position of each group was randomly assigned), and allowed for oviposition for 48 h since A. flaveolus only attacks eggs that have three or less days of development. We found that almost all infected plants were parasitized by A. flaveolus but parasitism never surpassed 64% of the available eggs, suggesting that the parasitoid selectively attacks eggs inserted in particular places of the oat plant, and/or never saturates a batch. We also found that parasitism was spatially direct density dependent when only G1 was considered, as well as when G1, G2, G3 and G4 were considered together. In the first case, an increase in the number of eggs in a group of four plants represents an increase in the batch size, and higher batch size received higher parasitism. In the second case, it represents an increase in the number of infested plants, and higher patch density received higher parasitism. Although the proportion of infected plants parasitized was similar, infected plants with similar number of eggs received higher parasitism when placed in denser groups (G3 and G4) than when placed in the less dense groups (G1 and G2). Behavioral mechanisms leading to a restriction on re-dispersal, like an area-restricted search behavior, as well as supernormal stimulus of contiguous host egg batches in certain places that may require a higher threshold before mutual interference has an effect, could be explained these results.     

Electron microscopy of the particles of cereal tillering disease virus and oat sterile dwarf virus

Extracts of maize and oat plants from Sweden, infected respectively with cereal tillering disease virus and oat sterile dwarf virus, were examined in the electron microscope after staining with uranyl acetate or potassium phosphotungstate. Such extracts contained whole virus particles, two kinds of subviral particles and virus-containing tubular structures. The results indicate that the two viruses are morphologically indistinguishable from each other and from maize rough dwarf virus.     

Mechanical Transmission of Barley Mild Mosaic Virus (BaMMV) to Rye (Secale cereale L.)

After mechanical spraygun inoculation barley mild mosaic virus (BaMMV) was detected in barley cv. ‘Gerbel’ (control) as well as in rye cv. ‘Somro’, but not in wheat cv. ‘Kanzler’ and oat cv. ‘Alfred’. ELISA values of infected barley and rye were similar. Furthermore, infected rye plants developed symptoms typical for barley yellow mosaic virus infection.     

STUDIES ON THE pH AND Eh OF NORMAL AND INFLUENZA-INFECTED EGGS

1. pH values of allantoic fluids from non-infected eggs showed a rapid drop from the 12th to the 17th day of embryonic development. A definite age-pH relationship was shown to exist. 2. The allantoic fluid of eggs infected with influenza virus, contrasting with the non-infected eggs, revealed pH values which remained relatively stable about the neutral point at any age between 11 and 17 days. No relationship between pH and age could be established, in the infected series. 3. The Eh value of the fluid from non-infected eggs also exhibited a significant relationship to embryonic age. The majority of the determinations revealed a positive potential. 4. Similar determination on influenza-infected eggs gave results of a predominantly negative potential, indicating a marked state of reduction accompanying virus multiplication. As with the pH determinations, the Eh values of infected eggs were not a function of their age.     

Direct sequencing of the HA gene of influenza (H3N2) virus in original clinical samples reveals sequence identity with mammalian cell-grown virus.

When influenza (H3N2) viruses from infected individuals are grown in embryonated chicken eggs, viruses are isolated which differ antigenically and structurally from viruses grown in mammalian Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell culture [G.C. Schild, J.S. Oxford, J.C. de Jong, and R.G. Webster, Nature (London) 303:706-709, 1983]. To determine which of these viruses is most representative of virus replicating in the infected individual, a region of the HA gene of virus present in original clinical samples was amplified by using the polymerase chain reaction and sequenced directly. Comparison of 170 amino acid residues of HA1 flanking and containing the receptor-binding site and antigenic sites indicated that over this region, the HA of virus replicating in the infected individual was identical to that of virus after growth in MDCK cells and was distinct from the HA of viruses grown in eggs. Therefore, cultivation of human influenza H3N2 virus in mammalian MDCK cells results in a virus similar to the predominant population of virus found in the infected individual.     

Characteristics of Murayama virus in various cell cultures and laboratory animals

Some biological properties of Murayama virus, a new paramyxovirus, were studied. The virus grew well in primary monkey kidney cells as well as embryonated eggs, while the virus yields in primary chick embryo and BHK-21 cells were much lower. The infected BHK-21 cells formed large syncytia and showed typical hemadsorption, but did not produce any detectable amount of hemagglutinin in the culture fluid. The virus yields were very low in Vero. LLC-MK2 and MDCK cells at first passages. The addition of trypsin to the medium enhanced virus growth in Vero and LLC-MK2 but not in MDCK cells. Cell fusion activity of the virus was observed in Molt-4 cells. Hemolytic activity was enhanced by freeze-thawing. Several species of mammals and birds were susceptible to experimental infections with the virus as evidenced by seroconversion and positive virus isolation without showing any clinical signs.     

Bottom–up regulates top–down: the effects of hybridization of grass endophytes on an aphid herbivore and its generalist predator

The ecological consequences of hybridization of microbial symbionts are largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that hybridization of microbial symbionts of plants can negatively affect performance of herbivores and their natural enemies. In addition, we studied the effects of hybridization of these symbionts on feeding preference of herbivores and their natural enemies. We used Arizona fescue as the host‐plant, Neotyphodium endophytes as symbionts, the bird cherry–oat aphid as the herbivore and the pink spotted ladybird beetle as the predator in controlled experiments. Neither endophyte infection (infected or not infected) nor hybrid status (hybrid and non‐hybrid infection) affected aphid reproduction, proportion of winged forms in the aphid populations, aphid host‐plant preference or body mass of the ladybirds. However, development of ladybird larvae was delayed when fed with aphids grown on hybrid (H+) endophyte infected grasses compared to larvae fed with aphids from non‐hybrid (NH+) infected grasses, non‐hybrid, endophyte‐removed grasses (NH?) and hybrid, endophyte‐removed (H?) grasses. Furthermore, adult beetles were more likely to choose all other types of grasses harboring aphids rather than H+ infected grasses. In addition, development of ladybirds was delayed when fed with aphids from naturally uninfected (E?) grasses compared to ladybirds that were fed with aphids from NH+ and NH? grasses. Our results suggest that hybridization of microbial symbionts may negatively affect generalist predators such as the pink spotted ladybird and protect herbivores like the bird cherry–oat aphids from predation even though the direct effects on herbivores are not evident.     

颗粒体病毒在小菜蛾种群中的垂直传播方式的初步观察

在室内观察了小菜蛾颗粒体病毒PlutellaxylostellaGranulosisVirus(RxGV)在小菜蛾种群水平上可能的垂直传播途径。结果表明 :(1 )上代小菜蛾Plutellaxylostella(L .)幼虫期饲毒不能将小菜蛾颗粒体病垂直传递到下代 ;(2 )取食病毒的雌蛾产的卵所孵化的幼虫中 ,没病毒感染出现 ,说明病毒不能经小菜蛾成虫体内传播到下一代。 (3 )用小菜蛾颗粒体病毒处理卵卡时 ,其初孵幼虫有少量被病毒感染死亡 ,浓度高时感染率也较高 ,但感染率均在 1 0 %以下 ,说明小菜蛾颗粒体病毒能经卵表垂直传递给下代 ,但传递效率不高。但当用病毒处理叶片上的卵时 ,初孵幼虫死亡率高达 77 73 % ,而且孵化出的幼虫大多数染病且死于 3龄以前 ,因此田间病毒的施用时间可提早到卵高峰期。     

流行性感冒病毒灭活疫苗规模化生产工艺的建立

本文报告了流行性感冒病毒疫苗规模化生产工艺的建立及结果,用鸡胚分别接种A1,A3,和B型病毒株,培养后进行了纯化,配苗及检定,对培养时间,收获量、离心分离及纯化、灭活、脱糖等重要步骤进行了优化比较。结果表明,培养66小时病毒滴度及收获量达到最高;采用蔗糖密度梯度离心可收到理想的分离效果;超滤脱糖优于透析法;β-丙内酯在生产中是一种理想的灭活剂,并依此筛选出最优化工艺配置,建立了切实可行的疫苗规模生产工艺,成功制备了质量稳定,安全可靠的疫苗制剂。     

Panveld oviposition sites of floodwater Aedes mosquitoes and attempts to detect transovarial transmission of Rift Valley fever virus in South Africa

Floodwater aedine mosquito eggs were recovered from soil samples taken from grassland depressions, called pans, in the Orange Free State Province of South Africa. A sedge, Mariscus congestus (Vahl) C.B.Cl., was a useful indicator of Aedes (Ochlerotatus) juppi McIntosh oviposition areas. No transovarial transmission of virus was demonstrated by Ae.juppi females reared from the eggs and allowed to feed shortly after eclosion on hamsters. No virus was recovered from 557 pools of 5425 adult Ae.juppi that were collected as eggs and reared to the adult stage in the laboratory. Rift Valley fever virus replicated to high titres in experimentally infected Ae.juppi females, but horizontal transmission experiments proved inconclusive.     

Cytopathology of Plants Infected with Viruses. Ultrastructure of the Leaf Cells of Cereals Affected by Cereal Rhabdoviruses

Ultrathin sections of oat, wheat, and ryegrass leaves from healthy plants and plants infected with rhabdoviruses by leafhoppers Laodelphax striatellusFallen were studied under the electron microscope. The bacilliform virions often surrounded by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, viroplasm, and tubular structures conforming, in diameter and structure, to the rhabdovirion nucleocapsid were observed in the cytoplasm of leaf cells of the diseased plants. The cereal pseudorosette virus [(165–200) × (63–70) nm, CPV] is the causative agent of the disease of cereals in Siberia. The mycoplasma-like organisms were found in the phloem cells of plants infected with CPV. The cereal mosaic virus [(360–420) × (56–64) nm, CMV] is the causative agent of the disease of cereals in the Russian Far East. CMV appears to be a strain of the northern cereal mosaic virus.     

The Drosophila Nora virus is an enteric virus, transmitted via feces

The biology of the Drosophila viruses has not been intensely investigated. Here we have investigated the biology of the Nora virus, a persistent Drosophila virus. We find that injected Nora virus is able to replicate in the files, reaching a high titer that is maintained in the next generation. There is a remarkable variation in the viral loads of individual flies in persistently infected stocks; the titers can differ by three orders of magnitude. The Nora virus is mainly found in the intestine of infected flies, and the histology of these infected intestines show increased vacuolization. The virus is excreted in the feces and is horizontally transmitted. The Nora virus infection has a very mild effect on the longevity of the flies, and no significant effect on the number of eggs laid and the percent of eggs that develop to adults.     

Increased sensitivity of detection of plant viruses obtained by using a fluorogenic substrate in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

The fluorogenic substrate 4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate (MUP) of alkaline phosphatase was compared with the chromogenic substrate p-nitrophenyl phosphate (NPP) in tests for plant viruses by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In tests on leaf extracts of squash infected with prune dwarf virus, Chenopodium quinoa and apple infected with apple mosaic virus (ApMV), and potato infected with potato leafroll virus (PLRV), MUP increased sensitivity 2–16 times, the smallest and greatest increases being obtained with ApMV (in apple) and PLRV respectively. In similar tests on 21 dormant PLRV-infected potato tubers, sensitivity was increased 2–4 times with 13 tubers, but the two substrates gave the same detection end-points with eight tubers. When individual seeds of potato plants infected with the Andean potato calico strain of tobacco ringspot virus were tested, the virus was detected in virtually all seeds by MUP-ELISA, but detection by NPP-ELISA was inefficient unless absorbance values were measured after overnight incubation at 4 °C, instead of after 2 h at room temperature. In tests on Myzus persicae carrying PLRV and Sitobion avenae carrying barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), both viruses were consistently detected in a greater proportion of individual aphids by MUP-ELISA than NPP-ELISA irrespective of whether incubation was for 2 h at room temperature or overnight at 4 °C. The effeciency of detection of virus in single viruliferous aphids by MUP-ELISA was not decreased by grouping with one or four non-viruliferous aphids but was decreased (PLRV) or greatly decreased (BYDV) by grouping with nine. MUP-ELISA and transmission tests to Physalis floridana seedlings (2–3 day inoculation access periods) both detected PLRV in most individual M. persicae, but the results obtained with the two methods did not correlate completely. In similar tests for BYDV in individual S. avenae, virtually all aphids transmitted BYDV to oat seedlings during a 3-day inoculation access period but it was subsequently detected by MUP-ELISA in less than half of them. By contrast, MUP-ELISA detected PLRV in most viruliferous M. persicae even after they had fed for 3 days on Chinese cabbage, a non-host for this virus.     

中国对虾球状病毒垂直传播的初步研究

应用透射电镜技术在越冬中国对虾雌性亲虾体内检测出一种球状病毒,直径为80nm左右。人工感染实验证实该病毒颗粒具有感染性。对带毒亲虾在室内隔离条件下进行了暂养催产,并对其所产的卵子、幼虫和的虾进行了隔离培育。带毒亲虾的卵子孵化率、幼虫成活率和幼虾生长速度均明显低于不带毒亲虾的子代。电镜观察发现．在带毒亲虾卵巢、各期幼虫和幼虾的细胞内存在球状病毒颗粒,在刚产的卵子的卵黄颗粒中可看到一种似球状病毒颗粒。研究表明：带球状病毒的对虾呈隐性感染,在胁迫条件下带毒幼虾可暴发病害,带毒亲虾可正常发育产卵,病毒可能通过卵巢、卵子进行垂直传播。     

EVOLUTION AND MANIPULATION OF PARASITOID EGG LOAD

In proovigenic parasitoids such as Leptopilina boulardi, the female emerges with a limited egg load and no further eggs are produced during its adult life. A female thus runs the risk of exhausting this limited supply of eggs before the end of her life. Given that the production of an egg is costly, what is the evolutionarily stable egg load at emergence? This question has attracted a lot of attention in the last decade. Here, we analyze a model that allows us to track both the evolution and the population dynamics of a solitary, proovigenic parasitoid. First, we show how host–parasitoid dynamics feedbacks on the evolution of parasitoid egg load. Second, we use this model to consider the situation in which the parasitoid can be infected by a virus that manipulates the oviposition behavior of the females. In particular, we model the effect of the LbFV virus in L. boulardi, a virus that is known to enhance its horizontal transmission by increasing superparasitism (i.e., the laying of eggs in a host already parasitized). Specifically, we model (1) the effect of the virus on parasitoid egg load strategies , and (2) the evolution of egg load manipulation by the virus. This analysis yields two alternative, yet not mutually exclusive, adaptive explanations for the observation that females infected by the virus harbor higher egg loads than uninfected females. Infected females could either respond plastically to the infection status, or be manipulated by the virus. Further experimental work is required to distinguish between these two hypotheses. In a broader context, we present a general theoretical framework that allows us to study the epidemiology, the evolution, the coevolution, and the evolution of manipulation of various reproductive strategies of parasitoids.     

Absence of vertical transmission of infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) from individually infected Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. eggs were collected from grilse that were individually identified as ISAV-positive based on the detection of pathogen in ovarian fluid by RT-PCR. The eggs were fertilised, disinfected and reared under quarantine conditions. To address the possibility of vertical transmission, fertilised eggs, alevins and parr were screened for the virus by SHK-1 cell culture and RT-PCR. In addition, ISAV-negative parr were injected with homogenates of potentially infected eyed eggs. ISAV was not detected in eyed eggs, alevins or parr. No mortalities occurred among fish injected with the egg homogenates. These observations suggest the absence of a vertical transmission route for ISAV infection.