Článek shrnuje dosavadní znalosti o pavoucích zimujících v ulitách suchozemských plžů v České republice. Jde o dvě studie - jedna ze zimy 2008/2009 (2 448 prázdných ulit tří druhů suchozemských plžů: suchomilka obecná (Xerolenta obvia), páskovka žíhaná (Cepaea vindobonensis) a hlemýžď zahradní (Helix pomatia)). Druhá studie byla provedena v zimním období 2010/2011 (přes 30 000 ulit, stejné druhy jako v předchozích letech plus druhy: skalnice kýlnatá (Helicigona lapicida) a plamatka lesní (Arianta arbustorum)). Prozatím jsou souhrnně zpracována data z první studie, z druhé jsou v článku zmíněny pouze faunisticky významnější nálezy. Naše zjištění potvrzují nálezy ze zahraničí, že v ulitách přezimuje, často hojně, celá řada druhů pavouků, které považujeme za vzácné. Asi nejvýznamnější druhy jsou: skálovka šestitečná (Phaeocedus braccatus), snovačka pětitečná (Euryopis quinqueguttata), skákavka dvoutečná (Sitticus penicillatus), zápřednice Pennyova (Cheiracanthium pennyi), zápřednice karmínová (Ch. montanum) a další., This article summarises our knowledge of overwintering spiders in land snail shells in the Czech Republic. The results of two studies, based on the survey of more than 32 000 shells of 5 species, confirmed that many spider species considered rare actually overwinter in shells, often in large numbers. The most important records include Phaeocedus braccatus, Euryopis quinqueguttata, Sitticus penicillatus, Cheiracanthium pennyi and Ch. montanum., and Jana Niedobová, Vladimír Hula, Ondřej Košulič.
Macrolophus pygmaeus (Hemiptera: Miridae) is an important predator of pests of horticultural crops and here its ability as a predator of Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is addressed for the first time. The percentage predation of the different aphid instars and the number partially consumed were studied. Our results, obtained using choice and no-choice tests, revealed that M. pygmaeus caught and consumed more young than later instars of A. pisum, which confirms results of previous studies using other species of aphids. We also studied the interactions between predators (male/female) foraging in the same patch. When the prey/predator ratio is kept constant at 10 : 1 the average percentage of aphids completely consumed by individual females or males does not change with increase in the number of foraging predators. However, the number of partially consumed aphids decreased when females shared the same patch. In contrast, there was an increase in the number of aphids partially consumed when two males shared the same patch. The results were discussed in terms of potential predator foraging strategies since intraspecific competition is a key factor modulating the dynamics of prey-predator systems., Juliana Durán Prieto, Vincenzo Trotta, Paolo Fanti, Cristina Castañé, Donatella Battaglia., and Obsahuje bibliografii
We conducted an experiment to assess the predictive capability of a leaf optical meter for determining leaf pigment status of Acer mono Maxim., A. ginnala Maxim., Quercus mongolica Fisch., and Cornus alba displaying a range of visually different leaf colors during senescence. Concentrations of chlorophyll (Chl) a, Chl b, and total Chl [i.e., Chl (a+b)] decreased while the concentration of carotenoids (Car) remained relatively static for all species as leaf development continued from maturity to senescence. C. alba exhibited the lowest average concentration of Chl (a+b), Chl a, and Car, but the highest relative anthocyanin concentration, while Q. mongolica exhibited the highest Chl (a+b), Chl b, and the lowest relative anthocyanin concentration. A. mono exhibited the highest Chl a and Car concentrations. The relationships between leaf pigments and the values measured by the optical meter generally followed an exponential function. The strongest relationships between leaf pigments and optical measurements were for A. mono, A. ginnala, and Q. mongolica (R2 ranged from 0.64 to 0.95), and the weakest relationships were for C. alba (R2 ranged from 0.13 to 0.67). Moreover, optical measurements were more strongly related to Chl a than to Chl b or Chl (a+b). Optical measurements were not related to Car or relative anthocyanin concentrations. We predicted that weak relationships between leaf pigments and optical measurements would occur under very low Chl concentrations or under very high anthocyanin concentrations; however, these factors could not explain the weak relationship between Chl and optical measurements observed in C. alba. Overall, our results indicated that an optical meter can accurately estimate leaf pigment concentrations during leaf senescence - a time when pigment concentrations are dynamically changing - but that the accuracy of the estimate varies across species., Future research should investigate how species-specific leaf traits may influence the accuracy of pigment estimates derived from optical meters., G. Y. Li, D. P. Aubrey, H. Z. Sun., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Intracellular bacteria of the genus Wolbachia (α-Proteobacteria) are the most widespread endosymbionts of insects. Host infection is usually associated with alterations in reproduction, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility, the induction of parthenogenesis and offspring sex ratio bias: all phenomena that may influence host speciation. In the present study, by using well-established molecular tools, we investigated the presence of Wolbachia in leaf beetles of the genus Crioceris and their host plants, which are various species of Asparagus. Multilocus sequence typing of bacterial genes showed that despite their occurrence in the same habitat and feeding on the same plant, two species of Crioceris, C. quinquepunctata and C. quatuordecimpunctata, are infected by two different strains of Wolbachia. C. asparagi, C. paracenthesis and C. duodecimpunctata, which are sympatric with the infected species, do not harbour the bacterium. Interestingly, DNA of Wolbachia was detected in host plant tissues that are exploited by the beetles, providing evidence for the horizontal transmission of the bacterium between beetles and their host plants. Moreover, Wolbachia was detected in species of Crioceris that are not closely related., Michał Kolasa, Matteo Montagna, Valeria Mereghetti, Daniel Kubisz, Miłosz A. Mazur, Łukasz Kajtoch., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Babesia caballi (Nuttal, 1910) is one of the causative agents of equine piroplasmosis which causes economic losses to horse industry in China. There is an urgent need for rapid detection method for B. caballi infection in Xinjiang Province, China. To prepare monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against Bc48 gene of B. caballi (Xinjiang local strains) and establish colloidal gold-immunochromatographic (ICT) assay for diagnosis of the disease, recombinant Bc48 was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli. With purified Bc48 as immunogen in mice, three hybridoma cells named 11F4, 1H2 and 7F4 secreting mAbs against Bc48 of B. caballi were obtained, which showed strong reaction with recombinant Bc48 and Bc48 gene transfected cells. Furthermore, colloidal gold labelled ICT assay based on purified Bc48 recombinant antigen and its mAb was developed. The ICT assay showed high sensitivity and specificity and no cross-reaction with Theileria equi (Laveran, 1901). Total of 56 horse serum samples collected from Xinjiang were tested by ICT and compared with the detection by commercial ELISA kit. The results showed that 32 out of 56 serum samples were positive by ICT and 33 were positive by ELISA. ICT assay had high coincidence (98%) to the reference ELISA kit. mAbs and ICT developed in this study could be provided as an efficient diagnosis tool for infection with B. caballi in horse in Xinjiang area., Panju Wang, Jingjing Song, Ruiqi Song, Mengyuan Zhang, Lijiang Wu, Fangxin Li, Yan Yan, Jiyong Zhou, Bayin Chahan, Min Liao., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Some free-living amoebae are a potential threat to human health. The best known species are those of the genus Acanthamoeba Volkonsky, 1931, which cause Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and other forms of tissue inflammation. The aim of the present study was to search for potential pathogenic genotypes of free-living amoeba in the sand in children's playgrounds. Our results confirmed that free-living amoebae were present in all examined playgrounds. Sequences of the 18S rDNA have shown that all isolated potentially pathogenic strains of amoebae belong to genotype T4 of Acanthamoeba. The potential pathogenicity of isolates was confirmed on mice. The presence of pathogenic amoebae in the examined sand may be a potential source of human infection., Marcin Cholewiński, Piotr Solarczyk, Monika Derda, Agnieszka Wojtkowiak-Giera, Edward Hadaś., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Plastination is a preservation method for biological specimens, with important advantages over classic conservation techniques with formaldehyde or alcohol. Plastinated specimens are dry, odourless, and free of carcinogenic and toxic solutions. There are only few references about the plastination of parasites. Moreover, there is no information on the effect of plastination on the morphology and morphometry of these animals. The aim of this study was to define a plastination protocol to preserve various species of parasites, namely the nematodes Parascaris equorum (Goeze, 1782); Ascaris suum Goeze, 1782 and Dirofilaria immitis (Leidy, 1856); the acanthecephalan Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus (Pallas, 1781); the trematodes Fasciola hepatica Linnaeus, 1758 and Dicrocoelium dendriticum (Rudolphi, 1819) and the tapeworm Taenia sp. in the best morphological and morphometric conditions. Results showed that some individuals suffered collapse (P. equorum, A. suum, and D. dendriticum). However, other parasites presented good results with almost no change after plastination (D. immitis, M. hirudinaceus and F. hepatica). In conclusion, conventional plastination allowed anatomical preservation of all helminths tested, but modifications to the protocol are needed to prevent collapse., Moisés Gonzálvez, Juana Ortiz, María Navarro, Rafael Latorre., and Obsahuje bibliografii