Under the volcano: phylogeography and evolution of the cave-dwelling Palmorchestia hypogaea (Amphipoda, Crustacea) at La Palma (Canary Islands)

Background

The invasive garden ant, Lasius neglectus, is the most recently detected pest ant and the first known invasive ant able to become established and thrive in the temperate regions of Eurasia. In this study, we aim to reconstruct the invasion history of this ant in Europe analysing 14 populations with three complementary approaches: genetic microsatellite analysis, chemical analysis of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles and behavioural observations of aggression behaviour. We evaluate the relative informative power of the three methodological approaches and estimate both the number of independent introduction events from a yet unknown native range somewhere in the Black Sea area, and the invasive potential of the existing introduced populations.

Results

Three clusters of genetically similar populations were detected, and all but one population had a similar chemical profile. Aggression between populations could be predicted from their genetic and chemical distance, and two major clusters of non-aggressive groups of populations were found. However, populations of L. neglectus did not separate into clear supercolonial associations, as is typical for other invasive ants.

Conclusion

The three methodological approaches gave consistent and complementary results. All joint evidence supports the inference that the 14 introduced populations of L. neglectus in Europe likely arose from only very few independent introductions from the native range, and that new infestations were typically started through introductions from other invasive populations. This indicates that existing introduced populations have a very high invasive potential when the ants are inadvertently spread by human transport.     

Entry, revisited

How can an individual reenter a society of which he has never truly been a member? What does the PRI miss in assuming that the individual offender is the only potentially successful site for intervention? Drawing on his personal experience as an educator in prisons, public schools, and the PRI, the author argues that education in the PRI can best be understood in relation to educational segregation in society as a whole. As such, any successful approach to reentry must begin with a consideration of entry, and a renewed commitment by established institutions of the dominant culture to address racial segregation and the segregation of former prisoners alike.     

PCR-cloning of cadmium-inducible peptides in the barnacle,Megabalanus volcano

A 340 bp DNA fragment was amplified from barnacle (Megabalanus volcano) cDNA by polymerase chain reaction using primers designed based on the amino acid sequences of barnacle cadmium-inducible peptides CdlP1 and CdlP2. The whole sequence was determined by rapid amplification of cDNA ends method. The cDNA contained an open reading frame encoding 71 amino acid residues and the sequences for CdlP1 and CdlP2 were found to be located in the center of this coding region. Although CdlP1 and CdlP2 had been detected only in the cadmium-exposed barnacles, their mRNA was present both in cadmium-exposed barnacles and in unexposed barnacles. These results suggest that posttranslational proteolytic processing may be induced in the presence of cadmium.     

Pasteur, oxygen and the anaerobes revisited

As a biochemist, Louis Pasteur focused on fermentation, demonstrating that it was a vital process. In 1860, he discovered anaerobic life and the strict anaerobes, particularly those responsible for butyric fermentation. Then, in spite of his lack of medical background, Pasteur turned to investigating the role of bacteria in human and animal diseases. In 1877, Pasteur and Joubert described for the first time a pathogenic anaerobe, the 'septic vibrio' (now Clostridium septicum). Not only was the bacterium cultivated, but the disease symptoms described and the disease experimentally reproduced. Pasteur also described what are now known as mixed anaerobic infections. A historical review of Pasteur's work is made in the light of our present knowledge of this field.