Rooting and acclimatization of the Japanese plum tree, cv. América

Rooting and acclimatization are limiting steps in plant micropropagation, especially in woody plant species. This study aimed to evaluate the IAA and IBA effect on the in vitro rooting and acclimatization of micropropagated shoots of Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) cv. América. Shoots from 3 to 4 cm long were inoculated in MS medium with half salt and vitamin concentrations (MS/2) added with IAA and IBA (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 mg L-1). After a 20-day period in in vitro cultivation, the shoots were evaluated, and then transferred to a greenhouse, and evaluated after 30 days. At the end of the in vitro cultivation period, no significant interactions were observed for number of roots per shoot and rooting percentage, but a significant effect was recorded for auxin type only, for which shoots grown in media added with IBA showed high values - 0.87 and 41.95%, respectively. A linear increase response from 1.45 to 5.75 cm was verified for root length of shoots cultivated in IBA medium; however, no significant effect was observed, and a 0.86 cm average root length per shoot grown in medium added with IAA was found. After 30 days of acclimatization period, the largest survival percentage was obtained from shoots cultivated in medium with 1 mg L-1 of IBA and IAA (88% and 92%, respectively). Although, IBA provided the highest in vitro rooting, most of the surviving shoots were those originated in IAA-added medium, probably because IBA promoted longer fibrous roots, less appropriate for transplant and soil fixation, as they are easily damaged. It was concluded that in vitro rooting with the addition of the highest IAA concentration (1 mg L-1) provided the greatest plant survival during the acclimatization period of the Japanese plum cv. América.

In vitro culture of Spondias mombin L. nodal segments

Spondias mombin L. shoot cultures were initiated from nodal explants taken from plants propagated by seeds. Explants coming from 4-6 months old plants, previously disinfected, were cultivated on WPM medium supplemented with a wide range of concentrations of BAP (0.0, 0.22, 0.44, 2.22 and 4.44 muM) and NAA (0.0, 0.27 and 2.70 muM). After four weeks, the responses obtained were axillary shoot and root formation. The first response were preferentially induced with the medium containing only BAP, regardless of the BAP concentration. The addition of NAA on medium reduced significantly axillary shoot formation and induced rhizogenesis. Roots were formed on nodal explant basis, preferentially on medium supplemented with 4.44 muM NAA. The medium supplemented with BAP reduced significantly root formation.

Effect of pectinolitic enzymes on the physical properties of caja-manga (Spondias cytherea Sonn.) pulp

Cajá-manga, also known as golden apple and hog-plum, is an exotic fruit native from Îles de la Société (French Polynesia), which was first introduced in Brazil in 1985. The pulp of ripe fruit was treated with the commercial enzymatic pool and its effect was evaluated in terms of yield, as well as the physical properties viscosity, turbidity and color (L* values). Response surface methodology was used and three levels were adopted for the independent variables temperature (30, 40, and 50 ºC), incubation time (30, 60 and 90 minutes) and enzyme concentration (0.01, 0.05, 0.09 v/v%). A central composite statistical design was used to guide the experimental work. The enzyme treatment highly increased both juice yield (up to 56%) and color (up to 8.6%) and strongly decreased viscosity (up to 57.4%), clarity (up to 77%) and turbidity (up to 85.5%). Incubation time was the most interacting facto, whereas temperature was the least one. Optimization analysis was carried out to reduce enzyme concentration to a minimum by superposing the contour plots of the tested properties, and the recommended ranges of the variables enzyme concentration, process temperature and incubation time were, respectively, 0.042-0.068%, 47.0-49.0 ºC and 82-90 minutes.

Glycemic index and glycemic load of tropical fruits and the potential risk for chronic diseases

The objective was to determine the glycemic index and glycemic load of tropical fruits and the potential risk for chronic diseases. Nine fruits were investigated: coconut water (for the purpose of this study, coconut water was classified as a “fruit”), guava, tamarind, passion fruit, custard apple, hog plum, cashew, sapodilla, and soursop. The GI and GL were determined according to the Food and Agriculture Organization protocol. The GL was calculated taking into consideration intake recommendation guidelines; 77.8% of the fruits had low GI although significant oscillations were observed in some graphs, which may indicate potential risks of disease. Coconut water and custard apple had a moderate GI, and all fruits had low GL. The fruits evaluated are healthy and can be consumed following the daily recommended amount. However, caution is recommended with fruits causing early glycemic peak and the fruits with moderated GI (coconut water and custard apple).

Effect of pectinolitic enzymes on the physical properties of caja-manga (Spondias cytherea Sonn.) pulp

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

EC28-36 Spraying Tree Fruits (Revised March 1932)

The production of sound, clean fruit is unquestionably one of the major problems facing the modern fruit grower. Culture may be neglected and pruning delayed for a time but the omission of sprays for even a single season demonstrates their absolute necessity. This applies equally to the commercial grower and to the farmer or gardener who has only a few trees. Spray materials, equipment, management, schedules, insect pests and orchard diseases are discussed in this 1928 extension circular.

Hog cholera : diagnostic aspects : a bibliography /

Mode of access: Internet.

De Novo Assembly And Transcriptome Analysis Of The Rubber Tree (hevea Brasiliensis) And Snp Markers Development For Rubber Biosynthesis Pathways.

Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. Ex Adr. Juss.) Muell.-Arg. is the primary source of natural rubber that is native to the Amazon rainforest. The singular properties of natural rubber make it superior to and competitive with synthetic rubber for use in several applications. Here, we performed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of H. brasiliensis bark on the Illumina GAIIx platform, which generated 179,326,804 raw reads on the Illumina GAIIx platform. A total of 50,384 contigs that were over 400 bp in size were obtained and subjected to further analyses. A similarity search against the non-redundant (nr) protein database returned 32,018 (63%) positive BLASTx hits. The transcriptome analysis was annotated using the clusters of orthologous groups (COG), gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Pfam databases. A search for putative molecular marker was performed to identify simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In total, 17,927 SSRs and 404,114 SNPs were detected. Finally, we selected sequences that were identified as belonging to the mevalonate (MVA) and 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathways, which are involved in rubber biosynthesis, to validate the SNP markers. A total of 78 SNPs were validated in 36 genotypes of H. brasiliensis. This new dataset represents a powerful information source for rubber tree bark genes and will be an important tool for the development of microsatellites and SNP markers for use in future genetic analyses such as genetic linkage mapping, quantitative trait loci identification, investigations of linkage disequilibrium and marker-assisted selection.

Leaf-, Panel- And Latex-expressed Sequenced Tags From The Rubber Tree (hevea Brasiliensis) Under Cold-stressed And Suboptimal Growing Conditions: The Development Of Gene-targeted Functional Markers For Stress Response.

Hevea brasiliensis is a native species of the Amazon Basin of South America and the primary source of natural rubber worldwide. Due to the occurrence of South American Leaf Blight disease in this area, rubber plantations have been extended to suboptimal regions. Rubber tree breeding is time-consuming and expensive, but molecular markers can serve as a tool for early evaluation, thus reducing time and costs. In this work, we constructed six different cDNA libraries with the aim of developing gene-targeted molecular markers for the rubber tree. A total of 8,263 reads were assembled, generating 5,025 unigenes that were analyzed; 912 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) represented new transcripts, and two sequences were highly up-regulated by cold stress. These unigenes were scanned for microsatellite (SSR) regions and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). In total, 169 novel EST-SSR markers were developed; 138 loci were polymorphic in the rubber tree, and 98 % presented transferability to six other Hevea species. Locus duplication was observed in H. brasiliensis and other species. Additionally, 43 SNP markers in 13 sequences that showed similarity to proteins involved in stress response, latex biosynthesis and developmental processes were characterized. cDNA libraries are a rich source of SSR and SNP markers and enable the identification of new transcripts. The new markers developed here will be a valuable resource for linkage mapping, QTL identification and other studies in the rubber tree and can also be used to evaluate the genetic variability of other Hevea species, which are valuable assets in rubber tree breeding.

Environmental Controls In The Water Use Patterns Of A Tropical Cloud Forest Tree Species, Drimys Brasiliensis (winteraceae).

Trees from tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) display very dynamic patterns of water use. They are capable of downwards water transport towards the soil during leaf-wetting events, likely a consequence of foliar water uptake (FWU), as well as high rates of night-time transpiration (Enight) during drier nights. These two processes might represent important sources of water losses and gains to the plant, but little is known about the environmental factors controlling these water fluxes. We evaluated how contrasting atmospheric and soil water conditions control diurnal, nocturnal and seasonal dynamics of sap flow in Drimys brasiliensis (Miers), a common Neotropical cloud forest species. We monitored the seasonal variation of soil water content, micrometeorological conditions and sap flow of D. brasiliensis trees in the field during wet and dry seasons. We also conducted a greenhouse experiment exposing D. brasiliensis saplings under contrasting soil water conditions to deuterium-labelled fog water. We found that during the night D. brasiliensis possesses heightened stomatal sensitivity to soil drought and vapour pressure deficit, which reduces night-time water loss. Leaf-wetting events had a strong suppressive effect on tree transpiration (E). Foliar water uptake increased in magnitude with drier soil and during longer leaf-wetting events. The difference between diurnal and nocturnal stomatal behaviour in D. brasiliensis could be attributed to an optimization of carbon gain when leaves are dry, as well as minimization of nocturnal water loss. The leaf-wetting events on the other hand seem important to D. brasiliensis water balance, especially during soil droughts, both by suppressing tree transpiration (E) and as a small additional water supply through FWU. Our results suggest that decreases in leaf-wetting events in TMCF might increase D. brasiliensis water loss and decrease its water gains, which could compromise its ecophysiological performance and survival during dry periods.

Tree structure and richness in an Atlantic Forest fragment: distance from anthropogenic and natural edges

Approximately 7.2% of the Atlantic rainforest remains in Brazil, with only 16% of this forest remaining in the State of Rio de Janeiro, all of it distributed in fragments. This forest fragmentation can produce biotic and abiotic differences between edges and the fragment interior. In this study, we compared the structure and richness of tree communities in three habitats - an anthropogenic edge (AE), a natural edge (NE) and the fragment interior (FI) - of a fragment of Atlantic forest in the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (22°50'S and 42°28'W). One thousand and seventy-six trees with a diameter at breast height > 4.8 cm, belonging to 132 morphospecies and 39 families, were sampled in a total study area of 0.75 ha. NE had the greatest basal area and the trees in this habitat had the greatest diameter:height allometric coefficient, whereas AE had a lower richness and greater variation in the height of the first tree branch. Tree density, diameter, height and the proportion of standing dead trees did not differ among the habitats. There was marked heterogeneity among replicates within each habitat. These results indicate that the forest interior and the fragment edges (natural or anthropogenic) do not differ markedly considering the studied parameters. Other factors, such as the age from the edge, type of matrix and proximity of gaps, may play a more important role in plant community structure than the proximity from edges.

Mixed rain forest in southeastern Brazil: tree species regeneration and floristic relationships in a remaining stretch of forest near the city of Itaberá, Brazil

The aim of this work was to evaluate the floristic composition, richness, and diversity of the upper and lower strata of a stretch of mixed rain forest near the city of Itaberá, in southeastern Brazil. We also investigated the differences between this conservation area and other stretches of mixed rain forest in southern and southeastern Brazil, as well as other nearby forest formations, in terms of their floristic relationships. For our survey of the upper stratum (diameter at breast height [DBH] > 15 cm), we established 50 permanent plots of 10 × 20 m. Within each of those plots, we designated five, randomly located, 1 × 1 m subplots, in order to survey the lower stratum (total height > 30 cm and DBH < 15 cm). In the upper stratum, we sampled 1429 trees and shrubs, belonging to 134 species, 93 genera, and 47 families. In the lower stratum, we sampled 758 trees and shrubs, belonging to 93 species, 66 genera, and 39 families. In our floristic and phytosociological surveys, we recorded 177 species, belonging to 106 genera and 52 families. The Shannon Diversity Index was 4.12 and 3.5 for the upper and lower strata, respectively. Cluster analysis indicated that nearby forest formations had the strongest floristic influence on the study area, which was therefore distinct from other mixed rain forests in southern Brazil and in the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range.

Two mistletoes are too many?: Interspecific occurrence of mistletoes on the same host tree

Mistletoe can have a major impact on the fitness of the host plant. If there is more than one species of mistletoe on the same host tree, the overall impact might be amplified. We report the occurrence of more than one species of mistletoe on the same host tree. Although it is not a rule in the field, to our knowledge, there have been no studies of this topic. In most cases, two species of mistletoe were recorded on the same host tree, although we recorded three species of mistletoe on one occasion. This demonstrates that different species of mistletoe can be compatible with the same host species. Therefore, compatibility (structural and physiological) might be an important factor for the occurrence of mistletoe. Recent studies have shown that if the mistletoe does not recognize the host species, the deposited seeds will germinate but the haustorium will not penetrate the host branch. This is probably the primary mechanism in the establishment of more than one species of mistletoe on the same host, which can trigger a cascade of harmful effects for the host species.

Reserve carbohydrates and lipids from the seeds of four tropical tree species with different sensitivity to desiccation

Considering the importance of water content for the conservation and storage of seeds, and the involvement of soluble carbohydrates and lipids for embryo development, a comparative study was carried out among the seeds of Inga vera (ingá), Eugenia uniflora (pitanga), both classified as recalcitrant, and Caesalpinia echinata (brazilwood) and Erythrina speciosa (mulungu), considered as orthodox seeds. Low concentrations of cyclitols (0.3-0.5%), raffinose family oligosaccharides (ca. 0.05%) and unsaturated fatty acids (0-19%) were found in the seeds of ingá and pitanga, while larger amounts of cyclitols (2-3%) and raffinose (4.6-13%) were found in brazilwood and mulungu, respectively. These results, in addition to higher proportions of unsaturated fatty acids (53-71%) in orthodox seeds, suggested that sugars and lipids played important role in water movement, protecting the embryo cell membranes against injuries during dehydration.

Karyotypic analyses and morphological comments on the endemic and endangered Brazilian painted tree rat Callistomys pictus (Rodentia, Echimyidae)

The genus Callistomys belongs to the rodent family Echimyidae, subfamily Echimyinae, and its only living representative is Callistomys pictus, a rare and vulnerable endemic species of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Callistomys has been previously classified as Nelomys, Loncheres, Isothrix and Echimys. In this paper we present the karyotype of Callistomys pictus, including CBG and GTG-banding patterns and silver staining of the nucleolus organizer regions (Ag-NORs). Comments on Callistomys pictus morphological traits and a compilation of Echimyinae chromosomal data are also included. Our analyses revealed that Callistomys can be recognized both by its distintinctive morphology and by its karyotype.