Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Productivity in simulated drought and post-drought recovery of eight ryegrass cultivars and a tall fescue cultivar with and without Epichloë endophyte

Abstract. Many ryegrass cultivars are available on the market, but little research information exists on their comparative drought tolerance or the role of their commercially associated Epichloë endophytes in drought tolerance. Cloned plants of seven perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) cultivars (Grasslands Commando, Ceres One50, Banquet II, Alto, Bealey, Trojan and Avalon) and an unreleased elite line (URL) and one Mediterranean tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) cultivar (Grasslands Flecha), in all cases both endophyte-free (E–) and -infected (E+) plants, were subjected to a cycle of summer drought and rehydration from December 2012 to May 2013. Other clones of the same plants were irrigated. Insecticide was used to protect plants from insect attack. We report data for shoot dry matter (DM), tiller survival rate (TSR) and reproductive development assessed approximately monthly during the experiment. In the second month of drought, only Banquet II and Grasslands Flecha showed no significant shoot DM reduction under water deficit. After 3 months of drought, shoot DM was reduced by 43% (Flecha) to 85% (URL) compared with irrigated plants. For Banquet II, Avalon and Grasslands Flecha, TSR was not significantly reduced by water deficit. During rehydration, growth of previously non-irrigated plants typically exceeded growth of irrigated clones across all cultivars. Banquet II and Grasslands Flecha were drought-tolerant in the sense that they showed a lower percentage yield reduction under drought than other cultivars tested; this was in part because they were not among the highest yielding under irrigation. Irrespective of irrigation treatment, the shoot DM of E+ plants of ryegrasses URL (with AR37 endophyte) and One50 (with AR1 endophyte) was reduced by almost 50% relative to their E– counterparts in each harvest from December to May, whereas the other six ryegrass varieties generally showed a small trend towards reduced shoot DM as E+ plants. This indicates that some novel cultivar–endophyte associations can incur a yield disadvantage compared with E– plants when protected from insect pressure.
Natural selection can favor ratchet robustness over mutational robustness

The vast majority of fitness-affecting mutations are deleterious. How natural populations evolve to cope is a question of fundamental interest. Previous studies have reported the evolution of mutational robustness, that is, natural selection favoring populations with less deleterious mutations. By definition, mutational robustness provides a short-term fitness advantage. However, this overlooks the fact that mutational robustness decreases finite asexual populations’ ability to purge recurrent deleterious mutations. Thus, mutational robustness also results in higher risk of long-term extinction by Muller’s ratchet. Here, we explore the tension between short- and long- term response to deleterious mutations. We first show that populations can resist the ratchet if either the selection coefficient or the ratio of beneficial to deleterious mutations increases as fitness declines. We designate these properties as ratchet robustness, which fundamentally reflects a negative feedback between mutation rate and the tendency to accumulate more mutations. We also find in simulations that populations can evolve ratchet robustness when challenged by deleterious mutations. We conclude that mutational robustness cannot be selected for in the long term, but it can be favored in the short-term, purely because of temporary fitness advantage. We also discuss other potential causes of mutational robustness in nature.
Effect of Storage Temperature and Time on Lyophilized Water Bark Extract's Biological Activity

Sweetgum bark extract has been known to show biological activities such as antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities. The storage capacity of the extract, however, was unknown and previously thought to diminish over time. However, upon experimentation, the freeze-dried sweetgum bark extract showed no signs that storage time or storage temperature had any significant effect on the biological activities. There was no significant difference across storage temperature over time in the experiment (ANOVA RM, P≥0.05). Therefore, the antioxidant capabilities of the sweetgum extract were not affected by the storage time or temperature treatments studied in this work. For the antimicrobial experiment, there was no significant difference across storage temperature over time in the experiment (ANOVA RM, P<0.95) and there were no different homogeneous groups. However, concentration had significance in the experiment (ANOVA RM, P<0.01 and Figure 3) showing that the zone of inhibition decreased with decreasing extract concentration. Overall, storage time and temperature did not have a negative effect on the biological activities of freeze-dried sweetgum bark extract.
Association Between Polymorphisms of Solute Crrier 27 A1 Gene with Milk Production Traits in Indian Sahiwal and Hariana Cattle

This study investigated the status of Solute carrier 27A1 (SLC27A1) polymorphism in Indian cattle breeds (n = 102) using PCR-RFLP assay and its association with milk production and reproduction traits. Two region of SLC27A1 gene consisting of exon 3 and exon 4 revealed 261 and 160 bp products, respectively. The digestion of 261 bp product using SacII restriction enzyme (RE) resulted in monomorphic pattern; only GG genotype. The BsaHI/PCR-RFLP assay revealed three types of genotypes, namely, TT (160 bp), CC (106 and 54 bp) and heterozygous CT (160, 106 and 54 bp) genotypes with frequencies 18.62, 59.80 and 21.56 %, respectively. The allelic frequency of C and T alleles were 0.71 and 0.29, respectively. Association study revealed that lactation period (LP), milk yield in 300 days (MY300), calving interval (CI), peak yield (PY) and days to reach peak yield (DRPY) had non-significant difference among all the three genotypes in first and second lactations. while, significant difference was (P=0.028) observed for total milk yield (TMY), where TMY of CC genotype was significantly higher than CT and TT genotypes in only first lactation. Results indicated that C allele for SLC27A1 gene can be used as candidate gene for marker assisted selection in Sahiwal and Hariana cattle.
A floral dimorphism in Nigella damascena L : genetic and molecular control, and adaptive significance

Understanding flower diversity requires on one hand the study of the molecular and developmental origin of floral architecture, and on the other the study of the functional and ecological consequences of flower morphology. A great deal of that diversity can be found at the perianth level which comprises the sepals and petals, sterile and versatile organs that play a major role in the reproductive success of animal pollinated flowering plants through their attractive characteristics.This thesis is the result of a multidisciplinary effort to understand the genetic and molecular origin as well as the evolutionary significance of perianth diversity, using the Nigella damascena L. as a model. This Ranunculaceae species presents a rare naturally occurring floral dimorphism affecting perianth architecture. The putatively ancestral form found in natural populations has a well differentiated bipartite perianth composed of five petaloid sepals and eight nectariferous petals, while the perianth in the alternative apetalous mutant, cultivated for horticultural purpose, has no petals and but is instead composed of numerous organs showing a continuum of forms from outer sepal-like to inner stamen-like.The first part of this thesis was dedicated to the study of the developmental, genetic and molecular origin of this dimorphism, via a detailed characterization of floral morphology and development in both morphs, which laid a foundation for the interpretation of the results of a candidate gene approach. Using expression analysis and functional validation we showed that NdAP3-3 is fully responsible for the complex N. damascena floral dimorphism, suggesting that it plays a role not only in petal identity but also in meristem patterning, possibly through the regulation of perianth organ number and perianth-stamen boundary.The second half of this thesis focused on the impact of the floral dimorphism on the reproduction mode and evolutionary maintenance of the two morphs. We assessed reproduction strategies and reproductive success in the two morphs by studying a polymorphic experimental population in natural conditions. The absence of petals in the mutant form was associated with a qualitative drop in pollinator visitation which resulted in a shift towards selfing. The study of their progeny suggests that selfing had a negative effect on the descendant’s vigor via inbreeding depression. Additionally, in our material, the allele responsible for the apetalous phenotype seems to be linked to a favorable allele increasing fitness. We discuss the mechanisms of the dimorphism maintenance in light of these results.
Gene expression analysis for identifying candidate genes for controlling oxidative stress in rubber tree

Hevea brasiliensis is the main source of natural rubber which is biosynthesized in latex cells. The high metabolic productivity required for latex regeneration after each tapping can be enhanced by ethylene application, which optimizes the production potential in rubber tree. However, excessive metabolism activation can lead to Tapping Panel Dryness (TPD). Expression analyses of several genes involved in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging systems have been studied in healthy trees, TPD trees and also in young budded plants. Here, we presented the expression patterns obtained by semi-quantitative and real time RT-PCR of genes involved in ascorbate-glutathione cycle. Three genotypes (PB260, PB217 and RRIM600) with contrasting metabolism have been selected at the immature stage for this study. Their expression patterns have been monitored along the day, and in response to both ethylene stimulation and wounding treatments. (Resume d'auteur)
Microsatellites as a tool for evaluation of allele pool dynamics when creation of Prioksky type of Middle Russian honey bee

The informative capacity of the test system for the analysis of seven microsatellites (A024, A88, A113, AP043, HB-C16-05, HB-THE-03, HB-C16- 01) for the allele pool characteristics of Middle Russian (n = 65), Gray Mountain Caucasian (n = 70) and Prioksky type of Middle Russian (n = 88) honey bee breeds was studied. The average number of alleles, the number of informative alleles and the number of effective alleles per loci were 7.48±1.02, 3.62±0.71 and 3.38±0.56, respectively. The increase of allele pool genetic diversity in Prioksky type comparing to Middle Russian and Grey Mountain Caucasian breeds used in type breeding was observed: 9.57±1.88 allele per loci as against 6.86±1.55 and 6.00±1.84, respectively. The allele introduction of initial breeds was evaluated. It was shown that 7.9 per cent of common microsatellite diversity was due to intra population differences.
PEMANFAATAN TANAMAN GULMA KAYAMBANG (Salvinia Molesta) SEBAGAI BAHAN PAKAN AYAM BURAS MELALUI ENERGI METABOLISMENYA

Kayambang is water seed from Indonesia which can be used for animal feed. In village it is usually used for duck and village fowl (kampong chicken). Kayambang grows very much on water surface and have hight nutrition include energy and protein. Animal feed are used for growth requirement and to support sintetics reactionsform its body. Energy from the feed is not used for animal in full. In each ingredient at least has 4 kind of energy : Gross Energy, Digestible energy, Metobalic energy and netto energy. Metabolic energy is impotant to measure form each ingredient because it is used for all requirement such as maintanance, growth, feedlot and layer. This research has goal for knowing about metabolic energy which can be used for animal especially for village fowl. The methodology was done by 14 male village fowl (11 chicken for metabolic energy, 3 chicken for endogenous nitrogen). Individual was caged to collect feces. Kayambang was used as meal and given to the chicken. The results showed that Kayambang has energy contains potentially for village fowl. Total metabolic energy is 2857,56 and apparent metabolic energy is 2433,66 Kkal/kg. Key words : kayambang, village fowl, animal feed, nutrition.
Utilizing a Microbial Natural Product to Investigate Cellular Circuitry Governing Fungal Drug Resistance and Morphogenesis

Fungal pathogens cause life-threatening infections in immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. The three most prevalent fungal pathogens are Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus fumigatus. There is a limited repertoire of antifungals in clinical use, with treatment of invasive infections restricted to polyenes, azoles, and echinocandins. The emergence of drug resistance now threatens the utility of antifungals, necessitating the development of novel strategies to block the emergence of drug resistance and restore antifungal activity against resistant pathogens. My research explores the mechanisms by which the natural product beauvericin enhances azole efficacy, blocks the emergence of azole resistance, inhibits virulence traits, and renders resistant pathogens responsive to treatment in mammalian infection models. My results demonstrate that beauvericin increases azole activity against Saccharomyces cerevisiae and pathogenic fungi such as C. albicans, C. neoformans, and A. fumigatus. Harnessing genome sequencing of S. cerevisiae beauvericin-resistant mutants, affinity purification of a biotinylated beauvericin analog, and biochemical and genetic assays reveals that beauvericin blocks multidrug efflux and inhibits the global regulator TORC1 kinase,
Monitoring methods for Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) on citrus groves with different insecticide application programmes

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is a major citrus pest that transmits the bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and Ca. L. americanus associated with huanglongbing (HLB) disease. Diaphorina citri population densities can affect the effectiveness of its monitoring and sampling methods. Thus, we compared different methods for adult D. citri monitoring in groves with and without insecticide application programmes. Four short‐term experiments were carried out, each one lasting four consecutive weeks. In these experiments, sticky cards with different colours (yellow, light green, green and dark green), sweep net, two suction device models, visual inspection and stem tap sampling were assessed. Two long‐term experiments were conducted for 4.5 and 5 years, in which only yellow sticky card and visual inspection for D. citri monitoring were assessed. For the short‐term experiments, psyllids were detected by all monitoring methods during all sampling periods in areas without chemical control. However, in areas with psyllid control via fortnightly and monthly applications of insecticides, only sticky cards, regardless of their colour, were able to detect the presence of D. citri. Similarly, for the long‐term experiments, yellow sticky cards were more effective than visual inspection for detecting and quantifying D. citri in all areas with or without insecticide application. Therefore, in areas where HLB is present and chemical control of psyllid is required, sticky cards are the most reliable option for monitoring D. citri.
Complete mitochondrial genome and the phylogenetic position of the Lake Eyre hardyhead (Craterocephalus eyresii), a freshwater atherinid fish endemic to Lake Eyre Basin, South Australia

Abstract The Lake Eyre hardyhead (Craterocephalus eyresii) is an endemic freshwater fish living in the Lake Eyre basin in South Australia. Here, I report the full mitogenome description and the phylogenetic position of this species based on the mitogenome phylogenetics. The mitogenome is 16,602 bp-long with the standard 37 genes all included, with a genomic structure typical of a vertebrate mitogenome. A maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis to confirm this species position was conducted, using a data set including publicly available 28 atherinomorphs, nine percomorphs, and two outgroups. The result confirms C. eyresii position's in Atherinoidei. The complete mitogenome data of C. eyresii reported here would be useful for further genetics, phylogeography, and phylogenetics studies involving this species.
The Implications of Developmental and Evolutionary Relationships between Pancreatic Beta-cells and Neurons

A pancreatic stem cell could provide the tissue necessary for widespread β-cell transplantation therapy for diabetes. It is disputed whether pancreatic stem cells or β-cell replication are responsible for maintenance and regeneration of endocrine cells. Evidence presented here shows that pancreatic stem cells express insulin and produce multiple endocrine, exocrine and neural cells in vitro and in vivo. The human pancreas also contains stem cells that produce functional β-cells capable of reducing blood sugar levels in a diabetic mouse. Initial studies of pancreatic stem cells grown clonally in vitro indicated that they produced large numbers of neurons, suggesting they may be derived from the neural crest. Evidence shows that there are at least two distinct developmental origins for stem cells in the pancreas; one from the pancreatic lineage that produces endocrine and exocrine cells and one from the neural crest lineage that produces neurons and Schwann cells. Furthermore, pancreatic stem cells require the developmental
Using a novel model approach to assess the distribution and conservation status of the endangered Baird's tapir

We test a new species distribution modelling (SDM) framework, while comparing results to more common distribution modelling techniques. This framework allows for the combination of presence‐only (PO) and presence‐absence (PA) data and accounts for imperfect detection and spatial bias in presence data. The new framework tested here is based on a Poisson point process model, which allows for predictions of population size. We compared these estimates to those provided by experts on the species.
Occurrence of Marbled Balloon Frog, Uperodon Systoma (Schneider, 1799) from Aurangabad (M.S.), India

During the survey of amphibians from University campus of Aurangabad (M.S.), India two specimens of marbled balloon frog were recovered near the botanical garden. Biodiversity study of amphibians from the university campus was not carried out before this study thus it forms the first study of amphibians and also occurrence of the marbled balloon frog from Marathwada region. The study was carried out during the year June 2009. The morpohmetric characters of this frog is taken into consideration while studying. --- Department of Zoology, Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad (M.S.), India --- Please Cite This Article As: Sujeet Jamdar, Tushar Dhondge and C.J. Hiware. 2010. Occurrence of Marbled Balloon Frog, Uperodon Systoma (Schneider, 1799) from Aurangabad (M.S.), India. J. Ecobiotechnol. 2(6):4-6.
Antimicrobial resistance in the major respiratory tract pathogens - methods and epidemiology

4 TIIVISTELMÄ . 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . 10 CONTENTS . 12 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS . 16 THE AUTHOR’S CONTRIBUTION . 17 ABBREVIATIONS . 18
Glutamatergic mechanisms in behavioural sensitization to ethanol

Repeated exposure to ethanol (EtOH) in mice produces behavioural sensitization. However, not all mice sensitize to EtOH and in any cohort high-sensitizers (HS) can readily be distinguished from low-sensitizers (LS). The neural mechanisms mediating vulnerability and resistance to EtOH sensitization remain unclear. Given the prominent role of glutamate in neuroplasticity, we examined whether this system might explain the variable response to EtOH. In the first set of experiments, we measured nucleus accumbens (NAc) glutamate levels in LS and HS mice following an EtOH challenge two weeks after sensitization development. EtOH-induced glutamate release in the NAc was present in HS mice and use of a glutamate release blocker prevented the expression of sensitization. To ascertain whether NAc glutamate was also elevated in HS mice during the development of sensitization, we measured levels after the 1 st and 5 th EtOH injection and found them unchanged in HS mice. These results suggest that NAc glutamate may not be necessary for the development of EtOH sensitization, but it appears essential for the expression of a sensitized response.
Testing the intermittent upwelling hypothesis: upwelling, downwelling, and subsidies to the intertidal zone

© 2017 by the Ecological Society of America The Intermittent Upwelling Hypothesis (IUH) posits that subsidies of larvae and phytoplankton to intertidal communities should vary unimodally along a gradient of upwelling from persistent upwelling to persistent downwelling with most subsidies occurring where upwelling is of intermediate strength and intermittent. Furthermore, the hypothesis states that larvae and phytoplankton are transported far offshore by strong, persistent upwelling and fail to subsidize nearshore communities, whereas weak upwelling or downwelling reduces nutrients for phytoplankton production limiting food for larvae and nearshore communities. We review studies conducted at sea and onshore and reanalyze published data to test the IUH and evaluate alternative hypotheses. To test the hypothesis, we examine five predictions that must hold if the IUH is true. (1) Larvae should inhabit the surface Ekman layer where they are transported offshore during upwelling. Larvae of many intertidal taxa occur deeper in the water column where currents flow shoreward during upwelling. (2) Larvae of nearshore species should occur farther offshore during upwelling than during relaxation or downwelling. Larvae of many nearshore species remain within several kilometers of shore during both conditions. (3) Larval settlement in intertidal communities should be lower during upwelling than relaxation or downwelling. Daily larval settlement has not observed to be higher during relaxation or downwelling events; settlement has most often been seen to vary with the fortnightly tidal cycle likely due to onshore larval transport by internal tides. (4) Larval settlement and recruitment in intertidal communities should be lower in areas of strong, persistent upwelling than where upwelling is weaker and less persistent. Recruitment of mussels and barnacles to artificial and natural substrates did not vary with the strength of upwelling, but did vary inversely with two measures of desiccation potential, and directly with indicators of surf zone hydrodynamics; larval recruitment was higher where surf zones were more dissipative with rip currents. (5) Phytoplankton subsidies to nearshore communities should be highest where upwelling is moderate and intermittent. Like larval subsidies, phytoplankton subsidies varied spatially with surf zone hydrodynamics rather than upwelling. This reconsideration of the evidence for the IUH finds the hypothesis unsupported.
Detection and quantification of Fusarium-specific disease symptoms in maize ears by spectral imaging

In today's maize breeding, resistance against ear fusariosis is an important challenge. Breeders need reliable methods for quantifying Fusarium-specific disease symptoms on maize ears. 20 maize varieties were inoculated with conidia of two predominant pathogenic Fusarium species at the stage of female flowering. After harvest, the ears were cut vertically into halves. Spectral images were taken of the inner side of the halves. A supervised classification procedure was applied to quantify the areas with Fusarium-specific disease symptoms. Results were compared to the visual estimation of an expert. The figures from the image analysis were slightly higher than the expert's estimation but they may be used to predict the expert estimation with r2 = 0.81.