Previous articleNext article No AccessMiscellaneousMost Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature's Toxins—From Spices to Vices. By Noah Whiteman. New York: Little, Brown Spark (Hachette Book Group). $30.00. vii + 295 p.; ill.; index. ISBN: 9780316386579. 2023.Fernando E. VegaFernando E. VegaSilver Spring, Maryland Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmailPrint SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 99, Number 2June 2024 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/730654 PermissionsRequest permissions For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected].PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

The present paper describes a male coccid (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber with the largest known hamulohalteres on any extant or extinct coccid. Aside from this character, the specimen has an unusual assortment of features, including a prolonged head with three cylindrical dorsal simple eyes in three rows joining laterally, a single ocellus dorsally placed at apex of a prolonged head, compound eyes in a ventro-lateral position and a 10-segmented antennae longer than body length. These features prohibit it from being assigned to any known extant or extinct family. Whether the large hamulohalteres on Adocimycolus aarondavisii gen. et sp. nov. are evidence of a plesiomorphic state of a lineage of Mesozoic Coccoidea that had fully developed metathoracic wings or could be a genetic mutation, is addressed.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBotanyA Curious Herbal: Elizabeth Blackwell’s Pioneering Masterpiece of Botanical Art. Edited by Marta McDowell; with an essay by Janet Stiles Tyson. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers. $75.00. 552 p.; ill.; index of plant names. ISBN: 978-0-7892-1453-9. 2023.Fernando E. VegaFernando E. VegaSilver Spring, Maryland Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmailPrint SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 98, Number 4December 2023 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/727938 Views: 16Total views on this site For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected].PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Previous articleNext article No AccessBotanyFlowers in Amber. Fascinating Life Sciences. By George Poinar. Cham (Switzerland) and New York: Springer. $79.99. xv + 215 p.; ill.; index. ISBN: 978-3-031-09043-1 (hc); 978-3-031-09044-8 (eb). 2022.Fernando E. VegaFernando E. VegaSilver Spring, Maryland Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmailPrint SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 98, Number 2June 2023 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/725289 Views: 8Total views on this site For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected].PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Mycorrhizae are mutualisms between plants and fungi that evolved over 400 million years ago. This symbiotic relationship commenced with land invasion, and as new groups evolved, new organisms developed with varying adaptations to changing conditions. Based on the author's 50 years of knowledge and research, this book characterizes mycorrhizae through the most rapid global environmental changes in human history. It applies that knowledge in many different scenarios, from restoring strip mines in Wyoming and shifting agriculture in the Yucatán, to integrating mutualisms into science policy in California and Washington, D.C. Toggling between ecological theory and natural history of a widespread and long-lived symbiotic relationship, this interdisciplinary volume scales from structure-function and biochemistry to ecosystem dynamics and global change. This remarkable study is of interest to a wide range of students, researchers, and land-use managers.

The correct article title is provided here, Vulnerability of coffee (Coffea spp.) genetic resources in the United States.

A new monotypic genus of nogodinid planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Nogodinidae) is described from Dominican amber. The adult female of Jatoba losbrachi gen. et sp. nov. can be distinguished from other genera of extant and extinct planthoppers by a combination of the following features: the absence of a medial carina on the mesonotum, the presence of transverse carina on the frons, the presence of transverse veinlets on the basal half of the tegmen, a multifurcate and curved longitudinal vein CuA at the apex of the clavus and eggs bearing an operculum. Of special interest is an immature egg in the process of being extruded from the tip of the abdomen and an already deposited egg adjacent to the body terminus.

In this article, a new species of the genus Amberophytum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 of the family Cerophytidae from mid- Cretaceous Burmese amber is described and illustrated. The new species, A. maculatum s.n. differs from A. birmanicum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 in the smaller body size, shorter metatarsomere 1, and more convex body. A key to the species of the genus Amberophytum is presented.

Coffee is one of the most economically important agricultural commodities in the world. Labeling accuracy and conservation efficiency are essential for coffee germplasm management and for the exchange and utilization in breeding new varieties. However, due to its homogenous genetic background, accurate identification of Coffea arabica germplasm has not been fully achieved. Specifically, data comparison across different laboratories and genotyping platforms has not been available. Here, we report the screening of 672 candidate SNPs using Nano-Fluidic Array genotyping. Based on call rate, Minor Allele Frequency and Linkage Disequilibrium, a set of 96 SNPs were selected for genotyping C. arabica. This validated panel is suitable for use in coffee germplasm conservation and crop improvement, including varietal identification, seeds and nursery accreditation, and coffee bean authentication.

Tropidogyne euthystyla, described here, is the fourth species of this fossil genus to have been reported from amber deposits in northern Myanmar. The species are alike in features of the calyx, the shape and venation of the inferior ovary, and the absence of petals. They differ in the number and form of the styles, the lobing of the epigynous disc, and whether the flowers are apparently bisexual or unisexual. In the one species for which several flowers are available for study, T. pentaptera, floral diameters vary from 3.5 to 5.0 mm. The present species, known only from a single flower, is the smallest in the genus, with a floral diameter of only 2 mm. It differs from the 3 previously described species in having 2 stout, erect styles bearing a terminal stigma, whereas the other species have 2 or 3 short or long, arching styles that are decurrently stigmatic along the adaxial surface.

Ophiocordyceps dominicanus Poinar & Vega sp. nov. in Dominican amber and Polycephalomyces baltica Poinar & Vega sp. nov. (Hypocreales: Ophiocordycipitaceae) in Baltic amber are described as entomopathogenic fungi of bark lice (Psocoptera). The specimens possess several features unknown in extant synnematous entomopathogenic fungi such as a tubular dark synnema with a straight, pointed tip bearing spores over the entire surface in O. dominicanus, and a globular yellowish synnema developing on the tip of the host's antenna in P. baltica. These are the only known fossil entomopathogenic fungi of bark lice, making them unique not only for their characters but also in respect to their selection of developmental sites on their bark lice hosts.

A bizarre cylindrical bark beetle from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is described as Stegastochlidus saraemcheana, a new genus and species in the subfamily Colydiinae of the family Zopheridae. The male beetle is characterized by elongate protuberances covering its entire dorsal surface, a tarsal formula of 4-4-4 and ten-segmented antennae with the terminal segment expanded into a small club. The fossil is considered to have been a possible predator that lived among moss, lichens and fungi either attached to trees trunks or on the forest floor. A close association with fungi is indicated by strands of conidia attached to the cuticle of the beetle.

The world's coffee supply is threatened by the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei, the most destructive pest affecting coffee production and quality. This study hypothesized that, coffee berry borer infestation induces distinct metabolic responses in the green coffee seeds of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (robusta). A targeted metabolomics approach was conducted using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to quantify intracellular metabolites in infested and uninfested arabica and robusta green seeds. In parallel, the seed biomass content and composition were assessed for the same conditions. Coffee berry borer attack induced increases in the levels of chlorogenic acids in arabica seeds, whereas organic acids and sugar alcohols were more abundant in infested robusta seeds. Most importantly, a set of compounds was identified as biomarkers differentiating the metabolic response of these taxa to the coffee berry borer.

An ambrosia beetle described as Palaeotylus femoralis n. gen et sp. belonging to a new subfamily (Palaeotylinae n. subfam.: Coleoptera: Platypodidae) is described from Cretaceous Burmese amber. It differs from other subfamilies by the loose antennal club, 6-articled funicle, coarsely faceted eyes, tibiae with teeth at apex, bilobed meso- and meta-tarsomeres 2 and 3 and tarsomere 1 shorter than tarsomeres 2-4 combined. This is the first described Platypodidae from Burmese amber and the oldest documented ambrosia beetle that demonstrates glandular sac mycangia containing yeast-like propagules and hyphal fragments.

Nothing is sterile. Insects, plants, and fungi, highly speciose groups of organisms, conceal a vast fungal biodiversity. An approximation of the total number of fungal species on Earth remains an elusive goal, but estimates should include fungal species hidden in associations with other organisms. Some specific roles have been discovered for the fungi hidden within other life forms, including contributions to nutrition, detoxification of foodstuffs, and production of volatile organic compounds. Fungi rely on associates for dispersal to fresh habitats and, under some conditions, provide them with competitive advantages. New methods are available to discover microscopic fungi that previously have been overlooked. In fungal conservation efforts, it is essential not only to discover hidden fungi but also to determine if they are rare or actually endangered.