Insect-flower relationship in the primary beech forest of Ashu, Kyoto: an overview of the flowering phenology and the seasonal pattern of insect visits

In 1984-1987 insect visitors to flowers were monthly or bimonthly surveyed on 91 plant species or 37 families in the primary beech forest of Ashu, Kyoto, Japan. Flowering season was 186 days from late April to early October. The number of plant species that concurrently bloomed was four to 11 species from May to mid August and it increased up to 19 in late August. The mean flowering period of a single plant species was 16 days. From April to August flowering periods were staggered among congeneric plant species, e. g., Rubus, Hydrangea and Rhus. A total of 2459 individuals of 715 species in 11 orders of Insecta and two orders of Arachnoidea were collected. The most abundant order was Hymenoptera (39 % of individuals) and followed by Diptera (35 %) and Coleoptera (17 %). The number of species was highest in Diptera (41 %) and followed by Hymenoptera (26 %) and Coleoptera (19 %). The numbers of both species and individuals peaked in May and then gradually decreased in summer and autumn. There were six families, 13 genera and 66 species in Apoidea. Andrenidae and Halictidae were rich in the number of species. They were abundant in June and July but greatly decreased afterward. Apidae were abundant throughout the flowering season. Cluster analysis separated 37 plant families into four groups: 16 families were mainly visited by Hymenoptera, four by Diptera, and two by Coleoptera. The other 15 families were visited by various insect groups. Flowers mainly visited by bees were further separated into Bombinae-, Xylocopinae-, Apinae-, Andrenidae-dominated plant families. Flower preference was compared amohg insect orders and among families. The most preferred plant family was Saxifragaceae in Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, and it was Umbelliferae in Hemiptera and Diptera. Cerambycidae, Halictidae and Andrenidae preferred Saxifragaceae. Syrphidae and Colletidae preferred Umbelliferae, Xylocopinae and Nomadinae preferred Violaceae, Bombinae preferred Compositae and Apinae preferred Labiatae.ArticleContributions from the Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University. 27(4): 309-375(1990)departmental bulletin pape

Insect-flower Relationship in the Primary Beech Forest of Ashu, Kyoto : An Overview of the Flowering Phenology and the Seasonal Pattern of Insect Visits

In 1984-1987 insect visitors to flowers were monthly or bimonthly surveyed on 91 plant species or 37 families in the primary beech forest of Ashu, Kyoto, Japan. Flowering season was 186 days from late April to early October. The number of plant species that concurrently bloomed was four to 11 species from May to mid August and it increased up to 19 in late August. The mean flowering period of a single plant species was 16 days. From April to August flowering periods were staggered among congeneric plant species, e. g., Rubus, Hydrangea and Rhus. A total of 2459 individuals of 715 species in 11 orders of Insecta and two orders of Arachnoidea were collected. The most abundant order was Hymenoptera (39% of individuals) and followed by Diptera (35%) and Coleoptera (17%). The number of species was highest in Diptera (41%) and followed by Hymenoptera (26%) and Coleoptera (19%). The numbers of both species and individuals peaked in May and then gradually decreased in summer and autumn. There were six families, 13 genera and 66 species in Apoidea. Andrenidae and Halictidae were rich in the number of species. They were abundant in June and July but greatly decreased afterward. Apidae were abundant throughout the flowering season. Cluster analysis separated 37 plant families into four groups: 16 families were mainly visited by Hymenoptera, four by Diptera, and two by Coleoptera. The other 15 families were visited by various insect groups. Flowers mainly visited by bees were further separated into Bombinae-, Xylocopinae-, Apinae-, Andrenidae-dominated plant families. Flower preference was compared amohg insect orders and among families. The most preferred plant family was Saxifragaceae in Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, and it was Umbelliferae in Hemiptera and Diptera. Cerambycidae, Halictidae and Andrenidae preferred Saxifragaceae. Syrphidae and Colletidae preferred Umbelliferae, Xylocopinae and Nomadinae preferred Violaceae, Bombinae preferred Compositae and Apinae preferred Labiatae

Insect-flower Relationship in the Campus of Kyoto University, Kyoto : An Overview of the Flowering Phenology and the Seasonal Pattern of Insect Visits

In 1985-1987 insect visitors to flowers were weekly or biweekly surveyed on a total of 113 plant species or 48 families in the campus of Kyoto University in Kyo-to city, Japan. Although the total number of plant species was nearly equal to those in Ashu and Kibune, native species were only 25, due to urbanization and disturbance. Flowering started from cultivated plants, e.g. Prunus spachina, in early April and ended also in cultivated plants, e.g. Camellia sazanqua in late November. The total number of plant species at flowering peaked in May. The flowering period of a single species was 17 days on average. A total of 2109 individuals of 320 species in nine orders of Insecta and two or-ders in Arachnoidea were collected in our samples. The total number of arthropod species was estimated to be 790 by the Preston's octave method and thus 40.5 % were in our samples. The most abundant order was Hymenoptera (50 % of in dividuals), followed by Coleoptera (26 %) and Diptera (16 %). The number of species was highest in Diptera (34%), followed by Hymenoptera (33 %) and Coleoptera (14 %). Compared with the undisturbed areas, Ashu and Kibune, two dominant Coleopteran families, Cerambycidae and Nitidulidae were quite rare here. In Hymenoptera, Megachilidae were quite abundant on exotic cultivated plants. The estimated total number of bee species (170 sp.) was more than those in the undisturbed areas. The number of insect species peaked twice in June and September, whilet he total number of individuals peaked in May and September. Coleoptera peakedi n May and June, Diptera peaked in June and October, while Hymenoptera appeared rather constantly throughout the flowering season. Cluster analysis separated 48 plant families into four groups: 30 families mainly visited by Hymenoptera, 6 families by Diptera, 9 families by Coleoptera and the others (3 families) by Lepidoptera

Insect-flower Relationship in the Temperate Deciduous Forest of Kibune, Kyoto : An Overview of the Flowering Phenology and the Seasonal Pattern of Insect Visits

In 1984-1987, insect visitors to flowers were bimonthly or weekly surveyed on a total of 115 plant species or 49 families in the temperate deciduous forest of Kibune, Kyoto, Japan. Flowering was observed from early April to early November. The number of plant species that concurrently bloomed was nine to 17 from May to September. The monthly total number of flowering plant species peaked twice in May (34 spp.) and September (33 spp.). From April to August, floweringperiods were staggeredamong congeneric woody species, e.g., Lindera, Rubus, Hydrangea and Deutzia. A total of 4603 individuals of 889 species in 12 orders of Insecta and 2 orders of Arachnoidea were collected. The most abundant order was Hymenoptera (46 % of the total number of individuals), and it was followed by Diptera (30 %) and Coleoptera (14%). The number of species was highest in Diptera (37 %), followed by Hymenoptera (32 %) and Coleoptera (17 %). The numbers of both species and individuals of all the insect groups peaked in June and September. There were six families, 14 genera and 73 species in Apoidea. Abundant families were Halictidae (36 % of individuals), and followed by Bombinae (24 %), Xylocopinae (18 %), Andrenidae (8 %), Hylaeinae (5 %) and Nomadinae (5 %). Andrenidae and Nomadinae appeared only before August, whereas Halictidae, Xylocopinae, Bombinae and Apinae were active throughout the flowering season. Cluster analysis separated 49 plant families into five groups: 13 families were mainly visited by Hymenoptera, 17 by Diptera, five by Coleoptera and two by Hemiptera. The other 12 families were visited by various insect groups. Flowers visited by hymenopterans were further separated into plant families mainly visited by Bombinae, Xylocopinae, Halictidae, Apinae, Xylocopinae, Megachilidae, Vespoidea, Ichneumonoidea and others. Flower preference was compared among insect orders and among families. The most preferred plant family was Saxifragaceae in Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera, Labiatae in Hemiptera and Umbelliferae in Diptera. Flower preference greatly varied among families in Apoidea. The most preferred plant family was Umbelliferae in Colletidae, Saxifragaceae in Halictidae and Andrenidae, Compositae in Megachilidae, Balsaminaceae in Bombinae, and Rosaceae in Apinae

Recombinant human SIRT1 protects against nutrient deprivation-induced mitochondrial apoptosis through autophagy induction in human intervertebral disc nucleus pulposus cells

INTRODUCTION: Nutrient deprivation is a likely contributor to intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Silent mating type information regulator 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1) protects cells against limited nutrition by modulation of apoptosis and autophagy. However, little evidence exists regarding the extent to which SIRT1 affects IVD cells. Therefore, we conducted an in vitro study using human IVD nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. METHODS: Thirty-two IVD specimens were obtained from patients who underwent surgical intervention and were categorized based on Pfirrmann IVD degeneration grades. Cells were isolated from the NP and cultured in the presence of recombinant human SIRT1 (rhSIRT1) under different serum conditions, including 10 % (v/v) fetal bovine serum (FBS) as normal nutrition (N) and 1 % (v/v) FBS as low nutrition (LN). 3-Methyladenine (3-MA) was used to inhibit autophagy. Autophagic activity was assessed by measuring the absorbance of monodansylcadaverine and immunostaining and Western blotting for light chain 3 and p62/SQSTM1. Apoptosis and pathway analyses were performed by flow cytometry and Western blotting. RESULTS: Cells cultured under LN conditions decreased in number and exhibited enhanced autophagy compared with the N condition. Medium supplementation with rhSIRT1 inhibited this decrease in cell number and induced an additional increase in autophagic activity (P < 0.05), whereas the combined use of rhSIRT1 and 3-MA resulted in drastic decreases in cell number and autophagy (P < 0.05). The incidence of apoptotic cell death increased under the LN condition, which was decreased by rhSIRT1 (P < 0.05) but increased further by a combination of rhSIRT1 and 3-MA (P < 0.05). Under LN conditions, NP cells showed a decrease in antiapoptotic Bcl-2 and an increase in proapoptotic Bax, cleaved caspase 3, and cleaved caspase 9, indicating apoptosis induction via the mitochondrial pathway. These changes were suppressed by rhSIRT1 but elevated further by rhSIRT1 with 3-MA, suggesting an effect of rhSIRT1-induced autophagy on apoptosis inhibition. Furthermore, the observed autophagy and apoptosis were more remarkable in cells from IVDs of Pfirrmann grade IV than in those from IVDs of Pfirrmann grade II. CONCLUSIONS: SIRT1 protects against nutrient deprivation-induced mitochondrial apoptosis through autophagy induction in human IVD NP cells, suggesting that rhSIRT1 may be a potent treatment agent for human degenerative IVD disease