Generisch-serielle De-Konstruktionen in Bates Motel zwischen historischer Reimagination und seriengenetischer Neuperspektivierung

ZusammenfassungBates Motel erzählt die Geschichte des 17-jährigen Norman Bates und seiner Mutter Norma Bates, die es nach dem Tod des Vaters in eine Kleinstadt an der Westküste von Oregon verschlägt. Abseits des städtischen Zentrums beziehen Mutter und Sohn ein viktorianisches Haus auf dem Hügel und renovieren das zugehörige, etwas heruntergekommene Motel, das sie als ‚Bates Motel‘ neueröffnen. Die als Prequel zu Psycho angelegte Serie verlagert die Handlung von Psycho aus der kalifornischen Kleinstadt Fairevale an den Küstenort White Pine Bay.

Slate-red tarantula (Poecilotheria rufilata) in the Western Ghats, India

The Slate-red tree spider (or tarantula), Poecilotheria rufilata Pocock, 1899 is an extremely rare, endemic, little known tarantula described based on a female specimen from Thiruvananthapuram Kerala, India. This arboreal tree spider is mostly found in dead red pine, jack fruit, and white pine trees and recorded from Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve, Peppara Dam, Kallar, and Ponmudi areas between 900–1200 m elevations in Kerala. It is morphologically similar to P. ornata Pocock, 1899, which is distributed in Sri Lanka.

Quantitative Disease Resistance to White Pine Blister Rust at Southwestern White Pine’s (Pinus strobiformis) Northern Range

White pine blister rust, caused by the non-native, invasive fungal pathogen Cronartium ribicola, is a significant cause of mortality in white pines (Pinus subgenus Strobus) in North America. Along with climate-driven range contraction, mortality from blister rust can seriously impact the abundance and distribution of the nine white pine species native to the United States and Canada. Very little evaluation of this disease in southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis) has been previously undertaken, but genetic resistance to the disease has been documented, including major gene resistance (MGR) conferred by a dominant R gene. Data is emerging suggesting that the species also has quantitative disease resistance (QR). Our results suggest QR occurs at low frequency, with perhaps 10% of trees having a moderate level (> 35% survival). We assessed progeny arrays from 40 P. strobiformis families (1873 seedlings), originating from three populations, inoculated with C. ribicola. Subsequently, the seedlings were assessed for signs, symptoms and resulting impact in a common garden trial over a 7.5-year period to determine the types and frequency of resistance in a portion of this species’ range. There was a high incidence of both stem symptoms and mortality in the P. strobiformis families tested, and families ranged in survival from 0 to 84.6%. Three families had > 70% survival, representing perhaps the highest documented QR to date in a North American white pine species. Approximately 29.1% of the 441 surviving seedlings showed no stem symptoms, and of the approximately 70.8% of seedlings surviving with infections only few (24 of 316) had infections of moderate to high severity. QR traits associated with improved survival were primarily related to lower severity of infection, a reduced number of stem symptoms, and an increased number of bark reactions. Despite the high overall susceptibility, the presence of QR appears to be at a frequency and level useful to forest managers involved in restoration and reforestation efforts.