中蜂处女王性成熟日龄及其交尾习性的探讨

本研究对210只人工培育的出房后1,2,3,4,6,8．10日龄的中蜂处女王受精囊液的pH值进行测定．结果表明,1日龄处女王受精囊液的pH值平均为7．7,2日龄为8．5,从3日龄开始达到最高值8.8．并保持稳定状态,由此判断出房后3日龄的中蜂处女王性已成熟．通过对72只中蜂处女王交尾飞行的观察,结果表明,蜂王交尾日龄多为6-8日．最早为4日龄,最迟为16日龄;处女王认巢飞行持续时间平均为7．4分钟,交尾飞行平均为21．5分钟：处女王连续交尾飞行1-3次,有9只处女王在一天里进行2次交尾飞行．     

Juvenile hormone-like substances can induce vitellogenesis in the tick Ornithodoros moubata (Acarina: Argasidae)

Topical application of different juvenile hormone analogs (JHA) or of a mixture of stereoisomers of insect juvenile hormone (JH) 1 and 3 to fed virgin female Ornithodoros moubata immediately after feeding induced vitellogenesis and egg-laying in up to 70% of treated females. In controls only 13.7% oviposited. The eggs were sterile, with abnormal shape, but their number versus the weight of engorged females was normal or sometimes greater than in mated females. However, preoviposition period was longer than in mated females.

It was more difficult to induce egg-laying by similar topical applications 100 days after feeding of virgin females. A maximum of 58% of ovipositing females was obtained with a very high dosage of JH mixture (500 fig). Injection of this mixture into the females was more potent; 15 to 50 fig induced oviposition in about 60% of the females. The preoviposition period was also longer than in control females.

Our results suggest the presence of a JH-like substance which is involved in the hormonal control of vitellogenesis. However, since natural isomers of JH were much less efficient than isomeric mixtures or JHA, we suppose that the natural tick hormone does not correspond to JH, but rather to a JH-like substance.     

Rhythmic egg-laying behaviour in virgin females of fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster

Fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster females display rhythmic egg-laying under 12:12?h light/dark (LD) cycles which persists with near 24?h periodicity under constant darkness (DD). We have shown previously that persistence of this rhythm does not require the neurons expressing pigment dispersing factor (PDF), thought to be the canonical circadian pacemakers, and proposed that it could be controlled by peripheral clocks or regulated/triggered by the act of mating. We assayed egg-laying behaviour of wild-type Canton S (CS) females under LD, DD and constant light (LL) conditions in three different physiological states; as virgins, as females allowed to mate with males for 1?day and as females allowed to mate for the entire duration of the assay. Here, we report the presence of a circadian rhythm in egg-laying in virgin D. melanogaster females. We also found that egg-laying behaviour of 70 and 90% females from all the three male presence/absence protocols follows circadian rhythmicity under DD and LL, with periods ranging between 18 and 30?h. The egg-laying rhythm of all virgin females synchronized to LD cycles with a peak occurring soon after lights-off. The rhythm in virgins was remarkably robust with maximum number of eggs deposited immediately after lights-off in contrast to mated females which show higher egg-laying during the day. These results suggest that the egg-laying rhythm of D. melanogaster is endogenously driven and is neither regulated nor triggered by the act of mating; instead, the presence of males results in reduction in entrainment to LD cycles.     

Soil organic carbon density and influencing factors in tropical virgin forests of Hainan Island,China

Aims
Estimating soil organic carbon (SOC) density and influence factors of tropical virgin forests in Hainan Island provide new insight in basic data for SOC pool estimation and its dynamics study.
Methods
The main distribution areas of tropical virgin forests in Jianfengling (JFL), Bawangling (BWL), Wu- zhishan (WZS), Diaoluoshan (DLS), Yinggeling (YGL) of Hainan Island were selected, and soil samples (0-100 cm) were sampled and analyzed. SOC density was estimated by soil vertical fitting method and soil stratification method to discover the distribution characteristics of soil organic carbon in tropical virgin forests of Hainan Island.
Important findings
Results showed that: (1) The average SOC density using soil vertical fitting method in JFL, BWL, WZS, DLS and YGL was 14.98, 18.46, 16.48, 18.81, 16.66 kg·m^-2, respectively, which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the estimated average SOC density using soil stratification method in these areas (14.73, 16.24, 15.50, 16.91, 15.03 kg·m^-2, respectively). It is better to use soil vertical fitting method for SOC density estimation when the soil was natural without disturbance. (2) The proportion of SOC content in the first 0-30 cm depth interval out of SOC in the whole 0-100 cm soil profiles in JFL, BWL, WZS, DLS and YGL was 50.50%, 48.56%, 43.49%, 47.37%, 42.88%, respectively. (3) SOC density was significantly negative correlated with Shannon-Wiener index, Simpson index, species richness, and soil bulk density; and was significantly positive correlated with altitude, soil porosity, and soil nitrogen. However, SOC density was not significantly correlated to slope, biomass, average diameter at breast height, or average height. (4) Our study area Hainan was located in low latitude area with high rainfall and high temperature, which accelerated the decomposition of organic matter and nutrient recycling, resulting in significantly lower SOC densities in this tropical virgin forests of Hainan Island than the average value in China.     

Role of yeasts in the qualitative structuring of extra virgin olive oil

This review sought to describe the role played by some components of the microbiota of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), particularly yeasts, in structuring the physicochemical and sensorial quality of freshly produced olive oil. Yeasts can survive during the entire storage period of the product. To date, approximately 25 yeast species isolated from oil produced in more than six countries have been identified, eight of which are classified as new species. Some yeast species improve the health qualities of oil, whereas many others improve the chemical composition and sensory characteristics based on β-glucosidase and esterase enzymes, which are involved in the hydrolysis of the bitter glucoside known as oleuropein. However, some species, which are typically favoured by the high water content in the oily matrix, such as lipase-producing yeasts, can worsen the initial chemical characteristics of EVOO oil during storage. Some physical treatments that are compatible with the EVOO production specification affect the biotic component of the oil by reducing the concentration of yeasts. The possibility of minimizing the invasive action on the biotic component of the oil by appropriately selecting the physical treatment for each oil is discussed.     

Biocatalysed synthesis of sn-1,3-diacylglycerol oil from extra virgin olive oil

Enzymatic synthesis of sn-1,3-diacylglycerols (sn-1,3-DAG) in two steps without isolation of the intermediates was investigated. Firstly ethanolysis of extra virgin olive oil (EVO) using immobilized non-regiospecific lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) was carried out to obtain glycerol (Gly) and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE). In the second step the ethanolysis products have been re-esterificated testing different sn-1,3-regiospecific lipases, both immobilized and non-immobilized, in different reaction media, that is in the presence of solvents or in a solvent-free system, for different times, at different temperatures (12, 25 and 40 °C). The lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme IM) has been the most effective among the sn-1,3-specific lipases screened.     

Complex interactions with females and rival males limit the evolution of sperm offence and defence

Postcopulatory sexual selection favours males which are strong offensive and defensive sperm competitors. As a means of identifying component traits comprising each strategy, we used an experimental evolution approach. Separate populations of Drosophila melanogaster were selected for enhanced sperm offence and defence. Despite using a large outbred population and evidence of substantive genetic variation for each strategy, neither trait responded to selection in the two replicates of this experiment. Recent work with fixed chromosome lines of D. melanogaster suggests that complex genotypic interactions between females and competing males contribute to the maintenance of this variation. To determine whether such interactions could explain our lack of response to selection on sperm offence and defence, we quantified sperm precedence across multiple sperm competition bouts using an outbred D. melanogaster population exhibiting continuous genetic variation. Both offensive and defensive sperm competitive abilities were found to be significantly repeatable only across matings involving ejaculates of the same pair of males competing within the same female. These repeatabilities decreased when the rival male stayed the same but the female changed, and they disappeared when both the rival male and the female changed. Our results are discussed with a focus on the complex nature of sperm precedence and the maintenance of genetic variation in ejaculate characteristics.     

Virgin queens selectively destroy fully matured queen cells in the honeybee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis> L.

Summary Experiments were carried out to determine how newly emerged virgin queens destroy queen cells with broods which will be competitors for the succession of the colony. When queen cells with older, 13-day-old broods set to emerge within 1 day were presented together with those of younger broods to workers and newly emerged queens in the colony, we found that the older queen cells were preferentially destroyed. It was also shown that a virgin queen destroyed the queen cells with older brood (12–13 days old) first when they were presented together with cells with younger broods (9–10 days old) simultaneously in the experimental cage. However, no significant preference was detected in the destruction between queen cells with 10- and 7-day-old broods. We concluded that virgin queens selectively destroy the queen cells housing broods which will emerge shortly. The possibility that by the selective destruction of older queen cells, newly emerged queens can reduce their risks including death that might otherwise be caused by fights with competitors was discussed.Received 10 June 2003; revised 22 December 2003; accepted 15 January 2004.