scholarly journals In vivo conversion of a labelled host plant chemical to pheromones of the bark beetle Ips paraconfusus

Nature ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 284 (5755) ◽  
pp. 485-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. B. Hendry ◽  
B. Piatek ◽  
L. E. Browne ◽  
D. L. Wood ◽  
J. A. Byers ◽  
...  
1979 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 477-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Byers ◽  
D.L. Wood ◽  
L.E. Browne ◽  
R.H. Fish ◽  
B. Piatek ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (16) ◽  
pp. e2024463118
Author(s):  
Anurag A. Agrawal ◽  
Katalin Böröczky ◽  
Meena Haribal ◽  
Amy P. Hastings ◽  
Ronald A. White ◽  
...  

For highly specialized insect herbivores, plant chemical defenses are often co-opted as cues for oviposition and sequestration. In such interactions, can plants evolve novel defenses, pushing herbivores to trade off benefits of specialization with costs of coping with toxins? We tested how variation in milkweed toxins (cardenolides) impacted monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) growth, sequestration, and oviposition when consuming tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), one of two critical host plants worldwide. The most abundant leaf toxin, highly apolar and thiazolidine ring–containing voruscharin, accounted for 40% of leaf cardenolides, negatively predicted caterpillar growth, and was not sequestered. Using whole plants and purified voruscharin, we show that monarch caterpillars convert voruscharin to calotropin and calactin in vivo, imposing a burden on growth. As shown by in vitro experiments, this conversion is facilitated by temperature and alkaline pH. We next employed toxin-target site experiments with isolated cardenolides and the monarch’s neural Na+/K+-ATPase, revealing that voruscharin is highly inhibitory compared with several standards and sequestered cardenolides. The monarch’s typical >50-fold enhanced resistance to cardenolides compared with sensitive animals was absent for voruscharin, suggesting highly specific plant defense. Finally, oviposition was greatest on intermediate cardenolide plants, supporting the notion of a trade-off between benefits and costs of sequestration for this highly specialized herbivore. There is apparently ample opportunity for continued coevolution between monarchs and milkweeds, although the diffuse nature of the interaction, due to migration and interaction with multiple milkweeds, may limit the ability of monarchs to counteradapt.


Biomolecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 777 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javad Sharifi-Rad ◽  
Farzad Kobarfard ◽  
Athar Ata ◽  
Seyed Abdulmajid Ayatollahi ◽  
Nafiseh Khosravi-Dehaghi ◽  
...  

Members of the Prosopis genus are native to America, Africa and Asia, and have long been used in traditional medicine. The Prosopis species most commonly used for medicinal purposes are P. africana, P. alba, P. cineraria, P. farcta, P. glandulosa, P. juliflora, P. nigra, P. ruscifolia and P. spicigera, which are highly effective in asthma, birth/postpartum pains, callouses, conjunctivitis, diabetes, diarrhea, expectorant, fever, flu, lactation, liver infection, malaria, otitis, pains, pediculosis, rheumatism, scabies, skin inflammations, spasm, stomach ache, bladder and pancreas stone removal. Flour, syrup, and beverages from Prosopis pods have also been potentially used for foods and food supplement formulation in many regions of the world. In addition, various in vitro and in vivo studies have revealed interesting antiplasmodial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic and wound healing effects. The phytochemical composition of Prosopis plants, namely their content of C-glycosyl flavones (such as schaftoside, isoschaftoside, vicenin II, vitexin and isovitexin) has been increasingly correlated with the observed biological effects. Thus, given the literature reports, Prosopis plants have positive impact on the human diet and general health. In this sense, the present review provides an in-depth overview of the literature data regarding Prosopis plants’ chemical composition, pharmacological and food applications, covering from pre-clinical data to upcoming clinical studies.


The Holocene ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 847-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Schafstall ◽  
Niina Kuosmanen ◽  
Christopher J Fettig ◽  
Miloš Knižek ◽  
Jennifer L Clear

Outbreaks of conifer bark beetles in Europe and North America have increased in scale and severity in recent decades. In this study, we identify existing fossil records containing bark beetle remains from the end of the Last Glacial Maximum (~14,000 cal. yr BP) to present day using the online databases Neotoma and BugsCEP and literature searches, and compare these data with modern distribution data of selected tree-killing species. Modern-day observational data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) database was used to map recorded distributions from AD 1750 to present day. A total of 53 fossil sites containing bark beetle remains, from both geological and archeological sites, were found during our searches. Fossil sites were fewer in Europe ( n = 21) than North America ( n = 32). In Europe, 29% of the samples in which remains were found were younger than 1000 cal. yr BP, while in North America, remains were mainly identified from late Glacial (~14,000–11,500 cal. yr BP) sites. In total, the fossil records contained only 8 of 20 species we consider important tree-killing bark beetles in Europe and North America based on their impacts during the last 100 years. In Europe, Ips sexdentatus was absent from the fossil record. In North America, Dendroctonus adjunctus, Dendroctonus frontalis, Dendroctonus jeffreyi, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae, Dryocoetes confusus, Ips calligraphus, Ips confusus, Ips grandicollis, Ips lecontei, Ips paraconfusus, and Scolytus ventralis were absent. Overall, preserved remains of tree-killing bark beetles are rare in the fossil record. However, by retrieving bulk material from new and existing sites and combining data from identified bark beetle remains with pollen, charcoal, tree rings, and geochemistry, the occurrence and dominance of bark beetles, their outbreaks, and other disturbance events can be reconstructed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (23) ◽  
pp. 7216-7224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana V. Rinaudi ◽  
Juan E. González

ABSTRACT Sinorhizobium meliloti is a soil bacterium that elicits the formation of root organs called nodules on its host plant, Medicago sativa. Inside these structures, the bacteria are able to convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, which is then used by the plant as a nitrogen source. The synthesis by S. meliloti of at least one exopolysaccharide, succinoglycan or EPS II, is essential for a successful symbiosis. While exopolysaccharide-deficient mutants induce the formation of nodules, they fail to invade them, and as a result, no nitrogen fixation occurs. Interestingly, the low-molecular-weight fractions of these exopolysaccharides are the symbiotically active forms, and it has been suggested that they act as signals to the host plant to initiate infection thread formation. In this work, we explored the role of these rhizobial exopolysaccharides in biofilm formation and their importance in the symbiotic relationship with the host. We showed that the ExpR/Sin quorum-sensing system controls biofilm formation in S. meliloti through the production of EPS II, which provides the matrix for the development of structured and highly organized biofilms. Moreover, the presence of the low-molecular-weight fraction of EPS II is vital for biofilm formation, both in vitro and in vivo. This is the first report where the symbiotically active fraction of EPS II is shown to be a critical factor for biofilm formation and root colonization. Thus, the ability of S. meliloti to properly attach to root surfaces and form biofilms conferred by the synthesis of exopolysaccharides may embody the main function of these symbiotically essential molecules.


2007 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Fettig ◽  
Stephen R. McKelvey ◽  
Christopher P. Dabney ◽  
Roberty R. Borys

AbstractThe red turpentine beetle, Dendroctonus valens LeConte, 1860 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), is a common bark beetle found throughout much of North America and China. In 2004, we observed that attack densities of the California fivespined ips, Ips paraconfusus Lanier, 1970 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), in logging debris were inversely related to D. valens attacks on freshly cut stumps, which led to the demonstration that components of the aggregation pheromone of I. paraconfusus inhibited the response of D. valens to attractant-baited traps. In this study, we test the response of D. valens and Temnochila chlorodia (Mannerheim, 1843) (Coleoptera: Trogositidae), a common bark beetle predator, to racemic ipsenol, racemic ipsdienol, and (−)-cis-verbenol (IPSR) in the presence and absence of two release rates of (−)-verbenone. The addition of a relatively low release rate of (−)-verbenone (4 mg/24 h) to attractant-baited traps did not affect catch and had no significant effect on the response of D. valens to IPSR. IPSR significantly reduced D. valens attraction to baited traps. The addition of high release rates of (−)-verbenone (50 mg/24 h) to IPSR significantly increased inhibition; however, the effect was not significantly different from that observed with (−)-verbenone alone (50 mg/24 h). Temnochila chlorodia was attracted to traps baited with (−)-β-pinene, (+)-3-carene, and (+)-α-pinene. The addition of (−)-verbenone (50 mg/24 h) significantly increased attraction. Traps baited with IPSR caught significantly more T. chlorodia than those baited with (−)-verbenone. Few other beetles were collected. We are hopeful that these results will help facilitate the development of an effective tool for protecting Pinus spp. from D. valens infestations.


1991 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1355-1367 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.W. Fox ◽  
D.L. Wood ◽  
C.S. Koehler ◽  
S.T. O’Keefe

AbstractIps mexicanus (Hopkins) and I. paraconfusus Lanier can transmit a frugal pathogen that causes pitch canker [Fusarium subglutinans (Wollenw, and Reink.) Nelson, Toussoun, andMarasas], a disease recently identified in Monterey pines (Pirns radiata D. Don) in California. In Santa Cruz County, F. subglutinans was recovered from Ips spp. that emerged from pitch canker-in fee ted P. radiata and were captured in multiple-funnel traps baited with racemic Ips spp. pheromones. Ips paraconfusus adults experimentally contaminated with propagules of the fungus transmitted it to seedlings and mature pines. Field transmission was demonstrated when cankers were produced following pheromone-induced beetle attacks on pines. Ips spp. inoculated F. subglutinans into pine slash, thus creating reservoirs of this fungus. Larvae, pupae, and young adults acquired the fungus when their parents introduced it into logs. Ips spp. progeny production and development were not significantly altered by the fungus. In proximity to other bark beetle-associated fungi, growth of F. subglutinans was reduced and patchy. A new association may be developing among native Ips spp. and F. subglutinans.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojie Wang ◽  
Junnan Fang ◽  
Pu Liu ◽  
Juanjuan Liu ◽  
Wei Fang ◽  
...  

Mucoromycotina is one of the earliest fungi to establish a mutualistic relationship with plants in the ancient land. However, the detailed information on their carbon supply from the host plants is largely unknown. In this research, a free-living Mucoromycotina called Gongronella sp. w5 (w5) was employed to explore its effect on Medicago truncatula growth and carbon source utilization from its host plant during the interaction process. W5 promoted M. truncatula growth and caused the sucrose accumulation in M. truncatula root tissue at 16 days post-inoculation (dpi). The transportation of photosynthetic product sucrose to the rhizosphere by M. truncatula root cells seemed accelerated by upregulating the SWEET gene. A predicted cytoplasmic invertase (GspInv) gene and a sucrose transporter (GspSUT1) homology gene in the w5 genome upregulated significantly at the transcriptional level during w5–M. truncatula interaction at 16 dpi, indicating the possibility of utilizing plant sucrose directly by w5 as the carbon source. Further investigation showed that the purified GspInv displayed an optimal pH of 5.0 and a specific activity of 3380 ± 26 U/mg toward sucrose. The heterologous expression of GspInv and GspSUT1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae confirmed the function of GspInv as invertase and GspSUT1 as sugar transporter with high affinity to sucrose in vivo. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the ability of Mucoromycotina to utilize sucrose from its host plant underwent a process of “loss and gain.” These results demonstrated the capacity of Mucoromycotina to interact with extant land higher plants and may employ a novel strategy of directly up-taking and assimilating sucrose from the host plant during the interaction.


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