The three fungal pathogens Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae), Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize) Brown & Smith (Deuteromycotina: Hyphomycetes), and Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill. (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) were evaluated as potential biological control agents against the cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). The ...

The intracellular part of the Rel signal transduction pathway in Drosophila is encoded by Toll, tube, pelle, dorsal, and cactus, and it functions to form the dorsal-ventral axis in the Drosophila embryo. Upon activation of the transmembrane receptor Toll, Dorsal dissociates from its cytoplasmic inhibitor Cactus and enters the nucleus. Tube and Pelle are required to relay the signal from Toll to...

Rank of divisor on graph was introduced in 2007 and it quickly attracts many attentions. Recently in 2015, the problem of computing this quantity was proved to be NP-hard. In this paper, we describe a linear time algorithm for this problem limited on cactus graphs.

Many insects are influenced by the phenology of their host plants. In North Central Florida, Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae) spends its entire life cycle living and feeding on Opuntia mesacantha ssp. lata. This cactus begins producing flower buds in April that lead to unripe green fruit in June that ripen into red fruit through December. Many morphological and behavioral characteristics o...

Four bacterial species isolated from the rhizoplane of cacti growing in bare lava rocks were assessed for growth promotion of giant cardon cactus seedlings (Pachycereus pringlei). These bacteria fixed N(2), dissolved P, weathered extrusive igneous rock, marble, and limestone, and significantly mobilized useful minerals, such as P, K, Mg, Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn in rock minerals. Cardon cactus seeds ...

UNLABELLED PREMISE OF THE STUDY Genetic studies of Cactaceae can at times be impeded by difficult sampling logistics and/or high mucilage content in tissues. Simplifying sampling and DNA isolation through the use of cactus spines has not previously been investigated. • METHODS AND RESULTS Several protocols for extracting DNA from spines were tested and modified to maximize yield, amplifica...

Rel transcription factors function in flies and vertebrates in immunity and development. Although Rel proteins regulate diverse processes, the control of their function is conserved. In a two-hybrid screen for additional components of the pathway using the Drosophila I-kappaB protein Cactus as a bait, we isolated a novel coiled-coil protein with N-terminal Arg-Asp (RD)- like motifs that we call...

Natural products and health foods have recently received a lot of attention both by health professionals and the common population for improving overall well-being, as well as in the prevention of diseases including cancer. In this line, all types of fruits and vegetables have been re-evaluated and recognized as valuable sources of nutraceuticals. The great number of potentially active nutrient...

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Opuntia ficus-indica cactus cladode extracts in microglia BV-2 cells. Inflammation associated with microglia activation in neuronal injury can be achieved by LPS exposure. Using four different structurally and biologically well-characterized LPS serotypes, we revealed a structure-related differential effect ...