Exploring phosphorus fertilizers and fertilization strategies for improved human and environmental health

Biology and Fertility of Soils - Mineral phosphorus (P) fertilizers support high crop yields and contribute to feeding the teeming global population. However, complex edaphic processes cause P to...     

Biology and life table of Diaeretiella rapae against Brevicoryne brassicae on different cultivars of cauliflower

Phytoparasitica - Diaeretiella rapae (McIntosh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is one of the most promising, effective and a common endoparasitoid of different aphid species including cabbage aphid,...     

Photostabilization of quinalphos by crystal violet on the surface of kaolinite and palygorskite

Photochemical stability of the insecticide, quinalphos (O,O-diethyl O-quinoxalin-2-yl phosphorothioate), adsorbed on kaolinite and palygorskite was studied. In all cases considerable photostabilization was achieved in comparison with the sample of pesticide in its free form. Improvement of photostabilization was achieved when a cationic dye (crystal violet) was co-adsorbed with the quinalphos. The interactions between quinalphos and clays were studied by Fouriertransform infra-red spectroscopy. It is suggested that photostabilization is due to steric hindrance imposed by the clay surface to the isomerization step of photochemical reaction and pacification of clay surface by crystal violet.     

Isolation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Penicillium hirsutum</Emphasis> from spoiled,packaged asparagus spears in Japan

During storage studies on asparagus spears packed in plastic film and held at 15°C, a Penicillium fungus was associated with subsequent spoilage. On the basis of colony characteristics, the isolate was identified as Penicillium hirsutum Diercks. This report is the first of Penicillium hirsutum causing spoilage of asparagus spears in Japan. Inoculation tests showed that among all the Penicillium species tested in this study only the identified fungus was able to infect asparagus spears.     

Can large-scale biofuels production be sustainable by 2020?

Worldwide, many nations impose blending of their transport fuels with biofuels, approximating 10% globally by 2020, to contribute to energy security while reducing emission of green house gasses (GHG). Food riots, scientific insights that question the GHG benefits and raised concern about the loss of biodiversity, have lead to the formulation by various governments of sustainability criteria for biofuels to comply with. In this paper, we assess this conditionality and argue that large-scale biofuels production will be unable to comply with these criteria in 2020, and can therefore not be qualified as sustainable.     

Drug-induced thrombocytopenia

A variety of drugs may cause thrombocytopenia. Although it occurs more often than drug-induced anemia it is less well understood because techniques for studying drug-platelet-immune interactions have been unavailable until recently. The mechanisms by which drugs cause thrombocytopenia are varied. Bone marrow suppression or increased peripheral destruction of platelets could be involved. Nonimmunologic as well as immunologic mechanisms may also occur. These different mechanisms of drug-induced thrombocytopenia are reveiwed. Diagnostic methods and treatment are also summarized.     

Induction of resistance against downy mildew pathogen in pearl millet by a synthetic jasmonate analogon

The synthetic 1-oxo-indanoyl-l-isoleucine methyl ester (Ind-Ile-Me) represents a highly active mimic of octadecanoic phytohormones, which are involved in plant defenses against pathogens and pests. Seed treatments and foliar spray with Ind-Ile-Me were tested for induced resistance against downy mildew disease caused by the phytopathogenic oomycete Sclerospora graminicola in pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) under greenhouse and field conditions. Under greenhouse conditions, a 50% protection level was achieved after seed treatment. Seed treatment in combination with foliar spray resulted in 60% protection. The induction of resistance was correlated with the enhanced activities of defense-related proteins such as phenylalanine-ammonia-lyase, peroxidase, and enhanced level of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins. Under field conditions, a maximum protection of 62% was recorded upon seed treatment along with foliar spray. Hence, it infers that Ind-Ile-Me can be used as a valuable protection compound at least in downy mildew disease management.     

Mitochondrial phylogeography reveals high haplotype diversity and unique genetic lineage in Indian dugongs (Dugong dugon)

1. India plays a significant role in dugong conservation by having the largest population within South Asia. The status of dugongs in India is largely unknown due to a paucity of reliable ecological data. This study generated mitochondrial control region sequences from ~10% of dugong individuals from existing populations within India. Furthermore, data generated in this study were compared with the global data to assess genetic lineages, population structure, and genetic diversity of Indian populations.
2. Multiple analyses suggest that the Indian dugong populations are part of a single genetic cluster, comprising South Asia, North-west Indian Ocean, and South-west Indian Ocean populations. Despite small population size, they retain high genetic diversity with unique mitochondrial DNA haplotypes within South Asia. Within India, novel haplotypes are observed from all dugong habitats sampled, with overall high haplotype diversity (0.85 ± 0.04) but low nucleotide diversity (0.005 ± 0.001). Indian populations exhibit genetic differentiation with higher within-population variance (63.41%) than among populations (36.59%). Two of the haplotypes observed in India are shared with Sri Lanka, implying genetic connectivity between these populations.
3. The genetic data from Indian dugong populations provide critical insights into the identification of dugong corridors and important dugong conservation zones in India. We suggest site-specific interventions, including the creation of new marine protected areas and boundary reorganization and expansion of other existing protected areas, to ensure population connectivity. In addition, simultaneous efforts towards seagrass meadow restoration, reduction of dugong mortalities, and community participation in dugong conservation are recommended for population recovery of this threatened marine herbivore.

     

Estimation of gut contents of freshwater mussel, Lamellidens marginalis L.

This study examined the food organisms found in the gut of freshwater mussels, Lamellidens marginalis L. A total of 34 taxa of food organisms were recorded, out of which 30 taxa belonged to phytoplankton and four taxa to zooplankton. Both the groups comprised three families each: Cyanophyceae (blue‐green algae), Chlorophycea (green algae) and Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) constituted phytoplankton, whereas Euglenaceae, Chlamydodontidae and Brachionidae belonged to zooplankton. The total number of frequencies of phytoplankton (n=537) were almost nine times more than that of zooplankton (n=60). When blue‐green algae, green algae, diatoms and zooplankton (all the three families together) were tested for significant difference (P<0.05) following Duncan's multiple range test, the result showed only two groups. Blue‐green algae, green algae and zooplankton were not significantly different (P<0.05), forming group A, whereas diatoms were significantly different from others, forming group B. The present study showed that the maximum number of organisms that mussels feed upon belong to green algae, followed by diatoms, blue‐green algae and few taxa of zooplankton.     

Identification of the Putative Cytoplasmic Donor of a CMS System in Brassica juncea

Chloroplast (cp) and mitochondrial (mt) DNA restriction profiles of a cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) line of Brassica juncea and its maintainer line were compared and found to be markedly different. Comparison of cpDNA restriction profiles of fifty different species of genus Brassica and some allied genera showed that the cpDNA profiles of CMS lines were similar to that of B. tournefortii for twenty different restriction endonucleases. This CMS system is thus not of spontaneous origin as reported earlier, but is alloplasmic in nature. Comparison of restriction profiles of mtDNA of B. tournefortii and CMS lines revealed some differences which might either be due to changes in DNA pattern during the transfer, or, due to the cytoplasm coming from a B. tournefortii line different from the one used in this study.