Transgenic lines of silver birch (Betula pendula) carrying the sugar beet chitinase IV gene were used to study the effects of the heterologous expression of a transgenic chitinase on the performance of lepidopteran herbivores. The effect of wounding the leaves of birch on the performance of lepidopteran larvae and the growth of trees was also studied. Larvae of Orgyia antiqua L., Lymantriidae, and Phalera bucephala L., Notodontidae, were separately fed on the leaves of transgenic and wild-type birch, and their performance measured using nutritional indices. The relative growth rate (RGR) of O. antiqua larvae fed transgenic leaves was significantly lower than that of larvae fed wild-type leaves. Furthermore, there is little evidence that transgenic chitinase affects survival but it was lowest for the group of larvae fed leaves with the highest expression of chitinase IV. Wounding did not have a significant effect on the performance of the larvae or on the growth of the branches of the trees. The growth of branches of particular transgenic lines, however, was significantly associated with tree line. The performance of P. bucephala larvae fed leaves of transgenic and wild-type birches did not differ. The leaves used in both experiments from transgenic trees were shorter than those from wild-type trees. Using transgenic birch expressing sugar beet chitinase IV to improve the resistance of birch to fungal diseases can have negative effects on O. antiqua larvae feeding on the leaves of these birches. P. bucephala, however, was not similarly affected, which indicates that these two ecologically similar lepidopteran species may differ in their response to transgenic chitinase., Liisa Vihervuori ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Thelytokous parthenogenesis is a type of sex determination in which females are produced from unfertilized eggs. Genetic and endosymbiont-induced forms of thelytoky have been described in the Hymenoptera. Our study has revealed that Wolbachia, Cardinium, Spiroplasma and other endosymbionts are probably absent in Iberian populations of harvester ants, Messor barbarus and Messor capitatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) and are thus not involved as factors in the sex determination of these two species. Our results lend weight to previous suggestions that bacterial parthenogenesis induction in Hymenoptera is probably limited to the reproductive systems of chalcidoid and cynipoid parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Apocrita: Chalcidoidea and Cynipoidea, respectively)., Paloma Martínez-Rodríguez ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
The pistachio psylla, Agonoscena pistaciae Burckhardt & Lauterer (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is a major pest of pistachio trees throughout the pistachio producing regions in Iran. The effect of temperature on the developmental rates of eggs and nymphs of A. pistaciae was determined at different constant temperatures, i.e. 15, 20, 25, 30, 32.5 and 35 ± 0.5°C. The relationships between temperature and developmental rates were described by linear and the non-linear Lactin models. These models were evaluated based on R2, RSS, AIC and R2adj. The estimated value of the lower temperature threshold for egg, nymph and egg to adult development based on the linear model was 8.06, 10.38 and 9.97°C, respectively, and based on the Lactin model was 8, 11.55 and 11.2°C, respectively. Thermal constants estimated using the linear model, were 88.5, 243.90 and 333.33 DD, respectively, for egg, nymph and egg to adult development. These results indicate that the linear model gives a better description of the relationship between developmental rate and temperature for A. pistaciae than the non-linear model. These results could be incorporated into forecasting models used in the integrated pest management of this pest. and Mohammad Reza Hassani, Abbas Arbab, Hamzeh Izadi, Gadir Nouri-Ganbalani.
In order to determine when during the development of H. armigera CYP6B6 is expressed, we measured the width of the head capsule, the length of the body and weight of the different life stages of the cotton bollworm reared under laboratory condition. The larvae took about 20 d to complete their development under these conditions, the pre-pupae about 4 d, pupae about 9 d, and the adults lived for about 9 d and the eggs took about 4 d to hatch. Knowing this it was possible to determine the pattern of cytochrome P450 CYP6B6 expression at different stages in the life cycle of H. armigera using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The CYP6B6 gene was expressed in all the developmental stages of the cotton bollworm. The results indicate that the level of expression was lower in the egg, pre-pupal, pupal and adult stages than in larvae. The level of expression of CYP6B6 decreased from the 1st to the 3rd instar larva, with the lowest level recorded in the 3rd instar larvae and then increased reaching its highest value in 6th instar larvae. A similar trend in the expression of CYP6B6 was detected using immunohistochemistry. As the results show, more efficient control of the cotton bollworm can be achieved if insecticides are applied when the larvae of H. armiger are in the 3rd instar, because at that stage the eat little food and there is a low level of detoxifying enzymes in the larvae., Xuetao Zhang ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
This is the first record of the harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) occurring in the Caucasus (Sochi region of Krasnodar territory, Russia). All the adults collected in the field there and reared from collected eggs, larvae and pupae, and their progeny were H. axyridis f. succinea, which is the most common morph in natural populations in South-Eastern Asia and the Russian Far East as well as in invasive populations in the Americas and Europe. In contrast in Western Siberia f. axyridis predominates and this indicates that an occasional introduction from the closest native range in Siberia cannot be considered as the source of the Caucasian population. It is known that populations of H. axyridis can also differ in their photoperiodic responses. The results of earlier experiments on H. axyridis, which originated from the Russian Far East, indicate that the threshold day lengths for the acceleration of preimaginal development and deceleration of reproductive maturation were 13–14 h, while for the invasive populations of this species in Europe these two thresholds are approximately 12 h. In the population studied, the thresholds for both of these photoperiodic responses were also approximately 12 h. Thus, it is concluded that the population of H. axyridis studied is a further eastward continuation of the invasion of this species in Europe., Natalia A. Balyakova, Sergey Ya. Reznik., and Seznam literatury
The aim of this study was to investigate whether haemocytes of Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) larvae produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) like human blood phagocytes. The production of ROS was measured first using luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence of un-stimulated and stimulated (four activators with different modes of action) haemolymph or isolated haemocytes. However, spontaneous and activated production of ROS remained at the background level. In subsequent experiments an ultrasensitive fluorescence method using Amplex Red reagent to detect hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was used. After optimization, Amplex Red was successfully used for determining H2O2 production by both un-stimulated and stimulated haemocytes. To determine the affect of pH and ions on the measurement, several diluent solutions were tested. This revealed that Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions are less important for the reaction in insect than mammalian cells. Among the activators tested, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and calcium ionophore (Ca-I) had the best stimulatory effect on insect samples, while opsonised zymosan particles (OZP) was the best activator for human phagocytes. In conclusion, the haemocytes of G. mellonella produce H2O2 as an important innate immunity factor, but under different conditions and in different amounts, which probably results in them being less effective in killing microbes than human phagocytes. and Ondřej Vašíček, Ivana Papežíková, Pavel Hyršl.
The aim of the present study was to find groups of moths suitable for estimating changes in the abundance and richness of local and regional biodiversity in a temperate forest. We captured macro-moths from May to October over a 5-year period (2005–2009) at various sites in Mt. Jirisan National Park (JNP) in southern Korea. Six taxa were selected based on a strong correlation between the number of species in these taxa and total number of species of large moths: Ennominae (Enn), Arctiinae (Arc), Hermininae (Her), Notodontidae (Not), Drepanidae (Dre) and Ophiderinae (Oph). Of these, combinations of four groups were found to have the best predictive capability. We determined whether these indicator groups could be used to reveal mean differences in species abundance according to spatial (forest type, altitude) and temporal variables (monsoon season) since moth composition and abundances were closely related with these variables. The mean differences in the groups of moths in the two types of forest (Arc, Dre, Enn, Not), two altitudes (Dre, Enn, Her, Oph) and two seasons (Dre, Enn, Oph) were significant. Overall, it was revealed that a set of four groups, including two taxa (Dre and Enn), could be used to show differences in local and regional biodiversity of moths in southern Korean temperate forest., Jeong-Seop An, Sei-Woon Choi., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Discontinuous gas exchange (DGE) is the main (23 individuals) breathing mode in resting adult Platynus assimilis. Few of the beetles tested (13 individuals) displayed a pattern of cyclic gas exchange or CGE. The burst of CO2 release in DGE and CGE was always accompanied by abdominal pumping (active ventilation or V). Seven individuals displayed a pattern of continuous respiration, characterized by regular abdominal pumping. Resting metabolic rate (RMR) in continuously breathing beetles was higher than in those using DGE and CGE. After treatment with sub-lethal doses of alpha-cypermethrin DGE ceased. Treated beetles were characterized by continuous pumping and almost regular periods of activity. RMR increased significantly after treatment with a pyrethroid., Irja Kivimägi ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Silk production quantity is the most economically important characteristic of the domesticated silkworm moth, Bombyx mori. It is controlled by multiple loci. The cocoon and silk production quantity of silkworm strains Jingsong and Lan10 have significantly diverged. A backcross population (BC1) was bred using Jingsong and Lan10 as parents to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for silk quality. In this research, a genetic linkage map of the silkworm was constructed using the BC1 mapping population. The map contained 85 sequence-tagged site markers, 80 simple sequence repeat markers, and 16 single nucleotide polymorphisms. A linkage map was constructed from the data, which consisted of 181 markers distributed over 28 expected linkage groups and spans 2147.1 cM in total length. Fourteen QTLs were detected for cocoon filament length, whole cocoon weight, pupae weight, filament weight, and cocoon shell weight. The 14 QTLs were distributed in 5 linkage groups (linkage groups 1, 14, 18, 23 and 25) based on the constructed linkage map. In addition, five QTLs, which had the highest logarithm (base 10) of odds (LOD) values, were located on the first chromosome, three of which located at the same region in linkage group 1. These results represent an important foundation for the map-based cloning of QTLs and marker-assisted selection for improving the silk quality of economically important silkworm strains., Bing Li ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
a1_In the last few decades, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) (= Stegomyia albopicta), the so-called "Asian tiger mosquito", has spread from its native range in southeast Asia to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Pacific islands. The spread of this species poses a risk to human health as it is considered to be one of the main vectors of dengue and other arboviruses. Aedes albopictus was reported in Croatia in 2004, thereafter it was discovered at several coastal localities in 2005 and to date it has spread to most coastal areas and islands in Croatia. Here we investigate the genetic variability of A. albopictus based on 39 individuals collected during the summer of 2009 along the East-Adriatic coast and islands of Croatia and Montenegro and using two mitochondrial molecular markers: cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and NADH dehydrogenase 5 (ND5). We identified a single ND5 haplotype, corresponding to the previously reported and worldwide-distributed haplotype H3. The COI marker was more variable and we identified four COI haplotypes. In order to identify the geographic origin of the populations that colonized Croatia, we performed phylogenetic analyses of ND5 and COI haplotypes in Croatian populations and other A. albopictus populations retrieved from the GenBank. The phylogenetic tree based on ND5 haplotypes revealed two well supported clades where the unique Croatian ND5 haplotype clustered with the majority of haplotypes originating from South-Asia, America, Europe, and Africa. Another smaller cluster consisted of only Brazilian haplotypes. The phylogenetic tree and haplotype network that resulted from the COI analysis also indicates that the three Croatian COI haplotypes cluster with European and American haplotypes. However the fourth Croatian COI haplotype was the only European haplotype that occurred in a separate clade (group) with Indian, South-Asian, and Brazilian haplotypes., a2_This data suggests there have been several independent introduction events in Croatia., and Toni Žitko, Ana Kovačić, Yves Desdevises, Jasna Puizina.