Seasonal and among‐site variation in the occurrence and abundance of fleas on California ground squirrels (Otospermophilus beecheyi)

An improved understanding of the ecology of fleas on California ground squirrels, Otospermophilus beecheyi, is warranted given the role of fleas in the transmission, and perhaps persistence, of the plague‐causing bacterium Yersinia pestis. We sampled O. beecheyi on a seasonal basis from three study sites, each representing a different land use type (preserve, pasture, and agriculture) in the San Joaquin Valley, CA. Overall, the abundance of fleas on squirrels was greatest in spring at the preserve site, in summer at the agriculture and pasture sites, and in winter at the pasture site. Hoplopsyllus anomalus, the species most frequently found on squirrels, was most abundant in spring at the preserve site and in summer at the agriculture and pasture sites. Oropsylla montana was most abundant in winter at the pasture site and on adult squirrels. Echidnophaga gallinacea was most abundant in fall on juvenile squirrels at the preserve site. All three flea species we encountered are known to be potential vectors of Y. pestis. Future efforts to predict flea species occurrence and abundance (and plague risk) at sites of concern should consider seasonal microclimatic conditions and the potential influence of human land use practices.     

Structural Determination of Fatty Acid Components in the Seed Oils of Five Species of Euphorbiaceae

The fatty acid components of the seed oils of five species of Euphorbiaceae collected in Xishuanbanna district, Yunnan province—Aleurites montana (Lour.) Wis., Mallotus paniculatus (Lam.) Muell-Arg., Ostodes paniculata Bl., Mcaranga denticulata (Bl.) Muell-Arg., and Trewia nudiflora L.- have been analyzed. Long-chain fatty acids were first converted to corresponding 2-substituted 4,4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives (DMOX) by condensing with 2-amino- 2-methylpropanol (AMP) and subsequently analyzed by GC-MS. The position of unsaturation (double and triple bonds) and substituents (e.g., hydroxyl) in the aliphatic chain can easily be located by interpreting the mass spectra recorded in this way. The qualitative as well as quantitative results can be provided for all constituents in a single GC-MS run. This me thod proves simple and efficient, with good reliability, and is well suitable for the structure determination without reference specimens.     

Secondary Metabolites,Glandular Trichomes and Biological Activity of Sideritis montana L. subsp. montana from Central Italy

Sideritis montana subsp. montana is a small annual herb occurring in countries bordering the Mediterranean and Balkan regions. The secondary metabolism of this plant has not been fully explored so far. The aim of the present study was to understand the complex mixture of secondary metabolites and the type of secretory structures. The polar constituents were isolated by column chromatography from the ethanolic extract, and their structure was elucidated by NMR and MS. The essential oil was isolated by hydrodistillation and analysed by GC/MS. The plant indumentum was studied by light and scanning electron microscopy. To complete the work, the essential oil antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity on tumor cells were evaluated by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and MTT methods. Four different classes of secondary metabolites were isolated, namely flavonoids, caffeoylquinic derivatives, glycosidic hydroquinones and iridoids. The essential oil was mainly characterized by sesquiterpenene hydrocarbons. Peltate and long‐capitate hairs were the main sites where terpenes and polar constituents are produced. The secondary metabolites found in S. montana subsp. montana are of chemotaxonomic interest, some of them being typical of the genus Sideritis. The trichomes types observed partially differ from those described in other members of the genus Sideritis. The essential oil showed noteworthy inhibition on tumor cells.     

葛的学名及其在美国的入侵教训(英文)

葛(Pueraria montana),豆科多年生藤本,原产东亚、南亚和东南亚,热带和温带广泛栽培并逸为野生;不仅学名多而混乱,而且已成为美国危害最严重的外来入侵种之一。考证了葛的学名并给出异名,同时介绍葛在美国从鼓励引入到大量栽培,最后被列入联邦危害植物并全面禁止的引种教训。     

Osservazioni embriologiche,sistematiche ed ecologiche su Allium parciflorum Viv.

Abstract

Embryological, systematic and ecological observations on Allium parciflorum Viv. The morphological observations and the comparison with some allied species have shown a good taxonomic isolation of Allium parciflorum: this has suggested to ascribe it to a new section.

It has been observed that the female gametophyte develops according to the disporic-type, as in other species of Allium previously studied.

The distributional area in Sardinia has been considerably extended and many ecological data are also given.     

A new flavanone sulfonate and other phenolic compounds from Fumana montana

The phytochemical study of ethyl acetate and n-butanol extracts of Fumana montana Pomel yielded a new flavanone sulfonate named naringenin-8-sulfonate (1), in addition to nine known compounds including two flavonols; tellimoside (2) and isoquercetrin (3), two flavanols; (−)-gallocatechin (4) and (−)-epigallocatechin (5), one benzophenone glucoside; iriflophenone-2-O-β-glucoside (6), one phenolic glucoside; (−)-rhododendrin (7) and three benzoic acid derivatives; p-hydroxybenzoic acid (8), gallic acid (9) and methyl gallate (10). It should be noted that this is the first report of compounds (2) and (6) in Cistaceae family. The structures of the isolated compounds were determined by comprehensive 1D and 2D NMR analysis, mass spectrometry, IR and by comparison with literature data.     

Characterization of female preference functions for Drosophila montana courtship song and a test of the temperature coupling hypothesis

Female mate preferences are a major cause of diversity and elaboration in male sexual traits. Here we characterize the shape of female preference functions for pulse length and carrier frequency of the courtship song of Drosophila montana by fitting both parametric and nonparametric functions to the incidence of female receptive gestures to synthetic song. Preference functions for both traits are strongly directional. That for pulse length is linear and favors short pulses, whereas that for carrier frequency is stabilizing in shape, but would exert directional preferences favoring males with high carrier frequency. The preference for carrier frequency has probably evolved under sexual selection, but reasons for the preference for short pulses are less apparent. We also examine the effect of ambient temperature on the carrier frequency of male song and on the preference function for carrier frequency. For many similar acoustic communication systems, temperature coupling, a compensatory effect of temperature on preference functions, is thought to maintain coordination between preferences and signals. However, although the carrier frequency of D. montana song is highly dependent on environmental temperature, there is no temperature coupling of the female preference function. We suggest that temperature coupling may often arise due to a common effect of temperature on song and preference, rather than be an advantageous characteristic whose function is to maintain coordination in temperature-affected communication systems.     

Identification and quantification of carotenoid pigments in aeciospores of the daisy rust fungus,Puccinia distincta

Macrocyclic trichothecene toxins produced by Myrothecium verrucaria (a phytopathogen of interest in biological weed control) and the non-trichothecene toxin atranone B from Stachybotiys atra were tested for phytotoxicity in duckweed (Lemna pausicostata L.) plantlet cultures and kudzu (Pueraria lobata L.) leaf disc assays, and for mammalian cytotoxicity in four cultured cell lines. Roridin E and H, epi-isororidin E, and verrucarin A and J were phytotoxic (half-maximal effect in the concentration range 0.1-9.7 microM on duckweed and 1.5->80 microM on kudzu) and cytotoxic to mammalian cell lines (half-maximal inhibition of proliferation in the concentration range 1-35 nM). Trichoverrins A and B and atranone B were moderately phytotoxic (half-maximal effect in the concentration range 1 9-69 microM on duckweed and 13->80 microM on kudzu) and weakly cytotoxic with mammalian cell lines (half-maximal inhibition of proliferation in the concentration range 0.3->2 microM).     

An efficient in vitro propagation,antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Aphyllorchis montana Rchb.f.

An in vitro plant regeneration protocol was successfully established in Aphyllorchis montana, a saprophytic achlorophyllous orchid by culturing immature seeds. Among the six basal media evaluated for seed germination, BM-1-Terrestrial Orchid medium was found to be the best followed by Knudson C medium. Half-strength BM-1-Terrestrial Orchid medium was supplemented with different growth regulators either individually or in combinations for multiplication of shoots induction. Of the five cytokinins tested, thidiazuron at 6.8 μM was found to be most effective for multiple shoot induction yielding 17.24 ± 0.27 shoots after 10 weeks of culture. Addition of low concentration of α-Naphthaleneacetic acid (1.3 μM) in MS medium supplemented with the cytokinin thidiazuron (6.8 μM) favored shoot multiplication. The addition of organic additives to the medium containing thidiazuron enhanced the number of regenerated shoots. The plantlets were acclimatized, and the survival rate was 100%. Screening of the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and estimation of total phenolics and flavonoid content of methanolic extracts of micropropagated plants were also carried out and compared with that of the wild-grown plants. In all the tests, methanolic extract from wild-grown plants showed higher antioxidant, antimicrobial activity, total phenolics and flavonoid content than in vitro propagated plants.     

Isolation and characterization of microsatellites in Drosophila montana and their cross‐species amplification in D. virilis

We report the isolation of 20 microsatellite loci from Drosophila montana and their cross amplification in the relative D. virilis. All microsatellite loci were polymorphic in the focal species D. montana, with gene diversities ranging from 0.23 to 0.93. In D. virilis only eight loci (40%) amplified and two loci were polymorphic (10%). These markers represent the first report of microsatellites isolated in D. montana. They could be applied for studying population structure and phylogeography. The largest benefit, however, will be their use in studies of quantitative trait loci, such as the mapping of behavioural quantitative trait loci.