Anatomy and muscle activity of the dorsal fins in bamboo sharks and spiny dogfish during turning maneuvers

Stability and procured instability characterize two opposing types of swimming, steady and maneuvering, respectively. Fins can be used to manipulate flow to adjust stability during swimming maneuvers either actively using muscle control or passively by structural control. The function of the dorsal fins during turning maneuvering in two shark species with different swimming modes is investigated here using musculoskeletal anatomy and muscle function. White‐spotted bamboo sharks are a benthic species that inhabits complex reef habitats and thus have high requirements for maneuverability. Spiny dogfish occupy a variety of coastal and continental shelf habitats and spend relatively more time cruising in open water. These species differ in dorsal fin morphology and fin position along the body. Bamboo sharks have a larger second dorsal fin area and proportionally more muscle insertion into both dorsal fins. The basal and radial pterygiophores are plate‐like structures in spiny dogfish and are nearly indistinguishable from one another. In contrast, bamboo sharks lack basal pterygiophores, while the radial pterygiophores form two rows of elongated rectangular elements that articulate with one another. The dorsal fin muscles are composed of a large muscle mass that extends over the ceratotrichia overlying the radials in spiny dogfish. However, in bamboo sharks, the muscle mass is divided into multiple distinct muscles that insert onto the ceratotrichia. During turning maneuvers, the dorsal fin muscles are active in both species with no differences in onset between fin sides. Spiny dogfish have longer burst durations on the outer fin side, which is consistent with opposing resistance to the medium. In bamboo sharks, bilateral activation of the dorsal in muscles could also be stiffening the fin throughout the turn. Thus, dogfish sharks passively stiffen the dorsal fin structurally and functionally, while bamboo sharks have more flexible dorsal fins, which result from a steady swimming trade off. J. Morphol. 274:1288–1298, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

电刺激兔脑干中缝背核引起呼吸易化效应的观察

本文在30只全麻、制动、断双侧迷走神经的家兔上,记录一侧膈神经放电,观察了电刺激脑干中缝背核(Nucleus Raphe Dorsalis,NRD)所诱发出的呼吸效应。1.施以6—10s 长串电脉冲刺激(波宽0.3ms,频率100Hz,波幅4—6V),诱发出了强的呼吸易化效应,使呼吸加深加快。2.吸气相给予0.4s 短串电脉冲刺激可以明显的延长吸气相,用0.15mA 强度刺激,落位在吸气相的2/3时效应最明显。3.呼气相短串电脉串刺激可规律地使呼气时程缩短,促进呼气向吸气的位相转换,诱发此效应出现的强度阈值在呼气相中逐渐降低。     

Thermal stress exposure of pupal oriental fruit fly has strong and trait-specific consequences in adult flies

Global climate change is projected to increase the incidence of heat waves, their magnitude and duration resulting in insects experiencing increasing environmental stress in both natural and managed ecosystems. While studies on insect thermal tolerance are rapidly increasing, variation across developmental or juvenile stress cross-stage effects within and across generations remain largely unexplored. Yet in holometabolous insects, heat stress at an early developmental stage may influence performance and survival during later stages. Here, we investigated the effects of pupal mild heat stress on the performance of laboratory-reared adult Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) measured as longevity, critical thermal maximum (CT_max), critical thermal minima (CT_min), heat knockdown time (HKDT) and chill coma recovery time (CCRT). Pupal heat stress significantly influenced performance of B. dorsalis adults resulting in impaired longevity and heat tolerance (CT_max and HKDT) in both sexes with improved and compromised cold tolerance (CT_min and CCRT) in females and males, respectively. These findings highlight the role of juvenile stages in mediating stress responses at adult stages. For B. dorsalis, pupal heat stress largely compromised thermal tolerance implying that the species has limited potential to shift its geographic range in heat prone areas. Significant benefits in cold tolerance in females following heat stress may help in improving survival in the cold in the short-term despite restricted activity to the same traits in males. This study suggests that basal heat tolerance and not short-term compensatory thermal plasticity following heat stress may have aided the recent invasion of B. dorsalis in African landscapes.     

Transmission of peanut yellow spot virus (PYSV) by Thrips,Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood in groundnut †

Peanut yellow spot virus (PYSV) was efficiently transmitted by Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood in groundnut. Larvae could acquire the virus in 30 min and the maximum percentage transmission of 43.8% by individual insects resulted following two days AAP. Single adult Thrip transmitted the virus after minimum IAP of 30 minutes. The percentage transmission (33.3%) increased linearly with an increase in IAP up to 1.5 days and maximum up to 55 h of IAP (36.1%). PYSV persistently transmitted more than 75% of their life span.     

龙葵上柑橘木虱存活观察与黄龙病检测

柑橘木虱Diaphorina citri是毁灭性病害黄龙病的媒介,其寄主范围比较严格,仅为芸香科内的一些植物。研究发现,在自然状态下,柑橘木虱成虫可在柑橘园中常见茄科Solanaceae杂草-龙葵Solanum nigrum上停留。对比试验显示,木虱成虫在龙葵上的存活期最长可达45 d,而在假臭草Eupatorium catarium、含水海绵和无水海绵上分别为24 d、9 d和2 d;通过实时荧光PCR检测发现部分龙葵叶片中含有黄龙病病原菌。这些非寄主植物可能有助于柑橘木虱躲避不良环境或长距离迁移扩散,成为柑橘木虱和黄龙病的潜在库源。     

布氏潜蝇茧蜂对橘小实蝇幼虫寄生作用的研究

在试验室条件下研究了布氏潜蝇茧蜂Fopius vandenboschi(Fullaway)的寄生习性。结果表明:该寄生蜂嗜好寄生低龄的橘小实蝇幼虫;橘小实蝇幼虫的密度对布氏潜蝇茧蜂的寄生有明显的影响;被寄生的幼虫数随寄主自身密度的增加而增加,当寄主幼虫密度达每果片30只以上时,寄生数量的增加幅度就趋于下降,用Holling圆盘方程模拟为Na=0.9051N/(1 0.0163N)。此外,布氏潜蝇茧蜂的自身密度对寄生作用也有影响,随着寄生蜂数量的增加,寄生蜂的发现域逐渐变小,用Hassell-Varley方程表示为α=0.4655P-0.5807。     

Condition-Dependent Mating Success in Male Fruit Flies: Ingestion of a Pheromone Precursor Compensates for a Low-Quality Diet

Previous studies revealed that males of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, require protein in the adult diet to obtain matings and that ingestion of methyl eugenol, which acts as a pheromone precursor, increases male attractiveness and mating competitiveness. The goal of this study was to investigate the interaction between diet quality and methyl eugenol consumption in affecting the mating frequency of B. dorsalis males. In one set of experiments, mature males were deprived of protein for 1, 3, or 7 days and were either given or denied access to methyl eugenol (ME). These males competed against control males (continuously protein-fed, no feeding on ME) for copulations in field cages. Without ME, males held without protein for 3 or 7 days obtained significantly fewer matings than control males. With ME, however, males held for even 7 days without protein achieved higher mating success than control males. In a second set of experiments, mature males were held without protein for 7 days and then given a protein-rich diet for 1, 3, or 7 days before testing and were either given or denied access to ME. Without ME, males were competitively inferior to control males when tested 1 or 3 days after resumption of protein feeding and equivalent to control males only after 7 days of protein feeding. With ME, however, males obtained significantly more matings than control males when tested 3 or 7 days after resumed protein feeding and had similar mating success as control males after 1 day of access to the protein-rich diet. Results show that mating success in this species is condition-dependent, with both nutritional state and ME consumption influencing male mating success. Under the test conditions, feeding on ME counteracted a low quality diet and enhanced male mating success.     

橘小实蝇成虫肠道可培养细菌群落结构分析

【目的】研究橘小实蝇(Bactrocera dorsalis) 3个种群(实验室正常喂养种群、实验室无菌糖水喂养种群和野生种群)成虫肠道可培养细菌的群落结构组成。【方法】利用16S rRNA基因的聚合酶链式反应-变性梯度凝胶电泳(PCR-DGGE)分析技术,结合菌落形态观察和生理生化特征鉴定细菌种类。【结果】从橘小实蝇3个种群成虫肠道600株可培养细菌得到53种不同细菌遗传型,分属于肠杆菌科(Enterobacteriaceae)、肠球菌科(Enterococcaceae)和芽孢杆菌科(Bacillaceae)等3个科。其中肠杆菌科是肠道可培养细菌最优势的细菌种类。同样以序列相似性大于97%的菌株归为相同的细菌种类为标准,找到了橘小实蝇3个种群可培养细菌的共有菌种,结合菌落形态观察和生理生化特征鉴定,确定共有菌种为肠杆菌属5株,克雷伯氏菌属2株,柠檬酸杆菌属1株,泛菌属1株,肠球菌属2株,以及芽孢杆菌属4株。【结论】通过研究橘小实蝇成虫肠道可培养细菌群落结构组成,可为探讨肠道菌群对寄主的生理功能和生态学意义奠定基础,最终为利用微生物防治此类害虫提供新思路。     

Sternal gland structures in males of bean flower thrips,Megalurothrips sjostedti,and Poinsettia thrips,Echinothrips americanus,in comparison with those of western flower thrips,Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)

Sternal pores are important features for identification of male thrips, especially within the subfamily Thripinae. They vary in shape, size and distribution even between species of one genus. Their functional role is speculated to be that of sex- and/or aggregation pheromone production. Yet, sexual aggregations are not reported in Echinothrips americanus, known to have sternal pores, while we observed aggregations in Megalurothrips sjostedti, previously reported to lack them.We examined the sternal glands and pores of the thripine species E. americanus and M. sjostedti males, in comparison with those of Frankliniella occidentalis using light microscopy, as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Pore plates of F. occidentalis were ellipsoid and medial on sternites III–VII, while in E. americanus they were distributed as multiple micro pore plates on sternites III–VIII. In M. sjostedti they appeared as an extremely small pore in front of the posterior margin of each of sternites IV–VII. Pore plate and pore plate area were distributed similarly on sternites III–VII in F. occidentalis. However, in E. americanus the total pore plate area increased significantly from sternites III to VIII. Ultrastructure of cells associated with sternal glands showed typical characteristics of gland cells that differ in size, shape and number. The function of sternal glands is further discussed on the basis of morphological comparisons with other thrips species.