Avidity analysis of the human immune response to a chitin binding protein of Toxoplasma gondii.

A 30-33 kDa electroeluted fraction of T. gondii tachyzoites improved discrimination between acute and chronic phase sera when used instead of the whole tachyzoite extract in an avidity-ELISA. In order to identify the components of these fractions, crude tachyzoite antigen was fractionated by anionic exchange chromatography. The 30-33 kDa antigen cluster eluted in the not-bound fraction could account for a large proportion of the antibody response against the 30-33 kDa electroeluted fraction. According to the N-terminal sequence data, this antigen fraction is composed mainly of SAG1 and another protein with high homology to chitin binding proteins from plants.     

Induction and Maintenance of Maternal Behaviour in the Domestic Hen: Influence of Testosterone and Oestradiol Treatments

Confining an adult hen with two newly-hatched chicks induced a gradual emergence of maternal behaviour in the hen. The aim of the experiments presented here was to analyse the effects of testosterone or oestradiol treatments on the induction and maintenance of maternal behaviour in hens with no previous maternal experience. The ability of a hen to positively respond towards chicks was not altered by either testosterone or oestradiol injections. However, testosterone therapy prevented both the appearance and the maintenance of the most typical call, clucking. Testosterone injected hens responded to chicks with a contact-type call, but oestradiol treated ones did not. These results indicate that some aspects of maternal behaviour can be modulated by peripheral levels of hormones.     

Commons + Borderlands: Working Papers on Interdisciplinarity, Accountability and the Flow of Knowledge

Commons + Borderlands: Working Papers on Interdisciplinarity, Accountability and the Flow of Knowledge . Marilyn Strathern. Wantage, Oxfordshire: Sean Kingston Publishing, 2004. 102 pp.     

Do pollen beetles need pollen? The effect of pollen on oviposition,survival, and development of a flower‐feeding herbivore

Abstract.  1. Pollen is considered to be an important dietary component for many species of flower-feeding herbivores. Its influence on oviposition site selection by the pollen beetle Meligethes aeneus , and on the development of its larvae was investigated.
2. The effects of pollen presence and absence on adult, egg, and larval incidence in the field, and on larval development in the laboratory were compared through the use of Synergy, a composite hybrid oilseed rape Brassica napus variety comprising male-fertile (with pollen) and male-sterile (without pollen) plants.
3. In the field, adult females were more abundant on male-fertile plants during flowering, and a greater proportion of male-fertile than male-sterile buds were accepted for oviposition. These data indicate a possible role of pollen in oviposition site selection by female pollen beetles.
4. The numbers of first instar larvae on the two plant lines did not differ; however, more second instars were found on male-fertile than on male-sterile flowers. This suggests a greater larval survival on male-fertile plants, possibly due to the more readily available food resources and better nutrition afforded by the presence of pollen.
5. Laboratory experiments confirmed that a diet which included pollen improved survival to adulthood and resulted in heavier pupae and adults; however, pollen was not obligatory for larval survival and development.
6. The pollen beetle, previously thought to be an obligate pollen feeder, is therefore more generalist in its requirements for development. These findings may relate to the nutritional and behavioural ecology of other flower-feeding herbivores.     

Honeydew amino acids in relation to sugars and their role in the establishment of ant-attendance hierarchy in eight species of aphids feeding on tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)

Abstract. The ratio of the concentration of honeydew total amino acids to total sugars in the honeydew of eight species of aphids, all feeding on tansy, Tanacetum vulgare (L.), was determined and correlated with honeydew production and ant‐attendance. The honeydew of the five ant‐attended aphid species [Metopeurum fuscoviride (Stroyan), Trama troglodytes (v. Hayd), Aphis vandergooti (Börner), Brachycardus cardui (L.), Aphis fabae (Scopoli)] was rich in total amino acids, ranging from 12.9 to 20.8 nmol µL^?1 compared with the unattended aphid Macrosiphoniella tanacetaria (Kalt.) with only 3 nmol µL^?1. Asparagine, glutamine, glutamic acid and serine (all nonessential amino acids) were the predominant amino acids in the honeydew of all species. The total concentration of amino acids in the phloem sap of tansy was much higher (78.7 nmol µL^?1) then in the honeydew samples, and the predominant amino acids were glutamate (34.3%) and threonine (17.7%). A somewhat unexpected result was the finding that those aphid species with the highest total amino acid concentration in the honeydew always had the highest concentration of sugars. The lowest amino acid–sugar combined value was 104–28.8 nmol µL^?1 in the non ant‐attended species M. tanacetaria, and the highest value was an average of 270–89.9 nmol µL^?1 for the three most intensely attended aphid species M. fuscoviride, A. vandergooti and T. troglodytes. There is no evidence that any single amino acid or group of amino acids in the honeydew acted as an attractant for ant‐attendance in these eight aphid species. The richness of the honeydew (rate of secretion × total concentration of sugars), along with the presence of the attractant sugar melezitose, comprised the critical factors determining the extent of ant‐attendance of the aphids feeding on T. vulgare. The high total amino acid concentration in sugar‐rich honeydews can be explained by the high flow‐through of nutrients in aphids that are particularly well attended by ants.     

Host selection by winged colonisers within the Myzus persicae group: a contribution towards understanding host specialisation

Abstract.  1.  Myzus persicae sensu lato demonstrates considerable genetic variation in respect to adaptation to host plants. The subspecies M. persicae nicotianae shows a preference for tobacco, while M. persicae sensu stricto ( s. str. ) for other herbaceous plants. Given that winged colonisers of several aphid species play an important role in selecting host plants, here their role in the host specialisation observed in M. persicae was examined in choice and no-choice tests conducted outdoors, in performance studies, and in DC Electrical Penetration Graph (DC-EPG) studies.
2. In outdoor choice tests, 77% of spring migrants of M. persicae nicotianae chose tobacco, whereas equal proportions of M. persicae s. str. selected tobacco and pepper. In no-choice tests, spring migrants settled more quickly after alighting on host rather than on non host plants, and significantly more alate M. persicae s. str. (27%) than M. persicae nicotianae (2%) left tobacco after walking briefly on the leaf surface, whilst no significant differences were found on pepper. Cross-host transfers significantly reduced the fecundity of both summer and spring migrants of the two subspecies. Finally, the results of no-choice tests and DC-EPG studies showed that winged aphids distinguished their host through cues located on the plant surface or in subcutaneous tissues perceived prior to the initiation of feeding.
3. This study demonstrates the important role of winged colonisers in the evolution of host specialisation in M. persicae . The multifarious divergent selection that the two host forms experience, i.e. the selection against cross-migrants and their subsequent generations, is a crucial factor involved in the development and maintenance of host specialisation and promotes the parallel evolution of improved host-recognition ability.