Debaryomyces hansenii supplementation in low fish meal diets promotes growth,modulates microbiota and enhances intestinal condition in juvenile marine fish

Background The development of a sustainable business model with social acceptance,makes necessary to develop new strategies to guarantee the growth,health,and well-being of farmed animals.Debaryomyces hansenii is a yeast species that can be used as a probiotic in aquaculture due to its capacity to i)promote cell proliferation and differen-tiation,ii)have immunostimulatory effects,iii)modulate gut microbiota,and/or iv)enhance the digestive function.To provide inside into the effects of D.hansenii on juveniles of gilthead seabream(Sparus aurata)condition,we inte-grated the evaluation of the main key performance indicators coupled with the integrative analysis of the intestine condition,through histological and microbiota state,and its transcriptomic profiling.Results After 70 days of a nutritional trial in which a diet with low levels of fishmeal(7%)was supplemented with 1.1%of D.hansenii(17.2×10^(5) CFU),an increase of ca.12%in somatic growth was observed together with an improve-ment in feed conversion in fish fed a yeast-supplemented diet.In terms of intestinal condition,this probiotic modu-lated gut microbiota without affecting the intestine cell organization,whereas an increase in the staining intensity of mucins rich in carboxylated and weakly sulphated glycoconjugates coupled with changes in the affinity for certain lectins were noted in goblet cells.Changes in microbiota were characterized by the reduction in abundance of several groups of Proteobacteria,especially those characterized as opportunistic groups.The microarrays-based transcrip-tomic analysis found 232 differential expressed genes in the anterior-mid intestine of S.aurata,that were mostly related to metabolic,antioxidant,immune,and symbiotic processes.Conclusions Dietary administration of D.hansenii enhanced somatic growth and improved feed efficiency param-eters,results that were coupled to an improvement of intestinal condition as histochemical and transcriptomic tools indicated.This probiotic yeast stimulated host-microbiota interactions without altering the intestinal cell organization nor generating dysbiosis,which demonstrated its safety as a feed additive.At the transcriptomic level,D.hansenii pro-moted metabolic pathways,mainly protein-related,sphingolipid,and thymidylate pathways,in addition to enhance antioxidant-related intestinal mechanisms,and to regulate sentinel immune processes,potentiating the defensive capacity meanwhile maintaining the homeostatic status of the intestine.

Fine‑tuning genomic and pedigree inbreeding rates in equine population with a deep and reliable stud book:the case of the Pura Raza Española horse

Background:Estimating inbreeding,which is omnipresent and inevitable in livestock populations,is a primary goal for management and animal breeding especially for those interested in mitigating the negative consequences of inbreeding.Inbreeding coefficients have been historically estimated by using pedigree information;however,over the last decade,genome-base inbreeding coefficients have come to the forefront in this field.The Pura Raza Espanola(PRE)horse is an autochthonous Spanish horse breed which has been recognised since 1912.The total PRE population(344,718 horses)was used to estimate Classical(F),Ballou’s ancestral,Kalinowski’s ancestral,Kalinowski’s new and the ancestral history coefficient values.In addition,genotypic data from a selected population of 805 PRE individuals was used to determine the individual inbreeding coefficient using SNP-by-SNP-based techniques(methods of moments-FHOM-,the diagonal elements of the genomic-FG-,and hybrid matrixes-FH-)and ROH measures(FRZ).The analyse of both pedigree and genomic based inbreeding coefficients in a large and robust population such as the PRE horse,with proven parenteral information for the last 40 years and a high degree of completeness(over 90%for the last 70 years)will allow us to understand PRE genetic variability better and the correlations between the estimations will give the data greater reliability.Results:The mean values of the pedigree-based inbreeding coefficients ranged from 0.01(F for the last 3 generations-F3-)to 0.44(ancestral history coefficient)and the mean values of genomic-based inbreeding coefficients varied from 0.05(FRZ for three generations,FH and FHOM)to 0.11(FRZ for nine generations).Significant correlations were also found between pedigree and genomic inbreeding values,which ranged between 0.58(F3 with FHOM)and 0.79(F with FRZ).In addition,the correlations between FRZ estimated for the last 20 generations and the pedigree-based inbreeding highlight the fact that fewer generations of genomic data are required when comparing total inbreeding values,and the opposite when ancient values are calculated.Conclusions:Ultimately,our results show that it is still useful to work with a deep and reliable pedigree in pedigreebased genetic studies with very large effective population sizes.Obtaining a satisfactory parameter will always be desirable,but the approximation obtained with a robust pedigree will allow us to work more efficiently and economically than with massive genotyping.

云南咖啡锈菌小种鉴定

为明确云南咖啡锈菌小种类型,采用国际通用的19个咖啡锈菌生理小种鉴定寄主,利用人工接种鉴定的方法,对采自云南咖啡主产区12县(市)的51份咖啡锈菌进行鉴定,鉴定出9个小种,分别为VIII(v2,3,5)、XXXIII(v5,7 or v5,7,9)、XXXIV(v2,5,7 or v2,5,7,9)、XXXVII(v2,5,6,7,9)、XLI(v2,5,8)、XLII(v2,5,7,8 or v2,5,7,8,9)、New race(v2,5,6,7)、New race(v1,2,5,7 or v1,2,5,7,9)、New race(v1,5,7 or v1,5,7,9),这9个小种均为国内首次鉴定,其中小种XXXIII、XXXIV、New race(v2,5,6,7)、New race(v1,5,7 or v1,5,7,9)、New race(v1,2,5,7 or v1,2,5,7,9)、XLI和XLII均侵染Catimor7963,小种XXXVII侵染CatimorT5175。

聚丙烯酸盐对重金属污染矿区本地植株生长和土壤性质的影响

采用半野外试验研究了聚丙烯酸盐对自然条件下矿区重金属污染土壤性质和矿区本地植株生长的影响。研究表明,0.4%的聚丙烯酸盐明显促进了4种污染矿区本地植物的生长,总生物量在两轮生长中分别是对照处理的1.8倍和2.3倍。不同植株对不同生长季节反映不同,其中Briza maxima(B.maxima)在春夏季节生长好于秋冬季节,但生物量不高,无法提供大面积覆盖。而Chaetopogon fasciculatus(C.fasciculatus)和Spergularia purpurea(S.purpurea)因其在秋冬季节生长明显好于春夏季节,尽管在春夏季节由于干旱而大量死亡,仍然可以大面积覆盖土壤,所以可尝试用于矿区土壤的植被固定。聚丙烯酸盐的应用显著改善了土壤脱氢酶、磷酸酶、蔗糖苷酶、蛋白酶、脲酶以及纤维素酶的活性。研究同时发现,不同种类植株的生长与土壤pH及土壤酶活性存在显著的相关关系,其中,土壤pH和C.fasciculatus的生长与土壤中蛋白酶和纤维素酶的活性正相关(r>0.60),而Briza maxima的生长与蔗糖酶的活性正相关(r=0.82)。

聚丙烯酸盐对长期重金属污染的矿区土壤的修复研究(Ⅱ)--对土壤微生物数量和土壤酶活性的影响

采用盆栽试验方法研究了聚丙烯酸盐对S Domingos金矿区重金属污染土壤的修复作用。在《聚丙烯酸盐对长期重金属污染土壤的修复研究(Ⅰ)》[30](以下简称研究Ⅰ)中聚丙烯酸盐的应用显著提高了土壤持水能力和土壤的pH,同时土壤中水溶性重金属的含量也比对照显著降低,从而使果园草Orchardgrass(Dactylis glomerata L.cv.Amba)的生物量得到显著增加。为更全面地说明聚丙烯酸盐在该重金属污染土壤修复上的作用,进一步探讨了聚丙烯酸盐对重金属污染土壤微生物属性的影响。结果表明,土壤细菌数量随聚丙烯酸盐水平的增加而增加,不同处理之间差异显著(P≤0.05);与对照相比,聚丙烯酸盐处理的真菌数量显著增加(P≤0.05),但随着聚丙烯酸盐水平的增加而显著降低(P≤0.05),这可能是由于0.4%和0.6%的聚丙烯酸盐处理土壤pH显著提高所导致的。因此使用微生物数量评价土壤质量时,细菌比真菌表现更突出。使用聚丙烯酸盐修复的土壤脱氢酶、磷酸酶、蔗糖酶、蛋白酶和纤维素酶的活性均比对照显著增加(P≤0.05),而脲酶活性的下降则可能是由于聚丙烯酸盐带来大量的铵态氮产生的抑制作用所致。综合研究Ⅰ中的结果,聚丙烯酸盐不仅可以改善重金属污染土壤的理化性状而且对于土壤微生物属性也有显著的改善作用。从果园草生物量来看,0.4%聚丙烯酸盐的用量对该污染土壤的修复具有实践应用价值。

聚丙烯酸盐对长期重金属污染的矿区土壤的修复研究：Ⅰ对土壤保水能力、果园草生长和土壤pH以及土壤水溶性重金属的影响

采用盆栽试验方法,研究了聚丙烯酸盐对长期重金属污染的矿区土壤的修复作用。结果表明,与对照相比,使用聚丙烯酸盐可以显著提高土壤的持水能力,其中0.6%聚丙烯酸盐处理土壤在达到最大持水量时比对照增加了近4倍。然而在作物生长过程中,使用聚丙烯酸盐修复的土壤持水量逐渐下降,这可能是由于聚丙烯酸盐与土壤中重金属结合后其吸水能力下降所造成的。与对照相比,聚丙烯酸盐的应用使果园草生长得到明显改善,从整个4茬的果园草生长来看,0.4%的聚丙烯酸盐的处理表现最为突出。使用聚丙烯酸盐处理的土壤pH随着使用数量的增加而增加,不同水平聚丙烯酸盐处理之间差异显著。与对照相比,0.4%和0.6%的聚丙烯酸盐处理的土壤pH增加更显著。不同水平聚丙烯酸盐处理(0.2%、0.4%、0.6%)的土壤中水溶性重金属的含量均比对照显著降低(P≤0.05)。然而,聚丙烯酸盐数量的增加对土壤中水溶性Zn和Pb的含量影响不显著(P≤0.05)。对于土壤水溶性Cu而言,0.4%和0.6%的聚丙烯酸盐的处理之间差异不显著(P≤0.05),但与0.2%的聚丙烯酸盐的处理之间差异显著(P≤0.05)。试验结果表明,聚丙烯酸盐可以用于修复长期重金属污染的矿区土壤。

乌拉圭的作物-牧草轮作和耕作体系长期观测研究

不同于世界其他黑土区,始于20世纪60年代乌拉圭的作物-牧草轮作制是很有影响和特色的种植体系。它是一个更具多样性,具有更强的抗御气候和经济变化缓冲力的系统。本文介绍了乌拉圭作物-牧草轮作几个体系的构成,重点评述了基于作物-牧草多体轮作制长期定位试验不同耕作体系对土壤有机碳动态、土壤侵蚀和氧化亚氮排放的影响。特定生态环境和特别的种植体系下得出的不同于其他地区的研究结果或结论,对进一步深入理解农业生产的区域性意义重大。

葡萄牙直接防控松材线虫的措施(英文)

由松材线虫引发的松萎蔫病在葡萄牙发生于1999年,此后防治该病的措施主要是热处理、用溴甲烷熏蒸、砍伐和焚烧感病树木。最近发布了一系列的官方文件,以确保这些措施对松木、包装木和其他松木材料的处理效果,且已经有公司注册按照文件要求进行处理。最近欧盟对这些防治措施和药剂进行评价,主要考查它们对人类健康和环境的影响,所得结果是原来市场上流通的1 219种药剂产品中仅有340种获得批准在欧盟市场上流通。其中溴甲烷被标记为"高度危险",仅能用于检疫和运输前对木材或木制品的处理;硫酰氟被标记为"暂时未定",可以暂时替代溴甲烷;阿维菌素、甲氨基阿维菌素苯甲酸和美贝霉素被认为是有效防治松材线虫病的药物,允许用于树干注射;阿维菌素和美贝霉素已经被批准使用,而甲氨基阿维菌素苯甲酸则被标记为"暂时未定",可以限时使用。

Effect of mini-cutting size on adventitious rooting and morphophysiological quality of Ilex paraguariensis plantlets

As the energizing and therapeutic effects of infusions of mate(Ilex paraguariensis A.St.-Hil)leaves are increasingly recognized,rising global consumption is also increasing the demand for plantlets with high genetic and morphological qualities.Mini-cuttings are an alternative for clonal plantlets;however,more details are needed on factors that affect the success of this technique.Here,toward maximizing production,we evaluated adventitious rooting competence of mini-cuttings of different sizes and the morphophysiological quality of the resultant plantlets.Small(one bud;length up to 2.5 cm),medium(multiple buds;length 2.6–5.0 cm),and large(multiple buds;length 5.1–10.0 cm)mini-cuttings were planted in a mixture of commercial substrate,vermiculite,and coarse sand(1:1:1 v:v:v),grown in a humidity chamber,then evaluated after 45,60,75,and 90 days for survival,percentage of callus and shoot formation,number and length of shoots,percentage of rooted cuttings,and number and length of roots.Any rooted mini-cuttings were then cultivated in commercial substrate and subsurface soil(2:1 v:v)and evaluated after 30,60,90 and 120 days of cultivation for morphophysiology of the plantlets,percentage of survival,number of leaves,shoot height,stem diameter,and ratio of shoot height to stem diameter.After 120 days,the plantlets were evaluated for the ratio of shoot and root dry mass,total length,surface area,total volume,and mean diameter of roots and Dickson quality index.Adventitious rooting of the mini-cuttings and the morphophysiological quality of the plantlets were not influenced by the size of the vegetative propagule.Therefore,single-bud mini-cuttings have similar adventitious rooting competence,and result in plantlets with adequate morphophysiological quality,based upon leaf development,shoot height,stem diameter and length,and surface area,volume and diameter of roots.Single-bud mini-cuttings up to 2.5 cm long can thus be used to maximize production of mate plantlets by mini-cuttings.

Plant Breeding for Harmony between Modern Agriculture Production and the Environment

The world population is estimated to be 9.2 billion in 2050. To sufficiently feed these people, the total food production will have to increase 60% - 70%. Climate models predict that warmer tem-peratures and increases in the frequency and duration of drought during the present century will have negative impact on agricultural productivity. These new global challenges require a more complex integrated agricultural and breeding agenda that focuses on livelihood improvement coupled with agro-ecosystem resilience, eco-efficiency and sustainability rather than just on crop productivity gains. Intensifying sustainability agro-ecosystems by producing more food with lower inputs, adapting agriculture to climate change, conserving agro-biodiversity through its use, and making markets to work for the small farmers are needed to address the main issues of our time. Plant breeding has played a vital role in the successful development of modern agriculture. Development of new cultivars will be required while reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment and maintaining sufficient production. Conventional plant breeding will remain the backbone of crop improvement strategies. Genetic engineering has the potential to address some of the most challenging biotic constraints faced by farmers, which are not easily addressed through conventional plant breeding alone. Protective measures and laws, especially patenting, must be moderated to eliminate coverage so broad that it stifles innovation. They must be made less restrictive to encourage research and free flow of materials and information. Small farmers have an important role in conserving and using crop biodiversity. Public sector breeding must remain vigorous, especially in areas where the private sector does not function. This will often require benevolent public/private partnerships as well as government support. Active and positive connections between the private and public breeding sectors and large-scale gene banks are required to avoid a possible conflict involving breeders’ rights, gene preservation and erosion. Plant breeding can be a powerful tool to bring “harmony” between agriculture and the environment, but partnerships and cooperation are needed to make this a reality.

Nutritional and Health Benefits of Carrots and Their Seed Extracts

Carrot is a root vegetable with carotenoids, flavonoids, polyacetylenes, vitamins, and minerals, all of which possess numerous nutritional and health benefits. Besides lending truth to the old adage that carrots are good for eyes, carotenoids, polyphenols and vitamins present in carrot act as antioxidants, anticarcinogens, and immunoenhancers. Anti-diabetic, cholesterol and cardiovascular disease lowering, anti-hypertensive, hepatoprotective, renoprotective, and wound healing benefits of carrot have also been reported. The cardio- and hepatoprotective, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effects of carrot seed extracts are also noteworthy. All are discussed in this review article.

Accuracy and responses of genomic selection on key traits in apple breeding

The application of genomic selection in fruit tree crops is expected to enhance breeding eficiency by increasing prediction accuracy,increasing selection intensity and decreasing generation interval.The objectives of this study were to assess the accuracy of prediction and selection response in commercial apple breeding programmes for key traits.The training population comprised 977 individuals derived from 20 pedigreed fllsib families.Historic phenotypic data were available on 10 traits related to productivity and fruit external appearance and genotypic data for 7829 SNPs obtained with an llumina 20K SNP array.From these data,a genome-wide prediction model was built and subsequently used to calculate genomic breeding values of five application fllsib families.The application families had genotypes at 364 SNPs from a dedicated 512 SNP array,and these genotypic data were extended to the high-density level by imputation.These five families were phenotyped for 1 year and their phenotypes were compared to the predicted breeding values.Accuracy of genomic prediction across the 10 traits reached a maximum value of 0.5 and had a median value of 0.19.The accuracies were strongly affected by the phenotypic distribution and heritability of traits.In the largest family,significant selection response was observed for traits with high heritability and symmetric phenotypic distribution.Traits that showed non-significant response often had reduced and skewed phenotypic variation or low heritability.Among the five application families the accuracies were uncorrelated to the degree of relatedness to the training population.The results underline the potential of genomic prediction to accelerate breeding progress in outbred fruit tree crops that still need to overcome long generation intervals and extensive phenotyping costs.

Genome-Wide Identification and Characterization of the <i>Dof</i>Transcription Factor Gene Family in <i>Phaseolus vulgaris</i>L.

The Dof (DNA-binding with one finger) proteins are a class of plant-specific transcription factors that can trigger several processes involved in plant growth and development, as well as in stress responses. Here, we performed a systematic bioinformatics analysis to characterize all Dof genes in common bean, which included analysis of the genome sequence, conserved protein domains, chromosomal locations, subcellular locations, phylogenetic relationships, gene duplications, and gene expression profiles in different tissues. Bioinformatics analysis revealed 36 putative genes related to PvDof that were classified into seven subfamilies (A, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, and, D2) by comparative phylogenetic analysis. Based on our genome duplication analysis, a total of 36 genes were found to be distributed on all 11 chromosomes, and they expanded through gene duplication in tandem, suggesting the involvement of segmental duplication events in the evolutionary process. Synteny events and phylogenetic comparisons of the Dof proteins of common bean with those of A. thaliana, O. sativa, and G. max L. led to the identification of several orthologous and paralogous genes, which provided further insight into the diversity of the evolutionary characteristics of genes of this family in other plant species. Expression profiles revealed that most of the PvDof genes were expressed in different tissues, indicating that PvDof genes may be involved in various physiological functions during plant development. The results of this study provide additional information and potential biotechnological resources for further understanding the molecular basis of this gene family and consequently improvement of common bean crops.

Nutritional Quality and Health Benefits of Vegetables:A Review

Vegetables are considered essential for well-balanced diets since they supply vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytochemicals. Each vegetable group contains an unique combination and amount of these phytonutriceuticals, which distinguishes them from other groups and vegetables whithin their own group. In the daily diet vegetables have been strongly associated with improvement of gastrointestinal health, good vision, and reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, chronic diseases such as diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Some phytochemicals of vegetables are strong antioxidants and are thought to reduce the risk of chronic disease by protecting against free radical damage, by modifying metabolic activation and detoxification of carcinogens, or even by influencing processes that alter the course of tumor cells. All the vegetables may offer protection to humans against chronic diseases. Nutrition is both a quantity and a quality issue, and vegetables in all their many forms ensure an adequate intake of most vitamins and nutrients, dietary fibers, and phytochemicals which can bring a much-needed measure of balance back to diets contributing to solve many of these nutrition problems. The promotion of healthy vegetable products has coincided with a surging consumer interested in the healthy functionality of food. Because each vegetable contains a unique combination of phytonutriceuticals, a great diversity of vegetables should be eaten to ensure that individual’s diet includes a combination of phytonutriceuticals and to get all the health benefits. This article make a review and discusses the nutritional quality and health benefits of the major groups of vegetables. More interdisciplinary work is required that involves nutritional and food scientists as well as others from biomedical fields to ascertain the thrue function of specific phytonutriceuticals.

Common bean SNP alleles and candidate genes affecting photosynthesis under contrasting water regimes

Water deficit is a major worldwide constraint to common bean(Phaseolus vulgaris L.)production,being photosynthesis one of the most affected physiological processes.To gain insights into the genetic basis of the photosynthetic response of common bean under water-limited conditions,a collection of 158 Portuguese accessions was grown under both well-watered and water-deficit regimes.Leaf gas-exchange parameters were measured and photosynthetic pigments quantified.The same collection was genotyped using SNP arrays,and SNP-trait associations tested considering a linear mixed model accounting for the genetic relatedness among accessions.A total of 133 SNP-trait associations were identified for net CO 2 assimilation rate,transpiration rate,stomatal conductance,and chlorophylls a and b,carotenes,and xanthophyll contents.Ninety of these associations were detected under water-deficit and 43 under well-watered conditions,with only two associations common to both treatments.Identified candidate genes revealed that stomatal regulation,protein translocation across membranes,redox mechanisms,hormone,and osmotic stress signaling were the most relevant processes involved in common bean response to water-limited conditions.These candidates are now preferential targets for common bean water-deficit-tolerance breeding.Additionally,new sources of water-deficit tolerance of Andean,Mesoamerican,and admixed origin were detected as accessions valuable for breeding,and not yet explored.

Development and Characterization of Extruded Broken Rice and Lupine (<i>Lupinus albus</i>)

Mixtures of cereals and legumes result in products with higher content of high biological value proteins. The thermoplastic extrusion promotes the transformation of chemical, physical and nutritional characteristics of the food such as starch gelatinization and promotes the inactivation of anti-nutritional compounds and enzymes. This study aimed to develop products extruded using broken rice and lupine and to evaluate the physical and chemical characteristics of those products. The expansion index (EI), water solubility (WSI), water absorption (WAI), texture and color were determined for the extruded rice, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of the extruded rice was also performed. As the rice concentration in the mixture increased, the EI, WSI and WAI values as well as the a* color parameter were increased too, and the brightness was reduced. An increase in the levels of essential amino acids with the addition of lupine grain to the extrudates was observed. SEM analysis identified intact loose starch granules or pellets in the raw materials, and the extruded samples showed a compact and amorphous shape without apparent starch granules. Due to the structural changes and reduced expansion rate of the extruded mixture prepared with lupine and rice grits, use of the extruded mixtures as snacks would not be suitable. However, these mixtures could be used in pre-gelatinized flour to formulate various products to increase the protein level.

Guiding strategies for breeding vegetable cultivars

Vegetables are considered essential for well-balanced diets. The production and marketing of vegetables crops are undergoing continuous change globally. This is mainly due to the growing demands of consumers for safe and healthy vegetables, increased urbanisation of societies, and the growth in scale and influence of supermarkets chains. Horticultural science can respond to many of these challenges through research, breeding and innovation that can seek to gain more efficient methods of crop production, refined post-harvest storage and handling methods, newer and higher value vegetable cultivars and demonstration of their health benefits. Vegetable breeding has to address and satisfy the needs of both the consumer and the producer. Innovation in vegetable breeding depends on specific knowledge, the development and application of new technologies, access to genetic resources, and capital to utilise them. The driving force behind this innovation is acquiring or increasing market share. Access to technology, as well as biodiversity, is essential for the development of new vegetable cultivars. A few multinational corporations, whose vast economic power has effectively marginalized the role of public sector breeding as well as local, small/medium-scale seed companies, dominate the global vegetable seed trade. For most vegetable crops, only a few multinational seed corporations are controlling large part of the world market. This situation makes a growing part of the global vegetable supply dependent on a few seed providers. The multinational seed corporations ensued from merging some small or medium vegetable breeding programs to reduce costs. There may be fewer vegetable breeders in the future and growers will rely on seeds with a narrow genetic base. In order to meet future needs of vegetable breeders it is important that educational programs incorporate rapidly changing new technologies with classical content and methods. Active and positive connections between the private and public breeding sectors and large-scale gene banks are required to avoid a possible conflict involving breeders’ rights, gene preservation and erosion. Horticulturists will need to develop cultural practices and vegetable breeders to breed vegetables for a multifunctional horticulture (diversity, health promotion, post-harvest, year round suply, etc.) and to cope with harsher climate conditions and lower inputs than they have come to expect. Improved production systems that can cope with climate extremes must allow vegetables to produce under high temperatures, greater drought stress, increased soil salinity, and periodic flooding. This will involve a combination of improved vegetable cultivars and modified production systems.

Advances in Transgenic Vegetable and Fruit Breeding

Vegetables and fruits are grown worldwide and play an important role in human diets because they provide vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and phytochemicals. Vegetables and fruits are also associated with improvement of gastrointestinal health, good vision, and reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, chronic diseases such as diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Vegetable and fruit production suffers from many biotic stresses caused by pathogens, pests, and weeds and requires high amounts of plant protection products per hectare. United States vegetables farmers are benefiting from growing transgenic squash cultivars resistant to Zucchini yellow mosaic virus, Watermelon mosaic virus, and Cucumber mosaic virus, which were deregulated and commercialized since 1996. Bt-sweet corn has also proven effective for control of some lepidopteran species and continues to be accepted in the fresh market in the USA, and Bt-fresh-market sweet corn hybrids are released almost every year. Likewise, transgenic Bt-eggplant bred to reduce pesticide use is now grown by farmers in Bangladesh. Transgenic papaya cultivars carrying the coat-protein gene provide effective protection against Papaya ring spot virus elsewhere. The transgenic “Honey Sweet” plum cultivar provides an interesting germplasm source for Plum pox virus control. Enhanced host plant resistance to Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum, which causes the devastating banana Xanthomonas wilt in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, was achieved by plant genetic engineering. There are other vegetable and fruit crops in the pipeline that have been genetically modified to enhance their host plant resistance to insects and plant pathogens, to show herbicide tolerance, and to improve features such as slow ripening that extends the shelf-life of the produce. Consumers could benefit further from eating more nutritious transgenic vegetables and fruits. Transgenic plant breeding therefore provides genetically enhanced seed embedded technology that contributes to integrated pest management in horticulture by reducing pesticide sprays as well as improving food safety by minimizing pesticide residues. Furthermore, herbicide-tolerant transgenic crops can help reducing plough in fields, thereby saving fuel because of less tractor use, which also protects the structure of the soil by reducing its erosion. Transgenic vegetable and fruit crops could make important contributions to sustainable vegetable production and for more nutritious and healthy food. Countries vary, however, in their market standards of acceptance of transgenic crops. Biotechnology products will be successful if clear advantages and safety are demonstrated to both growers and consumers.

Species-specific biomass allometric models and expansion factors for indigenous and planted forests of the Mozambique highlands

Secondary Miombo woodlands and forest plantations occupy increasing areas in Mozambique,the former due to anthropogenic activities.Plantations,mainly species of Eucalyptus and Pinus,are being established on sites previously covered by secondary Miombo woodlands.This affects the evolution,cycle and spatiotemporal patterns of carbon(C)storage and stocks in forest ecosystems.The estimation of C storage,which is indispensable for formulating climate change policies on sequestrating CO_(2),requires tools such as biomass models and biomass conversion and expansion factors(BCEF).In Mozambique,these tools are needed for both indigenous forests and plantations.The objective of this study is to fit species-specific allometric biomass models and BCEF for exotic and indigenous tree species.To incorporate efficient inter-species variability,biomass equations were fitted using nonlinear mixed-effects models.All tree component biomass models had good predictability;however,better predictive accuracy and ability was observed for the 2-predictors biomass model with tree height as a second predictor.The majority of the variability in BCEF was explained by the variation in tree species.Miombo species had larger crown biomass per unit of stem diameter and stored larger amounts of biomass per stem volume.However,due to relatively rapid growth,larger stem diameters,heights,and stand density,the plantations stored more biomass per tree and per unit area.