Purifying selection drove the adaptation of mitochondrial genes along with correlation of gene rearrangements and evolutionary rates in two subfamilies of Whitefly (Insecta: Hemiptera).

Insect mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are usually represented by a conserved gene order. Whiteflies exhibit gene rearrangement in their mitogenomes; however, understanding how nucleotide substitution rates shape gene rearrangement in whiteflies is unclear due to the limited number of mitogenomes. Additionally, the mechanisms by which selection pressure drives adaptations in mitochondrial genes in the two subfamilies of whiteflies are not yet known. Here, we analyzed 18 whitefly mitogenomes, including one newly generated mitogenome, to compare nucleotide substitution rates, selection pressure, and gene arrangements. The newly generated mitogenome is reported along with reannotation of Pealius mori and comparisons to other whitefly mitogenomes. Comparative studies on nucleotide composition of 18 whiteflies revealed the positive GC skewness, confirming the reversal of strand asymmetry. We found 11 rearranged gene orders within two subfamilies of whiteflies with 8-18 breakpoints of gene rearrangements. Members of the subfamily Aleyrodinae exhibit more complex pathways in the evolution of gene order as compared to the subfamily Aleurodicinae. Our findings also revealed that the increase or reduction of nucleotide substitution rates does not have an impact on any of the gene rearrangement scenarios depicting neutral correlation. Selection pressure analysis revealed that the mitogenomes from members of both the subfamilies Aleurodicinae and Aleyrodinae are characterized by intense purifying selection pressure.

Fruit Quality Assessment of Novel Hybrid Pummelo × Sweet Orange and Its Molecular Characterization Using Acidity Specific Markers.

Research background: There is considerable diversity in newly developed pummelo × sweet orange citrus hybrids. Most hybrids showed lower peel thickness and high juice yield but there is a lack of information on fruit quality parameters and molecular characterization. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to determine the content of antioxidants and properties of the fresh juice of 24 new pummelo × sweet orange citrus hybrids (Citrus maxima [Burm. f.] Osbeck × Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck) and the parental genotypes along with molecular characteristics determined using acidity specific markers. Experimental approach: The correlation and estimate of inheritance of the fruit juice properties: ascorbic acid, total phenol, total flavonoid, total antioxidant, total soluble solid and sugar contents, pH, titratable acidity, along with sensory evaluation was performed. Molecular characterization of these hybrids was carried out using de novo generated acidity specific simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Results and conclusions: The main constituents of the fruit juice of pummelo × sweet orange hybrids were observed in the range of w(ascorbic acid)=40.00-58.13 mg/100 g, total phenols expressed as gallic acid equivalents w(GAE)=40.67-107.33 mg/100 g, total antioxidants expressed as Trolox equivalents b(Trolox)=2.03-5.49 µmol/g, total flavonoids expressed as quercetin equivalents w(QE)=23.67-59.33 mg/100 g, along with other properties: total soluble solids=7.33-11.33 %, w(total sugar)=2.10-5.76 %, w(reducing sugar)=1.69-2.78 %, w(non-reducing sugar)=0.39-3.17 % and titratable acidity 1.00-2.11 %. The above parameters differed significantly in the fruit juice of the evaluated pummelo × sweet orange hybrids. Considering these parameters, the hybrids SCSH 17-9, SCSH 13-13, SCSH 11-15 and SCSH 3-15 had superior antioxidant properties in terms of these parameters. A higher heritability (≥80 %) was also observed for all juice properties. Molecular characterization of pummelo × sweet orange hybrids showed that >50 % of the hybrids were grouped with medium acidity parents. Both molecular and biochemical parameter-based clustering showed that interspecific hybrids exhibit transgressive segregation with increased antioxidants that help alleviate the health problems. Novelty and scientific contribution: These newly developed pummelo × sweet orange citrus hybrids are a valuable source of high-quality antioxidants for a healthy diet. The identification of trait markers that enable selection at the seedling stage is of great benefit to citrus breeders, as the characteristic features of a mature tree are not yet visible at the juvenile stage.

EBi-LSTM: an enhanced bi-directional LSTM for time-series data classification by heuristic development of optimal feature integration in brain computer interface.

Generally, time series data is referred to as the sequential representation of data that observes from different applications. Therefore, such expertise can use Electroencephalography (EEG) signals to fetch data regarding brain neural activities in brain-computer interface (BCI) systems. Due to massive and myriads data, the signals are appealed in a non-stationary format that ends with a poor quality resolution. To overcome this existing issue, a new framework of enhanced deep learning methods is proposed. The source signals are collected and undergo feature extraction in four ways. Hence, the features are concatenated to enhance the performance. Subsequently, the concatenated features are given to probability ratio-based Reptile Search Algorithm (PR-RSA) to select the optimal features. Finally, the classification is conducted using Enhanced Bi-directional Long Short-Term Memory (EBi-LSTM), where the hyperparameters are optimized by PR-RSA. Throughout the result analysis, it is confirmed that the offered model obtains elevated classification accuracy, and thus tends to increase the performance.

Dialeurolonga re-defined (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae): with a new genus and species from India, two new genera from Australia, and discussion of host-correlated puparial variation.

Aleuropositus Dubey gen. n., Australeurodes Dubey gen. n. and Septemaleurodes Dubey gen. n. are proposed with their respective type species as A. sinus Dubey sp. n. from India, D. operculobata Martin & Carver from Australia, and D. swainei Martin from Australia. A. sinus sp. n. is described from Kerala, India, illustrated with line drawings, microphotographs and SEM images. The puparia are asymmetric in taxonomic characters and shape, and variation in puparia associated with a single host is discussed. A generic diagnosis of Dialeurolonga is provided based on SEM study of the type species, D. elongata. Australian species placed in this genus have puparial characteristics that distinguish them from Afrotropical assemblages, and are here referred to two new genera.

Differential gene expression associated with flower development of mango (Mangifera indica L.) varieties with different shelf-life.

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the most important commercial fruit crop grown in many parts of the world. Major challenges affecting mango trade are short shelf-life, high susceptibility to chilling injury, post-harvest diseases and consumer demand for improved fruit quality. The objective of the present study was to reveal the key regulators present in bud and flower tissues during flower development stage, associated with fruit development and affect the shelf-life of the mango fruit. RNA-sequencing of contrasting genotypes having short and long shelf-life, was carried out. Comparative differential expression pathway studies of long shelf-life (Totapuri) and short shelf-life (Bombay Green) mango genotypes revealed a total of 177 highly differentially expressed genes. Out of 177 total genes, 101 genes from endoplasmic reticulum pathway and very few from gibberellins (3) and jasmonic acid (1) pathway were identified. Genes from endoplasmic reticulum pathway like hsp 90, SRC2, DFRA, CHS, BG3 and ASPG1 mainly up regulated in Bombay Green. Uniprotein B9R8D3 also shows up regulation in Bombay Green. Ethylene insensitive pathway gene EIL1 up regulated in Bombay Green. Gene CAD1 from phenylpropanoid pathway mainly up regulated in Bombay Green. A total of 4 SSRs and 227 SNPs were mined from these pathways specific to the shelf-life. Molecular studies of endoplasmic reticulum, phenylpropanoid, ethylene, polygalacturonase and hormone pathways at the time of bud and flower formation revealed key regulators that determine the shelf-life of mango fruit.

Rootstock-mediated carbohydrate metabolism, nutrient contents, and physiological modifications in regular and alternate mango (Mangifera indica L.) scion varieties.

Most of the popular scion varieties of mango possess alternate/irregular bearing. There are many external and internal factors assigned, among them carbohydrate reserves, and nutrient content plays important roles in the floral induction process in many crop species. In addition to that rootstock can alter the carbohydrate reserve and nutrient acquisition of scion varieties in fruit crops. The present investigation was carried out to understand the effect of rootstocks on the physiochemical traits of leaf, and bud and nutrient content in regular and alternate bearing varieties of mango. The rootstock "Kurukkan" promoted starch content in leaves of both alternate bearing varieties 'Dashehari' (5.62 mg/g) and regular 'Amrapali' (5.49 mg/g) and encouraged higher protein content (6.71 mg/g) and C/N ratio (37.94) in buds of alternate bearing 'Dashehari'. While Olour rootstock upregulated the reducing sugar in leaves of 'Amrapali' (43.56 mg/g) and promoted K (1.34%) and B (78.58 ppm) content in reproductive buds of 'Dashehari'. Stomatal density in 'Dashehari' scion variety was found higher on Olour rootstock (700.40/mm 2), while the rootstock fails to modify stomatal density in the scion variety regular bearer 'Amrapali'. Further, a total of 30 carbohydrate metabolism-specific primers were designed and validated in 15 scion/rootstock combinations. A total of 33 alleles were amplified among carbohydrate metabolism-specific markers, which varied from 2 to 3 alleles with a mean of 2.53 per locus. Maximum and minimum PIC value was found for NMSPS10, and NMTPS9 primers (0.58). Cluster analysis revealed that scion grafted on Kurukkan rootstock clustered together except 'Pusa Arunima' on Olour rootstock. Our analysis revealed that Fe is the key component that is commonly expressed in both leaf and bud. Although Stomatal density (SD) and Intercellular CO2 Concentration (Ci) are more specific to leaf and Fe, B, and total sugar (TS) are abundant in buds. Based on the results it can be inferred that the physiochemical and nutrient responses of mango scion varieties are manipulated by the rootstock, hence, the scion-rootstock combination can be an important consideration in mango for selecting suitable rootstock for alternate/irregular bearer varieties.

Harvesting Maturity Assessment of Newly Developed Citrus Hybrids (Citrus maxima Merr. × Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) for Optimum Juice Quality.

The assessment of the optimum harvesting stage is a prerequisite to evaluating the performance of new citrus genotypes. The intrinsic and extrinsic fruit quality traits of citrus fruits change throughout their developmental process; therefore, to ensure the highest quality, the fruit must be harvested at an appropriate stage of maturity. The biochemical changes in terms of total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), TSS/TA ratio, BrimA (Brix minus acidity), and ascorbic acid, in addition to the organoleptic acceptability of 16 new interspecific citrus hybrids, were evaluated in New Delhi (India) during the H1-H8 harvesting stage at 15-day intervals to standardize the optimum harvesting stage. The TA and ascorbic acid content were at a maximum level during the early harvesting stage and declined with time, reaching the minimum level in the last harvesting stage. The TSS, TSS/TA ratio, and BrimA values were found to have an increasing trend up to the last stage in most of the hybrids. The juice content shows an inclining trend during the initial harvesting observations, followed by stable juice content and then a decline. The BrimA was found to be a better predictor for consumer acceptability compared to the traditional maturity index TSS/TA ratio and, thus, harvesting maturity. Specific TSS, TA, and BrimA values, in addition to the juice percentage and ascorbic acid content, corresponding to the highest hedonic score, were judged as the optimum harvesting stage indicators for an individual hybrid genotype. Among the interspecific hybrids, SCSH-9-10/12, SCSH-11-15/12, and SCSH-17-19/13 were found to be superior, having better juice acceptability organoleptic scores (≥6.0) and higher juice content (≥40%). Principal component analysis based on fruit physico-chemical traits could be able to distinguish the optimum maturity stage in all of the citrus genotypes.

Description of Acanthonavis deflexa gen. et sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) from the Nicobar Island, India, and generic re-definition of Editaaleyrodes David.

A new whitefly genus and species, Acanthonavis deflexa gen. et sp. nov. are diagnosed and discussed with description of dimorphic puparia, third and second instars collected on the Nicobar Island, India. Puparia of the new genus differ from all other genera in demarcated subventral area and deflexed submargin, and from an allied genus Editaaleyrodes David in lacking polygonal markings in the thoracic tracheal furrows, and geminate pores, and in having subventral area demarcated from the submargin. The whitefly genus Editaaleyrodes is re-defined and diagnosed for puparial characters through examination of its type species, Editaaleyrodes indicus David. Several previously undescribed morphological characters of E. indicus are discussed and figured. Line drawings and microphotographs of habitus on leaf surface of the new species, are provided.

Discovery of the digger wasp genus Argogorytes Ashmead, 1899 (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Bembicinae) in India and description of a new species.

The digger wasp genus Argogorytes Ashmead, 1899 is newly reported from India with two species: A. pulawskii Girish Kumar Dubey sp. nov. from Andaman Islands and A. tonkinensis (Yasumatsu, 1943) from the States of Chhattisgarh and Kerala. Argogorytes tonkinensis (Yasumatsu, 1943) is redescribed. A key to Argogorytes species reported from the Indian subcontinent is provided.

Occurrence of exotic whitefly, Paraleyrodes minei Iaccarino (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and other whitefly species on fruit crops in Maharashtra, India.

Severe incidence of an exotic whitefly species Paraleyrodes minei Iaccarino (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) was noticed in the Pune region of Maharashtra state, India, on the fruit trees guava (Psidium guajava L.), jamoon (Syzygium cumini L.), mango (Mangifera indica L.), chiku (Manilkara zapota L.), custard apple (Annona squamosa L.), citrus (Citrus spp.), banana (Musa spp.) and coconut (Cocos nucifera L.). Additional host plants of P. minei are neem (Azadirachta indica L.), Asoka (Saraca asoca (Roxb.) and temple tree (Plumeria alba L.). The identity of the pest was established based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (mtCO-I) region amplified from genomic DNA of single whitefly. The incidence of P. minei was 100% on guava, jamoon, and custard apple; wherein under the surface of the infested leaves looks completely white with cottony wax. In the case of, coconut, guava, chiku, and banana, P. minei was co-colonising along with the rugose spiralling whitefly (Aleurodicus rugioperculatus Martin). Star gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus L., new host record) plants were severely infested with less frequently collected whitefly, Bemisia bryniae (Singh). Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) was infested by whitefly Siphoninus phillyreae (Haliday). The study highlights the need for continuous monitoring of invasive whitefly species population on important fruit crops for timely application of management practices to prevent losses of potential yield.

New records of Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) from India.

Four species of Trichoptera are recorded for the first time from the geographical limits of India: Oecetis jacobsoni Ulmer 1930 and Marilia ceylanica Martynov 1936 (both from the Andaman Nicobar Islands Union Territory of India), Polyplectropus amphion Malicky 1997a from West Bengal, and Polyplectropus phrixos Malicky Changthong 2006 (in Malicky et al. 2006) from Mizoram, respectively. Line drawings of all the newly recorded species and Hydropsyche saranganica Ulmer 1951 are given based on material collected from the geographical limits of India.

Subfamily Mantispinae Enderlein, 1910 (Insecta: Neuroptera) in India.

The present paper adds to the knowledge of the family Mantispidae from India. Herein we describe two new Euclimacia species: E. similis sp. nov. from Madhya Pradesh and E. nicobarica sp. nov. from Andaman Nicobar Islands. A new combination is also proposed: Mantispilla coorgensis (Ohl, 2004a) comb. nov. With these additions, the family is now represented in India by 22 species in eight genera.

Revision of the genus Minutaleyrodes Jesudasan and David (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) with descriptions of two new species from the Little Andaman Island, India.

The whitefly genus Minutaleyrodes Jesudasan and David is revised based upon the examination of type specimens, and Minutaleyrodes andamanensis sp. nov. on Aporosa octandra (Phyllanthaceae), and Minutaleyrodes whisper sp. nov. on Psychotria andamanica (Rubiaceae) are described from the Little Andaman Island, India. The following taxonomic changes are proposed: Minutaleyrodes tricolorata Pushpa and Sundararaj syn. nov. is synonymized with Dialeurodes turpiniae (Meganathan and David), and Minutaleyrodes cherasensis (Corbett) syn. nov. with Minutaleyrodes minuta (Singh); Aleuroclava kolliensis (David) comb. nov. for Aleurotuberculatus kolliensis David, and Aleuroclava pearlis (Pushpa and Sundararaj) comb. nov. for Minutaleyrodes pearlis Pushpa and Sundararaj. A revised key to puparia of Minutaleyrodes and new host plant records are included. Habitus of the holotype of the new species illustrations, line drawings, microphotographs and scanning electron microscope images of the new and known species are provided.

A new species of Foenatopus Smith (Hymenoptera: Stephanidae) from Andaman Islands, India.

The family Stephanidae Leach, 1815, is cosmopolitan, yet a group of infrequently encountered parasitoids with 364 described extant species in 13 genera (Aguiar et al. 2010; Binoy et al. 2020) and nine species in four extinct genera (Aguiar 2004; Aguiar et al. 2013; Engel Huang 2017) worldwide. The Indian Stephanidae was recently revised (Binoy et al. 2020), recognising a total of 30 species in four extant genera viz., Foenatopus Smith, Megischus Brullé, Parastephanellus Enderlein and Stephanus Jurine.

Neotype designation and generic re-definition of the monotypic genus Dialeurotrachelus Takahashi (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), and first record of its occurrence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.

Takahashi (1942) described Dialeurotrachelus cambodiensis, the type species of the monotypic whitefly genus, Dialeurotrachelus Takahashi from three syntype specimens collected on an unidentified tree in Cambodia, which were subsequently lost or destroyed. It was rediscovered after eight decades in the Indian territories of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. A neotype is designated for D. cambodiensis Takahashi, from specimens collected on Diospyros kurzii Hiern (Ebenaceae) from Andaman Island, India. It is recorded for the first time from the Indian territories, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Pupal morphology is assessed for redefining the generic description with differential diagnoses from related genera, and anomalies involved with structure of the vasiform orifice and associated structures are discussed. Illustrations are provided of the puparia in life, camera lucida drawings, slide mounts, and scanning electron photomicrographs.

Asialeyrodes nicobarica sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) from the Nicobar Island, located in the Indian part of the Sundaland hotspot, and two new synonymies.

A new whitefly species, Asialeyrodes nicobarica Dubey, sp. nov. found infesting Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb.) (Rubiaceae) on the Nicobar Island, located in the Indian part of the Sundaland hotspot, is described here. Puparia of the new species differ from all of its congeners in shape, and in having the median tubercles on abdominal segments I-VI, a posteriorly notched vasiform orifice and a broad caudal furrow filled with small linear striations. Asialeyrodes menoni Meganathan and David syn. nov and A. tuberculata Pushpa and Sundararaj syn. nov are synonymised with A. indica Sundararaj and David. Icfrealeyrodes splendens (Meganathan David) comb. nov. is proposed for Asialeyrodes splendens Meganathan and David. Illustrations include habitus, line drawings, holotype images of the new species and A. tuberculata, and scanning electron microscope photomicrographs. Puparial keys differentiating Asialeyrodes Corbett from allied Indian Aleyrodinae genera and to puparia of species currently included in Asialeyrodes in India are provided. Also, the placement of a non-congeneric species, Rhachisphora spherica Sundararaj and Dubey in Asialeyrodes is discussed.

A new species of Sarmydus Pascoe, 1867 (Cerambycidae: Prioninae: Anacolini) from Nicobar Island, India.

The adult male and female of a new species of longhorn beetle, Sarmydus nicobarensis sp. nov. are described from the Great Nicobar and Camorta Islands, India. Illustrations of habitus and male genitalia of the new species, as well as photographs of the holotype of S. paukstadtorum Drumont, 2011 are provided.

A new whitefly genus and species, Aleuroparvus theae Dubey (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) colonising Assam tea (Camellia sinensis) and Cinnamomum bejolghota, in North-East India.

Puparia of a new whitefly genus and species, Aleuroparvus theae Dubey gen. et sp. nov. are described along with drawings, habitus and type images of habitus and types, and scanning electron microscope microphotographs. It is found infesting an economically important plant, Assam tea, Camellia sinensis (L.) (Theaceae) in Assam, and Cinnamomum bejolghota (Hamilton) (Lauraceae) in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Puparia of A. theae are dimorphic, the females being larger than males. The puparia of the new genus differ from all other genera in having smaller ventral surface, submarginal wax secreting pores and dorsal submargin separated from the dorsal disc by a submarginal ridge. The diagnostic characteristics for puparia of the new genus are compared with closely related genera, Aleuroclava Singh, Aleuropleurocelus Drews Sampson, Dialeuropora Quaintance Baker, Tetralicia Harrison and Tetraleurodes Cockerell.

A review of the genus Tuberaleyrodes Takahashi (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) with description of five new species from Brunei, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

The whitefly genus Tuberaleyrodes Takahashi is reviewed using types and determined specimens. The generic diagnosis is redefined together with description of five new species: T. bruneiensis Dubey Martin sp. nov. from Brunei, T. crypta Dubey Martin sp. nov. from Hong Kong, and T. ordo Dubey Martin sp. nov., T. aequalis Dubey Martin sp. nov. and T. variabilis Dubey Martin sp. nov. from Malaysia. New species descriptions are accompanied with camera lucida drawings and microphotographs of holotype and paratypes. Tuberaleyrodes actinodaphnis Takahashi is elevated from its status as a variety of T. machili Takahashi to species level. Lectotypes are selected for T. actinodaphnis Takahashi Stat. nov. and T. bobuae Takahashi. Tuberaleyrodes actinodaphnis Takahashi is a new record to Taiwan. A new combination, Tuberaleyrodes glutae (Corbett) Comb. nov. is proposed for Dialeurodes glutae Corbett. Two species, T. glutae (Corbett) and Tuberaleyrodes spiniferosa (Corbett) are re-described, and placement of T. spiniferosa in the genus Tuberaleyrodes is confirmed. The genus Tuberaleyrodes is newly recorded from Borneo and Sulawesi. An identification key to puparia of Tuberaleyrodes species so far described is provided along with the countries of present records. Four plants families viz., Annonaceae, Fabaceae, Myristicaceae and Pentaphylacaeae are recorded as new hosts for Tuberaleyrodes species. New host plant records are indicated.

Description of a new species, Setaleyrodes machili Dubey, sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) infesting Machilus odoratissima Nees (Lauraceae) in Western Himalaya, India.

A new species of whitefly, Setaleyrodes machili Dubey sp. nov. found infesting Machilus odoratissima Nees (Lauraceae) is described from Kufri in Himachal Pradesh and Dhanaulti and Nainital in Uttarakhand, India. The diagnostic characteristics of puparia and habitus, are illustrated with line drawings and scanning electron microphotographs. Sexual dimorphism and variation in pigmentation during the transformation of instars are noted. An identification key to puparia of Setaleyrodes species so far described is presented.