and Behavior at the University of Minnesota and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich the research team included U of M associate professors Eric Seabloom and Elizabeth Borer
and total amount of plants or biomass grown over time. They used this information to quantify species diversity and ecosystem stability.
and how biodiversity is related to both aspects of ecosystem functioning says Andy Hector. The researchers also found that grassland diversity
#Making biodiverse agriculture part of a food-secure futureis biodiverse agriculture an anachronism? Or is it a vital part of a food-secure future?
Diets for most people around the world are becoming increasingly limited in biological and nutritional diversity.
This is true in genetic ecological and nutritional terms. Small farmers by contrast in many places continue to grow a range of species and multiple varieties that form the basis of their diet and nutrition.
Products of biodiversity within culturally-based diets provide essential micronutrients and lower prevalence of diet-related chronic disease.
Food-policy makers around the world should seek to develop novel compensation mechanisms that reflect the benefits of small-scale biodiverse agriculture Prof.
and new strategies for sustainable use of the extraordinarily high levels of biodiversity within the Andean potatoes.
Pasquali is a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering chemistry and materials science and nanoengineering. Tsentalovich Kono and Pasquali are members of the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology.
Burns Stahle and their collaborator Rodolfo Acuna a professor of microbiology at the National University in Mexico city observed a significant relationship between periods of drought and famine in rural agricultural regions of central Mexico.
In contrast a male benefit from ensuring that only his sperm is used to fertilize the female's eggs thereby passing only his genes on to the next generation.
In a recent issue of Nature the researchers reported on a particular gene sequence that allows Bacteroidetes to carry out this function.
They show that about 92 per cent of the population harbors bacteria with a variant of the gene sequence according to a survey of public genome data from 250 adult humans.
However the precise details of how this happens remain largely unexplored says co-corresponding author Eric Martens Ph d. an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the U-M Medical school.
Large-scale genome sequencing efforts like the Human Microbiome Project have focused on the community of microorganisms that live in the human gut.
The study of how enzymes break down plant matter is also of direct relevance to the development of processes for environmentally-friendly energy solutions such as biofuels.
and Zoo Zurich and join us in this effort to conserve Madagascar's unique biodiversity through the sale of future carbon credits said Pierre Manganirina Randrianarisoa the Secretary general of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
and a first for Madagascar in advancing the use of carbon credits to fight climate change while protecting biodiversity and human livelihoods.
The project's important role in protecting a crucial area of biodiversity value also aligns with Microsoft's own focus on using technology information
while also delivering biodiversity value and community support. Makira contains an estimated one percent of the world's biodiversity including 20 lemur species hundreds of species of birds
and thousands of plant varieties including many found nowhere else on earth. The Makira forest spans nearly 400000 hectares (more than 1500 square miles) making it one of the largest remaining intact blocks of rainforest in Madagascar.
and has received a'Gold'level validation by the Climate Community and Biodiversity Alliance. Avoided deforestation has been identified as a key mechanism for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
We know next to nothing about this species'biology it's evolution or it's position within the Oak family.
The fieldwork and surveys in Ton Pariwat Wildlife Sanctuary by the team of Dutch and Thai botanists are part of ongoing research on the genomics systematics biogeography and evolution of tropical Asian Oaks
The project will build a biorefinery called the'D-Factory 'which is going to turn every part of the alga into something useful.
If we can make algae biorefineries commercially viable we will have developed a new industry founded on an environmentally-kind raw material
and businesses from eight countries including world leading experts in the biochemistry of Dunaliella in large-scale cultivation of microalgae in novel harvesting technologies and in bioprocessing development.
Together they aim to set a world benchmark for a biorefinery based on microalgae. Plans include the largest commercial cultivation of the single-cell organisms in water raceways lakes and photobioreactors.
The project hopes to demonstrate the business case for global investment in algae biorefineries and in large-scale production of microalgae within three years in order to raise investment for the first prototype D-Factory in Europe.
because it produces a wide range of compounds appropriate for the'biorefinery'concept which aims to use every element of a biomass.
It can cope with extreme conditions from salt caves in the Antarctic to salt pans in the tropics.
***Seaweed could be next new biofuelnew research to turn seaweed into liquid biofuel aims to overcome two main barriers to the plant becoming a major source of renewable energy.
Current biofuels may not be sustainable says Dr John Milledge Research Fellow at Greenwich and an expert in the commercialisation of algae.
and corn or biodiesel from rapeseed and palm oil are in direct competition with food for arable land and water.
therefore a very attractive proposition as an alternative biofuel if we can overcome the challenges. Dr Milledge is working closely with group coordinator Professor Pat Harvey at Greenwich
whether UK's coasts can sustain large-scale biofuel production. The consortium is led by Durham University and builds on a range of the university's previous collaborative projects which span its departments of Chemistry Biology Earth sciences and the Durham Business school.**
***Algae research into new medicines wins awarddrug discovery company IOTA Pharmaceuticals has chosen the University of Greenwich as its academic partner to research the potential of the microalga Dunaliella as a route to new medicines.
The collaboration has won a £5000 SPARK Award and the sponsorship of the Algal Bioenergy Special interest Group (ABSIG.
IOTA is studying the biochemical pathways that produce Dunaliella's essential metabolites--small chemicals synthesised by the microalgae that can form the building blocks of more complex therapeutically useful natural products.
and develop new processes for natural product synthesis. The D-Factory a biorefinery research project led by Greenwich
We need to apply biotechnology to explore the production of a broader spectrum of compounds.
#Genetic find might lead to cattle that are more resistant to TBSCIENTISTS have identified genetic traits in cattle that might allow farmers to breed livestock with increased resistance to bovine tuberculosis (TB.
The study which compared the genetic code of TB-infected animals with that of disease-free cattle could help to impact on a disease that leads to major economic losses worldwide.
The research led by the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute has identified a number of genetic signatures associated with TB resistance in the cows that remained unaffected.
The study builds on previous research by The Roslin Institute which showed that some cattle might be more resistant to bovine TB as a result of their genetic make-up.
The team used the latest gene identification techniques to compare the genes of healthy and infected female Holstein-friesians.
This latest research funded by the Biotechnology and Biological sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the EU is published in the journal Heredity.
Researchers at The Roslin Institute worked on the study with colleagues from the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and Queen's university Belfast.
Refining genomic predictors of resistance will be the focus of a new BBSRC-funded study to be carried out by researchers at Roslin the AFBI and Scotland's Rural College the SRUC.
Differences between cattle in their genes is not the only factor in determining whether the animal will get bovine TB or not;
If we can choose animals with better genotypes for TB resistance then we can apply this information in new breeding programs alongside other control strategies.
#Biodiversity in production forests can be improved without large costsforest management is based on recommendations that are supposed to maximize economic revenues.
This would also greatly benefit biodiversity. These results were obtained by a research group lead by Professor Mikko Mà nkkã nen at the University Jyvã¤skylã¤.
In the study researchers of biological and environmental science collaborated with researchers of multi-objective decision making from the field of information technology.
Small additional investments into biodiversity may yield large benefits. In particular increasing habitat availability for the capercaillie is relatively inexpensive says MÃ nkkã nen.
According to the Finnish government's decision 180 million euro will be spent in 2008-2016 (the METSO program) on maintaining biodiversity in mostly privately owned southern Finnish forests.
Small investments may provide large biodiversity benefits he explains. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland.
When applied Meja initiates a process of gene activity affiliated with the biosynthesis of glucosinolates (GS)
However during this process Meja also signals a network of genes that lead to plant decay by inducing the release of ethylene Juvik explained.
and 24-D on their fields more often in the near future because biotechnology companies are introducing crops genetically modified to resist those chemicals.
#Wasps use ancient aggression genes to create social groupsaggression-causing genes appeared early in animal evolution
If these mean genes keep their roles in different animals and in different contexts then perhaps model organisms--such as bees and mice--can provide insights into the biological basis of aggression in all animals including humans the researchers said.
This is one of the first investigations to utilize large datasets consisting of thousands of different genes to ask
whether there are shared genes relating to similar forms of behavior across a very wide range of animals said Amy Toth assistant professor of ecology evolution and organismal biology Iowa State.
Specifically we looked at aggressive behavior in wasps bees fruit flies and mice and found a few genes that are associated consistently with aggression.
This suggests that even after hundreds of millions of years of evolution some genes may retain their ancestral roles in similar forms of behavior like aggression.
The team investigated the expression of aggression genes in the brains and ovaries of paper wasps--Polistes metricus.
Specifically they looked at wasps belonging to different castes including dominant colony-founding queens subordinate colony-founding queens established queens dominant workers and subordinate workers.
The team then compared the wasp results to gene expression data already available in honey bees fruit flies and mice.
We found that in wasps which are primitively social insects aggression genes control the establishment of an individual's dominance over a group said Christina Grozinger professor of entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research Penn State.
In contrast in honey bees which are advanced social insects aggression genes control altruistic defensive behavior--for example
In solitary species like fruit flies and mice the same set of aggression genes controls fighting between males over territory.
So the same genes are involved in aggression across species but are now being used in different ways by different organisms.
because they share some of the same genes that regulate aggression behaviors even if those behaviors are now quite different.
In addition to learning that aggression genes are shared among organisms the team also found that these genes are extremely sensitive to the external environment.
We found that the most important influence on expression of genes in the brains of paper wasps was external factors such as the season
The results which appear today in BMC Genomics provide new insight into the debate between nature and nurture according to Grozinger.
Everyone agrees that both nature--including genes and physiology--and nurture--including diet environment and social interactions--contribute to the likelihood that an individual will behave in a certain way
But our results show that the external environment plays a much greater role in regulating expression of genes in the brain
which they will manipulate the expression of single genes to see how they affect behavior.
if we ramp up expression of one of the genes involved in aggression Toth said.
This type of question allows us to go beyond correlation between the gene and the behavior and address causation.
Does the gene of interest actually cause aggressive behavior? Grozinger added If there are hyper-aggressive wasps
Genetic discovery to keep crops disease-freeaccording to John Curtin Distinguished Professor Richard Oliver Director of the Australian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens (ACNFP) at Curtin
Funded by the Grains Research & development Corporation Professor Oliver and his team in conjunction with independent research provider Kalyx Australia have demonstrated that by taking away disease-sensitivity genes from the wheat germplasm
They compared cultivars with disease-sensitivity genes to cultivars that lacked these particular genes and were able to show that the cultivars lacking the gene showed no yield loss and in some instances increased yields in the presence of disease.
From this the team were able to conclude if a sensitivity gene was eliminated there would be associated minimal risks
and it would be a safe and straightforward strategy for improving disease resistance. Professor Oliver said this research had never been done before as direct mapping for disease resistance had led not to useful molecular markers.
Previously geneticists would infect plants that were progeny of crosses between relatively resistant and relatively susceptible parents before doing the QTL (quantitative disease-resistance gene) mapping.
But as disease resistance is multifactorial due to the several effector reactions the QTL mapping was always a bit fuzzy
This program is developed by the research group of Forest Physiology and Genetics and the cooperative group of Support to Forestry Development of the Universidad Politã cnica de Madrid (UPM.
and international institutions that will contribute to satisfy the demand of woody biomass and other financial needs of Ethiopian farmers.
The Spanish plant use broadens the genetic layout in the Ethiopian highlands that was limited historically very.
Therefore it will contribute to satisfy the demand of woody biomass which is used for fuel and constructions.
More biodiversity, better harvestbees birds and bats make a huge contribution to the high yields produced by coffee farmers around Mount kilimanjaro â#an example of how biodiversity can pay off.
It has been conducted by tropical ecologists of the University WÃ rzburg Biocenter jointly with colleagues from the LOEWE Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (Bik-F Frankfurt/Main) and the Institute for experimental Ecology of the University
and to biological pest control in the coffee fields. The aim was to find out whether and how intensified farming affects these services provided by the ecosystem.
This research has been carried out in close cooperation with teams from the Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (Frankfurt/Main) and the Institute of Experimental Ecology at the University of Ulm.
and el Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agropecuarias y Pecuarias sent the nine samples to Intertek laboratory in Bremen Germany for genetic analysis.
The research offers new perspective on evolutionary biology microbiology and the production of natural gas and may shed light on climate change agriculture and human health.
By looking at this one mechanism that was studied not previously we will be able to develop new basic information that potentially has broad impact on contemporary issues ranging from climate change to obesity said Biswarup Mukhopadhyay an associate professor of biochemistry at the Virginia Tech
Plant and microbial biology professor emeritus Bob B. Buchanan co-led the research and co-authored the paper.
This innovative work demonstrates the importance of a new global regulatory system in methanogens said William Whitman a professor of microbiology at the University of Georgia who is familiar with the study
When plants die some of their biomass is trapped in areas that are devoid of oxygen such as the bottom of lakes.
Methanogens help convert the residual biological material to methane which other organisms convert to carbon dioxide--a product that can be used by plants.
Dwi Susanti the lead author recently received her doctoral degree in genetics bioinformatics and computational biology from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute and is currently a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biochemistry at Virginia Tech.
Usha Loganathan a graduate student in the Department of Biological sciences in the College of Science at Virginia Tech also participated in the study.
William H. Vensel of the Western Regional Research center in Albany Calif. provided proteomics expertise as did Joshua Wong of University of California Berkeley.
Rebecca De Santis and Ruth Schmitz-Streit of University of Kiel in Germany and Monica Balsera of the Institute of Natural resources and Agrobiology of Salamanca in Spain also worked on the projectgrants from the National Science Foundation the National aeronautics and space administration
This is the result of a five-year research project performed by evolution biologists microbiologists and computer scientists at Radboud University Nijmegen and published this week in the European Journal of Protistology.
Ciliate DNA Extensive genetic research into ciliates to analyse their family tree diversity and distribution over hosts involved investigating 484'18s rrna genes'the fragments of RNA responsible for protein synthesis.'Our most important discovery is that ciliates are extremely diverse'says evolution biologist Johannes Hackstein.'
'We hadn't expected that given their appearance.''It turned out that the ciliates of hindgut fermenters were very species-specific
Results from the diagnostic developed by the lab of Rice bioengineer Rebecca Richards-Kortum are read from a paper strip that resembles a pregnancy test.
whether samples taken from the stool of a patient contain genetic DNA from the parasite that causes the disease.
Lead author Zachary Crannell a graduate student based at Rice's Bioscience Research Collaborative said the disease usually transmitted through drinking water accounts for 20 percent of childhood diarrheal deaths in developing countries.
#RNA sequencing of 750-year-old barley virus sheds new light on the Crusadesscientists have sequenced for the first time an ancient RNA genome--of a barley virus once believed to be only 150 years old--pushing its origin
and sequenced the RNA genome of Barley Stripe Mosaic virus (BSMV) in a 750-year-old barley grain found at a site near the River Nile in modern-day Egypt.
This new find challenges current beliefs about the age of the BSMV virus which was discovered first in 1950 with the earliest record of symptoms just 100 years ago.
Although ancient DNA genomes have been sequenced before ancient RNA genomes have not been as RNA breaks down more rapidly than DNA--generally around 50 times as fast.
and this has allowed the scientists to successfully sequence its genome. Using the new medieval RNA to calibrate estimates of the rate of mutations the researchers were able to trace the evolution of the Barley Stripe Mosaic virus to a probable origin of around 2000 years ago but potentially much further back to the domestication
It is important to know as much as we can about virus evolution as emerging infectious plant diseases are a growing threat to global food security
and of those viruses account for almost half. History tells us about the devastation caused by the emergence of disease from wild hosts in disparate countries such as the Central american origin of the oomycete that led to The irish potato famine.
We need to build up an accurate picture of the evolution of different types of virus
however this 750-year-old example of the virus allows us to more accurately estimate its evolution rates and date of origin.
Without the Medieval RNA evidence the virus appears to be much younger than it actually is
It's possible that other viruses that similarly appear to be very recent may in fact have a more ancient origin.
The researchers believe that the Medieval BSMV genome came from a time of rapid expansion of the plant disease in the Near east and Europe.
The Seventh crusade of Louis IX in 1234 is the most closely aligned in date to the origin of the virus expansion.
The researchers believe the massive war effort could have caused the virus to spread fuelled by an intensification of farming
This made contact with cultivated barley and wild grass more likely providing opportunities for the virus to'jump'into the crop.
Genetic evidence also points to a split into an east and west BSMV lineage around the end of the 15th century around 100 years after the Mongol Empire stabilised the Silk road.
In more recent history the virus appears to have spread to the US from Europe around 120-150 years ago.
In a new study conducted in Assistant professor Melha Mellata's lab at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State university lead author Alyssa K. Stacy
She was joined by Biodesign researchers Natalie M. Mitchell Jacob T. Maddux and Roy Curtiss III (who directs the Institute's Center for Infectious diseases and Vaccinology).
or localized infections depending on the age and gender of bird immunologic health and various environmental factors.
APEC may also provide a reservoir for virulence genes that may be acquired by human strains. Many types of bacteria produce extracellular surface fibers like ECP enabling them to adhere to one another as well as to various surfaces.
The new research demonstrates--for the first time--the prevalence of ecpa a gene coding for a major structural subunit of ECP in a majority APEC sequences examined.
and outside of the host and provides an ideal environment for the exchange of genetic material.
Deletion of ECP-related genes was shown to reduce biofilm production. Finally the study attempted to evaluate APEC virulence in baby chicks using strains with deleted ECP genes.
Results show a reduction in virulence. In fact the potential for colonization among the ECP deletion strains was reduced particularly in the bloodstream.
although the gene of ECP was found in a large number of APEC these bacteria express this gene differently
Elucidating how the expression of some genes is turned on or off by different factors will help us understand how these bacteria cause disease.
which is used to amplify desired regions of genetic material for further research. A major advantage of this method is that it can be completed in less than three hours
To demonstrate the utility of the protocol Avanesyan successfully amplified the DNA of a noncoding region of a plant chloroplast gene
That the major causes of annual losses include pests (e g. the Varroa mite) pathogens (e g. viruses that these mites carry) and the need for research and advancements in management techniques available for large-scale apiaries
the toll of agricultural intensification on this semi-free ranging managed species and the confounding pressure of viruses spread through Varroa mites and the burden of these viruses and mites at the individual bee and colony level.
The genetic analyses were conducted as part of an international collaboration with the US NMFS Southwest Fisheries science Center and Oregon State university.
Safety testing in biological control is important as the release of natural enemies may pose some type of environmental risk.
The results are important as the wasp is being used for ACP biological control in Florida Texas the Caribbean Central and South america and Mexico.
These types of studies continue to advance the safety of biological control for suppressing populations of invasive pests thereby greatly reducing reliance on pesticides for control said Hoddle a biological control specialist in the Department of Entomology.
According to Hoddle such results demonstrate that carefully selected natural enemies used in biological control programs for invasive pests can be very safe
and biological control programs don't want to be causing additional problems through releasing inappropriate agents for the control of invasive pests Safety tests like those conducted in this study greatly minimize these risks.
and to discover that the Pakistani wasp will be a good natural enemy to use in California for the biological control of ACP.
#Herbicides may not be sole cause of declining plant diversitythe increasing use of chemical herbicides is blamed often for the declining plant biodiversity in farms.
The study's results have implications for biodiversity conservation efforts. Researchers from UT and the University of Arizona Tucson studied how forces such as volatile market conditions
and Evolutionary Biology and led by UA's Laura LÃ pez-Hoffman is the first to examine how bat ecosystem services change over time.
and the adoption of transgenic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis cotton which is modified to express its own pesticide the researchers found that the value of the pest control services dropped 79 percent from a high of $23. 96 million in 1990
whether or not it is economically worthwhile to conserve biodiversity. There is a worry that technological substitutes such as cloning
'Our study has shown that organic farming as an alternative to conventional farming can yield significant long-term benefits for biodiversity'said Sean Tuck of Oxford university's Department of Plant sciences lead author of the study.'
'There are many ways to study biodiversity and species richness is easy to measure providing a useful starting point.
because the biodiversity benefits of each organic farm will be diluted in clusters of organic farms compared to an organic island providing rich habitats in a sea of pesticide-covered conventional fields.
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