Search results for "botany"
showing 10 items of 4586 documents
Potential of the Bacillus thuringiensis Toxin Reservoir for the Control of Lobesia botrana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), a Major Pest of Grape Plants▿
2006
ABSTRACT The potential of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry proteins to control the grape pest Lobesia botrana was explored by testing first-instar larvae with Cry proteins belonging to the Cry1, Cry2, and Cry9 groups selected for their documented activities against Lepidoptera. Cry9Ca, a toxin from B. thuringiensis , was the protein most toxic to L. botrana larvae, followed in decreasing order by Cry2Ab, Cry1Ab, Cry2Aa, and Cry1Ia7, with 50% lethal concentration values of 0.09, 0.1, 1.4, 3.2, and 8.5 μg/ml of diet, respectively. In contrast, Cry1Fa and Cry1JA were not active at the assayed concentration (100 μg/ml). In vitro binding and competition experiments showed that none of the toxins teste…
Frugivorous birds dispersing braconid parasitoids via endozoochory
2008
Adult braconid wasps (Bracon sp.) emerged from the droppings of frugivorous birds (Turdus blackbirds and thrushes) collected in a rural environment in southern Europe. It was thus demonstrated for the first time that an insect parasitoid of a fruit-infesting insect (lepidopteran tortricid) can survive bird ingestion and gut passage inside a seed (privet Ligustrum vulgare), constituting a case of an evolutionary tetrad.
Hymenoptera Chalcidoidea inhabiting galls of Cynipidae in Jordan
2008
Twenty-three species of Chalcidoidea (5 Eurytomidae, 4 Torymidae, 2 Ormyridae, 5 Pteromalidae and 7 Eulophidae) are recorded as regular members of the parasitoid fauna inhabiting galls of Cynipidae in Jordan. The occurrence of three additional species, probably only facultatively associated with cynipid galls, is noted. Twenty-two out of the total 26 species were previously unrecorded in the country, while 13 of them are also new for the entire Middle East. Eighteen new host records were detected, together with 24 new plant-parasitoid associations. The biology of each species is briefly commented upon, as well as the presence of a host-related colour variation in some species.
Evaluation of different mechanical fruit harvesting systems and oil quality in very large size olive trees
2014
In 2006 and 2009, trials were carried out in the Apulia region in Southern Italy to evalu-ate the possibility of mechanizing olive harvesting in groves of old and very large trees. The trees belonged to the cultivars ‘Cellina di Nardò’ and ‘Ogliarola Salentina’. They were 60-100 years old and 7-9 m tall with a canopy volume of 140-360 m3. In the first half of November 2006, with a mechanical beater mounted on a tractor plus hand-held pneumatic combs, the harvesting yield was close to 90% of the total olives present in the canopy, and the harvesting working productivity was around 60 kg of harvested olives h-1 worker-1. With a self-propelled shaker attached to the main branches the harvestin…
In Vitro and In Vivo Antimalarial Activity Assays of Seeds from Balanites aegyptiaca: Compounds of the Extract Show Growth Inhibition and Activity ag…
2011
Balanites aegyptiaca(Balanitaceae) is a widely grown desert plant with multiuse potential. In the present paper, a crude extract fromB. aegyptiacaseeds equivalent to a ratio of 1 : 2000 seeds to the extract was screened for antiplasmodial activity. The determined IC50value for the chloroquine-susceptiblePlasmodium falciparumNF54 strain was 68.26 . Analysis of the extract by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detected 6-phenyl-2(H)-1,2,4-triazin-5-one oxime, an inhibitor of the parasitic M18 Aspartyl Aminopeptidase as one of the compounds which is responsible for thein vitroantiplasmodial activity. The crude plant extract had a of 2.35 and showed a dose-dependent response. After depletion…
Comparison of the volatile oils ofHypericum scabrum L. andHypericum perforatum L. from Turkey
1997
The composition of the volatile oils obtained from the aerial parts of Hypericum scabrum L. and H. perforatum L. was analysed by GC and GC‐MS. While the oil of H. scabrum L. contained a-pinene (71.6%), b-caryophyllene (4.8%), myrcene (3.8%), cadalene (3.4%) and b-pinene (2.9%), the oil of H. perforatum L. contained a-pinene (61.7%), 3-carene (7.5%), b-caryophyllene (5.5%), myrcene (3.6%), cadalene (3.2%) and other components. Twenty-nine and 27 terpenoid compounds have been identified in the volatile oils of H. scabrum L. and H. perforatum L., respectively. #1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Phytochemical and anti-staphylococcal biofilm assessment of Dracaena draco L. Spp. draco resin
2013
Background: Dracaena draco L. ssp. draco is known as the “dragon's blood tree” and it is endemic from the Canary Islands and Morocco. Objective: Carry out phytochemical investigation of acetonic extracts of red resin obtained from the trunk of D. draco, to obtain to the isolation of the most abundant resin constituents, belonging to the class of flavonoids: flavans, along with homoisoflavans and homoisoflavanones. Materials and Methods: The structures of the isolated compounds were established by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry data and comparison with literature data. The acetonic extract was evaluated for its anti-staphylococcal properties against two reference stra…
Ethylene modulates gene expression in cells of the marine sponge Suberites domuncula and reduces the degree of apoptosis.
1999
Sponges (phylum Porifera) live in an aqueous milieu that contains dissolved organic carbon. This is degraded photochemically by ultraviolet radiation to alkenes, particularly to ethylene. This study demonstrates that sponge cells (here the demosponge Suberites domuncula has been used), which have assembled to primmorphs, react to 5 microM ethylene with a significant up-regulation of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration and with a reduction of starvation-induced apoptosis. In primmorphs from S. domuncula the expression of two genes is up-regulated after exposure to ethylene. The cDNA of the first gene (SDERR) isolated from S. domuncula encodes a potential ethylene-responsive protein, termed ER…
Production of the Sweet Protein Monellin in Transgetic Plants
1992
Monellin is a protein that elicits a flavor approximately 100,000 times sweeter than sugar on a molar basis. The protein exists naturally as a heterodimer, with its sweet flavor lost upon denaturation. A single–chain monellin gene, encoding both polypeptide chains linked by a hinge sequence, was placed under the control of constitutive and fruit–ripening specific promoters and transferred to lettuce and tomato. Expression of these genes in transgenic tomato and lettuce resulted in the accumulation of monellin protein in fruit and leaf, respectively, to significant levels. Production of monellin in transgenic fruits and vegetables represents an alternative strategy to enhance their flavor an…
Chlorophyll a fluorescence in transplants of Parmelia sulcata Taylor near a power station (La Robla, León, Spain)
2006
Healthy thalli of Parmelia sulcata Taylor were transplanted to 8 localities in the surroundings of a power station (La Robla, León, Spain), the sole pollution source in the region. Changes in chlorophyll a fluorescence were monitored in the transplants 12 months, 18 months and 24 months after transplantation. Statistically significant differences were observed in the ratio of variable to maximal fluorescence, non-photochemical fluorescence quenching and vitality index. The decrease in fluorescence parameters was higher in the localities of Cuadros and Rabanal de Fenar, which are situated a few kilometres away from the power station and in the same direction as the prevailing winds.