'Syrah' vine on different rootstocks in winter cycle in the south of Minas Gerais State, Brazil

The objective of this work was to evaluate rootstock influence on agronomical, ecophysiological and qualitative characteristics of 'Syrah' vines managed by double pruning. Grapevines were grafted onto 'SO4', '110 Richter' and '1103 Paulsen' rootstocks and trained in vertical shoot position, with no irrigation. Ecophysiological characteristics, yield and composition of ripe grapes were evaluated in three crop seasons (2007, 2008 and 2010). Rootstocks did not affect pre-dawn water potential, with values close to -0.2 MPa, indicating that there was no soil water deficit at the end of ripening (June). There was also no significant effect of rootstocks on yield. The rootstock '1103 Paulsen' induced lower vegetative growth, lower photosynthetic rate and the best results for berry maturation for crop seasons with lower amount of rainfall. The rootstocks '110 Richter' and 'SO4' showed higher vigor under the meteorological conditions of 2010 and the greatest photosynthetic rates in the same period. Meteorological conditions significantly affected technological and phenolic ripeness, with best results observed in drought years. The '1103 Paulsen' rootstock provides better balance between vigor and yield, increasing grape quality.

Molecular epidemiology of animal rabies in the semiarid region of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil

In the semiarid of the state of Paraíba, the anti-rabies vaccination is not common, most of the local inhabitants who deal with the animals do not know the incidence of the disease in the region. In this study, samples of foxes (Pseudalopex vetulus), insectivorous bats (Molossus molossus), raccoons (Procyon cancrivorous) and domestic animals brains were submitted to the diagnosis of rabies, by using the direct fluorescent antibody technique (d-FAT) and mouse inoculation test (MIT). Of the 581 examined materials, 50 (8.60 %) were positive for d-FAT and 47 (8.09 %) for MIT. From the positive samples for rabies, RNAs were extracted and transformed to cDNA, at the Laboratory of Rabies/Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia/USP, SP. The phylogenetic characterization of the N gene was performed at the Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Universidade Nihon, Faculdade de Ciências Bioresource, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japão. Based on the results of genotyping and phylogenetic analyzes, it is concluded that the epidemiology of rabies is complex in the semiarid of Paraíba, with different viral variants being maintained in domestic dogs, foxes, insectivorous bats and vampire bats. All the isolates examined belong to the genotype I of the genus Lyssavirus and it is possible to state that in the region, foxes are important sylvatic reservoirs of the rabies virus.