Sensillar Ultrastructure of the Antennae and Maxillary Palps of the Warble Fly Oestromyia leporina (Pallas, 1778) (Diptera: Oestridae).

Despite the development of molecular techniques, morphological phylogeny still remains integral in underpinning the relationship between some clades of Calyptratae, especially the ones with fast radiation, such as those in Oestridae (Diptera: Brachycera), yet few synapomorphy has been proposed for adults in this family. Using scanning electron microscopy, we investigated the morphological structure and ultrastructure of the antennae and maxillary palps of adult Oestromyia leporina (Hypodermatinae, Oestridae). One type of trichoid sensillum (Tr), three types of basiconic sensilla (Ba I, Ba II, and Ba III), one type of coeloconic sensillum (Co I), and one type of clavate sensillum (Cl) were found on the antennal postpedicel. Surprisingly, this species has the most complex types of sensilla on the maxillary palps that have been reported in Calyptratae so far, with two types of coeloconic sensilla (Co II and Co III) and two types of mechanoreceptors. We then identified three common characteristics on the arista of Oestridae (Hypodermatinae, Oestrinae, Gasterophilinae and Cuterebrinae) that are potential synapomorphies. These characteristics indicate the value of the morphology of maxillary palps and aristae in taxonomy studies of Calyptratae.

Genomic diversity, population structure, and genome-wide association reveal genetic differentiation and trait improvements in mango.

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) has been widely cultivated as a culturally and economically significant fruit tree for roughly 4000 years. Despite its rich history, little is known about the crop's domestication, genomic variation, and the genetic loci underlying agronomic traits. This study employs the whole-genome re-sequencing of 224 mango accessions sourced from 22 countries, with an average sequencing depth of 16.37×, to explore their genomic variation and diversity. Through phylogenomic analysis, M. himalis J.Y. Liang, a species grown in China, was reclassified into the cultivated mango group known as M. indica. Moreover, our investigation of mango population structure and differentiation revealed that Chinese accessions could be divided into two distinct gene pools, indicating the presence of independent genetic diversity ecotypes. By coupling genome-wide association studies with analyses of genotype variation patterns and expression patterns, we identified several candidate loci and dominant genotypes associated with mango flowering capability, fruit weight, and volatile compound production. In conclusion, our study offers valuable insights into the genetic differentiation of mango populations, paving the way for future agronomic improvements through genomic-assisted breeding.

Effects of different lactic acid bacteria on phenolic profiles, antioxidant capacities, and volatile compounds in purple sweet potato juice.

The effects of three strains of lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Streptococcus thermophilus) on viable counts, physicochemical indicators, phenolic profiles, antioxidant capacities, and volatile compounds in purple sweet potato juice were investigated during fermentation. The results showed the viable count of three bacteria increased and exceeded 11 log CFU/mL after fermentation. At the end of fermentation, the purple sweet potato juice exhibited an increase in total phenolic and flavonoid content. In addition, lactic acid bacteria fermentation changed the phenolic profiles and enhanced antioxidant capacities. Moreover, Pearson's correlation analysis showed that DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radical scavenging capacities were positively correlated with caffeic acid and vanillic acid content (p < 0.05). Furthermore, lactic acid bacteria fermentation improved the aroma complexity and sensory quality of purple sweet potato juice. In conclusion, this study provided useful information for the development of purple sweet potato juice fermented by lactic acid bacteria. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-024-05959-5.

Unusual rearrangements of mitogenomes in Diptera revealed by comparative analysis of 135 tachinid species (Insecta, Diptera, Tachinidae).

The Tachinidae is one of the most speciose families in Diptera, and the exclusively parasitoid species play an important role in regulating populations of many herbivorous insects in ecosystems, including many agricultural pests. To better comprehend the characteristics and evolution of the mitochondrial genome for the Tachinidae, we are adding a massive amount of new molecular data by assembling the mitogenomes for 71 genera and 135 species from all four tachinid subfamilies through next-generation sequencing, and we are presenting the most comprehensive mitogenomic phylogenetic analysis of this family so far. Extensive rearrangements observed in the mitogenome of Admontia podomyia (Exoristinae) are unique for the entire suborder Cyclorrhapha. The rearrangement pattern suggests that the process involved a tandem duplication of the complete mitogenome, followed by both random and nonrandom loss of one copy of each gene. Additionally, five minor mitogenome rearrangements are discovered and described in three subfamilies. We present the largest species-level phylogenetic hypothesis for Tachinidae to date, based on mitogenomes of 152 species of Tachinidae, representing all four subfamilies and with five non-tachinid outgroups. Our analyses support the monophyly of the Tachinidae and most tribes and genera were recovered with good support, but the higher-level phylogenetic relationships within Tachinidae were poorly resolved, indicating that mitogenome data alone are not enough to unambiguously resolve the deeper phylogenetic relationships within Tachinidae.

Effect of ultrasonic modification on the binding ability of pectin to anthocyanin.

BACKGROUND: Pectin was considered as a potential candidate to improve the thermal stability of anthocyanins, and the binding ability of pectin to anthocyanins was influenced by its structure. In this study, sunflower pectins, modified by ultrasound (40 kHz) for different periods of time, were prepared and used to bind with anthocyanins, extracted from purple sweet potato. RESULTS: Characterization and thermal stability of pectin-anthocyanin complexes were investigated. The ultrasonic modification of pectin resulted in many changes in pectin chemical structure, including degradation of neutral sugar side chains, breakage of methoxyl groups, and increased molecular flexibility. Extension of ultrasonic modification time led to greater changes in pectin chemical structure. Analysis of the binding ability, as determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations, revealed that the interaction between pectin and anthocyanins was driven by hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction, and hydrophobic interaction. Pectins with different ultrasonic modification times bound with anthocyanins to different extents, mainly resulting from an increase in the number of hydrogen bonds. According to high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis, during heating at 90 °C the stronger the binding ability of pectin and anthocyanin complex, the better was its thermal stability. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonic modification of pectin could effectively enhance its binding ability to anthocyanin. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of sunflower pectin on thermal stability of purple sweet potato anthocyanins at different pH.

The present study aimed to examine the impact of sunflower pectin (SFP) on the thermal stability and antioxidant activity of purple sweet potato anthocyanins (PSPA) at varying pH levels. It was observed that the pH value significantly influenced the ability of pectin to protect anthocyanins from thermal degradation, which was found to be associated with the rate of binding between PSPA and SFP. The binding rate of PSPA-SFP was observed to be highest at pH 4.0, primarily due to the influence of electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding. Monoacylated anthocyanins exhibited a binding rate approximately 2-4 % higher than that of diacylated anthocyanins. The PSPA-SFP demonstrated its highest thermal stability at pH 4.0, with a corresponding half-life of 14.80 h at 100 °C. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that pectin had a greater affinity for the flavylium cation and hemiketal form of anthocyanins. The antioxidant activity of anthocyanins in PSPA and PSPA-SFP increased with increasing pH, suggesting that anthocyanins at high pH had higher antioxidant activity than anthocyanins at low pH.

Short-term particulate matter contamination severely compromises insect antennal olfactory perception.

The consequences of sub-lethal levels of ambient air pollution are underestimated for insects, for example, the accumulation of particulate matter on sensory receptors located on their antennae may have detrimental effects to their function. Here we show that the density of particulate matter on the antennae of houseflies (Musca domestica) collected from an urban environment increases with the severity of air pollution. A combination of behavioural assays, electroantennograms and transcriptomic analysis provide consistent evidence that a brief exposure to particulate matter pollution compromises olfactory perception of reproductive and food odours in both male and female houseflies. Since particulate matter can be transported thousands of kilometres from its origin, these effects may represent an additional factor responsible for global declines in insect numbers, even in pristine and remote areas.

Effects of different re-fermentation methods on the quality characteristics of kombucha beverages.

The effects of different re-fermentation methods on the quality characteristics of kombucha beverages were investigated. The quality characteristics of kombucha beverages included the basic physicochemical indicators (pH, total acidity, reducing sugar, total sugar, organic acids, total phenolic compound, total flavonoid compound), antioxidant activity, volatile flavor substance and sensory evaluation of the beverages. The results showed the re-fermentation methods including the mixed fermentation and the step-by-step fermentation significantly decreased total acidity and various organic acids (P < 0.05) than traditional kombucha with no re-fermentation. In addition, the contents of total phenol compounds and total flavonoid compounds for the step-by-step fermentation were 184.70 and 338.33 mg/L respectively, and were higher compared with mixed fermentation and traditional kombucha with no re-fermentation. The antioxidant activity in the step-by-step fermentation was much stronger than that of mixed fermentation and traditional kombucha with no re-fermentation. Moreover, there were 53 kinds of volatile flavor compounds produced in the step-by-step fermentation, 14 of them were unique with good sensory quality. In conclusion, the re-fermentation methods for traditional kombucha (the step-by-step fermentation and mixed fermentation) had more active ingredients and better sensory quality, and the step-by-step fermentation was better than mixed fermentation.

3'-epi-12ß-hydroxyfroside-mediated autophagy degradation of RIPK1/RIPK3 necrosomes leads to anergy of immunogenic cell death in triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Increasing studies have suggested that some cardiac glycosides, such as conventional digoxin (DIG) and digitoxin, can induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) in various tumors. We previously found that 3'-epi-12ß-hydroxyfroside (HyFS), a novel cardenolide compound isolated by our group, could induce cytoprotective autophagy through inactivation of the Akt/mTOR pathway. However, whether HyFS can induce ICD remains unknown. In this study, we extend our work to further investigate whether HyFS could induce both autophagy and ICD, and we investigated the relationship between autophagy and ICD in three TNBC cell lines. Unexpectedly, compared to DIG, we found that HyFS could induce complete autophagy flux but not ICD in three human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines and one murine TNBC model. Inhibition of HyFS-induced autophagy resulted in the production of ICD in TNBC MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-436, and HCC38 cells. A further mechanism study showed that formation of RIPK1/RIPK3 necrosomes was necessary for ICD induction in DIG-treated TNBC cells, while HyFS treatment led to receptor-interacting serine-threonine kinase (RIPK)1/3 necrosome degradation via an autophagy process. Additionally, inhibition of HyFS-induced autophagy by the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine resulted in the reoccurrence of ICD and reversion of the tumor microenvironment, leading to more significant antitumor effects in immunocompetent mice than in immunodeficient mice. These findings indicate that HyFS-mediated autophagic degradation of RIPK1/RIPK3 necrosomes leads to inactivation of ICD in TNBC cells. Moreover, combined treatment with HyFS and an autophagy inhibitor may enhance the antitumor activities, suggesting an alternative therapeutic for TNBC treatment.

Widely targeted metabolite profiling of mango stem apex during floral induction by compond of mepiquat chloride, prohexadione-calcium and uniconazole.

Background: Insufficient low temperatures in winter and soil residues caused by paclobutrazol (PBZ) application pose a considerable challenge for mango floral induction (FI). Gibberellin inhibitors SPD (compound of mepiquat chloride, prohexadione-calcium and uniconazole) had a significant influence on enhancing the flowering rate and yield of mango for two consecutive years (2020-2021). Researchers have indicated that FI is regulated at the metabolic level; however, little is known about the metabolic changes during FI in response to SPD treatment. Methods: Here, ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-MS/MS)-based widely targeted metabolomic analysis was carried out to assess the metabolic differences in the mango stem apex during different stage of mango FI (30, 80, 100 days after SPD/water treatment). Results: A total of 582 compounds were annotated and 372 metabolites showed two-fold differences in abundance (variable importance in projection, VIP ≥ 1 and fold change, FC≥ 2 or≤ 0.5) between buds at 30, 80, 100 days after SPD/water treatment or between buds under different treatment. Lipids, phenolic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, and vitamins were among metabolites showing significant differences over time after SPD treatment. Here, 18 out of 20 lipids, including the lysophosphatidylethanolamine (12, LPE), lysophosphatidylcholine (7, LPC), and free fatty acids (1, FA), were significantly upregulated from 80 to 100 days after SPD treatment comared to water treatment. Meanwhile, the dormancy release of mango buds from 80 to 100 days after SPD treatment was accompanied by the accumulation of proline, ascorbic acid, carbohydrates, and tannins. In addition, metabolites, such as L-homocysteine, L-histidine, and L-homomethionine, showed more than a ten-fold difference in relative abundance from 30 to 100 days after SPD treatment, however, there were no significant changes after water treatment. The present study reveals novel metabolites involved in mango FI in response to SPD, which would provide a theoretical basis for utilizing SPD to induce mango flowering.

Insights into the Antennal Characteristics and Olfactory Strategy of the Endangered Rhino Stomach Bot Fly Gyrostigma rhinocerontis (Diptera: Oestridae).

Gyrostigma rhinocerontis (Diptera: Oestridae) is a rare obligate intestinal parasite of both white and black rhinoceroses, which can induce severe myiasis, cause secondary infection, and lead to enormous economic and scientific loss. Antennae are the main sensory organs of G. rhinocerontis, which may have evolved a series of specialized adaptive structures to facilitate the exploitation of their hosts. Here, we thoroughly examine the antennae of G. rhinocerontis via light and scanning electron microscopy. Only microtrichia and chaetic sensilla were observed on the scape and pedicel, and the latter is enlarged, half-enveloping the postpedicel. Four types of sensilla (trichoid sensilla, basiconic sensilla, coeloconic sensilla, and clavate sensilla) and sensory pits are detected on the postpedicel. A set of coeloconic sensilla and a chaetic sensillum are located on the arista. Distribution, type, size, and ultrastructure of antennal sensilla are presented. The antennae of G. rhinocerontis are the largest among Oestridae species, with the most sensilla and the most sensory pits. These antennal characteristics could be correlated to their adaptation for more sensitive and accurate olfactory organs, used to locate their rare and endangered hosts. Accordingly, this morphological evidence supports that the host is an important driving factor in the diversity of antennal morphology in the bot flies.

Comparative Mitogenomics of Flesh Flies: Implications for Phylogeny.

Flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) represent a rapid radiation belonging to the Calyptratae. With more than 3000 known species, they are extraordinarily diverse in terms of their breeding habits and are therefore of particular importance in human and veterinary medicine, forensics, and ecology. To better comprehend the phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary characteristics of the Sarcophagidae, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial genomes of five species of flesh flies and performed mitogenomic comparisons amongst the three subfamilies. The mitochondrial genomes match the hypothetical condition of the insect ancestor in terms of gene content and gene arrangement. The evolutionary rates of the subfamilies of Sarcophagidae differ significantly, with Miltogramminae exhibiting a higher rate than the other two subfamilies. The monophyly of the Sarcophagidae and each subfamily is strongly supported by phylogenetic analysis, with the subfamily-level relationship inferred as (Sarcophaginae, (Miltogramminae, Paramacronychiinae)). This study suggests that phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial genomes may not be appropriate for rapidly evolving groups such as Miltogramminae and that the third-codon positions could play a considerable role in reconstructing the phylogeny of Sarcophagidae. The protein-coding genes ND2 and ND6 have the potential to be employed as DNA markers for species identification and delimitation in flesh flies.

Ultrastructure of Antennal Sensory Organs in Nine Flesh Flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae): New Insight into the Definition of Family Sarcophagidae.

The antennae are the main olfactory organ of flies, playing key roles in their survival and the success of all life stages. Antennal ultrastructural morphology has been well described in the representative species of most calyptrate families, yet only a few studies have focused on Sarcophagidae species, those with ecological and medical relevance. Antennal morphology and the types, shapes, distribution, and density of the antennal sensilla of nine Sarcophagidae species are studied in detail with scanning electron microscopy, including Miltogramminae: Metopia campestris (Fallén) and Mesomelena mesomelaena (Loew), Paramacronychiinae: Agria mihalyii (Rohdendorf & Verves), Wohlfahrtia bella (Macquart), and W. magnifica (Schiner); Sarcophaginae: Sarcophaga (Parasarcophaga) albiceps Meigen, S. (Bercaea) africa (Wiedemann), S. (Boettcherisca) peregrina (Robineau-Desvoidy), and S. (Liosarcophaga) portschinskyi (Rohdendorf), covering all three subfamilies of this family. The morphology of the three segments of the antennae has been described. The scape has only one type of chaetic sensilla, while three subtypes of chaetic sensilla were detected on the pedicel. The postpedicel has four types of sensilla: trichoid sensilla, coeloconic sensilla, clavate sensilla, and three subtypes of basiconic sensilla. Bottle-shaped sensilla were observed in sensory pits on the postpedicel in all nine species. These sensilla have not been discovered in other calyptrate species, suggesting that they are a potential sarcophagid synapomorphy.

Recent advances of octenyl succinic anhydride modified polysaccharides as wall materials for nano-encapsulation of hydrophobic bioactive compounds.

Polysaccharides can be esterified with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) to form derivatives with amphiphilic properties. The general preparation methods of OSA-polysaccharides are described, especially the aqueous method. The new hydrophobic groups introduced result in OSA-polysaccharides showing higher interfacial properties, better emulsifying stability, higher viscosity, and lower digestibility. There have been advances in the development of OSA-polysaccharides-based nano-encapsulation systems for hydrophobic bioactive compounds in recent years. Nano-encapsulation systems are formed through nanoemulsions, nanocapsules, nanoparticles, micelles, vesicles, molecular inclusion complexes, and so on. This review aims to describe the preparation methods, the structure characterizations, and the physicochemical properties of OSA-polysaccharides as encapsulating agents. In addition, the focus is on the different nano-encapsulation systems based on OSA-polysaccharides as wall materials. Future perspectives will concern OSA-polysaccharides-based nano-encapsulation systems with optimized functional properties for providing higher bioavailability and targeted delivery of various hydrophobic bioactive compounds. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Examining the Potential Scaling Law in Urban PM2.5 Pollution Risks along with the Nationwide Air Environmental Effort in China.

Urban scaling law provides a quantitative understanding of the fundamental nonlinear properties of how cities work. Addressing this, this study intended to examine the potential scaling law that may lie in urban air pollution. With ground-monitored PM2.5 data and statistical socioeconomic factors in 265 Chinese cities (2015-2019), a targeted analysis, based on the scaling power-law model and scale-adjusted metropolitan indicator (SAMI) was conducted. The main findings of this study were summarized as follows: (1) A significant sublinear scaling relationship between PM2.5 and urban population size indicated that air quality degradation significantly lagged behind urban growth, affirming the remarkable effectiveness of national efforts on atmospheric environment improvement. (2) SAMI analysis expressed the relative conflict risk between PM2.5 pollution and urbanization and showed significant spatial cluster characteristics. Cities in central China showed higher potential risk than other regions, and there was a clear southward tendency for the city clusters with increasing SAMIs during the study period. (3) During the study period, urbanization was not the reason affecting the human-land conflict in terms of air pollution. This study is significant in that it marked the first innovative incorporation of the scaling law model into an urban environmental risk study. It also offered a new perspective from which to reframe the urban PM2.5 pollution risk, along with the nationwide air environmental effort in China, which will benefit future research on multi-types of urban environmental issues.

Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of PM2.5 and its driving difference comparison associated with urbanization in China's multiple urban agglomerations.

The development of urban agglomeration further deteriorates the air pollution status arising from urbanization. However, disparities in the urbanization process across different urban agglomerations may shape unique regional air pollution characters, and further complicate its driving mechanism. In this study, 11 urban agglomerations with different urbanization levels in China thus were chosen as the case study areas, to explore the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of PM2.5 and its potential driving difference related to the urbanization process from a multi-urban agglomeration perspective. The ground-monitored PM2.5 data and socioeconomic panel data (2015-2018) were processed using multiple statistical analysis methods, and the main findings of this study can be generated as followed: (1) significant spatial heterogeneity characteristics of PM2.5 pollution were recognized across the study area. And even though obvious improvement in the air quality during the study period, PM2.5 concentration remains at a high level for most of the urban agglomerations. (2) Urbanization process has a substantial contribution to regional PM2.5 pollution, and significant differences of the urbanization factors on PM2.5 concentration across the urban agglomerations assigned with various urbanization levels were emphasized. The significance of this study is to provide insight into the relationship of the urbanization process on PM2.5 pollution in different urban agglomerations and to offer a scientific basis for regional cooperation for air pollution regulation among multiple urban agglomerations.

The highly continuous reference genome of a leaf-chimeric red pineapple (Ananas comosus var. bracteatus f. tricolor) provides insights into elaboration of leaf color.

Ananas comosus var. bracteatus f. tricolor (GL1) is a red pineapple accession whose mostly green leaves with chimeric white leaf margins turn red in spring and autumn and during flowering. It is an important ornamental plant and ideal plant research model for anthocyanin metabolism, chimeric leaf development, and photosynthesis. Here, we generated a highly contiguous chromosome-scale genome assembly for GL1 and compared it with other 3 published pineapple assemblies (var. comosus accessions MD2 and F153, and var. bracteatus accession CB5). The GL1 assembly has a total size of ∼461 Mb, with a contig N50 of ∼2.97 Mb and Benchmarking Universal Single-Copy Ortholog score of 97.3%. More than 99% of the contigs are anchored to 25 pseudochromosomes. Compared with the other 3 published pineapple assemblies, the GL1 assembly was confirmed to be more continuous. Our evolutionary analysis showed that the Bromeliaceae and Poaceae diverged from their nearest common ancestor ∼82.36 million years ago (MYA). Population structure analysis showed that while GL1 has not undergone admixture, bracteatus accession CB5 has resulted from admixture of 3 species of Ananas. Through classification of orthogroups, analysis of genes under positive selection, and analysis of presence/absence variants, we identified a series of genes related to anthocyanin metabolism and development of chimeric leaves. The structure and evolution of these genes were compared among the published pineapple assemblies with reveal candidate genes for these traits. The GL1 genome assembly and its comparisons with other 3 pineapple genome assemblies provide a valuable resource for the genetic improvement of pineapple and serve as a model for understanding the genomic basis of important traits in different pineapple varieties and other pan-cereal crops.

Fabrication and characterization of octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan micelles for encapsulating curcumin.

BACKGROUND: Curcumin has become increasingly popular in functional foods and beverages field as a result of its high biological activity. Nevertheless, the application of curcumin is usually limited by its poor water solubility, low absorption, rapid metabolism and instability. Accordingly, the development of an appropriate wall material is crucial for its effective use. In the present study, curcumin-octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan (Cur-OSAP) micelles were successfully prepared by an anti-solvent co-precipitation method. RESULTS: Octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan (OSAP) micelles exhibited the highest encapsulation efficiency (57.31%) and loading capacity (5.73%) of curcumin when the mass ratio of OSAP to curcumin was 10:1 and the degree of substitution of OSAP was 0.0469, at which point Cur-OSAP micelles formed via hydrogen binding and hydrophobic interactions, as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and fluorescence techniques. The transmission electron microscopy results showed that the Cur-OSAP micelles were roughly spherical in shape with diameters in the approximate range 30-60 nm. CONCLUSION: The encapsulation of OSAP greatly improved photostability and sustained release properties of curcumin in Cur-OSAP micelles. These findings suggest that OSAP can be used as a carrier to encapsulate and protect hydrophobic food ingredients. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Flesh flies (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) of Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate Nature Reserve (China: Xinjiang): checklist and description of four new species.

A checklist of the flesh flies occurring in Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, NW China, is presented, based on material collected from 2009 to 2017. The checklist includes 18 genera and 46 species, 12 of which are new records for China. Four new species are described: Asiosarcophila kashanensis sp. nov., Miltogramma szpilai sp. nov., Sphecapatodes superciliosa sp. nov., and Sphecapatodes xinjiangensis sp. nov. Extensive documentation of the male and female habitus, details of the head, and the specialised setae of the male fore tarsus is given for all species where relevant, except for those already well illustrated in other publications. The male terminalia of almost all species of Paramacronychiinae and Sarcophaginae recorded from Kalamaili are illustrated with focus-stacked photographs.

Chromosome-Scale Genome and Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Reveal Transcriptional Regulators of ß-Carotene Biosynthesis in Mango.

Mango (2n = 2x = 40) is an important tropical/subtropical evergreen fruit tree grown worldwide and yields nutritionally rich and high-value fruits. Here, a high-quality mango genome (396 Mb, contig N50 = 1.03 Mb) was assembled using the cultivar "Irwin" from Florida, USA. A total of 97.19% of the sequences were anchored to 20 chromosomes, including 36,756 protein-coding genes. We compared the ß-carotene content, in two different cultivars ("Irwin" and "Baixiangya") and growth periods. The variation in ß-carotene content mainly affected fruit flesh color. Additionally, transcriptome analysis identified genes related to ß-carotene biosynthesis. MiPSY1 was proved to be a key gene regulating ß-carotene biosynthesis. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis, dual luciferase, and yeast one-hybrid assays confirmed that transcription factors (TFs) MibZIP66 and MibHLH45 activate MiPSY1 transcription by directly binding to the CACGTG motif of the MiPSY1 promoter. However, the two TFs showed no significant synergistic effect on promoter activity. The results of the current study provide a genomic platform for studying the molecular basis of the flesh color of mango fruit.