Insecticidal and insect growth regulatory activities of secondary metabolites from entomopathogenic fungi,Lecanicillium attenuatum

Insect growth regulators (IGRs) are effective alternatives to chemical insecticides because of their specificity and low environmental toxicity. Entomopathogenic fungi are an important natural pathogen of insects and have been developed as biological control agents. They produce a wide range of secondary metabolites such as antibiotics, pesticides, growth-promoting or inhibiting compounds and insect attracting agents. In this study, to explore novel IGR substances from entomopathogenic fungi, culture extracts of 189 entomopathogenic fungi isolated from Korean soil samples were investigated for their juvenile hormone (JH)-based IGR activities. Whereas none of the culture extracts exhibited JH agonist (JHA) activity, 14 extracts showed high levels of JH antagonist (JHAN) activity. Among them, culture extract of JEF-145 strain, which was identified as Lecanicillium attenuatum, showed the highest insecticidal against Aedes albopictus and Plutella xylostella. At liquid culture condition, JHAN activity was observed in culture soup rather than mycelial cake, indicating that substances with JHAN activity are released from the JEF-145 strain during culture. Furthermore, while extract from solid cultured JEF-145 strain showed insecticidal activities against both A. albopictus and P. xylostella, that from liquid cultured fungi showed insecticidal activity only against A. albopictus, indicating that L. attenuatum JEF-145 strain produces different kinds of secondary metabolites with JHAN activity depending on culture conditions. These results suggested that JHAN substances derived from entomopathogenic fungi could be usefully exploited to develop novel eco-friendly IGR insecticides.     

Reversion mutation of cDNA CA8-204 minigene construct produces a truncated functional peptide that regulates calcium release in vitro and produces profound analgesia in vivo

Mammalian Genome - Intracellular calcium is critical in orchestrating neuronal excitability and analgesia. Carbonic anhydrase-8 (CA8) regulates intracellular calcium signaling through allosteric...     

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit b is a novel oncogenic factor in prostate cancer

Mammalian Genome - Prostate cancer, the second most common cancer among male adults, affects millions globally. We sought to investigate the expression and contribution of Eukaryotic translation...     

Typha as a wetland food resource: evidence from the Tianluoshan site,Lower Yangtze Region,China

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany - Wetlands have been attractive environments for early communities worldwide. In China, wetlands offered natural ecological settings for the start of rice...     

Active interfacial dynamic transport of fluid in a network of fibrous connective tissues throughout the whole body

Fluid in interstitial spaces accounts for ~20% of an adult body weight and flows diffusively for a short range. Does it circulate around the body like vascular circulations? This bold conjecture has been debated for decades. As a conventional physiological concept, interstitial space is a micron‐sized space between cells and vasculature. Fluid in interstitial spaces is thought to be entrapped within interstitial matrix. However, our serial data have further defined a second space in interstitium that is a nanosized interfacial transport zone on a solid surface. Within this fine space, fluid along a solid fibre can be transported under a driving power and identically, interstitial fluid transport can be visualized by tracking the oriented fibres. Since 2006, our data from volunteers and cadavers have revealed a long‐distance extravascular pathway for interstitial fluid flow, comprising at least four types of anatomic distributions. The framework of each extravascular pathway contains the longitudinally assembled and oriented fibres, working as a fibrorail for fluid flow. Interestingly, our data showed that the movement of fluid in a fibrous pathway is in response to a dynamic driving source and named as dynamotaxis. By analysis of previous studies and our experimental results, a hypothesis of interstitial fluid circulatory system is proposed.     

Taxonomic review and phylogenetic inference elucidate the evolutionary history of Mesozoic Procercopidae,with new data from the Cretaceous Jehol Biota of NE China (Hemiptera,Cicadomorpha)

The Mesozoic family Procercopidae is widely treated as the ancient group of Cercopoidea and a transitional unit to recent lineages, but its evolution and diversity are vague due to fragmentary fossil record and confusing taxonomic history. Herein, an extensive taxonomic review of Procercopidae is presented and some new fossils are reported from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of NE China. As a result, Chengdecercopis Hong, 1983 is transferred from Procercopidae to Sinoalidae; Procercopis longipennis Becker-Migdisova, 1962 and P shawanensis Zhang, Wang and Zhang, 2003 are transferred to Procercopina Martynov, 1937, resulting in Procercopina longipennis (Becker-Migdisova, 1962), comb. n. and P shawanensis (Zhang, Wang and Zhang, 2003), comb. n.; Luanpingia senjituensis Hong, 1984 is transferred to Stellularis Chen, Yao and Ren, 2015, leading to Stellulari senjituensis (Hong, 1984), comb. n.; Anthoscytina macula Hu, Yao and Ren, 2014 is transferred to Sinocercopis Hong, 1982, and Sunoscytinopteris (Scytinopteridae) and Cathaycixius (Cixiidae) are treated as junior homonym names of Sinocercopis, leading to Sinocercopis macula (Hu, Yao and Ren, 2014), comb. n., S lushangfenensis (Hong, 1984), comb. n., S pustulosis (Ren, 1995), comb. n., and S trinervis (Ren, 1995), comb. n. Additionally, two new species are erected: Stellularis bineuris Chen and Wang, sp. n. and S minutus Chen and Wang, sp. n. Our cladistic analysis based on wing (tegmen and hind wing) characteristics recovers the high-level relationships within Cercopoidea: Sinoalidae + (Procercopidae + (Cercopionidae + modern cercopoids)). Within the family Procercopidae, the cladistic analysis reveals that the Middle to Late Jurassic Titanocercopis and Jurocercopis and the Cretaceous Cretocercopis occupy the basal position, and a gradual change in wing venation can be recognized from the Early Jurassic Procercopis and Procercopina to the Jurassic Anthoscytina, and then to the Cretaceous Stellularis and Sinocercopis. The two Cretaceous genera, sharing wing traits with extant cercopoids, likely represent transitional forms between Procercopidae and recent Cercopoidea; however, they are very similar to their Jurassic relatives in body structures, suggesting it is applicable to attribute them to Procercopidae. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that the extinction of Procercopidae and the origin and early diversification of modern Cercopoidea approximately coincided with the rise and explosive radiation of angiosperms in the late Early Cretaceous and onwards.