Swine erysipelas, clinical diagnosis and medical management: cases in farm near the city of Lubumbashi

The general objective of our work was to diagnose swine erysipelas, treat infected pigs and determine the prevalence of this pathology on the farm near the city of Lubumbashi. It is located 30 km from the city of Lubumbashi, on the axis of the Kasenga road, to the east of the Haut-Katanga Province. This disease plays a key role in perpetuating the downfall of pig farms. That’s why we asked ourselves the following questions: · What would be the categories of pigs most affected by this disease? · What would be the level of information for breeders and the risk of infection? · At what rate would the losses be assessed on the farms examined? This work concerns a farm that experienced swine fever a year earlier and whose pigs were not vaccinated against erysipelas. This disease is a major cause of death in pigs. The prospective method in clinical diagnosis and care was applied to 98 pigs from 4 zootechnical categories, namely piglets, sows, castrated males and boars. The data collected in this study revealed a prevalence of 81.6% with a mortality rate of 61.2% and a cure rate of 20.4%. Only 18.4% of pigs were not affected by the disease. The study carried out, involved 98 pigs of different categories including 37 piglets, 35 sows, 6 boars and 20 castrated. These pigs were of exotic Land race, large white, Piétrain and Duroc. There are also hybrid pigs. We concluded that the results obtained in our research on swine erysipelas concern 98 study animals divided into 4 zootechnical categories. It appeared 80 pigs or 81.6% were struck by erysipelas and only 18 or 18.4% had remained healthy. The infection rate was thus 81.6%.

Unravelling genetic variability for moisture stress tolerance in Indian mustard and identification of high breeding value donor lines

Aim: Identification of high breeding value donor lines harbouring tolerance to moisture stress from diversity stock of 443 genotypes of Brassica juncea. Methodology: Germplasm stock of 443 Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) genotypes, comprising introgression lines, land races, old cultivars and advance breeding lines, were evaluated under two environments viz., irrigated and rainfed conditions to check the variability for yield and related traits. Statistical software META-Rver 6.0 (Multi Environment Trial Analysis using R) was used for computation of Best Linear Unbiased Predictions, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Genetic Correlations and Heritability. Drought susceptibility index and per cent seed yield reduction under rainfed conditions were used as indicators to determine moisture stress tolerance in genotypes. Results: The variability for moisture stress tolerance has been unravelled in a diverse genetic stock of Brassica juncea under two environments: irrigated and rainfed. For high prediction accuracy, the ranking of genotypes was done based on Best Linear Unbiased Predictions for seed yield and its component traits. PBR-378, RGN-329, RB-73, RB-50 and PBR-422 and Giriraj were identified as moisture stress tolerant genotypes. One land race Sahib 36 and three introgression lines viz., MCP 12-211, PTJ-3-69 and MSC-3 have also been identified as potential genetic resources for moisture stress tolerance. Principal component analysis based on biplots depicted specific distribution of variables for each environment. Interpretation: This study led to the identification of potential donors for moisture stress tolerance with high predictive accuracy. Low drought susceptibility index and high breeding value in a land race and three introgression lines derived from Erucastrum cardaminoides, B. tournefortii and B. carinata emphasized their utilization as potential genetic resources to breed for moisture stress tolerance in B. juncea.

Adoption of potato varieties in West and Kellem Wollega Zones, Ethiopia

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the possible food security crops which provide high yield and quality product in short period of time. Due to the lack of clearly known best varieties of it, its adoption to farmers is very less. The present study was conducted to assess the type of potato farmers prefer, adoption of released potato varieties and its management practices in west and Kellem Wollega Zones, Ethiopia. Survey was carried out in Ayira, Yubdo, Hawa Gelan, Dale Wabara and Dale Sadi woreda where four kebeles were purposively selected based on the potato farming potential. Open and close ended interview questions were generated for 384 selected representative farmers. Data was analyzed by SPSS software. The result showed that, 97.6% of the farmers have willing to farm potato. 47.3% and 22.7% of them experienced to farm local potato (land race) and released potato varieties, respectively. Farmers use landrace potato due to less awareness to released potato and accessibility of local potato. 70.1% of farmers responded there is no adoption of released potato in the area. Factors hindering potato farming in the study area are potato disease and lack of released potato. The least method used by farmers is use of resistant potato. Generally, there is scarcity of released potato seeds indicating that there is no its adoption in the study site. This problem is enforcing farmers to use local potato varieties which may not resist above stated hindering factors and make farmers to face food insecurity problems and economic reduction. Therefore, improving locally existing potato or attracting the improved potato varieties from elsewhere to the zones may be a solution of its adoption.

From Native Sovereignty to an Oilman’s State: Land, Race, and Petroleum in Indian Territory and Oklahoma

During the first two decades of the twentieth century, Indian Territory and the State of Oklahoma experienced one of the world’s largest petroleum booms, with much of the oil extracted from the territory and state produced on land owned by Indigenous, Black, and mixed-race peoples. White settlers, backed by governing institutions and cultures rooted in settler colonialism, anti-Black racism, and anti-monopolism, struggled to seize control of oil-rich land amid the allotment of Native-owned property. These latter elements insisted that non-whites could not grasp the value of petroleum nor be trusted with the control of such a vital resource, especially in the shadow of ever-looming oil monopolies. Settlers and wildcat prospectors built a white-supremacist oil-field politics that elevated the rights of small-scale, proprietary "independent" oilmen and worked to ensure that the latter controlled flows of crude vis-à-vis non-white property holders and “outside” corporations. For white settlers in Indian Territory and Oklahoma, oil rose to the top of collective imaginaries about race, property, and wealth, encouraging the creation of both legal and often violent extralegal strategies for dispossessing unworthy landowners of their hydrocarbon inheritance.

Development of chloroplast microsatellite markers in Capsicum: Insight into evolution of Bhut Jolokia - a clad of ghost chilli landraces

In the present study, a total of 27 chloroplast specific SSRs (CpSSR) have been identified in the chloroplast genome of Capsicum annum L. The frequency of the SSRs was about one in 5.7 kb of the chloroplast genome. Out of 27 SSRs, 26 were mono-nucleotide repeats of A/T and one was a trinucleotide repeat (TTA). Further a set of seven markers were validated by genotyping 48 capsicum accessions comprising of cultivars from five different species and landraces of unknown identity. The seven SSR markers generated a total of 27 alleles among 48 samples used in this study. The size of the amplicons varied from 161 bp (CaCpM22 and 26) to 339 bp (CaCpM06). The polymorphic information content (PIC) value for the set of the primers used ranged from 0.11 to 0.48 with an average of 0.33. The number of alleles for markers ranged from three to six with an average of 3.28 alleles per marker. The phylogenetic analysis of the chilly accessions showed that the Bhut jolokia land race is clustered along with the C. frutescence indicating the it’s probable parentage. The chloroplast genome based SSR markers identified in the present study can be further used for the marker-assisted genomic studies

Biosynthesis of Steroidal Alkaloids Are Coordinately Regulated and Differ Among Tomatoes in the Red-Fruited Clade

Background/rationale: We quantitatively profiled and genotyped two tomato populations representing diversity in the red-fruited clade to address the lack of knowledge regarding the chemical diversity, concentration, and genetic architecture controlling tomato steroidal alkaloids. Methods: We grew 107 genetically diverse fresh market, processing, land-race, and wild tomatoes in multiple environments. Nine steroidal alkaloids were quantified using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The diversity panel and a biparental population segregating for high alpha-tomatine, were genotyped to identify and validate quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with steroidal alkaloids. Results: Land-races and wild material exhibited higher alkaloid concentrations and more chemical diversity. Average total content of steroidal alkaloids, often dominated by lycoperoside F/G/esculeoside A, ranged from 1.9 to 23.3 mg/100 g fresh weight across accessions. Land-race and wild cherry accessions distinctly clustered based on elevated early or late steroidal alkaloid concentrations. Significant correlations were observed among early and late steroidal alkaloids in a species-dependent manner. A QTL controlling multiple, early steroidal alkaloid pathway intermediates on chromosome 3 was identified by genome wide association (GWAS) and validated in a backcross population. Conclusions: Tomato steroidal alkaloids are diverse in the red-fruited tomato clade and their biosynthesis is regulated in a coordinated manner.

Correlation of expressional pattern of Ubiquitin activating gene with grain Fe content in rice

Ubiquitin, ubiquitin-activating enzyme (E1), ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2), ubiquitin ligases (E3) and 26S proteasome are the significant components of the ubiquitination process. The expression level of ubiquitin activating (UBA) gene was evaluated in 18 genotypes with differential grain iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) (including landraces, high yielding and released biofortified varieties) at panicle initiation stage. The relative expression of the UBA gene was analysed with three yield checks- BPT 5204, MTU 1010 and Swarna and the highest gene expression level were found in land race Kalanamak followed by Jalpriya and Taroari Basmati.Significant positive correlation of expression of the UBA gene with grain Fe content suggests the possible role of ubiquitin activating enzymes in addition to the reported ubiquitin-conjugating and ligases in Fe homeostasis. The understanding of ubiquitination regulated nutrient transport mechanism is yet to be explored hence, more in-depth studies in future may provide better insight to understand the role of ubiquitination in nutrient homeostasis and develop better strategies for biofortification.