Oviposition and Embryotoxicity of Indigofera suffruticosa on Early Development of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Aqueous extract of Indigofera suffruticosa leaves obtained by infusion was used to evaluate the oviposition, its effect on development of eggs and larvae, and morphological changes in larvae of Aedes aegypti. The bioassays were carried out with aqueous extract in different concentrations on eggs, larvae, and female mosquitoes, and the morphological changes were observed in midgut of larvae. The extract showed repellent activity on A. aegypti mosquitoes, reducing significantly the egg laying by females with control substrate (343 (185–406)) compared with the treated substrate (88 (13–210)). No eclosion of A. aegypti eggs at different concentrations studied was observed. The controleclodedin 35%. At concentration of 250 μg/mL, 93.3% of larvae remained in the second instar of development and at concentrations of 500, 750, and 1000 μg/mL the inhibitory effect was lower with percentages of 20%, 53.3%, and 46.6%, respectively. Morphological changes like disruption on the peritrophic envelope (PE), discontinued underlying epithelium, increased gut lumen, and segments with hypertrophic aspects were observed in anterior region of medium midgut of larvae of A. aegypti. The results showed repellent activity, specific embryotoxicity, and general growth retardation in A. aegypti by medium containing aqueous extract of I. suffruticosa leaves

Fumigação e repelência de óleos essenciais sobre Callosobruchus maculatus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) em feijão-caupi

The objective of this work was to assess the fumigant and repellent effects of essential oils on adults of Callosobruchus maculatus and to identify the chemical composition of two of the tested essential oils. For the fumigation test, the oils of Schinus terebinthifolius, Piper aduncum, Syzygium aromaticum, Piper hispidinervum, Cymbopogon citratus, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, and the eugenol compound were tested at different concentrations on C. maculatus adults. For the repellency test, the oils of S. terebinthifolius, P. aduncum, P. hispidinervum, S. aromaticum, Jatropha curcas, and Ricinus communis were evaluated. In the fumigation test, it was observed that P. aduncum and eugenol showed the highest and lowest LC50s, of 169.50 and 0.28 µL L-1 air, respectively. In the repellency test, the oils of S. aromaticum and P. hispidinervum were repellent to C. maculatus. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of these two oils identified 42 compounds, of which safrole was the main component of P. hispidinervum and eugenol of S. aromaticum. The essential oils of S. aromaticum, C. zeylanicum, and the eugenol compound are the most promising to control C. maculatus, via fumigation.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos fumigante e repelente de óleos essenciais sobre adultos de Callosobruchus maculatus e identificar a composição química de dois dos óleos essenciais testados. Para o teste de fumigação, os óleos de Schinus terebinthifolius, Piper aduncum, Syzygium aromaticum, Piper hispidinervum, Cymbopogon citratus, Cinnamomum zeylanicum e do composto eugenol foram testados em diferentes concentrações sobre adultos de C. maculatus. Para o teste de repelência, foram avaliados os óleos de S. terebinthifolius, P. aduncum, P. hispidinervum, S. aromaticum, Jatropha curcas e Ricinus communis. No teste de fumigação, observou-se que P. aduncum e o eugenol mostraram maior e menor CL50, de 169,50 e 0,28 µL L-1 de ar, respectivamente. No teste de repelência, os óleos de S. aromaticum e P. hispidinervum foram repelentes a C. maculatus. A análise de cromatografia gasosa acoplada a espectrometria de massas (CG-EM) destes dois óleos identificou 42 compostos, dos quais o safrole foi o principal componente de P. hispidinervum e o eugenol de S. aromaticum. Os óleos essenciais de S. aromaticum, C. zeylanicum e do composto eugenol são os mais promissores para o controle de C. maculatus, via fumigação

Schinus terebinthifolius leaf extract causes midgut damage, interfering with survival and development of Aedes aegypti larvae

In this study, a leaf extract from Schinus terebinthifolius was evaluated for effects on survival, development, and midgut of A. aegypti fourth instar larvae (L4), as well as for toxic effect on Artemia salina. Leaf extract was obtained using 0.15 M NaCl and evaluated for phytochemical composition and lectin activity. Early L4 larvae were incubated with the extract (0.3–1.35%, w/v) for 8 days, in presence or absence of food. Polymeric proanthocyanidins, hydrolysable tannins, heterosid and aglycone flavonoids, cinnamic acid derivatives, traces of steroids, and lectin activity were detected in the extract, which killed the larvae at an LC50 of 0.62% (unfed larvae) and 1.03% (fed larvae). Further, the larvae incubated with the extract reacted by eliminating the gut content. No larvae reached the pupal stage in treatments at concentrations between 0.5% and 1.35%, while in the control (fed larvae), 61.7% of individuals emerged as adults. The extract (1.0%) promoted intense disorganization of larval midgut epithelium, including deformation and hypertrophy of cells, disruption of microvilli, and vacuolization of cytoplasms, affecting digestive, enteroendocrine, regenerative, and proliferating cells. In addition, cells with fragmented DNA were observed. Separation of extract components by solid phase extraction revealed that cinnamic acid derivatives and flavonoids are involved in larvicidal effect of the extract, being the first most efficient in a short time after larvae treatment. The lectin present in the extract was isolated, but did not show deleterious effects on larvae. The extract and cinnamic acid derivatives were toxic to A. salina nauplii, while the flavonoids showed low toxicity. S. terebinthifolius leaf extract caused damage to the midgut of A. aegypti larvae, interfering with survival and development. The larvicidal effect of the extract can be attributed to cinnamic acid derivatives and flavonoids. The data obtained using A. salina indicates that caution should be used when employing this extract as a larvicidal agent

Caracterização fitoquímica e avaliação do potencial acaricida e inseticida do óleo essencial de Hymeneae courbaril L. var. courbaril sobre o ácaro-rajado e o gorgulho do milho

As propriedades inseticidas dos óleos essenciais são geralmente reconhecidas ao longo dos séculos e confirmadas cientificamente nas últimas décadas. Tais produtos podem ser usados na agricultura como uma alternativa para o controle de pragas. O óleo essencial derivado das folhas de Hymenaea courbaril L. var. courbaril foi obtido por hidrodestilação com arraste a vapor e caracterizado fitoquimicamente por cromatografia gasosa/espectrometria de massa (CG/EM); seu potencial acaricida e inseticida foi avaliado contra Tetranychus urticae e Sitophilus zeamais, respectivamente, pragas que ocorrem em uma ampla variedade de culturas economicamente importantes em todo o mundo. Após a análise por CG/EM, foram identificados 36 compostos, sendo 46,42% dos monoterpenos e 51,41% dos sesquiterpenos. Os bioensaios inseticidas avaliaram a interferência do óleo essencial na fisiologia nutricional do gorgulho e no processo de fumigação do ácaro. Os ensaios indicaram que o óleo essencial causou uma mortalidade significativa, promovendo danos fisiológicos ao S. zeamais. O valor de CL50 para T. urticae foi de 35,57 ?L/mL de ar; além disso, também foi observado que a oviposição foi afetada negativamente pelo óleo essencial. O óleo essencial de H. courbaril demonstrou ser um potencial controle de pragas por afetar o metabolismo e a reprodução de ambas as espécies de praga testadas

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost