Beetle Communities of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in the Republic of Moldova

AbstractThis article reports on the beetle diversity and abundance study conducted during 2009 and 2010 in three alfalfa fields located near Lozova, Ivancea and Trebujeni in the central part of the Republic of Moldova. All insects were collected using pitfall traps and sweeping techniques. In total, 843 beetle specimens were collected, representing 63 species from 49 genera and 12 families. The largest family was Curculionidae, followed by Scarabaeidae, Carabidae, Coccinellidae, Silphidae, Cerambycidae, Dermestidae, Staphylinidae, Tenebrionidae and Trogidae. Weevils (Curculionoidea) also, represented the greatest proportion in terms of number of individuals. During the present study captured beetles from all three localities were compared and Shannon indices were calculated as a measure of diversity within the habitat. The Shannon diversity index has been found maximum (1.035) in Trebujeni, moderate (1.017) in Ivancea and low (0.936) in Lozova. Five of the recorded species are known to feed on alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and cause serious damage in the Republic of Moldova: Sitona lineatus, S. inops, Hypera postica, Protapion trifolii, Subcoccinella vigintiquatuorpunctata. Of these, S. inops is thought to represent the greatest potential threat based on adult abundance at all three sites and the negative impact of this species. A significant number of beetles collected during this study are adventive species associated with forest ecosystems of the Republic of Moldova

Abamectin efficacy on the potato Cyst nematode Globodera pallida

The potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida is a major pest of the potato crop. Abamectin is a biological pesticide showing high nematicide activity, but its ecacy to control G. pallida has not been investigated to date. In this study, combination of dierent abamectin concentrations ranging from 1.125 to 36 g/mL x exposure times from 24 to 384 h were tested on the nematode in a hatching test. Abamectin induced mortality with LD50 value in the range of 13.23 (after 24 h) to 2.90 g/mL (after 384 h). A glasshouse experiment was also performed in pots filled with soil infected with G. pallida in the presence of sprouted potato tubers cultivar “Spunta”. Abamectin at 4.5, 9.0, 18.0 and 36.0 g/mL was used in comparison with nematicide fosthiazate. The doses of 18 and 36 g/mL significantly reduced number of eggs, juveniles, cyst/g soil and reproduction rate in comparison to both untreated control and fosthiazate treatment. Soil applications of abamectin provided significant G. pallida control with LD50 and LD99.9 of 14.4 and 131.3 g/mL, respectively. These results indicate the ecacy of abamectin to control G. pallida on potato crops and its potential use in organic agriculture or in an integrated pest management program

Prevalence of Bacterial and Protozoan Pathogens in Ticks Collected from Birds in the Republic of Moldova

Epidemiological knowledge on pathogens in ticks feeding on birds in Moldova is scarce. To reduce this gap of information, a total of 640 migrating and native birds of 40 species were caught from 2012 to 2015 and examined for the presence of ticks in the Republic of Moldova. Altogether, 262 ticks belonging to five tick species (Ixodes ricunus n = 245, Ixodes frontalis n = 12, Haemaphysalis punctata n = 2, Hyalomma marginatum n = 2 (only males), Dermacentor marginatus n = 1) were collected from 93 birds. Of these ticks, 250 (96%) were at the stage of a nymph and 9 at the stage of a larva (3%). One imago of I. frontalis and two imagoes of Hy. marginatum were found. Generally, ticks infested 14.1% of the assessed birds belonging to 12 species. DNA was extracted from individual ticks with subsequent PCR targeting Rickettsia spp., Borrelia spp. in general, as well as relapsing fever-associated Borrelia spp., in particular, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Neoehrlichia mikurensis, Babesia spp. and Coxiella burnetii. The bird species Turdus merula showed the heaviest infestation with ticks and the highest incidence of infected ticks. Altogether, 32.8% of the assessed ticks (n = 86) were positive for one of the pathogens. DNA of Borrelia spp. was found in 15.2% (40/262) of the investigated ticks; in 7.6% of ticks (20/262), DNA of rickettsiae was detected; 6.9% (18/262) of the ticks were positive for A. phagocytophilum DNA; in 1.5% of the ticks (4/262), DNA of Neoehrlichia mikurensis was detected, followed by 1.5% (4/262) Babesia microti and 1.5% (4/262) Borrelia miyamotoi. Within the B. burgdorferi complex, B. garinii (n = 36) was largely predominant, followed by B. valaisiana (n = 2) and B. lusitaniae (n = 2). Among the detected Rickettsia spp., R. monacensis (n = 16), R. helvetica (n = 2) and R. slovaca (n = 1) were identified. In conclusion, the study provided some new information on the prevalence of ticks on birds in Moldova, as well as the presence of DNA of pathogens in the ticks. By doing so, it provided an additional piece in the puzzle of the global epidemiology of tick-transmitted infectious diseases from a geographic side from where respective surveillance data are scarce

Review on Control Methods against Plant Parasitic Nematodes Applied in Southern Member States (C Zone) of the European Union

The European legislative on the use of different control strategies against plant-parasitic nematodes, with particular reference to pesticides, is constantly evolving, sometimes causing confusion in the sector operators. This article highlights the nematode control management allowed in the C Zone of the European Union, which includes the use of chemical nematicides (both fumigant and non-fumigant), agronomic control strategies (crop rotations, biofumigation, cover crops, soil amendments), the physical method of soil solarization, the application of biopesticides (fungi, bacteria and their derivatives) and plant-derived formulations. The authors analyze the use of these strategies and substances in organic agriculture as well as in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs

Age-dependent effect between MARCO and TLR4 on PMMA particle phagocytosis by macrophages

Progressive generation of total joint implant-derived wear particles is one of the major risk factors in development of peri-prosthetic osteolysis especially in the aging society. It is commonly accepted that macrophages predominantly drive the inflammatory response to wear debris particles. Among various surface receptors that activate the macrophages to phagocytize particles, it is believed that the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and the scavenger macrophage receptor with collagenous structure (MARCO) play key roles in recognition of wear debris particles. However, a strong body of evidence indicates an age-dependent diminished function of human TLRs. Thus, we hypothesized that the MARCO receptor may be more engaged than TLRs in the phagocytosis of wear debris particles which in turn up-regulate production of pro-inflammatory cytokines from aged macrophages. We demonstrated that peritoneal macrophages isolated from aged mice show elevated expression of MARCO receptor compared to that from young mice. In contrast the expression of TLR4 was significantly decreased on the surface of aged macrophages. Furthermore, using anti-MARCO and anti-TLR4 neutralizing mAbs, we demonstrated the age-dependent pathogenic role of MARCO, but not TLR4, receptor in promoting poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) bone cement particles phagocytosis by macrophages leading to the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines migration inhibitory factor and tumour necrosis factor in vitro. These data also suggest that the approach to neutralize MARCO may lead to the development of therapeutic regimen for the prevention of particle-induced osteolysis in aged patients