Animal board invited review: genetic possibilities to reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminants

Measuring and mitigating methane (CH₄) emissions from livestock is of increasing importance for the environment and for policy making. Potentially, the most sustainable way of reducing enteric CH₄ emission from ruminants is through the estimation of genomic breeding values to facilitate genetic selection. There is potential for adopting genetic selection and in the future genomic selection, for reduced CH₄ emissions from ruminants. From this review it has been observed that both CH₄ emissions and production (g/day) are a heritable and repeatable trait. CH₄ emissions are strongly related to feed intake both in the short term (minutes to several hours) and over the medium term (days). When measured over the medium term, CH₄ yield (MY, g CH₄/kg dry matter intake) is a heritable and repeatable trait albeit with less genetic variation than for CH₄ emissions. CH₄ emissions of individual animals are moderately repeatable across diets, and across feeding levels, when measured in respiration chambers. Repeatability is lower when short term measurements are used, possibly due to variation in time and amount of feed ingested prior to the measurement. However, while repeated measurements add value; it is preferable the measures be separated by at least 3 to 14 days. This temporal separation of measurements needs to be investigated further. Given the above issue can be resolved, short term (over minutes to hours) measurements of CH₄ emissions show promise, especially on systems where animals are fed ad libitum and frequency of meals is high. However, we believe that for short-term measurements to be useful for genetic evaluation, a number (between 3 and 20) of measurements will be required over an extended period of time (weeks to months). There are opportunities for using short-term measurements in standardised feeding situations such as breath ‘sniffers’ attached to milking parlours or total mixed ration feeding bins, to measure CH₄. Genomic selection has the potential to reduce both CH₄ emissions and MY, but measurements on thousands of individuals will be required. This includes the need for combined resources across countries in an international effort, emphasising the need to acknowledge the impact of animal and production systems on measurement of the CH₄ trait during design of experiments.     

Cattle feed or bioenergy? Consequential life cycle assessment of biogas feedstock options on dairy farms

On‐farm anaerobic digestion (AD) of wastes and crops can potentially avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but incurs extensive environmental effects via carbon and nitrogen cycles and substitution of multiple processes within and outside farm system boundaries. Farm models were combined with consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) to assess plausible biogas and miscanthus heating pellet scenarios on dairy farms. On the large dairy farm, the introduction of slurry‐only AD led to reductions in global warming potential (GWP) and resource depletion burdens of 14% and 67%, respectively, but eutrophication and acidification burden increases of 9% and 10%, respectively, assuming open tank digestate storage. Marginal GWP burdens per Mg dry matter (DM) feedstock codigested with slurry ranged from –637 kg CO₂e for food waste to +509 kg CO₂e for maize. Codigestion of grass and maize led to increased imports of concentrate feed to the farm, negating the GWP benefits of grid electricity substitution. Attributing grass‐to‐arable land use change (LUC) to marginal wheat feed production led to net GWP burdens exceeding 900 kg CO₂e Mg^?1 maize DM codigested. Converting the medium‐sized dairy farm to a beef‐plus‐AD farm led to a minor reduction in GWP when grass‐to‐arable LUC was excluded, but a 38% GWP increase when such LUC was attributed to marginal maize and wheat feed required for intensive compensatory milk production. If marginal animal feed is derived from soybeans cultivated on recently converted cropland in South America, the net GWP burden increases to 4099 kg CO₂e Mg^?1 maize DM codigested – equivalent to 55 Mg CO₂e yr^?1 per hectare used for AD‐maize cultivation. We conclude that AD of slurry and food waste on dairy farms is an effective GHG mitigation option, but that the quantity of codigested crops should be strictly limited to avoid potentially large international carbon leakage via animal feed displacement.     

Energy Cost of Living and Associated Pollution for Beijing Residents

China's remarkable economic growth in the last 3 decades has brought about big improvements in quality of life while simultaneously contributing to serious environmental problems. The aim of all economic activities is, ultimately, to provide the population with products and services. Analyzing environmental impacts of consumption can be valuable for illuminating underlying drivers for energy use and emissions in society. This study applies an environmentally extended input‐output analysis to estimate household environmental impact (HEI) of urban Beijing households at different levels of development. The analysis covers direct and indirect energy use and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and nitrogen oxide (NO_x). On the basis of observations of how HEI varies across income groups, prospects for near‐future changes in HEI are discussed. Results indicate that in 2007, an urban resident in Beijing used, on average, 52 gigajoules of total primary energy supply. The corresponding annual emissions were 4.2 tonnes CO₂, 27 kilograms SO₂, and 17 kilograms NO_x. Of this, only 18% to 34% was used or emitted by the households directly. While the overall expenditure elasticity of energy use is around 0.9, there is a higher elasticity of energy use associated with transport. The results suggest that significant growth in HEI can be expected in the near future, even with substantial energy efficiency improvements.     

北京夏植黄瓜内生真菌区系研究

为了解黄瓜植株内生真菌的区系组成及其变化,从而为进一步研究黄瓜内生真菌的生态和功能奠定基础,对采自北京延庆的不同品种和不同生育期的40株黄瓜进行了内生真菌的分离培养。经形态学鉴定和18S rDNA序列分析,分离到的1,024株内生真菌属于18属,其中Exserohilum和Neocosmospora尚未见内生真菌的报道。Alternaria、Aspergillus、Chaetomium、Cladosporium和Fusarium在各生育期和各器官普遍存在。其中,Alternaria在叶中的定殖率达47.0%,远高于在其他器官中的定殖率;Fusarium在根中的定殖率达32.5%,远高于在其他器官中的定殖率。多数真菌类群表现出不同程度的器官偏好性,有些真菌类群则只出现在特定器官中。叶和根的内生真菌类群数量和总定殖率均高于茎和果实。随着黄瓜的生长,各器官内生真菌的类群数在增加,部分真菌的定殖率也呈上升趋势,但Neocosmospora和Chaetomium在各器官中的定殖率则随植株生长呈下降趋势。     

Effects of available surface on gaseous emissions from group-housed gestating sows kept on deep litter

In the European Union, the group-housed pregnant sows have to have a minimal legal available area of 2.25 m²/sow. However, it has been observed that an increased space allowance reduces agonistic behaviour and consecutive wounds and thus induces better welfare conditions. But, what about the environmental impacts of this greater available area? Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify pollutant gases emissions (nitrous oxide, N₂O, methane, CH₄, carbon dioxide, CO₂ and ammonia, NH₃), according to the space allowance in the raising of gestating sows group-housed on a straw-based deep litter. Four successive batches of 10 gestating sows were each divided into two homogeneous groups and randomly allocated to a treatment: 2.5 v. 3.0 m²/sow. The groups were separately kept in two identical rooms. A restricted conventional cereals based diet was provided once a day in individual feeding stalls available only during the feeding time. Rooms were automatically ventilated. The gas emissions were measured by infra red photoacoustic detection during six consecutive days at the 6th, 9th and 12th weeks of gestation. Sows performance (body weight gain, backfat thickness, number and weight of piglets) was not significantly different according to the space allowance. In the room with 3.0 m²/sow and compared with the room with 2.5 m²/sow, gaseous emissions were significantly greater for NH₃ (6.29 v. 5.37 g NH₃-N/day per sow; P < 0.01) and significantly lower for N₂O (1.78 v. 2.48 g N₂O-N/day per sow; P < 0.01), CH₄ (10.15 v. 15.21 g/day per sow; P < 0.001), CO₂ equivalents (1.11 v. 1.55 kg/day per sow; P < 0.001), CO₂ (2.12 v. 2.41 kg/day per sow; P < 0.001) and H₂O (3.10 v. 3.68 kg/day per sow; P < 0.001). In conclusion, an increase of the available area for group-housed gestating sow kept on straw-based deep litter seems to be ambiguous on an environmental impacts point of view. Compared with a conventional and legal available area, it favoured NH₃ emissions, probably due to an increased emitting surface. However, about greenhouse gases, it decreased N₂O, CH₄ and CO₂ emissions, probably due to reduced anaerobic conditions required for their synthesis, and led to a reduction of CO₂ equivalents emissions.     

黄瓜霜霉病抗病基因的RAPD及SCAR标记

以感霜霉病黄瓜L18-10-2和抗霜霉病黄瓜129为亲本构建F2代分离群体,以F3代植株霜霉病抗性鉴定表示F2代各单株抗病性并得以区分各单株杂合或纯合感病性,采用RAPD技术和转SCAR的方法筛选黄瓜抗霜霉病基因分子标记.结果显示,在318条RAPD引物中有18条引物表现出两亲本间多态性,其中引物P18的SB-SP18561扩增片段与霜霉病抗病基因之间紧密连锁,根据交换率和Kosambi函数公式计算其遗传距离为7.85 cM.回收SBSP18561片段并克隆和测序,其准确长度为561 bp.将该RAPD标记转换为SCAR标记,长度为494 bp,命名为SSBSP18494.     

Ca2+对根际低氧胁迫下黄瓜幼苗生长和叶片荧光特性的影响

采用营养液栽培,以根际低氧耐性不同的2个黄瓜品种为试验材料,研究了Ca2 对根际低氧胁迫下黄瓜幼苗生长和叶片荧光特性的影响。结果表明:(1)根际低氧胁迫下,黄瓜植株根长、根表面积和根尖数减少,但根径有所增大;叶片干重、鲜重和叶面积显著减小,提高营养液钙浓度可使植株叶片干、鲜重和叶面积得到部分恢复。(2)根际低氧胁迫下,叶片光合色素含量降低,提高营养液钙浓度对色素含量无明显影响。(3)根际低氧胁迫下,常钙和高钙处理黄瓜叶片Fv/Fm与通气常钙(CK)无显著差异,但低氧缺钙处理的Fv/Fm显著降低;与通气常钙相比,根际低氧胁迫处理的光化学猝灭(qP)减小、非光化学猝灭(qN)增大、光合功能相对限制值(L(PFD))升高,提高营养液钙浓度可使qP和qN恢复至近对照水平,而使L(PFD)低于对照,且‘绿霸春四号’黄瓜品种表现得更为突出;根际低氧胁迫下,光化学速率(Prate)减小,天线热耗散速率(Drate)都随钙浓度升高而降低。总之,根际低氧胁迫下黄瓜幼苗生长被显著抑制,PSⅡ反应中心受到一定程度的破坏,提高钙浓度可使PSII反应中心恢复至接近甚至高于通气对照的水平,从而有效缓解根际低氧胁迫对黄瓜幼苗造成的伤害。     

Stereoselective degradation of fungicide benalaxyl in soils and cucumber plants

The enantioselective degradation of benalaxyl has been investigated to elucidate its behavior in several agricultural soils and plants (cucumber). Racemic benalaxyl was fortified into five types of agricultural soils and sprayed leaves of cucumber plants, respectively. The degradation kinetics and the enantiomer fraction (EF) were determined by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection (DAD) on the chiral column filled cellulose-tri-(3,5-dimethylphenylcarbamate)-based chiral stationary phase (CDMPC-CSP). The process of the degradation of benalaxyl enantiomers followed pseudo-first-order kinetics in cucumber plant. However, the dissipation phases of benalaxyl enantiomers in soils were biphasic ("slow-fast-slow" process). It has been shown that the degradation of benalaxyl was stereoselective. The results indicated that the (+)-S-benalaxyl showed a faster degradation in plants, while the (-)-R-benalaxyl showed a faster degradation in Soils 3, 4, and 5. No stereoselective degradation was observed in other soils.     

夏眠对刺参(Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka))能量收支的影响

夏眠是刺参最重要的生理特征;水温升高是其夏眠的主要诱发因子,而夏眠的临界温度与刺参体重密切相关。为揭示刺参夏眠对其能量利用对策的影响,测定了2种体重规格(134.0±13.5)g和(73.6±2.2)g刺参在10、15、20、25℃和30℃5个温度梯度下的能量收支。结果表明,温度和体重及其交互作用对刺参能量的摄入均有显著影响;而温度是影响其摄食能分配的主要因素。研究发现,刺参在非夏眠期、夏眠临界期和完全夏眠期的能量利用对策有所不同:在非夏眠期,刺参摄食能支出的最大组分是粪便能,占摄食能的比例超过50%,其次为呼吸耗能,占19.8%～39.4%,而生长能和排泄能占的比例较小,分别为5.7%～10.7%和2.9%～3.7%;在夏眠临界温度下,呼吸和排泄耗能占摄食能的比例均显著增大(分别为88.3%和13.6%),而生长能所占比例降为负值(-55.3%),刺参表现为负生长;而在夏眠期,刺参的摄食能和排粪能为零,为维持其基本生理活动,不得不动用以往贮存于体内的能量,消耗于呼吸和排泄等生理过程,供维持生命之用。总之,从能量生物学的角度看,夏眠的主要生态学意义在于刺参长时间处于相对高温环境,进而导致摄食受阻条件下的一种能量节约方式。     

Free-air exposure systems to scale up ozone research to mature trees

Because seedlings and mature trees do not necessarily respond similarly to O(3) stress, it is critically important that exposure systems be developed that allow exposure of seedlings through to mature trees. Here we describe three different O(3) Free-Air Exposure Systems that have been used successfully for exposure at all growth stages. These systems of spatially uniform O(3) release have been shown to provide reliable O(3) exposure with minimal, if any, impact on the microclimate. This methodology offers a welcome alternative to chamber studies which had severe space constraints precluding stand or community-level studies and substantial chamber effects on the microclimate and, hence physiological tree performance.