Sur la spécifité deMetarrhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) sorokin

Résumé Le pouvoir pathogène de 8 souches deMetarrhizium anisopliae isolées de 7 Searabeides et du Doryphore a été comparé à l’égard de 9 espèces de ColéoptèresScarabaeidae: 5Dynastidae, 3Cetoniidae et 1Melolonthidae, par incorporation de différentes doses de conidiospores au milieu d’élevage des larves. Il a été ainsi montré que la plupart des Insectes étudiés sont sensibles seulement à la souche de Champignon isolée de la même espèce. Par contre lesOryctes sont sensibles à tous lesMetarrhizium provenant d’espèces appartenant au genreOrycles.

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Summary The pathogenicity of 8 strains ofMetarrhizium anisopliae has been investigated on 9 species of ColeopteraScarabaeidae (5Dynastidae, 3Cetoniidae and 1Melolonthidae), by incorporating different doses of conidiospores in the larval rearing medium. In this way, it has been shown that most of the insects studied However, species ofOryctes are susceptible to allMetarrhizium strains derived fromOryctes species. are susceptible only to the fungus strains isolated from insects of the same species.

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Nous remercions vivement MmeA. Deotte pour sa participation à ces essais et notamment la préparation des souches deMetarrhizium.     

Étude en Laboratoire des Conditions Écologiques Favorisant le Développement de la Mycose aBeauveria tenella du Ver blanc

Sans résumé Ce travail a fait l'objet d'une thèse de 3^e Cycle en biologie animale (mention entomologie) intitulée: ≪Observations écologiques sur la mycose àBeauveria tenella (Delacr.) Siemaszko des larves du Hanneton commun,Melolontha melolontha L.≫ et soutenue le 8 décembre 1966 devant la Commission d'examen de la Faculté des Sciences de l'Université de Paris.     

Comparative Ontogeny of Behaviour in Four Species of Squirrels (Sciuridae)

The development of behaviour in four species of Sciurid rodents, having terrestrial, arboreal and gliding way of life, is quantified and compared. The studied species are: Spermophilus columbianus, Spermophilus lateralis, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus and Glaucomys sabrinus. For each behaviour pattern, the earliest and latest age of emergence is given along with a mean calculated for a series of young of each species. The development of locomotion, feeding, comfort, alertness, exploration, nest building and social behaviour and the principal events of physical development are analysed. The discussion shows that the specific differences in ontogenetic rate are controlled by a series of factors including predation pressure, hibernation and the specific complexity of locomotion.     

Influence of relative humidity on the development of fungal infection caused byBeauveria bassiana [Fungi Imperfecti,Moniliales] in imagines ofAcanthoscelides obtectus [Col.: Bruchidae]

The incubation of imagines ofAcanthoscelides obtectus Say inoculated with conidia ofBeauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuillemin under different relative humidities, between 0 and 100% R. H., shows that infection develops independantly of the humidity; the development of the fungus on the cadaver is only possible when the humidity values are near the saturation point.

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Résumé L'infection des imagos d'Acanthoscelides obtectus Say par des conidies deBeauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuillemin a été étudiée, au laboratoire, en fonction des valeurs de l'humidité relative de l'atmosphère ambiante (de 0 à 100% H. R.). Il a été ainsi démontré que l'infection est possible quelle que soit la valeur de l'humidite relative; par contre le développement végétatif du champignon et donc sa sporulation à l'extérieur des cadavres ne se produisent qu'à des humidités égales ou supérieures à 92% H. R. On comprend, dans ces conditions, que le développement des épizooties naturelles, lié à la présence d'un inoculum pathogène, n'ait lieu que dans les biotopes où règne une humidité relative proche de la saturation; à l'inverse les résultats obtenus indiquent qu'il est possible d'infecter une population de ravageurs par dispersion artificielle d'un inoculum multiplié au laboratoire indépendamment des valeurs de l'humidité relative de l'atmosphère.

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Avec la collaboration technique deP. H. Robert etAnnick Glandard.     

Yeast ribosomal protein L7 and its homologue Rlp7 are simultaneously present at distinct sites on pre-60S ribosomal particles

Ribosome biogenesis requires >300 assembly factors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ribosome assembly factors Imp3, Mrt4, Rlp7 and Rlp24 have sequence similarity to ribosomal proteins S9, P0, L7 and L24, suggesting that these pre-ribosomal factors could be placeholders that prevent premature assembly of the corresponding ribosomal proteins to nascent ribosomes. However, we found L7 to be a highly specific component of Rlp7-associated complexes, revealing that the two proteins can bind simultaneously to pre-ribosomal particles. Cross-linking and cDNA analysis experiments showed that Rlp7 binds to the ITS2 region of 27S pre-rRNAs, at two sites, in helix III and in a region adjacent to the pre-rRNA processing sites C₁ and E. However, L7 binds to mature 25S and 5S rRNAs and cross-linked predominantly to helix ES7^Lb within 25S rRNA. Thus, despite their predicted structural similarity, our data show that Rlp7 and L7 clearly bind at different positions on the same pre-60S particles. Our results also suggest that Rlp7 facilitates the formation of the hairpin structure of ITS2 during 60S ribosomal subunit maturation.     

Predator inadvertent social information use favours reduced clumping of its prey

When animals forage socially, individuals can obtain prey from their own searching (producer tactic) or by using the behaviour of others (scrounger tactic) when it provides inadvertent social information (ISI) that food has been located. This ISI may either indicate the location of food (social information, SI), or it may indicate the quality of the resource (public information, PI). To date, few studies have explored the selective consequences for prey of being exploited by predators that use ISI. Prey exploited by such predators should evolve traits that favour high levels of ISI use (scrounging) because this would result in lower predator search efficiency given that fewer predators would be searching directly for the prey. Our simulations confirm that ISI‐using predators should increase their use of ISI when their prey form larger clumps resulting in higher prey survival. Our objective therefore is to explore whether prey will evolve towards higher clumpiness when their predators use ISI, using genetic algorithm simulation. The prey were subjected to one of three types of predators for over 500 prey generations. The predators either used: (1) no social information (NS), (2) SI only, or (3) PI. Surprisingly, the prey evolved the highest clumpiness for NS predators. Prey evolved towards smaller clump sizes with SI predators and the clumps were marginally larger when predators used PI. The result is due to the prey evolving the minimum clumpiness required to cause maximal ISI use by their predators. We discuss how this response by prey may favour the use of PI over SI in their ISI‐using predators.