ABSTRACT. Genetic disorders in Holstein cattle are a health problem that has grown worldwide in recent years, compromising the sustainability of modern dairy production. In Uruguay, Holstein-based milk production is one of the most important sectors of the country?s economy, but high levels of inbreeding have decreased the breed?s fertility in recent decades. This study investigated the presence and diffusion of lethal and semi-lethal alleles causing embryo death, abortions, fetal malformations, and neonatal diseases in Holstein calves. Using the GeneSeek® Genomic Profiler?

ABSTRACT. Drought stress is one of the most important factors limiting soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] productivity and reducing yield stability. Soybean breeders need phenotypic and genotypic tools to improve drought stress tolerance, but most of available strategies are expensive and unaffordable for small-scale public breeding programs. In this study, elite germplasm of a locally adapted breeding population was used to estimate a yield stability index as an indicator of drought response.

ABSTRACT. Campylobacter hyointestinalis is an emerging pathogen currently divided in two subspecies:C. hyointestinalis subsp. lawsonii which is predominantly recovered from pigs, and C. hyointestinalis subsp. hyointestinalis which can be found in a much wider range of mammalian hosts. Despite C. hyointestinalis being reported as an emerging pathogen, its evolutionary and host-associated diversification patterns are still vastly unexplored. For this reason, we generated whole-genome sequences of 13 C. hyointestinalis subsp.

ABSTRACT Phosphorus deficiency can be a major limitation to legume growth when plant nitrogen nutrition depends on symbiotic nitrogen fixation. One possible approach to overcome this constraint is the selection of plant and rhizobial genotypes capable of metabolizing complex forms of phosphorus in the nodules. The aim of this research was to study the rhizobial phytase transcript abundance in nodules of two soybean cultivars (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) grown under two different phosphorus conditions in hydroaeroponic conditions.

ABSTRACT. Conventional tillage and mineral fertilization (CTMF) jeopardize soil health in conventional vegetable production systems. Using a field experiment established in Uruguay in 2012, we aimed to compare the soil restoration potential of organic fertilization (compost and poultry manure) combined with conventional tillage and cover crop incorporated into the soil (CTOF) or with reduced tillage and the use of cover crop as mulch (RTOF).

ABSTRACT - Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) is a widely used method for transcript abundance analyses in plants. Relative quantification by qRT-PCR requires the use of a stably expressed reference gene. There are many ?housekeeping? genes reported in different plant species that are used as reference genes. However, it is important that the steady-state mRNA levels of these housekeeping genes are confirmed across different conditions and tissues in each species studied.

RESUMEN. El síndrome de braquiespina es una condición genética de la raza Holstein, detectada en el año 2006. Es causado por una deleción de 3.3 Kb en el gen FANCI localizado en el cromosoma bovino 21. La mutación fue identificada en poblaciones de Holstein de Europa, América del Norte y Asia. Dada la importancia económica del defecto y su amplia distribución mundial, el objetivo de este trabajo ha sido la identificación de animales portadores en el núcleo de selección genética de la raza en Uruguay y el diagnóstico molecular del alelo deletéreo en animales del rodeo nacional.

Abstract. Pear is one of the most important temperate fruit crops. Uruguay aims at producing pears of high quality to reach regional markets as well as those of the Northern Hemisphere. Nevertheless, local climate variability and soil conditions frequently pose sanitary challenges for pear production, mainly in the south of the country, where the major pear producing area is located.

Abstract: Pear flower bud necrosis (PFBN) has been observed in Uruguayan orchards affecting the productivity of the trees. Severity of the problem is highly variable across years and despite the fact that it is observed in several countries, the etiology of the disease is not always clear. To elucidate the cause of PFBN, different activities were implemented over several years:surveys of pear orchards to quantify PFBN severity, morphological and histological studies of diseased buds, and isolation of potential pathogenic microorganisms from affected tissues.

Abstract. A selection of 11 microsatellite markers (SSRs) reported for fingerprinting germplasm collections of Pyrus spp. was used to genotype a collection of cultivars and rootstocks. This set of markers included the "minimum core" established by Evans et al. (2009). Cultivars with known origin ('Williams', 'Abbé Fétel' and 'Doyenné du Comice') were included as reference accessions. The comparison was performed among 44 accessions collected from old pear plantations with different commercial origins and date of introduction to the country.