Search results for "Insecta"
showing 10 items of 265 documents
Phenotypic Heterogeneity of the Insect Pathogen Photorhabdus luminescens: Insights into the Fate of Secondary Cells
2019
Photorhabdus luminescens is a Gram-negative bacterium that lives in symbiosis with soil nematodes and is simultaneously highly pathogenic toward insects. The bacteria exist in two phenotypically different forms, designated primary (1°) and secondary (2°) cells. Yet unknown environmental stimuli as well as global stress conditions induce phenotypic switching of up to 50% of 1° cells to 2° cells. An important difference between the two phenotypic forms is that 2° cells are unable to live in symbiosis with nematodes and are therefore believed to remain in the soil after a successful infection cycle. In this work, we performed a transcriptomic analysis to highlight and better understand the rol…
Functional characterization of two human olfactory receptors expressed in the baculovirus Sf9 insect cell system
2005
Olfactory receptors (ORs) are the largest member of the G-protein-coupled receptors which mediate early olfactory perception in discriminating among thousands of odorant molecules. Assigning odorous ligands to ORs is a prerequisite to gaining an understanding of the mechanisms of odorant recognition. The functional expression of ORs represents a critical step in addressing this issue. Due to limitations in heterologous expression, very few mammal ORs have been characterized, and so far only one is from human origin. Consequently, OR function still remains poorly understood, especially in humans, whose genome encodes a restricted chemosensory repertoire compared with most mammal species. In …
The respiratory proteins of insects
2007
For a long time, respiratory proteins have been considered unnecessary in most insects because the tracheal system was thought to be sufficient for oxygen supply. Only a few species that survive under hypoxic conditions were known exceptions. However, recently it has become evident that (1) intracellular hemoglobins belong to the standard repertoire of insects and (2) that hemocyanin is present in many "lower" insects. Intracellular hemoglobins have been identified in Drosophila, Anopheles, Apis and many other insects. In all investigated species, hemoglobin is mainly expressed in the fat body and the tracheal system. The major Drosophila hemoglobin binds oxygen with high affinity. This hem…
A new genus of Phaneropterinae (Orthoptera: Ensifera: Tettigoniidae) from Central Africa.
2014
The new genus Pseudoplangia is described for Plangia laminifera Karsch, 1896. Its general aspect is similar to that of the genus Plangia Stål, 1873, but it differs remarkably in the vertex width, in the shape of eyes, that are oval and elongate, in the length of mid femora, that are shorter than pronotum length, in the shape of fore and mid legs that are very much laterally compressed, and in the presence of broad-based spines on the hind tibiae.
Binding analyses of Cry1Ab and Cry1Ac with membrane vesicles from Bacillus thuringiensis-resistant and -susceptible Ostrinia nubilalis.
2004
The binding properties of Bacillus thuringiensis toxins to brush border membrane vesicles of Dipel-resistant and -susceptible Ostrinia nubilalis larvae were compared using ligand-toxin immunoblot analysis, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), and radiolabeled toxin binding assays. In ligand-toxin immunoblot analysis, the number of Cry1Ab or Cry1Ac toxin binding proteins and the relative toxin binding intensity were similar in vesicles from resistant and susceptible larvae. Surface plasmon resonance with immobilized activated Cry1Ab toxin indicated that there were no significant differences in binding with fluid-phase vesicles from resistant and susceptible larvae. Homologous competition assays …
Molecular evolution of the arthropod hemocyanin superfamily.
2001
Arthropod hemocyanins are members of a protein superfamily that also comprises the arthropod phenoloxidases (tyrosinases), crustacean pseudohemocyanins (cryptocyanins), and insect storage hexamerins. The evolution of these proteins was inferred by neighbor-joining, maximum-parsimony, and maximum-likelihood methods. Monte Carlo shuffling approaches provided evidence against a discernible relationship of the arthropod hemocyanin superfamily and molluscan hemocyanins or nonarthropodan tyrosinases. Within the arthropod hemocyanin superfamily, the phenoloxidase probably emerged early in the (eu-)arthropod stemline and thus form the most likely outgroup. The respiratory hemocyanins evolved from t…
Quaternary and subunit structure of Calliphora arylphorin as deduced from electron microscopy, electrophoresis, and sequence similarities with arthro…
1992
Arylphorin was purified from larvae of the blowfly Calliphora vicina and studied in its oligomeric form and after dissociation at pH 9.6 into native subunits. In accordance with earlier literature, it was electrophoretically shown to be a 500 kDa hexamer (1 x 6) consisting of 78 kDa polypeptides (= subunits). Electron micrographs of negatively stained hexamers show a characteristic curvilinear, equilateral triangle of 12 nm in diameter (top view) and a rectangle measuring 10 x 12 nm (side view). Alternatively, particles in the top view orientation exhibit a roughly circular shape 12 nm in diameter. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis revealed the presence of a major subunit type; the nature of a …
Targeting antibiotic resistant bacteria with phage reduces bacterial density in an insect host
2019
Phage therapy is attracting growing interest among clinicians as antibiotic resistance continues becoming harder to control. However, clinical trials and animal model studies on bacteriophage treatment are still scarce and results on the efficacy vary. Recent research suggests that using traditional antimicrobials in concert with phage could have desirable synergistic effects that hinder the evolution of resistance. Here, we present a novel insect gut model to study phage–antibiotic interaction in a system where antibiotic resistance initially exists in very low frequency and phage specifically targets the resistance bearing cells. We demonstrate that while phage therapy could not reduce th…
A study on the genus Macroscytus Fieber, 1860 from China (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cydnidae)
2010
Eight species of the genus Macroscytus Fieber, 1860 are reported from China. Among these is M. vietnamicus J.A. Lis, 1991, recorded for the first time from the country; moreover, the occurrence of M. badius (Walker, 1867) in its southern parts (Hainan Province) is confirmed. A key to the Chinese species of the genus is provided, along with habitus figures and illustrations of hind legs and the male genitalia. A phenomenon of instability in the cephalic chaetotaxy of M. aequalis (Walker, 1867), M. badius, M. popovi J.A. Lis, 1991, and M. vietnamicus J.A. Lis, 1994, are briefly discussed.
Plant bugs of the tribe Bothriomirini (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Cylapinae) from the Oriental Region: descriptions of eight new species and ke…
2012
Eight new species of the tribe Bothriomirini are described from the Oriental Region, namely Dashymenia cognata sp. nov., Dashymenia colubrina sp. nov., Dashymenia conspersa sp. nov., Dashymenia tenmalai sp. nov., Dashymenia webbi sp. nov., Dashymeniella spatulatiformis sp. nov., Dashymeniella ulu sp. nov., and Dashymeniella viklundi sp. nov. Five species are redescribed: Bothriomiris dissimulans (Walker), B. lugubris Poppius, B. testaceus Distant, Dashymenia croesus (Distant), and Dashymenia remus (Distant). Illustrations of the male genitalia, a color dorsal habitus photograph of the adult of most species, scanning electron micrographs of selected structures of Bothriomiris dissimulans, Da…