In declining birches (Betula sp.) from different European stands affected by the "birch leaf-roll disease" (BLRD) a novel virus is identified by means of RNA-Seq virome analysis. The virus represents a new member in the genus Badnavirus, family Caulimoviridae, tentatively named Birch leaf roll-associated virus (BLRaV) and it is the first badnavirus found to infect birch. Complete genome sequenc...

Micro RNAs (miRNAs) represent a class of short, non-coding, endogenous RNAs which play important roles in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. While the diverse functions of miRNAs in model plants have been well studied, the impact of miRNAs in crop plant biology is poorly understood. Here we used high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics analysis to analyze miRNAs in the tub...

In Maine, potato yield is consistent, 38 t·ha-1, for last 10 years except 2016 (44 t·ha-1) which confirms that increasing the yield and quality of potatoes with current fertilization practices is difficult; hence, new or improvised agronomic methods are needed to meet with producers and industry requirements. Normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) sensors have shown promise in regulating...

The PK1 pseudoknot is a well-characterized super secondary structure from Aquifex aeolicus transfer-messenger RNA that participates in the ribosomal trans-translation rescue mechanism. Extensive all-atom molecular dynamics simulations were conducted across worldwide distributed computing network to study folding, unfolding, misfolding, and conformational plasticity of twenty-two nucleotide pseu...

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) leaves are consumed as vegetables around the world, especially in Southeast Asia. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of sweet potato leaves on low-density lipoprotein oxidation in vitro and in human subjects. We compared the antioxidant activity of 8 kinds of sweet potato leaves. Every sweet potato leaf had high radical scavenging ac...

The Old World climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum , is an invasive weed in the Florida Everglades and the leaf roll galling mite, Floracarus perrepae , is a proposed biological control agent. Field studies were conducted for one to two years at sites in its native range in Australia, New Caledonia, and India to evaluate the effect of climate on F. perrepae . Monthly counts of the proportion of...

The Arabidopsis thaliana genome encodes three RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), UBP1-associated protein 2a (UBA2a), UBA2b, and UBA2c, that contain two RNA-recognition motif (RRM) domains. They play important roles in wounding response and leaf senescence, and are homologs of Vicia faba abscisic-acid-activated protein kinase-interacting protein 1 (VfAKIP1). The potato (Solanum tuberosum) genome encod...

ABSTRACT The effects of plant age, leaf age, and leaf position on race-nonspecific resistance against Phytophthora infestans were investigated in a series of field and controlled environment experiments with five different potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars. Leaf position proved to be the most significant factor; apical leaves were far more resistant to late blight than basal leaves. Plant ag...