Breeding racehorses: what price good genes?

Horse racing is a multi-million pound industry, in which genetic information is increasingly used to optimize breeding programmes. To maximize the probability of producing a successful offspring, the owner of a mare should mate her with a high-quality stallion. However, stallions with big reputations command higher stud fees and paying these is only a sensible strategy if, (i) there is a genetic variation for success on the racecourse and (ii) stud fees are an honest signal of a stallion's genetic quality. Using data on thoroughbred racehorses, and lifetime earnings from prize money (LE) as a measure of success, we performed quantitative genetic analyses within an animal model framework to test these two conditions. Although LE is heritable (VA=0.299+/-0.108, Pr=0.002), there is no genetic variance for stud fee and the genetic correlation between traits is therefore zero. This result is supported by an absence of any relationship between stud fees for currently active stallions and the predicted LE for their (hypothetical) offspring. Thus, while there are good genes to be bought, a stallion's fees are not an honest signal of his genetic quality and are a poor predictor of a foal's prize winning potential.     

Breeding System of Protogynous Mandragora caulescens（Solanaceae）

We studied the breeding system of Mandragora caulescens that distributed in the northwest of Yunnan province. Our results showed that this species bloomed from late May to early June. Flowers were protogynous and lasted （9.9±2.8）d. Three types of visitors were observed. The Queen of Bombus festivces was an effective pollinator, but its visiting frequency was rather low. Although flies and ants visited flowers with high frequency, flies rarely pollinated flowers and ants were totally nectar thieves. Pollination experiments suggested the species was partly self compatible, but protogyny made autonomous selfing become impossible. Fruit set and seed production with supplemental outcrossing pollen was significantly enhanced compared with natural flowers, suggesting pollen limitation in this species. Most species of Solanaceae were strictly self incompatible, but M.caulescens was partly self compatible which was similar with three studied Hyoscyameae members. Hyoscyameae and Mandragoreae formed a monophyletic group independently as a result of two independent dispersal events from the New World into Eurasia. We considered the two tribes independently lost SI systems, and this transition related to harsh environment of alpine region. It is worth conducting further study to clarify whether the evolutionary transition is common in alpine region.     

Characterization and Use of Male Sterility in Hybrid Rice Breeding

The hybrid rice （Oryza sativa L.） breeding that was Initiated In China in the 1970s led to a great improvement in rice productivity. In general, It increases the grain yield by over 20% to the inbred rice varieties, and now hybrid rice has been widely introduced into Africa, Southern Asia and America. These hybrid varieties are generated through either three-line hybrid and two-line hybrid systems; the former is derived from cytoplasmic male sterility （CMS） and the latter derived from genlc male sterility （GMS）. There are three major types of CMS （HL, BT and WA） and two types of GMS （photoperlod-sensitlve （PGMS） and temperature-sensitive （TGMS））. The BT- and HL-type CMS genes are characterized as orf79 and orfH79, which are chimeric toxic genes derived from mltochondrial rearrangement. Rf3 for CMS-WA Is located on chromosome 1, while Rf1, Rf4, Rf5 and Rf6 correspond to CMS-BT, CMSoWA and CMS- HL, located on chromosome 10. The Rfl gene for BT-CMS has been cloned recently, and encodes a mltochondriatargeted PPR protein. PGMS Is thought to be controlled by two recessive loci on chromosomes 7 and 12, whereas nine recessive alleles have been identified for TGMS and mapped on different chromosomes. Attention Is still urgently needed to resolve the molecular complexity of male sterility to assist rice breeding.     

Super Hybrid Rice Breeding in China：Achievements and Prospects

Hybrid rice has contributed greatly to the self-sufficiency of food supply In China. To meet the future demand for rice production, a national program on super rice breeding was established In China In 1996. The corresponding targets, breeding strategies and most significant advances are reviewed In this paper. New plant type models have been modified to adjust to various rice growing regions. In recognition of the Importance of applying parents with Intermediate subspecies differentiation In Increasing F1 yield, medium type parental lines were selected from populations derived from Inter-subspecies crosses with the assistance of DNA markers for subspecies differentiation. Results also indicate that a substantial increase of blomass Is the basis for further enhancement of the grain yield potential, and amelioration of leaf characteristics Is helpful In Increasing the photosynthetic rate. Thirty-four super hybrid rice varieties have been released commercially, growing In a total area of 13.5 million hm2 and producing 6.7 thousand million kg more rice In 1998-2005. Although remarkable progress has been made In super hybrid rice breeding In China, selections on the root system and Integration of more blotechnologlcal tools remain a great challenge.     

Breeding for Improved Disease Resistance in Organic Farming – Possibilities and Constraints

Lowered incidences of disease may be reached in several ways: management and rearing measures, vaccination programmes and preventive medications as well as breeding for improved disease resistance. Here the focus is on breeding for improved resistance to infectious diseases. In comparison to conventional farming, one has to acknowledge that the spectrum of diseases in animals reared under organic conditions is different and that the proportion of the breeding stock of animals in organic farming is considerably smaller. There are at least four different approaches that may be used in breeding towards resistance to infectious diseases. The most obvious is to record disease incidence in the progeny and select those parents that produce the progeny with the lowest incidences of disease. Another approach is to use breeders possessing certain major histo-compatibility complex antigens suggested being associated with resistance to certain infections. A third approach is to analyse the heritability of a set of immune functions or related traits crucial for resistance to infections and then use the traits with high heritability in breeding programmes. Finally, one may genetically select animals for high immune response using an index that combines estimated breeding values for several immunological traits. Examples of these various approaches are given and the feasibility for using these in organic farming are discussed.     

Breeding systems of the Paraguaná coastal plain plants, Venezuela.

Breeding systems were evaluated for 51 plant species according to life form, pollination system, vegetation type, and phenology, in the coastal plain of Paraguaná Peninsula, Venezuela. Sexual systems were no associated to life form, pollination system, vegetation type, and phenology. The frequency distribution of sexual system was 82.3% hermaphroditism, 15.6% monoecy, and 1.9% dioecy. All sexual systems had a peak during the lowest rainfall. Genetic system distribution was 64.8% self-compatibility (including partially self-compatibility) and 35.2% self-incompatibility. Among self-compatible species, 45.1% were autogamous (19.6% not autogamous). The genetic systems were associated significantly to: (1) plant life form: self-compatible species tend to be herbaceous and self-incompatible plants tend to be woody species; (2) vegetation type: self-compatible species were predominant in the three vegetation types, but in the mangrove the frequency of self-compatible and self-incompatibles was similar; and (3) pollination system: most of the self-compatible species were polyphilous. Mating systems: xenogamous and autogamous species were associated only with plant life forms. Xenogamous plants were mostly woody species and autogamous plants were mostly herbaceous species. The high incidence of hermaphroditism, self-compatibility, and autogamy are related to herbaceous life form, polyphilous pollination system, and climatic conditions, together the insularity of the Paraguaná peninsula.     

Breeding birds on small islands: island biogeography or optimal foraging?

1. We test MacArthur and Wilson's theory about the biogeography of communities on isolated habitat patches using bird breeding records from 16 small islands off the coasts of Britain and Ireland. 2. A traditional examination of patterns of species richness on these islands suggests that area and habitat diversity are important predictors, but that isolation and latitude have a negligible impact in this system. 3. Unlike traditional studies, we directly examine the fundamental processes of colonization and local extinction (cessation of breeding), rather than higher-order phenomena such as species richness. 4. We find that many of MacArthur and Wilson's predictions hold: colonization probability is lower on more isolated islands, and extinction probability is lower on larger islands and those with a greater diversity of habitats. 5. We also find an unexpected pattern: extinction probability is much lower on more isolated islands. This is the strongest relationship in these data, and isolation is the best single predictor of colonization and extinction. 6. Our results show that examination of species richness alone is misleading. Isolation has a strong effect on both of the dynamic processes that underlie richness, and in this system, the reductions in both colonization and extinction probability seen on more distant islands have opposing influences on species richness, and largely cancel each other out. 7. We suggest that an appropriate model for this system might be optimal foraging theory, which predicts that organisms will stay longer in a resource patch if the distance to a neighbouring patch is large. If nest sites and food are the resources in this system, then optimal foraging theory predicts the pattern we observe. 8. We advance the hypothesis that there is a class of spatial systems, defined by their scale and by the taxon under consideration, at which decision-making processes are a key driver of the spatiotemporal dynamics. The appropriate theory for such systems will be a hybrid of concepts from biogeography/metapopulation theory and behavioural ecology.     

Breeding success in Blue Tits: good territories or good parents?

Territorial quality and parental quality are usually assumed to be the main sources of variation in the reproductive success of passerine birds. To evaluate their relative importance for variation in breeding time (itself an important factor for breeding success), clutch size and offspring condition at fledging, we analysed six years of data from a Blue Tit Parus caeruleus population breeding on the island of Gotland, Sweden. Hatching dates and the condition of offspring were consistent for territories between years and accounted for 30% and 33% of the variation in these variables, respectively. After removing the effect of territory quality, none of the breeding parameters were significantly repeatable for individual females, but offspring condition was repeatable for males, accounting for 28% of variation. For females breeding on the same territory in subsequent seasons (combined effect of individual and territory quality) only hatching date was repeatable (45% of variation accounted for). In males, the combined effect of individual and territory quality was repeatable for offspring condition and accounted for 33% of variation, but this result was only marginally significant. Consistency of the peak frass-fall date for individual frass collectors over the study period suggests that repeatable hatching dates on territories may be related to the relationship between timing of breeding and timing of peak food availability on territories. Our results suggest that territory quality is more important than parental quality for breeding success in the Blue Tit, and that male (but not female) quality makes a considerable contribution to reproductive success.     

Breeding of ε-poly-L-lysine producing strain using succinic acid as sole carbon source

本文旨在通过诱变和耐受性筛选的手段提高放线菌ε-PL的产量.以稠李链霉菌Streptomyces padanus LS-L5为出发菌,经紫外诱变,在以琥珀酸为唯一碳源的培养基上筛选快速生长的菌株,测定突变株的ε-PL发酵水平和遗传稳定性.经初筛和复筛,获得突变株H3,其摇瓶发酵ε-PL产量为0.68 g/L,较出发菌提高了41％,传代4次产量基本稳定.H3在5L发酵罐中分批发酵,ε-PL产量达到2.0 g/L,较出发菌提高了一倍.在固定二氧化碳的能力方面,突变株H3的PEP羧化酶酶活较出发菌株LSL5的PEP羧化酶酶活提高了1.67倍.     

Herders’ Perceptions on Ruminant Livestock Breeds and Breeding Management in Southwestern Niger

This study documents indigenous knowledge of breeds of cattle, sheep and goats in southwestern Niger, and includes both pastoralists and agropastoralists. Our study included sheep and goats in view of the increasing importance of small ruminants in livestock production systems in the Sahel since the drought of the 1970s and 1980s. This study was carried out under the Desert Margins Program (DMP) project on arresting land degradation and the conservation of biodiversity in desert margins of sub-Saharan Africa, partly funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).     

Breeding for salt tolerance in crop plants — the role of molecular biology

Salinity in soil affects about 7 % of the land’s surface and about 5 % of cultivated land. Most importantly, about 20 % of irrigated land has suffered from secondary salinisation and 50 % of irrigation schemes are affected by salts. In many hotter, drier countries of the world salinity is a concern in their agriculture and could become a key issue. Consequently, the development of salt resistant crops is seen as an important area of research. Although there has been considerable research into the effects of salts on crop plants, there has not, unfortunately, been a commensurate release of salt tolerant cultivars of crop plants. The reason is likely to be the complex nature of the effect of salts on plants. Given the rapid increase in molecular biological techniques, a key question is whether such techniques can aid the development of salt resistance in plants. Physiological and biochemical research has shown that salt tolerance depends on a range of adaptations embracing many aspects of a plant’s physiology: one of these the compartmentation of ions. Introducing genes for compatible solutes, a key part of ion compartmentation, in salt-sensitive species is, conceptually, a simple way of enhancing tolerance. However, analysis of the few data available suggests the consequences of transformation are not straightforward. This is not unexpected for a multigenic trait where the hierarchy of various aspects of tolerance may differ between and within species. The experimental evaluation of the response of transgenic plants to stress does not always match, in quality, the molecular biology. We have advocated the use of physiological traits in breeding programmes as a process that can be undertaken at the present while more knowledge of the genetic basis of salt tolerance is obtained. The use of molecular biological techniques might aid plant breeders through the development of marker aided selection.     

Breeding biology of Western Bonelli’s Warblers Phylloscopus bonelli in the Mediterranean region

Capsule: The Western Bonelli’s Warbler Phylloscopus bonelli has a nest success of only 25% in the core of its range in western Europe.

Aims: To investigate the breeding biology of Western Bonelli’s Warbler P. bonelli, focusing on possible altitude effects and potential reproductive problems.

Methods: Three Western Bonelli’s Warbler populations were monitored during the 2012 and 2013 breeding seasons in the massif range of Sierra Nevada, Spain. We determined all the breeding parameters and calculated daily survival and success rates for each reproductive period.

Results: The three studied populations did not differ in any breeding parameters. Altitude showed a positive relationship with clutch size and duration of incubation period, but a negative relationship with nestling tarsus growth and body mass gain. Daily survival rates during incubation and nestling periods were similar to those of common warblers, but the species presented a low breeding success of 25%.

Conclusion: The absence of differences among the three populations suggests that the information provided here could be representative of its distribution in the woodlands of Sierra Nevada. The novel and detailed information reported is crucial not only for expanding our understanding of this species but also to draw attention to the potential risks that it might face in the near future, considering the reduction that this species has suffered in Sierra Nevada during recent decades.     

Human and Animal Trypanosomes in C?te d'Ivoire Form a Single Breeding Population

Background

Trypanosoma brucei is the causative agent of African Sleeping Sickness in humans and contributes to the related veterinary disease, Nagana. T. brucei is segregated into three subspecies based on host specificity, geography and pathology. T. b. brucei is limited to animals (excluding some primates) throughout sub-Saharan Africa and is non-infective to humans due to trypanolytic factors found in human serum. T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense are human infective sub-species. T. b. gambiense is the more prevalent human, causing over 97% of human cases. Study of T. b. gambiense is complicated in that there are two distinct groups delineated by genetics and phenotype. The relationships between the two groups and local T. b. brucei are unclear and may have a bearing on the evolution of the human infectivity traits.

Methodology/Principal Findings

A collection of sympatric T. brucei isolates from Côte d’Ivoire, consisting of T. b. brucei and both groups of T. b. gambiense have previously been categorized by isoenzymes, RFLPs and Blood Incubation Infectivity Tests. These samples were further characterized using the group 1 specific marker, TgSGP, and seven microsatellites. The relationships between the T. b. brucei and T. b. gambiense isolates were determined using principal components analysis, neighbor-joining phylogenetics, STRUCTURE, F_ST, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and linkage disequilibrium.

Conclusions/Significance

Group 1 T. b. gambiense form a clonal genetic group, distinct from group 2 and T. b. brucei, whereas group 2 T. b. gambiense are genetically indistinguishable from local T. b. brucei. There is strong evidence for mating within and between group 2 T. b. gambiense and T. b. brucei. We found no evidence to support the hypothesis that group 2 T. b. gambiense are hybrids of group 1 and T. b. brucei, suggesting that human infectivity has evolved independently in groups 1 and 2 T. b. gambiense.     

Breeding and moulting fasts in macaroni penguins: Do birds exhaust their fat reserves?

• 1.1. Plasma concentrations of urea, uric acid and total lipid were compared in pre- and late-fast breeding and moulting macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) to test the hypothesis that birds exhaust their lipid reserves and initiate marked protein utilisation towards the end of natural fasts.
• 2.2. Male and female macaroni penguins fasted for a minimum of 29–32 days and 20 days during the breeding and moult fasts, and the difference in body weight over the sample period (reflecting body weight loss) was 31–34% and 41–47%, respectively.
• 3.3. There was no significant increase in plasma urea or uric acid at the end of either fast, nor any decrease in plasma lipid concentrations compared to pre-fast birds.
• 4.4. These results suggest that macaroni penguins continue to rely mainly on lipid reserves during the later stages of natural fasts. This is consistent with post-fast body composition data for other small penguin species.

     

Plant Breeding and Drought in C3 Cereals: What Should We Breed For?

Drought is the main abiotic constraint on cereal yield. Analysingphysiological determinants of yield responses to water may helpin breeding for higher yield and stability under drought conditions.The traits to select (either for stress escape, avoidance ortolerance) and the framework where breeding for drought stressis addressed will depend on the level and timing of stress inthe targeted area. If the stress is severe, breeding under stress-freeconditions may be unsuccessful and traits that confer survivalmay become a priority. However, selecting for yield itself understress-alleviated conditions appears to produce superior cultivars,not only for optimum environments, but also for those characterizedby frequent mild and moderate stress conditions. This impliesthat broad avoidance/tolerance to mild–moderate stressesis given by constitutive traits also expressed under stress-freeconditions. In this paper, we focus on physiological traitsthat contribute to improved productivity under mild–moderatedrought. Increased crop performance may be achieved throughimprovements in water use, water-use efficiency and harvestindex. The first factor is relevant when soil water remainsavailable at maturity or when deep-rooted genotypes access waterin the soil profile that is not normally available; the twolatter conditions become more important when all available wateris exhausted by the end of the crop cycle. Independent of themechanism operating, a canopy able to use more water than anotherwould have more open stomata and therefore higher canopy temperaturedepression, and ¹³C discrimination (¹³C) in plant matter. Thesame traits would also seem to be relevant when breeding forhot, irrigated environments. Where additional water is not availableto the crop, higher water-use efficiency (WUE) appears to bean alternative strategy to improve crop performance. In thiscontext ¹³C constitutes a simple but reliable measure of WUE.However, in contrast to lines performing better because of increasedaccess to water, lines producing greater biomass due to superiorWUE will have lower ¹³C values. WUE may be modified not onlythrough a decrease in stomatal conductance, but also throughan increase in photosynthetic capacity. Harvest index is stronglyreduced by terminal drought (i.e. drought during grain filling).Thus, phenological traits increasing the relative amount ofwater used during grain filling, or adjusting the crop cycleto the seasonal pattern of rainfall may be useful. Augmentingthe contribution of carbohydrate reserves accumulated duringvegetative growth to grain filling may also be worthwhile inharsh environments. Alternatively, extending the duration ofstem elongation without changing the timing of anthesis wouldincrease the number of grains per spike and the harvest indexwithout changing the amount of water utilized by the crop.     

Breeding bird communities of second‐rotation plantations at different stages of the forest cycle

Capsule Early stages of the plantation forest cycle have distinct bird communities and bird density was significantly higher in the second rotation than in the first for a given age class.

Aims To characterize the bird communities in Irish second-rotation plantations and to compare them with those of first-rotation plantations.

Methods Point counts were used to survey 20 plantation forests in four age classes (Pre-thicket; Thicket; Mid‐rotation; and Mature) in the breeding season of 2007. distance software was used to generate bird densities. Ordination, indicator species analysis, and glm were used to analyse the bird communities.

Results Bird communities of Pre‐thicket and, to a lesser extent, Thicket age classes were distinct from those of more mature forests. Bird communities of Mid‐rotation and Mature age classes were indistinguishable from each other and were therefore combined into a single age class (Closed canopy). Pre‐thicket held significantly lower total bird density, but significantly higher migrant bird density, than this Closed canopy age class. Bird density was significantly higher in the second rotation in all age classes except for Pre‐thicket, but migrant density was significantly higher in Pre‐thicket in the second rotation. There was no difference in species richness between the first and second rotation.

Conclusions Differences between rotations are probably due to changes in vegetation structure, and the increase in second‐rotation forests in Ireland is likely to be a positive development for bird communities. Especially encouraging is the higher migrant bird density in second‐rotation Pre‐thicket, as some of these species are in decline throughout Europe. However, the largest differences in population density between rotations were exhibited by common species and such species will likely benefit most from future increases in the area of second‐rotation plantation forests.     

Disturbance to the Oriental White Stork（Ciconia boyciana）Breeding in the Wintering Area

2004年和2005年两个繁殖季节,在安庆市望江县漳湖镇,采用全事件采样法和瞬间扫描采样法,对东方白鹳留居种群繁殖特征和繁殖生境内的干扰因素进行了初步研究。东方白鹳在高压电线塔上营巢繁殖,营巢地点距离最近的村庄仅500m远,取食地点主要是水稻田,影响繁殖活动的主要自然因素:强风和高温。巢区和取食生境内的人为干扰强度较大,主要有燃烧秸秆、在巢塔上安装鸟刺、农耕活动和飞机噪音等。农业活动等人为干扰,对东方白鹳的取食、取材等行为造成很大影响,导致产生警戒、逃逸等行为。东方白鹳留居繁殖种群繁殖干扰因素的识别对进一步开展保护工作具有积极意义。