Provision of small sterile eggs is a circumstance-dependent maternal investment in sibling cannibalism in the ladybird beetle Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Many aphidophagous ladybird beetles lay clusters of eggs and sibling cannibalism occurs at hatching. Larvae that hatch early tend to cannibalize undeveloped eggs and those that hatch late. The cannibalized eggs, especially those that are sterile, represent a maternal investment in the cannibal and are regarded as "trophic" eggs, which increase their chances of surviving. The characteristics of cannibalized eggs, however, are poorly studied. In this study, I determined the sizes of eggs that developing and undeveloped eggs within egg clusters of Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Developing eggs were significantly larger (on average 3.45% larger) than the undeveloped sterile ones, which were mainly small. Furthermore, the hatchability of eggs was also significantly associated with their size, inclusive of the maternal effects. These results indicate that the production of relatively small sterile eggs functions as circumstance-dependent maternal investment in improving the survival of the first instar larvae to hatch in each egg cluster

Direct and indirect effect of cannibalism and intraguild predation in the two sibling Harmonia ladybird beetles

In this study, we focused on the direct (i.e., predation) and indirect (i.e., potential threat from coexisting with a larger individual) effects of cannibalism and intraguild predation (IGP) during larval stages of two sibling ladybird beetles. These effects play an important role in the coexistence of the generalist–common Harmonia axyridis and specialist–rare H. yedoensis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Direct predation effect of cannibalism and IGP was asymmetric in the two sibling ladybird beetles; the fourth instar larvae of H. axyridis were better intraguild predators than cannibals, while the reverse was true in the larvae of H. yedoensis. Neither cannibalism nor IGP significantly affected female body weight in either species. Larval H. axyridis surviving exposure to cannibalism or IGP had a reduced number of ovarioles as adults, whereas adult H. yedoensis ovarioles were not affected. For the indirect effects, longer developmental times in males and females and a lower total number of ovarioles in females were detected in H. axyridis. In H. yedoensis, shorter developmental time of males, lighter adult weight and fewer total ovarioles in females were observed. Olfactometer choice experiments clarified that the fourth instar larvae of H. axyridis avoided the first instar conspecific larvae, while those of H. yedoensis were attracted to the odors from H. axyridis and conspecifics. Thus, H. axyridis has an avoidance mechanism only for cannibalism but not for IGP, whereas H. yedoensis does not have any avoidance mechanism. These different behaviors in the direct and indirect effects of cannibalism and IGP observed in the laboratory may play important roles in the coexistence of generalist–common H. axyridis and specialist–rare H. yedoensis in natural conditions, compensating for the large handicap of H. yedoensis at reproductive interference from H. axyridis

Aromatic plants in East-Asia to enhance natural enemies towards biological control of insect pests. A review

Introducing flowering plants in fields may attract and benefit predators and parasitoids of insect pests and potentially enhance biological control when associated with crops. Through a vote counting analysis, the present review evaluates whether aromatic plants of East Asia could be used in this purpose. Through a systematic search of the scientific literature, we identified 64 papers published worldwide considering 32 aromatic plant species. We found a significant number of studies reporting that Apiaceae aromatic plants (Anethumgraveolens L., Coriandrumsativum L., Foeniculumvulgare L.) attract and benefit (in terms of longevity and/or fecundity) insect predators. Contrasting results were found for parasitoids, as well as with plant species from other families (mostly Asteraceae and Lamiaceae). Functional traits of plants (corolla shape, colour, volatiles) and of insects (mouthparts mainly) were considered to discuss these results. Additionally, we have not found a significant number of studies reporting an enhancement of biological control in crop or fruit trees cultivated adjacent to aromatic plants. However, the number of studies was limited, suggesting a need for further field-based research. Still, the retrieved studies highlight a recent interest for sowing aromatic plants in fields and orchards towards biological control of insect pests in East Asia and especially in China

Interfacial Structure at the Quaternary Ammonium-Based Ionic Liquids vertical bar Gold Electrode Interface Probed by Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy: Anion Dependence of the Cationic Behavior

The interfacial structure at the quaternary ammonium-based ionic liquids(ILs)|gold(Au) electrode interface has been studied using surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS). Four anions, bis(perfluoroalkanesulfonyl)amide (CₙCₙN⁻; n = 0, 1, 2, 4), have been combined with a quaternary ammonium cation, trioctylmethylammonium (N₈₈₈₁⁺), to investigate the influence of the perfluoroalkyl chain length of the anion on the behavior of the quaternary ammonium cation at the interface. In addition, to investigate the effect of the alkyl chain length of the quaternary ammonium cations on the cationic behavior, we have also combined a cation with a shorter alkyl chain, tributylmethylammonium (N₄₄₄₁⁺) with C₁C₁N⁻. Thus, we have performed SEIRAS measurements at the Au interface of five ILs: [N₈₈₈₁⁺][CₙCₙN⁻] (n = 0, 1, 2, 4) and [N₄₄₄₁⁺][C₁C₁N⁻]. The four CH stretching bands originating from the quaternary ammonium cations have been individually analyzed, enabling us to reveal the behavior of the quaternary ammonium cations at the interface. The cationic behavior is found to dramatically depend not only on the alkyl chain length but also on the perfluoroalkyl chain length of the counterion. For [N₈₈₈₁⁺][C₄C₄N⁻] and [N₈₈₈₁⁺][C₂C₂N⁻], octyl chains of N₈₈₈₁⁺cannot reach the Au electrode surface at positive potentials because the bulky anions in the first ionic layer on the electrode surface block the approach. Conversely, for ILs with the smaller anions ([N₈₈₈₁⁺][C₁C₁N⁻] and [N₈₈₈₁⁺][C₀C₀N⁻]), octyl chains of N₈₈₈₁⁺ can penetrate into a space in the first ionic layer of small anions. The butyl chains of N₄₄₄₁⁺ in [N₄₄₄₁⁺][C₁C₁N⁻] cannot reach the surface at positive potentials even across the first ionic layer of the small anions because of their relatively short alkyl chain length

STUDY FOR ESTIMATION OF AIR-SEA C02 GAS TRANSFER BY WAVE BREAKING MODEL USING SATELLITE DATA — ESTIMATION OF THE FRICTION VELOCITY CONSIDERING WAVE EFFECT

The determination of wind friction velocity from satellite-derived wind data will take an important role of key factors for computation of C02 flux transfer. It is necessary for relation between wind speed and wind friction velocity to determine that of relation between nondimensional roughness length and wave age, included with all parameters (wind, wave). In this study, we proposed a new method to estimate u„, which is based on the new relationship between non-dimensional roughness and wave velocity, after considering fetch and wave directionality. Consequently, we obtained the new relationship between friction velocity and wind speed. Using this relationship, we estimated the wave frequency from two methods: 3 per 2 powers law (Toba, 1972) and WAM model (WAMDI, 1988). The results arc compared with the results estimated from Charnock formula (1955) and the above influence of wave effects on the wind stress is also discussed. A new relationship was established to determine CO. exchange coefficient based on whitecap model (Monahan and Spillane 1984), using U|0-u, relationship in North Pacific Ocean, satellite data of NOAA-AVHRR (SST) and DMSP-SSM-I (wind speed) in Oct., Nov., and Dec. 1991. The C02 exchange coefficient estimated by other models (Wanninkhof, 1992; Liss and Merlivat, 1986; Tans et al., 1990) are also compared with these results. The results show the importance of wave breaking effect. Key words: wind waves, friction velocity, C02 exchange coefficient, roughness length, wave age

New host record for three scuttle flies, Megaselia flava, M. kanekoi and M. gotoi (Diptera: Phoridae), on the poisonous fungus Amanita ibotengutake (Agaricales: Amanitaceae)

金沢大学理工研究域　自然システム学

Tumor-Derived Microvesicles Induce Proangiogenic Phenotype in Endothelial Cells via Endocytosis

Background: Increasing evidence indicates that tumor endothelial cells (TEC) differ from normal endothelial cells (NEC). Our previous reports also showed that TEC were different from NEC. For example, TEC have chromosomal abnormality and proangiogenic properties such as high motility and proliferative activity. However, the mechanism by which TEC acquire a specific character remains unclear. To investigate this mechanism, we focused on tumor-derived microvesicles (TMV). Recent studies have shown that TMV contain numerous types of bioactive molecules and affect normal stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment. However, most of the functional mechanisms of TMV remain unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we showed that TMV isolated from tumor cells were taken up by NEC through endocytosis. In addition, we found that TMV promoted random motility and tube formation through the activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway in NEC. Moreover, the effects induced by TMV were inhibited by the endocytosis inhibitor dynasore. Our results indicate that TMV could confer proangiogenic properties to NEC partly via endocytosis. Conclusion: We for the first time showed that endocytosis of TMV contributes to tumor angiogenesis. These findings offer new insights into cancer therapies and the crosstalk between tumor and endothelial cells mediated by TMV in the tumor microenvironment

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection