ORCID Profile
0000-0002-3907-5179
Current Organisations
Stellenbosch University
,
University of Cape Town
,
Government Chemist Department
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 19-10-2022
DOI: 10.1126/SCITRANSLMED.ABO7219
Abstract: Compounds acting on multiple targets are critical to combating antimalarial drug resistance. Here, we report that the human "mammalian target of rapamycin" (mTOR) inhibitor sapanisertib has potent prophylactic liver stage activity, in vitro and in vivo asexual blood stage (ABS) activity, and transmission-blocking activity against the protozoan parasite
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 21-08-2019
DOI: 10.1101/742114
Abstract: Blueberry plants require large quantities of pollen deposited on stigmas to produce commercial-quality fruit. Like many agricultural crops, the interaction between pollen-source variety and pollen-recipient variety can be a major determinant of fruit quality in blueberries. However, little information exists to guide growers in optimising fruit set and quality. Using five commonly grown blueberry varieties, I determined whether crossing between varieties (inter-varietal) increased fruit mass and decreased developmental time relative to crossing within a variety (intra-varietal), and if so, what the best crossing combinations are. While intra-varietal pollination often produced fruit, for certain varieties the fruit set and fruit mass were highly reduced compared to inter-varietal pollination. Furthermore, intra-varietal pollination resulted in longer fruit developmental time in comparison to pollination between varieties. For the same pollen-recipient variety, inter-varietal crosses typically outperformed intra-varietal crosses in fruit mass and developmental time however, the extent to which inter-varietal crosses outperformed intra-varietal crosses differed between pollen-donor varieties. This result suggests that combinations of varieties are not trivial as some inter-varietal combinations may outperform others. Furthermore, some varieties appear to be more susceptible to the negative effects of intra-varietal crosses than others and that less susceptible varieties may be better suited to conditions where pollinator movement is poor. While our study can guide growers in determining optimal co-planting schemes for the varieties tested, for ex le in South Africa where these varieties are frequently grown. It also serves as a blueprint for similar compatibility studies that can easily be performed prior to planting to determine the best inter-varietal combinations.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 16-02-2019
DOI: 10.1101/551523
Abstract: Animal-mediated pollination is an essential ecosystem service which over a third of the world’s agricultural crops depend on. Blueberry fruit production is highly dependent on pollinators and in their native range they are pollinated mostly by bumble bees ( Bombus spp.). Demand for blueberries has increased in recent years due to their perceived health benefits. Consequently, blueberry cultivation has expanded well beyond their native range, including several regions where bumble bees are not present. In many areas, honey bees may be the only commercially available pollinators of blueberries because many countries ban the importation of bumble bees. This study aimed to determine the benefits of honey bee pollination on blueberry fruit quality and quantity for the variety Ventura by comparing yields of honey-bee-pollinated flowers to flowers where pollinators had been excluded. Honey bees significantly increased berry mass and diameter. Our results suggest that the presence of honey bee pollinators potentially increases revenue by approximately $864 501/ha in areas without bumble bees. We conclude that Ventura is reliably pollinated by honey bees, and that honey bee pollination may be a useful substitute for bumble bees in areas where bumble bees are absent. We also determined the extent to which blueberry yields could still be improved by comparing fruit quality and quantity under honey bee pollination to fruit quality and quantity achieved through ideal hand pollination. We found that blueberry yields may be still be significantly increased relative to ideal hand pollination and we discuss potential ways to improve the efficiency of honeybee pollination in the future. Additional research is required to study how beneficial honey bees are to fruit yield on varieties as the benefits of honey bees are likely to vary across different varieties.
Location: South Africa
No related grants have been discovered for SAMUEL GACHUHI.