Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of stem diameter on European corn borer behavior and survival: potential consequences for IRM in Bt‐corn

The ability of non‐crop plants to support complete development of insect pests is an important factor for determining the impact of those plants on resistance management programs for transgenic crops. We assessed the effect of one physical factor, plant stem diameter, on the ability of plants to support full development of the European corn borer (ECB), Ostrinia nubilalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), the target pest of transgenic Bt‐corn. In the field, European corn borer larvae were significantly more likely to tunnel and survive in plants with larger stem diameters. Larvae were 40× more likely to survive on corn, the largest plant tested, compared to many of the smaller plants. In the laboratory, larvae were more likely to survive in and less likely to abandon the largest diet‐filled artificial stems that varied only in stem diameter. In conditions simulating those that an ECB larvae would encounter upon abandoning a host, larvae survived up to three weeks and were able to locate corn as a new host with a significantly higher frequency than would be expected if they were foraging randomly. These results indicate that the probability of ECB larval survival to maturity on a plant other than corn is relatively low and thus these smaller stemmed non‐corn plants may not make a substantial contribution to the pool of susceptible adults. Conversely, since more mature larvae are not as susceptible as neonates, any larvae that partially develop on non‐corn plants and subsequently colonize Bt‐corn may not be exposed to a lethal dose of the toxin. Since some proportion of the individuals that survive could be partially resistant heterozygotes the presence of non‐corn host plants could facilitate the development of resistant ECB populations.
Characteristics of the salt-soluble fraction of hake (Merluccius merluccius) fillets stored at -20 and -30°C

Natural actomyosin (NAM) extracted in 0.6 M NaCl from hake fillets stored at -20 and -30 degrees C for up to 49 weeks was studied. The extracted protein decreased as storage progressed and became poorer in myosin while the proportion of actin remained constant. Two major peaks composed of myosin plus actin and actin plus tropomyosin plus troponins were obtained by size exclusion chromatography. SDS-PAGE analysis of the protein retained in the precolumn filter showed that there was protein aggregated by covalent bonding. Surface hydrophobicity increased while Ca(2+)-ATPase activity, apparent viscosity, and SH groups decreased as storage progressed. The loss of Ca(2+)-ATPase activity was due mainly to denaturation of the extracted myosin, whereas the minimum viscosity values occurred earlier and were not directly due to the lower proportion of myosin in the extracts. Thus, the extracted NAM exhibited changes during frozen storage. The temperature-dependent difference was mainly quantitative due to a smaller amount of protein extracted at -20 degrees C.
Monoclonal antibodies for the detection and differentiation of faba bean necrotic yellows virus isolates

Summary Murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were produced for the detection of faba bean necrotic yellows virus (FBNYV), an isometric ssDNA virus belonging to a new, yet unnamed genus of plant viruses. A total of 19 FBNYV-specific MAbs were obtained from three fusion experiments and characterised by determining their immunoglobulin types and titres as well as their corresponding epitopes. At least six distinct epitopes were revealed on FBNYV particles of different virus isolates. Only two MAbs reacted with SDS-dissociated FBNYV virions in triple antibody sandwich (TAS)-ELISA and with viral capsid protein in Western blots. Almost all MAbs were more sensitive in detecting FBNYV in viruliferous aphids by TAS-ELISA than polyclonal anti-FBNYV IgG by double antibody sandwich ELISA and permitted virus detection in individual aphids even following short acquisition access feeding periods. Coat protein variation among FBNYV isolates and serological relatedness to taxonomically similar viruses was studied by determining the cross reactivity of these MAbs with several field isolates of FBNYV as well as with milk vetch dwarf (MDV), banana bunchy top (BBTV), and subterranean clover stunt (SCSV) viruses. Whereas none of the MAbs reacted with BBTV, only one reacted with SCSV, indicating that FBNYV and SCSV share a common epitope. By contrast, 16 of the 19 MAbs reacted with MDV, suggesting that FBNYV and MDV are serologically closely related and strains of the same virus. When all 19 MAbs produced were tested against a total of 107 samples of FBNYV collected during virus surveys in Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Morocco and Syria, five MAbs showed differential reactions. While the majority of the samples reacted with all 19 MAbs, about 20% of the 107 FBNYV samples did not react with one and/or other of these five MAbs, permitting the differentiation of seven serotypes of FBNYV and suggesting a considerable coat protein variation in FBNYV isolates from the countries surveyed. The MDV isolate from Japan and five FBNYV samples from Ethiopia appeared to be the least closely related to typical FBNYV isolates by not reacting with three and four, respectively, of the five differentiating Mabs.
Modern Portfolio Theory and the prudent hermaphrodite

Summary Employment of Markowitz's Modern Portfolio Theory, economic models designed to predict the effect of variance and covariance on optimal investment allocation, may explain a wide variety of anomalies in reproductive biology. Natural selection appears to favor genetic diversity among offspring to a greater extent than is predicted by current theory. Consideration of the possible increase in fitness by reducing the covariance among offspring may help explain a variety of phenomena from multiple mating to the evolution of recombination (i.e., overcoming “the cost of meiosis”). Modern Portfolio Theory also make novel predictions as to when hermaphrodites should prefer the male vs. female role, i.e., engage in egg- vs. sperm-trading. It predicts that the sexual role with the lower variance in reproductive success will be preferred in hermaphrodites. This contradicts Bateman's principle that the male role is usually preferred due to energetic considerations but is consistent with Gillespie's principle. T.
The influence of sex and maturity on the diet, mouth morphology and dentition of the Port Jackson shark, Heterodontus portusjacksoni

Dietary studies are essential for an understanding of elasmobranch ecology and their role in marine ecosystems. The diet, head morphology and dentition of Heterodontus portusjacksoni, an abundant, epibenthic shark in the coastal waters of temperate eastern Australia, were examined in 2004-2005. The stomach contents of the juvenile, subadult and adult stages of 136 males and 100 females were examined. Diets were broad (32 prey taxa), but dominated by molluscs, teleosts and cephalopods. Analyses of stomach contents data demonstrated that diet differed significantly by ontogenetic stage, but not by sex. Juveniles and subadults consumed mainly benthic infauna and epifauna, with subadults ingesting greater amounts of diogenid crustaceans, and adult diets dominated by demersal/pelagic prey. Trophic level differed ontogenetically, from secondary consumers as juveniles and subadults to tertiary consumers as adults. The mainly tricuspidate juvenile dentition changed with maturity to a greater proportion of large molariform distal teeth, whereas the snout and jaw lengthened and broadened. Adult males retained a greater proportion of anterior S-family teeth than females, which was most likely related to copulation. The ontogenetic variation in dietary composition, facilitated by differences in dentition and mouth morphology, demonstrated that dietary resources were partitioned ontogenetically.
Ruminant enteric methane mitigation: a review

In Australia, agriculture is responsible for ~17% of total greenhouse gas emissions with ruminants being the largest single source. However, agriculture is likely to be shielded from the full impact of any future price on carbon. In this review, strategies for reducing ruminant methane output are considered in relation to rumen ecology and biochemistry, animal breeding and management options at an animal, farm, or national level. Nutritional management strategies have the greatest short-term impact. Methanogenic microorganisms remove H2 produced during fermentation of organic matter in the rumen and hind gut. Cost-effective ways to change the microbial ecology to reduce H2 production, to re-partition H2 into products other than methane, or to promote methanotrophic microbes with the ability to oxidise methane still need to be found. Methods of inhibiting methanogens include: use of antibiotics; promoting viruses/bacteriophages; use of feed additives such as fats and oils, or nitrate salts, or dicarboxylic acids; defaunation; and vaccination against methanogens. Methods of enhancing alternative H2 using microbial species include: inoculating with acetogenic species; feeding highly digestible feed components favouring ‘propionate fermentations’; and modifying rumen conditions. Conditions that sustain acetogen populations in kangaroos and termites, for example, are poorly understood but might be extended to ruminants. Mitigation strategies are not in common use in extensive grazing systems but dietary management or use of growth promotants can reduce methane output per unit of product. New, natural compounds that reduce rumen methane output may yet be found. Smaller but more permanent benefits are possible using genetic approaches. The indirect selection criterion, residual feed intake, when measured on ad libitum grain diets, has limited relevance for grazing cattle. There are few published estimates of genetic parameters for feed intake and methane production. Methane-related single nucleotide polymorphisms have yet to be used commercially. As a breeding objective, the use of methane/kg product rather than methane/head is recommended. Indirect selection via feed intake may be more cost-effective than via direct measurement of methane emissions. Life cycle analyses indicate that intensification is likely to reduce total greenhouse gas output but emissions and sequestration from vegetation and soil need to be addressed. Bio-economic modelling suggests most mitigation options are currently not cost-effective.
In vitro demonstration of interactions among zinc-binding domains of cellulose synthases in Arabidopsis and aspen

Plant cellulose synthases (CesAs) are the key enzymes necessary for cellulose biosynthesis. In Arabidopsis, two distinct groups of three CesAs each are necessary for cellulose synthesis during primary and secondary cell wall formation. It has also been suggested that such three CesAs interact with each other to form plasma-membrane bound rosette complexes that are functional during cellulose production. However, in vivo demonstration of such assemblies of three CesAs into rosettes has not been possible. We used yeast two-hybrid assays to demonstrate the possible interactions among several CesAs from Arabidopsis and aspen via their N-terminal zinc-binding domains (ZnBDs). While strong positive interactions were detected among ZnBDs from secondary wall associated CesAs of both Arabidopsis and aspen, the intergeneric interactions between Arabidopsis and aspen CesAs were weak. Moreover, in aspen, three primary wall associated CesA ZnBDs positively interacted with each other as well as with secondary CesAs. These results suggest that ZnBDs from either primary or secondary CesAs, and even from different plant species could interact but are perhaps insufficient for specificities of such interactions among CesAs. These observations suggest that some other more specific interacting regions might exist within CesAs. It is also possible that some hitherto unknown mechanism exists in plants for assembling the rosette complexes with different compositions of CesAs. Understanding how cellulose is synthesized will have a direct impact on utilization of lignocellulosic biomass for bioenergy production.
The biology of the soldier fish, Gymnapistes marmoratus (Pisces: Scorpaenidae)

Various aspects of the biology of the scorpaenid Gymnapistes marmoratus were studied during 1971 in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, southern Tasmania. The species ranges from Darwin counter-clockwise around the Australian coast to Sydney, but appears not to inhabit Queensland waters. In Tasmania the species commonly occurs at depths of 20 m or less, over sand or mud bottom with a light Zostera covering. During the day the fish lie motionless and are excellently camouflaged, possessing disruptive yellow and brown marbled markings; most of their activity occurs at night. Fish species associated with G. marmoratus are those typical of the bottom habitat of estuarine communities. Age determination by interpretation of annuli in burned otoliths was found to be simple and accurate, and the population studied comprised individuals up to 14 years of age. Growth was adequately described by the von Bertalanffy equation of organic growth, being of the decaying exponential type which defined the growth of G. rnarmoratus as: Lt = 21.4[1-exp{0.1168 ( t + 2 . 3 )}]. Reproduction is initiated at approximately 2 years of age and spawning occurred in August-September. Fecundity may be described related to length by the expression F = 0.08L4. 08. Stomach analysis indicated that shrimps and crabs made up a large portion of the diet of smaller fish, while the larger fish consumed other fish species as well.
Annual Variation in Pollen Contamination and Outcrossing in a Picea abies Seed Orchard

A mature Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst. ] seed orchard, established in southern Finland with 67 clones from northern Finland, was analysed in three different years in order to estimate the pollen contamination ratios. Allozyme-based paternity analysis revealed that the contamination rate was high, 69-71%, and did not differ between the years studied. It appears that, in areas where spruce is the dominant tree species, the contamination rate will be very high even in mature seed orchards. However, the contamination rate in the thinned parts of the orchard was significantly lower than that in the unthinned parts in two of the three years studied. The outcrossing rate was also high, 96-100% in all years, even though the ramets of each clone were planted using a clonal-row design, and there were no significant differences in the outcrossing rates between the different parts of the orchard.
Robert Hooke’s Micrographia: an entomologist’s perspective

The illustrations in Robert Hooke’s epoch-making publication Micrographia became the standard reference work for depicting microscopic phenomena. Of the book’s 38 engravings (the “Schemata”), 14 illustrate insects or their body parts, and of its 60 “Observations” (descriptions and speculative discussions) nearly a third concern insects. Here, I provide taxonomically accurate identifications of Micrographia’s insects, and assess, from a present-day entomologist’s perspective, the accuracy of the book’s insect drawings. I also present additional evidence against the widely expressed opinion that Christopher Wren was probably the author of some of those illustrations. Other entomological aspects of Micrographia addressed in this paper are the insightfulness of Hooke’s Observations, the book’s influence on seventeenth century insect studies, and its legacy to modern entomology. Some of Hooke’s writings in the Observations foreshadow those of Swammerdam on insect metamorphosis (Hooke may have understood it in its basic modern sense) and of van Leeuwenhoek on insect population growth. Also in his discussions of insects, Hooke made what is arguably a meaningful contribution to the debate over spontaneous generation. Hooke’s speculations regarding the function of insect body parts such as dipteran compound eyes, halteres and maxillary palps, and coleopteran elytra, were particularly insightful. I conclude that Hooke helped to lay the foundations of entomology.
Accuracy of sap flow measurement using heat balance and heat pulse methods.

The heat balance and the heat pulse methods for measurement of sap flow in plants, were compared under conditions of variable evaporative demands in order to evaluate their accuracy. The study was conducted with potted soybean (Glycine max Merr. cv. tamahomare) and corn (Zea mays cv. kakuteru 901) plants housed in a plastic chamber. The computed sap flow was compared to transpiration rate as measured by weight loss. The calibration coefficient for the heat pulse expresses the ratio of actual transpiration rate, Tr (mg s⁻¹), to measured heat velocity, v (mm s⁻¹), multiplied by the stem area, a (mm²). The ratio Tr/(v × a) was 1.01 ± 0.08 and 1.73 ± 0.1 for soybean and corn, respectively. The coefficient was not affected by plant age, size, or atmospheric evaporative demand. Accuracy of measurements using the heat pulse method was poor at low transpiration rate. The heat balance method does not require calibration (except for the gauge factor for estimating the sheath conductance). Transpiration was estimated accurately by this method in both species at low or moderate rates (0.6 L d⁻¹). As the transpiration rate increased, the computed sap flow deviated from the measured transpiration, in soybean, transpiration was underestimated by 20%, while in corn, it was overestimated by 25%. Results indicated that the basic assumption of the heat balance method (i.e., that the stem surface temperature is considered a reliable measure of the average temperature over the entire cross-sectional area) may be incorrect either at high or fluctuating flow rates, or whenever the water conducting system is distributed unevenly in the stem cross section. Contribution from the ARO, The Volcani Ctr. , Bet Dagan, No. 3534-E, 1992 series.
ON THE EVOLUTION OF COMPLEX LIFE CYCLES IN PLANTS: A REVIEW AND AN ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE'

Complex life cycles and alternation of generations are characteristic of many plants, a diploid sporophyte typically alternating with a haploid gametophyte. The prominence of each generation varies greatly among taxa. Purely phylogenetic or morphogenetic explanations of these differences are unsatisfying, as are those based solely on population fitness. Existing adaptational explanations seek selective advantages in diploidy and in sexual reproduction, but these explanations leave much to be explained-i.e., the existence of asexuality and of haploid organisms. Much of the existing variation in life cycles can be explained by selection on reproductive rates to meet the ecological problems of dispersal, colonization, niche preemption and exploitation, and mate competition. Placement of complex life cycles of plants in an ecological framework will, I hope, encourage specific studies exploring possible adaptive aspects and limitations on the evolution of life cycles in plants with different life histories. A prominent feature of most textbook introductions to various major groups of plants is the description of reputedly typical life cycles of selected forms. Attention is focused on the alternation of haploid and diploid phases (or generations) of the cycle, the relative "dominance" of one phase or another, the timing of meiosis and fertilization, the occurrence of asexual reproduction, and which phase is the dispersal or resting stage. Most of the available published literature on plant life cycles is directed toward elucidating developmental, morphological or physiological and, finally, phylogenetic patterns. A rather small number of papers (see below) addresses the possible selective advantages or disadvantages of reproducing sexually or asexually, of being haploid or diploid, or of having more than one morphological generation. Here, I use the word generation to refer to both the alternating diploid and haploid entities and to any intervening, asexually produced, progenies. So far as I can determine, virtually nothing has been written on the ecology (aside from genetics) of complex life cycles in plants. Several botanical reviewers have claimed that all of the ideas summarized here regarding the ecology and evolution of plant life cycles are "old hat. " They should be, perhaps, but no one has shown me evidence that they are. This review is presented in hopes of stimulating discussion and research that include an ecological perspective. I begin by summarizing some apparently classic life cycles of selected plants (broadly defined to include fungi, but excluding prokaryotes). There follows a review of available hypotheses attempting to explain the evolution of such cycles in plants and a critique of these hypotheses. Finally, I review some of the liter
Neighbour relationships in grass–legume communities. IV. Fine scale biotic differentiation

Ramets of Medicago sativa L. , M. Iupulina L. , and Trifolium repens L. were sampled from 10-year-old fields of Bromus inermis Leyss. , Phleum pratense L. , and Dactylis glomerata L. The ramets were multiplied and transplanted into artificial swards in all combinations of legumes and site of origin. Differences in "performance" (in terms of dry weights and number of survivors) were shown. The most striking effect was that the number of survivors of T. repens and M. sativa (and dry weight of T. repens) was greatest when the species was transplanted back into swards of the grass species from which they had been sampled. This trend is not applicable to dry weights of M. sativa, but an alternative trend is clearly demonstrated.In a second experiment, ramets of M. sativa were sampled from 1-, 3-, and 10-year-old fields of B. inermis, P. pratense, and D. glomerata and treated as above. The most striking effect is that the performance monitored in experiment 1 may be seen developing through the 1- and 3-year-old sta.
Tissues Involved in Sex Pheromone Production in Phyllophaga obsoleta (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Melolonthidae)

ABSTRACT Females of Phyllophaga obsoleta (Blanchard) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Melolonthidae) perform “sexual calling” with their protractile genital chamber (PGC) exposed to release substances that attract males. Histological aspects of the PGC and accessory glands (AGs) of P. obsoleta females were studied. Studies with light microscope and transmission electron microscope revealed exocrine tissue in the posterior section of the PGC, where it might be producing the attractants. This epithelial gland is formed by a basement membrane, a hypodermis for substance production, secretion, and transport (cells, nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex, and presence of folds in the plasma membrane), as well as evidence of the substance to be secreted to the outside (connecting cuticular pores to plasma membrane). Histological similarities between AG types I and II were observed, although only the PGC had properties of class I cells. These results suggest that the posterior section of the P. obsoleta PGC is involved in sex pheromone production.