Challenges facing arthropod biological control: identifying traits for genetic improvement of predators in protected crops

Biological control is an efficient pest control method but there are still limitations that are hindering its wider adoption. Genetic improvement of biological control agents (BCAs) can help to overcome these constraints, but the choice of key attributes for better performance that need to be selected is still an open question. Several characteristics have been suggested but the harsh reality is that selective breeding of BCAs has received a lot of attention but resulted in very little progress. Identifying the appropriate traits to be prioritized may be the first step to reverse this situation. In our opinion, the best way is to look at the factors limiting the performance of key BCAs, especially generalist predators (pesticide compatibility, prey‐density dependence, non‐suitable crops, and extreme environmental conditions), and according to these challenges, to choose the attributes that would allow BCAs to overcome those limitations. The benefits of selection for higher resistance to toxins, whether artificially applied (pesticides) or plant produced (plant defenses); increased fitness when feeding on non‐prey food (supplemented or plant‐derived); and better adaptation to extreme temperature and humidity are discussed. In conclusion, genetic improvement of BCAs can bring about new opportunities to biocontrol industry and users to enhance biocontrol resilience. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

Contents and Distribution of 137Cs in Podzols in the Area of the Kola Nuclear Power Plant

Eurasian Soil Science - The content and profile distribution of 137Cs in iron-illuvial dwarf and shallow-podzolic podzols (Albic Podzols) under bilberry-lichen and green-lichen-bilberry pine...     

Seasonal Changes in Quality and Fatty Acid Composition of Black Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis)

The study was designed to assess the seasonal variations in the quality and lipid profile of mussel meat (Mytilus galloprovincialis) harvested along the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea. The trial period lasted from June to October, and the sampling was carried out in the area of Varna Bay. Technological quality of the mussels was determined by measuring the water holding capacity (WHC) and cooking and roasting losses. Proximate composition, total aerobic plate count, and fatty acid analysis were carried out. Technological parameters and nutritional quality of the mussel meat were strongly affected by the season. During the summer, the mussels had higher mass, meat content, and meat yield (p < 0.001) compared to the early autumn, which corresponds to the lowest protein content during this season. Lipid profile showed seasonal variations in both individual and total fatty acid amounts (p < 0.001). Saturated fatty acids (SFA) had the highest content in summer, while monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) decreased gradually until the autumn. The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) reached its peak in October, contributing to the most favorable values of the nutritional indices of lipids in the early autumn.     

Micronutrient composition of woody plants in Central Yakutia

A study of micronutrient composition of twigs and needles of Dahurian larch (Larix dahurica Turcz. Ex. Trautv.), Scots pine (Pinus silvestris L.), and Siberian spruce (Picea obuvata Ledeb.) is carried out in Central Yakutia. Significant contents of phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, iodine, selenium, and other macroand microelements; vitamins C, E, B₁ to B₆, and PP were found. However, the concentrations of them in the needles and branches were different. The content of heavy metals did not exceed the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) and was rather lower than that in the other regions of Russia.     

Application of denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) for the identification of fish: a new way to determine the composition of processed food containing multiple species

The identification of fish species in transformed food products is difficult because the existing methods are not adapted to heat-processed products containing more than one species. Using a common to all vertebrates region of the cytochrome b gene, we have developed a denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) fingerprinting method, which allowed us to identify most of the species in commercial crab sticks. Whole fish and fillets were used for the creation of a library of referent DHPLC profiles. Crab sticks generated complex DHPLC profiles in which the number of contained fish species can be estimated by the number of major fluorescence peaks. The identity of some of the species was predicted by comparison of the peaks with the referent profiles, and others were identified after collection of the peak fractions, reamplification, and sequencing. DHPLC appears to be a quick and efficient method to analyze the species composition of complex heat-processed fish products.     

Diversity in tree species in Southeastern Ohio Betula nigra L. Communities

Quantitative data were obtained for arboreal species within 50 lowland forests in southeastern Ohio. Thirty-seven communities were dominated by Betula nigra L. and 13 were dominated by Acer saccharinum L. The acidic soils collected from B. nigra communities contained toxic concentrations of exchangeable Al and low concentrations of Ca and Mg. Tree species diversity (Shannon-Weaver index) and species equitability were inversely related to high concentrations of exchangeable Al and H and directly related to high concentrations of exchangeable Ca and Mg and an increase in soil pH.