A geographic distribution database of the Neotropical cassava whitefly complex (Hemiptera,Aleyrodidae) and their associated parasitoids and hyperparasitoids (Hymenoptera)

Whiteflies (Hemiptera, Aleyrodidae) are represented by more than 1,500 herbivorous species around the world. Some of them are notorious pests of cassava (Manihot esculenta), a primary food crop in the tropics. Particularly destructive is a complex of Neotropical cassava whiteflies whose distribution remains restricted to their native range. Despite their importance, neither their distribution, nor that of their associated parasitoids, is well documented. This paper therefore reports observational and specimen-based occurrence records of Neotropical cassava whiteflies and their associated parasitoids and hyperparasitoids. The dataset consists of 1,311 distribution records documented by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) between 1975 and 2012. The specimens are held at CIAT’s Arthropod Reference Collection (CIATARC, Cali, Colombia). Eleven species of whiteflies, 14 species of parasitoids and one species of hyperparasitoids are reported. Approximately 66% of the whitefly records belong to Aleurotrachelus socialis and 16% to Bemisia tuberculata. The parasitoids with most records are Encarsia hispida, Amitus macgowni and Encarsia bellottii for Aleurotrachelus socialis; and Encarsia sophia for Bemisia tuberculata. The complete dataset is available in Darwin Core Archive format via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).     

Neurons discovered in male Helicoverpa zea antennae that correlate with pheromone-mediated attraction and interspecific antagonism

Responses of single receptor neurons in the antennae of male Helicoverpa zea to sex pheromone components and to behavioral antagonists were recorded using a cut-sensillum extracellular recording technique. Three types of sensilla were identified from sampling 325 male-specific sensilla trichodea located at the lateral edge of antennomeres. The majority of these sensilla (71%) contained a receptor neuron tuned to the principal sex pheromone component (Z)-11-hexadecenal. A second sensillar type (10%) contained a receptor neuron that responded only to (Z)-9-tetradecenal. A third sensillar type (19%) contained a large-spiking neuron tuned to the secondary pheromone component (Z)-9-hexadecenal, but this neuron also could be stimulated to equivalent spike frequencies by the same emitted amounts of (Z)-9-tetradecenal. A smaller-spiking neuron in this sensillar type responded to two compounds known to act only as behavioral antagonists, (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol and (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate, and to (Z)-9-tetradecenal. Cross-adaptation studies confirmed the presence of one large- and one small-spiking neuron in the third sensillar type. Dose-response studies correlated to collected stimuli amounts showed that the large-spiking neuron in the third sensillar type was equally tuned to (Z)-9-hexadecenal and (Z)-9-tetradecenal, whereas the smaller-spiking neuron was far more sensitive to (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol and to (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate than to (Z)-9-tetradecenal. Accepted: 29 September 1997     

Immunolocalization of β-(1→4) and β-(1→6)-D-galactan epitopes in the cell wall and Golgi stacks of developing flax root tissues

Summary Most cell wall components are carbohydrate including the major matrix polysaccharides, pectins and hemicelluloses, and the arabinogalactan-protein proteoglycans. Both types of molecules are assembled in the Golgi apparatus and transported in secretory vesicles to the cell surface. We have employed antibodies specific to -(16) and -(14)-D-galactans, present in plant cell wall polysaccharides, in conjunction with immunofluorescence and electron microscopy to determine the location of the galactan-containing components in the cell wall and Golgi stacks of flax root tip tissues. Immunofluorescence data show that -(14)-D-galactan epitopes are restricted to peripheral cells of the root cap. These epitopes are not expressed in meristematic and columella cells. In contrast, -(16)-D-galactan epitopes are found in all cell types of flax roots. Immunogold labeling experiments show that both epitopes are specifically located within the wall immediately adjacent to the plasma membrane. They are also detected in Golgi cisternae and secretory vesicles, which indicates the involvement of the Golgi apparatus in their synthesis and transport. These findings demonstrate that the synthesis and localization of -(14)-D-galactan epitopes are highly regulated in developing flax roots and that different -linked D-galactans associated with cell wall polysaccharides are expressed in a cell type-specific manner.     

New insights into the kinetic resistance to anticancer agents

Kinetic resistance plays a major role in the failure of chemotherapy towards many solid tumors. Kinetic resistance to cytotoxic drugs can be reproduced in vitro by growing the cells as multicellular spheroids (Multicellular Resistance) or as hyperconfluent cultures (Confluence-Dependent Resistance). Recent findings on the cell cycle regulation have permitted a better understanding why cancer cells which arrest in long quiescent phases are poorly sensitive to cell-cycle specific anticancer drugs. Two cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDKI) seem particularly involved in the cell cycle arrest at the G1 to S transition checkpoint: the p53-dependent p21^cip1 protein which is activated by DNA damage and the p27^kip1 which is a mediator of the contact inhibition signal. Cell quiescence could alter drug-induced apoptosis which is partly dependent on an active progression in the cell cycle and which is facilitated by overexpression of oncogenes such as c-Myc or cyclins. Investigations are yet necessary to determine the influence of the cell cycle on the balance between antagonizing (bcl-2, bcl-X_L...) or stimulating (Bax, Bcl-X_S, Fas...) factors in chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. Quiescent cells could also be protected from toxic agents by an enhanced expression of stress proteins, such as HSP27 which is induced by confluence. New strategies are required to circumvent kinetic resistance of solid tumors: adequate choice of anticancer agents whose activity is not altered by quiescence (radiation, cisplatin), recruitment from G1 to S/G2 phases by cell pretreatment with alkylating drugs or attenuation of CDKI activity by specific inhibitors. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

trans activation of the Escherichia coliato structural genes by a regulatory protein from Bacillus megaterium : potential use in polyhydroxyalkanoate production

A Bacillus megaterium genomic fragment, which encoded an activator homologous to σ⁵⁴ regulators and which was capable of activating Escherichia coli ato genes in trans, was detected in a gene library of B.␣megaterium screened for β-ketothiolase activity. The fragment presented only one complete open reading frame (ORF1), which encoded a protein of 398 amino acids. The recombinant plasmid complemented mutations in the Escherichia coli atoC regulatory gene. The constitutive expression of the E. coli ato operon mediated by ORF1 could be useful for the synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates with different flexibility properties by recombinant E. coli strains. Received: 20 October 1997 / Received revision: 18 February 1998 / Accepted: 23 February 1998     

Characterization of the lys2 gene of Penicillium chrysogenum encoding α -aminoadipic acid reductase

A DNA fragment containing a gene homologous to LYS2 gene of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was cloned from a genomic DNA library of Penicillium chrysogenum AS-P-78. It encodes a protein of 1409 amino acids (Mr^ 154 859) with strong similarity to the S. cerevisiae (49.9% identity) Schizosaccharomycespombe (51.3% identity) and Candida albicans (48.12% identity) α-aminoadipate reductases and a lesser degree of identity to the amino acid-activating domains of the non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, including the α-aminoadipate-activating domain of the α-aminoadipyl-cysteinyl-valine synthetase of P. chrysogenum (12.4% identical amino acids). The lys2 gene contained one intron in the 5′-region and other in the 3′-region, as shown by comparing the nucleotide sequences of the cDNA and genomic DNA, and was transcribed as a 4.7-kb monocistronic mRNA. The lys2 gene was localized on chromosome III (7.5 Mb) in P. chrysogenum AS-P-78 and on chromosome IV (5.6 Mb) in strain P2, whereas the penicillin gene cluster is known to be located in chromosome I in both strains. The lys2-encoded protein is a member of the aminoacyladenylate-forming enzyme family with a reductase domain in its C-terminal region. Received: 26 January 1998 / Accepted: 4 May 1998