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Insect Sci 2021 Apr 11. Epub 2021 Apr 11.

Hubei Key Laboratory of Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.

Juvenile hormone (JH) absence induces photoperiod-mediated reproductive diapause, which is characterized by reproductive cessation. Although the role of methoprene-tolerant (Met)-mediated JH signaling in photoperiod-mediated female reproduction has been well documented, its role in male reproduction remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of JH in regulating photoperiod-mediated development of the male internal reproductive system (IRS) in the predatory ladybeetle Harmonia axyridis (Pallas). Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 26;12:634091. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

The Flowering Lab, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.

Flowering time influences the yield and productivity of legume crops. is a reference temperate legume that, like the winter annual , shows accelerated flowering in response to vernalization (extended cold) and long-day (LD) photoperiods (VLD). However, unlike , appears to lack functional homologs of core flowering time regulators () and () which act upstream of the mobile florigen FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT). Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 26;12:629069. Epub 2021 Feb 26.

Key Laboratory of Soybean Biology of Ministry of Education, China (Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetics and Breeding for Soybean in Northeast China), Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, China.

Photoperiod is one of the main climatic factors that determine flowering time and yield. Some members of the INDETERMINATE DOMAIN (IDD) transcription factor family have been reported to be involved in regulation of flowering time in Arabidopsis, maize, and rice. In this study, the domain analysis showed that GmIDD had a typical ID domain and was a member of the soybean IDD transcription factor family. Read More

Eur J Neurosci 2021 Apr 11. Epub 2021 Apr 11.

Institute of Cellular and Integrative Neurosciences, CNRS and University of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.

The duration of daytime light phase (photoperiod) controls reproduction in seasonal mammals. Syrian hamsters are sexually active when exposed to long photoperiod, while gonadal atrophy is observed after exposure to short photoperiod. The photorefractory period, or photorefractoriness, is a particular state of spontaneous recrudescence of sexual activity that occurs after a long-term exposure to short photoperiod. Read More

Plant Dis 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Nanjing Forestry University, 74584, College of Forestry, No.159, Longpan Road, Xuanwu District, Nanjing, China, 210037.

European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus L.) has been used as an important ornamental species for urban landscaping since the Italian Renaissance (Rocchi et al. 2010). Read More

Zoo Biol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Reproductive and Behavioral Sciences, Saint Louis Zoo, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Across the genera of katydids from the family Tettigoniidae, both diurnal and nocturnal species have been identified. The Saint Louis Zoo Bayer Insectarium filmed dragon-headed katydids (Lesina blanchardi) overnight using red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to examine the activity of this presumed nocturnal species to provide quantitative information about these insects that are otherwise immobile when keepers are present. Evidence from the literature suggests that LED bulbs emitting long-wavelength red and infrared lights are less likely to cause changes to the subjects' behavioral budgets and movements through the habitat. Read More

Plants (Basel) 2021 Mar 31;10(4). Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Edgar McFadden BioStress Laboratory, Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science Department, BioSNTR, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA.

Transition of grapevine buds from paradormancy to endodormancy is coordinated by changes in gene expression, phytohormones, transcription factors, and other molecular regulators, but the mechanisms involved in transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of dormancy stages are not well delineated. To identify potential regulatory targets, an integrative analysis of differential gene expression profiles and their inverse relationships with miRNA abundance was performed in paradormant (long day (LD) 15 h) or endodormant (short day (SD), 13 h) buds. There were 400 up- and 936 downregulated differentially expressed genes in SD relative to LD budsGene set and gene ontology enrichment analysis indicated that hormone signaling and cell cycling genes were downregulated in SD relative to LD buds. Read More

Insects 2021 Mar 17;12(3). Epub 2021 Mar 17.

State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.

Diapause is a physiological development arrest state that helps insects to adapt to seasonality and overcome adverse environmental conditions. Numerous reports have indicated that insulinlike and fork head transcription factor (FOXO) are involved in the regulation of diapause in insects. However, the upstream modulators of the insulin-like signaling pathway (ISP) involved in diapause regulation are still unknown. Read More

J Insect Physiol 2021 Mar 31;131:104232. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and Instituto IEGEBA (UBA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón 2. C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Electronic address:

Many insects overwinter in diapause, a pre-programmed anticipated response to unfavorable environmental conditions, often induced by a short-day photoperiod. Diapause involves morphological changes and increased energy stores required for metabolic demands during winter. In diapausing mosquito eggs, the accumulation of lipids plays an important role, because these molecules are the primary fuel consumed during embryogenesis and pharate larvae metabolism, and have a key role in egg desiccation resistance. Read More

J Exp Biol 2021 Mar 31;224(Pt 7). Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Normandy University, FR CNRS 3730 SCALE, UMR-I 02 INERIS-URCA-ULH Environmental Stress and Aquatic Biomonitoring (SEBIO), University of Le Havre Normandy, 76600 Le Havre, France.

Thymus plasticity following gonadectomy or sex hormone replacement has long since exemplified sex hormone effects on the immune system in mammals and, to a lesser extent, in 'lower vertebrates', including amphibians and fish. Nevertheless, the underlying physiological significances as well as the ontogenetic establishment of this crosstalk remain largely unknown. Here, we used a teleost fish, the European sea bass, , to investigate: (1) whether the regulation of thymus plasticity relies on resource trade-off with somatic growth and reproductive investment and (2) if the gonad-thymus interaction takes place during gonadal differentiation and development. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2021 12;12:541171. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Floriculture Laboratory, FSFIS "The Nikita Botanical Gardens - National Scientific Center of the RAS," Yalta, Russia.

The effects of growth regulators, namely, 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and thidiazuron (TDZ), on the morphogenic capacity of 13 cultivars of clematis plants, in terms of their morphological structure formation, shoot regeneration, and somatic embryo development, are presented. The clematis cultivars 'Alpinist,' 'Ay-Nor,' 'Bal Tsvetov,' 'Crimson Star,' 'Crystal Fountain,' 'Kosmicheskaya Melodiya,' 'Lesnaya Opera,' 'Madame Julia Correvon,' 'Nevesta,' 'Nikitsky Rosovyi,' 'Nikolay Rubtsov,' 'Serenada Kryma,' and 'Vechniy Zov' were taken in collection plots of the Nikita Botanical Gardens for use in study. After explant sterilization with 70% ethanol (1 min), 0. Read More

Front Physiol 2021 8;12:633866. Epub 2021 Mar 8.

Arctic Chronobiology and Physiology, Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.

Organisms use circadian rhythms to anticipate and exploit daily environmental oscillations. While circadian rhythms are of clear importance for inhabitants of tropic and temperate latitudes, its role for permanent residents of the polar regions is less well understood. The high Arctic Svalbard ptarmigan shows behavioral rhythmicity in presence of light-dark cycles but is arrhythmic during the polar day and polar night. Read More

J Biol Rhythms 2021 Mar 22:748730421997265. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.

Insect species with a wide distribution offer a great opportunity to trace latitudinal variation in the photoperiodic regulation of traits important in reproduction and stress tolerances. We measured this variation in the photoperiodic time-measuring system underlying reproductive diapause in , using a Nanda-Hamner (NH) protocol. None of the study strains showed diel rhythmicity in female diapause proportions under a constant day length (12 h) and varying night lengths in photoperiods ranging from 16 to 84 h at 16°C. Read More

Front Zool 2021 Mar 18;18(1):11. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Department of Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland.

Background: The theory of delayed life history effects assumes that phenotype of adult individual results from environmental conditions experienced at birth and as juvenile. In seasonal environments, being born late in the reproductive season affects timing of puberty, body condition, longevity, and fitness. We hypothesized that late-born individuals are more prone to respond to short photoperiod (SP) than early born ones. Read More

Front Genet 2021 24;12:611476. Epub 2021 Feb 24.

Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.

Insects are behaviorally and physiologically affected by different light conditions, including photoperiod, light intensity, and spectrum. Light at night has important influences on nocturnal insects, including most moth species. Moth copulation and mating usually occur at night. Read More

J Insect Physiol 2021 Mar 10;131:104223. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Graduate School of Agriculture, Tamagawa University, Machida, Tokyo, Japan. Electronic address:

In the temperate paper wasp Polistes jokahamae, caste is influenced by photoperiod during the adult stage, but the mechanisms underlying the caste-fate determination system have been unclear. We measured the brain levels of monoamines and related substances in females kept isolated for two weeks under different photoperiods. Except for in the first-emerging group, the females developed ovaries under long-day conditions, whereas they stored lipids under short-day conditions. Read More

J Med Entomol 2021 Mar 11. Epub 2021 Mar 11.

Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, and IEGEBA (UBA-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Many insects use photoperiod as a signal to anticipate upcoming unfavorable conditions. Photoperiod sensitivity may be a relevant factor in Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.) populations at the cool margins of the species' range, where winter conditions have a strong effect on population dynamics. Read More

Plant Cell 2021 Jan 4. Epub 2021 Jan 4.

Beijing Key Laboratory of Plant Gene Resources and Biotechnology for Carbon Reduction and Environmental Improvement, and College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.

Photoperiod plays a key role in controlling the phase transition from vegetative to reproductive growth in flowering plants. Leaves are the major organs perceiving day-length signals, but how specific leaf cell types respond to photoperiod remains unknown. We integrated photoperiod-responsive chromatin accessibility and transcriptome data in leaf epidermis and vascular companion cells of Arabidopsis thaliana by combining isolation of nuclei tagged in specific cell/tissue types with assay for transposase-accessible chromatin using sequencing and RNA-sequencing. Read More

Front Neurosci 2021 18;15:604165. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

División de Neurociencias, Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairment in communication and social interaction, repetitive or stereotypical behaviors, altered sensory perception, and sleep disorders. In general, the causes of ASD remain unknown, but in Phelan-McDermid syndrome, it is known that the disorder is related to the haploinsufficiency of the Shank3 gene. We used an autism model with compromised glutamatergic signaling, the Shank3 mouse, to study the circadian rhythm architecture of locomotion behavior and its entrainment to light. Read More

Anim Biosci 2021 Feb 15. Epub 2021 Feb 15.

Department of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the potential effects of prolonged photoperiod on the serum lipids, carcass traits, and meat quality of Jinjiang cattle during winter.

Methods: Thirty-four Jinjiang bulls aged between 14 and 16 months were randomly assigned to two groups that were alternatively subjected to either natural daylight +4 h supplemental light (long photoperiod, LP) or natural daylight (natural photoperiod, NP) for 96 days. The potential effects on the levels of serum lipids, carcass traits, meat quality, and genes regulating lipid metabolism in the intramuscular fat (IMF) of the cattle were evaluated. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2021 Feb 24;22(5). Epub 2021 Feb 24.

MOA Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.

A photoperiod- and thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) line is the basic material for two-hybrid rice and is an important genetic breeding resource. Peiai64S (PA64S) is an important germplasm resource of PTGMS rice, and it has been applied to two-line hybrid rice systems in China. Pollen fertility in PA64S is regulated by the temperature and photoperiod, but the mechanism of the fertility transition is unclear. Read More

Heliyon 2021 Feb 15;7(2):e06165. Epub 2021 Feb 15.

Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA), University of Turin, Largo Paolo Braccini, 2, Grugliasco (TO), 10095, Piedmont, Italy.

Background: Marketing strategies, such as branding, redefine how consumers perceive quality and create new requirements related to season length and quality homogeneity, among others. For short-day (SD) strawberry cultivar brands, the commercial season is short due to a dependency on temperature and photoperiod. A plausible strategy to extend the commercialization period is to use different varieties within a single brand; however, this has led to inconsistent quality in other fruit crops. Read More

Plants (Basel) 2021 Feb 26;10(3). Epub 2021 Feb 26.

Laboratorio de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento de Botánica, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile.

Plant respiration provides metabolic flexibility under changing environmental conditions by modulating the activity of the nonphosphorylating alternative pathways from the mitochondrial electron transport chain, which bypass the main energy-producing components of the cytochrome oxidase pathway (COP). While adjustments in leaf primary metabolism induced by changes in day length are well studied, possible differences in the contribution of the COP and the alternative oxidase pathway (AOP) between different photoperiods remain unknown. In our study, electron partitioning between AOP and COP and expression analysis of respiratory components, photosynthesis, and the levels of primary metabolites were studied in leaves of wild-type (WT) plants and cytochrome c (CYTc) mutants, with reduced levels of COP components, under short- and long-day photoperiods. Read More

BMC Plant Biol 2021 Feb 24;21(1):111. Epub 2021 Feb 24.

Department of Plant Molecular Biology, Agricultural Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, ELKH, Martonvásár, H-2462, Hungary.

Background: Over the life cycle of perennial trees, the dormant state enables the avoidance of abiotic stress conditions. The growth cycle can be partitioned into induction, maintenance and release and is controlled by complex interactions between many endogenous and environmental factors. While phytohormones have long been linked with dormancy, there is increasing evidence of regulation by DAM and CBF genes. Read More

Plant Dis 2021 Feb 22. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Plant Breeding and Genetics, Faisalabad, Pakistan;

Fig (Ficus carica L.) is among the earliest and widely cultivated fruit trees in the world due to its easy adaptation to diverse climates (Solomons et al. 2006). Read More

Ann Bot 2021 Feb 19. Epub 2021 Feb 19.

Biological and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland FK9 4LA, UK.

Background And Aims: Traditionally, local adaptation has been seen as the outcome of a long evolutionary history, particularly with regard to sexual lineages. By contrast, phenotypic plasticity has been thought to be most important during the initial stages of population establishment and in asexual species. We evaluated the roles of adaptive evolution and phenotypic plasticity in the invasive success of two closely related species of invasive monkeyflowers (Mimulus) in the UK that have contrasting reproductive strategies: M. Read More

BMC Plant Biol 2021 Feb 18;21(1):100. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

Marine and Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory, Institute of Oceanography, Minjiang University, Fuzhou, 350108, China.

Background: Methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD) proteins play important roles in epigenetic gene regulation, and have diverse molecular, cellular, and biological functions in plants. MBD proteins have been functionally characterized in various plant species, including Arabidopsis, wheat, maize, and tomato. In rice, 17 sequences were bioinformatically predicted as putative MBD proteins. Read More

J Fish Biol 2021 Feb 15. Epub 2021 Feb 15.

Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Germany.

Artificial light at night (ALAN) can disrupt biological rhythms of fish and other vertebrates by changing the light information of the nocturnal environment. Disrupted biorhythms can impair the immune system of vertebrates as it has been shown for conditions with continuous illumination or long-day photoperiod in many vertebrates, including fish. Nonetheless, this has not been shown so far for typical ALAN scenarios with high light intensities during day and low light intensities at night. Read More

Animal 2021 Feb 23;15(2):100114. Epub 2020 Dec 23.

UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, INRAE, CNRS, IFCE, Université de Tours, 37380 Nouzilly, France.

In confined management systems, well-nourished bucks rendered sexually active by exposure to long days are efficient in fertilizing out-of-season goats. However, underfeeding is common in semi-extensive management systems and may reduce the reproductive efficiency of bucks. The objective of the present study was to determine whether nutritional supplementation improved the sexual activity of bucks submitted to long days in semi-extensive management systems and their ability to stimulate the reproduction of goats in semi-extensive or confined conditions. Read More

Front Plant Sci 2020 25;11:610041. Epub 2021 Jan 25.

Horticulture and Product Physiology, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.

Shorter photoperiod and lower daily light integral (DLI) limit the winter greenhouse production. Extending the photoperiod by supplemental light increases biomass production but inhibits flowering in short-day plants such as . Previously, we reported that flowering in growth-chamber grown chrysanthemum with red (R) and blue (B) LED-light could also be induced in long photoperiods by applying only blue light during the last 4h of 15h long-days. Read More