The Institute for Crop and Food Research was formed in 1992 as a New Zealand-based biological science Crown Research Institute researching new knowledge in five main areas:It had an annual turnover of approximately $53 million (2006) and a staff of 370. Its research funding came from a mix of local and international industry and government sources, and its research spanned both fundamental and applied research.On 6 June 2003, a Piper Navajo Chieftain on a charter flight from Palmerston North to Christchurch crashed on approach to Christchurch Airport, killing the pilot and seven Crop and Food employees, and seriously injuring two others.On 1 December 2008, Crop & Food Research (company number 547965) merged with HortResearch to form New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research trading as Plant and Food Research.
The present research extended Llobell et al. (2025) [Fd. Qual. Pref., 10533] who introduced normalised error variance (ErrVarNorm; EVN) as an index of participant response consistency in Case 1 Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) (also known as MaxDiff). As EVN increases through its 0 to 1 range, response consistency and, in turn, the BWS data quality increase. This easy-to-calculate index was applied to online data collected from 4587 adults from the United Kingdom. The key findings included: 1) Researchers can establish a tolerance for post hoc exclusions (%) and calculate a corresponding EVN cut-off value; 2) Men aged 18-29 years old were most at risk of exclusion based on low EVN values; 3) Excluding participants with low EVN values changed BWS object scores and study conclusions; 4) EVN values were not strongly correlated with self-reported BWS task perceptions; and 5) EVN can be used as a general indicator of individual-level survey data quality. EVN = 0.5 was used as the threshold value for participant exclusions, but the results showed that this cut-off may need to be study-specific. Beyond further characterising the EVN index, the present research contributes to the discourse on data quality in online consumer research and advocates for the perspective that data quality exists on a continuum and that researchers are the ones who are primarily responsible for defining needed data quality levels in a focal study and then transparently disclosing steps taken to achieve this.
Phosphorus (P) fertilizer runoff provides a direct, rapid pathway to aquatic systems. Conventional assessments attribute about 25% of China’s water P pollution to this source, but often overlook retention in hierarchical water systems. Using an integrated framework combining a P runoff database, Structural Equation Modeling, and a Water Network-based Nutrient Prediction Framework, we reassessed this rapid-response component nationally. Annual fertilizer P loss via runoff totaled 21.66 Gg, with substantial in-stream removal (19.5% by lakes/reservoirs, 27.9% by rivers) before reaching coastal waters. After accounting for cascade retention, current-year fertilizer runoff contributed 7.3% to P concentrations in lakes/reservoirs and 10.1% in rivers—well below previous estimates. While our study excludes legacy P from historical applications, it suggests that the immediate water quality impact of current fertilizer use has been overestimated. Effective management should broaden its focus beyond fertilizer controls to encompass other sources, including accumulated soil P, while maintaining long-term fertilizer stewardship.
BackgroundSoil phosphorus (p) availability limits the native microbial activity, which then inhibits the petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation. Microbial communities harbouring the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) phoD gene (phoD-harboring bacteria community, hereafter) play the key roles in the regulation of P availability in soils. Nevertheless, the consequences of oil contamination on ALP activity and phoD-harboring bacterial community dynamics are poorly understood. It is necessary to assess phoD-harboring bacterial abundance, community diversity, and ALP activity in response to oil contamination. This information would be useful for formulating plans for future bioremediation processes.MethodsIn this study, we sampled the contaminated and uncontaminated soils in the area surrounding crude oil pumping wells at the Changqing oilfield. The Real-time Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to detect the abundance of phoD gene. The diversities and compositions of phoD-haboring microbial communities were illustrated via Illumina high-throughput sequencing. Coincident soil chemical properties (soil water content (SWC), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), total nitrogen (TN), soil organic carbon (SOC), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate (NO3--N), ammonium (NH4+-N), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), available phosphorus (AP)) and ALP activities were also quantified.ResultsWe observed that petroleum contamination markedly decreased the abundance, richness, and diversity of the phoD-harboring bacterial community but greatly enhanced the relative abundance of phoD-harboring Actinomycetia, Thermoleophilia, and Rubrobacteria (p < 0.05). The relative abundances of phoD-harboring Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, and Gammaproteobacteria showed an increasing tendency and then decreased as the oil contamination concentration increased (p < 0.05). The soil water, nutrient content [carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus], and nutrient ratio were the crucial parameters influencing the phoD-harboring bacterial community responding to oil contamination. The activity of ALP was associated positively and negatively with the relative abundance of Betaproteobacteria and Rubrobacteria, respectively.DiscussionOverall, the oil pollution stress altered the abundance, richness and composition of the active phoD-harboring functional microbial community. A significant decline in ALP activity in the oil-contaminated soils was likely caused by reduced abundance and changes in the composition of the phoD-harboring bacterial community, which were strongly dependent on the available N and P contents.
Single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) provides a powerful tool to profile cell-type-specific transcriptional programs in woody fruit trees. Yet its application in Malus domestica has been limited by heterogeneous reference genomes and the lack of validated marker genes. Here, we first established a comprehensive set of marker genes corresponding to 29 plant cell types and identified their orthologs in apple. Using these resources, we systematically evaluated six publicly available apple genome assemblies as references for snRNA-seq analysis. Our results demonstrate that reference genome selection has a major impact on mapping performance and downstream cell type annotation, with the GDDH13 assembly consistently producing the highest transcript counts per nucleus and the greatest number of identifiable transcriptional clusters (15 clusters representing 11 distinct cell types across 35,557 high-quality nuclei). To achieve robust cell type annotation, we integrated classical marker gene-based annotation with two cross-species computational frameworks — Orthologous Marker Gene Groups (OMGs) and XSpeciesSpanner. These three approaches enabled confident identification of 11 major cell types in apple seedlings and provided cross-validation for ambiguous or previously unannotated clusters. Pseudotime analysis reconstructed the developmental trajectories of both procambial and stomatal lineages, revealing their progressive transcriptional transitions and enabling the delineation of key molecular programs underlying vascular differentiation and early guard-cell formation. Together, this work provides a reference-quality single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas for apple and underlined the critical impact of genome choice and multi-method cell-type annotation on single-cell studies in non-model crops.
Diversifying aquaculture species is essential for building resilience in the face of climate change, particularly as warming oceans challenge existing production systems. In New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds, rising sea temperatures are making finfish (e.g. salmon) farming increasingly difficult, highlighting the need for climate-adapted alternatives. This study evaluated the aquaculture performance of growth-selected F4 versus unselected F1 Australasian snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) across two rearing environments: sea pens in the Marlborough Sounds and a land-based system in Nelson. approximate to 1000 F4 and 1000 F1 snapper were reared from 4 to 30 months of age in each system. At 30 months, selectively bred snapper showed improved growth-body length increased by 1.7% (land-based) and 4.8% (ocean-based) and body weight by 9.8% and 14.2%, respectively-compared with F1 snapper. Survival was also significantly higher, with selected snapper outperforming unselected snapper by 84.2% in the land-based and 60.8% in the ocean-based system. Mortality peaked in the first winter across both systems, with size-selective patterns in sea pens informing minimum stocking sizes. These findings offer important insights for refining husbandry and selective breeding practices. They are not only relevant for New Zealand but also for global aquaculture sectors seeking robust species suited to changing marine environments.
