Campus Eco Tours: an Integrative & Interactive Field Project for Undergraduate Biology Students

Outdoor areas within or near college campuses offer an opportunity for biology students to observe the natural world and apply concepts from class. Here, I describe an engaging and integrative project where undergraduate non-major biology students work in teams to develop and present professional eco tours. This project takes place over multiple class sessions and is customizable on the basis of course content. This project encourages students to work collaboratively and demonstrate creativity, and empowers students with opportunities to enhance public-speaking skills and share findings with the greater campus community. Copyright © 2013 by National Association of Biology Teachers

Identification and Characterization of Seminal Fluid Proteins in the Asian Tiger Mosquito, <i>Aedes albopictus</i>

<div><p>The Asian tiger mosquito (<i>Aedes albopictus</i>) is an important vector for pathogens that affect human health, including the viruses that cause dengue and Chikungunya fevers. It is also one of the world's fastest-spreading invasive species. For these reasons, it is crucial to identify strategies for controlling the reproduction and spread of this mosquito. During mating, seminal fluid proteins (Sfps) are transferred from male mosquitoes to females, and these Sfps modulate female behavior and physiology in ways that influence reproduction. Despite the importance of Sfps on female reproductive behavior in mosquitoes and other insects, the identity of Sfps in <i>Ae. albopictus</i> has not previously been reported. We used transcriptomics and proteomics to identify 198 Sfps in <i>Ae. albopictus.</i> We discuss possible functions of these Sfps in relation to <i>Ae. albopictus</i> reproduction-related biology. We additionally compare the sequences of these Sfps with proteins (including reported Sfps) in several other species, including <i>Ae. aegypti</i>. While only 72 (36.4%) of <i>Ae. albopictus</i> Sfps have putative orthologs in <i>Ae. aegypti</i>, suggesting low conservation of the complement of Sfps in these species, we find no evidence for an elevated rate of evolution or positive selection in the Sfps that are shared between the two <i>Aedes</i> species, suggesting high sequence conservation of those shared Sfps. Our results provide a foundation for future studies to investigate the roles of individual Sfps on feeding and reproduction in this mosquito. Functional analysis of these Sfps could inform strategies for managing the rate of pathogen transmission by <i>Ae. albopictus</i>.</p></div

Summary of transcriptome sequence datasets of <i>Ae. albopictus</i> reproductive tissues.

<p>Summary of transcriptome sequence datasets of <i>Ae. albopictus</i> reproductive tissues.</p

Proposed role of selected <i>Ae. albopictus</i> seminal fluid protein classes in relation to reproductive biology.

<p>Proposed role of selected <i>Ae. albopictus</i> seminal fluid protein classes in relation to reproductive biology.</p

Estimation of evolutionary rates of <i>Aedes albopictus</i> seminal fluid proteins and control proteins.

<p>A. Evolutionary rates of nonsynonymous (dN) versus synonymous (dS) changes for <i>Ae. albopictus</i> Sfps (72 total); B. Evolutionary rates of nonsynonymous (dN) versus synonymous (dS) changes for <i>Ae. albopictus</i> control proteins (3495 total; 188 not shown due to extreme values of dN or dS). For both panels, the solid line shows a regression line, and the dashed line gives a 1∶1 dN/dS ratio, with points falling above the line showing dN/dS >1.</p

Functional categories of <i>Aedes albopictus</i> lower reproductive tract transcripts and seminal fluid proteins.

<p>Numbers indicate the percent of transcripts associated with the functional category. A. Transcripts found only in males (accessory glands and seminal vesicles; 3,980 total); B. Transcripts found only in females (lower reproductive tract; 7,576 total); C. Transcripts found in both males and females (17,947 total); D. Seminal fluid proteins (198 total).</p

Number of <i>Ae. albopictus</i> Sfps having putative orthologs in each of the seven species used for sequence similarity comparisons.

<p>Number of <i>Ae. albopictus</i> Sfps having putative orthologs in each of the seven species used for sequence similarity comparisons.</p