The efficacy of specific immunocorrection drugs against ovine oestrosis

The purpose of the research is to characterize the effect of specific immunocorrection drugs on the survival rate of the sheep botfly larvae and the immune response of the host organism. Materials and methods. Three variants of laboratory samples of specific immunocorrection drugs against sheep oestrosis have been developed based on water-soluble proteins of Oestrus ovis L. and Lucilia serricata Mg. larvae. The studies were carried out on 12 test and 3 control groups of lambs born in the current year artificially infected with 80 larvae of the sheep botfly. Fourteen days before infection, the test lambs were immunized with the prepared drugs. The drugs were injected subcutaneously in various doses (2–6 ml) and repeatedly (1–3) or by a single intranasal irrigation at a dose of 10 ml per animal. The efficacy was evaluated for the early (July – September) and summer-spring (August – April) periods of parasitism. In the test and control animals, we determined specific antibodies (JgG), stable E-rosette-forming cells (sE-RFC) and antigen-reactive (AR-RFC) T-lymphocytes. Results and discussion. The tested specific immunocorrection drugs based on somatic proteins of the sheep botfly and the sheep green bottle larvae have a pronounced protective effect against ovine oestrosis. In experiments, being affected by various drug variants, 44.6–99.1% of the sheep botfly larvae died in the early period of parasitism, and 22.6–88.1% of the sheep botfly larvae died in the summer-spring period. Subcutaneously injected drugs stimulate the produced specific antibodies and activate the effector function of the T-cell immune system to a greater extent than intranasal irrigation.

Opposite valence social information provided by bio-robotic demonstrators shapes selection processes in the green bottle fly

Social learning represents a high-level complex process to acquire information about the environment, which is increasingly reported in invertebrates. The animal–robot interaction paradigm turned out to be an encouraging strategy to unveil social learning in vertebrates, but it has not been fully exploited in invertebrates. In this study, Lucilia sericata adults were induced to observe bio-robotic conspecific and predator demonstrators to reproduce different flower foraging choices. Can a fly manage two flows of social information with opposite valence? Herein, we attempt a reply. The selection process of L. sericata was affected by social information provided through different bio-robotic demonstrators, by avoiding coloured discs previously visited by a bio-robotic predator and preferring coloured discs previously visited by a bio-robotic conspecific. When both bio-robotic demonstrators visited the same disc, the latency duration increased and the flies significantly tended to avoid this disc. This indicates the complex risk–benefit evaluation process carried out by L. sericata during the acquisition of such social information. Overall, this article provides a unique perspective on the behavioural ecology of social learning in non-social insects; it also highlights the high potential of the animal–robot interaction approach for unveiling the full spectrum of invertebrates' abilities in using social information.

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of the New Zealand Parasitic Blowfly Lucilia sericata (Insecta: Diptera: Calliphoridae)

In the present study, the complete mitochondrial genome of the New Zealand parasitic blowfly Lucilia sericata (green bottle blowfly) field strain NZ_LucSer_NP was generated using next-generation sequencing technology. The length of complete the mitochondrial genome is 15,938 bp, with 39.4% A, 13.0% C, 9.3% G, and 38.2% T nucleotide distribution. The complete mitochondrial genome consists of 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNAs, 22 transfer RNAs, and a and a 1,124 bp non-coding region, similar to most metazoan mitochondrial genomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that L. sericata NZ_LucSer_NP forms a monophyletic cluster with the remaining six Lucilia species and the Calliphoridae are polyphyletic. This study provides the first complete mitochondrial genome sequence for a L. sericata blowfly species derived from New Zealand to facilitate species identification and phylogenetic analysis.

Potential Decontamination of Drinking Water Pathogens through k-Carrageenan Integrated Green Bottle Fly Bio-Synthesized Silver Nanoparticles

The wide distribution of infections-related pathogenic microbes is almost related to the contamination of food and/or drinking water. The current applied treatments face some limitations. In the current study, k-carrageenan polymer was used as supporting material for the proper/unreleased silver nanoparticles that showed strong antimicrobial activity against six pathogenic bacteria and yeast. The bio-extract of the pupa of green bottle fly was used as the main agent for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The qualitative investigation of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles was determined using UV-Vis spectrophotometric analysis; however, the size of nanoparticles was in range of 30–100 nm, as confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and particle size analyzer. The proper integration of silver nanoparticles into the polymeric substrate was also characterized through fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), SEM, and tensile strength. The antimicrobial activity of k-carrageenan/silver nanoparticles against Gram positive, Gram negative, and yeast pathogens was highly effective. These results indicate the probable exploitation of the polymeric/nanoparticles composite as an extra stage in water purification systems in homes or even at water treatment plants.