Contribuição ao conhecimento do gênero Coprophanaeus (Insecta: Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) no Cerrado do Distrito Federal

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, 2015.

Evaluación de cuatro tratamientos alimenticios con diferentes porcentajes de inclusión de Heliconia latispatha, con fines productivos en larvas de la mariposa Caligo memnon (insecta: lepidóptera) en condiciones de cautiverio

Tesis (Zootecnista). -- Universidad de La Salle. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Programa de Zootecnia, 2015

A view from the edge of the forest : recent progress in understanding the relationships of the insect orders

Research over the last two decades has significantly increased our understanding of the evolutionary position of the insects among other arthropods, and the relationships among the insect Orders. Many of these insights have been established through increasingly sophisticated analyses of DNA sequence data from a limited number of genes. Recent results have established the relationships of the Holometabola, but relationships among the hemimetabolous orders have been more difficult to elucidate. A strong consensus on the relationships among the Palaeoptera (Ephemeroptera and Odonata) and their relationship to the Neoptera has not emerged with all three possible resolutions supported by different data sets. While polyneopteran relationships generally have resisted significant resolution, it is now clear that termites, Isoptera, are nested within the cockroaches, Blattodea. The newly discovered order Mantophasmatodea is difficult to place with the balance of studies favouring Grylloblattodea as sister-group. While some studies have found the paraneopteran orders (Hemiptera, Thysanoptera, Phthiraptera and Psocoptera) monophyletic, evidence suggests that parasitic lice (Phthiraptera) have evolved from groups within the book and bark lice (Psocoptera), and may represent parallel evolutions of parasitism within two major louse groups. Within Holometabola, it is now clear that Hymenoptera are the sister to the other orders, that, in turn are divided into two clades, the Neuropteroidea (Coleoptera, Neuroptera and relatives) and the Mecopterida (Trichoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera and their relatives). The enigmatic order Strepsiptera, the twisted wing insects, have now been placed firmly near Coleoptera, rejecting their close relationship to Diptera that was proposed some 15years ago primarily based on ribosomal DNA data. Phylogenomic-scale analyses are just beginning to be focused on the relationships of the insect orders, and this is where we expect to see resolution of palaeopteran and polyneopteran relationships. Future research will benefit from greater coordination between intra and inter-ordinal analyses. This will maximise the opportunities for appropriate outgroup choice at the intraordinal level and provide the background knowledge for the interordinal analyses to span the maximum phylogenetic scope within groups.

A suite of novel promoters and terminators for plant biotechnology

The gene regulation signals from subterranean clover stunt virus (SCSV) were investigated for their expression in dicot plants. The SCSV genome has at least eight circular DNA molecules. Each circular DNA component contains a promoter element, a single open reading frame and a terminator. The promoters from seven of the segments were examined for their strength and tissue specificity in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) using a GUS reporter gene assay system. While the promoters of many of the segments were poorly expressed, promoters derived from segments 4 and 7 were shown to direct high levels of expression in various plant tissues and organs. The segment 1 promoter directs predominantly callus-specific expression and, when used to control a selectable marker gene, facilitated the transformation of all three species (tobacco, potato and cotton). From the results, a suite of plant expression vectors (pPLEX) derived from the SCSV genome were constructed and used here to produce herbicide- and insect-resistant cotton, demonstrating their utility in the expression of foreign genes in dicot crop species and their potential for use in agricultural biotechnology.

Genome segment 5 of rice ragged stunt virus encodes a virion protein

The complete nucleotide sequence of the genome segment 5 (S5) of a Thai isolate of rice ragged stunt virus (RRSV) was determined. The 2682 nucleotide sequence contains a single long open reading frame capable of encoding a polypeptide with a molecular mass of ~91 kDa. Polypeptides encoded by various truncated cDNAs of S5 were expressed using the pGEX fusion protein vector and the highest level of fusion protein was obtained from a construct encoding a hydrophilic region of S5 protein. Antibodies raised against this fusion protein recognized a minor polypeptide, with a molecular mass of ~ 91 kDa, that was present in purified preparations of RRSV particles, infected insect vectors and infected rice plants. This indicates that RRSV S5 encodes a minor structural protein. Comparing the RRSV S5 sequence with sequences of other reo-viruses did not reveal any significant sequence similarities.

Diversidad de macrofauna edáfica en dos sistemas de manejo de Moringa oleifera Lam. (Marango) en la finca Santa Rosa, UNA

Con el objetivo de inferir en la salud del suelo, se realizo entre diciembre 2013 y febrero del 2014, una caracterización de la diversidad de la macrofauna en dos sistemas de manejo de Moringa oleifera Lam. La metodología implementada fue la propuesta por el programa Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF). Doce monolitos por sistema de manejo fueron monitoreados. Los organismos colectados fueron identificados a nivel de Phyllum, Clase, Orden y Familia. Los resultados muestran mayor abundancia para todos los phyllum en el sistema de manejo agroecológico. La clase insecta registro el número más alto de individuos. En el sistema convencional se identificaron cinco clases, dos órdenes y cuatro familias, en cambio en el sistema agroecológico estos valores fueron mayores para todas las categorías. En la profundidad de 10-20cm se observó una mayor abundancia de individuos. Las termitas tuvieron mayor presencia en ambos sistemas no así con las lombrices de tierra que tuvieron mayor presencia en el sistema agroecológico.

Inoculation of Triatoma Virus (Dicistroviridae: Cripavirus) elicits a non-infective immune response in mice

Background: Dicistroviridae is a new family of small, non-enveloped, +ssRNA viruses pathogenic to both beneficial arthropods and insect pests. Little is known about the dicistrovirus replication mechanism or gene function, and any knowledge on these subjects comes mainly from comparisons with mammalian viruses from the Picornaviridae family. Due to its peculiar genome organization and characteristics of the per os viral transmission route, dicistroviruses make good candidates for use as biopesticides. Triatoma virus (TrV) is a pathogen of Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), one of the main vectors of the human trypanosomiasis disease called Chagas disease. TrV was postulated as a potential control agent against Chagas' vectors. Although there is no evidence that TrV nor other dicistroviruses replicate in species outside the Insecta class, the innocuousness of these viruses in humans and animals needs to be ascertained. Methods: In this study, RT-PCR and ELISA were used to detect the infectivity of this virus in Mus musculus BALB/c mice. Results: In this study we have observed that there is no significant difference in the ratio IgG2a/IgG1 in sera from animals inoculated with TrV when compared with non-inoculated animals or mice inoculated only with non-infective TrV protein capsids. Conclusions: We conclude that, under our experimental conditions, TrV is unable to replicate inmice. This study constitutes the first test to evaluate the infectivity of a dicistrovirus in a vertebrate animal model.

Feeding ecology of juvenile Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) in a northeast Pacific fjord: diet, availability of zooplankton, selectivity for prey, and potential competition for prey resources

We investigated the feeding ecology of juvenile salmon during the critical early life-history stage of transition from shallow to deep marine waters by sampling two stations (190 m and 60 m deep) in a northeast Pacific fjord (Dabob Bay, WA) between May 1985 and October 1987. Four species of Pacific salmon—Oncorhynchus keta (chum) , O. tshawytscha (Chinook), O. gorbuscha (pink), and O. kisutch (coho)—were examined for stomach contents. Diets of these fishes varied temporally, spatially, and between species, but were dominated by insects, euphausiids, and decapod larvae. Zooplankton assemblages and dry weights differed between stations, and less so between years. Salmon often demonstrated strongly positive or negative selection for specific prey types: copepods were far more abundant in the zooplankton than in the diet, whereas Insecta, Araneae, Cephalapoda, Teleostei, and Ctenophora were more abundant in the diet than in the plankton. Overall diet overlap was highest for Chinook and coho salmon (mean=77.9%)—species that seldom were found together. Chum and Chinook salmon were found together the most frequently, but diet overlap was lower (38.8%) and zooplankton biomass was not correlated with their gut fullness (%body weight). Thus, despite occasional occurrences of significant diet overlap between salmon species, our results indicate that interspecific competition among juvenile salmon does not occur in Dabob Bay.

栉角雪萤的荧光酶基因结构及其系统发育分析

短角窗萤属是萤科第四大属,但未见有该属物种荧光酶基因的研究报道.通过对总基因组的PCR扩增,对该属的栉角雪萤荧光酶基因进行了测序分析.基因序列长1 958 bp.与已知荧光酶基因进行同源性比较后推断,栉角雪萤的荧光酶基因由7个外显子和6个内含子组成,编码547个氨基酸残基;由推导的氨基酸序列进行同源性比较后发现,栉角雪萤的荧光酶基因与同一亚科中Lampyrini族和Cratomorphini族分别具有93-94%和92%相似性,而与北美萤火虫Photinus pyralis(Photinini族)的相似性较低(83%).系统发育分析进一步表明栉角雪萤与Pyrocoelia、Lampyris、Cratomorphus和Photinus同属于萤亚科,且与前3个属的亲缘关系较近.这在一定程度上与形态(Branham & Wenzel,2003)及线粒体DNA(Li et al,2006)系统发育分析所得结果一致.

Identification and characterization of insect-specific proteins by genome data analysis

Background: Insects constitute the vast majority of known species with their importance including biodiversity, agricultural, and human health concerns. It is likely that the successful adaptation of the Insecta clade depends on specific components in its

蚂蚁食品简介

蚂蚁在动物界中属于节肢动物门 (Arthropod), 昆虫纲 (Insecta), 膜翅目 (hymenoptera) , 蚁科 (Formicidae). 我国民间常作食疗用的蚂蚁主要是蚁亚科 (Formicinae) 多刺蚁属 (Polyrhachis) 中的拟黑多刺蚁或称鼎突多刺蚁 (Polyrhachis vicina Roger). 这类蚂蚁分布于华南, 西南及长江中下游地区, 并以热带. 亚热带地区的密度最高. 它们是一类群居, 树上筑巢, 多品级的社会性昆虫。

Advances in phylogenetic studies of Nematoda

Nematoda is a metazoan group with extremely high diversity only next to Insecta. Caenorhabditis elegans is now a favorable experimental model animal in modern developmental biology, genetics and genomics; studies. However, the phylogeny of Nematoda and the phylogenetic position of the phylum within animal kingdom have long been in debate. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies gave great challenges to the traditional nematode classification. The new phylogenies not only placed the Nematoda in the Ecdysozoan and divided the phylum into five clades, but also provided new insights into animal molecular identification and phylogenetic biodiversity studies. The present paper reviews major progress and remaining problems in the current molecular phylogenetic studies of Nematoda, and prospects the developmental tendencies of this field.

中国龙虱科分类及区系分析

龙虱科是水生鞘翅目中的第一大科，种类十分丰富，与人类生活息息相关。本文基于大量的文献及中国水甲虫调查期间采集的龙虱科标本的观察，对中国的龙虱科进行了系统的分类学研究，以期为龙虱科生态及系统发育研究提供基础性资料。 在查阅大量文献的基础上，编制了我国龙虱科昆虫名录，共计40属315种；在名录中列出了所有物种的原始发表文献、异名及详细的分布信息。采用国际上多数分类学家认可的10亚科分类系统，编制了我国龙虱科昆虫的分亚科检索表。 检查龙虱科标本1058头，鉴定出24属共90种。对全部种类进行了详细的形态描述，绘制了鉴别特征图；报告了5个新种（其中3种已经发表），分别为拟二叉端毛龙虱、长叶宽缘龙虱、韦氏微龙虱、西双版纳微龙虱和彦宾三叉龙虱；25个省新记录种。全文包含鉴别特征图27版212幅，照片9版共81张。 对我国龙虱科昆虫进行了区系分析，得出了属、种的区系分布特点：1. 在属级阶元上，东洋界中华南区在属级分类单元的数量最为丰富，共有28属，占总属数的70%；古北界中华北区在属级分类单元的数量最多，有20属，占总属数的50%；2. 在种级阶元上，我国龙虱科昆虫以东洋成分占主导，明显高于古北界，但古北东洋界共同种比例亦很高，说明我国龙虱科东洋与古北昆虫有相互渗透的趋向。3. 龙虱科昆虫在全国各大区的分布共有47种分布型，华南区、华中区及东北区物种最丰富，明显高于其它各区，这三个区分布的种类分别为144种，97种，89种。

Psilídeos no Brasil: 2- Ctenarytaina eucalypti (Maskell, 1980) (Psilídeo das ponteiras do eucalipto).

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