and Seeds in Medieval Archaeological Sites: An Example of Multiproxy Analysis for Their Identification and Ethnobotanical Interpretation.

The genus includes some of the most important vegetable and oil crops worldwide. Many seeds (which can show diagnostic characters useful for species identification) were recovered from two archaeological sites in northern Italy, dated from between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. We tested the combined use of archaeobotanical keys, ancient DNA barcoding, and references to ancient herbarium specimens to address the issue of diagnostic uncertainty.

Cacao swollen shoot virus detection and DNA barcoding of its vectors and putative vectors in L. by using polymerase chain reaction.

Cacao swollen shoot virus (CSSV) is an endemic pathogen causing significant economic losses to cacao ( L.) production in West Africa. There is limited updated report on the occurrence, spread, genetic diversity and species of CSSV and its mealybug vectors, especially in Nigeria.

Identification and distribution of novel badnaviral sequences integrated in the genome of cacao (Theobroma cacao).

Theobroma cacao is one of the most economically important tropical trees, being the source of chocolate. As part of an ongoing study to understand the diversity of the badnavirus complex, responsible for the cacao swollen shoot virus disease in West Africa, evidence was found recently of virus-like sequences in asymptomatic cacao plants. The present study exploited the wealth of genomic resources in this crop, and combined bioinformatic, molecular, and genetic approaches to report for the first time the presence of integrated badnaviral sequences in most of the cacao genetic groups.

sp. nov., a novel species isolated from oak in the United Kingdom, and phylogenetic considerations of the genera , and .

As the current episode of Acute Oak Decline (AOD) continues to affect native British oak in the United Kingdom, ongoing isolations from symptomatic and healthy oak have yielded a large species population. These strains could be divided into taxa representing three potential novel species. Recently, two of these taxa were described as novel species in the lineage.

Lemurs in Cacao: Presence and Abundance within the Shade Plantations of Northern Madagascar.

The recognition that much biodiversity exists outside protected areas is driving research to understand how animals survive in anthropogenic landscapes. In Madagascar, cacao (Theobroma cacao) is grown under a mix of native and exotic shade trees, and this study sought to understand whether lemurs were present in these agroecosystems. Between November 2016 and March 2017, discussions with farmers, nocturnal reconnaissance surveys and camera traps were used to confirm the presence of lemurs in the Cokafa and Mangabe plantations near Ambanja, north-west Madagascar.

sp. nov. and sp. nov., isolated from pedunculate oak affected by acute oak decline in the UK.

Twenty-two cream-coloured bacterial strains were isolated from oak trees affected by acute oak decline (AOD) in Southern England. Isolates were Gram-negative, motile, slightly curved rods, aerobic, non-spore-forming, catalase positive and oxidase positive. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis placed the strains in two separate phylogenetic clusters in the group, with as the closest phylogenetic relative.

Investigating ROS, RNS, and HS-Sensitive Signaling Proteins.

The modification of proteins is a key way to alter their activity and function. Often thiols, cysteine residues, on proteins are attractive targets for such modification. Assuming that the thiol group is accessible then reactions may take place with a range of chemicals found in cells.

Next generation sequencing elucidates cacao badnavirus diversity and reveals the existence of more than ten viral species.

Cacao swollen shoot virus is a member of the family Caulimoviridae, genus Badnavirus and is naturally transmitted to Theobroma cacao (L.) by several mealybug species. CSSV populations in West African countries are highly variable and genetically structured into several different groups based on the diversity in the first part of ORF3 which encodes the movement protein.

Residual ground-water levels of the neonicotinoid thiacloprid perturb chemosensing of Caenorhabditis elegans.

This study investigated the neurological effects of residual ground-water levels of thiacloprid on the non-target organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Nematodes treated with thiacloprid showed a dose-dependent and significantly increased twitch response at concentrations above 50 ng mL that disabled their forward locomotion in liquid culture. In comparison with untreated controls, 10 ng mL thiacloprid perturbed the chemosensory ability of C.

Rapid identification of bacteria associated with Acute Oak Decline by high-resolution melt analysis.

Unlabelled: Two Gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae, Gibbsiella quercinecans and Brenneria goodwinii, are frequently isolated from oak suffering from Acute Oak Decline. These two species are difficult to identify based on colony morphology, carbohydrate utilization or 16S rRNA gene sequence, and identification using gyrB gene sequencing is time-consuming and laborious. A rapid identification technique, based on high-resolution melt analysis of the atpD gene, was designed to efficiently process numerous isolates from an increasing number of affected woodlands and parks.

Using DNA Metabarcoding to Identify the Floral Composition of Honey: A New Tool for Investigating Honey Bee Foraging Preferences.

Identifying the floral composition of honey provides a method for investigating the plants that honey bees visit. We compared melissopalynology, where pollen grains retrieved from honey are identified morphologically, with a DNA metabarcoding approach using the rbcL DNA barcode marker and 454-pyrosequencing. We compared nine honeys supplied by beekeepers in the UK.

Environmental niche variation and evolutionary diversification of the Brachypodium distachyon grass complex species in their native circum-Mediterranean range.

Unlabelled: •

Premise Of The Study: We conducted environmental niche modeling (ENM) of the Brachypodium distachyon s.l. complex, a model group of two diploid annual grasses (B.

High-resolution melt and morphological analyses of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) from cacao: tools for the control of Cacao swollen shoot virus spread.

Background: Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) are key vectors of badnaviruses, including Cacao swollen shoot virus (CSSV), the most damaging virus affecting cacao (Theobroma cacao L.). The effectiveness of mealybugs as virus vectors is species dependent, and it is therefore vital that CSSV resistance breeding programmes in cacao incorporate accurate mealybug identification.

Assessing the value of imperfect biocontainment nationally: rapeseed in the United Kingdom as an exemplar.

Paternal biocontainment methods (PBMs) act by preventing pollen-mediated transgene flow. They are compromised by transgene escape via the crop-maternal line. We therefore assess the efficacy of PBMs for transgenic rapeseed (Brassica napus) biocontainment across the United Kingdom by estimating crop-maternal hybridization with its two progenitor species.

Maintaining functional major histocompatibility complex diversity under inbreeding: the case of a selfing vertebrate.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes encode proteins that present pathogen-derived antigens to T-cells, initiating the adaptive immune response in vertebrates. Although populations with low MHC diversity tend to be more susceptible to pathogens, some bottlenecked populations persist and even increase in numbers despite low MHC diversity. Thus, the relative importance of MHC diversity versus genome-wide variability for the long-term viability of populations after bottlenecks and/or under high inbreeding is controversial.

DNA barcoding the native flowering plants and conifers of Wales.

We present the first national DNA barcode resource that covers the native flowering plants and conifers for the nation of Wales (1143 species). Using the plant DNA barcode markers rbcL and matK, we have assembled 97.7% coverage for rbcL, 90.

Exploiting the Brachypodium Tool Box in cereal and grass research.

It is now a decade since Brachypodium distachyon (Brachypodium) was suggested as a model species for temperate grasses and cereals. Since then transformation protocols, large expressed sequence tag (EST) databases, tools for forward and reverse genetic screens, highly refined cytogenetic probes, germplasm collections and, recently, a complete genome sequence have been generated. In this review, we will describe the current status of the Brachypodium Tool Box and how it is beginning to be applied to study a range of biological traits.

Permanent genetic resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 August 2010-30 September 2010.

This article documents the addition of 229 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Acacia auriculiformis × Acacia mangium hybrid, Alabama argillacea, Anoplopoma fimbria, Aplochiton zebra, Brevicoryne brassicae, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Bucorvus leadbeateri, Delphacodes detecta, Tumidagena minuta, Dictyostelium giganteum, Echinogammarus berilloni, Epimedium sagittatum, Fraxinus excelsior, Labeo chrysophekadion, Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi, Paratrechina longicornis, Phaeocystis antarctica, Pinus roxburghii and Potamilus capax. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Acacia peregrinalis, Acacia crassicarpa, Bruguiera cylindrica, Delphacodes detecta, Tumidagena minuta, Dictyostelium macrocephalum, Dictyostelium discoideum, Dictyostelium purpureum, Dictyostelium mucoroides, Dictyostelium rosarium, Polysphondylium pallidum, Epimedium brevicornum, Epimedium koreanum, Epimedium pubescens, Epimedium wushanese and Fraxinus angustifolia.

Rapeseed cytoplasm gives advantage in wild relatives and complicates genetically modified crop biocontainment.

Biocontainment methods for genetically modified crops closest to commercial reality (chloroplast transformation, male sterility) would be compromised (in absolute terms) by seed-mediated gene flow leading to chloroplast capture. Even in these circumstances, however, it can be argued that biocontainment still represses transgene movement, with the efficacy depending on the relative frequency of seed- and pollen-mediated gene flow. In this study, we screened for crop-specific chloroplast markers from rapeseed (Brassica napus) amongst sympatric and allopatric populations of wild B.

Spontaneous capture of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) chloroplasts by wild B. rapa: implications for the use of chloroplast transformation for biocontainment.

Environmental concerns over the cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) crops largely centre on the ecological consequences following gene flow to wild relatives. One attractive solution is to deploy biocontainment measures that prevent hybridization. Chloroplast transformation is the most advanced biocontainment method but is compromised by chloroplast capture (hybridization through the maternal lineage).

Transmission of cocoa swollen shoot virus by seeds.

A study was undertaken to determine whether cocoa swollen shoot virus is transmitted by seeds, to improve the robustness of quarantine procedures for international exchange and long term conservation of cocoa germplasm. PCR/capillary electrophoresis, using cocoa swollen shoot virus primers designed from the most conserved regions of the six published cocoa genome sequences, allowed the detection of cocoa swollen shoot virus in all the component parts of cocoa seeds from cocoa swollen shoot virus-infected trees. PCR/capillary electrophoresis revealed the presence of cocoa swollen shoot virus in seedlings raised from seeds obtained from cocoa swollen shoot virus-infected trees.

The effectiveness of somatic embryogenesis in eliminating the cocoa swollen shoot virus from infected cocoa trees.

Investigations were undertaken on the use of somatic embryogenesis to generate cocoa swollen shoot virus (CSSV) disease free clonal propagules from infected trees. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) capillary electrophoresis revealed the presence of CSSV in all the callus tissues induced from the CSSV-infected Amelonado cocoa trees (T1, T2 and T4). The virus was transmitted to primary somatic embryos induced from the infected callus tissues at the rate of 10 (19%), 18 (14%) and 16 (15%) for T1, T2 and T4, respectively.

Simple sequence repeats reveal uneven distribution of genetic diversity in chloroplast genomes of Brassica oleracea L. and (n = 9) wild relatives.

Diversity in the chloroplast genome of 171 accessions representing the Brassica 'C' (n = 9) genome, including domesticated and wild B. oleracea and nine inter-fertile related wild species, was investigated using six chloroplast SSR (microsatellite) markers. The lack of diversity detected among 105 cultivated and wild accessions of B.