Effect of Metalaxyl on the incidence and severity of Pearl millet downy mildew disease in Northern Nigeria

Pearl millet downy mildew (DM) incidence, severity and yield losses of two pearl millet varieties (local and improved) due to the disease were determined in the field. Significant differences in the disease incidence and severity were recorded in the plots sown with metalaxyl-treated seeds and those sown with non-treated seeds, indicating the efficacy of the fungicide on the fungus. Yield losses due to non-treatment of seeds with metalaxyl was 40.88 and 45.39% in a local variety and 43.00 and 18.60% in an improved variety in the 2000 and 2001 cropping seasons respectively. Significant differences between plots sown with metalaxyl-treated and those sown with non-treated seeds were obtained for other yield components such as 1000-grains weight, panicle length and weight.     

Molecular insights into RBR E3 ligase ubiquitin transfer mechanisms

RING‐in‐between‐RING (RBR) ubiquitin (Ub) ligases are a distinct class of E3s, defined by a RING1 domain that binds E2 Ub‐conjugating enzyme and a RING2 domain that contains an active site cysteine similar to HECT‐type E3s. Proposed to function as RING/HECT hybrids, details regarding the Ub transfer mechanism used by RBRs have yet to be defined. When paired with RING‐type E3s, E2s perform the final step of Ub ligation to a substrate. In contrast, when paired with RBR E3s, E2s must transfer Ub onto the E3 to generate a E3~Ub intermediate. We show that RBRs utilize two strategies to ensure transfer of Ub from the E2 onto the E3 active site. First, RING1 domains of HHARI and RNF144 promote open E2~Ubs. Second, we identify a Ub‐binding site on HHARI RING2 important for its recruitment to RING1‐bound E2~Ub. Mutations that ablate Ub binding to HHARI RING2 also decrease RBR ligase activity, consistent with RING2 recruitment being a critical step for the RBR Ub transfer mechanism. Finally, we demonstrate that the mechanism defined here is utilized by a variety of RBRs.     

Selectively bred oysters can alter their biomineralization pathways,promoting resilience to environmental acidification

Commercial shellfish aquaculture is vulnerable to the impacts of ocean acidification driven by increasing carbon dioxide (CO₂) absorption by the ocean as well as to coastal acidification driven by land run off and rising sea level. These drivers of environmental acidification have deleterious effects on biomineralization. We investigated shell biomineralization of selectively bred and wild‐type families of the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata in a study of oysters being farmed in estuaries at aquaculture leases differing in environmental acidification. The contrasting estuarine pH regimes enabled us to determine the mechanisms of shell growth and the vulnerability of this species to contemporary environmental acidification. Determination of the source of carbon, the mechanism of carbon uptake and use of carbon in biomineral formation are key to understanding the vulnerability of shellfish aquaculture to contemporary and future environmental acidification. We, therefore, characterized the crystallography and carbon uptake in the shells of S. glomerata, resident in habitats subjected to coastal acidification, using high‐resolution electron backscatter diffraction and carbon isotope analyses (as δ¹³C). We show that oyster families selectively bred for fast growth and families selected for disease resistance can alter their mechanisms of calcite crystal biomineralization, promoting resilience to acidification. The responses of S. glomerata to acidification in their estuarine habitat provide key insights into mechanisms of mollusc shell growth under future climate change conditions. Importantly, we show that selective breeding in oysters is likely to be an important global mitigation strategy for sustainable shellfish aquaculture to withstand future climate‐driven change to habitat acidification.     

Gene expression and the evolution of phenotypic diversity in social wasps

Background  

Organisms are capable of developing different phenotypes by altering the genes they express. This phenotypic plasticity provides a means for species to respond effectively to environmental conditions. One of the most dramatic examples of phenotypic plasticity occurs in the highly social hymenopteran insects (ants, social bees, and social wasps), where distinct castes and sexes all arise from the same genes. To elucidate how variation in patterns of gene expression affects phenotypic variation, we conducted a study to simultaneously address the influence of developmental stage, sex, and caste on patterns of gene expression in Vespula wasps. Furthermore, we compared the patterns found in this species to those found in other taxa in order to investigate how variation in gene expression leads to phenotypic evolution.