Search results for "ants"
showing 10 items of 7011 documents
Protein hydrolysates and mo-biofortification interactively modulate plant performance and quality of ‘canasta’ lettuce grown in a protected environme…
2021
Since the use of protein hydrolysates (PHs) enhances overall plant performance and quality of vegetables, they might be considered as a toll to face a number of concerns essentially associated to the growing request of premium quality foodstuff realized in agreement with eco-friendly agriculture practices. Molybdenum (Mo) is considered a fundamental trace element for human body. Thus, its shortage determines several disorders mainly related to neurological lesion and esophageal cancer. Biofortification of fruiting and leafy vegetables is a promising tool to prevent Mo deficiency in the human diet. The current study was carried out to assess the interactive effect of plant-derived PHs and Mo…
Vaquita Face Extinction from Bycatch. Comment on Manjarrez-Bringas, N. et al., Lessons for Sustainable Development: Marine Mammal Conservation Polici…
2019
We are among the scientists who have documented the environmental and ecological changes to the Upper Gulf of California following the reduction in the Colorado River’s flow. We object to any suggestion that our research supports Manjarrez-Bringas et al.’s conclusion that the decline in the Colorado River’s flow is the reason for the decline in the population of the endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus). Manjarrez-Bringas et al.’s conclusions are incongruent with their own data, their logic is untenable, their analyses fail to consider current illegal fishing practices, and their recommendations are unjustified and misdirected. Vaquita face extinction because of bycatch, not because …
Activation of the plant plasma membrane H+ -ATPase. Is there a direct interaction between lysophosphatidylcholine and the C-terminal part of the enzy…
1996
The antagonistic effects of the fungal toxin beticolin-1 and of L-alpha-lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) were investigated on the plasma membrane H+-ATPase of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana (isoform 2) expressed in yeast, using both wild-type enzyme (AHA2) and C-terminal truncated enzyme (aha2delta92). Phosphohydrolytic activities of both enzymes were inhibited by beticolin-1, with very similar 50% inhibitory concentrations, indicating that the toxin action does not involve the C-terminal located autoinhibitory domain of the proton pump. Egg lysoPC, a compound that activates the H+-ATPase by a mechanism involving the C-terminal part of the protein, was found to be able to reverse the inhibi…
Functional reconstitution of a proton-translocating system responsive to fusicoccin
1988
Crude fusicoccin binding proteins and a partially purified plasma membrane H+-transporting ATPase (EC 3.6.1.34), both solubilized from maize tissues, were simultaneously inserted into liposomes by the freeze-thaw method. ATP-driven intravesicular acidification in the proteoliposomes, measured by the fluorescence quenching of the dye 9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine, markedly increased upon addition of fusicoccin to the reconstituted system. This effect could not be observed when binding sites and ATPase preparations were separately reconstituted into the proteoliposomes, thus demonstrating that fusicoccin binding to its receptor is a prerequisite for ATPase stimulation.
Communication versus waterproofing: the physics of insect cuticular hydrocarbons
2019
Understanding the evolution of complex traits is among the major challenges in biology. One such trait is the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) layer in insects. It protects against desiccation and provides communication signals, especially in social insects. CHC composition is highly diverse within and across species. To understand the adaptive value of this chemical diversity, we must understand how it affects biological functionality. So far, CHCs received ample research attention, but their physical properties were little studied. We argue that these properties determine their biological functionality, and are vital to understand how CHC composition affects their adaptive value. We investigat…
Comparison of different methods to assess the distribution of alien plants along the road network and use of Google Street View panoramas interpretat…
2021
The survey by foot in the field is compared to the survey from a car, the photo-interpretation of Google Street View (GSV) panoramas continuously and at intervals of 1.5 km and the photo-interpretation of Google Earth aerial images on a 10 km stretch of road in Sicily. The survey by foot was used as reference for the other methods. The interpretation of continuous GSV panoramas gave similar results as the assessment by car in terms of the number of species identified and their location, but with lower cost. The interpretation online of aerial photos allowed the identification of a limited number of taxa, but gave a good localisation for them. Interpretation of GSV panoramas, each of 1.5 km,…
Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the mechanisms underpinning ageing and fecundity in social insects.
2021
The exceptional longevity of social insect queens despite their lifelong high fecundity remains poorly understood in ageing biology. To gain insights into the mechanisms that might underlie ageing in social insects, we compared gene expression patterns between young and old castes (both queens and workers) across different lineages of social insects (two termite, two bee and two ant species). After global analyses, we paid particular attention to genes of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signalling (IIS)/target of rapamycin (TOR)/juvenile hormone (JH) network, which is well known to regulate lifespan and the trade-off between reproduction and somatic maintenance in solitary insects…
Ornacitrus: Citrus plants (Citrus spp.) as ornamentals
2019
Abstract The industrial production of citrus plants for ornamental use (ornacitrus) began in Italy at the end of the 1960s due to the need for many citrus nurseries to adapt their activities in a time of crisis for citriculture. Nowadays, the ornamental citrus nursery sector is a well-established industry in many European countries such as Portugal, Spain, Greece, and southern Italy. In Italy, nursery production of ornamental citrus plants has become prominent due to the gradual shutdown of many commercial citrus orchards. Currently, Italy maintains its leadership with more than 5.5 million ornacitrus plants produced annually. Ornamental citrus production regards mainly different cultivars …
The effects of drainage and restoration of pine mires on habitat structure, vegetation and ants
2016
Habitat loss and degradation are the main threats to biodiversity worldwide. For example, nearly 80% of peatlands in southern Finland have been drained. There is thus a need to safeguard the remaining pristine mires and to restore degraded ones. Ants play a pivotal role in many ecosystems and like many keystone plant species, shape ecosystem conditions for other biota. The effects of mire restoration and subsequent vegetation succession on ants, however, are poorly understood. We inventoried tree stands, vegetation, water-table level, and ants (with pitfall traps) in nine mires in southern Finland to explore differences in habitats, vegetation and ant assemblages among pristine, drained (30…
Granulation and microbial community dynamics in the chitosan-supplemented anaerobic treatment of wastewater polluted with organic solvents.
2018
Abstract The effect of chitosan on the development of granular sludge in upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors (UASB) when treating wastewater polluted with the organic solvents ethanol, ethyl acetate, and 1-ethoxy-2-propanol was evaluated. Three UASB reactors were operated for 219 days at ambient temperature with an organic loading rate (OLR) of between 0.3 kg COD m −3 d −1 and 20 kg COD m −3 d −1 . One reactor was operated without the addition of chitosan, while the other two were operated with the addition of chitosan doses of 2.4 mg gVSS −1 two times. The three reactors were all able to treat the OLR tested with COD removal efficiencies greater than 90%. However, the time required to…