Anthophora Bees: Unusual Glycerides from Maternal Dufour's Glands Serve as Larval Food and Cell Lining

The Dufour's gland of Anthophora abrupta, a solitary bee, secretes a complex mixture of liquid triglycerides containing one long-chain and two shortchain fatty acids. This is applied inside the earthen brood cells and added to the provision, where it is converted, perhaps by enzymes from the bee's saliva or gut, to solid diglycerides that are later eaten by the bee larvae. This use of Dufour's gland secretion as food and its nutritive function are reminiscent of the royal jelly secreted by honey bees.     

Floral Mimicry Induced by Mummy-Berry Fungus Exploits Host's Pollinators as Vectors

Leaves and shoots of blueberries(Vaccinium spp.) and huckleberries (Gaylussacia sp.) when infected by ascospores of Monilinia spp. become ultraviolet-reflective and fragrant and secrete sugars at their lesions. Insects that normally pollinate these hosts are attracted to the discolored leaves, ingest the sugars, and transmit conidia to their flowers, resulting in sclerotia (mummy-berry) formation.     

Use of gas chromatographic retention indices for quantitative structure activity relationship studies of dialkyl phenyl phosphates

Thirty-five dialkyl phenyl phosphates analogous to methyl and ethyl paraoxon were synthesized and their insecticidal activity against house fly (Musca nebulo) determined. Gas chromatographic retention indices (GCRI) at 200°C for all the phosphates were determined on OV-101, DB-1701 and DB-WX fused-silica capillary columns. The retention indices on polar and nonpolar columns (DB-1701 and OV-101, DB-WX and OV-101) considered together were shown to be related to the Hansch hydrophobic constant (II). Multiple regression analysis using the least-square method was carried out to establish the linear relationships between insecticidal activity and GCRI along with the Hammett constant, (σ). The multiple correlation coefficients (r) of various parameters obtained using GCRI were found to be as significant as those obtained using II values. It was found that both hydrophobic and electronic effects made a significant contribution to the insecticidal activity of dialkyl phenyl phosphates. It is concluded that GCRI on two columns can be used directly as an indicator for hydrophobicity in QSAR studies provided that a suitable pair of polar and nonpolar columns is used for this purpose.     

Studies on pesticides based on coumarin IV: Synthesis and antifungal activity of twelve 4-(substituted phenoxy)methyl-6-methyl coumarins

Twelve 4-(substituted phenoxy)methyl-6-methyl coumarins were synthesised by the condensation of 4-chloromethyl-6-methyl coumarin with various phenols in the presence of potassium carbonate in dry acetone. The compounds were tested for their toxicity towards the mycelial growth of seven plant pathogenic fungi. Among the tested fungi, Pythium aphanidermatum, Colletotrichum falcatum, Drechslera oryzae, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani exhibited maximum sensitivity whereas Macrophomina phaseolina and Rhizoctonia solani were least sensitive to the test compounds. The 4-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)methyl and 4-(4-nitrophenoxy)methyl analogues possessed greatest toxicity towards the majority of the tested fungi.     

Processes in Pathogenic Biocolloidal Contaminants Transport in Saturated and Unsaturated Porous Media: A Review

There are several classes of subsurface colloids, abiotic and biotic. Basically, small particles of inorganic, organic and pathogenic biocolloids variety exist in natural subsurface system. Transport of these pathogenic biocolloidal contaminants (Viruses, bacteria and protozoa) pose a great risk in water resources and have caused large outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Biocolloid transport processes through saturated and unsaturated porous media is of significant interest, from the perspective of protection of groundwater supplies from contamination, assessment of risk from pathogens in groundwater and for the design of better water treatment systems to remove biocolloids from drinking water supplies This paper has reviewed the large volume of work that has already been done and the progress that has been made towards understanding the various basic multi-processes to predicting the biocolloid transport in saturated and unsaturated porous media. There are several basic processes such as physical, chemical and biological processes which are important in biocolloid transport. The physical processes such as advection, dispersion, diffusion, straining and physical filtration, adsorption and biological processes such as growth/decay processes and include active adhesion/detachment, survival and chemotaxis are strongly affected on biocolloid transport in saturated and unsaturated porous media. The unsaturated zone may play an important role in protecting aquifers from biocolloidal contamination by retaining them in the solid phase during their transport through the zone. Finally, author here highlighted the future research direction based on his critical review on biocolloid transport in saturated and unsaturated porous media.     

PCR-SSCP analysis of leptin gene and its association with milk production traits in river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

Leptin gene has been found to be associated with various economic traits including milk production and fat quality in dairy animals. In the present study, we investigated genetic variations in intron 1 region of leptin gene in riverine buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and sequencing methods and associated them with milk traits. The study revealed three SSCP variants A, B and C among a total of 301 buffaloes from nine breeds. The frequency of variant C was found invariably high among all the breeds except in Marathwada buffalo. Variant A was found to be absent in Chilika, Nili-Ravi, Nagpuri and Pandharpuri breeds and also had the lowest frequencies in Mehsana, Jaffarabadi, Murrah and Toda breeds. Sequencing of SSCP variants revealed a total of five polymorphic sites, with three haplotypes. Statistical analysis revealed significantly high fat percentage at 150?days in SSCP variant B in Mehsana buffaloes. However, the associations of SSCP variants of leptin gene with total milk yield, 305?days milk yield and total fat yield were found to be non-significant. The present study is the first report on association analysis of leptin gene polymorphisms with milk production and milk quality traits in river buffalo.     

The incidence of cystic ovaries in dairy cattle housed in a total confinement system.

The incidence of cystic ovaries following 1830 calvings of 1061 dairy cows maintained in total confinement was evaluated. The overall incidence was 14% of lactations and 22% of cows during a three year period. Fewer primiparous than multiparous cows became cystic, 5.7% vs 18%, respectively. There was an unexplained higher incidence (18%) among calvings in 1979 than in 1980 (12%) and 1981 (13%). There were no effects due to season of calving or genetic line of cow. During the last year of the study milk production by cystic cows was significantly greater than that by non-cystic cows.     

Biology of epidermal and hair pigmentation in cattle: a mini-review

Coat colours in cattle have been of interest to both breeders and researchers as genes regulating pigmentation not only affect the phenotype but also have economic implications in the event of genetic mutations. The genes controlling pigmentation act as a complex and interact with each other to cause phenotypic and genotypic variations. Pigmentation of coat broadly depends on the ratio of eumelanin and pheomelanin, the two components of melanin. Increase in eumelanin imparts a black coat colour while raise in pheomelanin is responsible for a yellowish or reddish colour. The main enzymes responsible for melanogenesis are regulated by the genes of the tyrosinase family. It is speculated that the wild-type gene present in the ancestral breeds of the present day cattle have more pheomelanin content and that, over time, mutations have introduced more variations leading to many shades. This could have occurred either because of interactions or because of deletions in the responsible genes. The environmental conditions have also contributed to mutations in these genes, helping in the adaptability of the animals to different geographical regions. The switching between the syntheses of melanin components depends on several genes like melanocortin-1receptor gene (MC1r) - also known as melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor gene (MSHr)-, agouti (A), attractin (Atrn) and mahogunin (Mgrn1). The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent advances in the field of pigment biology and to highlight possible areas of research that may benefit a breeder or a farmer in the selection of animals on the basis of phenotype.     

Suberin Biopolymer in Rice Root Exodermis Reinforces Preformed Barrier Against Meloidogyne graminicola Infection

Exploration of novel genetic resources against root-knot nematode (RKN) is necessary to strengthen the resistance breeding program in cultivated rice, and investigations on the role of genotype-specific root anatomy in conferring a structural barrier against nematode invasion are largely underexplored. Here, we reported a highly-resistant rice germplasm Phule Radha that conferred remarkably lower RKN parasitic fitness in terms of reduced penetration and delayed development and reproduction when compared with susceptible cultivar PB1121. Using histological and biochemical analyses, we demonstrated that an enhanced suberin deposition in the exodermal root tip tissue of Phule Radha compared to PB1121 can effectively form a penetrative barrier against RKN infection, and this preformed barrier in the control tissue did not necessarily alter to a greater extent when challenged with RKN stress. Using qRT-PCR analysis, we showed that a number of suberin biosynthesis genes were greatly expressed in the exodermis of Phule Radha compared to PB1121. In sum, the present study established the role of rice exodermal barrier system in defense against an important soil-borne pathogen.