Colony development and establishment of the fungus comb inMicrotermes sp. nr.Usambaricus (Sjöstedt) (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae) from Nigeria

During development of yeast colonies, various cell subpopulations form, which differ in their properties and specifically localize within the structure. Three branches of mitochondrial retrograde (RTG) signaling play a role in colony development and differentiation, each of them activating the production of specific markers in different cell types. Here, aiming to identify proteins and processes controlled by the RTG pathway, we analyzed proteomes of individual cell subpopulations from colonies of strains, mutated in genes of the RTG pathway. Resulting data, along with microscopic analyses revealed that the RTG pathway predominantly regulates processes in U cells, long-lived cells with unique properties, which are localized in upper colony regions. Rtg proteins therein activate processes leading to amino acid biosynthesis, including transport of metabolic intermediates between compartments, but also repress expression of mitochondrial ribosome components, thus possibly contributing to reduced mitochondrial translation in U cells. The results reveal the RTG pathway’s role in activating metabolic processes, important in U cell adaptation to altered nutritional conditions. They also point to the important role of Rtg regulators in repressing mitochondrial activity in U cells.

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Menaquinone and Iron Are Essential for Complex Colony Development in Bacillus subtilis

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0079488 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (11) ◽

pp. e79488 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Gidi Pelchovich ◽

Shira Omer-Bendori ◽

Uri Gophna

Keyword(s):

Bacillus Subtilis ◽

Colony Development

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The adaptation of Bact. coli mutabile to lactose

Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series A - Mathematical and Physical Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspa.1954.0126 ◽

1954 ◽

Vol 223 (1154) ◽

pp. 420-420

Keyword(s):

Inoculum Size ◽

Colony Development ◽

Lag Phase ◽

Normal Cells ◽

Adaptive Process ◽

Large Numbers ◽

Parent Culture ◽

Mutation Theory ◽

Special Circumstances ◽

New Evidence

When Bact. coli mutabile not previously exposed to lactose is plated on lactose-ammonium sulphate agar the number of normal-sized colonies (lac + ) eventually formed is a complicated function of the inoculum size. For small numbers all the cells plated eventually form colonies; for large numbers the colony yield is determined not by a number of mutants in the parent culture but by plate exhaustion (for which the earlier developing colonies are chiefly responsible). The time of appearance of the lac + colonies is much longer than with a culture previously grown in lactose. Thus lac + mutants could not have been present from the start unless their growth is inhibited by an excess of normal cells. When, however, a small number of previously adapted cells are mixed with an excess of unadapted cells the presence of the latter does not impede the development on agar of lac + colonies from the former. When cells are first placed in a liquid lactose medium and samples are transferred at intervals during the ensuing lag phase, the time needed for colony development on lactose-agar progressively diminishes, once again showing that an adaptive process is occurring during the lag in the liquid medium. In certain special circumstances the adaptation to the liquid lactose medium may occur with abnormal speed. The growth rate of newly adapted strains is at first variable. If interpreted by a mutation theory the observations would demand the assumption of a complex polygenetic system for which current applications of the Luria-Delbrück and Lea-Coulson theories would be invalid. Recent arguments about the mutational nature of these phenomena are criticized in the light of the new evidence.

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Bright-Field and Fluorescence Microscopic Study of Development of Erysiphe polygoni in Susceptible and Resistant Bigleaf Hydrangea

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-93-2-0130 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 93 (2) ◽

pp. 130-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Yonghao Li ◽

Mark T. Windham ◽

Robert N. Trigiano ◽

Sandra M. Reed ◽

James M. Spiers ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Powdery Mildew ◽

Hyphal Growth ◽

Early Response ◽

Resistance Mechanisms ◽

Colony Development ◽

Susceptible Cultivar ◽

Bright Field ◽

Erysiphe Polygoni ◽

Infected Cells ◽

Germ Tubes

Temporal development of Erysiphe polygoni and responses of bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) to the fungal attack were investigated using bright-field and fluorescence microscopy. Conidia germinated 2 h after inoculation (HAI) and formed primary appressoria at the tip of the primary germ tubes within 4 HAI. Secondary germ tubes were initiated from primary appressoria or other parts of conidia 12 HAI. Hyphae developed through elongation of secondary germ tubes, and paired lateral appressoria were formed along hyphae within 2 days after inoculation (DAI). Conidiophores and conidia were formed 5 DAI. In the susceptible cultivar Nikko Blue and the resistant cultivar Veitchii, the fungus established a parasitic relationship, which was indicated by the formation of haustoria under primary appressoria and development of secondary germ tubes at 1 DAI. A hypersensitive response (HR) and accumulation of callose were detected in both resistant and susceptible cultivars at 3 DAI. Resistance to powdery mildew in Veitchii was evident by manifestation of early accumulation of callose, relatively high percentage of necrotic infected cells, and restricted colony development compared to the susceptible cultivar Nikko Blue. Restricting hyphal growth and sporulation by early response of callose accumulation and HR are important resistance mechanisms that could be used in screening hydrangeas for resistance to powdery mildew.

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Colony Development and Reproductive Success of Bumblebees in an Urban Gradient

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10061936 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1936 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Chatura Vaidya ◽

Kaleigh Fisher ◽

John Vandermeer

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Success ◽

Colony Development ◽

Urban Gradient

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Prey Status Affects Paralysis Investment in the Ponerine Ant Harpegnathos venator

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects13010026 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 26

Author(s):

Lei Nie ◽

Fei Zhao ◽

Yiming Chen ◽

Qian Xiao ◽

Zhiping Pan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Activity Level ◽

Food Storage ◽

Colony Development ◽

Foraging Mode ◽

Live Prey ◽

Ponerine Ants ◽

Behavioral Mechanism ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Ponerine Ant ◽

Predatory Insects

The paralysis behavior of some ponerine ants when foraging may be important for food storage and colony development. However, how workers invest in paralysis under different prey circumstances is often overlooked. Here, we report the prey-foraging behavior and paralysis behavior of Harpegnathos venator under different food supply conditions. Solitary hunting was the main foraging mode of H. venator, with occasional simple collective hunting. Nymphal cockroaches with high activity were the most attractive to H. venator. In the experiment, we found that the stings of H. venator completely paralyzed the cockroaches. The stinging time was significantly longer at a higher prey activity level and for larger cockroaches. In addition, there was no significant difference in the stinging time of H. venator for different prey densities. The results showed that the longer similar cockroaches were stung, the longer it took for them to revive and move. These results are helpful for further understanding the behavioral mechanism underlying the food storage of live prey by predatory insects.

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Landscape structure and climate seasonality affect the amount, richness and diversity of pollen collected by honeybees in a Neotropical region of Colombia

10.1101/2020.05.01.072082 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Paula María Montoya-Pfeiffer ◽

Guiomar Nates-Parra

Keyword(s):

Landscape Structure ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Native Species ◽

Diversity Index ◽

Forest Area ◽

Colony Development ◽

Monthly Precipitation ◽

Forest Species ◽

Tropical Regions ◽

Pollen Species

AbstractPollen is the main food for honeybee broods and young workers and so colony development and reproduction rely heavily on pollen availability, both spatially and temporally, in the environment. Intensification of agriculture and climate seasonality are known to alter honeybee foraging patterns and pollen intake through changes in resource availability in temperate regions; however, little is known about how honeybees respond to such environmental factors in tropical regions.Pollen species collected by honeybees in a Neotropical agricultural region of Colombia were identified. The effects of landscape structure (landscape Shannon Diversity Index, forest area in 1000 m around the apiary) and climate seasonality (mean monthly precipitation) on the amount, richness and diversity of pollen collected by the honeybees were evaluated for all pollen species together and pollen species segregated according to forest and anthropic areas (croplands, grasslands, woodlands, urban areas).Honeybees were found to be much more associated with anthropic than forest pollen species regardless of landscape structure or precipitation. However, the amount, richness and diversity of pollen from all species and forest species responded positively to landscape diversity and forest area, suggesting an advantage for honeybees in obtaining small quantities of pollen from forest species, in spite of being well-adapted to forage in anthropic areas. Precipitation was found not to be related to the overall amount and overall richness of pollen collected by honeybees, suggesting that climate seasonality was not an important factor for pollen foraging. Nonetheless, overall pollen diversity was negatively affected by precipitation in less diverse landscapes, while anthropic pollen diversity was negatively affected in more forested landscapes. These findings are compared with those from temperate regions, and the implications for honeybee productivity and survival, and their interactions with Neotropical native species, are discussed.

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Lignocellulose pretreatment in a fungus-cultivating termite

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1618360114 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 114 (18) ◽

pp. 4709-4714 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Hongjie Li ◽

Daniel J. Yelle ◽

Chang Li ◽

Mengyi Yang ◽

Jing Ke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cell Walls ◽

2D Nmr ◽

Lignocellulose Degradation ◽

Plant Cell Walls ◽

Radical Coupling ◽

Feeding Experiments ◽

Starting Point ◽

Fungus Comb ◽

Phenolic Polymer ◽

Lignin Depolymerization

Depolymerizing lignin, the complex phenolic polymer fortifying plant cell walls, is an essential but challenging starting point for the lignocellulosics industries. The variety of ether– and carbon–carbon interunit linkages produced via radical coupling during lignification limit chemical and biological depolymerization efficiency. In an ancient fungus-cultivating termite system, we reveal unprecedentedly rapid lignin depolymerization and degradation by combining laboratory feeding experiments, lignocellulosic compositional measurements, electron microscopy, 2D-NMR, and thermochemolysis. In a gut transit time of under 3.5 h, in young worker termites, poplar lignin sidechains are extensively cleaved and the polymer is significantly depleted, leaving a residue almost completely devoid of various condensed units that are traditionally recognized to be the most recalcitrant. Subsequently, the fungus-comb microbiome preferentially uses xylose and cleaves polysaccharides, thus facilitating final utilization of easily digestible oligosaccharides by old worker termites. This complementary symbiotic pretreatment process in the fungus-growing termite symbiosis reveals a previously unappreciated natural system for efficient lignocellulose degradation.

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