松墨天牛对马尾松挥发物的触角电位和行为反应

利用触角电位和嗅觉测定技术,比较分析松墨天牛Monochamus alternatus Hope对马尾松(Pinus massoniana Lamb)健康和松材线虫危害的枝条挥发物的触角电位和行为反应特点。实验结果表明:未交配松墨天牛对健康枝条挥发物的EAG反应值大于被害枝条的,交配后天牛对被害枝条的EAG反应值明显大于健康枝条的。在“Y”型嗅觉仪中,未交配天牛对健康枝条挥发物表现为正趋性,对被害枝条挥发物表现为负趋性,而交配后天牛对被害枝条挥发物表现为正趋性,对健康枝条挥发物表现为负趋性。说明不同发育时期的松墨天牛成虫对不同生理状态的寄主具有不同的敏感性和选择性。     

Cell envelope changes in Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis as a response to bile

Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. lactis is a probiotic frequently used as adjunct culture in fermented dairy products. In order to ensure its proper function at the intestinal level, this bacterium has to be tolerant to physiological concentrations of bile. This study examined the influence of bile on the fatty acid composition and the membrane characteristics of B. animalis IPLA 4549 and its mutant with acquired resistance to bile, B. animalis 4549dOx. Bile adaptation triggers in B. animalis 4549dOx a decrease in membrane fluidity and in the protein : phospholipid ratio, as well as a shift in the fatty acid composition of the cell. Remarkably, the presence of bile in the growth medium induced similar changes in both B. animalis cells. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that bile promotes a severe distortion of the cell surface. This study provides new insights of the action of bile on the cell envelope of bifidobacteria.     

微小花蝽对温室白粉虱的捕食作用

研究微小花蝽Orius minutus(L.)对温室白粉虱Trialeurodes vaporariorum(Westwood)的捕食作用。结果表明,微小花蝽成虫对温室白粉虱各虫态的功能反应呈HollingⅡ型。微小花蝽成虫对温室白粉虱卵、1龄和2龄混合若虫及其3龄若虫的理论最大捕食量分别为123,74和52头/d。微小花蝽成虫对温室白粉虱卵的捕食效应随捕食者个体间干扰作用的增加而下降,符合Hassel-Varley方程,捕食作用率(E)随着微小花蝽数(P)增加而呈幂指数下降,模拟模型E=0.1021P-0.3189,干扰系数为0.3189。在15～40℃的温度范围内,随着温度的升高微小花蝽成虫对温室白粉虱卵的寻找效率提高,最高达1.1990,处置时间缩短,最低达到0.0035d。     

Behavioral and physiologic responses to environmental enrichment in the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)

The ex situ population of maned wolves is not self‐sustaining due to poor reproduction, caused primarily by parental incompetence. Studies have shown that environmental enrichment can promote natural parental behaviors in zoo animals. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of environmental enrichment on behavioral and physiological responses of maned wolves. During an 8‐week experimental period, daily behavior observations and fecal sample collection were conducted on four adult wolves (2.2) individually housed in environments without enrichment. After 2 weeks, the wolves were chronologically provided with 2‐week intervals of hiding dead mice around the exhibit, no enrichment, and introduction of boomer balls. Responses of the wolves to enrichment were assessed based on activity levels and exploratory rates, as well as the level of corticoid metabolites in fecal samples collected daily throughout the study period. Providing wolves with environmental enrichment significantly increased exploratory behaviors (P<0.05), especially when mice were hidden in the enclosure. Fecal corticoid concentrations were increased during periods of enrichment in males (P<0.05), but not in females. Overall, there were no correlations between behavioral responses to enrichment and fecal corticoid levels. Behavioral results suggest that environmental enrichment elicits positive effects on the behavior of captive maned wolves. There is evidence suggesting that providing animals with ability to forage for food is a more effective enrichment strategy than introducing objects. There is need for a longer term study to determine the impact of environmental enrichment in this species. Zoo Biol 26:331–343, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Rainfall Cues and Flash-Flood Escape in Desert Stream Insects

Desert stream insects may use rainfall cues to anticipate and escape flash floods, but this has been studied in few taxa. We used controlled, replicated experiments to quantify the use of rainfall cues for flood escape in seven common desert stream insects. The hemipterans Curicta pronotata and Aquarius remigis responded consistently to rainfall cues by crawling vertically away from the water, in such a way that they may escape flash floods in nature. The coleopteran Gyrinus plicifer showed no response to rainfall cues. The hemipteran Ambrysus woodburyi did not exit the water but sought refuge under submerged rocks. Three taxa (Ranatra quadridentata, Corydalus texanus, and Rhantus atricolor) gave ambiguous results, although the latter apparently responded to environmental cues other than rainfall. We conclude that rainfall cues are a sufficient mechanism for flood escape in some taxa, but other desert stream insects may employ different strategies (behavioral, life history, or morphological) to survive floods.     

Effect of elevated CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> levels on leaf starch,nitrogen and photosynthesis of plants growing at three natural CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> springs in Japan

Plant communities around natural CO₂ springs have been exposed to elevated CO₂ levels over many generations and give us a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of long-term elevated CO₂ levels on wild plants. We searched for natural CO₂ springs in cool temperate climate regions in Japan and found three springs that were suitable for studying long-term responses of plants to elevated levels of CO₂: Ryuzin-numa, Yuno-kawa and Nyuu. At these CO₂ springs, the surrounding air was at high CO₂ concentration with no toxic gas emissions throughout the growth season, and there was natural vegetation around the springs. At each site, high-CO₂ (HC) and low-CO₂ (LC) plots were established, and three dominant species at the shrub layers were used for physiological analyses. Although the microenvironments were different among the springs, dicotyledonous species growing at the HC plots tended to have more starch and less nitrogen per unit dry mass in the leaves than those growing at the LC plots. In contrast, monocotyledonous species growing in the HC and LC plots had similar starch and nitrogen concentrations. Photosynthetic rates at the mean growth CO₂ concentration were higher in HC plants than LC plants, but photosynthetic rates at a common CO₂ concentration were lower in HC plants. Efficiency of water and nitrogen use of leaves at growth CO₂ concentration was greatly increased in HC plants. These results suggest that natural plants growing in elevated CO₂ levels under cool temperate climate conditions have down-regulated their photosynthetic capacity but that they increased photosynthetic rates and resource use efficiencies due to the direct effect of elevated CO₂ concentration.     

Low dose of Concanavalin-A enhances innate immune response and prevents liver injury in mice infected with Candida albicans

The mechanisms through which Candida albicans is recognized by immune cells and how it triggers host defence are not completely understood. In this study, we evaluated the effect of Concanavalin-A on the clearance of C. albicans by infected mice and their production of proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Subgroups of 5 animals were pretreated with Con-A (250 mug mL(-1) PBS) and after 96 h were infected intraperitoneally with 10(7) cells of C. albicans CR15 (an isolate from a HIV+ person); 30 min, 2, 6, 24 or 72 h after infection the mice were sacrificed. Phagocytosis of C. albicans by peritoneal macrophages increased 30 min after infection in mice pretreated with Con-A. The liver presented the greatest number of CFUs, and this number was reduced by pretreatment with Con-A. Control animals infected with C. albicans presented a significant increase in plasmatic alanine aminotransferase, which was not observed in mice treated with Con-A. Two hours after infection the production of TNF-alpha in the liver of mice pretreated with Con-A was significantly increased. These results suggest that a single dose of Con-A caused a beneficial modulating action of the inflammatory response during infection with C. albicans.     

Adjuvant effect of CIA07, a combination of Escherichia coli DNA fragments and modified lipopolysaccharides, on the immune response to hepatitis B virus surface antigen

CIA07 is an immunostimulatory agent composed of bacterial DNA fragments and modified lipopolysaccharide, which has antitumor activity against bladder cancer in mice. In this study, the adjuvant activity of CIA07 was evaluated using hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) as the immunogen. Mice were immunized intramuscularly three times at 1-week intervals with HBsAg alone or in combination with alum, bacterial DNA fragments, modified lipopolysaccharide, CIA07 or CpG1826, and immune responses were assessed. At 1 week after the final injection, the HBsAg-specific total serum IgG antibody titer in CIA07-treated mice was 14 times higher than that in animals administered antigen alone, six times higher than in mice given alum or bacterial DNA fragments and twice as high as those treated with modified lipopolysaccharide or CpG1826, and remained maximal until 8 weeks postimmunization. Animals receiving antigen alone or plus alum displayed barely detectable HBsAg-specific serum IgG2a antibody responses. However, coadministration of CIA07 with antigen led to markedly enhanced serum IgG2a antibody titer and IFN-gamma(+) production in splenocytes, indicating that CIA07 effectively induces Th1-type immune responses. In addition, the number of HBsAg-specific CD8(+) T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was elevated in CIA07-treated mice. These data clearly demonstrate that CIA07 is able to induce both cellular and humoral immune responses to HBsAg, and confirm its potential as an adjuvant in therapeutic vaccines for hepatitis B virus infections.     

Immune response to leishmania: paradox rather than paradigm

The leishmaniases are a group of diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. Various Leishmania species can cause human infection, producing a spectrum of clinical manifestations. It is estimated that 350 million people are at risk, with a global yearly incidence of 1-1.5 million for cutaneous and 500,000 for visceral leishmaniasis (VL). VL is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in East Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Coinfection with HIV enhances the risk of the disease. The only control measure currently available in India is case detection and treatment with antimonial drugs, which are expensive, not always available and cannot be self-administered. Newer drugs like oral miltefosine have not become widely available. Vector and reservoir control is difficult due to the elusive nature of the vector and the diversity of the animal reservoir. A detailed knowledge of immune response to the parasite would help in designing prophylactic and therapeutic strategies against this infection.