DIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHERN GREEN STINK BUG NEZARA VIRIDULA (L.) (HETEROPTERA: PENTATOMIDAE)

The southern green stink bug Nezara viridula (L.) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) is a global pest of considerable ecological, agricultural and economical interest. The ancestral home of this species is supposed to be Africa and/or Mediterranean and presumably it was spread worldwide during the last two centuries with human trade and agriculture. Bugs found today on different continents do not differ morphologically, however there are substantial differences in their mating behaviour. We used horizontal starch gel electrophoresis to determine the suitability of biochemical markers for assessment of genetic variation between geographically isolated populations of N. viridula. The initial survey of populations from Slovenia, France, French West Indies and Brazil resulted in the resolution of polymorphic banding patterns within the following enzyme systems: GPI, IDH, MDH, ME, MPI and PGM. Results indicate there are consistent differences among tested populations

Aging affects the phase coherence between spontaneous oscillations in brain oxygenation and neural activity

The risk of neurodegenerative disorders increases with age, due to reduced vascular nutrition and impaired neural function. However, the interactions between cardiovascular dynamics and neural activity, and how these interactions evolve in healthy aging, are not well understood. Here, the interactions are studied by assessment of the phase coherence between spontaneous oscillations in cerebral oxygenation measured by fNIRS, the electrical activity of the brain measured by EEG, and cardiovascular functions extracted from ECG and respiration effort, all simultaneously recorded. Signals measured at rest in 21 younger participants (31.1±6.9 years) and 24 older participants (64.9±6.9 years) were analysed by wavelet transform, wavelet phase coherence and ridge extraction for frequencies between 0.007 and 4 Hz. Coherence between the neural and oxygenation oscillations at ∼0.1 Hz is significantly reduced in the older adults in 46/176 fNIRSEEG probe combinations. This reduction in coherence cannot be accounted for in terms of reduced power, thus indicating that neurovascular interactions change with age. The approach presented promises a noninvasive means of evaluating the efficiency of the neurovascular unit in aging and disease

The INCREASE project: Intelligent Collections of food‐legume genetic resources for European agrofood systems

Food legumes are crucial for all agriculture-related societal challenges, including climate change mitigation, agrobiodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, food security and human health. The transition to plant-based diets, largely based on food legumes, could present major opportunities for adaptation and mitigation, generating significant co-benefits for human health. The characterization, maintenance and exploitation of food-legume genetic resources, to date largely unexploited, form the core development of both sustainable agriculture and a healthy food system. INCREASE will implement, on chickpea (Cicer arietinum), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), lentil (Lens culinaris) and lupin (Lupinus albus and L. mutabilis), a new approach to conserve, manage and characterize genetic resources. Intelligent Collections, consisting of nested core collections composed of single-seed descent-purified accessions (i.e., inbred lines), will be developed, exploiting germplasm available both from genebanks and on-farm and subjected to different levels of genotypic and phenotypic characterization. Phenotyping and gene discovery activities will meet, via a participatory approach, the needs of various actors, including breeders, scientists, farmers and agri-food and non-food industries, exploiting also the power of massive metabolomics and transcriptomics and of artificial intelligence and smart tools. Moreover, INCREASE will test, with a citizen science experiment, an innovative system of conservation and use of genetic resources based on a decentralized approach for data management and dynamic conservation. By promoting the use of food legumes, improving their quality, adaptation and yield and boosting the competitiveness of the agriculture and food sector, the INCREASE strategy will have a major impact on economy and society and represents a case study of integrative and participatory approaches towards conservation and exploitation of crop genetic resources

CHANGES IN LEVELS OF ACTIVITY OF SERINE PROTEASES ACCOMPANY THE EXPOSURE OF COMMON BEAN (PHASEOLUS VULGARIS L.) TO WATER DEFICIT

A wide variety of proteolytic enzymes exist in plants. On their levels depends protein turnover, a fundamental component in plant development and adaptation to environmental conditions. Cysteine proteases have frequently been reported to be influenced by drought, but only a few serine proteases (SP), among them the trypsin-like enzyme and two aminopeptidases from bean leaves (Bartels and Sunkar, 2005; Hieng et al., 2004). Our starting point was to identify proteolytic activities assigned to SPs that change with drought and then to characterize the corresponding proteases. A quantitative, analytical one-step method was used to separate endopeptidases and aminopeptidases active against a range of substrates in leaf extracts of plants grown in the field (FC). The influence of drought was determined for those of these activities which were confirmed as SPs, based on their inhibition by specific inhibitors. Under water deficit in plants grown under controlled conditions (CC) their levels changed in different ways. The levels of SP activities in FC plants, observed during a period of relative drought, were similar to those measured in mildly stressed CC plants. The partial characterisations of some of these SPs will be presented. Our results point to a number of roles for different SPs in the plant response to water stress, which could range from enhanced protein turnover to limited proteolysis at specific sites

Analiza mitohondrijalne DNK kod medonosnih pčela (Apis mellifera) iz Srbije

In this study mitochondrial DNA of the indigenous honey bee populations from Serbia was analysed. Three ecotypes were comprised in the investigation: Banat (B), Syenichko-Peshterski (S) and Timok (T). The results show that all investigated samples of honey bees from Serbia belong to one mtDNA haplotype of the C phylogenetic lineage, previously designated as C2D haplotype, though with three additional polymorphic sites. For the novel mtDNA haplotype, the designation C2E is proposed. The novel C2E haplotype differs from C2D in two A-T transversions and in one insertion. Moreover, within the T honey bee ecotype, two additional polymorphic sites were observed; a deletion of a T nucleotide and a T-C transition. Our results suggest that the Carniolan honey bee populations from Serbia may represent an indigenous gene pool within A. m. carnica. The mtDNA haplotype (C2D), previously found in A. m. macedonica, was found in all samples of Serbian A. m. carnica. This suggests that the C2D haplotype may be found within both subspecies. This study represents the first effort to characterize the indigenous honey bee populations in Serbia using molecular techniques with the objective of improving our understanding of the phylogeography of Apis mellifera.U ovom radu su prikazani rezultati analize mitohondrijalne DNK autohtonih populacija medonosne pčele iz Srbije. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo tri ekotipa: Banatski (B), Sjeničko-Pešterski (S) i Timočki (T). Rezultati ukazuju da svi ispitivani uzorci medonosne pčele iz Srbije pripadaju jednom mtDNK haplotipu C filogenetske linije, ranije označenom kao C2D haplotip, mada sa tri polimorfna mesta više. Za novi mtDNK haplotip predložena je oznaka C2E. Novi C2E haplotip razlikuje se od C2D haplotipa u dve A-T transverzije i jednoj inserciji. Osim toga, u okviru T ekotipa medonosne pčele uočena su još dva polimorfna mesta, delecija nukleotida T i T-C tranzicija. Ovi rezultati ukazuju da populacije kranjske medonosne pčele iz Srbije mogu pretstavljati autohtoni genski pul u okviru podvrste A. m. carnica. Mitohondrijalni DNK haplotip C2D, koji je prethodno opisan kod A. m. macedonica, utvrđen je u svim uzorcima A. m. carnica iz Srbije. Ovakav nalaz sugerise da C2D haplotip može postojati kod obe podvrste. Ovaj rad predstavlja prvi pokušaj da se obavi karakterizacija autohtonih populacija medonosne pčele u Srbiji primenom molekularnih tehnika, a u cilju boljeg razumevanja filogeografije vrste Apis mellifera

The effect of different type of cytoplasm on seed fractions in maize inbred lines

U proizvodnji hibridnog semena kukuruza najvažniji zadatak je proizvodnja kvalitetnog semenskog materijala, kao visina i stabilnost prinosa. Visina prinosa zavisi od genetiĉkog potencijala za prinos, dok stabilnost prinosa zavisi od sposobnosti reagovanja hibrida na uslove sredine. Stabilnost u postizanju oĉekivanog prinosa jedna je od najpoželjnijih osobina da bi genotip bio preporuĉen kao hibrid za široko gajenje. U ovim istraživanjima se polazi od pretpostavke da se prouĉavani hibrid kukuruza, razliĉit procenat uĉešća fertilnih biljaka razliĉito ponašaju na promene faktora spoljašnje sredine, ĉime ispoljavaju i razliĉitu stabilnost prinosa. Na osnovu te pretpostavke, oĉekuje se izdvajanje razliĉitih nivoa fertilnih biljaka ĉiji prinos najmanje varira pod uticajem promena spoljašnje sredine. Cilj rada bio je da se izvrši procena stabilnosti prinosa zrna po Eberhart-u i Russell-u (1966). Parametri stabilnosti (koeficijent - bi i standardna greška regresije - S2di) su pokazali koji odnos sterilne i fertilne varijante hibrida je ostvario najveću stabilnost, odnosno koji su najbolje reagovali na povoljne, tj. nepovoljne uslove spoljne sredine. Kod najstabilnijeg hibrida utvrđeno je uĉešće od 25% fertilnih biljaka (bi - 1,000), dok je kod hibrida sa 60% uĉešća fertilnosti bolje reagovao na povoljne uslove gajenja (bi - 1,326), a genotip koji je bolje reagovao na lošije uslove spoljne sredine imao je 10% uĉešća fertilnih biljaka (bi - 0,791).In the production of hybrid maize seed, the most important task is to produce high-quality seed material and to provide high and stable yields. Yield depends on genetic potential of yielding, while stability depends on ability of hybrids to respond to environmental conditions. Stability in achieving expected yield is one of the most favourable traits for a genotype to be recommended as a hybrid for wide cultivation. The starting point in these studies was that observed maize hybrid and different percentage of share of fertile plants would differently respond to changes in the environmental factors, whereby yield stability would differ. Based on this assumption, the distinguishable levels of fettilie plants whose yields vary the least under envoronmental conditions were expected. The aim was to estimate grain yield stability after Eberhart and Russell (1966). The stability parameters (coefficient - bi and standard error of regression - S2di) point out to which ratio of sterile to fertile variant of the hybrid had the highest stability, i.e. which variants responded best to favourable, i.e. unfavourable environmental conditions. The share of fertile plants in the most stable hybrid was 25% (bi - 1.000) while a hybrid with 60% fertility responded better to favourable growing conditions (bi - 1.326). A genotype that responded better to unfavourable environmental conditions had 10% of fertile plants (bi - 0.791)

Not Available

Not AvailableOut of several thousand known edible plant species, only four crops-rice, wheat, maize and potato provide the largest proportion of daily nutrition to billions of people. While these crops are the primary supplier of carbohydrates, they lack essential amino acids and minerals for a balanced nutrition. The overdependence on only few crops makes the future cropping systems vulnerable to the predicted climate change. Diversifying food resources through incorporation of orphan or minor crops in modern cropping systems is one potential strategy to improve the nutritional security and mitigate the hostile weather patterns. One such crop is buckwheat, which can contribute to the agricultural sustainability as it grows in a wide range of environments, requires relatively low inputs and possess balanced amino acid and micronutrient profles. Additionally, gluten-free nature of protein and nutraceutical properties of secondary metabolites make the crop a healthy alternative of wheat-based diet in developed countries. Despite enormous potential, eforts for the genetic improvement of buckwheat are considerably lagged behind the conventional cereal crops. With the draft genome sequences in hand, there is a great scope to speed up the progress of genetic improvement of buckwheat. This article outlines the state of the art in buckwheat research and provides concrete perspectives how modern breeding approaches can be implemented to accelerate the genetic gain. Our suggestions are transferable to many minor and underutilized crops to address the issue of limited genetic gain and low productivity.Not Availabl

The phase coherence of the neurovascular unit is reduced in Huntington’s disease

Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder in which neuronal death leads to chorea and cognitive decline. Individuals with ≥40 cytosine–adenine–guanine repeats on the interesting transcript 15 gene develop Huntington’s disease due to a mutated huntingtin protein. While the associated structural and molecular changes are well characterized, the alterations in neurovascular function that lead to the symptoms are not yet fully understood. Recently, the neurovascular unit has gained attention as a key player in neurodegenerative diseases. The mutant huntingtin protein is known to be present in the major parts of the neurovascular unit in individuals with Huntington’s disease. However, a non-invasive assessment of neurovascular unit function in Huntington’s disease has not yet been performed. Here, we investigate neurovascular interactions in presymptomatic (N = 13) and symptomatic (N = 15) Huntington’s disease participants compared to healthy controls (N = 36). To assess the dynamics of oxygen transport to the brain, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, ECG and respiration effort were recorded. Simultaneously, neuronal activity was assessed using EEG. The resultant time series were analysed using methods for discerning time-resolved multiscale dynamics, such as wavelet transform power and wavelet phase coherence. Neurovascular phase coherence in the interval around 0.1 Hz is significantly reduced in both Huntington’s disease groups. The presymptomatic Huntington’s disease group has a lower power of oxygenation oscillations compared to controls. The spatial coherence of the oxygenation oscillations is lower in the symptomatic Huntington’s disease group compared to the controls. The EEG phase coherence, especially in the α band, is reduced in both Huntington’s disease groups and, to a significantly greater extent, in the symptomatic group. Our results show a reduced efficiency of the neurovascular unit in Huntington’s disease both in the presymptomatic and symptomatic stages of the disease. The vasculature is already significantly impaired in the presymptomatic stage of the disease, resulting in reduced cerebral blood flow control. The results indicate vascular remodelling, which is most likely a compensatory mechanism. In contrast, the declines in α and γ coherence indicate a gradual deterioration of neuronal activity. The results raise the question of whether functional changes in the vasculature precede the functional changes in neuronal activity, which requires further investigation. The observation of altered dynamics paves the way for a simple method to monitor the progression of Huntington’s disease non-invasively and evaluate the efficacy of treatments