Context‐dependent effects of mycorrhizae on herbivore density and parasitism in a tritrophic coastal study system

1. Stressful abiotic conditions and mycorrhizal fungi have both been shown to influence plant quality significantly, yet the interactive effects of these factors on relationships among plants, herbivores, and natural enemies remain unclear. 2. In this study, the results of a factorial field experiment are reported in which the effects of plant stress and mycorrhizae on density and parasitism of three herbivores of Baccharis halimifolia L. were examined. 3. Plant stress was increased by adding salt to the soil, and association with mycorrhizal fungi was increased by inoculating plant roots. 4. Inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi resulted in increased density of all three herbivore species, but the effects of mycorrhizae on parasitism varied by species and with soil salinity levels. For the gall maker Neolasioptera lathami Gagne, mycorrhizae decreased parasitism regardless of soil salinity levels. For the leaf miners Amauromyza maculosa Malloch and Liriomyza trifolii Burgess, mycorrhizae effectively negated the decrease in parasitism resulting from increased salinity. 5. The results of this study show that the effects of mycorrhizae on parasitism may be context dependent, and can be positive or negative depending upon species and environmental conditions.     

Microsatellite DNA loci in the rock bream Oplegnathus fasciatus

Nine novel microsatellite loci were isolated from Oplegnathus fasciatus by screening an enriched genomic library using nonradioactive PCR (polymerase chain reaction) techniques. All loci were found to be polymorphic with an average of 8.1 alleles per locus (range 3–15). The mean observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.71 (range 0.40–1.00) and 0.74 (range 0.50–0.90), respectively. Two loci showed significant Hardy–Weinberg disequilibrium at the P < 0.05 level. The high variabilities revealed in this study suggest that these microsatellite loci should provide useful markers for genetic variation monitoring of O. fasciatus.     

Inhibition of Multiplication in Acanthamoeba castellanii by Specific Inhibitors of Ornithine Decarboxylase1

Proliferation of Acanthamoeba castellanii (Neff strain) in either a broth medium or a defined medium was arrested by α-monofluoromethyldehydroornithine (Δ-MFMOme), α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), and (R, R')-δ-methyl-α-acetylenic putrescine (MAP), three specific inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase. Although all three inhibited the ameba enzyme, Δ-MFMOme was the most effective inhibitor of multiplication. Growth inhibition was reversed by the addition of polyamines. The inhibitors did not induce differentiation by themselves although DFMO caused encystment when supplemented with CaC1₂ or MgSO₄.     

Trade-off in oviposition strategy: choosing poor quality host plants reduces mortality from natural enemies for a salt marsh planthopper

Abstract.  1. Both host plant nutrition and mortality from natural enemies have been predicted to significantly impact host plant selection and oviposition behaviour of phytophagous insects. It is unclear, however, if oviposition decisions maximise fitness.
2. This study examined whether the salt marsh planthopper Pissonotus quadripustulatus prefers higher quality host plants for oviposition, and if oviposition decisions are made so as to minimise mortality at the egg stage.
3. A controlled laboratory experiment and 4 years of field data were used to assess the rates of planthopper oviposition on higher quality 'green' and lower quality 'woody' stems of the host plant Borrichia frutescens . The numbers and percentages of healthy eggs and eggs that were killed by parasitoids or the host plant were recorded.
4. In all years, including the laboratory experiment, Pissonotus planthoppers laid more eggs on lower quality woody stems than on higher quality green stems. While host plant related egg mortality was higher in woody stems, the percentage of eggs parasitised was much greater in green stems. This resulted in a lower total mortality of eggs on woody stems.
5. The results of this study demonstrate that, although Pissonotus prefers lower quality host plants for oviposition, this actually increases fitness. These data seem to support the enemy free space hypothesis, and suggest that for phytophagous insects that experience the majority of mortality in the egg stage, oviposition choices may be made such that mortality is minimised.     

Newly developed polymorphic microsatellite markers in Job's tears (Coix lacryma‐jobi L.)

A microsatellite‐enriched library of Job's tears (Coix lacryma‐jobi L. var. Ma‐yuen Stapf) was constructed using a modified biotin–streptavidin capture method. After screening, 17 polymorphic microsatellites were used for diversity analysis among 30 Job's tears accessions. The number of alleles ranged from one to five alleles per locus with an average of 2.8 alleles. Expected heterozygosity (H_E) and polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0 to 0.676 and from 0 to 0.666, respectively. The newly developed microsatellite markers are expected to be very valuable tools for evaluation of genetic diversity among large germplasm collection of Job's tears present in our Korean Gene Bank.     

Surveillance of vivax malaria vectors and civilian patients for malaria high-risk areas in northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces near the demilitarized zone,Republic of Korea, 2003–2006

After re-emergence of malaria in 1993, a continued increase in Plasmodium vivax cases was observed from 1993 to 2006 in northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon Provinces adjacent to the demilitarized zone separating North from South Korea. Annual parasite incidence per 1000 people ranged from 0.33 in 2004 to 0.89 in 2006. While malaria case rates declined (22.6%) in 2004, they increased 75.1% in 2005 and 51.7% in 2006 from the previous years. An initial incorrect diagnosis of 46.8% of malaria cases as common cold resulted in a mean delay of 1.3 days for the detection malarial parasites. Of the total cases, 10.2% from December to May were due to latent intrinsic incubation infections acquired the previous malaria season and the rest of the cases from June to November were either latent or short incubation infections. Overall, the peak anopheline population occurred from July to September, resulting in a similar peak in malaria cases. While malaria cases increased during 2005–2006, anopheline populations, based on trap indices, were not significantly different during 4 years of surveillance. To decrease the malaria patient infective period to mosquitoes, public health centers in Paju and Cheorwon in 2006 prescribed chloroquine + primaquine at days 0–3 after initial malaria diagnosis followed by an additional 11 days of primaquine (early primaquine treatment), rather than chloroquine on days 0–3 and primaquine on days 4–17 (delayed primaquine treatment). A reduction in the malaria parasite incidence during 2007 was recorded for the two locations offering the early primaquine treatment relative to other locations using the delayed primaquine treatment.     

Seasonal Prevalence of Mosquitoes Collected from Light Traps in the Republic of Korea, 2001

ABSTRACT Adult mosquito surveillance was conducted during 2001 at 28 US military installations and training sites located in five provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Adult mosquitoes were collected in New Jersey and dry ice-baited CDC-type light traps from 1 May through 15 October. Mosquito surveillance was conducted to determine threshold levels to initiate pesticide applications and identify malaria infection rates at selected Army installations and training sites. A total of 61,584 adults [45,814 (74.4%) females and 15,770 (25.6%) males] comprising 17 species and 7 genera were collected during 2001. The most common species collected were Anopheles sinensis Wiedemann (36.3%), Aedes vexans nipponii (Theobald) (23.1%), Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles (22.3%) and Culex pipiens Coquillett (17.6%). Trap indices (TIs) varied widely for species over their range, due in part, to geographical distribution and degree of association with urban communities. During 2001, the TI for An. sinensis was 19.6 females/trap night compared to years 1999 and 2000, when the TI for the Munsan area was 1.4 and 2.9 times (27.7 and 57.4 TI) greater, respectively. The weekly population densities for some species were variable for each of the years, apparently as a result of variable annual weather conditions. None of the 16,302 Anopheles sinensis assayed for plasmodium vivax (Pv) malaria infections by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) were positive.     

Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers in the brown sole,Pleuronectes herzensteini

New microsatellite DNA markers from brown sole were developed and characterized. Fourteen primer sets were designed from 40 microsatellite regions. Eight of 14 loci exhibited variations comprising 8–31 alleles. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.611 to 0.833 and from 0.647 to 0.968 among 36 individuals, respectively. Phz3, Phz8 and Phz12 significantly deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, and there was a significant linkage disequilibrium between Phz2 and Phz12. Seven of eight loci conformed to the Mendelian manner of inheritance in a full‐sib family. Seven to four loci of three related species were cross‐amplified by primers for brown sole.     

Sensilla on the External Genitalia of the Carabid Beetle, Carabus (Ohomopterus) dehaanii dehaanii Chaudoir (Coleoptera, Carabidae)

Sensilla on the male and female external genitalia of the carabid beetle, Carabus (Ohomopterus) dehaanii dehaanii Chaudoir, were investigated with scanning electron microscopy. The investigation for female genitalia was conducted on the coxites and styli. As a result, 4 types of sensilla were distinguished. In male, a total of 6 types of sensilla were identified on the aedeagus. The external morphology and distribution pattern of each type of the sensilla in both sexes were described. Results are expected to provide a ground work for future research on the phylogenetic study of the genus Carabus and the comparative ultrastructure or behavior in the carabid beetle.