PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Banana plant fights off crop's invisible nemesis: Roundworms

Good news for world's leading export banana

Banana plant fights off crop's invisible nemesis: Roundworms
2014-03-05
(Press-News.org) The banana variety Yangambi km5 produces toxic substances that kill the nematode Radopholus similis, a roundworm that infects the root tissue of banana plants – to the frustration of farmers worldwide. The finding bodes well for the Grande Naine, the export banana par excellence, which is very susceptible to the roundworms.

The parasitic nematode Radopholus similis is the invisible nemesis of the banana plant, says Professor Dirk De Waele (Laboratory for Tropical Crop Improvement, KU Leuven), a co-author of the study: "This roundworm infects banana crops worldwide. The nematodes are invisible to the naked eye, but they can penetrate the roots of banana plants by the thousands. Once infected, these plants absorb less water and nutrients, resulting in yield losses of up to 75 percent. Lesions in the roots also make the plant more susceptible to other diseases. Eventually, the roots begin to rot. In the final stage of the disease, the plant topples over, its fruit bunch inexorably lost."

Combating nematodes isn't easy, adds Professor Rony Swennen (Laboratory for Tropical Crop Improvement, KU Leuven), another co-author: "Synthetic pesticides are toxic and expensive. Moreover, pesticides usually do not actually kill the nematodes, they just temporarily paralyze them. Nematodes can also build up resistance to pesticides."

While the Grande Naine is very susceptible to nematodes, other varieties are known to be resistant to them. Enter the Yangambi km5, a variety first grown in the 1950's at a Belgian research station in Yangambi, DR Congo. The researchers compared the two banana varieties and studied their defense responses to Radopholus similis. "Researchers have always wondered how the Yangambi km5 manages to fight off roundworms," says De Waele. "This study goes a long way in answering that."

With colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (Germany), the KU Leuven researchers identified which metabolites are responsible for fighting off the nematodes. "We found nine different nematode-killing metabolites in Yangambi km5. These metabolites are also produced in the Grande Naine, but much more slowly and in lesser quantities. In that banana variety, the nematodes win the fight."

The new knowledge of metabolites will be helpful in developing edible and pest-resistant banana varieties, says Swennen. "The next step is to screen other banana varieties for metabolites. This method could also be applied to other crops and other species of nematode. Nematodes pose a growing threat to rice production in Asia, for example. Our findings also provide the industry with perspectives to develop a generation of new pesticides against nematodes."

INFORMATION: END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Banana plant fights off crop's invisible nemesis: Roundworms Banana plant fights off crop's invisible nemesis: Roundworms 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Patients' stories used to improve care on wards

2014-03-05
A research project led by Oxford University is showing how patient experiences can be used to improve healthcare – not through targets and surveys, but by getting doctors, nurses and patients talking together about care on the ward. The new approach has been used in pilot projects at two UK hospital trusts – Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust in London and the Royal Berkshire in Reading. Videos of patients talking about care they received at various hospitals are used to trigger a discussion between NHS staff, managers, patients and family members about the ...

Program to move families out of high-poverty neighborhoods has mixed results

Program to move families out of high-poverty neighborhoods has mixed results
2014-03-05
A program designed to move families out of high-poverty neighborhoods resulted in reduced rates of depression and conduct disorder among girls, but increased rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and conduct disorder among boys, according to a study published in the March 5 issue of JAMA. Prof. Jens Ludwig, one of the study's authors, said this was a follow-up long-term analysis of families participating in the Moving to Opportunity residential-mobility demonstration sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ludwig is the ...

NASA's Hubble finds life is too fast, too furious for this runaway galaxy

NASAs Hubble finds life is too fast, too furious for this runaway galaxy
2014-03-05
The spiral galaxy ESO 137-001 looks like a dandelion caught in a breeze in this new Hubble Space Telescope image. The galaxy is zooming toward the upper right of this image, in between other galaxies in the Norma cluster located over 200 million light-years away. The road is harsh: intergalactic gas in the Norma cluster is sparse, but so hot at 180 million degrees Fahrenheit that it glows in X-rays. The spiral plows through the seething intra-cluster gas so rapidly – at nearly 4.5 million miles per hour — that much of its own gas is caught and torn away. Astronomers ...

UW researchers use Lumosity to identify early cognitive impairment in cirrhosis patients

2014-03-05
San Francisco, Calif. – March 5, 2014 – A new study from the University of Washington has found that performance on Lumosity games can distinguish between patients with cirrhosis of the liver, pre-cirrhotic patients, and healthy controls. The study used Lumosity games as psychometric tests to detect subtle cognitive impairments in patients with cirrhosis. The study is published in the March issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. Studies have found that an estimated 60-80 percent of cirrhosis patients experience cognitive dysfunction, which can range from ...

Changes in hospital orders increase pertussis immunization rates

2014-03-05
LOS ANGELES – (March 5, 2014) – Changing the hospital orders for women who have just delivered a child led to a 69% increase in the new mothers' pertussis vaccination rate, providing protection for themselves and their newborns against the disease, commonly known as whooping cough, according to a study in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Sylvia Yeh, MD, a Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) lead researcher and corresponding author of the study, said it is the first to compare immunization rates among two hospitals: ...

To avoid very high pension ages, enable more to work

2014-03-05
The new research, which was published in the journal Demographic Research, shows that increasing labor force participation by as little as 1 or 2 percentage points could allow pension ages to be reduced by one year without increasing the burden on the working population. "Coping with aging populations is a challenge for most developed countries," says IIASA population expert Sergei Scherbov, who co-led the study with Warren Sanderson, a researcher at IIASA and Stony Brook University. In Europe and many other areas of the developed world, birth rates have dropped while ...

Security tools for Industry 4.0

Security tools for Industry 4.0
2014-03-05
You can hear the metallic buzz as the milling machine bores into the workpiece. Just a few last drill holes, and the camshaft is complete. The computer-guided machine performed the entire job – thanks to the digital manufacturing data that were uploaded onto its embedded computer beforehand. Everything runs without a hitch, only – the data are stolen. Manufacturing data determine the production process for a product, and are just as valuable today as the design plans. They contain distinctive, inimitable information about the product and its manufacture. Whoever possesses ...

Smart grid for electric vehicle fleet

Smart grid for electric vehicle fleet
2014-03-05
The network of charging stations for electric vehicles is becoming more tightly meshed. In Germany, the ratio of electric cars to charging stations is currently two to one and utility companies are pushing forward expansion of charging opportunities, especially in cities and metropolitan areas. Over 2000 charging spots have already been installed nationwide and the country's largest charging infrastructure is at the Fraunhofer Institute Center Stuttgart IZS – where up to 30 electric vehicles (EVs) at a time can re- charge at AC charge spots in the Fraunhofer Campus parking ...

New fins evolve repeatedly in teleost fishes

New fins evolve repeatedly in teleost fishes
2014-03-05
Though present in more than 6,000 living species of fish, the adipose fin, a small appendage that lies between the dorsal fin and tail, has no clear function and is thought to be vestigial. However, a new study analyzing their origins finds that these fins arose repeatedly and independently in multiple species. In addition, adipose fins appear to have repeatedly and independently evolved a skeleton, offering a glimpse into how new tissue types and structural complexity evolve in vertebrate appendages. Adipose fins therefore represent a unique example of convergent evolution ...

First light for MUSE

First light for MUSE
2014-03-05
Following testing and preliminary acceptance in Europe in September 2013, MUSE was shipped to ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile. It was reassembled at the base camp before being carefully transported to its new home at the VLT, where it is now installed on Unit Telescope 4. MUSE is the latest of the second generation instruments for the VLT (the first two were X-shooter and KMOS and the next, SPHERE, will follow shortly). The leader of the team and principal investigator for the instrument, Roland Bacon (Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon, France), expressed his ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.

Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis

KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision​

Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response

Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid

Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia

Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients

Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years

Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations

New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients

New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans

Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production

New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination

Study examines lactation in critically ill patients

UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award

Doubling down on metasurfaces

New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders

Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana

PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation

ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy

How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease

A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet

Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice

Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast

Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds

The experts that can outsmart optical illusions

Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk

Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase

Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows

Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds

[Press-News.org] Banana plant fights off crop's invisible nemesis: Roundworms
Good news for world's leading export banana