51 research outputs found
Characteristics of the gene pool of spring wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) for resistance to loose smut in the forest-steppe of Western Siberia
Among the many diseases of spring wheat caused by pathogenic fungi, loose smut Ustilago tritici (Pers.) Jens. remains to be a dangerous disease with a wide range of distribution. In fields where there is no control over the emergence and spread of the disease, the yield reduction can be up to 10 %, and in the case of highly susceptible varieties, up to 40–50 %. Taking into account the increasing cost of seed protectants and their environmental damage, the cultivation of varieties resistant to loose smut is still the most affordable way to protect plants, reducing the pesticide load on agrocenoses. The crucial point in breeding for resistance is the use of resistant varieties as parental forms. The aim of our research was to isolate samples of spring wheat that are immune to loose smut against the background of artificial infection of plants with a population specific to the West Siberian region. The article presents the results of long-lasting studies of 350 genotypes of spring wheat of different ecological and geographical origin for resistance to disease. Physiological specialization of races was carried out on the basis of a differentiating set consisting of six varieties of soft wheat and three varieties of durum spring wheat. The obtained results in combination with literature data reveal changes in the racial composition of the pathogen population over the past 30–35 years. Varieties of foreign and domestic selection resistant to the West Siberian population of loose smut have been identified. Based on the analysis of pedigree samples, highly and practically resistant to loose smut, we concluded that in breeding for immunity to U. tritici, the same sources of resistance genes are most often used. Among the gene pool of spring wheat of foreign selection, the largest number of genotypes resistant to loose smut is assigned to the countries of the North American geographical zone (USA, Canada, Mexico). These are largely samples containing Ut1 genes, genes from spring wheat ‘Thatcher’ and its sister line ‘DC II-21-44’. Resistance genes in Russian wheat varieties can be traced from cultivars Beloturka, Poltavka, Selivanovsky Hare (using Saratovskaya 29 and its derivatives), and genes from wheatgrass lines AGIS 1 and Grecum 114
Hydrides in Young Stellar Objects: Radiation tracers in a protostar-disk-outflow system
Context: Hydrides of the most abundant heavier elements are fundamental
molecules in cosmic chemistry. Some of them trace gas irradiated by UV or
X-rays. Aims: We explore the abundances of major hydrides in W3 IRS5, a
prototypical region of high-mass star formation. Methods: W3 IRS5 was observed
by HIFI on the Herschel Space Observatory with deep integration (about 2500 s)
in 8 spectral regions. Results: The target lines including CH, NH, H3O+, and
the new molecules SH+, H2O+, and OH+ are detected. The H2O+ and OH+ J=1-0 lines
are found mostly in absorption, but also appear to exhibit weak emission
(P-Cyg-like). Emission requires high density, thus originates most likely near
the protostar. This is corroborated by the absence of line shifts relative to
the young stellar object (YSO). In addition, H2O+ and OH+ also contain strong
absorption components at a velocity shifted relative to W3 IRS5, which are
attributed to foreground clouds. Conclusions: The molecular column densities
derived from observations correlate well with the predictions of a model that
assumes the main emission region is in outflow walls, heated and irradiated by
protostellar UV radiation.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, in pres
Reversal of infall in SgrB2(M) revealed by Herschel/HIFI observations of HCN lines at THz frequencies
To investigate the accretion and feedback processes in massive star
formation, we analyze the shapes of emission lines from hot molecular cores,
whose asymmetries trace infall and expansion motions. The high-mass star
forming region SgrB2(M) was observed with Herschel/HIFI (HEXOS key project) in
various lines of HCN and its isotopologues, complemented by APEX data. The
observations are compared to spherically symmetric, centrally heated models
with density power-law gradient and different velocity fields (infall or
infall+expansion), using the radiative transfer code RATRAN. The HCN line
profiles are asymmetric, with the emission peak shifting from blue to red with
increasing J and decreasing line opacity (HCN to HCN). This is most
evident in the HCN 12--11 line at 1062 GHz. These line shapes are reproduced by
a model whose velocity field changes from infall in the outer part to expansion
in the inner part. The qualitative reproduction of the HCN lines suggests that
infall dominates in the colder, outer regions, but expansion dominates in the
warmer, inner regions. We are thus witnessing the onset of feedback in massive
star formation, starting to reverse the infall and finally disrupting the whole
molecular cloud. To obtain our result, the THz lines uniquely covered by HIFI
were critically important.Comment: A&A, HIFI special issue, accepte
Herschel observations of extra-ordinary sources: Detecting spiral arm clouds by CH absorption lines
We have observed CH absorption lines ()
against the continuum source Sgr~B2(M) using the \textit{Herschel}/HIFI
instrument. With the high spectral resolution and wide velocity coverage
provided by HIFI, 31 CH absorption features with different radial velocities
and line widths are detected and identified. The narrower line width and lower
column density clouds show `spiral arm' cloud characteristics, while the
absorption component with the broadest line width and highest column density
corresponds to the gas from the Sgr~B2 envelope. The observations show that
each `spiral arm' harbors multiple velocity components, indicating that the
clouds are not uniform and that they have internal structure. This
line-of-sight through almost the entire Galaxy offers unique possibilities to
study the basic chemistry of simple molecules in diffuse clouds, as a variety
of different cloud classes are sampled simultaneously. We find that the linear
relationship between CH and H column densities found at lower by UV
observations does not continue into the range of higher visual extinction.
There, the curve flattens, which probably means that CH is depleted in the
denser cores of these clouds.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, HIFI Special Issu
Herschel observations of EXtra-Ordinary Sources (HEXOS): detecting spiral arm clouds by CH absorption lines
We have observed CH absorption lines (J = 3/2, N = 1 ← J = 1/2, N = 1) against the continuum source Sgr B2(M) using the Herschel/HIFI
instrument. With the high spectral resolution and wide velocity coverage provided by HIFI, 31 CH absorption features with different radial velocities
and line widths are detected and identified. The narrower line width and lower column density clouds show “spiral arm” cloud characteristics,
while the absorption component with the broadest line width and highest column density corresponds to the gas from the Sgr B2 envelope. The
observations show that each “spiral arm” harbors multiple velocity components, indicating that the clouds are not uniform and that they have internal
structure. This line-of-sight through almost the entire Galaxy offers unique possibilities to study the basic chemistry of simple molecules in
diffuse clouds, as a variety of different cloud classes are sampled simultaneously. We find that the linear relationship between CH and H2 column
densities found at lower AV by UV observations does not continue into the range of higher visual extinction. There, the curve flattens, which
probably means that CH is depleted in the denser cores of these clouds
Integrated strain array for cellular mechanobiology studies
International audienc
Natural history of an ant-plant-butterfly interaction in a Neotropical savanna
Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Non-myrmecophilous lepidopteran larvae using plants bearing ant attractants such as extrafloral nectaries are good models for studying morphological and behavioural mechanisms against ant predation. Udranomia spitzi (Hesperiidae) is a butterfly whose larvae feed on leaves of Ouratea spectabilis (Ochnaceae), a plant with extrafloral nectaries. We described the early stages of U. spitzi, and used field observations and experiments to investigate the defensive strategies of caterpillars against predatory ants. Larvae pass through five instars and pupation occurs inside larval leaf shelters. Ant-exclusion experiments revealed that the presence of ants did not affect significantly caterpillar survival. Predation experiments showed that vulnerability to ant predation decreased with increase in larval size. The present study showed that predatory ants are not as relevant as demonstrated for other systems, and also illustrates how observational data and field experiments can contribute to a better understanding of the biology and ecology of a species of interest.4615-16943954Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Biota-FAPESP [98/05101-8, 11/50225-3]Fundo de Apoio ao Ensino, a Pesquisa e a Extensao (FAEPEX)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq
Natural history of an ant-plant-butterfly interaction in a Neotropical savanna
Non-myrmecophilous lepidopteran larvae using plants bearing ant attractants such as extrafloral nectaries are good models for studying morphological and behavioural mechanisms against ant predation. Udranomia spitzi (Hesperiidae) is a butterfly whose larvae feed on leaves of Ouratea spectabilis (Ochnaceae), a plant with extrafloral nectaries. We described the early stages of U. spitzi, and used field observations and experiments to investigate the defensive strategies of caterpillars against predatory ants. Larvae pass through five instars and pupation occurs inside larval leaf shelters. Ant-exclusion experiments revealed that the presence of ants did not affect significantly caterpillar survival. Predation experiments showed that vulnerability to ant predation decreased with increase in larval size. The present study showed that predatory ants are not as relevant as demonstrated for other systems, and also illustrates how observational data and field experiments can contribute to a better understanding of the biology and ecology of a species of interest.Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq) [3012248/2009-5, 500868/2010-7, 300282/2008-7, 300315/2005-8, 301853/2009-6]Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [10/5223-18, 00/01484-1, 04/05269-9, 10/51340-8]BIOTA/FAPESPBiota-FAPESP [98/05101-8, 11/50225-3]Fundo de Apoio ao Ensino, a Pesquisa e a Extensao (FAEPEX)Fundo de Apoio ao Ensino, a Pesquisa e a Extensao (FAEPEX
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