Both Palatable And Unpalatable Butterflies Use Bright Colors To Signal Difficulty Of Capture To Predators

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Birds are able to recognize and learn to avoid attacking unpalatable, chemically defended butterflies after unpleasant experiences with them. It has also been suggested that birds learn to avoid prey that are efficient at escaping. This, however, remains poorly documented. Here, we argue that butterflies may utilize a variety of escape tactics against insectivorous birds and review evidence that birds avoid attacking butterflies that are hard to catch. We suggest that signaling difficulty of capture to predators is a widespread phenomenon in butterflies, and this ability may not be limited to palatable butterflies. The possibility that both palatable and unpalatable species signal difficulty of capture has not been fully explored, but helps explain the existence of aposematic coloration and escape mimicry in butterflies lacking defensive chemicals. This possibility may also change the role that putative Mullerian and Batesian mimics play in a variety of classical mimicry rings, thus opening new perspectives in the evolution of mimicry in butterflies.452107113FAPDF/CNPq/Pronex [563/2009]Brazilian Research Council [302585/2011-7]Brazilian Research Council (SISBIOTA-Brasil/CNPq) [563332/2010-7]National Science Foundation [DEB-1256742]FAPESP (BIOTA-FAPESP Program) [2011/50225-3]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Germinação de sementes de capim-bufel submetidas a diferentes temperaturas do ar e concentrações de CO2.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as características de germinação de sementes de três cultivares de capim-bufel (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) mantidas em diferentes temperaturas médias do ar e concentrações de CO2. As cultivares avaliadas foram Aridus, Biloela e West Australian, nas combinações de temperaturas médias do ar (diurna/ noturna): 29°C /23°C e 32°C/26°C associadas às concentrações de CO2 (370 ppm e 550 ppm). O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado em arranjo fatorial 3 x 2 x 2 com três repetições por tratamento. A cultivar West Australian apresentou maior taxa de germinação a 29°C/370ppm. Os maiores índices de velocidade de germinação foram observados para a Aridus a 29°C/550ppm e para West Australian a 29°C/370ppm. A Biloela foi a cultivar que levou mais tempo para germinar na condição climática de 32°C/550ppm. Elevadas temperaturas prejudicam a germinação das cultivares de capim-bufel, diminuindo a porcentagem de sementes germinadas, o índice de velocidade de germinação e aumentando o tempo médio de germinação. A interação temperatura x CO2 afeta a qualidade germinativa de sementes de capim-bufel

Estiolamento in vitro: uma alternativa para a produção de mudas micropropagadas de antúrio.

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Statistical, computational and visualization methodologies to unveil gene primary structure features

Gene sequence features such as codon bias, codon context, and codon expansion (e.g. trinucleotide repeats) can be better understood at the genomic scale level by combining statistical methodologies with advanced computer algorithms and data visualization through sophisticated graphical interfaces. This paper presents the ANACONDA system, a bioinformatics application for gene primary structure analysis. Codon usage tables using absolute metrics and software for multivariate analysis of codon and amino acid usage are available in public databases. However, they do not provide easy computational and statistical tools to carry out detailed gene primary structure analysis on a genomic scale. We propose the usage of several statistical methods--contingency table analysis, residual analysis, multivariate analysis (cluster analysis)--to analyze the codon bias under various aspects (degree of association, contexts and clustering). The developed solution is a software application that provides a user-guided analysis of codon sequences considering several contexts and codon usage on a genomic scale. The utilization of this tool in our molecular biology laboratory is focused on particular genomes, especially those from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans and Escherichia coli. In order to illustrate the applicability and output layouts of the software these species are herein used as examples. The statistical tools incorporated in the system are allowing to obtain global views of important sequence features. It is expected that the results obtained will permit identification of general rules that govern codon context and codon usage in any genome. Additionally, identification of genes containing expanded codons that arise as a consequence of erroneous DNA replication events will permit uncovering new genes associated with human disease.publishe

Assessment of speckle denoising filters for digital holography using subjective and objective evaluation models

Digital holography is an emerging imaging technique for displaying and sensing three dimensional objects. The perceived image quality of a hologram is frequently corrupted by speckle noise due to coherent illumination. Although several speckle noise reduction methods have been developed so far, there are scarce quality assessment studies to address their performance and they typically focus solely on objective metrics. However, these metrics do not reflect the visual quality perceived by a human observer. In this work, the performance of four speckle reduction algorithms, namely the nonlocal means, the Lee, the Frost and the block matching 3D filters, with varying parameterizations, were subjectively evaluated. The results were ranked with respect to the perceived image quality to obtain the mean opinion scores using pairwise comparison. The correlation between the subjective results and twenty different no-reference objective quality metrics was evaluated. The experiment indicates that block matching 3D and Lee are the preferred filters, depending on hologram characteristics. The best performing objective metrics were identified for each filter.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of wheat germplasm from the Madeira and Canary archipelagos using a single molecular marker. A rapid screening method for identification of durum wheat accessions

This work aims to present a rapid and precise screening method of wheat germplasm and identification of durum wheat accessions in germplasm collections. Fifty-two wheat accessions maintained in the ISOPlexis germplasm bank at the Madeira University, Portugal, and 72 accessions from the Centre for Conservation of Crop Biodiversity of Tenerife (CCBAT), Spain, have been screened for their specific ploidy status using the molecular marker Dgas44. We have demonstrated that the Dgas44 sequence is effective in the screening of Madeiran and Canarian wheat accessions. This screening method permitted the detection of 10 and 11 durum accessions among Madeiran and Canarian wheats, accounting for 19.2 and 15.3% of screened collections, respectively. The obtained results have shown a 100% of cases correspondence with the previously performed morphological identification of the Madeiran wheats. It also permitted rectification and clarification of previous classification of some accessions based only on the morphological traits. The PCR based assay was directly applicable to the screening of seeds and was suitable for detecting seed mixtures in accessions. This rapid method has been proven to be a useful tool in gene bank accessions management including verification of their ploidy status and detection of seed lots adulteration.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Differential transcriptional profiles of dormancy-related genes in apple buds

The production of temperate fruit crops depends on plant developmental processes, primarily the shift from the juvenile phase to the reproductive phase, dormancy transitions and flowering. Apple tree (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) development is regulated by chilling temperatures, which are required for bud dormancy progression. The apple cultivar Castel Gala is a spontaneous mutation of "Gala Standard". "Castel Gala" is characterized by a 50 % decrease in the chilling requirement (CR) for dormancy release, which results in an earlier budbreak. This work explores the contrasting phenotypes of these cultivars using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). From 1,019 unigenes identified by SSH, we selected 28 candidate genes putatively associated with dormancy cycling. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to validate the differential expression profiles and to transcriptionally characterize these genes in three distinct apple cultivars ("Castel Gala", "Royal Gala" and "Fuji Standard") during a cycle comprising growth to dormancy. Of the 28 candidate genes analyzed, 17 confirmed the differences in expression predicted by SSH. Seasonal transcript accumulation during the winter was observed for several genes, with higher steady-state mRNA levels maintained longer in cultivars with a high CR. The transcription profiles suggest that these genes may be associated with dormancy establishment and maintenance. Of the 17 candidate genes, transcripts coding for dormancy-associated MADS-box (DAM), dehydrins, GAST1, LTI65, NAC, HTA8, HTA12 and RAP2.12-like proteins displayed major differences in gene expression between cultivars through the winter. These genes were therefore considered good candidates for key roles in the dormancy process in apple trees.DOI 10.1007/s11105-013-0690-