To explain how larval Anopheles arabiensis Patton feed effectively in the turbid water in which they frequently develop, we determined whether an extractable component of maize, Zea mays L., pollen enhances feeding by these mosquitoes. Maturing maize produces a copious amount of wind-borne pollen that is nutritious enough and produced over a sufficient period to support the development of at least one generation of anopheline mosquitoes. Larval An. arabiensis readily ingest the contents of maize pollen or the intact pollen grains themselves. An aqueous extract of maize pollen markedly accelerates the rate at which larval An. arabiensis ingest inert particles and strongly enhances the effectiveness of Bti against larval An. arabiensis. We conclude that the ability of larval anopheline mosquitoes to feed on maize pollen in turbid water is enhanced by the release from these pollen grains of a water-soluble phagostimulatory component (or components), which may be used to increase ingestion of microbial entomotoxins.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585-40.6.860 | DOI Listing |
Int J Mol Sci
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Using male sterile (MS) lines instead of normal inbred maternal lines in hybrid seed production can increase the yield and quality with lower production costs. Therefore, developing a new MS germplasm is essential for maize hybrid seed production in the future. Here, we reported a male sterility gene , cloned from a newly found MS mutant .
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December 2024
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genomics and Molecular Breeding/Key Laboratory of Plant Functional Genomics of the Ministry of Education/Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology/Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of the Ministry of Education, Agricultural College of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China.
The understanding of the characteristics and metabolite changes in waxy and normal maize kernels after cooking is rather limited. This study was designed to meticulously analyze the differences in characteristics and metabolites of these kernels before and after steaming. To cut environmental impacts, samples were obtained by pollinating one ear with mixed pollen.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Plant Sci
December 2024
Global Maize Program, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Maize ( L.) is a globally important crop, thriving across diverse environments. Breeding maize inbreds with good combining ability for stable yields under both optimal and stress-prone conditions has been successful.
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December 2024
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, United States.
In plant breeding and genetics, predictive models traditionally rely on compact representations of high-dimensional data, often using methods like Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and, more recently, Autoencoders (AE). However, these methods do not separate genotype-specific and environment-specific features, limiting their ability to accurately predict traits influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. We hypothesize that disentangling these representations into genotype-specific and environment-specific components can enhance predictive models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Research Institute of Biology and Agriculture, School of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China.
Lipid metabolism is critical for male reproduction in plants. Many lipid-metabolic genic male-sterility (GMS) genes function in the anther tapetal endoplasmic reticulum, while little is known about GMS genes involved in de novo fatty acid biosynthesis in the anther tapetal plastid. In this study, we identify a maize male-sterile mutant, enr1, with early tapetal degradation, defective anther cuticle, and pollen exine.
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