Spatiotemporal Distribution of Two Euschistus spp. Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Southeastern Farmscapes

Stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) are ubiquitous, cryptic, phytophagous pests that are found in many crops. In agroecosystems, individuals disperse from adjacent noncrop hosts and tend to aggregate or cluster within fields. In this study, we characterized the distribution of Euschistus servus (Say) and Euschistus tristigmus (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) over 2 yr at three southeastern United States farmscapes. Stink bugs were captured in pheromone-baited traps, and Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices (SADIE) used to identify the location of significant aggregations by habitat type and season. Euschistus servus adults were more likely to be captured in pecan orchards, cotton, other crops, or unmanaged habitats than in woodland habitats. Significant aggregations of E. servus were detected in a variety of habitats including pecan, corn, cotton, peanut, and tobacco, as well as fallow and hay fields, pastures, and hedgerows. Fewer adult E. tristigmus were captured than E. servus adults, and E. tristigmus adults were typically trapped and aggregated in woodland habitats. The resulting data provide an important understanding regarding the seasonal movement and relative abundance levels of stink bug populations, which are critical to the development of integrated pest management strategies.     

Enhancement of revegetation on construction fill by fertilizer and topsoil application: Effect on mycorrhizal infection

The influence of topsoil and fertilizer application on denuded road construction sites was evaluated to assess its contribution to improvement of vegetation re-establishment. the study sites were within a mixed hardwood and conifer forest on crushed, unweathered subsurface material with low fertility and low biological activity. Topsoils were removed from the site, stockpiled and reapplied to the site after construction. the effect of topsoil amendment on plant growth, soil fertility, mycorrhizal infection and an index of microbial biomass were measured in field and greenhouse experiments. Plant growth on the topsoil amended field plots were greatly increased relative to treatments with fertilizer but no topsoil. Three years after establishment, dry weight production on the plots without topsoil treatment was about 40 per cent of the plots treated with topsoil. Greenhouse experiments were designed to compare fresh, dried and stockpiled topsoil. These experiments indicated that storage of the harvested topsoil for five months in a stockpile had minor effects on plant growth, soil fertility, mycorrhizal infection and microbial biomass. Topsoil volumes had to exceed 20 per cent of the total soil volume to achieve statistically significant benefits and higher ratios showed greater benefit. the percentage of mycorrhizal infection was greatest in topsoil treatments without fertilizer. the addition of fertilizer increased growth but reduced the percentage of roots forming mycorrhizae. When the total weight of infected roots was calculated, however, infection was found to be greatest with a moderate level of fertilizer (equivalent to approximately 27 kg N ha⁻¹ and 39 kg P ha⁻¹), and was less in both higher fertilizer treatments and in unfertilized treatments. Topsoil amendment increased microbial biomass nitrogen but fertilizer treatment did not.     

无机营养N,P,Ca和K对黑斑病菌侵染甘蓝幼苗的影响

将甘蓝幼苗分别培养在缺N(oN)、缺P(oP)、缺Ca(oCa)或缺K(oK)的不完全营养液中,培养56 d后分别于离体(Seg)和非离体(Int)叶片上接种黑斑病菌,以N,P,Ca和K营养素齐全的全营养液为对照,通过调查不同营养液处理后甘蓝叶片黑斑病的病斑大小,探讨N,P,Ca和K等无机营养素对黑斑病菌侵染甘蓝幼苗的影响。试验分2部分完成:第1部分缺N,缺P和缺Ca 3个处理同时进行,试验结果表明,不同营养液培养的甘蓝叶片黑斑病病斑大小有显著差异,顺序为对照>缺P>缺Ca>缺N处理;而在对照、缺P和缺Ca处理中,同一处理的非离体叶片病斑明显大于离体叶片病斑,缺N处理情况则相反。第2部分缺K处理的试验中,接种后5 d的病斑明显小于对照,非离体叶片与离体叶片接种后的病斑分别比对照小53%和14%;而缺K处理的离体叶片病斑显著比非离体叶片大(37%),并且病情随着接种后时间的延长而加重,在接种22 d后植株叶片和离体叶片的病斑大小趋于平衡。相关性分析表明,接种后5 d甘蓝幼苗活体组织和衰老组织的症状表达没有明显的相关性,但从试验2接种后22 d以及整个试验所有数据的结果分析,两者之间存在一定的相关性,相关系数达r=0.61。     

Evaluation of Various Drying Methods on Bioactives,Ascorbic Acid and Antioxidant Potentials of Talinum triangulare L., foliage

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of different drying methods (room, sun, oven, microwave, cross-flow, infra-red, dehumidifier, and freeze-drying)...     

Ecological and Industrial Implications of Dynamic Seaweed-Associated Microbiota Interactions

Seaweeds are broadly distributed and represent an important source of secondary metabolites (e.g., halogenated compounds, polyphenols) eliciting various pharmacological activities and playing a relevant ecological role in the anti-epibiosis. Importantly, host (as known as basibiont such as algae)–microbe (as known as epibiont such as bacteria) interaction (as known as halobiont) is a driving force for coevolution in the marine environment. Nevertheless, halobionts may be fundamental (harmless) or detrimental (harmful) to the functioning of the host. In addition to biotic factors, abiotic factors (e.g., pH, salinity, temperature, nutrients) regulate halobionts. Spatiotemporal and functional exploration of such dynamic interactions appear crucial. Indeed, environmental stress in a constantly changing ocean may disturb complex mutualistic relations, through mechanisms involving host chemical defense strategies (e.g., secretion of secondary metabolites and antifouling chemicals by quorum sensing). It is worth mentioning that many of bioactive compounds, such as terpenoids, previously attributed to macroalgae are in fact produced or metabolized by their associated microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites). Eventually, recent metagenomics analyses suggest that microbes may have acquired seaweed associated genes because of increased seaweed in diets. This article retrospectively reviews pertinent studies on the spatiotemporal and functional seaweed-associated microbiota interactions which can lead to the production of bioactive compounds with high antifouling, theranostic, and biotechnological potential.     

Potential Anti-Aging Substances Derived from Seaweeds

Aging is a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. The exact mechanisms underlying the aging process are not fully elucidated. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that several pathways, such as sirtuin, AMP-activated protein kinase, insulin-like growth factor, autophagy, and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 play critical roles in regulating aging. Furthermore, genetic or dietary interventions of these pathways can extend lifespan by delaying the aging process. Seaweeds are a food source rich in many nutrients, including fibers, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and other bioactive compounds. The health benefits of seaweeds include, but are not limited to, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-obese activities. Interestingly, a body of studies shows that some seaweed-derived extracts or isolated compounds, can modulate these aging-regulating pathways or even extend lifespans of various animal models. However, few such studies have been conducted on higher animals or even humans. In this review, we focused on potential anti-aging bioactive substances in seaweeds that have been studied in cells and animals mainly based on their anti-aging cellular and molecular mechanisms.