Estudio preliminar de la fluctuación de Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) en cultivos de tomate y pimiento bajo cubierta, Tucumán, Argentina

The aim of this study was to determine the abundance and population dynamics of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) in greenhouse tomato and pepper crops in Lules department, Tucumán province (Argentina). Entomological sampling was carried out from July 2008 to March 2009. Adults were collected through sticky traps while immature individuals were collected from the leaflets of the different plant strata. A total of 121.075 individuals of B. tabaci were collected, from which 12.630 corresponded to eggs, 8.718 to nymphs, 262 to pupae, and 99.465 to adults. In general terms, the abundance of B. tabaci increased considerably from the third week of sampling and stayed high, with pepper crops showing the highest number of individuals.El objetivo del trabajo fue determinar la abundancia y fluctuación poblacional de Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) en cultivos de tomate y pimiento bajo cubierta en el departamento Lules, provincia de Tucumán (Argentina). Los muestreos entomológicos se realizaron desde julio de 2008 a marzo de 2009, recolectándose adultos mediante trampas adhesivas e inmaduros en los foliolos de los diferentes estratos de las plantas. Se recolectó un total de 121,075 individuos de B. tabaci, de los cuales 12,630 corresponden al estado de huevo, 8,718 a ninfa, 262 a pupa y 99,465 a adulto. En líneas generales, la abundancia de B. tabaci aumentó considerablemente a partir de la tercera semana de muestreo y se mantuvo elevada, siendo el cultivo de pimiento el que presentó mayor número de individuos

New records of predation on eggs of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) by Chrysopodes (Chrysopodes) Lineafrons (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) in northwestern Argentina

Bemisia tabaci has become one of the major pests of economic importance that affects several crops worldwide. Among their natural enemies are found the Chrysopidae family, with larvae predators of different pests resulting very effective biological control agents. In order to contribute to possible use of this beneficial insect in B. tabaci biological control, the developmental time and survival of the immature stages of Chrysopodes (Chrysopodes) lineafrons was determined, as well as longevity and oviposition of the adults fed with eggs of B. tabaci. Chrysopodes (C.) lineafrons adults were collected in tomato crops in Lules department, Tucumán province. To determine the developmental duration for each instars and survival of the larvae, 90 eggs of C. (C.) lineafrons were randomly selected, of which only 71 eggs hatched; of these, 34 larvae were fed with B. tabaci eggs and 37 with Sitotroga cerealella eggs, used as control. The oviposition and longevity of the adults were recorded, both fed with the two preys. Chrysopodes (C.) lineafrons larvae consumed an average 127.04 (± 40.2) eggs of B. tabaci and 44 (± 19.04) eggs of S. cerealella per day. Mean developmental time of C. (C.) lineafrons fed with B. tabaci eggs was 45 (± 3.54) days and 35 (± 5.04) days with S. cerealella eggs. Survival of immature stages, number of eggs per adults and their longevity were higher when C. (C.) lineafrons were fed with S. cerealella eggs than with B. tabaci eggs. Chrysopodes (C.) lineafrons has proved to be an efficient predator which would represent an excellent tool for B. tabaci biological control in tomato crops.Bemisia tabaci se ha convertido en una de las principales plaga de importancia económica, afectando a diversos cultivos en todo el mundo. Entre sus enemigos naturales se encuentran las especies de la familia Chrysopidae, con larvas depredadoras de diferentes plagas que resulta un agente de control biológico muy efectivo de diferentes plagas. Para contribuir al posible aprovechamiento de este insecto benéfico en el control biológico de B. tabaci, se determinó el tiempo de desarrollo y supervivencia de los estadios inmaduros de Chrysopodes (Chrysopodes) lineafrons, y la longevidad y oviposición de los adultos alimentados con huevos de B. tabaci. Los adultos de C. (C.) lineafrons fueron recolectados en cultivos de tomate en el departamento Lules, provincia de Tucumán. Para determinar la duración del desarrollo de cada estadio y la supervivencia de las larvas, se seleccionaron aleatoriamente 90 huevos de C. (C.) lineafrons, de los cuales sólo 71 huevos eclosionaron; de estas, 34 larvas fueron alimentadas con huevos de B. tabaci y 37 con huevos de Sitotroga cerealella, utilizados como control. Se registró la oviposición y la longevidad de los adultos alimentados con las dos presas. Las larvas de C. (C.) lineafrons consumieron un promedio de 127,04 (± 40,2) huevos de B. tabaci y 44 (± 19,04) huevos de S. cerealella por día. El tiempo promedio de desarrollo de C. (C.) lineafrons alimentados con huevos de B. tabaci fue de 45 días (±3,54); mientras que los alimentados con huevos de S. cerealella fue de 35 días (± 5,04). La supervivencia de los estadios inmaduros, el número de huevos por adultos y la longevidad fue mayor cuando C. (C.) lineafrons fueron alimentados con huevos de S. cerealella que con los huevos de B. tabaci. Chrysopodes (C.) lineafrons demostró ser un depredador eficiente, representando así una excelente herramienta para el control biológico de B. tabaci en cultivos de tomate

Biological Applications of Synthetic Binders Isolated from a Conceptually New Adhiron Library

Background: Adhirons are small (10 kDa) synthetic ligands that might represent an alternative to antibody fragments and to alternative scaffolds such as DARPins or affibodies. Methods: We prepared a conceptionally new adhiron phage display library that allows the presence of cysteines in the hypervariable loops and successfully panned it against antigens possessing different characteristics. Results: We recovered binders specific for membrane epitopes of plant cells by panning the library directly against pea protoplasts and against soluble C-Reactive Protein and SpyCatcher, a small protein domain for which we failed to isolate binders using pre-immune nanobody libraries. The best binders had a binding constant in the low nM range, were produced easily in bacteria (average yields of 15 mg/L of culture) in combination with different tags, were stable, and had minimal aggregation propensity, independent of the presence or absence of cysteine residues in their loops. Discussion: The isolated adhirons were significantly stronger than those isolated previously from other libraries and as good as nanobodies recovered from a naïve library of comparable theoretical diversity. Moreover, they proved to be suitable reagents for ELISA, flow cytometry, the western blot, and also as capture elements in electrochemical biosensors

The spatio-temporal distribution patterns of biting midges of the genus Culicoides in Salta Province, Argentina

The goal of this survey was to analyze the spatio-temporal distribution patterns of Culicoides Latreille species (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and their relationship with environmental variables in Salta, northwestern Argentina. Culicoides were collected monthly from January 2003 through December 2005. The influence of the climatic variables on population abundance was analyzed with a multilevel Poisson regression. A total of 918 specimens belonging to five species were collected. The most abundant species was Culicoides paraensis Goeldi (65.5%), followed by Culicoides lahillei Iches (14.6%) and Culicoides debilipalpis Lutz (7.6%). The highest seasonal abundance for C. paraensis, C. debilipalpis and C. lahillei occurred during the spring and summer. A Poisson regression analysis showed that the mean maximum and minimum temperature and the mean maximum and minimum humidity were the variables with the greatest influence on the population abundance of Culicoides species.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Latitudinal gradient of biting midges in the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Argentina and Bolivia

Fil: Veggiani Aybar, Cecilia A.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto Superior de Entomología Dr. Abraham Willink; ArgentinaFil: Dantur Juri, María Julia. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto Superior de Entomología Dr. Abraham Willink; ArgentinaFil: Claps, Guillermo L.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto Superior de Entomología Dr. Abraham Willink; ArgentinaFil: Lizarralde de Grosso, Mercedes S.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto Superior de Entomología Dr. Abraham Willink; ArgentinaFil: Spinelli, Gustavo Ricardo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Entomología; Argentin

Potential Distribution Map of <i>Culicoides insignis</i> (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Vector of Bluetongue Virus, in Northwestern Argentina

Culicoides insignis Lutz is incriminated as a vector of bluetongue virus (BTV) to ruminants in America. In South America, almost all countries have serological evidence of BTV infections, but only four outbreaks of the disease have been reported. Although clinical diseases have never been cited in Argentina, viral activity has been detected in cattle. In this study, we developed a potential distribution map of Culicoides insignis populations in northwestern Argentina using Maximum Entropy Modeling (Maxent). For the analyses, information regarding both data of specimen collections between 2003 and 2013, and climatic and environmental variables was used. Variables selection was based on the ecological relevance in relation to Culicoides spp. biology and distribution in the area. The best Maxent model according to the Jackknife test included 53 C. insignis presence records and precipitation of the warmest quarter, altitude, and precipitation of the wettest month. Accuracy was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC = 0.97). These results provide an important analytical resource of high potential for both the development of suitable control strategies and the assessment of disease transmission risk in the region.Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y ForestalesFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

New Records of Biting Midges of the Genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Yungas, Paranaense Rainforest and Chaco Ecoregions of Argentina

Culicoides insignis and C. venezuelensis are documented for the first time from Salta province, C. guttatus from Salta and Tucumán provinces, and C. austroparaensis, C. biestroi, C. fernandoi, and C. foxi from Misiones province. The geographical distributions of C. lahillei, C. brasilianum, C. dureti and C. pseudoheliconiae are extended to Chaco and Misiones provinces.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

New Records of Biting Midges of the Genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the Yungas, Paranaense Rainforest and Chaco Ecoregions of Argentina

Culicoides insignis and C. venezuelensis are documented for the first time from Salta province, C. guttatus from Salta and Tucumán provinces, and C. austroparaensis, C. biestroi, C. fernandoi, and C. foxi from Misiones province. The geographical distributions of C. lahillei, C. brasilianum, C. dureti and C. pseudoheliconiae are extended to Chaco and Misiones provinces.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

The spatio-temporal distribution patterns of biting midges of the genus Culicoides in Salta Province, Argentina

The goal of this survey was to analyze the spatio-temporal distribution patterns of Culicoides Latreille species (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and their relationship with environmental variables in Salta, northwestern Argentina. Culicoides were collected monthly from January 2003 through December 2005. The influence of the climatic variables on population abundance was analyzed with a multilevel Poisson regression. A total of 918 specimens belonging to five species were collected. The most abundant species was Culicoides paraensis Goeldi (65.5%), followed by Culicoides lahillei Iches (14.6%) and Culicoides debilipalpis Lutz (7.6%). The highest seasonal abundance for C. paraensis, C. debilipalpis and C. lahillei occurred during the spring and summer. A Poisson regression analysis showed that the mean maximum and minimum temperature and the mean maximum and minimum humidity were the variables with the greatest influence on the population abundance of Culicoides species.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Latitudinal gradient of biting midges in the genus <i>Culicoides</i> (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Argentina and Bolivia

We provide the first records of 8 species of biting midges in the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in a wide latitudinal gradient of the Yungas Ecoregion in Argentina and the Chaco Ecoregion in Bolivia, including a map of their distribution, and an updated checklist of species in the study area. Additional locality records were obtained from published articles and from specimens collected in these and other ecoregions in both countries. Included are the first Argentinean records of Culicoides crescentis Wirth & Blanton and C. pampaensis Spinelli & Wirth from Salta Province; C. caridei Brèthes, C. crescentis, C. guttatus Coquillett, C. insignis Lutz, C. pampaensis, and C. venezuelensis Ortiz & Mirsa from Jujuy Province, and C. saltaensis Spinelli & Wirth and C. pampaensis from Tucumán Province. In addition, the first records of C. brasilianum Forattini, C. crescentis, and C. guttatus are provided from Bolivia.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse