Species of honeydew producing insects useful to apiculture in Greece

Μέχρι σήμερα έχουν αναφερθεί στην Ελλάδα 38 είδη μελιτογόνων εντόμων. Τα τελευταία χρόνια, άλλα δέκα είδη εντόμων των οποίων τις μελιτώδεις εκκρίσεις βόσκουν και εκμεταλλεύονται οι μέλισσες βρέθηκαν στη χώρα μας. Τα είδη αυτά, που ανήκουν στα Hemiptera-Homoptera είναι τα: οι αφίδες Acyrthosiphon caraganae (Cholodkovsky) σε ποντίκια (Coluteci arborescens L.), Corylobiuiii avellanae (Schrank) σε φουντουκιά (Corylus avellana L.), Hyalopterus amygdalì(Blanchard) σε αμυγδαλιά (Prunus diilcis (Miller) D. A. Webb), Cinara juniperi (De Geer) σε κέδρο (Juniperus spp.), Cinara tujufiliiui (del Guercio) σε τούγια (Thuja spp.), Phillaphis fagi (L.) σε οξυά (Fagus silvatica L.), Pterocallis maculata (Von Heyden) σε κλήθρα (Alnus glutinosa Gärth.) και Tuberculoides eggleri Börnes (Quercus spp.). Από αυτές οι τρεις πρώτες ανήκουν στην οικογένεια Aphididae, δύο στην οικογένεια Lachnidae και οι τρεις τελευταίες στην οικογένεια Drepanosiphidae. Τα κοκκοειδή Aclerda berlesei Buffa της οικογένειας Aclerdidae σε καλάμι (Arundo donax L.), και Physokermes piceae Schrank της οικογένειας Coccidae σε έλατο (Abies cephalonica Loud.).Από τα δέκα αυτά μελιτογόνα έντομα δύο, τα C. tujujìlina και Ph. piceae, αναφέρονται για πρώτη φορά στην πανίδα της χώρας, η δε αφίδα Cinara juniperi και το κοκκοειδές Aclerda berlesei παρουσιάζουν το μεγαλύτερο μελισσοκομικό ενδιαφέρον.In many countries of Europe as well as in Greece a high percentage (40-70%) of the honey production derives from honeydew producing insects which belong to Hemiptem-Homoptera and mainly to the superfamilies Aphidoidea, Coccoidea, Psyloidea and Aleuroidea. To identify these useful to apiculture insects in Greece, a survey work has been carried out since 1977. From this research thirty eight species were observed and listed in the period of 1977-1983. Fifty eight species producing honeydew exploited by bees have been also observed in Central Europe. At least 120 species of honeydew pro­ducing insects (Rhynchota), on various host plants, have been recorded in Greece, therefore the number of insects useful to apiculture might be higher. This work aimed at finding more sources of honey production in our country and for this reason a survey was carried out in many areas to collect and identify the honeydew producing insects on which bees were observed to forage. The work was based on the method used previously. For that, sampling was carried out everywhere bees were observed to forage on insects honeydew. Bees were captured and examined according to the method described by Gary and Lorenzen to find out if and when the bees forage on this honeydew. The data collected during this period, 1984 to 1989, are recorded in this note. List of Species: I) Aphidoidea: A) Aphididae: 1) Acyrthosiphon caraganae (Cholodkovsky) (Aphidinae). It was found on the shrub Colutea arborescens L. at Portaria, Pelion, in May 1986. The bees forage from late April to June. This host plant exists almost all over Greece, but in high numbers in Peloponnesus, Sterea Hellas and Thessaly. A. caraganae was found in all these areas, while the bees were observed to forage on this aphid. 2) Corylobium avellanae (Schrank) (Aphidinae). It was observed on filbert trees (Corylus avellana L.) in the Grevena area in 1984 and later in Aghia, Larissa co. and Katerini, Pieria co. It is found on the under side of the leaf and pro­duces honeydew from May to mid July. 3) Hyalopterus ainvgdafi (Blanchard) (Aphidinae). This aphid appears at high population levels on almond trees (Prunus dulcis (Miller) D.A. Webb.) in Locrida and Attiki (Central Greece) and on the island of Kea. It produces large quantities of honeydew in May, June, July. B) Lachnidae: 1) Cinara juniperi (De Geer) (Cinarinae). It was observed on Juniperus spp. in Giona mountain, in May 1986, at an altitude where the fir trees grow. The bees forage from May to early June. This honeydew is produced earlier than that excreted by the coccid Physokerines hemicryphus Dalman which lives on fir trees, and is very useful to apiculture in Greece. There are indications that the existence of this aphid close to fir forests, is a prediction that the coccid P. hemicryphus is going to attain high populations at the same year, but this has to be verified. 2) Cinara tujufilina (del Guercio) (Cinarmae). This aphid was observed on ornamental Thuja spp. in Votanikos Athens and Kiphissia, Attiki in April 1984. The bees forage late in April to May. This insect is new to the Greek fauna. C) Drepanosiphidae: 1) Phyllaphis phagi (L.) (Phyllaphidinae). Common aphid on Fagus silvatica L. It was found almost everywhere this host exists as in the mountains of Iti, Tymphristos, Pelion, Vermion and others. This insect produces honeydew in May, June and July. 2) Pterocallis maculata (Von Heyden) (Drepanosiphinae). It was found at low population levels on Alnus q1tifinosa Garth. in the mountains Pelion and Olympus in Central Greece in May 1987. This aphid produces honeydew in May, June and July. 3) Tuberculoides eggleri Burnes (Drepanosiphinae). This aphid was found on various species of Quercus spp. on the mountains, Zeria, Kalidromon, Iti, Pelion and Olympus, at relatively small population levels. The hon­eydew appears in May. II) Coccoidea: A) Aclerdidae: 1) Aclerda berlesei Buffa. This scale insect was found in Korinthia in July 1988 on Arundo donor L.. later it was observed everywhere this host-plant was sampled as in Lamia, Tricalla, Larissa, Platamonas (Central Greece). The population of this insect is always in high levels and it produces large quantities of honeydew. The honeydew appears early in June and continues in July, August and early September. The bees forage on it, mainly in August. The honey from this honeydew has good appearance, good taste but has not so good smell. B) Coccidae 1) Physokertnes piceae Schrank. This scale was recently found at low population levels on fir trees in Parnassus and Giona mountains in Central Greece and this is the first record in Greek fauna. All, but Aclerda berlesei, abovementioned species are recorded also in Central Europe as honeydew producing insects. It seems that amongst these ten honeydew producing insects, the most important for the apiculture of Greece are the aphid C. juniperi and the scale A. berlesei

Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus-Encoded Viral IL-6 (vIL-6) Enhances Immunoglobulin Class-Switch Recombination

Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is an oncogenic gamma-herpesvirus that causes AIDS-associated Kaposi sarcoma (KS) and several lymphoproliferative disorders. During the humoral immune response antigen-activated mature B cells acquire functional diversification by immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) class-switch recombination (CSR). CSR is initiated by activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) which targets highly repetitive switch (S)-regions to mediate DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) in the IgH locus facilitating intramolecular recombination. Here we show that in the context of cytokine stimulation, CSR is enhanced in murine B cells exposed only to replication-competent KSHV in an environment of KSHV infection, which coincided with elevated AID transcripts. Using murine splenic B cells and the mouse lymphoma CH12F3-2 CSR system, we identified that vIL-6, but not murine IL-6, increased class-switching, which correlated with upregulated AID expression. Together, these data suggest a regulatory role for KSHV vIL-6 in functionally modulating B cell biology by promoting CSR, which may in part explain how KSHV infection influences humoral immunity and affect KSHV pathogenesis

Noninvasive Method for a Statewide Survey of Eastern Hellbenders Cryptobranchus alleganiensis Using Environmental DNA

Traditional survey methods of aquatic organisms may be difficult, lengthy, and destructive to the habitat. Some methods are invasive and can be harmful to the target species. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) has proven to be effective at detecting low population density aquatic macroorganisms. This study refined the technique to support statewide surveys. Hellbender presence was identified by using hellbender specific primers (cytochrome b gene) to detect eDNA in water samples collected at rivers, streams and creeks in Ohio and Kentucky with historical accounts of the imperiled eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis). Two sampling protocols are described; both significantly reduced the amount of water required for collection from the previously described 6 L collection. Two-liter samples were adequate to detect hellbender presence in natural waterways where hellbenders have been previously surveyed in both Ohio and Kentucky—1 L samples were not reliable. DNA extracted from 3 L of water collected onto multiple filters (1 L/filter) could be combined and concentrated through ethanol precipitation, supporting amplification of hellbender DNA and dramatically reducing the filtration time. This method improves the efficiency and welfare implications of sampling methods for reclusive aquatic species of low population density for statewide surveys that involve collecting from multiple watersheds

Noninvasive Method for a Statewide Survey of Eastern Hellbenders Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

Traditional survey methods of aquatic organisms may be difficult, lengthy, and destructive to the habitat. Some methods are invasive and can be harmful to the target species. The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) has proven to be effective at detecting low population density aquatic macroorganisms. This study refined the technique to support statewide surveys. Hellbender presence was identified by using hellbender specific primers (cytochrome b gene) to detect eDNA in water samples collected at rivers, streams and creeks in Ohio and Kentucky with historical accounts of the imperiled eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus a. alleganiensis). Two sampling protocols are described; both significantly reduced the amount of water required for collection from the previously described 6 L collection. Two-liter samples were adequate to detect hellbender presence in natural waterways where hellbenders have been previously surveyed in both Ohio and Kentucky—1 L samples were not reliable. DNA extracted from 3 L of water collected onto multiple filters (1 L/filter) could be combined and concentrated through ethanol precipitation, supporting amplification of hellbender DNA and dramatically reducing the filtration time. This method improves the efficiency and welfare implications of sampling methods for reclusive aquatic species of low population density for statewide surveys that involve collecting from multiple watersheds

High Serum Cyclophilin C levels as a risk factor marker for Coronary Artery Disease

Cyclophilins (Cyps) are ubiquitous proteins that belong to the immunophilins family consistently associated with inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. While levels of CypA have been extensively studied, less data are available for other Cyps. The purpose of this case-control study was to determine the relationship of Cyps (A, B, C and D) with coronary artery disease (CAD) and eight inflammation markers. Serum levels of Cyps, interleukins and metalloproteinases were measured in serum collected from 84 subjects. Participants were divided into two sub-groups based on CAD diagnosis: 40 CAD patients and 44 control volunteers. Serum levels of CypA, CypB and CypC, IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly higher in CAD patients. Bivariate correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between Cyps and several blood and biochemical parameters. When the ability of Cyps levels for CAD diagnosis was evaluated, higher sensitivity and selectivity values were obtained with CypC (c-statistic 0.891, p < 0.001) indicating that it is a good marker of CAD disease, while less conclusive results were obtained with CypA (c-statistic 0.748, p < 0.001) and CypB (c-statistic 0.655, p < 0.014). In addition, significant correlations of traditional CAD risk factors and CypC were observed. In summary, high levels of CypC are a risk factor for CAD and therefore it can be proposed as a new biomarker for this disease.This work could not have been done without the invaluable collaboration of the staff at the Servicio Vixilancia da Saude from Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Andrea Vidal Dopazo) and at the Cardiology Department, Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti (Maria Jesús Basanta-Castro, Maria del Carmen Cabarcos Leal, Clara Jimenez-Serrano, Leonor Ortega- Fernández, Maria Jesus Palacios Pool, Sofía Seco-Aldegunde). The research leading to these results has received funding from the following FEDER cofunded-grants. From Conselleria de Cultura, Educación e Ordenación Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia, 2017 GRC GI-1682 (ED431C 2017/01). From CDTI and Technological Funds, supported by Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, AGL2016-78728-R (AEI/FEDER, UE), ISCIII/PI16/01830, ISCIII/PI16/01816 and RTC-2016-5507-2, ITC-20161072. From European Union POCTEP 0161-Nanoeaters -1-E-1, Interreg AlertoxNet EAPA-317-2016, Interreg Agritox EAPA-998-2018, and H2020 778069-EMERTOX. Sandra Gegunde was supported by a fellowship from FIDIS, Spain

Cyclophilins in Ischemic Heart Disease: Differences Between Acute and Chronic Coronary Artery Disease Patients

Background: Cyclophilins (Cyps) are a family of peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases consistently involved in cardiovascular diseases through the inflammation pathway. This study aims to investigate the serum levels of Cyps (CypA, CypB, CypC and CypD) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and the correlation with clinical characteristics and inflammation parameters. Methods: We developed an observational prospective study with a total of 125 subjects: 40 patients with acute CAD, 40 patients with chronic CAD and 45 control volunteers, in whom serum levels of Cyps (CypA, CypB, CypC and CypD), interleukins and metalloproteinases were measured. Results: CypA levels increased significantly in CAD patients compared with control subjects, but no differences were noted between acute CAD (7.80 +/- 1.30 ng/mL) and chronic CAD (5.52 +/- 0.76 ng/mL) patients (P = 0.13). No differences in CypB and CypD levels were showed between CAD patients and controls and between acute CAD and chronic CAD patients. In relation with CypC, the levels in CAD patients were significantly higher compared to controls (32.42 +/- 3.71 pg/mL vs. 9.38 +/- 1.51 pg/mL, P 17.5 pg/mL cut-off point, and it was significantly associated with older age, hypertension, dyslipidemia and more extensive CAD in acute and chronic CAD groups. Conclusions: CypA and CypC levels are increased in CAD patients. High CypC serum levels could be a novel biomarker in CAD patients correlating with a more severe disease

RNA-sequencing analysis of a multistep and hit-and-run cell and animal model of KSHV tumorigenesis reveal the roles of mutations, CpG methylation, and viral-infection footprints in oncogenesis

Human viral oncogenesis is the consequence of cell transformation mediated by virally encoded oncogenes in combination with host oncogenic alterations. Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS), caused by the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV), is an AIDS-associated cancer characterized by angiogenesis and spindle-cells proliferation. KSHV-infected KS lesions are composed of latently-infected cells, as well as cells expressing lytic genes that have been implicated in the development of the KS angioproliferative phenotype. The existence of KS lesions with varying levels of KSHV-infected cells suggests also the existence of virus-independent “hit-and-run” mechanisms of sarcomagenesis, whereby viral infection irreversibly induce genetic or epigenetic oncogenic alterations in host cells. We have integrated genetic mutations, changes in expression signatures and methylation analysis to dissect genetic and epigenetic signaling pathways in an unbiased manner in the mECK36 mouse model of KSHV tumorigenesis. Pathway analysis of differential expressed genes (DEGs) showed KSHV lytic switch, DNA methylation and Epigenetic as the most regulated pathways during KSHV-dependent in vivo tumorigenesis. Methylation analysis data indicates that during the development of KSHV-infected tumors the most changes were towards hypo-methylation of tissues specific genes and oncogenic signature pathways, on the other hand during viral loss and development of KSHV-negative tumors changes are towards hyper-methylation. Mutational analysis of KSHV-infected cells and tumors revealed a set of mutations, including mutations in three inflammasome-related IFN response genes, that were absent in KSHV-infected cells but present in all KSHV-infected tumors in the same loci pointing to clonal selection “in vivo”. This result suggests that in the context of in vivo tumorigenesis both these mutations and the virus may determine tumor growth. On the other hand, clustering analysis of mutations driving KSHV-negative tumors reveal a network comprising PDGFRA D842V, Pak1 and Nucleolin mutations implicated in cell proliferation. Our results have uncovered novel specific aspects of the interplay between host oncogenic alterations and virus-induced transcriptional effects as well as the epigenetic changes induced by KSHV infection and tumorigenesis. The existence virally-induced irreversible genetic and epigenetic oncogenic alterations support the possibility for hit-and-run KSHV sarcomagenesis which is consistent with pathological and clinical findings. AUTHOR SUMMARY We performed whole genome RNA sequencing and CpG DNA methylation analysis in a mouse bone-marrow endothelial-lineage cells (mEC) transfected with the KSHVBac36 (mECK36 cells), that are able to form KSHV-infected tumors in nude mice, which were thoroughly characterized as KS-like tumors. This unique model allowed us to dissect genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of KSHV dependent and hit-and-run sarcomagenesis. We found that during KSHV in vivo lytic switch and KSHV-dependent tumorigenesis DNA methylation and Epigenetic regulation are among the most host-regulated pathways. CpG DNA methylation analysis during transformation supports the notion that loss of methylation (hypo-methylation) is the major epigenetic change during this process. Sequence analysis of KSHV-positive tumors revealed that KSHV tumorigenesis not only selects for the presence of the virus but also pre-existing host mutations that allow the KSHV oncovirus to express the oncogenic lytic program and creates a permissive environment of inflammation and viral tumorigenesis providing a selective advantage in vivo.Centro de Investigaciones Inmunológicas Básicas y Aplicada