Apiculture Commons^™

Species-Specific Microsymbiont Discrimination Mediated By A Medicago Receptor Kinase, Xiaocheng Yu

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Legumes form a mutualistic partnership with nitrogen-fixing bacteria to meet their nitrogen requirements. This collaboration leads to the development of root nodules, offering an ideal environment for the bacteria to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. A salient aspect of this symbiotic relationship is host range specificity, such that nodulation capacity and nitrogen fixation efficiency differ significantly between different host-bacterial combinations. Understanding the genetic basis of this specificity could pave the way for strategies to overcome the host range barrier. Sinorhizobium meliloti and Sinorhizobium medicae are two closely related species that display differential symbiotic behaviors with legume plants of the Medicago …

Addressing The Challenges Facing Wheat Production: Nebraska And International Breeding Efforts, Sarah Blecha

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Bread wheat, Triticum aestivum L., provides 20 percent of the global daily calorie intake. It is the third most important food crop, after rice and corn. Biotic challenges significantly reduce wheat yield; chemical control can be a solution but can be cost prohibitive for subsistence farmers. For many farmers, genetic resistance to biotic stresses can be the most cost effective solution.

The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and the Nebraska Small Grains Breeding Program have been addressing these wheat production challenges. ICARDA is part of an international research consortium to increase wheat yield and tolerance …

Phylogeny And Population Genetic Analyses Reveals Cryptic Speciation In The Bombus Fervidus Species Complex (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Jonathan B. Koch, Juanita Rodriguez, James P. Pitts, James P. Strange

Ecology Center Publications

Bumble bees (Bombus Latrielle) are significant pollinators of flowering plants due to their large body size, abundant setae, and generalist foraging strategies. However, shared setal coloration patterns among closely and distantly related bumble bee species makes identification notoriously difficult. The advent of molecular genetic techniques has increased our understanding of bumble bee evolution and taxonomy, and enables effective conservation policy and management. Individuals belonging to the North American Bombus fervidus species-complex (SC) are homogenous in body structure but exhibit significant body color phenotype variation across their geographic distribution. Given the uncertainty of the genealogical boundaries within the SC, some …

South American Leaf-Cutter Bees (Genus Megachile) Of The Subgenera Rhyssomegachile And Zonomegachile, With Two New Subgenera (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), Víctor H. González, Terry Griswold, Michael S. Engel

All PIRU Publications

Leaf-cutter bees (genus Megachile Latreille) are among the most common and diverse group of bees. However, the identity and taxonomic placement of many species are problematic and species identification is often difficult. Some species are known only from a single specimen or from one of the sexes, and identification keys are not available for many groups. We address these taxonomic issues for the subgenera Rhyssomegachile Mitchell and Zonomegachile Mitchell, two poorly known South American lineages of leaf-cutter bees. We provide comparative diagnoses, redescriptions, illustrated identification keys, new geographical records, and designate needed neotypes for Megachile cara Mitchell, M. gigas Schrottky, …

Letter From The Dean, Lalit Verma

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Bee Farming : Maintaining Productive Stock, R S. Coleman

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

EVERY bee hive must be a productive unit, headed by a young vigorous queen, to to make sure of the greatest possible return from capital invested in the commercial apiary.