Microsatellite markers for the Arctic copepod Calanus glacialis and cross-amplification with C. finmarchicus

Calanus glacialis is a major component of Arctic zooplankton and a keystone species in Arctic marine ecosystems. Due to the observed climate warming, its numbers are being reduced to the advantage of a sibling Atlantic species Calanus finmarchicus. We developed and characterized the first set of microsatellite markers in this species to investigate its population genetic structure and dispersal capabilities. Nine polymorphic loci displayed an average of 7.3 alleles (range between 2 and 13) and the levels of expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.039 to 0.806. These provide a valuable tool to understand present connectivity patterns across Arctic regions, look for signatures of past climate effects and predict the response to future climate-driven environmental changes. Additionally, due to the cross-amplification with C. finmarchicus, the markers can be used to discriminate between these sibling species.National Science Centre, Poland [2011/03/B/NZ8/02876]; FCT, Portugal [PTDC/MAR/72630/2006]; EU FP7 Project ATP [226248]; European Community (ASSEMBLE-MARINE) [227799]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Postglacial expansion of the arctic keystone copepod calanus glacialis

Calanus glacialis, a major contributor to zooplankton biomass in the Arctic shelf seas, is a key link between primary production and higher trophic levels that may be sensitive to climate warming. The aim of this study was to explore genetic variation in contemporary populations of this species to infer possible changes during the Quaternary period, and to assess its population structure in both space and time. Calanus glacialis was sampled in the fjords of Spitsbergen (Hornsund and Kongsfjorden) in 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2012. The sequence of a mitochondrial marker, belonging to the ND5 gene, selected for the study was 1249 base pairs long and distinguished 75 unique haplotypes among 140 individuals that formed three main clades. There was no detectable pattern in the distribution of haplotypes by geographic distance or over time. Interestingly, a Bayesian skyline plot suggested that a 1000-fold increase in population size occurred approximately 10,000 years before present, suggesting a species expansion after the Last Glacial Maximum.GAME from the National Science Centre, the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education Iuventus Plus [IP2014 050573]; FCT-PT [CCMAR/Multi/04326/2013]; [2011/03/B/NZ8/02876

High-throughput sequencing and analysis of the gill tissue transcriptome from the deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus

© The Authors, 2010. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in BMC Genomics 11 (2010): 559, doi:10.1186/1471-2164-11-559.Bathymodiolus azoricus is a deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussel found in association with large faunal communities living in chemosynthetic environments at the bottom of the sea floor near the Azores Islands. Investigation of the exceptional physiological reactions that vent mussels have adopted in their habitat, including responses to environmental microbes, remains a difficult challenge for deep-sea biologists. In an attempt to reveal genes potentially involved in the deep-sea mussel innate immunity we carried out a high-throughput sequence analysis of freshly collected B. azoricus transcriptome using gills tissues as the primary source of immune transcripts given its strategic role in filtering the surrounding waterborne potentially infectious microorganisms. Additionally, a substantial EST data set was produced and from which a comprehensive collection of genes coding for putative proteins was organized in a dedicated database, "DeepSeaVent" the first deep-sea vent animal transcriptome database based on the 454 pyrosequencing technology. A normalized cDNA library from gills tissue was sequenced in a full 454 GS-FLX run, producing 778,996 sequencing reads. Assembly of the high quality reads resulted in 75,407 contigs of which 3,071 were singletons. A total of 39,425 transcripts were conceptually translated into amino-sequences of which 22,023 matched known proteins in the NCBI non-redundant protein database, 15,839 revealed conserved protein domains through InterPro functional classification and 9,584 were assigned with Gene Ontology terms. Queries conducted within the database enabled the identification of genes putatively involved in immune and inflammatory reactions which had not been previously evidenced in the vent mussel. Their physical counterpart was confirmed by semi-quantitative quantitative Reverse-Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reactions (RT-PCR) and their RNA transcription level by quantitative PCR (qPCR) experiments. We have established the first tissue transcriptional analysis of a deep-sea hydrothermal vent animal and generated a searchable catalog of genes that provides a direct method of identifying and retrieving vast numbers of novel coding sequences which can be applied in gene expression profiling experiments from a non-conventional model organism. This provides the most comprehensive sequence resource for identifying novel genes currently available for a deep-sea vent organism, in particular, genes putatively involved in immune and inflammatory reactions in vent mussels. The characterization of the B. azoricus transcriptome will facilitate research into biological processes underlying physiological adaptations to hydrothermal vent environments and will provide a basis for expanding our understanding of genes putatively involved in adaptations processes during post-capture long term acclimatization experiments, at "sea-level" conditions, using B. azoricus as a model organism.We acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, FCT-Lisbon and the Regional Azorean Directorate for Science and Technology, DRCT-Azores, for pluri-annual and programmatic PIDDAC and FEDER funding to IMAR/DOP Research Unit #531 and the Associated Laboratory #9 (ISR-Lisboa); the Luso-American Foundation FLAD (Project L-V- 173/2006); the Biotechnology and Biomedicine Institute of the Azores (IBBA), project M.2.1.2/I/029/2008-BIODEEPSEA and the project n° FCOMP-01-0124- FEDER-007376 (ref: FCT PTDC/MAR/65991/2006-IMUNOVENT; coordinated by RB) under the auspices of the COMPETE program

Invasion is a community affair: clandestine followers in the bacterial community associated to green algae, Caulerpa racemosa, track the invasion source

Biological invasions rank amongst the most deleterious components of global change inducing alterations from genes to ecosystems. The genetic characteristics of introduced pools of individuals greatly influence the capacity of introduced species to establish and expand. The recently demonstrated heritability of microbial communities associated to individual genotypes of primary producers makes them a potentially essential element of the evolution and adaptability of their hosts. Here, we characterized the bacterial communities associated to native and non-native populations of the marine green macroalga Caulerpa racemosa through pyrosequencing, and explored their potential role on the strikingly invasive trajectory of their host in the Mediterranean. The similarity of endophytic bacterial communities from the native Australian range and several Mediterranean locations confirmed the origin of invasion and revealed distinct communities associated to a second Mediterranean variety of C. racemosa long reported in the Mediterranean. Comparative analysis of these two groups demonstrated the stability of the composition of bacterial communities through the successive steps of introduction and invasion and suggested the vertical transmission of some major bacterial OTUs. Indirect inferences on the taxonomic identity and associated metabolism of bacterial lineages showed a striking consistency with sediment upheaval conditions associated to the expansion of their invasive host and to the decline of native species. These results demonstrate that bacterial communities can be an effective tracer of the origin of invasion and support their potential role in their eukaryotic host’s adaptation to new environments. They put forward the critical need to consider the 'meta-organism' encompassing both the host and associated micro-organisms, to unravel the origins, causes and mechanisms underlying biological invasions

Reproductive performance of Palmistichus elaeisis Delvare and LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) with previously refrigerated pupae of Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae)

The mass rearing of parasitoids represents a fundamental stage for programmes of biological control. The progeny of the parasitoid Palmistichus elaeisis Delvare and LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) were evaluated on previously refrigerated pupae of Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). Forty-eight to 72 hours-old pupae of B. mori were stored at 10 ºC for five, 10, 15 or 20 days and then exposed to parasitism by P. elaeisis females. This parasitoid showed shorter duration of the life cycle when reared on pupae of B. mori which were previously stored at 10 ºC during 15 days. P. elaeisis parasitized 100% of the pupae of B. mori after storage at 10 ºC during all periods with emergence of this parasitoid from 78 to 100% of these pupae. P. elaeisis had a higher number of progeny per pupa of B. mori stored for 15 days at 10 ºC. Pupae of B. mori can be stored for 15 days at 10 ºC before being used to rear P. elaeisis

Predation of Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae) by Atopozelus opsimus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Brazil

The bronze bug Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae) is an important pest of eucalyptus in several countries and the strategies for the integrated management of this insect in commercial plantations needs to be investigated. The predatory behavior of Atopozelus opsimus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) on T. peregrinus is described. Adults of A. opsimus feed on nymphs and adults of the bronze bug and also present phytophagy. A. opsimus has potential as a natural enemy for the biological control of T. peregrinus

A brief observation of morphological and behavioral similarities between the Ichneumonidae wasp Cryptanura sp. and its presumed mimic, Holymenia clavigera (Heteroptera: Coreidae), in Brazil

Some insects use wasps as a model to mimic and previous studies showed cases of Batesian mimicry involving this insect group. However, this relation is poorly known between phytophagous bugs, such as coreids, and Cryptinae ichneumonids. We found in a seasonal secondary forest in Brazil two similar insects representing different orders. The mimic seems to be Holymenia clavigera (Herbst) (Heteroptera: Coreidae) and its model, Cryptanura sp. (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). This study therefore investigated similarities in morphological and behavioural aspects between H. clavigera and the wasp Cryptanura sp. Holymenia clavigera and its ichneumonid model are impressively similar in colour, size, foraging behaviour and sympatric range. The spanning movements of antennae by the coreid bug, which strongly resemble the foraging behaviour of the wasp, were observed frequently. The findings indicate strong evidences that H. clavigera is a mimic of the Ichneumonidae wasp, Cryptanura sp

Changes in the fat body during the post-embryonic development of the predator Toxorhynchites theobaldi (Dyar & Knab) (Diptera: Culicidae)

Several studies have focused on understanding the biochemistry and morphology of the fat body of the hematophagous mosquito Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae). In contrast, few studies, if any, have focused on morphological characters of the fat body in other mosquitoes, especially non-hematophagous taxa such as the culicid Toxorhynchites. Larvae of Toxorhynchites prey upon the larvae of other mosquito species and are used in vector mosquito control. We investigated aspects of the fat body trophocytes, including the morphometric analyses of the lipid droplets, protein granules and nuclei, during Toxorhynchites theobaldi (Dyar & Knab) post-embryonic development. Following the body weight increase from larval stage L2 to L4, the size of lipid droplets within the trophocytes also increase, and are likely the result of lipogenesis. Lipid droplets decrease in size during L4 to the female pupal stage and increase once again during the period from newly-emerged to mature adult females. Protein granules are observed for the first time in female pupae, and their appearance might be related to protein storage during metamorphosis. The size of the nucleus of trophocytes also increases during larval development, followed by a decrease during metamorphosis and an additional increase as adult female ages. In conclusion, the morphology of the fat body of T. theobaldi changes according to the developmental stage. Our study provides for the first time important insights into T. theobaldi fat body development and contributes to understand this species biology

Cytotoxicity in the midgut and fat body of Anticarsia gemmatalis (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) larvae exerted by neem seeds extract

Botanical pesticides may be an alternative to the use of synthetic insecticides against agricultural pests and neem extracts have been successfully used against some insect pests. This study evaluated the effect of neem in biological and morpho-physiological parameters of the velvetbean caterpillar Anticarsia gemmatalis. The third instar larvae of A. gemmatalis were fed on artificial diet containing different concentrations of neem seed kernel extract (NSKE). The biological parameters were adversely affected after ingestion of the diet with neem extracts. Doses of more than 500 ppm of the NSKE in the diet caused 100 % mortality in the larvae of A. gemmatalis, whereas lower doses reduced food intake and reproductive capacity, and increased production of pupae with morphological deformities. The cells of the midgut epithelium of A. gemmatalis larvae showed swelling, basal membrane detachment and complete disruption after exposure to NSKE. In addition to the cytotoxicity effect observed in the fat body, the treatment reduced lipid and protein reserves. The NSKE negatively affected the physiological and biological parameters of A. gemmatalis