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Heat stress can seriously reduce the tuber yield of potato (Solanum tuberosum). Early maturing cultivars are usually less affected by heat than late cultivars, which is explained by the avoidance of long exposure to summer temperatures due to the short growing time of early maturing cultivars. To determine whether there are other mechanisms involved in heat tolerance of early cultivars, we conducted correlation analysis between field earliness and growth performance of 50 potato cultivars under both heat-stressed (HS, day/night 35 °C/28 °C) and control conditions (CK, day/night 22 °C/18 °C). We classified the 50 cultivars into 8 scales of earliness and grouped them into early, intermediate and late groups based on the information on field plant maturity in Canada. We found that cultivars known to be early in the field grew similar to late cultivars under heat stress in the greenhouse in terms of traits evaluated, such as chlorophyll content and plant height. Compared with late cultivars, the early cultivars did not show any sign of early maturity under heat stress conditions. The HS/CK ratios of chlorophyll content, plant height, and largest tuber weight (tuber size) were all significantly greater in early cultivars than in late cultivars. Tuber size and field earliness were negatively correlated in CK but positively correlated under heat stress. Clearly, in addition to avoidance, other mechanisms (such as pleiotropic effects of earliness genes) were involved in the better performance of early cultivars under heat stress. These results indicated that the cultivars reprogramed their plant maturity and development under heat stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) has gained wide popularity in the detection of Salmonella in foods owing to its simplicity, rapidity, and robustness. This multi-laboratory validation (MLV) study aimed to validate a Salmonella LAMP-based method against the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) Chapter 5 Salmonella reference method in a representative animal food matrix (dry dog food). Fourteen independent collaborators from seven laboratories in the United States and Canada participated in the study. Each collaborator received two sets of 24 blind-coded dry dog food samples (eight uninoculated; eight inoculated at a low level, 0.65 MPN/25 g; and eight inoculated at a high level, 3.01 MPN/25 g) and initiated the testing on the same day. The MLV study used an unpaired design where different test portions were analyzed by the LAMP and BAM methods using different preenrichment protocols (buffered peptone water for LAMP and lactose broth for BAM). All LAMP samples were confirmed by culture using the BAM method. BAM samples were also tested by LAMP following lactose broth preenrichment (paired samples). Statistical analysis was carried out by the probability of detection (POD) per AOAC guidelines and by a random intercept logistic regression model. Overall, no significant differences in POD between the Salmonella LAMP and BAM methods were observed with either unpaired or paired samples, indicating the methods were comparable. LAMP testing following preenrichment in buffered peptone water or lactose broth also resulted in insignificant POD differences (P > 0.05). The MLV study strongly supports the utility and applicability of this rapid and reliable LAMP method in routine regulatory screening of Salmonella in animal food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]