Hasil untuk "Botany"

Sk Injamamul Islam, Sheikh Sunzid Ahmed, Sarower Mahfuj et al.

Abstract The etiology of cervical cancer in women is attributed to the continuous infection of the human papillomavirus (HPV). The high costs and side effects of standard treatments and the limited efficacy of HPV vaccination have led to a quest for novel, cost-effective cervical cancer treatments, particularly in middle- and low-income countries. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the capacity of marine seaweed compounds to hinder the activity of the cervical cancer E6 Oncoprotein. The Seaweed Metabolite Database was evaluated for its ability to inhibit E6 Oncoprotein functions by high throughput virtual screening. The investigations included molecular docking, ADMET test, MD simulation, and MM/GBSA analysis to identify three lead seaweed drug-like compounds: BC008 (-8.9 kcal/mol), RL379 (-8.9 kcal/mol), and BC014 (-8.7 kcal/mol). All of the leading candidates had positive characteristics in terms of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and toxicity. The molecular dynamics simulation of the apoprotein, control drug, and lead compounds revealed the superior structural stability and uniformity of the main drug candidates. The MM/GBSA study revealed that the BC008-protein complex exhibited the most significant free binding energy, with a value of -57.41 kcal/mol. In the end, the findings derived from this investigation might provide a basis for developing innovative anticancer treatments.

Theekshana C. Jayalath, Marc W. van Iersel, Rhuanito Soranz Ferrarezi

The sunlight greenhouse crops receive varies and is often insufficient for consistent year-round growth in greenhouses. Supplemental lighting is commonly applied in winter, but this practice has a significant energy cost, accounting for 10–30% of operating expenses and impacting greenhouse profitability. Greenhouse lights are traditionally adjusted based on sunlight intensity to meet crops’ daily light requirements. However, if plants can withstand lower daily light integrals (DLI) after a sunny day without reducing the growth, there is potential to reduce the energy required for supplemental lighting and increase the profit. To determine whether excess light received one day can be ‘carried over’ to the next, we grew oakleaf lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> ‘Green Salad Bowl’ and ‘Red Salad Bowl’) under six lighting regimes inside a vertical farm. Plants in all treatments received an average DLI of 15 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹, but DLIs alternated from day-to-day (15/15, 17.5/12.5, 20/10, 22.5/7.5, 25/5, and 27.5/2.5 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹), resulting in DLI fluctuations from 0 to 25 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹. Plants had similar leaf area (~800 cm²/plant) and dry weight (~1.8 g/plant) when grown with DLI fluctuations from 0 to 15 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹, while higher DLI fluctuation reduced growth. To confirm this DLI “carrying-over” effect on plants grown under sunlight with supplemental light, we conducted a second study in a greenhouse with ‘Green Salad Bowl’ lettuce. In this study, plants were grown with five different DLI fluctuations (15/15, 16.75/13.25, 18.5/11.5, 20.25/9.75, and 22/8 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹), ranging from 0 to 14 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹, while maintaining an average DLI of 15 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹ in all the treatments. We observed similar leaf area (~750 cm²/plant) and dry weight (~1.8 g/plant) in lettuce plants grown with DLI fluctuations from 0 to 10.5 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹. Higher DLI fluctuations reduced growth. Hence, carrying excess light from a sunny to an overcast day is possible within limits. Our study concluded that the DLI requirement can be reduced by approximately 5.25 mol·m⁻²·d⁻¹ on the day following a sunny day. By analyzing historical weather data from five US locations, we quantified the potential annual energy savings from incorporating this ‘carrying-over DLI’ concept. This approach resulted in annual energy savings of approximately 75–190 MWh/ha in greenhouse lettuce production. Such reductions in supplemental lighting energy will enhance the profitability and sustainability of the greenhouse industry.

José Arimatéia Rabelo Machado, Miguel Luiz Menezes Freitas, Daniela Ivana Paiva et al.

<i>Araucaria angustifolia</i> is a species known for its valuable wood and nuts, but it is threatened with extinction. The plantation of forests for genetic resource conservation is a complementary strategy designed to reduce the species’ genetic variability loss. This study aimed to evaluate the technical and economic viability of <i>A. angustifolia</i> for genetic conservation through use. The analyzed provenance and progeny trial was established in 1982 in Itapeva, Brazil. It was structured using a compact family blocks design with 110 open-pollinated progenies from five natural populations, three replicates, ten plants per subplot, and 3.0 m × 2.0 m spacing. After 33 years, the trial was evaluated for total height, diameter at breast height, wood volume, and survival. The variance components and genetic parameter estimates were performed using Restricted Maximum Likelihood/Best Linear Unbiased Prediction methods (REML/BLUP) methods with the Selegen software (version 2014). The production and management scenarios were obtained using the SisAraucaria software (version 2003). Sensitivity analysis and economic parameter estimates were obtained through various economic evaluation methods using the Planin software (version 1995). In general, the genetic parameters indicated that the population has enough variability for both conservation and breeding purposes, suggesting technical viability for the establishment of a seed orchard. The economic parameters indicated that the commercialization of wood and araucaria nuts proved to be more profitable than wood production by itself. In conclusion, araucaria genetic conservation through use is a technically and economically viable ex situ conservation strategy.

Samuel King, Samuel King, Samuel King et al.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants during the COVID-19 pandemic caused frequent global outbreaks that confounded public health efforts across many jurisdictions, highlighting the need for better understanding and prediction of viral evolution. Predictive models have been shown to support disease prevention efforts, such as with the seasonal influenza vaccine, but they require abundant data. For emerging viruses of concern, such models should ideally function with relatively sparse data typically encountered at the early stages of a viral outbreak. Conventional discrete approaches have proven difficult to develop due to the spurious and reversible nature of amino acid mutations and the overwhelming number of possible protein sequences adding computational complexity. We hypothesized that these challenges could be addressed by encoding discrete protein sequences into continuous numbers, effectively reducing the data size while enhancing the resolution of evolutionarily relevant differences. To this end, we developed a viral protein evolution prediction model (VPRE), which reduces amino acid sequences into continuous numbers by using an artificial neural network called a variational autoencoder (VAE) and models their most statistically likely evolutionary trajectories over time using Gaussian process (GP) regression. To demonstrate VPRE, we used a small amount of early SARS-CoV-2 spike protein sequences. We show that the VAE can be trained on a synthetic dataset based on this data. To recapitulate evolution along a phylogenetic path, we used only 104 spike protein sequences and trained the GP regression with the numerical variables to project evolution up to 5 months into the future. Our predictions contained novel variants and the most frequent prediction mapped primarily to a sequence that differed by only a single amino acid from the most reported spike protein within the prediction timeframe. Novel variants in the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) were capable of binding human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in silico, with comparable or better binding than previously resolved RBD-ACE2 complexes. Together, these results indicate the utility and tractability of combining deep learning and regression to model viral protein evolution with relatively sparse datasets, toward developing more effective medical interventions.

Stephen Maberly

Mathavan Vickneswaran, James C. Carolan, Matthew Saunders et al.

To establish meaningful and sustainable policy directives for sustainable pesticide use in agriculture, baseline knowledge of pesticide levels in soils is required. To address this, five pesticides and one metabolite widely used in Irish agriculture and five neonicotinoid compounds pesticides were screened from soils from 25 fields. These sites represented a diversity of soil and land use types. Prothioconazole was detected in 16 of the 18 sites where it had been recently applied, with the highest maximum concentration quantified of 46 μg/kg. However, a week after application only four fields had prothioconazole concentrations above the limit of quantification (LOQ). Fluroxypyr was applied in 11 sites but was not detected above LOQ. Glyphosate and AMPA were not detected. Interestingly, neonicotinoids were detected in 96% of all sampling sites, even though they were not reported as recently applied. Excluding neonicotinoids, 60% of sites were found to contain pesticide residues of compounds that were not previously applied, with boscalid and azoxystrobin detected in 15 of the 25 sites sampled. The total number of pesticides detected in Irish soils were significantly negatively correlated with clay fraction, while average pesticide concentrations were significantly positively correlated with log Kow values. 17 fields were found to have total pesticide concentrations in excess of 0.5 μg/kg, even when recently applied pesticides were removed from calculations. Theoretical consideration of quantified pesticides determined that azoxystrobin has high leaching risk, while boscalid, which was detected but not applied, has an accumulation risk. This information provides insight into the current level of pesticide contamination in Irish agricultural soil and contributes to the European-level effort to understand potential impacts of pesticide contamination in soil.

André Almeida Alves, Leandro Lourenço Dumas, Jorge Luiz Nessimian et al.

Eight new species of Itauara Müller, 1888 are described based on specimens collected in southeastern Brazil: I. bispinata sp. nov., I. caparao sp. nov., I. cipoensis sp. nov., I. cristata sp. nov., I. holzenthali sp. nov., I. mangaratiba sp. nov., I. robertsonae sp. nov., and I. rupicola sp. nov. In addition, we provided an updated distributional list of species of Itauara, with new records of I. jamesii Robertson & Holzenthal, 2011 and I. lucinda Robertson & Holzenthal, 2011 for Espírito Santo State (Brazil), I. plaumanni (Flint, 1974) for Paraná State (Brazil), and I. tusci Robertson & Holzenthal, 2011 for Minas Gerais State (Brazil). We performed an equal weighted parsimony analysis adding the new species to the dataset provided by Robertson & Holzenthal (2013), with modification of the interpretation of some morphological characters. The genus was recovered as monophyletic, but overall statistic support for clades was weak. Itauara is restricted to South America and has a disjunct distribution, with some species occurring in northern South America and others in southeastern South America. Probably, the diversification of Itauara in South America is related to the connections between the Amazon Forest and the Atlantic Forest through historical events at different times.

Emilija Beniušytė, Ieva Čėsnienė, Vaida Sirgedaitė-Šėžienė et al.

Due to temperature changes, forests are expected to encounter more stress than before, both in terms of biotic factors, such as increased insect attacks, and abiotic factors, such as more frequent droughts. Priming trees to respond to these changes faster and more effectively would be beneficial. Induced systemic resistance (ISR) is a mechanism that is turned on when plants encounter unfavorable conditions. Certain elicitors, such as jasmonic acid (JA) are known to induce plants’ metabolic response. However, even though studies on ISR in herbaceous species are common and varied ISR elicitors can be used in agriculture, the same cannot be said about trees and forestry enterprises. We aimed to investigate whether JA used in different concentrations could induce metabolic changes (total phenol content, total flavonoid content, photosynthesis pigment content, antioxidant enzyme activity) in <i>Pinus sylvestris</i> seedlings and how this varies between different pine half-sib families (genotypes). After six weeks with a single application of JA, pine seedlings in several pine genetic families exhibited increased antioxidant enzyme activity, total phenol content and carotenoid content that correlated positively with JA concentrations used. Results from other genetic families were varied, but in many cases, there was a significant response to JA, with a noticeable increase as compared to the unaffected group. The impact on chlorophyll content and flavonoids was less noticeable overall. A positive effect on seedling growth parameters was not observed in any of the test cases. We conclude that JA can induce systemic resistance after a single application exogenously in <i>P. sylvestris</i> seedlings and recommend that the use of JA needs to be optimized by selecting appropriate concentrations.

SAMIR HADJ-MILOUD, Mohamed El-Amine Iddir Iddir, Tarek ASSAMI et al.

The present study consists of a valorization of a pedological database allowing to determine the Solonchaks in the north of Algeria according to the World Reference Base (WRB) classification. We studied the constituents of these Solonchaks by making different thematic maps, for this purpose a geographic information system (GIS) was created. Profiles meeting the definition of Solonchaks will be classified, spatialized in northern Algeria and grouped into reference soils and the creation of different thematic maps. The main results revealed that the Solonchaks of northern Algeria are provided with calcium carbonate (10 < CaCO3 (%) < 60) and poorly provided with gypsum with an average of 2.5% gypsum. They are also characterized by very high salinity (15 < EC (dS/m) < 40.9) and relatively high sodicity percentage of exchangeable sodium (ESP) > 15%). Statistical analysis revealed that the correlation between the EC-ESP couple is highly significant (r = 0.62; p < 0.01). Similarly, the correlation between the EC and the Ca++ of the adsorbent complex is negative and significant (r = -0.34; p < 0.05). The exploitation of the database made it possible to extract 45 profiles corresponding to the Solonchaks. The classification of these profiles revealed 13 references of Solonchaks distributed in the north of Algeria.

Elena Petrović, Karolina Vrandečić, Jasenka Ćosić et al.

In an olive orchard on the western part of Istria, Croatia, twig and branch dieback was observed on several olive trees. In total, seven samples from symptomatic trees were collected. Samples were analyzed, and four fungal isolates showed morphological similarities to the species <i>Phaeoacremonium.</i> One isolate, chosen as a representative, was taken for molecular identification and pathogenicity tests. Based on the DNA sequence data of the ITS, TUB, and EF1α gene regions, the isolate was identified as <i>P. iranianum</i>. Pathogenicity tests were conducted on detached olive branches and olive trees in the greenhouse. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of twig and branch dieback on olive caused by <i>Phaeoacremonium iranianum</i>.

Guillermo Baños Cruz, Rubén Castro Rendón

Se realizaron dos muestreos en marea baja, uno en diciembre (2009) y el otro en enero (2010) para determinar los microorganismos existentes en el Estero Salado que son los indicadores de contaminación. Un total de nueve estaciones fueron ubicadas a lo largo del Estero Salado en los Tramos B, D, E y G. Los resultados obtenidos en diciembre del 2009 indican una fuerte contaminación bacteriana en el agua, cuyos valores variaron desde 180NMP/100 mL hasta 160000NMP/100 mL en coliformes totales, coliformes fecales y escherichia coli, en cambio los valores para enterococos fueron de 180NMP/100 mL hasta 7900 NMP/100 mL; para los sedimentos los valores fueron desde 360NMP/100 g hasta 110000 NMP/100g para coliformes totales, coliformes fecales y E. coli y para los enterococos, los valores fueron 300NMP/g hasta 29000NMP/g, estos resultados están por encima de los niveles máximos permitidos. Dentro de los parámetros físicos químicos que afectan a la contaminación fueron la alinidad, el oxigeno disuelto y la temperatura. En enero (2010), los coliformes totales en el agua tuvieron valores entre 84 NMP/100 mL y 7000 NMP/100mL, para los coliformes fecales (4NMP/100mL – 450NMP/100mL), E. coli (1,8 NMP/100mL -180 NMP/100mL) y los enterococos (6NMP/100mL- 610NMP/100mL). En sedimento, los valores fueron relativamente bajos en comparación con los datos de sedimentos en diciembre. Los datos obtenidos indican que existen variaciones muy marcadas en las estaciones dentro del Estero Salado, lo cual se presume que existe un proceso continuo de contaminación.

Rima D. Lucardi, Lisa E. Wallace, Gary N. Ervin

The spatial expansions of invasive organisms in the novel range are generally expected to follow an isolation-by-distance relationship (IBD) if the invasion is biologically driven; however, many invasions are facilitated anthropogenically. This research focused on the extant expansion patterns of cogongrass (<i>Imperata cylindrica</i>). Cogongrass is a widespread invasive species throughout the southern United States (US). Patterns of infestation vary among US states. Cogongrass is pyrogenic, and its invasion threatens softwood (<i>Pinus</i> spp.) plantations, a substantial economic market for this US region. Over 600 individuals were sampled from seven invaded US states, using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) to assess genetic diversity and population structure. We suspected that differences in historical management efforts among US states influenced differences in genetic diversity and structure. We detected two genetic lineages at the highest level of analysis. One genetic lineage was locally restricted, whereas the other was found throughout the study region. Admixed individuals were found in all US states and consistently co-occurred with the dominant lineage, suggesting that secondary contact and hybridization may have facilitated expansion. The widespread prevalence of only one of the two detected genetic lineages suggests a primary genetic lineage responsible for on-going population expansion in the US.

Philip W. Rundel, M. Rasoul Sharifi, Michelle K. Vu et al.

Chile is one of five global regions exhibiting a mediterranean-type climate regime characterized by evergreen sclerophyll shrublands. These matorral shrublands which dominate the foothills and slopes of the Coastal Mountains and foothills of the Andes in central Chile have received much less study than  evergreen  shrublands in  other mediterranean-type climate  regions  of the world.  Phenological development, growth, and nutrient dynamics of the four widespread matorral shrub species, Lithrea caustica (Anacardiaceae), Colliguaja odorifera (Euphorbiaceae), Kageneckia oblonga (Rosaceae), and Retanilla trinervia (Rhamnaceae), were monitored in central Chile from 1971 to 1975. The four study species all demonstrated growth dynamics and nutrient relations similar to chaparral shrub species of southern California. The species exhibited a sequential development of phenological stages in leaf components following fall precipitation. Colliguaja with relatively shallow root systems showed a sharp peak of new leaf production at the beginning of summer, dropping quickly as summer drought occurred. Another shallow- rooted species while Retanilla initiated leaf production in the late winter, earlier than the other two species, and presented a growth pattern dependent on soil moisture availability. Lithrea and Kageneckia, a more deep-rooted species, initiated leaf production in late spring and continued through the summer. Overall, Chilean shrubs exhibited higher nutrient contents than those of chaparral shrubs in California, suggesting a difference in soil nutrient availability. Reproductive tissues represent a significant portion of the new biomass and nutrient allocation in all four matorral shrubs. Biomass allocation of new tissues (i.e. new leaves, new stems and reproductive tissues) ranged from 8.2% in Retanilla to 16.7% in Colliguaja. Overall, the phenology and nutrient relations of matorral shrubs were similar to those found in chaparral, shrubs indicating that the similar climate regimes can lead to convergence in leaf traits, phenology, and nutrient relationships.

PETRA S. YEHNJONG, MICHAEL S. ZAVADA, CHRIS LIU

Soil seed banks are important to the maintenance and restoration of floras. Extant seed banks exhibit unique characteristics with regard to the distribution of seed size and seed density. Seeds were recovered from the Upper Pennsylvanian Wise Formation in southwest Virginia. Structurally preserved seeds were also examined from coal balls of the Pennsylvanian Pottsville and Allegheny Groups, Ohio. The size distribution of the seeds from the Wise Formation is similar to that of structurally preserved seeds of the Upper Pennsylvanian Pottsville and Allegheny Group coal balls. In contrast, the seed size distributions in extant wetland, grassland, woodland and forest habitats are significantly narrower than that of seeds from the Pennsylvanian seed banks. Larger seeds are less dependent on light for germination, and aid in seedling establishment more than smaller seeds, especially in dense stable forests where disturbance events are rare. Large seed size may contribute to increased seed longevity, which reduces the effect of environmental variability on seed germination and development. The significantly larger size of the Palaeozoic seeds may have imparted an advantage for seedling establishment in the dense Palaeozoic forests. The preponderance of large seeds may be a result of the absence of large seed predators (e.g. herbivorous tetrapods), and may have been an evolutionary strategy to minimize damage to the embryo from a predator population dominated by small invertebrates with chewing or sucking mouthparts. The estimated seed density of 192 seeds/m2 in the Palaeozoic seed bank falls within the range of modern seed banks, but at the lower end of modern seed bank densities in a variety of habitats.

Orlando Aguirre, César Chávez, Alejandro Giraud et al.

An analysis of the plant-parasitic nematodes found on the banana (Musa AAA) plantations in the provinces of Cañar, El Oro, Guayas, Los Rios and Santo Domingo of Ecuador from 2008 to 2014 was carried out. The nematode extraction was done from 25 g of fresh roots that were macerated in a blender and from which nematodes were recovered in a 0.025 mm (No. 500) mesh sieve. The data were subjected to frequency analysis in PC-SAS and the absolute frequency was calculated for each individual genus. Four plant parasitic nematodes were detected and, based on their frequencies and population densities, the nematode genera in decreasing order was: Radopholus similis > Helicotylenchus spp. > Meloidogyne spp. > Pratylenchus spp. Radopholus similis was the most abundant nematode, accounting for 49 to 66% of the overall root population, followed by Helicotylenchus spp. with 29 to 45% of the population throughout the different analyzed years. From a total of 13,773 root samples, 96% contained R. similis, 91% Helicotylenchus spp., 35% Meloidogyne spp., and 25% Pratylenchus spp. and, when all of the nematodes that were present were pooled (total nematodes), 99.9% of the samples had nematodes. A large number of samples with a nematode population above the economic threshold suggested by Agrocalidad, INIAP and Anemagro (2,500-3,000 nematodes/100 g of roots) was observed in all of the years, the months and the five sampled provinces. The statistical differences (P<0.0001) detected for the nematode frequencies among the years, months and provinces, more than likely, were associated with the high number of samples included in each year, month and province because the variations in the frequencies for each nematode genus were small.

Józef Buczek

Inclusion into the medium of 5 mg•dm-3 of non-ionic (ENF) or ionic (DBST) surfactant caused 50-60% inhibition of nitrite reductase MR) activity in S. polyrrhiza. At the same time, increased accumulation of NO2- in the plant tissues and lowering of the total and soluble protein contents were found. DBST also lowered the nitrate reductase (NR) activity and the dry mass of the plants.

О. І. Безручко, О. В. Колесніченко

There provided ways of using valuable protein crop, soybean, as well as its production worldwide growth rates during recent years, possibility and necessity of attaching to the crop a strategic importance in our State and the tasks and outlooks of soybeanrecourses generation. A complete description of new soybean varieties listed in the Register of Varieties Suitable for Dissemination in Ukraine has also been provided.

Luboš Beran

This paper brings a review of a malacological survey of the northern part of the Orlické Hory Protected Landscape Area, situated in northwestern part of Bohemia (Czech Republic) near boundary between the Czech Republic and Poland. Altogether, only 12 common species of aquatic molluscs (8 gastropods, 4 bivalves) were found. Galba truncatula, Radix peregra, Ancylus fluviatilis, Pisidium personatum, and P. casertanum belong to the most frequent molluscs found during this research. Occurrence of vulnerable or endangered molluscs as well as non-native molluscs was not documented in this area.

G. Simon

A short overview of bird control in sweet and sour cherry orchards — Possibilities of protection of bird damage and its effectiveness