scholarly journals Parasitic wasp females are attracted to blends of host-induced plant volatiles: do qualitative and quantitative differences in the blend matter?

F1000Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masayoshi Uefune ◽  
Soichi Kugimiya ◽  
Rika Ozawa ◽  
Junji Takabayashi

Naïve Cotesia vestalis wasps, parasitoids of diamondback moth (DBM) larvae, are attracted to a synthetic blend (Blend A) of host-induced plant volatiles composed of sabinene, n-heptanal, α-pinene, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, in a ratio of 1.8:1.3:2.0:3.0. We studied whether qualitative (adding (R)-limonene: Blend B) or quantitative changes (changing ratios: Blend C) to Blend A affected the olfactory response of C. vestalis in the background of intact komatsuna plant volatiles. Naïve wasps showed equal preference to Blends A and B and Blends A and C in two-choice tests. Wasps with oviposition experience in the presence of Blend B preferred Blend B over Blend A, while wasps that had oviposited without a volatile blend showed no preference between the two. Likewise, wasps that had starvation experience in the presence of Blend B preferred Blend A over Blend B, while wasps that had starved without a volatile blend showed no preference between the two. Wasps that had oviposition experience either with or without Blend A showed equal preferences between Blends C and A. However, wasps that had starvation experience in the presence of Blend A preferred Blend C over Blend A, while those that starved without a volatile blend showed equal preferences between the two. By manipulating quality and quantity of the synthetic attractants, we showed to what extent C. vestalis could discriminate/learn slight differences between blends that were all, in principle, attractive.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junichiro Abe ◽  
Masayoshi Uefune ◽  
Kinuyo Yoneya ◽  
Kaori Shiojiri ◽  
Junji Takabayashi

AbstractWe observed the seasonal occurrence of diamondback moth (DBM) larvae, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), and their native parasitoid wasps, Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), on mizuna plants, Brassica rapa var. laciniifolia (Brassicales: Brassicaceae), in three commercial greenhouses and on wild cruciferous weeds, Rorippa indica (Brassicales: Brassicaceae), in the surrounding area in the Miyama countryside in Kyoto, Japan. The occurrences of DBM larvae in greenhouses followed their occurrence in the surrounding area: however, some occurrences of DBM in greenhouses took place when the DBM population in the surrounding was rather low. This suggests that the occurrence of DBM in greenhouses cannot always be explained by its seasonal occurrence in the surrounding areas. The occurrence of C. vestalis followed that of DBM larvae in mizuna greenhouses and in the surrounding areas. No C. vestalis were recorded in greenhouses when DBM was not present. Cotesia vestalis females preferred volatiles emitted from DBM-infested mizuna plants to those from uninfested conspecifics under laboratory conditions. Natural HIPVs (herbivory-induced plant volatiles) emitted from DBM-infested mizuna plants in greenhouses probably attracted C. vestalis from the surrounding area to cause their co-occurrence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 201592
Author(s):  
Masayoshi Uefune ◽  
Junichiro Abe ◽  
Kaori Shiojiri ◽  
Satoru Urano ◽  
Koukichi Nagasaka ◽  
...  

We investigated the recruitment of specific parasitoids using a specific blend of synthetic herbivory-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) as a novel method of pest control in greenhouses. In the Miyama rural area in Kyoto, Japan, diamondback moth (DBM) ( Plutella xylostella , Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) larvae are an important pest of cruciferous crops in greenhouses, and Cotesia vestalis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a larval parasitoid of DBM, is found in the surrounding areas. Dispensers of HIPVs that attracted C. vestalis and honey feeders were set inside greenhouses (treated greenhouses). The monthly incidence of DBMs in the treated greenhouses was significantly lower than that in the untreated greenhouses over a 2-year period. The monthly incidences of C. vestalis and DBMs were not significantly different in the untreated greenhouses, whereas monthly C. vestalis incidence was significantly higher than monthly DBM incidence in the treated greenhouses. Poisson regression analyses showed that, in both years, a significantly higher number of C. vestalis was recorded in the treated greenhouses than in the untreated greenhouses when the number of DBM adults increased. We concluded that DBMs were suppressed more effectively by C. vestalis in the treated greenhouses than in the untreated greenhouses.


Author(s):  
R.L. Price ◽  
T.K. Borg ◽  
L. Terracio ◽  
M. Nakagawa

Little is known about the temporal expression of extracellular matrix components (ECM) and its receptors during development of the heart. Recent reports have shown that ECM components undergo both qualitative and quantitative changes during development, and it is believed that ECM components are important in the regulation of cell migration and cell:cell and cell:ECM recognition and adhesion.Integrins are transmembrane glycoproteins which bind several ECM components on their external face and cytoskeletal elements on the cytoplasmic face. Laminin is a basement membrane component which has been recognized as an important site for cell adhesion. Both the integrins and laminin are expressed early in development and continue to be expressed in the adult heart. With their documented roles in cell recognition, and cell:cell and cell:ECM migration and adhesion these proteins appear to be important components in development of the heart, and their temporal expression may play a pivotal role in morphogenesis and myofibrillogenesis of the heart.


2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 425
Author(s):  
Ki Bong Yu ◽  
Myung Kwan Lim ◽  
Hyung Jin Kim ◽  
Jun Soo Byun ◽  
Young Kook Cho ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Bugero N.V. ◽  
Ilyina N.A. ◽  
Aleksandrova S.M.

In order to understand the structure and dynamics of symbiotic relationships of human intestinal biotope micro-organisms, taxonomic constancy indices, the degree of contagion of the biocenosis under study and floristic significance were investigated, which made it possible to detect qualitative and quantitative changes in the microecology of the biotope being studied in persons living in different ecologically heterogeneous territories of Saint Petersburg. The contagiosity index estimated the distribution of species in space. Persons living in the ecologically disadvantaged Kirov district of the city have been found to show a reliable increase in this indicator for the obligate microflora: bifido and lacto bacteria, intestinal columns and bacteroids, compared to the resort district, which is considered a relatively favourable area for residence. On the contrary, there has been a reliable decrease in this indicator in the group of opportunistic micro-organisms (fungi of the genus Candida, staphylococcus, clostridium, etc.), resulting in the liberation of ecological niches successfully occupied by transient flora. This ratio reveals an imbalance of participation in the horizontal structure of the intestine ecosystem of the main symbiotes and representatives of the transient flora. To analyse the structure of symbiotic relationships, the constancy indices that form the microflora of the individuals of the groups studied were investigated. The analysis of the data obtained suggested that the dominant species in both groups were optional-anaerobic bifido and lactobacteria and oblique-anaerobic bacteroids. It should be noted, however, that in the residents of the dysfunctional Kirovsky district, against the background of the reduced constancy of the normal flora, opportunistic micro-organisms have entered. The floral significance index was also declining in the obligate flora of this group and increased for opportunistic species. Thus, the study of the environmental characteristics of the intestinal biotope using different ecological parameters for persons living in different technogenic load regions of St. Petersburg has shown that in the Kirov district with an unfavourable environmental situation there are compensated qualitative and quantitative changes in the intestinal microbiocenosis, resulting in a change in the hierarchy in the overall structure of micro-organisms.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 896
Author(s):  
Yuenan Zhou ◽  
Pei Yang ◽  
Shuang Xie ◽  
Min Shi ◽  
Jianhua Huang ◽  
...  

The endoparasitic wasp Cotesia vestalis is an important biological agent for controlling the population of Plutella xylostella, a major pest of cruciferous crops worldwide. Though the genome of C. vestalis has recently been reported, molecular mechanisms associated with sexual development have not been comprehensively studied. Here, we combined PacBio Iso-Seq and Illumina RNA-Seq to perform genome-wide profiling of pharate adult and adult development of male and female C. vestalis. Taking advantage of Iso-Seq full-length reads, we identified 14,466 novel transcripts as well as 8770 lncRNAs, with many lncRNAs showing a sex- and stage-specific expression pattern. The differentially expressed gene (DEG) analyses showed 2125 stage-specific and 326 sex-specific expressed genes. We also found that 4819 genes showed 11,856 alternative splicing events through combining the Iso-Seq and RNA-Seq data. The results of comparative analyses showed that most genes were alternatively spliced across developmental stages, and alternative splicing (AS) events were more prevalent in females than in males. Furthermore, we identified six sex-determining genes in this parasitic wasp and verified their sex-specific alternative splicing profiles. Specifically, the characterization of feminizer and doublesex splicing between male and female implies a conserved regulation mechanism of sexual development in parasitic wasps.


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