In one project ARS microbiologist Lisa Durso used fecal samples from six beef cattle to identify a core set of bovine gastrointestinal bacterial groups common to both beef
But they did note that diet affected the transport of bacteriophages--viruses that invade bacteria--in field runoff.
Results from these studies have been published in Foodborne Pathogens and Disease Applied and Environmental Microbiology and Transactions of the ASABE.
Researchers at Bristol's School of Biological sciences led by Professor Daniel Robert found that flowers also have their equivalent of a neon sign--patterns of electrical signals that can communicate information to the insect pollinator.
In their study the researchers compared the weights and biochemical properties of tomatoes from organic and conventional farms.
which are associated with the biological response to stress. Based on these observations the authors suggest that growing strategies for fruits
By virtue of being a direct product of biology the renewable starting materials are a familiar sight for the microbes responsible for biodegradation.
The study suggests that the answer to this question may have as much to do with the biological interactions that shape communities as with the effects of climate change itself.
The study's insights are based on a novel approach by Eric Post a Penn State university professor of biology who simulated climate change
#Genetic variation controls predation: Benefits of being a mosaica genetically mosaic eucalyptus tree is able to control
which leaves are saved from predation because of alterations in its genes finds an study published in Biomed Central's open access journal BMC Plant Biology.
Between two leaves of the same tree there can be many genetic differences--this study found ten SNP including ones in genes that regulate terpene production
Organisms collect somatic genetic mutations throughout their lives. These mutations may have no effect or they may occur in genes important to how the cell behaves.
Cancer cells often have genetic mutations which permit the cell to divide more times than an unmutated cell
and in plants it is somatic mutation which allows a single tree to produce both nectarines and peaches.
At a genetic level there were ten genes which contained differences between these leaves. Amanda Padovan who led this project explained The main defence against predation of Eucalyptus is a cocktail of terpene oils including monoterpenes sesquiterpenes and FPCS
Another was establishing good manufacturing practices for biologically active proteins expressed in transgenic plants. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by Norwich Bioscience Institutes. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length e
HLB is caused by the bacteria of the genus Candidatus Liberibacter. Symptoms of the disease include blotchy mottled leaves sections of yellow
and therefore early rapid and robust detective methods are required especially presymptomatic diagnosis. The study's author Dr Hailing Jin of The University of California Riverside explains srnas are important gene expression modulators some
It is known that mir399 is important for P translocation in plants by suppressing A p signalling pathway gene.
#Microbes team up to boost plants stress tolerancewhile most farmers consider viruses and fungi potential threats to their crops these microbes can help wild plants adapt to extreme conditions according to a Penn State virologist.
Discovering how microbes collaborate to improve the hardiness of plants is a key to sustainable agriculture that can help meet increasing food demands
in addition to avoiding possible conflicts over scare resources said Marilyn Roossinck professor of plant pathology and environmental microbiology and biology.
and her colleagues found an example of a collaboration between plants and viruses that confer drought tolerance to many different crop plants.
The researchers tested four different viruses and several different plants including crops such as rice tomato squash
and beets and showed that the viruses increased the plants'ability to tolerate drought. Virus infection also provided cold tolerance in some cases.
A leafy plant related to a common weed known as lamb's quarter was infected also with a virus that caused a local infection.
The infection was enough to boost the plant's drought tolerance and may mean that the virus does not have to actively replicate in the cells where the resistance to drought occurs according to Roossinck.
In studies on plants that thrive in the volcanic soils of Costa rica and in the hot geothermal ground in Yellowstone national park viruses and fungi work together with plants to confer temperature hardiness said Roossinck.
Researchers found that fungi and a type of grass--tropical panic grass--found in Yellowstone national park grow together in temperatures above 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
Because viruses are often present in plant fungi Roossinck wondered if viruses played a role in the reaction.
I noticed that all of the samples from the geothermal soils had a virus so it seemed worth it to take a deeper look said Roossinck.
The researchers found that there was no heat tolerance without the virus. Once the researchers cured the fungus of the virus the plant was unable to withstand the heat.
When the virus was reintroduced the plant regained heat tolerance. A virus is required absolutely for thermal tolerance said Roossinck.
If you cure the fungus of the virus you no longer have the thermal tolerance. While researchers do not entirely understand the role of viruses in helping plants withstand extreme conditions Roossinck said that future research may help the agricultural industry naturally develop hardier plants rather than rely on chemical solutions that threaten the environment.
The question is can we restore the natural level of microbes in plants and grow them better and more tolerant of environmental stress like heat and drought or pathogens?
Roossinck said. This may lead to more natural methods of creating crops that are more heat drought and stress tolerant.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Penn State. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
Baker then learned that Lakhtakia was able to replicate certain biological materials such as fly eyes and butterfly wings.
#Avoiding virus dangers in domesticating wild plants for biofuel usein our ongoing quest for alternative energy sources researchers are looking more to plants that grow in the wild for use in biofuels plants such as switchgrass.
In a presentation at this year's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Michigan State university plant biologist Carolyn Malmstrom said that
If pest control measures aren't taken these annual plants can serve as amplifiers producing lots of viruses
and insects to move the viruses around. In contrast perennial plants in nature grow slower
but are equipped usually better to fight off invading viruses. When wild-growing perennials do get infected they can serve as reservoirs for viruses Malmstrom said a place where viruses can hang out a long time.
In the domestication of wild plants for bioenergy long-lived plants are being selected for fast growth like annuals.
Now you have a plant that could be a long-term reservoir but it also happens to be faster growing
and can serve as an amplifier for viruses. This all-in-one combination could increase virus pressure in crop areas unless mitigated.
Malmstrom said that plant virus ecology and the study of viral interactions between wild-growing plants and agricultural crops is an expanding field.
To understand the complete ecology of viruses researchers are now studying these tiny organisms in nature too.
whether viruses can be used in agricultural terrorism how to recognize a novel virus and what happens
if a virus is modified genetically and then let loose? Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Michigan State university.
The distribution and biogeography of the family are discussed and it is proposed even that Meropeidae originated before continental drift
What makes forcepflies special is the fact that little is known about their biology and the immature stages remain a mystery to scientists.
#Wild plants are infected with many viruses and still thriveresearchers have studied viruses as agents of disease in humans domestic animals
and plants but a study of plant viruses in the wild may point to a more cooperative benevolent role of the microbe according to a Penn State virologist.
Most of these wild plants have said viruses Marilyn Roossinck professor of plant pathology and environmental microbiology and biology who has examined more than 7000 individual plants for viruses.
But they don't have any of the symptoms that we usually see in crop plants with viruses.
Most of the viruses Roossinck studied are new viruses although they are related to viruses that have been examined in crops.
According to the researcher about half of the viruses that infect wild plants tend to be continually present in the plant--persistent.
The viruses get passed from plants to their offspring through the seeds. Researchers are still trying to uncover exactly
what viruses are doing in the plants. Since the viruses are found so often they may be playing some role in the life of the plant according to Roossinck.
In fact studies indicate that viruses can be beneficial to some plants making them hardier and helping them survive extreme temperatures
and drought said Roossinck who reported on her research today (Feb 17) at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
When most people think of viruses they think of serious diseases and death such as the AIDS virus Roossinck said.
However on a research trip in Costa rica a biodiversity hot spot in Central america she noticed that unmanaged wild plants looked healthier than managed agricultural fields.
During her research Roossinck observed that most of the approximately 10000 species of wild plants at the study site appeared healthy.
The wild plants she studied included Fabaceae an abundant family of plants related to beans. However commercial crops--melons oranges pineapple and aloe--that were growing near the site were not as healthy.
When I went to the forest the wild plants looked healthy and gorgeous Roossinck said.
Then I went 10 kilometers away and the plants in the agricultural field were not looking so healthy.
viruses fungi and bacteria whereas in crops farmers try to eliminate the microbes. Perhaps there is a connection.
Analyzing the viruses suggested that they were moving from the crops into the wild plants
It is based on the newly identified oncogene IKBKE which helps regulate immune response. The study appeared in the Feb 13 online issue of Oncogene.
The IKBKE gene is part of a family of enzyme complexes involved in increasing cellular inflammation.
IKBKE overexpression has been associated with breast and prostate cancers. However it had not been linked to environmental carcinogen such as tobacco smoke until now.
and develop new gene-targeted therapies that can circumvent resistance said the authors. In this study the researchers also reported for the first time that IKBKE is a target of STAT3 a transcription factor that plays a key role in many cellular processes such as cell growth
To achieve the targeted cuts we would need a scenario where by the middle of the century the global economy is transitioning from net positive to net negative CO2 emissions said report co-author Chris Field a professor of biology and of environmental Earth
In the GCEP report Field and lead author Jennifer Milne describe a suite of emerging carbon-negative solutions to global warming--from bioenergy technologies to ocean sequestration.
One of the most promising net-negative technologies is BECCS or bioenergy with carbon capture and storage.
A typical BECCS system converts woody biomass grass and other vegetation into electricity chemical products or fuels such as ethanol.
But according to the GCEP report major technical and economic hurdles must be overcome such as the relative inefficiency of biomass fuels and the high cost of carbon capture and storage (CCS.
and to recycle the revenues to subsidize captured emissions from biomass Ricci said. A carbon tax would put a price on CO2 emissions
In addition to long-term stability questions have been raised about the impact of biochar on soil conservation biodiversity and water use.
if the biochar is made from waste biomass sustainably harvested crop residues or crops grown on abandoned land that has reverted not to forest.
In seasonally-dry savanna ecosystems--which dominate nearly half of Africa's surface area--naturally-occurring wildfires are critical to maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function.
Wildfires also threaten biodiversity including many unique plants and animals found only on the continent.
The K-State team is expanding its research into this new technology developing more robust models using different types of sensors adding genotypes
#Advance promises to expand biological control of crop pestsa new discovery promises to allow expanded use of a mainstay biological pest control method
The advance toward broadening applicability of the so-called sterile insect technique (SIT) appears in the journal ACS Synthetic biology.
The scientists describe development of a synthetic genetic system that produces vigorous adult males with lethal information encoded in their sex-determination genes.
They developed the lethal genetic sexing system in two pests the pink bollworm which damages cotton crops and the diamondback moth
For the first time Stanford biologists have been able to identify specific parent ants and their own children in wild ant colonies making it possible to study reproduction trends.
Deborah Gordon a biology professor at Stanford and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment has been studying a particular population of harvester ant colonies in southeastern Arizona for 28 years meticulously recording
By pairing the genetic analysis with the long-term observations Gordon was able to determine the original queen and colony and the order in which the daughter queens and subsequent generations established new colonies.
Wildlife biologists say pinyon-juniper woodlands are popular with scores of bird and mammal species ranging from black-chinned hummingbirds to black bears.
They all say that it's the worst explosion of this disease they've ever seen said Vandermeer a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and at SNRE.
Both the widespread use of pesticides and fungicides and the low level of biodiversity found at sun-coffee plantations have contributed likely to the decline of white halo fungus in recent years Vandermeer said.
or microbiology-related problem Alvarez said. And it truly is a serious problem. But what many people miss is that it is also an environmental pollution problem.
and the associated antibiotic-resistant genes that find their way into the ground water and ultimately the food supply.
That means they will drop genes they're not using because there is a metabolic burden a high energy cost to keeping them.
and E coli which carries resistant genes directly from animals through their feces into the environment.
But P. aeruginosa completely shed the genetic element responsible for resistance which made it susceptible once again to antibiotics.
If any antibiotic-resistant bacteria are part of a biological mix whether in a person an animal or in the environment the weak microbes will die
this process is known by biologists as selective pressure. So there is incentive to eliminate the resistance plasmid from bacteria in the environment as close to the source as possible.
If we can put an anaerobic barrier at the point where a lagoon drains into the environment we will essentially exert selective pressure for the loss of antibiotic-resistant genes
but it's enough to have bacteria notice a deficiency in their ability to obtain energy from the environment and feel the stress to dump resistant genes.
His study of the Haihe River in China funded by the Chinese government and published last year found tetracycline resistance genes are common in the environment there as well.
Prevention here is basically don't let these genes proliferate. Don't let them amplify in the environment.
and increased mortality that has continued for a decade after the drought The research is published on-line in Global Change Biology.
Forests store about 45 percent of the carbon found on land remarked William. Widespread tree death can radically transform ecosystems affecting biodiversity posing fire risks
But the tests used up to this point to measure those pools such as microbial biomass and particulate organic matter were labor intensive and expensive.
Culman in Sieg Snapp's lab at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station decided to use other measurements of the labile fractions--including nitrogen mineralization
and nitrogen mineralization is they're based on actual biological activity says Culman. You take into account the soil microbes and environment for these tests.
Appearing February 7 in the journal Science the study details how researchers used both genetic and physical traits to reconstruct the common ancestor of placental mammals the creature that gave rise to many mammals alive today.
It was a great way to learn anatomy in a nutshell said co-author Zachary Randall a UF biology graduate student
and enters the nucleus a gene is expressed that produces a zinc transporter called ZIP8. The transporter then rapidly mobilizes to the cell's wall where it can then shuttle zinc from the bloodstream into the cell.
Ryan Pavlovicz and Chenglong Li of Ohio State's Biophysics Program (Li is also in the College of Pharmacy;
#Scientists identify genetic mechanism that contributed to Irish Faminewhen a pathogen attacks a plant infection usually follows after the plant's immune system is compromised.
and microbiology focused their attention on a class of essential virulence proteins produced by a broad range of pathogens including Phytophthora called effectors.
Our work shows that RNA silencing suppression is a common strategy used by a variety of pathogens--viruses bacteria
Study results appeared online Feb 3 in Nature Genetics. What is RNA silencing and what is its significance?
The binding leads to suppression of gene expression. Known as RNA gene silencing this suppression plays an important role in regulating plant growth and development.
When RNA silencing is impaired by effectors the plant is more susceptible to disease. Basic RNA silencing processes are conserved in plant and mammalian systems.
They serve as a major defense mechanism against viruses in plants and invertebrates. RNA silencing has also been implicated in antibacterial plant defense.
#Preserving biodiversity can be compatible with intensive agriculturepreserving genetically diverse local crops in areas where small-scale farms are rapidly modernizing is possible according to a Penn State geographer who is part of an international research project investigating the biodiversity
and officials to determine similarities and differences of perspectives on biodiversity in changing farming and food systems.
In recent years several prominent summits on ecological concerns have identified biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems as a major sustainability issue with implications for food security conservation health and well-being and adaptation
and peoples'livelihoods there that will ultimately determine the fate of humankind's global centers of biodiversity and agrobiodiversity in particular--unequalled and unique types of many major food plants as well as minor and increasingly familiar ones.
#Tapping into the rubber plant genomea group of international scientists has sequenced the draft genome sequence of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis the major commercial source of natural rubber.
The manuscript describing the draft genome is published in BMC Genomics. Scientists have sequenced the draft genome sequence of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis the major commercial source of natural rubber.
Rubber is an indispensible commodity that is used in manufacture worldwide billions dollar industry. The plant has played a vital role in the world economy since 1876.
The manuscript describing the draft genome is published in BMC Genomics. The team identify around 12.7%of the almost 70000 genes as unique
and outline those associated with rubber biosynthesis rubber wood formation disease resistance and allergenicity. The rubber industry is affected by rubber blight--a fungal disease
--and natural rubber allergenicity a global medical concern for those repeatedly exposed to latex-containing products (e g. gloves).
Ahmad Yamin Rahman and colleagues believe that this draft genome information will accelerate the development of high-yielding natural rubber plants.
#Biodiversity helps protect nature against human impactsyou don't know what you've got'til it's collapsed.
That's how University of Guelph integrative biologists might recast a line from an iconic folk tune for their new research paper warning about the perils of ecosystem breakdown.
Based on a 10-year study their paper also lends scientific weight to esthetic and moral arguments for maintaining species biodiversity.
Andrew Macdougall and Kevin Mccann graduate student Gabriel Gellner and Roy Turkington a botany professor and member of the Biodiversity Research Centre at the University of British columbia.
We need to protect biodiversity. Unlike other scientists usually relying on short-term artificial study plots the researchers studied longstanding pasture grasslands on southern Vancouver Island for 10 years.
Macdougall said the study supports resource management strategies that increase biodiversity on land and in aquatic ecosystems.
and all of that biodiversity that was lost earlier is said important now Mccann. Macdougall has studied the Vancouver Island site since 2000.
The study reveals a new way to find out how sensitive biological systems are to changes in climate.
Astonishing ten new species of semiaquatic freshwater earthworms revealedthe semiaquatic earthworms in the genus Glyphidrilus are somewhat unfamiliar species that live between the terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems of rivers streams canals
A study describing ten newly discovered species of the genus has been published in the open access journal Zookeys.
In Thailand the species demonstrate astonishing biodiversity due to the monsoon climate contributing to drastic river system changes and a large variety of microhabitats.
While general interconnections among these allow for gene flow their great diversity leads to independent evolution and specialization in isolation.
It's a big unexplored horizon both in agronomics and crop biology. I think that's why the trait is of such value.
and its invasion into numerous countries in recent years has caused immeasurable loss of biodiversity. Cycads belong to an ancient lineage of plants that date to the dinosaur era
The insect's recent invasion to the island of Guam has endangered the island's endemic cycad species. Local biologists introduced a voracious beetle predator to the island to eat the scale insects
what biologists call the hairs that can be found on many plant leaves and stems.
This particular plant-pest-predator relationship has drawn the attention of biologists in the Western Pacific Tropical Research center at the University of Guam
However some researchers have suggested that COPS might cause an immunological response when they penetrate estrogen receptors in tissues associated with the metabolism of sugars.
The legume-rye and rye cover crops produced approximately 25 percent more dry matter biomass than the mustard crops.
and Wildlife Service biologist Pete Leary who said the chick appears healthy. Wisdom was banded first in 1956
As Wisdom rewrites the record books she provides new insights into the remarkable biology of seabirds Peterjohn said.
#Plant scientists demonstrate new means of boosting maize yieldsa team of plant geneticists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has demonstrated successfully
and colleagues published online February 3 in Nature Genetics represent the culmination of over a decade of research
and creative thinking on how to perform genetic manipulations in maize that will have the effect of increasing the number of its seeds--which most of us call kernels.
When prompted by genetic signals cells in the meristem develop into the plant's organs--leaves and flowers for instance.
places along the chromosomes that map to specific complex traits such as yield. The analysis pointed to a gene that Jackson has been interested in
since 2001 when he was first to clone it: a maize gene called FASCIATED EAR2 (FEA2.
Not long after cloning the gene Jackson had a group of gifted Long island high school students part of a program called Partners for the Future perform an analysis of literally thousands of maize ears.
Their task was to meticulously count the number of rows of kernels on each ear.
The lab's current research has shown now that by producing a weaker-than-normal version of the FEA2 gene--one
A next step in the research is crossbreed to the weak FEA2 gene variant or allele associated with higher kernel yield with the best maize lines used in today's food crops to ask
if it will produce a higher-yield plant. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
The manipulation of corn plant genes that has been going on for millennia--resulting in the production of multicolored Indian corn cobs of various colors like red purple blue
which enables forest regeneration. Coastal stability in dangerscientists have identified the main geomorphological processes at work across the entire Guyana coast.
#Scientists use Amazon Cloud to view molecular machinery in remarkable detailin this week's Nature Methods Salk researchers share a how-to secret for biologists:
This is an extremely cost-effective way for labs to process super-resolution images says Hu Cang Salk assistant professor in the Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center and coauthor of the paper.
The challenge for biologists is that the molecules they want to see are often only a few tens of nanometers in size.
To make PALM more practical for use in biomedical research the team wrote a computer script that allows any biologist to upload
In a new research report appearing in The FASEB Journal scientists produced a monoclonal antibody in transgenic tobacco plants that was shown to neutralize the rabies virus.
This new antibody works by preventing the virus from attaching to nerve endings around the bite site
and keeps the virus from traveling to the brain. Rabies continues to kill many thousands of people throughout the developing world every year
and can also affect international travelers said Leonard Both M. Sc. a researcher involved in the work from the Hotung Molecular Immunology Unit at St george's University of London in the United kingdom. An untreated rabies infection is nearly 100 percent fatal
Producing an inexpensive antibody in transgenic plants opens the prospect of adequate rabies prevention for low-income families in developing countries.
Then the antibody was produced using transgenic tobacco plants as an inexpensive production platform. The antibody was purified from the plant leaves
The above story is provided based on materials by Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Note:
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