Quantitative estimation of insect diversity inhabiting Calotropis procera in industrial and nonindustrial areas of West Bengal, India

This paper compares the species richnesses, Bray–Curtis similarities, species diversities, evennesses, and the results of various analyses (multivariate, logarithmic series, and lognormal distribution analyses) of insects from four orders (viz., Hemiptera, Orthoptera, aculeate Hymenoptera, and Coleoptera) inhabiting a medicinal plant, Calotropis procera among eight sites within industrial and nonindustrial zones in the Purba Medinipur district (erstwhile Midnapore), West Bengal, India. Both cluster analysis and principal component analysis indicate an effect of industrialization on the diversity of the four insect orders. The species community at each site exhibits an almost pure lognormal distribution. Bootstrap estimation of species diversity also points to the effect of industrialization. A comparison of the values of x and N/S of the logarithmic series indicates a typical relationship between the species community and its diversity. The number of unique species among the eight study sites is 6 according to jackknife estimation. Beta-diversity analysis of the samples shows the impact of industrialization on the abundances and species richness of the insects. Altogether, 16 types of analytical procedure are applied for this purpose, and their suitabilities for this kind of data set are assessed. Disturbance, probably due to industrial emissions, has changed the compositions and structures of the insect communities out to a distance of at least 6 km from the core industrial area.     

Comparing survival among species with imperfect detection using multilevel analysis of mark—recapture data: a case study on bats

For comparative demography studies, 2 prerequisites are usually needed: 1) using typical parameter values for species, 2) correctly accounting for the uncertainty in the species specific estimates. However, although within‐species variability may be essential, it is typically not considered in analytical procedures, resulting in parameter estimates that may not be representative of the species. Further, data are analysed in 2 steps, first separately for each species, then estimates are compared among species. Accounting for the uncertainty in the species specific estimates is then difficult. Here we propose the application of multilevel Bayesian models on mark—recapture (MR) data for comparative studies on survival probabilities that solves these problems. Our models account for within‐species variability in space and time in the form of random effects. Models reflecting different biological predictions related to the species’ ecology and life‐history traits may further be contrasted. To illustrate our approach, we used long‐term data from 5 temperate tree‐roosting bat species and compared their survival probabilities. Results suggest that species foraging in open space, high reproductive output and short longevity records have lower survival than species foraging at short distances, with low reproductive output and high longevity records. Multilevel models provided relatively precise estimates, away from the edges of the parameter space, even for species with low encounter rates and short study duration. This is particularly valuable for less studied taxa such as bats for which available data are often more sparse. Our approach can be easily extended to include additional groups or levels of interest and effects at the individual level (e.g. sex or age). Different hypotheses regarding differences or similarities in parameters among species can be tested through the application of different models. Overall, it offers a flexible tool to ecologists, and population and evolutionary biologists for comparative studies, explicitly accounting for multilevel structures often encountered in MR data.     

Outcome of challenge with Coxsackievirus B4 in young mice after maternal infection with the same virus during gestation

Enteroviral infections go usually unnoticed, even during pregnancy, yet some case histories and mouse experiments indicate that these viruses may be transmitted vertically. More frequently, however, transmission occurs by (fecal) contamination during and shortly after birth. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of maternal infection in mice (1) on gravidity outcome and (2) on subsequent challenge of the offspring with the same virus. CD1 outbred female mice were infected by the oral route with coxsackievirus B4 strain E2 or mock-infected at days 4, 10, or 17 of gestation. Weight and signs of sickness were noted daily. Pups were infected at day 25 after birth (4 days postweaning). Organs (brain, pancreas, and heart) were analyzed for viral RNA and histopathology. We observed that maternal infection at day 4 or day 17 of gestation had little effect on pregnancy outcome, whereas infection at day 10 affected dams and/or offspring. Infection of pups resulted in severe inflammation of the pancreas, but only when dams were previously infected, especially at day 17. The blood glucose levels were elevated. Because no trace of infection was found at the time of challenge, a role for immunopathology is suggested.     

Olfactory response of Typhlodromus pyri (Acari: Phytoseiidae) to synthetic methyl salicylate in laboratory bioassays

The herbivore‐induced plant volatile (HIPV) methyl salicylate (MeSA) is widely present in the chemical profile of several plant species and is known to attract natural enemies, including predatory mites. In this study, the response of Typhlodromus pyri, a key predator of pest mites in west coast vineyards, to synthetically produced MeSA was tested using a Y‐tube olfactometer in laboratory bioassays. Six doses ranging from 0.002 to 200 μg of MeSA diluted in 0.1 ml hexane were tested. Significantly higher proportions of T. pyri preferred MeSA at doses 0.02, 0.2 and 20 μg. No differences in response to MeSA were detected at the highest (200 μg), intermediate (2 μg) and lowest (0.002 μg) doses. Mite response to MeSA was a function of dose when fitting polynomial and logistic regression models using dose and square of the log dose prediction factors. Results indicate that synthetic MeSA may be applied to attract predatory arthropod populations in vineyards to enhance biological control of pest mites.     

Prey-induced changes in the accumulation of amino acids and phenolic metabolites in the leaves of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosera capensis</Emphasis> L

Effect of prey feeding (ants Formica fusca) on the quantitative changes in the accumulation of free amino acids, soluble proteins, phenolic metabolites and mineral nutrients in the leaves of carnivorous plant Drosera capensis was studied. Arginine was the most abundant compound in Drosera leaves, while proline was abundant in ants. The amount of the majority of amino acids and their sum were elevated in the fed leaves after 3 and 21 days, and the same, but with further enhancement after 21 days, was observed in ants. Accumulation of amino acids also increased in young non-fed leaves of fed plants. Soluble proteins decreased in ants, but were not enhanced in fed leaves. This confirms the effectiveness of sundew’s enzymatic machinery in digestion of prey and suggests that amino acids are not in situ deposited, but rather are allocated within the plant. The content of total soluble phenols, flavonoids and two selected flavonols (quercetin and kaempferol) was not affected by feeding in Drosera leaves, indicating that their high basal level was sufficient for the plant’s metabolism and prey-induced changes were mainly N based. The prey also showed to be an important source of other nutrients besides N, and a stimulation of root uptake of some mineral nutrients is assumed (Mg, Cu, Zn). Accumulation of Ca and Na was not affected by feeding.     

Cyclic enediyne–amino acid chimeras as new aminopeptidase N inhibitors

Enediyne–peptide conjugates were designed with the aim to inhibit aminopeptidase N, a widespread ectoenzyme with a variety of functions, like protein digestion, inactivation of cytokines in the immune system and endogenous opioid peptides in the central nervous system. Enediyne moiety was embedded within the 12-membered ring with hydrophobic amino acid alanine, valine, leucine or phenylalanine used as carriers. Aromatic part of the enediyne bridging unit and the amino acid side chains were considered as pharmacophores for the binding to the aminopeptidase N (APN) active site. Additionally, the fused enediyne–amino acid “heads” were bound through a flexible linker to the l-lysine, an amino group donor. The synthesis included building the aromatic enediyne core at the C-terminal of amino acids and subsequent intramolecular N-alkylation. APN inhibition test revealed that the alanine-based derivative 9a inhibits the APN with IC₅₀ of 34 ± 11 μM. Enediyne–alanine conjugate 12 missing the flexible linker was much less effective in the APN inhibition. These results show that enediyne-fused amino acids have potential as new pharmacophores in the design of APN inhibitors.     

Atomic force microscopy characterization of silver nanoparticles interactions with marine diatom cells and extracellular polymeric substance

This study highlights the capacity of atomic force microscopy (AFM) for investigating nanoparticle (NP) algal cell interaction with a subnanometer resolution. We designed a set of AFM experiments to characterize NP size, shape, and structure to visualize changes in the cell morphology induced by NPs and to characterize NP interaction with the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS). Samples for AFM imaging were prepared using the same protocol-drop deposition on mica and imaged in air. Here we address the interactions of Ag NPs with ubiquitous, lightly silicified marine diatoms Cylindrotheca fusiformis and Cylindrotheca closterium and their EPS. In natural seawater used throughout this study, the single Ag NPs adopted truncated tetrahedron morphology with particle heights of 10, 20, 30, and 40 nm. This size class Ag NPs penetrates the cell wall through the valve region built of silica NPs embedded in organic matrix. The Ag NPs cause a local damage inside the cell without disintegration of the cell wall. The EPS production has been shown to increase as a feedback response to Ag NP exposure and may contribute to detoxification mechanisms. Imaging EPS at high resolution revealed the incorporation of Ag NPs and their aggregates into the EPS-gel matrix, proving their detoxifying capacity.     

Immunosuppressant FK506: Focusing on neuroprotective effects following brain and spinal cord injury

The secondary damage that follows central nervous system (CNS) injury is a target for neuroprotective agents aimed at tissue and function sparing. FK506, a clinically used immunosuppressant, acts neuroprotectively in rat models of brain and spinal cord injury and ischemia. Evidence of in vivo experimental studies highlights the neuroprotective role of FK506 by its direct impact on various cell populations within the CNS. The participation of FK506 in modulation of post-traumatic inflammatory processes is a further potential aspect involved in CNS neuroprotection. In this review we provide an overview of the current laboratory research focusing on the multiple effects of FK506 on neuroprotection following CNS injury.     

Do pollination syndromes cause modularity and predict interactions in a pollination network in tropical high‐altitude grasslands?

The concept of pollination syndromes has been widely questioned, since plant–pollinator interactions have proved to be more generalist than was previously thought. We examined whether the network of a tropical high‐altitude grassland contained groups of plants and pollinators that interact preferentially with each other. A general binary matrix was created. To assess the robustness of myophily, in all analyses we considered: 1) the whole network, 2) the network after the wasps were removed, and 3) the network after the flies were removed. For each network we evaluated whether: 1) the observed interactions were more related to syndromes than expected by chance, compared to an expected matrix; 2) there was a modular structure; 3) the modules found were more related to syndromes than expected by chance, compared to another expected matrix; 4) the syndromes were equally robust. For this analysis, the general matrix was subdivided into smaller matrices that included each pollination syndrome separately. To test the influence of the functional groups of pollinators and the phylogeny of plants, in addition to the general matrix, we also considered the first expected matrix, a quantitative functional group and a plant phylogeny matrix. The pollination syndromes determined the pattern of interactions in the network: 69% of the total interactions resulted from the functional group of pollinators predicted by the plant syndrome. The network showed greater modularity (13 modules) than expected by chance, mostly consisting of the expected functional groups of pollinators and plant syndromes. The modules were associated with pollination syndromes more than was predicted by chance. Most of the variation in interactions was explained by functional groups of pollinators or by plant syndromes. Plant phylogeny did not account for a significant amount of variation in the interactions. Our findings support the concept of pollination syndromes. However, the interactions were not equally predicted by different pollination syndromes, and the accuracy of the prediction was strongest for ornithophily and melittophily.     

Extensive diversity of intestinal trichomonads of non-human primates

Despite the fact that the non-human primates are our closest relatives and represent a species-rich mammalian group, little is known about their intestinal protistan parasites/commensals. Particularly, the intestinal trichomonads represent a neglected part of the fauna of the primate digestive system. We have established 30 trichomonad strains isolated from feces of 11 primate species kept in 3 Czech zoos and performed an analysis of their SSU rDNA and ITS1-5·8S rDNA-ITS2. Our results showed that intestinal trichomonads are rather common among non-human primates. Molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the strains are unexpectedly diversified, belonging to 8 or 9 distinct species. Interestingly, the vast majority of the strains from non-human primates belonged to the genus Tetratrichomonas while no member of this genus has been found in the human intestine so far. In addition, hominoid and non-hominoid primates differed in their intestinal trichomonads. Our results suggest that captive primates possibly may be infected by intestinal trichomonads of other vertebrates such as pigs, cattle, birds, tortoises and lizards.