Development of Food-Luring Baited Traps for Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Monitoring in the Field in Southern China

Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a red imported fire ant that originated from South America, is a worldwide invasive pest. This study investigated the efficacy of the newly designed baited trap to detect red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, under field conditions in China. Among the five food lures tested for red imported fire ants, the ants preferred ham sausage and fish powder, followed by mixed powder (50% fish powder + 50% black soldier fly powder) and black soldier fly powder. These lures were compared to sugar water (control) to determine their efficacy in trapping red imported fire ants. Field data revealed that the ham sausage powder trap was more efficient than the fish powder trap based on its ability to trap more red imported fire ants under field conditions and ease of use. Thus, it was concluded that the baited traps are efficient for longterm red imported fire ants monitoring

Enhancement of 2,3-Butanediol Production by <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i>: Emphasis on the Mediation of sRNA-SgrS on the Carbohydrate Utilization

The demand for renewable energy is increasing. Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most promising strains to produce 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD). Compared with chemical methods, the biological production of 2,3-BD has the characteristics of substrate safety, low cost, and low energy consumption. However, excessive glucose concentrations can cause damage to cells. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of sRNA-SgrS as a sugar transport regulator on the fermentative production of 2,3-BD by K. pneumoniae in response to sugar stress. We designed multiple mutants of K. pneumoniae HD79 to redistribute its carbon flux to produce 2,3-BD. It was found that the 2,3-BD yield of sgrS overexpressed strain decreased by 44% compared with the original strain. The results showed that a high concentration of sRNA-SgrS could accelerate the degradation of ptsG mRNA (encoding the glucose transporter EIICBGlc) and downregulate the expression levels of the budA gene (encoding the α-acetyllactate decarboxylase) and the budB gene (encoding the α-acetyllactate synthase) and budC gene (encoding the 2,3-BD dehydrogenase) but had no effect on the ack gene (encoding the acetate kinase) and the ldh gene (encoding the lactate dehydrogenase). It provides a theoretical basis and a technical reference for understanding the complex regulation mechanism of sRNA in microorganisms and the genetics and breeding in industrial fermentation engineering