Phenological delay despite warming in wood frog Rana sylvatica reproductive timing: a 20-year study

Across all taxa, amphibians exhibit some of the strongest phenological shifts in response to climate change. As climates warm, amphibians and other animals are expected to breed earlier in response to temperature cues. However, if species use fixed cues such as daylight, their breeding timing might remain fixed, potentially creating disconnects between their life history and environmental conditions. Wood frogs Rana sylvatica are a cold-adapted species that reproduce in early spring, immediately after breeding ponds are free of ice. We used long-term surveys of wood frog oviposition timing in 64 breeding ponds over 20 yr to show that, despite experiencing a warming of 0.29°C per decade in annual temperature, wood frog breeding phenology has shifted later by 2.8 d since 2000 (1.4 d per decade; 4.8 d per °C). This counterintuitive pattern is likely the result of changes in the timing of snowpack accumulation and melting. Finally, we used relationships between climate and oviposition between 2000 and 2018 to hindcast oviposition dates from climate records to model longer-term trends since 1980. Our study indicates that species can respond to fine-grained seasonal climate heterogeneity within years that is not apparent or counterintuitive when related to annual trends across years.     

In silico and in vivo analysis of ABI3 and VAL2 genes during somatic embryogenesis of Coffea arabica: competence acquisition and developmental marker genes

Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) - The employment of biotechnology-based approaches such as somatic embryogenesis has been applied to several plants including Coffea sp. Despite the...     

Characterization of water and wildlife strains as a subgroup of Campylobacter jejuni using DNA microarrays

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of human bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, but source attribution of the organism is difficult. Previously, DNA microarrays were used to investigate isolate source, which suggested a non‐livestock source of infection. In this study we analysed the genome content of 162 clinical, livestock and water and wildlife (WW) associated isolates combined with the previous study. Isolates were grouped by genotypes into nine clusters (C1 to C9). Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) data demonstrated that livestock associated clonal complexes dominated clusters C1–C6. The majority of WW isolates were present in the C9 cluster. Analysis of previously reported genomic variable regions demonstrated that these regions were linked to specific clusters. Two novel variable regions were identified. A six gene multiplex PCR (mPCR) assay, designed to effectively differentiated strains into clusters, was validated with 30 isolates. A further five WW isolates were tested by mPCR and were assigned to the C7‐C9 group of clusters. The predictive mPCR test could be used to indicate if a clinical case has come from domesticated or WW sources. Our findings provide further evidence that WW C. jejuni subtypes show niche adaptation and may be important in causing human infection.     

cis-Jasmone indirect action on egg parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) and its application in biological control of soybean stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

In many plants, the secondary metabolite cis-jasmone activates the metabolic pathway that produces volatile organic compounds attractive to natural enemies and, sometimes, repellent to herbivores. Previous studies indicate that the feeding damage caused by the herbivore Euschistus heros or the exogenous application of cis-jasmone in soybean plants induces the release of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) with a similar chemical profile and these compounds can attract the stink bug egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi (Scelionidae). Herein we tested in field conditions the effect of exogenous application of cis-jasmone in soybean plants on the parasitoid and stink bug community and on stink bug egg parasitism. In two areas, one within a soybean and another within a Crotalaria matrix, we randomly distributed 2 m² plots, with soybean plants induced (treatment, n = 5) or not induced by cis-jasmone (control, n = 5) in the field. We sampled the parasitoid community weekly with yellow sticky traps (n = 3/plot) and monitored parasitism with sentinel eggs of E. heros (n = 150/plot). We also monitored the population of stink bugs weekly, by sampling each plot with shake-cloth technique. The abundance of Scelionidae was highest overall and also in treated plots during the first four weeks in the area with a soybean matrix, but decreased thereafter. The richness of parasitoid families was similar between treatment and control plots in the area with a soybean matrix, but higher in control plots in the area with a Crotalaria matrix. Evenness was higher in control plots in the area with soybean matrix, whereas the reverse occurred in the area with a Crotalaria matrix. Results suggest that treatment with cis-jasmone effectively attracted and enhanced the population of scelionid parasitoids, but had no effect on the occurrence and intensity of parasitism and in the number of stink bugs.     

Inheritance of lambda-cyhalothrin resistance in the predator lady beetle Eriopis connexa (Germar) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Lambda-cyhalothrin is a pyrethroid insecticide widely used to control pests in various crop ecosystems, in which the lady beetle occurs naturally. Therefore, lady beetle populations are exposed to lambda-cyhalothrin sprays that may foster tolerance to this insecticide. This study was conducted to confirm the occurrence of resistance in the lady beetle Eriopis connexa (Germar) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to lambda-cyhalothrin and to characterize the inheritance of resistance after eight progressive selection with insecticide dosages based on the LD₅₀ determined for the F1 generation. Dose–mortality curves were determined for parental populations, F1 hybrids and backcross progenies. Parameters regarding the heritability of resistance to lambda-cyhalothrin in E. connexa allow estimating 10-fold increase in the initial LD₅₀ after 54.5 generations of successive selections. The resistance of E. connexa to lambda-cyhalothrin was characterized as autosomally inherited and incompletely dominant, and influenced by a major gene with possible influence of secondary genes. Additionally, the resistance in E. connexa varies from functionally dominant to functionally recessive depending on the dose used. These findings indicate that insecticide resistance in E. connexa can be selected in the field as determined for field-collected individuals, and subsequently enhanced under laboratory conditions. Its characterization presented here is an important step toward linking biological and chemical control within pest management regarding the lady beetle and lambda-cyhalothrin targeting different pest groups.     

Schistosoma mansoni: SmLIMPETin, a member of a novel family of invertebrate-only regulatory proteins

Eukaryotic LIM domain proteins contain zinc finger forming motifs rich in cysteine and histidine that enable them to interact with other proteins. A cDNA clone isolated from an adult schistosome cDNA library revealed a sequence that coded for a novel class of proteins bearing 6 LIM domains and an N-terminal PET domain, SmLIMPETin. Phylogeny reconstruction of SmLIMPETin and comparison of its sequence to invertebrate homologues and to the vertebrate four-and-a-half LIM domains protein family (FHLs), uncovered a novel LIM domain protein family, the invertebrate LIM and PET domain protein family (LIMPETin). Northern blots, RT-PCR and Western blot showed that SmLIMPETin gene was less expressed in sexually mature adult females compared to sexually immature adult females and sexually mature and immature adult males, and not expressed in schistosomula.