Starvation‐induced autophagy in Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9 ovarian cells

Autophagy controls insect development and can be targeted for pest control in agriculture. In the present study, starvation‐induced autophagy is investigated in the insect species Spodoptera frugiperda. Bioinformatics analysis and a search of the EST database (http://bioweb.ensam.inra.fr/spodobase) identifies a putative ATG8 gene of S. frugiperda. To generate a biomarker of autophagosome, the DNA sequence encoding the open reading frame of this gene is amplified and cloned into a pIEX‐4‐mCherry‐EGFP‐SfATG8 recombinant vector. Sf9 cells are then transfected with this expression vector and starved in phosphate‐buffered saline solution for 4 h to induce autophagy, which is examined by LysoTracker staining (Life Technologies, Grand Island, New York), western blotting and fluorescence microscopy. The results obtained show that starvation stimulates lipidation of SfATG8‐PE and the formation of autophagosomes, providing a foundation for further research with respect to autophagy in insects.     

Molecular phylogeny of Himalopsyche (Trichoptera,Rhyacophilidae)

Species of the genus Himalopsyche (Trichoptera, Rhyacophilidae) inhabit alpine to montane environments in Central and East Asia and North America. Diversity of the genus is concentrated primarily in the Himalayas and surrounding mountain ranges. Phylogenetic hypotheses have hitherto been proposed based on morphological data. Here, we present the first molecular phylogeny of Himalopsyche based on six gene fragments, using three methods of phylogenetic inference. Based on the phylogenetic analyses, we re‐evaluated species groups suggested by previous authors based on adult male morphology. We found that the previously defined groups are largely supported by molecular evidence as well as larval and adult morphology. However, we modify the species groups so that Himalopsyche phryganea and Himalopsyche lepcha constitute monotypic groups, and so that the tibetana group and anomala group sensu Schmid & Botosaneanu are merged to a single group, here defined as the tibetana group. Thus, we propose that Himalopsyche can be divided into five groups: kuldschensis group, lepcha group, navasi group, phryganea group, and tibetana group. We also provide a biogeographic synthesis of Himalopsyche distributions.     

Resistin-Inhibited Neural Stem Cell-Derived Astrocyte Differentiation Contributes to Permeability Destruction of the Blood–Brain Barrier

Neurochemical Research - Neuroinflammation is an important part of the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral...