Search results for "Arid"
showing 10 items of 1382 documents
The effects of parasite age and intensity on variability in acanthocephalan-induced behavioural manipulation.
2008
10 pages; International audience; Numerous parasites with complex life cycles are able to manipulate the behaviour of their intermediate host in a way that increases their trophic transmission to the definitive host. Pomphorhynchus laevis, an acanthocephalan parasite, is known to reverse the phototactic behaviour of its amphipod intermediate host, Gammarus pulex, leading to an increased predation by fish hosts. However, levels of behavioural manipulation exhibited by naturally-infected gammarids are extremely variable, with some individuals being strongly manipulated whilst others are almost not affected by infection. To investigate parasite age and parasite intensity as potential sources o…
East Weddell Sea echinoids from the JR275 expedition
2015
1 pages; International audience; Information regarding the echinoids in this dataset is based on the Agassiz Trawl (AGT) and epibenthic sledge (EBS) samples collected during the British Antarctic Survey cruise JR275 on the RRS James Clark Ross in the austral summer 2012. A total of 56 (1 at the South Orkneys and 55 in the Eastern Weddell Sea) Agassiz Trawl and 18 (2 at the South Orkneys and 16 in the Eastern Weddell Sea) epibenthic sledge deployments were performed at depths ranging from ~280 to ~2060 m. This presents a unique collection for the Antarctic benthic biodiversity assessment of an important group of benthic invertebrates. In total 487 specimens belonging to six families, 15 gene…
Evolution of leaf anatomy in arid environments – A case study in southern African Tetraena and Roepera (Zygophyllaceae)
2015
The dry biomes of southern Africa (Desert, Nama Karoo and Succulent Karoo) are home to a rich and diverse xerophytic flora. This flora includes two morphologically diverse clades of Zygophyllaceae, Tetraena and Roepera (Zygophylloideae), which inhabit some of the most arid habitats in the region. Using a plastid phylogeny of Zygophylloideae we assess whether the evolution of putatively adaptive traits (leaf shape, vasculature, mode of water storage and photosynthetic type: C3 versus C4) coincides with the successful colonisation of environments with different drought regimes within southern Africa. Our results show general niche conservatism within arid habitats in Tetraena, but niche shift…
The shell matrix of the pulmonate land snail Helix aspersa maxima.
2012
12 pages; International audience; In mollusks, the shell mineralization process is controlled by an array of proteins, glycoproteins and polysaccharides that collectively constitute the shell matrix. In spite of numerous researches, the shell protein content of a limited number of model species has been investigated. This paper presents biochemical data on the common edible land snail Helix aspersa maxima, a model organism for ecotoxicological purposes, which has however been poorly investigated from a biomineralization viewpoint. The shell matrix of this species was extracted and analyzed biochemically for functional in vitro inhibition assay, for amino acid and monosaccharides composition…
Changes in carbohydrate metabolism in Plasmopara viticola-infected grapevine leaves.
2011
International audience; The oomycete Plasmopara viticola is responsible for downy mildew, a severe grapevine disease. In infected grapevine leaves, we have observed an abnormal starch accumulation at the end of the dark period, suggesting modifications in starch metabolism. Therefore, several complementary approaches, including transcriptomic analyses, measurements of enzyme activities, and sugar quantification, were performed in order to investigate and to understand the effects of P. viticola infection on leaf starch and-to a larger extent-carbohydrate metabolism. Our results indicate that starch accumulation is associated with an increase in ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) activit…
Tamarix arborea var. arborea and Tamarix parviflora: Two species valued for their adaptability to stress conditions.
2016
The choice of stress resistant and highly adaptable species is a fundamental step for landscaping and ornamental purposes in arid and coastal environments such as those in the Mediterranean basin. The genus Tamarix L. includes about 90 species with a high endurance of adversity. We investigated the water relations and photosynthetic response of Tamarix arborea (Sieb. ex Ehrenb.) Bge. var. arborea and T. parviflora DC. growing in an urban environment. Both species showed no evidence of drought or salt stress in summer, and appeared to follow two strategies with T. arborea var. arborea investing in high carbon gain at the beginning of the summer, and then reducing photosynthetic activity at t…
Study on the effects of several operational variables on the enzymatic batch saccharification of orange solid waste
2017
In this work, batch enzyme-aided extraction and enzymatic saccharification of blade-milled orange waste was studied. The operation variables for this process were thoroughly analysed. It was determined that batch runs with initial pH values of 5.0 and 5.2 controlled during the first hour, 50°C and 300-500r.p.m. agitation resulted in the best yields, with a limited total and partial first-order enzyme deactivation (for cellulases and polygalacturonidase, respectively). Orange peel waste (OPW) at 6.7% w/w dry solid, 0.22 filter paper units (FPU)/g DS and proportional activities of other enzymes led to over 40g/L free monosaccharides and global yields to glucose over 80%. When using 10.1% w/w …
A review on introduced alien insect pests and their associated parasitoids on eucalyptus trees in Sicily
2018
A review is reported in the present paper on invasive alien insects introduced in Sicily on Eucalyptus trees, together with unpublished results from recent surveys. As to the latter ones, observations were conducted especially on Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Carpintero & Dellapé) (Hemiptera, Thaumastocoridae), the most recently introduced species. Overall, eight alien insect pests have been accidentally introduced in the island on Eucalyptus, belonging to the orders Hemiptera (Aphalaridae, 2 spp.; Thaumastocoridae, 1 sp.), Coleoptera (Cerambycidae, 2 spp.; Curculionidae, 1 sp.) and Hymenoptera (Eulophidae, 2 spp.). Two encyrtid parasitoids, Avetianella longoi Siscaro and Psyllaephagus bliteus…
An Agronomic Evaluation of New Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Germplasm for Seed and Oil Yields under Mediterranean Climate Conditions
2019
Interest in oilseed crops for agro-industrial research and development projects has increased in the Mediterranean area, in recent years. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is of potential interest for agriculture mainly due to fatty acid content variability in the seed oil. The aim of this study was to assess the agronomic performance of 16 new safflower accessions together with safflower variety Montola 2000, used as a reference, in a semi-arid environment. Research was carried out in Sicily (Italy) from 2013&ndash
Priming: getting ready for battle
2006
International audience; Infection of plants by necrotizing pathogens or colonization of plant roots with certain beneficial microbes causes the induction of a unique physiological state called “priming.” The primed state can also be induced by treatment of plants with various natural and synthetic compounds. Primed plants display either faster, stronger, or both activation of the various cellular defense responses that are induced following attack by either pathogens or insects or in response to abiotic stress. Although the phenomenon has been known for decades, most progress in our understanding of priming has been made over the past few years. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of p…