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Expression of polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein (PGIP) genes and production of oligogalacturonides (OGs) form an important component of plant basal resistance against cyst nematodes, but not root-knot nematodes.

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This study examined the long-run and causal relationships between international tourism, biodiversity loss, environmental sustainability, and specific growth factors under the premises of sustainable tourism in Austria, by using a consistent time series data from 1975 to 2015. The results reveal that inbound tourism, per capita income, and population density affected the potential habitat area while population density largely affected the food production in a country. Inbound tourism and population density both deteriorate the environmental quality in a form of increasing carbon dioxide (CO) emissions and fossil fuel energy consumption while per capita income reduces the fossil fuel energy consumption. Food exports increase per capita income, while food imports and population density both decrease economic growth. Inbound tourism and economic growth advance population density while forest area and food exports decrease the population density. The study supports growth-led tourism and growth-led food production in a country.

Crop yield losses are influenced by the sex ratio of cyst nematodes. Expression of an Arabidopsis senescence-associated gene (AtS40-3) is positively associated with female-biased cyst nematode sex ratio.

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Plant-parasitic cyst nematodes induce hypermetabolic syncytial nurse cells in the roots of their host plants. Syncytia are their only food source. Cyst nematodes are sexually dimorphic, with their differentiation into male or female strongly influenced by host environmental conditions. Under favourable conditions with plenty of nutrients, more females develop, whereas mainly male nematodes develop under adverse conditions such as in resistant plants. Here, we developed and validated a method to predict the sex of beet cyst nematode (Heterodera schachtii) during the early stages of its parasitism in the host plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We collected root segments containing male-associated syncytia (MAS) or female-associated syncytia (FAS), isolated syncytial cells by laser microdissection, and performed a comparative transcriptome analysis. Genes belonging to categories of defence, nutrient deficiency, and nutrient starvation were over-represented in MAS as compared with FAS. Conversely, gene categories related to metabolism, modification, and biosynthesis of cell walls were over-represented in FAS. We used β-glucuronidase analysis, qRT-PCR, and loss-of-function mutants to characterize FAS-and MAS-specific candidate genes. Our results demonstrate that various plant-based factors, including immune response, nutrient availability, and structural modifications, influence the sexual fate of the cyst nematodes. K E Y W O R D S cyst nematodes, environmental sex determination, plant-nematode interaction, host-plant interaction

The purpose of this study is to examine the dividends behavior of Pakistani firms by taking a macroeconomic perspective. In doing that inflation and real growth are also considered. The paper examines the relationship between dividend yield, return on equity, real growth and inflation in the Pakistan by applying ARDL approach which is used to examine the relationship in the long run. Moreover, VECM is also applied to capture the short run impact. Results of ARDL revealed a positive relationship between inflation and dividend payments, which can be interpreted in two ways. First, inflation affects revenues and variable cost not the fixed cost; it simply increases the nominal value of corporate earnings and therefore dividend payouts, and second is that managers may try to pursue a dividend policy, which is considered to be optimal, believing that there is a desirable level of real dividend income to be paid to their investors. The results of ARDL approach show that inflation, in long term as well as in short run have positive relationship with dividends while return on equity and real growth rates showed insignificant relationship with dividend yield in both long and short run. The estimated equation remains stable over the period of study as indicated by CUSUM and CUSUMQ stability tests. This study is helpful for various investors in deciding for investment when they have fear of considerable acceleration of inflationary pressure. For example they can protect themselves against accelerating inflation rates when buying the stocks. While formulating an optimal dividend policy of the firm, managers should carefully examine the inflationary environment.