Characterization of Avian Paramyxoviruses Isolated from Feral Ducks in Northern Japan: The Presence of Three Distinct Viruses in Nature

Seventy-eight strains of avian paramyxoviruses (PMV) were isolated from cloacal and/or tracheal swabs taken from 1,342 feral ducks, comprised of spot-bill ducks, mallards, pintails, teals, falcated teals, wigeons and buffie-heads, in Wakuya-cho, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, between 1976 and 1979. Five and a half percent of the ducks were positive for virus. Serological and structural characterization indicated that three different avian paramyxoviruses arc prevalent in the Japanese feral duck population. The first group of PMV was Newcastle disease virus (NDV), and in vivo pathogenecity tests in embryonated chicken eggs and 1-day-old chicks revealed that all the NDV strains isolated were avirulent. The second and most prevalent strain was closely related to PMV-4, duck/Hong Kong/D3/75 strain. The viruses of the third group were recovered only from pintails. They cross-reacted antigenically with PMV-3 when antisera to the PMV-3 reference strains, turkey/Wisconsin/68 and parakeet/Netherlands/449/75, were employed. However, no cross-reaction was observed when antiserum to pintail/ Wakuya/20/78, the prototype of this group, was used. The viruses of the third group also differed in viral polypeptide profile from the reference strains of PMV-3.     

Morphological caste and sex differences in the Taiwanese stingless bee Trigona ventralis hoozana (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

To examine morphological differences among queens, workers and males, 14 external body characters were measured in two colonies of the Taiwanese stingless bee Trigona ventralis hoozana. Queens were largest in all of the body parts measured except eye width and mesoscutum length, and values for most variables in queens did not overlap with those of workers and males. In contrast, the worker : male size ratios for 11 variables were close to 1.0, showing that overall body size and shape of workers resembled that of males rather than of queens. Males had the largest eyes and their mesoscutum length was comparable to that of queens. ancova between 14 morphometric variables and mesoscutum width chosen as standard body size showed that allometric growth in most variables was not linear. Plotting of some variables on mesoscutum width showed that queens had a proportionally wider first metasomal tergum and longer antennal scape, but a proportionally narrower head and eye than workers and males. These tests suggest that the morphological caste differences in this species belong to a category of complete dimorphism.     

Two new species of the genus Carminator Shaw from Japan, the northernmost record of extant Megalyridae (Hymenoptera)

The family Megalyridae is recorded from Japan for the first time on the basis of two new species, Carminator helios and C. japonicus. This is the northernmost record of living Megalyridae, although fossil species are known from regions of the Baltic Sea. Carminator helios can be distinguished from congeners of the Asian and Australian regions by the combination of a long head, deeply excavated frons with convex inner margins, entirely striated postgena, the number of fore tibial spines (more than 16), and a long R₁ vein. Carminator japonicus is distinguishable from other species by the combination of an orange‐colored metasoma, a weakly excavated frons, and an elongate vertex. This species was collected from the canopy of Acer pictum. Additional characters that distinguish species of the genus Carminator are discussed.     

Codon-Anticodon Binding in tRNA<Superscript>phe</Superscript>

THE anticodon loop of tRNA^phe of baker's yeast has the sequence (5′ to 3′) AY A A MeG U MeC. The unusual base Y, adjacent to the anticodon (AA MeG), is the only nucleotide in this tRNA which fluoresces at room temperature and because it absorbs to the red of all other bases, the excitation energy is localized on it exclusively. (7-Methyl guanine is another base in tRNA^phe which fluoresces in these conditions but its emission is so weak that it can only be observed in tRNA^phe from which Y has been excised.) The fluorescence spectrum undergoes a small blue shift in the presence of the complementary codon¹ and we report now the use of this shift to determine the association constants for this binding at several temperatures. The results suggest a simple thermodynamic model for the codon recognition step during protein synthesis.     

Subterranean species of the ant genus Crematogaster in Asia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Three Crematogaster ant species, C. (Orthocrema) javanica Menozzi, C. (O.) myops Forel and C. (O.) masukoi sp. nov., share reduced compound eyes which characterizes them among Asian species of the subgenus Orthocrema. The new species is described based on material from Borneo. It can be distinguished from C. javanica and C. myops by its smooth surface of clypeus and acutely produced subpetiolar process. Reduced compound eyes and yellowish body suggest that these three species are subterranean.     

Cuticular hydrocarbons in workers of the slave-making ant Polyergus samurai and its slave, Formica japonica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Comparisons of cuticular hydrocarbons between workers of the dulotic ant Polyergus samurai and its slave, Formica japonica, were carried out. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry showed that the slave‐maker and its slave shared the major cuticular hydrocarbon compounds, but possessed several minor products unique to each species. No difference in hydrocarbon composition was detected between enslaved and free‐living F. japonica workers, suggesting that association with P. samurai has no qualitative effect on hydrocarbon composition in these ants. Principal component analyses of the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles (CHP) revealed that (i) CHP was species specific in a given mixed colony; and (ii) among mixed colonies, P. samurai workers had species‐colony specific CHP, while the same feature was not always found in enslaved and free‐living F. japonica workers. Therefore, a ‘uniform colony odor’ in terms of CHP is not achieved in naturally mixed colonies of P. samurai nor those of its slaves, F. japonica.     

Evidence for Naturally Occurring Inhibitors of Archegonial Differentiation in Lygodium japonicum

Archegonial differentiation in prothallia of Lygodium japonicum was inhibited when the filtrate of conditioned medium or the extracts of prothallia with organic solvents were added to the medium. By varying the timing of treatment with the methanol extract, archegonial differentiation was shown to start at least 4 days before microscopically detectable change. The inhibitory effect of methanol extract was nullified by transferring the treated plants to a fresh medium omitting the methanol extract, so that the archegonial formation became discernible 6 days after the transfer. The inhibitory activity was stable in both acidic and basic solutions at room temperature, and was partially lost by boiling at pH 3 or 11 for 30 min. The inhibitor, which could be retrieved from the filtrate and the methanol extract, was fractionated into the neutral ethyl acetate fraction, but was not found in the acidic ethyl acetate fraction and in the aqueous residue. At least two active zones were separated on thin layer chromatograms of the ethyl acetate extracts from the filtrate and the methanol extract, and the relative flow-rates of each active zone from these two sources were very similar. The evidence described above indicates that specific inhibitors of archegonial differentiation may be produced in the tissue of prothallia of Lygodium and eventually be secreted to the medium.     

Polymorphic microsatellite loci for the swarm-founding wasp Polybia paulista (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

A polymorphic microsatellite locus was isolated and characterized from Polybia paulista, one of the most common polygynic, swarm‐founding social wasps in Brazil. Three other microsatellite loci for which the primer sets were originally developed in independent‐founding paper wasps also showed polymorphism in the size of amplification products in P. paulista.     

The army ant Aenictus silvestrii and its related species in Southeast Asia,with a description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Aenictinae)

Three species of Aenictus with reduced numbers of antennal segments (8–9) occur in Southeast Asia: A. jarujini sp. nov., A. latifemoratus and A. silvestrii. Aenictus latifemoratus is new to Java and Borneo, while A. silvestrii is recorded for the first time from Borneo.