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Mega pests are those that have arisen in about past five decades, spread across a large part of the world and inflict prominent yield losses in the crops that these pests damage. Further, these have defied all the control tactics used against them with their innate genetic plasticity manifesting into insecticide resistant strains, host-plant resistance breaking biotypes and host-specific populations. These may be leaf or tissue eaters or sap suckers; may or may not be vectors of deadly viruses but, in common, remained a challenge to entomologists. Studying them together helps us to understand how their genetic and biological makeup with a repertoire of symbiotic microbes and how our mismanagement has turned them to be mega pests. This overview covers five such pests: Helicoverpa armigera, Nilaparvata lugens, Plutella xylostella, Pectinophora gossypiella and Bemisia tabaci and spans over their brief history, attempts and failure of their management in the past, recent developments in transgenic crops, insect and plant genomics and other molecular approaches to develop new tools to contain them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pythium insidiosum causes pythiosis, a fatal infectious disease of humans and animals worldwide. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are essential to improve the clinical outcome of pythiosis. Diagnosis of P. insidiosum relies on immunological, molecular, and proteomic assays. The main treatment of pythiosis aims to surgically remove all affected tissue to prevent recurrent infection. Due to the marked increase in case reports, pythiosis has become a public health concern. Thailand is an endemic area of human pythiosis. To obtain a complete picture of how the pathogen circulates in the environment, we surveyed the presence of P. insidiosum in urban (Bangkok) and rural areas of Thailand. We employed the hair-baiting technique to screen for P. insidiosum in 500 water samples. Twenty-seven culture-positive samples were identified as P. insidiosum by multiplex PCR, multi DNA barcode (rDNA, cox1, cox2), and mass spectrometric analyses. These environmental strains of P. insidiosum fell into Clade-II and -III genotypes and exhibited a close phylogenetic/proteomic relationship with Thai clinical strains. Biodiversity of the environmental strains also existed in a local habitat. In conclusion, P. insidiosum is widespread in Thailand. A better understanding of the ecological niche of P. insidiosum could lead to the effective prevention and control of this pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bipyrazone, 1,3-dimethyl-4-(2-(methylsulfonyl)-4-(trifluoromethyl) benzoyl)-1H-pyrazol-5-yl 1,3-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole- 4-carboxylate, is a 4-hydroxyphenylpyaunate dioxygenase (HPPD)-inhibiting herbicide. Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to explore the potential of post-emergence (POST) application of bipyrazone in wheat fields in China. In the greenhouse study, bipyrazone at 10 and 20 g active ingredient (a.i.) ha−1 effectively controlled Descurainia sophia L., Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic., Lithospermum arvense L. and Myosoton aquaticum L. Whereas, all tested 16 wheat cultivars showed high degree of tolerance to bipyrazone at 375 and 750 g a.i. ha−1. In a dose-response experiment carried on the Shannong 6 wheat cultivar and five weed biotypes, bipyrazone was safe to the wheat cultivar, and C. bursa-pastoris, M. aquaticum and D. sophia were sensitive to this herbicide. The selectivity index (SI) between the Shannong 6 and weeds ranged from 34 to 39. The field experiments confirmed that a mixture of bipyrazone and fluroxypyr-mepthyl is practical for controlling broadleaf weeds, and bipyrazone applied alone at 30 to 40 g a.i. ha−1 can also provide satisfactory control of sensitive broadleaf weeds. These findings suggest that bipyrazone POST application has good potential for broadleaf weed management in wheat fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Decision‐making systems are essential parts of integrated pest management programs. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a major pest of many crops, including watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), the second most consumed fruit worldwide. However, there are still no studies on decision‐making systems for B. tabaci on this crop. Thus, we aim to determine a decision‐making system to control B. tabaci biotype B on watermelon crops. RESULTS: The highest densities of B. tabaci biotype B reduced the yield of watermelon crops by up to 56%. Watermelon plants were more susceptible to the pest at the vegetative stage than at the reproductive stage. The economic injury levels of B. tabaci biotype B when watermelon prices were low, average, and high were respectively, 0.52, 0.21 and 0.13 adults leaf−1 at the vegetative stage, and 1.69, 0.69 and 0.44 adults leaf−1 at the reproductive stage. The sequential plans reached the same decisions as the conventional plan, and reduced the time and cost of sampling by up to 92.68%. CONCLUSION: The decision‐making systems determined in this study enable an expedited and proper decision to be made for controlling B. tabaci, biotype B and can be used in different price situations for watermelon and in crops at different phenological stages. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry Here, we present decision‐making systems for controlling Bemisia tabaci on watermelon crops, which can be used in different price situations, as well as in crops at different phenological stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The comparative virulence of Yersinia ruckeri serotype O1 biotype 2 strain 07111224 from a Danish outbreak of enteric redmouth disease in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was investigated in different sizes of rainbow trout (5, 19, 25 and 52 g) using a panel of challenge methods (bath, intraperitoneal (IP) injection, anal intubation and cohabitation). The results show that Y. ruckeri 07111224 is virulent enough to successfully cause mortality in 5–52 g rainbow trout through three different infection routes (bath, IP injection and anal intubation), and strongly suggests that susceptibility to Y. ruckeri infection is dependent on fish size. Bath challenge (108 CFU/ml) caused 79% mortality in 5 g fish, while the mortality in 19–52 g fish was approximately 26%. IP injection challenges (105–106 CFU/individual) resulted in high mortalites in fish of all sizes. Anal intubation challenges (109 CFU/individual) induced 82% mortality in 5 g fish and decreased with increasing fish weight. Finally, cohabitation challenges induced 45% mortality in 5 g test fish when test fish were cohabitated 1:1 with shedder fish, while mortalities in test fish of five other challenge groups were lower (5–25%). Statistical models were fit to the data from each challenge model. The model parameter predictions suggests statistically significant effects of fish weight for bath, IP and anal intubation challenges. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of the ratio of shedders to test fish in cohabitation challenges and of the challenge doses, in particular for the IP challenge model. Highlights • Comprehensive study comparing commonly used, as well as novel challenge models. • Each model is performed in multiple fish weight groups for comparison. • Fish weight and route of infection are major determinants in obtained results. • Detailed insights into each challenge model provided by statistical modeling. • Combining challenge data and model parameters facilitates comparison of models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous use of herbicides with the same mechanism of action has caused the selection of resistant weed biotype that may present differences in fitness when compared with susceptible biotype. The objective of the present study was to identify and distinguish the fitness of barnyardgrass biotypes resistant and susceptible to imazapyr + imazapic herbicide under controlled and noncompetitive conditions. For that, there were used barnyardgrass biotype susceptible (ECH1 and ECH38) and resistant (ECH14 and ECH44) to ALS inhibitors, collected at Pelotas/RS and Rio Grande/RS cities, respectively, in experiment installed in a greenhouse in a completely randomized experimental design during the months from October to December 2015. The biotype were evaluated during the period of 15 to 120 days after the emergence related to plant height, foliar area, shoot dry matter mass and root dry matter mass. The results showed insignificant differences between the biotypes during the development of the plants. The susceptible biotype ECH44 showed a higher number of panicles per plant and seeds along with the resistant ECH1. There is variability among Echinochloa crusgalli var. mitis biotypes resistant and susceptible to ALS inhibitors, indicating an absence in fitness penalty caused by resistance when cultivated without the selection of pressure (herbicide). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soybean aphid ( Aphis glycines Matsumura) is a major pest of soybean ( Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in eastern Asia and in North America. Aphid-resistant soybean cultivars have been developed as a non-chemical management tactic, but viability of this tactic may depend on the availability of diverse resistance sources, including wild soybean ( Glycine soja Siebold and Zucc.), in order to counter various resistance-breaking soybean aphid biotypes. In this study, 10 wild soybean accessions were identified as resistant in free-choice screening assays against avirulent soybean aphid biotype 1, and eight of the accessions were advanced for follow-up in two, 20-day-long no-choice assays. Two accessions, PI 65549 and PI 135624, did not differ from resistant check PI 549046 in number of aphids per plant after 10 and 20 days of infestation; accessions 99PI101404B, PI 549035 B, and PI 342618 A had more aphids than PI 549046 by day 20, but fewer aphids than known susceptible accessions. In a second no-choice assay, accessions 99PI81762 and PI 101404 A had fewer aphids than other test accessions but more aphids than PI 549046 by day 20. Because of particularly strong resistance in PI 135624 and PI 65549, these two accessions should be genetically characterized and tested for resistance against virulent soybean aphid biotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anopheles stephensi, the major vector of urban malaria in India, was recently detected for the first time in Sri Lanka in Mannar Island on the northwestern coast. Since there are different biotypes of An. stephensi with different vector capacities in India, a study was undertaken to further characterise the genotype and biotype of An. stephensi in Mannar Island. Methods: Mosquito larvae were collected in Pesalai village in Mannar and maintained in the insectary until adulthood. Adult An. stephensi were identified morphologically using published keys. Identified adult An. stephensi were molecularly characterized using two mitochondrial (cox1 and cytb) and one nuclear (ITS2) markers. Their PCR-amplified target fragments were sequenced and checked against available sequences in GenBank for phylogenetic analysis. The average spiracular and thoracic lengths and the spiracular index were determined to identify biotypes based on corresponding indices for Indian An. stephensi. Results: All DNA sequences for the Mannar samples matched reported sequences for An. stephensi from the Middle East and India. However, a single nucleotide variation in the cox1 sequence suggested an amino acid change from valine to methionine in the cox1 protein in Sri Lankan An. stephensi. Morphological data was consistent with the presence of the Indian urban vector An. stephensi type-form in Sri Lanka. Conclusions: The present study provides a more detailed molecular characterization of An. stephensi and suggests the presence of the type-form of the vector for the first time in Sri Lanka. The single mutation in the cox1 genemay be indicative of a founder effect causing the initial diversification of An. stephensi in Sri Lanka from the Indian form. The distribution of the potent urban vector An. stephensi type-form needs to be established by studies throughout the island as its spread adds to the challenge of maintaining the country's malaria-free status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Knowledge of the gingival biotype or phenotype is of fundamental importance to an oral clinician. There is a direct correlation between gingival biotype and susceptibility to gingival recession following surgical and restorative procedures. The thick and slightly scalloped marginal gingiva with short and wide teeth on the one hand and the thin and highly scalloped marginal gingiva with slender teeth on the other may be the reason for different periodontal entities or so-called “gingival biotypes.” Aim: The present study is to analyze gingival biotype based on dentopapillary complex, taking transparency of the periodontal probe through the gingival margin as a method to differentiate thin from thick gingiva in different age groups. Materials and Methods: Sixty periodontally healthy individuals with all anterior teeth in both the jaws were participated in this study. Results: Thick biotype had area of anterior crowns as 490.17 mm2. Thin biotype had area of anterior crowns as 420.14 mm2 with P = 0.00 having high clinical significance. Conclusion: Teeth with large dentopapillary area had thick gingival biotype. Taking into consideration that the shape, size, form of the tooth and the surrounding gingiva is of paramount importance for the causation and progression of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant-insect interactions constitute a complex of system, whereby plants synthesize toxic compounds as the main defense strategy to combat herbivore assault, and insects deploy detoxification systems to cope with toxic plant compounds. Cytochrom P450s are among the main detoxification enzymes employed by insects to combat the chemical defenses of host plants. In this study, we used Nilaparvata lugens (BPH) to constitute an ideal system for studying plant-insect interactions. By feeding BPHs with artificial diets containing ethanol extracts, we show that biotype Y BPHs have a greater ability to metabolize exogenous substrates than biotype 1 BPHs. NlCPR knockdown inhibited the ability of BPHs to feed on YHY15. qRT-PCR was used to screen genes in the P450 family, and upregulation of CYP4C61, CYP6AX1, and CYP6AY1 induced by YHY15 was investigated. When the three P450 genes were knocked down, only CYP4C61 dsRNA treatment was inhibited the ability of BPHs to feed on YHY15. These results indicate that BPH P450 enzymes are a key factor in the physiological functions of BPH when feeding on BPH-resistant rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Initial studies of heartworm preventive drugs all yielded an observed efficacy of 100% with a single dose, and based on these data the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required all products to meet this standard for approval. Those initial studies, however, were based on just a few strains of parasites, and therefore were not representative of the full assortment of circulating biotypes. This issue has come to light in recent years, where it has become common for studies to yield less than 100% efficacy. This has changed the landscape for the testing of new products because heartworm efficacy studies lack the statistical power to conclude that finding zero worms is different from finding a few worms. Methods: To address this issue, we developed a novel statistical model, based on a hierarchical modeling and parametric bootstrap approach that provides new insights to assess multiple sources of variability encountered in heartworm drug efficacy studies. Using the newly established metrics we performed both data simulations and analyzed actual experimental data. Results: Our results suggest that an important source of modeling variability arises from variability in the parasite establishment rate between dogs; not accounting for this can overestimate the efficacy in more than 40% of cases. We provide strong evidence that ZoeMo-2012 and JYD-34, which both were established from the same source dog, have differing levels of susceptibility to moxidectin. In addition, we provide strong evidence that the differences in efficacy seen in two published studies using the MP3 strain were not due to randomness, and thus must be biological in nature. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate how statistical modeling can improve the interpretation of data from heartworm efficacy studies by providing a means to identify the true efficacy range based on the observed data. Importantly, these new insights should help to inform regulators on how to move forward in establishing new statistically and scientifically valid requirements for efficacy in the registration of new heartworm preventative products. Furthermore, our results provide strong evidence that heartworm 'strains' can change their susceptibility phenotype over short periods of time, providing further evidence that a wide diversity of susceptibility phenotypes exists among naturally circulating biotypes of D. immitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Juglans regia L., Persian or English walnut, is an economically fruit crop species of edible kernels and widely planted in the temperate zones. Moldova has ancient walnut culture tradition. In the centuries outspreaded by seed occurred. Orchards with Moldovan registered or foreign varieties are established. Searching and selection of walnut biotypes for establishing new varieties with high nut qualities and productive potential are important for future. Study focused on evaluation of local trees from natural population through biometric, sensory and biochemical traits is the aim of the present research. Surveys in the northern (N), North West (NW) and central (C) agro ecological zones of the Republic of Moldova were done and nuts were harvested from seventy trees of walnut from natural populations, for two consecutive years. Fruits analyses showed high variability: the whitest shell color in N zone, the highest flavor and sweetness intensity in C zone, the highest oil % content in N zone. Furthermore, correlation for some specific traits were found, protein content versus nut weight or versus unsaturated fatty acid in oil). On the basis of these results, the genetically valued native trees can be assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bemisia tabaci has two major biotypes: B and Q. Biotype identification is necessary for whitefly control, since different biotypes have different pesticide resistance. However, slow and expensive techniques are needed for accurate biotype classification. In this paper, we propose a whitefly biotype identification scheme using an acoustic signature and evaluate its performance. The proposed scheme achieves biotype identification by three steps: signal detection, frequency-domain matching and classification of biotypes. We evaluated the performance of the proposed scheme by processing actual whitefly sounds obtained in a recording experiment and calculated the accuracy of the classification. Results showed the proposed biotype identification method achieved a correct detection rate of 92% in Bemisia tabaci. This result suggests that the proposed scheme is a viable alternative for biotype identification of whitefly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radish is an important weed that causes yield reduction in winter crops in southern Brazil. The control chemical of radish is an important and essential step to prevent damage on crops. However the intensive use of ALS-inhibitors herbicides favors the selection resistant biotypes. The selection can influence the adaptive traits of biotypes with physiological changes and growth variables and plant reproduction. The objective of the study was compare the fitness costs of susceptible and resistant radish biotypes to ALS-inhibitors herbicides. The experiment was conducted in greenhouse using completely randomized design with five replications. The treatments were arranged in factorial arrangement corresponding to susceptible and resistant biotypes (B1 and B4) and nine sampling times (14, 28, 42, 56, 70, 84, 98, 112 and 126 days after emergency), respectively. The variables evaluated were plant height, shoot dry matter, root dry matter, total dry matter, leaf area, growth rate, relative growth rate, leaf area ratio, number of siliques and seeds produced per plant. The results showed that the resistant biotype (B4) had no fitness costs when compared to the susceptible biotype (B1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endometrial Cancer (EC) is one of the most common malignancies in women in developed countries. Molecular characterization of different biotypes may improve clinical management of EC. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project has revealed four prognostic EC subgroups: POLE, MSI; Copy Number Low (CNL) and Copy Number High (CNH). The goal of this study was to develop a method to classify tumors in any of the four EC prognostic groups using affordable molecular techniques. Ninety-six Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples were sequenced following a NGS TruSeq Custom Amplicon low input (Illumina) protocol interrogating a multi-gene panel. MSI analysis was performed by fragment analysis using eight specific microsatellite markers. A Random Forest classification algorithm (RFA), considering NGS results, was developed to stratify EC patients into different prognostic groups. Our approach correctly classifies the EC patients into the four TCGA prognostic biotypes. The RFA assigned the samples to the CNH and CNL groups with an accuracy of 0.9753 (p < 0.001). The prognostic value of these groups was prospectively reproduced on our series both for Disease-Free Survival (p = 0.004) and Overall Survival (p = 0.030).Hence, with the molecular approach herein described, a precise and suitable tool that mimics the prognostic EC subtypes has been solved and validated. Procedure that might be introduced into routine diagnostic practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) is a pest of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] in the Midwestern U.S. and southern Canada. Host plant resistance provides an alternative to insecticides for soybean aphid management. Soybean with Rag1 + Rag2 aphid resistance is available commercially but does not protect against soybean aphid biotype 4 colonization. To find sources of resistance to soybean aphid biotype 4, we turned to soybean's progenitor Glycine soja (Sieb. and Zucc.). Twenty soja plant introductions (PIs) with previously identified resistance to avirulent soybean aphid biotype 1 were assessed in free-choice tests against biotype 4, followed by a no-choice test for promising PIs. Experiments were repeated using three soybean aphid biotype 4 colonies, collected from separate site-years (Lomira, WI 2013; Volga, SD 2015, 2016). Free-choice tests identified six, three, and eight soja PIs with putative resistance to Lomira13, Volga15, and Volga16 aphid colonies, respectively. No-choice tests identified six, two, and six soja PIs that continued to suppress Lomira13, Volga15, and Volga16 aphids, respectively. PI 65549 and PI 101404A were resistant to each of the three colonies of soybean aphid biotype 4 and may contribute to durable resistance against soybean aphid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The last 10 years have seen the rise of countless functional genomics studies based on Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). In the vast majority of cases, whatever the species, whatever the experiment, the two first steps of data analysis consist of a quality control of the raw reads followed by a mapping of those reads to a reference genome/transcriptome. Subsequent steps then depend on the type of study that is being made. While some tools have been proposed for investigating data quality after the mapping step, there is no commonly adopted framework that would be easy to use and broadly applicable to any NGS data type. Results: We present ALFA, a simple but universal tool that can be used after the mapping step on any kind of NGS experiment data for any organism with available genomic annotations. In a single command line, ALFA can compute and display distribution of reads by categories (exon, intron, UTR, etc.) and biotypes (protein coding, miRNA, etc.) for a given aligned dataset with nucleotide precision. We present applications of ALFA to Ribo-Seq and RNA-Seq on Homo sapiens, CLIP-Seq on Mus musculus, RNA-Seq on Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Bisulfite sequencing on Arabidopsis thaliana and ChIP-Seq on Caenorhabditis elegans. Conclusions: We show that ALFA provides a powerful and broadly applicable approach for post mapping quality control and to produce a global overview using common or dedicated annotations. It is made available to the community as an easy to install command line tool and from the Galaxy Tool Shed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry technology (MALDI-TOF MS) is an innovative tool that has been shown to be effective for the identification of numerous arthropod groups including mosquitoes. A critical step in the implementation of MALDI-TOF MS identification is the creation of spectra databases (DB) for the species of interest. Mosquito legs were the body part most frequently used to create identification DB. However, legs are one of the most fragile mosquito compartments, which can put identification at risk. Here, we assessed whether mosquito thoraxes could also be used as a relevant body part for mosquito species identification using a MALDI-TOF MS biotyping strategy; we propose a double DB query strategy to reinforce identification success. Methods: Thoraxes and legs from 91 mosquito specimens belonging to seven mosquito species collected in six localities from Guadeloupe, and two laboratory strains, Aedes aegypti BORA and Aedes albopictus Marseille, were dissected and analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS. Molecular identification using cox1 gene sequencing was also conducted on representative specimens to confirm their identification. Results: MS profiles obtained with both thoraxes and legs were highly compartment-specific, species-specific and species-reproducible, allowing high identification scores (log-score values, LSVs) when queried against the in-house MS reference spectra DB (thorax LSVs range: 2.260–2.783, leg LSVs range: 2.132–2.753). Conclusions: Both thoraxes and legs could be used for a double DB query in order to reinforce the success and accuracy of MALDI-TOF MS identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The World Health Assembly adopted the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, which includes improving the knowledge base through surveillance and research. Noteworthily, the World Health Organization has advocated a Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System to address the plan's surveillance objective, with most African countries enrolling in or after 2017. Aim The aim of this article was to review prior data on antimicrobial resistance of Vibrio cholerae from sub-Saharan Africa with a view for future control and intervention strategies. Methods We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (or 'PRISMA') guidelines to search the PubMed and African Journals Online databases, as well as additional articles provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, for articles reporting on the antibiotic susceptibility of V. cholerae between January 2000 and December 2017. Results We identified 340 publications, of which only 25 (reporting from 16 countries within the sub-Saharan African region) were eligible. The majority (20; 80.0%) of the cholera toxigenic V. cholerae isolates were of the serogroup O1 of the El Tor biotype with Ogawa and Inaba serotypes predominating. Resistance was predominantly documented to trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole (50% of the studies), ampicillin (43.3% of the studies), chloramphenicol (43.3% of the studies) and streptomycin (30% of the studies). Resistance mechanisms were reported in 40% of the studies. Conclusion Our results demonstrate a documented antimicrobial resistance of V. cholerae to multiple antibiotic classes, including cell wall active agents and antimetabolites with evidence of phenotypic/genotypic resistance to fluoroquinolones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]