Publications by authors named "Holford P"

The brown marmorated stink bug (), a native of Asia, has become an invasive pest in North America and Europe. Given the severity of and the need for better and environmentally-friendly control methods for this pest, we evaluated the virulence four entomopathogenic nematode species (, and ) that occur naturally in soils in southern Việt Nam and compared them with that of a commercially available strain of . We report for the first time the pathogenicity of towards BMSB.

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Viroids occur in plants as swarms of sequence variants clustered around a dominant variant, leading to adoption of the term 'quasispecies' to describe the viroid population in an individual host. The composition of the quasispecies can potentially change according to the age of the infection, the position of the leaf or branch in the canopy, and the host species. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the quasispecies concept for citrus viroid VII (CVd-VII), a recently discovered member of the family Pospiviroidae.

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The natural pollinator of the major species of commercially-grown vanilla, , is unknown, and the crop requires hand pollination to achieve significant levels of fruit set; however, the traditional technique (using a toothpick) is costly, as it requires skilled personnel. To overcome this problem, two native Australian bees, and , and the blowfly, , were trialled as pollinators. Three alternatives to the toothpick method were also trialled.

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Article Synopsis
  • Infection with pathogens like "Liberibacter asiaticus" and certain fungi can enhance the reproductive ability (fecundity) of insect vectors, which is beneficial for the pathogens.
  • This study focuses on the roles of specific microRNAs (miR-2 and novel-miR-109) in regulating these fecundity changes and found that lower levels of these miRNAs in the ovaries of infected insects are linked to increased fecundity and pathogen presence.
  • The findings suggest that a conserved mechanism exists where juvenile hormone suppresses these miRNAs, leading to altered gene expression that boosts female insect reproduction in the presence of bacterial and fungal infections.
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  • Arsenic in soil is bad for crops like soybeans, making them less healthy and safe to eat.
  • Scientists found that zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) can help soybeans grow better and reduce arsenic buildup by 55%.
  • The study showed that ZnONPs help plants by changing their hormone levels and activating certain genes that fight off arsenic stress.
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serves as the primary vector for ' Liberibacter asiaticus (Las),' the bacterium associated with the severe Asian form of huanglongbing. Las-positive are more fecund than their Las-negative counterparts and require extra energy expenditure. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms linking metabolism and reproduction is of particular importance.

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The phloem-limited bacterium ' Liberibacter asiaticus' (Las) is the putative causal pathogen of the severe Asiatic form of huanglongbing (citrus greening) and is most commonly transmitted by the Asiatic citrus psyllid . Las severely affects many species and hybrids and has been recorded in the relative, orange jasmine, (L.) Jack (syn.

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Drought is one of the main environmental factors affecting crop growth, and breeding drought-tolerant cultivars is one of the most economic and effective ways of increasing yields and ensuring sustainable agricultural production under drought stress. To facilitate the breeding of drought-tolerant wheat, this study was conducted to evaluate genotypic differences in the drought tolerance of 334 wheat genotypes collected from China and Australia with the aim of screening for drought-tolerant and -sensitive genotypes and to elucidate the corresponding physiological mechanisms. A hydroponic-air experiment (roots exposed to air for 7 h/d and continued for 6 d) showed significant genotypic differences in shoot and root dry weights among the genotypes.

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Aluminum-activated malate transporters (ALMTs) and slow anion channels (SLACs) are important in various physiological processes in plants, including stomatal regulation, nutrient uptake, and in response to abiotic stress such as aluminum toxicity. To understand their evolutionary history and functional divergence, we conducted phylogenetic and expression analyses of ALMTs and SLACs in green plants. Our findings from phylogenetic studies indicate that ALMTs and SLACs may have originated from green algae and red algae, respectively.

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  • Scientists study how insects and the germs that make them sick interact, especially a bug called Diaphorina citri and a germ known as CLas, which causes a plant disease.
  • When the bug has CLas, it can lay more eggs than when it doesn't have it, but how this happens is still a mystery.
  • Researchers found that CLas changes the bug's body and uses some special molecules (like miR-275) to help it have more babies, which also helps the germ spread more easily.
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Guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) is a summer legume that is becoming a crucial industrial crop because of its high gum and protein content. Thus far, the combined effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Bradyrhizobium on the yield and chemical composition of guar plants are not well studied.

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Populations of decline with elevation and, in a study in Bhutan, were rarely found above 1200 m ASL. The impact of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, particularly UV-B, on immature stages of the psyllid was proposed as limiting factor. As no studies have been undertaken on the influences of UV radiation on the development of , we examined the effects of UV-A and UV-B on different stadia of the psyllid.

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Detection of new viruses or new virus hosts is essential for the protection of economically important agroecosystems and human health. Increasingly, metatranscriptomic data are being used to facilitate this process. Such data were obtained from adult Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) ( Kuwayama) that fed solely on mandarin ( × L.

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Rice ( L.) has inherently low concentrations of nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn), and those concentrations are falling as the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide ([CO]) increases, threatening the quality of human diets. We investigated the effect of two levels of Zn supply (marginal and luxury), on Zn and N concentrations in whole grain of two indica rice cvv.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Both EBL and NO, when applied individually, showed positive effects in reducing Cr toxicity, but their combined application was most effective, leading to improved plant health and reduced Cr absorption.
  • * The research highlights the potential of EBL and NO as remediation agents in Cr-contaminated soils, while also calling for further studies to assess their effectiveness in real-world agricultural settings and evaluate economic impacts.
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The mechanisms underlie increased stress tolerance in plants of salinity stress in plants by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are poorly understood, particularly the role of polyamine metabolism. The current study was conducted to investigate how inoculation with the AMF, Funneliformis constrictum, affects maize plant tolerance to salt stress. To this end, we investigated the changes in photosynthesis, redox status, primary metabolites (amino acids) and secondary metabolism (phenolic and polyamine metabolism).

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Rice (), a staple crop for a substantial part of the world's population, is highly sensitive to soil salinity; however, some wild relatives can survive in highly saline environments. Sodium/hydrogen antiporter (NHX) family members contribute to Na homeostasis in plants and play a major role in conferring salinity tolerance. In this study, we analyzed the evolution of NHX family members using phylogeny, conserved domains, tertiary structures, expression patterns, and physiology of cultivated and wild species to decipher the role of NHXs in salt tolerance in .

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  • Gene editing with CRISPR/Cas technology has transformed biotechnology, especially in medicine and life sciences, but its application to miRNAs in plants has been underexplored.
  • This review discusses the development, creation, structure, and interactions of miRNAs, including how they regulate gene expression and techniques to predict their target genes.
  • The integration of CRISPR/Cas with miRNAs in plant research will enhance our understanding of their functions and promote more sustainable and acceptable crop genetic engineering practices.
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Species of wild rice (Oryza spp.) possess a wide range of stress tolerance traits that can be potentially utilized in breeding climate-resilient cultivated rice cultivars (Oryza sativa) thereby aiding global food security. In this study, we conducted a greenhouse trial to evaluate the salinity tolerance of six wild rice species, one cultivated rice cultivar (IR64) and one landrace (Pokkali) using a range of electrophysiological, imaging, and whole-plant physiological techniques.

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Photosynthesis in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) pericarps may contribute appreciably to wheat grain yield. Consequently, we investigated the temporal variation of traits related to photosynthesis and sucrose metabolism in the pericarps and flag leaves of three wheat genotypes, Huandoy, Amurskaja 75 and Greece 25, which are reported to differ in expression of genes related to the C4 pathway in wheat grain.

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Article Synopsis
  • - This study investigates how two wild Tibetan barley genotypes, XZ5 (drought tolerant) and XZ54 (drought sensitive), respond to drought stress caused by polyethylene glycol, focusing on potassium (K) nutrition.
  • - Results indicate that drought and low K levels negatively affect plant growth, but genotype XZ5 shows the best resilience, able to retain K more effectively and maintain better photosynthetic function.
  • - The findings suggest that Tibetan wild barley, particularly XZ5, could be important for developing new barley varieties that are both efficient in K utilization and more resistant to drought stress, potentially benefiting agricultural practices.
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Severe respiratory infections are characterized by elevated inflammation and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which may lead to a decrease in antioxidants such as vitamin C and a higher requirement for the vitamin. Administration of intravenous vitamin C to patients with pneumonia and sepsis appears to decrease the severity of the disease and potentially improve survival rate. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection causes pneumonia, sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in severe cases, and is referred to as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

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An apscaviroid, tentatively named citrus viroid VII (CVd-VII), was recently discovered in citrus in Australia. A diagnostic assay using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was developed and validated to detect the viroid in citrus plants. The assay showed a high level of sensitivity, reliably detecting 2000 plasmid copies per reaction, while down to 20 plasmid copies per reaction were occasionally detected.

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Heat stress is a major environmental threat affecting crop growth and productivity. However, the molecular mechanisms associated with plant responses to heat stress are poorly understood. Here, we identified a heat stress-sensitive mutant, hts1, in rice.

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The use of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) is expected to increase soil fertility, crop productivity, and food quality. However, the potential effects of ZnO NP utilization should be deeply understood. This review highlights the behavior of ZnO NPs in soil and their interactions with the soil components.

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