High Infection Rate (high + infection_rate)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


A new root-knot nematode, Meloidogyne silvestris n. sp. (Nematoda: Meloidogynidae), parasitizing European holly in northern Spain

PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
P. Castillo
High infection rates of European holly (Ilex aquifolium) feeder roots by an unknown root-knot nematode were found in a holly forest at Arévalo de la Sierra (Soria province) in northern Spain. Holly trees infected by the root-knot nematode showed some decline and low growth. Infected feeder roots were distorted and showed numerous root galls of large (8,10 mm) to moderate (2,3 mm) size. Morphometry, esterase and malate dehydrogenase electrophoretic phenotypes and phylogenetic trees of sequences within the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) demonstrated that this nematode species differs clearly from other previously described root-knot nematodes. Studies of host-parasite relationships showed a typical susceptible reaction in naturally infected European holly plants, but did not reproduce on a number of cultivated plants, including tomato, grapevine, princess-tree and olive. The species is described here, illustrated and named as Meloidogyne silvestris n. sp. The new root-knot nematode can be morphologically distinguished from other Meloidogyne spp. by: (i) roundish perineal pattern, dorsal arch low, with fine, sinuous cuticle striae, lateral fields faintly visible; (ii) female excretory pore level with stylet knobs, or just anterior to them, EP/ST ratio about 0ˇ8; (iii) second-stage juveniles with hemizonid located 1 to 2 annuli anterior to excretory pore and short, sub-digitate tail; and (iv) males with lateral fields composed of four incisures, with areolated outer bands. Phylogenetic trees derived from maximum parsimony analysis based on 18S, ITS1-5ˇ8S-ITS2 and D2,D3 of 28S rDNA showed that M. silvestris n. sp. can be differentiated from all described root-knot nematode species, and it is clearly separated from other species with resemblance in morphology, such as M. ardenensis, M. dunensis and M. lusitanica. [source]


Contrasting infection frequencies of Neotyphodium endophyte in naturalized Italian ryegrass populations in Japanese farmlands

GRASSLAND SCIENCE, Issue 2 2010
Masayuki Yamashita
Abstract Neotyphodium endophytes often confer benefits to their host grasses and may enhance invasiveness of some grasses. The knowledge of infection frequencies of endophytes among invading weed populations is necessary to understand the relationships between endophyte infection and invasiveness. Here we present data on infection frequencies of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), an important weed in some farmlands in Japan, persisting in contrasting farmlands: a terraced paddy field and a wheat-soybean double-cropped field in the western region of Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. The terraced paddy site is a mosaic of several landscape elements such as paddy fields, levees, fallow and abandoned fields, with a high percentage of non-crop area. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) has been cultivated for more than a decade with no application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fungicides. The wheat-soybean field is characterized by the aggregation of large-scaled fields that were originally reconstructed paddy fields, showing a low percentage of non-crop area. Wheat and soybean have been grown as winter and summer crops, respectively, using chemical fertilizers and herbicides. We examined the presence or absence of endophytes in a total of 1200 seeds sampled from the two Italian ryegrass populations. The terraced paddy population exhibited a markedly high infection frequency (91.0%), due possibly to selective feeding of non-infected seeds by insects. In contrast, the wheat-soybean farmland population showed almost no infection (1.1%), whereas the putative source of the invasion in the proximity exhibited a relatively high infection rate (64.4%). Such a micro-scale variation in infection frequencies may be attributable to a loss in endophyte viability within the wheat-soybean field. The findings suggest that endophyte infection frequency may markedly differ among the Italian ryegrass populations even within the same region, presumably depending on the abundance of the seed-eating insects, farmland management regimes and/or environmental conditions such as soil humidity. [source]


Mitochondrial and Wolbachia markers for the sandfly Phlebotomus papatasi: little population differentiation between peridomestic sites and gerbil burrows in Isfahan province, Iran

MEDICAL AND VETERINARY ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 4 2003
P. Parvizi
Abstract., In Iran, Phlebotomus papatasi (Scopoli) (Diptera: Psychodidae) is the main vector of Leishmania major Yakimoff & Schokhor (Kinetoplastida: Trypanosomatidae), the causative agent of rural zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis. This sandfly is abundant both in villages and in the burrows of the main reservoir host, the gerbil Rhombomys opimus (Licht.) (Rodentia: Gerbillidae). Populations of P. papatasi were sampled from the edges of villages in Isfahan province, using CDC miniature light traps in peridomestic sites and sticky papers placed at the entrances to gerbil burrows. Single peridomestic sites in two northern provinces were also sampled. Individual sandflies were characterized by PCR amplification and sequencing of fragments of their mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and of the wsp gene of endosymbiotic Wolbachia pipientis Hertig (alpha-Proteobacteria: Rickettsiaceae). The distributions of the haplotypes of these two maternally inherited genes were analysed to assess the population differentiation of P. papatasi, knowledge of which will be needed for planning control measures. For the first time these markers were used to characterize P. papatasi from gerbil burrows, and they indicated the absence not only of sympatric cryptic species but also of any long-term differentiation of lineages in different habitats. A single lineage of cytochrome b haplotypes was found, and both sexes in all populations had a high infection rate of the same A-group strain of Wolbachia (wPap). The distributions of cytochrome b haplotypes were consistent with females dispersing more than males, which has been reported for P. papatasi in other countries. The widespread distribution of wPap suggests that Wolbachia could be used to spread transgenes between populations of P. papatasi in different habitats. [source]


Naltrexone: report of lack of hepatotoxicity in acute viral hepatitis, with a review of the literature

ADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2004
Colin Brewer
Many clinicians appear to be concerned about the potential hepatotoxicity of the opiate antagonist naltrexone (NTX) and this may be one reason why it is not used more widely in treating both heroin and alcohol abusers. Some much-quoted early studies noted abnormalities in liver function tests (LFTs) in very obese patients taking high doses, although there was no evidence of clinically significant liver dysfunction. These concerns may be reinforced by advice in the UK product information sheet to perform LFTs before and during treatment, by high infection rates with hepatitis C virus (HCV) among injecting heroin addicts and by the frequency of abnormal LFTs in alcohol abusers. We describe a heroin abuser in whom clinical and laboratory manifestations of acute hepatitis B and C appeared a few days after the insertion of a subcutaneous naltrexone implant. A decision was made not to remove the implant but the hepatitis resolved completely and uneventfully well within the normal time-scale. A review of the literature indicates that even when given at much higher doses than are needed for treating heroin or alcohol abusers, there is no evidence that NTX causes clinically significant liver disease or exacerbates, even at high doses, serious pre-existing liver disease. During the past decade, NTX has been shown to be safe and effective in the treatment of pruritus associated with severe jaundice caused by severe and sometimes life-threatening cirrhosis and other liver diseases. Its safety, even in these extreme conditions, is particularly reassuring. We suggest that it may be more appropriate and economical to advise patients to report promptly any suspected side effects than to perform regular LFTs, which may be misleading. [source]


Screening for resistance in the primary and secondary gene pool of barley against the root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus neglectus

PLANT BREEDING, Issue 5 2009
T. Keil
Abstract Root-lesion nematodes of the genus Pratylenchus are significant pests in crop cultivation throughout many parts of the world. A study was initiated to determine the resistance of Hordeum vulgare and H. vulgare ssp. spontaneum (wild barley) against one major representative of the genus Pratylenchus, P. neglectus. A glasshouse test was first established. Barley seedlings were grown in 20 cm3 tubes filled with sand. Each plant was inoculated with 400 P. neglectus juveniles. After 12 weeks of cultivation nematodes were isolated from roots and sand using a misting chamber. The nematodes were counted under a microscope. A representative collection of 565 barley and wild barley accessions was tested in this way. The average number of nematodes per accession ranged from 350 to 12 000. In a verification experiment, 35 accessions with low and high infection rates were tested. This experiment identified a number of accessions with low infection rates. The perspectives for future breeding of barley cultivars resistant to root-lesion nematodes are discussed. [source]