0000000000930619
AUTHOR
Silvia Ramos
Identification of a gene overexpressed in aphids reared under short photoperiod.
Most aphids develop a cyclic parthenogenesis life-cycle. After several generations of viviparously produced parthenogenetic females, follows a single annual generation of sexual individuals, usually in autumn, that mate and lay the sexual eggs. Shortening of photoperiod at the end of the summer (together with temperature) is a key factor inducing the sexual response. Currently no genes involved in the cascade of events that lead to the appearance of sexual forms have been reported. After a Differential Display RT-PCR survey performed on Acyrthosiphon pisum aphids, we identified a gene that is overexpressed in aphids reared under short photoperiod conditions that induce sexuality in this spe…
Detection and Characterization of Wolbachia Infections in Natural Populations of Aphids: Is the Hidden Diversity Fully Unraveled?
Copyright © 2011 Augustinos et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Aphids are a serious threat to agriculture, despite being a rather small group of insects. The about 4,000 species worldwide engage in highly interesting and complex relationships with their microbial fauna. One of the key symbionts in arthropods is Wolbachia, an a-Proteobacterium implicated in many important biological processes and believed to be a potential tool for biological control. Aphids were thought not to harbour W…
Cadherin fragments of Lepidopteran and Coleopteran species do not enhance toxicity of Cry1Ca and Vip3Aa proteins to Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera:Noctuidae)
Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner 1915 (Bt) is an entomopathogenic bacterium used to control insect pest worldwide. During its life cycle, Bt produces different insecticidal proteins, among which Veg...
A simple DNA extraction method suitable for PCR detection of genetically modified maize.
BACKGROUND: The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a powerful tool that is being increasingly used for detection of transgenic DNA. PCR requires only a minute quantity of template, but sensitive and accurate testing requires DNA of sufficient purity and free from inhibitors such as plant polysaccharides. Several standard protocols are available for this purpose, but they usually involve several steps, imply destruction of the maize kernel, or are time-consuming. Our aim was to develop a fast and simple extraction method to isolate a raw DNA-containing solution from maize tissues suitable for use as a template in a PCR-based detection assay with specific oligonucleotides directed to the iden…