Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) from four protected areas in the state of Pernambuco,Brazil

New records and distributional notes of Chironomidae (Insecta, Diptera) are provided for four protected areas in the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. Additionally, we also present new records and update of distributional ranges from Brazil and the Neotropical Region. In total, 810 specimens belonging to 35 genera within the subfamilies Chironominae (22 taxa), Tanypodinae (11 taxa) and Orthocladiinae (2 taxa) were found. The subfamilies Chironominae and Tanypodinae predominated. Axarus Roback, 1980 Roback, S.S. (1980), ‘New name for Anceus Roback nec Anceus Risso’, Entomological News, 91, 32.[Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] and the Tanytarsus ortoni-group were recorded for the first time in the state of Pernambuco, while Nanocladius Kieffer, 1913a Kieffer, J.J. (1913b), ‘Nouvelle étude sur les Chironomides de l'Indian Museum de Calcutta’, Records of the Indian Museum, 9, 119–197. [Google Scholar] was recorded for the first time in the Northeast Region of Brazil. Our results make evident how much and where current knowledge of the northeastern Brazil chironomids remains fragmentary.     

Mechanisms of plant protection against two oxalate-producing fungal pathogens by oxalotrophic strains of Stenotrophomonas spp.

Plant Molecular Biology - Oxalotrophic Stenotrophomonas isolated from tomato rhizosphere are able to protect plants against oxalate-producing pathogens by a combination of actions including...     

Cardiovascular and ventilatory interactions in the facultative air-breathing teleost Pangasianodon hypophthalmus

Journal of Comparative Physiology B - All vertebrates possess baroreceptors monitoring arterial blood pressure and eliciting reflexive changes in vascular resistance and heart rate in response to...     

On a cranial bony nodular protuberance on Mourasuchus pattersoni Cidade et al. 2017 (Crocodylia,Alligatoroidea) from the late Miocene of Venezuela

Mourasuchus pattersoni, from the late Miocene Urumaco Formation of Venezuela, is the fourth and most recent species described for the genus. The holotype, and only known specimen, is comprised of an almost complete skull with both mandibular rami and several postcranial remains. In ventral view, the right palatine bone has a spherical, nodular bony protuberance located on the anterior portion, near the suture with the maxilla. Unfortunately, we cannot assign a specific diagnosis based only on macroscopic inspection. Its appearance, form and location are compatible with three conditions: torus palatinus, a common benign intraoral bone overgrowth; osteoma, a benign neoplasical overgrowth of the bone; and hamartoma, an overgrowth of normal bone tissue that can only be differed from an osteoma by histological features. While occurrences of torus palatinus or hamartomas are not yet known in the nonhominid vertebrate fossil record, there are previous records of osteomas in fossil vertebrates, including in crocodylians, such as a specimen assigned to ‘Crocodylus sp.’ from the Eocene, aside from several records for living crocodylians. Future studies are needed to uncover an accurate diagnosis of this unusual structure and help increase our knowledge of paleopathology in fossil crocodylomorphs in general, especially in the Caimaninae clade.     

Rapid separation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone molecular forms by isocratic high-performance liquid chromatography on an ion-exchange column

The purpose of the present work was to develop a chromatographic system for the separation of five molecular forms of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH); mammalian GnRH (mGnRH) (LHRH), salmon GnRH (sGnRH), chicken I GnRH (clGnRH), chicken II GnRH (cIIGnRH) and lamprey GnRH I (IGnRH-I). By using an ion-exchange HPLC column and isocratic elution, it was possible to separate properly the five peptides in approximately 20 min. The utility of the system in determining the GnRHs forms present in the brain of two species of vertebrates was examined.     

Sequence of the immunoregulatory early region 3 and flanking sequences of adenovirus type 35

Adenovirus type 35 (Ad35) is an important pathogen in immunosuppressed individuals such as AIDS patients and bone marrow transplant recipients. Ad35, a member of Ad subgroup B, differs with respect to pathogenic properties from the more fully characterized subgroup C Ad, such as Ad2 and Ad5. One region of human Ad which varies between subgroups and which may influence Ad pathogenesis is early region 3 (E3), a region which appears to modulate the immune response to Ad infection. In order to begin to characterize the differences between the Ad35 E3 and the E3 of other Ad, the complete DNA sequence of the Ad35 E3 promoter and coding sequence along with two flanking structural proteins, pVIII and fiber, has been determined. Ad35 contains open reading frames which are unique to the subgroup B Ad in addition to the four characterized immunoregulatory proteins encoded by the subgroup C Ad. Further evaluation of the sequence of one of these proteins, 18.5K, which is the class-I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) binding protein of 18.5 kDa, demonstrates that the amino acid sequence of this Ad2 gp19K homologue fits a proposed model of gp19K-MHC interaction. Analysis of promoter sequences demonstrates that an NF-κB site found in the subgroup C E3 promoter is absent from the Ad35 E3 promoter. In addition, the fiber genes of Ad35 and other subgroup B Ad have been shown to diverge in an unexpected way, yielding three clusters of fiber homology.     

Rice Resistance to Brown Spot Mediated by Nitrogen and Potassium

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of both nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) rates on rice resistance to brown spot, caused by the fungus Bipolaris oryzae. Rice plants (cultivar ‘Metica 1’) were grown in soil corrected with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mg of N / kg (as NH₄NO₃) of soil as well as with 25, 50, 75, 125 and 150 mg of K / kg (as KCl) of soil. Thirty‐three‐day‐old plants were inoculated with a suspension of Bipolaris oryzae conidia and the incubation period (IP), number of lesions (NL) per cm² of leaf area and disease severity was evaluated. Disease severity was scored at 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 and 144 h after inoculation and data were used to obtain the area under brown spot progress curve (AUBSPC). Soil plant analysis development (SPAD) index, plant dry weight and concentration of N and K in leaf tissues were also determined for both non‐inoculated (NI) and inoculated (IN) plants. Concentration of N in leaf tissue increased as the N rates in the soil increased. Concentration of K in leaf tissue increased sharply as the K rates in the soil increased for both NI and IN plants. Concentration of K in leaf tissue was not affected by N rates. The IP increased as the N rates increased, but was somewhat less impacted by increasing K rates. The NL decreased as the N rates increased. The NL dramatically declined at the highest K rates. The AUBSPC dramatically declined as the N and K rates in the soil increased. SPAD index values increased as the N and K rates in the soil increased for both NI and IN plants. Plant dry weight increased as the N and K rates in the soil increased for both NI and IN plants. Results from this study suggest that combining high N and K rates may contribute to reducing the intensity of brown spot in rice while improving plant development.