Daily non-political popular news in brief.

Wheat can fatally starve insect predators

A newly identified wheat gene produces proteins that appear to attack the stomach lining of a crop-destroying fly larvae so that the bugs starve to death. The gene's role in creating resistance to Hessian flies was a surprise to U.S. Department of Agriculture and Purdue University researchers, discoverers of the gene and its function.

Read more »

Keywords: wheat, fatally, starve, insect, predators, predator

« Previous | Next »

Similar news on "Wheat can fatally starve insect predators":

1. To elude bats, a moth keeps its hearing in tune
   12-18-2006 · EurekAlert!
   It has been known for over 50 years that moths can hear the ultrasonic hunting calls of their nocturnal predator, the bat. Moth ears are among the simplest in the insect world -- they have only two or four vibration-sensitive neurons attached to a small eardrum. Previously, it was thought that these ears were only partially sensitive to the sound frequencies commonly used by bats, and it would seem likely that by using high ultrasound, bats would make their hunting calls inaudible to moths.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
2. Japanese beetle may help fight hemlock-killing insect
   09-10-2007 · EurekAlert!
   The eastern hemlock, a tall, long-lived coniferous tree that shelters river and streamside ecosystems throughout the eastern United States and Canada, is in serious danger of extinction because a tiny, non-native insect is literally sucking the life out of it. Entomologists at Virginia Tech are now studying a beetle from Japan that may be a natural predator of Adelges tsugae, or hemlock woolly adelgid.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
3. Pressured by predators, lizards see rapid shift in natural selection
   11-16-2006 · EurekAlert!
   Countering the widespread view of evolution as a process played out over the course of eons, evolutionary biologists have shown that natural selection can turn on a dime -- within months -- as a population's needs change. In a study of island lizards exposed to a new predator, the scientists found that natural selection dramatically changed direction over a very short time, within a single generation, favoring first longer and then shorter hind legs.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
4. New pest plagues wheat producers
   02-28-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Wheat producers in northwest Montana experienced an unprecedented insect outbreak during the 2006 growing season of the orange wheat blossom midge. Infested spring wheat fields that normally yield 80 to 90 bushels per acre produced less than 2 bushels. A conservative estimate put the economic loss at over $1.5 million in Flathead County, Montana.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
5. Scientists find genes involved in the battle between Hessian flies and wheat
   03-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
   Wheat has ways to battle Hessian fly larvae that nibble on the plant's leaves and can destroy crops worldwide, but the larvae that survive eventually evolve methods to overcome plant defenses. Purdue University and USDA-Agriculture Research Service scientists trying to thwart the insect have identified genes that nullify toxins that wheat produces to protect itself from the munching larvae.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
6. Predator pressures maintain bees' social life
   12-20-2007 · EurekAlert!
   The complex organization of some insect societies is thought to have developed to such a level that these animals can no longer survive on their own. Research published in the online open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology suggests that rather than organizational, genetic, or biological complexity defining a 'point of no return' for social living, pressures of predation create advantages to not living alone.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
7. The fisherman is a predator like any other
   06-05-2007 · EurekAlert!
   IRD scientists and their partners of the Peruvian Institute of the Sea have analyzed these data obtained from commercial fishing vessels using mathematical trajectory models in order to elucidate the spatial interactions between fishermen and fish. Spatially, the fishermen behave just like natural predators. Fishermen are indeed part of this ecosystem, obeying laws of behaviour common to other top predators. These findings emphasize the importance of establishing an ecosystem-based concept of fisheries management.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
8. The fisherman is a predator like any other
   06-30-2007 · EurekAlert!
   IRD scientists and their partners ofthe Peruvian Institute of theSea have analyzed the Peruvian fisheries data using mathematical trajectorymodels in order to elucidatethe spatial interactionsbetween fishermen and fish.The results obtained indicatethat, spatially, the fishermenbehave just like natural predators.Fishermen areindeed part of theecosystem, obeying laws ofbehavior common to othertop predators. These findingsemphasize the importance ofestablishing an ecosystem-basedconcept of fisheriesmanagement.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
9. Study finds oysters can take heat and heavy metals, but not both
   12-13-2006 · EurekAlert!
   Could low-level heavy metal pollution be combining with warm water temperatures to fatally weaken sea life? A study examining the joint effects of cadmium and temperature on mitochondrial metabolism in oysters finds a combined effect that is potentially lethal and could be a significant contributor to recent oyster declines. The research has broad implications for cold-blooded marine organisms.
   Similar news · Read more »
   
10. Tough policing deters cheating in insects
    11-25-2006 · Science News Online
    In insect societies that have tough police, it's coercion, rather than kinship, that's preventing crime.
    Similar news · Read more »