白星花金龟对寄主植物挥发物的电生理反应

[目的]白星花金龟Protaetia brevitarsis是我国经济上重要的农业害虫.本研究拟鉴定苹果、葡萄和玉米3种果实在两种状态(健康与受白星花金龟成虫为害)下的挥发物中能引起白星花金龟雌成虫触角电生理反应的挥发物成分.[方法]采用动态顶空吸附法收集苹果、葡萄和玉米3种果实的挥发物,用气相色谱-触角电位联用技术(...     

昆虫触角电位(EAG)及其与气谱联用(GC-EAD)技术

昆虫触角电位(EAG)和气相色谱-触角电位(GC-EAD)是昆虫化学生态学中最重要的电生理技术,在研究昆虫对信息化学物质的感受机理、筛选活性信息素成分或植物次生物质等方面发挥关键作用。本文介绍这两种技术的基本原理、操作步骤和应用实例等,并对使用中应该注意的事项进行了详尽讨论。     

松毛虫性信息素的固相微萃取及质谱和触角电位分析

松毛虫性信息素成分在腺体中含量很低。本研究利用固相微萃取（SPME）技术近距离长时间采集单头云南松毛虫Dendrolimus houi处女雌蛾释放的性信息素成分, 并进一步利用气相色谱-质谱（GC-MS）和气相色谱-触角电位联用（GC-EAD）技术分析SPME采集的性信息素成分。 结果显示: 在云南松毛虫处女雌蛾求偶召唤期间SPME聚乙二醇/二乙烯基苯（CAR/DVB）萃取头吸附了大量的反5, 顺7-十二碳二烯醇（E5, Z7-12:OH）和反5, 顺7-十二碳二烯乙酸酯（E5, Z7-12:OAc）成分及微量的反5, 顺7-十二碳二烯醛（E5, Z7-12:Ald）成分, 这3种腺体成分均能激起云南松毛虫雄虫触角电位反应。与溶剂浸提昆虫性信息素成分的方法比较, SPME活体采样技术和GC-MS及GC-EAD分析方法联用研究昆虫的信息素成分具有采集的样品代表性强、样品量能满足色谱分析需要和无溶剂干扰等方面的优点。最后还着重讨论了SPME技术的应用价值、效果及实际应用中应该注意的一些问题。      

Can Ips typographus (L.) (Col., Scolytidae) smell the carrion odours of the dead beetles in pheromone traps? Electrophysiological analysis

Abstract:   Head-space samples of Ips typographus dead beetles taken from pheromone traps were tested by combined gas chromatography and electroantennographic detection (GC–EAD) on the antennae of the same species, and identified by GC-mass spectroscopy (MS). The GC-EAD analysis showed that antennae of both sexes responded to 1-hexanol and verbenone from the aeration samples, while the typical and strong carrion odours from the dead beetles such as dimethyl disulphide, 3-methyl-1-butenol (isoamyl alcohol), 2,5-dimethyl pyrazine and isovaleric acid elicited no antennal responses. The EAD active compounds, 1-hexanol and verbenone, have been shown in earlier studies to be inhibitory on attraction of I. typographus to pheromone traps. Thus, the decreased catching efficacy of pheromone traps with many dead beetles might be the result of the release of 1-hexanol and verbenone from the dead beetles, but not to the typical carrion smells which are strongly detected by the human nose.     

Forty‐two compounds in eleven essential oils elicit antennal responses from Aedes aegypti

Essential oils of various plants can be effective at repelling mosquitoes. The repellent properties are often ascribed to their dominant constituents. Our objective was to analyse several essential oils by coupled gas chromatographic‐electroantennographic detection (GC‐EAD) on the premise that those compounds that are detected by the antennae of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae), are candidate repellents even though they may be minor constituents and thus be overlooked in GC‐mass spectrometric analyses of essential oils. In the essential oils of catnip, cinnamon, citronella, cumin, eucalyptus, geranium, ginger, melissa, peppermint, rosemary, and thyme, 42 components induced antennal responses, most commonly β‐caryophyllene, linalool, 1,8‐cineole, geraniol, and geranial. Some of these 42 components are known insect repellents, indicating that GC‐EAD screening of essential oils is a viable analytical technique to detect quantitatively minor constituents, which could be potent repellents when tested at an appropriate dose.     

EAD: elasticity aware deduplication manager for datacenters with multi-tier storage systems

The popularity of Big Data applications places pressures on storage systems to efficiently scale to meet the demand. At the same time, new developments like solid-state drives have changed to traditional storage hierarchy. Cloud storage systems are transitioning towards a hybrid architecture consisting of large amounts of memory, solid-state disks (SSDs), and traditional magnetic hard disks (HD). This paper presents elasticity aware deduplication (EAD), a data deduplication framework designed for multi-tier cloud storage architectures consisting of SSD and HD. EAD dynamically adjusts the deduplication parameters at runtime in order to improve performance. Experimental results indicate that EAD is able to detect more than 98% of all duplicate data, but it only consumes less than 5% of expected memory space. Additionally, EAD saves approximately 74% of overall IO access cost compared to the traditional design.     

Modeling resistance to genetic control of insects

The sterile insect technique is an area-wide pest control method that reduces pest populations by releasing mass-reared sterile insects which compete for mates with wild insects. Modern molecular tools have created possibilities for improving and extending the sterile insect technique. As with any new insect control method, questions arise about potential resistance. Genetic RIDL^®1 (Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal) technology is a proposed modification of the technique, releasing insects that are homozygous for a repressible dominant lethal genetic construct rather than being sterilized by irradiation. Hypothetical resistance to the lethal mechanism is a potential threat to RIDL strategies' effectiveness. Using population genetic and population dynamic models, we assess the circumstances under which monogenic biochemically based resistance could have a significant impact on the effectiveness of releases for population control. We assume that released insects would be homozygous susceptible to the lethal genetic construct and therefore releases would have a built-in element of resistance dilution. We find that this effect could prevent or limit the spread of resistance to RIDL constructs; the outcomes are subject to competing selective forces deriving from the fitness properties of resistance and the release ratio. Resistance that is spreading and capable of having a significant detrimental impact on population reduction is identifiable, signaling in advance a need for mitigating action.     

春尺蠖性信息素活性成分的提取和GC-MS鉴定

为了寻求高效无污染的防治害虫春尺蠖Apocheima cinerarius Erschoff的方法, 本实验对春尺蠖雌蛾性信息素进行了初步研究。本研究采取正己烷溶剂浸提法提取春尺蠖处女雌蛾性信息素腺体中的性信息素,运用气相色谱-触角电位联用仪(gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection, GC-EAD) 测定春尺蠖雄蛾触角对雌蛾性信息素腺体提取物中性信息素成分的活性反应, 并运用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(gas chromatograph-mass spectrum, GC-MS）鉴定信息素成分。GC-EAD结果显示雄蛾触角对雌蛾性信息素腺体提取物中的一种成分有较好的反应。GC-MS分析结果表明能引起雄蛾触角电生理反应的成分为含有十四个碳原子直链结构的不饱和乙酸酯, 但其双键位置有待合成标准化合物进一步分析鉴定。该研究结果为春尺蠖雌蛾性信息素备选化合物的筛选提供了方向, 为其结构的确定奠定了基础。     

A new fluorescence-based, hydrophobic photolabeling technique for analyzing membrane-associated proteins

We introduce a new, fluorescent and photoactivatable fatty acid derivative (SANU) for hydrophobic labelling of membrane-bound proteins. The technique allows fast and highly sensitive screening of hydrophobically inserting proteins analyzed by SDS-PAGE with a detection limit below 0.1 pmol. A reliable calculation of labelling efficiencies is achieved by simultaneous densitometry of fluorescence and protein staining. We have applied the new technique on the membrane inserting protein talin, G-actin, and, as a negative control, on RNase, which only binds electrostatically to negatively charged lipid interfaces. In several ways superior to radiolabelling, we can recommend this technique for all laboratories under any circumstances.     

Development of a novel cytochrome p450 bioaffinity detection system coupled online to gradient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A high-resolution screening platform, coupling online affinity detection for mammalian cytochrome P450s (Cyt P450s) to gradient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), is described. To this end, the online Cyt P450 enzyme affinity detection (EAD) system was optimized for enzyme (beta-NF-induced rat liver microsomes), probe substrate (ethoxyresorufine), and organic modifier (methanol or acetonitrile). The optimized Cyt P450 EAD system has first been evaluated in a flow injection analysis (FIA) mode with 7 known ligands of Cyt P450 1A1/1A2 (alpha-naphthoflavone, beta-naphthoflavone, ellipticine, 9-hydroxy-ellipticine, fluvoxamine, caffein, and phenacetin). Subsequently, IC50 values were online in FIA-mode determined and compared with those obtained with standardmicrosomal assay conditions. The IC50 values obtained with the online Cyt P450 EAD system agreed well with the IC50 values obtained in the standard assays. For high affinity ligands of Cyt P450 1A1/1A2, detection limits of 1 to 3 pmol injected (n=3; signal to noise [S/N]=3) were obtained. The individual inhibitory properties of ligands in mixtures of the ligands were subsequently investigated using an optimized Cyt P450 EAD system online coupled to gradient HPLC. Using the integrated online gradient HPLC Cyt P450 EAD platform, detection limits of 10 to 25 pmol injected (n=1; S/N=3) were obtained for high-affinity ligands. It is concluded that this novel screening technology offers new perspectives for rapid and sensitive screening of individual compounds in mixtures exhibiting affinity for liver microsomal Cyt P450s.     

Identification of Olfactory Volatiles using Gas Chromatography-Multi-unit Recordings (GCMR) in the Insect Antennal Lobe

All organisms inhabit a world full of sensory stimuli that determine their behavioral and physiological response to their environment. Olfaction is especially important in insects, which use their olfactory systems to respond to, and discriminate amongst, complex odor stimuli. These odors elicit behaviors that mediate processes such as reproduction and habitat selection^1-3. Additionally, chemical sensing by insects mediates behaviors that are highly significant for agriculture and human health, including pollination^4-6, herbivory of food crops⁷, and transmission of disease^8,9. Identification of olfactory signals and their role in insect behavior is thus important for understanding both ecological processes and human food resources and well-being.To date, the identification of volatiles that drive insect behavior has been difficult and often tedious. Current techniques include gas chromatography-coupled electroantennogram recording (GC-EAG), and gas chromatography-coupled single sensillum recordings (GC-SSR)^10-12. These techniques proved to be vital in the identification of bioactive compounds. We have developed a method that uses gas chromatography coupled to multi-channel electrophysiological recordings (termed ''GCMR'') from neurons in the antennal lobe (AL; the insect''s primary olfactory center)^13,14. This state-of-the-art technique allows us to probe how odor information is represented in the insect brain. Moreover, because neural responses to odors at this level of olfactory processing are highly sensitive owing to the degree of convergence of the antenna''s receptor neurons into AL neurons, AL recordings will allow the detection of active constituents of natural odors efficiently and with high sensitivity. Here we describe GCMR and give an example of its use.Several general steps are involved in the detection of bioactive volatiles and insect response. Volatiles first need to be collected from sources of interest (in this example we use flowers from the genus Mimulus (Phyrmaceae)) and characterized as needed using standard GC-MS techniques^14-16. Insects are prepared for study using minimal dissection, after which a recording electrode is inserted into the antennal lobe and multi-channel neural recording begins. Post-processing of the neural data then reveals which particular odorants cause significant neural responses by the insect nervous system.Although the example we present here is specific to pollination studies, GCMR can be expanded to a wide range of study organisms and volatile sources. For instance, this method can be used in the identification of odorants attracting or repelling vector insects and crop pests. Moreover, GCMR can also be used to identify attractants for beneficial insects, such as pollinators. The technique may be expanded to non-insect subjects as well.     

昆虫单个感觉器记录技术研究进展

单感器记录技术是一种昆虫细胞外电生理技术,可以测量昆虫单个感受器对刺激物的电生理反应。该技术有助于探明昆虫嗅觉和味觉感受器对不同信息化合物的电生理响应机制,将单感器记录技术与其他技术相结合,不仅可以阐明昆虫嗅觉反应的分子机制,还可以研制昆虫行为调节剂、检测挥发性有机化合物的生物传感器。本文介绍了单感器记录仪的结构和昆虫单感器记录的原理,并对单感器记录技术在昆虫学研究方面的应用进行了综述,以期为探明昆虫感受化学信息物质的机理和应用提供依据。     

A laboratory technique for examining the flight activity of insects under controlled environment conditions

A technique was developed for studying the flight activity of the, black fly,Simulium arcticum, under controlled environment conditions. Wind speed, light, temperature and humidity could be controlled and monitored in the flight chambers. Accurate measurement and recording of individual insect activity were achieved with a high-sensitivity video recording and monitoring system. The controlled-environment monitoring system is adaptable for investigations of the environmental behaviour and physiology of various insect species.     

Detection of spontaneous synaptic events with an optimally scaled template.

Spontaneous synaptic events can be difficult to detect when their amplitudes are close to the background noise level. Here we report a sensitive new technique for automatic detection of small asynchronous events. A waveform with the time course of a typical synaptic event (a template) is slid along the current or voltage trace and optimally scaled to fit the data at each position. A detection criterion is calculated based on the optimum scaling factor and the quality of the fit. An event is detected when this criterion crosses a threshold level. The algorithm automatically compensates for changes in recording noise. The sensitivity and selectivity of the method were tested using real and simulated data, and the influence of the template parameter settings was investigated. Its performance was comparable to that obtained by visual event detection, and it was more sensitive than previously described threshold detection techniques. Under typical recording conditions, all fast synaptic events with amplitudes of at least three times the noise standard deviation (3 sigma) could be detected, as could 75% of events with amplitudes of 2 sigma. The scaled template technique is implemented within a commercial data analysis application and can be applied to many standard electrophysiological data file formats.     

Whole-cell recordings in freely moving rats

Intracellular recording, which allows direct measurement of the membrane potential and currents of individual neurons, requires a very mechanically stable preparation and has thus been limited to in vitro and head-immobilized in vivo experiments. This restriction constitutes a major obstacle for linking cellular and synaptic physiology with animal behavior. To overcome this limitation we have developed a method for performing whole-cell recordings in freely moving rats. We constructed a miniature head-mountable recording device, with mechanical stabilization achieved by anchoring the recording pipette rigidly in place after the whole-cell configuration is established. We obtain long-duration recordings (mean of approximately 20 min, maximum 60 min) in freely moving animals that are remarkably insensitive to mechanical disturbances, then reconstruct the anatomy of the recorded cells. This head-anchored whole-cell recording technique will enable a wide range of new studies involving detailed measurement and manipulation of the physiological properties of identified cells during natural behaviors.     

Development of an immunoassay to detect insect contamination of microalgal products

While the insect fragment count is currently the primary test used for assessing insect contamination of food products, this technique is very problematical for assaying microalgal materials. An account is given of a new immunoassay technique,which is based on an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) detection of insect myosin and which provides a rapid and convenient means of quantitatively determining the amount of insect contamination in algal product samples with a high degree of replicability. Up to 30 samples can be tested in duplicate in 2.5–3 h. Experiments were carried out with a variety of common contaminant insects of algal products, using various life stages, including Corixidae, Ephydridaeand Chironomidae using both Spirulina (Arthrospira) and Chlorella as typical algal materials. As little as one insect per 50 g sample can readily be detected, with excellent correlation (r² = 0.99) between the number of insects present and the color produced. A matrix analysis to determine the ruggedness of the immunoassay was carried out following the protocols of the AOAC International and established that minor departures in seven variables from the standard assay resulted in no substantial differences. The insect myosin assay offers a quantitative and reliable means for assessing insect contamination of algal materials and should be considered for adoption as a standard method for this type of product. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Online biochemical detection of glutathione-S-transferase P1-specific inhibitors in complex mixtures

A high-resolution screening (HRS) technology is described, which couples 2 parallel enzyme affinity detection (EAD) systems for substrates and inhibitors of rat cytosolic glutathione-S-transferases (cGSTs) and purified human GST P1 to gradient reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The cGSTs and GST P1 EAD systems were optimized and validated first in flow injection analysis (FIA) mode, and optimized values were subsequently used for HPLC mode. The IC(50) values of 8 ligands thus obtained online agreed well with the IC(50) values obtained with microplate reader-based assays. For ethacrynic acid, an IC(50) value of 1.8 +/- 0.4 microM was obtained with the cGSTs EAD system in FIA mode and 0.8 +/- 0.6 microM in HPLC mode. For ethacrynic acid with the GST P1 EAD system, IC(50) values of 6.0 +/- 2.9 and 3.6 +/- 2.8 microM were obtained in FIA and HPLC modes, respectively. An HRS GST EAD system, consisting of both the cGSTs and the GST P1 EAD system in HPLC mode in parallel, was able to separate complex mixtures of compounds and to determine online their individual affinity for cGSTs and GST P1. Finally, a small library of GST inhibitors, synthesized by reaction of several electrophiles with glutathione (GSH), was successfully screened with the newly developed parallel HRS GST EAD system. It is concluded that the present online gradient HPLC-based HRS screening technology offers new perspectives for sensitive and simultaneous screening of general cGSTs and specific GST P1 inhibitors in mixtures.     

气相色谱与触角电位检测器联用技术及其应用

介绍了气相色谱与触角电位检测器联用技术的工作原理、优点及其在昆虫性信息素或其它信息物质鉴定方面的应用。根据作者应用此技术进行赤松毛虫和桑尺蛾性信息素研究的经验 ,重点介绍了气相色谱与触角电位联用技术在实践操作中应注意的问题     

Application of a fluorescence-based continuous-flow bioassay to screen for diversity of cytochrome P450 BM3 mutant libraries

A fluorescence-based continuous-flow enzyme affinity detection (EAD) setup was used to screen cytochrome P450 BM3 mutants on-line for diversity. The flow-injection screening assay is based on the BM3-mediated O-dealkylation of alkoxyresorufins forming the highly fluorescent product resorufin, and can be used in different configurations, namely injection of ligands, enzymes and substrates. Screening conditions were optimized and the activity of a library of 32 BM3 mutants towards the recently synthesized new probe substrate allyloxyresorufin was measured in flow-injection analysis (FIA) mode and it was shown that large activity differences between the mutants existed. Next, six BM3 mutants containing mutations at different positions in the active site were selected for which on-line enzyme kinetics were determined. Subsequently, for these six BM3 mutants affinity towards a set of 30 xenobiotics was determined in FIA EAD mode. It was demonstrated that significant differences existed for the affinity profiles of the mutants tested and that these differences correlated to alterations in the BM3 mutant-generated metabolic profiles of the drug buspirone. In conclusion, the developed FIA EAD approach is suitable to screen for diversity within BM3 mutants and this alternative screening technology offers new perspectives for rapid and sensitive screening of compound libraries towards BM3 mutants.