We developed a process of producing a dead-spore Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki HD-1 formulation, Toarow CT, and studied several aspects t o improve the productivity of crystal toxin and the insecticidal potency after sterilization to kill spores. The production of cell mass or crystal toxin was highly influenced by aeration and agitation of the culture. The culture broth, within...

The susceptibility of two New Zealand populations of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, to insecticides from three classes was compared with the susceptibility of a standard North American population (Geneva 88) in laboratory assays at the New York Experiment Station during 1993. Leaf dip assays showed that the New Zealand populations had developed moderate resistance to permethrin compared...

The application of a microencapsulated (MEC) sex pheromone formulation (Checkmate CM-F) for codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), in low volume, concentrated sprays was evaluated in a series of small plot and grower trials in apple, Malus domestica Borkhausen, and pear, Pyrus communis L. Preliminary tests found that MEC sprays applied at 172-207 kilopascals in 12-23 liters/ha deposited the highes...

The three-dimensional conformation of Aea-TMOF (Aedes aegypti Trypsin Modulating Oostatic Factor), a decapeptide (YDPAPPPPPP) isolated from mosquito ovaries that inhibits the translation of many trypsin-like serine proteases, e.g. in mosquitoes, flies and lepidopterans, was used as a model for the synthesis of 10 aromatic and aliphatic organic acid and ester analogues. The organic TMOF analogue...

Coevolution has been hypothesized as the main driving force for the remarkable diversity of insect-plant associations. Dating of insect and plant phylogenies allows us to test coevolutionary hypotheses and distinguish between the contemporaneous radiation of interacting lineages vs. insect 'host tracking' of previously diversified plants. Here, we used nuclear DNA to reconstruct a molecular phy...

Several naturally occurring dietary polyphenols with chemopreventive or anticancer properties are topoisomerase II poisons. To identify additional phytochemicals that enhance topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage, a library of 341 Mediterranean plant extracts was screened for activity against human topoisomerase IIα. An extract from Phillyrea latifolia L., a member of the olive tree family, di...