Effects of land preparation and maize cultivar on efficiency of N-fertilizer applied at different times and by different methods in maize—mungbean association using15N

Summary A field experiment was conducted using¹⁵N-labelled urea on a Reddish Brown Lateritic (Peleustult) soil. Growing two crops on flat land and on soil ridges of 15 cm height produced similar comparative effects from fertilizer on maize. However, fertilizer applied by broadcasting on maize with a 50 cm effective band followed by incorporating was more useful to mungbean than that applied by banding below the cereal seed rows when crops were grown on flat land. The reverse was observed when crops were grown on ridges. It was deduced that the maize cultivar was not likely to affect comparative efficiencies of fertilizer. For fertilizer application at sowing, broadcasting in 50 cm maize effective band followed by incorporating was slightly superior to banding below maize seed rows. Side-dressing of fertilizer to maize at 4 weeks after sowing was superior to application at sowing. Evenly-split application, at sowing and at 4 weeks after sowing, was either only slightly superior or comparable to non-split application by banding below maize seed rows at sowing, depending on placement method of the first application. Soil moisture status as a possible factor rendering discrepancy in the comparative efficiencies obtained by different authors is discussed.     

An association between a lymphocyte antigen in sheep and the response to vaccination against the parasite Trichostrongylus colubriformis

Lymphocyte antigens were tested in sheep which had been selected for responsiveness to vaccination against the intestinal nematode Trichostrongylus colubriformis. These sheep had been bred in an assortative mating programme which produced offspring designated as either “high responders” or “low responders”, with highly heritable resistance or susceptibility.Ovine lymphocyte antigen (OLA) typing antisera were obtained from parous ewes in the course of matings which produced the high and low responder flocks. A particular antigen (SY1) was found to be present in high frequency on the lymphocytes of high responder (72·2%) and in lower frequency (21·9%) on the lymphocytes of low responder rams. In ewes, the frequency for high responders was 65·7% and for low responders it was 33·5%. A similar association between the SY1 antigen and low faecal egg count was found in random-bred sheep which had been vaccinated with irradiated larvae and challenged with normal larvae. The conclusion was drawn that this lymphocyte antigen was likely to be part of the sheep major histocompatibility complex which influenced the immune response of sheep to vaccination against the parasite.     

Studies on the frequency and associations of equine leucocyte antigens in sarcoid and summer dermatitis

The equine leucocyte antigen (ELA) types and the clinical diagnosis for equine sarcoid and summer dermatitis were evaluated in 2026 horses representing five breeds. Data were analysed in unrelated animals and in family material. In the case of equine sarcoid, a strong association was observed between the ELA class II DW13 antigen and its effect on Swiss (cP < 0·001), French (cP < 0·0001) and Irish (cP < 0·01) Warmblood horses. The class I antigen A3 occurred more frequently in sarcoid-affected French horses (cP < 0·001). These results confirm our earlier findings (Gerber et al. 1988). Among Freiberger horses, which lack the ELA DW13 and A3 specificities, a breed-specific class I antigen, ABe108, displayed an increased frequency (cP < 0·05) in the affected group. Among Arabian horses, a tendency for increased frequency of the A1 antigen was observed in the affected animals, but the number of affected horses is too small for statistical significance. The Mendelian segregation in diseased half-siblings by ELA DW13 heterozygous stallions showed a strong association (P < 0·0001) between the inherited DW13 antigen and susceptibility to the sarcoid effect. In the case of summer dermatitis, previously published data (Marti et al. 1992) have been extended. The ELA types in four multiple-case families, founded by the same stallion, were analysed for an association with the effect of sarcoid. Eight out of nine ELA-typed affected offspring inherited the paternal haplotype A15, DW23 in contrast to nonaffected offspring where three out of 12 displayed these antigens (P < 0·005). Moreover, the ELA haplotypes of 11 out of 12 informative affected half-siblings sired by another stallion inherited the paternal haplotype A3, W12, DW23 (P < 0·05). Our findings demonstrate statistically significant associations between certain ELA antigens and two equine diseases. It is still unknown if the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules themselves or another linked gene(s) play a role in the pathogenesis of these conditions.     

Some New Aspects of 2 × 2 Table Measures and Their Applications

The paper deals with the analysis of 2 × 2 table measures and describes several new possibilities for applying them. An estimate is given for HELLMICH's asymmetric K-measure and a possible extension of the contingency concept in a special 2×2 case is presented. The concept introduced and the recommended computer application of the 2×2 table measures is supported by new results obtained for the relationship between jaw joint pains and noises examined earlier by F. SCHMID and C. ZSCHEGE. With a larger number of observations the opportunity arises for a deeper analysis of this dental problem using path analysis. The plan of evaluation and the conncetion between the variables examined is illustrated by a path-diagram. The association tables determined on the basis of the (C) values introduced during the examination of jaw joint disturbances using association analysis draw attention to the special role of the left side of mastication. The paper raises ideas for further generalisations and indicates where further research is needed.     

Parameter estimation techniques for interaction and redistribution models: a predator-prey example

Summary The use of parameter estimation techniques for partial differential equations is illustrated using a predatorprey model. Whereas ecologists have often estimated parameters in models, they have not previously been able to do so for models that describe interactions in heterogeneous environments. The techniques we describe for partial differential equations will be generally useful for models of interacting species in spatially complex environments and for models that include the movement of organisms. We demonstrate our methods using field data from a ladybird beetle (Coccinella septempunctata) and aphid (Uroleucon nigrotuberculatum) interaction. Our parameter estimation algorithms can be employed to identify models that explain better than 80% of the observed variance in aphid and ladybird densities. Such parameter estimation techniques can bridge the gap between detail-rich experimental studies and abstract mathematical models. By relating the particular bestfit models identified from our experimental data to other information on Coccinella behavior, we conclude that a term describing local taxis of ladybirds towards prey (aphids in this case) is needed in the model.     

Introduction of a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium into tobacco shoot regenerates

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) shoots associated with the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis Kütz. (ATCC 29413) were regenerated in mixed cultures of tobacco callus and the cyanobacterium. The cyanobacteria were localized inside the tissues as well as on the surface of regenerated shoots, formed heterocysts, and were capable of acetylene reduction.     

茄子果实相关农艺性状全基因组关联分析研究进展与展望

茄子是重要的园艺作物,也是茄科植物中种植最广泛的蔬菜之一。茄子果实相关农艺性状是一种复杂的数量性状,传统育种选育效率低、周期长。高通量测序技术与生物信息学技术的快速发展,使得全基因组关联分析(genome-wide association study, GWAS)在解析茄子果实相关复杂农艺性状的遗传规律方面展现出巨大的应用前景。本文对全基因组关联分析在茄子的果形、果色等果实相关农艺性状中的研究进展进行了综述;针对茄子数量性状遗传研究中普遍存在的“丢失遗传力”(missing heritability)问题,从4个GWAS策略在茄子果实相关农艺性状研究中的应用热点出发,提出了未来茄子GWAS的发展对策;并结合当前茄子遗传改良的实践需求,展望了GWAS策略在茄子分子育种领域的广阔应用前景。本文为今后利用GWAS解析各种茄子果实相关性状的遗传基础以及选育符合消费者需求的果实材料提供了理论依据和参考。     

Quantitative Metaproteomics and Activity-based Protein Profiling of Patient Fecal Microbiome Identifies Host and Microbial Serine-type Endopeptidase Activity Associated With Ulcerative Colitis

The gut microbiota plays an important yet incompletely understood role in the induction and propagation of ulcerative colitis (UC). Organism-level efforts to identify UC-associated microbes have revealed the importance of community structure, but less is known about the molecular effectors of disease. We performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing in parallel with label-free data-dependent LC-MS/MS proteomics to characterize the stool microbiomes of healthy (n = 8) and UC (n = 10) patients. Comparisons of taxonomic composition between techniques revealed major differences in community structure partially attributable to the additional detection of host, fungal, viral, and food peptides by metaproteomics. Differential expression analysis of metaproteomic data identified 176 significantly enriched protein groups between healthy and UC patients. Gene ontology analysis revealed several enriched functions with serine-type endopeptidase activity overrepresented in UC patients. Using a biotinylated fluorophosphonate probe and streptavidin-based enrichment, we show that serine endopeptidases are active in patient fecal samples and that additional putative serine hydrolases are detectable by this approach compared with unenriched profiling. Finally, as metaproteomic databases expand, they are expected to asymptotically approach completeness. Using ComPIL and de novo peptide sequencing, we estimate the size of the probable peptide space unidentified (“dark peptidome”) by our large database approach to establish a rough benchmark for database sufficiency. Despite high variability inherent in patient samples, our analysis yielded a catalog of differentially enriched proteins between healthy and UC fecal proteomes. This catalog provides a clinically relevant jumping-off point for further molecular-level studies aimed at identifying the microbial underpinnings of UC.     

CHRNB2 promoter region: association with subjective effects to nicotine and gene expression differences

Smoking behavior is a complex, which includes multiple stages in the progression from experimentation to continued use and dependence. The experience of subjective effects, such as dizziness, euphoria, heart pounding, nausea and high, have been associated with varying degrees of persistence and subsequent abuse/dependence of marijuana, cocaine, tobacco and alcohol ( Grant et al. 2005 , Wagner & Anthony 2002 ). Previous studies have reported associations between neuronal nicotinic receptor (CHRN) genes and subjective effects to nicotine. We sought to replicate and expand this work by examining eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a sample of adult smokers (n = 316) who reported subjective effects following cigarette smoking in a controlled laboratory environment. Two SNPs each in the CHRNB2, CHRNB3, CHRNA6 and CHRNA4 genes were examined. A significant association was found between two SNPs and physical effects reported after smoking the first experimental cigarette. SNP rs2072658 is upstream of CHRNB2 (P‐value = 0.0046) and rs2229959 is a synonymous change in exon 5 of CHRNA4 (P value = 0.0051). We also examined possible functional relevance of SNP rs2072658 using an in vitro gene expression assay. These studies provided evidence that the minor allele of rs2072658 may lead to decreased gene expression, using two separate cell lines, P19 and SH‐SY5Y (18% P < 0.001 and 26% P < 0.001 respectively). The human genetic study and functional assays suggest that variation in the promoter region of CHRNB2 gene may be important in mediating levels of expression of the β2 nicotinic receptor subunit, which may be associated with variation in subjective response to nicotine.