New larval agar-based diet for laboratory rearing of Mediterranean fruit fly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceratitis capitata</Emphasis> (Diptera,Tephritidae)

Five larval diets for laboratory rearing of Ceratitis capitata were tested. These diets were based on wheat bran, microcellulose, potato starch and agar. To evaluate the quality of diet, pupal rearing efficacy and pupal weight were checked. The best results were obtained with an agar based diet used for Manduca sexta laboratory rearing. To simplify the preparation and to reduce the cost of this diet, a new formulation was developed. Larvae reared on the new agar-based diet achieved higher pupal rearing efficacy than larvae reared on bran diet recently used in medfly mass rearing facilities. Heat treated medflies reared on the new agar-based diet achieved similar pupal rearing efficacy with heat treated medflies reared on bran diet. When testing population density, higher pupal rearing efficacy was again achieved on new diet. The highest pupal rearing efficacy was achieved with 100 eggs per 25 g of diet, lowest with 500 eggs per 25 g of diet. Concerning pupal weight, there was no difference in results achieved on Petri dishes with different larval population densities. Larvae reared on new agar-based diet reached better results than larvae reared on bran diet. The preparation of the new diet is simple and the cost is low, so it is good for laboratory tests and rearing.     

Bringing back the fruit into fruit fly-bacteria interactions

Female Mediterranean fruit flies ( Ceratitis capitata ) oviposit in fruits, within which the larvae develop. This development is associated with rapid deterioration of the fruit, and frequently with invasion by secondary pests. Most research on the associations between medflies and microorganisms has focused on the bacteria inhabiting the digestive system of the adult fly, while the role of the fruit in mediating, amplifying or regulating the fruit fly microflora has been largely neglected. In this study, we examine the hypothesis that the host fruit plays a role in perpetuating the fly-associated bacterial community. Using direct and cultured-based approaches, we show that this community is composed in its very large majority of diazotrophic and pectinolytic Enterobacteriaceae. Our data suggest that this fly-associated enterobacterial community is vertically transmitted from the female parent to its offspring. During oviposition, bacteria are transferred to the fruit, establish and proliferate within it, causing its decay. These results show that the host fruit is indeed a central partner in the fruit fly–bacterial interaction as these transmitted bacteria are amplified by the fruit, and subsequently maintained throughout the fly's life. This enterobacterial community may contribute to the fly's nitrogen and carbon metabolism, affecting its development and ultimately, fitness.     

The fruit fly PUB: a phagostimulation unit bioassay system to quantitatively measure ingestion of baits by individual flies

Abstract:  A bioassay to investigate quantitative phagostimulation and ingestion physiology of baits on individual fruit flies is presented. The study was undertaken using two fruit fly species: the Mediterranean fruit fly ( Ceratitis capitata ), a cosmopolitan insect pest, and the Ethiopian fruit fly ( Dacus ciliatus ), a quarantine insect in Israel. Our model bait suspension included spinosad as the toxic agent, and 1% yeast hydrolysate with 10% sucrose as phagostimulant. A preliminary toxicology study showed that the two fruit flies are highly sensitive to low concentrations of spinosad baited with this phagostimulant. The maximum concentration needed to kill 90% of the female flies was 4.2 and 8.5 p.p.m. for C. capitata and D. ciliatus , respectively. The bioassay was able to detect the ingestion of low volumes (e.g. 1  μ l) of tested solutions. The bioassay was also able to detect differences in intake of different concentrations of spinosad solutions and relate ingestion to fruit fly mortality. Additionally, the bioassay was sensitive enough to highlight differences in intake related to the physiological status of the fruit fly and fly species. The bioassay can also be used to follow ingestion kinetics of baits. We expect that this bioassay will contribute in the exploration of more efficient bait systems for fruit flies.     

Mass-rearing biology of Fopius vandenboschi (Hym., Braconidae)

Abstract:   Basic biological information concerning the reproductive activities of Fopius ( Biosteres ) vandenboschi (Fullaway) (Hym., Braconidae, Opiinae) were determined to facilitate insectary mass production. Mean (±SE) progeny production per generation (yield) of 200 ♀♀ F. vandenboschi was 6835.8 ± 433.2 and 3755.8 ± 112.4 parasitoids, with 24-h exposure to second instar Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), respectively. Ceratitis capitata as a factitious host was more sensitive to parasitism, producing a significantly higher percentage of uneclosed host puparia frequently containing parasitoid cadavers (22.5 ± 0.8%), than B. dorsalis (3.4 ± 0.2%). The overall mean production of female offspring was ≥50%♀♀ in both host species. Unlike several other opiine parasitoids, young (5-day-old) females of F. vandenboschi produced low proportion of daughters (26–37%♀♀) and significantly shifted production to female-biased offspring (53–71%♀♀) at older age intervals (16–30 days). Based on the parasitoid yield data with a 24-h exposure period to second instar host larvae of B. dorsalis , about 150 cage replicates (of 200 ♀♀ each) may be sufficient to mass produce about 1 million parasitoids of F. vandenboschi during the reproductive period of 5–30 days, with an average of 56% female offspring. A short oviposition exposure period of 6 h was not optimal for mass production of F. vandenboschi . Total yield at 6 h exposure was one-fifth the production at 24-h exposure, using B. dorsalis hosts.     

Determination of host status of citrus fruits against the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract  The Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) is a pest of citrus in parts of Western Australia. Three citrus cultivars: Valencia oranges, Eureka lemons and Imperial mandarins, as well as non-citrus control fruits, were examined for attractiveness and suitability to Medfly in the field and in the laboratory using choice and no-choice experiments. Oranges were more susceptible to Medfly than mandarins and lemons. Punctures in the skin had a significant impact on the degree of infestation in both citrus and non-citrus control fruit. Artificial infestation and larval survivorship were used to investigate the suitability of each cultivar to Medfly under laboratory conditions. Oranges and mandarins were suitable for the development of Medfly, but lemons were a poor host. When each cultivar was in season, field cage trials demonstrated that infestation occurred in oranges and mandarins but not in lemons.     

Effect of constant temperatures on germination, radial growth and virulence of Metarhizium anisopliae to three species of African tephritid fruit flies

The effect of temperatureon conidial germination, mycelial growth, andsusceptibility of adults of three tephritidfruit flies, Ceratitis capitata(Wiedemann), C. fasciventris (Bezzi) andC. cosyra (Walker) to six isolatesof Metarhizium anisopliae were studied inthe laboratory. There were significantdifferences among the isolates in the effect oftemperature on both germination and growth.Over 80% of conidia germinated at 20, 25 and30°C, while between 26 and 67% conidiagerminated at 35°C and less than 10% at15°C within 24 hours. Radial growth was slowat 15°C and 35°C with all of theisolates. The optimum temperature forgermination and mycelial growth was 25°C. Mortality caused by the six fungal isolatesagainst the three fruit fly species varied withtemperature, isolate, and fruit fly species.Fungal isolates were more effective at 25, 30and 35°C than at 20°C. The LT₉₀values decreased with increasing temperature upto the optimum temperature of 30°C. Therewere significant differences in susceptibilitybetween fly species to fungal infection at allthe temperatures tested.     

甘蓝分子连锁图的构建与品质性状的QTL定位

以两个不同生态型甘蓝(Brassica oleracea var．capitata)品种杂交得到的F2代为作图群体,用RAPD标记构建甘蓝分子连锁图。通过对520个随机引物进行筛选,236个引物在两亲本间表现多态性,多态性比例为47．7％。选取111个引物对群体进行分析,构建了一张含有135个标记位点,9个连锁群,覆盖长度为1023．7cM的分子连锁图。利用该图谱对甘蓝叶球紧实度和中心柱长两性状进行了QTL定位分析。检测到3个与叶球紧实度相关的QTL,总贡献率为62．5％;检测到4个与中心柱长相关的QTL,总贡献率为59．1％。     

甘蓝热胁迫叶片细胞的超微结构研究

高温胁迫引起植物体损伤是很常见的,人们已从多方面探讨高温胁迫对植物的影响,主要工作集中在生理生化、膜结构、热激蛋白及作物产量等方面［１—４］,超微结构的变化也有少量报道［５—７］。但目前要建立一个高温对植物体影响的模式还比较困难。本文探讨了甘蓝不同耐热品种叶片细胞超微结构在热胁迫后的差异,目的是建立植物耐热程度的细胞学指标,为育种工作者选育耐热性品种提供细胞学依据。材料和方法试验材料为甘蓝（Ｂｒａｓｓｉｃａｏｌｅｒａｃｅａｖａｒ．ｃａｐｉｔａｔａＬ．）耐热品种“夏光甘蓝”和感热品种“京丰甘蓝”。…     

Acquisition of a potential marker for insect transformation: isolation of a novel alcohol dehydrogenase gene from Bactrocera oleae by functional complementation in yeast

The alcohol dehydrogenase genes make up one of the best studied gene families in Drosophila, both in terms of expression and evolution. Moreover, alcohol dehydrogenase genes constitute potential versatile markers in insect transformation experiments. However, due to their rapid evolution, these genes cannot be cloned from other insect genera by DNA hybridization or PCR-based strategies. We have therefore explored an alternative strategy: cloning by functional complementation of appropriate yeast mutants. Here we report that two alcohol dehydrogenase genes from the medfly Ceratitis capitata can functionally replace the yeast enzymes, even though the medfly and yeast genes have evolved independently, acquiring their enzymatic function convergently. Using this method, we have cloned an alcohol dehydrogenase gene from the olive pest Bactrocera oleae. We conclude that functional complementation in yeast can be used to clone alcohol dehydrogenase genes that are unrelated in sequence to those of yeast, thus providing a powerful tool for isolation of dominant insect transformation marker genes. Received: 29 June 1999 / Accepted: 27 October 1999     

深圳河口泥滩三种多毛类的数量季节变化及污染影响

在深圳河治理工程环境影响评估研究中,将1995年7月至1998年月在3个断面获得的3种多毛类的数量进行分析,得出深圳河口泥滩A断面和RB断面的小头虫有明显的季节变化,即冬季数量较其他季节高,秋季数量较其他季节低,ET断面的小头虫数量没有明显的季节变化,RB断面寡鳃齿吻沙蚕数量随时间推移有增加的趋势,与有机质含量的变化是相似的,寡鳃齿吻沙蚕和独毛虫的水平分布明显受盐度限制,盐度较低的ET断面寡鳃齿吻沙蚕数量较盐度较高的A断面和RB断面的低,独毛虫没有分布到ET断面,A断面的独毛虫在养猪场废水注入时大量繁殖,文中探讨了溶解氧和有机质含量与3种小个体多毛类数量的关系。