A dark incubation period is important for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of mature internode explants of sweet orange, grapefruit, citron, and a citrange rootstock.

Background: Citrus has an extended juvenile phase and trees can take 2-20 years to transition to the adult reproductive phase and produce fruit. For citrus variety development this substantially prolongs the time before adult traits, such as fruit yield and quality, can be evaluated. Methods to transform tissue from mature citrus trees would shorten the evaluation period via the direct production of adult phase transgenic citrus trees.

In vitro shoot growth of Brugmansia × candida Pers.

The objective of this study was to improve the growth of in vitro shoot cultures of Brugmansia × candida 'Creamsickle'. Several mineral nutrient experiments were conducted to determine the effect of NH4 (+), NO3 (-), K(+), FeSO4/EDTA, ZnSO4, MnSO4, and CuSO4 on quality, leaf width and length, size and weight of shoot mass, and shoot number. The experiment to determine the levels of NH4 (+), NO3 (-), and K(+), was conducted as a 2-component NH4 (+): K(+) mixture crossed by [NO3 (-)] and resulted in an experimental design free of ion confounding and capable of separating the effects of proportion and concentration.

A data mining approach to dinoflagellate clustering according to sterol composition: correlations with evolutionary history.

This study examined the sterol compositions of 102 dinoflagellates using clustering and cluster validation techniques, as a means of determining the relatedness of the organisms. In addition, dinoflagellate sterol-based relationships were compared statistically to 18S rDNA-based phylogenetic relationships using the Mantel test. Our results indicated that the examined dinoflagellates formed six clusters based on sterol composition and that several, but not all, dinoflagellate genera, which formed discrete clusters in the 18S rDNA-based phylogeny, shared similar sterol compositions.

Artificial diet optimized to produce normative adults of Diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

The root weevil Diaprepes abbreviatus L. has been continuously reared since 1992 on an artificial diet (F1675) first reported in 1982. The weight of weevils reared on F1675 was more than twice as great as field-collected individuals.

Sensory imbalance as mechanism of orientation disruption in the leafminer Phyllocnistis citrella: elucidation by multivariate geometric designs and response surface models.

Experimental designs developed to address mixtures are suited ideally to many areas of experimental biology, including pheromone blend studies, because such designs address the confounding of proportionality and concentration intrinsic to factorial and one-factor-at-a-time designs. Geometric multivariate designs coupled with response surface modeling allowed us to identify optimal blends of a two-component pheromone for attraction and trap disruption of the leafminer moth, Phyllocnistis citrella, a major pest in citrus growing areas around the world. Field trials confirmed that the natural 3:1 blend of (Z,Z,E)-7,11,13-hexadecatrienal:(Z,Z)-7,11-hexadecadienal was most effective as an attractant for male moths.

The effects of nitrogen and potassium nutrition on the growth of nonembryogenic and embryogenic tissue of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck).

Background: Mineral nutrients are one of the most basic components of plant tissue culture media. Nitrogen in the form of NH4+ and NO3(-) is the dominant mineral nutrient in most plant tissue culture formulations, with effects dependent on both the proportion and the amount of NH4+ and NO3(-). The effects of nitrogen nutrition on the growth of nonembryogenic and embryogenic cell lines of sweet orange (C.

Insect diets as mixtures: optimization for a polyphagous weevil.

Development or improvement of artificial insect diets can be tedious, convoluted and often under-appreciated. Using n-dimensional mixture designs, we identified a set of response-optimized meridic diets that contain fewer ingredients than the current commercial diet for Diaprepes abbreviatus, a polyphagous weevil pest of the Caribbean and southern U.S.

Ion chromatography of phytate in roots and tubers.

The ion chromatographic method for the quantification of phytate (InsP(6)) in foods was adapted for the analysis of roots and tubers. To maximize sensitivity, ultraviolet (UV) detection following postcolumn derivatization was compared with evaporative light-scattering detection (ELSD). Detection limits for phytate were 0.