A real-time qPCR assay was designed to detect African-derived subspecies of western honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). The probes targeted the same region mitochondrial cytochrome b gene used in previous restriction enzyme assays. Using samples from 16 A. representing four lineages, we evaluated efficacy this identify African- (or A-lineage) and non-A-lineage bees. successfully differentiated A-li...

Sinorhizobium meliloti and Sinorhizobium medicae are two closely related species of the genus Sinorhizobium showing a similar host range, nodulating leguminous species of the genera Medicago, Melilotus and Trigonella, but their phylogenic relationship has not been elucidated yet. In this paper we report the application of three different molecular markers, (i) RFLP of nodD genes, (ii) 16S-23S r...

Saponins isolated from Medicago sativa L. appeared to stimulate lipolytic activity and did not influence amylolytic or proteolytic activity of Neopancreatinum (extract of pancreatic enzymes: lipase, proteases and amylases). Saponins isolated from the aerial part of Medicago sativa L. were demonstrated to stimulate lipase activity more effectively than saponins separated from the root of this pl...

Changes of the stinging response threshold of Apis mellifera scutellata were measured on foragers fixed on a holder and stimulated with an electric shock as a noxious stimulus. The threshold of responsiveness to the noxious stimulus increased when bees were previously stimulated with isopentyl acetate, which is a main component of the alarm pheromone of the sting chamber. This effect is antagon...

The world of mushrooms is rich in species high interest due to their nutritional and pharmaceutical values. However, this includes also non-edible species, which are not consumed being poisonous, awful smell, or causing some serious gastrointestinal symptoms. Apart from no value, the study chemical composition revealed presence biologically active compounds that can be used for medicinal biolog...

for adaptation to the local mutualist in Medicago lupulina 2 Tia L. Harrison*, Corlett W. Wood*, Isabela L. Borges, and John R. Stinchcombe 3 4 1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario 5 M5S3B2, Canada 6 2 Centre for Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, 7 M5S3B2, Canada 8 * These authors contributed equally to t...