Fungal strains naturally occurring on the wood and leaves of the salt-excreting desert tree Tamarix were isolated and characterized for their ability to produce cellulose- and starch-degrading enzymes. Of the 100 isolates, six fungal species were identified by ITS1 sequence analysis. No significant differences were observed among taxa isolated from wood samples of different Tamarix species, whi...

Patterns of woody-plant mortality have been linked to global-scale environmental changes, such as extreme drought, heat stress, more frequent and intense fires, and episodic outbreaks of insects and pathogens. Although many studies have focussed on survival and mortality in response to specific physiological stresses, little attention has been paid to the role of genetic heritability of traits ...

The paleartic tamarix leafhopper, Opsius stactogalus Fieber (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), can reduce the growth of tamarisk due to the aggregate feeding imposed by their populations. The species was mentioned for Argentina in Metcalf's catalogue (1967) without locality or region reference, and the contributions on Cicadellidae published by many authors after Metcalf omitted this distributional dat...

The genus Southwellina is composed of 3 described species, i.e., S. hispida (the type species), S. dimorpha, and S. macracanthus. All 3 are endoparasites of fish-eating birds that have worldwide distributions. Morphologically, the genus is characterized by possessing a short and compact trunk, 2 fields of spines in the anterior region of the trunk (in at least 1 sex), a short cylindrical probos...

Here, we characterized silicon (Si) uptake and xylem loading in Oryza sativa, Zea mays, Helianthus annuus and Benincase hispida in a series of hydroponic experiments. Both active and passive Si-uptake components co-exist in all the plants tested. The active component is the major mechanism responsible for Si uptake in O. sativa and Z. mays. By contrast, passive uptake prevails in H. annuus and ...

Antioxidant activity of a selection of commonly occurring wild plants growing in Beni-Sueif governorate, Upper Egypt, has been tested. The plants selected are Tamarix nilotica, Ambrosia maritima, Zygophyllum coccenium, Conyza dioscoridis, Chenopodium ambrosioides, and Calotropis procera. The in vitro antioxidant assays used in this study were 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scaven...

The benefits of composite rather than local seed provenances for ecological restoration have recently been argued, largely on the basis of maximizing evolutionary potential. However, these arguments have downplayed the potentially negative consequences of outbreeding depression once mixed provenances interbreed. In this study, we compared intraspecific F1 hybrid performance and molecular marker...

The ethanolic extract of leaves of Acalypha hispida was evaluated for phytochemical, cytotoxic and antibacterial activities. Phytochemical studies revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, reducing sugars and steroids. Cytotoxic activity was investigated by brine shrimp (Artemia salina) lethality assay. The extract showed potent cytotoxic effect (LC50 19.95μg/ml) which is compa...