Co(i)-ordinating defenses: NaCOI1 mediates herbivore- induced resistance in Nicotiana attenuata and reveals the role of herbivore movement in avoiding defenses

Arabidopsis and tomato plants mutated in the F-box protein COI1 mediating jasmonate (JA) responses are more susceptible to herbivores in laboratory trials, but the exact mechanisms of COI1-mediated resistance are not known. We silenced COI1 by transformation with an inverted repeat construct (ir-coi1) in Nicotiana attenuata, a plant the direct and indirect defenses of which against various herbivores have been well studied. ir-coi1 plants are male sterile and impaired in JA-elicited direct [nicotine, caffeoylputrescine and trypsin proteinase inhibitor (TPI) activity] and indirect (cis-alpha-bergamotene emission) defense responses; responses not elicited by JA treatment (ethylene production and flower TPI activity) were unaffected. Larvae of Manduca sexta, a common herbivore of N. attenuata, gained three times more mass feeding on ir-coi1 than on wild-type (WT) plants in glasshouse experiments. By regularly moving caterpillars to unattacked leaves of the same plant, we demonstrate that larvae on WT plants can grow and consume leaves as fast as those on ir-coi1 plants, a result that underscores the role of COI1 in mediating locally induced resistance in attacked leaves, and the importance of herbivore movement in avoiding the induced defenses of a plant. When transplanted into native habitats in the Great Basin Desert, ir-coi1 plants suffer greatly from damage by the local herbivore community, which includes herbivores not commonly found on N. attenuata WT plants. Choice assays with field-grown plants confirmed the increased attractiveness of ir-coi1 plants for both common and unusual herbivores. We conclude that NaCOI1 is essential for induced resistance in N. attenuata, and that ir-coi1 plants highlight the benefits of herbivore movement for avoiding induced defenses.     

Locomotion in caterpillars

Most species of caterpillar move around by inching or crawling. Their ability to navigate in branching three‐dimensional structures makes them particularly interesting biomechanical subjects. The mechanism of inching has not been investigated in detail, but crawling is now well understood from studies on caterpillar neural activity, dynamics and structural mechanics. Early papers describe caterpillar crawling as legged peristalsis, but recent work suggests that caterpillars use a tension‐based mechanism that helps them to exploit arboreal niches. Caterpillars are not obligate hydrostats but instead use their strong grip to the substrate to transmit forces, in effect using their environment as a skeleton. In addition, the gut which accounts for a substantial part of the caterpillar's weight, moves independently of the body wall during locomotion and may contribute to crawling dynamics. Work‐loop analysis of caterpillar muscles shows that they are likely to act both as actuators and energy dissipaters during crawling. Because caterpillar tissues are pseudo‐elastic, and locomotion involves large body deformations, moving is energetically inefficient. Possession of a soft body benefits caterpillars by allowing them to grow quickly and to access remote food sources safely.     

Phylogeography and ecology of an endemic radiation of Hawaiian aquatic case-bearing moths (Hyposmocoma: Cosmopterigidae)

The endemic moth genus Hyposmocoma (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae) may be one of the most speciose and ecologically diverse genera in Hawaii. Among this diversity is the Hyposmocoma saccophora clade with previously unrecorded aquatic larvae. I present a molecular phylogeny based on 773 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 762 bp of the nuclear gene elongation factor 1-alpha. Topologies were constructed from data using maximum-parsimony, maximum-likelihood and Bayesian search criteria. Results strongly support the monophyly of the H. saccophora clade and the monophyly of the genus Hyposmocoma. The H. saccophora clade has single-island endemic species on Oahu, Molokai and West Maui. By contrast, there are three species endemic to Kauai, two being sympatric. The H. saccophora clade appears to follow the progression rule, with more basal species on older islands, including the most basal species on 11 Myr-old Necker Island, one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Aquatic behaviour either evolved recently in the species on the main Hawaiian Islands or was secondarily lost on the arid northwestern Necker Island. The phylogeny suggests that Hyposmocoma is older than any of the current main islands, which may, in part, explain Hyposmocoma's remarkable diversity.     

Combined use of herbivore‐induced plant volatiles and sex pheromones for mate location in braconid parasitoids

Herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are important cues for female parasitic wasps to find hosts. Here, we investigated the possibility that HIPVs may also serve parasitoids as cues to locate mates. To test this, the odour preferences of four braconid wasps – the gregarious parasitoid Cotesia glomerata (L.) and the solitary parasitoids Cotesia marginiventris (Cresson), Microplitis rufiventris Kokujev and Microplitis mediator (Haliday) – were studied in olfactometers. Each species showed attraction to pheromones but in somewhat different ways. Males of the two Cotesia species were attracted to virgin females, whereas females of M. rufiventris were attracted to virgin males. Male and female M. mediator exhibited attraction to both sexes. Importantly, female and male wasps of all four species were strongly attracted by HIPVs, independent of mating status. In most cases, male wasps were also attracted to intact plants. The wasps preferred the combination of HIPVs and pheromones over plant odours alone, except M. mediator, which appears to mainly use HIPVs for mate location. We discuss the ecological contexts in which the combined use of pheromones and HIPVs by parasitoids can be expected. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that braconid parasitoids use HIPVs and pheromones in combination to locate mates.     

Aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus isolates pathogenic to coconut insect pests

Aspergillus flavus isolated from naturally infected leaf-eating caterpillar (Opisina arenosella W.), lace bug (Stephanitis typica D.) and plant hopper (Proutista moesta Westwood), insect pests of the coconut palm, were tested for aflatoxin (AT) production by employing various media formulations. These A. flavus isolates were earlier found to be entomopathogenic in laboratory bioassays. A laboratory contaminant and four standard aflatoxigenic A. flavus isolates were also included in this study as reference strains. All A. flavus isolates were tested on seven AT detection media: coconut extract agar, coconut extract-sodium desoxycholate agar, coconut extract-ascorbic acid agar, coconut extract-Czapek Dox agar, coconut extract-milk powder agar, 10% commercial coconut milk powder agar (CCMPA) and 20% CCMPA. Only two isolates of A. flavus, originally isolated from O. arenosella and P. moesta, produced ATs. AT production was detected within 48 h of incubation and was detected continually up to 1 month. These AT-producing A. flavus isolates also produced bright yellow pigmentation in the medium. Of all the seven media used for AT detection, CCMPA (10%) was found to be the best one, followed by 20% CCMPA, for direct and rapid AT detection. AT production was not necessary for pathogenicity in the insects. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Role of Tactile and Chemical Stimuli in the Formation and Maintenance of the Processions of the Social Caterpillar Hylesia lineata (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Colonies of the social caterpillar Hylesia lineata (Lepidoptera: Satumiidae) form long, single-file, head-to-tail processions as they move between their shelters and distant feeding sites. Although investigations of other processionary species have implicated a silk trail in the processionary process, silk plays little or no role in initiating or maintaining processions in H. lineata. Studies we report here implicate both tactile stimuli and a trail pheromone in the establishment and maintenance of processions. Processionaries elicit locomotion in the individual preceding them in line by brushing their heads against prominent sulci that project from the tips of their abdomens. Caterpillars mark their pathways with a pheromone deposited by brushing the ventral surfaces of their last abdominal segments against the substrate. The persistent pheromone is soluble in hexanes and appears to be secreted from glandular setae found on the proximal regions of the anal prolegs and the venter. In Y-choice tests, caterpillars selected newer trails over older trails and stronger trails over weaker trails. They did not distinguish between trials deposited by newly fed caterpillars and those deposited by starved caterpillars. Despite the unidirectional nature of processions, there is no indication that caterpillars can determine from the trail alone the direction in which the procession advanced. The significance of these findings to the foraging ecology of the caterpillars is discussed.     

黄野螟群体大小对幼虫个体生存和发育的影响

幼虫聚集取食是一些鳞翅目昆虫提高幼虫生长和存活的手段。通过对聚集取食的黄野螟Heortia vitessoides Moore幼虫在室内条件下进行饲养,探究黄野螟幼虫的群体数量大小(分别为30、60、90头幼虫)对幼虫体长、发育速度、达末龄(5龄)时的存活率的影响。分析发现在排除天敌捕食和食物缺乏的前提下,从3龄开始,大群体(90头)的体长显著大于小群体(30头),大群体的幼虫发育速度显著快于小群体,大群体对幼虫前4个龄期时的成活率没有显著提高,尽管大群体的存活率在均值上高于小群体,但是幼虫总体存活率在不同群体中差异不显著。黄野螟幼虫的聚集取食对幼虫的生长的促进作用明显,显著促进了幼虫的生长,加快了幼虫的发育。     

不同立地条件下昆虫群落对松毛虫密度影响的估计(英文)

天敌在松毛虫种群动态中起重要作用,但把天敌的作用加入系统管理模型中却很困难。本文试图用林分因子代替天敌的作用,因为林分条件可以方便地用于系统模型中。通过对浙江省衢县、常山县和龙游县不同立地条件的222块样地的调查数据的分析,从70多科的昆虫群落中选择了16个关键种（科）,并对林分因子和各样地关键种的种数、个体数、多样性之间的关系进行了典型相关分析。结果表明郁闭度和植被条件（灌木层盖度、灌木层高度、草木层盖度、草木层高度、总盖度）是刻划昆虫群落功能的关键林分因子。根据郁闭度的变化和植被条件用系统聚类方法可以把林区分为四种类型,这四种类型林地的昆虫多样性指数、种数、个体数量和松毛虫的密度都存在明显差异;在每种林地都建立了松毛虫密度的变化率与关键林分因子间的回归模型,所有的回归的相关系数都相当高（0．924－0．964）,因此可以认为对林地的分类是合理的,而且用林分因子评估天敌的影响在实践中是可行的。     

油松林对油松毛虫危害的补偿与超补偿效应的研究

本文从油松毛虫的优化管理出发,在油松林-油松毛虫生态系统中,将油松林视为一个子系统,通过人工模拟摘叶和油松毛虫自然危害的方法,从宏观上进行了油松生长指标的测定,从微观上进行了油松生理指标的分析,均证明了油松在一定失叶率条件下,具有补偿与超补偿效应。并进一步组建了不同龄级油松的补偿与超补偿模型,同时寻求了相应的补偿点和超补偿点。通过1988—1991年在北京部分地区的应用,有力地说明了该项研究成果具有明显的经济效益和生态效益,可为制定油松毛虫综合防治的新策略提供可靠的科学依据。