Complexity of Expression Control of HSP70 Genes in Extremophilic Midges

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.Heat shock proteins, including HSP70, are universal well-known agents of protecting cells and entire organism from negative effects of elevated temperature, as well as wide range of other abiotic stresses. Having highly conservative amino acid sequences, in different species they vary in copy number, expression patterns and other molecular and genetic traits. Taking all these notions into consideration, we can perceive the family of HSP70 as a good model for study evolutionary history and differences in stress response of closely relative species. In our study, we focused on comparing the number and specific behaviour of HSP70 genes in response to stress in four non-biting midges from Chironomidae family, including those which can survive extremely hard conditions and one which cannot. Our research proved the high conservatism of the HSP70 group, whereas the behaviour of almost each tetrad of orthologous genes was different among species, and not each one of included genes showed significant response to heat shock and desiccation

Widespread and persistent invasions of terrestrial habitats coincident with larval feeding behavior transitions during snail-killing fly evolution (Diptera: Sciomyzidae)

BACKGROUND: Transitions in habitats and feeding behaviors were fundamental to the diversification of life on Earth. There is ongoing debate regarding the typical directionality of transitions between aquatic and terrestrial habitats and the mechanisms responsible for the preponderance of terrestrial to aquatic transitions. Snail-killing flies (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) represent an excellent model system to study such transitions because their larvae display a range of feeding behaviors, being predators, parasitoids or saprophages of a variety of mollusks in freshwater, shoreline and dry terrestrial habitats. The remarkable genus Tetanocera (Tetanocerini) occupies five larval feeding groups and all of the habitat types mentioned above. This study has four principal objectives: (i) construct a robust estimate of phylogeny for Tetanocera and Tetanocerini, (ii) estimate the evolutionary transitions in larval feeding behaviors and habitats, (iii) test the monophyly of feeding groups and (iv) identify mechanisms underlying sciomyzid habitat and feeding behavior evolution. RESULTS: Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses of molecular data provided strong support that the Sciomyzini, Tetanocerini and Tetanocera are monophyletic. However, the monophyly of many behavioral groupings was rejected via phylogenetic constraint analyses. We determined that (i) the ancestral sciomyzid lineage was terrestrial, (ii) there was a single terrestrial to aquatic habitat transition early in the evolution of the Tetanocerini and (iii) there were at least 10 independent aquatic to terrestrial habitat transitions and at least 15 feeding behavior transitions during tetanocerine phylogenesis. The ancestor of Tetanocera was aquatic with five lineages making independent transitions to terrestrial habitats and seven making independent transitions in feeding behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: The preponderance of aquatic to terrestrial transitions in sciomyzids goes against the trend generally observed across eukaryotes. Damp shoreline habitats are likely transitional where larvae can change habitat but still have similar prey available. Transitioning from aquatic to terrestrial habitats is likely easier than the reverse for sciomyzids because morphological characters associated with air-breathing while under the water\u27s surface are lost rather than gained, and sciomyzids originated and diversified during a general drying period in Earth\u27s history. Our results imply that any animal lineage having aquatic and terrestrial members, respiring the same way in both habitats and having the same type of food available in both habitats could show a similar pattern of multiple independent habitat transitions coincident with changes in behavioral and morphological traits

On taxonomy of the subgenus Amblycladius of the genus Chaetocladius (Diptera, Chironomidae)

Krasheninnikov, Andrey B., Przhiboro, Andrey A. (2022): On taxonomy of the subgenus Amblycladius of the genus Chaetocladius (Diptera, Chironomidae). Zootaxa 5168 (4): 494-500, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5168.4.1

A new genus and new species of felt scales (Homoptera: Coccinea: Eriococcidae) from Tierra del Fuego (Chile)

Telmatococcus igniumterrae gen. nov. et sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on the material collected from a sphagnum bog in the extreme southern part of South America (Tierra del Fuego). The new monotypic genus differs from all known genera of Eriococcidae in having short cylindrical truncated setae of the anal apparatus and pouches with numerous quinquelocular pores near the anal apparatus. The habitat of the new taxon is characterized

Complexity of Expression Control of HSP70 Genes in Extremophilic Midges

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.Heat shock proteins, including HSP70, are universal well-known agents of protecting cells and entire organism from negative effects of elevated temperature, as well as wide range of other abiotic stresses. Having highly conservative amino acid sequences, in different species they vary in copy number, expression patterns and other molecular and genetic traits. Taking all these notions into consideration, we can perceive the family of HSP70 as a good model for study evolutionary history and differences in stress response of closely relative species. In our study, we focused on comparing the number and specific behaviour of HSP70 genes in response to stress in four non-biting midges from Chironomidae family, including those which can survive extremely hard conditions and one which cannot. Our research proved the high conservatism of the HSP70 group, whereas the behaviour of almost each tetrad of orthologous genes was different among species, and not each one of included genes showed significant response to heat shock and desiccation

Complexity of Expression Control of HSP70 Genes in Extremophilic Midges

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.Heat shock proteins, including HSP70, are universal well-known agents of protecting cells and entire organism from negative effects of elevated temperature, as well as wide range of other abiotic stresses. Having highly conservative amino acid sequences, in different species they vary in copy number, expression patterns and other molecular and genetic traits. Taking all these notions into consideration, we can perceive the family of HSP70 as a good model for study evolutionary history and differences in stress response of closely relative species. In our study, we focused on comparing the number and specific behaviour of HSP70 genes in response to stress in four non-biting midges from Chironomidae family, including those which can survive extremely hard conditions and one which cannot. Our research proved the high conservatism of the HSP70 group, whereas the behaviour of almost each tetrad of orthologous genes was different among species, and not each one of included genes showed significant response to heat shock and desiccation

Complexity of Expression Control of HSP70 Genes in Extremophilic Midges

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.Heat shock proteins, including HSP70, are universal well-known agents of protecting cells and entire organism from negative effects of elevated temperature, as well as wide range of other abiotic stresses. Having highly conservative amino acid sequences, in different species they vary in copy number, expression patterns and other molecular and genetic traits. Taking all these notions into consideration, we can perceive the family of HSP70 as a good model for study evolutionary history and differences in stress response of closely relative species. In our study, we focused on comparing the number and specific behaviour of HSP70 genes in response to stress in four non-biting midges from Chironomidae family, including those which can survive extremely hard conditions and one which cannot. Our research proved the high conservatism of the HSP70 group, whereas the behaviour of almost each tetrad of orthologous genes was different among species, and not each one of included genes showed significant response to heat shock and desiccation