ABSTRACT
Phytotelmatrichis, gen. n. a new genus of Ptiliidae: Acrotrichinae with two species Phytotelmatrichis peruviensis sp. n. and Phytotelmatrichis osopaddington sp. n. is described and illustrated. The new species were found during a survey of insects in the aquatic environments that form in the hollows (phytotelmata) in the leaves and floral bracts of Zingiberales plants. The new taxa were found in the the Zingiberales genera Calathea (Marantaceae), Heliconia (Heliconiaceae), and Alpinia and Renealmia (Zingiberaceae) in southern Peru. Sampling of other habitats in the same areas over five years and using a range of different techniques did not yield more specimens of this new genus. This suggests that the new species are restricted to phytotelmata.
Subject(s)
Coleoptera/classification , Zingiberales/embryology , Zingiberales/parasitology , Animal Distribution , Animal Structures/anatomy & histology , Animal Structures/growth & development , Animals , Body Size , Coleoptera/anatomy & histology , Coleoptera/growth & development , Ecosystem , Female , Male , Organ Size , Peru , Zingiberales/classificationABSTRACT
Three novel diarylheptanoids, blepharocalyxins C--E (5--7), together with four new (1--4) and one known (8) diarylheptanoids bearing a tetrahydropyran ring were isolated from the residual fraction of an EtOH extract of the seeds of Alpinia blepharocalyx. The structures and the stereochemistry at the chiral centers of the new diarylheptanoids were elucidated by spectroscopic techniques including 2D NMR spectroscopy. Blepharocalyxins C--E (5--7) have a novel carbon framework and are dimeric diarylheptanoids consisting of two diarylheptanoid units. Blepharocalyxin D (6) showed potent antiproliferative activity against murine colon 26-L5 carcinoma cells (ED(50), 3.61 microM), while against human HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells, blepharocalyxin E (7) showed potent activity (ED(50), 9.02 microM).
Subject(s)
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/isolation & purification , Pyrans/isolation & purification , Zingiberales/chemistry , Animals , Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/chemistry , Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/pharmacology , Dimerization , Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor , Humans , Mice , Molecular Structure , Pyrans/chemistry , Pyrans/pharmacology , Seeds/chemistry , Spectrum Analysis , Tumor Cells, Cultured , Zingiberales/embryologyABSTRACT
Banana bunchy top nanovirus has a multicomponent, circular single-stranded DNA genome comprising at least six integral components, BBTV DNA-1 to -6, which have been consistently associated with bunchy top disease worldwide. At least three other components, BBTV S1, S2 and Y, which have been isolated from Taiwanese BBTV isolates, do not appear to be integral components. We show here that both BBTV DNA-1 and S1, which encode replication initiation (Rep) proteins, were capable of self-replication when bombarded into banana embryogenic cell suspensions. However, only BBTV DNA-1 was capable of directing the replication of two other BBTV genomic components, namely BBTV DNA-3 which encodes the coat protein, and DNA-5 which encodes a retinoblastoma binding-like protein. These results indicate that (i) BBTV DNA-1 is the minimal replicative unit of BBTV and encodes the 'master' viral Rep and (ii) BBTV S1 is possibly a satellite DNA which is unable to replicate integral BBTV components.
Subject(s)
Capsid Proteins , DNA Helicases/genetics , DNA Viruses/genetics , DNA, Viral/biosynthesis , DNA, Viral/genetics , DNA-Binding Proteins , Plant Viruses/genetics , Trans-Activators/genetics , Virus Replication , Zingiberales/virology , Biolistics , Capsid/genetics , DNA Helicases/metabolism , DNA Viruses/growth & development , DNA, Satellite/genetics , DNA, Viral/administration & dosage , Plant Viruses/growth & development , Trans-Activators/metabolism , Viral Proteins/genetics , Viral Proteins/metabolism , Zingiberales/cytology , Zingiberales/embryologyABSTRACT
A 1369 bp DNA fragment (Sc) was isolated from a full-length clone of sugarcane bacilliform badnavirus (ScBV) and was shown to have promoter activity in transient expression assays using monocot (banana, maize, millet and sorghum) and dicot plant species (tobacco, sunflower, canola and Nicotiana benthamiana). This promoter was also tested for stable expression in transgenic banana and tobacco plants. These experiments showed that this promoter could drive high-level expression of the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene in most plant cells. The expression level was comparable to the maize ubiquitin promoter in standardised transient assays in maize. In transgenic banana plants the expression levels were variable for different transgenic lines but was generally comparable with the activities of both the maize ubiquitin promoter and the enhanced cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter. The Sc promoter appears to express in a near-constitutive manner in transgenic banana and tobacco plants. The promoter from sugarcane bacilliform virus represents a useful tool for the high-level expression of foreign genes in both monocot and dicot transgenic plants that could be used similarly to the CaMV 35S or maize polyubiquitin promoter.
