Phosphogluco mutase — a biochemical marker for group 4 chromosomes in the Triticinae

Summary Structural genes for the isozymes of phosphogluco mutase (PGM) (EC 2.7.5.1) have been located on chromosome arms 4A, 4BL and 4DS of hexaploid wheat. These results support the homoeologies observed among these chromosome arms and also support the notion of conservation of gene synteny groups within the Triticinae.     

Oviposition and development of Drosophila modified by magnetic fields

Drosophila flies placed in a habitat with two lateral boxes demonstrated sensitivity to magnetic fields: Oviposition decreased by exposure to pulsated extremely low frequency (ELF) (100)Hz, 1.76 miliTesla (mT) and sinusosidal fields (50 Hz, 1 mT), while there was no initial effect of exposure to a static magnetic field (4.5 mT). Drosophila eggs treated for 48 h with the above described fields showed that (1) mortality of eggs was lower in controls than in eggs exposed to all tested magnetic fields; (2) mortality of larvae increased when a permanent magnet was used; (3) mortality of pupae was highest when a permanent magnet was used; and (4) general adult viability was highest in controls (67%) and diminished progressively when eggs were exposed to pulsated (55%), sinusoidal (45%), and static (35%) magnetic fields.     

Oviposition by the African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria migratorioides, in a crop environment in South Africa

Oviposition by the African migratory locust, Locusta migratoria migratorioides (Orthoptera: Acrididae), was studied in maize and wheat crops on the Orange Free State Highveld. Maize was shown to be the most important oviposition habitat with peak laying taking place in autumn and early winter when highest pod densities were recorded. Laying was mainly concentrated along the middle of the crop interrows in maize and within clearings in the wheat crop. Despite the uniform layout of these crops, the distribution of egg pods was found to be aggregated. Non-reproductive behaviour, such as locust aggregation, basking and feeding, as well as environmental factors appeared to influence the distribution of egg pods in these crops. Secondary selection for optinum soil moisture and compaction on the laying site enhanced the aggregation of pods.     

Decision to superparasitize based on larval survival: competition between aphid parasitoids Aphidius ervi and Aphidius smithi

Oviposition by a parasitoid wasp in an already parasitized host (= superparasitism) may result in larval competition and the loss of offspring. Consequently, in solitary species, the decision to superparasitize should be based on the probability of offspring survival. Females of Aphidius ervi Haliday and A. smithi Sharma & Subba Rao (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae), two parasitoids of the pea aphid, discriminated between conspecific-and heterospecific-parasitized hosts. Both species showed partial preference for aphids previously attacked by A. smithi, a result predicted from the fact that A. ervi is superior to A. smithi in larval competition under most conditions. Females of A. smithi selectively attacked conspecific-parasitized pea aphids when given a choice between these and self-parasitized hosts. Results indicated that females of both species responded to an external pheromone-like marker to discriminate between selfconspecific-and heterospecific-parasitized aphids. In addition, A. smithi may use internal cues to recognize, and avoid oviposition in, aphids previously parasitized by A. ervi.

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Résumé L'oviposition par une guêpe parasite dans un hôte qui a déjà été parasité (= superparasitisme) pourrait conduire à une compétition entre larves et à une perte de progéniture. Par conséquent, dans les espèces solitaires, la décision de superparasiter devrait être basée sur la probabilité de survie de la progéniture. Les femelles de Aphidius ervi Haliday et de A. smithi Sharma & Subba Rao (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae), deux parasites du puceron du pois, ont discriminé entre les hôtes parasités par des individus de la même espèce et ceux parasités par des individus d'une espèce différente. Les deux espèces de parasite ont montré une préférence partielle pour les pucerons préalablement parasités par A. smithi, résultat qui était prévisible du fait que, dans la majorité des cas, A. ervi est supérieur à A. smithi dans la compétition entre larves. Les femelles de A. smithi ont sélectivement attaqué les pucerons parasités par un individu de la même espèce lorsqu'il leur était donné de choisir parmi ceux-ci et ceux parasités par les même individu. Les résultats indiquaient que les femelles des deux espèces répondaient à une sorte de phéromone externe pour distinguer les pucerons parasités par le même individu de ceux parasités par un individu de la même espèce et ceux parasités d'une autre espèce. En plus, A. smithi pourrait utiliser des signaux internes pour reconnaître et éviter l'oviposition dans les pucerons préalablement parasités par A. ervi.

     

A comparison between the amino acid composition of an egg parasitoid wasp and some of its hosts

Amino acid compositions of the eggs of five lepidopteran hosts for Trichogramma minutum were compared with each other and with a non-host species, Rhodnius prolixus, in which T. minutum oviposits but does not develop. Host eggs are quite homogeneous, particularly when compared according to groupings of potentially interconvertible amino acids. Combined mole percent values for glycine, serine and alanine were higher in hosts (27.5–29.2 mole%) than in R. prolixus eggs (21.5 mole%), in bovine serum albumin (14.9%), which has been used as a protein source in artificial diets for T. minutum, or in many of the mixtures used in published diets for this species. Since these three amino acids make up 26.3 mole% of the adult amino acid content of T. minutum, their deficiency in diets could require metabolic compensation detrimental to development.Adult T. minutum arising from eggs of Manduca sexta, Choristoneura fumiferana, and Sitotroga cerealella are similar in amino acid composition to each other and, in general, to their hosts. Variability appears greater in hosts than in adult wasp composition, suggesting some interconversion of host amino acids to accommodate inflexible nutritional requirements of T. minutum.In the three host species tested, free amino acids constituted 15.8–19.3% by weight of the amino acid in egg contents. In M. sexta eggs, glycine, serine and alanine together make up 28.4% by weight of the total free amino acid, a much higher proportion than in many published diets. The four free amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine and histidine) reported to be oviposition stimulants in experiments on encapsulated diets are present in sufficient concentrations to induce oviposition in the host species tested and in R. prolixus. S. cerealella egg contents having approximately 1.8 g amino acid, yield one or rarely two adult T. minutum (1g amino acid/insect). In contrast, M. sexta eggs with 94 g amino acid each yield an average of 10–12 adults (8.2g amino acid/insect). This suggests that small hosts are allocated few eggs which can only develop into small adults because of nutrient supply (parasitoid size in metabolically restricted), whereas much larger hosts are allocated proportionately fewer eggs than the former resulting in larger, and presumably more viable and fecund, adults (parasitoid size is established behaviourally).     

Influence of protein hydrolysate baits on oviposition in the apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella

Ovipositional responses of apple maggot (AM), Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), females were studied in the laboratory on apples (var: Golden Delicious) treated with different rates of four protein hydrolysate baits in choice and no-choice tests. Protein hydrolysate baits at rates of 0.5 and 1% had no significant effect, but oviposition was greatly reduced at higher rates of 5 and 10%. Apple maggot females exposed to apples treated with protein hydrolysate baits at a rate of 10% made 41–71% fewer punctures and laid 41–73% fewer eggs than in untreated control. No oviposition activity was shown on apples treated with 25 and 100% Nulure®. In no-choice tests the AM females laid 75–96% fewer eggs in apples treated with 10 and 25% Nulure compared to controls and no oviposition occurred in apples treated with 100% Nulure. Apple maggot females arrived in similar numbers on apples treated with 10% Nulure and untreated apples, but only 5% of those arriving on Nulure-treated apples showed ovipositor boring with no egg deposition while 60% of females arriving on untreated apples showed ovipositor boring activity and laid an average of 2.5 eggs per apple. In another experiment, individual AM females displayed similar behavioral responses to 10% Nulure-treated apples; none of the 56 females tested on treated apples displayed ovipositor boring activity, but 59% of the females (N=56) tested on untreated apples displayed ovipositor boring within 5 min of their arrival. Ninetyeight percent of AM females stayed and fed on fruit surfaces for 5 min on Nulure-treated apples without ovipositor boring compared to only 2% on untreated apples. Of the females that arrived on untreated apples, 39% flew away within 5 min without ovipositor boring compared to only 2% of those that arrived on Nulure-treated apples. Results of these two behavioral experiments suggest that upon arrival on a protein bait-treated apple, an apparent change of behavior occurs in AM females and instead of attempting to oviposit, they attempt to feed on fruit surfaces resulting in reduced oviposition activity. These results indicate that the feeding and oviposition-related activities of AM females are probably mutually exclusive and that the feeding behavior preempts oviposition activities on host fruits treated with higher rates of protein hydrolysate baits.     

Survival time and resistance to desiccation of diapause and non-diapause eggs of temperate Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes

Time-related changes in the patterns of host discrimination may have a complex form depending on whether or not hosts are marked following first parasitisation, the persistence of chemicals in these marks, and changes in the host as a result of being parasitised. Here we present an experimental design capable of detecting temporal patterns in host discrimination of solitary parasitoids. This method is tested against experimental data from Aphidius ervi attacking the aphid, Acyrthosiphon kondoi. The results demonstrate that there are statistically significant changes in the patterns of egg distribution in aphid hosts held for intervals between 1 and 48 h between parasitisation. These changes appear to be attributable to increasing oviposition restraint by the superparasitising female as the time interval between attacks is increased. The form of this relationship is not significantly different to a sigmoid function and the rate of change of restraint was greatest between 6–8 h after the first oviposition.     

Survival of phage M13 with uracils on one or both DNA strands

Summary The survival of M13 DNA was studied after partial replacement of thymine by uracil in the bacteriophage. Uracils carry the same genetic information as the thymines. Nevertheless in Escherichia coli wild-type cells, uracils in DNA are replaced by thymines by excision repair initiated by uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG). Thus inactivation of uracil-containing phage DNA is solely due to repair initiated by UDG. Incorporation of uracils was achieved in one or in both strands, either randomly or site-specifically using differently uracylated oligonucleotides. The results show that up to 580 uracils can be repaired without a significant decrease in survival if the uracils are localized in the (–) strand only. Incorporation of 246 uracils into the (+) strand leads to 30% or 10% survival when expressed in Escherichia coli strains CMK and JM103, respectively. However, when uracils are distributed over both strands a sharp decrease in survival occurs. This shows that the repair of two uracils localized in close proximity on opposite strands of the DNA by the excision repair mechanism is difficult, whereas uracils occurring in one strand are repaired more efficiently, irrespective of their number.     

Genetic linkage map of rye (Secale cereale L.)

Communicated by G. Wenzel     

Behavioral responses of female oriental fruit flies to the odor of papayas at three ripeness stages in a laboratory flight tunnel (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Behavioral responses of adult female oriental fruit flies, Dacus dorsalisHendel, to the odor of papayas from three ripeness classes were studied using a threechoice flight tunnel bioassay. Laboratoryreared flies were allowed to respond freely to any of three papaya odors (mature green, colorbreak to one-fourth ripe, and one-half to full ripe) emanating from identical (spherical) fruit models. Five behaviors were measured in assessing the fly's relative attraction to the odors (number of landings), arrestment (total fly seconds on sphere), fly-fly interactions on the fruit model (maximum and modal fly density), and acceptance for oviposition (total eggs laid). Females showed no significant difference in total fly landings based on all age classes combined. Significant differences were noted among age classes. Females spent more total time on the sphere and showed a higher maximum density and modal fly density to ripe fruit than to green fruit odors. Ovipositional acceptance of fruit models based on the total number of eggs laid in a sphere was greater in response to the ripefruit odor than to the other two odor classes. Olfactorystimulated behavioral responses of females to the odor of ripe papayas were significantly different from the other ripeness classes for all behaviors at 8 days postemergence and then declined in 11-day-old flies. Behavioral responses were greater during the afternoon than in the morning. Observations of wild oriental fruit flies to papayas in the field indicated a preference for residing on riper fruit. The results of this study are discussed with regard to the role of olfactory inputs generated by the odor of ripening fruit on female attraction and oviposition behavior resulting in infestation of papayas by oriental fruit fly.