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Border-row proportion determines strength of interspecific interactions and crop yields in maize/peanut strip intercropping
No full textStrip intercropping enables increases in yields and ecological services in agriculture. Crop yields of species grown in strip intercropping are often related to the yield responses (increases or decreases) in the outer rows of the strips: the border rows. This suggests that the yield response can be modulated by changing the proportion of border rows in the field. Here we studied the relationship between component species yields and proportion of border rows in strip intercrops of maize (Zea mays L.) and peanut (Arachis hypogaea Linn.). We tested four different intercrops with equal proportions of maize and peanut but a different number of rows per strip: M2P2 (2 rows maize intercropped with 2 rows peanut), M4P4, M6P6, M8P8, and sole maize (SM) and sole peanut (SP). The border-row proportions were 1, 0.5, 0.33 and 0.25 for the intercropping M2P2 to M8P8, respectively, and 0 for the pure stands. Yield responded positively to the proportion of border rows for maize, but negatively for peanut, confirming the dominance of maize in this system. Kernel number per ear of maize and pod number per plant of peanut were the main yield components that responded to the border-row proportion. Across three years, relative maize yield (yield in intercropping divided by yield in monoculture), varied from 0.76 in M2P2 to 0.56 in M8P8, while relative peanut yield varied from 0.19 in M2P2 to 0.39 in M8P8. Relative yield total was not significantly different from one in any of the mixtures. Yield of intercropped maize in border rows was 48% higher than in inner rows and the sole crop, in part due to a significantly higher kernel number per ear (13%). Yield of intercropped peanut in border rows was on average 29% lower than in inner rows and 48% lower than in sole peanut. Yield responses in border rows were independent from the border-row proportion. The results show that relative crop yields responded strongly to variation in border-row proportion resulting from variation in strip width from 1 to 4 m. Strip width thus provides a mechanism to control the strength of interspecific plant interactions and relative yields in strip intercropping.</p
Supporting data for 'Skill of large-scale seasonal drought impact forecasts'
No full textThis dataset was used to develop drought impact function using Log Regression and Random Forest approaches, which is presented in Sutanto et al. (2020): Skill of large-scale seasonal drought impact forecasts
Designing genetic impact assessment for crossbreeding with exotic beef breeds in mixed farming systems
No full textA genetic impact assessment (GIA) methodology is developed, consisting of consultation of stakeholders, identification of issues and assessment of associated indicators, for crossbreeding with exotic beef breeds in smallholder mixed farms. The GIA is implemented in two case studies of crossbreeding with Limousin and Simmental in Madura and Central Java, Indonesia. Consultation of stakeholders (n = 421) in focus group discussions yielded the issues that should be taken into account in a GIA. Farmers identified economic benefits, feed availability, cattle management, animal’s performances, additional functions of cattle, and health and fertility as issues. Policymakers mentioned the production of beef as the main issue while scientists called for environmental quality and maintaining local farm animal genetic resources as issues. Indicators to characterize these issues in a GIA were deducted from literature; determination of the indicators was based on data sampled on 97 farms, keeping local Madura or Limousin crossbreds, in Madura and 252 farms and keeping local Ongole or Simmental crossbreds, in Central Java. The GIA showed that crossbreeding contributes to increased meat production at the national level; however, it does not necessarily guarantee improvements in economic benefits at farm level nor environmental performances.</p
Recent Progress and Recommendations on Celiac Disease From the Working Group on Prolamin Analysis and Toxicity
No full textCeliac disease (CD) affects a growing number of individuals worldwide. To elucidate the causes for this increase, future multidisciplinary collaboration is key to understanding the interactions between immunoreactive components in gluten-containing cereals and the human gastrointestinal tract and immune system and to devise strategies for CD prevention and treatment beyond the gluten-free diet. During the last meetings, the Working Group on Prolamin Analysis and Toxicity (Prolamin Working Group, PWG) discussed recent progress in the field together with key stakeholders from celiac disease societies, academia, industry and regulatory bodies. Based on the current state of knowledge, this perspective from the PWG members provides recommendations regarding clinical, analytical and legal aspects of CD. The selected key topics that require future multidisciplinary collaborative efforts in the clinical field are to collect robust data on the increasing prevalence of CD, to evaluate what is special about gluten-specific T cells, to study their kinetics and transcriptomics and to put some attention to the identification of the environmental agents that facilitate the breaking of tolerance to gluten. In the field of gluten analysis, the key topics are the precise assessment of gluten immunoreactive components in wheat, rye and barley to understand how these are affected by genetic and environmental factors, the comparison of different methods for compliance monitoring of gluten-free products and the development of improved reference materials for gluten analysis.</p
Endocrine activities of phthalate alternatives; Assessing the safety profile of furan dicarboxylic acid esters using a panel of human cell based reporter gene assays
No full textFDCA esters are highly relevant biobased alternatives for currently used benzene dicarboxylic acid esters. Despite all the developments on 2,5-FDCA applications, to the best of our knowledge thus far no toxicological data were available for 2,5-FDCA esters. In the present study we aimed to fill this gap, by using an in vitro reporter gene assay approach to compare the activity profile of commonly used phthalates to that of their furan-based counterparts. The assay selection was aimed at the detection of endocrine activity, since several phthalates are heavily scrutinised for their endocrine disrupting properties. However, to avoid missing other relevant toxicological endpoints, several assays able to detect various forms of cellular stress were also included in the panel. The results showed that the (ortho)benzene dicarboxylic acid esters were predominantly active on several of the endocrine assays. In comparison, six of the seven furan dicarboxylic acid based diesters tested here showed no activity in any of the 13 assays used. Only the isobutyl derivative DIBF showed moderate estrogenic activity on one assay, compared to much more pronounced activities on four assays for the ortho-phthalate analogue. Overall, the results presented in this paper are a strong indication that 2,5-FDCA based diesters in general are not only technically viable alternatives to phthalates, but also offer significant toxicological benefits, which supports a non-regrettable substitution.</p
Exploring the prospects of engineered Newcastle disease virus in modern vaccinology
No full textMany traditional vaccines have proven to be incapable of controlling newly emerging infectious diseases. They have also achieved limited success in the fight against a variety of human cancers. Thus, innovative vaccine strategies are highly needed to overcome the global burden of these diseases. Advances in molecular biology and reverse genetics have completely restructured the concept of vaccinology, leading to the emergence of state-of-the-art technologies for vaccine design, development and delivery. Among these modern vaccine technologies are the recombinant viral vectored vaccines, which are known for their incredible specificity in antigen delivery as well as the induction of robust immune responses in the vaccinated hosts. Although a number of viruses have been used as vaccine vectors, genetically engineered Newcastle disease virus (NDV) possesses some useful attributes that make it a preferable candidate for vectoring vaccine antigens. Here, we review the molecular biology of NDV and discuss the reverse genetics approaches used to engineer the virus into an efficient vaccine vector. We then discuss the prospects of the engineered virus as an efficient vehicle of vaccines against cancer and several infectious diseases of man and animals.</p
Variation in parasitoid attraction to herbivore-infested plants and alternative host plant cover mediate tritrophic interactions at the landscape scale
No full textContext: Tritrophic interactions may be affected by local factors and the broader landscape context. At small spatial scales, carnivorous enemies of herbivorous insects use herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) to find herbivores, but it is unknown whether variation in plant attractiveness due to differential HIPV emission can enhance recruitment of carnivores from the wider landscape. Objectives: We studied whether parasitism of caterpillars of the butterfly Pieris brassicae on white cabbage was influenced by landscape composition and cover with brassicaceous species that provide hosts for parasitoids of P. brassicae in 19 landscapes in the Netherlands. We also investigated whether differential attraction of parasitoids to herbivore-infested plants affected parasitism of P. brassicae caterpillars by using different accessions as proxies for HIPV emission. Results: The cabbage accession that is highly attractive to parasitic wasps recruited more wasps than a less attractive accession, but only when parasitism rates were high. Parasitism rate as proxy of wasp recruitment correlated positively with the cover of brassicaceous plants and area of arable land, suggesting that these habitats support hosts for the wasps and their population growth. In contrast, forest area was negatively associated with parasitism rates. Conclusions: Our study shows that the degree of attractiveness of plants to parasitoids, which is probably mediated by HIPVs, can be a useful predictor of parasitism, but needs to be considered within the landscape context. To understand the strength of tritrophic interactions it is crucial to consider local-scale processes driven by plant-trait variation in combination with landscape-scale processes that determine carnivore abundance.</p
Genetic Variation in Caenorhabditis elegans Responses to Pathogenic Microbiota
No full textThe bacterivorous nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is an important model species for understanding genetic variation of complex traits. So far, most studies involve axenic laboratory settings using Escherichia coli as the sole bacterial species. Over the past decade, however, investigations into the genetic variation of responses to pathogenic microbiota have increasingly received attention. Quantitative genetic analyses have revealed detailed insight into loci, genetic variants, and pathways in C. elegans underlying interactions with bacteria, microsporidia, and viruses. As various quantitative genetic platforms and resources like C. elegans Natural Diversity Resource (CeNDR) and Worm Quantitative Trait Loci (WormQTL) have been developed, we anticipate that expanding C. elegans research along the lines of genetic variation will be a treasure trove for opening up new insights into genetic pathways and gene functionality of microbiota interactions. View Full-Tex
Response of metal-coordination-based polyelectrolyte complex micelles to added ligands and metals
No full textPolyelectrolyte complex based micelles have attracted significant attention due to their potential regarding bio-applications. Although the morphology and functions have been studied extensively, dynamic properties, particularly component exchange with other surrounding molecules, have remained elusive to date. Here, we show how micelles based on metal-ligand coordination complex coacervate-core micelles (M-C3Ms) respond to addition of extra ligand and metal ions. The micelles are prepared from a polycationic-neutral diblock copolymer and an anionic coordination polyelectrolyte, which is obtained by coordination between metal ions (lanthanides Ln3+ and Zn2+) and a bis-ligand (LEO) containing two dipicolinic acid (DPA) groups connected by a tetra-ethylene oxide spacer (4EO). Our findings show that the bis-ligand LEO is essential for the growth of coordination polymers and consequently the formation of micelles, leading to equilibrium structures with the same micellar composition and structure independent of the order of mixing. In other words, adding single DPA has no effect on the formed M-C3Ms. As for metal exchange, we find that added Zn2+ can replace some of the Ln3+ from Ln-C3Ms, leading to a hybrid coordination structure with both Ln3+ and Zn2+. We find that component exchange occurs in these coordination polyelectrolyte micelles, but it is more favorable in the direction of replacing the weak binding components with strong ones. Hence, the designed M-C3Ms based on the strong binding components, such as Ln-C3Ms, shall be relatively stable in biological surroundings, paving the way for the application of such particles as bio-imaging probes.</p