Search results for "COLEOPTERA"
showing 10 items of 134 documents
Unexpected Bacterial Origin of the Antibiotic Icosalide: Two-Tailed Depsipeptide Assembly in Multifarious Burkholderia Symbionts.
2018
Icosalide is an unusual two-tailed lipocyclopeptide antibiotic that was originally isolated from a fungal culture. Yet, its biosynthesis and ecological function have remained enigmatic. By genome mining and metabolic profiling of a bacterial endosymbiont ( Burkholderia gladioli) of the pest beetle Lagria villosa, we unveiled a bacterial origin of icosalide. Functional analysis of the biosynthetic gene locus revealed an unprecedented nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) that incorporates two β-hydroxy acids by means of two starter condensation domains in different modules. This unusual assembly line, which may inspire new synthetic biology approaches, is widespread among many symbiotic Bur…
Effects ofBacillus thuringiensisCry1Ab and Cry3Aa endotoxins on predatory Coleoptera tested through artificial diet-incorporation bioassays
2009
AbstractTraditional approaches to studying the effects of genetically modified (GM) crops on beneficial insects involve either field assays, comparing insect population levels between control and GM crops or tritrophic bioassays with contaminated insects – usually larvae or eggs of Lepidoptera – as preys. Here, we report the results of a bioassay using an artificial diet, suitable for predatory Coleoptera, to supplyBacillus thuringiensis(Bt) solubilized Cry1Ab and Cry3Aa as well as trypsin-activated Cry1Ab toAtheta coriariaandCryptolaemus montrouzieriadults and young larvae ofAdalia bipunctata. Water, solubilization buffer and trypsin-treated solubilization buffer were used as controls. In …
Effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide on survival and oxidative status of a non-target herbivore, the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlin…
2018
Abstract Glyphosate is the globally most used herbicide against a wide range of weeds. Glyphosate has been considered safe to animals as it mainly targets physiological pathways in plants. However, recent toxicological studies have revealed that glyphosate can cause various toxic effects also on animals. In this study, we investigated the direct toxic effects of a glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH, Roundup® Bio) on 1) survival and 2) oxidative status of a non-target herbivore by using Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata), originating from Poland and USA, as model species. Larvae were randomly divided into three groups: 1) high concentration (100% Roundup Bio, 360 g/l), 2) low c…
Case of unilateral wing formation in the female of the glowwormLampyris noctiluca
2003
On July 27, 1999, the first author found a unilaterally winged adult glowworm in a park in the city of Mainz. Except for the wings on the left side, the specimen exhibited female characteristics that extended to external sexual appendages, the lantern and the gonads. The internal organization showed some remarkable differences between right (wingless) and left (winged) side. The right ovary contained three times more mature eggs than the left side and the volume of the corpus allatum of this side was about one-third larger than that of the left side. This suggests that aptery and egg maturation are affected by corpus allatum activity, i.e., juvenile hormone production. The findings do not s…
Redescription of the forgotten New Caledonian weevil genus
2018
Abstract Callistomorphus is one of the “forgotten” genera of the tribe Eugnomini inhabiting rain forest in New Caledonia. In this paper, the genus Callistomorphus and the type species C.farinosus are redescribed. Eight new species, Callistomorphusfundatussp. n., C.gibbussp. n., C.malleussp. n., C.minimussp. n., C.rutaisp. n., C.szoltysisp. n., C.torosussp. n. and C.turbidussp. n., are described, originating from the main island of New Caledonia. Illustrations and SEM photographs of the external morphology and the male and female terminalia are provided, as well as dorsal habitus colour photographs of the adults, a key to the species, a distribution map, and a discussion of the systematic po…
Influences of landscape structure on diversity of beetles associated with bracket fungi in Brazilian Atlantic Forest
2015
Abstract Brazilian Atlantic forest ecosystem is a global biodiversity hotspot. We studied the effects of area, connectivity and habitat quality of conservation areas on the diversity of beetles associated with basidiomes of wood-decaying fungi. Moreover, we analyzed the beetles' composition to verify what the process that produces the differentiation between the patches (β diversity). Species richness of fungivorous beetles increased the larger the area and the better the connectivity of conservation areas; however, neither area nor connectivity had an independent effect on beetle richness. Furthermore, the fungivorous beetle community was affected by the reduction in resource availability …
Hot spots, indicator taxa, complementarity and optimal networks of taiga
2000
If hot spots for different taxa coincide, priority-setting surveys in a region could be carried out more cheaply by focusing on indicator taxa. Several previous studies show that hot spots of different taxa rarely coincide. However, in tropical areas indicator taxa may be used in selecting complementary networks to represent biodiversity as a whole. We studied beetles (Coleoptera), Heteroptera, polypores or bracket fungi (Polyporaceae) and vascular plants of old growth boreal taiga forests. Optimal networks for Heteroptera maximized the high overall species richness of beetles and vascular plants, but these networks were least favourable options for polypores. Polypores are an important gro…
Shared Binding Sites for the Bacillus thuringiensis Proteins Cry3Bb, Cry3Ca, and Cry7Aa in the African Sweet Potato Pest Cylas puncticollis (Brentida…
2014
ABSTRACT Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Bb, Cry3Ca, and Cry7Aa have been reported to be toxic against larvae of the genus Cylas , which are important pests of sweet potato worldwide and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. However, relatively little is known about the processing and binding interactions of these coleopteran-specific Cry proteins. The aim of the present study was to determine whether Cry3Bb, Cry3Ca, and Cry7Aa proteins have shared binding sites in Cylas puncticollis to orient the pest resistance strategy by genetic transformation. Interestingly, processing of the 129-kDa Cry7Aa protoxin using commercial trypsin or chymotrypsin rendered two fragments of about 70 kDa and 65 kDa. N-…
Insect-associated bacteria assemble the antifungal butenolide gladiofungin by non-canonical polyketide chain termination
2020
Abstract Genome mining of one of the protective symbionts (Burkholderia gladioli) of the invasive beetle Lagria villosa revealed a cryptic gene cluster that codes for the biosynthesis of a novel antifungal polyketide with a glutarimide pharmacophore. Targeted gene inactivation, metabolic profiling, and bioassays led to the discovery of the gladiofungins as previously‐overlooked components of the antimicrobial armory of the beetle symbiont, which are highly active against the entomopathogenic fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum. By mutational analyses, isotope labeling, and computational analyses of the modular polyketide synthase, we found that the rare butenolide moiety of gladiofungins deriv…
Skrejvaboļu (Coleoptera, Carabidae) sabiedrības sausos kaļķainos zālājos un tās ietekmējošie faktori Abavas senlejā
2016
Kā Eiropā tā Latvijā sausu, kaļķainu zālāju platības ar katru gadu samazinās. Šis biotops ir viens no sugām bagātākajiem, tomēr uzskatāms par Latvijā izzūdošu, jo aizņem vairs tikai 0,05% no valsts teritorijas (Auniņš 2013). Šī darba mērķis ir noskaidrot zālāju apsaimniekošanas un botāniskās kvalitātes ietekmi uz skrejvaboļu (Carabidae) sabiedrībām sausos, kaļķainos zālājos. Pētījums veikts sausos, kaļķainos zālājos, dabas parka “Abavas senleja” posmā starp Kandavas un Sabiles pilsētām. Septiņpadsmit parauglaukumos, kas iedalīti atšķirīgās botāniskās kvalitātes un apsaimniekošanas veida grupās, ar Bārbera tipa augsnes lamatām, ievākti kvantitatīvi dati par skrejvaboļu sastopamību. Noteikts …