Search results for "systematic"
showing 10 items of 7608 documents
Improved sampling at the subspecies level solves a taxonomic dilemma – A case study of two enigmatic Chinese tit species (Aves, Passeriformes, Parida…
2017
Abstract A recent full species-level phylogeny of tits, titmice and chickadees (Paridae) has placed the Chinese endemic black-bibbed tit (Poecile hypermelaenus) as the sister to the Palearctic willow tit (P. montanus). Because this sister-group relationship is in striking disagreement with the traditional affiliation of P. hypermelaenus close to the marsh tit (P. palustris) we tested this phylogenetic hypothesis in a multi-locus analysis with an extended taxon sampling including sixteen subspecies of willow tits and marsh tits. As a taxonomic reference we included type specimens in our analysis. The molecular genetic study was complemented with an analysis of biometric data obtained from mu…
Opinions 97, 98 and 99
2020
The International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes has formally endorsed the conclusions of the Judicial Commission on three pending Requests for an Opinion, thereby allowing the corresponding Opinions to be issued. According to Opinion 97, the request for the conservation of the name Streptomyces scabies is denied, allowing the continued use of the correction Streptomyces scabiei . Opinions 98 and 99 conclude that in the absence of associated authentic type material, the names Bacillus aeolius and Pectinatus portalensis , respectively, are not validly published.
Two consecutive Wolbachia ‐mediated mitochondrial introgressions obscure taxonomy in Palearctic swallowtail butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)
2019
Swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) are among the most spectacular and well-known Lepidoptera in the European fauna, but their systematics is not fully elucidated. A notable case is that of Iphiclides feisthamelii which, after more than 180 years since description, still has a debated status, being often considered as a subspecies of Iphiclides podalirius. To elucidate the relationship between the two taxa and the evolutionary processes that led to their separation, we combine mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (mtDNA and nDNA) data, Wolbachia screening, genitalia morphology and wing UV reflectance. Our results show that the two taxa clearly differ in male and female genital morphology, male …
Italian Odonates in the Pandora’s Box: A Comprehensive DNA Barcoding Inventory Shows Taxonomic Warnings at the Holarctic Scale
2020
AbstractThe Odonata are considered among the most endangered freshwater faunal taxa. Their DNA-based monitoring relies on validated reference datasets that are often lacking or do not cover important biogeographical centres of diversification. This study presents the results of a DNA barcoding campaign on Odonata, based on the standard 658 bp 5’ end region of the mitochondrial COI gene, involving the collection of 812 specimens (409 of which barcoded) from peninsular Italy and its main islands (328 localities), belonging to all the 88 species (31 Zygoptera and 57 Anisoptera) known from the country. Additional BOLD and GenBank data from Holarctic samples expanded the dataset to 1294 DNA barc…
Gene expression patterns underlying parasite-induced alterations in host behaviour and life history
2015
Many parasites manipulate their hosts' phenotype. In particular, parasites with complex life cycles take control of their intermediate hosts' behaviour and life history to increase transmission to their definitive host. The proximate mechanisms underlying these parasite-induced alterations are poorly understood. The cestode Anomotaenia brevis affects the behaviour, life history and morphology of parasitized Temnothorax nylanderi ants and indirectly of their unparasitized nestmates. To gain insights on how parasites alter host phenotypes, we contrast brain gene expression patterns of T. nylanderi workers parasitized with the cestode, their unparasitized nestmates and unparasitized workers fr…
Thermal variability during ectotherm egg incubation: A synthesis and framework.
2020
Natural populations of ectothermic oviparous vertebrates typically experience thermal variability in their incubation environment. Yet an overwhelming number of laboratory studies incubate animals under constant thermal conditions that cannot capture natural thermal variability. Here, we systematically searched for studies that incubated eggs of ectothermic vertebrates, including both fishes and herpetofauna, under thermally variable regimes. We ultimately developed a compendium of 66 studies that used thermally variable conditions for egg incubation. In this review, we qualitatively discuss key findings from literature in the compendium, including the phenotypic effects resulting from diff…
Contrasting biogeographical patterns in Margarella (Gastropoda: Calliostomatidae: Margarellinae) across the Antarctic Polar Front
2021
International audience; Members of the trochoidean genus Margarella (Calliostomatidae) are broadly distributed across Antarctic and sub-Antarctic ecosystems. Here we used novel mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences to clarify species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships among seven nominal species distributed on either side of the Antarctic Polar Front (APF). Molecular reconstructions and species-delimitation analyses recognized only four species: M. antarctica (the Antarctic Peninsula), M. achilles (endemic to South Georgia), M. steineni (South Georgia and Crozet Island) and the morphologically variable M. violacea (=M. expansa, M. porcellana and M. pruinosa), with populations in s…
Trichoderma harzianum Strain T22 Modulates Direct Defense of Tomato Plants in Response to Nezara viridula Feeding Activity
2021
AbstractPlant growth-promoting fungi belonging to genus Trichoderma are known to help plants when dealing with biotic stressors by enhancing plant defenses. While beneficial effects of Trichoderma spp. against plant pathogens have long been documented, fewer studies have investigated their effect on insect pests. Here, we studied the impact of Trichoderma root colonization on the plant defense responses against stink bug feeding attack. For this purpose, a model system consisting of tomato plant, Solanum lycopersicum cv Dwarf San Marzano, Trichoderma harzianum strain T22 and the southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula, was used. We firstly determined stink bug performance in terms of rela…
Re-examining the rare and the lost : a review of fossil Tortricidae (Lepidoptera)
2018
We re-evaluate eleven fossils that have previously been assigned to the family Tortricidae, describe one additional fossil, and assess whether observable morphological features warrant confident assignment of these specimens to this family. We provide an overview of the age and origin of the fossils and comment on their contribution towards understanding the phylogeny of the Lepidoptera. Our results show that only one specimen, Antiquatortia histuroides Brown & Baixeras gen. and sp. nov., shows a character considered synapomorphic for the family. Six other fossils ( Electresia zalesskii Kusnezov, 1941; Tortricidrosis inclusa Skalski, 1973; Tortricites skalskii Kozlov, 1988; Tortricibaltia d…
Susceptibility of Grapholita molesta (Busck, 1916) to formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis, individual toxins and their mixtures.
2016
The Oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a major pest of fruit trees worldwide, such as peach and apple. Bacillus thuringiensis has been shown to be an efficient alternative to synthetic insecticides in the control of many agricultural pests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of B. thuringiensis individual toxins and their mixtures for the control of G. molesta. Bioassays were performed with Cry1Aa, Cry1Ac, Cry1Ca, Vip3Aa, Vip3Af and Vip3Ca, as well as with the commercial products DiPel® and XenTari®. The most active proteins were Vip3Aa and Cry1Aa, with LC50 values of 1.8 and 7.5ng/cm2, respectively. Vip3Ca was nontoxic to this …