A new country record for Chrysina diversa (Ohaus, 1912) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) in Central America

Chrysina diversa (Ohaus, 1912) is recorded for the first time from Belize. Detailed information on its capture in that country is presented.Chrysina diversa (Ohaus, 1912) est signalée pour la première fois de Belize. Des informations détaillées sur sa capture dans cette pays sont présentées ici

The Dynastinae of the island of Saba, Dutch Caribbean (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

The fauna of Dynastinae (Scarabaeidae) on the island of Saba, Dutch Caribbean, was investigated through fi eldwork during 2006 to 2015. Three species, belonging to the three tribes Cyclocephalini, Pentodontini and Phileurini, are newly recorded from Saba and are discussed, with summaries of all relevant information from the West Indies. Detailed locality data, temporal distributions, and habitus photographs are presented for each species

Diversity and distribution of the scarab beetle tribe Phanaeini in the northern states of the Brazilian Northeast (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

The fauna of Phanaeini of the northeast of Brazil was investigated through fieldwork in the States of Ceará, Maranhão and Piauí, and through study of preserved material from other states. Seven species of Phanaeini are newly recorded from these three states. Of these, two species are also new records for the northeast region: Phanaeus melibaeus Blanchard and an unidentified Dendropaemon Perty species. A total of 13 new state records are given for eight of the 15 species of Phanaeini recorded from the northeast to date, including three new state genus records. A key is provided for identification of all species. Detailed distributional information is presented together with habitat and bait preferences and other ecological data for each species. The diversity and distribution of the tribe in the northeast is discussed in the context of regional biotopes and wider geographic ranges. The fauna is shown to be more diverse than previously believed, containing both endemic and widespread elements occurring in species assemblages that differ according to habitat type and elevation, leading to substantial complementarity of diversity amongst the main biogeographic provinces and biotopes of the region. A fauna de Phanaeini do Nordeste brasileiro é sumarizada, como resultado de novas coletas nos estados do Ceará, Maranhão e Piauí, e pelo estudo de material preservado de outros estados. Sete espécies de Phanaeini são reportadas pela primeira vez para esses estados. Destas, duas espécies são também novos registros para a Região Nordeste: Phanaeus melibaeus Blanchard e uma espécie não identificada de Dendropaemon Perty. Um total de treze novos registros de estatais é apresentado para oito das quinze espécies de Phanaeini reportadas do Nordeste até agora, incluindo treis novos registros estatais de gêneros. Uma chave é dada para permitir a identificação de todas as espécies. Apresenta-se informação detalhada de distribuição, hábitat e preferências por isca e outros dados ecológicos para cada espécie. A diversidade e a distribuição da tribo no Nordeste são discutidas no contexto de biótopos regionais e áreas geográficas maiores. A fauna é considerada mais diversa do que previamente esperado, contendo tanto elementos endêmicos como de ampla distribuição, ocorrendo em assembléias de espécies que variam de acordo com tipos de hábitat e altitude, levando a grande complementariedade da diversidade entre as principais províncias biogeográficas e biótopos da região

A new country record for \u3ci\u3eChrysina diversa\u3c/i\u3e (Ohaus, 1912) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) in Central America

Chrysina diversa (Ohaus, 1912) is recorded for the first time from Belize. Detailed information on its capture in that country is presented. Chrysina diversa (Ohaus, 1912) est signalée pour la première fois de Belize. Des informations détaillées sur sa capture dans cette pays sont présentées ici

A new country record for \u3ci\u3eChrysina diversa\u3c/i\u3e (Ohaus, 1912) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae) in Central America

Chrysina diversa (Ohaus, 1912) is recorded for the first time from Belize. Detailed information on its capture in that country is presented. Chrysina diversa (Ohaus, 1912) est signalée pour la première fois de Belize. Des informations détaillées sur sa capture dans cette pays sont présentées ici

The Syntax and Parsing of the Two-Dimensional Languages

This report introduces the idea of expressing programming concepts in a two-dimensional (pictorial) language. A specific two-dimensional language, Show and Tell, is briefly presented and formalisms that might be used to define the syntax of such a language are discussed. An abstraction of Show and Tell is defined, and a specific grammar formalism is presented for defining the syntax of this abstraction. The mechanisms found in expert systems are shown to be sufficient to parse languages defined by this formalism

Bulk de novo mitogenome assembly from pooled total DNA elucidates the phylogeny of weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea)

Complete mitochondrial genomes have been shown to be reliable markers for phylogeny reconstruction among diverse animal groups. However, the relative difficulty and high cost associated with obtaining de novo full mitogenomes have frequently led to conspicuously low taxon sampling in ensuing studies. Here, we report the successful use of an economical and accessible method for assembling complete or near-complete mitogenomes through shot-gun next-generation sequencing of a single library made from pooled total DNA extracts of numerous target species. To avoid the use of separate indexed libraries for each specimen, and an associated increase in cost, we incorporate standard polymerase chain reaction-based “bait” sequences to identify the assembled mitogenomes. The method was applied to study the higher level phylogenetic relationships in the weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea), producing 92 newly assembled mitogenomes obtained in a single Illumina MiSeq run. The analysis supported a separate origin of wood-boring behavior by the subfamilies Scolytinae, Platypodinae, and Cossoninae. This finding contradicts morphological hypotheses proposing a close relationship between the first two of these but is congruent with previous molecular studies, reinforcing the utility of mitogenomes in phylogeny reconstruction. Our methodology provides a technically simple procedure for generating densely sampled trees from whole mitogenomes and is widely applicable to groups of animals for which bait sequences are the only required prior genome knowledge

Dichotomius maya Peraza and Deloya, 2006 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Coprini) in Belize, a new country record for this Central American dung beetle

Dichotomius maya Peraza and Deloya, 2006 is reported for the first time from Belize. New biological and distributional data are presented and the species is illustrated for the first time

Molecular Phylogenetics of the Superfamily Curculionoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera)

This thesis examines higher-level evolutionary history within the superfamily Curculionoidea, the most speciose family-level taxon, which includes beetles commonly known as weevils. This is achieved using a phylogenetic approach incorporating the largest datamatrix yet employed for weevil molecular systematics, and includes an investigation into the prospect of obtaining short phylogenetically informative amplicons from archival museum specimens. Newly obtained DNA sequence data is analysed from a variety of mitochondrial and nuclear loci, including 92 mitogenomes assembled through the approach of next-generation sequencing of pooled genomic DNA. The resulting trees are used to test previous morphological- and molecular-based hypotheses of weevil relationships and classification schemes. Mitogenomic-derived trees reveal topologies that are highly congruent with previous molecular studies, but that conflict with some morphological hypotheses. Strong nodal support strengthens inferences into the relationships amongst most weevil families and suggests that the largest family, the Curculionidae, is monophyletic, if the subfamily Platypodinae is excluded. Division of the Curculionidae into two large clades is well supported and the wood-boring habit adopted by three subfamilies is shown to have arisen multiple times, contradicting most morphological analyses. Addition of several nuclear loci to the mitogenomic data is found to provide little additional value, in terms of improving nodal bootstrap support. A suggestion is made that future efforts to enhance understanding of relationships should focus on improving taxon sampling. Statistical tests of an augmented dataset, derived from public database sequences for single mitochondrial genes, wherein multiple tribes and subfamilies within the broad-nosed weevils are constrained as monophyletic, indicate that three entimine tribes, as currently defined, are each not consistent with the hypothesis for their monophyly. Incongruences between molecular data and classical morphological taxonomy are suggestive that the current weevil classification system is misleading if used to interpret species richness, geographic distributions or ecological traits within currently recognised lineages

Chlamydia Serine Protease Inhibitor, targeting HtrA, as a New Treatment for Koala Chlamydia infection

© The Author(s) 2016. The koala, an iconic marsupial native to Australia, is a threatened species in many parts of the country. One major factor in the decline is disease caused by infection with Chlamydia. Current therapeutic strategies to treat chlamydiosis in the koala are limited. This study examines the effectiveness of an inhibitor, JO146, which targets the HtrA serine protease for treatment of C. pecorum and C. pneumoniae in vitro and ex vivo with the aim of developing a novel therapeutic for koala Chlamydia infections. Clinical isolates from koalas were examined for their susceptibility to JO146. In vitro studies demonstrated that treatment with JO146 during the mid-replicative phase of C. pecorum or C. pneumoniae infections resulted in a significant loss of infectious progeny. Ex vivo primary koala tissue cultures were used to demonstrate the efficacy of JO146 and the non-toxic nature of this compound on peripheral blood mononuclear cells and primary cell lines established from koala tissues collected at necropsy. Our results suggest that inhibition of the serine protease HtrA could be a novel treatment strategy for chlamydiosis in koalas