Easy DNA Extraction Protocol for Ricinus communis Seeds | InformativeBD

Ajmal Iqbal,  Waqar Ahmad,  Asaf Khan,  Murad Khan, and Mohammad Nisar, from the institute of Pakistan,. wrote a Research article about, Easy DNA Extraction Protocol for Ricinus communis Seeds. Entitled, User friendly DNA isolation protocol optimized for Ricinus communis L. seeds. This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB.  an open access scholarly research journal Biosciences. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

A protocol was developed to isolate high quality genomic DNA from the seeds of Ricinus communis L. (caster) without using liquid nitrogen.The DNA extraction buffer used in this novel protocol constitutes SDS (1%), Tris (1.21%), NaCl (0.58%), EDTA (0.32%), 0.12% and β–Mercaptoethanol witha pH 8.5. In the protocol 0.09g of crushed seeds of caster bean, 600ul of DNA extraction buffer and and 500ul of phenol: chloroform: iso-amylalcohol with a ratio of 25:24:1 were used. The isolated DNA was amplified in Polymerase Chain Reaction using RAPD and SSR primer sets. The primer set successfully amplified the isolated DNA. Hence, the protocol is recommended as a user friendly novel protocol for DNA isolation from the castor beans seeds.

Read more :  Detecting & Quantifying Viruliferous vs. Non-Viruliferous Polymyxa betae | InformativeBD 

Introduction

Ricinus communis L., commonly known as caster bean, is a member of the spurge family,Euphorbiaceae (Smith 1986). Ricinus is indigenous to tropical Asia and Africa, but today it is cultivated for seed oil throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Seo, 2011). The annual production of caster bean throughout the world is 460,000 tones. In Pakistan it is grown on 3204 ha and its annual production is 2089 tones, the average seed yield of caster bean in Pakistan is 652 kg ha-1 . This seed yield of Pakistan is very low (Anonymous, 2006). Oil derived from the seeds of caster has several potentials in many industries like medicine, and cosmetics (Akande, 2012). Castor bean seed oil is highly valued in several sectors of the chemical industry and is considered a bioenergy and phytoremediation resource in the subtropics (Baldanzi et al. 2005). Castor plant has a great drought tolerance due to deep root system with the ability to explore the deeper layers of soil, which helps increase aeration, water retention and distribution in soil (Embrapa et al., 2006).

The Preliminary Phytochemical study of Ricinus communis revealed the presence of steroids, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and glycosides (Kang, et al., 1985). The leaves of the Ricinus communis contain flavonoids, tannins and phenol (Yadav RNS & Agarwala M. 2011; Ilavarasan et al., 2006).

The isolation of high-quality DNA is prerequisite for any molecular biology work because contaminants such as proteins, polyphenols and polysaccharides may interfere with enzymes, such as endonuclease (in blotting techniques) and Taq polymerase in Polymerase Chain Reaction (Ausubel et al., 1994). The phenols covalently bind to proteins and DNA, giving the DNA a brown colour and making it useless for most research applications (Katterman & Shattuck, 1983; Guillemaut & Drouard, 1992, Aljanabi et al., 1999). Polyphenol contamination of DNA makes it resistant to restriction enzymes (Katterman & Shattuck, 1983).

Several methods for extracting DNA for different plant are available (Doyle and Doyle et al., 1990;

Khanuja et al., 1999; Kumar et al., 2003 Islam et al., 2013). In Pakistan no work has been done on the extraction of DNA from Ricinus species. Therefore the aim of the present study is to develop simple DNA extraction protocol from the seeds of six different varieties of Ricinus communis without liquid nitrogen and for further genome characterization using RAPD and SSR primers.

Reference

Akande TO, Odunsi AA, Olabode OS, Ojediran TK. 2012. Physical and Nutrient Characterisation of Raw and Processed Castor (Ricinuscommunis L.) Seeds in Nigeria. World Journal of Agricultural Sciences 8, 89-95.

Aljanabi SM, Forget L, Dookun A. 1999. An improved and rapid protocol for the isolation of polysaccharide and polyphenol free sugarcane DNA. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 17, 1–8. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1007692929505

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Baldanzi  M,  Fambrini  M,  Pugliesi  C.  2005. Redesign  of  the  castor  bean  plant  body  plan  for optimal combine harvesting. Annals of Applied Biology 142, 299-306. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7348.2003.tb00254.x

Barzegari A, Vahed SZ, Atashpaz S, Khani S, Omidi Y. 2010. Rapid and simple methodololgy for isolation of high quality genomic DNA from coniferous tissues (Taxus baccata). Molecular Biology Reporter 37, 833-837. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s1133-009-9634-z

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Embrapa-Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria 2006. Cultivo da mamona. Embrapa-CNPA, Algodao, Campina Grande, Sistemas de Produçao 4-2.

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Guillemaut P, Drouard ML. 1992. Isolation of plant DNA: fast, inexpensive, and reliable method. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 10, 60–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2010.08.009

Ilavarasan  R,  Mallika  M,  Venkataraman  S. 2006. Anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging activity of Ricinus communis root extract Journal of Ethnopharmacology 103, 478 – 480. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2005.07.029

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Katterman FRH, Shattuck VL. 1983. An effective method of DNA isolation from the mature leaves of Gossypium  species  that  contain  large  amounts  of phenolic terpenoids and tannins. Preparative Biochemistry 13, 347–359. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00327488308068177

Khanuja SPS, Shasany AK, Darokar MP, Kumar S. 1999. Rapid isolation of DNA from dry and fresh samples of plants producing large amounts of secondary metabolites and essential oils.Plant molecular biology Reporter 17, 1 – 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1007528101452

Kumar A, Pushpangadan P, Mehrotra S. 2003. Extraction of high molecular weight DNA from dry root tissue of Berberis lycium suitable for RAPD. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 21, 309a-309d http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02772807

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Purohit AR, Verma PU, Patel NJ. 2012. Rapid and Efficient Procedure for Isolation of High Yielding DNA from Castor (Ricinus communis L.). International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications 2, 1–4.

Seo K, Lee G, Ma K, Hyun D, Park Y, Jung J, Lee S, Gwag J, Kim C, Lee M. 2011. Isolation and Characterization of 28 Polymorphic SSR Loci from Castor Bean (Ricinus communis L.). Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology 14, 97 – 103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12892-010-0107-7

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Article source : User friendly DNA isolation protocol optimized for Ricinus communis L. seeds 

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Detecting & Quantifying Viruliferous vs. Non-Viruliferous Polymyxa betae | InformativeBD

Fatemeh Hassanzadeh Davarani, Saeed Rezaee,  Seyed Bagher Mahmoudi, Peyman Norouzi, and Mohammad Reza Safarnejad, from the institute of Iran. wrote a Research article about, Detecting & Quantifying Viruliferous vs. Non-Viruliferous Polymyxa betae. Entitled, Identification and quantification of viruliferous and non- viruliferous Polymyxa betae. This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB. an open access scholarly research journal Biosciences. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

Rhizomania, caused by Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus (BNYVV) is transmitted by plasmodiophorid Polymyxa betae. To investigate quantification of virulifeous and non- viruliferous P. betae isolates, different techniques including serological method (DAS- ELISA), PCR- based method and nanobiocensor method have been used. For this purpose, sugar beet susceptible cultivar (Regina) was cultivated in soils of different regions in greenhouse conditions. Six weeks after planting, lateral roots of beets from each soil were visually tested through microscopy and the of P. betae cystosori was seen and the lateral root sap was prepared. Then DAS- ELISA with polyclonal antibody against recombinant expressed fungal glutathione-s- transferase isolates of Shiraz was optimized. Optical density of different samples were calculated for both the vector and the virus using ELISA method. Simultaneously, confirmation of quantitative estimation P. betae in lateral root was conducted by nanobiosensor against vector. Nanobiosensor method was performed based on Florescent Resonance Transfer Energy (FRET) using antibody attached quantom dots and GST conjugated rhodamine. Microscopic results show presence of vector in all soils. BNYVV was found in soils Fars, Khorasan, Hamadan and Kermanshah. In soils of Azarbayjan, Gorgan, Dezfool, Kerman, Karaj and Arak were found no virus. Values of optical density of P. betae in soils with and without virus have no significantly difference. Because of high speed and sensitivity of nanobiosensor, its use for quantitative estimation of P. betae has been advised.

Read more :  Phytochemical & Antioxidant Profiles of Local and HYV Rice in Bangladesh | InformativeBD 

Introduction

The protist Polymyxa betae Keskin is an obligate parasite of sugarbeet roots and the plasmodiophorid vector of Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus (BNYVV), which causes rhizomania disease. P. betae is found in almost all soils where sugarbeet is grown, spreading from plant to plant by means of motile zoospores and survive in the soil for many years in the form of thicked-wall resting spores or cystosori (Rush, 2003). Despite its ubiquitous distribution and parasitic habitat, P. betae is generally considered to cause relatively little damage in temperate climates, although it may be pathogenic in areas of the world where sugarbeet is grown in warm soils (Blunt et al., 1991). In contrast, rhizomania disease causes severe economic losses in many countries and is spreading into new regions (McGrann et al, 2009). In Iran, it was reported from the Fars province in 1996 and is now found in nearly all sugarbeet-growing areas of the country (Izadpanah et al., 1996; Sohi and Maleki 2004). P. betae, the sole vector of BNYVV, has attracted increasing attention in recent years in Iran, because its distribution and behavior determine the incidence and severity of the disease. However, because it is an obligate parasite, epidemiological studies, and the search for potential sources of host resistance to P. betae, have required bioassays procedures, the evaluation of which can only be achieved by lengthy and laborious microscopic examination of roots (Mutassa-Gottgens et al., 2000 ).

Traditional methods to detect and quantify vector and virus in soil are based on bait plant bioassays using soil dilutions to estimate the most probable numbers (MPN) of infective propagules (Tuitert, 1990). These methods are expensive and time-consuming, taking more than 8 weeks to complete for a single soil sample. There was a need to develop a rapid, accurate and specific detection and quantification method for the P. betae in roots. DNA-based tests were developed which were able to identify the presence or absence of P. betae within the plan, but unable to quantify the relative amounts of the pathogen. Another limitation of DNA-based tests is that they cannot determine if the parasite is alive or dead (Kingsnorth et al., 2000). Serological tests that recognize proteins, which can be less stable than DNA, may also be able to distinguish between viable and nonviable cells. Using ELISA as a detection method has the main advantage that amounts of protein can be quantified. Also, it is relatively quick and easy, without the need for expensive laboratory equipment, and it can be automated for rapid on-line testing. Polyclonal antibodies have been used in ELISA tests for Spongospora subterranea (Merz et al., 2005), P. betae (Mutassa-Gottgens et al., 2000 and Kingsnorth et al., 2003a), Polymyxa. graminis (Delfosse et al., 2000) and Plasmodiophora brassica (Wakeham and White 1996). All authors reported a (semi-) quantitative detection of resting spores in plant material and soil samples.

Glutathione-S-transferase (GST), a specific immunogenic protein, is a critical enzyme expressed in P. betae`s zoospores, sporangia and resting spores and could be regarded as a good candidate for the development of the biobase of antibody and nanobiosensor. In fact, the pathogen expresses GST at high levels to overcome host defense mechanisms (Mutasa et al., 2000). Antibody to P. betae has been developed in Iran recently (Safarpour et al., 2012a) and is widely available for quantitative detection of it. One of the most important nanomaterials is fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs) which have been widely used for disease diagnosis (Frasco and Chaniotakis, 2009). QDs have a number of unique optical properties that are advantageous in the development of bio-analyses based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) (Algar and Krull, 2007). QDs have been reportedly used as biosensors by coating them with specific antibodies against various pathogenic agents such as E. coli O157:H7 (Hahn et al., 2008). Moreover, a quantum dots FRET-based nanobiosensor for efficient detection of P. betae was developed in Iran (Safarpour et al., 2012b). The purpose of this study was to identify and quantify viruliferous and nonviruliferous P. betae isolates in different sugarbeet cultivation of Iran firstly using serological and nanobiosensore methods that recently were developed in Iran and PCR- based method.

Reference

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Delfosse P, Reddy AS, Legrève A, Thirumala Devi K, Abdurahman MD, Maraite H, Reddy DVR. 2000. Serological Methods for Detection of Polymyxa graminis, an Obligate Root Parasite and Vector of Plant Viruses Phytopathology 90, 537- 545.

Frasco MF, Chaniotakis N. 2009 Semiconductor quantum dots in chemical sensors and biosensors. Sensors 9, 7266–7286. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s90907266

Hahn MA, Keng PC, Krauss TD. 2008. Flow cytometric analysis to detect pathogens in bacterial cell mixtures using semiconductor quantum dots. Anal Chemistry 80, 864- 872. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ac7018365

Izadpanah K, Hashemi P, Kamran R, Pakniat M, Sahandpour A, Masumi M. 1996 Widespread occurrence of rhizomania-like disease of sugar beet in Fars. Iranian Journal of Plant Pathology 32, 200– 206.

Kingsnorth CS, Asher MJC, Keane GJP, Chwarszczynska DM, Luterbacher MC, Mutasa-Gottgens ES. 2003. Development of a recombinant antibody ELISA test for the detection of Polymyxa betae and its use in resistance screening. Plant Pathology 52, 673–680.

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McGrann GRD, Grimmer MK, Mutasa-Gottgens EF, Steven M. 2009. Progress towards the understanding and control of sugar beet rhizomania disease. Molecular Plant Pathology 10, 129- 141. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1364-3703.2008.00514.x

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Meunier A, Schmit JF, Stas A, Kutluk N, Bragard C. 2003. Multiple reverse transcription – PCR for simultaneous detection of beet necrotic yellow vein virus, Beet soilborn virus , and Beet virus Q and their vector Polymyxa betae KESKIN on sugare beet. Applied Environmental Microbiology 69, 2356- 2360.

Mutasa ES, Chwarszczynska DM, Adams MJ, Ward E, Asher MJC. 1993. A sensitive DNA probe for the detection of Polymyxa betae in Sugar beet roots and its application in field Studies. Physiologic and Molecular Plant Pathology 47, 303-313.

Mutasa-Gottgens ES, Chwarszczynska DM, Halsey K, Asher MJC. 2000. Specific Polyclonal antibodies for the obligate plant parasite Polymyxa- a targeted recombinant DNA approaches. Plant Pathology 49, 276–287.

Pavli OL, Stevanato P, Biancardi E, Skaracis GN. 2011. Achievements and prospects in breeding for rhizomania resistance in sugar beet. Field Crops Research 122, 165- 172.

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Safarpour H, Safarnejad MR, Basirat M, Hasanzadeh F, Kamiab F. 2012a. Development of a specific serological kit for detection of Polymyxa betae, transmittingagent of sugar beet rhizomania disease. Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment 10, 729-732.

Safarpour H, Safarnejad MR, Tabatabaie M, Mohsenifar A, Rad F, Shahryari F, Hasanzadeh F. 2012b. Development of a quantum dots FRET-Based biosensor for efficient detection of Polymyxa betae. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology 34, 507–515.

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Wisler G, Lewellen R, Sears J, Wasson J, Liu H-Y. 2003. Intraction between Beet Necrotic Yellow Vein Virus and Beet Soilborn Mosaic Virus and their effect on virus levels in sugar beet. Proc. Symp. Int. Work. Group on Plant Viruses with Fungal Vectors, 5th.Denever: American Society of Sugar Beet Technology. pp. 56-59.

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Article source : Identification and quantification of viruliferous and non- viruliferous Polymyxa betae

 

 

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Phytochemical & Antioxidant Profiles of Local and HYV Rice in Bangladesh | InformativeBD

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Tushar Chandra Sarker, Md. Mostafizur Rahman, and Mohammad Firoz Alam,  from the institute of Bangladesh. wrote a Research article about, Phytochemical & Antioxidant Profiles of Local and HYV Rice in Bangladesh. Entitled, Screening of phytochemical compounds and antioxidant properties in local and HYV of Bangladeshi Rice (Oryza sativa L.). This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB. an open access scholarly research journal Biosciences. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

Naturally occurring antioxidant supplements from plants are vital to counter the oxidative damage in cells where consumption of whole grain plays a vital role. As a dietary supplement, antioxidant activities of five local and HYV rice (Kalijira, Chinigura, Hizoldigha, BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan29) of Bangladesh were examined through DPPH antioxidant assay. Methanol extract of bran, polished and unpolished grain of each genotype were used as a studied sample. Studied sample showed significant antioxidant activity. Where bran is more potent part of rice showed higher antioxidant properties compeering unpolished and polished grain. Unpolished grain also showed greatest result where polished grain showed less performance. Among different genotypes Kalijira bran is black in color and showed better scavenging activity with the IC50 value of 60.12 μg/ml. Hizoldigha unpolished grain is red in color and showed higher antioxidant properties (130.2 μg/ml) compeering other unpolished grain. IC50 value of the positive control as BHT was 37.35 μg/ml. The result of present investigation denotes that the studied genotypes possess moderate antioxidant activity where Kalijira bran bear high antioxidant compound and keep demand to more processing and recently is using for extracting edible oil commonly called as rice bran oil. Unconventional Hizoldigha grain also contain high antioxidant activity and can be considered as nutraceutical foods as staple food.

Read more : Growth, Sex Ratio & Fruit Yield of Juniperus excelsa in Mastuj Valley | InformativeBD 

Introduction

It is widely recognized that dietary ingredients have a dual role, one of them is nutritional and another is pharmaceuticals. So now it’s often called nutracuticals. In recent years, cereals and its ingredients are accepted as functional foods and nutraceuticals because of providing dietary fiber, proteins, energy, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants required for human health. Plant derived antioxidant such as ascorbic acid, tocopherols, carotenoids and phenolic compounds (polyphenols) (Choi et al., 2007), besides other bioactive compounds are reported to have antioxidants activity. Currently, synthetic antioxidants such as butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), propyl gallate (PG) and tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) are used under strict regulations because of their toxic effects on human enzyme systems (Hatate et al., 1990, Hattori et al., 1998). In contrast, natural antioxidants have attracted more and more interests because of their safety and wide distribution properties (Lewis, 1993).

The phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables are different from those in the grains, which contain tocotrienols and tocopherol, while rice is contain oryzanol (Lloyd et al., 2000). The phenolic like ferulic acid and diferulate are predominant in grains, but are not significant in some fruit and vegetables (Bunzel et al., 2001). Thus, the regular insertion of cereals and their processed products can make a payment to health endorsement and disease avoidance (Chaturvedi et al., 2011).

Rice, being one of the most produced and consumed cereals in the world (FAO, 1995), has an important role in the relation between the diet and health. Several compounds with antioxidant activity have been identified in rice, including phenolic compounds, tocopherols, tocotrienols and γ-oryzanol (Iqbal et al., 2005). Among them phenolic compounds is one of most important that are secondary metabolites of plants, with different activities such as protection against pathogens and predators, mechanical support, attraction of pollinating animals, and protection against ultraviolet radiation (Parr and Bolwell, 2000). Several phenolic compounds have already been identified in rice. The phenolic compounds are mainly associated with the pericarp in rice; hence, the milling process reduces the concentration of these compounds in the grain. Besides, grains with darker pericarp colour, such as red and black rice, contain higher amounts of polyphenols (Tian et al., 2004). The concentration of total phenolics in the grain has been positively associated with the antioxidant activity (Zhang et al., 2006).

Rice bran is an underutilized co-product from rice milling and generally used as animal feed, although it has long been considered an excellent source of vitamins and other nutrients. Bidlack (1999) has shown that rice bran may contain over 100 different antioxidants. Lloyd et al. (2000) also reported that, rice bran contains high amounts of beneficial antioxidants including tocopherols, tocotrienols, and oryzanols. It is also remarkable that, antioxidants containing level also depend on the type of rice (Gaydou et al., 1980). However if we see the rank of antioxidant rich food, than it will be clearer that the color fruits, vegetables, spices and nuts are more potent to show antioxidant activity than grain. But all of those are expansible and not edible as much as we need where rice is only foods that we take maximum amount per day and suitable for all classes of people. So if we could find out the high antioxidant compound containing rice genotypes and increase the amount of those phytochemicals in our daily diet rice, than it would be also beneficial like golden rice. Studied genotypes Kalijira and Chinigura are local aromatic varieties and small in size, Hizoldigha is low yielding local Amon varieties with red color pericarp and normally grown in deep water where BRRI dhan28 and BRRI dhan29 are modern transplanted high yielding varieties of Bangladesh.

The present investigation was designed to evaluate the phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of rice genotypes generally cultivated if Bangladesh and are important in different aspects. Here DPPH antioxidant assay was used to evaluate the antioxidant activity of selected sample because scavenging of DPPH radical is the basis of the popular DPPH antioxidant assay (Kordali et al., 2005).

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Article source : Screening of phytochemical compounds and antixidant properties in local and HYV of Bangladeshi Rice (Oryza sativa L.) 

 

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Growth, Sex Ratio & Fruit Yield of Juniperus excelsa in Mastuj Valley | InformativeBD

Syed Mukaram Shah, from the institute of Pakistan. Farrukh Hussain, from the institute of Pakistan and Musharaf Khan, from the institute of Pakistan. wrote a Research article about, Growth, Sex Ratio & Fruit Yield of Juniperus excelsa in Mastuj Valley. Entitled, Growth behaviour, sex ratio and fruit output of Juniperus excelsa in Mastuj valley, District Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan. This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB. an open access scholarly research journal Biosciences. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

Study was conducted to examine growth behaviour, sex ratio and seed output of Juniperus excelsa in various parts of Mastuj valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Pakistan. Average height, diameter and density of male, female and bisexual plants were determined. Seed output of female plants were found highest in Dodorghaz gol followed by Mastuj village and Ghuru gol. Number of fallen fruits were high in Dodorghaz gol followed by Mastuj village and Ghuru gol. Number of seedlings were high in Mastuj village followed by Ghuru gol and Dodorghaz gol. Soils were sandy loam and loamy sand with elements such as C, Ca, Mg, Si, Fe and K. These results strongly sustain genetically-determined sex ratios and a lack of major differences between males and females in growth behaviour and seed output which had been suggested by short-term studies elsewhere in the species’ range.

Read more : Nesting & Social Behavior of Wasps and Honey Bees in Mansehra | InformativeBD 

Introduction

Mastuj lies in between 36◦-3′ north latitude and 72◦-5′ east longitude towards the northeastern part of District Chitral bordering Northern areas and Afghanistan. The altitude of the area vary from 2200m-4000m. Climatically the area falls within dry temperate zone with mild summers and cold winters with snowfall. Topographically the area is bounded by mountains having scattered Juniperus forests. Ahmed et al (1990) sampled 60 monospecific stands of Juniperus excelsa at four locations in Balochistan and recorded density, basal area and height of individual. Soils were analysed for selected physical and chemical characteristics and the degree of disturbance due to logging and burning was also noted. Fisher and Gardner (1994) described the status and ecology of a Juniperus excelsa subsp. Polycarpos woodland in the northern mountains of Oman. Sarangzai (2000) described the population structure and natural regeneration potential of Juniperus excelsa in the northern Balochistan. Gauquelin et al (2002) studied the sex ratio and sexual dimorphism in Juniperus thurifera. Ali (2003) discussed issues and threats to Juniper forests in Chitral and provided recommendations for the conservation of these forests to avoid further degradation. Dar and Christensen (2003) recognized seven texa of Juniperus from the western Himalaya. Schulz et al (2003) studied cone morphology in Juniperus in the light of cone evolution in cupressaceae. Borghesio et al (2004) evaluated the conservation status of two Juniperus forests in south Ethiopia. Auken et al (2005) examined the emergence, mortality and growth of Juniperus ashei. Short term studies of J. virginiana in Ontario (Vasiliauskas and Aarssen, 1992) and in Alabama (Lawton and Cothran 2000) have shown a lack of major differences between males and females in growth rates, growth behaviour, sex ratio and seed output and suggested that the genetically-determined sex ratio was 1:1. However, it was not possible in those studies to determine the long-term survivorship of marked individuals and the effect that it may have had on the observed sex ratio, growth rates and growth behaviour. There have been frequent reports of inconstant sex expression in Juniperus species (Vasek 1966, Freeman et al. 1981, Lloyd and Bawa 1984, Jordano 1991), but there have been no long-term observations on the sex expression of juniperus excelsa individuals in natural populations. The objective of this research was to utilize long-term observations on associates of labeled individuals of juniperus excelsa to directly determine growth rates, growth behaviour, sex ratio and seed output of individual males, females and bisexual, constancy of sex expression, and resulting sex ratios.

Reference

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Borghesio  L,  Giannetti  F,  Ndang  ′ang′a  K, Shimelis A. 2004. The present conservation status of Juniperus forests in the South Ethiopian Endemic Bird Area. African Journal of Ecology . 42(2), 137-143, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2004.00511.x

Dar DH, Christensen KI. 2003. Gymnosperms of the western Himalaya. Pakistan Journal of Botany 35(3), 283-311.

Fisher M, Gardner AS. 1994. The status and ecology of a Juniperus excelsa subs+p. Polycarpos woodland in the northern mountains of Oman. Vegetation 119(1), 33-51.

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Schulz C, Jagel A, Stutzel T. 2003. Cone morphology in Juniperus in the light of cone evolution in cupressaceae. Flora 198(3), 161-177, http://dx.doi.org/10.1078/0367-2530-00088

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Article source : Growth behaviour, sexratio and fruit output of Juniperus excelsa in Mastuj valley, District Chitral,Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan 

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Nesting & Social Behavior of Wasps and Honey Bees in Mansehra | InformativeBD

Muzafar Shah,  Mian Sayed Khan,  Muhammad Ather Rafi,  Sardar Azhar Mehmood, and Muhammad Farooq,  from the institute of Pakistan. wrote a Research article about, Nesting & Social Behavior of Wasps and Honey Bees in Mansehra. Entitled, Nesting biology and Social behaviour of Paper wasp (Polistes flavus) and Honey bee (Apis mellifera) in District Mansehra, Pakistan. This research paper published by the International Journal of Biosciences | IJB. an open access scholarly research journal Biosciences. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

In the present study, nesting and social behaviour were carried out of Polistes flavus (Cresson) and Apis mellifera (Smith) from district Mansehra. Nest of paper wasps were found among bunches of leaves in the tree with 1-5 flat steps layers containing hundreds of hexagonal cells in one sided hanging to downward. Hive of the honey bee were pouched like containing double sided hexagonal cells one for eggs while in other stored food materials. X-ray diffraction was used for elemental analysis of P. flavus nests showed Ca with the highest amount of element while K with the lowest amount in descending order a: P. flavus: Ca>Al>Si; A. mellifera: Ca>Si>Mg. Social behaviour of A. mellifera showed strong defensive behaviours, pseudoattack, subsequent erratic flight, wing buzzing, mandibular pecking, abdominal pumping and abdominal twisting while P. flavus showed week defensive behaviour as compared to A. mellifera. Parental care was highly developed in A. mellifera. By disturbing, they try to protect their larvae in their nest by high defensive behaviour.

 Read more : Acrotylini Grasshoppers of Pakistan: A Taxonomic Study | InformativeBD 

Introduction

The name wasp applied to many winged insects of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants and bees (Bertram et al., 2003). Most of the wasps are carnivorous, feeding on insects, grubs, or spiders. They have biting mouthparts, and have stings through which they paralyze their prey for eating. The sting can be used repeatedly. The thorax of a wasp is attached to the abdomen by a narrow stalk. Some wasps are solid black or dark blue, but most have red, orange, or yellow wings or markings while Stripes are common. The great majority of the waps are solitary, but one family (Vespidae) includes both social forms (paper wasps, hornets and yellow jackets) and solitary forms, e.g., the potter wasps (Bertram et al., 2003).

In social wasp colonies there are usually three castes, the egg-laying queens (one or more per colony), the workers, or sexually undeveloped females and the drones or males. Social wasps build nests of a coarse, papery material, prepared by masticating wood fiber. The eggs are deposited in the compartments or cells of the nest where they develop into larvae and then pupae, emerging as adults. Adult social wasps feed chiefly on nectar and plant sap but feed the larvae with masticated animal food. In temperate regions a colony lasts a single season, the drones and workers dying in the fall. The mated queens take shelter during the winter and in spring lay eggs and start new colonies. In the tropics colonies continue indefinitely, dividing when they grow very large (Oldroyd, 2004).

Nests are typically built in hollow trees, but they are often found in barns, sheds, attics, and hollow areas of house walls. They rarely build the nests that are free hanging or in unprotected areas, such as tree and houses. They use decaying wood fiber to build a shell around their nest as protection. As winter approaches, the worker bees die off and the queen will leave the existing nest and find an empty log or other sheltered spot to spend the winter. They also use the bark fiber of trees to build their nests. They have smooth stingers, so they can sting over and over again. Their stings also carry venom that makes the stings hurt, itch or swell for about 24 hours. A European hornet sting has the same risk of allergic reactions from as with other wasp stings (Jones et al., 2004).

The paper wasp, Polistes flavus is the most common type of wasp which is cosmopolitan throughout the world and mostly built their nest in human houses and trees. It is also the single largest genus within the family Vespidae, with over 300 recognized species and subspecies. Their innate preferences for nestbuilding sites leads them to commonly build nests on human habitation, where they can be very unwelcome; although generally non-aggressive, they can be provoked into defending their nests (Espelie et al., 1996). All species are predatory and they may consume large numbers of caterpillars, in which respect they are generally considered beneficial. Polistes wasps can be identified by their characteristic flight, their long legs and dangle below their body (Turillazzi et al., 1992). Polistes wasp complete their life cycle in four stages, pre-emergence phase, worker phase, reproductive phase and intermediate phase (Figure 2b; Karsai et al., 1995).

The honey bee, Apis mellifera queens are polyandrous. When they are about five days old they mate with a large number (625) of males (Estoup et al., 1994; Palmer et al., 2000) of diverse genetic backgrounds (Baudry et al., 1998). Honey bee colonies, therefore, comprise multiple patrilines of workers, each sired by a different male (Crozier et al., 1996). Because the males are haploid, their daughters share 75 % of their alleles by descent. Conversely, workers that are daughters of different males share only 25 % of their alleles; those derived from their common queen mother. Task specialization has now been demonstrated for an extraordinary array of honey bee behaviour including nectar and pollen foraging (Calderone et al., 1988), caring for brood and removing dead larvae (Page et al., 1989b), grooming nest mates (Frumhoff et al., 1988), removing corpses and guarding the nest entrance (Robinson et al., 1988), collecting water (Kryger et al., 2000), and thermoregulating the nest (Jones et al., 2004; Oldroyd et al., 1994). It has long been speculated that task specialization provides colony level benefits, and that genetically mediated diversity in task response thresholds is important to the task allocation system in honey bees and by inference, other polyandrous haplodiploid social insects (Bertram et al., 2003; Calderone et al., 1989; Crozier et al., 1985; Fuchs et al., 1994; Myerscough et al., 2004).

Honey bee colonies, are able to regulate the internal temperature of their nests with great precision (Jones et al., 2004; Moritz et al., 1992; Southwick, 1991; Heldmaier et al., 1987). The workers regulate brood nest temperature depends on whether heating or cooling is required (Seeley, 1985). Waxes are used for building brood and storage cells and cuticular waxes minimize the loss of water across the integument and protect from attack by microorganisms, parasitic insects, and predators (Buckner, 1993). The queen substance is reportedly transmitted within the hive attached to the body surfaces of worker bees as a result of grooming behaviour (Seeley, 1979; Naumann, 1991). Drones deposit a long lasting inhibitory pheromone on the combs to decrease the drone brood production where it is perceived by the workers and the queen (Omholt, 1988). Tautz (1997) suggests that the dance sites of the bees on the wax comb may be chemically marked in some way because dancers keep to the same site during a foraging day. Objectives of the present paper include, to study the nesting and social behaviour between P. flavus and A. mellifera with parental care of their offspring.

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Article source : Nesting biology and Social behaviour of Paper wasp (Polistes flavus) and Honey bee (Apis mellifera) in District Mansehra, Pakistan 

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