Insecticidal activity of fatty acid-rich Turkish bryophyte extracts against sitophilus granarius (coleoptera: curculionidae)

This work was supported by grants from Cankiri Karatekin University and the State Planning Organization, Turkey (Project No: 2010K120720). The authors would also like to thank Turkish Republic Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, General Directorate of Nature Protection and National Parks for permission to collect the mosses Dicranum scoparium and Hypnum cupressiforme from Ilgaz Mountain National Park. Finally, the authors thank Bianka Martinez for grammatical revision of the manuscript.The composition of fatty acids and insecticidal effects was performed for the Turkish mosses Dicranum scoparium, Hypnum cupressiforme, Polytrichastrum formosum, Homalothecium lutescens and the Turkish liverwort Conocephalum conicum. All structures were determined by means of gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry techniques. The determination of fatty acids was done using a simple and mild method that utilized different solvent extractions ranging from nonpolar to polar solvents (hexane, dichloromethane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol, respectively), and the samples were powdered with and without liquid nitrogen. The correlations between the saturated and unsaturated fatty acid contents depending on the solvent polarity and their crushing process by liquid nitrogen were observed. The insecticidal activity of the bryophytes was analyzed by using the methanol, hexane and esterified methanol extracts. The hexane extracts of Polytrichastrum formosum showed the highest insecticidal activity (70.33%) against Sitophilus granarius. Contact toxicity activities of lauric, myristic and palmitic acids besides single dose studies of the solvent extracts were carried out. The highest mortality rate (53.34%) was obtained from the myristic acid among the tested pure fatty acids. The activities of palmitic and lauric acids were 17.75% and 4.32%, respectively

The chemical composition of Salvia euphratica Montbret & Aucher ex Benth. essential oil from Sivas-Turkey

Previously, only the fatty-oil composition of Salvia euphratica Montbret & Aucher ex Benth. (syn. Salvia euphratica var. euphratica) was reported, however, there are no other studies on the chemistry of this species [1]. Up to now, there are no reports on the essential-oil composition of this taxon. In this study, we aimed to investigate the composition of three different samples of the essential oil of S. euphratica collected in June 2017 from two different sites in Sivas-Turkey. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation from air-dried aerial parts of the plant using a Clevenger-type apparatus for the duration of 3 h. The essential-oil yields for the three samples were determined to be: 0.25, 0.15, and 0.13% (v/v), for a sample with glandular hairs (1) and a sample without glandular hairs (2) from location 1 and for a sample with glandular hairs (3) from location 2, respectively. The oils were diluted with n-hexane 1:10 (v/v) and analyzed as such on an Agilent 5977 MSD GC-MS system operating in the EI mode injector and MS transfer line temperatures were set at 250 °C. Splitless injection was used in the analysis. Innowax FSC column (60 m x 0.25 mm, 0.25 µm film thickness) and helium, as the carrier gas (1 mL/min), were used in GC-MS analyses. The oven temperature program was: 60 °C for 10 min and then raised to 220 °C at a rate of 4 °C/min, afterwards the temperature was kept constant at 220 °C for 10 min and then raised to 240 °C at a rate of 1 °C/min. Mass spectra were recorded at 70 eV with the mass range m/z 35-425. Relative amounts of the separated compounds were calculated from the integration of the peaks in MS chromatograms. The main components of sample 1 essential oil were 1,8-cineole (20.7%), camphor (10.0%), nopinone (4.7%), trans-pinocarveol (4.3%), myrtenal (4.3%), β-pinene (3.3%), and camphene (2.2%). Sample 2 oil contained high amounts of 1,8-cineole (13.5%), camphor (7.6%), trans-pinocarveol (7.1%), myrtenal (5.7%), nopinone (4.6%), myrtenol (3.9%), borneol (3.4%), and pinocarvone (3.2%). Finally, the main components of sample 3 oil were: 1,8-cineole (16.8%), trans-pinocarveol (4.7%), camphor (4.0%), myrtenyl acetate (3.7%), myrtenal (3.6%), linalool (2.8%), trans-linalool oxide (furanoid) (2.6%), and myrtenol (2.6%). The highest noted AChE-inhibitory activity of the oils were 63±5%, 57±2%, and 63±1%, respectively

The composition of the essential oil of the aerial parts of an endemic new species Ferula mervynii Sağıroğlu & H.Duman from Turkey

In 2007, Ferula mervynii Sağıroğlu & H.Duman (Apiaceae) was reported as a new species from Turkey. This species finds a natural habitat in Artvin and Erzurum regions that are located in North-Eastern Anatolia [1]. Up to now, there are no reports on the chemistry of this species. However, there are many reports on the essential-oil composition of other Ferula species from Turkey. As an example, F. elaeochytris Korovin essential oil was reported to have nonane (27.1%), α‐pinene (12.7%), and germacrene B (10.3%) as the main components [2], whereas, F. szowitziana D.C. was reported to contain β-eudesmol (32.0-29.5%), α-eudesmol (18.2-16.6%), and α-pinene (8.6-6.4%) as the major components of the leaf and stem oils, respectively [3]. The current study aimed to provide information on the chemistry of the essential oil of F. mervynii collected from Erzurum, Turkey, in August 2017. The essential oil was obtained by hydrodistillation from air-dried aerial parts of the plant using a Clevenger-type apparatus in the duration of 3 h. The essential-oil yield was determined to be 0.56% (v/w). The oil was diluted with n-hexane 1:10 (v/v) and analyzed as such on an Agilent 5977 MSD GC-MS system. Relative amounts of the separated compounds were calculated from the integration of the peaks in MS chromatograms. Identification of essential-oil components was carried out by comparison of their retention indices (RI), relative to a series of n-alkanes (C5 to C30), with the literature values, as well as by mass spectral comparison. The aerial parts essential oil of F. mervynii was rich in monoterpenes. The major components were α-pinene (48.1%), sabinene (20.0%), β-pinene (11.6%), and terpinen-4-ol (2.5%). The highest AChE-inhibitory activity of the oil was found to reach 51±1% of inhibition of the enzyme activity

Bazı bitki uçucu yağlarının ve bileşenlerinin Stegobium paniceum (L.) ve Lasioderma serricorne (F.) (Coleoptera:Anobidae)’ye karşı fumigant aktivitesi

In this study, fumigant activity of essential oils obtained from five plants [Mentha piperita L. (Lamiaceae), Micromeria fruticosa (L.) Druce (Lamiaceae), Anethum graveolens L. (Apiaceae), Salvia officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) and Mentha spicata L. (Lamiaceae)] were tested against Stegobium paniceum (L.) and Lasioderma serricorne (F.) (Coleptera: Anobidae) in the laboratory conditions. For this purpose, essential oils obtained by using Neo-Clevenger apparatus were applied at 20% (v/v) concentration, dead and live individuals were recorded at the end of 24 hours. Also, fumigant activities of plant essential oils at different temperatures (10- 15-20-25-30 °C) were determined. In addition, fumigant activities of eight essential oil components (menthone, eugenol, carvone, limonene, menthol, dillapiole, methyl-eugenol, linalool) were tested against S. paniceum. At the end of the study, A. graveolens and M. spicata essential oils showed the highest toxicity for L. serricorne with 97.63% and the highest toxicity was found in M. spicata essential oil with a mortality rate of 97.76% for S. paniceum. Among the essential oil components, eugenol had the highest fumigant toxicity of with 60.79% mortality rate. These results indicate that the M. spicata essential oil and eugenol could have significant potential as fumigant in the control of L. serricorne and S. paniceum.Bu çalışmada beş bitkiden [Mentha piperita L. (Lamiaceae), Micromeria fruticosa (L.) Druce (Lamiaceae), Anethum graveolens L. (Apiaceae), Salvia officinalis L. (Lamiaceae) ve Mentha spicata L. (Lamiaceae)] elde edilen uçucu yağların fumigant aktivitesi Stegobium paniceum (L.) ve Lasioderma serricorne (F.) (Coleptera: Anobidae)’ye karşı laboratuvar koşullarında test edilmiştir. Bu amaçla Neo- Clevenger aparatıyla elde edilen uçucu yağlar %20 (v/v) konsantrasyonda uygulanmış, ölü ve canlı bireyler 24 saat sonunda kaydedilmiştir. Aynı zamanda bitki uçucu yağlarının fumigant aktivitesi farklı sıcaklıklarda (10- 15-20-25-30 °C) belirlenmiştir. Ek olarak sekiz uçucu yağ bileşeninin (menthone, eugenol, carvone, limonene, menthol, dillapiole, methyl-eugenol, linalool) fumigant aktivitesi S. paniceum’a karşı test edilmiştir. Çalışma sonunda A. graveolens ve M. spicata uçucu yağları L. serricorne üzerinde %97.63 ile en yüksek toksisiteyi göstermiş, S. paniceum’dan ise en yüksek toksisite %97.76 ölüm oranı ile M. spicata uçucu yağından elde edilmiştir. Test edilen uçucu yağ bileşenleri arasında eugenol %60.79 ölüm oranı ile en yüksek toksisiteye sahip olmuştur. Bu sonuçlar M. spicata ve eugenol’ün L. serricorne ve S. paniceum’un mücadelesinde fumigant olarak önemli potansiyele sahip olduğunu göstermiştir

Development of insect-resistant cotton lines with targeted expression of insecticidal gene

In order to address biosafety concerns regarding the constitutive expression of foreign genes in crops, we applied a strategy aimed at confining foreign gene expression in insect wounding sites of cotton. For this purpose, a plant expression construct was designed by cloning the AoPR1 promoter (pathogenesis-related protein gene isolated from Asparagus officinalis) upstream from the insecticidal gene cry1Ac. The Turkish cotton cultivar cv. STN-468 was transformed using the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 containing the recombinant binary vector pRD400 harboring cry1Ac under a wound-inducible promoter. The neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII) gene was used as a selectable marker at a concentration of 100 mg/L. The primary transformants were analyzed for T-DNA integration and expression using standard molecular approaches. The efficacy of insecticidal gene control of the AoPR1 promoter was investigated using leaf bioassays with 2nd instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera littoralis. Positive primary transformants from T0 progeny were further raised under greenhouse conditions to obtain progeny (T1). The introduced gene was properly inherited and expressed in T1 progeny. The mechanical wounding of plants resulted in increased cry1Ac protein levels during 0-48 h of the wounding period. The transgenic lines exhibited appreciable levels of resistance against targeted insect pests in the leaf bioassays. The use of a wound-inducible promoter to drive insecticidal gene expression is a valuable insect resistant management strategy as gene expression will remain limited to the insect biting sites of plant and crop, food and environmental concerns can be minimized

45. Yıl Yazıları

İçinde bulunduğumuz 2017 yılı itibarı ile Hacettepe Üniversitesinin 50., İngiliz Dilbilimi Bölümünün ise 45. kuruluş yıldönümünü kutlamanın gurur ve mutluluğunu yaşamaktayız. Türkiye’deki ilk dilbilim bölümü olarak kurulduğu 1972 yılından bu yana geçen 45 yıllık sürede Bölümümüz dünyadaki bilimsel gelişmelere ve alandaki yeniliklere koşut biçimde yürüttüğü lisans ve lisansüstü programlarından çok sayıda öğrenci mezun etmiş, Türkiye’de dilbilimin gelişmesine, dilbilimcilerin yetişmesine ve dilbilim araştırmalarına önemli katkılar sağlamış, alanda çağdaş bilimsel bakış açısının yerleşmesinde ve gelişmesinde yapıcı bir rol üstlenmiştir. Bir bölüm için oldukça uzun sayılabilecek bu geçmiş, modern dilbilimin küçük-ölçekli incelemelerinden büyük-ölçekli ve disiplinlerarası incelemelerine kadar pek çok özgün araştırmanın gerçekleşmesine, Dilbilim Araştırmaları dergisi ve dilbilim kurultaylarının başlatılması, tematik çalıştayların düzenlenmesi, vb. çeşitli bilimsel ve akademik başarılara tanıklık etmiştir. Sınırlı olanaklara karşın özveriyle çalışmış ve çalışmakta olan akademik ve idari personelimizin bugünlere ulaşmamızda yadsınmaz katkıları bulunmak tadır. Emekli olan, farklı kurumlara geçen ya da aramızdan ebediyyen ayrı lan tüm hocalarımıza, idari ve hizmetli personelimize bu 45 yıllık geçmişi anlamlı kılan emekleri için gönülden teşekkür borçluyuz. Yıldönümümüzün anısı olarak hazırlanan ve 45. Yıl Yazıları başlığıyla sunduğumuz bu kitap, Bölüm elemanları olarak duyduğumuz mutluluğa, zihinleri ve kalemleri ile ortak olan değerli akademisyenlerin dilbilim alanından toplam 22 çalışmasını bir araya getirmektedir. Kitaptaki çalışmalar Türkiye’de dilbilimin eriştiği disipliner ve disiplinlerarası konu çeşitliliğinin özgün göstergeleridir. Tüm yazarlara sağladıkları katkılar için teşekkürlerimizi suna