<i>In vitro</i> Antibacterial Activity of <i>Moringa oleifera</i> Ethanolic Extract against Tomato Phytopathogenic Bacteria

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the world’s most important vegetable crops. Still, phytopathogenic bacteria affect the yield and quality of tomato cultivation, like Agrobacterium tumefeciens (At), Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm), Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst), Ralstonia solanacearum (Rs), and Xanthomonas axonopodis (Xa). Synthetic chemical products are used mostly on disease plant control, but overuse generates resistance to bacterial control. This study aimed to evaluate the in vitro antibacterial activity of the ethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves against At, Cmm, Pst, Rs, and Xa, as well as information about this plant species’ chemical composition. Antibacterial activity against pathogens observed by microplate technique, phytochemical screening, and FTIR analysis revealed different bio-active compounds on ethanolic extracts with antibacterial activity. The growth inhibition rate ranged between 0.08% and 99.94%. The inhibitory concentration, IC50, required to inhibit 50% of At, Cmm, Pst, Rs, and Xa bacterial growth, was 276.67, 350.48, 277.85, 351.49, and 283.22 mg/L, respectively. Inhibition of phytopathogen bacteria’s growth increased as the concentrations of the extract also increased. Moringa oleifera extract can be recommended as a potent bio-bactericide.     

云南地方辣椒品种涮辣和雀辣的植物学分类

涮辣和雀辣是我国云南地区有特色的两个地方品种。本文分别基于园艺性状和90份不同类型的辣椒资源利用均匀覆盖12条染色体的29个SSR标记进行聚类分析。研究结果表明,园艺性状以及分子水平上涮辣归属于中国辣椒(C.chinese),雀辣更倾向归属于灌木辣椒(C.frutescens)。     

藜芦杀虫活性的初步研究

先后以乙醇、氯仿和正丁醇为溶剂,提取了熊耳山区植物藜芦根茎中的活性物质。得到3个提取物:乙醇提取物、氯仿萃取物和正丁醇萃取物,产率分别为2.93%、1.14%和0.58%。测定了3种溶剂萃取物对粘虫、蚜虫、朱砂叶螨和蚊幼虫的毒杀活性。结果说明:这几种提取物都具有良好的毒杀效果。氯仿提取物对3龄粘虫有很强的拒食作用;乙醇提取物对4龄蚊幼虫的杀虫活性最高;3种溶剂萃取物对蚜虫的毒杀能力大小次序为:氯仿提取物>正丁醇提取物>乙醇提取物;对朱砂叶螨的毒杀力大小为:乙醇提取物>氯仿提取物>正丁醇提取物。采用试管反应法和层析法对藜芦根茎提取物进行化学成分预试,结果显示:乙醇提取物、氯仿提取物和正丁醇提取物中均含有生物碱类活性物质。     

家用调料植物粗提物防治小菜蛾的研究

以安全性和简易性为前提的庭园害虫防治成为休闲生活不可或缺的技术。本文以花椒Zanthoxylum bungeamtm、八角茴香lUicium veturn、辣椒Capsicum frutescens等日用品为材料,研究了不同种类、浓度和作用时间对小菜蛾Plutella xylostella这一重要庭园害虫的拒食、触杀及产卵忌避效果。拒食试验表明,供试3种植物对小菜蛾有显著拒食作用,拒食率从大到小依次为八角茴香（0．94）、花椒（0．86）、辣椒（0．76）;拒食率随处理时问长短变化的差异不显著,但随提取液浓度的升高而升高。触杀试验表明,供试3种植物对小菜蛾有显著触杀作用,24h内死亡率从大到小依次为花椒（45．6％）、八角茴香（35．6％）、辣椒（23．3％）,均显著高于对照处理的1．1％;触杀死亡率随虫龄的增加而降低。产卵忌避试验表明,3种植物对小菜蛾成虫产卵忌避作用由大到小依次为辣椒、八角茴香、花椒。综合本研究所得结果来看,八角茴香对小菜蛾的控制效果最好。所选材料容易获得,对小菜蛾忌避作用明显,在庭园小菜蛾防治中具有潜在的应用价值。     

Use of entomopathogenic fungi combined with biorational insecticides to control Dichroplus maculipennis (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Melanoplinae) under semi-field conditions

Grasshoppers are among the invertebrate herbivores that cause most economic losses in grasslands throughout Argentina’s Pampas and parts of Patagonia. Chemical insecticides remain the sole option for grasshopper control in this area, despite being of significant environmental concern. Our aim was to evaluate the efficacy of combinations between three entomopathogenic fungi strains (Beauveria bassiana LPSc 1067 and LPSc1082), and Metarhizium anisopliae (LPSc 907), two biorational insecticides (luphenuron and methoxyfenozide), and a new synthetic chemical pesticide (rynaxypyr) in the control of the pest grasshopper Dichroplus maculipennis under field cage conditions. Fungal strains used were adjusted to 1 × 10⁸, 1 × 10⁶ and 1 × 10⁴ conidia/ml. Insecticides were tested at three concentrations: the average concentration recommended for application in the field (100%), 50% of that level and finally 25%. Combinations of the insecticides with B. bassiana (LPSc 1067, LPSc 1082) and M. anisopliae (LPSc 907) caused higher mortality to D. maculipennis nymphs than any of the individual agents used alone. The three insecticides tested did not negatively affect the isolates of the two species of entomopathogenic fungi employed.     

2-Liter Bottles and Botanical Gardens: Using Inquiry to Learn Ecology

In the project presented in this article, high school students create and observe miniecosystems in an ecology unit designed around a 5E (engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation) instructional model. Students choose a wide variety of organisms and use creativity to design miniecosystems.     

The role of the United States military in the development of vector control products,including insect repellents,insecticides, and bed nets

Arthropod‐borne diseases such as malaria, dengue, scrub typhus, and leishmaniasis continue to pose a significant threat to U.S. military forces deployed in support of operational and humanitarian missions. These diseases are transmitted by a variety of arthropods, including mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, sand flies, and biting midges. In addition to disease threats, biting arthropods can cause dermatitis, allergic reactions, and sleep loss; therefore, monitoring of vector impact and integrated use of personal protective measures (PPM) and methods to reduce the vector populations are needed to protect service members. The U.S. military has played a vital role in vector identification tools and the development and testing of many of the most effective PPM and vector control products available today, including the topical repellent DEET and the repellent/insecticide permethrin, which is applied to clothing and bed nets. Efforts to develop superior products are ongoing. Although the U.S. military often needs vector control products with rather specific properties (e.g., undetectable, long‐lasting in multiple climates) in order to protect its service members, many Department of Defense vector control products have had global impacts on endemic disease control.     

我国植物源农药研究进展

概述了我国植物源农药的主要种类:杀虫剂、杀菌剂、除草剂及病毒抑制剂的研究现状,并简要介绍了植物源农药的作用特点、研究途径及研究中存在的问题,并对其发展前景做了简单的展望。     

Mutations in the transmembrane helix S6 of domain IV confer cockroach sodium channel resistance to sodium channel blocker insecticides and local anesthetics

Indoxacarb and metaflumizone are two sodium channel blocker insecticides (SCBIs). They preferably bind to and trap sodium channels in the slow-inactivated non-conducting state, a mode of action similar to that of local anesthetics (LAs). Recently, two sodium channel mutations, F1845Y (F⁴ⁱ¹⁵Y) and V1848I (V⁴ⁱ¹⁸I), in the transmembrane segment 6 of domain IV (IVS6), were identified to be associated with indoxacarb resistance in Plutella xylostella. F⁴ⁱ¹⁵ is known to be critical for the action of LAs on mammalian sodium channels. Previously, mutation F⁴ⁱ¹⁵A in a cockroach sodium channel, BgNa_v1-1a, has been shown to reduce the action of lidocaine, a LA, but not the action of SCBIs. In this study, we introduced mutations F⁴ⁱ¹⁵Y and V⁴ⁱ¹⁸A/I individually into the cockroach sodium channel, BgNa_v1-1a, and conducted functional analysis of the three mutants in Xenopus oocytes. We found that both the F⁴ⁱ¹⁵Y and V⁴ⁱ¹⁸I mutations reduced the inhibition of sodium current by indoxacarb, DCJW (an active metabolite of indoxacarb) and metaflumizone. F⁴ⁱ¹⁵Y and V⁴ⁱ¹⁸I mutations also reduced the use-dependent block of sodium current by lidocaine. In contrast, substitution V⁴ⁱ¹⁸A enhanced the action metaflumizone and lidocaine. These results show that both F⁴ⁱ¹⁵Y and V⁴ⁱ¹⁸I mutations may contribute to target-site resistance to SCBIs, and provide the first molecular evidence for common amino acid determinants on insect sodium channels involved in action of SCBIs and LA.