Assessing the effects of Bt maize on the non-target pest Rhopalosiphum maidis by demographic and life-history measurement endpoints

The most commercialized Bt maize plants in Europe were transformed with genes which express a truncated form of the insecticidal delta-endotoxin (Cry1Ab) from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) specifically against Lepidoptera. Studies on the effect of transgenic maize on non-target arthropods have mainly converged on beneficial insects. However, considering the worldwide extensive cultivation of Bt maize, an increased availability of information on their possible impact on non-target pests is also required. In this study, the impact of Bt-maize on the non-target corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis, was examined by comparing biological traits and demographic parameters of two generations of aphids reared on transgenic maize with those on untransformed near-isogenic plants. Furthermore, free and bound phenolics content on transgenic and near-isogenic plants were measured. Here we show an increased performance of the second generation of R. maidis on Bt-maize that could be attributable to indirect effects, such as the reduction of defense against pests due to unintended changes in plant characteristics caused by the insertion of the transgene. Indeed, the comparison of Bt-maize with its corresponding near-isogenic line strongly suggests that the transformation could have induced adverse effects on the biosynthesis and accumulation of free phenolic compounds. In conclusion, even though there is adequate evidence that aphids performed better on Bt-maize than on non-Bt plants, aphid economic damage has not been reported in commercial Bt corn fields in comparison to non-Bt corn fields. Nevertheless, Bt-maize plants can be more easily exploited by R. maidis, possibly due to a lower level of secondary metabolites present in their leaves. The recognition of this mechanism increases our knowledge concerning how insect-resistant genetically modified plants impact on non-target arthropods communities, including tritrophic web interactions, and can help support a sustainable use of genetically modified crops

Ultra high diluted arsenic reduces spore germination of Alternaria brassicicola and dark leaf spot in cauliflower

ABSTRACT A major problem in cauliflower crop is the fungus Alternaria brassicicola, which causes dark leaf spot on Brassicaceae family. The current use of copper salts in agriculture is questioned. In fact, these products present some disadvantages, connected mainly with their deposits in the soil and toxicity on plants. This work investigated the effects of arsenic treatments, in ultra high diluted form (UHD), prepared by a process of repeated dilution and succussion (shaking), through: 1) in vitro germination experiments, where spores of A. brassicicola were suspended in the treatments; 2) in planta experiments and 3) a field trial, where cauliflower plants infected by the fungus were sprayed with treatments. The results showed that ultra high dilutions of arsenic (where no more molecules of this substance are present) were effective in all the experiments, inhibiting spore germination by 60.0%, controlling fungal disease in in planta experiments (relative efficacy of 42.1%), and, in field trial, decreasing the mean infection level in cauliflower heads by 45.7% and 41.6% in artificially inoculated and naturally infected plants, respectively. This is the first study to demonstrate that ultra high dilutions effectively reduce in vitro spore germination and infection of A. brassicicola in cauliflower plants, both under controlled conditions and in the field. Our research is still very experimental, however, in light of the significant results obtained with ultra-diluted arsenic, and given that its extreme high dilution level precludes any toxicity or accumulation in the environment, the use of UHDs could be considered a potential and reliable approach for sustainable agriculture

On the role of somatostatin in seizure control: Clues from the hippocampus

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Effect of arachidonic acid on [3H]d-aspartate outflow in the rat hippocampus

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Nutritional characterization of Italian common bean landraces (Phaseolus vulgaris L.): Fatty acid profiles for "genotype-niche diversity" fingerprints

Major problems facing common bean production in the European Union include the significant and consistent decrease in legume consumption and the potential risk to local landraces by commercial cultivars. With the need to both increase local Phaseolus vulgaris L. ecotype production and to expand studies on potential genetic diversity impacts on nutritional components, the aim was to investigate a range of nutritional constituents in the Italian landraces, "Zolfino del Pratomagno" (Tuscany), "Fagiolo di Sarconi" (Basilicata) and "Fagiolo di Lamon (Veneto). Zolfino landraces were distinctive for significantly higher levels of amino acids, G2 protein fraction (lectin), ash, as well as total lipid and Monounsaturated Fatty Acid (MUFA) content, with Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) depicting a divergence of Zolfino from the Sarconi and Lamon landraces, respectively. Fatty acid profiles were distinctive for landrace. An equivalent ratio of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) to MUFA was evident for Zolfino. LDA showed distinctive, separate cluster groupings for the landraces, with Zolfino differentiated by the combined increased levels of oleic and palmitoleic acids, and the presence of heptadecanoic acid. The Sarconi landraces were characterized by the combined higher palmitic and linolenic acids and the absence of both myristic and tridecanoic acids, whereas the Lamon landraces were characterized by combination of higher linolenic acid, lower palmitic acid and the presence of both myristic and tridecanoic acids. The potential of expanding studies to include fatty acid profiles as possible sources of "genotype-niche diversity" fingerprints for common bean is shown to be feasible

Limbic seizures increase pronociceptin mRNA levels in the thalamic reticular nucleus.

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Infinitesimal transformations and equivalence of the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian descriptions

Starting from the infinitesimal point of view, the need to enlarge the Hamiltonian principle for Hamiltonian dynamics is analysed. So-called Lagrangian transformations are introduced to demonstrate the complete equivalence, not only of the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian equations of motion, but also of the corresponding formalisms. It is shown that the superiority of the Hamiltonian formalism lies exclusively in the passage from infinitesimal transformation generators to one-parameter subgroups of canonical transformation, since the passage preserves most of the properties acquired at the infinitesimal level