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Kafulopa gen. nov. Type species: Kafulopa bicolor sp. n. Diagnosis. The new genus belongs to the Ulopella genus group. This group, comprising Aethiopulopa Evans, Conlopa Evans, Delopa Evans, and Ulopella Poisson, was originally diagnosed (Linnavuori, 1972) as follows: head strongly shortened and bent, its outline squarish in profile with lower margin horizontal; crown much shorter than pronotum, anterior margin with a transverse ridge but not foliaceous, ocelli present. However, the more recently described Aethiopulopa globula Van Stalle (1983b) has its head only slightly shorter than the pronotum (Fig. 3 g) and the genus Ulopella is found to have a more rounded head in profile than other genera with a weaker anterior ridge (Fig. 4 h). The new genus described here falls between Ulopella and Aethiopulopa in having the head broadly rounded in profile without an anterior ridge (Fig. 1 b), basal arm of the style beyond its connection to the connective long (Fig. 2 j) and gonopore apical on ventral surface (as in Ulopella) and its aedeagal shaft elongate (Fig. 2 k) (as in Aethiopulopa); Delopa also has a similar elongate aedeagal shaft but differs in having a pair of processes on the head (Fig. 3 a). It differs from all other members of the group in being relatively slender, head much shorter than pronotum, forewing veins not raised and style with two lateral apical processes (Fig. 2 j). Description. Surface densely punctate dorsally and on face. Head, including eyes, broader than pronotum; anterior margin of head in dorsal view more or less straight; in profile broadly rounded; crown flattish in profile, surface weakly uneven, in dorsal view crown of uniform length, much broader than long, shorter than pronotum; coronal suture absent. Face short and broad, lower part horizontal; frontoclypeus very broad, almost as wide as long in midline; anteclypeus pear shaped; maxillary suture distinct and strongly curved; ocelli present in one specimen (holotype), slightly nearer to the midline than adjacent eye on each side. Antennal pits deep, concealed dorsally by antennal ledge. Pronotum much longer than crown, surface largely even, with disc slightly depressed anteriorly and to sides, lateral margins slightly tapered, posterior margin slightly concave. Scutellum flat, not swollen. Forewings elytra-like, tapered to narrowly rounded apex; veins indistinct, not raised; black tubercles absent. Hind wings absent. Fore tibia short, flattened dorsally; curved basally and tapered in lateral view; dorsoventrally flattened basally. Hind tibia quadrate is cross section with dorsal surface flat and remaining three sides smoothly rounded without distinct margins. Male genitalia with dorsoposterior margin of pygofer produced, lobe like with short stout setae. Anal tube Xth segment with ventral posterior finger-like projection. Valve fused to pygofer. Subgenital plate basal lobes fused. Style basal arm elongate, extending way beyond attachment point to connective; apex expanded with two lateral projections, subapical projection elongate, straight and truncate apically, apical projection stout and curved to acute apex. Aedeagus with shaft elongate, curved dorsally, tapered to acute apex distally in lateral view, apex bifurcate, gonopore short, near apex. Etymology. The new generic name is a combination of the type locality, Kafue National Park, and Ulopa.

Key to genera of Ulopella group 1 Globular in appearance (Fig. 3 b, e, h)...................................................................... 2 - Not globular in appearance, more elongate.................................................................. 4 2 Scutellum vertical (Fig. 3 b, h)............................................................................ 3 - Scutellum horizontal (Fig. 3 e)................................................. Conlopa bredoni (short wing form) 3 Crown with two processes (Fig. 3 a–c)................................................................ Delopa - Crown without processes.............................................................. Aethiopulopa globula 4 Relatively robust species, forewing veins raised (Fig. 4 d, e); subgenital plate without basal lobe or with unfused basal lobes; style apex with one lateral processes....................................................................... 5 - Relatively slender species, forewing veins not raised (Fig. 1 a, b); subgenital plates with fused basal lobes (Fig. 2 j, arrowed); style apex bearing two lateral processes (Fig. 2 j)...................................................... Kafulopa 5 Forewing normal; hindwing present............................................ Conlopa bredoni (long wing form) - Forewing elytra-like (Fig. 4 b); hindwing absent..............................................................6 6 Head rounded in profile (Fig. 4 h) with weak anterior ridge; depressions on head and pronotum shallow; subgenital plate without basal lobe; basal arm of style long beyond its connection to connective; aedeagal shaft robust................ Ulopella - Head square-shaped in profile (Fig. 4 b, e) with a distinct anterior ridge; depressions on head and pronotum conspicuous (Fig. 4 a–d); subgenital plate with basal lobe; basal arm of style beyond its connection to connective, short; aedeagal shaft elongate...................................................................................... Aethiopulopa (in part)

Kafulopa bicolor sp. n. Type material. Holotype: ♂, ZAMBIA: 1260m Kacheleko, Kafue National Park. S15��00'04���; E26��26'07���, 21��� 26.xi.2013. Dung pitfall. Leg. Smith, Takano & Oram, BMNH (E) 1705828 (BMNH). Paratypes: 1♂, BMNH (E) 1705830, 1♀, BMNH (E) 1705829, same data as holotype (BMNH). Diagnosis. The new species can be distinguished by the following features: head and pronotum distinctly darker than forewings; style with subapical projection elongate, straight and truncate apically, apical projection stout and curved to acute apex; aedeagal shaft apically bifurcate, gonopore short and near apex. Description. Total length: Holotype ♂, 4.4mm; paratype ♂, 4.8mm; paratype ♀, 4.6mm. Head tan coloured. Pronotum dark brown, sometimes paler laterally. Scutellum light brown anteriorly up to transverse suture, apical part yellowish, forewings yellowish. Abdomen dark brown, almost black, dorsally. Ventral surface including legs, yellowish brown. Pronotum about 4x length of crown; forewings elongate, about 8x as long as broad. Male genitalia with style subapical projection elongate, straight and truncate apically, apical projection stout and curved to acute apex (Fig. 2 j). Aedeagus with shaft apex bifurcate, gonopore short, near apex (Fig. 2 l). Female pregenital sternite with posterior margin concave medially (Fig. 1 d). First valvulae with dorsal strigate sculpture, not extending to dorsal margin (Fig. 2 n). Second valvulae bladelike, teeth fine, unaligned, extending over distal half of dorsal margin; with dorsal sclerotized and hyaline areas present (Fig. 2 m). Biology. Found in a human dung baited pitfall trap from Kacheleko in Kafue National Park, Zambia. Food plant and early stages unknown. Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the different colour of the head and pronotum to the forewings., Published as part of Smith, Lydia R. J. & Webb, Michael D., 2016, Review of the Ulopella leafhopper genus group (Auchenorrhyncha, Cicadellidae, Ulopinae) with description of a new genus and species collected from pitfall traps in Zambia, pp. 571-580 in Zootaxa 4189 (3) on pages 574-575, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4189.3.7, http://zenodo.org/record/166215

Background Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) is a highly nutritious tannin-containing forage legume. In the diet of ruminants sainfoin can have anti-parasitic effects and reduce methane emissions under in vitro conditions. Many of these benefits have been attributed to condensed tannins or proanthocyanidins in sainfoin. A combination of increased use of industrially produced nitrogen fertilizer, issues with establishment and productivity in the first year and more reliable alternatives, such as red clover led to a decline in the use of sainfoin since the middle of the last century. In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in sainfoin due to its potential beneficial nutraceutical and environmental attributes. However, genomic resources are scarce, thus hampering progress in genetic analysis and improvement. To address this we have used next generation RNA sequencing technology to obtain the first transcriptome of sainfoin. We used the library to identify gene-based simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and potential single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Results One genotype from each of five sainfoin accessions was sequenced. Paired-end (PE) sequences were generated from cDNA libraries of RNA extracted from 7 day old seedlings. A combined assembly of 92,772 transcripts was produced de novo using the Trinity programme. About 18,000 transcripts were annotated with at least one GO (gene ontology) term. A total of 63 transcripts were annotated as involved in the tannin biosynthesis pathway. We identified 3786 potential SSRs. SNPs were identified by mapping the reads of the individual assemblies against the combined assembly. After stringent filtering a total of 77,000 putative SNPs were identified. A phylogenetic analysis of single copy number genes showed that sainfoin was most closely related to red clover and Medicago truncatula, while Lotus japonicus, bean and soybean are more distant relatives. Conclusions This work describes the first transcriptome assembly in sainfoin. The 92 K transcripts provide a rich source of SNP and SSR polymorphisms for future use in genetic studies of this crop. Annotation of genes involved in the condensed tannin biosynthesis pathway has provided the basis for further studies of the genetic control of this important trait in sainfoin. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3083-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Sainfoin is a perennial forage legume with beneficial properties for animal husbandry due to the presence of secondary metabolites. However, worldwide cultivation of sainfoin is marginal due to the lack of varieties with good agronomic performance, adapted to a broad range of environmental conditions. Little is known about the genetics of sainfoin and only few genetic markers are available to assist breeding and genetic investigations. The objective of this study was to develop a set of SSR markers useful for genetic studies in sainfoin and their characterization in diverse germplasm. Results A set of 400 SSR primer combinations were tested for amplification and their ability to detect polymorphisms in a set of 32 sainfoin individuals, representing distinct varieties or landraces. Alleles were scored for presence or absence and polymorphism information content of each SSR locus was calculated with an adapted formula taking into account the tetraploid character of sainfoin. Relationships among individuals were visualized using cluster and principle components analysis. Of the 400 primer combinations tested, 101 reliably detected polymorphisms among the 32 sainfoin individuals. Among the 1154 alleles amplified 250 private alleles were observed. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 24 with an average of 11.4 alleles. The average polymorphism information content reached values of 0.14 to 0.36. The clustering of the 32 individuals suggested a separation into two groups depending on the origin of the accessions. Conclusions The SSR markers characterized and tested in this study provide a valuable tool to detect polymorphisms in sainfoin for future genetic studies and breeding programs. As a proof of concept, we showed that these markers can be used to separate sainfoin individuals based on their origin. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-016-0431-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Summary of trimming of sequencing reads. Table with summary of the trimming of the sequencing reads. (DOCX 12Â kb)

Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) values for individual alleles at SSR loci. Different grey levels are used for better visual differentiation among alleles of the different SSR markers. (PDF 431 kb)

Relationship between modified Roger’s Distance to Euclidian Distance and to Nei’s Distance. (PDF 319 kb)

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The size of mitotic chromosomes is coordinated with cell size in a manner dependent on nuclear trafficking. In this study, we conducted an RNA interference screen of the Caenorhabditis elegans nucleome in a strain carrying an exceptionally long chromosome and identified the centromere-specific histone H3 variant CENP-A and the DNA decatenizing enzyme topoisomerase-II (topo-II) as candidate modulators of chromosome size. In the holocentric organism C. elegans , CENP-A is positioned periodically along the entire length of chromosomes, and in mitosis, these genomic regions come together linearly to form the base of kinetochores. We show that CENP-A protein levels decreased through development coinciding with chromosome-size scaling. Partial loss of CENP-A protein resulted in shorter mitotic chromosomes, consistent with a role in setting chromosome length. Conversely, topo-II levels were unchanged through early development, and partial topo-II depletion led to longer chromosomes. Topo-II localized to the perimeter of mitotic chromosomes, excluded from the centromere regions, and depletion of topo-II did not change CENP-A levels. We propose that self-assembly of centromeric chromatin into an extended linear array promotes elongation of the chromosome, whereas topo-II promotes chromosome-length shortening.