Endosymbiotic organisms are known to manipulate the reproductive biology of their hosts. Incomplete prevalence of endosymbiont inducing thelytokous parthenogenesis results in the coexistence of sexual and asexual individuals, and could account for the maintenance of sexual reproduction in certain populations or species. In the parasitoid Venturia canescens, arrhenotokous ("sexual") and thelytokous ("asexual") individuals occur sympatrically. We aimed to determine whether endosymbionts are implicated in the thelytoky of V. canescens. After screening females of the two reproductive modes for several reproductive parasites: bacteria (Wolbachia, Rickettsia, Bacteroidetes, Spiroplasma, Arsenophonus) and Microsporidia, we concluded that thelytoky in V. canescens is not induced by any of these parasites and confirmed its suitability as a biological model for solving the evolutionary enigma of the maintenance of sexual reproduction., Vincent Foray ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
From January 1992 to December 1993, a total of 2158 fish, namely Oreochromis leucostictus (Trewavas, 1983), Mi-cropterus salmoides (Lacépède, 1802), I'ilapiu zillii (Gervais, 1848) and Barhus amphigrama (Boulenger, 1902) were sampled from thirteen stations on Lake Naivasha, Kenya, using a fleet of gill nets and examined for helminth parasites. The prevalence of infection due to cystacanths of an acanthocephalan, Polyacanthorhynchus kenyensis Schmidt et Canaris, 1967 among parasitized O. leucostictus ranged from 30.4 to 86.9%; among T. zillii from 4.1 to 77.7%; in M. salmoides from 20 to 50%; and in B. amphi grama from 5.8 to 100%. In 735 hosts belonging to the above four species, a total of 4198 immature specimens of P. kenyensis were recovered. All cystacanths were found in extraintestinal sites, either free within the fish body cavity or encysted within the host visceral organs. There was no significant variation in the prevalence of the parasite within months (P > 0.001). Host sex ratio was significant (P < 0.001 ) in favour of male T. zillii, and also highly significant (P < 0.001 ) in favour of male O. leucostictus. Moreover, in this fish, prevalence of infection was observed to increase with the increase in the size of the fish. Among infected M. salmoides, there was no significant departure from a 1 : 1 sex ratio.
Freshwater pulmonate snails from three locations in Lake Furesø north of Copenhagen were screened for infection with furcocercariae (by shedding in the laboratory) and recovered parasite larvae were diagnosed by molecular methods (by performing PCR of rDNA and sequencing the internal transcribed spacer [ITS] region). Overall prevalence of infection in snails was 2%. Recovered cercariae from Lymnaea stagnalis (Linnaeus) were diagnosed as Diplostomum pseudospathaceum Niewiadomska, 1984 (prevalence 4%) and cercariae from Radix balthica (Linnaeus) as D. mergi (Dubois, 1932) (prevalence 2%). Pathogen-free rainbow trout were then exposed to isolated cercariae and infection success and site location of metacercariae in these fish were determined. Infection experiments confirmed that both species could infect rainbow trout with the eye lens as infection site for the metacercarial stage although infection success differed. Combination of molecular and biological assays may contribute to improvement of our knowledge on diagnosis, distribution and biology of diplostomids in fish.
The Multicoloured Asian Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is known to thrive principally in shrubby and arboreal habitats. This study focuses on the occurrence of this exotic species and its seasonal abundance in various field crops. The abundance of adults, larvae and pupae of H. axyridis was evaluated over a three-year period, from 2009 to 2011, in four important agronomical crops (wheat, corn, broad bean and potato) in Belgium. From May to September, 48 1-m² quadrats were visually inspected in each of the fields sampled on several farms every seven days. H. axyridis colonized and reproduced in all of the four crops studied, with the largest numbers recorded in corn and broad bean crops. Larvae and adults of H. axyridis were recorded mainly in corn and to a much less extent in wheat and potato crops. From 2009 to 2011, the mean weekly abundance of H. ayxridis remained constant except in corn crops, where the recorded densities of all the immature stages and adults were higher in 2011 than in 2009. The population dynamics of aphids and H. axyridis are well described by a symmetric logistic function (S-shape) of cumulative population size. H. axyridis was not always recorded where aphids were abundant, e.g. aphids were abundant on wheat where no H. axyridis were recorded. H. axyridis start reproducing after the peak in aphid population, suggesting that H. axyridis is able to complete its development by feeding on alternative prey such as larvae and pupae of the same and other species of ladybird and other aphidophagous species. H. axyridis is often considered to be bivoltine but it only completes one generation per year in field crops. The second generation generally develops late in the season in other habitats., Axel Vandereycken ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Nineteen isolated rocky outcrops of different sizes, tops of which were covered with natural grassland vegetation, were studied in the forested submontane belt (630–1020 m a.s.l.) of the Šumava Mts in the southern part of the Czech Republic, Central Europe. The species of vascular plants present in the treeless sites at each locality were identified. Those species with an Ellenberg indicator value for light equal 6 or higher were considered to be heliophilous. The distance to the nearest secondary treeless area was measured. There were 43 heliophilous species (23%) recorded among the 184 species identified. The number of species and the number of heliophilous species varied independently of the altitude and extent of the treeless area on the rocky outcrops, but were significantly correlated only with the distance to man-made treeless areas. The highest number of heliophilous species was recorded within approximately 400 m from the nearest man-made treeless area. Although the relict occurrence of some of the heliophilous species on the rocky outcrops cannot be completely excluded, obviously most of the species colonized these localities from nearby secondary treeless areas since their creation in the Middle Ages.
Flow cytometry measurements confirmed the occurrence of Polypodium ×mantoniae (P. interjectum × P. vulgare) at three localities in the eastern part of the Czech Republic (Blansko and Rudice N of Brno and Javoříčko WNW of Olomouc). Nuclear DNA contents (± Sx) were determined for P. vulgare (2C = 29.00 ± 0.32 pg), P. ×mantoniae (2C = 37.18 ± 0.38 pg) and P. interjectum (2C = 45.24 ± 0.31 pg) using a PAS Partec GmbH flow cytometer (PI staining / standard Vicia faba, 2C = 26.9 pg). The relative DNA content ratio was measured in all pairs of taxa (± Sx range), i.e. P. ×mantoniae : P. vulgare = 1.340 ± 0.008; P. interjectum : P. vulgare = 1.681 ± 0.003; P. interjectum : P. ×mantoniae = 1.255 ± 0.008. Six new localities for Polypodium interjectum were found in the region of Moravský Kras (= Moravian Karst, N of Brno). From the PI/DAPI index it can be inferred that the AT/GC ratio (or heterochromatin occurrence) is 1.05× bigger in P. ×mantoniae than in P. vulgare and 1.08× bigger in P. interjectum than in P. vulgare. Anatomical data (number of thick- walled cells in the anulus, spore length and stomata length) of selected specimens and live samples from the Czech Republic were in good agreement with the range of variation of these features published by earlier authors from other European countries. A brief historical survey of the knowledge of P. interjectum in the Czech Republic is included.
Nucleospora salmonis (Hedrick, Groff et Baxa, 1991), an intranuclear microsporidian parasite of marine and freshwater fish, causes diseases mainly in salmonid species. Losses have been reported in stocks of salmonid fish reared in the region of Auvergne (France). The cause of chronic mortalities in the local host species raised in aquaculture and destined for supplementation of the river system Loire-Allier was examined. The presence of N. salmonis was confirmed by PCR and histology in Salmo salar L. previously and in newly investigated salmonid species, Salmo salar, Salmo trutta fario L., Thymallus thymallus (L.) and Salvelinus alpinus (L.), present in European streams. The infection by N. salmonis was consistent in all cases with characteristic symptoms of the disease in deceased or moribund fish. The small subunit ribosomal DNA from N. salmonis was partially sequenced and compared to previously characterised N. salmonis isolates. As a result, a genotype, or clonal entity, was attributed to N. salmonis among Atlantic salmon found along the Northern Atlantic coastal lines and other salmonid species co-inhabiting or co-cultivated in the Auvergne region.
During an ecological investigation of populations of the freshwater bryozoan, Cristatella mucedo Cuvier, parasitic sac-like stages of the myxozoan, Tetracapsula bryozoides Canning, Okamura et Curry, 1996 were discovered within the body cavity of some bryozoan colonies. Subsequent to their detection, data were collected on the incidence and prevalence of myxo-zoans in bryozoan populations in the Thames Valley region and on the effects of myxozoans on their hosts. Notable spatial and temporal variation in incidence and prevalence of myxozoans was documented. The production of statoblasts by bryozoans was significantly compromised by myxozoan infection although the production of larvae was not. Infection by myxozoans resulted in generalized swelling, malformation, degeneration, and slower response times in bryozoan colonies. These findings indicate that myxozoans adversely affect host fitness and may therefore influence population levels. Light microscopy revealed that multiple myxozoan sacs can be present within the continuous body cavity of bryozoan colonies and that sacs apparently undergo fission. Infective spores that develop within sacs are at least on some occasions released into the body cavity of bryozoans. Nothing is known of the subsequent stages in the life cycle of this myxozoan, including whether T. bryozoides infects another species. Spores may be released into the water column to infect new hosts or they may be introduced to new hosts when infected bryozoans are ingested.