Effect of starter culture inoculation on feed hygiene and microbial population development in fermented pig feed composed of a cereal grain mix with wet wheat distillers' grain

Aims:  Investigating the influence of an added starter culture on the properties of fermented liquid pig feed.
Methods and Results:  Diets of cereal grain blended with wet wheat distillers' grain that were either not inoculated (WWDG), inoculated with a silage starter culture at start (WWDGsc1) or at start and at each backslopping (replacement of 80% the content with fresh mixture, simulating feed outtake, WWDGsc5) were fermented for 5 days, followed by 5 days of daily backslopping. Numbers of undesirable micro-organisms (enterobacteria, moulds) were reduced in all fermentations; particularly enterobacteria in the starter culture inoculated diets. Lactobacillus plantarum present in the starter culture became dominant in diets WWDGsc1 and WWDGsc5. However, Lactobacillus panis that was dominating WWDG was also abundant in WWDGsc1 and WWDGsc5. Yeast populations were not influenced by the starter culture, with Pichia fermentans dominating all fermentations. All diets had similar chemical characteristics with the exception of a significant increase of all tested organic acids in WWDGsc5.
Conclusions:  The addition of a starter culture influences the bacterial population in fermented liquid feed, but there is also a strong impact of the flora already present in the feed ingredients. The yeast population is not influenced by adding a lactic acid bacteria (LAB) starter culture. A consortium of LAB and yeast strains adapted to the fermentation should be used as starter culture.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  The results suggest that it is possible to influence the current unpredictable and spontaneous process of feed fermentation when appropriate starter cultures are used. For this purpose, LAB and yeasts with desirable characteristics should be isolated.     

辽河三角洲植被生产功能的年际变化及其驱动因子分析

基于辽河三角洲14年的水稻(Oryza sativa)与玉米(Zea mays)产量、42年的芦苇(Phragmites australis)产量及相应的气候、农业人口、灌溉和施肥等资料,主要利用主成分分析、简单相关分析和偏相关分析,阐述了辽河三角洲3种主要植被生产功能的年际变化及其驱动因子。结果表明:玉米和水稻的单产呈弱上升趋势,但年际间波动较大;芦苇单产则呈显著上升趋势,但年际间波动不大。气候因子是玉米和水稻产量年际间变化的主要驱动因子,而人为因子(农业人口、灌溉和施肥)的作用不明显;气候因子和人为因子(灌溉)均明显影响芦苇产量的年际变化。但驱动辽河三角洲3种主要植被(玉米、水稻和芦苇)生产功能年际波动的主导气候因子并不相同,分别是年日照数、年降水量和年蒸发量。     

Annual Medicago: from a model crop challenged by a spectrum of necrotrophic pathogens to a model plant to explore the nature of disease resistance

BACKGROUND: Annual Medicago spp., including M. truncatula, play an important agronomic role in dryland farming regions of the world where they are often an integral component of cropping systems, particularly in regions with a Mediterranean or Mediterranean-type climate where they grow as winter annuals that provide both nitrogen and disease breaks for rotational crops. Necrotrophic foliar and soil-borne pathogens dominate these regions and challenge the productivity of annual Medicago and crop legume species. SCOPE: This review outlines some of the major and/or widespread diseases these necrotrophic pathogens cause on Medicago spp. It then explores the potential for using the spectrum of necrotrophic pathogen-host interactions, with annual Medicago as the host plant, to better understand and model pathosystems within the diseases caused by nectrotrophic pathogens across forage and grain legume crops. CONCLUSIONS: Host resistance clearly offers the best strategy for cost-effective, long-term control of necrotrophic foliar and soil-borne pathogens, particularly as useful resistance to a number of these diseases has been identified. Recently and initially, the annual M. truncatula has emerged as a more appropriate and agronomically relevant substitute to Arabidopsis thaliana as a model plant for legumes, and is proving an excellent model to understand the mechanisms of resistance both to individual pathogens and more generally to most forage and grain legume necrotrophic pathogens.     

A metabolomic study of substantial equivalence of field-grown genetically modified wheat

The 'substantial equivalence' of three transgenic wheats expressing additional high-molecular-weight subunit genes and the corresponding parental lines (two lines plus a null transformant) was examined using metabolite profiling of samples grown in replicate field trials on two UK sites (Rothamsted, Hertfordshire and Long Ashton, near Bristol) for 3 years. Multivariate comparison of the proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of polar metabolites extracted with deuterated methanol–water showed a stronger influence of site and year than of genotype. Nevertheless, some separation between the transgenic and parental lines was observed, notably between the transgenic line B73-6-1 (which had the highest level of transgene expression) and its parental line L88-6. Comparison of the spectra showed that this separation resulted from increased levels of maltose and/or sucrose in this transgenic line, and that differences in free amino acids were also apparent. More detailed studies of the amino acid composition of material grown in 2000 were carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The most noticeable difference was that the samples grown at Rothamsted consistently contained larger amounts of acidic amino acids (glutamic, aspartic) and their amides (glutamine, asparagine). In addition, the related lines, L88-6 and B73-6-1, both contained larger amounts of proline and γ-aminobutyric acid when grown at Long Ashton than at Rothamsted. The results clearly demonstrate that the environment affects the metabolome and that any differences between the control and transgenic lines are generally within the same range as the differences observed between the control lines grown on different sites and in different years.     

水稻品种灌浆期耐热性的综合评判

建立了一种对水稻品种的灌浆期耐热性进行综合评判的方法.选取籽粒充实度、秕粒率、饱粒密度、垩白米率、垩白度等5个与水稻灌浆期耐热性强弱密切相关的性状,以参评品种这5个性状的耐热系数为指标,应用主成分分析法将5个彼此相关的单项指标转化为2个累计贡献率达到85%以上的相互独立的综合指标,根据每一品种的5个单项性状的耐热系数和综合指标的标准化特征向量求出每一品种2个综合指标的得分.计算每一品种2个综合指标得分的隶属函数值,并以综合指标的贡献率来确定2个综合指标的权重,在此基础上进行加权求和,从而得到每一品种灌浆期耐热性的综合评判值（D值）.采用系统聚类分析方法对各品种的综合评判值（D值）进行数量分类,同时结合生产实际的要求,可把每一品种划归为不同的耐性等级.外部独立样本组的统计检验以及实践验证的结果表明,所建立的综合评判方法具有理想的效果,可以对不同品种灌浆期综合耐热性能的强弱作出客观、准确的评判.     

不同硬度类型小麦高分子量谷蛋白亚基组成及遗传多样性分析

为了在小麦品质育种中充分利用品种资源,以引进的57份小麦品种(系)为试验材料,采用SDS-PAGE和单籽粒硬度仪(SKCS)分析了这些品种(系)的高分子量谷蛋白亚基(HMW-G S)组成及其籽粒硬度.共检测到13种亚基和21种亚基组合,30份材料具有5 10亚基,10份2*,9份17 18,1份13 16.5 10和2*在硬质麦中出现的频率较混合麦高,在软质麦中的频率最低,17 18在混合麦中的频率较高.HMW-G S组合中,N u ll、7 9、2 12和1、7 8、2 12的频率较高,分别为17.5%和14.0%,个别品种还同时聚合有1A、1B、1D上的优质亚基.参试品种(系)含硬质麦32份(1级20份、2级12份),混合麦15份(2级3份,3级12份),软质麦10份(4级6份,5级4份),籽粒硬度的分布范围为12~74.春小麦和冬小麦材料N e i s平均遗传变异系数分别为0.550 8和0.573 3,表明春小麦的高分子量谷蛋白位点的遗传变异略低于冬小麦;春小麦和冬小麦A、B和D基因组的N e i s平均遗传变异系数分别为0.497 5、0.648 7和0.540 3,说明G lu-B 1位点的遗传多样性最高,其次是G lu-D 1位点,G lu-A 1位点最低.     

Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from cotyledonary explants of green gram [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilezek.]—A recalcitrant grain legume

Summary This study reports a protocol for plant regeneration from cultured explants of green gram [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilezek] via somatic embryogenesis. Somatic embryos were induced from nature cotyledons of var., TAP-7 and Pusa Baisaki when cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium fortified with different concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid singly or in combination with 2.22–8.88 μM N ⁶-benzylaminopurine (BAP) or 2.32–9.38 μM kinetin. The type and concentration of auxin and plant genotype influenced the frequency of somatic embryogenesis. NAA was the most effective auxin for somatic embryo induction. The well-developed, cotyledonary shaped embryos of var. TAP-7 germinated into plantlets at a frequency of 56.6% on MS medium supplemented with 1.88 μM abscisic acid and 6.66 μM BAP. Regenerated plants were transferred to soil and grown to maturity with 90% survival. The protocol described here offers a good potential for genetic improvement using gene transfer techniques and the production of synthetic seeds of V. radiata.     

中国薯蓣属植物地下茎淀粉粒形态特征及其分类学意义

对中国薯蓣属（Dioscorea L．）40个种类地下茎的淀粉粒形态进行了显微观察。结果表明,中国薯蓣属植物地下茎淀粉粒主要有单粒和复粒2种形态。单粒淀粉粒以类圆形为主,脐点多为点状。复粒淀粉粒可分为2类：A型由2～3个淀粉小粒构成,以卵圆形和三角形为主,脐点点状且大多不明显,少数种类层纹清晰;B型由10个以上的淀粉小粒构成,以圆形为主,脐点不明显,无层纹。根状茎组（Sect．Stenophora Uline）、基生翅组（Sect．Opsophyton Uline）和周生翅组（Sect．Enantiophyllum Uline）均为单粒淀粉粒;顶生翅组（Sect．Shannicorea Prain et Burkill）为复粒淀粉粒A型;丁字型毛组（Sect．Combilium Pra Jnet Burkill）和白薯莨组（Sect．Lasiophyton Uline）为复粒淀粉粒B型;复叶组[Sect．Botryosicyos（Hochst．）Uline]兼有单粒和复粒淀粉粒。淀粉粒形态特征支持白薯蓣（D．hispida Dennst．）由复叶组分出单列成组及毛芋头薯蓣（D．kamoonensis Kunth）和高山薯蓣（D．delavayi Franch．）互为独立种的分类学处理。     

Phenotypic plasticity in two marine snails: constraints superseding life history

In organisms encountering predictable environments, fixed development is expected, whereas in organisms that cannot predict their future environment, phenotypic plasticity would be optimal to increase local adaptation. To test this prediction we experimentally compared phenotypic plasticity in two rocky-shore snail species; Littorina saxatilis releasing miniature snails on the shore, and Littorina littorea releasing drifting larvae settling on various shores, expecting L. littorea to show more phenotypic plasticity than L. saxatilis. We compared magnitude and direction of vectors of phenotypic difference in juvenile shell traits after 3 months exposure to different stimuli simulating sheltered and crab-rich shores, or wave-exposed and crab-free shores. Both species showed similar direction and magnitude of vectors of phenotypic difference with minor differences only between ecotypes of the nondispersing species, indicating that plasticity is an evolving trait in L. saxatilis. The lack of a strong plastic response in L. littorea might be explained by limits rather than costs to plasticity.     

水稻磷效率相关性状的遗传特性

利用数量遗传模型对P1、P2、F1、F2．3等4个世代的相对分蘖率、有效穗、生物产量及经济产量等性状进行了遗传分析。混合遗传模型分析表明：低磷胁迫条件下,相对分蘖率和相对有效穗两个指标适合两对主基因的加性．显性．上位性的模型,两对主基因之间存在着广泛的加性、显性和上位性效应,也存在多基因修饰;相对分蘖率和相对有效穗的最大效应主基因以加性效应为主,次大主基因以显性效应为主,而相对生物量与相对经济产量两个指标符合两对加性．显性．上位性主基因＋多基因的模型,主基因遗传力分别达到60．08％和37．70％,多基因遗传力分别达到32．15％和58．9％。表明相对分蘖率、有效穗和生物量的主基因遗传力均较高,可以作为水稻耐低磷遗传育种的指标。而相对经济产量的主基因遗传力相对较低,说明经济产量受气候等环境因素影响较大。