Long aculeus and behavior of Anastrepha ludens render gibberellic acid ineffective as an agent to reduce 'ruby red' grapefruit susceptibility to the attack of this pestiferous fruit fly in commercial groves

Treating Mexican grapefruit with gibberellic acid (GA3) before color break, significantly delayed peel color change and increased peel puncture resistance, but it did not reduce grapefruit susceptibility to Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew) attack under natural conditions. Despite GA3 treatments, larval infestation levels increased with higher fruit fly populations, which also increased as the season progressed. Late in the season, infestation levels were even higher in GA3-treated fruit compared with untreated fruit, possibly because treated fruit were in better condition at that stage. Egg clutch size was significantly greater in very unripe, hard, GA3-treated fruit at the beginning of the harvest season and in December, compared with control fruit. Under laboratory conditions, egg injection into different regions of the fruit suggested that A. ludens eggs are intoxicated by peel oil content in the flavedo region. However, A. ludens' long aculeus allows females to oviposit eggs deeper into the peel (i.e., albedo), avoiding toxic essential oils in the flavedo. This makes A. ludens a particularly difficult species to control compared with other citrus-infesting species such as Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (fly species with significantly shorter aculei), which can be effectively managed with GA3 sprays. We discuss our findings in light of their practical implications and with respect to the oviposition behavior of various fruit flies attacking citrus.     

Verlust des Sensibilitäts- und Schmerzempfindens

The sensory nervous system detects pressure, touch, stretching, heat, and cold and translates these stimuli into action potentials. To protect the body from tissue damage acute pain is felt when a stimulus gains a critical intensity. The combination of impaired nociception and autonomic dysfunction is the hallmark of hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies (HSAN). Sensory loss in HSAN patients results in ulcerations of hands and feet and may necessitate amputations. Congenital onset of HSAN leads to self-mutilating behavior in affected children. Degeneration of motor neurons can complicate the disease. HSAN is divided into five groups according to clinical symptoms. So far, nine genes have been identified as causative for the disorder. The present article reviews the clinical, genetic, and pathophysiological aspects of HSAN.     

Stress-induced septicemia as an impediment to laboratory rearing of the fruit fly parasitoid Biosteres (opius) longicaudatus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and the Caribbean fruit fly Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae)

High pupal mortality experienced during laboratory rearing of Biosteres longicaudatus, a parasitoid of the Caribbean fruit fly Anastrepha suspensa was attributed primarily to the action of two species of opportunistic pathogens, Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These bacteria were best able to overwhelm both parasitized and nonparasitized fly larvae and pupae when they were subjected to thermal stress (rearing temperatures >30°C). Methenamine mandelate chemotherapy had no prophylactic effect, but potentially deleterious side effects (aberrant fly premating sounds) were caused by incorporation of this antibiotic in the A. suspensa larval rearing medium. Control was effected by optimizing the cultural conditions rather than by the use of antibiotics.     

Botanische Gärten in der Zeit des Kolonialismus. Auf der Jagd nach dem “Grünen Gold”

Plant Transfer and Botanical Gardens in Colonial Times A constant of economic history is the need of natural resources – in the past often of vegetable origin and available only from the countries of natural distribution. These countries often tried to protect their interests against the traders or users by declaring monopoles. Between these both poles botanic gardens acted very successfully and by far not according to modern ethic standards. Results of their activities were the transcontinental movements of plants and the initiation of new agricultural based industries. These should be exemplified by the British botanical gardens and species as tea shrub, rubber tree, and cinchona tree.     

Increasing effectiveness of visual traps for the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae), by use of fluorescent colors

Fluorescent orange sticky traps (15×20 cm) reflecting maximally at 590 nm captured significantly more Caribbean fruit flies than nonfluorescent orange traps. Fluorescent traps with reflectance peaks at 510 and 610 nm also tended to capture more flies than the plain orange traps. Fly capture rates were directly related to the proportion of total light reflected in the 580–590 nm region and to the intensity of light of this hue. The fluorescent orange paint combined these features (optimal hue and high-intensity emission). A disproportionate number of the captured flies were females (70%), as only ca. 50% of the adults reared from field-infested fruit were females. Most (80%) of the captured females were reproductively mature. These data support previous indications that responses to orange panels represent fruit-seeking rather than foliage-seeking behavior. The relevance of these findings is discussed in relation to fruit fly detection programs.

---

Résumé Des pièges adhésifs (15×20 cm) fluorescents de coloration orange, dont la réflexion maximale se situe à 590 nm, capturent significativement plus de cette mouche des fruits (Anastrepha suspensa) que des pièges oranges non fluorescents. Des pièges fluorescents avec maxima de lumière réfléchie à 510 et 610 nm tendent aussi à capturer plus de mouches que des pièges oranges simples. Les taux de capture de mouches sont en relation directe avec la proportion de lumière totale réfléchie dans la région spectrale 580–590 nm et avec l'intensité lumineuse dans cette longueur d'onde. La peinture fluorescente orange combine ces deux avantages (couleur optimale et émission de forte intensité). Un nombre disproportionné des mouches capturées sont des femelles (70%) alors que seulement 50% environ des mouches issues de fruits naturellement infestés sont des femelles. La majorité (80%) des femelles capturées étaient génitalement mûres. Ces divers faits sont en accord avec les données antérieures établissant que les réponses aux panneaux oranges correspondent à un comportement de recherche de fruits plutôt que de recherche de feuillage. La valeur de ces observations est discutée en relation avec les programmes d'avertissements relatifs à la mouche des fruits.

     

Klinik und Genetik des familiären Darmkrebses

Familial clustering of colorectal cancer (CRC) and early disease onset are indicators of an inherited tumour syndrome. Monogenic dispositions account for 3–5% of all CRC cases and are subdivided into hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC/Lynch syndrome) and various gastrointestinal polyposis syndromes. Many of these syndromes are characterised by a broad spectrum of extracolonic tumours. Early detection and accurate classification are essential in providing effective surveillance and treatment. Initial diagnosis is based on endoscopic and histological findings as well as on the presence of extracolonic manifestations and family history. Molecular genetic examination is important for the differential diagnosis, evaluation of recurrence risk, and predictive testing of asymptomatic at risk individuals; it is performed according to largely standardised algorithms. Diagnostic difficulties are common among the hamartomatous polyposes due to their broad phenotypic overlap and frequent uncertainties in histological evaluation, as well as among patients with few adenomas. Risk-adapted surveillance guidelines have been established for HNPCC and for the more frequently observed polyposis syndromes. Beyond established tumour syndromes, familial clustering of CRC (which is often of late onset) or the occurrence of few adenomas is likely to be based upon a multifactorial (complex) etiology. Although identification of the underlying genetic risk factors and biological pathways is still in the early stages, rapid progress is being made due to methodical developments such as genome-wide association studies and CNV analysis.     

Der Mann aus dem Eis

New scientific findings on the Iceman The Iceman, commonly referred to as Ötzi, is the world's oldest glacier mummy and one of the best studied ancient humans in the world. Since the discovery of the 5300-year-old Copper Age individual in 1991, at the Tisenjoch in the Eastern Italian Alps, a variety of morphological, radiological, and molecular analyses have been applied that revealed important insights into his ancestry, his life habits and the circumstances surrounding his violent death. In more recent research, the mummy was subjected to modern research methodologies focusing on high-throughput sequence analysis of ancient biomolecules (DNA, proteins, lipids) that are still found to be preserved in his mummified tissues. Thereby, a genetic predisposition for increased risk for coronary heart disease and the stomach pathogen Helicobacter pylori were detected. This application of innovative “-omics” technologies have allowed the reconstruction of his last meal, that was mainly composed of fat and game meat from wild animals supplemented with cereals from einkorn.