Deterioration of food in cold stores caused by Rattus rattus and its control—A case study

In a cold store, the house rat, Rattus rattus, damaged fruits and vegetables, including potato (Solanum nigrum), cauliflower (Brassica oleracea), sweet orange (Citrus sinenis), mango (Mangifera indica), grape (Vitis vinifera) and apple (Malus pumilla). Sweet orange and grape were damaged most, and damage to potatoes was relatively low. Packaging materials like jute bags and cardboard boxes were more frequently damaged by rats than were wooden boxes. Rats avoided metallic bait containers because they were made of good conductors of heat. Trapping of rats conducted using insulated traps resulted in the control success of 83–94%.     

An evaluation of carbon disulphide as a sulphur fertilizer and as a nitrification inhibitor

There was little release of extractable SO₄-S during four weeks from CS₂ applied by injecting into two S-deficient soils. In this incubation experiment, the rate of CS₂ was 30 μg S g⁻, placement was injection at 9 cm depth, soil temperature was 20°C, and soil moisture tension was 33 kPa. The yield of barley forage after seven weeks in the greenhouse showed only small increases from 10 or 30 μg S g⁻¹ of CS₂ as compared to Na₂SO₄, on the two soils. While CS₂ supplied little plant available S in the short term, it was an effective inhibitor of nitrification. In the laboratory, or in the field, the injection of CS₂ (with N fertilizers) at a point 9 cm into the soils either stopped or reduced nitrification. In one laboratory experiment, 35 μg of CS₂ g⁻¹ of soil with urea reduced nitrification for at least four weeks; and in another experiment 20 μg of CS₂ g⁻¹ of soil with aqua NH₃ nearly or completely inhibited nitrification at 20 days. In two field experiments, 3 and 12 μg of CS₂ g⁻¹ of soil (or 6 and 24 kg ha⁻¹) with aqua NH₃ inhibited nitrification from October to the subsequent May. In addition, CS₂ reduced the amount of ammonium produced from the soil N, both in these two field experiments and in the laboratory experiments. That is to say, CS₂ injected at a point, inhibited both nitrification and ammonification. In other field experiments, CS₂ at a rate of 10 kg ha⁻¹ was injected in bands 9 cm deep with urea in October, and by May there was still reduced nitrification. Less than half of the fall-applied urea alone was recovered as mineral N, but with the application of CS₂ the recovery was increased to three-quarters. The yield and N uptake of barley grain was increased where fall-applied banded urea or aqua NH₃ received banded CS₂, (NH₄)₂CS₃, or K₂CS₃. The average increase in yield from fall-applied fertilizer, from inhibitor with fall-applied fertilizer, and from spring-applied fertilizer was 800, 1370, and 1900 kg ha⁻¹, respectively. In the same order, the apparent % recovery of fertilizer N in grain was 24, 42, and 60.     

Hepatocytes release ceramide-enriched pro-inflammatory extracellular vesicles in an IRE1α-dependent manner

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a lipotoxic disease wherein activation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response and macrophage-mediated hepatic inflammation are key pathogenic features. However, the lipid mediators linking these two observations remain elusive. We postulated that ER stress-regulated release of pro-inflammatory extracellular vesicles (EVs) from lipotoxic hepatocytes may be this link. EVs were isolated from cell culture supernatants of hepatocytes treated with palmitate (PA) to induce lipotoxic ER stress, characterized by immunofluorescence, Western blotting, electron microscopy, and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Sphingolipids were measured by tandem mass spectrometry. EVs were employed in macrophage chemotaxis assays. PA induced significant EV release. Because PA activates ER stress, we used KO hepatocytes to demonstrate that PA-induced EV release was mediated by inositol requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α)/X-box binding protein-1. PA-induced EVs were enriched in C16:0 ceramide in an IRE1α-dependent manner, and activated macrophage chemotaxis via formation of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) from C16:0 ceramide. This chemotaxis was blocked by sphingosine kinase inhibitors and S1P receptor inhibitors. Lastly, elevated circulating EVs in experimental and human NASH demonstrated increased C16:0 ceramide. PA induces C16:0 ceramide-enriched EV release in an IRE1α-dependent manner. The ceramide metabolite, S1P, activates macrophage chemotaxis, a potential mechanism for the recruitment of macrophages to the liver under lipotoxic conditions.     

Describing termite assemblage structure in a Peruvian lowland tropical rain forest: a comparison of two alternative methods

Termites are frequently dominant invertebrate decomposers and bioturbators in lowland tropical forests and therefore strongly influence ecosystem processes favouring soil stability, porosity and nutrient retention. In this study, we provide the first spatially replicated dataset on termite assemblage composition, abundance and biomass in a Peruvian rainforest by sampling six separate plots. In addition, two alternative sampling methods (transect method-TM and quadrat method-QM), providing termite species density data, were compared among the plots. The relationships between a range of environmental and spatial variables and species composition were examined using canonical correspondence analysis variation partitioning. We found that the TM captured a higher proportion of the known species in the site (82 %) compared with the QM (66 %). In addition, 56 % of the species sampled by TM were common between the plots while only 18 % of species overlapped using the QM. The QM may therefore potentially have undersampled the species pool. Environmental variables were shown to explain a larger proportion of the species patterns than the spatial variables with elevation, soil temperature and distance to the river being the most important. We discuss the impacts of the environmental and spatial variables on termite species composition.     

Thinner bark increases sensitivity of wetter Amazonian tropical forests to fire

Understory fires represent an accelerating threat to Amazonian tropical forests and can, during drought, affect larger areas than deforestation itself. These fires kill trees at rates varying from < 10 to c. 90% depending on fire intensity, forest disturbance history and tree functional traits. Here, we examine variation in bark thickness across the Amazon. Bark can protect trees from fires, but it is often assumed to be consistently thin across tropical forests. Here, we show that investment in bark varies, with thicker bark in dry forests and thinner in wetter forests. We also show that thinner bark translated into higher fire‐driven tree mortality in wetter forests, with between 0.67 and 5.86 gigatonnes CO₂ lost in Amazon understory fires between 2001 and 2010. Trait‐enabled global vegetation models that explicitly include variation in bark thickness are likely to improve the predictions of fire effects on carbon cycling in tropical forests.     

Leaf manganese concentrations as a tool to assess belowground plant functioning in phosphorus-impoverished environments

Plant and Soil - Root-released carboxylates enhance the availability of manganese (Mn), which enters roots through transporters with low substrate specificity. Leaf Mn concentration ([Mn]) has been...     

Diversification of porcine MHC class II genes: evidence for selective advantage

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is an immunological gene-dense region of high diversity in mammalian species. Sus scrofa was domesticated by at least six independent events over Eurasia during the Holocene period. It has been hypothesized that the level and distribution of MHC variation in pig populations reflect genetic selection and environmental influences. In an effort to define the complexity of MHC polymorphisms and the role of selection in the generation of class II gene diversity (DQB, DRB1, and pseudogene ΨDRB3), DNA from globally distributed unrelated domestic pigs of European and Asian origins and a Suidae out-group was analyzed. The number of pseudogene alleles identified (ΨDRB3 33) was greater than those found in the expressed genes (DQB 20 and DRB1 23) but the level of observed heterozygosity (ΨDRB3 0.452, DQB 0.732, and DRB1 0.767) and sequence diversity (ΨDRB3 0.029, DQB 0.062, and DRB1 0.074) were significantly lower in the pseudogene, respectively. The substitution ratios reflected an excess of d _N (DQB 1.476, DRB1 1.724, and ΨDRB3 0.508) and the persistence of expressed gene alleles suggesting the influence of balancing selection, while the pseudogene was undergoing purifying selection. The lack of a clear MHC phylogeographic tree, coupled with close genetic distances observed between the European and Asian populations (DQB 0.047 and DRB1 0.063) suggested that unlike observations using mtDNA, the MHC diversity lacks phylogeographic structure and appears to be globally uniform. Taken together, these results suggest that, despite regional differences in selective breeding and environments, no skewing of MHC diversity has occurred. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Anilofos Tolerance and Its Mineralization by the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. Strain PUPCCC 64

This study deals with anilofos tolerance and its mineralization by the common rice field cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PUPCCC 64. The organism tolerated anilofos up to 25 mg L⁻¹. The herbicide caused inhibitory effects on photosynthetic pigments of the test organism in a dose-dependent manner. The organism exhibited 60, 89, 96, 85 and 79% decrease in chlorophyll a, carotenoids, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin, respectively, in 20 mg L⁻¹ anilofos on day six. Activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase increased by 1.04 to 1.80 times over control cultures in presence of 20 mg L⁻¹ anilofos. Glutathione content decreased by 26% while proline content was unaffected by 20 mg L⁻¹ anilofos. The test organism showed intracellular uptake and metabolized the herbicide. Uptake of herbicide by test organism was fast during initial six hours followed by slow uptake until 120 hours. The organism exhibited maximum anilofos removal at 100 mg protein L⁻¹, pH 8.0 and 30°C. Its growth in phosphate deficient basal medium in the presence of anilofos (2.5 mg L⁻¹) indicated that herbicide was used by the strain PUPCCC 64 as a source of phosphate.     

Xylem cavitation vulnerability influences tree species’ habitat preferences in miombo woodlands

Although precipitation plays a central role in structuring Africa’s miombo woodlands, remarkably little is known about plant-water relations in this seasonally dry tropical forest. Therefore, in this study, we investigated xylem vulnerability to cavitation for nine principal tree species of miombo woodlands, which differ in habitat preference and leaf phenology. We measured cavitation vulnerability (Ψ₅₀), stem-area specific hydraulic conductivity (K _S), leaf specific conductivity (K _L), seasonal variation in predawn water potential (Ψ_PD) and xylem anatomical properties [mean vessel diameter, mean hydraulic diameter, mean hydraulic diameter accounting for 95 % flow, and maximum vessel length (V _L)]. Results show that tree species with a narrow habitat range (mesic specialists) were more vulnerable to cavitation than species with a wide habitat range (generalists). Ψ₅₀ for mesic specialists ranged between ?1.5 and ?2.2 MPa and that for generalists between ?2.5 and ?3.6 MPa. While mesic specialists exhibited the lowest seasonal variation in Ψ_PD, generalists displayed significant seasonal variations in Ψ_PD suggesting that the two miombo habitat groups differ in their rooting depth. We observed a strong trade-off between K _S and Ψ₅₀ suggesting that tree hydraulic architecture is one of the decisive factors setting ecological boundaries for principal miombo species. While vessel diameters correlated weakly (P > 0.05) with Ψ₅₀, V _L was positively and significantly correlated with Ψ₅₀. Ψ_PD was significantly correlated with Ψ₅₀ further reinforcing the conclusion that tree hydraulic architecture plays a significant role in species’ habitat preference in miombo woodlands.