Two Staphylinina species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae) new to Korea

Two species of the subtribe Staphylinina ( Platydracus vicarius Sharp and Ocypus lewisius Sharp) are identified for the first time in Korea. Diagnoses and illustrations of the habitus and male genitalia are presented.     

Enhancement of Extensin Biosynthesis in Ageing Disks of Carrot Storage Tissue

Incubation of carrot root phloem parenchyma disks is accompaniedby the accumulation of protein-bound hydroxyproline (extensin)in the cell wall. Freshly cut tissue disks have a low rate ofextensin synthesis, and this rate greatly increases during thefirst 18 h of incubation. Ageing is also accompanied by an increasein the enzymatic activity of a particulate UDP-arabinose arabinosyltransferase, an enzyme involved in extensin biosynthesis, andin the capacity of the cells to transport extensin to the wall.The enhancement of extensin biosynthesis is dependent on continuedRNA synthesis. The results suggest that wounding results ina de-repression of extensin biosynthesis.     

Use of Antibody-coupled Cellulose as Immunosorbent in the Estimation of Human Immunoglobulin E (γE)

THE recent discoveries^{1, 2} of myeloma forms of IgE have made possible the development of a sensitive radio-immunosorbent method of estimating antibody IgE (reagin) in normal and pathological sera and other body fluids. The RIST (radioimmunosorbent technique³), as it has come to be known, is based on a method⁴ developed originally for the estimation of protein hormones. It offers a highly sensitive alternative to methods of assaying antibody (reaginic) IgE, being capable of detecting about 1,000 times less than the lower limit of immunoglobulin (1 µg) detectable by the single radial immunodiffusion technique⁵.     

Phylogeny and feeding trait evolution of the mega‐diverse Gelechioidea (Lepidoptera: Obtectomera): new insight from 19 nuclear genes

The Gelechioidea (>18 000 species), one of the largest superfamilies of Lepidoptera, are a major element of terrestrial ecosystems and include important pests and biological model species. Despite much recent progress, our understanding of the classification, phylogeny and evolution of Gelechioidea remains limited. Building on recent molecular studies of this superfamily and a recently revised family/subfamily classification, we provide an independent estimate of among‐family relationships, with little overlap in gene sample. We analysed up to five nuclear genes, totalling 6633 bp, for each of 77 gelechioids, plus up to 14 additional genes, for a total of 14 826 bp, in 45 of those taxa and all 19 outgroup taxa. Our maximum‐likelihood (ML) analyses, like those of previous authors, strongly support monophyly for most multiply‐sampled families and subfamilies, but very weakly support most relationships above the family level. Our tree looks superficially divergent from that of the most recent molecular study of gelechioids, but when the previous tree is re‐rooted to accord maximally with ours, the two phylogenies agree entirely on the deepest‐level divergences in Gelechioidea, and strongly though incompletely on among‐family relationships within the major groups. This concordance between independent studies is evidence that the groupings (or at least the unrooted branching order) are probably accurate, despite the low bootstrap values. After re‐rooting, both trees divide the families into three monophyletic groups: a ‘Gelechiid Assemblage,’ consisting of Gelechiidae and Cosmopterigidae; a ‘Scythridid Assemblage,’ consisting of Stathmopodidae, Scythrididae, Blastobasidae, Elachistidae, Momphidae, Coleophoridae and Batrachedridae; and a ‘Depressariid Assemblage,’ consisting of Autostichidae, Xyloryctidae, Lecithoceridae, Oecophoridae, Depressariidae and Lypusidae. Within the largest family, Gelechiidae, our results strongly support the pairing of Anomologinae with Gelechiinae, in accordance with a recent study of this family. Relationships among the other subfamilies, however, conflict moderately to strongly between studies, leaving the intrafamily phylogeny unsettled. Within the ‘Scythridid Assemblage,’ both trees support an ‘SSB clade’ consisting of Blastobasidae + (Scythrididae + Stathmopodidae), strongly resolved only in our results. Coleophoridae + Batrachedridae is supported, albeit weakly, in both trees, and only Momphidae differ in position between studies. Within the ‘Depressariid Assemblage,’ both trees support an ‘AXLO’ clade consisting of Autostichidae, Xyloryctidae, Lecithoceridae and Oecophoridae. The monophyly of this clade and relationships therein are supported weakly in previous results but strongly in ours. The recently re‐defined family Depressariidae is paraphyletic in our tree, but the evidence against depressariid monophyly is very weak. There is moderate support for a core group of Depressariidae consisting, among the seven subfamilies we sampled, of Depressariinae, Aeolanthinae and Hypertrophinae. We show that gelechioids have a higher total number and percentage of species that are saprophagous as larvae than any other apoditrysian superfamily, that saprophagy is concentrated primarily in the ‘AXLO clade,’ and that the ancestral gelechioid condition was probably feeding on live plants. Among the living‐plant feeders, concealed external feeding was probably the ancestral state. The multiple origins of internal feeding of various kinds, including leaf mining (otherwise almost unknown in Apoditrysia), are restricted mostly to the Scythridid and Gelechiid Assemblages. The traits that predispose or permit lineages to adopt these unusual life histories are worthy of study.     

Phylogeny of Rhigonematomorpha based on the complete mitochondrial genome of Rhigonema thysanophora (Nematoda: Chromadorea)

We determined the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Rhigonema thysanophora, the first representative of Rhigonematomorpha, and used this sequence along with 57 other nematode species for phylogenetic analyses. The R. thysanophora mtDNA is 15 015 bp and identical to all other chromadorean nematode mtDNAs published to date in that it contains 36 genes (lacking atp8) encoded in the same direction. Phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide and amino acid sequence data for the 12 protein‐coding genes recovered Rhigonematomorpha as the sister group to the heterakoid species, Ascaridia columbae (Ascaridomorpha). The organization of R. thysanophora mtDNA resembles the most common pattern for the Rhabditomorpha+Ascaridomorpha+Diplogasteromorpha clade in gene order, but with some substantial gene rearrangements. This similarity in gene order is in agreement with the sequence‐based analyses that indicate a close relationship between Rhigonematomorpha and Rhabditomorpha+Ascaridomorpha+Diplogasteromorpha. These results are consistent with certain analyses of nuclear SSU rDNA for R. thysanophora and some earlier classification systems that asserted phylogenetic affinity between Rhigonematomorpha and Ascaridomorpha, but inconsistent with morphology‐based phylogenetic hypotheses that suggested a close (taxonomic) relationship between rhigonematomorphs and oxyuridomorphs (pinworms). These observations must be tempered by noting that few rhigonematomorph species have been sequenced and included in phylogenetic analyses, and preliminary studies based on SSU rDNA suggest the group is not monophyletic. Additional mitochondrial genome sequences of rhigonematids are needed to characterize their phylogenetic relationships within Chromadorea, and to increase understanding of mitochondrial genome evolution.     

New record of Orthotylus pallen (Matsumura) (Hemiptera: Miridae) from Korea, with a key to and checklist of Korean species

Orthotylus pallen (Mastumura, 1911) is recorded for the first time from Korea and is diagnosed. An image of its dorsal habitus as well as illustrations of the male and female genitalia are provided. A key to and checklist of Korean Orthotylus species are given.