Publications

4477

Significance A wide range of organisms sense Earth’s magnetic field for navigation. For some organisms, like magnetotactic bacteria, magnetic particles form inside cells and act like a compass. However, the origin of magnetotactic behavior remains a mystery. We report that magnetotaxis evolved in bacteria during the Archean, before or near the divergence between the Nitrospirae and Proteobacteria phyla, suggesting that magnetotactic bacteria are one of the earliest magnetic-sensing and biomineralizing organisms on Earth. The early origin for magnetotaxis would have provided evolutionary advantages in coping with environmental challenges faced by microorganisms on early Earth. The persistence of magnetotaxis in separate lineages implies the temporal continuity of geomagnetic field, and this biological evidence provides a constraint on the evolution of the geodynamo.

Huanglongbing also known in Indonesia as citrus vein phloem degeneration (CVPD) is a devastating disease in citrus plantation worldwide, especially in Asia, Africa, and America. In Asian countries including Indonesia, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) has been confirmed as the causal agent of huanglongbing disease on citrus. Distribution of CLas in Indonesia has been reported in West Borneo, East Nusa Tenggara, Bali, Yogyakarta, Central Java and East Java.  The purpose of this study was to detect CLas in several Indonesia’s citrus plantations that has not and has been reported previously and to study its genetic diversity and their relationship. DNA of plant samples, i.e. citrus leaves, was extracted using CTAB method and CLas was amplified using PCR with the A2/J5 primer pair. DNA amplification results showed that infection of CLas was positively detected from samples from Bogor and Cibodas (West Java), Tuban and Jember (East Java), as well as Katung, Bayung Gede, Kerta, and Pancasari (Bali). Alignment of nucleotide sequences from positive samples showed that their ribosomal protein β-operon has high similiarity to that of CLas OK901 originated from Okinawa (Japan). Isolates of CLas originated from Bogor, Cibodas, Tuban, Jember, and Katung have been known to be identical to other CLas of Indonesian origins reported earlier.  Isolates of CLas originated from Bayung Gede, Pancasari, and Kerta have single nucleotide polymorphisms at 6 points of bases of the 539 total bases compared in their conservative regions, although only 3 of the 6 bases could affect their amino acid sequences. 

AbstractThe olive fruit fly,Bactrocera oleae, is the most destructive pest of olive orchards worldwide. The monophagous larva has the unique capability of feeding on olive mesocarp, coping with high levels of phenolic compounds and utilizing non-hydrolyzed proteins present, particularly in the unripe, green olives. On the molecular level, the interaction betweenB. oleaeand olives has not been investigated as yet. Nevertheless, it has been associated with the gut obligate symbiotic bacteriumCandidatus Erwinia dacicola. Here, we used aB.oleaemicroarray to analyze the gene expression of larvae during their development in artificial diet, unripe (green) and ripe (black) olives. The expression profiles ofCa. E. dacicolawere analyzed in parallel, using the Illumina platform. Several genes were found overexpressed in the olive fly larvae when feeding in green olives. Among these, a number of genes encoding detoxification and digestive enzymes, indicating a potential association with the ability ofB. oleaeto cope with green olives. In addition, a number of biological processes seem to be activated inCa. E. dacicoladuring the development of larvae in olives, with the most notable being the activation of amino-acid metabolism.