Gustatory Perception and Fat Body Energy Metabolism Are Jointly Affected by Vitellogenin and Juvenile Hormone in Honey Bees

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) provide a system for studying social and food-related behavior. A caste of workers performs age-related tasks: young bees (nurses) usually feed the brood and other adult bees inside the nest, while older bees (foragers) forage outside for pollen, a protein/lipid source, or nectar, a carbohydrate source. The workers' transition from nursing to foraging and their foraging preferences correlate with differences in gustatory perception, metabolic gene expression, and endocrine physiology including the endocrine factors vitellogenin (Vg) and juvenile hormone (JH). However, the understanding of connections among social behavior, energy metabolism, and endocrine factors is incomplete. We used RNA interference (RNAi) to perturb the gene network of Vg and JH to learn more about these connections through effects on gustation, gene transcripts, and physiology. The RNAi perturbation was achieved by single and double knockdown of the genes ultraspiracle (usp) and vg, which encode a putative JH receptor and Vg, respectively. The double knockdown enhanced gustatory perception and elevated hemolymph glucose, trehalose, and JH. We also observed transcriptional responses in insulin like peptide 1 (ilp1), the adipokinetic hormone receptor (AKHR), and cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG, or “foraging gene” Amfor). Our study demonstrates that the Vg–JH regulatory module controls changes in carbohydrate metabolism, but not lipid metabolism, when worker bees shift from nursing to foraging. The module is also placed upstream of ilp1, AKHR, and PKG for the first time. As insulin, adipokinetic hormone (AKH), and PKG pathways influence metabolism and gustation in many animals, we propose that honey bees have conserved pathways in carbohydrate metabolism and conserved connections between energy metabolism and gustatory perception. Thus, perhaps the bee can make general contributions to the understanding of food-related behavior and metabolic disorders

Are freshwater Macrodasyida as rare as previously thought? Integrative taxonomy identifies a new taxon of Gastrotricha Macrodasyida

Macrodasyida are worm-like, hermaphroditic and marine gastrotrichs with about 350 species. Among all known Macrodasyida only Marinellina flagellata, Redudasys fornerise and Redudasys sp. (Kånneby & Wicksten, 2014), were found in fresh waters respectively from an Austrian stream, a Brazilian artificial reservoir and a USA aquifer. Herein we describe a new freshwater taxon of Macrodasyida from different streams in Minas Gerais State, Southeastern Brazil. The external morphology and internal anatomy were investigated using Differential Interference Contrast (DIC), Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The systematization of the new taxon within Macrodasyida was inferred by 18S rRNA gene, and the relationships with the other freshwater Macrodasyida species were investigated by COI mtDNA. The adult has a body length from 193 to 376 m and 1+1 anterior adhesive tubes, 2 pairs of posterior adhesive tubes of unequal length, numerouscephalic cilia arranged into irregular bands, short around the mouth and longer on the anterolateral head margins, 6 pairs of lateral tactile bristles. Pharynx surrounded dorsally, laterally and ventrally by 10–12 longitudinal muscles which are inserted on the mouth rim and lie externally to circular muscles; the pair of main ventrolateral longitudinal muscles is inserted at the level of the anterior adhesive tubes. Intestine circular musculature external to the splanchnic longitudinal one and not surrounding dorsal and ventrolateral somatic longitudinal muscles. Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analyses yielded topologies congruent with each other and the new taxon nested within the family Redudasyidae, but COI mtDNA analyses showed clear distances between Redudasys fornerise, Redudasys sp. and the new taxon. Results suggest that Macrodasyida invaded freshwater environment only once and the Neotropical region seems to be a peculiar place for the evolution of the freshwater macrodasyidan clade

AN ENIGMATIC FRESHWATER CHAETONOTIDA (GASTROTRICHA) FROM BRAZIL: A NEW SPECIES IN A NEW GENUS

The phylum Gastrotricha includes over 800 free-living species of worm-like, actively moving microinvertebrates that represent an important component of the meiobenthic fauna of marine, brackish-water and fresh-water habitats. Global diversity of Gastrotricha from inland waters is less known than that of marine forms, and available information is extremely heterogeneous: in particular South America has been poorly studied. A new freshwater psammic species of Gastrotricha Chaetonotida was collected from sediments of high altitude streams in the Minas Gerais State, Brazil. A set of peculiar morphological features clearly distinguishes this taxon from all the other Chaetonotida: very large and closely juxtaposed cephalic plates wholly cover the head region both dorsally and ventrally; cuticular large, spineless, hexagonal scales partially overlapping and similar to each other coat the anterior and central trunk region both dorsally and ventrally; posterior trunk region coated by extremely large dorsal and ventral scales; two pairs of terminal ventral keeled scales, the external ones exceptionally large and double in size than the medial ones; long, thin caudal adhesive tubes composed of three sections. The taxonomic position of the new species within Chaetonotida and in particular into the family Chaetonotidae is discussed on morphological bases, and the reasons for its possible assignment to a new genus are advanced. Preliminary molecular data obtained from 18S rDNA analysis of the new taxon are presented within a phylogenetic tree of Chaetonotida, and its phylogenetic relationships are discussed

A new genus and new species of freshwater Chaetonotidae (Gastrotricha: Chaetonotida) from Brazil with phylogenetic position inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Most studies of South American freshwater Gastrotricha have focused on the inland waters of Brazil including SAo Paulo State, Mato Grosso do Sul State, and Para State. In this paper, we describe a new genus and species, Cephalionotus kisielewskii gen. et. sp. nov. (Chaetonotida, Chaetonotidae), from Minas Gerais State using morphological data and DNA sequence data (18S rDNA and COI genes). The new genus contains a single psammic species collected from high altitude streams. Cephalionotus gen. nov. exhibits a set of autapomorphic characters that easily distinguish it from all other genera of Chaetonotida: extremely large cephalion and hypostomium that completely cover the dorsal and ventral sides of the head, respectively; a single pair of pleurae; peculiar shape and arrangement of dorsal and ventral scales in the posterior trunk region; one paired, very large, keeled scale at the ventral posterior end; and very long adhesive tubes divided into three parts. Affinity of Cephalionotus kisielewskii gen. et sp. nov. with other Chaetonotida (Paucitubulatina) is discussed from morphological and molecular perspectives.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5E324696-AB33-42C2-A27A-609B1983D540Most studies of South American freshwater Gastrotricha have focused on the inland waters of Brazil including SAo Paulo State, Mato Grosso do Sul State, and Para State. In this paper, we describe a new genus and species, Cephalionotus kisielewskii gen. et.1514962FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNQP - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPEMIG -FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE MINAS GERAISFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)2014/23856-0478825/2013-7506121/2008-0900017-13We express our gratitude to FAPEMIG (ETC 00017-13), Rede ComCerrado (CNPq 50.6121/2008-09), CNPQ (478825/2013-7), FAPESP (2014/23856-0), and FAEPEX-UNICAMP (2031/15) for financial supportto the staff of the Life Sciences Core Facility (LaCTAD) at th

Integrative taxonomy of a new Redudasys species (Gastrotricha:Macrodasyida) sheds light on the invasion of fresh water habitats by macrodasyids

The order Macrodasyida (Gastrotricha) includes over 350 marine species, and only 3 freshwater species (Marinellina flagellata, Redudasys fornerise, R. neotemperatus). Herein we describe a new freshwater species of Macrodasyida, Redudasys brasiliensis sp. nov., from Brazil through an integrative taxonomic approach. The external morphology and internal anatomy were investigated using differential interference contrast microscopy, confocal microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The systematization of the new taxon was inferred by nuclear (18S and 28S) and mitochondrial (COI) genes, and its intra-order relationships were assessed using data from most of available macrodasyids. Phylogenetic analyses yielded congruent trees, in which the new taxon is nested within the family Redudasyidae, but it was genetically distinct from the other species of the genus Redudasys. The new species shares the gross morphology and reproductive traits with other Redudasyidae and the presence of only 1 anterior adhesive tube per side with Redudasys neotemperatus. But it has a specific pattern of ventral ciliation and muscle organization. Results support the hypothesis that dispersion into fresh waters habitats by Macrodasyida and Chaetonotida taxa occurred independently and that within Macrodasyida a single lineage invaded the freshwater environment only once. Furthermore, the Neotropical region seems to be peculiar for the evolution of the freshwater macrodasyid clade

Integrative description of a new species of Acanthodasys Remane, 1927 (Gastrotricha, Macrodasyida, Thaumastodermatidae) based on four distinct morphological techniques and molecular data

The number of undescribed animal species is still very high, in particular among the marine meiofaunal taxa. For these invertebrates, external and internal morphological information are often scarce and species delimitation and identification is a real problem. As a contribution to this shortfall, we describe a new gastrotrich species of the genus Acanthodasys (Macrodasyida, Thaumastodermatidae) from sublittoral sediments of the Brazilian southeastern coast based on four distinct morphological techniques (optical microscopy - DIC, CLSM, SEM, TEM) and molecular data. Acanthodasys australis sp. nov. is characterized by spined scales (uniancres) of different sizes and densities on the dorsal and ventral body sides, two types of spineless scales scattered among the spined scales, and 6 TbA per side forming two distinct groups (2 þ 4) each arranged in two transverse rows. A molecular phylogeny of the family Thaumastodermatidae using a multigene approach found Acanthodasys to be monophyletic. This is the first species belonging to the genus Acanthodasys to be described from the Southern Hemisphere

Cavity-nesting bee communities in areas with different levels of vegetation disturbance

The reasons for the decline of bee diversity and abundance include the destruction and loss of natural habitats. Protected areas are created for biodiversity conservation, but these areas vary strongly in their level of vegetation disturbance. Using trap-nests, we assessed changes in solitary bee abundance, richness, and composition in areas ranging from naturally conserved to degraded. Solitary bees were sampled during an 18-month period in three areas of southeastern Brazil: a preserved area in Rio Preto State Park – PERP; a restored/altered area with exotic plants at the Federal University of the Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys – JK Campus; and a degraded area in Biribiri State Park – PEBi. A total of seven species of bees built 115 nests. In the degraded area, only two nests were built. Abundance of built nests was higher in the preserved area (PERP), but diversity was higher in the restored area (JK Campus). Our results show that the solitary bee population responds positively to habitat complexity (local scale). The presence of a diverse solitary bee fauna in the restored area indicates that altered areas should also be protected as suitable areas for re-colonization of cavity-nesting beesCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE MINAS GERAIS - FAPEMIGNão temNão te