Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), or fall armyworm, is an important agricultural pest of several crops in the Western Hemisphere, including cotton (Gossypium L.). Two morphologically identical host strains of fall armyworm exist that differ in plant host use and habitat distribution. The corn-strain is a primary pest of corn, Zea mays L., whereas the rice-strain is th...

Gene coexpression networks are a useful tool for summarizing transcriptomic data and providing insight into patterns of gene regulation in a variety of species. Though there has been considerable interest in studying the evolution of network topology across species, less attention has been paid to the relationship between network position and patterns of molecular evolution. Here, we generated ...

Rapid progress in comparative genomics among the grasses has revealed similar gene content and order despite exceptional differences in chromosome size and number. Large- and small-scale genomic variations are of particular interest, especially among cultivated and wild species, as they encode rapidly evolving features that may be important in adaptation to particular environments. We present a...

conclusions the results of the present study revealed that soil resources of these areas were contaminated with opportunistic amoebas such as acanthamoeba and hartmannella spp. and this may lead to severe diseases in high-risk people, such as immunocompromised patients. background free-living amoebas are very abundant in nature, especially in water and soil. some species of amoebas cause seriou...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Agricultural crop databases maintained in gene banks of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) are valuable sources of information for breeders. These databases provide comparative phenotypic and genotypic information that can help elucidate functional aspects of plant and agricultural biology. To facilitate data sharing within and between thes...

Oryza sativa, the common cultivated rice, is one of the most important crops for human consumption, but production is increasingly threatened by abiotic stresses. Although many efforts have resulted in breeding rice cultivars that are relatively tolerant to their local environments, climate changes and population increase are expected to soon call for new, fast generation of stress tolerant ric...