Ophraella communa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a leaf beetle that is unintentionally introduced in China. It is a potential biological control agent against common ragweed, Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Asterales: Asteraceae). The effects of temperature on the development and fecundity of O. communa were studied at eight constant temperature regimens (15, 20, 22, 25, 28, 30, 32, 36 degrees C) in the laboratory. The results showed that the developmental periods for egg, larva, pupa, and entire immature stages decreased in response to the increasing temperature, with the exception of 30 degrees C. The survival rates at different developmental stages were higher at 25 and 28 degrees C than at other temperatures. Ovipositional period and longevity of female shortened with the increasing temperature. The highest fecundity of female was observed to be 2,712.3 eggs/female at 28 degrees C. Life table of O. communa was constructed based on the data at 20-32 degrees C. The innate capacity for increase (r(m)), the net reproductive rate (R(0)), and the finite rate of increase (lambda) reached the maximum at 28 degrees C, with values of 0.247, 1,773.0, and 1.280, respectively. The shortest period of a generation (T) was 24.6 d at 32 degrees C, whereas the longest T value was recorded as 79.3 d at 20 degrees C. These results offer valuable insight on the establishment potential of O. communa in new environments with diverse temperature regimens and on its mass-rearing techniques in laboratory.
MicroRNA (miRNA) has emerged as an important regulator of gene expression in plants. 146 miRNAs were identified from apple (Malus domestica cv. Golden Delicious) by bioinformatic analysis and RNA library sequencing. From these, 135 were conserved and 11 were novel miRNAs. Target analysis predicted one of the novel miRNAs, Md-miRLn11 (Malus domestica microRNA Ln11), targeted an apple nucleotide-binding site (NBS)-leucine-rich repeat (LRR) class protein coding gene (Md-NBS). 5' RACE assay confirmed the ability of Md-miRLn11 to cleave Md-NBS at the 11-12-nt position. Analysis of the expression of Md-miRLn11 and Md-NBS during the optimum invasion period in 40 apple varieties showed that the expression of Md-NBS gene in resistant varieties is higher than in susceptible varieties, with an inverse pattern for Md-miRLn11. Seedlings from the resistant apple variety 'JiGuan' were used to carry out an Agrobacterium infiltration assay, and then inoculated with the apple leaf spot disease. The result showed a clear decline of disease resistance in JiGuan apples. In contrast, the susceptible variety 'FuJi' infiltrated with the Md-NBS gene showed a significant increase in disease resistance. Based on the above results, we propose that Md-miRLn11 regulates Md-NBS gene expression in particular under the condition of pathogen infection, and that the Md-miRLn11 targeting P-loop site may regulate many NBS-LRR protein class genes in woody plants.
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