Agricultural education in Africa using YouTube multilingual animations: A retrospective feasibility study assessing costs to reach language-diverse populations.

There is a critical need for widespread information dissemination of agricultural best practices in Africa. Literacy, language and resource barriers often impede such information dissemination. Culturally and linguistically localized, computer-animated training videos placed on YouTube and promoted through paid advertising is a potential tool to help overcome these barriers. The goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of reaching language-diverse populations in Africa using this new type of information dissemination channel. As a case study, cost estimates were obtained for YouTube ad campaigns of a video to prevent post-harvest loss through safe food storage using sanitized jerrycan containers. Seventy-three video variants were created for the most common 16 languages in Ghana, 35 languages in Kenya, and 22 languages in Nigeria. Using these videos, campaigns were deployed country wide or focused on zones of influence that represent economically underdeveloped regions known to produce beans suitable for jerrycan storage. Using data collected from YouTube ad campaigns, language-specific models were created for each country to estimate how many viewers could be reached per US dollar spent. Separate models were created to estimate the number of viewers who watched 25% and 75% of the video (most of video without end credits), reflecting different levels of engagement. For language campaigns with both country wide and zone of influence areas of deployment, separate region-specific models were created. Models showed that the estimated number of viewers per dollar spent varied considerably amongst countries and languages. On average, the expected number of viewers per dollar spent were 1.8 (Range = 0.2-7.3) for 25% watched and 0.8 (Range = 0.1-3.2) for 75% watched in Ghana, 1.2 (0.2-4.8) for 25% watched and 0.5 (Range = 0.1-2.0) for 75% watched in Kenya, and 0.4 (Range = 0.2-1.3) for 25% watched and 0.2 (Range = 0.1-0.5) for 75% watched in Nigeria. English versions of the video were the most cost-effective in reaching viewers in Ghana and Nigeria. In Kenya, English language campaigns ranked 28 (country wide) and 36 (zones of influence) out of 37 analyzed campaigns. Results also showed that many local language campaigns performed well, opening the possibility that targeted knowledge dissemination on topics of importance to local populations, is potentially cost effective. In addition, such targeted information dissemination appears feasible, even during regional and global crises when in-person training may not be possible. In summary, leveraging multilingual computer-animations and digital platforms such as YouTube shows promise for conducting large-scale agricultural education campaigns. The findings of the current study provides the justification to pursue a more rigorous prospective study to verify the efficacy of knowledge exchange and societal impact through this form of information dissemination channel.

miRNA Dynamics for Pest Management: Implications in Insecticide Resistance.

Utilizing chemical agents in pest management in modern agricultural practices has been the predominant approach since the advent of synthetic insecticides. However, insecticide resistance is an emerging issue, as pest populations evolve to survive exposure to chemicals that were once effective in controlling them, underlining the need for advanced and innovative approaches to managing pests. In insects, microRNAs (miRNAs) serve as key regulators of a wide range of biological functions, characterized by their dynamic expression patterns and the ability to target genes. Recent studies are increasingly attributed to the significance of miRNAs in contributing to the evolution of insecticide resistance in numerous insect species. Abundant miRNAs have been discovered in insects using RNA sequencing and transcriptome analysis and are known to play vital roles in regulation at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. Globally, there is growing research interest in the characterization and application of miRNAs, especially for their potential role in managing insecticide resistance. This review focuses on how miRNAs contribute to regulating insecticide resistance across various insect species. Furthermore, we discuss the gain and loss of functions of miRNAs and the techniques for delivering miRNAs into the insect system. The review emphasizes the application of miRNA-based strategies to studying their role in diminishing insecticide resistance, offering a more efficient and lasting approach to insect management.

Identification of differentially expressed miRNAs associated with diamide detoxification pathways in Spodoptera frugiperda.

The fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda is a severe economic pest of multiple crops globally. Control of this pest is often achieved using insecticides; however, over time, S. frugiperda has developed resistance to new mode of action compounds, including diamides. Previous studies have indicated diamide resistance is a complex developmental process involving multiple detoxification genes. Still, the mechanism underlying the possible involvement of microRNAs in post-transcriptional regulation of resistance has not yet been elucidated. In this study, a global screen of microRNAs (miRNAs) revealed 109 known and 63 novel miRNAs. Nine miRNAs (four known and five novel) were differentially expressed between insecticide-resistant and -susceptible strains. Gene Ontology analysis predicted putative target transcripts of the differentially expressed miRNAs encoding significant genes belonging to detoxification pathways. Additionally, miRNAs are involved in response to diamide exposure, indicating they are probably associated with the detoxification pathway. Thus, this study provides comprehensive evidence for the link between repressed miRNA expression and induced target transcripts that possibly mediate diamide resistance through post-transcriptional regulation. These findings highlight important clues for further research to unravel the roles and mechanisms of miRNAs in conferring diamide resistance.

Characterization of the inheritance of field-evolved resistance to diamides in the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) population from Puerto Rico.

The fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is one of the most destructive pests of corn. New infestations have been reported in the East Hemisphere, reaching India, China, Malaysia, and Australia, causing severe destruction to corn and other crops. In Puerto Rico, practical resistance to different mode of action compounds has been reported in cornfields. In this study, we characterized the inheritance of resistance to chlorantraniliprole and flubendiamide and identified the possible cross-resistance to cyantraniliprole and cyclaniliprole. The Puerto Rican (PR) strain showed high levels of resistance to flubendiamide (RR50 = 2,762-fold) and chlorantraniliprole (RR50 = 96-fold). The inheritance of resistance showed an autosomal inheritance for chlorantraniliprole and an X-linked inheritance for flubendiamide. The trend of the dominance of resistance demonstrated an incompletely recessive trait for H1 (♂ SUS × â™€ PR) × and an incompletely dominant trait for H2 (♀ SUS × â™‚ PR) × for flubendiamide and chlorantraniliprole. The PR strain showed no significant presence of detoxification enzymes (using synergists: PBO, DEF, DEM, and VER) to chlorantraniliprole; however, for flubendiamide the SR = 2.7 (DEM), SR = 3.2 (DEF) and SR = 7.6 (VER) indicated the role of esterases, glutathione S- transferases and ABC transporters in the metabolism of flubendiamide. The PR strain showed high and low cross-resistance to cyantraniliprole (74-fold) and cyclaniliprole (11-fold), respectively. Incomplete recessiveness might lead to the survival of heterozygous individuals when the decay of diamide residue occurs in plant tissues. These results highlight the importance of adopting diverse pest management strategies, including insecticide rotating to manage FAW populations in Puerto Rico and other continents.

Machine-supported decision-making to improve agricultural training participation and gender inclusivity.

Women comprise a significant portion of the agricultural workforce in developing countries but are often less likely to attend government sponsored training events. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of using machine-supported decision-making to increase overall training turnout while enhancing gender inclusivity. Using data obtained from 1,067 agricultural extension training events in Bangladesh (130,690 farmers), models were created to assess gender-based training patterns (e.g., preferences and availability for training). Using these models, simulations were performed to predict the top (most attended) training events for increasing total attendance (male and female combined) and female attendance, based on gender of the trainer, and when and where training took place. By selecting a mixture of the top training events for total attendance and female attendance, simulations indicate that total and female attendance can be concurrently increased. However, strongly emphasizing female participation can have negative consequences by reducing overall turnout, thus creating an ethical dilemma for policy makers. In addition to balancing the need for increasing overall training turnout with increased female representation, a balance between model performance and machine learning is needed. Model performance can be enhanced by reducing training variety to a few of the top training events. But given that models are early in development, more training variety is recommended to provide a larger solution space to find more optimal solutions that will lead to better future performance. Simulations show that selecting the top 25 training events for total attendance and the top 25 training events for female attendance can increase female participation by over 82% while at the same time increasing total turnout by 14%. In conclusion, this study supports the use of machine-supported decision-making when developing gender inclusivity policies in agriculture extension services and lays the foundation for future applications of machine learning in this area.

Resistance to Multiple Insecticide Classes in the Vinegar Fly Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in Michigan Vineyards.

Vinegar flies are vectors of pathogens causing fruit rots of grapes, so control of these insects is important for preventing vineyard yield loss. Recent outbreaks of sour rots may be linked to greater challenges controlling vinegar flies, so we investigated the insecticide susceptibility of populations collected from commercial vineyards across Michigan. We first determined the discriminating concentration for phosmet, malathion, methomyl, and zeta-cypermethrin using a laboratory susceptible (Canton-S) strain of D. melanogaster females. The discriminating concentrations were determined as 252.08, 2.58, 0.96, and 1.68 ppm of the four insecticides, respectively. These concentrations were first tested in 2020 against populations from the two major counties for grape production. In 2021, we expanded monitoring to twenty-three populations collected from vineyards across six counties. All populations had significantly lower sensitivity to all four insecticides compared with Canton-S strain, with up to 98.8% lower mortality for phosmet. The LC50, LC90, and LC99 values of the four insecticides for the two populations tested in 2020 were 7-1,157-fold higher than the Canton-S strain. For the twenty-three populations collected in 2021, mortality ranged from 56.3 to 100% when the flies were screened using a 10x concentration of the discriminating concentration of the insecticides, whereas it ranged from 82.4 to 100% when the flies were screened using a 20x concentration. Our results suggest variable levels of resistance to insecticides from multiple chemical classes in D. melanogaster populations in Michigan vineyards, highlighting the need to implement integrated sour rot management approaches that are less dependent on insecticides for control of this species.

Dramatically increased accessibility and decreased cost-per-person impacts are needed for scaling IPM in Africa.

While traditional scaling for integrated pest management (IPM) in Africa requires the movement of expert trainers from village to village, these efforts are often costly, time-inefficient, hampered by distance, and became impossible under COVID-19's movement restrictions (despite tremendously increased public need for IPM-scaling knowledge). One solution to this dilemma is IPM-scaling, usable by a diversity of development actors expending limited or few resources, to deliver critical information to large numbers of people with systems-approach information and communication technologies. This paper describes one such systems-approach scaling platform, Scientific Animations Without Borders, which effectively elicited end-user solution-adoption and decreased unit costs over increasing scales in three African countries during COVID-19. How to scale game-changing IPM insights 'off the shelf' and 'into people's hands in the field' is also discussed.

Just participation or just participation? A participatory justice model for more successful theory of change design, implementation, and solution uptake.

While a wide consensus acknowledges that participation is critical for the successful implementation of change that improves the livelihoods of people and communities around the world, justly securing that participation from stakeholders (at both the design and implementation stages) remains a demanding problem. This paper proposes a heuristic model for increasing participation that not only helps to investigate instances of nonparticipation but also opens up alternative intervention strategies and pathways for designers and implementers to consider toward more justly increasing participation and overcoming nonparticipation. Applied to a successful case of participation in Gurúè District, Mozambique-where an 89% solution adoption of an improved postharvest seed storage method was measured two years after initial training-this paper demonstrates the key importance of designing opportunities and motivations for participation into any solutions or innovations but especially justice as a factor for successful realization of theory of change efforts (all the more so in developing nation contexts). Applied to a second case study, this paper also explores participation despite little to no motivation to do so. Aiming to afford designers and implementers of theory of change interventions a tool for more successfully and exactly matching innovation goals with innovation outcomes, the paper also addresses broader implications for the model within theory of change approaches generally.

Large-scale rollout of extension training in Bangladesh: Challenges and opportunities for gender-inclusive participation.

Despite the recognized importance of women's participation in agricultural extension services, research continues to show inequalities in women's participation. Emerging capacities for conducting large-scale extension training using information and communication technologies (ICTs) now afford opportunities for generating the rich datasets needed to analyze situational factors that affect women's participation. Data was recorded from 1,070 video-based agricultural extension training events (131,073 farmers) in four Administrative Divisions of Bangladesh (Rangpur, Dhaka, Khulna, and Rajshahi). The study analyzed the effect of gender of the trainer, time of the day, day of the week, month of the year, Bangladesh Administrative Division, and venue type on (1) the expected number of extension event attendees and (2) the odds of females attending the event conditioned on the total number of attendees. The study revealed strong gender specific training preferences. Several factors that increased total participation, decreased female attendance (e.g., male-led training event held after 3:30 pm in Rangpur). These findings highlight the dilemma faced by extension trainers seeking to maximize attendance at training events while avoiding exacerbating gender inequalities. The study concludes with a discussion of ways to mitigate gender exclusion in extension training by extending data collection processes, incorporating machine learning to understand gender preferences, and applying optimization theory to increase total participation while concurrently improving gender inclusivity.

Pragmatic Clinical Trial to Improve Patient Experience Among Adults During Transitions from Hospital to Home: the PArTNER study.

INTRODUCTION: Minority-serving hospitals (MSHs) need evidence-based strategies tailored to the populations they serve to improve patient-centered outcomes after hospitalization. METHODS: We conducted a pragmatic randomized clinical trial (RCT) from October 2014 to January 2017 at a MSH comparing the effectiveness of a stakeholder-supported Navigator intervention vs. Usual care on post-hospital patient experience, outcomes, and healthcare utilization. Community health workers and peer coaches delivered the intervention which included (1) in-hospital visits to assess barriers to health/healthcare and to develop a personalized Discharge Patient Education Tool (DPET); (2) a home visit to review the DPET; and (3) telephone-based peer coaching. The co-primary outcomes were between-group comparisons of 30-day changes in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures of anxiety and informational support (minimum important difference is 2 to 5 units change); a p-value <0.025 was considered significant using intention-to-treat analysis. Secondary outcomes included death, ED visits, or readmissions and measures of emotional, social, and physical health at 30 and 60 days. RESULTS: We enrolled 1029 adults hospitalized with heart failure (28%), pneumonia (22%), MI (10%), COPD (11%), or sickle cell disease (29%). Over 80% were non-Hispanic Black. Overall, there were no significant between-group differences in the 30-day change in anxiety (adjusted difference: -1.6, 97.5% CI -3.3 to 0.1, p=0.03), informational support (adjusted difference: -0.01, 97.5% CI -2.0 to 1.9, p=0.99), or any secondary outcomes. Exploratory analyses suggested the Navigator intervention improved anxiety among participants with COPD, a primary care provider, a hospitalization in the past 12 months, or higher baseline anxiety; among participants without health insurance, the intervention improved informational support (all p-values <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In this pragmatic RCT at a MSH, the Navigator intervention did not improve post-hospital anxiety, informational support, or other outcomes compared to Usual care. Benefits observed in participant subgroups should be confirmed in future studies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02114515.

Measuring the impact and reach of informal educational videos on YouTube: The case of Scientific Animations Without Borders.

Given the popularity, reach, and variable accessibility of online platforms as channels for informal education by higher-education institutions (HEIs), it becomes practically and theoretically important to better understand the factors that affect the impact and reach of any such Internet-delivered ICT informal learning. Accordingly, this study analysed viewer data from one informal, science animation educational channel on currently the most-watched online platform, YouTube, to measure characteristics affecting the videos' impact and reach. Results from the study identified the most watched videos on the channel-including survival gardening using drip irrigation, charcoal water filtration, and tuberculosis prevention-and characteristic demand, time, location, and volume of video access. While the basic findings reaffirm prior research measuring statistically significant correlations between user-activity and YouTube engagement metrics (including watch-time, view counts, likes, and subscribers), they also demonstrate the and ability to make such content broadly applicable across demographics and globally. Offering some measure of insights for boosting HEI participation in informal educational science animation and ICT learning practices using platforms like YouTube-especially around the topics of water, agriculture, food security, and improved health outcomes-the findings also point to where improved methods for reaching the intended recipients of informal education online are needed to best leverage the potential of such platforms.

Breaking out: the turning point in learning using mobile technology.

Despite considerable research on YouTube as a digital media platform, little research to date has quantified the device-type used to access that online media. Analyzing access-device data for videos on one YouTube video channel-Scientific Animations Without Borders (SAWBO), which produces educational content specifically accessible to low- or non-literate, poor, or geographically isolated learners in less developed areas of the world-the results identify the historical moments between 2015 and 2017 when mobile/smartphones, both globally and by region, crossed a tipping point to surpass all other ICT devices (including desktop PCs, laptops, and other Internet-accessing technologies) as the primary device-type for accessing SAWBO videos. Specifically, data from January 2013 to June 2018 obtained for SAWBO's YouTube channel were sampled to capture and distinguish the access device-type used and then summarized in broad global and regional categories. The tipping point, as the date where the percentage of views from mobile phones was equivalent to the percentage of views from computers, were also calculated globally and by region. Besides documenting this critical global-historical moment, the results also have implications for mass digital-messaging generally and mobile-based public service learning specifically.

Progeny fitness determines the performance of the parasitoid Therophilus javanus, a prospective biocontrol agent against the legume pod borer.

Therophilus javanus (Bhat & Gupta) is an exotic larval endoparasitoid newly imported from Asia into Africa as a classical biological control agent against the pod borer Maruca vitrata (Fabricius). The parasitoid preference for the five larval instars of M. vitrata and their influence on progeny sex ratio were assessed together with the impact of larval host age at the time of oviposition on development time, mother longevity and offspring production. In a choice situation, female parasitoids preferred to oviposit in the first three larval instars. The development of immature stages of the parasitoid was observed inside three-day-old hosts, whereby the first two larval instars of T. javanus completed their development as endoparasites and the third larval instar as ectoparasite. The development time was faster when first larval instars (two- and three-day-old) of the host caterpillars were parasitized compared to second larval instar (four-day-old). The highest proportion of daughters (0.51) was observed when females were provided with four-day-old hosts. The lowest intrinsic rate of increase (r) (0.21 ± 0.01), the lowest rate of increase (λ) (1.23 ± 0.01), and the lowest net reproductive rate (Ro) (35.93 ± 6.51) were recorded on four-day-old hosts. These results are discussed in the light of optimizing mass rearing and release strategies.

The insulin signaling pathway in Drosophila melanogaster: A nexus revealing an "Achilles' heel" in DDT resistance.

Insecticide resistance is an ongoing challenge in agriculture and disease vector control. Here, we demonstrate a novel strategy to attenuate resistance. We used genomics tools to target fundamental energy-associated pathways and identified a potential "Achilles' heel" for resistance, a resistance-associated protein that, upon inhibition, results in a substantial loss in the resistance phenotype. Specifically, we compared the gene expression profiles and structural variations of the insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) pathway genes in DDT-susceptible (91-C) and -resistant (91-R) Drosophila melanogaster (Drosophila) strains. A total of eight and seven IIS transcripts were up- and down-regulated, respectively, in 91-R compared to 91-C. A total of 114 nonsynonymous mutations were observed between 91-C and 91-R, of which 51.8% were fixed. Among the differentially expressed transcripts, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), down-regulated in 91-R, encoded the greatest number of amino acid changes, prompting us to perform PEPCK inhibitor-pesticide exposure bioassays. The inhibitor of PEPCK, hydrazine sulfate, resulted in a 161- to 218-fold decrease in the DDT resistance phenotype (91-R) and more than a 4- to 5-fold increase in susceptibility in 91-C. A second target protein, Glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK3ß-PO), had one amino acid difference between 91-C and 91-R, and the corresponding transcript was also down-regulated in 91-R. A GSK3ß-PO inhibitor, lithium chloride, likewise reduced the resistance but to a lesser extent than did hydrazine sulfate for PEPCK. We demonstrate the potential role of IIS genes in DDT resistance and the potential discovery of an "Achilles' heel" against pesticide resistance in this pathway.

Post-transcriptional modulation of cytochrome P450s, Cyp6g1 and Cyp6g2, by miR-310s cluster is associated with DDT-resistant Drosophila melanogaster strain 91-R.

The role of miRNAs in mediating insecticide resistance remains largely unknown, even for the model species Drosophila melanogaster. Building on prior research, this study used microinjection of synthetic miR-310s mimics into DDT-resistant 91-R flies and observed both a significant transcriptional repression of computationally-predicted endogenous target P450 detoxification genes, Cyp6g1 and Cyp6g2, and also a concomitant increase in DDT susceptibility. Additionally, co-transfection of D. melanogaster S2 cells with dual luciferase reporter constructs validated predictions that miR-310s bind to target binding sites in the 3' untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of both Cyp6g1 and Cyp6g2 in vitro. Findings in the current study provide empirical evidence for a link between reduced miRNA expression and an insecticidal resistance phenotype through reduced targeted post-transcriptional suppression of transcripts encoding proteins involved in xenobiotic detoxification. These insights are important for understanding the breadth of adaptive molecular changes that have contributed to the evolution of DDT resistance in D. melanogaster.

Dietary antioxidants impact DDT resistance in Drosophila melanogaster.

Insects experience a diversity of subtoxic and/or toxic xenobiotics through exposure to pesticides and, in the case of herbivorous insects, through plant defensive compounds in their diets. Many insects are also concurrently exposed to antioxidants in their diets. The impact of dietary antioxidants on the toxicity of xenobiotics in insects is not well understood, in part due to the challenge of developing appropriate systems in which doses and exposure times (of both the antioxidants and the xenobiotics) can be controlled and outcomes can be easily measured. However, in Drosophila melanogaster, a well-established insect model system, both dietary factors and pesticide exposure can be easily controlled. Additionally, the mode of action and xenobiotic metabolism of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), a highly persistent neurotoxic organochlorine insecticide that is detected widely in the environment, have been well studied in DDT-susceptible and -resistant strains. Using a glass-vial bioassay system with blue diet as the food source, seven compounds with known antioxidant effects (ascorbic acid, ß-carotene, glutathione, α-lipoic acid, melatonin, minocycline, and serotonin) were orally tested for their impact on DDT toxicity across three strains of D. melanogaster: one highly susceptible to DDT (Canton-S), one mildly susceptible (91-C), and one highly resistant (91-R). Three of the antioxidants (serotonin, ascorbic acid, and ß-carotene) significantly impacted the toxicity of DDT in one or more strains. Fly strain and gender, antioxidant type, and antioxidant dose all affected the relative toxicity of DDT. Our work demonstrates that dietary antioxidants can potentially alter the toxicity of a xenobiotic in an insect population.

Dietary antioxidant vitamin C influences the evolutionary path of insecticide resistance in Drosophila melanogaster.

Herbivorous insects encounter a variety of toxic environmental substances ranging from ingested plant defensive compounds to human-introduced insecticidal agents. Dietary antioxidants are known to reduce the negative physiological impacts of toxins in mammalian systems through amelioration of reactive oxygen-related cellular damage. The analogous impacts to insects caused by multigenerational exposure to pesticides and the effects on adaptive responses within insect populations, however, are currently unknown. To address these research gaps, we used Drosophila as a model system to explore adaptive phenotypic responses to acute dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) exposure in the presence of the dietary antioxidant vitamin C and to examine the structural genomic consequences of this exposure. DDT resistance increased significantly among four replicates exposed to a low concentration of DDT for 10 generations. In contrast, dietary intake of vitamin C significantly reduced DDT resistance after mutigenerational exposure to the same concentration of DDT. As to the genomic consequences, no significant differences were predicted in overall nucleotide substitution rates across the genome between any of the treatments. Despite this, replicates exposed to a low concentration of DDT without vitamin C showed the highest number of synonymous and non-synonymous variants (3196 in total), followed by the DDT plus vitamin C (1174 in total), and vitamin C alone (728 in total) treatments. This study demonstrates the potential role of diet (specifically, antioxidant intake) on adaptive genome responses, and thus on the evolution of pesticide resistance within insect populations.

Responses of AG1 and AG2 QTL introgression lines and seed pre-treatment on growth and physiological processes during anaerobic germination of rice under flooding.

Rice seeds germinating in flooded soils encounter hypoxia or even anoxia leading to poor seed germination and crop establishment. Introgression of AG1 and AG2 QTLs associated with tolerance of flooding during germination, together with seed pre-treatment via hydro-priming or presoaking can enhance germination and seedling growth in anaerobic soils. This study assessed the performance of elite lines incorporating AG1, AG2 and their combination when directly seeded in flooded soils using dry seeds. The QTLs were in the background of two popular varieties PSB Rc82 and Ciherang-Sub1, evaluated along with the donors Kho Hlan On (AG1) and Ma-Zhan Red (AG2) and recipient parents PSB Rc82 and Ciherang-Sub1. In one set of experiments conducted in the greenhouse, seedling emergence, growth, and carbohydrate mobilization from seeds were assessed. Metabolites associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging including malondialdehyde (MDA) as a measure of lipid peroxidation, ascorbate, total phenolic concentration (TPC), and activities of ROS scavenging enzymes were quantified in seeds germinating under control (saturated) and flooded (10 cm) soils. In another set of experiments conducted in a natural field with 3-5 cm flooding depths, control and pretreated seeds of Ciherang-Sub1 introgression lines and checks were used. Flooding reduced seedling emergence of all genotypes, though emergence of AG1 + AG2 introgression lines was greater than the other AG lines. Soluble sugars increased, while starch concentration decreased gradually under flooding especially in the tolerant checks and in AG1 + AG2 introgression lines. Less lipid peroxidation and higher α-amylase activity, higher ascorbate (RAsA) and TPC were observed in the tolerant checks and in the AG1 + AG2 introgression lines. Lipid peroxidation correlated negatively with ascorbate, TPC, and with ROS scavengers. Seed hydro-priming or pre-soaking increased emergence by 7-10% over that of dry seeds. Introgression of AG2 and AG1 + AG2 QTLs with seed pretreatment showed 101-153% higher emergence over dry seeds of intolerant genotypes in the field. Lines carrying AG1 + AG2 QTLs showed higher α-amylase activity, leading to rapid starch degradation and increase in soluble sugars, ascorbate, and TPC, together leading to higher germination and seedling growth in flooded soils. Seed hydro-priming or pre-soaking for 24 h also improved traits associated with flooding tolerance. Combining tolerance with seed management could therefore, improve crop establishment in flooded soils and encourage large-scale adoption of direct seeded rice system.

Identification of transcriptional responsive genes to acetic acid, ethanol, and 2-phenylethanol exposure in Drosophila melanogaster.

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is predominantly found in overripe, rotten, fermenting, or decaying fruits and is constantly exposed to chemical stressors such as acetic acid, ethanol, and 2-phenylethanol. D. melanogaster has been employed as a model system for studying the molecular bases of various types of chemical-induced tolerance. Expression profiling using Illumina sequencing has been performed for identifying changes in gene expression that may be associated with evolutionary adaptation to exposure of acetic acid, ethanol, and 2-phenylethanol. We identified a total of 457 differentially expressed genes that may affect sensitivity or tolerance to three chemicals in the chemical treatment group as opposed to the control group. Gene-set enrichment analysis revealed that the genes involved in metabolism, multicellular organism reproduction, olfaction, regulation of signal transduction, and stress tolerance were over-represented in response to chemical exposure. Furthermore, we also detected a coordinated upregulation of genes in the Toll- and Imd-signaling pathways after the chemical exposure. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR analysis revealed that the expression levels of nine genes within the set of genes identified by RNA sequencing were up- or downregulated owing to chemical exposure. Taken together, our data suggest that such differentially expressed genes are coordinately affected by chemical exposure. Transcriptional analyses after exposure of D. melanogaster with three chemicals provide unique insights into subsequent functional studies on the mechanisms underlying the evolutionary adaptation of insect species to environmental chemical stressors.