Consumption of flea beetles (Phyllotreta, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) by spiders in field habitats detected by molecular analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 146 (6) ◽  
pp. 639-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Ekbom ◽  
Anna-Karin Kuusk ◽  
Gerard Malsher ◽  
Sandra Åström ◽  
Anna Cassel-Lundhagen

AbstractFlea beetles, Phyllotreta Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) species, are often found in oilseed rape (OSR), Brassica napus Linnaeus (Brassicaceae). Among predators in the generalist predator complex present in agricultural fields, wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) are found on the ground and cobweb spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae) build webs in the foliage. We present group-specific primers developed for five flea beetle species within the genus Phyllotreta and study the incidence of predation of flea beetles by these spider groups using DNA-based gut-content analysis. Wolf spiders of the genus Pardosa Koch and the cobweb spider, Phylloneta impressa (Koch), were collected in three winter OSR fields. Flea beetle densities as well as the occurrence of predators and alternative prey were monitored. In total 19.4% of the collected Pardosa tested positive for flea beetle DNA in the polymerase chain reaction analyses, whereas 10% P. impressa were positive. Pardosa were more likely to be positive for flea beetle DNA when Pardosa activity density was low. Phylloneta impressa were more likely to be positive for flea beetle DNA if they were positive for pollen beetle DNA. Implications of these results for conservation biological control and future studies of food webs in OSR are discussed.

2017 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Karimi ◽  
H. Izadi ◽  
M. Askari Seyahooei ◽  
A. Bagheri ◽  
P. Khodaygan

AbstractThe date palm hopper,Ommatissus lybicus, is a key pest of the date palm, which is expected to be comprised of many allopatric populations. The current study was carried out to determine bacterial endosymbiont diversity in the different populations of this pest. Ten date palm hopper populations were collected from the main date palm growing regions in Iran and an additional four samples from Pakistan, Oman, Egypt and Tunisia for detection of primary and secondary endosymbionts using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with their specific primers. The PCR products were directly sequenced and edited using SeqMan software. The consensus sequences were subjected to a BLAST similarity search. The results revealed the presence of ‘CandidatusSulcia muelleri’ (primary endosymbiont) andWolbachia,ArsenophonusandEnterobacter(secondary endosymbionts) in all populations. This assay failed to detect ‘CandidatusNasuia deltocephalinicola’ andSerratiain these populations. ‘Ca. S. muelleri’ exhibited a 100% infection frequency in populations andWolbachia,ArsenophonusandEnterobacterdemonstrated 100, 93.04 and 97.39% infection frequencies, respectively. The infection rate ofArsenophonusandEnterobacterranged from 75 to 100% and 62.5 to 100%, respectively, in different populations of the insect. The results demonstrated multiple infections by ‘Ca. Sulcia muelleri’,Wolbachia,ArsenophonusandEnterobacterin the populations and may suggest significant roles for these endosymbionts on date palm hopper population fitness. This study provides an insight to endosymbiont variation in the date palm hopper populations; however, further investigation is needed to examine how these endosymbionts may affect host fitness.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melloul Marouane ◽  
Iraqi Driss ◽  
M Udupa Sripada ◽  
Abdelaziz El Alaoui My ◽  
Amine Alaoui Sanaa ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
MM Akter ◽  
S Majumder ◽  
KH MNH Nazir ◽  
M Rahman

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are zoonotically important pathogen which causes hemorrhagic colitis, diarrhea, and hemolytic uremic syndrome in animals and humans. The present study was designed to isolate and identify the STEC from fecal samples of diarrheic cattle. A total of 35 diarrheic fecal samples were collected from Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The samples were primarily examined for the detection of E. coli by cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics, followed by confirmation of the isolates by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using gene specific primers. Later, the STEC were identified among the isolated E. coli through detection of Stx-1 and Stx-2 genes using duplex PCR. Out of 35 samples, 25 (71.43%) isolates were confirmed to be associated with E. coli, of which only 7 (28%) isolates were shiga toxin producers, and all of them were positive for Stx-1. However, no Stx-2 positive isolate could be detected. From this study, it may be concluded that cattle can act as a reservoir of STEC which may transmit to human or other animals.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 14(1): 63-68, June 2016


Author(s):  
Şeyda Şilan Okalin ◽  
Ayşe Nur Sarı Kaygısız ◽  
Mahmut Cem Ergon ◽  
İbrahim Mehmet Ali Öktem

Objective: In recent years, increasing carbapenem resistance of Enterobacterales bacteria limits treatment options, considerably. The main mechanism of this resistance is the production of carbapenemase enzymes. The aim of this study is to determine carbapenemase gene types in Enterobacterales isolates from our hospitalized patients and assess the clonal associations of the isolates with KPC gene. Method: A total of 48 clinical Enterobacterales isolates resistant to at least one carbapeneme and received between January 2019 and March 2019 were included in the study. Sample types were consisted of urine, blood, tracheal aspirate, wound and sputum. Of these isolates, three were Escherichia coli while 45 were Klebsiella pneumoniae. Types of carbapenemases were investigated by polymerase chain reaction, using specific primers for VIM, IMP, NDM, KPC and OXA-48 genes. PFGE was performed to determine the clonal associations between blaKPC positive K. pnemoniae isolates. Results: According to the results, blaOXA-48 (n=2) and blaKPC (n=1) were found to be present among E. coli isolates. Regarding 45 K. pneumoniae isolates; only blaOXA-48 and only blaNDM were present in 30 and two isolates, respectively. Seven K. pneumoniae isolates were found positive for both blaOXA-48 and blaNDM. Remaining K. pneumoniae isolates (n=6) harboured only blaKPC. None of the isolates were positive for blaIMP and blaVIM. PFGE analysis showed four isolates had the same pulsotype (A), while two had different pulsotypes (B-C). Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of KPC gene isolated in Dokuz Eylul University Hospital.


2016 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghu Paramasivam ◽  
Nandhakumar Rengasamy ◽  
Deva Arumugam ◽  
Prabhakaran Krishnan

The Renin-Angiotensin System (RAS) is an important regulator of the blood pressure (BP). The level of the vasoactive peptide Angiotensin-II, is mainly determined by the RAS enzyme, angiotensin converting enzyme-1 (ACE-1). Polymorphisms in ACE gene is reported to be associated with hypertension in various populations worldwide. We investigated the association of ACE I/D polymorphisms with hypertension among the tribal populations of South India. Samples were collected from hypertensive patients (n = 33) and healthy controls (n = 37). Genotyping was performed using Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with allele specific primers. The DD genotype is significantly observed among the cases (OR = 1.0). Specifically, the DD genotype is more evident among the females (OR = 0 .705) than males (OR = 1.22) and is analysed to be associated with hypertension among the tribal populations of South India.


Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 319-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Menelas ◽  
C. C. Block ◽  
P. D. Esker ◽  
F. W. Nutter

The feeding periods required by corn flea beetles to acquire and transmit Pantoea stewartii were investigated in the Stewart's disease of corn pathosystem. To quantify the effect of acquisition feeding period on percentage of acquisition, field-collected corn beetles were allowed to feed for 6, 12, 24 36, 48, and 72 h on corn seedlings previously inoculated with a rifampicin- and nalidixic acid-restraint strain of P. stewartii. Acquisition of P. stewartii by corn flea beetles was considered positive if the rifampicin- and nalidixic acid-marked strain was recovered on selective media. To quantity the effect of transmission feeding period on percent transmission of P. stewartii by corn flea beetles, P. stewartii- infested corn flea beetles were allowed to feed on healthy corn seedlings for periods of 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 h. After the appropriate transmission feeding period, leaf tissues surrounding the sites of feeding scars were cultured for the presence of the P. stewartii-marked strain. Transmission of P. stewartii was considered positive if the marked strain was recovered on selective media. Acquisition of P. stewartii occurred within 6 h and the percentage of corn flea beetles that had acquired P. stewartii after 72 h ranged from 68 to 94%. The change in P. stewartii acquisition by corn flea beetles (Y) with respect to acquisition feeding period (X) was best described by the Gompertz model, with R2 values ranging from 91 to 99%. The mean time for acquisition by 50% of the corn flea beetles was 36.5 ± 11.6 h. The minimum transmission feeding time required for corn flea beetles to transmit P. stewartii following a 48-h acquisition feeding period was less than 3 h. The percent transmission of P. stewartii by corn flea beetles was nearly 100% after a 48-h transmission feeding period and was 100% by 72 h. Among population growth models evaluated, the monomolecular model best described the relationship between percent transmission (Y) and transmission feeding periods (X), with R 2 values of up to 84%. However, a nonlinear form of the monomolecular model better quantified the relationship between percent transmission and transmission feeding period, because pseudo-R2 values ranged between 98.1 and 99.5%. The predicted transmission feeding time required for 50% of P. stewartii-infested corn flea beetles to transmit the pathogen was 7.6 ± 0.87 h. These results suggest that the corn flea beetle is a highly efficient vector that can quickly acquire and transmit P. stewartii, thereby requiring insecticide seed treatments and foliar insecticides that act quickly to prevent corn flea beetles from acquiring and transmitting P. stewartii to corn plants.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document