Genetic Variation in Native and Introduced Populations of Tropical Soda Apple (Solanum viarum)

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1120-1124
Author(s):  
Brian R. Kreiser ◽  
Charles T. Bryson ◽  
Shaharra J. Usnick

Tropical soda apple samples were collected from 31 populations across the southeastern United States and from four populations in a portion of its native range in Brazil. The genetic relationships among these populations were examined by single primer amplification reactions (SPAR) and by sequencing a portion of the chloroplast genome. SPAR revealed no variation among the 132 individuals and only two chloroplast haplotypes were detected in the 50 individuals sequenced. The most common haplotype was present in all samples from the United States and most of the Brazilian samples, whereas the second haplotype was only found in one of the Brazilian populations. Within the limitations of these data, we conclude that Brazil is the best location to seek a potential biological control agent for tropical soda apple, and that, if identified, this agent should prove useful for populations throughout the United States.

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 111-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Ganjisaffar ◽  
Elijah J. Talamas ◽  
Marie-Claude Bon ◽  
Brian V. Brown ◽  
Lisa Gonzalez ◽  
...  

TrissolcushyalinipennisRajmohana & Narendran is an Old World egg parasitoid ofBagradahilaris(Burmeister). Its potential as a classical biological control agent in the United States has been under evaluation in quarantine facilities since 2014. A survey of resident egg parasitoids using fresh sentinelB.hilariseggs in Riverside, California, revealed thatT.hyalinipennisis present in the wild. Four cards with parasitized eggs were recovered, from which one yielded a single liveT.hyalinipennisand two unidentified dead wasps (Scelionidae), and three yielded twenty liveTrissolcusbasalis(Wollaston) and one dead wasp. Subsequently, samples from Burbank, California, collected with a Malaise trap as part of the BioSCAN project, yielded five females ofT.hyalinipennis. It is presumed that the introduction ofT.hyalinipennisto this area was accidental. Surveys will be continued to evaluate the establishment ofT.hyalinipennisas well as the presence of other resident parasitoid species.


Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2083 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. K. LOPATIN ◽  
A. S. KONSTANTINOV

Two new genera from China (Taumaceroides Lopatin and Yunnaniata Lopatin) and 11 new species (Smaragdina quadrimaculata Lopatin, S. oblongum Lopatin, Hyphaenia volkovitshi Lopatin, Arthrotus daliensis Lopatin, Taumaceroides sinicus Lopatin, Yunnaniata konstantinovi Lopatin, Calomicrus yunnanus Lopatin, C. minutissimus Lopatin, Hermaeophaga belkadavi Konstantinov, H. dali Konstantinov from China, and H. korotyaevi Konstantinov from South Korea) are described and illustrated. A key to Hermaeophaga species of Eurasia is presented. Since Hermaeophaga dali was collected feeding on Paederia foetida L. (Rubiaceae), which is an invasive noxious weed in the United States, this species has potential as a biological control agent of this weed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 87 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thao D. Tran ◽  
Celia Del Cid ◽  
Robert Hnasko ◽  
Lisa Gorski ◽  
Jeffery A. McGarvey

ABSTRACT Listeria monocytogenes is a foodborne pathogen that causes high rates of hospitalization and mortality in people infected. Contamination of fresh, ready to eat produce by this pathogen is especially troubling because of the ability of this bacterium to grow on produce under refrigeration temperatures. In this study, we created a library of over 8,000 plant phyllosphere-associated bacteria and screened them for the ability to inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes in an in vitro fluorescence-based assay. One isolate, later identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ALB65, was able to inhibit the fluorescence of L. monocytogenes by >30-fold in vitro. B. amyloliquefaciens ALB65 was also able to grow, persist, and reduce the growth of L. monocytogenes by >1.5 log CFU on cantaloupe melon rinds inoculated with 5 × 103 CFU at 30°C and was able to completely inhibit its growth at temperatures below 8°C. DNA sequence analysis of the B. amyloliquefaciens ALB65 genome revealed six gene clusters that are predicted to encode genes for antibiotic production; however, no plant or human virulence factors were identified. These data suggest that B. amyloliquefaciens ALB65 is an effective and safe biological control agent for the reduction of L. monocytogenes growth on intact cantaloupe melons and possibly other types of produce. IMPORTANCE Listeria monocytogenes is estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to cause disease in approximately 1,600 to 2,500 people in the United States every year. The largest known outbreak of listeriosis in the United States was associated with intact cantaloupe melons in 2011, resulting in 147 hospitalizations and 33 deaths. In this study, we demonstrated that Bacillus amyloliquefaciens ALB65 is an effective biological control agent for the reduction of L. monocytogenes growth on intact cantaloupe melons under both pre- and postharvest conditions. Furthermore, we demonstrated that B. amyloliquefaciens ALB65 can completely inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes during cold storage (<8°C).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinglan Liu ◽  
Qing Bai ◽  
Meinan Wang ◽  
Yuxiang Li ◽  
Anmin Wan ◽  
...  

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst), is a devastating disease of wheat in the United States. The fungal pathogen can rapidly evolve, producing new virulent races infecting previously resistant cultivars and genotypes adapting to different environments. The objective of this study was to investigate the long-term population dynamics of Pst in the US. Through genotyping 1,083 isolates of 1968 to 2009 using 14 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and 92 secreted protein single nucleotide polymorphism (SP-SNP) markers, 614 and 945 genotypes were detected, respectively. In general, the two types of markers produced consistent genetic relationships among the Pst populations over the 40 years. The prior 2000 and 2000-2009 populations were significantly different, and the latter showed higher genotypic diversity and higher heterozygosity than the former populations. Clustering analyses using genotypes of either SSR and SP-SNP markers revealed three molecular groups (MGs), of which MG1 and MG2 existed in both the prior 2000 and 2000-2009 populations while MG3 mainly emerged in 2000 to 2009. Some of the isolates in the period of 2000-2009 formed individual clusters, suggesting exotic incursions; whereas other isolates of the same period were clustered together with prior-2000 isolates, indicating that they were developed from the previously established populations. The data suggest the co-existence of newly introduced populations with established populations in the United States. Twenty SP-SNP markers were significantly associated to individual avirulence genes. The results are useful for developing more accurate monitoring systems and provides guidance for the disease management.


EDIS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Eutychus Kariuki ◽  
Carey Minteer

Sometimes referred to as the ‘mottled water hyacinth weevil’, Neochetina eichhorniae Warner is a weevil that attacks the invasive, aquatic plant, water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. Water hyacinth is considered one of the most destructive plants in aquatic ecosystems in the United States and, as a result, is listed in both the federal noxious weed list and Florida’s list of prohibited aquatic plants. Neochetina eichhorniae is host specific and causes substantial damage to water hyacinth, making it a valuable biological control agent for this invasive weed in many parts of the world. The insect was first introduced into the United States from Argentina in 1972, when scientists released the insect in Broward County, Florida, to manage water hyacinth (Perkins 1973). Since then, the insect has been introduced in more than three dozen countries worldwide (Winston et al. 2014). Post-introduction studies indicate the insect substantially suppresses the growth of water hyacinth, significantly reducing biomass, flowers production, and water surface coverage (Grodowitz et al. 1991, Center et al. 1999, Tipping et al. 2014, Nesslage et al. 2016) and the need for herbicide applications (Haag 1986).


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