Host Plant Record for the Fruit Flies, Anastrepha fumipennis and A. nascimentoi (Diptera, Tephritidae)

The first host plant record for Anastrepha fumipennis Lima (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Geissospermum laeve (Vell.) Baill (Apocynaceae) and for A. nascimentoi Zucchi found in Cathedra bahiensis Sleumer (Olacaceae) was determined in a host plant survey of fruit flies undertaken at the “Reserva Natural da Companhia Vale do Rio Doce”. This reserve is located in an Atlantic Rain Forest remnant area, in Linhares county, state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The phylogenetic relationships of Anastrepha species and their hosts are discussed. The occurrence of these fruit fly species in relation to the distribution range of their host plants is also discussed

Distinct Genetic Lineages of Bactrocera caudata (Insecta: Tephritidae) Revealed by COI and 16S DNA Sequences

The fruit fly Bactrocera caudata is a pest species of economic importance in Asia. Its larvae feed on the flowers of Cucurbitaceae such as Cucurbita moschata. To-date it is distinguished from related species based on morphological characters. Specimens of B. caudata from Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia (Bali and Lombok) were analysed using the partial DNA sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S rRNA genes. Both gene sequences revealed that B. caudata from Peninsular Malaysia was distinctly different from B. caudata of Bali and Lombok, without common haplotype between them. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct clades, indicating distinct genetic lineage. The uncorrected ‘p’ distance for COI sequences between B. caudata of Malaysia-Thailand-China and B. caudata of Bali-Lombok was 5.65%, for 16S sequences from 2.76 to 2.99%, and for combined COI and 16S sequences 4.45 to 4.46%. The ‘p’ values are distinctly different from intraspecific ‘p’ distance (0–0.23%). Both the B. caudata lineages are distinctly separated from related species in the subgenus Zeugodacus – B. ascita, B. scutellata, B. ishigakiensis, B. diaphora, B. tau, B. cucurbitae, and B. depressa. Molecular phylogenetic analysis indicates that the B. caudata lineages are closely related to B. ascita sp. B, and form a clade with B. scutellata, B. ishigakiensis, B. diaphora and B. ascita sp. A. This study provides additional baseline for the phylogenetic relationships of Bactrocera fruit flies of the subgenus Zeugodacus. Both the COI and 16S genes could be useful markers for the molecular differentiation and phylogenetic analysis of tephritid fruit flies

Excitation-transcription coupling in skeletal muscle: the molecular pathways of exercise

Muscle fibres have different properties with respect to force, contraction speed, endurance, oxidative/glycolytic capacity etc. Although adult muscle fibres are normally post-mitotic with little turnover of cells, the physiological properties of the pre-existing fibres can be changed in the adult animal upon changes in usage such as after exercise. The signal to change is mainly conveyed by alterations in the patterns of nerve-evoked electrical activity, and is to a large extent due to switches in the expression of genes. Thus, an excitation-transcription coupling must exist. It is suggested that changes in nerve-evoked muscle activity lead to a variety of activity correlates such as increases in free intracellular Ca2+ levels caused by influx across the cell membrane and/or release from the sarcoplasmatic reticulum, concentrations of metabolites such as lipids and ADP, hypoxia and mechanical stress. Such correlates are detected by sensors such as protein kinase C (PKC), calmodulin, AMP-activated kinase (AMPK), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ (PPARδ), and oxygen dependent prolyl hydroxylases that trigger intracellular signaling cascades. These complex cascades involve several transcription factors such as nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT), myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2), myogenic differentiation factor (myoD), myogenin, PPARδ, and sine oculis homeobox 1/eyes absent 1 (Six1/Eya1). These factors might act indirectly by inducing gene products that act back on the cascade, or as ultimate transcription factors binding to and transactivating/repressing genes for the fast and slow isoforms of various contractile proteins and of metabolic enzymes. The determination of size and force is even more complex as this involves not only intracellular signaling within the muscle fibres, but also muscle stem cells called satellite cells. Intercellular signaling substances such as myostatin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) seem to act in a paracrine fashion. Induction of hypertrophy is accompanied by the satellite cells fusing to myofibres and thereby increasing the capacity for protein synthesis. These extra nuclei seem to remain part of the fibre even during subsequent atrophy as a form of muscle memory facilitating retraining. In addition to changes in myonuclear number during hypertrophy, changes in muscle fibre size seem to be caused by alterations in transcription, translation (per nucleus) and protein degradation

New genera and host plant records of Asteraceae-feeding Tephritidae (Diptera) from Brazil

Three new genera of Tephritinae (Tephritidae), Cipomyia (type species: C. totofusca, n. sp.), Eutretopsis (type species: E. albipunctata, n. sp.), and Lewinsohnia (type species: L. magna, n. sp.) are described from Brazil. The first host plant records are provided for C. totofusca, L. magna, and Caenoriata pertinax (Bates).113911

Genetic and morphological diagnosis and description of two cryptic species of flower head-infesting Tephritidae (Diptera)

Adults of a new taxon of Tomoplagia associated with the Asteraceae subtribe Lychnophorinae displayed body color variation. Allozyme electrophoresis was used to determine whether the dark and light morphs were cryptic species. Four loci clearly differentiated the light and dark morphs. The genetic identities and diversity (H-e) supported the hypothesis of cryptic species. A detailed morphological analysis also revealed consistent differences in the male and female terminalia of the two morphs. Based on these findings, we describe the dark morph as Tomoplagia reticulata sp. nov., and the light one as T pallens sp. nov.36436137

The fauna of Tephritidae (Diptera) from capitula of Asteraceae in Brazil

This is the first comprehensive survey of the fauna of Tephritidae that breed in capitula of Asteraceae in southern and southeastern Brazil, resulting from a sampling program begun in 1985. The Tephritidae is the most diverse and abundant family of endophages of Asteraceae flowerheads in Brazil. From approximately 1,800 samples of capitula, from 403 species of Asteraceae, we reared 9,697. Tephritidae individuals belonging to 80 species and 18 genera. Of these, at least 31 species and 3 genera are undescribed, and 30% of the described species were not previously recorded from Brazil. The most diverse tribes of Asteraceae in the Neotropics, Vernonieae and Eupatorieae, have the greatest diversity of associated tephritids, although Vernonieae has a greater number of specialist species. Although the tribe Senecioneae is moderately diversified in the studied area, it is rarely-attacked and has no specialist tephritid species, in contrast with other areas of the world. The tephritid fauna in Brazilian Asteraceae flowerheads is dominated by Neotropical genera (e.g., Tomoplagia, Xanthaciura, Dictyotrypeta, Tetreuaresta, and Trypanaresta) that represent 80% of the obtained species and 90% of the obtained individuals. Most of these tephritid species are restricted to one tribe or some lower taxonomic level of Asteraceae. The main host plants for 75% of them belong to one genus or group of related genera of host plants. Most of our host records for genera and species of tephritids agree with previously published records from other world regions, showing that there is little variation in the set of host plants of tephritid species and genera among areas. The geographic distribution and host plants for each genus are discussed, and a list of host plants and localities is presented, for the identified species, totaling 167 new host records.10441007102