Abstract The present study aims to improve the knowledge of Simaroubaceae in Reserva Ducke, Manaus, Amazonas. It is based on morphological analysis herbaria collections and field expeditions. family represented that area by six species belonging four genera: Homalolepis (1 sp.), Picrolemma Simaba (3 spp., including a new one described herein), Simarouba sp.). Identification keys, descriptions, ...

Shark fin, used as a food, is a rich source of glycosaminoglyans (GAGs), acidic polysaccharides having important biological activities, suggesting their nutraceutical and pharmaceutical application. A comprehensive survey of GAGs derived from the fin was performed on 11 elasmobranchs, including several deep sea sharks. Chondroitin sulfate (CS) and hyaluronic acid (HA) were found in Isurus oxyri...

Rhizobia establish symbiosis with legumes. Bacteroids in indeterminate nodules of Inverted Repeat Lacking Clade (IRLC) legumes undergo terminal differentiation caused by Nodule-specific Cysteine-Rich peptides (NCRs). Microscopic observations of bacteroids and the detection of NCRs in indeterminate nodules of the non-IRLC legume Leucaena glauca were performed. A portion of the bacteroids showed ...

We analyzed a 12,000-yr sediment core from Wien Lake, central Alaska, for a suite of phenolic products from CuO oxidation of lignin polymers and compared their composition with pollen data from the same core to assess lignin phenols as sedimentary biomarkers. Inferences of the gross taxonomic origin of sediment organic matter from lignin-phenol composition agree with vegetational reconstruction...

The common backswimmer, Notonecta glauca, uses vision by day and night for functions such as underwater prey animal capture and flight in search of new habitats. Although previous studies have identified some of the physiological mechanisms facilitating such flexibility in the animal's vision, neither the biophysics of Notonecta photoreceptors nor possible cellular adaptations are known. Here, ...

Further examination of the hexane extract of the root bark of Simarouba amara (Simaroubaceae) has led to the isolation of two side chain oxygenated A’tirucallol-type triterpenes in addition to the already reported compounds 4 and S. One has been found to be identical with the known melianone 8 and the second is a new compound and has been shown to be 21,20-anhydromelianone 11. The 13C-NMR spect...

While DNA methylation carries genetic signals and is instrumental in the evolution of organismal complexity, small RNAs (sRNAs), ~18-24 ribonucleotide (nt) sequences, are crucial mediators of methylation as well as gene silencing. However, scant study deals with sRNA evolution via featuring their expression dynamics coupled with species of different evolutionary time. Here we report an atlas of...

Differences in forest productivity due to climate change may result in permanently altered levels of litterfall and litter on the forest floor. Using experimental litter removal and litter addition treatments, we investigated the effects of increased and decreased litterfall on early-stage litter decomposition and the abundance of meso-arthropods in a moist tropical forest. Litterbags containin...

Transcription factors play a fundamental role in plants by orchestrating temporal and spatial gene expression in response to environmental stimuli. Several R2R3-MYB genes of the Arabidopsis subgroup 4 (Sg4) share a C-terminal EAR motif signature recently linked to stress response in angiosperm plants. It is reported here that nearly all Sg4 MYB genes in the conifer trees Picea glauca (white spr...

The alterations to the expressions of metal transporter genes can induce ion uptake maintain cell homeostasis when concentrations are low. Metallothioneins (MTs) a class low molecular mass (4-8 kDa), cysteine (Cys)-rich proteins that bind metals via thiol groups their Cys residues. Studies on MT gene in higher plants, such as conifers, limited. White spruce (Picea glauca) is North American nati...