The natural occurrence of entomophthoralean fungi pathogenic towards aphids on cereal and potato crops was investigated in the years 2009, 2010, and 2011. Infected aphids were sampled in three bioclimatic zones in Tunisia (Beja, Cap bon, and Kairouan) and fungal species were determined based on morphological characters such as shape, size, and number of nuclei in the primary conidia. Polymerase...

This study investigated the cultural characteristics of Shimizuomyces paradoxus in different nutritional and environmental conditions. The highest mycelial growth was observed in Schizophyllum (mushroom) genetics complete medium plus yeast extract agar medium, and the optimal temperature and pH were 25℃ and pH 8.0, respectively. The optimal carbon and nitrogen sources were 1% dextrose and 1% pe...

Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) is the leading insect pest of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in northern latitudes. Host plant resistance is an important tool in an integrated pest management program for controlling insect pests. Field studies were conducted to compare natural host plant resistance mechanisms (glandular trichomes and Solanum chacoense Bitter-derived resist...

Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV) was first detected in China in 2010, and several partial sequences have been determined for Chinese SPCSV isolates. This report describes the complete genome sequences of two SPCSV isolates from the Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces and will be valuable for understanding the characteristics of SPCSVs in China.

The complexity of the frying process impairs the development of mechanistic models to describe water losses. Empirical models, though lacking a theoretical basis, may provide a suitable and simpler alternative. In this work it was found that a two parallel compartments model (core and edge compartments), with a time-dependent boundary condition, could be successfully applied for this purpose. T...

References 1 Greiner, S. et al. (1999) Ectopic expression of a tobacco invertase inhibitor homolog prevents cold-induced sweetening of potato tubers. Nat. Biotechnol. 17, 708–711 2 Hemberg, T. (1985) Potato rest. In Potato Physiology (Li, P.H., ed.), pp. 353–388, Academic Press 3 Suttle, J.C. (1995) Postharvest changes in endogenous ABA levels and ABA metabolism in relation to dormancy in potat...

The potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc) (Hemiptera: Triozidae), is a major pest of potatoes that can cause yield loss by direct feeding on crop plants and by transmitting a bacterial pathogen, Candidatus Liberibacter psyllaurous (a.k.a. Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum) associated with zebra chip disease of the crop. In recent years, there have been no studies regarding resistance...

Calcium- and magnesium-fortified potato starches were prepared by immersion in various concentrations of CaCl2 and MgCl2 aqueous solutions, respectively. The pasting properties, i.e., peak viscosity and breakdown, of all the starches obtained above were analyzed using a Rapid Visco Analyzer. Furthermore, the gelatinization properties and in vitro digestibility of the representative calcium- and...

Sequences homologous to a potato cathepsin D inhibitor cDNA, p749, were identified in the genomic DNA of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and of two non-tuber-bearing potato species (Solanum etuberosum and S. brevidens) by means of Southern blot analysis. The expression of these p749 genes in leaves was induced at the RNA level in response to wounding. High levels of p749 transcripts were detec...