An ultrastructural and cytochemical study of the interaction between latex particles and the haemocytes of the wax moth Galleria mellonella in vitro

1979 ◽  
Vol 199 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
AndrewF. Rowley ◽  
NormanA. Ratcliffe
2006 ◽  
Vol 387 (5) ◽  
pp. 549-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor Langen ◽  
Jafargholi Imani ◽  
Boran Altincicek ◽  
Gernot Kieseritzky ◽  
Karl-Heinz Kogel ◽  
...  

Abstract A cDNA encoding gallerimycin, a novel antifungal peptide from the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella, was isolated from a cDNA library of genes expressed during innate immune response in the caterpillars. Upon ectopic expression of gallerimycin in tobacco, using Agrobacterium tumefaciens as a vector, gallerimycin conferred resistance to the fungal pathogens Erysiphe cichoracearum and Sclerotinia minor. Quantification of gallerimycin mRNA in transgenic tobacco by real-time PCR confirmed transgenic expression under control of the inducible mannopine synthase promoter. Leaf sap and intercellular washing fluid from transgenic tobacco inhibited in vitro germination and growth of the fungal pathogens, demonstrating that gallerimycin is secreted into intercellular spaces. The feasibility of the use of gallerimycin to counteract fungal diseases in crop plants is discussed.


Sociobiology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Daniele Maria Telles ◽  
Gabriel Moreno Martineli ◽  
Maurice Fabian Scaloppi ◽  
Marina Pagliai Ferreira Luz ◽  
Samir Moura Kadri ◽  
...  

Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) have great global socioeconomic and environmental importance. However, the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella L.) is a pest that causes serious worldwide damage to honey bee colonies. Good beekeeping practices and physical, chemical, or natural methods can be used to control wax moths. The use of natural products is a more sustainable option because of their lower toxicity to the environment and the colony. Therefore, we evaluated the efficiency of four natural products for greater wax moth control: neem oil (Azadirachta indica), eucalyptus oil (Eucalyptus spp.), tobacco extract (Nicotiana tabacum), and malagueta pepper extract (Capsicum frutescens). We also evaluated their effects on adult bees and on the population growth of colonies. The 4th instar wax moths and adult bees were subjected to in vitro bioassays of different concentrations of the products. The results allowed usto establish a concentration for each product that was safe for the bees and effectively controlled the moth. Then, we sprayed them on bee colonies to evaluate their effects on population growth. The neem and eucalyptus oils caused wax moth mortality at low concentrations, but did not affect colony population growth. However, they did have a toxic effect on adult bees. The tobacco and pepper extracts efficiently controlled the moth, but did not cause adult bee mortality or interfered with the population growth of the colonies. Therefore, the tobacco and pepper extracts could efficiently control the greater wax moth, without damaging honey bees.


Author(s):  
М. G. Markova ◽  
Е. N. Somova

Work on the clonal micropropagation of strawberries comes down to the search for new growth regulators, which include a biologically active substance - the waste product of the wax moth Galleria mellonella L. The effect of the waste product of the wax moth on the efficiency of clonal micropropagation of strawberries (Fragaria х ananassa duch) in vitro and in vivo conditions in 2018-2020 is shown. The object of research is micro-cuttings, rooted micro-cuttings and adapted micro-plants of garden strawberries of the Korona variety and of the remontant strawberries of the Brighton variety. It was revealed that at the proliferation stage, the propagation coefficient of the Korona variety increased significantly with the introduction of the waste product of the wax moth in doses of 4.0 mg/L and 6.0 mg/L and amounted to 4.2 and 3.8 pcs./explant, respectively; for Brighton variety, the coefficient increased significantly when the dose of the waste product of the wax moth 2.0 mg/L and amounted to 4.6 pcs./explant. The introduction of the waste product of the wax moth in doses of 4.0 mg/L and 6.0 mg/L into the nutrient medium had a significant effect on the yield of Brighton micro-cuttings suitable for rooting: the yield was 95.5 and 94.1%, respectively 87.7% in the control. For the Korona variety, no significant positive effect of the waste product of the wax moth on this indicator was noted. The rooting of micro-cuttings of strawberries of both varieties significantly increased with the introduction of the waste product of the wax moth into the nutrient medium in all studied doses and amounted to 86.4-100% in the Korona variety, and 88.9-100% in the Brighton variety.  The survival rate of adaptable micro-cuttings of Corona variety strawberries when sprayed with an aqueous solution of the waste product of the wax moth at a dose of 4.0 mg/L was 100%; the maximum survival rate of micro-cuttings Brighton variety is 99.8% in the variant with spraying with an aqueous solution of the waste product of the wax moth at a dose of 6.0 mg/L.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Michelle Starr ◽  
Masoud Zabet-Moghaddam ◽  
Michael San Francisco

Abstract The fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is the causative agent of chytridiomycosis and a leading cause of global decline in amphibian populations . The first stages of chytridiomycosis include: inflammation, hyperkeratosis, lethargy, loss of righting reflex, and disruption of internal electrolyte levels leading to eventual death of the host. Previous work indicates that B. dendrobatidis can produce immunomodulatory compounds and other secreted molecules that regulate the growth of the fungus. In this study, filtrates of the fungus grown in media and water were subjected to ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and analyzed using Compound Discoverer 3.0. Identification of cyclo(phenylalanyl-prolyl), chitobiose, and S-adenosylmethionine were verified by their retention times and fragmentation patterns from B. dendrobatidis supernatants. Previous studies have analyzed the effects of B. dendrobatidis on amphibian models, in vitro, or in cell culture. We studied the effects of live B. dendrobatidis cells, spent culture filtrates containing secreted metabolites, and cyclo(pheylalanyl-prolyl) on wax moth larvae ( Galleria mellonella) . Concentrated filtrates caused melanization within 24 hours, while live B. dendrobatidis caused melanization within 48 hours. Our results indicate B. dendrobatidis produces secreted metabolites previously unreported. These findings provide another alternative for the use of a non-amphibian model system to study pathogenicity traits in this fungus.


1959 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
June M. Stephens

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Schroeter) Migula antigen remained in the blood of larvae of the wax moth, Galleria mellonella (L.), during the resistant period of the insect. Bacterial antigen present in the immune blood produces agglutinating titers in rabbits about 10 times as great as those produced by an approximately equal volume of standard P. aeruginosa vaccine. Attempts to demonstrate the mechanism that enhances the antigen showed that the active portion was contained in the serum, that the action occurred within several hours in vivo and only reached the same level after 3 days in vitro mixture, and that the action was probably not caused by lysis of the bacterial cells and the consequent liberation of more antigen in the blood. Electrophoretic studies on the blood mixture indicated that the altered or enhanced antigen may be bound to a blood fraction, the exact nature of which was not determined. The larvae were actively or passively immunized against lethal doses of P. aeruginosa within 20 to 24 hours. Concentration of vaccine had little effect upon the degree of immunity conferred upon the larvae. The immunity lasted about three days and was more specific than nonspecific. The larvae were not actively protected against P. aeruginosa by introduction of albuminous foreign material into the body cavity. True antibodies were not detectable in the immune blood though the bactericidal action of immune blood was at least twice as great as that of normal blood. Preliminary investigations on immune responses of other lepidopterous insects to P. aeruginosa antigen and of the wax moth to antigens of some other Gram-negative bacteria indicated similar results.


1962 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 597-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
June M. Stephens

Larval blood of the wax moth, Galleria mellonella (L.), immunized against Pseudomonas aeruginosa does not melanize on exposure to air as does normal blood. Larval blood samples taken 20 to 24 hours after vaccination against either of the pathogens P. aeruginosa or Proteus mirabilis did not melanize; blood of insects vaccinated against the nonpathogenic Shigella dysenteriae strain K 629 or a nonpathogenic strain of Pseudomonas did melanize. Injection of nonspecific agents, such as sodium chloride or egg albumen, did not inhibit melanization. The oxidation–reduction potential of immune blood was markedly lower than that of normal blood. Enzymes from both normal and immune blood were precipitated with cold acetone. The enzyme preparations were nontoxic to normal larvae. Both normal and immune blood enzyme preparations produced melanin from tyrosine, though the immune blood enzyme acted more slowly. Sodium thioglycollate, ascorbic acid, benzoin oxime, and phenylthiourea each inhibited the melanization of normal blood in vitro but did not confer bactericidal activity. These inhibitors did not produce any change in the rate of melanization, bactericidal activity, or immune properties of the blood when injected into larvae.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (7) ◽  
pp. 3394-3405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihua Fan ◽  
Alexander Idnurm ◽  
Julia Breger ◽  
Eleftherios Mylonakis ◽  
Joseph Heitman

ABSTRACT The basidiomycetous fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans is adapted to survive challenges in the soil and environment and within the unique setting of the mammalian host. A C. neoformans mutant was isolated with enhanced virulence in a soil amoeba model that nevertheless exhibits dramatically reduced growth at mammalian body temperature (37°C). This mutant phenotype results from an insertion in the ECA1 gene, which encodes a sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA)-type calcium pump. Infection in murine macrophages, amoebae (Acanthamoeba castellanii), nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans), and wax moth (Galleria mellonella) larvae revealed that the eca1 mutants are virulent or hypervirulent at permissive growth temperatures but attenuated at 37°C. Deletion mutants lacking the entire ECA1 gene were also hypersensitive to the calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporin and FK506 and to ER and osmotic stresses. An eca1Δ cna1Δ mutant lacking both Eca1 and the calcineurin catalytic subunit was more sensitive to high temperature and ER stresses than the single mutants and exhibited reduced survival in C. elegans and attenuated virulence towards wax moth larvae at temperatures that permit normal growth in vitro. Eca1 is likely involved in maintaining ER function, thus contributing to stress tolerance and virulence acting in parallel with Ca2+-calcineurin signaling.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Zahra Montazer ◽  
Mohammad B. Habibi Najafi ◽  
David B. Levin

Three bacterial species isolated from whole body extracts of the greater wax moth larvae, Galleria mellonella, were evaluated for their ability to utilize low-density polyethylene (LDPE) as a sole carbon source in vitro. These bacteria were identified as Lysinibacillus fusiformis, Bacillus aryabhattai, and Microbacterium oxydans. Their ability to biodegrade LDPE was assessed by growth curves, cell biomass production, polyethylene (PE) weight loss, and the presence of LDPE hydrolysis products in the growth media. Consortia of these bacteria with three other bacteria previously shown to degrade LDPE (Cupriavidus necator H16, Pseudomonas putida LS46, and Pseudomonas putida IRN22) were also tested. Growth curves of the bacteria utilizing LDPE as a sole carbon source revealed a peak in cell density after 24 h. Cell densities declined by 48 h but slowly increased again to different extents, depending on the bacteria. Incubation of LDPE with bacteria isolated from greater wax moth larvae had significant effects on bacterial cell mass production and weight loss of LDPE in PE-containing media. The bacterial consortia were better able to degrade LDPE than were the individual species alone. Gas chromatographic analyses revealed the presence of linear alkanes and other unknown putative LDPE hydrolysis products in some of bacterial culture media.


Author(s):  
D. Reis ◽  
B. Vian ◽  
J. C. Roland

Wall morphogenesis in higher plants is a problem still open to controversy. Until now the possibility of a transmembrane control and the involvement of microtubules were mostly envisaged. Self-assembly processes have been observed in the case of walls of Chlamydomonas and bacteria. Spontaneous gelling interactions between xanthan and galactomannan from Ceratonia have been analyzed very recently. The present work provides indications that some processes of spontaneous aggregation could occur in higher plants during the formation and expansion of cell wall.Observations were performed on hypocotyl of mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) for which growth characteristics and wall composition have been previously defined.In situ, the walls of actively growing cells (primary walls) show an ordered three-dimensional organization (fig. 1). The wall is typically polylamellate with multifibrillar layers alternately transverse and longitudinal. Between these layers intermediate strata exist in which the orientation of microfibrils progressively rotates. Thus a progressive change in the morphogenetic activity occurs.


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