Bumble bee workers drift to conspecific nests at field scales

1. Workers in several bee species travel to conspecific nests (‘drifting’), enter them, and produce male offspring inside them, so acting as intra‐specific social parasites. This adds a new dimension to bees' reproductive behaviour and spatial ecology, but the extent to which drifting occurs over field scales, i.e. at natural nest densities in field conditions, has been unclear. 2. Using the bumble bee Bombus terrestris (Linnaeus) as a model system, we sought to determine rates of worker drifting at field scales and the frequency of potential drifter workers in wild nests. 3. A field experiment with 27 colonies showed that workers travelled to, and became accepted in, conspecific nests that were up to 60 m away, although the number of accepted drifter workers within nests fell significantly with distance. The rate at which nests were entered by drifters was relatively high and significantly exceeded the rate at which drifters became accepted. 4. Microsatellite genotyping of eight field‐collected nests from Greater London, U.K., showed that a low frequency (3%) of workers were not full sisters of nestmate workers and hence were likely to have been drifter workers. 5. It is therefore concluded that workers can drift to conspecific nests over field scales and confirmed that successful drifting occurs in natural populations. Drifting appears to be a natural but low‐frequency behaviour permitting B. terrestris workers to gain direct fitness.     

Selection for non-diapause in the bumblebee Bombus terrestris, with notes on the effect of inbreeding

Bumblebees are generally believed to be annual insects. However, here we will show that under laboratory conditions the bumblebee Bombus terrestris (L.) can produce a second generation without a period of cold storage (diapause) or CO₂ narcosis (a method to break diapause). It is also shown that this so-called non-diapause trait can be selected for. The percentage of non-diapausing queens increased from 8% (minimum) to 97% (maximum) in two generations of selection. However, it was not possible to maintain isofemale non-diapause lines. Colonies of the fourth and fifth generation remained small (expressed in worker number) and produced a small number of queens. Also the percentage of queens that started laying eggs (defined as the percentage non-diapause) decreased in the fourth and fifth generations. To study whether this decline of the non-diapause lines was caused by inbreeding, a control experiment was conducted. In this control experiment queens were mated with their brothers (full-sib mating) for several generations and the number of queens that start egg laying was measured. This revealed that inbreeding can have a negative effect on the egg-laying capacities of queens thus causing the decline of inbred (non-diapause) lines.     

重楼中一株产纤维素酶内生真菌的分离及鉴定

从重楼根茎中分离、鉴定具有产纤维素酶活性的内生真菌.采用表面消毒法从重楼块茎中分离内生真菌;用纤维素酶活性CMC平板检测分离菌株的产纤维素酶活性;对高产菌株进行形态学观察和分子生物学测序鉴定;探究影响纤维素酶活力的因素;利用平板法检测该株菌产其他胞外水解酶的活性.从3个来源的重楼中分离出41株内生真菌,通过平板检测发现...     

Analysis of major histocompatibility complex class II gene in water voles using capillary electrophoresis‐single stranded conformation polymorphism

Analysis of a single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) using capillary electrophoresis (CE) is a novel method to study polymorphism of DNA sequences in large scale population studies. We optimized CE‐SSCP analysis to study the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II alpha gene (DQA) polymorphism. Short‐chain linear polyacrylamide (6%) as sieving matrix, TrisCl (pH 8.5) as buffer for sample dilution, and 27 °C, 9 kV as electrophoresis parameters were suitable for sufficient resolution of all alleles. We found that almost 25% of clones contained a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) artefact and strict criteria have to be applied when using cloning and sequencing to analyse the allelic diversity of MHC genes.     

Induction of colony initiation by Japanese native bumble bees using cocoons of the exotic bumblebee Bombus terrestris

The colony initiation rates of Bombus hypocrita (a native Japanese bumblebee) and Bombus terrestris (a European species) foundresses were compared after 4 weeks of exposure to B. terrestris cocoons. The B. terrestris cocoons, when replaced weekly, were effective for inducing oviposition by foundresses of both species. There were no significant differences in the colony initiation rates of B. terrestris and B. hypocrita, either with the control treatment or with the cocoons. The cocoon method was also tested for five species and two subspecies of native Japanese bumblebees. The colony initiation rate was higher for foundresses of the subgenus Bombus s. str. than for foundresses of the subgenera Pyrobombus, Diversobombus, and Thoracobombus. When replaced weekly, the cocoons of B. terrestris are effective inducers of colony foundation in three Japanese native species, namely B. ignitus, B. hypocrita hypocrita, and B. h. sapporoensis.     

蒺藜皂苷对动脉粥样硬化大鼠动脉壁ICAM-1、VCAM-1、PPARα、PPARγ基因表达的影响

观察全草蒺藜皂苷（tribu saponin from Tribulus terrestris,STT）对实验性动脉粥样硬化（atherosclerosis,AS）大鼠动脉壁中ICAM-1、VCAM-1、PPARα和PPARγ基因表达的影响,以探讨STT抗AS的机制。应用高脂饲料饮食配合注射维生素D,建立SD大鼠AS模型,并设立正常组、模型组、辛伐他汀组和蒺藜皂苷低、中、高剂量组。采用半定量RT-PCR的方法检测各组动物动脉壁中ICAM-1、VCAM-1、PPARα和PPARγ基因的表达,分析造模及各给药大鼠ICAM-1、VCAM-1、PPARα和PPARγ基因表达的变化。与正常组相比,模型组ICAM-1和VCAM-1基因的表达量明显增加（P〈0．01）,而PPARα和PPARγ基因的表达量明显降低（P〈0．01）;与模型组相比,辛伐他汀及各STT药均能降低ICAM-1和VCAM-1基因的表达量（P〈0．01～P〈0．05）,并能增加PPARα和PPARγ基因的表达量（P〈0．01）。提示STT能下调实验性AS大鼠动脉壁ICAM-1和VCAM-1基因的表达及上调PPARα和PPARγ基因表达,这可能是STT抗AS的作用机制之一。     

蒺藜总皂苷灌胃大鼠体内海柯皂苷元的代谢与分布

采用HPLC-UV和LC-MS方法相结合测定分析了海柯皂苷元在蒺藜总皂苷灌胃Sprague-Dawley(SD)大鼠体内不同器官组织分布动态变化。结果表明在大鼠胃肠中蒺藜总皂苷中有部分海柯皂苷水解为海柯皂苷元;在从6到32 h灌胃蒺藜总皂苷的大鼠肝脏中可检测到海柯皂苷元的存在,证明有一定量海柯皂苷元从大鼠胃肠道吸收进入体内;对于海柯皂苷元检测,API-MS检测方法较UV方法有更高的灵敏度,且有好的专属性。     

Glutaraldehyde cross‐linking increases the stability of Lumbricus terrestris erythrocruorin

Since donated red blood cells must be constantly refrigerated, they are not available in remote areas and battlefields. We have previously shown that the hemoglobin of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris (LtEc) is an effective and safe substitute for donated blood that is stable enough to be stored for long periods at the relatively high temperatures that may be encountered in remote areas. The goal of this study was to further increase the thermal stability of LtEc by covalently cross‐linking LtEc with glutaraldehyde (gLtEc). Our results show that the melting temperatures of the gLtEc samples steadily increase as the molar ratio of glutaraldehyde to heme increases (from T_m = 57°C for native LtEc up to T_m = 68°C at a ratio of 128:1). In addition, while native LtEc is susceptible to subunit dissociation at alkaline pH (8–10), cross‐linking with glutaraldehyde completely prevents dissociation of gLtEc at pH 10. Increasing the molar ratio of glutaraldehyde:heme also significantly increased the oxygen affinity of gLtEc, but this effect was decreased by cross‐linking gLtEc in the deoxygenated T state. Finally, while gLtEc samples cross‐linked at low G:H ratios (e.g., 2:1) exhibited slight increases in oxidation rate in Tris buffer, no significant difference in oxidation rate was observed between native LtEc and the gLtEc samples in Ringer's Solution, which contains antioxidants. Overall, cross‐linking LtEc with glutaraldehyde significantly increases its thermal and structural stability without any loss of function, making gLtEc an attractive blood substitute for deployment in remote areas and battlefields. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:521–528, 2018