scholarly journals Nutritional symbionts confer structural defence against predation and fungal infection in a grain pest beetle

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sthandiwe Nomthandazo Kanyile ◽  
Tobias Engl ◽  
Martin Kaltenpoth
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Infection ◽  
High Survival ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
Ecological Implications ◽  
Fungal Entomopathogen ◽  
High Predation ◽  
Mechanistic Basis ◽  
Nutrient Provisioning ◽  
Quality Threshold ◽  
Cuticle Development

Many insects benefit from bacterial symbionts that provide essential nutrients and thereby extend the hosts’ adaptive potential and their ability to cope with challenging environments. However, the implications of nutritional symbioses for the hosts’ defence against natural enemies remain largely unstudied. Here, we investigated if the cuticle-enhancing nutritional symbiosis of the saw-toothed grain beetle Oryzaephilus surinamensis confers protection against predation and fungal infection. We exposed age-defined symbiotic and symbiont-depleted (aposymbiotic) beetles to two antagonists that must actively penetrate the cuticle for a successful attack: wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and the fungal entomopathogen Beauveria bassiana. While young beetles suffered from high predation and fungal infection rates regardless of symbiont presence, symbiotic beetles were able to escape this period of vulnerability and reach high survival probabilities significantly faster than aposymbiotic beetles. To understand the mechanistic basis underlying these differences, we conducted a time-series analysis of cuticle development in symbiotic and aposymbiotic beetles by measuring cuticular melanisation and thickness. The results reveal that the symbionts accelerate their host's cuticle formation and thereby enable it to quickly reach a cuticle quality threshold that confers structural protection against predation and fungal infection. Considering the widespread occurrence of cuticle enhancement via symbiont-mediated tyrosine supplementation in beetles and other insects, our findings demonstrate how nutritional symbioses can have important ecological implications reaching beyond the immediate nutrient provisioning benefits.

Analytical Electron Microscopy of Extraterrestrial Ice Analogs

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 594-595
Author(s):  
D.F. Blake ◽  
LJ. Allamandola ◽  
G. Palmer ◽  
A. Pohorille
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Analytical Electron Microscopy ◽  
Biogenic Elements ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
Interstellar Ice ◽  
Analytical Electron ◽  
History Of ◽  
Interstellar Material ◽  
Astrophysical Ices ◽  
Interstellar Molecular Clouds

The natural history of the biogenic elements H, C, N, O, P and S in the cosmos is of great interest because it is these elements which comprise all life. Material ejected from stars (or pre-existing in the interstellar medium) is thought to condense into diffuse bodies of gravitationally bound gas and dust called cold interstellar molecular clouds. Current theories predict that within these clouds, at temperatures of 10-100° K, gases (primarily H2O, but including CO, CO2, CH3OH, NH3, and others) condense onto submicron silicate grains to form icy grain mantles. This interstellar ice represents the earliest and most primitive association of the biogenic elements. Within these multicomponent icy mantles, pre-biotic organic compounds are formed during exposure to UV radiation. It is thought that icy planetesimals (such as comets) within our solar system contain some pristine interstellar material, including ices, and may have (during the early bombardment of the solar system, ∼4 Ga) carried this material to Earth.Despite the widespread occurrence of astrophysical ices and their importance to pre-biotic organic evolution, few experimental data exist which address the relevant phase equilibria and possible structural states. A knowledge of the petrology of astrophysical ice analogs will allow scientists to more confidently interpret astronomical IR observations. Furthermore, the development and refinement of procedures for analyzing ices and other materials at cryogenic temperatures is critical to the study of materials returned from the proposed Rosetta comet nucleus and Mars sample return missions.

Author response for "CD200R1 regulates eosinophilia during pulmonary fungal infection in mice"

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Salek‐Ardakani ◽  
Thomas Bell ◽  
Chris P Jagger ◽  
Robert J Snelgrove ◽  
Tracy Hussell
Keyword(s):  
Fungal Infection ◽  
Author Response

Therapeutic efficacy of some extracts of hot pepper fruits (Capsicum annuum) and Sumac seeds (Rhus coriaria) on the growth of some isolated dermatophytes species

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 52-62
Author(s):  
Sara Omran ◽  
Abdulghani Alsamarai ◽  
Firas Razzzaq
Keyword(s):  
Antifungal Activity ◽  
Fungal Infection ◽  
Aqueous Extract ◽  
Plant Extracts ◽  
Therapeutic Efficacy ◽  
Diffusion Method ◽  
Quantitative Detection ◽  
Hot Pepper ◽  
Alcoholic Extract ◽  
Dermatology Clinic

Background: Fungal infections are one of the common skin diseases with difficulty in their treatment approach. The present efficient drugs for fungal infection are limited. Aim: To determine the therapeutic efficacy of plant extracts as alternative antifungal agents. Materials and methods: 100 clinical samples [68 from female and 32 from male] were collected during the period from March to July 2017 from subjects attending Dermatology Clinic in Salah Uldean General Hospital. Fungal infection was diagnosed with using KOH wet preparation. Fungal species identified by using conventional approach. The active ingredients existing in the plant extracts were detected and analyzed through qualitative and quantitative detection technique of chemical compounds using a high performance liquid chromatographic device (HPLC). Agar diffusion method was used to determine antifungal activity of plant extracts. Results: Direct microscopic examination showed that there were (75%) positive samples, while culture shows (67%) positive samples. The isolated dermatophytes belong to Epidermophyoton, Microsporum, and Trichophyton genus. The predominant dermatophytes were T. rubrum (25%) species. The highest frequency of infection was in the age group of 11-20 years. The sensitivity of the tested fungi to the aqueous and alcoholic plant extracts varies. Alcoholic extract of the hot pepper plant was more effective as antifungal than the aqueous extract of the same plant. However, aqueous hot pepper extracts was more effective against T. mentagrophyte than that of alcoholic extract. Additionally, alcoholic Sumac extract shows higher efficacy that aqueous extract. Conclusion: Hot pepper and Sumac extracts show antifungal activity against Microsporum canis, Trichophyton rubrum and T. mentagrophyte.

Effects of Predation and Trophic Conditions on the Reproduction of Tylototriton verrucosus (Caudata: Salamandridae) in Darjeeling

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ritwik Dasgupta
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Distribution ◽  
Primary Productivity ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Zooplankton Abundance ◽  
Trophic Conditions ◽  
Size Frequency Distribution ◽  
Size Frequency ◽  
High Predation ◽  
Hatchling Size ◽  
Predation Rates

The facts that small hatchlings emerged from small eggs laid under high predation levels prevailing at the lower altitudes of distribution of this species in Darjeeling while larger hatchlings emerged from larger eggs laid under lower levels of predation at higher altitudes, show that predation is not selected for large egg and initial hatchling size in this salamandrid species. Metamorphic size was small under high predation rates because this species relied on crypsis for evading predators. Egg and hatchling size are related inversely to levels of primary productivity and zooplankton abundance in lentic habitats. Hatchling sizes are related positively to egg size and size frequency distribution of zooplankton. Small egg and small hatchling size have been selected for at the lower altitudes of distribution of this salamandrid in Darjeeling because predation rates increased in step with improvement in trophic conditions at the lower altitudes.

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