Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is characterized by fast growth, low environmental requirements and aesthetic values therefore it has become a very popular tree planted in forest urban areas. In recent years, altered shape trees with virus-like symptoms on their leaves have been observed. Therefore, the aim of this work was to identify virus species potentially causing visible symptoms. ...

Because of the scarcity of polymorphic genetic markers, only a few genetic studies on the population structure of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, have been carried out. We isolated and characterized nine polymorphic dinucleotide microsatellite loci. These markers were evaluated using individuals from Niger and Senegal. Seven of these microsatellite markers are also applicable to the n...

Abstract Desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), swarms during outbreaks, and plagues can invade many countries across vast regions of Africa Asia, consuming substantial quantities crops rangeland vegetation. In the most recent desert locust episode, which originated in Saudi Arabia’s remote interior June 2018, entered Pakistan March 2019, devastating important c...

To check for the presence of Em-like proteins in seeds of the leguminous tree Robinia pseudoacacia L. (black locust), a cDNA library constructed from mRNA isolated from developing seeds was screened using radiolabeled cDNA encoding the Em protein from Vigna radiata as a probe. Sequence analysis of the identified cDNA clones revealed two classes of Em proteins in Robinia. The nucleotide sequence...

Multiplicative operations and invariance of neuronal responses are thought to play important roles in the processing of neural information in many sensory systems. Yet the biophysical mechanisms that underlie both multiplication and invariance of neuronal responses in vivo, either at the single cell or at the network level, remain to a large extent unknown. Recent work on an identified neuron i...

The use of raw sawdust, RSD, of locust bean tree (Parkia biglobosa), a low-cost, locally available agroforestry waste as an adsorbent for removing a ternary mixture of heavy metals comprising of copper, lead and nickel (TMS) from aqueous solution was examined. Equilibrium data obtained from batch adsorption experiments were analysed with Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherm models, with Lan...

An essential function of the brain is to detect threats, such as those posed by objects or predators on a collision course. A wide-field, movement-sensitive visual neuron in the brain of the locust was studied by presenting simulated approaching, receding, and translating objects. The neuron's responses could be described simply by multiplying the velocity of the image edge (dtheta/dtau) with a...