Oviposition avoidance of parasitized aphid colonies by the syrphid predator Episyrphus balteatus mediated by different cues

Oviposition decisions made by members of a guild of natural enemies can have evolved to avoid intraguild predation, potentially avoiding the disruption of the extraguild prey control. We have studied the oviposition preference of the aphidophagous predator Episyrphus balteatus De Geer (Diptera: Syrphidae) within colonies of Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in the presence of two developmental stages of the aphid parasitoid Aphidius colemani Viereck (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae). Results from a greenhouse choice experiment showed that E. balteatus females lay significantly fewer eggs in colonies with mummified aphids than in unparasitized colonies. Colonies of parasitized, but not yet mummified did not contain significantly fewer eggs than colonies with unparasitized aphids. In three no-choice experiments, we assessed stimuli coming from aphid honeydew, from the aphids themselves and also from extracts of the aphid bodies, and all of these stimuli mediate the discrimination of mummified aphids from healthy aphids. To a lesser extent these stimuli also contribute to the discrimination against aphids that are parasitized but not yet mummified. These results suggest that the effects of these two species could be complementary for the control of M. persicae, since the species that acts as an intraguild predator, E. balteatus, avoids ovipositing on aphid colonies parasitized by the intraguild prey, A. colemani.     

High concentrations of D-amino acids in human gastric juice

Summary. The concentrations of free D- and L-amino acids were determined in the gastric juice from four groups: patients suffering from early gastric carcinoma with or without Helicobacter pylori infection, and patients without carcinoma but with peptic ulcers, duodenal ulcers or chronic gastritis with or without H. pylori infection. H. pylori is a bacterium associated with gastric inflammation and peptic ulcers and is a risk factor for stomach cancer. The highest D-amino acid ratios (free D-amino acid concentration to the total corresponding free D- and L-amino acid concentration) were 29%, 26%, 18%, 4% and 1% for proline, alanine, serine, aspartate and glutamate, respectively. The gastric juice levels of L-alanine, L-serine, L-proline, L-glutamate and D-alanine in the samples obtained from subjects bearing early gastric carcinoma and H. pylori were significantly higher than in the samples from the other three groups. Except for D-alanine, there was no correlation between the D-amino acid concentrations and presence of carcinoma or H. pylori.     

Apple juice attenuates genotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by cadmium exposure in multiple organs of rats

The aim of this study was to evaluate the health benefits associated with apple consumption following cadmium exposure. A total of 15 Wistar rats were distributed into three groups (n = 5), as follows: control group (non-treated group, CTRL); cadmium group (Cd) and apple juice group (Cd + AJ). The results showed a decrease in the frequency micronucleated cells in bone marrow and hepatocytes in the group exposed to cadmium and treated with apple juice. Apple juice was also able to reduce the 8OHdG levels and to decrease genetic damage in liver and peripheral blood cells. Catalase (CAT) was decreased following apple juice intake. Taken together, our results demonstrate that apple juice seems to be able to prevent genotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by cadmium exposure in multiple organs of Wistar rats.     

Harnessing Genetic Variation in Leaf Angle to Increase Productivity of Sorghum bicolor

The efficiency with which a plant intercepts solar radiation is determined primarily by its architecture. Understanding the genetic regulation of plant architecture and how changes in architecture affect performance can be used to improve plant productivity. Leaf inclination angle, the angle at which a leaf emerges with respect to the stem, is a feature of plant architecture that influences how a plant canopy intercepts solar radiation. Here we identify extensive genetic variation for leaf inclination angle in the crop plant Sorghum bicolor, a C4 grass species used for the production of grain, forage, and bioenergy. Multiple genetic loci that regulate leaf inclination angle were identified in recombinant inbred line populations of grain and bioenergy sorghum. Alleles of sorghum dwarf-3, a gene encoding a P-glycoprotein involved in polar auxin transport, are shown to change leaf inclination angle by up to 34° (0.59 rad). The impact of heritable variation in leaf inclination angle on light interception in sorghum canopies was assessed using functional-structural plant models and field experiments. Smaller leaf inclination angles caused solar radiation to penetrate deeper into the canopy, and the resulting redistribution of light is predicted to increase the biomass yield potential of bioenergy sorghum by at least 3%. These results show that sorghum leaf angle is a heritable trait regulated by multiple loci and that genetic variation in leaf angle can be used to modify plant architecture to improve sorghum crop performance.     

The shifting influence of drought and heat stress for crops in northeast Australia

Characterization of drought environment types (ETs) has proven useful for breeding crops for drought‐prone regions. Here, we consider how changes in climate and atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations will affect drought ET frequencies in sorghum and wheat systems of northeast Australia. We also modify APSIM (the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator) to incorporate extreme heat effects on grain number and weight, and then evaluate changes in the occurrence of heat‐induced yield losses of more than 10%, as well as the co‐occurrence of drought and heat. More than six million simulations spanning representative locations, soil types, management systems, and 33 climate projections led to three key findings. First, the projected frequency of drought decreased slightly for most climate projections for both sorghum and wheat, but for different reasons. In sorghum, warming exacerbated drought stresses by raising the atmospheric vapor pressure deficit and reducing transpiration efficiency (TE), but an increase in TE due to elevated CO₂ more than offset these effects. In wheat, warming reduced drought stress during spring by hastening development through winter and reducing exposure to terminal drought. Elevated CO₂ increased TE but also raised radiation‐use efficiency and overall growth rates and water use, thereby offsetting much of the drought reduction from warming. Second, adding explicit effects of heat on grain number and grain size often switched projected yield impacts from positive to negative. Finally, although average yield losses associated with drought will remain generally higher than that for heat stress for the next half century, the relative importance of heat is steadily growing. This trend, as well as the likely high degree of genetic variability in heat tolerance, suggests that more emphasis on heat tolerance is warranted in breeding programs. At the same time, work on drought tolerance should continue with an emphasis on drought that co‐occurs with extreme heat.     

C4作物FACE(free-air CO2 enrichment)研究进展

持续迅速上升的大气二氧化碳浓度([CO₂])是全球变暖最大的驱动因子,但其作为光合作用底物直接增加了作物的生产力。相比C₃作物,人们对未来高浓度CO₂情形下C₄作物的响应规律认识较少。与封闭或半封闭气室研究相比,FACE(free-air CO₂ enrichment)试验在空气自由流动的大田条件下对作物表现进行研究,它提供了对未来作物生长环境的真实模拟,因此提供了评估CO₂肥料效应以及揭示植物响应机制的最好机会。作为人类重要的粮食和饲料来源,高粱和玉米是最重要的C₄作物。在简介美国玉米和高粱FACE系统的基础上,综述了FACE情形下高浓度CO₂(模拟本世纪中叶大气CO₂浓度,即550 μmol/mol)对两大作物生理、生长和产量以及土壤特性等方面的影响,同时比较了与气室研究结果的异同点。(1)FACE使干旱条件下两作物光合作用显著增强,但湿润条件下没有影响;FACE条件下高粱出现光合适应现象,而玉米没有;(2)FACE使两作物气孔导度大幅下降,导致叶温升高、蒸腾速率下降、蒸发蒸腾总量减少或没有变化、叶片总水势和水分利用效率增加或没有变化;(3)FACE对两作物物候期和化学组分影响很少;(4)FACE使干旱条件下两作物生长和产量略有增加,但湿润条件下没有影响;(5)FACE使高粱田土壤丛枝状菌根真菌的长度和易提取胶状物质浓度显著增加,导致水稳性土壤团聚体增加;FACE对高粱田N₂O或含氮气体(N₂O+N₂)的排放没有影响;(6)高浓度CO₂对两作物气孔导度的影响FACE试验明显大于气室试验,而对生长和产量的影响呈相反趋势。阐明CO₂与基因型、土壤湿度和大气温度间的互作效应及其机制是下一轮C₄作物FACE研究优先考虑的方向,技术的不断进步已为利用大型FACE系统来研究这些互作效应提供了可能。