Effects of Three Essential Oil Fumigation Treatments on the Postharvest Control of and Their Efficacy as Preservatives of Cherry Tomatoes.

Cherry tomatoes () are becoming increasingly popular due to their nutrition and delicious flavor. However, cherry tomatoes are highly perishable and susceptible to various pathogenic microorganisms after harvest, such as . In the pretest experiment, we screened out three kinds of plant essential oils (EOs) ( oil, oil, and oil) that have strong fungicidal activity on from cherry tomatoes.

Effects of RNAi-mediated plasma membrane calcium transporting ATPase and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor gene silencing on the susceptibility of Mythimna separata to wilforine.

Wilforine, a compound of sesquiterpene alkaloids isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii, exhibits excellent insecticidal activity against Mythimna separata. In order to clarify the action mechanism of wilforine, the plasma membrane calcium transporting ATPase (PMCA) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IPR) from M. separata were studied.

Functional Characterization of Two Carboxylesterase Genes Involved in Pyrethroid Detoxification in .

Insect carboxylesterases are major enzymes involved in metabolism of xenobiotics including insecticides. Two carboxylesterase genes, and , were cloned from the destructive agricultural pest . Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that and were predominantly expressed in fat body and midgut, respectively; developmental expression analyses found that the expression levels of both CarEs were significantly higher in fifth-instar larvae than in other life stages.

Europium(III) functionalized 3D covalent organic framework for quinones adsorption and sensing investigation.

Chemical functionalization is essential for tuning the physical-chemical characters and broadening the potential applications of covalent organic frameworks (COFs). Based on the multistep postsynthetic modification strategy, Eu (III)-functionalized 3D COF (Eu-3D-COF) was prepared by grafting of Eu (III) onto the carboxyl-funtionalized 3D-COF (COOH-3D-COF). With micropores dominated microspheres structure, Eu-3D-COF exhibited superior adsorption affinity to multi-rings contained quinones based on the π-π interaction, coordination and hydrogen-bonding interactions, especially to 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (PQ) whose adjacent carbonyl oxygens resulting preferable synergistic chelation interaction with Eu(III) was responsible for the maximum adsorption capacity, which was confirmed by instrumental characterizations.

Efficacy of binary combinations between methyl salicylate and carvacrol against thrips Anaphothrips obscurus: laboratory and field trials.

Background: Thrips Anaphothrips obscurus are one of the cosmopolitan major pests feeding on cereals and other grasses. In order to develop alternatives of chemical insecticides for thrips control, based on fumigant activity screening and evaluation of 22 essential oil (EO) compounds against the thrips, the binary interactions of methyl salicylate and carvacrol (MS-C) with high fumigant toxicity were studied systematically by bioassay and field trials.

Results: The bioassay results showed that six in 22 EO compounds had high fumigant toxicity against both the second-instar nymphs and adults of A.

Identification and biochemical characterization of carboxylesterase 001G associated with insecticide detoxification in Helicoverpa armigera.

Carboxylesterases (CarEs) are a major class of detoxification enzymes involved in insecticide resistance in various insect species. In this study, a novel CarE 001G was isolated from the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera, one of the most destructive agricultural insect pests. The open reading frame of 001G has 2244 nucleotides and putatively encodes 747 amino acid residues.

Validation of suitable reference genes for quantitative gene expression analysis in Tripterygium wilfordii.

Validation of suitable reference genes is critical in quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. Suitable and reliable reference genes for the normalization of gene expression data are characterized by high gene expression stability across tissues and different experimental conditions. This study evaluated the gene expression stability of ten reference genes commonly used in Arabidopsis thaliana for their suitability in qRT-PCR analysis in Tripterygium wilfordii Hook.

Antiphytoviral toxins of Actinidia chinensis root bark (ACRB) extract: laboratory and semi-field trials.

Background: Actinidia chinensis Planch, which is distributed only in China, has been used to treat hepatitis and cancer. The objective of the present work was to identify the antiviral active ingredient of A. chinensis root bark (ACRB).

New Cytotoxic Secondary Metabolites from Marine Bryozoan Cryptosula pallasiana.

A new sterol, (23)-methoxycholest-5,24-dien-3β-ol (), two new ceramides, (2,3,4,8)-2-(tetradecanoylamino)-4,8-octadecadien-l,3-diol () and (2,3,2',4,8)-2-(tetradecanoylamino)-4,8-octadecadien-l,3,2'-triol (), together with three known sterols (-), a lactone () and two ceramides (,), were isolated from the marine bryozoan , collected at Huang Island of China. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses, chemical methods and quantum electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Among the isolated compounds, sterol possessed a rare side chain with a methoxy group at C-23, and a double bond between C-24 and C-25.

Differential expressed analysis of Tripterygium wilfordii unigenes involved in terpenoid backbone biosynthesis.

Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. is the traditional medicinal plants in China.

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of cytochrome c oxidase subunit II from Sitophilus zeamais.

Cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (COX II) containing a dual core CuA active site is one of the core subunits of mitochondrial Cytochrome c oxidase (Cco), which plays a significant role in the physiological process. In this report, the full-length cDNA of COXII gene was cloned from Sitophilus zeamais, which had an open reading frame (ORF) of 684 bp encoding 227 amino acids residues. The predicted COXII protein had a molecular mass of 26.

Design, synthesis and fungicidal activities of some novel pyrazole derivatives.

In order to discover new compounds with good fungicidal activities, 32 pyrazole derivatives were designed and synthesized. The structures of the target compounds were confirmed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), and their fungicidal activities against Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn, Valsa mali Miyabe et Yamada, Thanatephorus cucumeris (Frank) Donk, Fusarium oxysporum (S-chl) f.sp.

Fumigant activity of eleven essential oil compounds and their selected binary mixtures against Culex pipiens pallens (Diptera: Culicidae).

To seek natural products for the development of environment friendly mosquito control agents, fumigant activity of eleven essential oil compounds and the joint action of the active compounds were evaluated against Culex pipiens pallens adults. Fumigant bioassay demonstrated that carvacrol exhibited the highest fumigant activity followed by thymol and l-perillaldehyde, with LC50 values of 0.26, 0.

Two new steroids from sclerotia of the fungus Omphalia lapidescens.

Two new steroids, leiwansterols A and B, along with three known ones (3-5), were isolated from the sclerotia of the fungus Omphalia lapidescen. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral data. The isolated compounds showed weak anti-tobacco mosaic virus activity.

Synthesis and antifungal activity of carabrone derivatives.

Nine derivatives 6-14 of carabrone (1) were synthesized and tested in vitro against Colletotrichum lagenarium Ell et Halst using the spore germination method. Among all of the derivatives, compounds 6-8 and 12 showed more potent antifungal activity than 1. Structure-activity relationships (SAR) demonstrated that the γ-lactone was necessary for the antifungal activity of 1, and the substituents on the C-4 position of 1 could significantly affect the antifungal activity.

Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for toosendanin.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were developed by using polyclonal antibody for toosendanin (TSN), a biopesticide from Melai toosendan Sieb. et Zucc. Their application in the determination of this analyte in spiked cabbage, tomato and apple samples was studied.

Deregulated CDC25A expression promotes mammary tumorigenesis with genomic instability.

Checkpoint pathways help cells maintain genomic integrity, delaying cell cycle progression in response to various risks of fidelity, such as genotoxic stresses, compromised DNA replication, and impaired spindle control. Cancer cells frequently exhibit genomic instability, and recent studies showed that checkpoint pathways are likely to serve as a tumor-suppressive barrier in vivo. The cell cycle-promoting phosphatase CDC25A is an activator of cyclin-dependent kinases and one of the downstream targets for the CHK1-mediated checkpoint pathway.

Wnk1 kinase deficiency lowers blood pressure in mice: a gene-trap screen to identify potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

The availability of both the mouse and human genome sequences allows for the systematic discovery of human gene function through the use of the mouse as a model system. To accelerate the genetic determination of gene function, we have developed a sequence-tagged gene-trap library of >270,000 mouse embryonic stem cell clones representing mutations in approximately 60% of mammalian genes. Through the generation and phenotypic analysis of knockout mice from this resource, we are undertaking a functional screen to identify genes regulating physiological parameters such as blood pressure.

Overexpression of Cdc25B, an androgen receptor coactivator, in prostate cancer.

Cdc25B is a dual-specific phosphatase that mediates cell cycle progression by activating the cyclin-dependent kinases. It has been shown to possess oncogenic potential. To elucidate its potential contribution to human prostate cancer development, the expression profile of Cdc25B protein in human patients was analysed by immunohistocytochemistry.

Inducible expression of FGF-3 in mouse mammary gland.

Fibroblast growth factor-3 (FGF-3) is a crucial developmental regulator. Aberrant activation of this gene by mouse mammary tumor virus insertion results in pregnancy-responsive mammary tumorigenesis. To characterize better FGF-3 function in postnatal mammary gland development and cancer initiation/progression, we used a mifepristone (RU486)-inducible regulatory system to express conditionally FGF-3 in the mammary epithelium of transgenic mice.

Ectopic expression of FGF-3 results in abnormal prostate and Wolffian duct development.

To evaluate the effects of FGF-3 expression in the prostate and male reproductive tract, we employed a bitransgenic system to target FGF-3 to these organs. We present a first study that ectopic FGF-3 expression resulted in exuberant hyperplasia of all bigenic prostatic lobes typified by epithelial stratification, cribiform structures and papillary tufts. These cells displayed increased nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratios and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) proliferative index but retained relatively uniform nuclear androgen receptor (AR) and the tumor suppressor C-CAM1 staining.