Control of Meloidogyne chitwoodi in Potato with Shank-injected Metam Sodium and other Nematicides

Metam sodium (MS) is often applied to potato fields via sprinkler irrigation systems (water-run, WR) to reduce propagules of soil-borne pathogenic fungi, particularly Verticillium dahliae, to prevent yield loss from potato early dying disease. However, this procedure has not been effective for controlling quality defects in tubers caused by Columbia root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne chitwoodi). In five trials from 1996 to 2001, application of MS by soil shank injection (SH) provided better control and tuber quality than that generally obtained by WR MS, in three of five trials. Results were similar when SH MS was injected at one (41–45 cm), two (15 and 30 cm) or three (15, 30 and 45 cm) depths. In the two trials where SH metam potassium was tested, culls were reduced to 3% and 0% and were equivalent to those resulting from a similar rate in kg a.i./ha of SH MS. A shank-injected tank mix of MS plus ethoprop EC and SH MS plus in-season chemigation applications of oxamyl provided acceptable control in trials where SH MS alone was inadequate. In-furrow application of aldicarb at planting following SH MS did not appear to increase performance. Most consistent control (0–2% culled tubers in five trials) occurred when SH MS at 280 liters/ha was used together with 1,3- dichloropropene (140 liters/ha), applied simultaneously or sequentially. This was similar to combinations of 1,3-D and WR MS, but SH MS may be preferred under certain conditions.     

Dynamics of insecticide resistance alleles in house fly populations from New York and Florida

The frequency of insecticide-resistance alleles for two genes (Vssc1 and CYP6D1) was studied in field collected populations of house flies from two different climates. While the frequency of these resistance alleles in flies at dairies from four states has recently been reported, there is no information on the relative change of these allele frequencies over time. House flies were collected during the 2003-2004 season from New York and Florida before the first application of permethrin, during the middle of the field season, after the final application, and again the following spring (following months without permethrin use). Bioassay results indicated that homozygous susceptible and extremely resistant flies were rare, while moderately and highly resistant individuals were relatively common at all times in both states. The frequency of resistance alleles at the New York dairy rose during the season and declined over the winter, suggesting an overwintering fitness cost associated with these alleles. The super-kdr allele was detected for the first time in North America at the end of 2003. In Florida the frequency of the resistance alleles did not increase during the spray season or decrease during the winter, suggesting there is substantial immigration of susceptible alleles to the Florida dairy and no overwintering fitness cost associated with resistance alleles in this climate. Resistance to permethrin correlated well with the frequency of the Vssc1 and CYP6D1 resistance alleles in flies from New York, but not as well in the population from Florida. This suggests there may be a new resistance mechanism or allele evolving in Florida.     

Evidence of amino acid diversity-enhancing selection within humans and among primates at the candidate sperm-receptor gene PKDREJ

Sperm-egg interaction is a crucial step in fertilization, yet the identity of most interacting sperm-egg proteins that mediate this process remains elusive. Rapid evolution of some fertilization proteins has been observed in a number of species, including evidence of positive selection in the evolution of components of the mammalian egg coat. The rapid evolution of the egg-coat proteins could strongly select for changes on the sperm receptor, to maintain the interaction. Here, we present evidence that positive selection has driven the evolution of PKDREJ, a candidate sperm receptor of mammalian egg-coat proteins. We sequenced PKDREJ from a panel of 14 primates, including humans, and conducted a comparative maximum-likelihood analysis of nucleotide changes and found evidence of positive selection. An additional panel of 48 humans was surveyed for nucleotide polymorphisms at the PKDREJ locus. The regions predicted to have been subject to adaptive evolution among primates show several amino acid polymorphisms within humans. The distribution of polymorphisms suggests that balancing selection may maintain diverse PKDREJ alleles in some populations. It remains unknown whether there are functional differences associated with these diverse alleles, but their existence could have consequences for human fertility.     

Amusia Results in Abnormal Brain Activity following Inappropriate Intonation during Speech Comprehension

Pitch processing is a critical ability on which humans' tonal musical experience depends, and which is also of paramount importance for decoding prosody in speech. Congenital amusia refers to deficits in the ability to properly process musical pitch, and recent evidence has suggested that this musical pitch disorder may impact upon the processing of speech sounds. Here we present the first electrophysiological evidence demonstrating that individuals with amusia who speak Mandarin Chinese are impaired in classifying prosody as appropriate or inappropriate during a speech comprehension task. When presented with inappropriate prosody stimuli, control participants elicited a larger P600 and smaller N100 relative to the appropriate condition. In contrast, amusics did not show significant differences between the appropriate and inappropriate conditions in either the N100 or the P600 component. This provides further evidence that the pitch perception deficits associated with amusia may also affect intonation processing during speech comprehension in those who speak a tonal language such as Mandarin, and suggests music and language share some cognitive and neural resources.     

Insect conservation in Michigan prairie fen: addressing the challenge of global change

Prairie fen is a globally rare, groundwater dependent peatland community restricted to discrete portions of the glaciated north central USA. Prairie fen harbours a diverse flora composed of sedge wetland and tallgrass prairie species, which in turn support a diversity of rare insects. In Michigan, USA over 20% of the state’s insects of conservation concern are associated with prairie fen, including the globally imperilled Mitchell’s satyr butterfly, Neonympha mitchellii mitchellii (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Here we investigate how global change drivers, including land use change, climate change, and invasive species, may interact to threaten this important community. Specifically, we examine how characteristics of prairie fen habitats—e.g., formation and distribution—interact with the biology of rare fen insects to suggest appropriate short to long term conservation strategies. Our results suggest that prairie fen associated insects are rare for a variety of reasons, including host plant specialization, habitat specialization, and shifting landscape context that limits opportunities for dispersal. We recommend that current conservation efforts focus on stabilization and restoration of existing prairie fens, coupled with directed surveys to monitor population change in insects of concern, and restoration of the landscape matrix to facilitate metapopulation dynamics. In the future, due to the severely fragmented nature of Michigan landscapes, captive rearing and assisted migration may be necessary to conserve some prairie fen insect species. Overall, the effective conservation of fen associated insects will require a shared vision by multiple actors and a willingness to purse that vision over a long time frame.     

The mammalian CHORD-containing protein melusin is a stress response protein interacting with Hsp90 and Sgt1

Melusin is a mammalian muscle specific CHORD containing protein capable of activating signal transduction pathways leading to cardiomyocytes hypertrophy in response to mechanical stress. To define melusin function we searched for molecular partners possibly involved in melusin dependent signal transduction. Here we show that melusin and heat shock proteins are co-regulated. Moreover, melusin directly binds to Hsp90, a ubiquitous chaperone involved in regulating several signaling pathways. In addition, melusin interacts with Sgt1, an Hsp90 binding molecule. Melusin does not behave as an Hsp90 substrate but rather as a chaperone capable to protect citrate synthase from heat induced aggregation. These results describe melusin as a new component of the Hsp90 chaperone machinery.     

The PHA Depolymerase Engineering Database: A systematic analysis tool for the diverse family of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) depolymerases

Background  

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) can be degraded by many microorganisms using intra- or extracellular PHA depolymerases. PHA depolymerases are very diverse in sequence and substrate specificity, but share a common α/β-hydrolase fold and a catalytic triad, which is also found in other α/β-hydrolases.     

Insect community organisation in estuaries: the role of the physical environment

Insects are reportedly uncommon in marine habitats and, from a spatial/temporal intercomparison perspective, estuaries are among the least studied. We examined the natural variability seen among insect community organisation in estuaries on both sides of the North Atlantic, and evaluated the role of their physical environments. Community composition was found to be strongly influenced by three physical factors: estuary size, the degree of inundation by incoming tides, and substrate size/stability. Insects formed a significant proportion (17–54%, by numbers) of the benthic community of coarse-grained-substratum estuaries, and species richness increased with estuary size. Nymphs/larvae of mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, elmid beetles and chironomids dominated channel sites inundated by up to 25% of all incoming tides, but a gradual loss in species richness occurred downstream. However, even the most seaward sites supported high insect densities (up to 25 016 and 5433 m⁻², supporting 26 and 4 species, at sites inundated by 75 and 100% of all incoming tides, respectively). Sites covered by tides for between 3 and 5 h twice daily were dominated by orthocladine chironomids, especially of the genus Orthocladius . Chironomid larvae contribute significantly to the diets of some coastal fish species, particularly juvenile flounder and sticklebacks. We present a schematic model summarising the relationships between estuary size, degree of inundation by salt water and insect community structure.     

Twelve microsatellites for two deep sea polychaete tubeworm species,Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi,from the Gulf of Mexico

The vestimentiferan tubeworms Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi are found at hydrocarbon seeps in the Gulf of Mexico. Primers for polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed from genomic libraries of L. luymesi (five loci) and from S. jonesi tissue (eight loci) and were used to screen individuals collected from nine northern Gulf of Mexico hydrocarbon seep sites. Loci had from four to more than 50 alleles with high expected levels of heterozygosity. Cross‐species amplification, tested on seven vestimentiferan species including both hydrothermal vent and cold seep species, was generally strong in similar species but weak in more genetically distant species.     

Genotypic and phenotypic spectrum in tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndrome types I and III

Tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndrome (TRPS) is characterized by craniofacial and skeletal abnormalities. Three subtypes have been described: TRPS I, caused by mutations in the TRPS1 gene on chromosome 8; TRPS II, a microdeletion syndrome affecting the TRPS1 and EXT1 genes; and TRPS III, a form with severe brachydactyly, due to short metacarpals, and severe short stature, but without exostoses. To investigate whether TRPS III is caused by TRPS1 mutations and to establish a genotype-phenotype correlation in TRPS, we performed extensive mutation analysis and evaluated the height and degree of brachydactyly in patients with TRPS I or TRPS III. We found 35 different mutations in 44 of 51 unrelated patients. The detection rate (86%) indicates that TRPS1 is the major locus for TRPS I and TRPS III. We did not find any mutation in the parents of sporadic patients or in apparently healthy relatives of familial patients, indicating complete penetrance of TRPS1 mutations. Evaluation of skeletal abnormalities of patients with TRPS1 mutations revealed a wide clinical spectrum. The phenotype was variable in unrelated, age- and sex-matched patients with identical mutations, as well as in families. Four of the five missense mutations alter the GATA DNA-binding zinc finger, and six of the seven unrelated patients with these mutations may be classified as having TRPS III. Our data indicate that TRPS III is at the severe end of the TRPS spectrum and that it is most often caused by a specific class of mutations in the TRPS1 gene.