A new species of the genus Cryptoxilos Viereck (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Euphorinae) from China

A new species of the genus Cryptoxilos Viereck, 1911 is described from China. This is the first record of the genus from the East Palaearctic region. The new species is included in a key to the described species of the genus. The subgeneric name Cryptoxiloides Capek & Capecki, 1979 is used to accommodate the Palaearctic species in the genus Cryptoxilos Viereck

A CONTRIBUTION TO BRACONIDAE, HYBRIZONTIDAE (HYMENOPTERA: ICHNEUMONOIDEA) AND STEPHANIDAE (HYMENOPTERA: STEPHANOIDEA) FROM THE SOUTH-WEST BALKANS

Below is a contribution of faunistic data of forty-two species belonging to the twelve braconid subfamilies and two species of the families Hybrizontidae and Stephanidae. Material has been collected from the South-West Balkans (Serbia, Montenegro, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece). There were twenty species newly recorded for certain national faunas. One of the most interesting findings was Blacus (Ganychorus) striatus VAN ACHTERBERG, the micropterous species known from the Nearctic region of Alberta, Canada, VAN ACHTERBERG (1988)

Contributions to the Opiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) of Serbia and Montenegro

This is the first report on the fauna of the subfamily Opiinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in Serbia and Montenegro for the period of 1980 to 1997. The sweeping net method was used for collecting adult specimens from various habitats. mostly in canyons and mountain regions A total of 39 species from 9 genera of Opiinae were identified. Twenty-eight species are recorded as new for the investigated territory; four genera are new for the territory of Serbia, and one genus for the territory of Montenegro

Updated checklist of Iranian Braconidae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea) with twenty-three new records

Abstract: This faunistic paper deals with species diversity of nine subfamilies of Braconidae (Hymenoptera) of Iran. A total of 23 species within 18 genera were collected and identified as new records for the fauna of Iran: Agathidinae (two species), Alysiinae (two species), Aphidiinae (one species), Braconinae (one species), Cenocoelionidae (two species), Euphorinae (four species), Microgastrinae (seven species), Opiinae (three species) and Sigalphinae (one species). Additionally, updated checklist of Iranian Braconidae included 861 species is represented in this checklist

An integrative taxonomic study of north temperate Cotesia Cameron (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Microgastrinae) that form silken cocoon balls, with the description of a new species

Using CO1 sequence analysis, we investigated the relationships of Western Palearctic and Nearctic Cotesia that spin aggregated cocoons in the shape of a ball, and as adults are morphologically very similar. The analysis included the conceptual taxa C. tibialis, C. ofella, C. vanessae, C. ruficrus, C. xylina and C. yakutatensis, as well as the newly described species C. trivaliae sp. nov. The examined specimens of C. tibialis, C. ofella, C. vanessae, C. ruficrus and C. trivaliae sp. nov. were collected in several European countries, and C. xylina and C. yakutatensis in Canada and the USA. Molecular analyses showed that C. ruficrus is not closely related to the other studied taxa. Based on the genetic distances as well as biology and morphology, C. vanessae and C. ofella are confirmed as solid taxa. The species C. yakutatensis comprises two entities. Having 8 haplotypes, C. tibialis also emerges as a species complex, divided into two clusters. With 26 detected haplotypes, C. xylina shows the highest diversity, being composed of three segregates. The conceptual species C. tibialis, C. xylina and C. yakutatensis seem to be species complexes containing several candidates for recognition as distinct species. One from the European C. tibialis complex is here described as new, and the impediments to be overcome before the description of further species are outlined

New Species in the Old World: Europe as a Frontier in Biodiversity Exploration, a Test Bed for 21st Century Taxonomy

The number of described species on the planet is about 1.9 million, with ca. 17,000 new species described annually, mostly from the tropics. However, taxonomy is usually described as a science in crisis, lacking manpower and funding, a politically acknowledged problem known as the Taxonomic Impediment. Using data from the Fauna Europaea database and the Zoological Record, we show that contrary to general belief, developed and heavily-studied parts of the world are important reservoirs of unknown species. In Europe, new species of multicellular terrestrial and freshwater animals are being discovered and named at an unprecedented rate: since the 1950s, more than 770 new species are on average described each year from Europe, which add to the 125,000 terrestrial and freshwater multicellular species already known in this region. There is no sign of having reached a plateau that would allow for the assessment of the magnitude of European biodiversity. More remarkably, over 60% of these new species are described by non-professional taxonomists. Amateurs are recognized as an essential part of the workforce in ecology and astronomy, but the magnitude of non-professional taxonomist contributions to alpha-taxonomy has not been fully realized until now. Our results stress the importance of developing a system that better supports and guides this formidable workforce, as we seek to overcome the Taxonomic Impediment and speed up the process of describing the planetary biodiversity before it is too late

Investigating orphan cytochromes P450 from Mycobacterium tuberculosis : the search for potential drug targets

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that the World Health Organisation (WHO) regards as a global pandemic. There is a great need for new drugs to combat this threat. Drug resistant strains of the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), have increased the urgency of this quest for novel anti-mycobacterial medicines. Publication of the Mtb genome sequence revealed a large number of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes [Cole, S. T. et al. 1998]. These mono-oxygenase enzymes have been studied for many years and are responsible for metabolic functions in every kingdom of life. Research on the Mtb P450s to date has highlighted several of them as having critcal roles within the organism. CYP121 and CYP128 have been implicated as essential through gene knockout studies. It has been demonstrated that CYP125 is not essential for viability. However, it is part of a gene cluster highly important for Mtb infectivity and virulence. Due to the prospective importance of P450s to Mtb, this group of enzymes is under investigation as a source of novel drug targets. CYP142 was discovered as a potential drug target after it was located to a gene cluster involved in cholesterol catabolism during Mtb dormancy. As part of this PhD project, it was demonstrated that CYP142 performs an almost identical role to that reported for CYP125. These enzymes both perform C27 hydroxylation and carboxylation of the cholesterol side chain. However, variations in the level of oxidation have been identified, dependent upon the redox system with which these P450s are associated. A crystal structure of CYP142 showing high similarity in active site architecture to CYP125 supports the physiological role of CYP142 in cholesterol catabolism. Combining this with in vitro data which demonstrates that CYP142 possesses high affinity for a range of azole anti-fungal agents [Ahmad, Z. et al. 2005, 2006] supports the suggestion that it is a candidate target for the next generation of anti-mycobacterial drugs. CYP144 was highlighted as being important during the latent phase of Mtb growth, a phase that is not targeted by any of the current antimycobacterials. Work performed as part of this PhD has shown that many characteristics of CYP144 are highly comparable to those reported for other MtbP450s. CYP144 shows high affinity and specificity towards many azole molecules. Econazole, clotrimazole and miconazole have repeatedly been shown to bind to MtbP450s, including CYP144 and CYP142, with high affinity and are excellent potential candidates as novel anti-mycobacterial agents. An N-terminally truncated form of CYP144, CYP144-T, has been investigated in the pursuit of a CYP144 crystal structure. It is hoped that this will enable the elucidation of a physiological role for CYP144. Both CYP142 and CYP144 have demonstrated biochemical and biophysical characteristics that contribute to our knowledge of P450 enzymes. This PhD has established that CYP142 exhibits an equilibrium between P450 and P420 species in its CO-bound, ferrous form. A conversion from P420, and stabilisation of P450, upon substrate binding was also demonstrated. CYP144 displays unusual azole coordination characteristics when examined by EPR and removal of the CYP144 gene from Mtb increased sensitivity of the strain to clotrimazole. Studies of these enzymes has advanced knowledge of P450 and Mtb redox chemistry, established roles for the MtbP450 cohort and identified the potential of anti-mycobacterial drugs and associated targets.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Notes on the biology of Seleucus cuneiformis Holmgren (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ctenopelmatinae)

Volume: 31Start Page: 97End Page: 10