Late dormant rapeseed oil treatment against black cherry aphid and cherry fruit moth in sweet cherries

Abstract:  Black cherry aphid [ Myzus cerasi (Fabricius)] and cherry fruit moth [ Argyresthia pruniella (Clerck)] are the main insect pests on sweet cherries in Norway. In this study, application of rapeseed oil alone and rapeseed oil mixed with pesticides were tested as a control method against overwintering eggs of both black cherry aphid and cherry fruit moth. Results showed that rapeseed oil applied at the late dormant stage significantly reduced damage by black cherry aphid. Efficiency of oil mixed with pesticides was higher, but only significant in three of seven trials. The efficiency of rapeseed oil against cherry fruit moth was low compared with what was achieved for black cherry aphid, but within the range that has been reported for other botanical pesticides. As for the black cherry aphid, adding pesticides to oil decreased damage by the cherry fruit moth. Timing of treatment and effect of temperature were discussed.     

Interpretation of the last‐glacial vegetation of eastern‐central Europe using modern analogues from southern Siberia

Aim Interpretation of fossil pollen assemblages may benefit greatly from comparisons with modern palynological and vegetation analogues. To interpret the full‐ and late‐glacial vegetation in eastern‐central Europe we compared fossil pollen assemblages from this region with modern pollen assemblages from various vegetation types in southern Siberia, which presumably include the closest modern analogues of the last‐glacial vegetation of central Europe. Location Czech and Slovak Republics (fossil pollen assemblages); Western Sayan Mountains, southern Siberia (modern pollen assemblages). Methods Eighty‐eight modern pollen spectra were sampled in 14 vegetation types of Siberian forest, tundra and steppe, and compared with the last‐glacial pollen spectra from seven central European localities using principal components analysis. Results Both full‐ and late‐glacial pollen spectra from the valleys of the Western Carpathians (altitudes 350–610 m) are similar to modern pollen spectra from southern Siberian taiga, hemiboreal forest and dwarf‐birch tundra. The full‐glacial and early late‐glacial pollen spectra from lowland river valleys in the Bohemian Massif (altitudes 185–190 m) also indicate the presence of patches of hemiboreal forest or taiga. Other late‐glacial pollen spectra from the Bohemian Massif suggest an open landscape with steppe or tundra or a mosaic of both, possibly with small patches of hemiboreal forest. Main conclusions Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that during the full glacial and late glacial, the mountain valleys of the north‐western Carpathians supported taiga or hemiboreal forest dominated by Larix, Pinus cembra, Pinus sylvestris and Picea, along with some steppic or tundra formations. Forests tended to be increasingly open or patchy towards the west (Moravian lowlands), gradually passing into the generally treeless landscape of Bohemia, with possible woodland patches in locally favourable sites.     

Thermostability/infectivity defect caused by deletion of the core protein V gene in human adenovirus type 5 is rescued by thermo-selectable mutations in the core protein X precursor

Mastadenoviruses represent one of the four major genera of the Adenoviridae family comprising a variety of mammalian pathogens including human adenovirus (Ad), whose genomes encode a gene for minor core protein V (pV), not found in other genera of Adenoviridae. Deletion of other genus-specific genes (gene IX and E3 genes) from the Ad type 5 (Ad5) genome has been studied experimentally in vitro and the results on biological characterization of the mutants support the phylogenetic evidence of those genes being non-essential for Ad viability. On this basis it seemed logical to suggest that a deletion of gene V from the Ad5 genome could also be tolerated. To test this hypothesis we constructed and rescued the first pV-deletion mutant of human Ad5. As compared to Ad5, this mutant formed small plaques, had dramatically reduced thermostability and lower infectivity. A subsequent thermoselection screen of the pV-deleted Ad5 allowed isolation of a suppressor mutant Ad5-dV/TSB with restored biological characteristics. Since replication and viral assembly of Ad5-dV/TSB could still occur in the absence of pV, we conclude that pV is a non-essential component of the virion. The observed rescue of the biological defects appears to be associated with a cluster of point mutations in the gene encoding the precursor for the other core protein, X/Mu. This finding, thus, suggests possible roles of pV and protein X/Mu precursor in viral assembly. It also provides an interesting insight into genetic events that mediate molecular adaptation of viruses to possible changes in the genetic background in the course of their evolutionary divergence. The possible mechanism of the observed genetic suppression is discussed.     

贵州凤冈志留纪晚LLANDOVERY世植物黔羽枝研究综述

简要论述贵州凤冈志留纪Llandovery世晚期Pinnatiramosus qianensis Geng(黔羽枝)的研究历史、地层时代、主要特征、早期陆生维管植物起源和演化意义、争议焦点及其今后的研究途径和展望。P.qianensis代表了一类目前仍鲜为人知、由水生藻类植物向陆生环境过渡的植物类群,具有陆生维管植物某些重要特征,在后续演化过程中,可能是一类不成功的灭绝类群。由于P.qianensis的特有外部形态和复杂的内部解剖特征,对其认识引发了很大的争议,焦点集中在是否属于真正的志留纪植物(产出地层是否为志留纪Llandovery世晚期,是否属于这个时期的早期维管植物或植物根系)。作者认为:我国西南地区是探索早期陆生维管植物起源和早期演化的关键地区,通过一系列野外和室内研究,进一步强化对P.qianensis及其共生植物群的研究,并采用多学科交叉的方法,系统揭示P.qianensis的生物学属性、分类系统及其生态环境,在早期植物演化上提出新观点和演化模式,推进早期陆生维管植物起源、演化的研究。     

番茄幼苗对接种晚疫病菌的生理响应

以番茄晚疫病抗病品系CLN2037E、感病品系5号自交系及其杂种一代F1为材料,人工接种番茄晚疫病菌生理小种T1、T2、T3,研究番茄苗期抵抗晚疫病的生理响应.结果显示：（1）感病品系的膜脂过氧化产物丙二醛（MDA）与过氧化氢（H2O2）的含量增加幅度较大,抗病品系的含量则相对稳定,F1代的变化趋势接近感病品系;（2）抗病品系和感病品系的多酚氧化酶（PPO）、过氧化物酶（POD）和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）活性变化都呈先升高后下降,抗病品系的酶活性高峰出现早且峰值小于感病品系.研究发现,抗病番茄品系幼苗的多项生理指标在接种晚疫病菌后变化幅度小而稳定,并能在短时间内基本恢复到原来的正常状态,从而表现出较强的抗病性.     

番茄RGA4蛋白与马铃薯Rpi-blb1蛋白的同源比较分析

为获得番茄抗晚疫病广谱性基因信息,采用同源电子克隆法,基于番茄蛋白序列数据库,以马铃薯晚疫病广谱抗性蛋白Rpi-blb1为种子序列,获得番茄疾病抗性蛋白RGA4,并进行基因电子定位和基因结构、模体、二级结构、基因进化及基因电子表达等分析,以证明两者的进化关系。结果表明:番茄RGA4蛋白(XP_004245923.1)序列具有NB-ARC和LRR8两个保守结构域,定位于第8条染色体SL2.40区间,相应基因位于8号染色体序列的57228847-57232935 bp区间,长度为4 089 bp,由2个外显子和1个内含子组成,编码988个氨基酸序列,该蛋白为不稳定分泌球形蛋白;番茄RGA4蛋白和马铃薯Rpi-blb1蛋白在二级结构分布、基因序列组成、基因定位等方面相似性较高,可确定两者为垂直同源关系,但在基因进化和模体组成方面存在差异,可能导致两者功能上的不同。研究结果可为番茄晚疫病广谱抗性基因克隆及其利用提供理论依据。     

Scontrone (central Italy), signs of a 9‐million‐year‐old tragedy

The fossilierous bonebeds of Scontrone (Abruzzo region, central Italy) are preserved in tidal‐flat aeolian calcarenites at the base of the Lithothamnion Limestone, a Miocene carbonate ramp widespread in the central‐southern Apennines. The site bears evidence of a catastrophic event at 9 Ma. Reported are the results of the palaeobiological and taphonomic analysis conducted on the rich vertebrate assemblage, particularly on the remains of Hoplitomeryx (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Ruminantia), recovered from the so‐called Scontrone calcarenites between 1992 and 2012. This is the first taphonomic study of a Late Miocene continental bone assemblage preserved in coastal deposits. The bones are not in primary context. They were likely exhumed during the initial phase of a marine transgression after a period of primary ‘storage’ within a possibly flood‐generated deposit in an estuarine environment. The mortality patterns indicate that the carcasses accumulated in a short time (within a year). The bones of the disarticulated skeletons were then removed, broken in a dry and brittle state, scattered over wide carbonate ramps along an arid to semi‐arid, wind‐exposed coastline and eventually buried again in aeolian calcarenites that drape transgressive tidal‐flat creek deposits. The analysis also reveals that hoplitomerycids were possibly seasonal reproducers and that the land they inhabited, the so‐called Apulia Platform, was probably swept by sudden, disastrous, storm‐supplied flash floods.     

Rerouting of Plant Late Endocytic Trafficking Toward a Pathogen Interface

A number of plant pathogenic and symbiotic microbes produce specialized cellular structures that invade host cells where they remain enveloped by host‐derived membranes. The mechanisms underlying the biogenesis and functions of host–microbe interfaces are poorly understood. Here, we show that plant late endocytic trafficking is diverted toward the extrahaustorial membrane (EHM); a host–pathogen interface that develops in plant cells invaded by Irish potato famine pathogen Phytophthora infestans. A late endosome and tonoplast marker protein Rab7 GTPase RabG3c, but not a tonoplast‐localized sucrose transporter, is recruited to the EHM, suggesting specific rerouting of vacuole‐targeted late endosomes to a host–pathogen interface. We revealed the dynamic nature of this process by showing that, upon activation, a cell surface immune receptor traffics toward the haustorial interface. Our work provides insight into the biogenesis of the EHM and reveals dynamic processes that recruit membrane compartments and immune receptors to this host–pathogen interface.      

Phylogeography of Mus (Nannomys) minutoides (Rodentia,Muridae) in West Central African savannahs: singular vicariance in neighbouring populations

We studied the phylogeography of the strict savannah pygmy mice Mus (Nannomys) minutoides in West Central Africa. A total of 846 base pairs of the cytochrome b sequence were obtained for 66 individuals collected in Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of Congo and Central African Republic. These sequences were compared to those of M. minutoides from other African countries and to eight other species of the genus Mus. We performed maximum likelihood, Bayesian and nested clade analyses, as well as neutrality tests and time estimates. We show that M. minutoides is a well‐differentiated monophyletic species that separated from other pygmy mice 1.17 Myr ago. A distinct West Central African M. minutoides clade diverged early from the other African populations of the species, with a more recent common ancestor dating 0.14 Myr. West Central African populations are globally homogeneous, despite the present fragmentation of savannahs by the rain forest. However, our analyses show an unexpected vicariance between geographically close savannahs, embedded in the rain forest in Central Gabon. One of these populations is genetically more similar to very distant peripheral populations than to three closely neighbouring populations situated on both sides of the Ogooué River. A non‐river geographical barrier probably persisted in this area, durably isolating these local populations. This hypothesis about the history of the savannah landscape should be testable through the biogeographical analysis of other strict savannah small mammal species.     

Changes of Genotype,Sensitivity and Aggressiveness in Phytophthora infestans Isolates Collected in European Countries in 1997, 2006 and 2007

A total of 241 isolates of Phytophthora infestans were collected in 1997, 2006 and 2007 in eight European countries and characterized with molecular markers (simple sequence repeats, SSR genotypes) and phenotypic traits such as sensitivity to fungicides, mating type and aggressiveness. The mating type distribution changed from mainly A1 in 1997 to a majority of A2 in 2007. No resistant isolates were detected for fluazinam and mandipropamid, whereas the proportion of isolates resistant to mefenoxam (MFX) was high and increased over the years. There was no genetic link between mating type and MFX resistance. Aggressiveness (product between lesion expansion and sporulation capacity) was slightly higher for MFX‐resistant compared to sensitive isolates and for isolates collected later compared to earlier in the same season. It was about equally high for A1 and A2 types, and for French isolates in 1997 and British isolates in 2007, but lower for French isolates in 2007. Six different SSR genotype families were distinguished. In 1997, populations were dominated by genotype families I and III/IV, which significantly declined in 2007 being largely displaced by genotype families II (‘blue 13’ type) and V, which are by coincidence mainly A2 MFX resistant and A1 MFX sensitive, respectively. However, mating type and MFX resistance were genetically not linked to SSR genotypes.