scholarly journals Entrapment of bed bugs by leaf trichomes inspires microfabrication of biomimetic surfaces

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (83) ◽  
pp. 20130174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan W. Szyndler ◽  
Kenneth F. Haynes ◽  
Michael F. Potter ◽  
Robert M. Corn ◽  
Catherine Loudon
Keyword(s):  
Material Properties ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Plant Cell Walls ◽  
Bed Bugs ◽  
Bed Bug ◽  
Biomimetic Surfaces ◽  
Bean Plants ◽  
Leaf Surfaces ◽  
Physical Entrapment ◽  
Bean Leaves

Resurgence in bed bug infestations and widespread pesticide resistance have greatly renewed interest in the development of more sustainable, environmentally friendly methods to manage bed bugs. Historically, in Eastern Europe, bed bugs were entrapped by leaves from bean plants, which were then destroyed; this purely physical entrapment was related to microscopic hooked hairs (trichomes) on the leaf surfaces. Using scanning electron microscopy and videography, we documented the capture mechanism: the physical impaling of bed bug feet (tarsi) by these trichomes. This is distinct from a Velcro-like mechanism of non-piercing entanglement, which only momentarily holds the bug without sustained capture. Struggling, trapped bed bugs are impaled by trichomes on several legs and are unable to free themselves. Only specific, mechanically vulnerable locations on the bug tarsi are pierced by the trichomes, which are located at effective heights and orientations for bed bug entrapment despite a lack of any evolutionary association. Using bean leaves as templates, we microfabricated surfaces indistinguishable in geometry from the real leaves, including the trichomes, using polymers with material properties similar to plant cell walls. These synthetic surfaces snag the bed bugs temporarily but do not hinder their locomotion as effectively as real leaves.

Malathion Absorption, Translocation, and Conversion to Malaoxon in Bean Plants

1972 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 526-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali El-Refai ◽  
T L Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Phaseolus Vulgaris ◽  
Nutrient Solution ◽  
Cholinesterase Inhibitor ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Plant Leaves ◽  
Bean Plants ◽  
Leaf Surfaces ◽  
Glass Surfaces ◽  
Bean Leaves

Abstract Malathion deposits on bean plant leaves, Phaseolus vulgaris, decreased 50% in 2 days under controlled environmental conditions. The decrease was initially more rapid from leaves than from glass surfaces, due to combined evaporation and absorption, but later the cuticular residues became more persistent. Five per cent of the malathion deposit was absorbed within a few minutes after application to bean leaves and declined to 0.4% by 10 days. Malathion degradation products accumulating on both glass and leaf surfaces were similar and included small amounts of malaoxon and an unknown cholinesterase inhibitor. Malathion is not translocated to any great extent in bean plants, but penetrates from the surface into the interior of the leaf and also from a nutrient solution into the root. Small malaoxon residues also accumulated in roots and foliage.

Exploration of cell wall architecture with the rapid-freeze deep-etch technique

1993 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 128-129
Author(s):  
Béatrice Satiat-Jeunemaitre ◽  
Chris Hawes
Keyword(s):  
Plant Cell ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Molecular Model ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Secretory Activity ◽  
Wall Structure ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Molecular Architecture ◽  
Plant Cell Walls

The comprehension of the molecular architecture of plant cell walls is one of the best examples in cell biology which illustrates how developments in microscopy have extended the frontiers of a topic. Indeed from the first electron microscope observation of cell walls it has become apparent that our understanding of wall structure has advanced hand in hand with improvements in the technology of specimen preparation for electron microscopy. Cell walls are sub-cellular compartments outside the peripheral plasma membrane, the construction of which depends on a complex cellular biosynthetic and secretory activity (1). They are composed of interwoven polymers, synthesised independently, which together perform a number of varied functions. Biochemical studies have provided us with much data on the varied molecular composition of plant cell walls. However, the detailed intermolecular relationships and the three dimensional arrangement of the polymers in situ remains a mystery. The difficulty in establishing a general molecular model for plant cell walls is also complicated by the vast diversity in wall composition among plant species.

scholarly journals Widespread Mutations in Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Gene of Cimex lectularius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Populations in Paris

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 407
Author(s):  
Mohammad Akhoundi ◽  
Dahlia Chebbah ◽  
Denis Sereno ◽  
Anthony Marteau ◽  
Julie Jan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Point ◽  
Cimex Lectularius ◽  
Single Point Mutation ◽  
Homozygous Mutation ◽  
Knockdown Resistance ◽  
Bed Bugs ◽  
Bed Bug ◽  
Channel Gene ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
The Status

Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius and C. hemipterus, are common blood-sucking ectoparasites of humans with a large geographical distribution, worldwide. In France, little is known about the status of bed bugs’ infestation and their resistance to insecticides, particularly, pyrethroids. Here, we aimed to find mutations in the kdr gene, known to be involved in resistance to insecticides. We gathered bed bugs from various infested locations, including 17 private houses, 12 HLM building complex, 29 apartments, 2 EHPAD, and 2 immigrants’ residences. A total of 1211 bed bugs were collected and morphologically identified as C. lectularius. Two fragments of the kdr gene, encompassing codons V419L and L925I, were successfully amplified for 156 specimens. We recorded sense mutation in the first amplified fragment (kdr1) in 89 out of 156 (57%) samples, in which in 61 out of 89 (68.5%) sequences, a change of valine (V) into leucine (L) V419L was observed. Within the second fragment (kdr2), a homozygous mutation was recorded in 73 out of 156 (46.7%) specimens at the codon 925. At this position, 43 out of 73 (58.9%) specimens had a sense mutation leading to the replacement of leucine (L) by isoleucine (I). Among 162 mutant sequences analyzed (89 for the kdr1 fragment and 73 for the kdr2 one), we detected single point mutation in 26.6%, while 73.4% presented the mutation in both kdr1 and kdr2 fragments. All modifications recorded in bed bug populations of Paris are described to be involved in the knockdown resistance (kdr) against pyrethroids.

Wheat cell walls and constituent polysaccharides induce similar microbiota profiles upon in vitro fermentation despite different short chain fatty acid end-product levels.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiyi Lu ◽  
Deirdre Mikkelsen ◽  
Hong Yao ◽  
Barbara Williams ◽  
Bernadine Flanagan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Plant Cell ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Short Chain Fatty Acid ◽  
Chain Fatty Acid ◽  
Plant Cell Walls ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
In Vitro Fermentation

Plant cell walls as well as their component polysaccharides in foods can be utilized to alter and maintain a beneficial human gut microbiota, but it is not known whether the...

scholarly journals Plant Cell Wall Hydration and Plant Physiology: An Exploration of the Consequences of Direct Effects of Water Deficit on the Plant Cell Wall

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1263
Author(s):  
David Stuart Thompson ◽  
Azharul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Bacterial Cellulose ◽  
Plant Cell ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Plant Cell Wall ◽  
Plant Cell Walls ◽  
Cell Wall Polysaccharides ◽  
Degree Of Hydration ◽  
Cellulose Composites

The extensibility of synthetic polymers is routinely modulated by the addition of lower molecular weight spacing molecules known as plasticizers, and there is some evidence that water may have similar effects on plant cell walls. Furthermore, it appears that changes in wall hydration could affect wall behavior to a degree that seems likely to have physiological consequences at water potentials that many plants would experience under field conditions. Osmotica large enough to be excluded from plant cell walls and bacterial cellulose composites with other cell wall polysaccharides were used to alter their water content and to demonstrate that the relationship between water potential and degree of hydration of these materials is affected by their composition. Additionally, it was found that expansins facilitate rehydration of bacterial cellulose and cellulose composites and cause swelling of plant cell wall fragments in suspension and that these responses are also affected by polysaccharide composition. Given these observations, it seems probable that plant environmental responses include measures to regulate cell wall water content or mitigate the consequences of changes in wall hydration and that it may be possible to exploit such mechanisms to improve crop resilience.

Glycoprotein conformation in plant cell walls

Planta ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 146 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger B. Homer ◽  
Keith Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Plant Cell ◽  
Cell Walls ◽  
Plant Cell Walls

The Behavioral Response to Heat in the Common Bed Bug,Cimex lectularius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Berry
Keyword(s):  
Petri Dish ◽  
Cimex Lectularius ◽  
Bed Bugs ◽  
Bed Bug ◽  
Host Interaction ◽  
Video Images ◽  
Spherical Ball ◽  
The Common ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts

AbstractThe bed bug, Cimex lectularius L., is a common ectoparasite found to live among its vertebrate hosts. Antennal segments in bugs are critical for sensing multiple cues in the environment for survival. To determine whether the thermo receptors of bed bugs are located on their antennae; innovative bioassays were created to observe the choice between heated and unheated stimuli and to characterize the response of bugs to a heat source. Additionally, the effect of complete antenectomized segments on heat detection were evaluated. Heat, carbon dioxide, and moisture are cues that are found to activate bed bug behavior; a temperature at 38°C was used to assess the direction/degree at which the insect reacts to the change in distance from said stimulus. Using a lightweight spherical ball suspended by air through a vacuum tube, bed bugs and other insects are able to move in 360° while on a stationary point. Noldus EthoVision XT was used to capture video images and to track the bed bugs during 5-min bioassays. A bioassay was created using four Petri dish arenas to observe bed bug attraction to heat based on antennae segments at 40°C. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of heat on complete antenectomized segments of the antennae. The results in this experiment suggest that bed bugs detect and are attracted to heat modulated by nutritional status. Learning the involvement of antennae segments in heat detection will help identify the location and role of thermoreceptors for bed bug host interaction.

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