Sequences alignment of candidate HarmCSPs and HassCSPs.

<p>All these CSPs were characteristic of four conserved cysteine residues marked with “▽”.</p

Phylogenetic tree of CSPs <i>H</i>. <i>armigera</i>, <i>H</i>. <i>assulta</i> and other Lepidoptera insects.

<p>Harm: <i>H</i>. <i>armigera</i> (red), Hass: <i>H</i>. <i>assulta</i> (blue), Hvir: <i>H</i>. <i>virescens</i> (black), Bm: <i>B</i>. <i>mori</i> (aquamarine), Csup: <i>C</i>. <i>suppressalis</i> (cyan). The red and blue pentastars represented newly identified HarmCSPs and HassCSPs respectively.</p

Summary of data used for transcriptome assembly.

<p>Summary of data used for transcriptome assembly.</p

Phylogenetic tree of OBPs from <i>H</i>. <i>armigera</i>, <i>H</i>. <i>assulta</i> and other Lepidoptera insects.

<p>Harm: <i>H</i>. <i>armigera</i> (red), Hass: <i>H</i>. <i>assulta</i> (blue), Hvir: <i>H</i>. <i>virescens</i> (black), Bm: <i>B</i>. <i>mori</i> (aquamarine), Msex: <i>M</i>. <i>sexta</i> (cyan) The whole tree can be divided into six branches including GOBP/PBP, CRLBP, Plus-C, Minus-C, ABPI and ABPII. The red and blue circles represented newly identified HarmOBPs and HassOBPs respectively.</p

Expression of candidate OBPs and CSPs in larva and adult <i>H</i>. <i>armigera</i>.

<p>LA: larval antenna; LM: larval mouthparts; AA: adult antenna; AB: adult abdomen.</p

Unigenes of candidate chemosensory proteins in larval chemosensory tissues of <i>H</i>. <i>armigera</i> and <i>H</i>. <i>assulta</i>.

<p>Unigenes of candidate chemosensory proteins in larval chemosensory tissues of <i>H</i>. <i>armigera</i> and <i>H</i>. <i>assulta</i>.</p

Sequences alignment of candidate HarmOBPs and HassOBPs.

<p>The conserved cysteine residues were marked with “▽”. All these OBPs were assignment into CRLBP with six conserved cysteine residues, Minus-C with four conserved cysteine residues and Plus-C with more than more than six conserved cysteine residues.</p

Effect of Surface Modifying Biopolymers on Sand Cohesion

Coastal erosion is a substantial problem in the United States and throughout the world. A novel approach to mitigating this problem is through the application of surface-modifying biopolymers to sand on beaches. Field research conducted by Dr. Amine Dahmani has shown that these organic complexes can coat granular sediments and increase sediment cohesion, thereby decreasing the erodability of the sediment. The goal of this thesis is to quantify the impact of proprietary surface-modifying biopolymer formulations on sand cohesion in order to better engineer this innovative solution for sand retention and potentially contaminated sediment sand cap stabilization. The impact of the biopolymer treatment on sand cohesion was evaluated with the use of the direct shear test (ASTM D3080). Testing was performed on both untreated control sand samples and sand samples treated with various dosages of biopolymer. Several variations of the testing method were evaluated in order to develop an appropriate testing protocol. The results indicate that treating sand with biopolymers can significantly increase sand cohesion. In addition, it was determined that this increased cohesion is directly related to the concentration of biopolymer

Unigenes of candidate olfactory receptors in <i>H. assulta</i> and <i>H. armigera</i>.

<p>Unigenes of candidate olfactory receptors in <i>H. assulta</i> and <i>H. armigera</i>.</p

Antennal Transcriptome Analysis and Comparison of Chemosensory Gene Families in Two Closely Related Noctuidae Moths, <i>Helicoverpa armigera</i> and <i>H. assulta</i>

<div><p>To better understand the olfactory mechanisms in the two lepidopteran pest model species, the <i>Helicoverpa armigera</i> and <i>H. assulta</i>, we conducted transcriptome analysis of the adult antennae using Illumina sequencing technology and compared the chemosensory genes between these two related species. Combined with the chemosensory genes we had identified previously in <i>H. armigera</i> by 454 sequencing, we identified 133 putative chemosensory unigenes in <i>H. armigera</i> including 60 odorant receptors (ORs), 19 ionotropic receptors (IRs), 34 odorant binding proteins (OBPs), 18 chemosensory proteins (CSPs), and 2 sensory neuron membrane proteins (SNMPs). Consistent with these results, 131 putative chemosensory genes including 64 ORs, 19 IRs, 29 OBPs, 17 CSPs, and 2 SNMPs were identified through male and female antennal transcriptome analysis in <i>H. assulta</i>. Reverse Transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) was conducted in <i>H. assulta</i> to examine the accuracy of the assembly and annotation of the transcriptome and the expression profile of these unigenes in different tissues. Most of the ORs, IRs and OBPs were enriched in adult antennae, while almost all the CSPs were expressed in antennae as well as legs. We compared the differences of the chemosensory genes between these two species in detail. Our work will surely provide valuable information for further functional studies of pheromones and host volatile recognition genes in these two related species.</p></div