Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transmission of Atkinsonella hypoxylon (Clavicipitaceae) by cleistogamous seed of Danthonia spicata (Gramineae)

Atkinsonella hypoxylon is a systemic parasite of the grasses Danthonia spicata, D. compressa, and Stipa leucotricha. The means by which this fungus and other Balansiae (Balansia, Balansiopsis, Epichloe, and Myriogenospora) are transmitted from one plant to another is poorly understood. Host grasses of A. hypoxylon normally produce spikelets of open, wind-pollinated chasmogamous flowers at the apex of the flowering culm and spikelets of self-pollinated cleistogamous flowers in the lower leaf sheaths of the same culm. Plants of D. spicata infected by A. hypoxylon regularly produce cleistogamous spikelets in the lowermost leaf sheaths, although chasmogamous spikelets are aborted by hypothallus development. Embryos of the seeds resulting from these flowers were surrounded by hyphae. The seeds were germinated and when the plants flowered, they produced deformed flowering culms and hypothalli, indicating that A. hypoxylon is transmitted from parent to offspring through cleistogamous seed.
Real-time Insect Monitoring System by Using Field Server

Conventional Field Servers can only monitor environmental information such as air temperature and CO2 concentration. We developed real-time monitoring system to observe insects by using Field Severs. Diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) was monitored by an insect counting system and a Field Server. The insect counting system employed a commercial home-use insect killer, in which a bar coated by pheromone attracting a specific insect is installed instead of a fluorescent light. Conventional Field Server has a camera equipped in its case. Casing of Field Server provides special functions of waterproof and cooling inside parts such as a Wi-Fi communication card. However, power consumption of camera is low and it works for only short time to capture an image every hour or a few minutes. Therefore only camera can be packed in water-proofed case. Combining the Web service developed for image surveillance system and the image monitoring system, we could reveal an unknown ecological phenomenon that what is predator of weed seeds on arable lands, and it was crickets (Teleogyllus emma).
A study of bruchid resistance and its inheritance in Malawian dry bean germplasm.

Farmers’ preferences and priorities in dry bean cultivar development have often been overlooked in the past. This has resulted in varieties that fail to perform under local farming conditions or varieties that are high yielding but with unacceptable culinary characteristics. The aim of this study was therefore to ascertain farmers’ perceptions of the importance of Acanthoscelides obtectus Say (bean weevil) and Zabrotes subfasciatus Boh. (Mexican bean weevil) damage to the common bean both in the field and in storage. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was conducted in Bembeke, Mitundu and Mkwinda extension planning areas in August 2004. With a set of guide questions, a semi-structured interview technique was used for individual households and focus group discussions involving both male and female farmers. A direct matrix ranking technique was used to assist farmers to list bean varieties in order of preference. Results of this study showed that bruchids were important storage pests causing significant damage to stored beans in the absence of any control measures. Most households (93%) indicated that more than 50% of their stored beans were lost to bruchids, particularly where no control measures were applied, compared to a figure of 38% that has been reported in literature. This indicated that varieties grown by farmers were generally highly susceptible to bean weevils. An appraisal study on the effectiveness of indigenous control methods showed that some plant botanicals, such as bean plant ash, were effective. Results also showed that plant botanicals used in combination (Mphanjobvu + Tete) were more effective than that of single treatments (Mphanjobvu or Tete alone) and suggested that management and control methods were not effective. It was evident from this study that agronomic traits such as maturity period, adaptation and yield and culinary characteristics such as cooking time, flavour/taste and seed colour need to be considered by breeders in cultivar development. Farmers’ participation is vital to enhance the adoption of improved common bean varieties.
Activation of defence responses to Phytophthora infestans in potato by BABA

Late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans is one of the most devastating diseases of the potato crop. Resistance breeding and current fungicides are unable to control the rapidly evolving P. infestans and new control strategies are urgently needed. This study examined mechanisms of DL-b-aminobutyric acid (BABA)-induced resistance (IR) in the potato–P. infestans system. Leaves from two cultivars that differ in their degree of resistance, Bintje and Ovatio, were analysed after foliar treatment with BABA. Rapid activation of various defence responses and a significant reduction in P. infestans growth were observed in leaves treated with BABA. In the more resistant cultivar, Ovatio, the activation was both faster and stronger than in Bintje. Microscopic analysis of leaves treated with BABA revealed induction of small hypersensitive response (HR)-like lesions surrounded by callose, as well as production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Molecular and chemical analyses revealed soluble phenols such as arbutin and chlorogenic acid and activation of PR-1. These results show a direct activation of defence responses in potato, rather than priming as reported for other plant species. They also show that the efficiency of BABA-IR differs between cultivars, which highlights the importance of taking all aspects into consideration when establishing new methods for disease management. Keywords: DL-b-aminobutyric acid , hypersensitive response, induced resistance, Solanum tuberosum
Differential genetic variation in adaptive strategies to a common environmental signal in Arabidopsis accessions: phytochrome‐mediated shade avoidance

Shade avoidance is a syndrome of plastic responses to light signals encountered in crowded plant communities and is a crucial component of competitive strategy in higher plants. The responses are mediated via signal perception by specific members of the phytochrome family of photoreceptors, which detect the relative proportions of red (R) and far-red (FR) radiation within dense communities. We analysed two aspects of shade avoidance, the acceleration of flowering and the enhancement of elongation growth, displayed by more than 100 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana (Heyn.) in response to FR-proximity signals. Both traits showed wide variation between accessions, which was unrelated to the latitude of the location of original collection. Flowering acceleration is a major feature of shade avoidance in rosette plants such as Arabidopsis, and most accessions showed dramatic responses, but several were identified as being recalcitrant to the proximity signal. These accessions are likely to be informative in the analysis of quantitative variation in shade avoidance. Hypocotyl elongation, treated here as an indicator of elongation growth responses, also varied widely amongst accessions. The variations in flowering acceleration and elongation were not correlated, indicating that microevolution in the downstream pathways from signal perception has occurred separately.
Structure and evolution of the pod in Indigofera (Fabaceae) reveals a trend towards small thin indehiscent pods

Pod morphology and anatomy have been studied in 28 species and four varieties of Indian Indigofera. Pods of Indigofera spp. differ with respect to size, the relative thickness of the fruit wall, the number of sclerenchymatous layers in the endocarp, the presence/absence of hypodermis and trichomes, and the presence of separation tissue. Anatomically, the pericarp is broadly characterized into three types: type I (thin pericarp and three to five sclerenchymatous layers in the endocarp), type II (intermediary pericarp thickness and six to eight sclerenchymatous layers), and type III (thick pericarp and more than eight sclerenchymatous layers). The distribution of these types across the tribe is not congruent with the current phylogenetic analyses. Type III pericarp (present in the early diverging lineages of the tribe) represents the most primitive state, whereas type I and type II pericarps are derived. Fruits of Indigofera generally show normal explosive dehiscence as a means of dispersal of seeds, although some species show adaptations for dispersal by wind. In Indigofera, dehiscence is caused by a separation layer present at the dorsal and ventral sutures except in some species (Indigofera hochstetteri, Indigofera karnatakana, Indigofera glandulosa var. sykesii, and Indigofera trita var. scabra) in which no separation tissue is present; these species show delayed dehiscence or an indehiscent condition. The indehiscent pod type is considered to be apomorphic. The taxonomic, functional, and evolutionary significance of morphological and anatomical features in fruits of the genus Indigofera has been evaluated. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 176, 260–276.
Six new species of palaeonemerteans (Nemertea) from Hong Kong

Abstract One new genus and six new species of palaeonemerteans are described and illustrated from Hong Kong and the New Territories; these areHubrechtella sinimarinussp. nov. andParahubrechtia jillaegen. etsp. nov.in the Hubrechtidae, andCallinera bergendalisp. nov.,Carinina sinensissp. nov.,Tubulanus hylbomisp. nov.andTubulanus longivasculussp. nov. in the Tubulanidae. These bring the known number of palaeonemertean species from Hong Kong to 11; a key to these species, based primarily upon features distinguishable in the living animals, is provided.
Breeding synchronization facilitates extrapair mating for inbreeding avoidance

Extrapair (EP) mating can enable females to reduce the negative effects of inbreeding. However, opportunities for EP mating are often ecologically or demographically constrained, and it is unclear whether and how females can overcome these constraints. Here, we show that fitness costs from inbreeding in purple-crowned fairy-wrens (Malurus coronatus) are severe (≥30% reduction in hatchability of eggs in incestuous pairs). Although EP paternity was low for unrelated pairs (3% of broods), and negatively affected by low breeding density, 46% of broods produced by incestuously paired females contained EP young that were almost always sired by a direct neighbor. Moreover, females in incestuous pairs initiated egg laying more synchronously with direct neighbors than females in an unrelated pair, and more synchronous broods were more likely to contain EP young. Because male sperm stores are highest around their own partner’s fertile period, our results imply that incestuously paired females achieve high levels of EP paternity by adjusting the timing of egg laying to match peak fertility of neighboring males. This example of a dramatic increase in EP paternity due to subtle behavioral adjustments illustrates that negative effects of inbreeding exert strong selection for female strategies to facilitate EP mating, and this may contribute to unexplained variation in EP paternity.
Transcriptional regulation of the human transforming growth factor-α gene

We and others have previously reported that transforming growth factor-α (TGFα) expression is hormonally responsive and its expression is coregulated with that of its receptor [the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor]. The 5′-flanking region of the TGFα gene was characterized to determine whether it could confer hormone responsiveness to a reporter gene (luciferase) in human mammary carcinoma cells (MDA468). This segment of the gene is GC rich and contains an element strikingly similar to the core element of the EGF receptor gene that has been shown to mediate both basal and hormonestimulated expression of the EGF receptor. We now report that a 313-basepair (bp) proximal element of the TGFα 5′-flanking region (−373 to −59 relative to the TGFα translation start codon) is capable of conferring responses to phorbol ester and EGF. This gene segment does not contain the EGF receptor gene homolog or potential AP-2-binding sites, suggesting that these elements are not necessary for basal and EGF- or phorbol e.
Use of a fragmented landscape by three species of opossum in south-eastern Brazil

Spatial patterns presented by the opossums Caluromys philander, Philander frenata and Micoureus demerarae were studied, through radio-tracking, in a landscape composed of eight small (1.3–13.3 ha) forest fragments surrounded by a matrix of open vegetation in south-eastern Brazil. Sixteen individuals were fitted with radio-collar transmitters and monitored for 2–8 mo. Fixes were obtained by the ‘homing-in on the animal’ technique. Numbers of locations of each individual varied from 6 to 117. Home ranges sizes ranged from 2.5–7.0 ha for C. philander, 0.6–7.4 ha for P. frenata and 0.8–1.7 ha for M. demerarae. Fragments, both edges and interiors, were used more often than the matrix; they are the primary habitat for these marsupials in the landscape. The matrix was used for foraging by P. frenata and C. philander, and traversed in five movements between fragments by P. frenata. Ability to use fragment edges and the matrix is important in explaining how these marsupials are able to persist in the landscape.
HARBOR SEAL (PHOCA VITULINA) NUMBERS ALONG THE NEW BRUNSWICK COAST OF THE BAY OF FUNDY IN AUTUMN IN RELATION TO AQUACULTURE

Abstract Seal interference with Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) aquaculture cages is a financial burden to the industry. Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) on haul-out sites along portions of the New Brunswick coastline of the Bay of Fundy, Canada, were counted during the autumn and early winter of 1998. Semi-monthly aerial and shipboard surveys were conducted when low tide occurred in the afternoon. The maximum number of seals counted (1032) and the rate of population decline (6.7 per day) were similar to those reported in 1984 and 1987. The average number of seals per group (35.8 ± 39.9) did not change over the season but fewer groups occurred in early winter. The seals vacated some areas which coincidentally contained Atlantic salmon aquaculture cage sites. Similar movements were observed 11 and 14 years previously, before the cage sites were established. Harbor seals are not attracted to areas containing aquaculture cage sites.
False-Negative Results in Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests—Do We Need to Routinely Use Two Genetic Targets in all Assays to Overcome Problems Caused by Sequence Variation?

Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) have numerous advantages over traditional diagnostic techniques and so are now widely used by diagnostic laboratories for routine detection of infectious agents. However, there is some concern over the increasing numbers of reports of NAAT false-negative results caused by sequence variation. Highly conserved NAAT target sequences have been reported for many organisms, yet sequence-related problems continue to be observed in commercial and in-house assays targeting a broad range of microbial pathogens. In light of these ongoing problems, it may be time to consider the use of two genetic targets in NAAT methods to reduce the potential for sequence-related false-negative results.
Maturation and Ripening of Fruit of Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt. are Accompanied by Increasing Oxidative Stress

Abstract The extent of oxidative stress during ripening of saskatoon (Amelanchier alnifolia Nutt.) fruit was examined. Lipid peroxidation during fruit development from the mature green to the fully ripe (purple) stage was evidenced by the accumulation of ethane and 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. Fruit polar lipid and free fatty acid concentrations also declined during ripening. Moreover, the double bond index of fatty acids in the polar lipid fraction fell during ripening, reflecting a progressive increase in the saturation of membrane lipids. This increase in saturation was partly due to a 65% decline in the concentration of linolenic acid. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) fell about 4-fold and 18-fold, respectively, during development, indicating higher potential for the accumulation of cytotoxic H 2 O 2 . Peroxidase activity remained relatively low and constant from the mature green to the dark red stage of development, then increased towards the end of ripening as fruits turned purple. Lipoxygenase (LOX) activity increased 2.5-fold from the mature green to the fully ripe stage. Tissue prints showed LOX to be present throughout fruit development and Western analysis revealed that the increase in activity during ripening was due to increased synthesis of the enzyme. Collectively, these results provide evidence that ripening of this climacteric fruit is accompanied by a substantial increase in free-radical-mediated peroxidation of membrane lipids, probably as a direct consequence of a progressive decline in the enzymatic systems responsible for catabolism of active oxygen species. The role of glutathione-mediated free-radical scavenging was also examined as a potential system for coping with this increased oxidative stress. Concentrations of reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) increased 2-fold and GSSG increased as a percentage of total glutathione, reflecting the increase in oxidative status of fruits during ripening. Tissue prints of glutathione reductase (GRase) and transferase (GTase) showed these enzymes to be distributed throughout the pericarp at all stages of fruit development. GRase and GTase activities rose sharply during the later stages of fruit ripening, correlating well with substantial increases in the levels of both enzymes. Hence, the glutathione-mediated free-radical scavenging system was up-regulated towards the end of ripening, perhaps in response to the increasing oxidative stress resulting from the accumulation of lipid hydroperoxides from increased LOX activity, in conjunction with a decline in SOD/CAT activities.
Identification of Cordyceps sinensis by 18S nrDNA Sequencing and Characterization of Fermented Products in Taiwan

With increased demand for Cordyceps sinensis teleomorphs, anamorph fermented products have been used as substitutes. This has raised questionable quality control challenges and consequently the need for molecular methods to identify C. sinensis. Internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS 1), 5.8S, and ITS 2 nrDNA sequence identities were only 85.7–100% between each C. sinensis isolate. However, 18S nrDNA NS5/NS6 region sequences were almost identical and have potential for molecular characterization and diversity of isolates. The NS5/NS6 region sequences were compared to GenBank data and other Cordyceps spp. The Cfo I and Rsa I restriction determined signature sequences were used to successfully characterize 12 fermented products. This innovative method can be applied to C. sinensis teleomorph and anamorph identification and to improve quality control.
A generalized model for estimating the energy density of invertebrates

Abstract. Invertebrate energy density (ED) values are traditionally measured using bomb calorimetry. However, many researchers rely on a few published literature sources to obtain ED values because of time and sampling constraints on measuring ED with bomb calorimetry. Literature values often do not account for spatial or temporal variability associated with invertebrate ED. Thus, these values can be unreliable for use in models and other ecological applications. We evaluated the generality of the relationship between invertebrate ED and proportion of dry-to-wet mass (pDM). We then developed and tested a regression model to predict ED from pDM based on a taxonomically, spatially, and temporally diverse sample of invertebrates representing 28 orders in aquatic (freshwater, estuarine, and marine) and terrestrial (temperate and arid) habitats from 4 continents and 2 oceans. Samples included invertebrates collected in all seasons over the last 19 y. Evaluation of these data revealed a significant relationship between ED and pDM (r2 = 0.96, p < 0.0001), where ED (as J/g wet mass) was estimated from pDM as ED = 22,960pDM − 174.2. Model evaluation showed that nearly all (98.8%) of the variability between observed and predicted values for invertebrate ED could be attributed to residual error in the model. Regression of observed on predicted values revealed that the 97.5% joint confidence region included the intercept of 0 (−103.0 ± 707.9) and slope of 1 (1.01 ± 0.12). Use of this model requires that only dry and wet mass measurements be obtained, resulting in significant time, sample size, and cost savings compared to traditional bomb calorimetry approaches. This model should prove useful for a wide range of ecological studies because it is unaffected by taxonomic, seasonal, or spatial variability.
In vitro micro-propagation of Longiflorum-Asiatic (LA) hybrids lily ( Lilium ) cultivar ‘eyeliner’

Bulblets propagation by tissue culture was one of the key techniques in the production of lily ( Lilium ) bulbs. Therefore, in vitro micro propagation of lily bulblets was studied in detail in this paper. L A hybrids lily cultivar ‘eyeliner’ was selected as the materials. By using the method of orthogonal design, the following were concluded from the research: the optimum treatment and disinfection methods of ‘eyeliner’ bulb scales was soaking in 1:500 carbendazim solution for 30 min, disinfection in 75% alcohol for 10 to 60 s, disinfection in 2% NaClO solution for 15 min; the optimum medium for bud induction of ‘eyeliner’ was MS + 0.5 mg·L -1 6-benzyl aminopurine (6-BA) + 0.1 mg·L -1 naphlene acetic acid (NAA) + 90 g·L -1 sucrose, and 25°C and in darkness; the optimum medium for bulblets induction of ‘eyeliner’ was 2MS + 1.0 mg·L -1 6-BA + 0.5 mg·L -1 NAA + sucrose 90 g·L -1 + Paclobutrazol (PP333) 2 mg·L -1 ; the optimum culture condition for bulblets induction of ‘eyeliner’ was 20°C, 14 h·day -1 lightness + 10 h·day -1 darkness. The optimum medium for rooting culture of ‘eyeliner’ was ½ MS + 0.8 mg·L -1 NAA + 3 g·L -1 activated charcoal, 20°C, 14 h·day -1 lightness + 10 h·day -1 darkness. Keywords: Lily bulb, orthogonal experiment, in vitro micro propagation
A Cladistic Analysis of Monotropa uniflora (Ericaceae) Inferred from Large Ribosomal Subunit (26S) rRNA Gene Sequences

Abstract Monotropa uniflora has a disjunct geographical distribution. One part of the distribution encompasses much of North America, a second part extends throughout Central America and a third part runs through eastern Asia. The present study, based on large ribosomal subunit (26S) rRNA gene sequence data, suggests that M. uniflora from Asia, North America, and Central America are each molecularly diverged and phylogenetically distinct.