Search results for "INSECT"
showing 10 items of 2033 documents
Multiple-chromosome sex systems in the darkling beetles Blaps gigas and Blaps gibba (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae)
1996
We have studied mitotic and meiotic chromosomes in the males of two species of Blaps: B. gigas and B. gibba. Karyological characteristics such as the occurrence of a multivalent configuration at diakinesis and two types of metaphase-II spreads support the notion that multiple-chromosome sex systems involving five chromosomes in B. gigas and eight chromosomes in B. gibba have developed in these species. Results obtained by means of silver staining and C-banding techniques suggest that the complex sex systems occurring in B. gigas and B. gibba may have originated from exchanges of terminal ribosomal genes among the Y chromosome and some autosomes.
Lifetime egg production of captive libellulids (Odonata)
2015
The estimation of lifetime egg production (LEP) is a central question in ecology, since the number of eggs produced determines the potential size of the following generation. In this study, I tried to obtain a rough estimation of the LEPs in libellulids in outdoor cages. The main questions were: (1) does hand feeding influence females’ life history traits; (2) how long is the maturation period and the lifespan; (3) does the quality/quantity of eggs vary with female age or size; and (4) how many eggs do females lay in their lifetime? I installed two outdoor cages and kept individually marked specimens of Orthetrum coerulescens and Sympetrum striolatum under semi-natural circumstances. Orthet…
Association between haematozoan infections and reproduction in the Pied Flycatcher
1997
1. Parasites may affect breeding success of their host since they compete for the same resources as their hosts. Reproduction may also increase the susceptibility of a host to parasite infections owing to lowered resistance to parasites during breeding. 2. We studied the association between breeding performance and haematozoan parasite infection in the Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) by using both natural data on reproduction and data from clutch size manipulations. 3. The most frequent blood parasites of the Pied Flycatcher in central Finland were Haemoproteus pallidus, Haemoproteus balmorali and Trypanosoma avium complex. 4. We did not find evidence that these haematozoan parasites h…
Duck Hepatitis B Virus Requires Cholesterol for Endosomal Escape during Virus Entry
2008
ABSTRACT The identity and functionality of biological membranes are determined by cooperative interaction between their lipid and protein constituents. Cholesterol is an important structural lipid that modulates fluidity of biological membranes favoring the formation of detergent-resistant microdomains. In the present study, we evaluated the functional role of cholesterol and lipid rafts for entry of hepatitis B viruses into hepatocytes. We show that the duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) attaches predominantly to detergent-soluble domains on the plasma membrane. Cholesterol depletion from host membranes and thus disruption of rafts does not affect DHBV infection. In contrast, depletion of chole…
L'ergot dépasse le seigle cet ancien compagnon de l'homme ressort les griffes
2010
National audience; L’ergot du seigle dû à Claviceps purpurea se fait remarquer en cultures de céréales en France depuis 2000, sporadiquement et avec une prévalence moindre qu’en Europe du Nord. Le facteur climatique (4 années favorables de 2000 à 2009 incluses) joue sur cette réémergence, mais aussi des évolutions de pratiques culturales : développement du nonlabour et présence accrue de graminées adventices sensibles dans les parcelles ou à proximité. Les connaissances sur la biologie de C. purpurea et les facteurs le favorisant sont rappelées. Le rôle des graminées adventices et prairiales est évoqué avec les sensibilités diverses des espèces, pouvant influencer le choix de celles à impla…
Update on the detection of beta-exotoxin in Bacillus thuringiensis strains by HPLC analysis.
2001
Aims: The current work aimed to study the presence of β-exotoxin by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in supernatant fluids from final whole cultures of the 69 type strains and 13 subtypes of Bacillus thuringiensis strains, as well as from some insecticidal strains. Methods and Results: Results from HPLC and bioassays with Ephestia kuhniella (Lepidoptera Pyralidae) were compared. Type I β-exotoxin was only detected in type strains representing serotypes H1, H9 and H10a,10b. Discrepancies between HPLC and bioassays were found in H8a,8b and some insecticidal strains, which suggests the occurrence of another soluble toxin different from type I β-exotoxin, possibly type II β-exotoxi…
Production and characterization of Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac-resistant cotton bollworm Helicoverpa zea (Boddie).
2007
ABSTRACT Laboratory-selected Bacillus thuringiensis -resistant colonies are important tools for elucidating B. thuringiensis resistance mechanisms. However, cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa zea , a target pest of transgenic corn and cotton expressing B. thuringiensis Cry1Ac (Bt corn and cotton), has proven difficult to select for stable resistance. Two populations of H. zea (AR and MR), resistant to the B. thuringiensis protein found in all commercial Bt cotton varieties (Cry1Ac), were established by selection with Cry1Ac activated toxin (AR) or MVP II (MR). Cry1Ac toxin reflects the form ingested by H. zea when feeding on Bt cotton, whereas MVP II is a Cry1Ac formulation used for resistance se…
Occurrence of a common binding site in Mamestra brassicae, Phthorimaea operculella, and Spodoptera exigua for the insecticidal crystal proteins CryIA…
1997
Specific binding to midgut membrane proteins is required for the toxicity of insecticidal crystal proteins (ICP) from Bacillus thuringiensis. A direct relationship between toxicity and binding has been proposed. It has been hypothesized that sharing of a single receptor by more than one ICP could lead to the occurrence of multiple resistance in the event of an alteration in the common receptor. Binding of CryIA(a), CryIA(b) and CryIA(c), three structurally related ICPs, has been studied in Phthorimaea operculella, Mamestra brassicae and, Spodoptera exigua using brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) from the midgut tissue. Using iodinated CryIA(b), the three insects showed similar results: o…
Resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis bioinsecticide in a field population of Plutella xylostella is due to a change in a midgut membrane receptor.
1991
The biochemical mechanism for resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis crystal proteins was studied in a field population of diamondback moths (Plutella xylostella) with a reduced susceptibility to the bioinsecticidal spray. The toxicity and binding characteristics of three crystal proteins [CryIA(b), CryIB, and CryIC] were compared between the field population and a laboratory strain. The field population proved resistant (greater than 200-fold compared with the laboratory strain) to CryIA(b), one of the crystal proteins in the insecticidal formulation. Binding studies showed that the two strains differ in a membrane receptor that recognizes CryIA(b). This crystal protein did not bind to the b…
Common receptor for Bacillus thuringiensis toxins Cry1Ac, Cry1Fa, and Cry1Ja in Helicoverpa armigera, Helicoverpa zea and Spodoptera exigua
2005
ABSTRACT Binding studies using 125 I-Cry1Ac and biotinylated Cry1Fa toxins indicate the occurrence of a common receptor for Cry1Ac, Cry1Fa, and Cry1Ja in Helicoverpa armigera , Helicoverpa zea , and Spodoptera exigua . Our results, along with previous binding data and the observed cases of cross-resistance, suggest that this pattern seems to be widespread among lepidopteran species.