Induced diploid gynogenesis and polyploidy in the ornamental (koi) carp Cyprinus carpio L.

The results of a series of experiments conducted in our laboratory on the ornamental common carp (koi), aimed at optimizing heat-shock chromosome-set manipulation procedures, are described. The timing of heat-shock initiation was expressed in the relative unit of embryological age (₀) in order to standardize this parameter, the absolute time for heat-shock initiation being calculated from duration of one ₀ at two different pre-treatment water temperatures. Heat shocks were applied within the periods of 0.05–0.60 ₀ and 1.20–2.20 ₀ which, respectively, cover the successive phases of the 2nd meiotic division and the 1st cleavage. The highest production of diploid gynogenetic offspring was observed when heat shocks were initiated at 0.15–0.25 ₀ and at 1.5 ₀, after insemination, corresponding to anaphase of meiosis-II, and metaphase of the 1st cleavage, respectively. Similar results were obtained irrespective of the different pre-treatment water temperatures, thus confirming the possibility of standardizing heat-shock timing by ₀.     

Suppression of phaseolin and lectin in seeds of common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L.: increased accumulation of 54 kDa polypeptides is not associated with higher seed methionine concentrations

Suppression of phaseolin and lectin accumulation in common bean resulted in higher concentrations of bean seed polypeptides with apparent molecular weights of 54 kDa and from 70 to 84 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Polypeptides of 54 and 56 kDa segregated as products of different alleles. Genes for the 54/56 kDa bands and phaseolin were estimated to be 26.2±3.7 map units apart. The 54 kDa band phenotype manifested by SDS-PAGE consisted of from one to three polypeptides of 54 kDa MW on 2D gels, and the 56 kDa phenotype consisted of one polypeptide of 56 kDa plus two minor polypeptides of 54-54.5 kDa molecular weight. The pK_I of these polypeptides was approximately 5.25. The methionine content of the 54 kDa polypeptides of the cultivar Great Northern Star was 1.6±0.1 g/100 g protein, which was not statistically different from the value (1.5±0.1%) obtained for phaseolin isolated by the same procedure. F₂ seeds deficient for phaseolin and lectin contained as much total N per g as wild-type seeds and were not shrunken, but contained 50% more free amino acids. F₂ seeds from two of the three populations contained from 8 to 13% less methionine per mg total N.     

利用离体诱变技术选育小麦大粒种质的研究

以鲁麦１２等为材料进行幼层培养,转分化前辐照１０００ｒａｄ,在Ｒ２代调查千粒重变异情况,结果表明,后代千粒重发生了显著变化,变异范围为３９．５—６８．５ｇ．突变率高达６３．０８％,最高千粒重超过对照４０．９５％。已选出一批大粒材料应用于生产．其中核生二号新品种千粒重６５ｇ,杂交后代表明,大粒变异多为显性突变。     

A common allergenic epitope of Bermuda grass pollen shared by other grass pollens

The present study disclosed the cross-reactivity between Bermuda grass pollen (BGP) and other grass pollens using monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and polyclonal antiserum. MAb 9–13, directed against a group of minor allergens of BGP (Cyn d Bd68K, 48K, 38K) was found to cross-react with extracts of ten other grass pollens. Immunoblotting assays illustrated that MAb 9–13 cross-reacted with multiple components of most of these pollens, and the major cross-reactive components had molecular weights of 29–36 kD. The cross-reactivity between BGP andLol pI, the group I allergen of rye grass pollen, was further evaluated;Lol pI was recognized by MAb 9–13, but not by our MAbs/polyclonal antiserum againstCyn dI, the major allergen of BGP. These results suggest that the epitope recognized by MAb 9–13 is a common (C) epitope shared byLol pI andCyn d Bd68K, 48K, 38K, andCyn dI does not share significant antigenicity withLol pI. In a modified radio-allergosorbent test, IgE antibodies in the serum of BGP-allergic patients reacted mildly with C-epitope-bearing components of both BGP and rye grass pollens, and this binding could be blocked specifically by MAb 9–13. This suggests that in addition to an antigenic cross-reaction, the C epitope can also lead to an allergenic cross-reaction.     

草鱼、鲤、鲢、鳙和尼罗罗非鱼肝胰脏和肠道蛋白酶活性的初步探讨

草鱼、鲤、鲢、鳙肝胰脏和肠蛋白酶的最适pH值分别为8.7、8.7、7.6、7.6和8.4、8.7、8.0、8.4。草鱼、鲤和尼罗罗非鱼的肝胰脏蛋白酶活性比肠的高;鲢和鳙的肝胰脏蛋白酶的活性却比肠的低;尼罗罗非鱼胃的蛋白酶活性明显高于肝胰脏和肠的。草鱼、鲤和尼罗罗非鱼的肝胰脏蛋白酶活性明显高于鲢和鳙的;5种鱼的肠蛋白酶活性,鲤最高,尼罗罗非鱼最低,草鱼、鲢、鳙和尼罗罗非鱼间蛋白酶活性无明显差异。草鱼、鲤、鲢和尼罗罗非鱼的肠蛋白酶活性由前向后递减,而鳙的则以中肠活性最高。     

Prevalence and trends of common mental disorders from 2007-2009 to 2019-2022: results from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Studies (NEMESIS), including comparison of prevalence rates before vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic

Up-to-date information on the prevalence and trends of common mental disorders is relevant to health care policy and planning, owing to the high burden associated with these disorders. In the first wave of the third Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS-3), a nationally representative sample was interviewed face-to-face from November 2019 to March 2022 (6,194 subjects; 1,576 interviewed before and 4,618 during the COVID-19 pandemic; age range: 18-75 years). A slightly modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 was used to assess DSM-IV and DSM-5 diagnoses. Trends in 12-month prevalence rates of DSM-IV mental disorders were examined by comparing these rates between NEMESIS-3 and NEMESIS-2 (6,646 subjects; age range: 18-64 years; interviewed from November 2007 to July 2009). Lifetime DSM-5 prevalence estimates in NEMESIS-3 were 28.6% for anxiety disorders, 27.6% for mood disorders, 16.7% for substance use disorders, and 3.6% for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Over the last 12 months, prevalence rates were 15.2%, 9.8%, 7.1%, and 3.2%, respectively. No differences in 12-month prevalence rates before vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic were found (26.7% pre-pandemic vs. 25.7% during the pandemic), even after controlling for differences in socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents interviewed in these two periods. This was the case for all four disorder categories. From 2007-2009 to 2019-2022, the 12-month prevalence rate of any DSM-IV disorder significantly increased from 17.4% to 26.1%. A stronger increase in prevalence was found for students, younger adults (18-34 years) and city dwellers. These data suggest that the prevalence of mental disorders has increased in the past decade, but this is not explained by the COVID-19 pandemic. The already high mental disorder risk of young adults has particularly further increased in recent years.     

RFLP patterns of gliadin alleles in Triticum aestivum L.: implications for analysis of the organization and evolution of complex loci

A correspondence between RFLP patterns and gliadin alleles at the Gli-1 and Gli-2 loci was established in a set of 70 common wheat (T.aestivum L.) cultivars using -gliadin (K32) and -gliadin (pTU1) specific probes. All Gli-B1 and Gli-D1 alleles which differed in encoded -gliadins showed definite RFLP patterns after hybridization with the K32 probe. Two groups of Gli-B1 alleles, Gli-B1b-like and Gli-B1e-like, were identified, and these could originate from distinct genotypes of the presumptive donor of the B-genome. Intralocus recombination and/or gene conversion as well as small deletions, gene silencing and gene amplification were assumed to be responsible for the origin of new gliadin alleles. Silent -gliadin sequences were shown to exist in all of the genotypes studied. K32 also differentiated Gli-A1a from all other Gli-A1 alleles as well as the Gli-B11 allele in cultivars carrying the 1B/1R (wheat/rye) translocation. PTU1 was shown to recognize several Gli-A2 alleles, but not the Gli-B2 or Gli-D2 alleles. Moreover, this probe hybridized to chromosome 1R sequences suggesting the existence of rye gene(s), probably silent, for -gliadin-like proteins on chromosome 1R.     

Genetic variation at storage protein-coding loci of common wheat (cv ‘Chinese Spring’) induced by nitrosoethylurea and by the cultivation of immature embryos in vitro

Electrophoretic patterns of seed storage proteins, the high-molecular-weight glutenins and gliadins, were studied in 468 plants of the common wheat cultivar Chinese Spring regenerated from callus culture of immature embryos, in 115 plants grown from seeds treated with nitrosoethylurea and in 260 control plants. From 5 to 21 single grains were analysed from each plant. In these three groups, the frequency of inherited mutations causing the loss of all proteins controlled by a locus (null-mutations, probably caused by a chromosomal deficiency) was 0.69%, 2.07%, and 0.05% per locus (the differences were statistically significant), respectively, while that of mutations causing the loss of a single protein band was 0.11%, 0.33%, and 0.05%, respectively. The loss of all of the gliadins controlled by Gli-B1 or GH-B2 (mutations were probably caused by a deletion of satellites of the corresponding chromosomes), was significantly higher than the loss of gliadins controlled by genomes A and D. Gene mutations altering the electrophoretic mobility of a single protein band in the pattern were found only in the second group of plants (0.44%). Therefore, chemical mutagenesis which produced not only more mutations than cultivation of immature wheat embryos in vitro, but also a higher ratio of mutations that altered DNA sequences, can be considered as an easier and comparatively more promising way for obtaining new improved variants of loci controlling biochemical characteristics in wheat. Somaclonal variation, on the other hand, was probably mainly caused by chromosomal abnormalities and could therefore hardly be considered as a useful tool in wheat breeding.     

Quantitative evaluation of temporal similarity in abundance of animal species

Summary A quantitative method is suggested for measuring the similarity of seasonal abundance patterns of different animal species. The method was applied to two sets of field data and produced biologically meaningful and interesting results.     

Provenance selection and site conditions determine growth performance of pedunculate oak

Forests of the future need to cope with adverse climatic conditions, in particular drought, to ensure forest stability and productivity. Given the usually long rotation period of forests, forest managers need to select appropriate, i.e. productive and climate-change resilient tree species and/or provenances, to lower tree-mortality risks and sustain current wood production rates at the end of the 21^st century. A frequent means of assessing which provenances of a given species are adapted to anticipated climate conditions is common garden experiments, where trees from different provenances are planted under similar climate conditions. However, in this context soil conditions also play an important role, since they govern how climate translates into plant-available water and hence plant’s ability to cope with extreme drought events. Here, we examine the effects of soil conditions on pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), by studying 10 different Dutch oak provenances that were planted in three provenance trials on different soil types in 1988 in the Netherlands. Using dendroecological methods, we quantified provenance-specific productivity and assessed provenance- and site-specific growth patterns. Our results indicated clear differences in productivity among provenances as well as soil-type specific growth patterns. Consequently, our study highlights the importance of incorporating soil characteristics when evaluating the growth performance of provenances within common garden experiments.