Electrical recording and ultrastructure of stylet penetration by the greenhouse whitefly

Earlier studies have indicated that interior (physical and/or chemical) properties of a plant may be responsible for feeding-site selection by the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westw.). In order to study the process of feeding-site selection further, stylet-penetration activities and the pathway followed by the stylets in host-plant tissue were investigated using a DC electrical recording method and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Penetrating whiteflies attached to a gold wire were included in an electrical circuit to record electrical penetration graphs (EPGs). Seven EPG patterns have been distinguished, five of which could be correlated with components of the stylet-penetration process: 1) one with penetration of the leaf surface, 2) one with intercellular penetration and salivary-sheath secretion, 3) one with sieve element penetration and ingestion, 4) one with short penetration of a cell, and 5) one with xylem penetration. The stylet pathway is almost completely intercellular before the phloem is reached and in contrast to aphids, brief symplast punctures are very rare. In general, it takes T. vaporariorum more than half an hour from the start of a penetration to reach a sieve element. Rejection of feeding sites occurs within a few minutes of penetration by adult whiteflies, a time span in which stylets are presumed to penetrate just beyond the epidermis. Properties of the apoplast close to the leaf surface seem therefore to play a major role in feeding-site selection.

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Résumé De précédentes études ont montré que les propriétés internes (physiques et/ou chimiques) d'une plante peuvent induire la sélection du site de nutrition de la mouche blanche de serres, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westw.). Afin d'étudier plus avant le processus de sélection du site de nutrition, les activités de piqûre et le chemin suivi par le stylet dans les tissus de la plante-hôte ont été étudiés par une méthode d'enregistrement électrique en courant continu ainsi que par microscopie à transmission d'électrons (TEM). Des aleurodes en activité de piqûre attachées à un fil d'or ont été incluses dans un circuit électrique pour enregistrer des graphes de pénétration électriques (EPG). Sept motifs d'EPG ont été distingués, dont cinq peuvent être corrélés aux composantes du processus de pénétration du stylet: 1) un avec pénétration de la surface foliaire, 2) un avec pénétration interecellulaire et sécrétion d'une gaine de salive, 3) un avec pénétration du phloème, 4) un avec courte pénétration d'une cellule, et 5) un avec pénétration du xylème. Le parcours du stylet est presque entièrement intercellulaire avant que le phloème soit atteint. Contrairement aux pucerons, les ponctions brèves dans le symplasme sont rares. Généralement, T. vaporariorum met plus d'une demi-heure, à partir du début d'une piqûre, pour atteindre un vaisseau. Le rejet des sites de nutrition par les aleurodes adultes se passe quelques minutes après la pénétration du stylet; pendant ce laps de temps, le stylet pénétrerait juste sous l'épiderme. Le rôle des propriétés de l'apoplaste près de la surface foliaire semble donc majeur dans la sélection des sites de nutrition.

     

The effect of glucose-6-phosphate isomerase genotype onin vitro specific activity andin vivo flux inMytilus edulis

Four samples of the musselMytilus edulis were taken between 1984 and 1987 from Stony Brook, New York, and used to study the glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (GPI) polymorphism in this species.In vitro specific activity andin vivo flux measured in the same animals were found to be significantly correlated. A significant effect of GPI genotype on flux was observed in one of the samples; overall, significant evidence of effect of genotype on enzyme activity was also obtained. GPI activities of common genotypes tend to deviate less from the population mean than those of rare (frequency less than 5%) genotypes. This suggests the possibility that rare GPI genotypes are rare as a consequence of having biochemical properties that deviate from an optimum level and, therefore, having a lower fitness. In support of this hypothesis, we found in one of our samples that shell length is a concave function of GPI activity with an intermediate optimum activity level. The financial support provided to P.J.N.S. by the Luso-American Educational Commission (Fulbright Program), the Instituto Nacional de Investigacao Científica (Portugal), and the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa during several stages of this research is gratefully acknowledged. Financial support from the Ministerio de Educatión y Ciencia (Spain) in the form of a postdoctoral Fulbright/MEC fellowship to M.S. is also gratefully acknowledged. Research was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BSR-8415060 to R.K.K. This is contribution No. 736 from the Program in Ecology and Evolution, State University of New York at Stony Brook. On leave from Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande C2, Lisboa, Portugal.     

The valve movement response of mussels: a tool in biological monitoring

Biological sensors are becoming more important to monitor the quality of the aquatic environment. In this paper the valve movement response of freshwater (Dreissena polymorpha) and marine (Mytilus edulis) mussels is presented as a tool in monitoring studies. Examples of various methods for data storage and data treatment are presented, elucidating easier operation and lower detection limits. Several applications are mentioned, including an early warning system based on this valve movement response of mussels.     

Global convergence properties in multilocus viability selection models: the additive model and the Hardy-Weinberg law

A natural coordinate system is introduced for the analysis of the global stability of the Hardy-Weinberg (HW) polymorphism under the general multilocus additive viability model. A global convergence criterion is developed and used to prove that the HW polymorphism is globally stable when each of the loci is diallelic, provided the loci are overdominant and the multilocus recombination is positive. As a corollary the multilocus Hardy-Weinberg law for neutral selection is derived.Research supported in part by NIH grants GM 39907-01, GM 10452-26 and NSF Grant DMS 86-06244Research supported in part by a US-Israel Binational Science Foundation grant 85-00021 and NIH grant GM 28016     

Ribosomal DNA non-transcribed spacer polymorphism in subterranean mole rats: genetic differentiation,environmental correlates and phylogenetic relationships

Summary An analysis is presented of genetic differentiation in the non-transcribed spacers of ribosomal DNA (NTS rDNA). Diversity, environmental correlates and the phylogenetic relationships are examined within and between species of the actively speciating subterranean mole rat, superspeciesSpalax ehrenbergi (2n=52, 54, 58, 60) in Israel. This analysis is based on a previous study of the geographic distribution of restriction fragment length polymorphisms of NTS rDNA. Here we present results indicating that NTS rDNA diversity exists mostly (66%) within populations, while 20% is between populations within species, and 14% between species. Multivariate discriminant analysis succeeded in separating 10 of the 13 populations (77%) into their correct chromosomal species, on the basis of the combination of three NTS rDNA repetypes. The phylogenetic relationships suggest that the complex involves two pairs of closely related species (2n=52–54 and 2n=58–60). NTS rDNA diversity, as well as the decrease southward in frequency of repetype C, are correlated with climatic factors of humidity and temperature. These data are discussed in terms of the evolutionary forces of migration and selection which may cause NTS rDNA differentiation. Climatic selection appears to be the major differentiating factor of NTS rDNA.     

Ethanol production from xylose by Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus in batch and continuous culture

The fermentation of xylose by Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus ATCC 31938 was studied in pH-controlled batch and continuous cultures. In batch culture, a dependency of growth rate, product yield, and product distribution upon xylose concentration was observed. With 27 mM xylose media, an ethanol yield of 1.3 mol ethanol/mol xylose (78% of maximum theoretical yield) was typically obtained. With the same media, xylose-limited growth in continuous culture could be achieved with a volumetric productivity of 0.50 g ethanol/liter h and a yield of 0.42 g ethanol/g xylose (1.37 mol ethanol/mol xylose). With extended operation of the chemostat, variation in xylose uptake and a decline in ethanol yield was seen. Instability with respect to fermentation performance was attributed to a selection for mutant populations with different metabolic characteristics. Ethanol production in these T. ethanolicus systems was compared with xylose-to-ethanol conversions of other organisms. Relative to the other systems, T. ethanolicus offers the advantages of a high ethanol yield at low xylose concentrations in batch culture and of a rapid growth rate. Its disadvantages include a lower ethanol yield at higher xylose concentrations in batch culture and an instability of fermentation characteristics in continuous culture.     

Effects of selection criteria on yield stability in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Summary Selection in the F₃ generation for seed yield, fruiting branches/plant, effective pods/plant, and seed index (100-seed weight) was carried out in two chickpea crosses. Sixty F₅ lines (15 lines/selection criterion) along with check variety were evaluated for seed yield in three distinct environments. The effects of selection criteria on yield stability was examined using linear regression approach and genotype-grouping technique. There were no differences between selection criteria for linear yield responses of F₅ lines to different environments. Within all four selection criteria the lines showed similar linear responses. The non-linear component was relatively higher for lines selected for effective pods and seed index than lines selected for yield and fruiting branches. On the basis of mean yield and coefficient of variation across environments, the seed index was the least effective selection criterion for developing high yielding and stable lines. When the results of stability parameters and genotype-grouping technique were considered together, selection for yield and fruiting branches was highly effective for isolating stable and high yielding lines.     

The genetic structure of a primate species: Rhesus macaques and other Cercopithecine monkeys

Among rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)and other cercopithecine monkeys, social groups occupying adjacent home ranges (i.e., members of the same local population) exchange individuals and genes and thus exhibit marked genetic similarities. To assess the degree to which this pattern extends beyond the local population, the genetic structure of M. mulattaand six other primate species was determined using Nei’s (1973) gene-diversity analysis. The genetic similarities seen among social groups in the Dunga Gali population of M. mulatta (Melnick et al.,1984a) can be seen over the entire species range. Comparison of these results with the structures of other similarly organized primate species indicates that (1) the average social group contains most of its local population’s genetic diversity, (2) the average local population contains the majority of the genetic diversity found in the region to which it belongs, and (3) the proportion of species gene diversity found in the average regional population varies substantially between species. Genetic homogeneity within local and regional populations is probably the product of gene flow. The application of a number of analytical models of selection and gene flow strongly suggests that gene flow, genetic drift, and zoogeography offer a more parsimonious and plausible explanation for interspecific variation in regional differentiation than does stabilizing selection.     

Resource utilization of sympatric and experimentally allopatric cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden charr

Summary Resource utilization by cutthroat trout (CT) and Dolly Varden charr (DV) was studied 8 years after experimental transfers from sympatry had established reproducing allopatric populations in two nearby fishless lakes. Allopatric DV significantly increased their utilization of shallow-dwelling zoobenthos, and increased their vertical distribution in comparison to that in sympatry. In contrast, allopatric CT showed little change in the proportions of major prey types utilized, and, if anything, restricted their vertical distribution in comparison to that in sympatry. The results can be explained by the hypothesis that the resource use of DV is strongly influenced by interspecific competition from CT, whereas CT largely remains unaffected by this interaction. An alternative hypothesis, that lake differences can explain the differences in resource use between sympatry and allopatry, was evaluated by comparing food resource availability and other biotic and abiotic characteristics of the three study lakes. None of these could account for the shift in resource use by DV between sympatry and allopatry, but lake differences may explain why allopatric CT showed a restricted habitat use in comparison with their sympatric donor stock. The results of this whole-lake transfer experiment are consistent with earlier reported field and laboratory studies, and suggest that the aggressive dominance of CT is the most important mechanism by which DV are displaced from littoral and near-surface habitats in sympathy with CT.