Search results for "basi"
showing 10 items of 12854 documents
Variable crab camouflage patterns defeat search image formation.
2021
Understanding what maintains the broad spectrum of variation in animal phenotypes and how this influences survival is a key question in biology. Frequency dependent selection – where predators temporarily focus on one morph at the expense of others by forming a “search image” – can help explain this phenomenon. However, past work has never tested real prey colour patterns, and rarely considered the role of different types of camouflage. Using a novel citizen science computer experiment that presented crab “prey” to humans against natural backgrounds in specific sequences, we were able to test a range of key hypotheses concerning the interactions between predator learning, camouflage and mor…
Adaptation to environmental stress at different timescales
2020
Environments are changing rapidly, and to cope with these changes, organisms have to adapt. Adaptation can take many shapes and occur at different speeds, depending on the type of response, the trait, the population, and the environmental conditions. The biodiversity crisis that we are currently facing illustrates that numerous species and populations are not capable of adapting with sufficient speed to ongoing environmental changes. Here, we discuss current knowledge on the ability of animals and plants to adapt to environmental stress on different timescales, mainly focusing on thermal stress and ectotherms. We discuss within-generation responses that can be fast and induced within minute…
UV-screening and springtime recovery of photosynthetic capacity in leaves of Vaccinium vitis-idaea above and below the snow pack
2019
International audience; Evergreen plants in boreal biomes undergo seasonal hardening and dehardening adjusting their photosynthetic capacity and photoprotection; acclimating to seasonal changes in temperature and irradiance. Leaf epidermal ultraviolet (UV)-screening by flavonols responds to solar radiation, perceived in part through increased ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, and is a candidate trait to provide cross-photoprotection. At Hyytiälä Forestry Station, central Finland, we examined whether the accumulation of flavonols was higher in leaves of Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. growing above the snowpack compared with those below the snowpack. We found that leaves exposed to colder temperature…
Trichoderma harzianum Strain T22 Modulates Direct Defense of Tomato Plants in Response to Nezara viridula Feeding Activity
2021
AbstractPlant growth-promoting fungi belonging to genus Trichoderma are known to help plants when dealing with biotic stressors by enhancing plant defenses. While beneficial effects of Trichoderma spp. against plant pathogens have long been documented, fewer studies have investigated their effect on insect pests. Here, we studied the impact of Trichoderma root colonization on the plant defense responses against stink bug feeding attack. For this purpose, a model system consisting of tomato plant, Solanum lycopersicum cv Dwarf San Marzano, Trichoderma harzianum strain T22 and the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula, was used. We firstly determined stink bug performance in terms of rela…
Re-examining the rare and the lost : a review of fossil Tortricidae (Lepidoptera)
2018
We re-evaluate eleven fossils that have previously been assigned to the family Tortricidae, describe one additional fossil, and assess whether observable morphological features warrant confident assignment of these specimens to this family. We provide an overview of the age and origin of the fossils and comment on their contribution towards understanding the phylogeny of the Lepidoptera. Our results show that only one specimen, Antiquatortia histuroides Brown & Baixeras gen. and sp. nov., shows a character considered synapomorphic for the family. Six other fossils ( Electresia zalesskii Kusnezov, 1941; Tortricidrosis inclusa Skalski, 1973; Tortricites skalskii Kozlov, 1988; Tortricibaltia d…
Susceptibility of Grapholita molesta (Busck, 1916) to formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis, individual toxins and their mixtures.
2016
The Oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a major pest of fruit trees worldwide, such as peach and apple. Bacillus thuringiensis has been shown to be an efficient alternative to synthetic insecticides in the control of many agricultural pests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of B. thuringiensis individual toxins and their mixtures for the control of G. molesta. Bioassays were performed with Cry1Aa, Cry1Ac, Cry1Ca, Vip3Aa, Vip3Af and Vip3Ca, as well as with the commercial products DiPel® and XenTari®. The most active proteins were Vip3Aa and Cry1Aa, with LC50 values of 1.8 and 7.5ng/cm2, respectively. Vip3Ca was nontoxic to this …
Testing the enemy release hypothesis: abundance and distribution patterns of helminth communities in grey mullets (Teleostei: Mugilidae) reveal the s…
2017
International audience; The abundance and aggregation patterns of helminth communities of two grey mullet hosts, Liza haematocheilus and Mugil cephalus, were studied across 14 localities in Atlantic and Pacific marine areas. The analysis matched parasite communities of (i) L. haematocheilus across its native and introduced populations (Sea of Japan and Sea of Azov, respectively) and (ii) the introduced population of L. haematocheilus with native populations of M. cephalus (Mediterranean, Azov-Black and Japan Seas). The total mean abundance (TMA), as a feature of the infection level in helminth communities, and slope b of the Taylor’s power law, as a measure of parasite aggregation at the in…
Polyamine Oxidase 5 loss-of-function mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana trigger metabolic and transcriptional reprogramming and promote salt stress to…
2017
The family of polyamine oxidases (PAO) in Arabidopsis (AtPAO1-5) mediates polyamine (PA) back-conversion, which reverses the PA biosynthetic pathway from spermine, and its structural isomer thermospermine (tSpm), into spermidine and then putrescine. Here, we have studied the involvement of PA back-conversion in Arabidopsis salinity tolerance. AtPAO5 is the Arabidopsis PAO gene member most transcriptionally induced by salt stress. Two independent loss-of-function mutants (atpao5-2 and atpao5-3) were found to exhibit constitutively higher tSpm levels, with associated increased salt tolerance. Using global transcriptional and metabolomic analyses, the underlying mechanisms were studied. Stimul…
The Altered Expression of microRNA408 Influences the Arabidopsis Response to Iron Deficiency
2019
MicroRNAs contribute to the adaptation of plants to varying environmental conditions by affecting systemic mineral nutrient homeostasis. Copper and iron deficiencies antagonistically control the expression of Arabidopsis thaliana microRNA408 (miR408), which post-transcriptionally regulates laccase-like multicopper oxidase family members LAC3, LAC12, and LAC13. In this work, we used miR408 T-DNA insertion mutants (408-KO1 and 408-KO2) and a previously characterized transgenic line overexpressing miR408 (35S:408-14) to explore how miR408 influences copper- and iron-dependent metabolism. We observed that the altered expression of miR408 diminished plant performance and the activation of the ir…
Spermine Confers Stress Resilience by Modulating Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis and Stress Responses in Arabidopsis Plants
2019
Polyamines (PAs) constitute a group of low molecular weight aliphatic amines that have been implicated as key players in growth and development processes, as well as in the response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Transgenic plants overexpressing PA-biosynthetic genes show increased tolerance to abiotic stress. Therein, abscisic acid (ABA) is the hormone involved in plant responses to environmental stresses such as drought or high salinity. An increase in the level of free spermine (Spm) in transgenic Arabidopsis plants resulted in increased levels of endogenous ABA and promoted, in a Spm-dependent way, transcription of different ABA inducible genes. This phenotype was only partially revers…