The development of the metacercariae of Microphallus similis in vitro and in the mouse

The development of the progenetic metacercariae of Microphallus similis in the mouse and under a range of in vitro cultivation systems was studied and compared. The flukes began egg production after 24 h in the mouse and by Day 4 post infection large numbers of eggs were present. These eggs began to embryonate in utero and contained a ball of cells; however, subsequent incubation in sea water failed to produce recognisable miracidia. In the majority of culture systems, gametogenesis and vitellogenesis occurred. Large numbers of abnormal eggs of three basic types were produced in vitro; these defects were probably related to the premature tanning of the eggshell precursors within the vitellaria and ducts. Apparently normal eggs were also produced, but they were probably unfertilized since sperm were rarely observed in vitro and they failed to embryonate.     

Effects of temperature on the development and fecundity of Microplitis similis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Microplitis similis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a solitary endoparasitoid of Spodoptera litura larvae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Here, the effects of constant temperature (18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33 and 36 °C) on the development and fecundity of M. similis developing in S. litura were studied in the laboratory to clarify the range of its potential distribution and better understand its potential as a biological control agent. The developmental duration of M. similis varied from 10.6 (33 °C) to 27.9 days (18 °C). The developmental threshold temperature and effective accumulative temperature of M. similis were 9.96 °C and 231.14 Degree-days, respectively. The average adult longevity of M. similis ranged from 5.1 (33 °C) to 26.8 days (18 °C). The maximum fecundity of the parasitoid was observed at 27 and 30 °C, which were 43.07 and 39.73 eggs, respectively. The minimum fecundity of the parasitoid was observed at 18 °C, which was 8.27 eggs. The intrinsic rate of increase (r_m) and finite rate of increase (λ) of M. similis were the highest at 30 °C. The net reproduction rate (R₀) was the highest at 27 °C and 30 °C, which were 44.34 and 40.39, respectively. We concluded that temperatures in the range 27–30 °C are the most suitable for development and reproduction of M. similis. Our study provides detailed basic information for development and reproduction of M. similis under different temperature conditions.     

Effect of Endophytic Fusarium oxysporum on Host Preference of Radopholus similis to Tissue Culture Banana Plants

The burrowing nematode Radopholus similis is one of the major constraints to banana (Musa spp.) production worldwide. Resource-poor farmers can potentially manage R. similis by using naturally occurring banana endophytes, such as nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum, that are inoculated into tissue culture banana plantlets. At present, it is unclear at what stage in the R. similis infection process the endophytes are most effective. In this study, the effect of three endophytic F. oxysporum isolates (V5w2, Eny1.31i and Eny7.11o) on R. similis host preference of either endophyte-treated or untreated banana plants was investigated. No differences were observed between the proportion of nematodes attracted to either root segments excised from endophyte-treated or untreated plants, or in experiments using endophyte-treated and untreated tissue culture banana plantlets. These results imply that the early processes of banana plant host recognition by R. similis are not affected by endophyte infection.     

Molecular and Biochemical Diversity Among Isolates of Radopholus spp. from Different Areas of the World

Eleven isolates of Radopholus similis from various banana-growing areas around the world and one isolate of R. bridgei from turmeric in Indonesia were compared using DNA and isoenzyme analysis. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a fragment of ribosomal DNA (rDNA), comprising the two internal transcribed spacers (ITS) and the 5.8S gene. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in this rDNA fragment were used to compare the 10 isolates. The analysis of this rDNA region revealed little variation among the isolates tested. However, data also were obtained by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of total DNA, and a hierarchical cluster analysis of these data arranged the R. similis isolates into two clusters. The first cluster consisted of isolates from Nigeria, Cameroon, Queensland, and Costa Rica; the second was comprised of isolates from Guinea, Guadeloupe, the Ivory Coast, Uganda, and Sri Lanka. The isolate of R. bridgei from turmeric in Indonesia appeared to be more divergent. This grouping was consistent with that obtained when phosphate glucose isomerase (PGI) isoenzyme patterns were used to compare the R. similis isolates. The results from both RAPD analysis and PGI isoenzyme studies indicate that two gene pools might exist within the R. similis isolates studied. No correlation could be detected between the genomic diversity as determined by RAPD analysis and either geographic distribution of the isolates or differences in their pathogenicity. The results support the hypothesis that R. similis isolates have been spread with banana-planting material.     

Influence of Lectins on Constricting Ring Formation by Arthrobotrys dactyloides

Incubation of Arthrobotrys dactyloides conidia in the presence of Radopholus citrophilus in lectin solutions with their corresponding sugars did not alter the stimulation of trap formation in solutions containing lectins alone. The lack of inhibition of lectin-stimulated trap formation by sugars or by lectin denaturation and the lack of lectin specificity indicate that the carbohydrate-binding regions of the particular lectins studied are not the stimulatory moieties of these macromolecules.     

四种猎物对南方小花蝽生长发育和繁殖的影响

南方小花蝽是多种猎物的天敌,为评价西花蓟马、二斑叶螨、蚕豆蚜和腐食酪螨饲养南方小花蝽的效果,研究了南方小花蝽取食四种猎物时的生长发育和繁殖情况。结果表明南方小花蝽取食腐食酪螨时若虫只能发育到5龄,4龄若虫累计存活率仅为6.8%。其它3种猎物均可使南方小花蝽正常生长发育和繁殖,其中南方小花蝽取食西花蓟马时生长发育时间最短,繁殖率最高;取食二斑叶螨时生长发育时间最长,繁殖率最低。取食西花蓟马的南方小花蝽净生殖率、内禀增长率和周限增长率明显高于其它两种猎物。用3种猎物连续饲养南方小花蝽两代,以蚕豆蚜和二斑叶螨为猎物时南方小花蝽的未成熟期、成虫的寿命、繁殖情况和生命参数在第一代和第二代之间都有所不同,但以西花蓟马为食料时南方小花蝽第一代和第二代之间生长发育和繁殖情况没有明显的差异。以上结果表明在供试猎物中西花蓟马对南方小花蝽实验种群的增长最有利。     

阿维菌素对南方小花蝽抑制烟蚜的影响

在室内分别测定了阿维菌素类杀虫剂1% 9512-1乳油和虫螨克对南方小花蝽Orius similis的毒力,研究了无阿维菌素介入后南方小花蝽对烟蚜Myzus persicae捕食效应所受的影响,结果表明：阿维菌素类杀虫剂对南方小花蝽具有一定毒力,不同虫态对阿维菌素的敏感性有差异,卵的敏感性明显低于若虫和成虫;不同的阿维菌素类药剂对南方小花蝽的毒力存在差异,9512-1对南方小花蝽卵、若虫及成虫的LC_５０依次为11.2743±3.8613、2.6584±1.2139、2.4508±1.3266 mg·L^-１,虫螨克则为10.8699±3.7653、6.4422±2.8596、6.4738±3.0124 mg·L^-１;阿维菌素显著降低了南方小花蝽对烟蚜的捕食量和捕食能力,也降低了同种个体间的竞争能力;阿维菌素对南方小花蝽若虫的发育速率有显著的抑制作用,但对发育速率与取食量的线性关系无明显影响,而且对存活个体成虫期的产卵量无显著影响。     

Genetic analysis of diapause capability and association between larval and pupal photoperiodic responses in the flesh fly Sarcophaga similis

Abstract A variant of the flesh fly Sarcophaga similis, which does not enter pupal diapause even under diapause‐inducing conditions, is established by artificial selection. Interline crosses of the wild‐type and the variant revealed that the diapause capability is inherited in an incomplete dominant manner. Neither sex linkage nor a maternal factor is involved in the mode of inheritance. Genetic and genetic–environmental interactions are involved in the induction of diapause. In the wild‐type, the post‐feeding larval period is prolonged in response to short days. However, in the variant, the duration of the larval period under short‐day conditions is identical to that under long‐day conditions. Long‐day responses under short‐day conditions at both the larval and pupal stages in the variant indicate that the responses are established by common factors in both stages. The factors causing the long‐day responses under short‐day conditions at different developmental stages in the variant remain to be identified. However, it is plausible to hypothesize that common factors regulate ecdysteroid release at both the larval and pupal stages, and that malfunction of the system regulating these factors triggers such ecdysteroid release, irrespective of the photoperiod. Hence, the photoperiodic responses disappear in the variant in both stages. The adult stage of the variant has a functional circadian clock, suggesting that the nondiapause phenotype is not necessarily involved in malfunction of the circadian clock.     

Effect of Conditioning Treatments on the Survival of Radopholus similis at High Temperatures

Heat treatments are an environmentally safe method for eliminating quarantine pests from tropical foliage. Conditioning heat treatments can induce thermotolerance against subsequent and otherwise phytotoxic temperatures in tropical foliage, allowing heat treatments to be even more effective. However, if thermotolerance is also induced in nematodes of quarantine significance like Radopholus similis, heat treatments would be rendered ineffective. A lethal thermal death point (LT_99.9) was established for R. similis by recording mortality at 25 (control temperature), 43°C, 45°C, 47°C, or 49°C after a 0, 1-, 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, or 15-minute exposure. In a second experiment, nematodes were conditioned at 35, 40, or 45°C for 0, 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes, allowed to rest for 3 hours, and then challenged at 47°C for 5 minutes. No nematodes survived the challenge heat treatment; rather, nematode mortality was hastened by the conditioning treatment itself. In a third experiment, R. similis inside anthurium roots were conditioned at 25°C or 40°C for 15 minutes and then treated at 45°C for up to 8 minutes. Mortality of conditioned and unconditioned nematodes was similar (P > 0.1). Conditioning treatments increase plant thermotolerance but do not induce thermotolerance in R. similis. Heat treatments have promise as disinfection protocols for quarantines.