Sixty eight adult ewes of Zel sheep breed were screened with forced PCR RFLP method for the detection of the FecB gene and its effects on litter size. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood of 68 Zel matured ewes with litter size varied from 1 to 2 lambs per ewe lambing. Digestion of the FecB gene (190 base pairs) with AvaII restriction enzyme resulted in none carrier 190 bp band wild type in...

Nutrient availability regulates the responses of high-latitude ecosystems to climate change but nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur biogeochemistry, especially, phosphorus and sulfur cycles, are poorly understood in Alpine tundra ecosystem. This study examines the cycling of nutrients in a 302-year-old Alpine tundra ecosystem in which litter has accumulated through compartment methods. Samples of t...

Fungal secretory peroxidases mediate fundamental ecological functions in the conversion and degradation of plant biomass. Many of these enzymes have strong oxidizing activities towards aromatic compounds and are involved in the degradation of plant cell wall (lignin) and humus. They comprise three major groups: class II peroxidases (including lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, versatile p...

The species composition of mesostigmatid mites in the soil and leaf litter was studied on the Szczeliniec Wielki plateau, which is spatially isolated from similar rocky habitats. A total of 1080 soil samples were taken from June 2004 to September 2005. The samples, including the organic horizon from the herb layer and litter from rock cracks, were collected using steel cylinders (area 40 cm2, d...

Two commercially available litter treatments, aluminum sulfate and sodium bisulfate, were tested to determine their effect on Campylobacter and Salmonella levels associated with commercial broilers during a 6-wk grow-out period. A total of 20 broiler houses at 10 different locations were studied; 5 aluminum sulfate-treated houses, 5 sodium bisulfate-treated houses, and 10 paired, untreated cont...

Peat bogs have historically represented exceptional carbon (C) sinks because of their extremely low decomposition rates and consequent accumulation of plant remnants as peat. Among the factors favoring that peat accumulation, a major role is played by the chemical quality of plant litter itself, which is poor in nutrients and characterized by polyphenols with a strong inhibitory effect on micro...

Respiration from coarse litter (trunks and large branches > 10 cm diameter) was studied in central Amazon forests. Respiration rates varied over almost two orders of magnitude (1.003–0.014 μg C g−1 C min−1, n = 61), and were significantly correlated with wood density (radj = 0.42), and moisture content (r 2 adj = 0.39). Additional samples taken from a nearby pasture indicated that wood moisture...

The ability to predict male fertility is of paramount importance for animal breeding industries and for human reproduction. Conventional semen analysis generally provides information on the quantitative parameters of spermatozoa, but yields no information concerning its functional competence. Proteomics have identified candidates for male fertility biomarkers, but no studies have clearly identi...

Maize (Zea mays L.) is an important crop among Brazilian smallholder farmers,who are also responsible for 40% of the poultry and egg production in the country.Although poultry litter is considered a potential pollutant, if properly stabilized anddistributed in the field it can be used as a source of nitrogen for maize production.In this study, the response of maize to mineral fertilizer and pou...

The forest litter and underlying mineral topsoil are typically sampled analyzed separately although they in a dynamic balance, which ensures macro- microelement cycling the ecosystem, including flux accumulation of xenobiotics contaminated sites. Although national legal regulations specify single limits element concentration for entire “topsoil” layer, irrespectively kind materials resting at e...