Steneotarsonemus spinki the temperate climate of the United States, the area of southwest Louisiana has a sub-tropical climate with both high temperature and high humidity. Panicle rice mites thrive under both of these conditions and may cause substantial economic losses when found in association with "Burkholderia glumae" (bacterial panicle blight) and "Sarocladium oryzae" (sheath rot) pathogens. These pathogens are both present in southwest Louisiana. Panicle rice mites are pests of commercial rice ("Oryza sativa"), and completes its development on the invasive plant "Oryza latifolia". Feeding takes place behind the leaf sheath. The feeding lesion can be detected by cinnamon to chocolate-brown discoloration
Helitron (biology) Helitron (biology) Helitrons are one of the three groups of eukaryotic class 2 transposable elements (TEs) so far described. They are the eukaryotic rolling-circle transposable elements which are hypothesized to transpose by a rolling circle replication mechanism via a single-stranded DNA intermediate. They were first discovered in plants ("Arabidopsis thaliana" and "Oryza sativa") and in the nematode "Caenorhabditis elegans", and now they have been identified in a diverse range of species, from protists to mammals. Helitrons make up a substantial fraction of many genomes where non-autonomous elements frequently outnumber the putative autonomous partner. Helitrons seem to have a major role