Suprathreshold Water Spray Stimulus Enhances Plant Defenses against Biotic Stresses in Tomato.

Mechanical stimuli can affect plant growth, development, and defenses. The role of water spray stimulation, as a prevalent mechanical stimulus in the environment, in crop growth and defense cannot be overlooked. In this study, the effects of water spray on tomato plant growth and defense against the chewing herbivore and necrotrophic fungus were investigated.

Reproductive Behavior and Development of the Global Insect Pest, Cotton Seed Bug .

Understanding the fundamental life cycle and reproductive behavior of a pest insect is essential for developing efficient control strategies; however, much of this knowledge remains elusive for a multitude of insects, including the cotton seed bug, . Here, we report the results of our comprehensive study on the cotton seed bug's life cycle, including mating behavior, adult lifespan, and egg-to-adulthood development. Our findings showed that adult males and females began mating as early as three days after emerging (75%), and the frequency of mating increased to 100% by the fifth day.

In Vitro Human Monoamine Oxidase Inhibition and Human Dopamine D Receptor Antagonist Effect of Natural Flavonoids for Neuroprotection.

Natural flavone and isoflavone analogs such as 3',4',7-trihydroxyflavone (), 3',4',7-trihydroxyisoflavone (), and calycosin () possess significant neuroprotective activity in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. This study highlights the in vitro human monoamine oxidase (hMAO) inhibitory potential and functional effect of those natural flavonoids at dopamine and serotonin receptors for their possible role in neuroprotection. In vitro hMAO inhibition and enzyme kinetics studies were performed using a chemiluminescent assay.

Characterizing Repellencies of Methyl Benzoate and Its Analogs against the Common Bed Bug, .

Bed bug infestations are on the rise globally, and remediation efforts are becoming more expensive and difficult to achieve due to rising insecticide resistance in the pest populations. This study evaluates behavior in the presence of attractive elements-aggregation pheromone or food source (human blood)-and the reported botanical repellent methyl benzoate (MB), several MB analogs, as well as the well-known insect repellent, ,-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET). Utilizing EthoVision, a video tracking system, we now report that MB and several of its analogs exhibit strong spatial repellency against with methyl 2-methoxybenzoate (M2MOB) and methyl 3-methoxybenzoate (M3MOB) exhibiting the strongest repellent effects.

The Role of Tire Leachate in Condition-Specific Competition and the Persistence of a Resident Mosquito from a Competitively Superior Invader.

(1) Background: Condition-specific competition, when the outcome of competition varies with abiotic conditions, can facilitate species coexistence in spatially or temporally variable environments. Discarded vehicle tires degrade to leach contaminants into collected rainwater that provide habitats for competing mosquito species. We tested the hypothesis that more highly degraded tires that contain greater tire leachate alters interspecific mosquito competition to produce a condition-specific advantage for the resident, , by altering the outcome of competition with the competitively superior invasive .

Autopolyploid inheritance and a heterozygous reciprocal translocation shape chromosome genetic behavior in tetraploid blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum).

Understanding chromosome recombination behavior in polyploidy species is key to advancing genetic discoveries. In blueberry, a tetraploid species, the line of evidences about its genetic behavior still remain poorly understood, owing to the inter-specific, and inter-ploidy admixture of its genome and lack of in depth genome-wide inheritance and comparative structural studies. Here we describe a new high-quality, phased, chromosome-scale genome of a diploid blueberry, clone W85.

Toxicological responses to sublethal anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in free-flying hawks.

An important component of assessing the hazards of anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target wildlife is observations in exposed free-ranging individuals. The objective of this study was to determine whether environmentally realistic, sublethal first-generation anticoagulant rodenticide (FGAR) exposures via prey can result in direct or indirect adverse effects to free-flying raptors. We offered black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) that had fed on Rozol® Prairie Dog Bait (Rozol, 0.

Changes in Gene Expression in Leaves of Cacao Genotypes Resistant and Susceptible to Infection.

Black pod rot, caused by , is a devastating disease of L. (cacao) leading to huge losses for farmers and limiting chocolate industry supplies. To understand resistance responses of cacao leaves to , Stage 2 leaves of genotypes Imperial College Selection 1 (ICS1), Colección Castro Naranjal 51 (CCN51), and Pound7 were inoculated with zoospores and monitored for symptoms up to 48 h.

Mitochondrial Genomics of Six Cacao Pathogens From the Basidiomycete Family .

Thread blight disease has recently been described as an emerging disease on cacao () in Ghana. In Ghana, thread blight disease is caused by multiple species of the family: , , and . Interestingly, two additional members of the ; (frosty pod rot) and (witches' broom disease), are major pathogens of cacao in the Western hemisphere.

Sodium channel activation underlies transfluthrin repellency in Aedes aegypti.

Background: Volatile pyrethroid insecticides, such as transfluthrin, have received increasing attention for their potent repellent activities in recent years for controlling human disease vectors. It has been long understood that pyrethroids kill insects by promoting activation and inhibiting inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels. However, the mechanism of pyrethroid repellency remains poorly understood and controversial.

High-Density Linkage Map Construction and QTL Identification in a Diploid Blueberry Mapping Population.

Genotyping by sequencing approaches have been widely applied in major crops and are now being used in horticultural crops like berries and fruit trees. As the original and largest producer of cultivated blueberry, the United States maintains the most diverse blueberry germplasm resources comprised of many species of different ploidy levels. We previously constructed an interspecific mapping population of diploid blueberry by crossing the parent F#10 ( Fla4B × diploid W85-20) with the parent W85-23 (diploid ).

Detection and monitoring of Drosophila suzukii in raspberry and cherry orchards with volatile organic compounds in the USA and Europe.

Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) causes significant economic loss in fruit crops to growers worldwide. There is immediate need for efficacious and selective monitoring tools that can detect infestations early. Previously, volatile organic compounds derived from apple were studied and a quinary chemical component blend (QB) was identified as the key SWD attractant in a blueberry orchard in the United States.

Identification and Characterization of Fungi Causing Thread Blight Diseases on Cacao in Ghana.

(chocolate tree) is currently under serious threat from thread blight disease (TBD), which has been attributed to the causal agent in other regions of the world. TBD in Ghana has similar symptomology but variable signs. This study sought to determine whether TBD in Ghana was caused by a single agent and whether was a significant agent of TBD.

Draft genome sequence of fastidious pathogen , which causes vascular-streak dieback in .

Background: , a member of the family, is the causal agent of vascular-streak dieback (VSD) of cacao, a major threat to the chocolate industry in the South-East Asia. The fastidious pathogen is very hard to isolate and maintain in pure culture, which is a major bottleneck in the study of its genetic diversity and genome.

Result: This study describes for the first time, a 33.

Genome and transcriptome analysis of the latent pathogen , an emerging threat to the cacao industry.

(Pat.) Griffon & Maubl., a member of the family Botryosphaeriaceae, is becoming a significant threat to crops and woody plants in many parts of the world, including the major cacao growing areas.

Better than DEET Repellent Compounds Derived from Coconut Oil.

Hematophagous arthropods are capable of transmitting human and animal pathogens worldwide. Vector-borne diseases account for 17% of all infectious diseases resulting in 700,000 human deaths annually. Repellents are a primary tool for reducing the impact of biting arthropods on humans and animals.

and , Causal Agents of Black Pod Rot, Induce Similar Plant Defense Responses Late during Infection of Susceptible Cacao Pods.

(Pmeg) and (Ppal) cause black pod rot of L. (cacao). Of these two clade 4 species, Pmeg is more virulent and is displacing Ppal in many cacao production areas in Africa.

Mapping evaporative water loss in desert passerines reveals an expanding threat of lethal dehydration.

Extreme high environmental temperatures produce a variety of consequences for wildlife, including mass die-offs. Heat waves are increasing in frequency, intensity, and extent, and are projected to increase further under climate change. However, the spatial and temporal dynamics of die-off risk are poorly understood.

Phytophthora megakarya and P. palmivora, closely related causal agents of cacao black pod rot, underwent increases in genome sizes and gene numbers by different mechanisms.

(Pmeg) and (Ppal) are closely related species causing cacao black pod rot. Although Ppal is a cosmopolitan pathogen, cacao is the only known host of economic importance for Pmeg Pmeg is more virulent on cacao than Ppal We sequenced and compared the Pmeg and Ppal genomes and identified virulence-related putative gene models (PGeneM) that may be responsible for their differences in host specificities and virulence. Pmeg and Ppal have estimated genome sizes of 126.

Fine Mapping of , a Historically Important Rust Resistance Locus in Common Bean.

Bean rust, caused by , is a devastating disease of common bean () in the Americas and Africa. The historically important gene confers resistance to many races of the highly variable bean rust pathogen that overcome other rust resistance genes. Existing molecular markers tagging for use in marker-assisted selection produce false results.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 3,5-Dimethoxystilbene Analogs.

In our continuing effort to discover natural product-based pest management agents, derivatives of 3,5-dimethoxystilbene were synthesized yielding 27 new and six known compounds. Compounds 11 and 12 showed strong Aedes aegypti larvicidal activity (LC 45.31 and 49.

Gut bacteria mediate aggregation in the German cockroach.

Aggregation of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, is regulated by fecal aggregation agents (pheromones), including volatile carboxylic acids (VCAs). We demonstrate that the gut microbial community contributes to production of these semiochemicals. Chemical analysis of the fecal extract of B.

Effects of CO2 enrichment and drought pretreatment on metabolite responses to water stress and subsequent rehydration using potato tubers from plants grown in sunlit chambers.

Experiments were performed using naturally sunlit Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Research chambers that provided ambient or twice ambient CO2. Potato plants were grown in pots that were water sufficient (W), water insufficient for 12-18 days during both vegetative and tuber development stages (VR), or water insufficient solely during tuber development (R). In the ambient CO2 treatment, a total of 17 and 20 out of 31 tuber metabolites differed when comparing the W to the R and VR treatments, respectively.

Combination of RNAseq and SNP nanofluidic array reveals the center of genetic diversity of cacao pathogen Moniliophthora roreri in the upper Magdalena Valley of Colombia and its clonality.

Moniliophthora roreri is the fungal pathogen that causes frosty pod rot (FPR) disease of Theobroma cacao L., the source of chocolate. FPR occurs in most of the cacao producing countries in the Western Hemisphere, causing yield losses up to 80%.