Serpin is a broadly distributed superfamily of proteins that have a crucial role in regulating various immune reactions. Herein we identified a serpin-10 gene from Antheraea pernyi that encodes a 1557 amino acid residue protein with a predicted molecular weight of 58.76 kDa. Recombinant Apserpin-10 protein was expressed in a prokaryotic expression system (Escherichia coli) and the purified protein was used to prepare rabbit anti-Apserpin-10 polyclonal antibodies. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis indicate that Apserpin-10 was transcribed in all the tissues examined, including haemolymph, malpighian tubules, fat body, silk gland, integument and mid gut; the greatest expression level of Apserpin-10 was recorded in the fat body and haemocytes. The comparison of different developmental stages showed that Apserpin-10 transcript level was highest in 5th instar larvae, while the lowest expression was recorded at the egg stage. We also investigated the expression patterns of Apserpin-10 in fat body and haemocyte samples, following administration of heat-inactivated gram-positive bacteria (Micrococcus luteus), gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli), a fungus (Beauveria bassiana) and virus (nuclear polyhedrosis virus, NPV). A substantial up-regulation of Apserpin-10 expression was recorded following pathogen challenge in both the tissues tested. Further the knock down of Apserpin-10 led to down regulation of antimicrobial peptide genes. Altogether, our results indicate that Apserpin-10 is involved in the innate immunity of A. pernyi., Saima Kausar, Cen Qian, Muhammad Nadeem Abbas, Bao-Jian Zhu, Ya Liu, Lei Wang, Guo-Qing Wei, Yu Sun, Chao-Liang Liu., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Satellite DNAs are the major repetitive DNA components in eukaryotic genomes. Although satellite DNA has long been called "parasite DNA" there is substantial evidence that it could be associated with some functions of chromosome biology. Ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) are one of the largest and most important groups of beetles. Many ladybirds are of economic interest as biological control agents because they eat some agricultural pests such as aphids and scale insects. However, other species are phytophagous and can damage crops. Despite the ecological importance of the latter group there are no studies on their satellite DNA. A satellite DNA family was isolated and characterized in the ladybird Henosepilachna argus. This satellite DNA is organized in tandem repeats of 658 bp and is A + T rich (67.3%). The recorded high sequence conservation of the monomers together with the detection of putative gene conversion processes indicate concerted evolution. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that this satellite DNA is transcribed and in situ hybridization its location in the subtelomeric regions of all chromosomes except the long arm of the X chromosome. The presence of this satellite DNA in other species of the genus Henosepilachna and Epilachna was also tested using PCR. The results indicate that this satellite DNA sequence is so far specific to H. argus., Pablo Mora, Jesús Vela, Areli Ruiz-Mena, Teresa Palomeque, Pedro Lorite., and Obsahuje bibliografii
A novel panel of 16 microsatellite markers, obtained by pyrosequencing of enriched genomic libraries, is reported for the flightless European bushcricket Ephippiger diurnus (Dufour) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae). Five multiplex and one simplex PCR protocols were optimized, and the polymorphism at the 16 loci was assessed in two natural populations from southern France. The mean allele number and (expected mean heterozygosity) were 8.94 (0.71) and 6.57 (0.70), respectively, in each population. Several loci were at Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium (HWD), possibly due to the incidence of null alleles. The occurrence of null alleles has been previously reported for this species, and it is a common feature of microsatellite loci in Orthoptera. Cross-amplification tests demonstrated the transferability of some of these loci to other ephippigerine species. The microsatellite loci reported here substantially increase the number of available loci for this species and will afford an accurate picture of E. diurnus phylogeography, the genetic structure of its populations, and an improved understanding of the evolution of male song and other sexually-selected traits in this highly variable species., Yareli Esquer-Garrigos, Michael D. Greenfield, Virginie Party, Réjane Streiff., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The Niobe Fritillary, Argynnis niobe, is a habitat specialist and as a consequence is highly endangered in contemporary Europe. To investigate its genetic diversity and population structure, 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and characterized, using a recently developed pyrosequencing method. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 21, and the observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.17 to 0.53 and from 0.24 to 0.92, respectively. These loci were also successfully used to study the genetic diversity of a closely related species, the High Brown Fritillary, Argynnis adippe, and will be used in future population structure studies of both these species., Jan Zima JR, Dan Leština, Martin Konvička., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Spilarctia robusta (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Erebidae) was sequenced and analyzed. The circular mitogenome is made up of 15,447 base pairs (bp). It contains a set of 37 genes, with the gene complement and order similar to that of other lepidopterans. The 12 protein coding genes (PCGs) have a typical mitochondrial start codon (ATN codons), whereas cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene utilizes unusually the CAG codon as documented for other lepidopteran mitogenomes. Four of the 13 PCGs have incomplete termination codons, the cox1, nad4 and nad6 with a single T, but cox2 has TA. It comprises six major intergenic spacers, with the exception of the A+T-rich region, spanning at least 10 bp in the mitogenome. The nucleotide composition of the genome is greatly A+T biased (81.09%), with a negative AT skewness (-0.007), indicating the presence of fewer As than Ts, similar to other Noctuoidea. The A+T-rich region is 343 bp long, and contains some conserved regions, including an "ATAGA" motif followed by a 19 bp poly-T stretch, a microsatellite-like (AT)9 and a poly-A element, a characteristic shared with other lepidopteran mitogenomes. Phylogenetic analysis, based on 13 PCGs using Maximum likelihood methods revealed that S. robusta belongs to the superfamily Noctuoidea., Yu Sun, Sen Tian, Cen Qian, Yu-Xuan Sun, Muhammad N. Abbas, Saima Kausar, Lei Wang, Guoqing Wei, Bao-Jian Zhu, Chao-Liang Liu., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Fourteen predatory species of ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) were collected from May to October 2008 from mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) infested with the scale insect Chionaspis salicis at 31 localities in the Ore Mountains, northern Bohemia, Czech Republic. Chilocorus renipustulatus, usually a rare species, made up 85% of the individuals collected (1690). Other abundant species were Coccinella septempunctata, Calvia quatuordecimguttata, Adalia bipunctata and Adalia decempunctata. The invasive alien Harmonia axyridis was present but made up less than one per cent of the individuals collected. Niche overlap between pairs of ladybird species measured in terms of the coefficient of community, Morisita's index and cluster analysis showed that microhabitat preferences were similar and hence the possibility of competition was high in two pairs of congeneric species (Chilocorus and Calvia). Larvae of Ch. renipustulatus were abundant from mid-June through August and were still present in October. and Emanuel Kula, Oldřich Nedvěd.
Článek shrnuje současné znalosti o distribuci ryb a její dynamice v našich přehradních nádržích. Především jsou popsány změny distribuce ryb v průběhu a mezi několika důležitými obdobími, jako je třecí období, období sběru potravy a zimní období. Dále je diskutován přínos současného rozvoje metodik vzorkování ryb k porozumění jejich distribučních vzorců., This paper summarizes current knowledge of fish distribution and its dynamics in Czech water reservoirs. The dynamics of fish distribution is described during the three periods, including spawning, feeding and wintering. And the importance of current fish sampling technique innovations for understanding fish distribution patterns is also discussed., and Martin Říha a kolektiv autorů.
A cytogenetic investigation was performed in eight species of the spittlebug genus Philaenus using silver-NOR (AgNOR)-banding and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with 18S rDNA and (TTAGG)n telomeric probes. This is the first application of FISH technique in the Auchenorrhyncha, a suborder of the Hemiptera. FISH along with the rDNA probe revealed differences between species in the number and chromosomal location of major ribosomal RNA gene sites, the so-called nucleolar organizer regions (NORs). However, we found a lack of perfect correlation between the results of AgNOR-staining and rDNA-FISH in the detection of NORs. FISH with the telomeric probe confirmed that the chromosome ends of the Philaenus species are composed of the (TTAGG)n nucleotide sequence, which is a common motif of insect telomeres., Anna Maryanska-Nadachowska, Valetnina G. Kuznetsova, Tatyana V. Karamysheva., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Pollution of the water environment by foreign substances is an important factor affecting the health of fish, their reproduction and hygienic quality. Almost 100,000 chemical compounds are currently used, and get into the environment. This article describes the causes and sources of water pollution and deals with the known effects of particular contaminants, including mercury, on freshwater fish, i. a. in terms of their position in the food chain. and Tomáš Randák.