Multiple host-ant use by the predatory social parasite <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phengaris</Emphasis> (=<Emphasis Type="Italic">Maculinea</Emphasis>) <Emphasis Type="Italic">arion</Emphasis> (Lepidoptera,Lycaenidae)

Phengaris (=Maculinea) arion is an endangered social parasite of Myrmica ants, and for a very long time was considered as specific to Myrmica sabuleti. Previous studies carried out in Poland suggested some discrepancies within this assumption, and therefore a much more intensive survey was undertaken. The host ant use of P. arion was studied at five sites in different types of biotopes in Poland, i.e. xerothermal grasslands where Thymus pulegioides was used as a larval food plant by the butterfly, and more or less sandy biotopes with Thymus serpyllum. Altogether nine Myrmica species were recorded, and considerable variation in species composition and density of nests was recorded. At four localities M. sabuleti proved to be the most common ant. A total of 529 Myrmica nests were examined, and only 20 of them contained larvae and pupae of P. arion. Host ants belonged to five different species, i.e. M. sabuleti, Myrmica scabrinodis, Myrmica schencki, Myrmica lobicornis and Myrmica hellenica. Only at one site (NE Poland) was a significant heterogeneity in parasitation rates among Myrmica species detected. M. lobicornis was the most often infested ant there, which may suggest local specialisation of the butterfly. Overall low parasitism rates may explain the vulnerability of P. arion in Central Europe but further studies are also necessary.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus anthracis</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Francisella tularensis</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Yersinia pestis</Emphasis>. The most important bacterial warfare agents — <Emphasis Type="Italic">review</Emphasis>

There are three most important bacterial causative agents of serious infections that could be misused for warfare purposes: Bacillus anthracis (the causative agent of anthrax) is the most frequently mentioned one; however, Fracisella tularensis (causing tularemia) and Yersinia pestis (the causative agent of plague) are further bacterial agents enlisted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into the category A of potential biological weapons. This review intends to summarize basic information about these bacterial agents. Military aspects of their pathogenesis and the detection techniques suitable for field use are discussed.     

Habitat,density, and spatial distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rivulus giarettai</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Actinopterygii</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyprinodontiformes</Emphasis>) in southeastern Brazil

We present data on the habitat, density, and spatial distribution of Rivulus giarettai, and discuss some biotic and abiotic variables related to its abundance in Free Flowing Waters (FFW) and Dam Reservoirs (DR) in palm grove (Mauritia flexuosa) marshes (Veredas) in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The mean density (individuals/plot) of R. giarettai was about 13 times higher in FFW than in DR. In FFW, the density of R. giarettai was highest at intermediate amounts of substrate (plant mass) and it was positively rank-correlated with the depth, and the number of arthropods. Individuals occurred in an aggregated distribution. The aggregated pattern could be related to a concentration of individuals in microhabitats neither too much exposed nor completely saturated by plants. R. giarettai was relatively abundant and tolerant to slight man-made habitat modifications. Damming appeared to be especially problematic by negatively affecting its density.     

Presence of <Emphasis Type="Italic">C. albidus</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">C. laurentii</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">C. uniguttulatus</Emphasis> in Crop and Droppings of Pigeon Lofts (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Columba livia</Emphasis>)

Columba livia is an important reservoir and carrier of Cryptococcus neoformans, Cryptococcus uniguttulatus, Cryptococcus laurentii and Cryptococcus albidus. Upper digestive tract of this species is also known as a habitat for Cryptococcus neoformans. Given the increasing clinical interest of this microorganism, 331 swabs from crop and 174 dropping samples from pigeon lofts in Grand Canary Island have been studied. The obtained results show an extensive presence samples 81 positive (24.47%) of Cryptococcus spp. in analysed crops: 32 (9.66%) for C. neoformans, 24 (7.2%) for C. uniguttulatus, 23 (6.9%) for C. albidus and 2 (0.6%) for C. laurentii. In the same way, Cryptococcus spp was also isolated in 82 (47.13%), dropping samples: C. neoformans in 59 (33.9%), C. uniguttulatus, in 9 (5.17%), C. laurentii in 8 (4.59%) and C. albidus in 6 (3.44%) of the investigated samples, respectively. The cryptococcosis produced by species of cryptococci other than C. neoformans has become more important during the last decade, supporting the study on the role of pigeon in the epidemiology of this disease.     

Spatial movement optimization in Amazonian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eciton burchellii</Emphasis> army ants

Foraging army ants face a problem general to many animals—how best to confront resource depletion and environmental heterogeneity. Army ants have presumably evolved a nomadic lifestyle as a way to minimize re-exploitation of previously foraged areas. However, this solution creates a challenge for an army ant colony: foraging by this colony and others creates a shifting landscape of food resources, where colonies should theoretically avoid their own previous foraging paths as well as those of other colonies. Here, we examine how colonies exploit this resource mosaic, using some of the optimality arguments first proposed and tested by Franks and Fletcher (1983), but with much larger data sets in a new location in SW Amazonia. Our data supported Franks and Fletcher’s (1983) model for systematic avoidance of raided areas during the statary phase, as well as a hypothesis of distance optimization between successive statary bivouacs. We also test and find significant evidence that foraging raids turn in opposite directions from the previous day’s directional angles more frequently than what would be expected if turning angles were distributed at random, which acts to move a colony away from recently exploited areas. This implies that colonies follow a straighter line path during the nomadic phase as opposed to a curved one, which acts to maximize distance between statary bivouacs. In addition to intra-colony movement optimization, we examine evidence for inter-colony avoidance from more than 330 colony emigrations and suggest that colony-specific pheromones are not necessarily repulsive to other colonies. Lastly, we compare our results with those of similar studies carried out at Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Panama. Despite a higher density of army ants in the SW Amazon region, colonies spend less time emigrating than their counterparts at BCI, which suggests a higher prey density in SW Amazonia.     

Variability of esterase patterns in adult flies of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">saltans</Emphasis> species group of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis> (subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sophophora</Emphasis>)

Esterases are known for their involvement in several physiological processes and high degree of polymorphism, in many organisms. Such polymorphism has been used to characterize species and species groups and to study genetic changes occurred in their evolutionary history. In the present study, the esterase patterns of 19 strains from 10 species representative of the five subgroups of the saltans species group were analyzed using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and α- and β- naphthyl acetates as substrates. Fifty-one esterase bands were detected and classified as 31 α-esterases, 18 β-esterases and two α/β-esterases. On the basis of the inhibition patterns using Malathion and eserine sulfate, 34 bands were classified as carboxylesterases, 14 as acethylesterases and three as cholinesterases. Ten gene loci were tentatively established on the basis of data on band position in the gel, substrate preference and inhibition pattern. Twenty bands were species-specific, the remaining being shared by species from the same or different subgroups. Bands detected exclusively in males and bands with a different frequency or degree of expression between sexes were also detected. In the gels prepared for analysis of gene expression in the body parts (head, thorax and abdomen), the degree of expression of the β-esterases was higher in the thorax, while the α-esterases were expressed predominantly in the abdomen and thorax. A global view of the data available at present on the esterases of the species from the saltans group and their degree of polymorphism are presented, as well as the possibility of using some β-esterases, because of their characteristics in the gels, as markers for species identification.     

Morphological and molecular characterization of two ITS groups of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erysiphe</Emphasis> (Erysiphales) occurring on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Syringa</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ligustrum</Emphasis> (Oleaceae)

ITS sequences determined for 53 Erysiphe specimens on Syringa and Ligustrum collected in Europe, East Asia, and North and South America were divided into two ITS groups, S and K types. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these two ITS types do not share a common ancestor and form separate clades. The K type on Ligustrum was identified as Erysiphe ligustri based on the three-dimensional branching pattern of appendages. Morphological observations showed that there are some morphological differences—pigmentation of appendages and number of ascospores per ascus—between the S and K types on Syringa. Based on these morphological observations, the S and K types on Syringa were identified as E. syringae and E. syringae-japonicae, respectively. The recent abundant production of chasmothecia by lilac powdery mildew in Europe was caused by E. syringae-japonicae introduced from East Asia. DNA sequence analyses of the rDNA ITS region and the 28S rDNA, tub2, CYP51, and Chs1 genes did not support an interspecific hybrid origin for E. syringae-japonicae. Haplotype analysis suggested that E. syringae originated in North America and independently migrated to East Asia and Europe/South America.     

A new name in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pavetta</Emphasis> L. (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rubiaceae</Emphasis>)

Summary  The name Pavetta modesta (Hiern) S. E. Dawson is a later homonym of P. modesta Bremek. Pavetta crystalensis is proposed as a new name.     

Synthesis of orthogonally protected (<Emphasis Type="Italic">3R</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">4S</Emphasis>)- and (<Emphasis Type="Italic">3S</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">4S</Emphasis>)-4,5-diamino-3-hydroxypentanoic acids

Summary.  The paper describes two methods of the synthesis of ethyl (3R,4S)- and (3S,4S)-4-[(benzyloxycarbonyl)amino]-5-[(tert-butyloxycarbonyl)amino]-3-hydroxypentanoates, useful for the syntheses of edeine analogs. Differently N-protected (S)-2,3-diaminopropanoic acid was used as a substrate in both procedures. The absolute configuration of newly generated asymmetric carbon atoms C-3 in β-hydroxy-γ,δ-diamino products was assigned by means of ¹H NMR spectroscopy after their transformation into corresponding piperidin-2-ones. Received May 24, 2002 Accepted October 10, 2002 Published online December 18, 2002 Acknowledgment The authors are indebted to the Faculty of Chemistry, Technical University of Gdańsk for financial support. Authors' address: Zbigniew Czajgucki, M. Sc., Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Technical University of Gdańsk, 11/12 Narutowicza St., 80-952 Gdańsk, Poland, Fax +48 58 347 11 44, E-mail: zmczaj@wp.pl     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Barleria compacta</Emphasis>: a new species in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Barleria</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Prionitis</Emphasis> (Acanthaceae) from Somalia

Following a re-examination of the material treated under Barleria brevispina (Fiori) Hedrén in the recent Flora of Somalia account of the Acanthaceae, it is concluded that two distinct species are involved and Barleria compacta Malombe & I. Darbysh. is described here from north-eastern Somalia. Its affinities and conservation status are discussed.     

Cell-free culture medium of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Burkholderia cepacia</Emphasis> improves seed germination and seedling growth in maize (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis>) and rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis>)

The saprophytic bacterium Burkholderia cepacia has been shown to play an active role as plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). In this study, the ability of cell-free culture medium (CFCM) of B. cepacia to improve early developmental stages of plants has been assessed on two agronomically important crops, maize (Zea mays) and rice (Oryza sativa). Treating maize and rice seeds for 45 min before germination significantly improved seed germination and consequent seedling growth. The effect of CFCM was confirmed by the increased biomass of the shoot and, mainly, the root systems of treated seedlings. Chromatographic characterization of the CFCM revealed that the spent culture medium of B. cepacia is a complex mix of different classes of metabolites including, among others, salicylic acid, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and several unidentified phenolic compounds. Fractionation of the CFCM components revealed that the impressive development of the root system of CFCM-treated seedlings is due to the synergistic action of several groups of components rather than IAA alone. The data presented here suggest that a CFCM of B. cepacia can be used to improve crop germination.     

Life cycle of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aylax hypecoi</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Insecta: Hymenoptera: Cynipidae</Emphasis>), a gall inducer on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hypecoum</Emphasis> ssp. (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Papaveraceae</Emphasis>)

The life cycle and developmental stages of Aylax hypecoi (Trotter, 1913, Hymenoptera: Cynipidae: Aylacini) were studied in detail. Aylax hypecoi is known to induce galls in fruits of two Hypecoum species — H. imberbe and H. geslini (Papaveraceae) and the larva develops in host plant fruits. The morphology and development of egg, larva and pupa were investigated, which has previously not been done. The shape and size of terminal-instar larvae and associated galls are sex-specific. Overwintering stage, adult emergence and flying periods, and egg productivity were studied also.