Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of synthetic food‐based attractants for female Mediterranean fruit flies (Dipt., Tephritidae) in McPhail type traps

During summer 1997 field experiments were conducted on the island of Chios, Greece, to compare captures of female Mediterranean fruit flies (medflies), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), in traps baited with either synthetic female‐targeted lures or a standard protein bait (NuLure and borax). The synthetic lures contained ammonium acetate,1,4 diaminobutane (putrescine), and trimethylamine. Two trap types (International Pheromone’s McPhail Trap (IPMT) and the Tephri trap) were tested as either wet or dry. Wet IPMT traps baited with the synthetic attractants were the most attractive of all trap combinations tested and captured 2.1 times more female medflies and 1.8 times more total medflies than traps baited with NuLure and borax. Traps containing the synthetic attractant captured approximately 4.6 times fewer nontarget insects than NuLure baited traps. Vapona used in IPMT traps was repellent to medflies and dry traps with lower concentrations of Vapona were approximately 1.5 times less attractive to female medflies than traps containing water. Even with a decrease in attractiveness, the dry traps were significantly more effective for females and more practical for mass trapping and monitoring than the currently used traps baited with protein solutions.
Genetic Variation of Foxtail Millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] Among Accessions Collected From Korea Revealed by AFLP Markers

ABSTRACT AFLP markers were employed to detect genetic diversity and genetic relationship among 26 accessions of foxtail millet collected from Korea. Analysis of 26 accessions of foxtail millet with nine AFLP primer set combinations detected a total of 170 bands, of which 145 (85.3%) showed polymorphic at the species level. The phenotypic diversity ( H S ) calculated for the nine primer combinations ranged from 1.84 to 6.8, with an average of 3.85. The average phenotypic diversity values were 3.39 and 2.99 for accessions collected from Gangwon province (Group 1), and accessions collected from the other areas including Gyeonggi province (Group 2), respectively. In the cluster analysis of 26 accessions, two major groups were recognized at 73% genetic similarity. Group I includes 13 accessions, which were collected in Gangwon province, and 1 accession, which was collected in Gyeonggi province, with genetic similarity of 76.8%. Group II includes two accessions, which were collected in Gangwon province, and 10 accessions, which were collected in the other areas with genetic similarity of 78.9%. The presenting data on the assessment of genetic diversity and genetic relationships among Korean accessions of foxtail millet will be helpful for efficient collection or conservation strategy of foxtail millet germplasm in Korea.
Life history and biology of Hormosianoetus mallotae (Fashing) (Histiostomatidae: Astigmata), an obligatory inhabitant of water-filled treeholes

ABSTRACT Water-filled treeholes are in reality tiny ponds in the woodland ecosystem and provide a unique habitat for a number of different organisms that make up the treehole community. The community is a detritus based system that relies primarily on decomposing leaves from the autumn leaf drop as an energy source. Among the arthropod inquilines is a histiostomatid mite, Hormosianoetus mallotae (Fashing), an obligate inhabitant that filters microorganisms and other organic matter from the fluid. Dispersal is accomplished by a heteromorphic deutonymphal stage (= hypopus). While larvae, protonymphs, tritonymphs and adults are found in the treeholes throughout the year, deutonymphs are present only in May and June when conditions are optimal for population growth by the treehole residents. Deutonymphs therefore do not form in response to adverse conditions, but rather to serve purely as dispersal agents for colonizing new treeholes and for out-crossing among populations. Deutonymphs are phoretic on adults of Mallota bautias (Walker) and M. posticata (Fabricius) (Diptera: Syrphidae), the larvae of which are also obligate treehole inhabitants. Mallota sp. have a one year life cycle with the adult stage also present only during May and June. Hormosianoetus mallotae is arrhenotokous and disperses only as female deutonymphs, propagules mating with the haploid male offspring of the dispersants. Females are ovoviviparous, retaining eggs in the reproductive system during embryonic development and giving birth to fully formed larvae. Development from egg to adult is approximately 14 days for males and 20 days for females. Like other mite inhabitants of the treehole community, H. mallotae is a K-selected species.
Heat sterilization of archaeal liposomes

Thermal stabilities were compared between liposomes prepared from the ether lipids extracted from various archaeobacteria and liposomes composed of ester lipids. Leakage of entrapped carboxyfluorescein from the liposomes exposed to 121 °C indicated a marked stability of certain ether liposomes, comparable or superior to cholesterol-stabilized liposomes prepared from the saturated synthetic lipids dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine and dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol. The heat stability of diether liposomes could be increased by the inclusion of tetraether lipids.Key words: archaeal liposomes, ether liposomes, heat sterilization, thermal stability, archaeobacteria ("Archaea").
Resistance levels of sulfonylurea‐resistant Schoenoplectus juncoides (Roxb.) Palla with various Pro197 mutations in acetolactate synthase to imazosulfuron, bensulfuron‐methyl, metsulfuron‐methyl and imazaquin‐ammonium

An investigation, using herbicidal pot tests in a greenhouse condition, was conducted to determine the whole-plant dose–response relationships to several acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides of sulfonylurea (SU)-resistant Schoenoplectus juncoides with various Pro197 mutations in ALS that was collected from Japanese rice paddy fields. All the tested SU-resistant accessions with a Pro197 mutation were highly resistant to two commonly used SU herbicides (imazosulfuron and bensulfuron-methyl), but were much less resistant to another SU herbicide, metsulfuron-methyl, and were substantially not resistant to imazaquin-ammonium. These cross-resistance patterns have been known previously in fragments of S. juncoides and other weed species and were comprehensively confirmed in this study with a whole set of Pro197 mutations. The analyses of resistance levels, based on ED90 values, newly showed that different accessions with a common amino acid substitution in ALS1 showed similar responses to these herbicides (confirmed with four amino acid substitutions), that the rankings of resistance levels that were conferred by various Pro197 mutations in ALS1 differed among the SU herbicides and that the resistance levels of the ALS2-mutated accessions were higher than, lower than or similar to those of the corresponding ALS1-mutated accessions, depending on the compared pair, but the deviation patterns were generally similar among the SU herbicides in each compared pair. The final finding might suggest that the abundance of ALS2 is not as stable as that of ALS1. In addition, as a result of these new findings, together with expected further research, a suggested possibility is that substituting amino acids at Pro197 generally could be estimated by plotting each accession's ED90 values of imazosulfuron and bensulfuron-methyl in a two-dimensional graph.
Double antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunoassay and rapid Immunoswab assay for detection of gliadin in food

Abstract Celiac (gluten intolerant) sprue is a life-long threatening disease. The only effective treatment thus far is to maintain a gluten-free diet. Sensitive and reliable double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Immunoswab assay were developed by using chicken egg yolk anti-gliadin immunoglobulin Y as capturing antibody and monoclonal anti-gliadin IgG (HYB-314) antibody as detecting antibody for the detection of gliadin. The detection limits of the double antibody sandwich ELISA and Immunoswab assay were 5 ng/ml in phosphate buffered saline and 1.25 µg/ml in 60% ethanol, respectively. The Immunoswab was a more convenient and rapid detection system, but was less sensitive as compared to the double antibody sandwich ELISA developed.
Metopolophium festucae cerealium (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a new addition to the aphid fauna of North America.

Metopolophium festucae cerealium (Stroyan) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) was found in wheat fields in the Pacific Northwest in 2011 and 2012. This is the first record of M. f. cerealium in North America. This subspecies can be a serious pest of cereal crops.
The use of molecular markers to study Setosphaeria turcica resistance in maize

To facilitate understanding of the molecular basis of Htn1 resistance in maize to northern corn leaf blight, we mapped the Htn1 locus by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Linkage with the Htn1 locus, using a backcross population, was initially detected with the RFLP probe UMC16, which hybridized to two loci: UMC16A on the long arm of chromosome three and the unmapped locus UMC16B. Independent assortment of Htn1 with UMC16A and linkage to UMC16B was verified with RFLP markers closely flanking UMC16A on the long arm of chromosome three. Information obtained from previous studies, detailing duplicate loci in maize, indicated that RFLP loci in the region around UMC16A are duplicated on the long arm of chromosome eight in the region of Idh1 [. ]
Natural host range, thrips and seed transmission of distinct Tobacco streak virus strains in Queensland, Australia

Diseases caused by Tobacco streak virus (TSV) have resulted in significant crop losses in sunflower and mung bean crops in Australia. Two genetically distinct strains from central Queensland, TSV-parthenium and TSV-crownbeard, have been previously described. They share only 81% total-genome nucleotide sequence identity and have distinct major alternative hosts, Parthenium hysterophorus (parthenium) and Verbesina encelioides (crownbeard). We developed and used strain-specific multiplex Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) for the three RNA segments of TSV-parthenium and TSV-crownbeard to accurately characterise the strains naturally infecting 41 hosts species. Hosts included species from 11 plant families, including 12 species endemic to Australia. Results from field surveys and inoculation tests indicate that parthenium is a poor host of TSV-crownbeard. By contrast, crownbeard was both a natural host of, and experimentally infected by TSV-parthenium but this infection combination resulted in non-viable seed. These differences appear to be an effective biological barrier that largely restricts these two TSV strains to their respective major alternative hosts. TSV-crownbeard was seed transmitted from naturally infected crownbeard at a rate of between 5% and 50% and was closely associated with the geographical distribution of crownbeard in central Queensland. TSV-parthenium and TSV-crownbeard were also seed transmitted in experimentally infected ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum) at rates of up to 40% and 27%, respectively. The related subgroup 1 ilarvirus, Ageratum latent virus, was also seed transmitted at a rate of 18% in ageratum which is its major alternative host. Thrips species Frankliniella schultzei and Microcephalothrips abdominalis were commonly found in flowers of TSV-affected crops and nearby weed hosts. Both species readily transmitted TSV-parthenium and TSV-crownbeard. The results are discussed in terms of how two genetically and biologically distinct TSV strains have similar life cycle strategies in the same environment.
Immunodiagnostics of cucumber mosaic virus using antisera developed against recombinant coat protein

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), causing mosaic disease in banana cultivars, is the most widespread virus after Banana bunchy top virus. The entire coat protein (CP) gene of CMV was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and engineered to be expressed in bacterial expression vector pQE30, under the control of isopropyl-thio-β-d galactopyranoside (IPTG)-inducible T7lac promoter. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed expressed CP as ∼25 kDa protein. Expression conditions for maximum recovery of soluble recombinant protein were standardised. The recombinant CP (r-CP) fused with His-tag was purified from Escherichia coli using nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) resin and used as an antigen for the production of polyclonal antisera. This antiserum was used to develop enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunocapture reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (IC-RT-PCR) based assay for the detection of CMV isolates. The antiserum had a titre of 1:8000 when tested with r-CP. The reaction of polyclonal antisera was much better than that of commercial antibody. On comparing IC-RT-PCR with direct antigen coating-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAC-ELISA) using polyclonal antisera, IC-RT-PCR was found to be more sensitive, hence can be used to detect the presence of virus in tissue culture based banana plant as well as in various host plants.
Effects of long-term grazing management on sand dune vegetation of high conservation interest

Question: Can long-term grazing management maintain and restore species-rich sand dune plant communities within a sand dune site of high conservation interest? Location: Newborough Warren, North Wales, UK. Methods: Vegetation changes that occurred between 1987 and 2003, subsequent to grazing by domestic livestock being introduced to the site after decades with little or no stock grazing, were analysed using data collected from permanent monitoring quadrats over a 16-year period. Results: At the plant community level, grazing brought about a shift from a tall-grass dominated, species-poor community to a more species-rich community in the dry dunes, but did not change community type in dune slacks. However, at the species level, grazing enhanced the abundance of some desired perennial, annual and biennial species, graminoids and bryophytes in both habitat types. The increased frequency of positive indicator species for habitat condition suggests that grazing was beneficial for species of conservation interest. Ellenberg nitrogen (N) values decreased after grazing in dry habitats but showed no long-term change independent of grazing, suggesting no increase in site fertility over the study period. Surprisingly, light (L) values also decreased in the dry dunes after grazing. Conclusions: Long-term grazing management can play an important role for the conservation of dune communities and associated species. Because of its positive effects on species diversity, plant communities and habitat condition in sand dunes, livestock grazing is recommended for conservation management.
INFRAGENERIC TAXONOMY OF AHNFELTIA (AHNFELTIALES, RHODOPHYTA) 1

Ahnfeltia plicata (Hudson) Fries, the type species of Ahnfeltia Fries, is reported to be a widespread alga which is an important source of agar. However, after characterizing type material and representative populations of A. plicata, we found that several taxa usually considered to be synonyms of A. plicata instead represent separate species with differing geographic distributions. Ahnfeltia plicata sensu stricto is characterized by the development of external carposporophytes on female sori that are present only on mature axes. Pseudocarposporophytes bearing monosporangia and cortical monosporangial sori occur on both young and old axes. Characteristic vegetative features include long medullary cells and cortical growth rings. Ahnfeltia plicata s.s. is circumpolar in both hemispheres and is harvested for agar in the White Sea. Ahnfeltia setacea (Kútzing) Schmitz from the Falkland Islands, Gymnogongrus comosus Kützing from Chile and Gymnogongrus filiformis Kützing from southern Argentina appear to be synonymous with A. plicata. Ahnfeltia fastigiata (Postels et Ruprecht) Makienko, from the North Pacific, differs from A. plicata principally in the development of female sori and carposporophytes only near apices; medullary cells are shorter and cortical growth rings, cortical monosporangia and pseudocarposporophytes are not formed. It is dioecious and its life history involves the development from carpospores of a crustose Porphyrodiscus tetrasporophyte. We suggest that A. plicata var. tobuchiensis Kanno et Matsubara, the principal form of Ahnfeltia utilized for agar production in the North Pacific, represents an unattached ecad of A. fastigiata. Ahnfeltia elongata Montagne, known only from Chile and with carposporophytes restricted to main axes, is more closely related to A. plicata than to A. fastigiata. Thalli are large and regularly dichotomous, with long medullary cells, and do not form pseudocarposporophytes or monosporangia.
Rainforest and savanna landscape dynamics in New Caledonia: Towards a mosaic of stable rainforest and savanna states?

Stable forested environments can be converted to savanna in response to changes in environmental disturbances. New Caledonia is a biodiversity hotspot; significant ecological and economic resources would be lost if forests were turned into savanna by anthropogenic environmental changes. On the landscape scale, systems that have undergone shifts of this kind are characterized by sharp forest–savanna boundaries and mosaic-like distributions of savanna and forest. Understanding the locations and the dynamics of such boundaries is a challenge for ecologists and is critical for landscape management and biodiversity conservation. Using a time series of aerial photographs (1955–2000) and a forest habitat suitability map, we tested the hypothesis that topography and spatial processes, especially those relating to fire spread and seed dispersal, are the main determinants of the spatial distribution of rainforest and savanna in a New Caledonian landscape covering 24 km2. Within the studied landscape, the overall forest coverage decreased by 24% between 1976 and 2000. This was primarily due to the contraction of forests on west-facing slopes, which accounted for about 90% of the total loss. Conversely, the east-facing forests seemed to have contracted extensively prior to the studied period, and were confined to refuges. A habitat suitability index calculated from the landscape's topographical features using generalized additive models accurately predicted both the presence of forests and the probability of forest expansion/contraction. We also provide evidence that spatial processes such as fire spread and seed dispersal limit the expansion and contraction of forests. Our results suggest that rainforests on west-facing slopes in New Caledonia will be progressively destroyed by fire until they are restricted to refuges along thalwegs and creeks, as appears to have already happened for their east-facing counterparts.
Morphology of cap formation in ehrlich ascites tumor cells induced by concanavalin a

The redistribution of Concanavalin A (Con A) receptor sites on Ehrlich ascites tumor cells was studied by fluorescence and electron microscopy. The fluorochrome of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-Con A was distributed diffusely on the cell surface (as a ring) at 0°C, whereas it was concentrated at one pole of the cell (cap formation or capping) at 37°C. Cap formation occurred within 10 min when FITC-Con A was added to cells at 37°C or when cells, preincubated with FITC-Con A at 0°C, were warmed at 37°CC. Binding of FITC-Con A to cells was inhibited by the addition of 50 mM a-methyl glucoside. Upon incubating the cells with FITC-Con A for 2 h, concentrated fluorochrome appeared to be endocytosed at the cap region and much fluorescence in granular form remained at this locus in the cytoplasm even after the addition of α-methyl glucoside. This process was completely inhibited with 5 mM sodium azide.Under the electron microscope, control cells showed a diffuse and random distribution of microvilli and Con A receptors on their surfaces. In contrast, a large bundle of microvilli with bound Con A at the base of each microvillus was observed at one pole of the Con A-treated cells, indicating the gathering of Con A receptors corresponding to cap formation.The significance of cap formation is discussed in relation to the phagocytotic mechanism based on results of the present study.
The implication of stubble tillage for weed population dynamics in organic farming

In practical farming, early and shallow stubble tillage is carried out post-harvest to stimulate germination of freshly ripened crop and weed seeds, to kill the resulting seedlings and hence to reduce the input into the soil seedbank. Additionally, it aims at reducing perennial weeds by mechanical damage. In this paper, field experiments and laboratory studies are presented which show that stubble tillage can reduce perennial weeds. However, it had a variable effect on annual weeds. After 5 years of experimentation, no effect of stubble tillage was seen on the aboveground vegetation. In contrast, the soil seedbank of the control was roughly doubled where the stubble had been left uncultivated until autumn ploughing. These results indicate that practical experience which assumes that stubble tillage reduces annual weed populations may be correct, despite the fact that in other published studies stubble tillage exerted no control on annual weeds or had a variable effect. This will have practical application in organic arable production systems.
Marine World Heritage: creating a globally more balanced and representative list

The World Heritage Convention provides the potential for a comprehensive policy framework that allows for identification, management, governance, and protection of the world s most outstanding natural marine areas. Benefits of World Heritage (WH) listing include increased international attention and technical cooperation, governmental support and improvements to management, and enhanced funding opportunities. There are currently only 46 (of 981 or 4.7%) World Heritage Sites (WHS) that have been inscribed for their outstanding marine values, and these marine WHS (mWHS) represent predominantly tropical as opposed to temperate and polar ecosystems. Forty-seven (76%) of the world's 62 nearshore biogeographic provinces do not contain any mWHS or contain a low (<1%) coverage that is unlikely to capture the full range of values and features present in these provinces. A large proportion of the world's offshore provinces, representing 40% of the global ocean, do not contain any mWHS. To fulfill the World Heritage Committee's Global Strategy for a Representative, Balanced and Credible World Heritage List, States are encouraged to increase efforts to identify and nominate marine sites of potential Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), especially in biogeographic regions that are not yet represented, or underrepresented, on the WH List. However, as the criteria and guidance for the Convention are based primarily on terrestrial systems, further guidance on using them in the marine context is provided here. It is proposed that physical oceanographic features be considered under criterion (viii) ‘geology and oceanography’, while biological oceanographic features be considered under criterion (ix) ‘ecological and biological processes’. Use of criteria (vii) ‘superlative phenomena’ and (x) ‘species’ can follow current guidance for terrestrial systems. Potential approaches that can help address gaps in biogeographic representation of marine WHS and create a more balanced and representative marine World Heritage List are outlined here. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.