细菌冰核提高印度谷螟过冷却点的研究

印度谷螟(Plodia interpunctella)是一种不耐结冰的昆虫,在冬季它通过降低过冷却 点以避免结冰。现已查明,冰核活性细菌能显著提高植物的过冷却点,导致许多作物在较高 的温度下发生霜冻害。本文也证明细菌冰核能显著提高印度谷螟虫的过冷却点。对照的平均过冷却点是-17.6℃;分别用0.1g和1g细菌冰核与1kg面粉混合后进行处理,平均过冷却点分别比对照提高了12.8℃和13.6℃。研究结果支持这样的观点：细菌冰核有可能成为一种在冬季使用的、杀灭不耐结冰害虫的生物制剂。     

细菌冰核提高印度谷螟过冷却点的研究

印度谷螟（Ｐｌｏｄｉａｉｎｔｅｒｐｕｎｃｔｅｌｌａ）是一种不耐结冰的昆虫,在冬季它通过降低过冷却点以避免结冰。现已查明,冰核活性细菌能显著提高植物的过冷却点,导致许多作物在较高的温度下发生霜冻害。本文也评明细菌冰核能显著提高印度谷螟幼虫的过冷却点。对照的平均过冷却点是－１７．６℃;分别用０．１ｇ和１ｇ细菌冰核与１ｋｇ面粉混合后进行处理,平均过冷却点分别比对照提高了１２．８℃和１３．６℃。研究结果支持这样的观点：细菌冰核有可能成为一种在冬季使用的、杀灭不耐结冰害虫的生物制剂。     

烟夜蛾滞育蛹和非滞育蛹的耐寒性

对烟夜蛾Helicoverpa assultaGuen?e不同日龄滞育蛹和非滞育蛹的过冷却点和结冰点测定结果表明,在预蛹至5日龄蛹期,过冷却点和结冰点均逐渐下降。在预蛹期和3日龄蛹期,滞育蛹的过冷却点与非滞育蛹差异不显著;5日龄蛹时,滞育蛹和非滞育蛹的过冷却点分别下降至(-15.7±1.8)℃和(-13.5±1.2)℃,结冰点分别降至(-12.7±2.7)℃和(-9.5±1.3)℃,两类蛹间的差异均达极显著水平。自然越冬后,滞育蛹的存活率显著高于非滞育蛹,在土壤不同深处越冬的蛹的存活率存在差异,距土表15cm深的蛹存活率最高。     

柑桔大实蝇老熟幼虫和蛹过冷却点和结冰点的测定

为明确柑桔大实蝇Bactrocera minax (Enderlein)老熟幼虫和蛹的抗寒能力,对柑桔大实蝇老熟幼虫、滞育蛹和滞育解除蛹的过冷却点和结冰点进行了测定。结果显示,同一虫态不同个体间其过冷却点和结冰点具有不同程度的变异,但其变异范围均符合正态分布。柑桔大实蝇不同发育状态间的过冷却点和结冰点均具有显著差异,其中,已解除滞育进入发育状态的蛹的过冷却点和结冰点最低,分别为-11.15℃和-9.76℃;其次为滞育蛹,分别为-8.93℃和-7.63℃;而老熟幼虫最高,分别为-7.09℃和-3.43℃。此外,老熟幼虫的结冰点和过冷却点之间的差值最大为3.24℃,显著高于滞育蛹（1.30℃）和滞育解除蛹（1.39℃）。表明,倒春寒对已进入发育状态的柑桔大实蝇蛹不会造成不利影响。     

冰核真菌削弱赤拟谷盗抗寒力的初步研究

赤拟谷盗Tribolium castaneum是不耐结冰的害虫,在冬季它通过降低过冷却点以避免结冰造成的致命伤害。冰核活性细菌能显著提高昆虫的过冷却点,使之在较高的零下温度发生结冰。试验证明冰核活性真菌也能显著提高赤拟谷盗的过冷却点。对照组平均过冷却点为-14.9℃。用10 g/L的冰核真菌制剂喷洒虫体,风干后测定,平均过冷却点提高到-4.8℃。用0.1 g/L处理后至少在7天内过冷却点保持较高。这些结果表明冰核真菌可能成为一种在冬季使用的、防治不耐结冰害虫的促冻杀虫剂。     

西藏飞蝗各发育阶段的耐寒性

西藏飞蝗Locusta migratoria tibetensis Chen是青藏高原的重要农牧业害虫。对该虫各发育阶段的过冷却点和结冰点的测定表明,西藏飞蝗卵的过冷却点和结冰点为最低,分别为-22.02℃、-16.36℃,4龄蝻的过冷却点和结冰点最高,分别是-6.46℃和-5.05℃,西藏飞蝗在甘孜以卵越冬。     

越北腹露蝗卵的过冷却特性

利用热电偶法测定越北腹露蝗FruhstorferiolatonkinensisWill卵的过冷却点。结果表明,越北腹露蝗卵的过冷却点随季节变化而变动。卵的平均过冷却点从2004年9月初(刚产的卵)的-16.0℃显著下降到2005年1月的-24.7℃,随后卵的过冷却点显著增加到2005年3月的-10.7℃。滞育卵的平均过冷却点(-20.1℃)低于滞育后的平均过冷却点(-12.4℃)。滞育卵在5℃下适应30d后平均过冷却点显著减小到-25.9℃,而在30℃下适应30d后平均过冷却点显著增加到-8.2℃。     

亚洲柑橘木虱和柚喀木虱过冷却点和体液结冰点测定

亚洲柑橘木虱Diaphorina citri Kuwayama和柚喀木虱Cacopsylla citrisuga YangLi均为柑桔上的重要害虫,前者为黄龙病的主要媒介昆虫,后者也已证实为黄龙病菌的携带者。本文对这两种木虱各龄若虫和成虫的过冷却点和体液结冰点进行了测定,结果表明,柑橘木虱过冷却点和冰点均以1龄若虫最低,平均值分别为-26.32℃和-26.22℃;成虫的过冷却点和冰点最高,分别为-19.60℃和-18.71℃;其它虫态过冷却点和冰点由低到高依次为2龄若虫、4龄若虫、5龄若虫、3龄若虫。柚喀木虱过冷却点和冰点也均以1龄若虫最低,平均值分别为-25.30℃和-25.08℃;5龄若虫的过冷却点和冰点最高,平均分别为-19.50℃和-17.69℃;其它虫态过冷却点和冰点由低到高依次为2龄若虫、3龄若虫、4龄若虫、成虫。两种木虱的比较结果表明,各发育阶段的表现不一致,柚喀木虱的3龄若虫和成虫过冷却点显著低于柑桔木虱,而4龄、5龄若虫则显著高于柑桔木虱;3龄若虫体液结冰点也显著低于柑桔木虱,但1龄、4龄却显著高于柑桔木虱。柑桔木虱雌雄成虫的过冷却点和体液结冰点差异不显著。研究结果表明两种木虱的过冷却点、体液结冰点都较低,因而可能具有较强的耐寒能力。     

不同寄主植物对二点委夜蛾幼虫抗寒性的影响

【目的】探讨取食不同寄主植物对二点委夜蛾Athetis lepigone(Mschler)老熟幼虫抗寒性的影响。【方法】室内分别用棉花、花生、大豆、甘薯及玉米的幼嫩叶片饲养二点委夜蛾4龄幼虫6 d至老熟,测定二点委夜蛾老熟幼虫过冷却点、结冰点、鲜重、含水量、脂肪、糖原和山梨醇含量。【结果】二点委夜蛾老熟幼虫取食不同寄主植物叶片后结冰点、鲜重、脂肪含量、糖原含量有显著差异。取食大豆叶片后结冰点最高(-2.80℃),鲜重最低(0.056 g),脂肪含量最低(12.47%);取食棉花叶片后结冰点最低(-5.45℃),脂肪含量最高(32.12%),糖原含量最高(54.07 mg/g);取食玉米叶片后鲜重最高(0.118 g)。取食不同寄主植物叶片的二点委夜蛾老熟幼虫过冷却点、含水量、山梨醇含量没有显著差异。【结论】寄主植物对二点委夜蛾老熟幼虫过冷却点没有显著影响,而影响到其体重及脂肪和糖原含量。     

不同冷藏条件对食蚜瘿蚊过冷却点和冰点的影响

【目的】食蚜瘿蚊Aphidoletes aphidimyza(Rondani)是一种捕食性天敌,其幼虫对蚜虫具有较好的控制潜能。研究不同冷藏条件对食蚜瘿蚊耐寒能力的影响,为食蚜瘿蚊的低温冷藏技术提供了理论依据。【方法】利用热电偶原理,测定食蚜瘿蚊在不同冷藏条件下的过冷却点和结冰点。【结果】25℃条件下,食蚜瘿蚊各虫态的过冷却点及结冰点存在显著差异（P<0.05）,其中2龄幼虫过冷却点（﹣26.18℃）和结冰点（﹣24.98℃）最低,雄成虫过冷却点（﹣22.95℃）和结冰点（﹣21.86℃）最高。在不同变温条件下冷藏食蚜瘿蚊蛹,其过冷却点在冷藏10、20和30 d时均上升且高于对照,冷藏40 d时低于对照;同一冷藏时长下不同冷藏方式间过冷却点的差异均不显著（P>0.05）。食蚜瘿蚊蛹在5℃条件下冷藏50d,每天定时7℃中断4h的结冰点（﹣23.09℃）最低,冷藏30d的结冰点（﹣21.15℃）最高;食蚜瘿蚊蛹在5℃条件下冷藏40 d,每天定时9℃中断4 h的结冰点（﹣22.66℃）最低,冷藏20 d时的结冰点（﹣20.95℃）最高;同一冷藏时长下3种冷藏方式间结冰点差异均不显著（P>0.05）。【结论】食蚜瘿蚊2龄幼虫的耐寒能力最强,雌成虫的耐寒能力要高于雄成虫;变温贮存和恒定低温均适合食蚜瘿蚊的低温贮存。     

Preparation of hair for measurement of elements by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

The preparation of hair for the determination of elements is a critical component of the analysis procedure. Open-beaker, closedvessel microwave, and flowthrough microwave digestion are methods that have been used for sample preparation and are discussed. A new digestion method for use with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been developed. The method uses 0.2 g of hair and 3 mL of concentrated nitric acid in an atmospheric pressurelow-temperature microwave digestion (APLTMD) system. This preparation method is useful in handling a large numbers of samples per day and may be adapted to hair sample weights ranging from 0.08 to 0.3 g. After digestion, samples are analyzed by ICP-MS to determine the concentration of Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ge, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Zr, Mo, Pd, Ag, Cd, Sn, Sb, I, Cs, Ba, Pt, Au, Hg, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th, and U. Benefits of the APLTMD include reduced contamination and sample handling, and increased precision, reliability, and sample throughput.     

Genetic Manipulation in Δku80 Strains for Functional Genomic Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii

Targeted genetic manipulation using homologous recombination is the method of choice for functional genomic analysis to obtain a detailed view of gene function and phenotype(s). The development of mutant strains with targeted gene deletions, targeted mutations, complemented gene function, and/or tagged genes provides powerful strategies to address gene function, particularly if these genetic manipulations can be efficiently targeted to the gene locus of interest using integration mediated by double cross over homologous recombination.Due to very high rates of nonhomologous recombination, functional genomic analysis of Toxoplasma gondii has been previously limited by the absence of efficient methods for targeting gene deletions and gene replacements to specific genetic loci. Recently, we abolished the major pathway of nonhomologous recombination in type I and type II strains of T. gondii by deleting the gene encoding the KU80 protein^1,2. The Δku80 strains behave normally during tachyzoite (acute) and bradyzoite (chronic) stages in vitro and in vivo and exhibit essentially a 100% frequency of homologous recombination. The Δku80 strains make functional genomic studies feasible on the single gene as well as on the genome scale^1-4.Here, we report methods for using type I and type II Δku80Δhxgprt strains to advance gene targeting approaches in T. gondii. We outline efficient methods for generating gene deletions, gene replacements, and tagged genes by targeted insertion or deletion of the hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HXGPRT) selectable marker. The described gene targeting protocol can be used in a variety of ways in Δku80 strains to advance functional analysis of the parasite genome and to develop single strains that carry multiple targeted genetic manipulations. The application of this genetic method and subsequent phenotypic assays will reveal fundamental and unique aspects of the biology of T. gondii and related significant human pathogens that cause malaria (Plasmodium sp.) and cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium).     

A phylogenetic analysis of 100+ genera and 50+ families of euasterids based on morphological and molecular data with notes on possible higher level morphological synapomorphies

 A data matrix of 143 morphological and chemical characters for 142 genera of euasterids according to the APG system was compiled and complemented with rbcL and ndhF sequences for most of the genera. The data were subjected to parsimony analysis and support was assessed by bootstrapping. Strict consensus trees from analyses of morphology alone and morphology + rbcL + ndhF are presented. The morphological data recover several groups supported by molecular data but at the level of orders and above relationships are only superficially in agreement with molecular studies. The analyses provide support for monophyly of Gentianales, Aquifoliales, Apiales, Asterales, and Dipsacales. All data indicate that Adoxaceae are closely related to Dipsacales and hence they should be included in that order. The trees were used to assess some possible morphological synapomorphies for euasterids I and II and for the orders of the APG system. Euasterids I are generally characterised by opposite leaves, entire leaf margins, hypogynous flowers, “early sympetaly” with a ring-shaped corolla primordium, fusion of stamen filaments with the corolla tube, and capsular fruits. Euasterids II often have alternate leaves, serrate-dentate leaf margins, epigynous flowers, “late sympetaly” with distinct petal primordia, free stamen filaments, and indehiscent fruits. It is unclear which of these characters represent synapomorphies and symplesiomorphies for the two groups, respectively, and there are numerous expections to be interpreted as reversals and parallelisms. Received August 28, 2000 Accepted August 7, 2001     

Mechanisms and ecological consequences of plant defence induction and suppression in herbivore communities

Background Plants are hotbeds for parasites such as arthropod herbivores, which acquire nutrients and energy from their hosts in order to grow and reproduce. Hence plants are selected to evolve resistance, which in turn selects for herbivores that can cope with this resistance. To preserve their fitness when attacked by herbivores, plants can employ complex strategies that include reallocation of resources and the production of defensive metabolites and structures. Plant defences can be either prefabricated or be produced only upon attack. Those that are ready-made are referred to as constitutive defences. Some constitutive defences are operational at any time while others require activation. Defences produced only when herbivores are present are referred to as induced defences. These can be established via de novo biosynthesis of defensive substances or via modifications of prefabricated substances and consequently these are active only when needed. Inducibility of defence may serve to save energy and to prevent self-intoxication but also implies that there is a delay in these defences becoming operational. Induced defences can be characterized by alterations in plant morphology and molecular chemistry and are associated with a decrease in herbivore performance. These alterations are set in motion by signals generated by herbivores. Finally, a subset of induced metabolites are released into the air as volatiles and function as a beacon for foraging natural enemies searching for prey, and this is referred to as induced indirect defence.Scope The objective of this review is to evaluate (1) which strategies plants have evolved to cope with herbivores and (2) which traits herbivores have evolved that enable them to counter these defences. The primary focus is on the induction and suppression of plant defences and the review outlines how the palette of traits that determine induction/suppression of, and resistance/susceptibility of herbivores to, plant defences can give rise to exploitative competition and facilitation within ecological communities “inhabiting” a plant.Conclusions Herbivores have evolved diverse strategies, which are not mutually exclusive, to decrease the negative effects of plant defences in order to maximize the conversion of plant material into offspring. Numerous adaptations have been found in herbivores, enabling them to dismantle or bypass defensive barriers, to avoid tissues with relatively high levels of defensive chemicals or to metabolize these chemicals once ingested. In addition, some herbivores interfere with the onset or completion of induced plant defences, resulting in the plant’s resistance being partly or fully suppressed. The ability to suppress induced plant defences appears to occur across plant parasites from different kingdoms, including herbivorous arthropods, and there is remarkable diversity in suppression mechanisms. Suppression may strongly affect the structure of the food web, because the ability to suppress the activation of defences of a communal host may facilitate competitors, whereas the ability of a herbivore to cope with activated plant defences will not. Further characterization of the mechanisms and traits that give rise to suppression of plant defences will enable us to determine their role in shaping direct and indirect interactions in food webs and the extent to which these determine the coexistence and persistence of species.     

Angiosperm ovules: diversity, development, evolution

Background

Ovules as developmental precursors of seeds are organs of central importance in angiosperm flowers and can be traced back in evolution to the earliest seed plants. Angiosperm ovules are diverse in their position in the ovary, nucellus thickness, number and thickness of integuments, degree and direction of curvature, and histological differentiations. There is a large body of literature on this diversity, and various views on its evolution have been proposed over the course of time. Most recently evo–devo studies have been concentrated on molecular developmental genetics in ovules of model plants.

Scope

The present review provides a synthetic treatment of several aspects of the sporophytic part of ovule diversity, development and evolution, based on extensive research on the vast original literature and on experience from my own comparative studies in a broad range of angiosperm clades.

Conclusions

In angiosperms the presence of an outer integument appears to be instrumental for ovule curvature, as indicated from studies on ovule diversity through the major clades of angiosperms, molecular developmental genetics in model species, abnormal ovules in a broad range of angiosperms, and comparison with gymnosperms with curved ovules. Lobation of integuments is not an atavism indicating evolution from telomes, but simply a morphogenetic constraint from the necessity of closure of the micropyle. Ovule shape is partly dependent on locule architecture, which is especially indicated by the occurrence of orthotropous ovules. Some ovule features are even more conservative than earlier assumed and thus of special interest in angiosperm macrosystematics.     

Genome Similarity Implies that Citrus-Parasitic Burrowing Nematodes do not Represent a Unique Species

Burrowing nematodes from Central America, Dominican Republic, Florida, Guadeloupe, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico were characterized for their ability to parasitize citrus, but citrus parasites were found only in Florida. Sequence tag sites originally amplified from a citrus-parasitic burrowing nematode were polymorphic among 37 burrowing nematode isolates and were not correlated with citrus parasitism, nematode isolate collection site, or amplification of a 2.4-kb sequence tag site (DK#1). Results of a RAPD analysis and characterization of the isozymes phosphoglucose isomerase, lactate dehydrogenase, and malate dehydrogenase indicated that the burrowing nematode isolates were highly similar. Citrus parasitism in Florida appears to be associated with limited changes in the burrowing nematode genome. Findings did not substantiate a previous report that R. citrophilus was present in Hawaii. Overall, these data do not support assignment of sibling species status to burrowing nematodes that differ with respect to citrus parasitism.     

A Simple Protocol for Platelet-mediated Clumping of Plasmodium falciparum-infected Erythrocytes in a Resource Poor Setting

P. falciparum causes the majority of severe malarial infections. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying cerebral malaria (CM) are not fully understood and several hypotheses have been put forward, including mechanical obstruction of microvessels by P. falciparum-parasitized red blood cells (pRBC). Indeed, during the intra-erythrocytic stage of its life cycle, P. falciparum has the unique ability to modify the surface of the infected erythrocyte by exporting surface antigens with varying adhesive properties onto the RBC membrane. This allows the sequestration of pRBC in multiple tissues and organs by adhesion to endothelial cells lining the microvasculature of post-capillary venules ¹. By doing so, the mature forms of the parasite avoid splenic clearance of the deformed infected erythrocytes ² and restrict their environment to a more favorable low oxygen pressure ³. As a consequence of this sequestration, it is only immature asexual parasites and gametocytes that can be detected in peripheral blood.Cytoadherence and sequestration of mature pRBC to the numerous host receptors expressed on microvascular beds occurs in severe and uncomplicated disease. However, several lines of evidence suggest that only specific adhesive phenotypes are likely to be associated with severe pathological outcomes of malaria. One example of such specific host-parasite interactions has been demonstrated in vitro, where the ability of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 to support binding of pRBC with particular adhesive properties has been linked to development of cerebral malaria ^4,5. The placenta has also been recognized as a site of preferential pRBC accumulation in malaria-infected pregnant women, with chondrotin sulphate A expressed on syncytiotrophoblasts that line the placental intervillous space as the main receptor ⁶. Rosetting of pRBC to uninfected erythrocytes via the complement receptor 1 (CD35)^7,8 has also been associated with severe disease ⁹.One of the most recently described P. falciparum cytoadherence phenotypes is the ability of the pRBC to form platelet-mediated clumps in vitro. The formation of such pRBC clumps requires CD36, a glycoprotein expressed on the surface of platelets. Another human receptor, gC1qR/HABP1/p32, expressed on diverse cell types including endothelial cells and platelets, has also been shown to facilitate pRBC adhesion on platelets to form clumps ¹⁰. Whether clumping occurs in vivo remains unclear, but it may account for the significant accumulation of platelets described in brain microvasculature of Malawian children who died from CM ¹¹. In addition, the ability of clinical isolate cultures to clump in vitro was directly linked to the severity of disease in Malawian ¹² and Mozambican patients ¹³, (although not in Malian ¹⁴).With several aspects of the pRBC clumping phenotype poorly characterized, current studies on this subject have not followed a standardized procedure. This is an important issue because of the known high variability inherent in the assay ¹⁵. Here, we present a method for in vitro platelet-mediated clumping of P. falciparum with hopes that it will provide a platform for a consistent method for other groups and raise awareness of the limitations in investigating this phenotype in future studies. Being based in Malawi, we provide a protocol specifically designed for a limited resource setting, with the advantage that freshly collected clinical isolates can be examined for phenotype without need for cryopreservation.     

外泌体在白血病中的重要调控作用

目前,白血病复发是患者死亡的主要原因之一。肿瘤细胞和微环境的相互作用,以及隐匿在骨髓中的肿瘤干细胞,促进了白血病的复发和向淋巴组织的转移,因此白血病的治疗、转移和复发问题受到广泛关注。外泌体是由绝大多数细胞分泌的双层脂质膜囊泡,可以调控细胞间的交流和信息传递。在白血病细胞、基质细胞和内皮细胞之间的相互联系中都涉及到外泌体,白血病细胞来源的外泌体存在于白血病患者的血浆中,能把其携带的白血病相关抗原及微小RNA呈递给靶细胞,促进白血病肿瘤细胞的增殖,有助于肿瘤细胞实现免疫逃避,保护白血病细胞抵抗化疗药物导致的细胞毒性作用,促进血管生成及肿瘤细胞的迁移。因此,外泌体与白血病的转移、治疗及预后密切相关,可以用来检测和监测白血病的进展。本文综述了外泌体的来源、形成与分泌机制,以及外泌体在白血病发生前、发展中、预后和免疫治疗中所扮演的重要角色。     

Assessing burrowing, nest construction, and hoarding in mice

Deterioration in the ability to perform "Activities of daily living" (ADL) is an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Preclinical behavioural screening of possible treatments for AD currently largely focuses on cognitive testing, which frequently demands expensive equipment and lots of experimenter time. However, human episodic memory (the most severely affected aspect of memory in AD) is different to rodent memory, which seems to be largely non-episodic. Therefore the present ways of screening for new AD treatments for AD in rodents are intrinsically unlikely to succeed. A new approach to preclinical screening would be to characterise the ADL of mice. Fortuitously, several such assays have recently been developed at Oxford, and here the three most sensitive and well-characterised are presented. Burrowing was first developed in Oxford. It evolved from a need to develop a mouse hoarding paradigm. Most published rodent hoarding paradigms required a distant food source to be linked to the home cage by a connecting passage. This would involve modifying the home cage as well as making a mouse-proof connecting passage and food source. So it was considered whether it would be possible to put the food source inside the cage. It was found that if a container was placed on the floor it was emptied by the next morning., The food pellets were, however, simply deposited in a heap at the container entrance, rather than placed in a discrete place away from the container, as might be expected if the mice were truly hoarding them. Close inspection showed that the mice were performing digging ("burrowing") movements, not carrying the pellets in their mouths to a selected place as they would if truly hoarding them. Food pellets are not an essential substrate for burrowing; mice will empty tubes filled with sand, gravel, even soiled bedding from their own cage. Moreover, they will empty a full tube even if an empty one is placed next to it. Several nesting protocols exist in the literature. The present Oxford one simplifies the procedure and has a well-defined scoring system for nest quality. A hoarding paradigm was later developed in which the mice, rather than hoarding back to the real home cage, were adapted to living in the "home base" of a hoarding apparatus. This home base was connected to a tube made of wire mesh, the distal end of which contained the food source. This arrangement proved to yield good hoarding behaviour, as long as the mice were adapted to living in the "home base" during the day and only allowed to enter the hoarding tube at night.     

日本北海道虻类雌性外生殖器形态(双翅目：虻科)(英文)

【目的】利用日本北海道虻类评估和验证外生殖器在分类学上的意义。【方法】将虻类成虫标本浸渍在生理盐水中并置于双目显微镜下通过针和镊子在培养皿中进行解剖并绘图,观察第9背板、第10背板、尾叶、第8腹板、受精囊、受精囊管及生殖叉器的形态特征。【结果】在日本北海道共记录了虻科(Tabanidae) 3亚科7属38种。我们观察并描述了3亚科其中的6属24种的雌性外生殖器的主要特征。亚科之间存在明显差异;然而在一般情况下属之间很难建立一种方法来确定共同点;种之间只有在斑虻属Chrysops中有相似之处,其他属中则比较多样化。因此,亚科鉴定根据第9背板、第8腹板及受精囊足以进行区分,属及种鉴定需要结合第9背板、第10背板、尾叶、第8腹板、受精囊、受精囊管及生殖叉器各自的特征组合在一起才能区分开来。我们也制作了虻类外生殖器的检索表。【结论】和许多其他昆虫一样,外生殖器是虻科的重要分类特征,对于促进分类学和系统学的发展具有重要意义。本研究首次对分布在日本北海道的虻科雌性外生殖器进行了系统研究。