The availability of model microbial pathogens and plants has been key to characterizing resistance and virulence pathways and to shedding light on the mechanisms of host–parasite interactions and co-evolution (e.g. Allen et al. 2004, Science 306, 1957–1960; Bergelson et al. 2001, Science 292, 2281–2285). However, the absence of genetically tractable arthropod parasites of model plants has imped...

The phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of 39 drosophilid species were studied by using the coding region of the Adh gene. Four genera--Scaptodrosophila, Zaprionus, Drosophila, and Scaptomyza (from Hawaii)--and three Drosophila subgenera--Drosophila, Engiscaptomyza, and Sophophora--were included. After conducting statistical analyses of the nucleotide sequences of the Adh, Adhr (Adh...

Adaptive radiations are characterized by an increased rate of speciation and expanded range of habitats and ecological niches exploited by those species. The Hawaiian Drosophilidae is a classic adaptive radiation; a single ancestral species colonized Hawaii approximately 25 million years ago and gave rise to two monophyletic lineages, the Hawaiian Drosophila and the genus Scaptomyza. The Hawaii...

The genus Scaptomyza is emerging as a model lineage in which to study biogeography and ecological adaptation. To place future research on these species into an evolutionary framework we present the most comprehensive phylogeny of Scaptomyza to date, based on 5042 bp of DNA sequence data and representatives from 13 of 21 subgenera. We infer strong support for the monophyly of almost all subgener...

We studied the floral biology of five North American members of Oenothera L. sect. Lavauxia (Spach) Endl. (Onagraceae L.) in field and common greenhouse settings. Oenothera sect. Lavauxia floral morphology ranges from small, cleistogamous flowers (O. flava subsp. flava (A. Nels.) Garrett in Garrett) to some of the longest-tubed flowers in North America (O. flava subsp. taraxacoides (Wooton & St...

The ligamenta flava, together with the vertebral lamina, form the posterior wall of the spinal canal. Since they are located immediately adjacent to the nerve structures of the spinal cord, every pathology that involves hypertrophy produces neurological disturbances as a result. One of the most common reasons for hypertrophy of the ligamenta flava is heterotopic ossification. The main regions o...

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study was to determine whether ligamentum flavum hypertrophy among disc herniated patients causes contralateral pain symptoms. For this reason we measured the thickness of the ligament in disc herniated patients with ipsilateral or contralateral symptoms. MATERIAL AND METHODS Two hundred disc herniated patients with ipsilateral symptoms as group I were compare...

Borrelia sp. prevalence in ticks on migratory birds was surveyed in central Japan. In autumn, a total of 1,733 birds representing 40 species were examined for ticks. A total of 361 ticks were obtained from 173 birds of 15 species, and these ticks were immature Haemaphysalis flava (94.4%), Haemaphysalis longicornis, Ixodes columnae, Ixodes persulcatus, Ixodes turdus, and an unidentified Ixodes s...

Microbial infections of various types of wounds are a challenge to the treatment of wounds and wound healing. The aim of the study is to determine the antimicrobial, antioxidant, and in vivo wound healing properties of methanol leaf extracts of Justicia flava and Lannea welwitschii. The antimicrobial activity was investigated using agar well diffusion and microdilution methods. The free radical...

An axial computed tomographic (CT) scan of the lumbosacral regions was performed in 65 patients. The patient population was divided into two groups. The first (control) group included 40 elderly patients without calcification of the ligamenta flava. The second group included 25 patients with ankylosing spondylitis. More than 90% of those in the second group showed calcified lumbosacral ligament...