Culicoides biting midges at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa

Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are responsible for the transmission of a large number of pathogens to livestock and wild animals. In this study the presence of the genus, using light traps based at four different sites within the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, was investigated during 2002-2004. In total, 37 species were recorded, including large numbers of Culicoides imicola Kieffer, 1913, which is responsible for the transmission of economically important arboviruses in South Africa, Europe, Middle and Far East. These results are discussed with reference to the wider Culicoides fauna in the Onderstepoort area of South Africa, their vector competence as well as biosecurity at the National Zoological Gardens.     

二化螟dsRNA降解酶基因的克隆与表达分析

为解析二化螟Chilo suppressalis体内参与降解双链RNA(double-stranded RNA,dsRNA)的关键核酸酶的功能,克隆二化螟不同的非专一性核酸酶（non-specific nuclease,NUC）基因,并对这些基因进行生物信息学分析和组织定量表达分析,同时对dsRNA降解酶（dsRNA degrading nuclease,dsRNase）活力的组织分布进行研究。结果显示,共克隆获得5个NUC基因,其中有4个编码dsRNase亚家族基因（CsdsRNase1～CsdsRNase4）和1个编码Endonuclease G亚家族基因（CsEndoG）。5个NUC基因的开放阅读框核苷酸序列长度范围为828～1 338 bp,编码275～445个氨基酸残基,其分子量大小为31.68～49.57 kD,预测等电点为5.48～9.42。CsdsRNase1和CsdsRNase2含有信号肽序列,两者相似度极高,且与家蚕Bombyx mori和斜纹夜蛾Spodoptera litura中具有dsRNA降解酶活力的dsRNase同源聚类;CsdsRNase1和CsdsRN...     

草栖钝绥螨对二斑叶螨的捕食作用

为明确草栖钝绥螨Amblyseius herbicolus对二斑叶螨Tetranychus urticae的控制潜能,在温度分别为19、22、25、28和31℃、相对湿度均为（85±5）%、光周期均为16 L∶8 D条件下测定草栖钝绥螨对二斑叶螨各螨态的捕食偏好性、捕食功能反应及自身干扰反应。结果表明,草栖钝绥螨对二斑叶螨幼螨和第1若螨具有嗜食性,对其捕食选择系数分别为2.22和1.27,均大于1.00,对二斑叶螨卵、第2若螨和雌成螨捕食选择系数分别为0.61、0.68和0.22,均小于1.00。在不同温度条件下,草栖钝绥螨对二斑叶螨各螨态的捕食功能反应均符合HollingⅡ型;在19～31℃范围内,草栖钝绥螨对二斑叶螨各螨态的瞬时攻击率、最大日捕食量和捕食能力均随着温度升高呈先升高后降低的趋势,在28℃时达到最大值;而草栖钝绥螨对二斑叶螨各螨态的处理时间随着温度升高呈先缩短后延迟的趋势,在28℃下处理时间最短。在相同温度下,草栖钝绥螨对二斑叶螨卵、幼螨和第1若螨的捕食作用较强。在有限的捕食空间和二斑叶螨密度固定的条件下,草栖钝绥螨单头捕食量和捕食作用率随其自身密度的增加而逐渐下降,说...     

Host status of cover crops for root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) associated with apple orchards in South Africa

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The host response of 17 cover crop cultivars to infection by single-species populations of Pratylenchus hippeastri, Pratylenchus vulnus and Pratylenchus...     

Rice: Nilaparvata lugens Stal interaction—current status and future prospects of brown planthopper management

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Pragmatically, Oryza sativa L. is the most considerable food in the world and about 3 billion people rely on rice for their living sustenance and...     

The causes of the recent heavy elephant mortality in the Tsavo ecosystem,Kenya, 1975–1980

The causes of the recent heavy elephant mortality in the Tsavo ecosystem between 1975 and 1980 were investigated. Poaching and drought conditions were thought to be the main reason.Whether the cause of death was poaching or other factors was ascertained from the examination of carcasses in the field. In the former case the front part of the cranium was cut while those of the unpoached animals were intact. Rainfall data were analysed to assess whether drought conditions occurred during this period, which might have caused the recent mortality. Other possible causes of mortality were assessed from interviews with park wardens and rangers and from records on poaching incidents and ivory recoveries.The overall results of this study show that the recent heavy elephant mortality in Tsavo ecosystem was caused mainly by poaching preceded by drought. It is therefore recommended that future conservation measures for the remaining elephant population require control of poaching, especially in wet season dispersal areas which are not under park management.     

温度对西花蓟马生长发育的影响

西花蓟马为进境地植物检疫潜在性害虫。为了防治该入侵害虫的危害,在19℃、22℃、25℃、28℃和31℃5个恒温条件下,研究了西花蓟马Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)取食四季豆时各虫态的发育历期和存活率,并计算了其发育起点温度和有效积温。结果表明:西花蓟马各虫态的发育历期随温度的升高而缩短;发育历期与温度之间的关系为直线关系;19~28℃各虫态的存活率均为100%,在31℃时存活率只有60%;卵、一龄幼虫、二龄幼虫、预蛹、蛹的发育起点温度分别为14.2℃、14.8℃、5.3℃、12.7℃、6.7℃,其有效积温分别为28.5、23.5、77.7、14.6、40.7日度;未成熟期的的发育起点温度为10.7℃,有效积温为177.4日度。     

Resistance screening of breeding lines and commercial tomato cultivars for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Meloidogyne incognita</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">M. javanica</Emphasis> populations (Nematoda) from Ethiopia

Soil and root samples were collected from major tomato growing areas of Ethiopia during the 2012/2013 growing season to identify root-knot nematode problems. DNA-based and isozyme techniques revealed that Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica were the predominant Meloidogyne species across the sampled areas. The aggressiveness of different populations of these species was assessed on tomato cultivars Marmande and Moneymaker. The two most aggressive populations of each species were selected and further tested on 33 tomato genotypes. The resistance screening and mechanism of resistance was performed after inoculation with 100 freshly hatched (<24 h) second-stage juveniles (J2). Eight weeks after inoculation the number of egg masses produced on each cultivar was assessed. For the resistance mechanism study, J2 penetration and their subsequent development inside the tomato roots were examined at 1, 2, 4 and 6 weeks after inoculation. On both cultivars Marmande and Moneymaker all M. incognita and M. javanica populations formed a high number of egg masses indicating highly aggressive behaviour. Populations from ‘Jittu’ and ‘Babile’ for M. incognita and ‘Jittu’ and ‘Koka’ for M. javanica were selected as most aggressive. None of the 33 tomato genotypes were immune for these M. incognita and M. javanica populations. However, several tomato genotypes were found to have a significant effect on the number of egg masses produced indicating possible resistance. For M. javanica populations there were more plants from cultivars or breeding lines on which no egg masses were found compared to M. incognita populations. The lowest number of egg masses for both populations of M. incognita was produced on cultivars Bridget40, Galilea, and Irma while for M. javanica it was on Assila, Eden, Galilea, Tisey, CLN-2366A, CLN-2366B and CLN-2366C. Tomato genotypes, time (weeks after inoculation) and their interaction were significant sources of variation for J2 penetration and their subsequent development inside the tomato roots. Differential penetration was found in breeding lines such as CLN-2366A, CLN-2366B and CLN-2366C, but many of the selected tomato genotypes resistance for the tested M. incognita and M. javanica populations were expressed by delayed nematode development. Therefore, developing a simple screening technique to be used by local farmers or extension workers is crucial to facilitate selection of a suitable cultivar.     

棉铃虫膨胀线粒体基因组的鉴定与分析

以已公布的棉铃虫线粒体DNA序列对来自4头棉铃虫雄蛹的DNA的三代测序数据进行筛选,获得了11条与线粒体DNA有同源性的三代read序列,并根据其中的read 66003鉴定出了一种膨胀的线粒体基因组。该线粒体基因组大小为27 113 bp,其保守区域包含13个蛋白编码基因、2个rRNA基因、22个tRNA基因以及1个AT富集区,与已公布的棉铃虫线粒体基因组的结构相似。膨胀区域位于cox1基因编码区内部,大小为11 467 bp,经预测含有一个完整的真核基因(依赖ATP的RNA解旋酶)以及多种转座元件的片段,但与线粒体DNA无同源性,也无I类或Ⅱ类内含子存在的证据。对田间和室内棉铃虫DNA样品的PCR扩增未能检测到膨胀线粒体基因组的存在。以上结果表明膨胀片段可能是细胞核DNA序列通过偶然的水平转移事件而整合到线粒体基因组中的,且该种膨胀方式的发生概率极低。本文报道的膨胀线粒体基因组为日后动物线粒体基因组学的研究提示了一种独特的变异方式。