A Study of the Weather Variability Influence on Occurrence and Damages of Mononychellus tanajoa Bonder (Acarina: Tetranychidae) on Selected Cassava Varieties in the Lake Zone, Tanzania

The AGPase (ADP-Glucose pyrophosphorylase) is one of the ubiquitous enzymes catalyzing the first step in starch biosynthesis. It plays an important role in regulation and adjusts the speed of the entire cycle of glycogen biosynthesis in bacteria and starch in plants. In higher plants, it is a heterotetramer and tetrameric enzyme consisting two large subunits (AGPL) and two small subunits (AGPS) and encoded by two genes. In this paper, both AGPS and AGPL genes were sucessfully isolated from cassava varieties KM140 and deposited in Genbank with accession numbers KU243124 (AGPS) and KU243122 (AGPL), these two genes were fused with P2a and inserted into plant expression vector pBI121 under the control of 35S promoter. The efficient of this construct was tested in transgenic N. tabacum. The presence and expression of AGPS and AGPL in transgenic plants were confirmed by PCR and Western hybridization. The starch content was quantified by the Anthrone method. Transgenic plant analysis indicated that that two targeted genes were expressed simultaneously in several transgenic tobacco lines under the control of CaMV 35S promoter. The starch contents in 4 analyzed tobacco transgenic lines displays the increase 13-116% compared to WT plants. These results indicated that the co-expression of AGPS and AGPL is one of effective strategies for enhanced starch production in plant. These results can provide a foundation for developing other genetically modified crops to increase starch accumulation capacity.

Download Full-text

Cyclonic and anticyclonic contributions to atmospheric energetics

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-92548-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Satoru Okajima ◽

Hisashi Nakamura ◽

Yohai Kaspi

Keyword(s):

Storm Track ◽

Mean Flow ◽

Weather Variability ◽

Jet Streams ◽

Near Surface ◽

Westerly Jet ◽

Track Dynamics ◽

New Findings ◽

Atmospheric Energetics ◽

Thermally Driven

AbstractMigratory cyclones and anticyclones account for most of the day-to-day weather variability in the extratropics. These transient eddies act to maintain the midlatitude jet streams by systematically transporting westerly momentum and heat. Yet, little is known about the separate contributions of cyclones and anticyclones to their interaction with the westerlies. Here, using a novel methodology for identifying cyclonic and anticyclonic vortices based on curvature, we quantify their separate contributions to atmospheric energetics and their feedback on the westerly jet streams as represented in Eulerian statistics. We show that climatological westerly acceleration by cyclonic vortices acts to dominantly reinforce the wintertime eddy-driven near-surface westerlies and associated cyclonic shear. Though less baroclinic and energetic, anticyclones still play an important role in transporting westerly momentum toward midlatitudes from the upper-tropospheric thermally driven jet core and carrying eddy energy downstream. These new findings have uncovered essential characteristics of atmospheric energetics, storm track dynamics and eddy-mean flow interaction.

Download Full-text

An increasing role of pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles funestus in malaria transmission in the Lake Zone, Tanzania

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-92741-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nancy S. Matowo ◽

Jackline Martin ◽

Manisha A. Kulkarni ◽

Jacklin F. Mosha ◽

Eliud Lukole ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Malaria Transmission ◽

Anopheles Funestus ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

North West ◽

Vector Population ◽

Lake Zone ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets ◽

Study District

AbstractAnopheles funestus is playing an increasing role in malaria transmission in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, where An. gambiae s.s. has been effectively controlled by long-lasting insecticidal nets. We investigated vector population bionomics, insecticide resistance and malaria transmission dynamics in 86 study clusters in North-West Tanzania. An. funestus s.l. represented 94.5% (4740/5016) of all vectors and was responsible for the majority of malaria transmission (96.5%), with a sporozoite rate of 3.4% and average monthly entomological inoculation rate (EIR) of 4.57 per house. Micro-geographical heterogeneity in species composition, abundance and transmission was observed across the study district in relation to key ecological differences between northern and southern clusters, with significantly higher densities, proportions and EIR of An. funestus s.l. collected from the South. An. gambiae s.l. (5.5%) density, principally An. arabiensis (81.1%) and An. gambiae s.s. (18.9%), was much lower and closely correlated with seasonal rainfall. Both An. funestus s.l. and An. gambiae s.l. were similarly resistant to alpha-cypermethrin and permethrin. Overexpression of CYP9K1, CYP6P3, CYP6P4 and CYP6M2 and high L1014S-kdr mutation frequency were detected in An. gambiae s.s. populations. Study findings highlight the urgent need for novel vector control tools to tackle persistent malaria transmission in the Lake Region of Tanzania.

Download Full-text