Search results for "larva"
showing 10 items of 632 documents
Are Sick Individuals Weak Competitors? Competitive Ability of Snails Parasitized by a Gigantism-Inducing Trematode
2013
Parasitized individuals are often expected to be poor competitors because they are weakened by infections. Many trematode species, however, although extensively exploiting their mollusc hosts, also induce gigantism (increased host size) by diverting host resources towards growth instead of reproduction. In such systems, alternatively to reduced competitive ability due to negative effects of parasitism on host performance, larger size could allow more efficient resource acquisition and thus increase the relative competitive ability of host individuals. We addressed this hypothesis by testing the effect of a trematode parasite Diplostomum pseudospathaceum on the competitive ability of its sna…
Manipulating mtDNA in vivo reprograms metabolism via novel response mechanisms.
2019
Mitochondria have been increasingly recognized as a central regulatory nexus for multiple metabolic pathways, in addition to ATP production via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Here we show that inducing mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) stress in Drosophila using a mitochondrially-targeted Type I restriction endonuclease (mtEcoBI) results in unexpected metabolic reprogramming in adult flies, distinct from effects on OXPHOS. Carbohydrate utilization was repressed, with catabolism shifted towards lipid oxidation, accompanied by elevated serine synthesis. Cleavage and translocation, the two modes of mtEcoBI action, repressed carbohydrate rmetabolism via two different mechanisms. DNA cleavage activ…
Biology of the preimaginal stages in trogid beetles (Coleoptera): Experimental data∗
1992
Abstract Some aspects of larval behaviour in two species of trogid beetles, Trox bispidus (Pontoppidan) from temperate Europe and Afromorgus tuberosus (Klug) from tropical Africa, have been studied experimentally. From the results obtained it emerges that the rise of the newborn larvae towards the soil surface is imputable to a simple negative geotropism. Larval food relocation also contributes to reducing aggressive interactions at the food source. The potential range of trophic and behavioural variation seems to be larger than that expressed in nature as a rule. This can contribute to explaining, in evolutive terms, the rare cases of transgression from a uniform trophic and behavioural pa…
Fitness costs of intrinsic competition in two egg parasitoids of a true bug
2015
Intrinsic competition in insect parasitoids occurs when supernumerary larvae develop in the same host as consequence of multiple ovipositions by females of the same species (intra-specific competition) or by females of different species (inter-specific competition). Studies on intrinsic competition have mainly focused on understanding the factors that play a role in the outcome of competition, while fitness-related effects for the parasitoid surviving the competition have been poorly investigated, especially in egg parasitoids. Interestingly, even the winning parasitoid can experience fitness costs due to larval development in a host in which multiple factors have been injected by the ovipo…
Imaging of nitric oxide in a living vertebrate using a diaminofluorescein probe
2007
Abstract Numerous approaches have been described to identify nitric oxide (NO), a free radical involved in various physiological and pathophysiological processes. One of these approaches is based on the use of chemical probes whose transformation by NO generates highly fluorescent derivatives, permitting detection of NO down to nanomolar concentrations. Here, we show that the cell-permeant diaminofluorophore 4-amino-5-methylamino-2′-7′-difluorofluorescein diacetate (DAF-FM-DA) can be used to detect NO production sites in a living vertebrate, the zebrafish Danio rerio. The staining pattern obtained in larvae includes the bulbus arteriosus, forming bones, the notochord, and the caudal fin. Th…
Mode of action of Bacillus thuringiensis PS86Q3 strain in hymenopteran forest pests
2001
The mode of action of Cry toxins has been described principally in lepidopteran insects as a multistep process. In this work we describe the mode of action of a Cry toxin active in the common pine sawfly Diprion pini (Hymenoptera, Diprionidae), considered a major forest pest in Europe. Strain PS86Q3 contains a long bipyramidal crystal composed of five major proteins. The N-terminal sequence shows that the 155 kDa protein corresponds to Cry5B toxin and the other proteins belong to the Cry5A subgroup. PCR analysis indicates the presence of cry5Ac and cry5Ba genes, suggesting that Cry5A protein should be Cry5Ac. Activation of protoxins with trypsin or with midgut content from D. pini and Cepha…
High temperature and bacteriophages can indirectly select for bacterial pathogenicity in environmental reservoirs
2010
The coincidental evolution hypothesis predicts that traits connected to bacterial pathogenicity could be indirectly selected outside the host as a correlated response to abiotic environmental conditions or different biotic species interactions. To investigate this, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen, Serratia marcescens, was cultured in the absence and presence of the lytic bacteriophage PPV (Podoviridae) at 25°C and 37°C for four weeks (N = 5). At the end, we measured changes in bacterial phage-resistance and potential virulence traits, and determined the pathogenicity of all bacterial selection lines in the Parasemia plantaginis insect model in vivo. Selection at 37°C increased bacterial…
Identification of proteins and developmental expression of RNAs encoded by the 65A cuticle protein gene cluster in Drosophila melanogaster
1998
0965-1748 (Print) Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.; Proteins of the third instar larval cuticle of Drosophila melanogaster, LCP5-LCP9, were purified and their N-terminal sequences determined. Three of these proteins (LCP5, 6, and 8) were found to be encoded by two multicopy genes previously mapped to the gene cluster at 65A 5-6 on the left arm of the third chromosome. The analysis of the patterns of developmental expression of the 8 distinct genes at this site showed that all but two were expressed during larval life. The patterns fell into three groups: one where expression was all through larval life, one where expression was primar…
Sequencing, De Novo Assembly and Annotation of the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, Transcriptome
2012
Background. The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) is a major pest and a serious threat to potato cultivation throughout the northern hemisphere. Despite its high importance for invasion biology, phenology and pest management, little is known about L. decemlineata from a genomic perspective. We subjected European L. decemlineata adult and larval transcriptome samples to 454-FLX massively-parallel DNA sequencing to characterize a basal set of genes from this species. We created a combined assembly of the adult and larval datasets including the publicly available midgut larval Roche 454 reads and provided basic annotation. We were particularly interested in diapause-specific g…