Cyclotides are diverse plant backbone cyclized peptides that have attracted interest as pharmaceutical scaffolds, but fundamentals of their biosynthetic origin remain elusive. Backbone cyclization is a key enzyme-mediated step of cyclotide biosynthesis and confers a measure of stability on the resultant cyclotide. Furthermore, cyclization would be desirable for engineered peptides. Here we repo...

The association of Vibrio cholerae with zooplankton has been suggested as an important factor in transmission of human epidemic cholera, and the ability to colonize zooplankton surfaces may play a role in the temporal variation and predominance of the two different serogroups (V. cholerae O1 El Tor and O139) in the aquatic environment. To date, interactions between specific serogroups and speci...

Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) is an example of a freshwater fish species whose remarkable diffusion outside its native range has led to it being placed on the list of the world's hundred worst invasive alien species (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Here, we investigate mosquitofish shoaling tendency using a dichotomous choice test in which computer-animated images of their co...

The mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, and the inland silverside, Menidia beryllina, were evaluated in experimental, one-tenth hectare wild rice plots in Lake County, California, for their impact on densities of Culex tarsalis, Anopheles freeborni and Anopheles franciscanus. Gambusia affinis were tested at 0.6 and 1.7 kg/ha and the silversides at ca. 0.9 kg/ha. The silversides did not survive well...

Helminth parasites of mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) were surveyed in Bayou Traverse, a waterway in the LaBranche wetlands of southeastern Louisiana, U.S.A. In total, 1,255 parasites belonging to 8 species were collected and identified, including Ascocotyle ampullacea, Ascocotyle mcintoshi, Ascocotyle tenuicollis, Phagicola diminuta, Phagicola sp., Echinochasmus swartzi, Posthodiplostomum mini...

Ethyl formate (EF) in combination with CO2 was tested for control of arthropods commonly infesting California table grapes. In addition, table grape tolerance to EF exposure was evaluated. LC99 estimates were developed for target pests by using a range of EF concentrations (0.04-4.7% EF). Response to treatments varied greatly between species, as well as life stages within species. Western flowe...

A hitherto unidentified endophytic strain of the genus Chaetomium, isolated from the medicinal plant Otanthus maritimus, yielded a new tetrahydrofuran derivative, aureonitolic acid (1), along with 5 known natural products, 2-6. The structure of 1 was determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with reported data. Extracts of the fungus, grown either in liquid culture or on sol...

Interest in cryptic species has increased significantly with current progress in genetic methods. The large number of cryptic species suggests that the resolution of traditional morphological techniques may be insufficient for taxonomical research. However, some species now considered to be cryptic may, in fact, be designated pseudocryptic after close morphological examination. Thus the "crypti...