Search results for "USE"

2017

The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia is the most widespread bacteria in insects, yet the ecology of novel acquisitions in natural host populations is poorly understood. Using temporal data separated by 12 years, I tested the hypothesis that immigration of a parasitoid wasp led to transmission of its Wolbachia strain to its dipteran host, resulting in double-strain infection, and I used geographic and community surveys to explore the history of transmission in fly and parasitoid. Double infection in the fly host was present before immigration of the parasitoid. Equal prevalence of double infection in males and females, constant prevalence before and after immigration in two regions, and inc…

Potential of science to address the hunger issue: Ecology, biotechnology, cattle breeding and the large pantry of the sea

2018

The knowledge about the real possibilities that current science gives us is basic to support everything that is not negative either for men or for our environment. In this way, it is an advantage to win this battle against hunger with rational use of science advantages. In this paper, we start from the basis that the solution to the problems of hunger requires the multidisciplinary action of sciences and knowledge. We provide a reflection on the possibilities to be considered from disciplines such as ecology, biotechnology, veterinary and aquaculture. The need for ecological studies where the role of human beings as part of ecosystems is considered. In addition, advances in molecular biolog…

Temporal variations in symbiotic hindgut protist community of the subterranean termite Reticulitermes lucifugus Rossi in Sicily.

2015

The dynamics of symbiotic protist communities of Reticulitermes lucifugus ‘‘Sicily’’ were investigated to assess the effects of seasonal environmental conditions and the termite’s feeding activity. In worker and soldier castes, the total protist population (total abundance), individual species abundances, and species proportions in their hindguts were examined monthly from December 2012 to February 2014. The main protist species taken into account were Dinenympha fimbriata Kirby, D. gracilis Leidy, Pyrsonympha flagellata Gras., Spirotrichonympha flagellata Grassi u. Fo` a, Holomastigotes elongatum Grassi u. Fo`a, and Trichonympha agilis Leidy, while others were not specifically identified, …

Gene expression in diapausing rotifer eggs in response to divergent environmental predictability regimes

2020

AbstractIn unpredictable environments in which reliable cues for predicting environmental variation are lacking, a diversifying bet-hedging strategy for diapause exit is expected to evolve, whereby only a portion of diapausing forms will resume development at the first occurrence of suitable conditions. This study focused on diapause termination in the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis s.s., addressing the transcriptional profile of diapausing eggs from environments differing in the level of predictability and the relationship of such profiles with hatching patterns. RNA-Seq analyses revealed significant differences in gene expression between diapausing eggs produced in the laboratory under com…

Evolution of bacterial life-history traits is sensitive to community structure

2016

Very few studies have experimentally assessed the evolutionary effects of species interactions within the same trophic level. Here we show that when Serratia marcescens evolve in multispecies communities, their growth rate exceeds the growth rate of the bacteria that evolved alone, whereas the biomass yield gets lower. In addition to the community effects per se, we found that few species in the communities caused strong effects on S. marcescens evolution. The results indicate that evolutionary responses (of a focal species) are different in communities, compared to species evolving alone. Moreover, selection can lead to very different outcomes depending on the community structure. Such con…

A self-inducible heterologous protein expression system in Escherichia coli

2016

AbstractEscherichia coli is an important experimental, medical and industrial cell factory for recombinant protein production. The inducible lac promoter is one of the most commonly used promoters for heterologous protein expression in E. coli. Isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactoside (IPTG) is currently the most efficient molecular inducer for regulating this promoter’s transcriptional activity. However, limitations have been observed in large-scale and microplate production, including toxicity, cost and culture monitoring. Here, we report the novel SILEX (Self-InducibLe Expression) system, which is a convenient, cost-effective alternative that does not require cell density monitoring or IPTG inducti…

Ancient DNA reveals the Arctic origin of Viking Age cod from Haithabu, Germany

2017

Knowledge of the range and chronology of historic trade and long-distance transport of natural resources is essential for determining the impacts of past human activities on marine environments. However, the specific biological sources of imported fauna are often difficult to identify, in particular if species have a wide spatial distribution and lack clear osteological or isotopic differentiation between populations. Here, we report that ancient fish-bone remains, despite being porous, brittle, and light, provide an excellent source of endogenous DNA (15-46%) of sufficient quality for whole-genome reconstruction. By comparing ancient sequence data to that of modern specimens, we determine …

Host-ectoparasite associations; the role of host traits, season and habitat on parasitism interactions of the rodents of northeastern Iran

2021

Abstract Background Rodents play a significant role as reservoirs of zoonotic diseases. Nevertheless, their ectoparasite assemblage and host-ectoparasite associations are poorly known. This study intended to give new insights on the relationships between ectoparasites and rodents in northeastern Iran. Methods Rodents were captured using live traps during the year of 2016–2020 and their ectoparasites were collected. Parasitological indices such as infestation rate, prevalence and mean intensity of infestation were analyzed. Results A total of 284 rodents, belonging to 17 species, were trapped which infested by 178 ectoparasites from five orders Siphonaptera, Phthiraptera, Ixodida, Mesostigma…

Olfactory cues and the value of information: voles interpret cues based on recent predator encounters

2018

Abstract Prey strategically respond to the risk of predation by varying their behavior while balancing the tradeoffs of food and safety. We present here an experiment that tests the way the same indirect cues of predation risk are interpreted by bank voles, Myodes glareolus, as the game changes through exposure to a caged weasel. Using optimal patch use, we asked wild-caught voles to rank the risk they perceived. We measured their response to olfactory cues in the form of weasel bedding, a sham control in the form of rabbit bedding, and an odor-free control. We repeated the interviews in a chronological order to test the change in response, i.e., the changes in the value of the information.…

Local adaptation of plant viruses: lessons from experimental evolution.

2016

[EN] For multihost pathogens, adaptation to multiple hosts has important implications for both applied and basic research. At the applied level, it is one of the main factors determining the probability and severity of emerging disease outbreaks. At the basic level, it is thought to be a key mechanism for the maintenance of genetic diversity both in host and pathogen species. In recent years, a number of evolution experiments have assessed the fate of plant virus populations replicating within and adapting to one single or to multiple hosts species. A first group of these experiments tackled the existence of trade-offs in fitness and virulence for viruses evolving either within a single hos…