Evaluation of Ethiopian maize cultivars for resistance to Fusarium verticillioides and fumonisin accumulation

The objective of this study was to find sources of resistance to Fusarium ear rot and fumonisin accumulation in maize germplasm. Totally 15 maize cultivars were evaluated by means of silk channel inoculation using a fumonisin producing F. verticillioides isolate in field trials during 2013 and 2014 cropping seasons. Fusarium ear rot severity was determined at harvest, and fumonisin content was quantified using competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The percentage of infected kernels per maize ear after inoculation, ranged from 5% to 60% in 2013 and from 3% to 40% in 2014. Fumonisin accumulation in maize cultivars ranged from 2700 to 76300 µg/kg in 2013 and from 1800 to 52700 µg/kg in 2014. Maize cultivars Berihu, Melkassa-2, Melkassa-7, Melkassa-4, BHQP542 and MHQ-138 showed low level of ear rot (3.9% to 22.9%) and total fumonisins (2300 to 17300 µg/kg) across the two years experiment. Cultivars that had low disease severity are useful in breeding programs aiming at developing cultivars resistance to fumonisin accumulation

Detection of total fumonisins produced by Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc) isolates from maize kernels in Ethiopia

Fusarium verticillioides is the most common fungal pathogen of maize in Ethiopia. Many strains of this pathogen produce fumonisin myotoxins that are harmful to human and animal health. This study was conducted to determine the fumonisin-producing ability of isolates of F. verticillioides isolated from maize kernels collected from different maize- growing areas of the country. Eighty F. verticillioides isolates were grown on autoclaved maize cultures for one month, and the fumonisin content was quantified using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). All the 80 isolates evaluated were able to produce detectable levels of total fumonisins in the maize culture with values ranging from 0.25 to 38.01 mg of the toxin per kg of culture material (fungal biomass and maize kernels). The mean levels of total fumonisins produced by the F. verticillioides isolates were not significantly (p>0.05) different among maize growing areas, however, the total fumonisins levels produced by isolates obtained from the same area as well as agroecological zones were wide-ranging. The results indicate that the majority (57.5%) of the F. verticillioides isolates associated with maize grains in Ethiopia produced total fumonisins >4 mg/kg, while 35% of the isolates produced total fumonisins <2 mg/kg. The widespread occurrence of higher fumonisin-producing strains across all maize-growing areas in Ethiopia indicates a possible food safety risk. Thus, efforts should be made to prevent the spread of this fungus with good agronomic practices and to implore all possible ways to avoid maize contamination with fumonisin both in the field and in storage.publishedVersio

New findings of snow mold fungi from Greenland

Three species of snow mold fungi, Myriosclerotinia borealis (syn. Sclerotinia borealis), Typhula incarnata and T. ishikariensis (syn. T. borealis), were collected from Nuuk, Sisimiut, Ammassalik and Kulusuk in Greenland. Myriosclerotinia borealis and T. incarnata are new records from Greenland. Some isolates of T. ishikariensis were collected from Nuuk and Ammassalik and all isolates from Sisimiut showed irregular growth as hyphal extensions at 10°C in potato dextrose agar plates. These physiological characteristics of some isolates from Greenland are similar to those of psychrotrophisolates (group III strains) from Finnmark, northernmost Norway and Svalbard

Changing Cultural Conditions for Knowledge Sharing in the Teaching Profession: A Theoretical Reinterpretation of Findings Across Three Research Projects

How professionalism relates to developments in society has been widely discussed, and concepts such as “hybrid” and “connective” professionalism have been proposed to account for the way professionals interact with a range of actors and organisations beyond the professional realm. However, the critical role of knowledge-sharing practices for developing and maintaining professionalism has attracted less attention. Such practices have been conditioned by wider cultural dynamics, thus subjected to changes over time. In this paper, we present a theoretical reinterpretation of findings from three projects targeting knowledge-sharing practices in the Norwegian teaching profession over 14 years. We employ Knorr Cetina’s theory of epistemic cultures as nourished by the wider knowledge culture in society to analyse how changes in knowledge-sharing practices relate to cultural conditions. The paper contributes to current debates about professionalism by highlighting how connectivity and legitimacy depend on productive knowledge relations within and beyond professional boundaries

Taxonomic revision of the Typhula ishikariensis complex

publishedVersio

Pathogenicity, host specificity and genetic diversity in Norwegian isolates of Microdochium nivale and Microdochium majus

Microdochium majus and Microdochium nivale cause serious disease problems in grasses and cereal crops in the temperate regions. Both fungi can infect the plants during winter (causing pink snow mould) as well as under cool humid conditions during spring and fall. We conducted a pathogenicity test of 15 M. nivale isolates and two M. majus isolates from Norway at low temperature on four different grass cultivars of Lolium perenne and Festulolium hybrids. Significant differences between M. nivale isolates in the ability to cause pink snow mould were detected. The M. nivale strains originally isolated from grasses were more pathogenic than isolates from cereals. The genetic diversity of M. nivale and M. majus isolates was studied by sequencing four genetic regions; Elongation factor-1 alpha (EF-1α), β-tubulin, RNA polymerase II (RPB2) and the Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS). Phylogenetic trees based on the sequences of these four genetic regions resolved M. nivale and M. majus isolates into separate clades. Higher genetic diversity was found among M. nivale isolates than among M. majus isolates. M. nivale isolates revealed genetic differences related to different host plants (grasses vs. cereals) and different geographic regions (Norway and UK vs. North America). Sequence results from the RPB2 and β-tubulin genes were more informative than those from ITS and EF-1α. The genetic and phenotypic differences detected between Norwegian M. nivale isolates from cereals and grasses support the assumption that host specialization exist within M. nivale isolates.publishedVersio

NMBUs satsing på bærekraftsarenaer: En kvalitativ evaluering

Dette arbeidsnotatet presenterer en evaluering av NMBUs bærekraftsarenaer. Hensikten med arenaene er å knytte sammen forskning, utdanning og innovasjon og tilby forskningsmiljøene tid og rom for samarbeid og utvikling av nye konstellasjoner, og med det være et ledd i NMBUs intensjon om å gjøre bærekraft til en kjerneaktivitet ved universitetet

Assessment of Quarantine Pest Dispersal from Norwegian Potato and Root Vegetable Packing Plants with Evaluation of Risk Reducing Options. Opinion of the Panel on Plant Health of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food and Environment

publishedVersio

Knowledge base for the assessment of environmental risks by the use of genetically modified virus-vectored vaccines for domesticated animals. Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Microbial Ecology of the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety

publishedVersio