Eukaryotic ectosymbionts of Acari

The Acari is the most numerous and diverse group of the subphylum Chelicerata. With approximately 55 000 described species (and estimates of up to 1 million extant species), their adaptations for parasitism, phytophagy, mycophagy, saprophagy and predation rival other arthropods and challenge us with a wide variety of biological interactions. While a few studies have unravelled the nature of some endosymbiotic associations between mites or ticks and prokaryotes, almost nothing has been done yet regarding acarine eukaryotic ectosymbionts. Microbial ectosymbionts can benefit their hosts by providing nutrients, by aiding digestion, by enhancing communication, by assisting in mating and/or fertilization, by protecting their host against pathogenic microorganisms, against predation and so on. In this sketch, we introduce a number of described cases of fungal and protist ectosymbionts and discuss the role they might play in the life of their acarine hosts.     

Insular black files (Diptera: Simuliidae) of North America: tests of colonization hypotheses

Aim To understand factors that facilitate insular colonization by black flies, we tested six hypotheses related to life‐history traits, phylogeny, symbiotes, island area, and distance from source areas. Location Four northern islands, all within 150 km of the North American mainland, were included in the study: Isle Royale, Magdalen Islands, Prince Edward Island, and Queen Charlotte Islands. Methods Immature black flies and their symbiotes were surveyed in streams on the Magdalen Islands, and the results combined with data from similar surveys on Isle Royale, Prince Edward Island, and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Black flies were analysed chromosomally to ensure that all sibling species were revealed. Tests of independence were used to examine the frequency of life‐history traits and generic representation of black flies on islands vs. source areas. Results A total of 13–20 species was found on each of the islands, but no species was unique to any of the islands. The simuliid faunas of the islands reflected the composition of their source areas in aspects of voltinism (univoltine vs. multivoltine), blood feeding (ornithophily vs. mammalophily), and phylogeny (genus Simulium vs. other genera). Five symbiotic species were found on the most distant island group, the Magdalen Islands, supporting the hypothesis that obligate symbiotes are effectively transported to near‐mainland islands. An inverse relationship existed between the number of species per island and distance from the source. The Queen Charlotte Islands did not conform to the species–area relationship. Main conclusions The lack of precinctive insular species and an absence of life‐history and phylogenetic characteristics related to the presence of black flies on these islands argue for gene flow and dispersal capabilities of black flies over open waters, possibly aided by winds. However, the high frequency of precinctive species on islands 500 km or more from the nearest mainland indicates that at some distance beyond 100 km, open water provides a significant barrier to colonization and gene exchange. An inverse relationship between number of species and distance from the source suggests that as long as suitable habitat is present, distance plays an important role in colonization. Failure of the Queen Charlotte Islands to conform to an area–richness trend suggests that not all resident species have been found.     

Dissolved oxygen levels affect dimorphic growth by the entomopathogenic fungus Isaria fumosorosea

The entomopathogenic fungus Isaria fumosorosea is capable of dimorphic growth (hyphal or yeast-like) in submerged culture. Using 250-mL baffled flasks, culture volumes of 50, 100, 150, and 200 mL were grown in a shaker incubator at 350 rpm and 28°C. Dissolved oxygen (DO) was continuously monitored using a non-invasive oxygen monitoring system. Culture volumes of 50 mL maintained DO concentrations above 10% throughout the 3-day growth period and accumulated biomass and produced blastospores more rapidly (1.2×10⁹ blastospores mL^?1 in 2 days) than the other culture volumes tested. Dissolved oxygen was depleted in culture volumes of 100, 150, and 200 mL after 20.5, 16.8, and 13.5 h, respectively. The DO in 150 and 200 mL cultures remained exhausted (<3%) throughout the growth period resulting in significantly lower blastospore yields and increased hyphal growth. These results were used to establish oxygen levels (>20% DO) for I. fumosorosea growth in 100-L bioreactors resulting in blastospore production (1.1×10⁹ blastospores mL^?1 in 2 days) comparable to highly aerated, low volume shake flask cultures. In addition, maintaining higher DO levels resulted in increased blastospore production by cultures of I. fumosorosea grown on low-cost nitrogen sources (cottonseed meal and soy flour) that previously elicited excessive hyphal growth. These studies showed that oxygen availability is essential for significant yeast-like growth by I. fumosorosea cultures and that continuous monitoring of oxygen concentrations in shake flask cultures can be used to establish aeration conditions for bioreactors.     

Decaying wood in tree trunk hollows as a natural substrate for Cryptococcus neoformans and other yeast-like fungi of clinical interest

The occurrence of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans and other yeast-like fungi of clinical interest in decaying wood inside tree trunk hollows, bark and other plant materials is reported. The var. neoformans was isolated from 3 of 45 (6.6%) wood and one of 390 Eucalyptus bark samples. Two of the positive wood samples came from a tree trunk hollow of Butea monosperma (Family: Papilionaceae) growing in Roshan Ara Garden, Old Delhi whereas the third was from a trunk hollow of Tamarindus indica (Family: Papilionaceae) growing outside of Talkatora Garden, New Delhi. The solitary positive Eucalyptus bark sample originated from Amritsar. The isolations of var. neoformans from decaying wood inside trunk hollows of B. monosperma and T. indica constitute the first record of the natural occurrence of this pathogen in association with these trees. The observation reinforces the recent evidence for decaying wood inside trunk hollows of some trees to be a new natural habitat of the variety neoformans. Besides, in consonance with their essentially saprobic character, a number of other yeast-like fungi were sporadically isolated. This includes, Cryptoccus laurentii Cryptococcus albidus Candida lusitaniae C. guilliermondii C. krusei C. tropicalis C. zeylanoides Trichosporon cutaneum Rhodotorula mucilaginosa R. glutinis Geotrichum capitatum G. klebahnii and Sporobolomyces salmonicolor. Cryptococcus neoformans var. gattii was not found in any of the 702 samples of plant materials, including the bark and detritus of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and E. tereticornis trees. A more extensive environmental survey, covering divergent climatic regions, is warranted to identify the natural reservoirs of var. gattii in India. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Host-plant resistance of sorghum: Differential hydrolysis of sorghum pectic substances by polysaccharases of greenbug biotypes (Schizaphis graminum,homoptera: Aphididae)

Pectic substances extracted from different varieties of sorghum are hydrolyzed at differing rates by unfractionated polysaccharases isolated from two biotypes (C, GBC; and E, GBE) of the sorghum pest, Schizaphis graminum (the greenbug). A higher degree of susceptibility of a sorghum variety is associated with a greater rate of hydrolysis of sorghum pectic substances by a greenbug biotype. Increases in the specific activity of polysaccharases on the pectic substances from a resistant sorghum variety are dependent on the duration that a biotype is maintained as a colony on that variety. Polysaccharase activity of GBE on arabinogalactan was significantly greater than GBC. However, there were no differences between the biotypes on the depolymerization of a variety of other plant matrix polysaccharides and a synthetic polysaccharide. The sequence of substrates of increasing refractoriness to hydrolysis are: arabinogalactan < microcrystalline cellulose < xylan < pectin < 2,3-diacetyl pectin < α-1,4-galacturonan. Pectic substances from sorghum varieties resistant to GBC but susceptible to GBE are relatively lower in arabinogalactan with elevated levels of uronic acid (UA) compared to varieties susceptible to both biotypes. A sorghum variety resistant to both GBC and GBE was lowest in levels of arabinogalactan, highest in UA, and highest in fructan content, which in the other varieties occurred only in trace amounts. Pectic composition of rhamnose, xylose, and glucose showed no relationship to resistance. Bound phenolics (potential inhibitors of enzyme activity) were not detected in any of the sorghum pectic substances. The relationship of plant matrix polysaccharides to host-plant aphid biotype compatibility is discussed.     

三种稻飞虱体内类酵母共生菌18S rDNA和 ITS 5.8S rDNA序列克隆及进化分析

为研究水稻3种主要害虫灰飞虱Laodelphax striatellus、 褐飞虱Nilaparvata lugens和白背飞虱Sogatella furcifera体内类酵母共生菌（yeast-like symbiotes, YLS）的种属地位及与寄主的进化关系, 测定了其体内YLS的18S rDNA及ITS-5.8S rDNA的全长序列。基于3种稻飞虱体内YLS的18S rDNA序列比对表明, 褐飞虱YLS和白背飞虱YLS的一致性比其与灰飞虱YLS的高（褐飞虱YLS和白背飞虱YLS为98.91%, 灰飞虱YLS和褐飞虱YLS为95.74%, 灰飞虱YLS和白背飞虱YLS为96.02%）, 而基于ITS-5.8S rDNA序列比对, 灰飞虱YLS和白背飞虱YLS的一致性比其与褐飞虱YLS的要高（白背飞虱YLS和灰飞虱YLS为99.57%, 灰飞虱YLS和褐飞虱YLS为91.91%, 白背飞虱YLS和褐飞虱YLS为90.46%）。基于真菌18S rDNA和ITS-5.8S rDNA的系统发育树均表明, 3种稻飞虱体内YLS与其他已知真菌进化关系较远。本研究证实了昆虫真菌类共生菌与寄主形成了长期的进化关系, 从而形成了不同于已知真菌的分类地位。     

灰飞虱体内一种酵母类共生菌的分子鉴定

为明确稻飞虱体内酵母类共生菌（yeast-like symbiont,YLS）的种类,采用超速离心的方法分离纯化灰飞虱Laodelphax striatellus（Fallén）体内YLS,用真菌的通用引物对其18S rDNA、5.8S-ITS rDNA全长序列进行扩增。结果得到一条分子量约为2 340 bp的序列。序列同源性分析表明,该菌与Noda等所报道的类酵母菌的18S rDNA序列差异较大（同源性只有89.6％）,而与季也蒙毕赤酵母Pichia guilliermondii有99.8％的同源性。原位杂交（ISH）和巢氏PCR均证明该菌存在于灰飞虱脂肪体和卵内,但数量较少。因此,灰飞虱体内YLS除了Noda等报道的类酵母菌外,尚存在另外一种季也蒙毕赤酵母菌。     

浅部真菌病病原酵母菌构成调查及药敏研究

目的了解本地区浅部真菌病病原酵母菌感染菌种的构成及其耐药性特点,为临床提供病原学诊断和合理使用抗真菌药物的依据。方法采用改良沙氏培养基对1354份临床标本进行酵母菌培养和菌株分离,用科玛嘉念珠菌显色培养基和YBC鉴定卡对所分离的酵母菌进行鉴定,用ROSCO纸片扩散法检测分离菌株对6种常见抗真菌药物的耐药性。结果共分离出10种219株酵母菌,甲真菌病检出率最高(43.80%),其次是股癣(16.70%)、体癣(13.00%)、足癣(11.11%),手癣最低(9.40%)。其中白念珠菌为63.47%;近平滑念珠菌为17.81%;热带念珠菌为6.85%;季也蒙念珠菌为5.94%;无名念珠菌为2.28%,其他酵母菌为3.65%。219株酵母菌对特比萘芬(TBE)、伊曲康唑(ITC)、氟康唑(FLC)、制霉菌素(NYS)、咪康唑(MIC)和酮康唑(KTC)的敏感性分别为53.42%、87.21%、97.26%、100%、80.35%和100%,耐药性分别为20.55%、11.11%、2.28%、0.0、12.72%和0.0。结论本地区浅部真菌病酵母菌感染菌谱以白念珠菌为主,其次是近平滑念珠菌和热带念珠菌,体外药敏显示对制霉菌素、酮康唑和氟康唑有很好的敏感性,对特比萘芬、伊曲康唑和咪康唑产生了较高的耐药性。     

Culture of fat body of Periplaneta americana: Tissue development and establishment of cell lines

Long-term culture of larval fat body from Periplaneta americana was carried out. The cultures in a chemically defined medium show a strict dependance of the fat body on oxygen. The cultures with serum supplementation give rise to numerous cell migrations. We have studied the development of the different cell types and especially that of the mycetocytes and adipocytes. The mycetocytes can be cultured provided that they remain associated with the adipocytes. In these mycetocytes, the progressive loss of the symbiotes is related to the lipid load. The adipocytes continue to store lipids and glycogen for over 6 months. Then, the selection of different phenotypes gives rise to a homogeneous and adipocyte-like cell population. After 7 months, these cells can be subcultured regularly and a new cell line from P. americana has been established which is the only one isolated from explants of the insect fat body.     

Sterols in Laodelphax striatellus with special reference to the intracellular yeastlike symbiotes as a sterol source

Sterols were analysed to investigate the sterol source in Laodelphax striatellus and three other rice plant-sucking homopterous insects. In L. striatellus, cholesterol, 24-methylenecholesterol and β-sitosterol were detected. The host plant (rice) contained campesterol, stigmasterol and β-sitosterol. From the honeydew excreted by L. striatellus, cholesterol, β-sitosterol and negligible amounts of campesterol were recovered. Laodelphax striatellus possesses yeastlike symbiotes which can be destroyed by high temperature. Fifth instar nymphs, which have been exposed to 35°C for 3 days in their 1 st instar, showed lower cholesterol concentration and markedly reduced amounts of 24-methylenecholesterol. From the results it is concluded that L. striatellus has two sterol sources: one from the host plant and the other from the yeastlike symbiotes which appear to provide 24-methylenecholesterol.