Farming Systems: Beyond Production Technologies for Dairy RD&E

The challenge of Research, Development and Extension (R,D&E) is to apply agricultural science to serve the real needs of production systems. The ideal is to have community partnerships involving a variety of stakeholders with equal representation, and a sharing in the design of R, D&E actions. R,D&E policy in Australia is stressing the participation of industry in new projects. The Dairy Research and Development Corporation (DRDC) in Australia, and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation for Dairy (Embrapa Dairy), have developed initiatives to identify priorities for R,D&E design with participation of the industry. However, weaknesses in the methods have been identified. The present study describes the results of a strategy to involve a broader range of stakeholders in the identification of regional dairy industry needs. The findings show that overall communication, finance and marketing as the three major priorities of three study regions, meaning that primary needs for the industry are not in production technologies. This is an apparent contradiction with what some stakeholders considered valuable for dairy farms, which are pasture, genetics and nutrition technologies. The results reflect the large amount of research activity into production technology, and the relative success of R,D&E. However, it is necessary to consider issues beyond production technologies before developing R,D&E projects or presenting technologies.

Socioeconomic causes of loss of animal genetic diversity: analysis and assessment

The proximate causes and processes involved in loss of breeds are outlined. The path-dependent effect and Swanson's dominance-effect are discussed in relation to lock-in of breed selection. These effects help to explain genetic erosion. It is shown that the extension of markets and economic globalisation have contributed significantly to the loss of breeds. The decoupling of animal husbandry from surrounding natural environmental conditions is further eroding the stock of genetic resources. Recent trends in animal husbandry raise serious sustainability issues, apart from animal welfare concerns. The extension of markets and economic globalisation have contributed significantly to the rapid loss of domestic breeds, especially livestock. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Managing woodlands for income maximisation in western Queensland, Australia: clearing for grazing versus timber production

Queensland, Australia, has a proud pastoral history; however, the private and social benefits of continued woodland clearing for pasture development are unlikely to be as pronounced as they had been in the past. The environmental benefits of tree retention in and regions of the State are now better appreciated and market opportunities have arisen for the unique timbers of western Queensland. A financial model is developed to facilitate a comparison of the private profitability of small-scale timber production from remnant Acacia woodlands against clearing for pasture development in the Mulga Lands and Desert Uplands bioregions of western Queensland. Four small-scale timber production scenarios, which differ in target markets and the extent of processing (value-adding), are explored within the model. Each scenario is examined for the cases where property rights to the timber are vested with the timber processor, and where royalties are payable. For both cases of resource ownership, at least one scenario generates positive returns from timber production, and exceeds the net farm income per hectare for an average grazing property in the study regions over the period 1989-1990 to 2000-2001. The net present value per hectare of selectively harvesting and processing high-value clearwood from remnant western Queensland woodlands is found to be greater than clearing for grazing. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

L-arginine-dependent nitric oxide production of a murine macrophage-like RAW 264.7 cell line stimulated with Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide

The aim of this study was to determine nitric oxide (NO) production of a murine macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7 cells) when stimulated with Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharides (Pg-LPS). RAW264.7 cells were incubated with i) various concentrations of Pg-LPS or Salmonella typhosa LPS (St-LPS), ii) Pg-LPS with or without L-arginine and/or N-G-monomethyl-L-arginine (NMMA), an arginine analog or iii) Pg-LPS and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) with or without anti-IFN-gamma antibodies or interleukin-10 (IL-10). Tissue culture supernatants were assayed for NO levels after 24 h in culture. NO was not observed in tissue culture supernatants of RAW 264.7 cells following stimulation with Pg-LPS, but was observed after stimulation with St-LPS. Exogenous L-arginine restored the ability of Pg-LPS to induce NO production; however, the increase in NO levels of cells stimulated with Pg-LPS with exogenous L-arginine was abolished by NMMA. IFN-gamma induced independent NO production by Pg-LPS-stimulated macrophages and this stimulatory effect of IFN-gamma could be completely suppressed by anti-IFN-gamma antibodies and IL-10. These results suggest that Pg-LPS is able to stimulate NO production in the RAW264.7 macrophage cell model in an L-arginine-dependent mechanism which is itself independent of the action of IFN-gamma.

Comparative proteomic analysis of GS-NSO murine myeloma cell lines with varying recombinant monoclonal antibody production rate

We have employed an inverse engineering strategy based on quantitative proteome analysis to identify changes in intracellular protein abundance that correlate with increased specific recombinant monoclonal antibody production (qMab) by engineered murine myeloma (NSO) cells. Four homogeneous NSO cell lines differing in qMab were isolated from a pool of primary transfectants. The proteome of each stably transfected cell line was analyzed at mid-exponential growth phase by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and individual protein spot volume data derived from digitized gel images were compared statistically. To identify changes in protein abundance associated with qMab clatasets were screened for proteins that exhibited either a linear correlation with cell line qMab or a conserved change in abundance specific only to the cell line with highest qMab. Several proteins with altered abundance were identified by mass spectrometry. Proteins exhibiting a significant increase in abundance with increasing qMab included molecular chaperones known to interact directly with nascent immunoglobulins during their folding and assembly (e.g., BiP, endoplasmin, protein disulfide isomerase). 2D-PAGE analysis showed that in all cell lines Mab light chain was more abundant than heavy chain, indicating that this is a likely prerequisite for efficient Mab production. In summary, these data reveal both the adaptive responses and molecular mechanisms enabling mammalian cells in culture to achieve high-level recombinant monoclonal antibody production. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.