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Based on a comprehensive review of existing literature and examining the specimens, including 11 types that were housed in the Coleoptera Section of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 154 species of tortoise beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) from India are identified. This represents approximately 5.4% of the species diversity of the known tortoise beetles. Photographs of the examined specimens (including type specimens) are also provided. The details of the distribution of all the species across Indian states (including districts and micro-locations) and biogeographic zones are presented. Studying the distribution data of the species reveals that the Western Ghats harbours the highest number of tortoise beetle species (84), followed by the Northeast (58), Deccan Peninsula (51), Himalayas (49), Gangetic plains (34), Islands (12), and Semi-Arid regions (12).

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Species diversity is an index for sustainability of rangeland ecosystems. We studied the effect of environmental factors (soil properties and aspects) on plant species diversity in Zagros mountainous rangelands (vegetation type: Festuca ovina-Astragalus parrowianus) in the west of Hamadan in March–July 2009. For this purpose, four aspects were defined in the study area. Vegetation types were studied by physiognomic-floristic method in the field. The factors of vegetation were measured by transects using a systematic-randomized method. Five transects (100 m) and five plots along each transect were used. One soil sample (composition, 0–40 cm) in each plot was collected by a randomized method and assessed the following factors: pH, OM, N, EC, P, K and texture in the laboratory. The multiple regression method was used to investigate the relationship between species diversity (dependent variables) and soil and topographical factors (independent variables). Results showed that soil characteristics and aspects had significant effects on diversity in which north, east and west aspects as well OM, N, EC and clay were the most prominent factors influencing diversity.

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The dry bubble disease, caused by Lecanicillium fungicola, is an important fungal disease of white button mushroom in Iranian mushroom production farms. Twenty-three isolates of the pathogen collected in Iran and identified as L. fungicola var. fungicola, were compared for genetic polymorphism, diversity in growth rate and virulence. Ten Universal Rice Primers (URP) were used to evaluate the genetic diversity of L. fungicola var. fungicola. URP analysis showed that the genetic diversity of Iranian isolates was low (average 10 % over the 10 primers used) and that they were almost clonal. Relative correlations between geographical origins of isolates and molecular grouping were observed but there was no correlation between mycelial growth rate, virulence assays and URP patterns. Significant differences were observed between isolates based on mycelial growth rate and virulence assays. The high level of genetic homogeneity is attributed to the effect of fungicides used for control of the mushroom diseases which might have imposed a significant selection pressure on the fungal populations.  

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Beet western yellows virus (BWYV), a species of the genus Polerovirus in the family Luteoviridae, is an agriculturally important virus infecting over 150 plant species in 23 dicotyledonous families worldwide. A survey of BWYV in canola fields in Golestan and Tehran provinces of Iran using indirect triple antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (TAS-ELISA) indicated 8.3 % infection. The presence of BWYV was confirmed by amplification of the coat protein (CP) gene of the virus via running a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on total RNA extracted from ELISA positive leaf tissues. DNA sequences of the BWYV coat protein (CP) gene of seven Iranian isolates were determined and compared at the nucleotide (nt) and amino acid (aa) levels with those of twelve BWYV isolates from different countries deposited in GenBank. Sequence analysis data showed that the identity of BWYV-CP at nt and aa levels among the Iranian isolates were 93.4 % to 100 % and 93.2 % to 100 %, respectively. The maximum similarity of isolates at nt and aa levels were 97.2 and 96.6 %, which occurred among two Iranian isolates (Ir 8 and Ir 100) and four isolates from France (L39967 and X13063) and England (L39973 and L39970). The recombination analysis among the nineteen isolates including seven Iranian isolates revealed that there was no distinct intra-specific recombination event among BWYV isolates. This is the first report of sequencing and analyzing of the BWYV CP gene of Iranian BWYV isolates.

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The citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) is a major invasive pest of citrus in Tunisia. In order to help the implementation of an efficient integrated management strategy, it was essential to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of the pest. For this purpose, random-amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) was applied, using eight oligo-nucleotide primers, to reveal genetic variability among eight populations of P. citrella, originating from the north, center and south of Tunisia. A total of 66 RAPD markers and 33 phenotypes were generated. Inter-population polymorphism was revealed, using the percentage of polymorphic markers (62.12 %), mean number of phenotypes generated per primer (4.125) and mean genetic distance (0.199). Hierarchical analysis, using the UPGMA method, indicated that the genetic variability was influenced by the regional distribution. This pattern of population clustering was supported by Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCO). Yet, a weak correlation (0.69) was revealed between genetic and geographic distances, suggesting that climatic contrariety between the north and south of Tunisia plays a major role in the differentiation of P. citrella, leading to a restriction of gene flow between populations. Results obtained in this work show clear genetic differences, which should be considered in the development of control strategies.  

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The zooplankton diversity of Helleh estuary, Busheher, Persian Gulf, and its relationship with some characteristics of water quality was investigated. Samples were taken using plankton net (mesh size of 140 µm) with vertical towing from 5 fixed-stations in mid-season from summer 2011 to spring 2012 for one year period. The mean (±SE) of biodiversity indices of Simpson, Shannon-Wiener, and Margalef were, respectively 0.84±0.10, 3.01±0.20, and 1.90±0.10 in summer; 0.63±0.06, 2.20±0.20 and 1.87±0.08 in autumn; 0.73±0.04, 2.22±0.10 and 1.43±0.10 in winter; and 0.87±0.01, 3.44±0.30, and 2.38±0.30 in spring. The seasonal zooplankton similarity based on Jaccard’s and Sørensen’s coefficients were highest (0.61 and 0.76) for summer-autumn, 0.56 and 0.72 for autumn-spring while these value were lowest for winter-autumn (0.27 and 0.43) and spring-winter (0.30 and 0.47). In addition, there were significant correlation between zooplankton density with salinity, dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll a, Simpson and Shannon- Wiener with temperature, and Margalef with pH.

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Braconidae (Hymenoptera) communities at high altitudes in alfalfa fields of Kerman province (Iran) were analyzed. The communities were sampled by sweep netting in 2014 and 2015. Samples were taken from three altitudinal transects: 1900–2300 m, 2400–2700 m and 2800–3100 m. A total of 1773 braconid specimens belonging to seven subfamilies were collected. Alpha, beta and gamma diversities were analyzed. The samples from 1900–2300 m and from2400–2700 m showed similar diversity, but from 2800-3100 m had the highest number of specimens and differed considerably in diversity.

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Plants infected by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can tolerate and recover more rapidly from different biotic and abiotic stresses such as soil water deficits than uninfected plants. Thereby study of the dominant mycorrhiza species in the fields under drought stresses is very useful for increasing crop productivity in these conditions and promising for biological fertilizer production in the future. The objective of this research was to study the variations in morphological and molecular diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and identification of dominant AMF in wheat and barley fields of some arid and semi arid regions of Iran. For this purpose, about 66 samples containing root and rhizospher soils of wheat and barley plants were collected from some arid and semi arid regions of Iran (Isfahan, Tehran, Ghazvin, Arak, Tabriz). After trap culture of observed mycorrhiza in the samples, they were identified using morphological and molecular techniques. The ITS-rDNA of AMF in root DNA extracts of wheat and barley amplified with the primer pair LSU-Glom1/SSU-Glom1 as specific primer for AMF and ITS4/ITS5 as general primers in the first and second reactions of PCR (nested PCR), respectively. Aliquots of the positive second PCR products were cloned. Positive colonies were digested with Taq1. The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns of digested samples were compared and 1-3 representatives of each pattern at each cloning reaction were sequenced. Morphological and molecular diversity of AMF showed that more than 90% AMF observed in the regions belong to genus Glomus which coordinates with morphological studies and followed by G. intraradices. Also these studies confirmed presence of following species in some regions: G. fasciculatum, G. geosporum, G. sinosum, G. constrictum, G. macrocarpum and Glomus sp. and Acaulospora (Acaulospora sp.). It is important to note that the species G. etunicatu and G. dimorphicum were not detected in the morphological studies and Glomus mosseae was the most dominant AMF species in the all studied regions.

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Livestock grazing and rangelands fire are important ecological disturbances influencing the vegetation and soil properties in rangelands ecosystem. This study was conducted to determine the effects of different burned treatments and distances from the water sources on some soil and vegetation properties of rangelands ecosystem. The experiment was conducted in Lashgar Dar Rangelands. Vegetation samplings were done based on the randomized systematic method across transects. Fifty randomized quadrats were sampled at each transect. One hundred soil samples per each transect were systematically taken by auger along each transect. The ANOVA and Duncan tests were employed for statistical analyses. The results indicated that the highest and the lowest above-ground biomass production (630 and 117 kg ha-1), Shannon-Wiener diversity index (2.37 and 1.07), soil TOC (18.34 and 6.66 g kg-1), soil gravimetric water content (16.4 and 6 %) and soil porosity (69.43 and 57.74%) values were found in the unburned rangelands with 2000 m distance from the water source and the one year post burned rangelands with 10 m distance from the water source, respectively. Whereas, the maximum and the minimum values of soil bulk density and soil EC were seen in the one year post burn with 10 m distance from the water source and the unburned rangelands with 2000 m distance from the water source, respectively. There were no relations between the soil pH change trends and the different burned treatments or distances from the water source.

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Butterflies of the Inani Reserve Forest were studied between May 2014 and May 2015. One hundred twenty five species of butterflies belonging to 84 genera and six families (Hesperiidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, Riodinidae and Nymphalidae) were recorded during this study. The highest number of species comprised Family Nymphalidae (38 species, 30.4%) followed by Lycaenidae (35 species, 20.8%), Hesperiidae (26 species, 20.16%), Pieridae (16 species, 12.8%), Papilionidae (9 species, 7.2%) and the Family Riodinidae comprised the lowest (one species, 0.8%). The abundance of recorded butterflies was calculated in term of Very Common (20 species), Common (29 species), Uncommon (32 species), Rare (23 species) and Very Rare (21 species). The butterflies preferred different types of habitat (viz., Grass Land, Crop Land, Open Forest, Scrub Forest, Dense Forest and Bamboo Patches). Thirty species of butterflies were regularly observed in all kind of habitats, 69 species preferred multiple habitats (8 in 4 types, 24 in 3 types and 38 in 2 types of habitat) and 25 species were recorded only in a single type of habitats. Mud-puddling of 36 species were also observed. During this study, Zinaspa todara (Family: Lycaenidae) was the first time record in Bangladesh and Euploea doubledayi (Family: Danaidae) was recorded after 150 year later.

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Two different microhabitats (cropped fields versus established date-palm farms) in two different cities in Khuzestan Province, Southwestern Iran, were sampled monthly during 2011-2012 in order to assess the role of anthropic uses of soil on the biodiversity of oribatid mites. A total of 17 species of oribatid mites belonging to 10 families and 15 genera were identified (nine species were collected from the fields and 17 species were collected from date-palm farms). Among the collected species, Scheloribates fimbriatus with 22% relative abundance and Acrotritia ardua with 19% were dominant species. The Shannon index of species diversity and equitability was used to analyze data. Species diversity of oribatid mites and equitability were significantly greater in the date-palm farms than in the cropped fields. Time of year had no significant effect on biodiversity.  

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Based on the macro-invertebrate community and physico-chemical indices, water quality of the Tajan River in 6 stations along 80 km of the river length was assessed. Monthly sampling was conducted for one year (September 2011 to August 2012), using a surber with 30.5 × 30.5 cm dimensions and a 60μ mesh net for the benthic invertebrates sampling. The identified macro-invertebrates belonged to 31 families, 12 orders and 5 classes, the highest and the lowest abundance of which belonged to Psychodidae and Chironomidae, respectively. Based on Hilsenhoff Family Biotic Index, the research stations were classified into 4 qualitative categories, viz. excellent, good, fair, and fairly poor. Stations 1 and 5, respectively, showed the highest and lowest HFBI index. The highest and the lowest values for the Shannon–Weiner index were recorded in station 1 and station 2, respectively. The results of physicochemical parameters indicated  reduced dissolved oxygen in the stations 2 and 5, and increased TDS in station 2 and 1 and increased nitrite and ammonium in station 3. Results of Spearman correlation coefficients between biotic indices and physicochemical variables revealed significant relationship between DO, TDS, EC, PO₄ and water flow with HFBI and Shannon-Weiner indices. This study showed, generally pollution in stations 2 and 5 has reduced water quality in these station's.

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Genetic diversity relationships of 50 isolates of Cytospora schulzeri on apple from different parts of the Semirom region were analyzed using 15 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based markers, 7 random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) and 8 Microsatellite primed polymerase chain reaction (MP-PCR). Using 7 selected RAPD primers 113 bands were generated, of which 81 bands were polymorphic (71.7%), with an average of 11.57 polymorphic fragments per primer, and with 8 selected MP-PCR primers 107 amplified bands were observed with 78 polymorphic bands (72.3%), with an average of 9.75 polymorphic fragments per primer. In RAPD marker, number of polymorphic bands varied from 8 (241) to 15 (230, 238, OPA13) with an average of 11.57 per primer and which varied in size from 200 to 3750 bp. Percentage of polymorphism ranged from 64% (203 and 232) to a maximum of 83% (238). In MP-PCR marker, number of polymorphic bands varied from 6 (CAG) to 12 (GTG and ATG) with an average of 9.75 per primer and which varied in size from 200 to 3500 bp. Percentage of polymorphism ranged from 54% (CAG) to a maximum of 81% (ACTG). By combining markers, a total of 220 bands were detected, of which 159 bands (72%) were polymorphic and produced on an average 10.6 polymorphic bands per primer. The results showed that both markers were suitable for the detection of genetic polymorphism among apple C. schulzeri isolates. Estimated genetic relationship using similarity co-efficient (Jaccard’s) values between different pair of accessions varied from 0.54 to 0.89 in RAPD, 0.62 to 0.89 in MP-PCR and 0.62 to 0.87 with combined markers based similarities. High cophenetic correlation between the similarity matrix and corresponding dendrogram was obtained by RAPD + MP-PCR marker (r = 0.81). Cluster analysis of the data using UPGMA based on Jaccard´s similarity coefficient, divided the isolates into six groups, showing a high genetic diversity among populations of C. schulzeri.

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Ninety one monoconidial Bipolaris isolates were obtained from lesions on different parts of rice in different locations of Mazandaran province during the summer of 2009. Bipolaris species were identified using morphological features such as color and shape of colony and color and size of conidia and conidiophores. The isolates were separated into two species; 85 (93.4%) isolates belonged to Bipolaris oryzae and the remaining 6 (6.6%) isolates to Bipolaris cynodontis. Therefore B. oryzae is regarded as the major cause of rice brown spot disease in Mazandaran province. In order to analyze genetic diversity among B. oryzae isolates, 71 isolates were subjected to fingerprinting analysis by rep-PCR using BOX and REP primers. In cluster analysis, 15 clonal lineages and 54 haplotypes were identified. The largest clonal lineage contained with 36 haplotypes was the most common lineage. These results also indicate a relatively high level of genetic diversity among B. oryzae isolates. Also, pathogenicity test of a few B. oryzae isolates (12 isolates) was conducted under greenhouse condition and showed that those isolates were pathogenic to rice seedlings of cv. Tarom. All isolates produced some leaf spots 24 h after inoculation.

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The genetic structure, diversity and population kinship of four strains of ornamental barb, Puntius tetrazona, viz. tiger, green, albino and rose barb, was studied through microsatellite markers.  Genomic DNA was extracted from dorsal fin tissue of 160 individuals (40 per strain) using kit and its protocol from Denazist Co.  PCR amplification was performed using four pairs of microsatellite primers (Sm17, Sm25, Ma106 and Ma109). PCR products were electrophoresed on 8% acrylamide gel and stained with silver nitrate. The results showed that all loci were polymorphic. A total of 21 alleles for four markers in four strains was found. The mean number of alleles per locus at the population level was 5.25, and the number of alleles per polymorphic locus varied between 3 and 6. Average number of the observed alleles in tiger, green, albino and rose barb strains were 3.25, 3.25, 4 and 3.25, respectively. The observed and expected heterozygosity averages were 0.24 and 0.49, respectively. Most cases significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p≤0.01). The analyses of molecular variance showed high genetic diversity (97%) within populations. The F_st value was 0.03 which indicates the low genetic differentiation between populations. UPGMA cluster analysis based on Nei genetic distance showed two different populations inhabiting the regions. Therefore, the microsatellite markers used in this study were found suitable for the different strains, and the degree of diversity was very low between strains, indicating a high degree of kinship.

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This study was conducted to evaluate genetic variation among 70 sunflower recombinant inbred lines (RIL) derived from the crosses PAC2 × RHA266 together with parents based on seed morphological traits by using a rectangular lattice design with two replications. Seed morphological such as kernel length, kernel width, kernel diameter, 100-kernel weight, percentage of hull, percentage of dehulled kernel and seed yield per plant was measured. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among lines for the studied traits. The highest coefficient of phenotypic variation was observed for seed yield per plant (23.42) and the lowest one was observed for percentage of dehulled kernel (1.37). The highest heritability was observed for 100-kernel weight (0.995) and kernel width (0.990) and the lowest one was observed for the yield per plant (0.521). The highest correlation coefficients were observed between kernel diameter and kernel width (0.908). Principal component analysis reduced the seed characteristics traits to 2 components explaining 81% accumulative variance. By using Ward clustering method based on seed morphological traits the 72 studied sunflower lines were classified into six groups.

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The present study has been carried out in order to determine the entomofauna of four different agroecosystems from the study area, northwestern Algeria. Regular sampling was done using the Barber pitfall trap and the sweep net in addition to visual observations in the field. Nine (09) taxonomic orders of insects was identified from the four studied environments. It varies from one agroecosystem to another. Coleoptera and Orthoptera were the most represented in terms of both species and numbers. Entomofaunal diversity was more important in un-cultivated fields (diversity index = 4.15 bits, equitability = 0.89) than in arable fields (index ranging from 1.68 to 2.87 and a equitability between 0.41 and 0.72). Limited biodiversity in cultivated areas was the consequence of insect communities’ interactions disturbances caused by agricultural practices in these environments. Therefore, it is important to reduce these disturbances in order to enhance food resources, habitats and overwintering sites for insects. This will ensures sustainable entomological diversity, thereby increasing the role of biological control in pest management systems.