The Palmitoyl-acyl carrier protein thioesterase (PATE) gene is one of the key genes involved in plastidial fatty acid biosynthesis and known to regulate the accumulation of the C . In American oil palm 16:0 (Elaeis oleifera) fruit mesocarp, C content can be minimized by post-transcriptional PATE gene silencing. 16:0 In this study, 12 weeks old immature zygotic embryos (IZEs) of E. oleifera were...

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is the highest oil-yielding plant in the world, storing 90 and 60% (dry weight) oil in its mesocarp and kernel, respectively. To gain insights into the oil accumulation mechanism, one of the key enzymes involved in triacylglycerol (TAG) biosynthesis, a Type 2 diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT2) from oil palm, was characterized for its in vivo activity. EgDG...

Using a novel pressure membrane (PM) apparatus for the extraction of apoplastic fluid from field-grown grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berries, our hypothesis that significant apoplast solutes accumulate at the beginning of the ripening process (i.e. veraison), and that this accumulation might contribute to progressive berry softening due to a progressive loss of mesocarp cell turgor pressure (P) was...

The present study reports on the proportion of endocarp, mesocarp and exocarp in green walnuts and on the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity of these fractions and of whole green walnuts (Juglans regia L.). The total phenolic content was determined by the Folin– Ciocalteu method and the antioxidant activity was assessed by the ability to quench the stable free radical 2,2'-diphenyl...

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) represent a threat to fruit growing worldwide, mainly the citrus culture, however, biological studies show that fruit flies are not perfectly adapted to this host. This study investigated oviposition of Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824) and its relation with the pericarp of citrus fruits. We evaluated the relatio...

ABSTRACT Reduced-pathogenicity mutants of the avocado fruit pathogen Colletotrichum gloeosporioides isolate Cg-14 (teleomorph: Glomerella cingulata) were generated by insertional mutagenesis by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) transformation. Following seven transformations, 3,500 hygromycin-resistant isolates were subjected to a virulence assay by inoculation on mesocarp and peri...

BACKGROUND One factor affecting crude palm oil quality is the formation of free fatty acids (FFA), often attributed to the hydrolytic action of mesocarp lipase. The aim of this work was to evaluate the enzyme behavior and to look toward new genotypes with low FFA production, high yield, and better oil quality. RESULTS Lipase activity was strongly activated at low temperatures (5 °C). At this ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect on intake, apparent digestibility, and ruminal constituents of sheep in response to the addition of increasing levels of babassu mesocarp flour (BMF) to the diet. Twenty crossbred sheep (29.17 ± 2.23 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design. Lambs were confined for 21 days, with 16 days for diet adaptation and 5 days for data collectio...

We studied a community of frugivorous Lepidoptera in the lowland rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Rearing revealed 122 species represented by 1,720 individuals from 326 woody plant species. Only fruits from 52% (171) of the plant species sampled were attacked. On average, Lepidoptera were reared from 1 in 89 fruits and a kilogram of fruit was attacked by 1.01 individuals. Host specificity of Lep...

Calamus erectus Roxb. (CE) fruit under the family Arecaceae is traditionally used by the local people of Darjeeling Himalaya as an antidiabetic agent but no scientific reports are available yet. Hence this study was designed to determine the in vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic activities of two different parts viz. mesocarp and endocarp of Calamus erectus fruit. The extracts were screened for...