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Topic Review
Bioacoustic Detection of Wolves
Wolves (Canis lupus) are generally monitored by visual observations, camera traps, and DNA traces. However, several studies use acoustic devices to monitor wolves.
  • 821
  • 21 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Overcompensation: an Ideal Breeding Target?
The phenomenon of overcompensation has been reported in various plant species although it has been treated by some as isolated incidents with only limited values. Reviewing reports on the extensive studies of defoliation in maize showed that different genotypes respond differently to defoliation, varying from phenomenal increase to significant loss in grain yield. The different responses of maize in kernel yield among genotypes to defoliation are confirmed in our experiments conducted in both China and Australia.
  • 820
  • 11 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Soybean Resistance to Soybean Cyst Nematode
Plant pathogens greatly impact food security of the ever-growing human population. Breeding resistant crops is one of the most sustainable strategies to overcome the negative effects of these biotic stressors. In order to efficiently breed for resistant plants, the specific plant–pathogen interactions should be understood. Soybean is a short-day legume that is a staple in human food and animal feed due to its high nutritional content. Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) is a major soybean stressor infecting soybean worldwide including in China, Brazil, Argentina, USA and Canada. There are many Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) conferring resistance to SCN that have been identified; however, only two are widely used: rhg1 and Rhg4. Overuse of cultivars containing these QTLs/genes can lead to SCN resistance breakdown, necessitating the use of additional strategies.
  • 820
  • 04 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Exotic and Emergent Citrus Viruses
Authors focus on exotic and emerging dangerous citrus viruses that have still not been reported in the countries of the Mediterranean area, that are not yet regulated or that are restricted to certain small areas. They also discuss the contribution that old and new technologies may offer for valuable surveys aimed at promoting the adoption and sharing of better control measures and for the production of pathogen-tested citrus trees and rootstocks.
  • 819
  • 17 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Milk Somatic Cell Score
Mastitis is one of the most frequently encountered diseases in dairy cattle, negatively affecting animal welfare and milk production. For this reason, contributions to understanding its genomic architecture are of great interest. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified multiple loci associated with somatic cell score (SCS) and mastitis in cattle.
  • 818
  • 19 Oct 2021
Topic Review
New Genes in the Drosophila Y Chromosome
Y chromosomes play important roles in sex determination and male fertility. In several groups (e.g., mammals) there is strong evidence that they evolved through gene loss from a common X-Y ancestor, but in Drosophila the acquisition of new genes plays a major role. This conclusion came mostly from studies in two species.
  • 818
  • 29 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Clostridium perfringens Necrotic Enteritis B-like Toxin
Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a devastating enteric disease caused by Clostridium perfringens type A/G that impacts the global poultry industry by compromising the performance, health, and welfare of chickens. Coccidiosis is a major contributing factor to NE. Although NE pathogenesis was believed to be facilitated by α-toxin, a chromosome-encoded phospholipase C enzyme, studies have indicated that NE B-like (NetB) toxin, a plasmid-encoded pore-forming heptameric protein, is the primary virulence factor. Since the discovery of NetB toxin, the occurrence of NetB+ C. perfringens strains has been increasingly reported in NE-afflicted poultry flocks globally. It is generally accepted that NetB toxin is the primary virulent factor in NE pathogenesis although scientific evidence is emerging that suggests other toxins contribute to NE. Because of the complex nature of the host-pathogen interaction in NE pathogenesis, the interaction of NetB with other potential virulent factors of C. perfringens needs better characterization.
  • 818
  • 28 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Gut Microbiota and Osteoarthritis
Some say that all diseases begin in the gut. Interestingly, this concept is actually quite old, since it is attributed to the Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, who proposed the hypothesis nearly 2500 years ago. The continuous breakthroughs in modern medicine have transformed our classic understanding of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and human health. Although the gut microbiota (GMB) has proven to be a core component of human health under standard metabolic conditions, there is now also a strong link connecting the composition and function of the GMB to the development of numerous diseases, especially the ones of musculoskeletal nature. The symbiotic microbes that reside in the gastrointestinal tract are very sensitive to biochemical stimuli and may respond in many different ways depending on the nature of these biological signals. Certain variables such as nutrition and physical modulation can either enhance or disrupt the equilibrium between the various species of gut microbes.
  • 818
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Microwave Heating and Plasma for Biosecurity Applications
Microwave heating has been shown to rapidly heat and kill a wide range of pests and pathogens. Examples of microwave thermal disinfestation of soils, grains, hay, and timber are presented and discussed. Microwave energy can also ionize various gasses, including air, to create plasma. Plasmas are described by many characteristics, such as temperature, degree of ionization, and density. In the “after glow” (cold plasma) of a plasma discharge, there are sufficient charged particles and excited atoms to generate elevated UV levels and ionize the surfaces of objects.
  • 818
  • 22 Nov 2022
Topic Review
New sdRNA LBC Helper Virus from Killer Yeasts
The T. delbrueckii Kbarr2 killer strain contains two M killer viruses (Mbarr1 and M1) and a LBC virus (TdV-LBCbarr2), which has helper capability to maintain both M viruses. The genomes of TdV-LBCbarr1 and TdV-LBCbarr2 were characterized by high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Both RNA genomes share sequence identity and similar organization with their ScV-LBC counterparts. They contain all conserved motifs required for translation, packaging, and replication of viral RNA. Their Gag-Pol amino-acid sequences also contain the features required for cap-snatching and RNA polymerase activity. However, some of these motifs and features are similar to those of LA viruses, which may explain that at least TdV-LBCbarr2 has a helper ability to maintain M killer viruses. 
  • 817
  • 13 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Leptospira in Slaughtered Fattening Pigs in Southern Italy
Leptospirosis is a zoonosis occurring worldwide, caused by pathogenic spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira, transmitted through direct contact with the urine of infected animals or a urine-contaminated environment. It has a negative economic impact on farm animals, causing economic losses and serious human diseases and mortality.
  • 817
  • 17 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Choroidal Abnormalities in Pediatric NF1
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disease affecting approximately 1 in 2500–3000 individuals. Choroidal abnormalities (CAs) have recently been introduced as one of the criteria for the diagnosis of NF1. In NF1 pediatric patients, CAs change with time, increasing both in number and dimensions, independently from the physiological growth of the eye. While the increase of the CAs number occurs particularly at an earlier age, the increase in the CAs dimensions is a slow process that remains constant during childhood.
  • 817
  • 22 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Abiotic Stress
To achieve agricultural sustainability, it is critical to develop and nurture products that are tolerant to rising abiotic pressures caused by climate variability. Numerous abiotic and biotic stressors that constantly threaten plants have an impact on their outputs. Through intricate endogenous signalling networks and numerous modifications, the plant reacts to these stressors. Under these environmental circumstances, the plant’s output and reproductive success are determined by the interactions between these networks. Linseed, like other crops, if subjected to a variety of abiotic stresses, might have reduce yields.
  • 816
  • 27 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Listeria in Conventional and Alternative Egg Production Systems
Listeria continues to be a persistent foodborne pathogen that is responsible for human cases of listeriosis when contaminated food products are consumed. Human subjects considered to be most susceptible include the elderly, immunocompromised, and pregnant women. Listeria is characterized as a saprophytic organism with the capability of responding and adapting to constantly changing environments because it possesses multiple stress response mechanisms to overcome varying temperatures, salt concentrations, and pH, among others. Primary foods and food products associated with listeriosis include dairy products and ready-to-eat meats such as turkey products. Historically, chicken eggs have not been identified as a primary source of Listeria, but the potential for contamination during egg production and processing does exist. Listeria species have been isolated from egg-processing plant equipment and are presumed to occur in egg-processing plant environments. Whether Listeria is consistently disseminated onto eggs beyond the egg-processing plant is a risk factor that remains to be determined. 
  • 815
  • 29 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Cow With/Without Calving Assistance
There has been increased interest in the care and housing of cows with concerns for cow welfare given the increasing size of the average dairy herd across developed countries. Animal welfare concerns are commonly directed at farm animals, and in particular housed and more intensive production systems with large numbers of animals. With larger herds the expectation is often that each dairy stockperson will look after more animals as farms either seek to reduce labor costs or find it difficult to source skilled labor.
  • 814
  • 03 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Questionable Boundaries between Biological Disciplines
Recent and ongoing debates in biology and in the philosophy of biology reveal widespread dissatisfaction with the current definitions or circumscriptions, which are often vague or controversial, of key concepts such as the gene, individual, species, and homology, and even of whole disciplinary fields within the life sciences. To some extent, the long growing awareness of these conceptual issues and the contrasting views defended in their regard can be construed as a symptom of the need to revisit traditional unchallenged partitions between the specialist disciplines within the life sciences. I argue here that the current relationships between anchor disciplines (e.g., developmental biology, evolutionary biology, biology of reproduction) and nomadic concepts wandering between them is worth being explored from a reciprocal perspective, by selecting suitable anchor concepts around which disciplinary fields can flexibly move. Two examples are offered: a generalized anchor concept of generation that may suggests new perspectives on development and reproduction) and a species concept as unit of representation of biological diversity that may lead to a taxonomic pluralism to be managed with suitable adjustments of current nomenclature rules.
  • 813
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli in Broiler Breeders
Poultry meat is one of the major animal protein sources necessary to meet the global protein demand. Sustainability in broiler production is the key to achieving its continuous supply, and broiler breeders play a critical role in maintaining this sustainability by providing good quality chicks. Colibacillosis, the disease caused by avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), causes severe economic losses to the poultry industry globally. Moreover, APEC causes an additional burden among broiler breeders, such as a decrease in egg production and mortality among these birds. There is vertical transmission of APEC to the broiler chicks through eggs, resulting in increased first-week mortality and subsequent horizontal transmission at the hatchery. 
  • 811
  • 19 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Beef Cattle Metatarsal Growth Plate Lesions
Young beef bulls are predisposed to develop diseases of the growing skeleton, especially growth plate lesions. These lesions jeopardize both welfare and production, often leading to anticipated culling and reduced weight gain. However, beef cattle are prey animals and do not exhibit signs of pain and lameness until the disease becomes extensive and severe. Fast methods to screen for growth plate lesions' presence could lead to prompt treatment of the affected animals, enhancing recovery and diminishing losses.
  • 810
  • 19 Jan 2022
Topic Review
The Gut–Liver Axis of Boar Taint
The gut microbiome is a complex organ that is typically comprised of a couple hundred bacterial species expressing nearly 2 million different genes, which promote the biotransformation of xenobiotics and endogenous compounds and regulate the production of microbial metabolites in response to dietary, genetic, and environmental factors. Microbiota-derived compounds function as signaling molecules between different bacterial species to synchronize bacterial behaviours by altering the microbial population or the gene expression within the gut microbiome, which is known as quorum sensing. Gut-derived compounds also modulate metabolic pathways in the liver and intestines and act as ligands for nuclear receptors and other xenobiotic sensing transcription factors. In response, the liver produces bile to provide feedback to the gut microbiota and regulate further metabolite production. This bidirectional communication between the liver and the gut is referred to as the gut–liver axis and represents an important link between the gut microbiome and nuclear receptor signaling pathways.
  • 810
  • 13 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Herbivory in Rewilding
The vision of rewilding is to return ecosystems to a “natural” or “self-willed” state with trophic complexity, dispersal (and connectivity) and stochastic disturbance in place. The concept is gaining traction, particularly in Europe where significant land abandonment has taken place in recent years. However, in reality, the purest form of rewilding (Rewilding Max) is constrained by a number of context-specific factors whereby it may not be possible to restore the native species that form part of the trophic structure of the ecosystem if they are extinct (for example, mammoths, Mammuthus spp., aurochs, Bos taurus primigenius). In addition, populations/communities of native herbivores/predators may not be able to survive or be acceptable to the public in small scale rewilding projects close to areas of high human density or agricultural land. Therefore, the restoration of natural trophic complexity and disturbance regimes within rewilding projects requires careful consideration if the broader conservation needs of society are to be met. Here we highlight the importance of herbivory as a key factor in rewilding.
  • 809
  • 26 Mar 2021
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