Infection of Coscinodiscus spp. by the parasitoid nanoflagellate Pirsonia diadema: II. Selective infection behaviour for host species and individual host cells

The parasitoid nanoflagellate (PNF) Pirsonia diadema is hostspecific for the marine centric diatom Coscinodiscus spp. Experimentsshowed that flagellates significantly prefer C. wailesii overC.granii as host species (interspecific selectivity). This preferencewas independent of light conditions (dark, irradiance of 10and 70 µmol m^–2 s^–1) and temperature (10 and15C). Among unicellular host diatoms, the infection behaviourwas selective for individual cells: already infected C.graniicells were more attractive for further flagellate attachmentthan non-infected cells (intraspecific selectivity). Individualcells (     

Infection of Coscinodiscus spp. by the parasitoid nanoflagellate Pirsonla diadema: I. Behavioural studies on the infection process

The investigation of successive steps involved in the infectionprocess of the marine diatoms Coscinodiscus granii and Coscuwdiscuswailesii by the host-specific parasitoid nanoflagellate (PNF)Pirsonia diadenw showed that flagellates reacted chemokJinokineticallywith changes of swimming pattern to the presence of a host diatom.Chemosensory stimulation appeared to induce readiness for infection,whereas attachment and penetration of the diatom cell wall wasinduced by a mechanosensory response to morphological featureson the diatom frustules. The mean swimming speed of P.diademaflagellates decreased during their infective lifetime of 3 daysfrom an average of 78 µm s^–1 to 51 µm s^–1while the frequency of small loops in the swimming pattern increasedfrom 0.8 to 6.3 loops min^–1. At high Cgranii densities,an epidemic was delayed. It is suggested that this could becaused by overlapping gradients of extracellular material releasedby the diatoms which impaired the sensing of spatial gradientsby PNF and, therefore, the location of hosts.     

Effect of temperature on cell growth and production of transparent exopolymer particles by the diatom Coscinodiscus granii isolated from marine mucilage

In the autumn of 2007, marine mucilage caused by the diatom Coscinodiscus granii occurred in the central area of Ariake Sound, Japan, and resulted in damage to fishery. To elucidate the mechanism underlying the outbreak of marine mucilage, we examined the effect of temperature on cell growth and production of transparent exopolymer particles (TEPs) in a culture of this species. Growth and TEP production of C. granii are influenced by temperature. The maximum growth rate (1.63 divisions day⁻¹) and cell yield (1,280 cells mL⁻¹) at all temperatures were obtained at 30°C. Optimal growth rates (>1.15 divisions day⁻¹: ca. 70% of maximum) and cell yield (>900 cells mL⁻¹: ca. 70% of maximum) were observed at temperatures of 25–30°C. TEP production by C. granii depended on whether volume- or cell-related values were considered. The maximum volume-normalized increase rates and concentrations of TEP at all temperatures were observed at 25°C. However, when production rates and concentrations of TEP were normalized to cell numbers, optimal values were measured at 10–15°C. In Ariake Sound, when marine mucilage caused by C. granii occurred, the temperature ranged from 25.0 to 25.4°C. This suggests that growth conditions of C. granii are important factors for production of marine mucilage.     

Phylogenetic position of the parasitoid nanoflagellate Pirsonia inferred from nuclear-encoded small subunit ribosomal DNA and a description of Pseudopirsonia n. gen. and Pseudopirsonia mucosa (Drebes) comb. nov

Sequences of the nuclear encoded small subunit (SSU) rRNA were determined for Pirsonia diadema, P. guinardiae, P. punctigerae, P. verrucosa, P. mucosa and three newly isolated strains 99-1, 99-2, 99-S. Based on phylogenetic analysis all Pirsonia strains, except P. mucosa, clustered together in one clade, most closely related to Hyphochytrium catenoides within the group of stramenopiles. However, P. mucosa was most closely related to Cercomonas sp. SIC 7235 and Heteromita globosa and belongs to the heterogenic group of Cercozoa. In addition to the SSU rDNA sequences, P. mucosa differs from the stramenopile Pirsonia species in some characteristics and was therefore redescribed in this paper as Pseudopirsonia mucosa. The three newly isolated strains 99-1, 99-2, and 99-S differed by 28 bp in their SSU rDNA sequences from their closest neighbour P. diadema and only 1 to 3 bp among themselves. These base differences and a host range similar to P. formosa were sufficient to assign them as new strains of P. formosa.     

Effects of linear furanocoumarins on the herbivore Spodoptera exigua and the parasitoid Archytas marmoratus: host quality and parasitoid success

We assessed the effects of three photoactivated linear furanocoumarins, secondary plant metabolites present in Apium spp. (Apiaceae) and other taxa, on the larval-pupal parasitoid, Archytas marmoratus (Townsend) (Diptera: Tachinidae) and the host Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in the presence and absence of ultraviolet radiation. These results then were compared with previously described responses of Archytas marmoratus and other hosts to different plant allelochemicals. Ultraviolet radiation had no consistent detrimental effects. Increasing concentrations of linear furanocoumarins (from 0 to 0.029% of fresh weight) increased mortality of both the host and parasitoid. Increasing linear furanocoumarin levels also prolonged larval development of surviving S. exigua, but had no effect on pupal developmental time or pupal mass. Consequently, there was no effect of increasing linear furanocoumarin levels on surviving parasitoid development time (from the time of host pupation) or size. These results indicate the effects of linear furanocoumarins are mediated through effects on the host. Because reported responses of Ar. marmoratus to other allelochemicals (e.g., flavones, methyl ketones) are mediated through host effects, these results support the hypothesis that Ar. marmoratus displays a generalized response to plant allelochemicals that are predictable based on host mediated effects.     

Effects of urbanisation on the parasitoid community of a leafminer

Urbanisation may have detrimental effects on communities of parasitoids, affecting their species richness, abundance, and species dominance. Here we investigated the influence of the degree of urbanisation on parasitoid communities of Liriomyza commelinae (Frost) (Diptera: Agromyzidae), a leafminer of Commelina erecta L. (Commelinaceae), in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. To study changes in species richness, the specific composition of parasitic complexes and their degree of impact on the leafminer, 18 sampling sites from the centre to the outskirts of the city were selected and different variables indicative of urbanisation were quantified in each site. During January and February of 2005 and 2006, all mined leaves found in each plant patch were collected and the following variables were estimated: proportion of mined patches, abundance of the leafminer, total parasitoid species richness, total parasitism rates and parasitism due to the most abundant parasitoid species. The percentage of mined patches and leafminer abundance increased with urbanisation degree. Estimates of parasitoid species richness were not influenced by urbanisation degree but increased with species richness of mined plants. Changes in the specific composition of species along the urbanisation gradient were observed. Although parasitism by one of the species studied was higher in more urbanised sites of the city, the total parasitism rate of L. commelinae was not affected by urbanisation degree, species richness of mined plants or leafminer abundance. It appears that urbanisation benefits the herbivore species here studied but not through altering parasitoid activity. Changes in parasitoid community composition reflex dissimilar tolerance to environmental conditions displayed by different parasitoid species.     

Erwinia amylovra Infection of Hawthorn Blossom: III. The Nectary

Abstract The nectaries of hawthorn flowers on detached branches were inoculated with Erwinia amylovora and the population development was followed by viable counts and light and electron microscopy. On nectaries bearing surface moisture at the time of inoculation ("wet nectary" material), the population increased rapidly after a short drop, or lag, lasting 6–12 h. Scanning electron microscopy showed that bacteria had multiplied within the nectarthodes during the first 6 h after inoculation, although, the total population had dropped. Death of cells on the surface of the nectary, possibly due to desiccation, may account for the overall drop. This differential response is not consistent with a bactericidal effect of the hawthorn nectary. On nectaries lacking surface moisture at the time of inoculation ("dry nectary" material), there was a 36 h lag period before the population started to increase – which coincided with the commencement of nectar production.
Although the nectary is an important site of infection during humid periods, the role of contaminated nectar in blossom-to-blossom spread of the disease is probably not of great importance.     

Effects of microwave exposure on the hamster immune system. III. Macrophage resistance to vesicular stomatitis virus infection

Exposure of hamsters to microwave (MW) energy (2.45 GHz, 25 mW/cm2, 1 h) resulted in activation of peritoneal macrophages (PM) to a viricidal state restricting the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). The PM from MW-exposed hamsters were viricidal as early as 1 day after exposure and remained active for 5 days. Immunization of hamsters with vaccinia virus induced viricidal PM by 3 to 4 days and they remained active for 7 days. To test the hypothesis that thermogenic MW exposure results in the release of endotoxin across the intestinal epithelium which subsequently activates PM, hamsters were injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and their viricidal activity was studied. Lipopolysaccharide in vitro (0.2 microgram) and in vivo (0.5 microgram) activated macrophages to a viricidal state. When administered in vivo, LPS (0.5 microgram) activated macrophages as early as 1 day and the activity remained for 3 days. While MW exposure of PM in vitro failed to induce viricidal activity, exposure of PM to LPS in vitro induced strong viricidal activity. This suggests that the in vivo response of PM to MW is an indirect one, which is consistent with the hypothesis that MW-induced PM viricidal activity may be mediated via LPS. In preliminary experiments, MW exposure resulted in extended survival time for hamsters challenged with a lethal dose of vesicular stomatitis virus, supporting the concept that MW-activated PM may be a useful therapeutic modality.     

Effects of gender and mating status on self-directed dispersal by the whitefly parasitoid Eretmocerus eremicus

1. The impacts of gender and mating on short‐range (< 10 km) dispersal by the whitefly parasitoid Eretmocerus eremicus Rose and Zolnerowich (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) were examined. A fluorescent dust‐marking technique was also tested. 2. In a vertical flight chamber, female flight duration was significantly longer than that of males, and unmated parasitoids flew for longer than mated parasitoids. The mean flight durations were: unmated females 34 min, mated females 10 min, unmated males 7 min, mated males < 1 min. 3. The dispersal behaviour of E. eremicus was investigated in the field using fluorescent dust. Before doing so, it was determined in the laboratory that this dust did not affect flight behaviour, was retained over the length of the experiments, and allowed large samples to be processed quickly and inexpensively. 4. In the field, traps were placed along annuli at 3, 5, 7, and 10 m from release points. Eighty‐seven per cent of the 4153 parasitoids captured were males. Sex ratios were near parity on release. 5. The difference in dispersal characteristics between males and females may be resource based, suggesting that certain requirements were met within the field plots for males that were not met for females. 6. Locally, males dispersed in a manner consistent with a simple diffusion model while females engaged in wind‐directed flight soon after leaving release sites. The fact that the genders exhibited dissimilar dispersal characteristics, supports the claim that insect flight, even by small species, can be self‐directed.     

LPP-1 Infection of the Blue-Green Alga Plectonema boryanum: III. Protein Synthesis

The structural proteins of mature LPP-1 particles and the patterns of protein synthesis after LPP-1 infection have been examined by electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. Structural proteins account for 35% of the LPP-1 genome, and proteins that would require about 65% of the total coding capacity have been detected after infection. The major head proteins have molecular weights of 39,000 and 13,000, whereas the major tail protein is an 80,000-molecular-weight species. Host protein synthesis is depressed soon after infection and appears to be entirely shut off by 5 hr. Three classes of viral proteins are distinguished in infected cells, based on their time course of synthesis and their presence in mature virions.     

Effects of origin and experience on patterns of host acceptance by the opiine parasitoid Diachasmimorpha tryoni

1. Patterns of host acceptance by Diachasmimorpha tryoni (Ashmead), a parasitoid of tephritid flies, were evaluated in relation to host–substrate complex, wasp origin, and wasp experience. 2. Naive female D. tryoni originating both from the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and the lantana gall fly Eutreta xanthochaeta Aldrich probed medfly-infested coffee fruit two to six times more often than E. xanthochaeta-inhabited lantana galls. No significant differences were detected between the two groups of parasitoids in patterns of probing response to medfly-infested coffee fruit or to E. xanthochaeta galls. 3. An 18-h pretest exposure to medfly-infested coffee fruit or E. xanthochaeta-inhabited galls affected the probing response of D. tryoni to E. xanthochaeta galls significantly, but did not affect the probing response to medfly-infested coffee fruit. Diachasmimorpha tryoni exposed to E. xanthochaeta galls probed E. xanthochaeta galls two to three times more often than naive wasps, and seven to 11 times more than wasps exposed to medfly-infested coffee fruit. Regardless of the prior exposure treatments, a high proportion (75–100%) of the test parasitoids probed medfly-infested coffee fruit. 4. Parasitoid acceptance of less-preferred hosts or host–substrate complexes may be more amenable to conditioning through prior experience (i.e. learning) than preferred host–substrate complexes. The relevance of these findings to host range expansion of parasitoids used in fruit fly biological control is discussed.     

Mycoplasmal infection of lymphocyte cell cultures: Infection withM. salivarium

Summary Many conclusions concerning cell culture mycoplasmas are based on data from studies in fibroblast cultures. Some conclusions may not be valid in other types of differentiated cell cultures.M. salivarium was isolated from 35 human lymphocyte cultures (HLC), 34 from the same laboratory. The organism grew to more than 10⁸ colony forming units (CFU) per ml of lymphocyte suspensions and was readily detectable by microbiological culture, uridine phosphorylase, and uridine/uracil assays. Direct mycoplasmal assays on HLC by DNA fluorochrome staining and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) yielded artifacts that interfered with diagnosis. For DNA and SEM of HLC, inoculation into indicator cell cultures is recommended.M. salivarium infection of HLC did not produce any immediate difference in growth rates; however, infected cultures eventually died 14 to 29 passages after infection in contrast to uninfected controls. The same organism in 3T6 fibroblasts effected a 60% decrease in growth rate. AlthoughM. salivarium is a frequent isolate from the oral cavity, it is a rare cell culture isolate.M. salivarium was able to initiate growth over a wide pH range, grew as well in cell cultures as in cell-free media, and was resistant to 50 μg per ml of gentamycin, tylocine, kanamycin, and erythromycin. By C₀t_1/2 analysis,M. salivarium had a genomic molecular weight of 4.2×10⁸ daltons.M. salivarium did not increase chromosome aberrations in one HLC. Some of these results have application to infection of HLC by other mycoplasmal species. These studies were supported by contracts NO1-AG-82117 from the National Institute on Aging, NO1-GM-9-2101 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and Grant RO1-A1-15748 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.     

Lysogenization by bacteriophage lambda: III. - Multiplicity dependent phenomena occuring upon infection by lambda

Lysogenization by bacteriophage λ involves at least two multiplicity dependent processes [2, 3]. For the purpose of comparison, other multiplicity dependent phenomena which occur upon infection by λ have been reviewed. These include the inhibition of host'syntheses as already described by others [9] and two phenomena which are shown to be multiplicity dependent, host killing by phage unable to replicate and inhibition of cell division. It is also demonstrated that, in at least two cases (lysogenization by phage able to replicate and killing by phage unable to replicate) the multiplicity dependent character disappears at slow cellular growth rates. The significance of these results is discussed with regard to three models which are susceptible to account for multiplicity dependent phenomena in general.     

Effects of organic and conventional fertilizer treatments on host selection by the aphid parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae

The type and quantity of fertilizer supplied to a crop will differ between organic and conventional farming practices. Altering the type of fertilizer a plant is provided with can influence a plant’s foliar nitrogen levels, as well as the composition and concentration of defence compounds, such as glucosinolates. Many natural enemies of insect herbivores can respond to headspace volatiles emitted by the herbivores’ host plant in response to herbivory. We propose that manipulating fertilizer type may also influence the headspace volatile profiles of plants, and as a result, the tritrophic interactions that occur between plants, their insect pests and those pests’ natural enemies. Here, we investigate a tritrophic system consisting of cabbage plants, Brassica oleracea, a parasitoid, Diaeretiella rapae, and one of its hosts, the specialist cabbage aphid Brevicoryne brassicae. Brassica oleracea plants were provided with either no additional fertilization or one of three types of fertilizer: Nitram (ammonium nitrate), John Innes base or organic chicken manure. We investigated whether these changes would alter the rate of parasitism of aphids on those plants and whether any differences in parasitism could be explained by differences in attractivity of the plants to D. rapae or attack rate of aphids by D. rapae. In free‐choice experiments, there were significant differences in the percentage of B. brassicae parasitized by D. rapae between B. oleracea plants grown in different fertilizer treatments. In a series of dual‐choice Y‐tube olfactometry experiments, D. rapae females discriminated between B. brassicae‐infested and undamaged plants, but parasitoids did not discriminate between similarly infested plants grown in different fertilizer treatments. Correspondingly, in attack rate experiments, there were no differences in the rate that D. rapae attacked B. brassicae on B. oleracea plants grown in different fertilizer treatments. These findings are of direct relevance to sustainable and conventional farming practices.     

Host Parasite Relations In Initiation of Infection: III. Hyperglycemia without Stress in Experimental Infection with L. Monocytogenes

Experimental hyperglycemia and infection with L. monocytogenes, and the effects of somatotsopic hormone and cortisone, were studied. Hamsters, obese mice, and normal mice were used. The results supported the hypothesis that an upset carbohydrate metabolism initiated by stress is the trigger mechanism that makes conditions favourable for proliferation of L. monocytogenes and probably of other glucose fermenting pathogenic agents.     

Inhibition of Host Protein Synthesis During Infection of Escherichi coli by Bacteriophage T4: III. Inhibition by Ghosts

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-less T2 "ghosts" were prepared by osmotic shock and purified by KBr density gradient centrifugation. Escherichia coli B was treated with these ghosts in inorganic salts-glycerol medium to see which features of phage infection could be elicited by ghosts. At a multiplicity that was just sufficient to block induction of beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23), 89% of the bacteria were killed and the rates of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and DNA synthesis were about 10 to 15% of normal. However, protein synthesis was almost completely blocked but resumed after 30 min. During this period, it was possible to induce messenger RNA (mRNA) from the lactose operon, although this mRNA could not be translated into active beta-galactosidase. These results suggest to us that the viable cells surviving ghost infection synthesize nucleic acids at close to a normal rate but are temporarily blocked in protein synthesis. The continued formation of untranslated host mRNA mimics the pattern of bacterial synthesis just after whole-phage infection, and is consistent with the interpretation that the immediate block in the initiation of host translation by these viruses is due to their attachment.