Roles of salivary proteases in the extra-oral digestion of the predatory bug, Andrallus spinidens Fabricius (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) were studied by using 2% azocasein as a general substrate and specific protease substrates, as well as synthetic and endogenous inhibitors. It was found that salivary glands of A. spinidens have two anterior, two lateral, and two posterior lobes. Azocasein was us...

The glossy cauliflower PI 234599 has been used in breeding programs as a source of resistance to diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), and other lepidopterous larvae, but the relationship between insect resistance and glossiness has not been clear. One way to clarify this relationship is to find glossy lines carrying different genes for glossiness and test their resistance to insects. In ...

Plants have evolved adaptive mechanisms that allow them to tolerate a continuous range of abiotic and biotic stressors. Tropospheric ozone (O3), a global anthropogenic pollutant, directly affects living organisms and ecosystems, including plant-herbivore interactions. In this study, we investigate the stress responses of Brassica nigra (wild black mustard) exposed consecutively to O3 and the sp...

Populations of Eruca sativa (Brassicaceae) from desert and Mediterranean (Med) habitats in Israel differ in their defense against larvae of the generalist Spodoptera littoralis but not the specialist Pieris brassicae. Larvae of the generalist insect feeding on plants of the Med population gained significantly less weight than those feeding on the desert plants, and exogenous application of meth...

Zoophthora radicans is an entomopathogenic fungus with the potential to be used as an insect biological control agent. To better understand the mechanisms used by Z. radicans to infect different hosts, we generated expressed sequence tag (EST) datasets from a Z. radicans strain originally isolated from Pieris brassicae, and an isogenic strain passaged through Plutella xylostella. In total, 1839...

Direct, indirect and double antibody sandwich methods of ELISA were examined for their ability to detect and discriminate between granulosis viruses from Pieris brassicae, Agrotis segetum and Cydia pomonella and for their specificity in the presence of host material. The indirect method was the most sensitive, capable of detecting down to about I ng of dissolved capsules/ml compared with IO ng/...

Clubroot disease caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae is one of the most important diseases of cultivated brassicas. P. brassicae occurs in pathotypes which differ in the aggressiveness towards their Brassica host plants. To date no DNA based method to distinguish these pathotypes has been described. In 2011 polymorphism within the 28S rDNA of P. brassicae was reported which potentially could all...