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The possibility of voyaging contact between prehistoric Polynesian and Native American populations has long intrigued researchers. Proponents have pointed to the existence of New World crops, such as the sweet potato and bottle gourd, in the Polynesian archaeological record, but nowhere else outside the pre-Columbian Americas1–6, while critics have argued that these botanical dispersals need not have been human mediated7. The Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl controversially suggested that prehistoric South American populations had an important role in the settlement of east Polynesia and particularly of Easter Island (Rapa Nui)2. Several limited molecular genetic studies have reached opposing conclusions, and the possibility continues to be as hotly contested today as it was when first suggested8–12. Here we analyse genome-wide variation in individuals from islands across Polynesia for signs of Native American admixture, analysing 807 individuals from 17 island populations and 15 Pacific coast Native American groups. We find conclusive evidence for prehistoric contact of Polynesian individuals with Native American individuals (around ad 1200) contemporaneous with the settlement of remote Oceania13–15. Our analyses suggest strongly that a single contact event occurred in eastern Polynesia, before the settlement of Rapa Nui, between Polynesian individuals and a Native American group most closely related to the indigenous inhabitants of present-day Colombia. Genomic analyses of DNA from modern individuals show that, about 800 years ago, pre-European contact occurred between Polynesian individuals and Native American individuals from near present-day Colombia, while remote Pacific islands were still being settled.

International audience; The cosmopolitan silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci which had coexisted with Trialeurodes vaporariorum in Northern China for many years, has become the dominant species in the last years. Recent reports show that it is gradually displacing the other greenhouse whitefly species. Neonicotinoid, which includes nitenpyram, is a major group of insecticides used against whiteflies in various crops. When exposed to low doses of insecticides, insects may develop resistance by adapting physiologically. The short- and long-term effects of nitenpyram on insecticide sensitivity in B. tabaci biotype B and T. vaporariorum adult populations have been compared in the present study. After being exposed to LC25 of nitenpyram for 24 h, the B. tabaci biotype B adults showed no significant change in susceptibility to nitenpyram or to five other insecticides: imidacloprid, acetamiprid, abamectin, chlorpyrifos and beta-cypermethrin. By contrast, exposure to the LC25 of nitenpyram for 24 h led to a significant increase in the susceptibility of T. vaporariorum to nitenpyram and imidacloprid, by 1.8- and 2-fold, respectively. When exposed for seven generations to the LC25 of nitenpyram, B. tabaci developed 6-fold resistance to nitenpyram, and 3.1- and 5-fold cross-resistance to imidacloprid and acetamiprid, respectively, whereas T. vaporariorum developed lower resistance (3.7-fold) to the nitenpyram and very low cross-resistance to imidacloprid (2.5-fold). The higher adaptable nature of B. tabaci (demonstrated here in the case of nitenpyram) when exposed to low doses of insecticides may provide a selective advantage when competing with T. vaporariorum in crops.

Background In higher plants, sugars are not only nutrients but also important signal molecules. They are distributed through the plant via sugar transporters, which are involved not only in sugar long-distance transport via the loading and the unloading of the conducting complex, but also in sugar allocation into source and sink cells. The availability of the recently released grapevine genome sequence offers the opportunity to identify sucrose and monosaccharide transporter gene families in a woody species and to compare them with those of the herbaceous Arabidopsis thaliana using a phylogenetic analysis. Results In grapevine, one of the most economically important fruit crop in the world, it appeared that sucrose and monosaccharide transporter genes are present in 4 and 59 loci, respectively and that the monosaccharide transporter family can be divided into 7 subfamilies. Phylogenetic analysis of protein sequences has indicated that orthologs exist between Vitis and Arabidospis. A search for cis-regulatory elements in the promoter sequences of the most characterized transporter gene families (sucrose, hexoses and polyols transporters), has revealed that some of them might probably be regulated by sugars. To profile several genes simultaneously, we created a macroarray bearing cDNA fragments specific to 20 sugar transporter genes. This macroarray analysis has revealed that two hexose (VvHT1, VvHT3), one polyol (VvPMT5) and one sucrose (VvSUC27) transporter genes, are highly expressed in most vegetative organs. The expression of one hexose transporter (VvHT2) and two tonoplastic monosaccharide transporter (VvTMT1, VvTMT2) genes are regulated during berry development. Finally, three putative hexose transporter genes show a preferential organ specificity being highly expressed in seeds (VvHT3, VvHT5), in roots (VvHT2) or in mature leaves (VvHT5). Conclusions This study provides an exhaustive survey of sugar transporter genes in Vitis vinifera and revealed that sugar transporter gene families in this woody plant are strongly comparable to those of herbaceous species. Dedicated macroarrays have provided a Vitis sugar transporter genes expression profiling, which will likely contribute to understand their physiological functions in plant and berry development. The present results might also have a significant impact on our knowledge on plant sugar transporters.

BackgroundBiofortification of cassava with pro-vitamin A can potentially reduce vitamin A deficiency in low-income countries. However, little is known about consumer acceptance of this deep yellow variety of cassava compared to the commonly available white varieties. We aimed to determine the sensory and cultural acceptability of the consumption of pro-vitamin A rich cassava in order to identify key factors predicting the intention to consume pro-vitamin A rich cassava by families with school-aged children in Eastern Kenya.MethodsSensory acceptability was measured by replicated discrimination tests and paired preference tests among 30 children (7-12 yr) and 30 caretakers (18-45 yr) in three primary schools. Cultural acceptability was assessed with a questionnaire based on the combined model of The Theory of Planned Behavior and The Health Belief Model in one primary school among 140 caretakers of children aged 6 to 12 years. Correlations and multivariate analyses were used to determine associations between summed scores for model constructs.ResultsCaretakers and children perceived a significant difference in taste between white and pro-vitamin A rich cassava. Both preferred pro-vitamin A rich cassava over white cassava because of its soft texture, sweet taste and attractive color. Knowledge about pro-vitamin A rich cassava and it's relation to health ('Knowledge' ((β = 0.29, P = ConclusionsPro-vitamin A rich cassava is well accepted by school children in our study population.

Background Arctium species (Asteraceae) are distributed worldwide and are used as food and rich sources of secondary metabolites for the pharmaceutical industry, e.g., against avian influenza virus. RNA silencing is an antiviral defense mechanism that detects and destroys virus-derived double-stranded RNA, resulting in accumulation of virus-derived small RNAs (21–24 nucleotides) that can be used for generic detection of viruses by small-RNA deep sequencing (SRDS). Methodology/Principal Findings SRDS was used to detect viruses in the biennial wild plant species Arctium tomentosum (woolly burdock; family Asteraceae) displaying virus-like symptoms of vein yellowing and leaf mosaic in southern Finland. Assembly of the small-RNA reads resulted in contigs homologous to Alstroemeria virus X (AlsVX), a positive/single-stranded RNA virus of genus Potexvirus (family Alphaflexiviridae), or related to negative/single-stranded RNA viruses of the genus Emaravirus. The coat protein gene of AlsVX was 81% and 89% identical to the two AlsVX isolates from Japan and Norway, respectively. The deduced, partial nucleocapsid protein amino acid sequence of the emara-like virus was only 78% or less identical to reported emaraviruses and showed no variability among the virus isolates characterized. This virus—tentatively named as Woolly burdock yellow vein virus—was exclusively associated with yellow vein and leaf mosaic symptoms in woolly burdock, whereas AlsVX was detected in only one of the 52 plants tested. Conclusions/Significance These results provide novel information about natural virus infections in Acrtium species and reveal woolly burdock as the first natural host of AlsVX besides Alstroemeria (family Alstroemeriaceae). Results also revealed a new virus related to the recently emerged Emaravirus genus and demonstrated applicability of SRDS to detect negative-strand RNA viruses. SRDS potentiates virus surveys of wild plants, a research area underrepresented in plant virology, and helps reveal natural reservoirs of viruses that cause yield losses in cultivated plants.