Survey and Ecological Studies of the Termites (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) of Mona Island

A survey of eight sites on Mona Island revealed four termite species in the family Kalotermitidae: Incisitermes nr. bequaerti (Snyder), I. nr. incisus (Silvestri), Neotermes mona (Banks), and Procryptotermes corniceps (Snyder). Incisitermes nr. bequaerti is a new record for the island. Identifiable wood hosts are reported. All species were found in dead wood, which is typical of drywood termites, but N. mona and P. corniceps were also collected from live wood. Examination of dead wood in three 9.3 m2 plots in a dense stand of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. revealed that an average of approximately three-quarters of the wood pieces were attacked by termites. Although the total volume of dead wood was almost six times greater in Plot 1 than in the other two plots, the number of termites per unit volume of dead wood was very similar (0.4 per cm2). Total numbers of individuals per colony ranged from 11 to 3,359 termites. Caste composition is reported for each colony, and large variations among colonies were noted. Alates as well as eggs were more common in larger colonies. Soldier percentages ranged from 0.7% to 20.5% in 16 P. corniceps colonies. The largest colonies occurred when the greatest volume of dead wood was available. /// Un muestreo de ocho sitios en la Isla Mona reveló cuatro especies de termitas de la familia Kalotermitidae: Incisitermes nr. bequaerti (Snyder), I. nr. incisus (Silvestri), Neotermes mona (Banks), y Procryptotermes corniceps (Snyder). Incisitermes nr. bequaerti es un nuevo registro para la isla. Son reportadas las maderas hospedantes. Todas las especies fueron encontradas en madera muerta, lo cual es típico para las termitas de madera seca, pero N. mona y P. corniceps fueron también colectados en madera viva. El exámen de la madera muerta en tres parcelas de 9.3m2 en un denso grupo de Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. reveló que un promedio de aproximadamente tres cuartos de los pedazos de madera estaban atacados por las termitas. A pesar de que el volumen total de madera muerta fué casi seis veces mayor en la parcela 1 que en las otras dos, el número total de termitas por unidad de volumen de madera muerta fue muy similar (0.4/cm3). El número total de individuos por colonia varió de 11 a 3359 termitas. La composición de las castas es reportada para cada colonia. Fueron observadas grandes variaciones dentro de las colonias. Los porcentajes de soldados variaron de 0.7 a 20.5% en 16 colonias de P. corniceps. Las mayores colonias fueron encontradas cuando el mayor volumen de madera muerta era disponible

Seasonal Flight Activity and Distribution of Metallic Woodboring Beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) Collected in North Carolina and Tennessee

Distribution records and seasonal flight activity information for metallic woodboring beetle (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) species have not been compiled for North Carolina and Tennessee. Institutional, research, and private collections in North Carolina and Tennessee were reviewed to provide seasonal activity data of 5 subfamilies of buprestid beetle species. Label information was checked for 15,217 specimens of 135 species collected between 1901 and 2013 (North Carolina) and between 1934 and 2013 (Tennessee). These collections provided data on adult seasonal activity and county records for 121 species (4,467 specimens) and 105 species (10,750 specimens) from North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively. Two species, Agrilus carpini Knull and A. pensus Horn, are reported as New State Records for North Carolina. The data reveal key geographic areas in both states where few to no collections have been made, highlighting opportunities to validate species distributions and locations where future collecting efforts can be matched with the occurrence of larval and adult host plant resources. Seasonal activity records will inform future biosurveillance efforts for invasive and endemic pests and facilitate predictions of buprestid species that are likely to be active within the hunting flight season of Cerceris fumipennis (Say) (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) wasps. Activity periods of the buprestids also can focus the management of selected economic pest species to times of the year when treatment efforts, particularly through use of contact insecticides, are likely to be most effective

Map Supplements for The Metallic Woodboring Beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of Tennessee

Following compilation of distribution records and seasonal flight activity information for 106 metallic wood-boring beetle (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) species for Tennessee, maps were updated to provide county-level collection notations for 10,543 published records and specimen collections made from 1934 to 2013. County collection tallies across the ecoregions in Tennessee are also presented. Maps for individual species highlight gaps in key geographic areas where specimens have not been collected and can be valuable for future biosurveillance, monitoring and management efforts for these economically and ecologically important insects

Hydrogen bonding of nitroxide spin labels in membrane proteins

On the basis of experiments at 275 GHz, we reconsider the dependence of the continuous-wave EPR spectra of nitroxide spin-labeled protein sites in sensory- and bacteriorhodopsin on the micro-environment. The high magnetic field provides the resolution necessary to disentangle the effects of hydrogen bonding and polarity. In the gxx region of the 275 GHz EPR spectrum, bands are resolved that derive from spin-label populations carrying no, one or two hydrogen bonds. The gxx value of each population varies hardly from site to site, significantly less than deduced previously from studies at lower microwave frequencies. The fractions of the populations vary strongly, which provides a consistent description of the variation of the average gxx and the average nitrogen-hyperfine interaction Azz from site to site. These variations reflect the difference in the proticity of the micro-environment, and differences in polarity contribute marginally. Concomitant W-band ELDOR- detected NMR experiments on the corresponding nitroxide in perdeuterated water resolve population-specific nitrogen-hyperfine bands, which underlies the interpretation for the proteins

Structure-guided design and optimization of small molecules targeting the protein-protein interaction between the von hippel-lindau (VHL) E3 ubiquitin ligase and the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) alpha subunit with in vitro nanomolar affinities

E3 ubiquitin ligases are attractive targets in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, however, the development of small-molecule ligands has been rewarded with limited success. The von Hippel-Lindau protein (pVHL) is the substrate recognition subunit of the VHL E3 ligase that targets HIF-1α for degradation. We recently reported inhibitors of the pVHL:HIF-1α interaction, however they exhibited moderate potency. Herein, we report the design and optimization, guided by X-ray crystal structures, of a ligand series with nanomolar binding affinities

Structural basis of high-order oligomerization of the cullin-3 adaptor SPOP.

Protein ubiquitination in eukaryotic cells is mediated by diverse E3 ligase enzymes that each target specific substrates. The cullin E3 ligase complexes are the most abundant class of E3 ligases; they contain various cullin components that serve as scaffolds for interaction with substrate-recruiting adaptor proteins. SPOP is a BTB-domain adaptor of the cullin-3 E3 ligase complexes; it selectively recruits substrates via its N-terminal MATH domain, whereas its BTB domain mediates dimerization and interactions with cullin-3. It has recently been recognized that the high-order oligomerization of SPOP enhances the ubiquitination of substrates. Here, a dimerization interface in the SPOP C-terminus is identified and it is shown that the dimerization interfaces of the BTB domain and of the C-terminus act independently and in tandem to generate high-order SPOP oligomers. The crystal structure of the dimeric SPOP C-terminal domain is reported at 1.5 Å resolution and it is shown that Tyr353 plays a critical role in high-order oligomerization. A model of the high-order SPOP oligomer is presented that depicts a helical organization that could enhance the efficiency of substrate ubiquitination

Impact of Dreissena fouling on the physiological condition of native and invasive bivalves : interspecific and temporal variations

The impact of Dreissena fouling on unionids has hardly been studied in Europe, despite the fact that in some ecosystems (e.g. Lake Balaton, Hungary) infestations of several hundreds to a thousand individuals per unionid have been observed. At present, the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is a dominant species in Lake Balaton and in the last decade three other invasive bivalves were introduced, potentially increasing the pressure on native unionid survival. We examined whether the fouling of dreissenids (zebra and quagga (D. rostriformis bugensis) mussels) has a negative impact on native (Anodonta anatina, Unio pictorum and U. tumidus) and invasive (Corbicula fluminea and Sinanodonta woodiana) bivalves and whether there are any interspecific and temporal variations in fouling intensity and physiological condition measured by standard condition index and glycogen content. A significant negative impact was detected on native unionids only in July and September (no impact was detected in May), when the fouling rate was high. For invasive species, a significant negative impact was detected on S. woodiana with a high level of dressenid infestation; whereas no significant impact was detected on C. fluminea. Overall, this study confirms that Dreissena may threaten unionid species including the invasive S. woodiana, although high interspecific and temporal variations were observed. This situation should be taken into account in future ecological and conservational assessments because species respond differently to Dreissena fouling and effects seem to be more pronounced in late summer/early autumn. In addition, this study provides the first evidence that the invasive C. fluminea appear to be less vulnerable to dressenid fouling.The study was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Fund (KTIA-OTKA) under the contract No. CNK80140

Pathophysiological role of microRNA-29 in pancreatic cancer stroma

poster abstractBackground: Dense fibrotic stroma associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has been a major obstacle for drug delivery to the tumor bed and may impede attempts to slow down PDAC progression and metastasis. However, current antistromal drugs have not improved tumor response to chemotherapy or patient survival. Thus, a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms associated with tumorstromal interactions is desperately needed to develop novel anti-stromal therapeutic approaches. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of highly conserved, small non-coding RNAs that function as key regulators of eukaryotic gene expression and cellular homeostasis. miR-29 is known to play a paramount role in the fibrotic process of several organs by providing crucial functions downstream of pro-fibrotic signaling pathways such as TGF-β1 and regulates the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, a major component in the PDAC stroma. Upregulation of TGF-β1 is associated with PDAC pathogenesis and is known to activate stromal cells. Furthermore, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) that stimulates tumor angiogenesis is a predicted target of miR-29. We hypothesize that miR-29 may be misregulated in TGF-β1 activated PDAC stromal cells and lead to excessive accumulation of ECM proteins and VEGF. Kwon et al. 2015 Annual AACR Meeting Restored expression of miR-29 could be therapeutically beneficial to modulate tumorstromal interactions. Methods: Northern blot or qPCR techniques were used to assess miR-29 levels in vitro stromal cells, murine PDAC model, and PDAC patient biopsies, and stromal deposition/fibrosis was determined by Sirius red staining. In murine and human PDAC samples, stromal specific miR-29 expression was determined via in situ hybridization by co-staining pancreatic tissues with glial fibrillary acidic protein a marker for stromal cells and miR-29. miR-29 functional studies were conducted by transfection of stroma cells with synthetic miR-29 mimics and locked nucleic acid, a miR-29 inhibitor, and ECM protein/VEGF expression was analyzed by western blot analysis. The effect of miR-29 overexpression in stromal cells on cancer colony growth was evaluated by direct coculture of stromal cells ectopically expressing miR-29 with pancreatic cancer cells, and subsequently, cancer colony number and stromal accumulation was determined by crystal violet and sirius red stains respectively. Results: In both in vitro and in vivo models as well as PDAC patient biopsies, we observed loss of miR-29 is a common phenomenon of activated stromal cells, and is associated with a significant increase in ECM and VEGF accumulation. Restored expression of miR-29 in stromal cells reduced the deposition of matrix proteins, VEGF expression, and cancer colony formation in direct co-culture. Conclusion: These results provide insight into the mechanistic role of miR-29 in PDAC stroma and its potential use as an anti-stromal/angiogenic therapeutic agent

The distribution of Heterotrissocladius oliveri Saether (Diptera: Chironomidae) in Lake Michigan

Fifty one chironomid species were identified from 504 samples collected at depths ranging 8 to 267 m in Lake Michigan, U.S.A. Heterotrissocladius oliveri Saether occurred in 32% of these samples and had an average abundance of 22 m −2 which was similar to other estimates from the Great Lakes. Maximum average lake-wide density was at 30 to 60 m (41 m −2 ). At depths ≥60 m, H. oliveri was the dominant chironomid species comprising 75% of total Chironomidae. The substrate preference of H. oliveri differed within each depth regime considered: at 30–60 m, 2–3 ϕ; at 60–120 m, 3–5 ϕ, 7–9 ϕ; and at 120–180 m, 6–8 ϕ. Abundance was notably reduced at all depths in substrates characterized as medium silt (5–6 ϕ). On a lake-wide basis, the distribution pattern suggested H. oliveri was most numerous from 30 to 60 m along the southwestern, eastern, and northern shorelines and at 60–120 m depths along the southern and eastern shorelines. Increased abundance in the South Basin was concurrent with evidence of increased sedimentation at 60 to 100 m. However, in several other areas of the lake, high densities were associated with medium to very fine sands relatively free of silts and clays. This observation suggested occurrence of H. oliveri was minimally affected by sediment type.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42871/1/10750_2004_Article_BF00008856.pd