Search results for "INSECT"
showing 10 items of 2033 documents
Edible Insects an Alternative Nutritional Source of Bioactive Compounds: A Review
2023
Edible insects have the potential to become one of the major future foods. In fact, they can be considered cheap, highly nutritious, and healthy food sources. International agencies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), have focused their attention on the consumption of edible insects, in particular, regarding their nutritional value and possible biological, toxicological, and allergenic risks, wishing the development of analytical methods to verify the authenticity, quality, and safety of insect-based products. Edible insects are rich in proteins, fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals but also seem to contain large amounts of polyphenols able to have a key role in specific bi…
Early warnings of Rhynchophorus ferrugineus infestation of Phoenix canariensis: a proximity thermal sensing approach
2011
Phoenix canariensis represents one of the most relevant ornamental plants within Mediterranean environment. In the last few years the infestation of a curculio coleopteron, namely the Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, caused a widespread decimation of these palms. Unluckily damages caused by the insect are evident only in the advanced phase of the disease making futile almost any plant treatment. Early warning of this disease may represents the only way to setup efficient actions to fight the coleopteron in trees where it takes over, thus limiting its spreading in contiguous palms. This research aims to achieve the former result by processing: i) short and long-wave images of the crown acquired du…
Redescription of the rare European harvestman Dicranopalpus brevipes Marcellino, 1970, based on first records from Sardinia (Arachnida: Opiliones)
2020
New records of the small, enigmatic harvestman Dicranopalpus brevipes are presented, the male is redescribed and the female is described for the first time. The species originates from Sicily, while the novel findings are from Sardinia, where it may have been introduced by man. Paedomorphic modifications such as reduced sexual dimorphism in colouration and pedipalpal morphology, regression of genital structures and shortening of the legs, appear to result from its ground-dwelling habits induced by xeric climatic conditions. Avoiding the dry and hot season, D. brevipes matures in autumn and winter and has completed its lifecycle in April. Additional information on phenology, ecology, distrib…
AN OVERVIEW ON THE SUBTERRANEAN FAUNA FROM CENTRAL ASIA
2019
Survey of the aquatic subterranean fauna from caves, springs, interstitial habitat, wells in deserts, artificial tunnels (Khanas) of five countries of the former URSS (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) located far east the Caspian Sea. The cave fauna present some originalities: - the rich fauna of foraminiferida in the wells of the Kara-Kum desert (Turkmenistan); - the cave fish Paracobitis starostini from the Provull gypsum Cave (Turkmenistan); - the presence of a rich stygobitic fauna in the wells of the Kyzyl-Kum desert (Uzbekistan); - the rich stygobitic fauna from the hyporheic of streams and wells around the tectonic Issyk-Kul Lake (Kyrgyzstan); - the e…
Revision of New World Species of Shore Fly Genus <I>Discomyza</I> Meigen (Diptera: Ephydridae)
2005
Two species of Discomyza Meigen occur in the New World, one, D. u-signata Cresson, naturally and the other, D. maculipennis (Wiedemann), apparently as an introduction. These species are revised and their malacophagous breeding habits are documented. The species treatments include the first detailed descriptions and illustrations of structures from the male terminalia, lectotype designations for Notiphila maculipennis Wiedemann and its New World synonym (D. balioptera Loew), as well as phylogenetic and biogeographic information, including maps. Although congeners, these two species are apparently not closely related, and their occurrence in the New World is independent of each other. D. macu…
dfh is a Drosophila homolog of the Friedreich's ataxia disease gene
2000
Abstract A putative Drosophila homolog of the Friedreich's ataxia disease gene (FRDA) has been cloned and characterized; it has been named Drosophila frataxin homolog (dfh). It is located at 8C/D position on X chromosome and is spread over 1 kb, a much smaller genomic region than the human gene. Its genomic organization is simple, with a single intron dividing the coding region into two exons. The predicted encoded product has 190 amino acids, being considered a frataxin-like protein on the basis of the sequence and secondary structure conservation when compared with human frataxin and related proteins from other eukaryotes. The closest match between the Drosophila and the human proteins in…
Structure, organization and expression of two clustered cuticle protein genes during the metamorphosis of an insect, Tenebrio molitor.
1998
A 4-kb DNA segment of Tenebrio molitor (Insecta, Coleoptera) genomic DNA containing two larval-pupal cuticular genes has been cloned and sequenced. These genes, transcribed in opposite directions, are related in DNA sequence and the proteins encoded are very similar. Each of them contains a single intron located inside the sequence encoding the signal peptide, and a conserved sequence at -200 bp from the mRNA start position. These similarities in sequence suggest that these genes have evolved by duplication followed by diversification and that they are members of a family of genes with a common ancestry. They are the first example of clustered genes in Tenebrio molitor.
Complete sequence, expression and evolution of two members of the hexamerin protein family during the larval development of the rice moth, Corcyra ce…
2002
Three distinct types of storage hexamerins are expressed in the "last-instar" larvae of the rice moth, Corcyra cephalonica. A cDNA expression library was constructed from fat body-RNA and screened with a polyclonal antibody raised against purified hexamerin (SP2) of Corcyra cephalonica. Two slightly different "full-length" hexamerin cDNA clones (Hex2a and Hex2b) were isolated and sequenced. Both include open reading frames of 2109 bp which are translated into polypeptides of 703 amino acids with 92.5% identity. Signal peptides of 19 amino acids are present at the N-termini. The 684 amino acids native proteins have a high content of aryl groups (17.6%). According to both the criteria for ami…
Molecular characterization of hemoglobin from the honeybee Apis mellifera
2005
Due to the prevailing importance of the tracheal system for insect respiration, hemoglobins had been considered rare exceptions in this arthropod subphylum. Here we report the identification, cloning and expression analysis of a true hemoglobin gene in the honeybee Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera). The deduced amino acid sequence covers 171 residues (19.5 kDa) and harbors all globin-typical features, including the proximal and the distal histidines. The protein has no signal peptide for transmembrane transport and was predicted to localize in the cytoplasm. The honeybee hemoglobin gene shows an ancient structure, with introns in positions B12.2 and G7.0, while most other insect globins have div…
Characterization of two new cuticular genes specifically expressed during the post-ecdysial molting period in Tenebrio molitor
1998
Abstract In a previous study, we have isolated a cDNA, TM-ACP17 , coding for a post-ecdysial adult protein of Tenebrio molitor . After screening of a genomic library with TM-ACP17 , we report isolation and sequencing of TM-ACP17 gene and a new gene, TM-LPCP29 , coding for a larval–pupal protein. These two genes exhibit a common sequence of 15 nucleotides and a characteristic of most cuticular protein genes so far described: an intron interrupting the signal peptide. The deduced aa sequence of TM-LPCP29 exhibits a high percentage of Ala (26.5%) and Val (17.5%) and is highly hydrophobic. In the N-terminal part, the motif VAAPV is repeated ten times. Numerous histidine residues are present in …