Does Wolbachia infection affect Trichogramma atopovirilia behaviour?

Unisexual Trichogramma forms have attracted much attention due to their potential advantages as biocontrol agents. Fitness studies have been performed and understanding the cost that Wolbachia may inflict on their hosts will help in deciding if Wolbachia infected (unisexual) forms are indeed better than sexual forms when used in biological control programmes. The influence of Wolbachia on the foraging behaviour (including walking activity and speed) of T. atopovirilia is reported in this paper. Temperature strongly affected T. atopovirilia female walking activity, but Wolbachia infected and uninfected females differed in none of the behavioural components that were measured such as walking activity and walking speed. Walking activity was highest at 25 ºC and differed significantly from that at 20 and 15 ºC. Trichogramma wasps were highly affected at 15 ºC. Behaviour analysis with females showed that female wasps spend most of the time on drilling + ovipositing on host eggs followed by host drumming and walking while drumming. The parasitism rate and number of offspring did not differ significantly between infected and cured Trichogramma females. Biological control implications of these findings are discussed

Solar Intranetwork Magnetic Elements: bipolar flux appearance

The current study aims to quantify characteristic features of bipolar flux appearance of solar intranetwork (IN) magnetic elements. To attack such a problem, we use the Narrow-band Filter Imager (NFI) magnetograms from the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT) on board \emph{Hinode}; these data are from quiet and an enhanced network areas. Cluster emergence of mixed polarities and IN ephemeral regions (ERs) are the most conspicuous forms of bipolar flux appearance within the network. Each of the clusters is characterized by a few well-developed ERs that are partially or fully co-aligned in magnetic axis orientation. On average, the sampled IN ERs have total maximum unsigned flux of several 10^{17} Mx, separation of 3-4 arcsec, and a lifetime of 10-15 minutes. The smallest IN ERs have a maximum unsigned flux of several 10^{16} Mx, separations less than 1 arcsec, and lifetimes as short as 5 minutes. Most IN ERs exhibit a rotation of their magnetic axis of more than 10 degrees during flux emergence. Peculiar flux appearance, e.g., bipole shrinkage followed by growth or the reverse, is not unusual. A few examples show repeated shrinkage-growth or growth-shrinkage, like magnetic floats in the dynamic photosphere. The observed bipolar behavior seems to carry rich information on magneto-convection in the sub-photospheric layer.Comment: 26 pages, 14 figure

UPLC-MS-ESI-QTOF analysis and antifungal activity of the spondias tuberosa arruda leaf and root hydroalcoholic extracts

The aim of this study was to identify and evaluate the chemical compositions and effects of the S. tuberosa leaf and root hydroalcoholic extracts (HELST and HERST) against different strains of Candida. Chemical analysis was performed by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Quadrupole/Time of Flight System (UPLC-MS-ESI-QTOF). The Inhibitory Concentration of 50% of the growth (IC50) as well as the intrinsic and combined action of the extracts with the antifungal fluconazole (FCZ) were determined by the microdilution method while the minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) and the effect on fungal morphological transitions were analyzed by subculture and in humid chambers, respectively. From the preliminary phytochemical analysis, the phenols and flavonoids were the most abundant. The intrinsic IC50 values for HELST ranged from 5716.3 to 7805.8 \ub5g/mL and from 6175.4 to 51070.9 \ub5g/mL for the HERST, whereas the combination of the extracts with fluconazole presented IC50 values from 2.65 to 278.41 \ub5g/mL. The MFC of the extracts, individually, for all the tested strains was 6516384 \ub5g/mL. When fluconazole was combined with each extract, the MFC against CA URM 5974 was reduced (HELST: 2048 and HERST: 4096 \ub5g/mL). Synergism was observed against standard C. albicans (CA) and C. tropicalis (CT) strains and with the root extract against the CT isolate. The leaf extract inhibited the morphological transition of all strains while the root extract inhibited only CT strains

Estimating the global conservation status of more than 15,000 Amazonian tree species

Estimates of extinction risk for Amazonian plant and animal species are rare and not often incorporated into land-use policy and conservation planning. We overlay spatial distribution models with historical and projected deforestation to show that at least 36% and up to 57% of all Amazonian tree species are likely to qualify as globally threatened under International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria. If confirmed, these results would increase the number of threatened plant species on Earth by 22%. We show that the trends observed in Amazonia apply to trees throughout the tropics, and we predict thatmost of the world’s >40,000 tropical tree species now qualify as globally threatened. A gap analysis suggests that existing Amazonian protected areas and indigenous territories will protect viable populations of most threatened species if these areas suffer no further degradation, highlighting the key roles that protected areas, indigenous peoples, and improved governance can play in preventing large-scale extinctions in the tropics in this century

Balanço do nitrogênio e fósforo em solo com cultivo orgânico de hortaliças após a incorporação de biomassa de guandu.

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar os efeitos de faixas de guandu (Cajanus cajan) e da incorporação da biomassa proveniente de sua poda na fertilidade do solo e na produtividade de três hortaliças sob cultivo orgânico. O delineamento usado foi de blocos casualizados completos em esquema de parcelas subsubdivididas com três repetições. As produtividades de beterraba, cenoura e feijão-de-vagem não foram afetadas pelos tratamentos. Nas parcelas onde não houve incorporação da biomassa de guandu, o balanço de nitrogênio no sistema foi negativo, ao passo que com a incorporação, esse balanço foi positivo. Embora tenha ocorrido balanço positivo para o fósforo nas parcelas sem a incorporação de biomassa de guandu, houve um aumento significativo na absorção desse elemento pelas hortaliças quando o material foi incorporado. O sistema de cultivo em aléias de guandu pode representar uma prática vantajosa para os produtores orgânicos, por contribuir na manutenção da fertilidade do solo